Generalized Structure of a Concept Paper

A concept paper is one of the first steps in helping you fully realize your research project like an action
research. Because of this, some schools opt to teach students how to write concept papers as early as
high school. In college, professors sometimes require their students to submit concept papers before
suggesting their research projects to serve as the foundations for their theses.

If you’re reading this right now, you’ve probably been assigned by your teacher or professor to write a
concept paper. To help you get started, we’ve prepared a comprehensive guide on how to write a
proper concept paper.

Since concept papers are just summaries of your research project, they are usually short and no longer
than 5 pages. However, for big research projects, concept papers can reach up to more than 20 pages.
For PS 504/GS 503, you are to follow the format below using double-spaced Garmond-12 font with at
least 1,000 words. The concept paper topic may be anything about physics in education which can
cover concerns on curriculum, instruction, pedagogy, teachers’ training, students’
readiness/difficulty/anxiety, students’ competence/learning/coping styles especially amid the
pandemic, learning support, and the like. It would be better if it is a problem in class that needs to be
helped or fixed leading to an action research.

1. Title
The title for your paper must be able to effectively summarize what your research is all about. Use
simple words so that people who read the title of your research will know what it’s all about even
without reading the entire paper.
2. Introduction
The introduction should give the reader a brief background of the research topic and state the main
objective that your project aims to achieve. This section should also include a short overview of the
benefits of the research project to persuade the reader to acknowledge the need for the project.
3. Purpose of the Study
The Purpose of the Study should be written in a way that convinces the reader of the need to address
the existing problem or gap in knowledge that the research project aims to resolve. In this section, you
have to go into more detail about the benefits and value of your project for the target audience/s. 
4. Preliminary Literature Review
This section features related studies and papers that will support your research topic. Use this section to
analyze the results and methodologies of previous studies and address any gaps in knowledge or
questions that your research project aims to answer. You may also use the data to assert the importance
of conducting your research.
When choosing which papers and studies you should include in the Preliminary Literature Review,
make sure to choose relevant and reliable sources. Reliable sources include academic journals, credible
news outlets, government websites, and others. Also, take note of the authors for the papers as you will
need to cite them in the References section.
5. Objectives of the Study
Simply state the main objectives that your research is trying to achieve. The objectives should be able
to indicate the direction of the study for both the reader and the researcher. As with other elements in
the paper, the objectives should be specific and clearly defined.
6. Research Questions and Hypotheses
Gather the research questions and equivalent research hypotheses you formulated in the earlier step and
list them down in this section.
7. Proposed Methodology
In this section, you should be able to guide the reader through the process of how you will conduct the
research project. Make sure to state the purpose for each step of the process, as well as the type of data
to be collected and the target population.
8. Proposed Research Timeline
Depending on the nature of your research project, the length of the entire process can vary
significantly. What’s important is that you are able to provide a reasonable and achievable timeline for
your project.
Make sure the time you will allot for each component of your research won’t be too excessive or too
insufficient so that the quality of your research won’t suffer.
9. References
Ensure that you will give credit to all the authors of the sources you used in your paper. For PS 504/GS
503, use the American Psychological Association (APA) format.

Tips for Writing Your Concept Paper

 Use simple, concise language. Minimize the use of flowery language and always try to use
simple and easy-to-understand language. Too many technical or difficult words in your
paper may alienate your readers and make your paper hard to read. 
 Choose your sources wisely. When scouring the Internet for sources to use, you should
always be wary and double-check the authenticity of your source. Doing this will increase
the authenticity of your research project’s claims and ensure better data gathered during the
process.
 Follow the specified format, if any. Make sure to follow any specified format when writing
your concept paper. This is very important, especially if you’re writing your concept paper
for class. Failure to follow the format will usually result in point deductions and delays
because of multiple revisions needed.
 Proofread often. Make it a point to reread different sections of your concept paper after you
write them. Another way you can do this is by taking a break for a few days and then
coming back to proofread your writing. You may notice certain areas you’d like to revise or
mistakes you’d like to fix. Make proofreading a habit to increase the quality of your paper.
Source: Raganit, Ruth (2022). How to write a concept paper for academic research: An ultimate guide.
Career and Education, Juander How. Retrieved July 5, 2022: https://filipiknow.net/how-to-write-a-
concept-paper/

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SAMPLE CONCEPT PAPER

Author: Dr. Bernard Lango

Original source: How to write a concept paper with practical sample by Dr Lango

Modified for educational purposes only

Title: Leveraging on Mobile Payment Methods to gain Competitive Advantage by Locally-based

Businesses

Introduction:

Mobile payment methods have popularity with big businesses operating in large towns and
cities across the world. These payment methods enable business customers to access their cash at the
point of sale and do not need to have physical money to complete their transactions. This study will
therefore help in understanding the mobile payment methods preferences for the local based business
and how and why these preferences have failed to prevail. The research will therefore address that gap
that is viewed as the low uptake of mobile payment methods by the locally based businesses which are
essentially operating in remote areas. This concept builds upon the various insights that have been
undertaken by various researchers in the business and information technology field to bridge the gap of
strategic implementation of information technology systems in business to gain competitive advantage.

