contents of a research paper chapter 1

• Introduction to Problem Statements, Purpose Statements, and Research Questions

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Chapter 1 introduces the research problem and the evidence supporting the existence of the problem. It outlines an initial review of the literature on the study topic and articulates the purpose of the study. The definitions of any technical terms necessary for the reader to understand are essential. Chapter 1 also presents the research questions and theoretical foundation (Ph.D.) or conceptual framework (Applied Doctorate) and provides an overview of the research methods (qualitative or quantitative) being used in the study.  

• Research Feasibility Checklist Use this checklist to make sure your study will be feasible, reasonable, justifiable, and necessary.
• Alignment Worksheet Use this worksheet to make sure your problem statement, purpose, and research questions are aligned. Alignment indicates the degree to which the purpose of the study follows logically from the problem statement; and the degree to which the research questions help address the study’s purpose. Alignment is important because it helps ensure that the research study is well-designed and based on logical arguments.
• SOBE Research Design and Chapter 1 Checklist If you are in the School of Business and Economics (SOBE), use this checklist one week before the Communication and Research Design Checkpoint. Work with your Chair to determine if you need to complete this.

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How to Write a Research Paper Introduction (with Examples)

The research paper introduction section, along with the Title and Abstract, can be considered the face of any research paper. The following article is intended to guide you in organizing and writing the research paper introduction for a quality academic article or dissertation.

The research paper introduction aims to present the topic to the reader. A study will only be accepted for publishing if you can ascertain that the available literature cannot answer your research question. So it is important to ensure that you have read important studies on that particular topic, especially those within the last five to ten years, and that they are properly referenced in this section. 1 What should be included in the research paper introduction is decided by what you want to tell readers about the reason behind the research and how you plan to fill the knowledge gap. The best research paper introduction provides a systemic review of existing work and demonstrates additional work that needs to be done. It needs to be brief, captivating, and well-referenced; a well-drafted research paper introduction will help the researcher win half the battle.

The introduction for a research paper is where you set up your topic and approach for the reader. It has several key goals:

• Present your research topic
• Capture reader interest
• Summarize existing research
• Position your own approach
• Define your specific research problem and problem statement
• Highlight the novelty and contributions of the study
• Give an overview of the paper’s structure

The research paper introduction can vary in size and structure depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or is a review paper. Some research paper introduction examples are only half a page while others are a few pages long. In many cases, the introduction will be shorter than all of the other sections of your paper; its length depends on the size of your paper as a whole.

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Table of Contents

What is the introduction for a research paper, why is the introduction important in a research paper, craft a compelling introduction section with paperpal. try now, 1. introduce the research topic:, 2. determine a research niche:, 3. place your research within the research niche:, craft accurate research paper introductions with paperpal. start writing now, frequently asked questions on research paper introduction, key points to remember.

The introduction in a research paper is placed at the beginning to guide the reader from a broad subject area to the specific topic that your research addresses. They present the following information to the reader

• Scope: The topic covered in the research paper
• Context: Background of your topic
• Importance: Why your research matters in that particular area of research and the industry problem that can be targeted

The research paper introduction conveys a lot of information and can be considered an essential roadmap for the rest of your paper. A good introduction for a research paper is important for the following reasons:

• It stimulates your reader’s interest: A good introduction section can make your readers want to read your paper by capturing their interest. It informs the reader what they are going to learn and helps determine if the topic is of interest to them.
• It helps the reader understand the research background: Without a clear introduction, your readers may feel confused and even struggle when reading your paper. A good research paper introduction will prepare them for the in-depth research to come. It provides you the opportunity to engage with the readers and demonstrate your knowledge and authority on the specific topic.
• It explains why your research paper is worth reading: Your introduction can convey a lot of information to your readers. It introduces the topic, why the topic is important, and how you plan to proceed with your research.
• It helps guide the reader through the rest of the paper: The research paper introduction gives the reader a sense of the nature of the information that will support your arguments and the general organization of the paragraphs that will follow. It offers an overview of what to expect when reading the main body of your paper.

What are the parts of introduction in the research?

A good research paper introduction section should comprise three main elements: 2

• What is known: This sets the stage for your research. It informs the readers of what is known on the subject.
• What is lacking: This is aimed at justifying the reason for carrying out your research. This could involve investigating a new concept or method or building upon previous research.
• What you aim to do: This part briefly states the objectives of your research and its major contributions. Your detailed hypothesis will also form a part of this section.

How to write a research paper introduction?

The first step in writing the research paper introduction is to inform the reader what your topic is and why it’s interesting or important. This is generally accomplished with a strong opening statement. The second step involves establishing the kinds of research that have been done and ending with limitations or gaps in the research that you intend to address. Finally, the research paper introduction clarifies how your own research fits in and what problem it addresses. If your research involved testing hypotheses, these should be stated along with your research question. The hypothesis should be presented in the past tense since it will have been tested by the time you are writing the research paper introduction.

The following key points, with examples, can guide you when writing the research paper introduction section:

• Highlight the importance of the research field or topic
• Describe the background of the topic
• Present an overview of current research on the topic

Example: The inclusion of experiential and competency-based learning has benefitted electronics engineering education. Industry partnerships provide an excellent alternative for students wanting to engage in solving real-world challenges. Industry-academia participation has grown in recent years due to the need for skilled engineers with practical training and specialized expertise. However, from the educational perspective, many activities are needed to incorporate sustainable development goals into the university curricula and consolidate learning innovation in universities.

• Reveal a gap in existing research or oppose an existing assumption
• Formulate the research question

Example: There have been plausible efforts to integrate educational activities in higher education electronics engineering programs. However, very few studies have considered using educational research methods for performance evaluation of competency-based higher engineering education, with a focus on technical and or transversal skills. To remedy the current need for evaluating competencies in STEM fields and providing sustainable development goals in engineering education, in this study, a comparison was drawn between study groups without and with industry partners.

• State the purpose of your study
• Highlight the key characteristics of your study
• Describe important results
• Highlight the novelty of the study.
• Offer a brief overview of the structure of the paper.

Example: The study evaluates the main competency needed in the applied electronics course, which is a fundamental core subject for many electronics engineering undergraduate programs. We compared two groups, without and with an industrial partner, that offered real-world projects to solve during the semester. This comparison can help determine significant differences in both groups in terms of developing subject competency and achieving sustainable development goals.

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The purpose of the research paper introduction is to introduce the reader to the problem definition, justify the need for the study, and describe the main theme of the study. The aim is to gain the reader’s attention by providing them with necessary background information and establishing the main purpose and direction of the research.

The length of the research paper introduction can vary across journals and disciplines. While there are no strict word limits for writing the research paper introduction, an ideal length would be one page, with a maximum of 400 words over 1-4 paragraphs. Generally, it is one of the shorter sections of the paper as the reader is assumed to have at least a reasonable knowledge about the topic. 2 For example, for a study evaluating the role of building design in ensuring fire safety, there is no need to discuss definitions and nature of fire in the introduction; you could start by commenting upon the existing practices for fire safety and how your study will add to the existing knowledge and practice.

When deciding what to include in the research paper introduction, the rest of the paper should also be considered. The aim is to introduce the reader smoothly to the topic and facilitate an easy read without much dependency on external sources. 3 Below is a list of elements you can include to prepare a research paper introduction outline and follow it when you are writing the research paper introduction. Topic introduction: This can include key definitions and a brief history of the topic. Research context and background: Offer the readers some general information and then narrow it down to specific aspects. Details of the research you conducted: A brief literature review can be included to support your arguments or line of thought. Rationale for the study: This establishes the relevance of your study and establishes its importance. Importance of your research: The main contributions are highlighted to help establish the novelty of your study Research hypothesis: Introduce your research question and propose an expected outcome. Organization of the paper: Include a short paragraph of 3-4 sentences that highlights your plan for the entire paper

Cite only works that are most relevant to your topic; as a general rule, you can include one to three. Note that readers want to see evidence of original thinking. So it is better to avoid using too many references as it does not leave much room for your personal standpoint to shine through. Citations in your research paper introduction support the key points, and the number of citations depend on the subject matter and the point discussed. If the research paper introduction is too long or overflowing with citations, it is better to cite a few review articles rather than the individual articles summarized in the review. A good point to remember when citing research papers in the introduction section is to include at least one-third of the references in the introduction.

The literature review plays a significant role in the research paper introduction section. A good literature review accomplishes the following: Introduces the topic – Establishes the study’s significance – Provides an overview of the relevant literature – Provides context for the study using literature – Identifies knowledge gaps However, remember to avoid making the following mistakes when writing a research paper introduction: Do not use studies from the literature review to aggressively support your research Avoid direct quoting Do not allow literature review to be the focus of this section. Instead, the literature review should only aid in setting a foundation for the manuscript.

Remember the following key points for writing a good research paper introduction: 4

• Avoid stuffing too much general information: Avoid including what an average reader would know and include only that information related to the problem being addressed in the research paper introduction. For example, when describing a comparative study of non-traditional methods for mechanical design optimization, information related to the traditional methods and differences between traditional and non-traditional methods would not be relevant. In this case, the introduction for the research paper should begin with the state-of-the-art non-traditional methods and methods to evaluate the efficiency of newly developed algorithms.
• Avoid packing too many references: Cite only the required works in your research paper introduction. The other works can be included in the discussion section to strengthen your findings.
• Avoid extensive criticism of previous studies: Avoid being overly critical of earlier studies while setting the rationale for your study. A better place for this would be the Discussion section, where you can highlight the advantages of your method.
• Avoid describing conclusions of the study: When writing a research paper introduction remember not to include the findings of your study. The aim is to let the readers know what question is being answered. The actual answer should only be given in the Results and Discussion section.

To summarize, the research paper introduction section should be brief yet informative. It should convince the reader the need to conduct the study and motivate him to read further. If you’re feeling stuck or unsure, choose trusted AI academic writing assistants like Paperpal to effortlessly craft your research paper introduction and other sections of your research article.

1. Jawaid, S. A., & Jawaid, M. (2019). How to write introduction and discussion. Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia, 13(Suppl 1), S18.

2. Dewan, P., & Gupta, P. (2016). Writing the title, abstract and introduction: Looks matter!. Indian pediatrics, 53, 235-241.

3. Cetin, S., & Hackam, D. J. (2005). An approach to the writing of a scientific Manuscript1. Journal of Surgical Research, 128(2), 165-167.

4. Bavdekar, S. B. (2015). Writing introduction: Laying the foundations of a research paper. Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 63(7), 44-6.

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How to Write a Research Paper: Parts of the Paper

• Choosing Your Topic
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• Critical Thinking
• Evaluating Information
• Parts of the Paper
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Parts of the Research Paper Papers should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Your introductory paragraph should grab the reader's attention, state your main idea, and indicate how you will support it. The body of the paper should expand on what you have stated in the introduction. Finally, the conclusion restates the paper's thesis and should explain what you have learned, giving a wrap up of your main ideas.

1. The Title The title should be specific and indicate the theme of the research and what ideas it addresses. Use keywords that help explain your paper's topic to the reader. Try to avoid abbreviations and jargon. Think about keywords that people would use to search for your paper and include them in your title.

2. The Abstract The abstract is used by readers to get a quick overview of your paper. Typically, they are about 200 words in length (120 words minimum to  250 words maximum). The abstract should introduce the topic and thesis, and should provide a general statement about what you have found in your research. The abstract allows you to mention each major aspect of your topic and helps readers decide whether they want to read the rest of the paper. Because it is a summary of the entire research paper, it is often written last. 

3. The Introduction The introduction should be designed to attract the reader's attention and explain the focus of the research. You will introduce your overview of the topic,  your main points of information, and why this subject is important. You can introduce the current understanding and background information about the topic. Toward the end of the introduction, you add your thesis statement, and explain how you will provide information to support your research questions. This provides the purpose and focus for the rest of the paper.

4. Thesis Statement Most papers will have a thesis statement or main idea and supporting facts/ideas/arguments. State your main idea (something of interest or something to be proven or argued for or against) as your thesis statement, and then provide your supporting facts and arguments. A thesis statement is a declarative sentence that asserts the position a paper will be taking. It also points toward the paper's development. This statement should be both specific and arguable. Generally, the thesis statement will be placed at the end of the first paragraph of your paper. The remainder of your paper will support this thesis.

Students often learn to write a thesis as a first step in the writing process, but often, after research, a writer's viewpoint may change. Therefore a thesis statement may be one of the final steps in writing. 

Examples of Thesis Statements from Purdue OWL

5. The Literature Review The purpose of the literature review is to describe past important research and how it specifically relates to the research thesis. It should be a synthesis of the previous literature and the new idea being researched. The review should examine the major theories related to the topic to date and their contributors. It should include all relevant findings from credible sources, such as academic books and peer-reviewed journal articles. You will want  to:

• Explain how the literature helps the researcher understand the topic.
• Try to show connections and any disparities between the literature.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.

More about writing a literature review. . .

6. The Discussion ​The purpose of the discussion is to interpret and describe what you have learned from your research. Make the reader understand why your topic is important. The discussion should always demonstrate what you have learned from your readings (and viewings) and how that learning has made the topic evolve, especially from the short description of main points in the introduction.Explain any new understanding or insights you have had after reading your articles and/or books. Paragraphs should use transitioning sentences to develop how one paragraph idea leads to the next. The discussion will always connect to the introduction, your thesis statement, and the literature you reviewed, but it does not simply repeat or rearrange the introduction. You want to: 

• Demonstrate critical thinking, not just reporting back facts that you gathered.
• If possible, tell how the topic has evolved over the past and give it's implications for the future.
• Fully explain your main ideas with supporting information.
• Explain why your thesis is correct giving arguments to counter points.

7. The Conclusion A concluding paragraph is a brief summary of your main ideas and restates the paper's main thesis, giving the reader the sense that the stated goal of the paper has been accomplished. What have you learned by doing this research that you didn't know before? What conclusions have you drawn? You may also want to suggest further areas of study, improvement of research possibilities, etc. to demonstrate your critical thinking regarding your research.

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How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

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There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are there any heated debates you can address?
• Do you have a unique take on your topic?
• Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

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The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

• Offer new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more space than necessary
• Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

• Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
• Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
• Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
• If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
• Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
• all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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• Writing Tips

How to Structure the Table of Contents for a Research Paper

4-minute read

• 16th July 2023

So you’ve made it to the important step of writing the table of contents for your paper. Congratulations on making it this far! Whether you’re writing a research paper or a dissertation , the table of contents not only provides the reader with guidance on where to find the sections of your paper, but it also signals that a quality piece of research is to follow. Here, we will provide detailed instructions on how to structure the table of contents for your research paper.

Steps to Create a Table of Contents

• Insert the table of contents after the title page.

Within the structure of your research paper , you should place the table of contents after the title page but before the introduction or the beginning of the content. If your research paper includes an abstract or an acknowledgements section , place the table of contents after it.

• List all the paper’s sections and subsections in chronological order.

Depending on the complexity of your paper, this list will include chapters (first-level headings), chapter sections (second-level headings), and perhaps subsections (third-level headings). If you have a chapter outline , it will come in handy during this step. You should include the bibliography and all appendices in your table of contents. If you have more than a few charts and figures (more often the case in a dissertation than in a research paper), you should add them to a separate list of charts and figures that immediately follows the table of contents. (Check out our FAQs below for additional guidance on items that should not be in your table of contents.)

• Paginate each section.

Label each section and subsection with the page number it begins on. Be sure to do a check after you’ve made your final edits to ensure that you don’t need to update the page numbers.

• Format your table of contents.

The way you format your table of contents will depend on the style guide you use for the rest of your paper. For example, there are table of contents formatting guidelines for Turabian/Chicago and MLA styles, and although the APA recommends checking with your instructor for formatting instructions (always a good rule of thumb), you can also create a table of contents for a research paper that follows APA style .

• Add hyperlinks if you like.

Depending on the word processing software you’re using, you may also be able to hyperlink the sections of your table of contents for easier navigation through your paper. (Instructions for this feature are available for both Microsoft Word and Google Docs .)

To summarize, the following steps will help you create a clear and concise table of contents to guide readers through your research paper:

1. Insert the table of contents after the title page.

2. List all the sections and subsections in chronological order.

3. Paginate each section.

4. Format the table of contents according to your style guide.

5. Add optional hyperlinks.

If you’d like help formatting and proofreading your research paper , check out some of our services. You can even submit a sample for free . Best of luck writing your research paper table of contents!

What is a table of contents?

