what are the 5 parts of a research article

What is Research?: Parts of a Research Article

• The Truth about Research
• Research Steps
• Evaluating Sources
• Parts of a Research Article

While each article is different, here are some common pieces you'll see in many of them...

• The title of the article should give you some clues as to the topic it addresses.
• The abstract allows readers to quickly review the overall content of the article. It should give you an idea of the topic of the article, while also providing any key details--such as the questions address in the article and the general results of the studies conducted.
• The introduction introduces the general topic and provides some background information, eventually narrowing it down to the specific issues addressed in the article.
• The literature review describes past research on the topic and relates it to the specific topic covered by the article.  Not all articles will have a literature review.
• The methods section addresses the research design and methodology used by the author to come to the conclusions they have in this article.  This gives others the ability to replicate the study.  Not all articles will have this, since there will be many articles that don't involve an actual study.
• The results section presents the results of any studies or analysis that has been conducted.  Not all articles will have this, either.
• The discussion/conclusion addresses the implications or future of the field.  It may also address where future research is needed.
• The list references or bibliography is the alphabetized list of resources used for the article.  The format of the citations is often determined by what that field's preferred format is.  Common citations formats include APA, Chicago, and MLA.  This is a necessity in an article--and it helps you identify more possible resources for your own paper.
• Components of a Research Paper Useful site that goes more in depth on these sections.
• Parts of a Citation A really wonderful site by the Nash Community College Library.
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• Last Updated: Jul 20, 2017 9:23 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uno.edu/whatisresearch

Library Instruction

Structure of typical research article.

The basic structure of a typical research paper includes Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Each section addresses a different objective.

• the problem they intend to address -- in other words, the research question -- in the Introduction ;
• what they did to answer the question in Methodology ;
• what they observed in Results ; and
• what they think the results mean in Discussion .

A substantial study will sometimes include a literature review section which discusses previous works on the topic. The basic structure is outlined below:

• Author and author's professional affiliation is identified
• Introduction
• Literature review section (a discussion about what other scholars have written on the topic)
• Methodology section (methods of data gathering are explained)
• Discussion section
• Conclusions
• Reference list with citations (sources of information used in the article)

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Module 4: Strategic Reading

The Structure of an Academic Article

Generally speaking, there is a common flow to scholarly articles. While not a template per se, you can be assured that the following components will be present in most articles. Learning to identify each component is a key step in the strategic reading process, and will help you save time as you screen articles for relevance. Check out the interactive example below that describes each section.

Click on the purple question marks to learn more about each component of an academic article.

Structure of an Academic Article by Emma Seston. Licenced under Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 .

Key Takeaways

Learning to identify each component is a key step in the strategic reading process, and will help you save time as you screen articles for relevance.

Advanced Research Skills: Conducting Literature and Systematic Reviews Copyright © 2021 by Kelly Dermody; Cecile Farnum; Daniel Jakubek; Jo-Anne Petropoulos; Jane Schmidt; and Reece Steinberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Home » Research Paper – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

Research Paper – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Research Paper

Definition:

Research Paper is a written document that presents the author’s original research, analysis, and interpretation of a specific topic or issue.

It is typically based on Empirical Evidence, and may involve qualitative or quantitative research methods, or a combination of both. The purpose of a research paper is to contribute new knowledge or insights to a particular field of study, and to demonstrate the author’s understanding of the existing literature and theories related to the topic.

Structure of Research Paper

The structure of a research paper typically follows a standard format, consisting of several sections that convey specific information about the research study. The following is a detailed explanation of the structure of a research paper:

The title page contains the title of the paper, the name(s) of the author(s), and the affiliation(s) of the author(s). It also includes the date of submission and possibly, the name of the journal or conference where the paper is to be published.

The abstract is a brief summary of the research paper, typically ranging from 100 to 250 words. It should include the research question, the methods used, the key findings, and the implications of the results. The abstract should be written in a concise and clear manner to allow readers to quickly grasp the essence of the research.

Introduction

The introduction section of a research paper provides background information about the research problem, the research question, and the research objectives. It also outlines the significance of the research, the research gap that it aims to fill, and the approach taken to address the research question. Finally, the introduction section ends with a clear statement of the research hypothesis or research question.

Literature Review

The literature review section of a research paper provides an overview of the existing literature on the topic of study. It includes a critical analysis and synthesis of the literature, highlighting the key concepts, themes, and debates. The literature review should also demonstrate the research gap and how the current study seeks to address it.

The methods section of a research paper describes the research design, the sample selection, the data collection and analysis procedures, and the statistical methods used to analyze the data. This section should provide sufficient detail for other researchers to replicate the study.

The results section presents the findings of the research, using tables, graphs, and figures to illustrate the data. The findings should be presented in a clear and concise manner, with reference to the research question and hypothesis.

The discussion section of a research paper interprets the findings and discusses their implications for the research question, the literature review, and the field of study. It should also address the limitations of the study and suggest future research directions.

The conclusion section summarizes the main findings of the study, restates the research question and hypothesis, and provides a final reflection on the significance of the research.

The references section provides a list of all the sources cited in the paper, following a specific citation style such as APA, MLA or Chicago.

How to Write Research Paper

You can write Research Paper by the following guide:

• Choose a Topic: The first step is to select a topic that interests you and is relevant to your field of study. Brainstorm ideas and narrow down to a research question that is specific and researchable.
• Conduct a Literature Review: The literature review helps you identify the gap in the existing research and provides a basis for your research question. It also helps you to develop a theoretical framework and research hypothesis.
• Develop a Thesis Statement : The thesis statement is the main argument of your research paper. It should be clear, concise and specific to your research question.
• Plan your Research: Develop a research plan that outlines the methods, data sources, and data analysis procedures. This will help you to collect and analyze data effectively.
• Collect and Analyze Data: Collect data using various methods such as surveys, interviews, observations, or experiments. Analyze data using statistical tools or other qualitative methods.
• Organize your Paper : Organize your paper into sections such as Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Ensure that each section is coherent and follows a logical flow.
• Write your Paper : Start by writing the introduction, followed by the literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and follows the required formatting and citation styles.
• Edit and Proofread your Paper: Review your paper for grammar and spelling errors, and ensure that it is well-structured and easy to read. Ask someone else to review your paper to get feedback and suggestions for improvement.
• Cite your Sources: Ensure that you properly cite all sources used in your research paper. This is essential for giving credit to the original authors and avoiding plagiarism.

Research Paper Example

Note : The below example research paper is for illustrative purposes only and is not an actual research paper. Actual research papers may have different structures, contents, and formats depending on the field of study, research question, data collection and analysis methods, and other factors. Students should always consult with their professors or supervisors for specific guidelines and expectations for their research papers.

Research Paper Example sample for Students:

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health among Young Adults

Abstract: This study aims to investigate the impact of social media use on the mental health of young adults. A literature review was conducted to examine the existing research on the topic. A survey was then administered to 200 university students to collect data on their social media use, mental health status, and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. The results showed that social media use is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also found that social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) are significant predictors of mental health problems among young adults.

Introduction: Social media has become an integral part of modern life, particularly among young adults. While social media has many benefits, including increased communication and social connectivity, it has also been associated with negative outcomes, such as addiction, cyberbullying, and mental health problems. This study aims to investigate the impact of social media use on the mental health of young adults.

Literature Review: The literature review highlights the existing research on the impact of social media use on mental health. The review shows that social media use is associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental health problems. The review also identifies the factors that contribute to the negative impact of social media, including social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO.

Methods : A survey was administered to 200 university students to collect data on their social media use, mental health status, and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. The survey included questions on social media use, mental health status (measured using the DASS-21), and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.

Results : The results showed that social media use is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also found that social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO are significant predictors of mental health problems among young adults.

Discussion : The study’s findings suggest that social media use has a negative impact on the mental health of young adults. The study highlights the need for interventions that address the factors contributing to the negative impact of social media, such as social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO.

Conclusion : In conclusion, social media use has a significant impact on the mental health of young adults. The study’s findings underscore the need for interventions that promote healthy social media use and address the negative outcomes associated with social media use. Future research can explore the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing the negative impact of social media on mental health. Additionally, longitudinal studies can investigate the long-term effects of social media use on mental health.

Limitations : The study has some limitations, including the use of self-report measures and a cross-sectional design. The use of self-report measures may result in biased responses, and a cross-sectional design limits the ability to establish causality.

