SelaQui Guide to Research

Research is a complex art that is learnt through meticulous attention to detail, procedure and
critical thinking over time. That critical eye is built best under expert guidance and through
significant exposure to research settings such as those found in colleges. However, as high school
students, there are some things you can follow that will start your journey towards being a critical
thinker and researcher in the true sense.

Written Part of Research

Preparation of the written research essay must adhere closely to the guidelines given below:

1) English Language
Reports should be written in good English. Students can visit the Purdue Online Writing
Lab (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/index.html) for support.

2) Written Research Report

Should introduce the research essay and describe the research accomplished by the
student thus far. The report should be detailed enough to present the data in a coherent,
clear and understandable fashion. The essay must be in the form of double-spaced pages
(12-point, Times New Roman) including references, graphs, tables and figures. Figures
must be included in the text.

The research essay should contain the following distinct parts and should be presented in
the following order:

Abstract: In one-half page or less, a statement should present what the proposed
research intends to accomplish. (Grade 9: 50-100 words, Grade 11: 150-200 words)

“An abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph, the major aspects of the entire paper in a
prescribed sequence that includes: 1) the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s)
you investigated; 2) the basic design of the study; 3) major findings or trends found as a result of
your analysis; and 4) a brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions.” (The Writing
Center, 2009)

For the abstract, active voice should be used when possible and care should be taken to
always use the past tense as the essay is about research that has already been completed.
The last statements in the abstract should be utilized to summarize the key insights from
the research with indications of future research when appropriate.

A good strategy when writing abstracts is to start at the end. After compiling the entire
essay, key phrases from each section of the essay can be arranged in sequence and made
coherent using suitable connecting words or phrases to complete the abstract.

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Please be aware of the following pitfalls in the abstract which should be avoided.
◼ Going into details about the background. Keep that for the Introduction.
◼ Redundant phrases, unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, and repetitive
information. Acronyms or abbreviations,
◼ Sentences ending with "..." or have incomplete sentences.
◼ Any reference to any published work.

Introduction: This section should summarize the current state of knowledge in the area
and include a short literature review and some of the remaining challenges / open
questions. This section must also convincingly present the importance of the research to
be undertaken. (Grade 9: 150-200 words, Grade 11: 250-300 words)

“The introduction leads the reader from a general subject area to a particular topic of inquiry. It
establishes the scope, context, and significance of the research being conducted by summarizing
current understanding and background information about the topic, stating the purpose of the
work in the form of the research problem supported by a hypothesis or a set of questions,
explaining briefly the methodological approach used to examine the research problem,
highlighting the potential outcomes your study can reveal, and outlining the remaining structure
and organization of the paper.” (Schools, 2010)

Just like the abstract, the introduction also should be written mostly in the active voice.
In an engaging introduction, the flow of the narrative follows an inverted triangle. First,
establish the context in terms of what is available in the published literature in the same
field as the research essay. Next, the question or hypothesis pursued in the research
should be clearly outlined. Finally, in the last paragraph of the introduction, highlight the
approach adopted in this research to study the concerned problem.

Methodology: The proposed experimental setup, the process of collecting data and
obtaining results should be presented here. (Grade 9: 150-200 words, Grade 11: 250-300
words)

“The methods section describes actions to be taken to investigate a research problem and the
rationale for the application of specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process,
and analyze information applied to understanding the problem, thereby, allowing the reader to
critically evaluate a study’s overall validity and reliability. The methodology section of a research
paper answers two main questions: How was the data collected or generated? And how was it
analyzed? The writing should be direct and precise and always written in the past tense.” (Kallet,
2004)

Results and Discussion: The analysis and interpretation of experimental results should
be discussed in the context of the literature. (Grade 9: 400-500 words, Grade 11: 650-
900 words)

“The results section is where you report the findings of your study based upon the methodology
[or methodologies] you applied to gather information. The results section should state the findings
of the research arranged in a logical sequence without bias or interpretation. A section describing

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results is particularly necessary if your paper includes data generated from your own research.”
(Annesley, Show Your Cards: The Results Section and the Poker Game., 2010)
“The purpose of the discussion is to interpret and describe the significance of your findings in light
of what was already known about the research problem being investigated and to explain any
new understanding or insights that emerged as a result of your study of the problem. The
discussion will always connect to the introduction by way of the research questions or hypotheses
you posed and the literature you reviewed, but the discussion does not simply repeat or
rearrange the first parts of your paper; the discussion clearly explains how your study advanced
the reader's understanding of the research problem from where you left them at the end of your
review of prior research.” (Annesley, The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument.,
2010)