A table of contents is a listing of each section of a document in chronological order, accompanied by the page number where the section begins. A table of contents gives the reader an overview of the contents of a document, as well as providing guidance on where to find each section.

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What should I include in my table of contents?

If your paper contains any of the following sections, they should be included in your table of contents:

●  Chapters, chapter sections, and subsections

●  Introduction

●  Conclusion

●  Appendices

●  Bibliography

Although recommendations may differ among institutions, you generally should not include the following in your table of contents:

●  Title page

●  Abstract

●  Acknowledgements

●  Forward or preface

If you have several charts, figures, or tables, consider creating a separate list for them that will immediately follow the table of contents. Also, you don’t need to include the table of contents itself in your table of contents.

Is there more than one way to format a table of contents?

Yes! In addition to following any recommendations from your instructor or institution, you should follow the stipulations of your style guide .

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13.1 Formatting a Research Paper

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Apply general APA style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use APA style , the documentation and formatting style followed by the American Psychological Association, as well as MLA style , from the Modern Language Association. There are a few major formatting styles used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian:

• AMA (American Medical Association) for medicine, health, and biological sciences
• APA (American Psychological Association) for education, psychology, and the social sciences
• Chicago—a common style used in everyday publications like magazines, newspapers, and books
• MLA (Modern Language Association) for English, literature, arts, and humanities
• Turabian—another common style designed for its universal application across all subjects and disciplines

While all the formatting and citation styles have their own use and applications, in this chapter we focus our attention on the two styles you are most likely to use in your academic studies: APA and MLA.

If you find that the rules of proper source documentation are difficult to keep straight, you are not alone. Writing a good research paper is, in and of itself, a major intellectual challenge. Having to follow detailed citation and formatting guidelines as well may seem like just one more task to add to an already-too-long list of requirements.

Following these guidelines, however, serves several important purposes. First, it signals to your readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field; it is the literary equivalent of wearing a tailored suit to a job interview. Second, it shows that you respect other people’s work enough to give them proper credit for it. Finally, it helps your reader find additional materials if he or she wishes to learn more about your topic.

Furthermore, producing a letter-perfect APA-style paper need not be burdensome. Yes, it requires careful attention to detail. However, you can simplify the process if you keep these broad guidelines in mind:

• Work ahead whenever you can. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” includes tips for keeping track of your sources early in the research process, which will save time later on.
• Get it right the first time. Apply APA guidelines as you write, so you will not have much to correct during the editing stage. Again, putting in a little extra time early on can save time later.
• Use the resources available to you. In addition to the guidelines provided in this chapter, you may wish to consult the APA website at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.

General Formatting Guidelines

This chapter provides detailed guidelines for using the citation and formatting conventions developed by the American Psychological Association, or APA. Writers in disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, psychology, and education follow APA style. The major components of a paper written in APA style are listed in the following box.

These are the major components of an APA-style paper:

Body, which includes the following:

• Headings and, if necessary, subheadings to organize the content
• In-text citations of research sources
• References page

All these components must be saved in one document, not as separate documents.

The title page of your paper includes the following information:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Name of the institution with which the author is affiliated
• Header at the top of the page with the paper title (in capital letters) and the page number (If the title is lengthy, you may use a shortened form of it in the header.)

List the first three elements in the order given in the previous list, centered about one third of the way down from the top of the page. Use the headers and footers tool of your word-processing program to add the header, with the title text at the left and the page number in the upper-right corner. Your title page should look like the following example.

The next page of your paper provides an abstract , or brief summary of your findings. An abstract does not need to be provided in every paper, but an abstract should be used in papers that include a hypothesis. A good abstract is concise—about one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty words—and is written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as apparent here as in the body of your paper. When writing the abstract, take a just-the-facts approach, and summarize your research question and your findings in a few sentences.

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you read a paper written by a student named Jorge, who researched the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets. Read Jorge’s abstract. Note how it sums up the major ideas in his paper without going into excessive detail.

Write an abstract summarizing your paper. Briefly introduce the topic, state your findings, and sum up what conclusions you can draw from your research. Use the word count feature of your word-processing program to make sure your abstract does not exceed one hundred fifty words.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers that present extensive primary research, such as your own experiment or survey. In your abstract, summarize your research question and your findings, and briefly indicate how your study relates to prior research in the field.

Margins, Pagination, and Headings

APA style requirements also address specific formatting concerns, such as margins, pagination, and heading styles, within the body of the paper. Review the following APA guidelines.

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

• Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
• Use double-spaced text throughout your paper.
• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in a legible size (10- to 12-point).
• Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references section. Page numbers appear flush right within your header.
• Section headings and subsection headings within the body of your paper use different types of formatting depending on the level of information you are presenting. Additional details from Jorge’s paper are provided.

Begin formatting the final draft of your paper according to APA guidelines. You may work with an existing document or set up a new document if you choose. Include the following:

• Your title page
• The abstract you created in Note 13.8 “Exercise 1”
• Correct headers and page numbers for your title page and abstract

APA style uses section headings to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and to know immediately what major topics are covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may also be divided into subsections, sub-subsections, and so on. These smaller sections, in turn, use different heading styles to indicate different levels of information. In essence, you are using headings to create a hierarchy of information.

The following heading styles used in APA formatting are listed in order of greatest to least importance:

• Section headings use centered, boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words in the heading capitalized.
• Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Headings use title case.
• The third level uses left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings use a capital letter only for the first word, and they end in a period.
• The fourth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
• The fifth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are italicized and not boldfaced.

Visually, the hierarchy of information is organized as indicated in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” .

Table 13.1 Section Headings

A college research paper may not use all the heading levels shown in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” , but you are likely to encounter them in academic journal articles that use APA style. For a brief paper, you may find that level 1 headings suffice. Longer or more complex papers may need level 2 headings or other lower-level headings to organize information clearly. Use your outline to craft your major section headings and determine whether any subtopics are substantial enough to require additional levels of headings.

Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 “Exercise 2” , begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above. If your major sections should be broken into subsections, add those headings as well. Use your outline to help you.

Because Jorge used only level 1 headings, his Exercise 3 would look like the following:

Citation Guidelines

In-text citations.

Throughout the body of your paper, include a citation whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources. As you learned in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , the purpose of citations is twofold: to give credit to others for their ideas and to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired. Your in-text citations provide basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a longer entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.

In-text citations must provide the name of the author or authors and the year the source was published. (When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead.) When directly quoting a source, it is also required that you include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.

This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence, as in these examples.

Epstein (2010) points out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Here, the writer names the source author when introducing the quote and provides the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. The page number appears in parentheses after the closing quotation marks and before the period that ends the sentence.

Addiction researchers caution that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (Epstein, 2010, p. 137).

Here, the writer provides a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence that includes the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number separated by commas. Again, the parenthetical citation is placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.

As noted in the book Junk Food, Junk Science (Epstein, 2010, p. 137), “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive.”

Here, the writer chose to mention the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed the title with a parenthetical citation. Note that the parenthetical citation is placed before the comma that signals the end of the introductory phrase.

David Epstein’s book Junk Food, Junk Science (2010) pointed out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Another variation is to introduce the author and the source title in your sentence and include the publication date and page number in parentheses within the sentence or at the end of the sentence. As long as you have included the essential information, you can choose the option that works best for that particular sentence and source.

Citing a book with a single author is usually a straightforward task. Of course, your research may require that you cite many other types of sources, such as books or articles with more than one author or sources with no individual author listed. You may also need to cite sources available in both print and online and nonprint sources, such as websites and personal interviews. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.

Writing at Work

APA is just one of several different styles with its own guidelines for documentation, formatting, and language usage. Depending on your field of interest, you may be exposed to additional styles, such as the following:

• MLA style. Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other disciplines in the humanities.
• Chicago style. Outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style and sometimes used for papers in the humanities and the sciences; many professional organizations use this style for publications as well.
• Associated Press (AP) style. Used by professional journalists.

References List

The brief citations included in the body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations provided at the end of the paper in the references section. In-text citations provide basic information—the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number if necessary—while the references section provides more extensive bibliographical information. Again, this information allows your reader to follow up on the sources you cited and do additional reading about the topic if desired.

The specific format of entries in the list of references varies slightly for different source types, but the entries generally include the following information:

• The name(s) of the author(s) or institution that wrote the source
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

The references page is double spaced and lists entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an entry continues for more than one line, the second line and each subsequent line are indented five spaces. Review the following example. ( Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provides extensive guidelines for formatting reference entries for different types of sources.)

In APA style, book and article titles are formatted in sentence case, not title case. Sentence case means that only the first word is capitalized, along with any proper nouns.

Key Takeaways

• Following proper citation and formatting guidelines helps writers ensure that their work will be taken seriously, give proper credit to other authors for their work, and provide valuable information to readers.
• Working ahead and taking care to cite sources correctly the first time are ways writers can save time during the editing stage of writing a research paper.
• APA papers usually include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
• APA papers use a specific headings structure to provide a clear hierarchy of information.
• In APA papers, in-text citations usually include the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
• In-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, which provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.

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How to write Chapter 1: Introduction

How to write Introduction Chapter for Project Proposal (CP 3005)

Related Papers

Research proposal outline

JONATHAN N G U G I KN

Title  A concise statement of the main topic and should identify the variables  Should be a reflection of the contents of the document  Fully explanatory when standing alone  Should not contain redundancies such as 'a study of … or an investigation of …  Abbreviations should not appear in the title  Scientific names should be in italics should contain not more than 23 words ii) Author's name and affiliation  Avoid the use of the words like 'By….from….  Preferred order of names is to start with first, middle then the last name  Full names should be used, initials should be avoided  Titles like Dr. should not appear in the names iii) Affiliation  The affiliation should be well illustrated i.e. A thesis / proposal submitted to the department of …. In the school of …. In the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of ….. of Kenyatta University  The month and the year should follow at the bottom of the caption Note: for the proposals (spiral bound) the cover should include the title, author and the affiliation (all in one page) and centered B) DECLARATION  It should include both the candidate's and the supervisor's declaration and duly signed This proposal / thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other University …………………………………… …………………………….

Robertus Willy

Langley, BC: Trinity Western University. …

Paul T P Wong

Parlindungan Pardede

abdul rahim

Holuphumiee Adegbaju

tinuade adeola

Education India: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education

Shubham kumar Sanu , Vishwa Raj Sharma , Dr Mukesh Kumar , Smriti Shreya

Writing a research proposal for an early career researcher is one of the toughest part of research work. A research proposal is a blueprint to conduct research work and a well-structured proposal provides smooth functioning for the proposed research. Generally, young researchers face various types of problem in structuring a good research proposal in absence of proper guidelines, steps and strategies. This paper aims to provide a general guideline to the students and researchers to develop a wellstructured research proposal for the purpose of PhD/dissertation/research projects, etc. The concept and significance of a research proposal, how to start research work, the process of producing and appropriate sections for a good research proposal has been discussed in great detail.

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Online Guide to Writing and Research

The research process, explore more of umgc.

• Online Guide to Writing

Structuring the Research Paper

Formal research structure.

These are the primary purposes for formal research:

enter the discourse, or conversation, of other writers and scholars in your field

learn how others in your field use primary and secondary resources

find and understand raw data and information

For the formal academic research assignment, consider an organizational pattern typically used for primary academic research.  The pattern includes the following: introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions/recommendations.

Usually, research papers flow from the general to the specific and back to the general in their organization. The introduction uses a general-to-specific movement in its organization, establishing the thesis and setting the context for the conversation. The methods and results sections are more detailed and specific, providing support for the generalizations made in the introduction. The discussion section moves toward an increasingly more general discussion of the subject, leading to the conclusions and recommendations, which then generalize the conversation again.

Sections of a Formal Structure

The introduction section.

Many students will find that writing a structured  introduction  gets them started and gives them the focus needed to significantly improve their entire paper. 

Introductions usually have three parts:

presentation of the problem statement, the topic, or the research inquiry

purpose and focus of your paper

summary or overview of the writer’s position or arguments

In the first part of the introduction—the presentation of the problem or the research inquiry—state the problem or express it so that the question is implied. Then, sketch the background on the problem and review the literature on it to give your readers a context that shows them how your research inquiry fits into the conversation currently ongoing in your subject area. 

In the second part of the introduction, state your purpose and focus. Here, you may even present your actual thesis. Sometimes your purpose statement can take the place of the thesis by letting your reader know your intentions. 

The third part of the introduction, the summary or overview of the paper, briefly leads readers through the discussion, forecasting the main ideas and giving readers a blueprint for the paper. 

The following example provides a blueprint for a well-organized introduction.

Example of an Introduction

Entrepreneurial Marketing: The Critical Difference

In an article in the Harvard Business Review, John A. Welsh and Jerry F. White remind us that “a small business is not a little big business.” An entrepreneur is not a multinational conglomerate but a profit-seeking individual. To survive, he must have a different outlook and must apply different principles to his endeavors than does the president of a large or even medium-sized corporation. Not only does the scale of small and big businesses differ, but small businesses also suffer from what the Harvard Business Review article calls “resource poverty.” This is a problem and opportunity that requires an entirely different approach to marketing. Where large ad budgets are not necessary or feasible, where expensive ad production squanders limited capital, where every marketing dollar must do the work of two dollars, if not five dollars or even ten, where a person’s company, capital, and material well-being are all on the line—that is, where guerrilla marketing can save the day and secure the bottom line (Levinson, 1984, p. 9).

By reviewing the introductions to research articles in the discipline in which you are writing your research paper, you can get an idea of what is considered the norm for that discipline. Study several of these before you begin your paper so that you know what may be expected. If you are unsure of the kind of introduction your paper needs, ask your professor for more information.  The introduction is normally written in present tense.

THE METHODS SECTION

The methods section of your research paper should describe in detail what methodology and special materials if any, you used to think through or perform your research. You should include any materials you used or designed for yourself, such as questionnaires or interview questions, to generate data or information for your research paper. You want to include any methodologies that are specific to your particular field of study, such as lab procedures for a lab experiment or data-gathering instruments for field research. The methods section is usually written in the past tense.

THE RESULTS SECTION

How you present the results of your research depends on what kind of research you did, your subject matter, and your readers’ expectations. 

Quantitative information —data that can be measured—can be presented systematically and economically in tables, charts, and graphs. Quantitative information includes quantities and comparisons of sets of data. 

Qualitative information , which includes brief descriptions, explanations, or instructions, can also be presented in prose tables. This kind of descriptive or explanatory information, however, is often presented in essay-like prose or even lists.

There are specific conventions for creating tables, charts, and graphs and organizing the information they contain. In general, you should use them only when you are sure they will enlighten your readers rather than confuse them. In the accompanying explanation and discussion, always refer to the graphic by number and explain specifically what you are referring to; you can also provide a caption for the graphic. The rule of thumb for presenting a graphic is first to introduce it by name, show it, and then interpret it. The results section is usually written in the past tense.

THE DISCUSSION SECTION

Your discussion section should generalize what you have learned from your research. One way to generalize is to explain the consequences or meaning of your results and then make your points that support and refer back to the statements you made in your introduction. Your discussion should be organized so that it relates directly to your thesis. You want to avoid introducing new ideas here or discussing tangential issues not directly related to the exploration and discovery of your thesis. The discussion section, along with the introduction, is usually written in the present tense.

THE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS SECTION

Your conclusion ties your research to your thesis, binding together all the main ideas in your thinking and writing. By presenting the logical outcome of your research and thinking, your conclusion answers your research inquiry for your reader. Your conclusions should relate directly to the ideas presented in your introduction section and should not present any new ideas.

You may be asked to present your recommendations separately in your research assignment. If so, you will want to add some elements to your conclusion section. For example, you may be asked to recommend a course of action, make a prediction, propose a solution to a problem, offer a judgment, or speculate on the implications and consequences of your ideas. The conclusions and recommendations section is usually written in the present tense.

Key Takeaways

• For the formal academic research assignment, consider an organizational pattern typically used for primary academic research. 
•  The pattern includes the following: introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions/recommendations.

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Table of Contents: Online Guide to Writing

Chapter 1: College Writing

How Does College Writing Differ from Workplace Writing?

What Is College Writing?

Why So Much Emphasis on Writing?