Implications: The study’s findings have implications for mental health professionals, educators, and policymakers. Mental health professionals can use the findings to develop interventions that address the negative impact of social media use on mental health. Educators can incorporate social media literacy into their curriculum to promote healthy social media use among young adults. Policymakers can use the findings to develop policies that protect young adults from the negative outcomes associated with social media use.

References :

• Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2019). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Preventive medicine reports, 15, 100918.
• Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Escobar-Viera, C. G., Barrett, E. L., Sidani, J. E., Colditz, J. B., … & James, A. E. (2017). Use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A nationally-representative study among US young adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 1-9.
• Van der Meer, T. G., & Verhoeven, J. W. (2017). Social media and its impact on academic performance of students. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 16, 383-398.

Appendix : The survey used in this study is provided below.

Social Media and Mental Health Survey

• How often do you use social media per day?
• Less than 30 minutes
• 30 minutes to 1 hour
• 1 to 2 hours
• 2 to 4 hours
• More than 4 hours
• Which social media platforms do you use?
• Others (Please specify)
• How often do you experience the following on social media?
• Social comparison (comparing yourself to others)
• Cyberbullying
• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
• Have you ever experienced any of the following mental health problems in the past month?
• Do you think social media use has a positive or negative impact on your mental health?
• Very positive
• Somewhat positive
• Somewhat negative
• Very negative
• In your opinion, which factors contribute to the negative impact of social media on mental health?
• Social comparison
• In your opinion, what interventions could be effective in reducing the negative impact of social media on mental health?
• Education on healthy social media use
• Counseling for mental health problems caused by social media
• Social media detox programs
• Regulation of social media use

Thank you for your participation!

Applications of Research Paper

Research papers have several applications in various fields, including:

• Advancing knowledge: Research papers contribute to the advancement of knowledge by generating new insights, theories, and findings that can inform future research and practice. They help to answer important questions, clarify existing knowledge, and identify areas that require further investigation.
• Informing policy: Research papers can inform policy decisions by providing evidence-based recommendations for policymakers. They can help to identify gaps in current policies, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and inform the development of new policies and regulations.
• Improving practice: Research papers can improve practice by providing evidence-based guidance for professionals in various fields, including medicine, education, business, and psychology. They can inform the development of best practices, guidelines, and standards of care that can improve outcomes for individuals and organizations.
• Educating students : Research papers are often used as teaching tools in universities and colleges to educate students about research methods, data analysis, and academic writing. They help students to develop critical thinking skills, research skills, and communication skills that are essential for success in many careers.
• Fostering collaboration: Research papers can foster collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers by providing a platform for sharing knowledge and ideas. They can facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships that can lead to innovative solutions to complex problems.

When to Write Research Paper

Research papers are typically written when a person has completed a research project or when they have conducted a study and have obtained data or findings that they want to share with the academic or professional community. Research papers are usually written in academic settings, such as universities, but they can also be written in professional settings, such as research organizations, government agencies, or private companies.

Here are some common situations where a person might need to write a research paper:

• For academic purposes: Students in universities and colleges are often required to write research papers as part of their coursework, particularly in the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. Writing research papers helps students to develop research skills, critical thinking skills, and academic writing skills.
• For publication: Researchers often write research papers to publish their findings in academic journals or to present their work at academic conferences. Publishing research papers is an important way to disseminate research findings to the academic community and to establish oneself as an expert in a particular field.
• To inform policy or practice : Researchers may write research papers to inform policy decisions or to improve practice in various fields. Research findings can be used to inform the development of policies, guidelines, and best practices that can improve outcomes for individuals and organizations.
• To share new insights or ideas: Researchers may write research papers to share new insights or ideas with the academic or professional community. They may present new theories, propose new research methods, or challenge existing paradigms in their field.

Purpose of Research Paper

The purpose of a research paper is to present the results of a study or investigation in a clear, concise, and structured manner. Research papers are written to communicate new knowledge, ideas, or findings to a specific audience, such as researchers, scholars, practitioners, or policymakers. The primary purposes of a research paper are:

• To contribute to the body of knowledge : Research papers aim to add new knowledge or insights to a particular field or discipline. They do this by reporting the results of empirical studies, reviewing and synthesizing existing literature, proposing new theories, or providing new perspectives on a topic.
• To inform or persuade: Research papers are written to inform or persuade the reader about a particular issue, topic, or phenomenon. They present evidence and arguments to support their claims and seek to persuade the reader of the validity of their findings or recommendations.
• To advance the field: Research papers seek to advance the field or discipline by identifying gaps in knowledge, proposing new research questions or approaches, or challenging existing assumptions or paradigms. They aim to contribute to ongoing debates and discussions within a field and to stimulate further research and inquiry.
• To demonstrate research skills: Research papers demonstrate the author’s research skills, including their ability to design and conduct a study, collect and analyze data, and interpret and communicate findings. They also demonstrate the author’s ability to critically evaluate existing literature, synthesize information from multiple sources, and write in a clear and structured manner.

Characteristics of Research Paper

Research papers have several characteristics that distinguish them from other forms of academic or professional writing. Here are some common characteristics of research papers:

• Evidence-based: Research papers are based on empirical evidence, which is collected through rigorous research methods such as experiments, surveys, observations, or interviews. They rely on objective data and facts to support their claims and conclusions.
• Structured and organized: Research papers have a clear and logical structure, with sections such as introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. They are organized in a way that helps the reader to follow the argument and understand the findings.
• Formal and objective: Research papers are written in a formal and objective tone, with an emphasis on clarity, precision, and accuracy. They avoid subjective language or personal opinions and instead rely on objective data and analysis to support their arguments.
• Citations and references: Research papers include citations and references to acknowledge the sources of information and ideas used in the paper. They use a specific citation style, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Peer-reviewed: Research papers are often peer-reviewed, which means they are evaluated by other experts in the field before they are published. Peer-review ensures that the research is of high quality, meets ethical standards, and contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the field.
• Objective and unbiased: Research papers strive to be objective and unbiased in their presentation of the findings. They avoid personal biases or preconceptions and instead rely on the data and analysis to draw conclusions.

Advantages of Research Paper

Research papers have many advantages, both for the individual researcher and for the broader academic and professional community. Here are some advantages of research papers:

• Contribution to knowledge: Research papers contribute to the body of knowledge in a particular field or discipline. They add new information, insights, and perspectives to existing literature and help advance the understanding of a particular phenomenon or issue.
• Opportunity for intellectual growth: Research papers provide an opportunity for intellectual growth for the researcher. They require critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, which can help develop the researcher’s skills and knowledge.
• Career advancement: Research papers can help advance the researcher’s career by demonstrating their expertise and contributions to the field. They can also lead to new research opportunities, collaborations, and funding.
• Academic recognition: Research papers can lead to academic recognition in the form of awards, grants, or invitations to speak at conferences or events. They can also contribute to the researcher’s reputation and standing in the field.
• Impact on policy and practice: Research papers can have a significant impact on policy and practice. They can inform policy decisions, guide practice, and lead to changes in laws, regulations, or procedures.
• Advancement of society: Research papers can contribute to the advancement of society by addressing important issues, identifying solutions to problems, and promoting social justice and equality.

Limitations of Research Paper

Research papers also have some limitations that should be considered when interpreting their findings or implications. Here are some common limitations of research papers:

• Limited generalizability: Research findings may not be generalizable to other populations, settings, or contexts. Studies often use specific samples or conditions that may not reflect the broader population or real-world situations.
• Potential for bias : Research papers may be biased due to factors such as sample selection, measurement errors, or researcher biases. It is important to evaluate the quality of the research design and methods used to ensure that the findings are valid and reliable.
• Ethical concerns: Research papers may raise ethical concerns, such as the use of vulnerable populations or invasive procedures. Researchers must adhere to ethical guidelines and obtain informed consent from participants to ensure that the research is conducted in a responsible and respectful manner.
• Limitations of methodology: Research papers may be limited by the methodology used to collect and analyze data. For example, certain research methods may not capture the complexity or nuance of a particular phenomenon, or may not be appropriate for certain research questions.
• Publication bias: Research papers may be subject to publication bias, where positive or significant findings are more likely to be published than negative or non-significant findings. This can skew the overall findings of a particular area of research.
• Time and resource constraints: Research papers may be limited by time and resource constraints, which can affect the quality and scope of the research. Researchers may not have access to certain data or resources, or may be unable to conduct long-term studies due to practical limitations.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Writing Research Papers

• Research Paper Structure

Whether you are writing a B.S. Degree Research Paper or completing a research report for a Psychology course, it is highly likely that you will need to organize your research paper in accordance with American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines.  Here we discuss the structure of research papers according to APA style.