Conclusion: The conclusions must be in clear, simple language. It is an accepted practice

to re-state the purpose of the research and how the findings from this particular project
differs or supports those of other studies and why. The conclusion should also summarize
the results in light of the research problem and the overall objectives of the study. Any
opportunities for future research can be indicated in this section if not already done so in
the discussion section of the report. (Grade 9: 150-200 words, Grade 11: 250-300 words)

References: The list of sources which have been consulted should be cited following the
writing style manual as recommended by the mentor. The act of citing sources is the best
defense against allegations of plagiarism. The structured list of sources or bibliography
has many advantages – helping the intended audience to look up the source, offering an
overview of available literature in the field, supporting the arguments advanced in the
report and enabling credibility of the conclusions provided in the report. For more details
into effective acknowledgment, students can look up Harvard Guide to using sources
(https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/).

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A Note on Sources

When looking for sources for the literature review, there should be more focus on primary
research journals – the journals that publish original research articles. It is quite possible that some
general background references (encyclopedias, textbooks, lab manuals, style manuals, etc.) can
be read to get acquainted with the subject area. However, such references must not be cited as
these contain information that is considered fundamental or "common" knowledge within the
discipline. Cite, instead, articles that reported specific results relevant to the research question
or hypothesis investigated in this study. A good practice is to always find the primary literature
(research journals) and review articles rather than depending on reference books. For such a
process, the best place to start are the articles listed in the Literature Cited of relevant papers.

1) Wikipedia – a good source for starting to get a general idea about a concept, event, etc.
However, it is not reliable and cannot be cited as a research source. One useful trick is
to peruse through the citations for any significant sentence that captures your interest on
Wikipedia, because most things are cited on wiki pages, and then go to that original source
for further investigation.

2) University Research – most big universities are research powerhouses, and they
publish them freely on their websites.

3) Academic Journals – the most reliable source for any kind of research. Academic
journals are essentially periodic, subject specific publications where experts of that given
field publish their research. There is nothing better than going through these journals for
quality research.
• Journal articles on anything can be found through specialized databases. Here is an
A-Z list of all good journals broken by subjects.
*no common internet tool is as useful as these databases created by university
libraries. Play around with them and you can find information on anything.
• Google Scholar – Google’s answer to specialized university databases, also
extremely useful.

4) Books – you must be careful about whether a book is critically approved or not, and
whether it cites all its facts, as opposed to containing just opinion-based writing.

5) Think Tanks – these are specialized institutes that conduct research on specific areas,
and consequently advise governments, corporations, etc.

6) News Organizations – be very careful about their reputation for honesty and integrity.
Run away from partisan, opinion-based shouting matches, and poorly informed reporting.

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List of Reputable News Sources and Think Tanks

This list is not exhaustive but contains top-notch sources.

No. Source Notes

Area: Everything, globally

1. The New York Times Called ‘the paper of record,’ implying that it is the ultimate,
authoritative paper capturing history as it unfolds. It is hence
the most comprehensive and reliable paper when searching
for information on any topic.

2. The Wall Street Journal Particularly for economic news

3. The Washington Post

4. BBC

5. Reuters

6. Bloomberg Particularly for economic news

7. Agence France-Presse European Affairs

8. The New Yorker Humanities

9. Vice News Only good for documentaries on global issues

Area: Science & Tech

Wired
Verge
TechCrunch
Quartz
Y Combinator
Fast Company
MIT Technology Review
American Scientist
Ars Technica

Area: Politics & Humanities

Foreign Affairs Magazine

The Atlantic

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The Brookings Institution Think tank

CSIS: Center for Strategic & Think tank

International Studies

CFR: Council on Foreign Think tank

Relations

The RAND Corporation Think tank

Hoover Institution on War, Think tank

Revolution and Peace

Chatham House Think tank

List of All Reputable Think https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_tank#Asian_think_tanks

Tanks Across the World

Indian Publications:

The Hindu

The Indian Express

Frontline Magazine

Economic & Political Weekly

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References

Annesley, T. M. (2010). Show Your Cards: The Results Section and the Poker Game. Clinical
Chemistry, 1066-1070.
Annesley, T. M. (2010). The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument. Clinical Chemistry, 1671-
1674.
Kallet, R. H. (2004). How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper. Respiratory Care,
1229-1232.
Schools, B. C. (2010). Key Elements of the Research Proposal.
The Writing Center, C. U. (2009). Writing an Abstract.