The Main Aspects of Academic Writing and Research

Understanding of a Good Research

Regardless of the type of research, the quality of the study is prerequisite in conveying information professionally with a conceptualization of a well thought out conclusion. A good research refers to a logical process that involves a careful investigation and examination of materials to prove facts and arrive in a well thought out conclusion. It can be described in various characteristics that demonstrate the proper preparation of the report as follows.

First, a good research has a relevant topic that reflects gap which requires to be fulfilled. A good research should demonstrate a topic which is specific, concise, realistic and has a wide range of information to accomplish the purpose of the study. These features help the researcher to narrow down to the topic, generate information and synchronize ideas to form a conclusive argument. Second, a good research has a clearly defined purpose that stipulates the overall goal of research.

The statement of purpose is harnessed with other research components to form a conclusive theoretical framework of the study. Therefore, a good research has a specific purpose which creates focus throughout the research study. Apart from that, a good research considers a detailed process, high use of ethical standards, adequate analysis and a justified conclusion.

The close interrelationship of these elements should form coherency and justify meaning when exploring them. Alternatively, the research design should be well planned and conceptualize with the research question to meet the study purpose.

Understanding of Referencing and its Different Styles

In any work of research, referencing is an important section that provides a list of various sources from where the citations are drawn. Referencing can be understood as the process of providing a work cited page at the end of any research work to acknowledge the ideas of another scholar. A good research should adhere to referencing the work in order to direct the reader on which area the ideas were collected. Although it is illegal to copy someone’s work, referencing protect a researcher from such crimes. Research studies use the following styles as a reflection of the sources of information within a text. First, the American Psychological Association (APA) is a style introduced by the United States and used in most of the research work. Commonly, ideas that belong to other scholars in a research are appreciated by including an in-text within a text. When referencing, the style considers the following format to show the details of the source of the materials. It starts by the author’s name, the year of publication, the title, topic the press name and the origin of the article. However, correct punctuation should be considered to ensure the APA rule isn’t violated.

Second, the researcher can make a good use of the Modern Language Association (MLA) style. It was developed for scholars, students and other researchers to find a way to which papers and assignments would be referenced in a standard way. The consistency of the format would make researchers and scholars find an essay way to follow and understand materials. In MLA format, the key elements in referencing should follow a particular format and categorized in different editions. Currently, the eighth edition is the latest section in MLA that was reached in 2016. The format of the MLA starts from the Author, The Title, The Topic, The page Number, The publishing year, the press name and its origin. However, the MLA style acknowledges the use of opening and closed inverted commas on the topic of the book. Besides, the information reflecting the work of other scholars within the text are acknowledged by including an in-text citation. The in-text citation in MLA is commonly referred using the page numbers or the year in which a book was published. Third, the Harvard referencing is a commonly used style in social sciences, history, and humanities. It has a specific format of referencing which has a different style from the other referencing styles. It follows the following format; Author, Date, Journal title in Italic, Topic, press, Volume and page numbers.

Also, the Chicago or Turabian style which has its origin in Chicago is commonly used in most of the history courses. The citation is used along with the footnotes and a Biography at the last page of research. Chicago style commonly follows the format of the Author’s name, Title, Journal’s name, Year and the Page number.

Avoiding Plagiarism in Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Copying someone ideas without acknowledging his original work is a pervasive violation of writing integrity (Heckler, 2013). It is considered one of the worst kind of writing malpractices in all forms of publications. In many cases, students, researcher, and scholars are warned against the vice in quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing but it can be controlled if due consideration is put in place. To avoid plagiarism in quoting, the researcher should make use of quotation marks to enclose a quote. The quotation marks explain ideas which originate from other scholars. In addition, a citation should be included at the end of the quote to show the author of the quotes.

Consequently, plagiarism in paraphrasing can be avoided by changing the original text without losing the meaning. It is important to consider using the synonyms of some selected words to maintain the meaning. Moreover, an in-text citation should be used at the end of the phrase based on the style required. Finally, summarizing involves briefly putting the main idea in your own words without compromising the meaning of the text. Plagiarism can be avoided by considering your own words in writing and include a citation at the end of some phrases.

Different Components of a Research Report

A research report is formed by different components which interrelate with each other to fulfill the original intention of the study. A research report open with prefatory information that offers an insight of what the report may entail by providing preliminary information concerning the topic of study. It is an important section because this is where the authorization to conduct and collect data is guaranteed. The prefatory information includes the transmittal letter, the title page authorization statement, executive summary and the table that show the content of the research.

Second, a research report contains an introduction which gives the overview of the entire study and directs the reader on what to expect. In the introduction section, the following elements are included to fulfill all the requirements pertaining to the first section of the research. The introduction section includes the research problem that states the specific problem that the study aim resolve. The statement of objective that includes the specific and the general objectives of the topic under study. These elements aim to emphasize the neediness to perform a particular study. Finally, a research background is used ensure all the ideas flow logically and link the research topic with the introduction. Therefore, it closely assist the reader to understand and freely interact with the topic of study.

Third, a research report composes of the methodology component formed by the research design, data collection, sampling design, data limitation and data analysis. A research design is the master plan or a strategy of an investigation focused to fulfill the goal of the study. It considers systematic examination of information to answer research questions and to control the variance. Besides, a sampling design is a framework that acts as a base to select a sample and bring a great impact on other important elements in a research. The sample is the representation of the whole population under study. Moreover, the data collection refers to gathering facts and data through a well-prepared process to assist in answering the research questions. Data analysis encompasses classification and computation of data elements that provide the outcome of the study. On the other hand, data limitations are constraints or unanticipated challenges that arise during the research study.

Finally, a report consists of findings, conclusion, recommendation and the appendices at the final section of the research. The findings include the result obtained upon looking at some several aspect and computation of data. It conveys the outcome of the study and used to make a conclusion and the recommendation.

The conclusion is the inference that arises after examining the outcome of the study. It concludes the main ideas in relation to the purpose of the study and used to make a recommendation for further research.

The recommendation is the proposals that should be taken into consideration to improve the situation while the appendices provide a section where diagrams, tables, and other features are included at the end of the study. It helps the reader to understand the work and an interpretation of the outcome of a study.