Major Sections of a Research Paper in APA Style

A complete research paper in APA style that is reporting on experimental research will typically contain a Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References sections. 1  Many will also contain Figures and Tables and some will have an Appendix or Appendices.  These sections are detailed as follows (for a more in-depth guide, please refer to " How to Write a Research Paper in APA Style ”, a comprehensive guide developed by Prof. Emma Geller). 2

What is this paper called and who wrote it? – the first page of the paper; this includes the name of the paper, a “running head”, authors, and institutional affiliation of the authors.  The institutional affiliation is usually listed in an Author Note that is placed towards the bottom of the title page.  In some cases, the Author Note also contains an acknowledgment of any funding support and of any individuals that assisted with the research project.

One-paragraph summary of the entire study – typically no more than 250 words in length (and in many cases it is well shorter than that), the Abstract provides an overview of the study.

Introduction

What is the topic and why is it worth studying? – the first major section of text in the paper, the Introduction commonly describes the topic under investigation, summarizes or discusses relevant prior research (for related details, please see the Writing Literature Reviews section of this website), identifies unresolved issues that the current research will address, and provides an overview of the research that is to be described in greater detail in the sections to follow.

What did you do? – a section which details how the research was performed.  It typically features a description of the participants/subjects that were involved, the study design, the materials that were used, and the study procedure.  If there were multiple experiments, then each experiment may require a separate Methods section.  A rule of thumb is that the Methods section should be sufficiently detailed for another researcher to duplicate your research.

What did you find? – a section which describes the data that was collected and the results of any statistical tests that were performed.  It may also be prefaced by a description of the analysis procedure that was used. If there were multiple experiments, then each experiment may require a separate Results section.

What is the significance of your results? – the final major section of text in the paper.  The Discussion commonly features a summary of the results that were obtained in the study, describes how those results address the topic under investigation and/or the issues that the research was designed to address, and may expand upon the implications of those findings.  Limitations and directions for future research are also commonly addressed.

List of articles and any books cited – an alphabetized list of the sources that are cited in the paper (by last name of the first author of each source).  Each reference should follow specific APA guidelines regarding author names, dates, article titles, journal titles, journal volume numbers, page numbers, book publishers, publisher locations, websites, and so on (for more information, please see the Citing References in APA Style page of this website).

Tables and Figures

Graphs and data (optional in some cases) – depending on the type of research being performed, there may be Tables and/or Figures (however, in some cases, there may be neither).  In APA style, each Table and each Figure is placed on a separate page and all Tables and Figures are included after the References.   Tables are included first, followed by Figures.   However, for some journals and undergraduate research papers (such as the B.S. Research Paper or Honors Thesis), Tables and Figures may be embedded in the text (depending on the instructor’s or editor’s policies; for more details, see "Deviations from APA Style" below).

Supplementary information (optional) – in some cases, additional information that is not critical to understanding the research paper, such as a list of experiment stimuli, details of a secondary analysis, or programming code, is provided.  This is often placed in an Appendix.

Variations of Research Papers in APA Style

Although the major sections described above are common to most research papers written in APA style, there are variations on that pattern.  These variations include: 

• Literature reviews – when a paper is reviewing prior published research and not presenting new empirical research itself (such as in a review article, and particularly a qualitative review), then the authors may forgo any Methods and Results sections. Instead, there is a different structure such as an Introduction section followed by sections for each of the different aspects of the body of research being reviewed, and then perhaps a Discussion section. 
• Multi-experiment papers – when there are multiple experiments, it is common to follow the Introduction with an Experiment 1 section, itself containing Methods, Results, and Discussion subsections. Then there is an Experiment 2 section with a similar structure, an Experiment 3 section with a similar structure, and so on until all experiments are covered.  Towards the end of the paper there is a General Discussion section followed by References.  Additionally, in multi-experiment papers, it is common for the Results and Discussion subsections for individual experiments to be combined into single “Results and Discussion” sections.

Departures from APA Style

In some cases, official APA style might not be followed (however, be sure to check with your editor, instructor, or other sources before deviating from standards of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association).  Such deviations may include:

• Placement of Tables and Figures  – in some cases, to make reading through the paper easier, Tables and/or Figures are embedded in the text (for example, having a bar graph placed in the relevant Results section). The embedding of Tables and/or Figures in the text is one of the most common deviations from APA style (and is commonly allowed in B.S. Degree Research Papers and Honors Theses; however you should check with your instructor, supervisor, or editor first). 
• Incomplete research – sometimes a B.S. Degree Research Paper in this department is written about research that is currently being planned or is in progress. In those circumstances, sometimes only an Introduction and Methods section, followed by References, is included (that is, in cases where the research itself has not formally begun).  In other cases, preliminary results are presented and noted as such in the Results section (such as in cases where the study is underway but not complete), and the Discussion section includes caveats about the in-progress nature of the research.  Again, you should check with your instructor, supervisor, or editor first.
• Class assignments – in some classes in this department, an assignment must be written in APA style but is not exactly a traditional research paper (for instance, a student asked to write about an article that they read, and to write that report in APA style). In that case, the structure of the paper might approximate the typical sections of a research paper in APA style, but not entirely.  You should check with your instructor for further guidelines.

Workshops and Downloadable Resources

• For in-person discussion of the process of writing research papers, please consider attending this department’s “Writing Research Papers” workshop (for dates and times, please check the undergraduate workshops calendar).

Downloadable Resources

• How to Write APA Style Research Papers (a comprehensive guide) [ PDF ]
• Tips for Writing APA Style Research Papers (a brief summary) [ PDF ]
• Example APA Style Research Paper (for B.S. Degree – empirical research) [ PDF ]
• Example APA Style Research Paper (for B.S. Degree – literature review) [ PDF ]

Further Resources

How-To Videos     

• Writing Research Paper Videos

APA Journal Article Reporting Guidelines

• Appelbaum, M., Cooper, H., Kline, R. B., Mayo-Wilson, E., Nezu, A. M., & Rao, S. M. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for quantitative research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report . American Psychologist , 73 (1), 3.
• Levitt, H. M., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J. W., Frost, D. M., Josselson, R., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report . American Psychologist , 73 (1), 26.  

External Resources

• Formatting APA Style Papers in Microsoft Word
• How to Write an APA Style Research Paper from Hamilton University
• WikiHow Guide to Writing APA Research Papers
• Sample APA Formatted Paper with Comments
• Sample APA Formatted Paper
• Tips for Writing a Paper in APA Style

1 VandenBos, G. R. (Ed). (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) (pp. 41-60).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

2 geller, e. (2018).  how to write an apa-style research report . [instructional materials]. , prepared by s. c. pan for ucsd psychology.

Back to top  

• Formatting Research Papers
• Using Databases and Finding References
• What Types of References Are Appropriate?
• Evaluating References and Taking Notes
• Citing References
• Writing a Literature Review
• Writing Process and Revising
• Improving Scientific Writing
• Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism
• Writing Research Papers Videos

The Research Process: Parts of the Research Article

• Search Strategies
• Creating a Research Question
• Search Terms
• Finding e-Books
• Finding Articles and Images
• Journal Articles
• Books & Other Sources

Parts of the Research Article

• Reading and Understanding Research
• Data and Datasets
• Literature Reviews
• Recording Your Research
• Annotated Bibliographies

When you write a research paper, many instructors will ask you to find scholarly research articles as a basis for your research.  A scholarly research article presents original research and is written and reviewed by experts in a field.   A typical scholarly research article has several sections that can include the:

Introduction

Bibliography or reference list, definitions.

Each part of the research article above has a specific purpose for the reader.  

The abstract is a succinct summary of a research article, usually only a paragraph long.  The abstract should tell readers whether an article will be useful for their research.

The introduction gives background information on the topic or problems that the research article addresses.  The introduction usually includes a problem statement, which describes a specific problem that the researchers are trying to solve.  The introduction can also include a literature review, intended to critically evaluate material that has been published on a certain topic or research problem.  A literature review is often included as a separate section within a research article. 

In the Methods section of a research article, the researchers describe the design of their study and how it was carried out.  This may include a description of any instrument used to collect quantitative or qualitative data, the sample or participants, how data was gathered, and any statistical analysis of data.    