Chapter 2: The Writing Process

Doing Exploratory Research

Getting from Notes to Your Draft

Introduction

Prewriting - Techniques to Get Started - Mining Your Intuition

Prewriting: Targeting Your Audience

Prewriting: Techniques to Get Started

Prewriting: Understanding Your Assignment

Rewriting: Being Your Own Critic

Rewriting: Creating a Revision Strategy

Rewriting: Getting Feedback

Rewriting: The Final Draft

Techniques to Get Started - Outlining

Techniques to Get Started - Using Systematic Techniques

Thesis Statement and Controlling Idea

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Freewriting

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Summarizing Your Ideas

Writing: Outlining What You Will Write

Chapter 3: Thinking Strategies

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone: Style Through Vocabulary and Diction

Critical Strategies and Writing

Critical Strategies and Writing: Analysis

Critical Strategies and Writing: Evaluation

Critical Strategies and Writing: Persuasion

Critical Strategies and Writing: Synthesis

Developing a Paper Using Strategies

Kinds of Assignments You Will Write

Patterns for Presenting Information

Patterns for Presenting Information: Critiques

Patterns for Presenting Information: Discussing Raw Data

Patterns for Presenting Information: General-to-Specific Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Specific-to-General Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Summaries and Abstracts

Supporting with Research and Examples

Writing Essay Examinations

Writing Essay Examinations: Make Your Answer Relevant and Complete

Writing Essay Examinations: Organize Thinking Before Writing

Writing Essay Examinations: Read and Understand the Question

Chapter 4: The Research Process

Planning and Writing a Research Paper

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Ask a Research Question

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Cite Sources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Collect Evidence

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Decide Your Point of View, or Role, for Your Research

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Draw Conclusions

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Find a Topic and Get an Overview

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Manage Your Resources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Outline

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Survey the Literature

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Work Your Sources into Your Research Writing

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Human Resources

Research Resources: What Are Research Resources?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Electronic Resources

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Print Resources

Structuring the Research Paper: Formal Research Structure

Structuring the Research Paper: Informal Research Structure

The Nature of Research

The Research Assignment: How Should Research Sources Be Evaluated?

The Research Assignment: When Is Research Needed?

The Research Assignment: Why Perform Research?

Chapter 5: Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity

Giving Credit to Sources

Giving Credit to Sources: Copyright Laws

Giving Credit to Sources: Documentation

Giving Credit to Sources: Style Guides

Integrating Sources

Practicing Academic Integrity

Practicing Academic Integrity: Keeping Accurate Records

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Paraphrasing Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Quoting Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Summarizing Your Sources

Types of Documentation

Types of Documentation: Bibliographies and Source Lists

Types of Documentation: Citing World Wide Web Sources

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - APA Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - CSE/CBE Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - Chicago Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - MLA Style

Types of Documentation: Note Citations

Chapter 6: Using Library Resources

Finding Library Resources

Chapter 7: Assessing Your Writing

How Is Writing Graded?

How Is Writing Graded?: A General Assessment Tool

The Draft Stage

The Draft Stage: The First Draft

The Draft Stage: The Revision Process and the Final Draft

The Draft Stage: Using Feedback

The Research Stage

Using Assessment to Improve Your Writing

Chapter 8: Other Frequently Assigned Papers

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Article and Book Reviews

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Reaction Papers

Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Adapting the Argument Structure

Writing Arguments: Purposes of Argument

Writing Arguments: References to Consult for Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Anticipate Active Opposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Determine Your Organization

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Develop Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Introduce Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - State Your Thesis or Proposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Write Your Conclusion

Writing Arguments: Types of Argument

Appendix A: Books to Help Improve Your Writing

Dictionaries

General Style Manuals

Researching on the Internet

Special Style Manuals

Writing Handbooks

Appendix B: Collaborative Writing and Peer Reviewing

Collaborative Writing: Assignments to Accompany the Group Project

Collaborative Writing: Informal Progress Report

Collaborative Writing: Issues to Resolve

Collaborative Writing: Methodology

Collaborative Writing: Peer Evaluation

Collaborative Writing: Tasks of Collaborative Writing Group Members

Collaborative Writing: Writing Plan

General Introduction

Peer Reviewing

Appendix C: Developing an Improvement Plan

Working with Your Instructor’s Comments and Grades

Appendix D: Writing Plan and Project Schedule

Devising a Writing Project Plan and Schedule

Reviewing Your Plan with Others

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Home » Table of Contents – Types, Formats, Examples

Table of Contents – Types, Formats, Examples

Table of Contents

Definition:

Table of contents (TOC) is a list of the headings or sections in a document or book, arranged in the order in which they appear. It serves as a roadmap or guide to the contents of the document, allowing readers to quickly find specific information they are looking for.

A typical table of contents includes chapter titles, section headings, subheadings, and their corresponding page numbers.

The table of contents is usually located at the beginning of the document or book, after the title page and any front matter, such as a preface or introduction.

Table of Contents in Research

In Research, A Table of Contents (TOC) is a structured list of the main sections or chapters of a research paper , Thesis and Dissertation . It provides readers with an overview of the organization and structure of the document, allowing them to quickly locate specific information and navigate through the document.

Importance of Table of Contents

Here are some reasons why a TOC is important:

• Navigation : It serves as a roadmap that helps readers navigate the document easily. By providing a clear and concise overview of the contents, readers can quickly locate the section they need to read without having to search through the entire document.
• Organization : A well-structured TOC reflects the organization of the document. It helps to organize the content logically and categorize it into easily digestible chunks, which makes it easier for readers to understand and follow.
• Clarity : It can help to clarify the document’s purpose, scope, and structure. It provides an overview of the document’s main topics and subtopics, which can help readers to understand the content’s overall message.
• Efficiency : This can save readers time and effort by allowing them to skip to the section they need to read, rather than having to go through the entire document.
• Professionalism : Including a Table of Contents in a document shows that the author has taken the time and effort to organize the content properly. It adds a level of professionalism and credibility to the document.

Types of Table of Contents

There are different types of table of contents depending on the purpose and structure of the document. Here are some examples:

Simple Table of Contents

This is a basic table of contents that lists the major sections or chapters of a document along with their corresponding page numbers.

Example: Table of Contents

I. Introduction …………………………………………. 1

II. Literature Review ………………………………… 3

III. Methodology ……………………………………… 6

IV. Results …………………………………………….. 9

V. Discussion …………………………………………. 12

VI. Conclusion ……………………………………….. 15

Expanded Table of Contents

This type of table of contents provides more detailed information about the contents of each section or chapter, including subsections and subheadings.

A. Background …………………………………….. 1

B. Problem Statement ………………………….. 2

C. Research Questions ……………………….. 3

II. Literature Review ………………………………… 5

A. Theoretical Framework …………………… 5

B. Previous Research ………………………….. 6

C. Gaps and Limitations ……………………… 8 I

II. Methodology ……………………………………… 11

A. Research Design ……………………………. 11

B. Data Collection …………………………….. 12

C. Data Analysis ……………………………….. 13

IV. Results …………………………………………….. 15

A. Descriptive Statistics ……………………… 15

B. Hypothesis Testing …………………………. 17

V. Discussion …………………………………………. 20

A. Interpretation of Findings ……………… 20

B. Implications for Practice ………………… 22

VI. Conclusion ……………………………………….. 25

A. Summary of Findings ……………………… 25

B. Contributions and Recommendations ….. 27

Graphic Table of Contents

This type of table of contents uses visual aids, such as icons or images, to represent the different sections or chapters of a document.

I. Introduction …………………………………………. [image of a light bulb]

II. Literature Review ………………………………… [image of a book]

III. Methodology ……………………………………… [image of a microscope]

IV. Results …………………………………………….. [image of a graph]

V. Discussion …………………………………………. [image of a conversation bubble]

Alphabetical Table of Contents

This type of table of contents lists the different topics or keywords in alphabetical order, along with their corresponding page numbers.

A. Abstract ……………………………………………… 1

B. Background …………………………………………. 3

C. Conclusion …………………………………………. 10

D. Data Analysis …………………………………….. 8

E. Ethics ……………………………………………….. 6

F. Findings ……………………………………………… 7

G. Introduction ……………………………………….. 1

H. Hypothesis ………………………………………….. 5

I. Literature Review ………………………………… 2

J. Methodology ……………………………………… 4

K. Limitations …………………………………………. 9

L. Results ………………………………………………… 7

M. Discussion …………………………………………. 10

Hierarchical Table of Contents

This type of table of contents displays the different levels of headings and subheadings in a hierarchical order, indicating the relative importance and relationship between the different sections.

    A. Background …………………………………….. 2

      B. Purpose of the Study ……………………….. 3

      A. Theoretical Framework …………………… 5

             1. Concept A ……………………………….. 6

                    a. Definition ………………………….. 6

                     b. Example ……………………………. 7

              2. Concept B ……………………………….. 8

       B. Previous Research ………………………….. 9

III. Methodology ……………………………………… 12

       A. Research Design ……………………………. 12

             1. Sample ……………………………………. 13

               2. Procedure ………………………………. 14

       B. Data Collection …………………………….. 15

            1. Instrumentation ……………………….. 16

            2. Validity and Reliability ………………. 17

       C. Data Analysis ……………………………….. 18

          1. Descriptive Statistics …………………… 19

           2. Inferential Statistics ………………….. 20

IV. Result s …………………………………………….. 22

    A. Overview of Findings ……………………… 22

B. Hypothesis Testing …………………………. 23

V. Discussion …………………………………………. 26

A. Interpretation of Findings ………………… 26

B. Implications for Practice ………………… 28

VI. Conclusion ……………………………………….. 31

A. Summary of Findings ……………………… 31

B. Contributions and Recommendations ….. 33

Table of Contents Format

Here’s an example format for a Table of Contents:

I. Introduction

C. Methodology

II. Background

A. Historical Context

B. Literature Review

III. Methodology

A. Research Design

B. Data Collection

C. Data Analysis

IV. Results

A. Descriptive Statistics

B. Inferential Statistics

C. Qualitative Findings

V. Discussion

A. Interpretation of Results

B. Implications for Practice

C. Limitations and Future Research

VI. Conclusion

A. Summary of Findings

B. Contributions to the Field

C. Final Remarks

VII. References

VIII. Appendices

Note : This is just an example format and can vary depending on the type of document or research paper you are writing.

When to use Table of Contents

A TOC can be particularly useful in the following cases:

• Lengthy documents : If the document is lengthy, with several sections and subsections, a Table of contents can help readers quickly navigate the document and find the relevant information.
• Complex documents: If the document is complex, with multiple topics or themes, a TOC can help readers understand the relationships between the different sections and how they are connected.
• Technical documents: If the document is technical, with a lot of jargon or specialized terminology, This can help readers understand the organization of the document and locate the information they need.
• Legal documents: If the document is a legal document, such as a contract or a legal brief, It helps readers quickly locate specific sections or provisions.

How to Make a Table of Contents

Here are the steps to create a table of contents:

• Organize your document: Before you start making a table of contents, organize your document into sections and subsections. Each section should have a clear and descriptive heading that summarizes the content.
• Add heading styles : Use the heading styles in your word processor to format the headings in your document. The heading styles are usually named Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, and so on. Apply the appropriate heading style to each section heading in your document.
• Insert a table of contents: Once you’ve added headings to your document, you can insert a table of contents. In Microsoft Word, go to the References tab, click on Table of Contents, and choose a style from the list. The table of contents will be inserted into your document.
• Update the table of contents: If you make changes to your document, such as adding or deleting sections, you’ll need to update the table of contents. In Microsoft Word, right-click on the table of contents and select Update Field. Choose whether you want to update the page numbers or the entire table, and click OK.

Purpose of Table of Contents

A table of contents (TOC) serves several purposes, including:

• Marketing : It can be used as a marketing tool to entice readers to read a book or document. By highlighting the most interesting or compelling sections, a TOC can give readers a preview of what’s to come and encourage them to dive deeper into the content.
• Accessibility : A TOC can make a document or book more accessible to people with disabilities, such as those who use screen readers or other assistive technologies. By providing a clear and organized overview of the content, a TOC can help these readers navigate the material more easily.
• Collaboration : This can be used as a collaboration tool to help multiple authors or editors work together on a document or book. By providing a shared framework for organizing the content, a TOC can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.
• Reference : It can serve as a reference tool for readers who need to revisit specific sections of a document or book. By providing a clear overview of the content and organization, a TOC can help readers quickly locate the information they need, even if they don’t remember exactly where it was located.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Main text examples

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This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

Published on 14.8.2024 in Vol 26 (2024)

Cancer Prevention and Treatment on Chinese Social Media: Machine Learning–Based Content Analysis Study

Authors of this article:

Original Paper

• Keyang Zhao 1 * , DPhil   ; 
• Xiaojing Li 1, 2 * , Prof Dr   ; 
• Jingyang Li 3 , DPhil  

1 School of Media & Communication, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

2 Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

3 School of Software, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

*these authors contributed equally

Corresponding Author:

Xiaojing Li, Prof Dr

School of Media & Communication

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

800 Dongchuan Rd.

Minhang District

Shanghai, 200240

Phone: 86 13918611103

Fax:86 21 34207088

Email: [email protected]

Background: Nowadays, social media plays a crucial role in disseminating information about cancer prevention and treatment. A growing body of research has focused on assessing access and communication effects of cancer information on social media. However, there remains a limited understanding of the comprehensive presentation of cancer prevention and treatment methods across social media platforms. Furthermore, research comparing the differences between medical social media (MSM) and common social media (CSM) is also lacking.

Objective: Using big data analytics, this study aims to comprehensively map the characteristics of cancer treatment and prevention information on MSM and CSM. This approach promises to enhance cancer coverage and assist patients in making informed treatment decisions.

Methods: We collected all posts (N=60,843) from 4 medical WeChat official accounts (accounts with professional medical backgrounds, classified as MSM in this paper) and 5 health and lifestyle WeChat official accounts (accounts with nonprofessional medical backgrounds, classified as CSM in this paper). We applied latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling to extract cancer-related posts (N=8427) and identified 6 cancer themes separately in CSM and MSM. After manually labeling posts according to our codebook, we used a neural-based method for automated labeling. Specifically, we framed our task as a multilabel task and utilized different pretrained models, such as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and Global Vectors for Word Representation (GloVe), to learn document-level semantic representations for labeling.

Results: We analyzed a total of 4479 articles from MSM and 3948 articles from CSM related to cancer. Among these, 35.52% (2993/8427) contained prevention information and 44.43% (3744/8427) contained treatment information. Themes in CSM were predominantly related to lifestyle, whereas MSM focused more on medical aspects. The most frequently mentioned prevention measures were early screening and testing, healthy diet, and physical exercise. MSM mentioned vaccinations for cancer prevention more frequently compared with CSM. Both types of media provided limited coverage of radiation prevention (including sun protection) and breastfeeding. The most mentioned treatment measures were surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Compared with MSM (1137/8427, 13.49%), CSM (2993/8427, 35.52%) focused more on prevention.

Conclusions: The information about cancer prevention and treatment on social media revealed a lack of balance. The focus was primarily limited to a few aspects, indicating a need for broader coverage of prevention measures and treatments in social media. Additionally, the study’s findings underscored the potential of applying machine learning to content analysis as a promising research approach for mapping key dimensions of cancer information on social media. These findings hold methodological and practical significance for future studies and health promotion.

Introduction

In 2020, 4.57 million new cancer cases were reported in China, accounting for 23.7% of the world’s total [ 1 ]. Many of these cancers, however, can be prevented [ 2 , 3 ]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 30%-50% of cancers could be avoided through early detection and by reducing exposure to known lifestyle and environmental risks [ 4 ]. This underscores the imperative to advance education on cancer prevention and treatment.

Mass media serves not only as a primary channel for disseminating cancer information but also as a potent force in shaping the public health agenda [ 5 , 6 ]. Previous studies have underscored the necessity of understanding how specific cancer-related content is presented in the media. For example, the specific cancer types frequently mentioned in news reports have the potential to influence the public’s perception of the actual incidence of cancer [ 7 ].

Nowadays, social media plays an essential role in disseminating health information, coordinating resources, and promoting health campaigns aimed at educating individuals about prevention measures [ 8 ]. Additionally, it influences patients’ decision-making processes regarding treatment [ 9 ]. A study revealed that social media use correlates with increased awareness of cancer screening in the general population [ 10 ]. In recent years, there has been a notable surge in studies evaluating cancer-related content on social media. However, previous studies often focused on specific cancer types [ 11 ] and limited aspects of cancer-related issues [ 12 ]. The most recent comprehensive systematic content analysis of cancer coverage, conducted in 2013, indicated that cancer news coverage has heavily focused on treatment, while devoting very little attention to prevention, detection, or coping [ 13 ].