Purpose of the Study:

It is estimated that more than 5 billion people have access to mobile phone devices and that out
of this figure about a third of the population is based in local areas. Further, the village-based
businesses do not have immediate access to the physical money banking system as they are located
kilometers away. Porter (2011) notes that in order for businesses to achieve and sustain superior
performance, they must be able to implement systems that are competitively superior.
Budree and Williams (2013, September) and Namada (2018) established that the areas with a
large number of low-income earners experienced low uptake technological advancements, and
businesses in these locations are not keen on leveraging on technology. The concept will therefore be
intended to identify the salient factors that local businesses can apply in leveraging mobile payment
methods to gain competitive advantage.

Preliminary Literature Review:

 Several studies have concluded that mobile payment methods are one of the major factors put in
place by businesses in gaining a competitive advantage. However, this has also, not been achieved in
remote areas. As a result, Onyango et al. (2014) in their study on mobile phone technology and the
evident performance of micro and small enterprises, concludes that there is an impact on the use and
implementation of mobile phone technology to achieve the full business performance. In order,
therefore to achieve a competitive advantage, Porter (2011) advises that the strategy implemented
should be geared towards achieving full potential competitively.

Many scholars also agree that there is a significant relationship between mobile payment
methods and gaining a competitive advantage to sustain improved performance. Most also argue that
the mobile payment method of use will be dependent on the location and nature of the need. The
handbook by Namada (2018) notes that the concept of organizational learning must be down-trotted to
the local businesses to learn which mobile technology suits their operations and how this technology
can be leveraged to achieve competitive advantage.

The literature and conclusions from the scholars, however, fail to answer specific questions
related to leveraging mobile payment methods to gain a competitive advantage for locally-based
businesses. Most of the studies were focused on businesses and companies in towns and cities with the
area of interest majoring on performance whether competitively or not. This study will therefore be
focused on the factors of consideration for leveraging on mobile payment methods to gain competitive
advantage by locally based businesses.

Objectives of the Study:

The research paper seeks to achieve its general objective of leveraging on mobile payment methods to
gain a competitive advantage by focusing on the following specific objectives:
1. To determine the influence of perceived risks on the use of mobile payment methods to gain
competitive advantage by locally based businesses.
2. To determine the influence of M-Payment characteristics (mobility, reachability, convenience,
and compatibility) on the use of mobile payment methods to gain competitive advantage by locally
based businesses.
3. To assess the influence of personal innovativeness on the use of mobile payment methods to
gain competitive advantage by locally based businesses.

Research questions and hypotheses:

1. Do perceived risks influence the use of mobile payment methods to gain competitive advantage
by local-based businesses?
2. Do M-Payment characteristics (mobility, reachability, convenience, and compatibility)
influence the use of mobile payment methods to gain competitive advantage by locally-based
businesses?
3. Does personal innovativeness influence the use of mobile payment methods to gain competitive
advantage by locally-based businesses?

Proposed Methodology:

The study intends to use a cross-sectional survey design in determining the leverage on mobile
payment methods to gain competitive advantage by locally-based businesses. The study will sample
478 locally-based businesses registered in Kenya out of a population of 4 thousand which are mainly
registered and operated in village area settings.

The study will collect both primary and secondary data, and the quantitative data generated will
be analyzed using descriptive statistics which will include percentage distribution, mean, and
frequency counts. The qualitative data from the study will undergo transcription and reported in themes
and sub-themes. The relationship between the independent and dependent variables will be explained
through multiple regression.

Proposed Research Timeline:

The project is expected to be completed in 17 weeks with the following indicated as the activity’s
durations for every section of the research project:

Research Section Duration

1. Title 1 week
2. Introduction 1 week
3. Purpose of the study 2 weeks
4. Preliminary Literature Review 3 weeks
5. Objectives of the Study 1 week
6. Research Questions and Hypotheses 1 week
7. Methodology 2 weeks
8. Data analysis, interpretations, and discussions 3 weeks
9. Summary, conclusion, and recommendations 2 weeks
10. Reviewing work for final submission 1 weeks
References:

Budree, A., & Williams, K. H. (2013, September). Factors influencing the uptake of mobile banking in
developing countries: A case study of M–Pesa in South Africa. In Proceedings of 22nd Internafional
Business Research Conference (pp. 9-10).
Namada, J. M. (2018). Organizational learning and competitive advantage. In Handbook of Research
on Knowledge Management for Contemporary Business Environments (pp. 86-104). IGI Global.
Onyango, R. A., Ongus, R. W., Awuor, F. M., & Nyamboga, C. (2014). Impact of adoption and use of
mobile phone technology on the performance of micro and small enterprises in Kisii Municipality
Kenya. World Journal of Computer Application and Technology, 2(2), 34-42.
Porter, M. E. (2011). Competitive advantage of nations: creating and sustaining superior performance.
simon and schuster.

Author: Dr. Bernard Lango

Original source: How to write a concept paper with practical sample by Dr Lango