INTRODUCTION (1 paragraph)
Clearly state the central purpose of this paper (the thesis)
State your research question
State your hypothesis (if you have one)
Summarize the significance of your research question
Summarize your position on the topic and preview your findings
No “Agatha Christy Mystery” Research Reports!
It might take more than one sentence to cover each major finding
Try to end with a strong or enticing statement
Check: By the end of this section, the reader should be able to give a crude version of your “elevator pitch”
BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE (Length May Vary)
You may wish to elaborate on the background and the significance of your chosen question
Below, you will find examples of what this section might include, you should decide which questions to address based on your own topic and audience
For “Technology Impacts the Research Process” Background
History and Reception of this Technology
Who is credited with introducing this technology?
What research need did it satisfy?
How was this technology “rolled out”?
How did it come to be in widespread use?
How many have adopted it?
How have users responded to the technology?
Are there competing technologies?
Check: By the end, a reader should know enough to evaluate your claims about the technology’s impacts
For “Summarizing Research about a Technology” Background:
History and Reception of this Technology
Who is credited with introducing this technology?
What social need or function did it satisfy?
How was this technology “rolled out”?
How did it come to be in widespread use?
How many have adopted it?
How have users responded to the technology?
Are there competing technologies?
Check: By the end, a reader should know enough to evaluate your claims about the research
For All Papers: Significance
State why your question is significant by answering one or two of the following questions:
How will the answer benefit a particular group of people?
How will the answer change the way we go about doing research?
How will the answer influence public policy?
How will knowing the answer resolve an important debate about my topic?
How will knowing the answer lead us to better questions in the future?
Some other basis for significance
Check: By the end, a reader should know why you have written this paper and should want to read on
LITERATURE REVIEW (Length will Vary Considerably)
If you are summarizing the research literature on a topic this section will be most of your paper
This is where you summarize evidence and build a strong argument
Below, you will find examples of what this section might include, you should decide which questions to address based on your own topic and audience
For “Technology Impacts the Research Process” Results:
Establish that technology is used to conduct social science research
Can you provide examples of this technology in actual use?
Can you find published research that mentions using this technology at some point during the research process?
Can you provide other types of evidence, interviews with researchers, or online blog comments from researchers, that demonstrate your technology used in research?
Establish the ways in which your technology is changing research
Can you provide actual evidence or a description of how some part of the research process was done “in the old days” before your technology came along?
Can you provide a similar set of evidence or a description of how the introduction of your technology has changed this process?
Establish that this technology is making things better or worse
Be sure to explain exactly how persons can become better researchers (or worse researchers) by using this technology
If you are providing a “balanced” evaluation provide both the pros and the cons that you have discovered to doing research with your technology
What have been the major positive impacts of your selected technology on research (if any)?
What have been the major negative impacts of your selected technology on research (if any)?
Establish that the changes you are describing matter.
Can you show through data or examples that research actually is better or worse in some way as a result of using this technology (or that it could be if used correctly or incorrectly)?
Can you provide evidence of the widespread use or impact of this technology on research and researchers around the world?
Can you suggest other ways of measuring the impact or the importance of this innovation on the overall research process?
Any other evidence? This section would be the place to include data, graphs, examples, screenshots, illustrations, and other material. Other thoughts that might go here:
Is this technology still relevant? Is its popularity increasing/waning/holding steady?
Are there new extensions or improvements in the works for this technology?
Check: By the end of this section, a reader should know the benefits and challenges posed by the technology
For “Summarizing Research about a Technology” Results:
Establish that your chosen technology is the subject of current social science research
Can you provide examples of this technology’s effects on a specific aspect of life?
Can you find published research that describes or explains the effects of this technology on one or more particular aspects of life, society, and the like?
Be sure to describe the methods and general findings of any published research that you do locate about your technology and area of focus – these will serve as some of the most important evidence that you can muster to support the idea that your technology has a strong or measurable impact – without at least 1-2 studies, the reader will be left to “take your word for it” which is not a strong way to argue
Can you provide other types of evidence, perhaps interviews with researchers, or online blog comments from researchers, that demonstrate that your technology is the ongoing subject of actual social science research?
Establish that your chosen technology is having some effect on social life or the like
Can you provide actual evidence or a description of how some aspect of life got done or was lived “in the old days” before your technology came along?
Can you provide a similar set of evidence or a description of how the introduction of your technology has changed this aspect of life, society, or the like?
