IMRaD RESEARCH

ORGANIZATION
• A USEFUL MODEL TO USE IN CONDUCTING RESEARCH
• USED TO ORGANIZE THE RESEARCH PAPER IN A WAY THAT IS
CONSISTENT WITH STANDARDIZED FORMATS FOR PAPERS

SOURCES:
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THE IMRaD FORMAT

• WHEN WRITING AN OBJECTIVE RESEARCH IN ORDER TO ANSWER A

SPECIFIC QUESTION
• GOAL:
• TO PRESENT FACTS OBJECTIVELY
• DEMONSTRATE INTEREST AND CARE IN DEVELOPING NEW UNDERSTANDING
ABOUT A TOPIC – NO ARGUMENTS OR OPINIONS ARE EXPLICITLY STATED
• RELIES ON COLLECTED DATA AND PREVIOUSLY RESEARCHED INFORMATION
IN ORDER TO MAKE A CLAIM
• FORMAT: STANDARD UBSEA APA FORMAT
 IMRaD
• I - INTRODUCTION
• M – METHODS
• R- RESULTS
• A – AND
• D - DISCUSSION
THE TITLE:
AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE
RESEARCH PAPER
• CONTAIN AS FEW WORDS AS POSSIBLE: MANY JOURNALS LIMIT
TITLES TO 12 WORDS (MAX 15 SUBSTANTIAL WORDS)
• BE EASY TO UNDERSTAND
• DESCRIBE THE CONTENTS OF THE PAPER ACCURATELY AND
SPECIFICALLY
• AVOID ABBREVIATIONS, FORMULAS, AND JARGON
• NOT INCLUDE ANY VERB
• NOT CONTAIN LOW-IMPACT WORDS SUCH AS ‘‘SOME NOTES ON …,’’
‘‘OBSERVATIONS ON …,’’ ‘‘INVESTIGATIONS ON …,’’ ‘‘STUDY OF …,’’
AND ‘‘EFFECT OF …’’
• NOT BE FLASHY AS IN NEWSPAPERS (E.G., AVOID STATEMENTS LIKE
‘‘AGROFORESTRY CAN STOP DEFORESTATION’’)
• REPORT THE SUBJECT OF THE RESEARCH RATHER THAN THE RESULTS
TITLE FORMAT: UB SEA APA
• SHOULD BE CENTERED IN INVERTED PYRAMID WITH 8-15 WORDS
• 7 WORDS FIRST LINE AND LESS THAN FOR SECOND LINE
• AUTHORS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER, ITALICIZED:
SCHOOL/DEPARTMENT
• SHOULD BE PREFERABLY ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
• WHAT WILL BE RESEARCHED
• HOW WILL THE TOPIC BE RESEARCHED
• WITH WHOM – DESCRIBES THE RESEARCH POPULATION AND UNITS OF
MEASUREMENT
• WHERE/IN WHAT CONTEXT WITH THE STUDY BE CONDUCTED
THE AUTHOR/S

• INDIVIDUAL/S WHO MADE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE

PLANNING, PREPARATION AND CARRYING OF THE RESEARCH
• AUTHORS ARE LISTED IN THE LOGICAL ORDER OF THEIR
CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORK.
KEYWORDS

• AN INDEX OF WORDS THAT CAN BE USED BY ABSTRACTING SERVICES

• NOT MORE THAN 5 WORDS
• CHOOSE WORDS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE RESEARCH STUDY.
• AVOID COMMON WORDS AS THEY ARE TOO GENERAL TO HOLD
VALUE AS KEYWORDS.
THE ABSTRACT

• Helps readers decide whether they want to read the rest of the
paper, therefore enough key information must be included to make
the it useful
• ABSTRACTS CAN VARY IN LENGTH FROM ONE PARAGRAPH.
• AVERAGE: 250 – 300 WORDS WRITTEN IN A SINGLE PARAGRAPH
• IDENTIFY YOUR KEY WORDS (AT LEAST 5 FOR REFERENCING
PURPOSES)
• GUIDE TO MAKING THE ABSTRACT
• 25% OF THE SPACE ON IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH (INTRODUCTION)
• 25% OF THE SPACE ON WHAT YOU DID (METHODS)
• 35% OF THE SPACE ON WHAT WAS FOUND: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
PART OF THE ABSTRACT.
• 15% OF THE SPACE ON THE IMPLICATION OF THE RESEARCH.
THE ABSTRACT