The Results section of a research article reports the findings of the study, whether they come from quantitative or qualitative measures.  In this section the findings are presented to the reader, but it does not include an interpretation of the findings

In the Discussion section, researchers interpret the findings of the study and comment on whether the study answered the problem/s it was attempting to solve.  Researchers may also discuss the limitations of the study and suggestions for further research.

The bibliography or references section is a list of all the resources cited within the body of the article.

Other Resources

• Parts of the Research Article: Marymount University Library
• OpenMichigan: Major Content Sections of a Research Report and Related Critiquing Guidelines
• Components of a Research Paper: Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching
• Writing the Empirical Research Article: Book Chapter by D.J. Bem
• << Previous: Books & Other Sources
• Next: Reading and Understanding Research >>
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Writing the Five Principal Sections: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion

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The five-part structure of research papers (Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion plus Abstract) serves as the conceptual basis for the content. The structure can be considered an “hourglass” or a “conversation” with predictable elements. Each section of the paper has its own common internal structure and linguistic features. The structures and features are explained with examples from published papers in a range of scientific disciplines. Exceptions to the four-part structure are also discussed.

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Cargill, M., & O’Connor, P. (2009). Writing scientific research articles . West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

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Englander, K. (2014). Writing the Five Principal Sections: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. In: Writing and Publishing Science Research Papers in English. SpringerBriefs in Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7714-9_8

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Finding Scholarly and Peer Reviewed Articles: Parts of a Research Article

• Scholarly v Popular
• Scholarly Sources Evaluation
• Searching for Peer Reviewed Articles
• Parts of a Research Article
• Anatomy of a Research Article

Major Parts of a Research Article

Tutorial: elements of a research article.

• Parts of a Research Article See explanations the components of a scientific and scholarly research article. From the Lamar Soutter Library .
• Research Paper Structure Follow this explanation of research paper structures using the APA style. From the University of California.

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Scholarly Journal Articles: Structure and Function

• Scholarly Publications
• Forms of Literature
• Peer-review
• Structure of a research article
• Sample Articles
• Title and Abstract
• Authors and Funding
• Introduction and Methods
• Results and Discussion

Structure of a research article in the health sciences

Research in the health sciences can be qualitative, quantitative, or a combination of the two. This guide will focus primarily on quantitative research.

Quantitative research articles are usually written in a standardized format called the IMRaD format. This acronym refers to the I ntroduction, M ethods, R esults, (and) D iscussion sections of the articles. There is also usually a Conclusions section. By following this conventional structure, authors ensure that readers of their articles will be able to readily locate the paper's critical elements.

This rule is not hard and fast, and sometimes the sections may be rearranged or combined, or the authors may use alternate wording for the headings. Regardless, the basic elements are usually present.

Some types of original studies , such as case reports, do not readily lend themselves to this format. But even these types of papers will often follow a logical progression, in which they begin by stating the problem, then move on to describing their findings, and finally to offering possible explanations or conclusions.

Journal articles that are not primary literature, most notably review articles, will be written in whatever style is most appropriate to the content.

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Research Basics Tutorial: Parts of a Scholarly Article

• Tutorial Menu
• College-Level Research
• What Do Researchers Do?
• Parts of a Scholarly Article
• How to Search
• Finding Books & Articles
• Evaluating Sources
• Literature Reviews
• Web vs. Google Scholar
• Citing Sources

Qualitative Methods

Key components of a scholarly article.

Components of a Research Article

The title may include terms like “outcomes,” “effects,” “treatments,” and “reactions” that indicate the article deals with research. Example:

Human touch effectively and safely reduces pain in the newborn intensive care unit

Provides the author(s) name(s) and publication information. Example:

Herrington, C. J., & Chiodo, L. M. (2014). Human touch effectively and safely reduces pain in the newborn intensive care unit. Pain Management Nursing , 15 (1), 107-115. doi:10.1016/j.pmn.2012.06.007

Used by readers to quickly evaluate the overall article content. Introduces topic and specific research question, usually provides statement regarding methodology and a general statement about the results and findings.

This was a feasibility pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of the nonpharmacologic pain management technique of gentle human touch (GHT) in reducing pain response to heel stick in premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Eleven premature infants ranging from 27 to 34 weeks’ gestational age, in a level III NICU in a teaching hospital, were recruited and randomized to order of treatment in this repeated-measures crossover-design experiment. Containment with GHT during heel stick was compared with traditional nursery care (side lying and “nested” in an incubator). Heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and cry were measured continuously beginning at baseline and continuing through heel warming, heel stick, and recovery following the heel stick. Infants who did not receive GHT had decreased respiration, increased heart rate, and increased cry time during the heel stick... No significant differences were noted in oxygen saturation in either group. GHT is a simple nonpharmacologic therapy that can be used by nurses and families to reduce pain of heel stick in premature infants in the NICU.

Introduction

Introduces the broad overall topic and provides basic background information.  Then narrows down to the specific research question relating to the topic. Provides the purpose and focus for the rest of the article and sets the justification for the research. Sometimes this includes a literature review that describes past important research and relates it specifically to the research question.

Background: Nearly 13% of all pregnancies result in premature birth (infants born before 37 weeks’ completed gestation) every year in the U.S. ( Martin, Hamilton, Sutton, Ventura, Mathews, & Osterman, 2010 ). It is estimated that 50%–70% of infants born prematurely develop neurobehavioral deficits/delays that are often undiagnosed until preschool and early school age…. Although multiple mechanisms affect overall neurobehavioral development in these infants, increased scientific attention has focused on the detrimental effects of minor repetitive pain exposure in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) ( Fitzgerald & Walker, 2009 ; Grunau, 2002 ; Hack, Klein, & Taylor, 1995 ). . . .

Study Aim: The present study was designed to test the efficacy of gentle human touch in reducing pain response in premature infants undergoing heel stick for medically indicated blood sampling compared with standard nursery care of positioning with nonhuman confinement using “blanket nesting.”

Describes the research design and methodology used to complete the study.  Includes the sample of who was studied and sample size.

Study Design: This was an experimental pilot feasibility study using a repeated-measures crossover study design. Pain response was measured around two medically indicated heel sticks for blood sampling. Each infant received one heel stick with GHT intervention and one heel stick without GHT. Infants served as their own controls with random assignment to order of treatment (GHT vs. no GHT) in blocks of four to maximize study power. . . .

Sample: Sample size was determined using feasibility considerations of the number of premature infants treated in the unit where the study was conducted. . . .

Results of the analysis are presented that are directly related to the research or problem.

Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic data and evaluate distributions, measures of central tendency, and outcome variable variability (HR, RR, SaO 2 , and cry). In SPSS (version 20), repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to analyze the effects of intervention versus no intervention. . . .

Discussion / Conclusion

This section should be a discussion of the results, and the implications on the field. The research question should be answered and validated by the interpretation of the results. This section could also discuss how results relate to previous research, any cautions about the findings, and potential for future research.

Discussion: The data reported here provide evidence of the ability of gentle human touch to reduce pain response in premature infants undergoing heel stick for medically indicated blood sampling compared with standard nursery care of positioning with nonhuman confinement using “blanket nesting. . . .”

Study Limitations: There are study limitations that need to be considered as the findings are interpreted. Although statistical significance was noted in several between-group comparisons, the sample was small, thus threatening study validity. However, the clinical significance is important. . . .

Recommendations for Future Research: …Future research should examine the efficacy of GHT to reduce pain response over the duration of the NICU stay and the potential for sensitization to the GHT when used consistently for pain reduction. . . .

Summary: This study presents new evidence supporting the feasibility and effectiveness of gentle human touch for relief of pain of heel stick in the NICU. GHT is a quick and easy intervention that can be provided by nurses to reduce pain.

This section should be an alphabetized list of all the academic sources of information utilized in the paper.

Axelin, A., Salantera, S., Lehtonen, L. (2006). Facilitated tucking by parents’ in pain management of preterm infants—A randomized crossover trial. Early Human Development, 82 (4) (2006), pp. 241–247.

Fitzgerald, M., Walker, S.M. (2009). Infant pain management: A developmental neurobiological approach . Nature Clinical Practice. Neurology, 5 (1) pp. 35–50.

A Few Basic Types of Scholarly Articles

Peer review isn't a tough concept. It just means that the article was reviewed by scholars and meets certain standards with regards to a publication or a discipline. These articles are typically written by professors or specialists. A great clue that something is peer reviewed or scholarly: The article contains a list of references or cites.

Qualitative research seeks to understanding some aspect of social life, and its methods (usually) generate words, rather than numbers, as data for analysis. These research methods seek to understand the experiences and attitudes of the people being studied. They answer questions about the “what,” “how, “ or “why” of a phenomenon rather than “how many” or “how much,” which are answered by quantitative methods.

