Sections
1. Introduction: one paragraph that summarizes what you will write and puts it into context. Should consist of 3 parts:
- "What You're Studying": start with your project research question and include background that contextualizes your project
- "So What?": demonstrate why your research question and project is important and why your reader should care
- "Game Plan": outline the main points of your paper and how you will address them
2. Literature Review: a review of the literature that you used to build your hypothesis, as well as a compelling narrative about the research trails you followed, how they relate to your study, and why your research study is original and important. Your introduction should:
- Briefly describe what you will study
- Cite the previous research which you used to build your proposed study
- Make the case for why your study is unique and important.
- End with your study hypothesis
To help structure your introduction and avoid unconscious plagiarism.
Step 1: Get started by considering your central research question of your proposed thesis study
Step 2: Identify the information that you want to use from your sources
- What key information, issues, theories, approaches, evidence, and/or arguments will help you address and build your thesis study?
Step 3: Identify relationships, links, and common themes
- What relationships and links do you see between the information you want to use from each of your sources?
- What common themes and arguments can you build from the information and evidence in your sources?
Step 4: Arrange themes and arguments
- How can you arrange your themes and arguments hierarchically and sequentially so that they logically build an evidence-based narrative that creates a compelling argument for the importance of your proposed thesis study?
3. Methods: provides detailed information about your research study design. Your Methods section should include:
- The experimental design of your study and why it's appropriate for your research area
- Study populations and subject recruitment procedures
- The procedures your research design follows. including proposed data collection materials/measures and why you selected them
- A description of the demographic and historical information which will be collected and the the specific scale or measurement techniques used for this data collection
- Your data analysis plan
4. References List: a list of the sources you cited
5. Appendices:
- all research/presentation/testing materials
- Consent and Debriefing forms
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