• SHOULD NOT CONTAIN

• ABBREVIATIONS OR ACRONYMS UNLESS THEY ARE STANDARD OR EXPLAINED
• REFERENCES TO TABLES OR FIGURES IN THE TABLE
• LITERATURE CITATION
• ANY INFORMATION OR CONCLUSION IN THE PAPER ITSELF
• GENERAL STATEMENTS
• COMPLEX, WINDING, VERBOSE SENTENCES

• THE ABSTRACT IS PREPARED AFTER THE ENTIRE PAPER IS WRITTEN

THE ABSTRACT

• ELEMENTS:
1. THE ABSTRACT HAS TO START WITH A BRIEF THEM SENTENCE TO ORIENT THE
READER ABOUT THE OVER–ALL ISSUE ADDRESSED IN THE ARTICLE. IT IS THE
FIRST THREE SENTENCES WHICH HAVE THE SUMMARY OF THE PROBLEM.
2. THE ABSTRACT SHOULD INDICATE THE MAIN AIM OR OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
3. THE ABSTRACT SHOULD EXPLAIN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY OR THE
PRACTICAL IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY.
4. THE METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY SHOULD BE BRIEFLY DISCUSSED.
5. THE MAIN FINDINGS OF THE STUDY SHOULD BE SUMMARIZED.
6. A STATEMENT OF CONCLUSIONS SHOULD INDICATE THE CONTRIBUTION MADE
BY THE STUDY IN FILLING GAPS IN THE LITERATURE.
7. THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY’S FINDINGS SHOULD BE
HIGHLIGHTED WHERE APPROPRIATE.
8. THE RECOMMENDATIONS MAY BE INCLUDED ONLY IT IS NECESSARY TO
EMPHASIZE THE POSSIBLE BENEFITS OR POSSIBLE CONSIDERATIONS FOR
FUTURE STUDIES

• THE ABSTRACT IS PREPARED AFTER THE ENTIRE PAPER IS WRITTEN

Sample Abstract
INTRODUCTION

• TOUCH ON TOPICS LEADING UP TO YOUR CENTRAL RESEARCH TOPIC. IT

SHOULD ANSWER WHY THERE IS A NEED OF THE STUDY
• INCLUDES OFFERING AN ACCOUNT OF PAST RESEARCH THAT HAS DEALT
WITH THE TOPIC OF INTEREST. THE INTRODUCTION SHOULD BE CLEAR BY
IDENTIFYING THE SUBJECT AREA OF INTEREST.
• INCLUDES THINGS THAT WOULD NORMALLY BE CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE
PERIPHERY OF A RESEARCH QUESTION.
• THE INTRODUCTION COULD ALSO TOUCH ON THE HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND TO THIS PHENOMENON AS WELL INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS
AND DEFINITIONS OF KEY TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN THE PAPER
• THE BROADEST PART AT THE TOP REPRESENTING THE MOST GENERAL
INFORMATION AND FOCUSING DOWN TO THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM
• 1500-3000 WORDS
• REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE IS ALREADY INCLUDED IN THE
INTRODUCTION
PARTS OF THE INTRODUCTION
• THE INTRODUCTION SHOULD CONTAIN:
• YOUR THESIS STATEMENT, HYPOTHESIS OR RESEARCH QUESTION
• CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OR THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK (IF RELEVANT)
• RELATED LITERATURE:
• A SUMMARY OF EXISTING RESEARCH ON THE SUBJECT
• AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD, THE CURRENT SITUATION OR TO PREVAILING
PRACTICE
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY IDENTIFYING PROBLEM OR GAP IN
KNOWLEDGE
• FORECAST STATEMENT – WHAT THE REST OF THE PAPER WILL ENTAIL, INCLUDING A
QUICK EXPLANATION OF THE TYPE OF RESEARCH THAT NEEDS TO BE CONDUCTED
• GENERAL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• THE INTRODUCTION SHOULD EXPLAIN WHAT THE READER SHOULD
KNOW, AND WHAT THE READERS ARE UNCERTAIN ABOUT.
• IT SHOULD EXPLAIN AND SUMMARIZE, BUT IT SHOULD ALSO ASK
QUESTIONS, CLARIFY, COMPARE ETC.
• EVERYTHING WRITTEN HERE MUST RELATE TO THE RESEARCH
QUESTION.
MATERIALS AND METHOD
• DEALS WITH THE WAY RESULTS WERE ACQUIRED - HOW THE RESULTS WERE
ARRIVED.
• THE NATURE OF RESEARCH PROJECT, WHETHER IT’S QUALITATIVE OR
QUANTITATIVE IN NATURE IS ALSO MENTIONED.
• QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAPERS – INVESTIGATE THE HOW AND THE WHY OF
DECISION MAKING AND USUALLY HAVE A SMALLER BUT MORE FOCUSED SAMPLE
SIZE.
• QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH – MAKE US OF SYSTEMATIC EMPIRICAL TOOLS TO
QUANTIFY AND ASSESS DATA SETS BY MEANS OF STATISTICS AND/OR
COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES.
• IT SHOULD BE VERY CLEAR, SPECIFIC, DETAILED METHODS IN ARRIVING AT
THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY.
• THE METHODS USED SHOULD BE VALID AND RELIABLE
• IT SHOULD READ AS IF IT IS VERBALLY DESCRIBING THE CONDUCT OF THE
STUDY.
• DISCUSS HOW THE STUDY WILL BE CRAFTED
• 500-1000 WORDS
MATERIALS AND METHOD
• STUDY DESIGN
• EXPLAIN HOW THE VARIABLES IN THE STUDY FITS INTO THE
DESIGN (APPLIED DESCRIPTIVE)
• APPLIED DESCRIPTIVE
• DESCRIBE THE PRODUCT OUTPUT, PRODUCT MODEL
(PROTOTYPE MODEL)
• DISCUSS EACH STEP
• CONTEXT AND LOCALE OF THE STUDY
• THE CONTEXT OF A RESEARCH GIVES THE AUDIENCE THE
PICTURE OF "WHERE", "WHO", "WHAT" AND POSSIBLY
"WHEN" OF THE RESEARCH. IT THEN BECOMES EASY FOR THE
READER TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE
BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH. THIS IN ESSENCE PROVIDES
MORE ILLUMINATION INTO THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND
OTHERS.
• DISCUSS WHERE THE STUDY SHOULD BE CONDUCTED
• IT IS MAINLY THE SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
MATERIALS AND METHOD
•DATA GATHERING TOOL
• MATERIALS – DISCUSS HOW THE
MATERIALS/COMPONENTS WERE USED IN THE STUDY
• MATERIALS SPECIFICATIONS ARE WITHIN THE APPENDIX
• INDICATE THE CONSIDERATIONS OR STEPS UNDERTAKEN
TO ENSURE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE MATERIALS
USED

