To write an academic research paper, state a clear question or hypothesis, explain how you investigated it, report what you found and interpret what it means, usually in the IMRaD order: introduction, methods, results and discussion.
This page focuses on the empirical paper expected in graduate courses and journal submissions. It covers paper types, framing, each IMRaD section, an example introduction and a final checklist.
The Research Paper in One View
- Introduction: context, gap, question or hypothesis.
- Methods: enough detail for someone to repeat the study.
- Results: findings without interpretation.
- Discussion: meaning, comparison with literature, limitations and implications.
An abstract sits above all four and is written last.
Types of Research Paper
| Type | Purpose | Usual structure |
|---|---|---|
| Empirical article | Reports original data and analysis | IMRaD |
| Review article | Synthesizes existing studies | Search and selection, synthesis, conclusions |
| Theoretical paper | Develops or critiques a framework | Problem, argument, implications |
| Quality improvement report | Reports a practice change and its effects | IMRaD adapted to SQUIRE 2.0 in health care |
Research Question or Hypothesis
Use a research question when you are exploring or interpreting, as in most qualitative work. Use a hypothesis when theory predicts a relationship you will test, as in confirmatory quantitative work.
| Framing | Example |
|---|---|
| Research question | How do newly qualified nurses describe their first experience of a patient death? |
| Hypothesis | Nurses who complete a resilience program will report lower burnout scores at six months than nurses who do not. |
Frameworks such as PICO for clinical questions and SPIDER for qualitative questions help make the framing precise.
The IMRaD Structure Section by Section
| Section | Must include | Tense |
|---|---|---|
| Title and abstract | Key variables or phenomenon, population, design; concise summary | Past for findings |
| Introduction | Problem, brief synthesis of evidence, gap, aim, question or hypothesis | Present for known facts, past for prior studies |
| Methods | Design, setting, participants, measures, procedure, analysis, ethics | Past |
| Results | Sample description, findings for each question, tables and figures | Past |
| Discussion | Key findings, comparison with literature, limitations, implications, conclusion | Mixed |
| References | Every cited source in the required style | Not applicable |
Writing It Step by Step
- Confirm the paper type, length and style your course or journal requires.
- Write the methods first, while procedures are fresh.
- Prepare tables and figures, then write the results around them.
- Write the discussion, starting with your main finding.
- Write the introduction so it sets up exactly the question you answered.
- Write the title and abstract last.
- Check citations, numbers and formatting.
What Strong Sections Do
Introduction
Move from the broad problem to the specific gap in a few paragraphs, then state your aim. Integrate literature by idea, not author by author, and stop once the gap is clear.
Methods
Justify each major choice: why this design, sample and measure. Report validity and reliability evidence for instruments and name the statistical or qualitative analysis precisely.
Results
Organize by research question. Report test statistics, p values, confidence intervals and effect sizes as your style requires, or themes with supporting quotations for qualitative work.
Discussion
Open with what you found, then explain it in light of earlier research, address limitations honestly and finish with implications that your design can support.
Example Introduction Excerpt
Missed nursing care is linked to falls, pressure injuries and patient dissatisfaction, and staffing levels are its most studied predictor. Less is known about the role of interruptions, which observational studies suggest occur many times per hour on acute wards. Existing studies are largely cross-sectional and rarely measure interruptions directly. This study therefore examined whether observed interruption frequency during medication rounds predicted self-reported missed care among registered nurses on four medical wards.
In four sentences the excerpt establishes significance, narrows to a gap, notes a methodological weakness in prior work and states the aim. Any citations you add must be real sources.
Submission Checklist
- Title names the topic, population and design.
- Abstract within the word limit and consistent with the paper.
- Gap and aim clearly stated in the introduction.
- Methods detailed enough to replicate.
- Results answer every question, without interpretation.
- Discussion compares findings with literature and states limitations.
- Claims match the strength of the design.
- Tables and figures numbered and referred to in text.
- Citations and references complete and in the required style.
Reporting Guidelines
Many fields publish reporting guidelines that list what a paper on a given design should include. Using the right one makes your paper more complete and is often required by journals.
- CONSORT for randomized trials.
- STROBE for observational studies such as cohort and cross-sectional designs.
- COREQ or SRQR for qualitative research.
- PRISMA 2020 for systematic reviews.
- SQUIRE 2.0 for quality improvement reports.
Even when a course does not require them, these checklists are a quick way to spot missing detail.
Common Errors
- An introduction that reviews the whole field.
- Methods too vague to evaluate.
- Interpreting results in the results section.
- Claiming causation from correlational data.
- Ignoring results that did not support the hypothesis.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction, methods, results and discussion: the standard structure for empirical research papers, usually preceded by an abstract.
Many researchers write the methods first, then results, discussion and introduction, with the abstract last.
It depends on the course or journal. Follow the stated word count and section requirements.
No. Review, theoretical and humanities papers often use other structures. Empirical papers in most sciences use IMRaD.
Use a hypothesis when theory predicts a testable relationship; use a research question for exploratory or qualitative work.
Some journals and qualitative papers combine them. Follow your course or journal guidelines.