Establish that this technology is making things better or worse
Be sure to explain exactly how the aspect of society or everyday life that you are interested in has become better (or worse) as a result of this technology
If you are providing a “balanced” evaluation provide both the pros and the cons that you have discovered are associated with adoption of your technology in the world
What have been the major positive impacts of your selected technology on the aspect of life or society that you have chosen to focus on (if any)?
What have been the major negative impacts of your selected technology on the aspect of life or society that you have chosen to focus on (if any)?
Establish that the changes you are describing matter.
Can you show through data or examples that the changes you described in the last section are serious or important by a common measure such as cost or happiness?
Can you provide evidence of the widespread use or impact of this technology on the aspect of society that you have chosen to focus on?
Can you suggest other ways of measuring the impact or the importance of this innovation on the aspect of society or life that you’ve chosen to look at?
Any other evidence? This section would be the place to include data, graphs, examples, screenshots, illustrations, and other material. Other thoughts that might go here:
Is this technology still relevant? Is its popularity increasing/waning/holding steady?
Are there new extensions or improvements in the works for this technology?
Check: By the end of this section, a reader should know the benefits and challenges posed by the technology for the aspect of society or life that you have focused on
METHODS (May be Minimal for many papers, long for others)
You might use this section only to describe briefly how you went about answering your question
Below, you will find examples of what this section might include, you should decide which questions to address based on your own topic and audience
Conducted a systematic review of resources and existing literature
Internet Resources
Reliable Popular Press Sources
General Reference Sources
Academic/Peer Reviewed Sources
Other Sources
Library or other reference Resources
Conducted your own simple poll or survey of classmates
Found existing data, tables, or figures that support your claims
Something else
Your major purpose in this section is to convince a skeptical reader that the claims you are making are based on more than just your own opinions
Describe your process for finding, evaluating, and integrating information
Check: By the end, the reader should know what type of evidence you will present in the next section
RESULTS (May be Minimal for many papers, long for others)
If you conducted your own research and described your procedures in the methods section, then this section is used to present your findings in an orderly fashion
Be sure to utilize graphical data displays, summaries, charts, and figures when you can to tell the story
DISCUSSION (May be Minimal for many papers, long for others)
If used, this section of your APA-style paper should put the data and information from the last section into its proper perspective and help the reader to further understand why it is important
The distinction is this: present findings under results, explain and interpret findings under discussion
Below, you will find examples of what this section might include, you should decide which questions to address based on your own topic and audience
For “Technology Impacts the Research Process” Discussion:
Why did you select this topic over all the other possibilities?
How has this technology improved and/or harmed your own research process?
How and why can you do research better or worse as a result of using this tech?
How has the evidence that you collected, analyzed, and presented helped to support your major point?
What are the limitations of this evidence (not the whole paper) and the strengths?
Check: By the end, a reader should know how you use this technology for research (or don’t) and why or how your data and analysis support the major claim of your paper
For “Summarizing Research about a Technology” Discussion:
Why did you select this topic over all the other possibilities?
How has this technology improved and/or harmed our lives?
How did the evidence you summarized or presented help support these assertions?
What are the limitations of this evidence (not the whole paper) and the strengths?
Check: By the end, a reader should know how this technology has impacted our lives and why that matters or how your data and analysis support the major claim of your paper
For either type of paper
A broader assessment of what you hope will change as a result of you having done this research and put together the particular paper that you did
Do you think that there are any specific actions that should be taken in response?
Do you think that others would be better served by adopting a new outlook?
Do you think that by simply sharing what you have found that anything might change or will something more be required?
A smooth transition from weighing the evidence and arguments to concluding
Check: By the end of this section, a reader should understand clearly why you wrote this paper (versus say any other) and be able to reflect on whether you accomplished that goal with the evidence presented
CONCLUSION
Summarize and restate your topic and research question, and highlight important points
There should be very little new information and no new evidence presented in this section
Remind the reader how answered it by reviewing highlights from your findings
Remind the reader of the broader significance of the question from that section
If it makes sense to, offer a prediction based on your reading of the current evidence about what trends and impacts we should expect to see in the future
What’s next in line for the technology that you described?
Why do you think these predictions will come to pass?
What response do you envision by people to the changes being wrought?
And many more possibilities.
Speculate on the continuing or future impact of this technology on the way people do research or on the type of research that will be carried out next on this technology
Future Research. Are there specific questions that remain unanswered about the relationship between the research process and this technology? If so, this is a good place to enumerate the best ones from the many
End with a strong statement – either restating the thesis or with a unique observation