•DATA GATHERING PROCEDURES

• IN A PARAGRAPH FORM, DESCRIBE OR DISCUSS THE
STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE IN CONDUCTING THE
EXPERIMENT (GATHERING THE RESULTS)
• HOW DID YOU CONDUCT THE INTERVIEW, HOW
LONG DID THE DATA GATHERING LASTED
MATERIALS AND METHOD
•TREATMENT OF DATA
• DESCRIBE HOW THE DATA WERE SUMMARIZED AND ANALYZED
• DISCUSS THE TABLES TO BE USED IN GATHERING THE DATA AND
HOW THEY ARE TO BE INTERPRETED, WILL IT BE COMPARED TO
STANDARDS?

•ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
• DISCUSS HOW TO EMPLOY ANONYMITY AND VOLUNTARY
PARTICIPATION OF THE INFORMANTS
• DISCUSS HOW RISK MANAGEMENT MEASURES OR STRATEGIES
FOR PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCHERS IS ASSURED
• ENUMERATE PROTECTION PROTOCOLS IN DOING THE STUDY
• DISCUSS HOW TO DISSEMINATE THE RESULTS TO THE
BENEFICIARIES
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

• PRESENTATION OF THE ACTUAL FINDINGS IN CONDUCTING YOUR

RESEARCH
• COULD INCLUDE STATISTICAL DATA OR THE RESULTS FROM
INTERVIEWS.
• PRESENT AND COMPILE YOUR RESULTS IN A MANNER THAT IS
COHERENT AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

•REMEMBER TO BE THOROUGH AS THIS

SECTION IS THE CENTRAL PART OF
YOUR THESIS.
PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS

• A RELATIVELY LARGE PART OF THE PAPER/THESIS SHOULD BE

DEVOTED TO THE RESULTS.
• IN THIS SECTION THE FOLLOWING SHOULD BE INCLUDED:
• PRESENT THE FINDINGS
ORGANIZE, CLASSIFY, ANALYZE AND (IF RELEVANT) CATEGORIZE
• EXPLAIN AND INTERPRET (E.G., DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VARIOUS STUDIES)
• ASSESS AND EVALUATE
PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS

• ANSWER THE OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY, SHOULD BE

PRESENTED ACCORDING TO THE SEQUENCE OF THE
OBJECTIVES
• RESULTS MAY BE PRESENTED IN TEXTUAL, GRAPHICAL,
TABULAR, TEXTUAL AND GRAPHICAL, OR TEXTUAL TABULAR
• INTRODUCE THE TABLES, GRAPHS, FIGURES WITH THEIR
SPECIFIC TOPICS
• THERE SHOULD BE AT LEAST THREE LITERATURE THAT WILL
SUPPORT THE RESULTS (2 SUPPORT AND 1 AGAINST)
PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS

• PRESENT ALSO CORROBORATION OF RESULTS, THE PURPOSE

OF CORROBORATION IS TO HELP RESEARCHERS INCREASE
THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBABILITY THAT
THEIR FINDINGS WILL BE SEEN AS CREDIBLE OR WORTHY OF
CONSIDERATION BY OTHERS
• THIS SECTION SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: RESULTS,
DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS,
CORROBORATION, AND JUSTIFICATION
• MAXIMUM OF 5 TABLES AND 5 FIGURES, OTHER TABLES AND
FIGURES ARE PLACED AT THE APPENDIX
• 1500-3000 WORDS
PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS
• PRESENT THE RESULTS SIMPLY AND CLEARLY
• REPORT ONLY REPRESENTATIVE DATA RATHER THAN (ENDLESSLY)
REPETITIVE DATA
• DO NOT REPORT LARGE MASSES OF DATA; REDUCE THEM TO
STATISTICALLY ANALYZED SUMMARY FORMS AND PRESENT IN TABLES OR
FIGURES ALONG WITH ESSENTIAL STATISTICAL INFORMATION TO
FACILITATE UNDERSTANDING AND COMPARING THEM
• REPEAT IN THE TEXT ONLY THE MOST IMPORTANT FINDINGS SHOWN IN
TABLES AND GRAPHS; IN OTHER WORDS, DO NOT REPEAT IN THE TEXT
ALL OR MANY OF THE DATA PRESENTED IN TABLES AND FIGURES
• INCLUDE NEGATIVE DATA—WHAT WAS NOT FOUND—ONLY IF USEFUL
FOR INTERPRETING THE RESULTS
 PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS
• CITE IN THE TEXT EVERY TABLE AND FIGURE BY NUMBER
• INCLUDE ONLY TABLES AND FIGURES THAT ARE NECESSARY, CLEAR, AND
WORTH REPRODUCING
• AVOID VERBOSE EXPRESSIONS:
• E.G., INSTEAD OF SAYING ‘‘IT IS CLEARLY SHOWN IN TABLE 2 THAT THE PRESENCE OF TREE
CANOPY REDUCED LIGHT TRANSMISSION TO GROUND …,’’ SAY ‘‘LIGHT TRANSMISSION TO
GROUND WAS REDUCED BY THE PRESENCE OF TREE CANOPY (TABLE 2).’’
• TABLES AND FIGURES ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF A WELL-WRITTEN
SCIENTIFIC PAPER, AND THEY APPEAR IN THE RESULTS SECTION (BUT THERE
ARE EXCEPTIONS).
• WHILE TABLES PRESENT ACCURATE NUMBERS, FIGURES SHOW TRENDS AND FEATURES.
• DO NOT PRESENT THE SAME DATA IN TABLES AND GRAPHS.
DISCUSSION

• EXPLANATION OF THE MEANING OF THE RESULTS ACTUALLY

• RELATE FINDINGS WITH INITIAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
• ALSO MENTION ANY LIMITATIONS ON YOUR RESEARCH AND EXPLAIN
WHY THE REASONS FOR THESE LIMITATIONS.
• THE DISCUSSION COULD BE ENDED WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE
RESEARCH.
DISCUSSION

• ADDRESS/DISCUSS THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY IN TERMS OF THE

FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
• IS IT POSSIBLE TO GENERALIZE?
• MAKE COMPARISONS WITH OTHER STUDIES
• ARE THERE ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS?
• WHAT ARE THE STRONG AND WEAK ASPECTS OF YOUR PAPER?
• WHAT ARE THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS?
• IS MORE RESEARCH NEEDED?
• MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS (TO BE APPLIED IN PRACTICE).
THE DISCUSSION
• A GOOD DISCUSSION SHOULD:
• NOT REPEAT WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID IN THE REVIEW OF
LITERATURE
• RELATE THE RESULTS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE SET OUT IN THE
INTRODUCTION
• SHOW HOW THE RESULTS AND INTERPRETATIONS AGREE, OR DO
NOT AGREE, WITH CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE SUBJECT, I.E.,
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK
• EXPLAIN THE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE OBSERVED
RESULTS • INDICATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESULTS
• SUGGEST FUTURE RESEARCH THAT IS PLANNED OR NEEDED TO
FOLLOW UP
• DEAL WITH ONLY THE RESULTS REPORTED IN THE STUDY
• STAY AWAY FROM GENERALIZATIONS AND CONJECTURES THAT ARE
NOT SUBSTANTIATED BY THE RESULTS PRESENTED
• STATE CONCLUSIONS WITH EVIDENCE FOR EACH.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• SUMMARIZE THE RESULTS AND RESPOND TO THE OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

• ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING ISSUES:
• WHAT ANSWER(S) HAVE YOU FOUND TO YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION?
• IF YOU HAVE A HYPOTHESIS, HAS IT BEEN STRENGTHENED, WEAKENED OR
FALSIFIED? DO NOT INTRODUCE ISSUES HERE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN MENTIONED
EARLIER.
• IF THE RESULTS OF YOUR STUDY DO NOT ALLOW YOU TO DRAW ANY
CONCLUSIONS, YOU CAN END WITH A SUMMING UP.
• STATES THE OUTCOMES OF THE STUDY IN A WELL-ARTICULATED MANNER
• BRIEFLY SUGGESTS FUTURE LINES OF RESEARCH IN THE AREA BASED ON
FINDINGS. RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE
STUDY, OR HOW TO ENDORSE THE STUDY TO AUTHORITIES FOR POSSIBLE
IMPLEMENTATION
• 250-500 WORDS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• A PART OF THE PAPER THAT THANKS INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

WHO HELPED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE WORK REPORTED IN THE PAPER.
• ACKNOWLEDGE THE PEOPLE WHO DID SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS
FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE STUDY
• IF THERE IS NO SEPARATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SECTION, SUCH
MATERIAL AND APPRECIATION COULD BE INTRODUCED AT THE END
OF THE TEXT.
REFERENCES

• ALL CITATION IN THE TEXT, AND ONLY THOSE MUST BE LISTED IN THE
REFERENCES.
• REFERENCE SECTION AND TEXT CITATIONS SHOULD MUCH
PERFECTLY.

•USE THE STANDARD APA 7TH ED.

FORMAT
APPENDIX OR SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION
• ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE PAPER,
BUT IS OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE
• INCLUDES:
• MANUSCRIPT TABLE OF CONTENTS, LIST OF FIGURES, LIST OF TABLES, LIST OF
ABBREVIATIONS
• LIST OF APPENDICES
• SAMPLE COMMUNICATION LETTERS
• QUESTIONNAIRES
• PERMITS
• CONSENT FORMS
• TABLES AND FIGURES IN EXCESS OF THE 5 IN THE RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
• GANT CHART (SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES)
• CV OF RESEARCHERS
FORMAT

• Time new roman font 12

• Single spacing
• Justified
• Margin: 1” all sides
• Section headings
• Main Section Headings: Each main section of the paper begins with a
heading which should be capitalized, emboldened, left justified, and double
spaced from the line above and below. Do not underline the section heading
OR put a colon at the end.
FORMAT

• Subheadings: Subheadings should be capitalized (first letter in each word),

left justified, and either bold italics OR underlined
FORMAT

• In-text citation: Author-date system

• Pagination: Bottom of page, right side
• Recommended number of tables: 5, figures: 5
• Recommended number of pages: 15-25 excluding appendices
PARTS OF THE RESEARCH PAPER

TITLE
Authors
ABSTRACT
Keywords:
INTRODUCTION
Conceptual Framework
Significance of the Study
Objectives of the Study
MATERIALS AND METHOD
Study Design
Context and Locale of the Study
PARTS OF THE RESEARCH PAPER

Data Gathering Tools

Data Gathering Procedures
Treatment of Data
Ethical Consideration
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
REFERENCES (APA format)
 SAMPLE TABLE
Table 1
Error Rates of Older and Younger Groups
Level of Mean error rate Standard Deviation Sample Size
diffculty Younger Older Younger Older Younger Older
Low
Moderate
high

Note. From “Generations,” by L.G. Elias and C.C. Bent, 2002, Journal of Geriatic Care, 5, p. 22
SAMPLE FIGURE