Evaluating cancer prevention information on social media is crucial for future efforts by health educators and cancer control organizations. Moreover, providing reliable medical information to individuals helps alleviate feelings of fear and uncertainty [ 14 ]. Specifically, patients often seek information online when making critical treatment decisions, such as chemotherapy [ 15 ]. Therefore, it is significant to comprehensively evaluate the types of treatment information available on social media.

Although many studies have explored cancer-related posts from the perspectives of patients with cancer [ 16 ] and caregivers [ 17 ], the analysis of posts from medical professionals has been found to be inadequate [ 18 ]. This paradox arises from the expectation that medical professionals, given their professional advantages, should take the lead in providing cancer education on social media. Nevertheless, a significant number of studies have highlighted the prevalence of unreliable medical information on social media [ 19 ]. A Japanese study highlighted a concerning phenomenon: despite efforts by medical professionals to promote cancer screening online, a significant number of antiscreening activists disseminated contradictory messages on the internet, potentially undermining the effectiveness of cancer education initiatives [ 20 ]. Hence, there is an urgent need for the accurate dissemination of health information on social media, with greater involvement from scientists or professional institutions, to combat the spread of misinformation [ 21 ]. Despite efforts to study professional medical websites [ 22 ] and apps [ 23 ], there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding of the content posted on medical social media (MSM). Further study is thus needed to compare the differences between cancer information on social media from professional medical sources and nonprofessional sources to enhance cancer education.

For this study, we defined social media as internet-based platforms characterized by social interactive functions such as reading, commenting, retweeting, and timely interaction [ 24 ]. Based on this definition, we further classified 2 types of media based on ownership, content, and contributors: common social media (CSM) and MSM. MSM refers to social media platforms owned by professional medical institutions or organizations. It primarily provides medical and health information by medical professionals, including medical-focused accounts on social media and mobile health apps. CSM refers to social media owned or managed by individuals without medical backgrounds. It mainly provides health and lifestyle content.

Similar to Facebook (Meta Platforms, Inc.), WeChat (Tencent Holdings Limited) is the most popular social media platform in China, installed on more than 90% of smartphones. Zhang et al [ 25 ] has indicated that 63.26% of people prefer to obtain health information from WeChat. Unlike other Chinese social media platforms, WeChat has a broader user base that spans various age groups [ 26 ]. WeChat Public Accounts (WPAs) operate within the WeChat platform, offering services and information to the public. Many hospitals and primary care institutions in China have increasingly registered WPAs to provide health care services, medical information, health education, and more [ 27 ]. Therefore, this study selected WPA as the focus of research.

Based on big data analytics, this study aims to comprehensively map the characteristics of cancer treatment and prevention information on MSM and CSM, which could significantly enhance cancer coverage and assist patients in treatment decision-making. To address the aforementioned research gaps, 2 research questions were formulated.

• Research question 1: What are the characteristics of cancer prevention information discussed on social media? What are the differences between MSM and CSM?
• Research question 2: What are the characteristics of cancer treatment information discussed on social media? What are the differences between MSM and CSM?

Data Collection and Processing

We selected representative WPAs based on the reports from the “Ranking of Influential Health WeChat Public Accounts” [ 28 ] and the “2021 National Rankings of Best Hospitals by Specialty” [ 29 ]. In this study, we focused on 4 medical WPAs within MSM: Doctor Dingxiang (丁香医生), 91Huayi (华医网), The Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (中国医学科学院肿瘤医院), and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (复旦大学附属肿瘤医院). We also selected 5 health and lifestyle WeChat Official Accounts classified as CSM for this study: Health Times (健康时报), Family Doctor (家庭医生), CCTV Lifestyle (CCTV 生活圈), Road to Health (健康之路), and Life Times (生命时报).

We implemented a Python-based (Python Foundation) crawler to retrieve posts from the aforementioned WPAs. Subsequently, we implemented a filtration process to eliminate noisy and unreliable data. Note that our focus is on WPAs that provide substantial information, defined as containing no fewer than a certain number of characters. We have deleted documents that contain less than 100 Chinese characters. Furthermore, we have removed figures and videos from the remaining documents. Eventually, we conducted an analysis at the paragraph level. According to our findings from random sampling, noise in articles from WPAs mostly originates from advertisements, which are typically found in specific paragraphs. Therefore, we retained only paragraphs that did not contain advertising keywords. In total, we collected 60,843 posts from these WPAs, comprising 20,654 articles from MSM and 40,189 articles from CSM.

The workflow chart in Figure 1 depicts all procedures following data collection and preprocessing. After obtaining meaningful raw documents, we performed word-level segmentation on the texts. We then removed insignificant stopwords and replaced specific types of cancers with a general term to facilitate coarse-grained latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA)–based filtering. Subsequently, we conducted fine-grained LDA topic modeling on the filtered documents without replacing keywords to visualize the topics extracted from the WPAs. Furthermore, we utilized a manually labeled codebook to train a long short-term memory (LSTM) network for document classification into various categories. Finally, we performed data analysis using both the topic distribution derived from fine-grained LDA and the classified documents.

Latent Dirichlet Allocation Topic Modeling

LDA is a generative statistical model that explains sets of observations by latent groups, revealing why some parts of the data are similar [ 30 ]. The LDA algorithm can speculate on the topic distribution of a document.

When comparing LDA with other natural language processing methods such as LSTM-based deep learning, it is worth noting that LDA stands out as an unsupervised learning algorithm. Unlike its counterparts, LDA has the ability to uncover hidden topics without relying on labeled training data. Its strength lies in its capability to automatically identify latent topics within documents by analyzing statistical patterns of word co-occurrences. In addition, LDA provides interpretable outcomes by assigning a probability distribution to each document, representing its association with various topics. Similarly, it assigns a probability distribution to each topic, indicating the prevalence of specific words within that topic. This feature enables researchers to understand the principal themes present in their corpus and the extent to which these themes are manifested in individual documents.

The foundational principle of LDA involves using probabilistic inference to estimate the distribution of topics and word allocations. Specifically, LDA assumes that each document is composed of a mixture of a small number of topics, and each word’s presence can be attributed to one of these topics. This approach allows for overlapping content among documents, rather than strict categorization into separate groups. For a deeper understanding of the technical and theoretical aspects of the LDA algorithm, readers are encouraged to refer to the research conducted by Blei et al [ 30 ]. In this context, our primary focus was on the application of the algorithm to our corpus, and the procedure is outlined in the following sections.

Document Selection

Initially, document selection involves using a methodological approach to sample documents from the corpus, which may include random selection or be guided by predetermined criteria such as document relevance or popularity within the social media context.

Topic Inference

Utilizing LDA or a similar topic modeling technique, we infer the underlying topical structure within each document. This involves modeling documents as mixtures of latent topics represented by a Dirichlet distribution, from which topic proportions are sampled.

Topic Assignment to Words

After determining topic proportions, we proceed to assign topics to individual words in the document. Using a multinomial distribution, each word is probabilistically associated with one of the inferred topics based on the previously derived topic proportions.

Word Distribution Estimation

Each topic is characterized by a distinct distribution over the vocabulary, representing the likelihood of observing specific words within that topic. Using a Dirichlet distribution, we estimate the word distribution for each inferred topic.

Word Generation

Finally, using the multinomial distribution again, we generate words for the document by sampling from the estimated word distribution corresponding to the topic assigned to each word. This iterative process produces synthetic text that mirrors the statistical properties of the original corpus.

To filter out noncancer-related documents in our case, we replaced cancer-related words with “癌症” (cancer or tumor in Chinese) in all documents. We then conducted an LDA analysis to compute the topic distribution of each document and retained documents related to topics where “癌症” appears among the top 10 words.

In our study, we used Python packages such as jieba and gensim for document segmentation and extracting per-topic-per-word probabilities from the model. During segmentation, we applied a stopword dictionary to filter out meaningless words and transformed each document into a cleaned version containing only meaningful words.

During the LDA analysis, to determine the optimal number of topics, our main goal was to compute the topic coherence for various numbers of topics and select the model that yielded the highest coherence score. Coherence measures the interpretability of each topic by assessing whether the words within the same topic are logically associated with each other. The higher the score for a specific number k , the more closely related the words are within that topic. In this phase, we used the Python package pyLDAvis to compare coherence scores with different numbers of topics. Subsequently, we filtered and retained only the documents related to cancer topics, resulting in 4479 articles from MSM and 3948 articles from CSM.

Among the filtered articles, we conducted another LDA analysis to extract topics from the original articles without replacing cancer-related words. Using pyLDAvis, we calculated the coherence score and identified 6 topics for both MSM and CSM articles.

To visualize the topic modeling results, we created bar graphs where the y-axis indicates the top 10 keywords associated with each topic, and the x-axis represents the weight of each keyword (indicating its contribution to the topic). At the bottom of each graph ( Figures 2 and 3 ), we generalized and presented the name of each topic based on the top 10 most relevant keywords.

Manual Content Analysis: Coding Procedure

Based on the codebook, 2 independent coders (KZ and JL) engaged in discussions regarding the coding rules to ensure a shared understanding of the conceptual and operational distinctions among the coding items. To ensure the reliability of the coding process, both coders independently coded 100 randomly selected articles. Upon completion of the pilot coding, any disagreements were resolved through discussion between the 2 coders.

For the subsequent coding phase, each coder was assigned an equitable proportion of articles, with 10% of the cancer-related articles randomly sampled from both MSM samples (450/4479) and CSM samples (394/3948). Manual coding was performed on a total of 844 articles, which served as the training data set for the machine learning model. The operational definitions of each coding variable are detailed in Multimedia Appendix 1 .

Coding Measures

Cancer prevention measures.

Coders identified whether an article mentioned any of the following cancer prevention measures [ 31 - 35 ]: (1) avoid tobacco use, (2) maintain a healthy weight, (3) healthy diet, (4) exercise regularly, (5) limit alcohol use, (6) get vaccinated, (7) reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation and ionizing radiation, (8) avoid urban air pollution and indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels, (9) early screening and detection, (10) breastfeeding, (11) controlling chronic infections, and (12) other prevention measures.

Cancer Treatment Measures

Coders identified whether an article mentioned any of the following treatments [ 36 ]: (1) surgery (including cryotherapy, lasers, hyperthermia, photodynamic therapy, cuts with scalpels), (2) radiotherapy, (3) chemotherapy, (4) immunotherapy, (5) targeted therapy, (6) hormone therapy, (7) stem cell transplant, (8) precision medicine, (9) cancer biomarker testing, and (10) other treatment measures.

Neural-Based Machine Learning

In this part, we attempted to label each article using a neural network. As mentioned earlier, we manually labeled 450 MSM articles and 394 CSM articles. We divided the labeled data into a training set and a test set with a ratio of 4:1. We adopted the pretrained Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) model. As BERT can only accept inputs with fewer than 512 tokens [ 37 ], we segmented each document into pieces of 510 tokens (accounting for BERT’s automatic [CLS] and [SEP] tokens, where [CLS] denotes the start of a sentence or a document, and [SEP] denotes the end of a sentence or a document) with an overlap of 384 tokens between adjacent pieces. We began by utilizing a BERT-based encoder to encode each piece and predict its labels using a multioutput decoder. After predicting labels for each piece, we pooled the outputs for all pieces within the same document and used an LSTM network to predict final labels for each document.

Ethical Considerations

This study did not require institutional research board review as it did not involve interactions with humans or other living entities, private or personally identifiable information, or any pharmaceuticals or medical devices. The data set consists solely of publicly available social media posts.

Cancer Topics on Social Media

Applying LDA, we identified 6 topics each for MSM and CSM articles. The distribution of topics among MSM and CSM is presented in Table 1 , while the keyword weights for each topic are illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 .

a In each article, different topics may appear at the same time. Therefore, the total frequency of each topic did not equate to the total number of 8427 articles.

b To ensure the accuracy of the results, directly translating sampled texts from Chinese into English posed challenges due to differences in semantic elements. In English, cancer screening refers to detecting the possibility of cancer before symptoms appear, while diagnostic tests confirm the presence of cancer after symptoms are observed. However, in Chinese, the term “检查” encompasses both meanings. Therefore, we translated it as both screening and testing.

Among MSM articles, topic 5 was the most frequent (2548/8427, 30.24%), followed by topic 6 (1741/8427, 20.66%) and topic 2 (1611/8427, 19.12%). Both topics 5 and 6 focused on clinical treatments, with topic 5 specifically emphasizing cancer diagnosis. The keywords in topic 6, such as “polyp,” “tumor,” and “surgery,” emphasized the risk and diagnosis of precancerous lesions. Topic 2 primarily focused on cancer surgeries related to breast cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer. The results indicate that MSM articles concentrated on specific cancers with higher incidence in China, including stomach cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer [ 10 ].

On CSM, topic 4 (1947/8427, 23.10%) had the highest proportion, followed by topic 5 (1790/8427, 21.24%) and topic 3 (1599/8427, 18.97%). Topic 6 had the smallest proportion. Topics 1 and 4 were related to lifestyle. Topic 1 particularly focused on cancer-causing substances, with keywords such as “food,” “nutrition,” and “carcinogen” appearing most frequently. Topic 4 was centered around exercise, diet, and their impact on cancer risk. Topics 3 and 5 were oriented toward cancer screening and diagnosis. Topic 3 specifically focused on female-related cancers, with discussions prominently featuring breast cancer screening and testing. Topic 5 emphasized early detection and diagnosis of stomach and lung cancers, highlighting keywords such as “screening” and “symptom.”

Cancer Prevention Information

Our experiment on the test set showed that the machine learning model achieved F 1 -scores above 85 for both prevention and treatment categories in both MSM and CSM. For subclasses within prevention and treatment, we achieved F 1 -scores of at least 70 for dense categories (with an occurrence rate >10%, ie, occurs in >1 of 10 entries) and at least 50 for sparse categories (with an occurrence rate <10%, ie, occurs in <1 of 10 entries). Subsequently, we removed items labeled as “other prevention measures” and “other treatment measures” due to semantic ambiguity.

Table 2 presents the distribution of cancer prevention information across MSM (n=4479) and CSM (n=3948).

a MSM: medical social media.

b CSM: common social media.

Cancer Prevention Information on MSM

The distribution of cancer prevention information on MSM (n=4479) is as follows: articles discussing prevention measures accounted for 25.39% (1137/4479) of all MSM cancer-related articles. The most frequently mentioned measure was “early screening and testing” (737/4479, 16.45%). The second and third most frequently mentioned prevention measures were “healthy diet” (278/4479, 6.21%) and “get vaccinated” (261/4479, 5.83%). The least mentioned prevention measures were “controlling chronic infections” (3/4479, 0.07%), “reduce exposure to radiation” (2/4479, 0.04%), and “breastfeeding” (1/4479, 0.02%), each appearing in only 1-3 articles.

Cancer Prevention Information on CSM

As many as 1856 out of 3948 (47.01%) articles on CSM referred to cancer prevention information. Among these, “early screening and testing” (1085/3948, 27.48%) was the most commonly mentioned prevention measure. “Exercise regularly” (661/3948, 16.74%) and “healthy diet” (598/3948, 15.15%) were the 2 most frequently mentioned lifestyle-related prevention measures. Additionally, “avoid tobacco use” accounted for 9.32% (368/3948) of mentions. Other lifestyle-related prevention measures were “limit alcohol use” (281/3948, 7.12%) and “maintain a healthy weight” (193/3948, 4.89%). The least mentioned prevention measures were “practice safe sex” (4/3948, 0.10%), “reduce exposure to radiation” (1/3948, 0.03%), and “breastfeeding” (1/3948, 0.03%), each appearing in only 1-4 articles.

Cancer Prevention Information on Social Media

Table 3 presents the overall distribution of cancer prevention information on social media (N=8427). Notably, CSM showed a stronger focus on cancer prevention (1856/3948, 47.01%) compared with MSM (1137/8427, 13.49%). Both platforms highlighted the importance of early screening and testing. However, MSM placed greater emphasis on vaccination as a prevention measure. In addition to lifestyle-related prevention measures, both CSM and MSM showed relatively less emphasis on avoiding exposure to environmental carcinogens, such as air pollution, indoor smoke, and radiation. “Breastfeeding” was the least mentioned prevention measure (2/3948, 0.05%) on both types of social media.

Cancer Treatment Information

Table 4 presents the distribution of cancer treatment information on MSM (n=4479) and CSM (n=3948).