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Anatomy of a Scholarly Article: NCSU Libraries . (2009, July 13). https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/scholarly-articles/

Evelyn, S. (2021). LibGuides: Evaluating Information: How to Read a Scholarly Article . https://libguides.brown.edu/evaluate/ Read

Rempel, H. (2021). LibGuides: FW 107: Orientation to Fisheries and Wildlife: 5. The Anatomy of a Scholarly Article . https://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/ c.php?g=286038&p=1905154

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How to Read a Scholarly Article

• Introduction

Article Text

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• 2. Sections of a Scholarly Article: Humanities Article

Sections of a Scholarly Journal Article About Scientific Research

Let's look at the different parts of a scholarly article that presents scientific research:

• Brief description of the article
• You can read this to decide whether you want to read the entire article.

Introduction:

• Description of the problem, or the research question, and why this study is being done
• Sometimes includes a short literature review (a discussion of other sources, such as books and articles, that informed the author(s) of this article)

• The main part of an article is its body text.
• This is where the author analyzes the argument, research question, or problem. This section also includes analysis and criticism.
• The author may use headings to divide this part of the article into sections. 

Scientific research articles may include these sections:

• Literature review (Discussion of other sources, such as books and articles, that informed the author(s) of this article)
• Methods (Description of the way the research study was set up and how data was collected)
• Results (Presentation of the research study results)
• Discussion (Discussion of whether the results of the study answer the research question)

You may see some of these same sections in articles written by scholars who work in the humanities (fields of study that include literature, philosophy, history, languages, and the arts).

Conclusion:

• Wraps up the article.
• This section isn't always labeled. 
• Description of how this article or research study contributes to or builds on the previous research of other scholars.
• Also includes ideas for future research others might do on this topic.

References/Works Cited:

List of resources (books, articles, etc.) cited in this article.

This example uses pages from this article: Sampson, L., Ettman, C., Abdalla, S., Colyer, E., Dukes, K., Lane, K., & Galea, S. (2021). Financial hardship and health risk behavior during COVID-19 in a large US national sample of women. SSM - Population Health, 13, 100734–100734 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100734

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Scientific and Scholarly Writing

• PubMed and other NLM Literature Databases
• Tracking and Citing References

Parts of a Scientific & Scholarly Paper

Introduction.

• Writing Effectively
• Where to Publish?
• Avoid Plagiarism

Different sections are needed in different types of scientific papers (lab reports, literature reviews, systematic reviews, methods papers, research papers, etc.). Projects that overlap with the social sciences or humanities may have different requirements. Generally, however, you'll need to include:

INTRODUCTION (Background)

METHODS SECTION (Materials and Methods)

What is a title?

Titles have two functions: to identify the main topic or the message of the paper and to attract readers.

The title will be read by many people. Only a few will read the entire paper, therefore all words in the title should be chosen with care. Too short a title is not helpful to the potential reader. Too long a title can sometimes be even less meaningful. Remember a title is not an abstract. Neither is a title a sentence.

What makes a good title?

A good title is accurate, complete, and specific. Imagine searching for your paper in PubMed. What words would you use?

• Use the fewest possible words that describe the contents of the paper.
• Avoid waste words like "Studies on", or "Investigations on".
• Use specific terms rather than general.
• Use the same key terms in the title as the paper.
• Watch your word order and syntax.
• Avoid abbreviations, jargon, and special characters.

The abstract is a miniature version of your paper. It should present the main story and a few essential details of the paper for readers who only look at the abstract and should serve as a clear preview for readers who read your whole paper. They are usually short (250 words or less).

The goal is to communicate:

•  What was done?
•  Why was it done?
•  How was it done?
•  What was found?

A good abstract is specific and selective. Try summarizing each of the sections of your paper in a sentence two. Do the abstract last, so you know exactly what you want to write.

• Use 1 or more well developed paragraphs.
• Use introduction/body/conclusion structure.
• Present purpose, results, conclusions and recommendations in that order.
• Make it understandable to a wide audience.

What is an introduction?

The introduction tells the reader why you are writing your paper (ie, identifies a gap in the literature) and supplies sufficient background information that the reader can understand and evaluate your project without referring to previous publications on the topic.

The nature and scope of the problem investigated.

The pertinent literature already written on the subject.

The method of the investigation.

The hypothesized results of the project.

What makes a good introduction?

A good introduction is not the same as an abstract. Where the abstract summarizes your paper, the introduction justifies your project and lets readers know what to expect.

• Keep it brief. You conducted an extensive literature review, so that you can give readers just the relevant information. • Cite your sources using in-text citations. • Use the present tense. Keep using the present tense for the whole paper. • Use the same information that you use in the rest of your paper.

What is a methods section?

Generally a methods section tells the reader how you conducted your project. 

It is also called "Materials and Methods".

The goal is to make your project reproducible.

What makes a good methods section?

A good methods section gives enough detail that another scientist could reproduce or replicate your results.

• Use very specific language, similar to a recipe in a cookbook. • If something is not standard (equipment, method, chemical compound, statistical analysis), then describe it. • Use the past tense. • Subheadings should follow guidelines of a style (APA, Vancouver, etc.) or journal (journals will specify these in their "for authors" section). For medical education writing, refer to the AMA Manual of Style .

  What is a results section?

The results objectively present the data or information that you gathered through your project. The narrative that you write here will point readers to your figures and tables that present your relevant data.

Keep in mind that you may be able to include more of your data in an online journal supplement or research data repository.

What makes a good results section?

A good results section is not the same as the discussion. Present the facts in the results, saving the interpretation for the discussion section. The results section should be written in past tense.

• Make figures and tables clearly labelled and easy to read. If you include a figure or table, explain it in the results section. • Present representative data rather than endlessly repetitive data . • Discuss variables only if they had an effect (positive or negative) • Use meaningful statistics . • Describe statistical analyses you ran on the data.

What is a discussion section?

The discussion section is the answer to the question(s) you posed in the introduction section. It is where you interpret your results. You have a lot of flexibility in this section. In addition to your main findings or conclusions, consider:

• Limitations and strengths of your project. • Directions for future research.

What makes a good  discussion section?

A good discussion section should read very differently than the results section. The discussion is where you interpret the project as a whole.

• Present principles, relationships and generalizations shown by the results. • Discuss the significance or importance of the results. • Discuss the theoretical implications of your work as well as practical applications • Show how your results agree or disagree with previously published works.

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Parts of a Research Paper

One of the most important aspects of science is ensuring that you get all the parts of the written research paper in the right order.

This article is a part of the guide:

• Outline Examples
• Example of a Paper
• Write a Hypothesis
• Introduction

Browse Full Outline

• 1 Write a Research Paper
• 2 Writing a Paper
• 3.1 Write an Outline
• 3.2 Outline Examples
• 4.1 Thesis Statement
• 4.2 Write a Hypothesis
• 5.2 Abstract
• 5.3 Introduction
• 5.4 Methods
• 5.5 Results
• 5.6 Discussion
• 5.7 Conclusion
• 5.8 Bibliography
• 6.1 Table of Contents
• 6.2 Acknowledgements
• 6.3 Appendix
• 7.1 In Text Citations
• 7.2 Footnotes
• 7.3.1 Floating Blocks
• 7.4 Example of a Paper
• 7.5 Example of a Paper 2
• 7.6.1 Citations
• 7.7.1 Writing Style
• 7.7.2 Citations
• 8.1.1 Sham Peer Review
• 8.1.2 Advantages
• 8.1.3 Disadvantages
• 8.2 Publication Bias
• 8.3.1 Journal Rejection
• 9.1 Article Writing
• 9.2 Ideas for Topics

You may have finished the best research project on earth but, if you do not write an interesting and well laid out paper, then nobody is going to take your findings seriously.

The main thing to remember with any research paper is that it is based on an hourglass structure. It begins with general information and undertaking a literature review , and becomes more specific as you nail down a research problem and hypothesis .

Finally, it again becomes more general as you try to apply your findings to the world at general.

Whilst there are a few differences between the various disciplines, with some fields placing more emphasis on certain parts than others, there is a basic underlying structure.

These steps are the building blocks of constructing a good research paper. This section outline how to lay out the parts of a research paper, including the various experimental methods and designs.

The principles for literature review and essays of all types follow the same basic principles.

Reference List

For many students, writing the introduction is the first part of the process, setting down the direction of the paper and laying out exactly what the research paper is trying to achieve.

