While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.
Published on
August 25, 2022
by
Shona McCombes
Revised on
October 10, 2022.
Your research methodology discusses and explains the data collection and analysis methods you used in your research. A key part of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper, the methodology chapter explains what you did and how you did it, allowing readers to evaluate the reliability and validity of your research.
Published on
August 21, 2022
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
October 10, 2022.
The discussion section is where you delve into the meaning, importance, and relevance of your results.
It should focus on explaining and evaluating what you found, showing how it relates to your literature review, and making an argument in support of your overall conclusion. It should not be a second results section.
There are different ways to write this section, but you can focus your writing around these key elements:
Summary: A brief recap of your key results
Interpretations: What do your results mean?
Implications: Why do your results matter?
Limitations: What can’t your results tell us?
Recommendations: Avenues for further studies or analyses
NoteThere is often overlap between your discussion and conclusion, but these are usually separate sections. However, in some cases, these two sections are combined.
If you’re unsure about your field’s best practices, check out sample dissertations in your field or your departmental guidelines.
A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by scientific research. If you want to test a relationship between two or more variables, you need to write hypotheses before you start your experiment or data collection.
Example: Hypothesis
Daily apple consumption leads to fewer doctor’s visits.
A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims and that you use the right kind of analysis for your data.
You might have to write up a research design as a standalone assignment, or it might be part of a largerresearch proposal or other project. In either case, you should carefully consider which methods are most appropriate and feasible for answering your question.
Published on
June 7, 2021
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
June 16, 2022.
In MLA style, the list of Works Cited (also known as a reference list or bibliography) appears at the end of your paper. It gives full details of every source that you cited in an MLA in-text citation.
Like the rest of an MLA format paper, the Works Cited should be left-aligned and double-spaced with 1-inch margins.
You can use the free Scribbr Citation Generator to create and manage your Works Cited list. Choose your source type and enter the URL, DOI or title to get started.
Published on
November 23, 2020
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
July 14, 2022.
Summarizing, or writing a summary, means giving a concise overview of a text’s main points in your own words. A summary is always much shorter than the original text.
There are five key steps that can help you to write a summary:
Writing a summary does not involve critiquing or analyzing the source. You should simply provide an accurate account of the most important information and ideas (without copying any text from the original).