Cancer Treatment Information on MSM

Cancer treatment information appeared in 66.22% (2966/4479) of MSM posts. “Surgery” was the most frequently mentioned treatment measure (2045/4479, 45.66%), followed by “chemotherapy” (1122/4479, 25.05%) and “radiation therapy” (1108/4479, 24.74%). The proportions of “cancer biomarker testing” (380/4479, 8.48%), “targeted therapy” (379/4479, 8.46%), and “immunotherapy” (317/4479, 7.08%) were comparable. Only a minimal percentage of articles (47/4479, 1.05%) addressed “hormone therapy.” Furthermore, “stem cell transplantation therapy” was mentioned in just 5 out of 4479 (0.11%) articles.

Cancer Treatment Information on CSM

Cancer treatment information accounted for only 19.71% (778/3948) of CSM posts. “Surgery” was the most frequently mentioned treatment measure (419/3948, 10.61%), followed by “chemotherapy” (285/3948, 7.22%) and “radiation therapy” (232/3948, 5.88%). Relatively, the frequency of “targeted therapy” (181/3948, 4.58%) was similar to that of the first 3 types. However, “cancer biomarker testing” (55/3948, 1.39%), “immunotherapy” (22/3948, 0.56%), and “hormone therapy” (14/3948, 0.35%) appeared rarely on CSM. Notably, there were no articles on CSM mentioning stem cell transplantation.

Cancer Treatment Information on Social Media

Table 5 shows the overall distribution of cancer treatment information on social media (N=8427). A total of 44.43% (3744/8427) of articles contained treatment information. MSM (2966/8427, 35.20%) discussed treatment information much more frequently than CSM (778/8427, 9.23%). Furthermore, the frequency of all types of treatment measures mentioned was higher on MSM than on CSM. The 3 most frequently mentioned types of treatment measures were surgery (2464/8427, 29.24%), chemotherapy (1407/8427, 16.70%), and radiation therapy (1340/8427, 15.90%). Relatively, MSM (380/8427, 4.51%) showed a higher focus on cancer biomarker testing compared with CSM (55/8427, 0.65%).

Cancer Topics on MSM and CSM

In MSM, treatment-related topics constituted the largest proportion, featuring keywords related to medical examinations. Conversely, in CSM, the distribution of topics appeared more balanced, with keywords frequently associated with cancer risk and screening. Overall, the distribution of topics on MSM and CSM revealed that CSM placed greater emphasis on lifestyle factors and early screening and testing. Specifically, CSM topics focused more on early cancer screening and addressed cancer types with high incidence rates. By contrast, MSM topics centered more on clinical treatment, medical testing, and the cervical cancer vaccine in cancer prevention. Additionally, MSM focused on types of cancers that are easier to screen and prevent, including liver cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and colon cancer.

Cancer Prevention Information on MSM and CSM

Through content analysis, it was found that 35.52% (2993/8427) of articles on social media contained prevention information, and 44.43% (3744/8427) contained treatment information. Compared with MSM (1137/8427, 13.49%), CSM (2993/8427, 35.52%) focused more on prevention.

Primary prevention mainly involves adopting healthy behaviors to lower the risk of developing cancer, which has been proven to have long-term effects on cancer prevention. Secondary prevention focuses on inhibiting or reversing carcinogenesis, including early screening and detection, as well as the treatment or removal of precancerous lesions [ 38 ]. Compared with cancer screening and treatment, primary prevention is considered the most cost-effective approach to reducing the cancer burden.

From our results, “early screening and testing” (1822/8427, 21.62%) was the most frequently mentioned prevention measure on both MSM and CSM. According to a cancer study from China, behavioral risk factors were identified as the primary cause of cancer [ 10 ]. However, measures related to primary prevention were not frequently mentioned. Additionally, lifestyle-related measures such as “healthy diet,” “regular exercise,” “avoiding tobacco use,” and “limiting alcohol use” were mentioned much less frequently on MSM compared with CSM.

Furthermore, “avoiding tobacco use” (554/8427, 6.57%) and “limiting alcohol use” (409/8427, 4.85%) were rarely mentioned, despite tobacco and alcohol being the leading causes of cancer. In China, public policies on the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol are weaker compared with Western countries. Notably, traditional Chinese customs often promote the belief that moderate drinking is beneficial for health [ 39 ]. Moreover, studies indicated that the smoking rate among adult men exceeded 50% in 2015. By 2018, 25.6% of Chinese adults aged 18 and above were smokers, totaling approximately 282 million smokers in China (271 million males and 11 million females) [ 40 ]. These statistics align with the consistently high incidence of lung cancer among Chinese men [ 41 ]. Simultaneously, the incidence and mortality of lung cancer in Chinese women were more likely associated with exposure to second-hand smoke or occupation-related risk factors.

Although MSM (261/8427, 3.10%) mentioned vaccination more frequently than CSM (113/8427, 1.34%), vaccination was not widely discussed on social media overall (374/8427, 4.44%). The introduction of human papillomavirus vaccination in China has lagged for more than 10 years compared with Western countries. A bivalent vaccine was approved by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration in 2017 but has not been included in the national immunization schedules up to now [ 42 ].

According to the “European Code Against Cancer” [ 43 ], breastfeeding is recommended as a measure to prevent breast cancer. However, there were no articles mentioning the role of breastfeeding in preventing breast cancer on social media.

One of the least frequently mentioned measures was “radiation protection,” which includes sun protection. Although skin cancer is not as common in China as in Western countries, China has the largest population in the world. A study showed that only 55.2% of Chinese people knew that ultraviolet radiation causes skin cancer [ 33 ]. Additional efforts should be made to enhance public awareness of skin cancer prevention through media campaigns.

Overall, our results indicate that social media, especially MSM, focused more on secondary prevention. The outcomes of primary prevention are challenging to identify in individuals, and studies on cancer education may partly explain why primary prevention was often overlooked [ 44 ].

Cancer Treatment Information on MSM and CSM

Compared with a related content analysis study in the United States, our findings also indicate that the media placed greater emphasis on treatment [ 45 ]. Treatment information on MSM was more diverse than on CSM, with a higher proportion of the 3 most common cancer treatments—surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy—mentioned on MSM compared with CSM. Notably, CSM (232/8427, 2.75%) mentioned radiation therapy less frequently compared with MSM (1108/8427, 13.15%), despite it being one of the most common cancer treatment measures in clinical practice.

In addition to common treatment methods, other approaches such as targeted therapy (560/8427, 6.65%) and immunotherapy (339/8427, 4.02%) were rarely discussed. This could be attributed to the high costs associated with these treatments. A study revealed that each newly diagnosed patient with cancer in China faced out-of-pocket expenses of US $4947, amounting to 57.5% of the family’s annual income, posing an unaffordable economic burden of 77.6% [ 46 ]. In 2017, the Chinese government released the National Health Insurance Coverage (NHIC) policy to improve the accessibility and affordability of innovative anticancer medicines, leading to reduced prices and increased availability and utilization of 15 negotiated drugs. However, a study indicated that the availability of these innovative anticancer drugs remained limited. By 2019, the NHIC policy had benefited 44,600 people, while the number of new cancer cases in China in 2020 was 4.57 million [ 47 ]. The promotion of information on innovative therapies helped patients gain a better understanding of their cancer treatment options [ 48 ].

Practical Implications

This research highlighted that MSM did not fully leverage its professional background in providing comprehensive cancer information to the public. In fact, MSM holds substantial potential for contributing to cancer education. The findings from the content analysis also have practical implications for practitioners. They provide valuable insights for experts to assess the effectiveness of social media, monitor the types of information available to the public and patients with cancer, and guide communication and medical professionals in crafting educational and persuasive messages based on widely covered or less attended content.

Limitations and Future Directions

This study had some limitations. First, we only collected 60,843 articles from 9 WPAs in China. Future research could broaden the scope by collecting data from diverse countries and social media platforms. Second, our manual labeling only extracted 10% (450/4479 for MSM and 394/3948 for CSM) of the samples; the accuracy of the machine learning model could be enhanced by training it with a larger set of labeled articles. Finally, our results only represented the media’s presentation, and the impact of this information on individuals remains unclear. Further work could examine its influence on behavioral intentions or actions related to cancer prevention among the audience.

Conclusions

The analysis of cancer-related information on social media revealed an imbalance between prevention and treatment content. Overall, there was more treatment information than prevention information. Compared with MSM, CSM mentioned more prevention information. On MSM, the proportion of treatment information was greater than prevention information, whereas on CSM, the 2 were equal. The focus on cancer prevention and treatment information was primarily limited to a few aspects, with a predominant emphasis on secondary prevention rather than primary prevention. There is a need for further improvement in the coverage of prevention measures and treatments for cancer on social media. Additionally, the findings underscored the potential of applying machine learning to content analysis as a promising research paradigm for mapping key dimensions of cancer information on social media. These findings offer methodological and practical significance for future studies and health promotion.

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by The Major Program of the Chinese National Foundation of Social Sciences under the project “The Challenge and Governance of Smart Media on News Authenticity” (grant number 23&ZD213).

Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

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Abbreviations

Edited by S Ma; submitted 02.01.24; peer-reviewed by F Yang, D Wawrzuta; comments to author 20.03.24; revised version received 19.04.24; accepted 03.06.24; published 14.08.24.

©Keyang Zhao, Xiaojing Li, Jingyang Li. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 14.08.2024.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (ISSN 1438-8871), is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

Introduction to Advances in Information, Intelligence, Systems and Applications

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• George A. Tsihrintzis 13 ,
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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 1093))

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Information is widely available and accessible, but frequently leads to information overload and overexposure and the effort for coding, storing, hiding, securing, transmitting, and retrieving it may be excessive. Intelligence , inspired by biological and other paradigms, is required to manage information and extract knowledge from it. Information and Multimedia Systems , with an increasing level of Intelligence, are being developed that incorporate these advances. As a result, new Technologies, Protocols, and novel Applications are emerging. In turn, the novel applications lead to the collection of new information and the “Information \(\to\) Intelligence \(\to\) Systems \(\to\) Applications” circle is repeated at ever higher levels. This book includes extended versions of selected research works that were presented at the 14 th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems, and Applications (IISA2023), Volos, Greece, July 10–12, 2024 ( https://www.easyacademia.org/iisa2023 ) along with additional relevant papers by invited authors. These works cover a broad spectrum of topics from both novelties in theory and advanced methodologies as well as applications in the Energy, Agriculture, Medicine, Forensics, Healthcare, Education, Tourism, Inspection, Traffic and Software Engineering.

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Alepis, E., Stathopoulou, I.O., Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Kabassi, K.: Audio-lingual and visual-facial emotion recognition: towards a bi-modal interaction system. In: 2010 22nd IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence Vol. 2, pp. 274–281 (2010) IEEE

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Alonistioti, N., Tsichrintzi, E.A., Chrysafiadi, K., Alepis, E.: Requirements for fuzzy logic in personalisation of fire emergency alerts. In: 2023 14th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems & Applications (IISA), pp. 1–8 (2023) IEEE

Bourbakis, N., Angeleas, A.: A synergistic formal-statistical model for recognizing complex human activities. IEEE Trans. Hum. Mach. Syst. (2024)

Bourbakis, N., Mallios, S.: A formal GSPN model of a virtual doctor dialogue system. SIMULATION 99 (5), 475–492 (2023)

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Bourbakis, N.G., Michalopoulos, K., Antonakakis, M., Zervakis, M.: A new multi-resolution approach to EEG brain modeling using local-global graphs and stochastic petri-nets. Int. J. Neural Syst. 32 (05), 2250006 (2022)

Bourbakis, N., Tsoukalas, L.H., Alamaniotis, M., Gao, R., Kerkman, K.: Demos: a distributed model based on autonomous, intelligent agents with monitoring and anticipatory responses for energy management in smart cities. Int. J. Monit. Surveill. Technol. Res. (IJMSTR) 2 (4), 81–99 (2014)

Chrysafiadi, K., Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Hatzilygeroudis, I.: An adaptive learning environment for programming based on fuzzy logic and machine learning. Int. J. Artif. Intell. Tools 32 (05), 2360011 (2023)

Hatzilygeroudis, I.K., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Jain, L.C., (Eds.). Fusion of Machine Learning Paradigms: Theory and Applications (Vol. 236). Springer Nature (2023b) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22371-6

Jain, L.C., Lim, C.P.: Advances in bio-inspired computing: techniques and applications. Neurocomputing 125 , 183 (2014)

Mougiakou, E. and Virvou, M.:Based on GDPR privacy in UML: case of e-learning program. In: 2017 8th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems & Applications (IISA) (pp. 1–8) (2017) IEEE

Panagoulias, D.P., Sarmas, E., Marinakis, V., Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Doukas, H.: Intelligent decision support for energy management: a methodology for tailored explainability of artificial intelligence analytics. Electronics 12 (21), 4430 (2023)

Panagoulias, D.P., Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A.: A novel framework for artificial intelligence explainability via the technology acceptance model and rapid estimate of adult literacy in medicine using machine learning. Expert Syst. Appl. 248 , 123375 (2024)

Stathopoulou, I.O., Alepis, E., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M.: On assisting a visual-facial affect recognition system with keyboard-stroke pattern. In: Research and Development in Intelligent Systems XXVI: Incorporating Applications and Innovations in Intelligent Systems XVII, pp.451 (2009)

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Favorskaya, M.N., Kountchev, R., Patnaik, S., (Eds.). Advances in Computational Vision and Robotics: Proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Vision and Robotics Vol. 33. Springer Nature (2023a). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38651-0

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Sotiropoulos, D.N., Jain, L.C.: Machine learning paradigms: Advances in data analytics, pp. 1–4. Springer International Publishing (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94030-4

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Toro, C., Rios, S.A., Howlett, R.J., Jain, L.C.: 27th KES international conference on knowledge-based and intelligent information & engineering systems KES2023. Procedia Comput. Sci.,  225 , 1–11 (2023b)

Tsihrintzis, G.A. and Virvou, M. (eds). Multimedia Services in Intelligent Environments: Software Development Challenges and Solutions. Vol. 2. Springer Science & Business Media (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13355-8_1

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M., Alepis, E. and Stathopoulou, I.O.: Towards improving visual-facial emotion recognition through use of complementary keyboard-stroke pattern information. In: Fifth International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations (itng 2008), pp. 32–37 (2008). IEEE

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M. Doukas, H., Jain, L.C. (Eds.). Advances in Artificial Intelligence-Empowered Decision Support Systems - Papers in Honour of Professor John Psarras. Vol. 39. Springer Nature. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-62316-5

Tsihrintzis, G. A., Virvou, M., Hatzilygeroudis, I.: Special issue on selected papers from the 33rd annual IEEE international conference on tools with artificial intelligence (ICTAI-2021). Int. J. Artif. Intell. Tools  32 (05), 2302003. (2023c)

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M., Sakkopoulos, E., Jain, L.C.: Applications of learning and analytics in intelligent systems. Mach. Learn. Paradigms Appl. Learn. Analytics Intell. Syst. 1–6 (2019)

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M., Jain, L.C.: Advances in Machine Learning/Deep Learning-based Technologies. Springer International Publishing. (2022)

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M., Phillips-Wren, G.: Surveys in artificial intelligence-based technologies. Intell. Decis. Technol. 13 (4), 393–394 (2019)

Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M., Saruwatari, T.: Special collection of extended selected papers on “novel research results presented at the 14th international joint conference on knowledge-based software engineering (JCKBSE2022), 22–24 August 2022, Larnaca, Cyprus https:://easyconferences. eu/jckbse2022/”. Intell. Decis. Techno.  16 (4), 715–716 (2022)

Weng, S., Shieh, C.S., Tsihrintzis, G.A. (eds.): Advances in Intelligent Information Hiding and Multimedia Signal Processing: Proceeding of the 18th IIH-MSP 2022 Kitakyushu. Springer, Japan (2023)

Virvou, M.: The emerging era of human-AI interaction: keynote address. In: 2022 13th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems & Applications (IISA), pp. 1–10 (2022) IEEE

Virvou, M.: Artificial intelligence and user experience in reciprocity: contributions and state of the art. Intell. Decis. Technol. 17 (1), 73–125 (2023) https://doi.org/10.3233/IDT-230092 IOS Press

Virvou, M., Alepis, E., Tsihrintzis, G.A. and Jain, L.C.: Machine learning paradigms: advances in learning analytics, pp. 1–5. Springer International Publishing (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13743-4