For others, the introduction is the last thing written, acting as a quick summary of the paper. As long as you have planned a good structure for the parts of a research paper, both approaches are acceptable and it is a matter of preference.

A good introduction generally consists of three distinct parts:

• You should first give a general presentation of the research problem.
• You should then lay out exactly what you are trying to achieve with this particular research project.
• You should then state your own position.

Ideally, you should try to give each section its own paragraph, but this will vary given the overall length of the paper.

1) General Presentation

Look at the benefits to be gained by the research or why the problem has not been solved yet. Perhaps nobody has thought about it, or maybe previous research threw up some interesting leads that the previous researchers did not follow up.

Another researcher may have uncovered some interesting trends, but did not manage to reach the significance level , due to experimental error or small sample sizes .

2) Purpose of the Paper

The research problem does not have to be a statement, but must at least imply what you are trying to find.

Many writers prefer to place the thesis statement or hypothesis here, which is perfectly acceptable, but most include it in the last sentences of the introduction, to give the reader a fuller picture.

3) A Statement of Intent From the Writer

The idea is that somebody will be able to gain an overall view of the paper without needing to read the whole thing. Literature reviews are time-consuming enough, so give the reader a concise idea of your intention before they commit to wading through pages of background.

In this section, you look to give a context to the research, including any relevant information learned during your literature review. You are also trying to explain why you chose this area of research, attempting to highlight why it is necessary. The second part should state the purpose of the experiment and should include the research problem. The third part should give the reader a quick summary of the form that the parts of the research paper is going to take and should include a condensed version of the discussion.

This should be the easiest part of the paper to write, as it is a run-down of the exact design and methodology used to perform the research. Obviously, the exact methodology varies depending upon the exact field and type of experiment .

There is a big methodological difference between the apparatus based research of the physical sciences and the methods and observation methods of social sciences. However, the key is to ensure that another researcher would be able to replicate the experiment to match yours as closely as possible, but still keeping the section concise.

You can assume that anybody reading your paper is familiar with the basic methods, so try not to explain every last detail. For example, an organic chemist or biochemist will be familiar with chromatography, so you only need to highlight the type of equipment used rather than explaining the whole process in detail.

In the case of a survey , if you have too many questions to cover in the method, you can always include a copy of the questionnaire in the appendix . In this case, make sure that you refer to it.

This is probably the most variable part of any research paper, and depends on the results and aims of the experiment.

For quantitative research , it is a presentation of the numerical results and data, whereas for qualitative research it should be a broader discussion of trends, without going into too much detail.

For research generating a lot of results , then it is better to include tables or graphs of the analyzed data and leave the raw data in the appendix, so that a researcher can follow up and check your calculations.

A commentary is essential to linking the results together, rather than just displaying isolated and unconnected charts and figures.

It can be quite difficult to find a good balance between the results and the discussion section, because some findings, especially in a quantitative or descriptive experiment , will fall into a grey area. Try to avoid repeating yourself too often.

It is best to try to find a middle path, where you give a general overview of the data and then expand on it in the discussion - you should try to keep your own opinions and interpretations out of the results section, saving that for the discussion later on.

This is where you elaborate on your findings, and explain what you found, adding your own personal interpretations.

Ideally, you should link the discussion back to the introduction, addressing each point individually.

It’s important to make sure that every piece of information in your discussion is directly related to the thesis statement , or you risk cluttering your findings. In keeping with the hourglass principle, you can expand on the topic later in the conclusion .

The conclusion is where you build on your discussion and try to relate your findings to other research and to the world at large.

In a short research paper, it may be a paragraph or two, or even a few lines.

In a dissertation, it may well be the most important part of the entire paper - not only does it describe the results and discussion in detail, it emphasizes the importance of the results in the field, and ties it in with the previous research.

Some research papers require a recommendations section, postulating the further directions of the research, as well as highlighting how any flaws affected the results. In this case, you should suggest any improvements that could be made to the research design .

No paper is complete without a reference list , documenting all the sources that you used for your research. This should be laid out according to APA , MLA or other specified format, allowing any interested researcher to follow up on the research.

One habit that is becoming more common, especially with online papers, is to include a reference to your own paper on the final page. Lay this out in MLA, APA and Chicago format, allowing anybody referencing your paper to copy and paste it.

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BSCI 1510L Literature and Stats Guide: 3.2 Components of a scientific paper

• 1 What is a scientific paper?
• 2 Referencing and accessing papers
• 2.1 Literature Cited
• 2.2 Accessing Scientific Papers
• 2.3 Traversing the web of citations
• 2.4 Keyword Searches
• 3 Style of scientific writing
• 3.1 Specific details regarding scientific writing

3.2 Components of a scientific paper

• 4 Summary of the Writing Guide and Further Information
• Appendix A: Calculation Final Concentrations
• 1 Formulas in Excel
• 2 Basic operations in Excel
• 3 Measurement and Variation
• 3.1 Describing Quantities and Their Variation
• 3.2 Samples Versus Populations
• 3.3 Calculating Descriptive Statistics using Excel
• 4 Variation and differences
• 5 Differences in Experimental Science
• 5.1 Aside: Commuting to Nashville
• 5.2 P and Detecting Differences in Variable Quantities
• 5.3 Statistical significance
• 5.4 A test for differences of sample means: 95% Confidence Intervals
• 5.5 Error bars in figures
• 5.6 Discussing statistics in your scientific writing
• 6 Scatter plot, trendline, and linear regression
• 7 The t-test of Means
• 8 Paired t-test
• 9 Two-Tailed and One-Tailed Tests
• 10 Variation on t-tests: ANOVA
• 11 Reporting the Results of a Statistical Test
• 12 Summary of statistical tests
• 1 Objectives
• 2 Project timeline
• 3 Background
• 4 Previous work in the BSCI 111 class
• 5 General notes about the project
• 6 About the paper
• 7 References

Nearly all journal articles are divided into the following major sections: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references or literature cited.   Usually the sections are labeled as such, although often the introduction (and sometimes the abstract) is not labeled.  Sometimes alternative section titles are used.  The abstract is sometimes called the "summary", the methods are sometimes called "materials and methods", and the discussion is sometimes called "conclusions".   Some journals also include the minor sections of "key words" following the abstract, and "acknowledgments" following the discussion.  In some journals, the sections may be divided into subsections that are given descriptive titles.  However, the general division into the six major sections is nearly universal.

3.2.1 Abstract

The abstract is a short summary (150-200 words or less) of the important points of the paper.  It does not generally include background information.  There may be a very brief statement of the rationale for conducting the study.  It describes what was done, but without details.  It also describes the results in a summarized way that usually includes whether or not the statistical tests were significant.  It usually concludes with a brief statement of the importance of the results.  Abstracts do not include references.  When writing a paper, the abstract is always the last part to be written.

The purpose of the abstract is to allow potential readers of a paper to find out the important points of the paper without having to actually read the paper.  It should be a self-contained unit capable of being understood without the benefit of the text of the article . It essentially serves as an "advertisement" for the paper that readers use to determine whether or not they actually want to wade through the entire paper or not.  Abstracts are generally freely available in electronic form and are often presented in the results of an electronic search.  If searchers do not have electronic access to the journal in which the article is published, the abstract is the only means that they have to decide whether to go through the effort (going to the library to look up the paper journal, requesting a reprint from the author, buying a copy of the article from a service, requesting the article by Interlibrary Loan) of acquiring the article.  Therefore it is important that the abstract accurately and succinctly presents the most important information in the article.

3.2.2 Introduction

The introduction section of a paper provides the background information necessary to understand why the described experiment was conducted.  The introduction should describe previous research on the topic that has led to the unanswered questions being addressed by the experiment and should cite important previous papers that form the background for the experiment.  The introduction should also state in an organized fashion the goals of the research, i.e. the particular, specific questions that will be tested in the experiments.  There should be a one-to-one correspondence between questions raised in the introduction and points discussed in the conclusion section of the paper.  In other words, do not raise questions in the introduction unless you are going to have some kind of answer to the question that you intend to discuss at the end of the paper. 

You may have been told that every paper must have a hypothesis that can be clearly stated.  That is often true, but not always.  If your experiment involves a manipulation which tests a specific hypothesis, then you should clearly state that hypothesis.  On the other hand, if your experiment was primarily exploratory, descriptive, or measurative, then you probably did not have an  a priori  hypothesis, so don't pretend that you did and make one up.  (See the discussion in the introduction to Experiment 5 for more on this.)  If you state a hypothesis in the introduction, it should be a general hypothesis and not a null or alternative hypothesis for a statistical test.  If it is necessary to explain how a statistical test will help you evaluate your general hypothesis, explain that in the methods section. 

