Library Instruction
Structure of typical research article.
The basic structure of a typical research paper includes Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Each section addresses a different objective.
- the problem they intend to address -- in other words, the research question -- in the Introduction ;
- what they did to answer the question in Methodology ;
- what they observed in Results ; and
- what they think the results mean in Discussion .
A substantial study will sometimes include a literature review section which discusses previous works on the topic. The basic structure is outlined below:
- Author and author's professional affiliation is identified
- Introduction
- Literature review section (a discussion about what other scholars have written on the topic)
- Methodology section (methods of data gathering are explained)
- Discussion section
- Conclusions
- Reference list with citations (sources of information used in the article)
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