Virvou, M., Nakamura, T. (Eds.). Knowledge-based Software Engineering: Proceedings of the Eighth Joint Conference on Knowledge-Based Software Engineering. Vol. 180. Ios Press (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13743-4_1

Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A.: Pre-made Empowering Artificial intelligence and ChatGPT: the growing importance of human ai-experts. In: 2023 14th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems & Applications (IISA), pp. 1–8 (2023b) IEEE

Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A.: Is ChatGPT beneficial to education? A holistic evaluation framework based on intelligent tutoring systems. In: 2023 14th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems & Applications (IISA), pp. 1–8 (2023c) IEEE

Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Bourbakis, N.G., Jain, L.C.: Introduction to Handbook on Artificial Intelligence-Empowered Applied Software Engineering—VOL. 1: Novel Methodologies to Engineering Smart Software Systems. In: Handbook on Artificial Intelligence-Empowered Applied Software Engineering: VOL. 1: Novel Methodologies to Engineering Smart Software Systems, pp. 1–8. Cham: Springer International Publishing (2022a). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08202-3

Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Bourbakis, N.G., Jain, L. C.: Handbook on Artificial Intelligence-Empowered Applied Software Engineering: VOL. 2: Smart Software Applications in Cyber-Physical Systems (Vol. 3). Springer International Publishing AG (2022b). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07650-3

Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Jain, L.C.: Introduction to advances in selected artificial intelligence areas. In: Advances in Selected Artificial Intelligence Areas: World Outstanding Women in Artificial Intelligence, pp. 1–7. Springer International Publishing, Cham (2022c)

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Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Sotiropoulos, D.N., Chrysafiadi, K., Sakkopoulos, E., Tsichrintzi, E.A.: ChatGPT in artificial intelligence-empowered e-learning for cultural heritage: the case of lyrics and poems. In: 2023 14th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems & Applications (IISA), pp. 1–9 (2023) IEEE

Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Tsichrintzi, E.A.: VIRTSI: a novel trust dynamics model enhancing artificial intelligence collaboration with human users–insights from a ChatGPT evaluation study. Inf. Sci. 120759 (2024)

Virvou, M., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Tsoukalas, L.H., Jain, L.C.: Introduction to advances in artificial intelligence-based technologies. Adv. Artif. Intell. Technol. Sel. Pap. Honour Professor Nikolaos G. Bourbakis— 1 , 1–5 (2022d)

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Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M., Bourbakis, N.G., Jain, L.C. (2024). Introduction to Advances in Information, Intelligence, Systems and Applications. In: Bourbakis, N., Tsihrintzis, G.A., Virvou, M., Jain, L.C. (eds) Extended Selected Papers of the 14th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems, and Applications. IISA 2023. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 1093. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67426-6_1

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How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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• Abbreviations
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Chapter 13 Objectives

Barry Mauer and John Venecek

In this final chapter we help you steer clear of plagiarism, which is the use of others’ words and ideas without proper attribution, find resources to help you with your research, and provide an assignment that puts in place the components necessary for finishing your research project.

Plagiarism is a violation of scholarly integrity and hurts not just the plagiarist (who gets caught) and the source of the information (who is uncredited), but also the knowledge profession itself, which depends on an unbroken chain of attribution so that other researchers can follow the scholarly conversation back to its sources. In our page on plagiarism, we provide advice for how to credit your sources and avoid plagiarism.

Researchers need lots of resources, including training, sources, time, funding, and publishing venues, to do their work. In our page on additional resources, we provide information about many valuable resources, such as UCF’s University Writing Center, Information Literacy Modules, Research Tips Thursdays, Undergraduate Research Opportunities, Showcase of Undergraduate Research, The Pegasus Review, UCF Funding Opportunities, and Publishing and Conferences.

Finally, we provide a Foundational Materials assignment in which you put in place the components necessary to complete your research project. These components include a title, research question, thesis statement, abstract, and annotated list of sources.

Now that we’ve done the bulk of our writing, our primary task is to make sure we have not plagiarized.

Learning Objectives

In this final chapter you will learn to:

• steer clear of plagiarism.
• find resources to help you with your research.
• put in place the components necessary for finishing your research project.

Chapter 13 Objectives Copyright © 2021 by Barry Mauer and John Venecek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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• Intake of sugar...

Intake of sugar sweetened beverages among children and adolescents in 185 countries between 1990 and 2018: population based study

• Related content
• Peer review
• Renata Micha , professor 1 3 ,
• Frederick Cudhea , biostatistician 1 ,
• Victoria Miller , research fellow 1 4 5 ,
• Peilin Shi , biostatistician 1 ,
• Jianyi Zhang , biostatistician 6 ,
• Julia R Sharib , researcher 1 ,
• Josh Erndt-Marino , researcher 1 ,
• Sean B Cash , professor 7 ,
• Simon Barquera , director 8 ,
• Dariush Mozaffarian , professor 1 9 10
• on behalf of the Global Dietary Database
• 1 Food is Medicine Institute, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
• 2 Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
• 3 University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
• 4 Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
• 5 Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, ON, Canada
• 6 Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA, USA
• 7 Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
• 8 Research Center on Nutrition and Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
• 9 Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
• 10 Division of Cardiology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
• Correspondence to: L Lara-Castor lauralac{at}uw.edu
• Accepted 11 June 2024

Objective To quantify global intakes of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) and trends over time among children and adolescents.

Design Population based study.

Setting Global Dietary Database.

Population Children and adolescents aged 3-19 years in 185 countries between 1990 and 2018, jointly stratified at subnational level by age, sex, parental education, and rural or urban residence.

Results In 2018, mean global SSB intake was 3.6 (standardized serving=248 g (8 oz)) servings/week (1.3 (95% uncertainly interval 1.0 to 1.9) in south Asia to 9.1 (8.3 to 10.1) in Latin America and the Caribbean). SSB intakes were higher in older versus younger children and adolescents, those resident in urban versus rural areas, and those of parents with higher versus lower education. Between 1990 and 2018, mean global SSB intakes increased by 0.68 servings/week (22.9%), with the largest increases in sub-Saharan Africa (2.17 servings/week; 106%). Of 185 countries included in the analysis, 56 (30.3%) had a mean SSB intake of ≥7 servings/week, representing 238 million children and adolescents, or 10.4% of the global population of young people.

Conclusion This study found that intakes of SSBs among children and adolescents aged 3-19 years in 185 countries increased by 23% from 1990 to 2018, parallel to the rise in prevalence of obesity among this population globally. SSB intakes showed large heterogeneity among children and adolescents worldwide and by age, parental level of education, and urbanicity. This research should help to inform policies to reduce SSB intake among young people, particularly those with larger intakes across all education levels in urban and rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the growing problem of SSBs for public health in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Introduction

In 2015, obesity was estimated to affect more than 100 million children and adolescents, in line with observed increases in body mass index among this population from 1975 to 2016 in most world regions. 1 43 Among the main risk factors for obesity, unhealthy diets play a crucial role. 2 In particular, intake of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been consistently reported to increase the risk of obesity among children and adolescents. 2 3 This is especially concerning because obesity in childhood tends to persist into adulthood, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality. 4 Explanations for the increase in intake of SSBs include globalization of markets, transformation of food systems, aggressive marketing strategies directed at children and adolescents, and lack of (or poor) regulatory measures to limit intake. 5 6 In studies at national and subnational level, policies and strategies such as taxation on sugar sweetened drinks, restrictions on food marketing, regulations for front-of-package labeling, and restrictions at school level have proven to curb the intake of SSBs among children and adolescents. 6 7 8

Although quantifying the intake of SSBs among children and adolescents is critical to further evaluate the impact of these beverages on disease and the effectiveness of policies to control intake, recent national estimates among young people are unavailable for most countries. 6 The lack of such data prevents an analysis of the trends in SSB intake over time, as well as the role of key sociodemographic factors such as age, sex, education, and urbanicity to more accurately inform current and future policies. In this study we present SSB intakes among children and adolescents aged 3-19 years at global, regional, and national level and trends over time from 1990 to 2018, jointly stratified at subnational level by age, sex, parental level of education, and area of residence.

Study design

This investigation is based on a serial cross sectional analysis of SSB intakes from the Global Dietary Database 2018 for 185 countries. Details on the methods and standardized data collection protocol are described in detail elsewhere. 9 10 11 12 13 Compared with the Global Dietary Database 2010, innovations include major expansion of individual level dietary surveys and global coverage up to 2018; inclusion of new data jointly stratified at subnational level by age, sex, education level, and urban or rural residence; and updated modeling methods, covariates, and validation to improve prediction of stratum specific mean intakes and uncertainty. This present analysis focused on children and adolescents aged 3-19 years.

Data sources

The approach and results of our survey search strategy by dietary factor, time, and region are reported in detail elsewhere. 11 We performed systematic online searches for individual level dietary surveys in global and regional databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of science, LILACS, African Index Medicus, and the South-east Asia Index Medicus, using search terms “nutrition” or “diet” or “food habits” or “nutrition surveys” or “diet surveys” or “food habits”[mesh] or “diet”[mesh] or “nutrition surveys”[mesh] or “diet surveys”[mesh] and (“country of interest”). Additionally, we identified surveys through extensive personal communications with researchers and government authorities throughout the world, inviting them to be corresponding members of the Global Dietary Database. The search included surveys that collected data on at least one of 54 foods, beverages, nutrients, or dietary indices, including SSBs. A single reviewer screened identified studies by title and abstract, a random subset of articles was screened by a second reviewer to ensure consistency and accuracy, and a third reviewer screened studies to ensure that survey inclusion criteria were met. Surveys were prioritized if they were performed at national or subnational level and used individual level dietary assessments with standardized 24 hour recalls, food frequency questionnaires, or short standardized questionnaires (eg, Demographic Health Survey questionnaires). When national or subnational surveys at individual level were not identified for a country, we searched for individual level surveys from large cohorts, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Infobase, and the WHO Stepwise Approach to Surveillance database. When individual level dietary surveys were not identified for a particular country, we considered household budget surveys. We excluded surveys focused on special populations (eg, exclusively pregnant or nursing mothers, individuals with a specific disease) or cohorts (eg, specific occupations or dietary patterns). Supplementary methods 1-3, supplementary tables 1-2, and supplementary figure 1 provide additional details on the methods. The final Global Dietary Database model incorporated 1224 dietary surveys from 185 countries, with 89% representative at national or subnational level, thus covering about 99.0% of the global population in 2018. Among these, 450 surveys reported data on SSBs, 85% of which provided individual level data. These 450 originated from 118 countries and surveyed a total of 2.9 million individuals, with 94% being representative at national or subnational level (see supplementary tables 4 and 5). Supplementary data 1 provides details on the characteristics of the survey.

Data extraction

For each survey, we used standardized methods to extract data on survey characteristics and dietary metrics, units, and mean and standard deviation of intake by age, sex, education level, and urban or rural residence (see supplementary methods 1). 12 All intakes are reported adjusted to 5439 kilojoules (kJ) daily (1300 kilocalories (kcal) daily) for ages 3-5 years, 7113 kJ/day (1700 kcal/day) for ages 6-10 years, and 8368 kJ/day (2000 kcal/day) for ages 11-19 years. SSBs were defined as any beverages with added sugars and ≥209 kJ (50 kcal) for each 237 g serving, including commercial or homemade beverages, soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, punch, lemonade, and aguas frescas. This definition excluded 100% fruit and vegetable juices, non-caloric artificially sweetened drinks, and sweetened milk. All included surveys used this definition.

Data modeling

Our model estimates intakes of SSBs for years for which we have survey data available. To incorporate and deal with differences in data comparability and sampling uncertainty, we used a bayesian model with a nested hierarchical structure (with random effects by country and region) to estimate the mean consumption of SSBs and its statistical uncertainty for each of 264 population strata across 185 countries for 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2018. Our model incorporated seven world regions: central and eastern Europe and central Asia, high income countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and north Africa, south Asia, southeast and east Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Our team and others (eg, the Global Burden of Disease study) have previously used this (or similar) classification for world regions, which aims to group nations by general similarities in risk profiles and disease outcomes. Although the current analysis only focuses on children and adolescents aged 3-19 years, the model used all age data to generate the strata predictions. Modeling all age groups jointly allows the use of the full set of available data and covariates to inform estimates, including age patterns, relationships between predictors and SSB intakes, and influence of covariates (eg, dietary assessment methods).

Primary inputs were the survey level quantitative data on SSB intakes (by country, time, age, sex, education level, and urban or rural residence), survey characteristics (dietary assessment method, type of dietary metric), and country-year specific covariates (see supplementary methods 2). The model included overdispersion of survey level variance for surveys that were not nationally representative or not stratified by smaller age groups (≤10 years), sex, education level, or urbanicity. Survey level covariates addressed potential survey bias, and the overdispersion parameter non-sampling variation due to survey level error (from imperfect study design and quality). The model then estimated intakes jointly stratified by age (<1, 1-2, 3-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89, 90-94, ≥95 years), sex, education (≤6 years, >6-12 years, >12 years), and urbanicity (urban, rural). For children and adolescents (age <20 years) the stratification by education refers to parental education.

The uncertainty of each stratum specific estimate was quantified using 4000 Monte Carlo iterations to determine posterior predictive distributions of mean intake jointly by country, year, and sociodemographic subgroup. We computed the median intake and the 95% uncertainty interval (UI) for each stratum as the 50th, 2.5th, and 97.5th percentiles of the 4000 draws, respectively. For model selection and validation, we compared results from fivefold cross validation (randomly omitting 20% of the survey data at the stratum level and using that to evaluate predictive ability, run five times), compared predicted country intakes with survey observed intakes, assessed implausible estimates (see supplementary table 2), and visually assessed global and national mean intakes using heat maps.

A second bayesian model was used to strengthen time trend estimates for dietary factors (including SSBs) with corresponding available date on food or nutrients from the Food and Agriculture Organization’s food balance sheets 14 or the Global Expanded Nutrient Supply dataset. 15 No time component was formally included in the model; rather, time was captured by the underlying time variation in the model covariates. This second model incorporated country level intercepts and slopes, along with their correlation estimated across countries. The model is commonly referred to as a varying slopes model structure, and it leverages two dimensional partial pooling between intercepts and slopes to regularize all parameters and minimize the risk of overfitting. 16 17 The final presented results are a combination of these two bayesian models, as detailed in supplementary methods 3.

Statistical analysis

Global, regional, national, and within country population subgroup intakes of SSBs and their uncertainty were calculated as population weighted averages using all 4000 posterior predictions for each of the 264 demographic strata in each country-year. Population weights for each year were derived from the United Nations (UN) Population Division, 18 supplemented with data for education and urban or rural status from Barro and Lee 19 and the UN. 20

Intakes were calculated as 248 g (8 oz) servings weekly, or two thirds of a common 355 mL (12 oz) can of a sugar sweetened drink weekly. Absolute changes and percentage changes in consumption between 1990 and 2005, 2005 and 2018, and 1990 and 2018 were calculated at the stratum specific prediction level to account for the full spectrum of uncertainty and standardized to the proportion of individuals within each stratum in 2018 to account for changes in population characteristics over time. Stratum specific predictions were summed to calculate the differences in intake between all children and adolescents aged 3-19 years, high and low parental education (>12 years and ≤6 years, respectively), and urban and rural residence, further stratified by sex, age, parental education, and area of residence, as appropriate.

National intakes of SSBs and trends were assessed by sociodemographic development index, including trends over time between 1990 and 2005, 2005 and 2018, and 1990 and 2018. The sociodemographic development index is a measure of the development of a country or region, ranging from 0 to 1, with 0 representing the minimum level and 1 the maximum level of development of a given nation, and it is based on income per capita, average educational attainment, and fertility rates. 21 Our UIs are derived from a bayesian model and can be interpreted as at least 95% probability that the true mean is contained within the interval. For comparisons between groups (or over time), if the 95% UI of the difference (or change over time) does not include zero, this can be interpreted as at least 95% probability of a true difference. No hypothesis testing was conducted, as estimation with uncertainty has been recognized as a more informative approach. 22

Patient and public involvement

No patients or members of the public were involved in the study as we did not collect data directly from individuals, the funding source did not provide support for direct patient and public involvement, and the study was initiated before patient and public involvement was common. The present analysis used modeled data derived from dietary data that had been previously collected, and we engaged with a diverse set of 320 corresponding members in nations around the world.