A good introduction should be fairly heavy with citations.  This indicates to the reader that the authors are informed about previous work on the topic and are not working in a vacuum.  Citations also provide jumping-off points to allow the reader to explore other tangents to the subject that are not directly addressed in the paper.  If the paper supports or refutes previous work, readers can look up the citations and make a comparison for themselves. 

"Do not get lost in reviewing background information. Remember that the Introduction is meant to introduce the reader to your research, not summarize and evaluate all past literature on the subject (which is the purpose of a review paper). Many of the other studies you may be tempted to discuss in your Introduction are better saved for the Discussion, where they become a powerful tool for comparing and interpreting your results. Include only enough background information to allow your reader to understand why you are asking the questions you are and why your hypotheses are reasonable ones. Often, a brief explanation of the theory involved is sufficient.

Write this section in the past or present tense, never in the future. " (Steingraber et al. 1985)

In other words, the introduction section relates what the topic being investigated is, why it is important, what research (if any) has been done prior that is relevant to what you are trying to do, and in what ways you will be looking into this topic.

An example to think about:

This is an example of a student-derived introduction.  Read the paragraph and before you go beyond, think about the paragraph first.

"Hand-washing is one of the most effective and simplest of ways to reduce infection and disease, and thereby causing less death.  When examining the effects of soap on hands, it was the work of Sickbert-Bennett and colleagues (2005) that showed that using soap or an alcohol on the hands during hand-washing was a significant effect in removing bacteria from the human hand.  Based on the work of this, the team led by Larsen (1991) then showed that the use of computer imaging could be a more effective way to compare the amount of bacteria on a hand."

There are several aspects within this "introduction" that could use improvement.  A group of any random 4 of you could easily come up with at 10 different things to reword, revise, expand upon.

In specific, there should be one thing addressed that more than likely you did not catch when you were reading it.

The citations: Not the format, but the logical use of them.

Look again. "...the work of Sickbert-Bennett...(2005)" and then "Based on the work of this, the team led by Larsen (1991)..."

How can someone in 1991 use or base their work on something from 2005?

They cannot.  You can spend an entire hour using spellcheck and reading through and through again to find all the little things to "give it more oomph", but at the core, you still must present a clear and concise and logical thought-process.

3.2.3 Methods (taken mostly verbatim from Steingraber et al. 1985, until the version A, B,C portion)

The function of the methods section is to describe all experimental procedures, including controls.  The description should be complete enough to enable someone else to repeat your work.  If there is more than one part to the experiment, it is a good idea to describe your methods and present your results in the same order in each section. This may not be the same order in which the experiments were performed -it is up to you to decide what order of presentation will make the most sense to your reader.

1.  Explain why each procedure was done, i.e., what variable were you measuring and why? Example:

Difficult to understand :  First, I removed the frog muscle and then I poured Ringer’s solution on it. Next, I attached it to the kymograph.

Improved:   I removed the frog muscle and poured Ringer’s solution on it to prevent it from drying out. I then attached the muscle to the kymograph in order to determine the minimum voltage required for contraction.

Better:   Frog muscle was excised between attachment points to the bone. Ringer's solution was added to the excised section to prevent drying out. The muscle was attached to the kymograph in order to determine the minimum voltage required for contraction.

2.  Experimental procedures and results are narrated in the past tense (what you did, what you found, etc.) whereas conclusions from your results are given in the present tense.

3.  Mathematical equations and statistical tests are considered mathematical methods and should be described in this section along with the actual experimental work. (Show a sample calculation, state the type of test(s) performed and program used)

4.  Use active rather than passive voice when possible.  [Note: see Section 3.1.4 for more about this.]  Always use the singular "I" rather than the plural "we" when you are the only author of the paper (Methods section only).  Throughout the paper, avoid contractions, e.g. did not vs. didn’t.

5.  If any of your methods is fully described in a previous publication (yours or someone else’s), you can cite work that instead of describing the procedure again.

Example:  The chromosomes were counted at meiosis in the anthers with the standard acetocarmine technique of Snow (1955).

Below is a PARTIAL and incomplete version of a "method".  Without getting into the details of why, Version A and B are bad.  A is missing too many details and B is giving some extra details but not giving some important ones, such as the volumes used.  Version C is still not complete, but it is at least a viable method. Notice that C is also not the longest....it is possible to be detailed without being long-winded.

In other words, the methods section is what you did in the experiment and has enough details that someone else can repeat your experiment.  If the methods section has excluded one or more important detail(s) such that the reader of the method does not know what happened, it is a 'poor' methods section.  Similarly, by giving out too many useless details a methods section can be 'poor'.

You may have multiple sub-sections within your methods (i.e., a section for media preparation, a section for where the chemicals came from, a section for the basic physical process that occurred, etc.,).  A methods section is  NEVER  a list of numbered steps.

3.2.4 Results (with excerpts from Steingraber et al. 1985)

The function of this section is to summarize general trends in the data without comment, bias, or interpretation. The results of statistical tests applied to your data are reported in this section although conclusions about your original hypotheses are saved for the Discussion section. In other words, you state "the P-value" in Results and whether below/above 0.05 and thus significant/not significant while in the Discussion you restate the P-value and then formally state what that means beyond "significant/not significant".

Tables and figures  should be used  when they are a more efficient way to convey information than verbal description. They must be independent units, accompanied by explanatory captions that allow them to be understood by someone who has not read the text. Do not repeat in the text the information in tables and figures, but do cite them, with a summary statement when that is appropriate.  Example:

Incorrect:   The results are given in Figure 1.

Correct:   Temperature was directly proportional to metabolic rate (Fig. 1).

Please note that the entire word "Figure" is almost never written in an article.  It is nearly always abbreviated as "Fig." and capitalized.  Tables are cited in the same way, although Table is not abbreviated.

Whenever possible, use a figure instead of a table. Relationships between numbers are more readily grasped when they are presented graphically rather than as columns in a table.

Data may be presented in figures and tables, but this may not substitute for a verbal summary of the findings. The text should be  understandable  by someone who has not seen your figures and tables.

1.  All results should be presented, including those that do not support the hypothesis.

2.  Statements made in the text must be supported by the results contained in figures and tables.

3.  The results of statistical tests can be presented in parentheses following a verbal description.

Example: Fruit size was significantly greater in trees growing alone (t = 3.65, df = 2, p < 0.05).

Simple results of statistical tests may be reported in the text as shown in the preceding example.  The results of multiple tests may be reported in a table if that increases clarity. (See Section 11 of the Statistics Manual for more details about reporting the results of statistical tests.)  It is not necessary to provide a citation for a simple t-test of means, paired t-test, or linear regression.  If you use other more complex (or less well-known) tests, you should cite the text or reference you followed to do the test.  In your materials and methods section, you should report how you did the test (e.g. using the statistical analysis package of Excel). 

It is NEVER appropriate to simply paste the results from statistical software into the results section of your paper.   The output generally reports more information than is required and it is not in an appropriate format for a paper. Similar, do NOT place a screenshot.  

Should you include every data point or not in the paper?  Prior to 2010 or so, most papers would probably not present the actual raw data collected, but rather show the "descriptive statistics" about their data (mean, SD, SE, CI, etc.). Often, people could simply contact the author(s) for the data and go from there.  As many journals have a significant on-line footprint now, it has become increasingly more common that the entire data could be included in the paper.  And realize why the entire raw data may not have been included in a publication. Prior to about 2010, your publication had limited  paper space  to be seen on.  If you have a sample of size of 10 or 50, you probably could show the entire data set easily in one table/figure and it not take up too much printed space. If your sample size was 500 or 5,000 or more, the size of the data alone would take pages of printed text.  Given how much the Internet and on-line publications have improved/increased in storage space, often now there will be either an embedded file to access or the author(s) will place the file on-line somewhere with an address link, such as GitHub.  Videos of the experiment are also shown as well now.

3.2.4.1 Tables

• Do not repeat information in a table that you are depicting in a graph or histogram; include a table only if it presents new information.
• It is easier to compare numbers by reading down a column rather than across a row. Therefore, list sets of data you want your reader to compare in vertical form.
• Provide each table with a number (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and a title. The numbered title is placed above the table .
• Please see Section 11 of the Excel Reference and Statistics Manual for further information on reporting the results of statistical tests.

