Research Papers
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Research papers are academic writings that a student undertake in order to fulfill a certain requirement from an institution of higher learning or even as part of their study. The research may be based on various concepts in the study but it has proven that a research paper is best tackled if the basis of the research is a question. The questions are different across all fields of study and are mostly detailed in order to produce very accurate findings and results to write about. These questions may be self formulated or they may be set as a standard for all the students or researchers in that particular study.
The nature of the question may depend on the type of study and is mostly highlighted by the use of the jargon in the particular study. For example, a research question in the field of medicine may have some word only selected for the medicine world such as “Should there be a national database to track controlled substances or should it be a state issue?” Once the drugs have been mentioned this kind of question acting as the research topic becomes rather restrictive.
All the above is showing the textual approach in coming up with the topic of a research paper. It is also possible for an individual to come up with topics which are formulated around images. It is possible to even come up with a topic such as ‘the effects of deforestation’ after a student sees a tree either in reality or even through media such as computers or print media.
There are some guidelines that may help a researcher to come up with an effective and appropriate topic for the research paper. Topics that are too complex should be avoided by the researcher by narrowing down on the statement of the question. One indicator of a complex topic is if the reference sources are too many. For instance a research paper on the ‘Effects of Global warming’ is rather trivial and a student can narrow it down to ‘Global warming: The destruction of glaciers’. However, the student should refrain from topics that only have a single reference as it beats the entire logic of a research a paper.
The researcher should avoid technical topics because they may require him or her to incorporate vocabulary that may be unknown to the reader and may fail to fulfil its purpose. For example, a topic such as the process of photosynthesis may only be applicable in Biology class but not a good topic for an English writing class. The researcher is required to stick to the knowledge that is restricted to that particular area of study to ensure that it is well understood by the educated reader.
Some topics may appear too obvious and should be avoided unless the writer has the ability to spice up the research paper in a way that does not come out to be too tame. For example, a topic such as Jogging is a good form of exercise; such questions should be avoided by the researcher. Topics that are hotly debated should also be avoided as it may be hard to find sources that are unbiased at the heat of the moment.