Global, regional, and national SSB intakes in 2018

In 2018, the mean global intake of SSBs among children and adolescents was 3.6 (standardized serving=248 g (8 oz)) servings/week (95% UI 3.3 to 4.0), with wide (sevenfold) variation across world regions, from 1.3 servings/week (1.0 to 1.9) in south Asia to 9.1 (8.3 to 10.1) in Latin America and the Caribbean ( table 1 ). Among the 25 countries with the largest population of children and adolescents worldwide, mean highest intakes were in Mexico (10.1 (9.1 to 11.3)), followed by Uganda (6.9 (4.5 to 10.6)), Pakistan (6.4 (4.3 to 9.7)), South Africa (6.2 (4.7 to 8.1)), and the US (6.2 (5.9 to 6.6)); while the lowest intakes were in India and Bangladesh (0.3 servings/week each) ( fig 1 , also see supplementary figure 9). Of the 185 countries included in the analysis, 56 (30.3%) had mean SSB intakes of ≥7 servings/week, representing 238 million young people aged 3-19 years, or 10.4% of the global population for this age group.

Global and regional mean intake of SSBs (248 g (8 oz) serving/week) in children and adolescents aged 3-19 years, by age, sex, parental education, and area of residence across 185 countries in 2018

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National mean intakes of SSBs (standardized 248 g (8 oz) serving/week for this analysis) in children and adolescents aged 3-19 years across 185 countries in 2018. SSBs were defined as any beverage with added sugars and ≥209 kJ (50 kcal) per 237 g serving, including commercial or homemade beverages, soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, punch, lemonade, and aguas frescas. This definition excludes 100% fruit and vegetable juices, non-caloric artificially sweetened drinks, and sweetened milk. For this visual representation, values were truncated at 21 servings/week to better reflect the distribution of intakes globally. The figure was created using the rworldmap package (v1.3-6). SSB=sugar sweetened beverage

SSB intake by sex and age in 2018

Globally, regionally, and nationally, SSB intakes between male and female children and adolescents aged 3-19 years did not differ noticeably, as observed by the 95% UI of the differences including zero ( table 1 , also see supplementary tables 7 and 8). Intake of SSBs in young people was greater with increasing age globally and regionally, although with varying magnitude of these differences by region ( table 1 and fig 2 ). For instance, intakes of SSBs exceeded 9 servings/week among children aged ≥10 years in Latin America and the Caribbean and in the Middle East and north Africa but were just over 1 serving/week among young people of the same age in south Asia. Regionally, patterns of intake by age were similar between young people (see supplementary figure 2). Considering both age and region, the highest weekly intakes of SSBs were in Latin America and the Caribbean in 15-19 year olds (11.5 servings/week) and lowest in southeast and east Asia in 3-4 year olds (0.9 servings/week) ( table 1 ). Among the 25 most populous countries, the highest intakes of SSBs were in Mexico among 10-14 year olds (11.9 servings/week) and 15-19 year olds (12.8 servings/week) and lowest in Kenya and China among 3-4 year olds (0.2 servings/week each) (supplementary table 6).

Global and regional intakes of SSBs (standardized 248 g (8 oz) serving/week for this analysis) by age in children and adolescents aged 3-19 years in 2018. SSBs were defined as any beverage with added sugars and ≥209 kJ (50 kcal) per 237 g serving, including commercial or homemade beverages, soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, punch, lemonade, and aguas frescas. This definition excludes 100% fruit and vegetable juices, non-caloric artificially sweetened drinks, and sweetened milk. The filled circles represent the mean SSBs intake (248 g (8 oz) serving/week) and the error bars the 95% UIs. In previous Global Dietary Database reports, the region central and eastern Europe and central Asia was referred to as the former Soviet Union, and southeast and east Asia was referred to as Asia. SSBs=sugar sweetened beverages; UI=uncertainty interval

SSB intake by parental education and urbanicity in 2018

Intakes of SSBs were greater in children and adolescents from urban areas than those from rural areas (4.6 servings/week (4.2 to 5.0) v 2.7 servings/week (2.4 to 3.1); table 1 ). When parental education and area of residence was assessed jointly, globally the highest intakes of SSBs were among children and adolescents of parents with high education in urban areas (5.15 servings/week (4.76 to 5.64)), representing 11.2% of the global population of children and adolescents ( fig 3 ). Regionally, a similar pattern was observed in Latin America and the Caribbean, south Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest intakes of SSBs in children and adolescents of parents with high and medium education in urban and rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean (≥9 servings/week each), representing 56% of the population of children and adolescents in that region. Intakes of SSBs by area of residence and education were inverted in the Middle East and north Africa, with larger intakes among children and adolescents from rural areas and of parents with lower education, and little variation was observed in other world regions. See supplementary tables 7, 9, and 10, supplementary figures 3 and 4, and supplementary results for further details on SSB intakes by parental education and area of residence.

Global and regional mean SSB intakes (standardized 248 g (8 oz) serving/week for this analysis) in children and adolescents aged 3-19 years by area of residence and parental education level in 2018. SSBs were defined as any beverage with added sugars and ≥209 kJ (50 kcal) per 237 g serving, including commercial or homemade beverages, soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, punch, lemonade, and aguas frescas. This definition excludes 100% fruit and vegetable juices, non-caloric artificially sweetened drinks, and sweetened milk. Error bars represent 95% UIs. Values were truncated at 11.5 servings/week to better reflect the distribution of intakes. Upper 95% UIs above that value are shown with a dashed line. In previous Global Dietary Database reports, the region central and eastern Europe and central Asia was referred to as the former Soviet Union, and southeast and east Asia was referred to as Asia. SSBs=sugar sweetened beverages; UI=uncertainty interval

Trends in SSB intake during 1990-2005, 2005-18, and 1990-2018

Supplementary tables 11-14 and supplementary figures 5-8 show absolute global, regional, and national intakes of SSBs for 1990 and 2005. Globally, from 1990 to 2018, intakes among children and adolescents increased by 0.68 servings/week (95% UI 0.54 to 0.85; 22.9%) ( fig 4 , also see supplementary data 2). The magnitude of global increase was similar from 1990 to 2005 (0.33 (0.25 to 0.43); 11.0%) and from 2005 to 2018 (0.35 (0.26 to 0.47); 10.7%). However, regionally, changes did not follow the same global pattern. Between 1990 and 2005, increases in intakes of SSBs were observed in most regions, with the largest increase in high income countries (1.48 (1.37 to 1.60); 29.1%), little change in central and eastern Europe and central Asia and in south Asia, and a decrease in Latin America and the Caribbean (−1.20 (−1.54 to −0.88); −12.7%). More recently, from 2005 to 2018, increases continued in most regions, with the largest in sub-Saharan Africa (1.38 (1.01 to 1.85); 49.2%), except for south Asia where little change was evident and high income countries where intakes decreased (−1.59 (−1.71 to −1.47); −24.1%). In the overall period from 1990 to 2018, the largest regional increase was in sub-Saharan Africa (2.17 (1.60 to 2.88); 106%), with other world regions showing steady, more modest increases over time. Exceptions were high income countries and Latin America and the Caribbean, where intakes increased after 1990 and then decreased close to 1990 levels by 2018. The supplementary results and supplementary table 15 describe regional trends over time by age, sex, parental education, and urbanicity.

(Top panel) Mean SSB intakes (standardized 248 g (8 oz) serving/week for this analysis) by world region in 1990, 2005, and 2018, and absolute changes from 1990 to 2005, 2005-18, and 1990-2018 in children and adolescents aged 3-19 years. (Bottom panel) Absolute changes in SSB intakes from 1990-2005, 2005-18, and 1990-2018. SSBs were defined as any beverage with added sugars and ≥209 kJ (50 kcal) per 237 g serving, including commercial or homemade beverages, soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, punch, lemonade, and aguas frescas. This definition excludes 100% fruit and vegetable juices, non-caloric artificially sweetened drinks, and sweetened milk. Error bars represent 95% UIs. In previous Global Dietary Database reports, the region central and eastern Europe and central Asia was referred to as the former Soviet Union, and southeast and east Asia was referred to as Asia. SSBs=sugar sweetened beverages; UI=uncertainty interval

Among the 25 most populous countries, the largest increase from 1990 to 2005 was in the US (2.95 (2.73 to 3.17); 43.2%) and the largest decrease was in Brazil (−3.42 (−3.95 to −2.97); −40.6%) (see supplementary data 2 and supplementary figure 9). From 2005 to 2018, the largest increase was in Uganda (4.30 (2.31 to 7.39); 173%), and the largest decrease was in the US (−3.55 (−3.81 to −3.30); −36.4%). Overall, between 1990 and 2018, the largest increased was in Uganda (6.73 (4.38 to 10.39); 5573%) and the largest decrease was in Brazil (−3.29 (−3.79 to −2.86); −39.0%) (see supplementary data 2 and supplementary figure 10). The supplementary results and supplementary tables 16-19 show trends over time within the 25 most populous countries by age, sex, parental education, and urbanicity.

SSB intakes and trends by sociodemographic development index and obesity

In 1990 and 2005 a positive correlation was evident between national intakes of SSBs and sociodemographic development index, with greater intakes observed in countries with a higher sociodemographic development index (see supplementary figures 11 and 12). However, this correlation was no longer present in 2018 (r=−0.001, P=0.99). Intakes of SSBs and prevalence of obesity were positively correlated in both 1990 (r=0.28, P<0.001) and 2018 (r=0.23, P<0.001) (see supplementary figure 13).

Intakes of SSBs among children and adolescents aged 3-19 years in 185 countries increased by 23% (0.68 servings/week (0.54 to 0.85)) from 1990 to 2018, parallel to the rise in prevalence of obesity among this population globally. 23 We found a positive correlation between intake of SSBs and prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents in all years. This finding needs particular attention given the incremental economic costs associated with overweight and obesity globally, which are projected to increase from about $2.0tn (£1.6tn; €1.9tn) in 2020 to $18tn by 2060, exceeding 3% of the world’s gross domestic product. 24 Chronic diet related conditions such as obesity have been recognized as part of a global syndemic along with undernutrition given their interaction and shared underlying societal drivers. 25 Tackling drivers of obesity and other diet related diseases among children and adolescents is also critical to be better equipped for potential future pandemics, as cardiometabolic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension were top drivers of increased risk of hospital admission and death with covid-19. 26 The increase in intakes of SSBs among children and adolescents corresponded to nearly twice the absolute increase in intake observed among the adult population from 1990 to 2018, for which policies targeting specifically children and adolescents are critical. 13 Young people are particularly appealing to the food industry as they are easily influenced by food marketing, having an effect on not only their current intakes but also their preferences as they develop into adulthood. 27 Their susceptibility to marketing, rising trends in obesity, and accelerated increases in intakes of SSBs underline the necessity for interventions such as taxes, regulations on front-of-package labeling, and regulations in the school environment to curb intakes of SSBs. 6 8 27 28

Changes in intakes of SSBs in children and adolescents from 1990 to 2018 varied substantially by world region. As with the adult population, the largest increase from 1990 to 2018 was in sub-Saharan Africa, emphasizing the need for prompt interventions in this region. Young people in the Middle East and north Africa and in southeast and east Asia showed a more accelerated increase in SSB consumption compared with adults, underlining the importance of policies targeting young people in these regions. The Middle East and north Africa had the second highest intakes of SSBs among children and adolescents in 2018, which differed from our findings among adults, where the Middle East and north Africa occupied third place after sub-Saharan Africa.

Latin America and the Caribbean experienced an overall decrease in intakes of SSBs from 1990 to 2005, which could be attributed to the economic crisis experienced among most of the major economies in the region during this period, 29 in addition to potential greater health awareness as a result of healthy eating campaigns in several countries in the region. 30 In contrast, the increases in intakes in this region from 2005 to 2018 may relate to economic recovery, increased marketing campaigns, and industry opposition to public policies to reduce the intake of SSBs. 31 These findings align with findings in the adult population of this region. 13 Over the past 30 years, Latin America and the Caribbean has undergone an accelerated transformation in the food systems, resulting in wider availability of unhealthy foods, including SSBs, that could explain the large intakes in this region. 7 Moreover, the influence of multinational corporations responsible for ultra-processed foods, marketing strategies targeted at young people, lack of (or poor) regulatory measures to limit the intake of SSBs have also been consistently observed in Latin America and other regions with improving economies. 1 6 7 The use of social media and TV to target advertising at young people has been identified as being especially high in Latin America as well as in the Middle East. 6 27

High income countries experienced an overall decrease in intakes of SSBs from 2005 to 2018. This might be explained by the increasing scientific and public health attention on the harms of SSBs as well as obesity in these nations during this period, which may have led to increased media and public awareness about the harms to health associated with SSBs, wider formulation, promotion, and availability of non-caloric sweetened beverage substitutes, and, more recently, taxation on SSBs in several of these nations. 32

The potential role of sociodemographic factors on intakes of SSBs was evidenced by the large variations in intake by parental education and urbanicity, particularly in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, evidencing the need to account for these factors in the design of policies and interventions. At national level, the correlation between intake of SSBs and sociodemographic development index changed from positive in 1990 to null in 2018 (see supplementary figure 11), suggesting that the association between the two might be reversing. This is similar to what was observed in adults, where the association between intake of SSBs and sociodemographic index changed from null to negative from 1990 to 2018. 13 Our new findings show similar directional trends in national and subnational intakes of SSBs among young people compared with adults, 13 although with generally higher absolute intakes among young people, suggesting nation specific influences on SSB intakes are at least partly shared across the lifespan. Further efforts are needed to incorporate data on other social determinants of health, such as income, access to water, access to healthcare, and race/ethnicity to elucidate additional potential heterogeneities.

Strengths and limitations of this study

Our study has several strengths. We assessed and reported global, regional, and national estimates of SSB intakes jointly stratified by age, sex, parental education, and urbanicity among children and adolescents. Compared with previous estimates, our current model included a larger number of dietary surveys, additional demographic subgroups, and years of assessment. Our updated bayesian hierarchical model better incorporated survey and country level covariates—and addressed heterogeneity and uncertainty about sampling and modeling. 13 33 Intakes were estimated from 450 surveys—mostly representative at national and subnational levels and collected at individual level—and represented 87.1% of the world’s population. Other recent estimates for global intakes of SSBs relied mostly on national per capita estimates of food availability (eg, Food and Agriculture Organization food balance sheets) or sales data. 34 Such estimates can substantially overestimate and underestimate intake compared with individual level data 35 and are less robust for characterizing differences across population subgroups. Our estimates are informed by dietary data at individual level collected from both 24 hour recalls (24% of surveys), considered the ideal method for assessing nutritional intakes of populations), and food frequency questionnaires (61% of surveys), a validated approach for measuring intakes of SSBs 36 (see supplementary table 4).

Overall, our findings should be taken as the best currently available, but nonetheless imperfect, estimates of SSB intakes worldwide. Even with systematic searches for all relevant surveys, we identified limited availability of data for several countries (particularly lower income nations) and time periods. 11 Thus, estimated findings in countries with no primary individual level surveys have higher corresponding uncertainty, informing surveillance needs to assess SSBs nationally and in populations at subnational level. Particularly, we identified limited surveys for south Asia (n=9) and sub-Saharan Africa (n=22), which might have affected the accuracy of our estimates in those regions (see supplementary table 4). This finding emphasizes the critical need for further efforts in data collection and surveillance, particularly in these regions. Categorization by age, parental education, and urbanicity were in groups rather than in more nuanced classifications, balancing the interest in subgroup detail versus the realities required from a global demographic effort of de novo harmonized analyses of individual level dietary data from hundreds of different dietary surveys and corresponding members globally. All types of dietary assessments include some errors, whether from individual level surveys, national food availability estimates, or other sources. Our model’s incorporation of multiple types and sources of dietary assessments provided the best available estimates of global diets, as well as the uncertainty of these estimates. For instance, self-reported data rely on the memory and personal biases of the respondents, thus introducing potential bias from underreporting or overreporting of actual intakes. Furthermore, assumptions relating to standardization of serving sizes, SSB definitions, energy adjustment, and disaggregation at household level, as well as of no interaction between sociodemographic variables in our model, could have impacted our estimates. To minimize these limitations, we used standardized approaches and carefully documented each survey’s methods and standardization processes to maximize transparency.

Our definition and data collection on SSBs excluded 100% fruit juice, sugar sweetened milk, tea, and coffee, given that evidence for health effects of these beverages is inconsistent and does not achieve at least probable evidence for causal harms. 37 38 These differences may relate to additional nutrients, such as calcium, vitamin D, fats, and protein in milk, caffeine and polyphenols in coffee and tea, and fiber and vitamins in 100% juice; or to differences in rapidity of consumption and drinking patterns. Each of these beverages is generally also excluded in policy and surveillance efforts around SSBs. A recent meta-analysis suggested a modest positive association between 100% fruit juices and body mass index in children (0.03 units higher for each daily serving), 39 highlighting the need for more research on the health impacts of these and other beverages in children. Sweetened milks are mostly targeted at children and adolescents, and in some regions are mostly consumed by the youngest children. 40 Given that our SSBs definition excluded sweetened milk, this could partially explain the low intakes observed in our study among the youngest age categories. Future studies should also look into characterizing intakes of sweetened milks, especially in countries such as the US, Australia, Pakistan, and Chile where high intakes among children and adolescents have been reported. 40 41 Home sweetened teas and coffees were not explicitly excluded from the definition of SSBs at the time of data collection, but tea and coffee were collected as separate variables and thus most likely excluded by data owners from the SSBs category. SSBs were defined as beverages with added sugars and ≥209 kJ (50 kcal) per 237g serving, capturing most of the SSBs during the time period of our investigation that typically contained about 418 kJ (100 kcal) per serving. More recently, some SSBs with slightly less than 10 g of added sugar have entered the market. As these are a relatively recent addition, their exclusion is unlikely to meaningfully alter our findings, but future research should focus on more refined surveillance of SSBs to allow flexibility in beverage group definitions—for example, similar to the data harmonized in our collaboration with the FAO/WHO GIFT food consumption data tool. 42 Our current definition leveraging product name and caloric content to identify beverages with added sugar across the world ensures consistency in reporting.

Intakes of SSBs among children and adolescents aged 3-19 years in 185 countries increased by almost a quarter from 1990 to 2018, parallel to the rise in prevalence of obesity among this population globally. Policies and approaches at both a national level and a more targeted level are needed to reduce intakes of SSBs among young people worldwide, highlighting the larger intakes across all education levels in urban and rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the growing problem of SSBs for public health in sub-Saharan Africa. Our findings are intended to inform current and future policies to curb SSB intakes, adding to the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for improving health and wellbeing, reducing inequities, responsible consumption, poverty, and access to clean water.

What is already known in this topic

The intake of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been consistently reported to increase the risk of obesity among children and adolescents

This is especially concerning given that obesity in childhood tends to persist into adulthood, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality

Quantification of SSB intakes among children and adolescents is therefore critical, yet recent estimates among children and adolescents are unavailable for most nations

What this study adds

Intakes of SSBs among children and adolescents aged 3-19 years in 185 countries increased by almost a quarter from 1990 to 2018, parallel to the rise in prevalence of obesity among this population globally

Larger intakes were identified across all education levels in urban and rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, along with the growing problem of SSBs for public health in sub-Saharan Africa

Intake of SSBs among children and adolescents showed large heterogeneity by region and population characteristics, informing the need for national and targeted policies and approaches to reduce SSB intake among this population worldwide

Ethics statements

Ethical approval.

This investigation was exempt from ethical review board approval because it was based on published deidentified nationally representative data, without personally identifiable information. Individual surveys underwent ethical review board approval required for the applicable local context.

Data availability statement

The individual SSB intake estimate distribution data used in this as means and uncertainty (SE) for each strata in the analysis are available freely online at the Global Dietary Database (Download 2018 Final Estimates: https://www.globaldietarydatabase.org/data-download ). Global Dietary Database data were utilized in agreement with the database guidelines. Absolute and relative differences by strata and by year presented in this analysis were calculated using the 4000 simulations corresponding to the stratum level intake data derived from the bayesian model. The 4000 simulations files can be made available to researchers upon request. Eligibility criteria for such requests include utilization for non-profit purposes only, for appropriate scientific use based on a robust research plan, and by investigators from an academic institution. If you are interested in requesting access to the data, please submit the following documents: (1) proposed research plan (please download and complete the proposed research plan form: https://www.globaldietarydatabase.org/sites/default/files/manual_upload/research-proposal-template.pdf ), (2) data-sharing agreement (please download this form https://www.globaldietarydatabase.org/sites/default/files/manual_upload/tufts-gdd-data-sharing-agreement.docx and complete the highlighted fields, have someone who is authorized to enter your institution into a binding legal agreement with outside institutions sign the document. Note that this agreement does not apply when protected health information or personally identifiable information are shared), (3) email items (1) and (2) [email protected]. Please use the subject line “GDD Code Access Request.” Once all documents have been received, the Global Dietary Database team will be in contact with you within 2-4 weeks about subsequent steps. Data will be shared as .csv or .xlsx files, using a compressed format when appropriate. Population weights for each strata and year were derived from the United Nations Population Division ( https://population.un.org/wpp/ ), supplemented with data for education and urban or rural status from Barro and Lee (doi: 10.3386/w15902 ) and the United Nations ( https://population.un.org/wup/Download/ ).

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the Tufts University High Performance Computing Cluster ( https://it.tufts.edu/high-performance-computing ), which was used for the research reported in this paper.

Members of the Global Dietary Database (see supplementary text 1 for affiliations)

Antonia Trichopoulou, Murat Bas, Jemal Haidar Ali, Tatyana El-Kour, Anand Krishnan, Puneet Misra, Nahla Hwalla, Chandrashekar Janakiram, Nur Indrawaty Lipoeto, Abdulrahman Musaiger, Farhad Pourfarzi, Iftikhar Alam, Celine Termote, Anjum Memon, Marieke Vossenaar, Paramita Mazumdar, Ingrid Rached, Alicia Rovirosa, María Elisa Zapata, Roya Kelishadi, Tamene Taye Asayehu, Francis Oduor, Julia Boedecker, Lilian Aluso, Emanuele Marconi, Laura D’Addezio, Raffaela Piccinelli, Stefania Sette, Johana Ortiz-Ulloa, J V Meenakshi, Giuseppe Grosso, Anna Waskiewicz, Umber S Khan, Kenneth Brown, Lene Frost Andersen, Anastasia Thanopoulou, Reza Malekzadeh, Neville Calleja, Anca Ioana Nicolau, Cornelia Tudorie, Marga Ocke, Zohreh Etemad, Mohannad Al Nsour, Lydiah M Waswa, Maryam Hashemian, Eha Nurk, Joanne Arsenault, Patricio Lopez-Jaramillo, Abla Mehio Sibai, Albertino Damasceno, Pulani Lanerolle, Carukshi Arambepola, Carla Lopes, Milton Severo, Nuno Lunet, Duarte Torres, Heli Tapanainen, Jaana Lindstrom, Suvi Virtanen, Cristina Palacios, Noel Barengo, Eva Roos, Irmgard Jordan, Charmaine Duante, Corazon Cerdena (retired), Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa (retired), Josie Desnacido, Mario Capanzana (retired), Anoop Misra, Ilse Khouw, Swee Ai Ng, Edna Gamboa Delgado, Mauricio T Caballero, Johanna Otero, Hae-Jeung Lee, Eda Koksal, Idris Guessous, Carl Lachat, Stefaan De Henauw, Ali Reza Rahbar, Alison Tedstone, Annie Ling, Beth Hopping, Catherine Leclercq, Christian Haerpfer, Christine Hotz, Christos Pitsavos, Coline van Oosterhout, Debbie Bradshaw, Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Dorothy Gauci, Dulitha Fernando, Elzbieta Sygnowska, Erkki Vartiainen, Farshad Farzadfar, Gabor Zajkas, Gillian Swan, Guansheng Ma, Hajah Masni Ibrahim, Harri Sinkko, Isabelle Sioen, Jean-Michel Gaspoz, Jillian Odenkirk, Kanitta Bundhamcharoen, Keiu Nelis, Khairul Zarina, Lajos Biro, Lars Johansson, Leanne Riley, Mabel Yap, Manami Inoue, Maria Szabo, Marja-Leena Ovaskainen, Meei-Shyuan Lee, Mei Fen Chan, Melanie Cowan, Mirnalini Kandiah, Ola Kally, Olof Jonsdottir, Pam Palmer, Philippos Orfanos, Renzo Asciak, Robert Templeton, Rokiah Don, Roseyati Yaakub, Rusidah Selamat, Safiah Yusof, Sameer Al-Zenki, Shu-Yi Hung, Sigrid Beer-Borst, Suh Wu, Widjaja Lukito, Wilbur Hadden, Xia Cao, Yi Ma, Yuen Lai, Zaiton Hjdaud, Jennifer Ali, Ron Gravel, Tina Tao, Jacob Lennert Veerman, Mustafa Arici, Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Yanping Li, Gülden Pekcan, Karim Anzid, Anuradha Khadilkar, Veena Ekbote, Irina Kovalskys, Arlappa Nimmathota, Avula Laxmaiah, Balakrishna Nagalla, Brahmam Ginnela, Hemalatha Rajkumar, Indrapal Meshram, Kalpagam Polasa, Licia Iacoviello, Marialaura Bonaccio, Simona Costanzo, Yves Martin-Prevel, Nattinee Jitnarin, Wen-Harn Pan, Yao-Te Hsieh, Sonia Olivares, Gabriela Tejeda, Aida Hadziomeragic, Le Tran Ngoan, Amanda de Moura Souza, Daniel Illescas-Zarate, Inge Huybrechts, Alan de Brauw, Mourad Moursi, Augustin Nawidimbasba Zeba, Maryam Maghroun, Nizal Sarrafzadegan, Noushin Mohammadifard, Lital Keinan-Boker, Rebecca Goldsmith, Tal Shimony, Gudrun B Keding, Shivanand C Mastiholi, Moses Mwangi, Yeri Kombe, Zipporah Bukania, Eman Alissa, Nasser Al-Daghri, Shaun Sabico, Rajesh Jeewon, Martin Gulliford, Tshilenge S Diba, Kyungwon Oh, Sihyun Park, Sungha Yun, Yoonsu Cho, Suad Al-Hooti, Chanthaly Luangphaxay, Daovieng Douangvichit, Latsamy Siengsounthone, Pedro Marques-Vidal, Peter Vollenweider, Constance Rybak, Amy Luke, Nipa Rojroongwasinkul, Noppawan Piaseu, Kalyana Sundram, Jeremy Koster, Donka Baykova, Parvin Abedi, Sandjaja Sandjaja, Fariza Fadzil, Noriklil Bukhary Ismail Bukhary, Pascal Bovet, Yu Chen, Norie Sawada, Shoichiro Tsugane, Lalka Rangelova, Stefka Petrova, Vesselka Duleva, Ward Siamusantu, Lucjan Szponar, Hsing-Yi Chang, Makiko Sekiyama, Khanh Le Nguyen Bao, Sesikeran Boindala, Jalila El Ati, Ivonne Ramirez Silva, Juan Rivera Dommarco, Luz Maria Sanchez-Romero, Simon Barquera, Sonia Rodríguez-Ramírez, Nayu Ikeda, Sahar Zaghloul, Anahita Houshiar-rad, Fatemeh Mohammadi-Nasrabadi, Morteza Abdollahi, Khun-Aik Chuah, Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy, Alison Eldridge, Eric L Ding, Herculina Kruger, Sigrun Henjum, Milton Fabian Suarez-Ortegon, Nawal Al-Hamad, Veronika Janská, Reema Tayyem, Bemnet Tedla, Parvin Mirmiran, Almut Richter, Gert Mensink, Lothar Wieler, Daniel Hoffman, Benoit Salanave, Shashi Chiplonkar, Anne Fernandez, Androniki Naska, Karin De Ridder, Cho-il Kim, Rebecca Kuriyan, Sumathi Swaminathan, Didier Garriguet, Anna Karin Lindroos, Eva Warensjo Lemming, Jessica Petrelius Sipinen, Lotta Moraeus, Saeed Dastgiri, Sirje Vaask, Tilakavati Karupaiah, Fatemeh Vida Zohoori, Alireza Esteghamati, Sina Noshad, Suhad Abumweis, Elizabeth Mwaniki, Simon G Anderson, Justin Chileshe, Sydney Mwanza, Lydia Lera Marques, Samuel Duran Aguero, Mariana Oleas, Luz Posada, Angelica Ochoa, Alan Martin Preston, Khadijah Shamsuddin, Zalilah Mohd Shariff, Hamid Jan Bin Jan Mohamed, Wan Manan, Bee Koon Poh, Pamela Abbott, Mohammadreza Pakseresht, Sangita Sharma, Tor Strand, Ute Alexy, Ute Nöthlings, Indu Waidyatilaka, Ranil Jayawardena, Julie M Long, K Michael Hambidge, Nancy F Krebs, Aminul Haque, Liisa Korkalo, Maijaliisa Erkkola, Riitta Freese, Laila Eleraky, Wolfgang Stuetz, Laufey Steingrimsdottir, Inga Thorsdottir, Ingibjorg Gunnarsdottir, Lluis Serra-Majem, Foong Ming Moy, Corina Aurelia Zugravu, Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez, Linda Adair, Shu Wen Ng, Sheila Skeaff, Regina Fisberg, Carol Henry, Getahun Ersino, Gordon Zello, Alexa Meyer, Ibrahim Elmadfa, Claudette Mitchell, David Balfour, Johanna M Geleijnse, Mark Manary, Laetitia Nikiema, Masoud Mirzaei, Rubina Hakeem

Contributors: LLC, RM, and DM conceived the study. FC, PS, JZ, JRS, JEM, VM, LLC, RM, DM curated the data. FC, LLC, RM, and DM were responsible for the methodology. LLC, JRS, VM, and RM collected the data. FC, PS, JZ, JEM, VM, and LLC developed the software. FC, PS, JZ, VM, LLC, RM, and DM validated the data. LLC, SBC, SB, RM, and DM performed the formal analysis. LLC prepared the original draft of the manuscript. LLC, FC, PS, JZ, JRS, JEM, VM, SBC, SB, RM, and DM wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. LLC generated the original figures and tables; SBC, SB, RM, and DM supervised the analysis, manuscript draft, and generation of figures and tables. LLC, RM, and DM acquired funding. They are the guarantors. The corresponding author attests that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.

Funding: This research was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (grant OPP1176682 to DM), the American Heart Association (grant 903679 to LLC), and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in Mexico (to LLC). This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number 2018149. The computational resource is under active development by Research Technology, Tufts Technology Services. The funding agencies had no role in the design of the study; collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit for publication.

Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare the following: support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, American Heart Association, and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in Mexico. LLC reports research funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the American Heart Association, and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in Mexico (CONACyT), outside of the submitted work. RM reports research funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and (ended) the US National Institutes of Health, Danone, and Nestle. She also reports consulting from Development Initiatives and as IEG chair for the Global Nutrition Report, outside of the submitted work. FC, JZ, and PS report research funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the National Institutes of Health, outside of the submitted work. VM reports research funding the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and from the American Heart Association, outside the submitted work. JRS reports research funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the National Institutes of Health, Nestlé, Rockefeller Foundation, and Kaiser Permanent Fund at East Bay Community Foundation, outside of the submitted work. SBC reports research funding from the US. National Institutes of Health, US. Department of Agriculture, the Rockefeller Foundation, US. Agency for International Development, and the Kaiser Permanente Fund at East Bay Community Foundation, outside the submitted work. SB reports funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, CONACyT, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), and Fundación Rio Arronte, outside the submitted work. DM reports research funding from the US National Institutes of Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, Vail Innovative Global Research, and the Kaiser Permanente Fund at East Bay Community Foundation; personal fees from Acasti Pharma, Barilla, Danone, and Motif FoodWorks; is on the scientific advisory board for Beren Therapeutics, Brightseed, Calibrate, Elysium Health, Filtricine, HumanCo, Instacart, January, Perfect Day, Tiny Organics, and (ended) Day Two, Discern Dx, and Season Health; has stock ownership in Calibrate and HumanCo; and receives chapter royalties from UpToDate, outside the submitted work. The investigators did not receive funding from a pharmaceutical company or other agency to write this report, and declare no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Transparency: The lead author (LLC) affirms that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as originally planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained.

Dissemination to participants and related patient and public communities: Our research will be disseminated to the scientific community in a scientific conference and scientific publications; to the public through our website and social media; and to funders and interested ministries in various nations through presentations and brief reports.

Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Publisher’s note: Published maps are provided without any warranty of any kind, either express or implied. BMJ remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps.

Editor’s note: The visual abstract was included in this article on 9 August 2024 post-publication.

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

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