3.2.4.2. Figures

• These comprise graphs, histograms, and illustrations, both drawings and photographs. Provide each figure with a number (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.) and a caption (or "legend") that explains what the figure shows. The numbered caption is placed below the figure .  Figure legend = Figure caption.
• Figures submitted for publication must be "photo ready," i.e., they will appear just as you submit them, or photographically reduced. Therefore, when you graduate from student papers to publishable manuscripts, you must learn to prepare figures that will not embarrass you. At the present time, virtually all journals require manuscripts to be submitted electronically and it is generally assumed that all graphs and maps will be created using software rather than being created by hand.  Nearly all journals have specific guidelines for the file types, resolution, and physical widths required for figures.  Only in a few cases (e.g. sketched diagrams) would figures still be created by hand using ink and those figures would be scanned and labeled using graphics software.  Proportions must be the same as those of the page in the journal to which the paper will be submitted. 
• Graphs and Histograms: Both can be used to compare two variables. However, graphs show continuous change, whereas histograms show discrete variables only.  You can compare groups of data by plotting two or even three lines on one graph, but avoid cluttered graphs that are hard to read, and do not plot unrelated trends on the same graph. For both graphs, and histograms, plot the independent variable on the horizontal (x) axis and the dependent variable on the vertical (y) axis. Label both axes, including units of measurement except in the few cases where variables are unitless, such as absorbance.
• Drawings and Photographs: These are used to illustrate organisms, experimental apparatus, models of structures, cellular and subcellular structure, and results of procedures like electrophoresis. Preparing such figures well is a lot of work and can be very expensive, so each figure must add enough to justify its preparation and publication, but good figures can greatly enhance a professional article, as your reading in biological journals has already shown.

3.2.5 Discussion (modified; taken from Steingraber et al. 1985)

The function of this section is to analyze the data and relate them to other studies. To "analyze" means to evaluate the meaning of your results in terms of the original question or hypothesis and point out their biological significance.

1. The Discussion should contain at least:

• the relationship between the results and the original hypothesis, i.e., whether they support the hypothesis, or cause it to be rejected or modified
• an integration of your results with those of previous studies in order to arrive at explanations for the observed phenomena
• possible explanations for unexpected results and observations, phrased as hypotheses that can be tested by realistic experimental procedures, which you should describe

2. Trends that are not statistically significant can still be discussed if they are suggestive or interesting, but cannot be made the basis for conclusions as if they were significant.

3. Avoid redundancy between the Results and the Discussion section. Do not repeat detailed descriptions of the data and results in the Discussion. In some journals, Results and Discussions are joined in a single section, in order to permit a single integrated treatment with minimal repetition. This is more appropriate for short, simple articles than for longer, more complicated ones.

4.  End the Discussion with a summary of the principal points you want the reader to remember. This is also the appropriate place to propose specific further study if that will serve some purpose,  but do not end with the tired cliché  that "this problem needs more study." All problems in biology need more study. Do not close on what you wish you had done, rather finish stating your conclusions and contributions.

5.  Conclusion section.  Primarily dependent upon the complexity and depth of an experiment, there may be a formal conclusion section after the discussion section. In general, the last line or so of the discussion section should be a more or less summary statement of the overall finding of the experiment.  IF the experiment was large enough/complex enough/multiple findings uncovered, a distinct paragraph (or two) may be needed to help clarify the findings.  Again, only if the experiment scale/findings warrant a separate conclusion section.

3.2.6 Title

The title of the paper should be the last thing that you write.  That is because it should distill the essence of the paper even more than the abstract (the next to last thing that you write). 

The title should contain three elements:

1. the name of the organism studied;

2. the particular aspect or system studied;

3. the variable(s) manipulated.

Do not be afraid to be grammatically creative. Here are some variations on a theme, all suitable as titles:

THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON GERMINATION OF ZEA MAYS

DOES TEMPERATURE AFFECT GERMINATION OF ZEA MAYS?

TEMPERATURE AND ZEA MAYS GERMINATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURE

Sometimes it is possible to include the principal result or conclusion in the title:

HIGH TEMPERATURES REDUCE GERMINATION OF ZEA MAYS

Note for the BSCI 1510L class: to make your paper look more like a real paper, you can list all of the other group members as co-authors.  However, if you do that, you should list you name first so that we know that you wrote it.

3.2.7 Literature Cited

Please refer to section 2.1 of this guide.

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Family Life Education Methodology: Parts of a Research Article

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Reading Article Video

Parts of a research article, example video.

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This video shows you the different parts of a real research article. You can click on the video to make it larger. 

R esearch articles tend to have 6 or 7 parts, each part is normally labeled.

1. Abstract: This is the first part of the article, normally at the top and set apart from the rest of the article. The abstract describes what the article is about. 

2. Introduction: This is the first part of the actual text; it explains why the researchers selected the topic to study and why it is important.

3. Literature Review: In this section, the authors discuss research that is important to their study, this section can be long or short. Sometimes the introduction and literature review sections are combined.

4. Methods/Data Analysis: The methods portion of the article explains how the researchers actually conducted the research. Often it will include information on the participants and data collection methods used. They will also explain how the data was analyzed. This section may also include limitations of the research.

5. Results: This is where the authors tell you what they found.

6. Discussion: Here the authors discuss how their findings (results) tie back into the other research done in the field and why what they found is important. They may also give ideas for further research.

7. References: This section includes all the references to items cited within the body of the article.

This video shows the parts of a research article. You can click on the video to make it larger. 

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How to Write a Research Paper: 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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Additional Resources

• Anatomy of a Scholarly Article This interactive page explains the different sections that are often present with scholarly/academic articles.
• Guide on the Side: Reading Scholarly Articles An excellent step-by-step interactive guide hosted by Indiana University.
• How to Read a Journal Article How you should read journal articles and when you should look an article structurally (big picture) versus closely (nitty-gritty). By Frederique Laubepin, Ph.D., Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan (2013)
• CLIP Tutorial: Popular and Scholarly Sources This chart explains the differences between popular and scholarly sources.

How To Read a Scholarly Journal Article

This video excels at describing and highlighting the anatomy of scholarly articles and their value to readers.

Things to Consider When Reading a Scholarly Article

Consider the following points when reading a scholarly article:

• Know your research question or argument.  Though your question/argument may change or evolve as you delve deeper into the research process, you will want to have a solid idea of your research focus.
• You don't have to read the entire article in order.  Start with the abstract which will give you a general summary of the article. If the abstract seems relevant then move to the conclusion or discussion section of the article to gain a better understanding of the article's main claims. At this point if the article does not seem relevant or useful then discard it. However, if the article does seem useful then spend as much time as necessary reading the article.
• Read critically.  What is the author's argument? You will need to use your judgment when evaluating each source of information. Further research may be necessary if you find the author to be biased or you do not believe the validity of their argument. 
• Read the reference section.  Reading the references or works cited may lead you to other useful resources. You might also get a better understanding of the major players in the area you are researching. 
• Take notes.  How you do this is up to you. Make sure you keep your research question and argument in mind so you can be more efficient when taking notes. 

http://libguides.csuchico.edu/c.php?g=462359&p=3163509

Learn more: Scholarly versus Popular Articles

Scholarly, Trade, & Popular Articles from PALNI on Vimeo .

Academic Article Layout

An abstract is a summary of the main article. An abstract will include information about why the research study was done, what the methodology was and something about the findings of the author(s). The abstract is always at the beginning of the article and will either be labeled "abstract" or will be set apart from the rest of the article by a different font or margins.

The abstract should tell you what the research study is about, how the research was done (methodology), who the research sample was, what the authors found and why this is important to the field.

Introduction

Most articles will start with an introductory section, which may be labeled introduction. This section introduces the research study, the thesis statement and why the research being conducted is important.

Questions to ask while you read:

• What is the thesis? What are the authors trying to prove or disprove?
• What is the contribution that the authors are making to the field?

Literature Review

The literature review section of an article is a summary or analysis of all the research the author read before doing his/her own research. This section may be part of the introduction or in a section called Background. It provides the background on who has done related research, what that research has or has not uncovered and how the current research contributes to the conversation on the topic. When you read the lit review ask:

• Does the review of the literature logically lead up to the research questions?
• Do the authors review articles relevant to their research study?
• Do the authors show where there are gaps in the literature?

The lit review is also a good place to find other sources you may want to read on this topic to help you get the bigger picture.

Methodology

The methodology section or methods section tells you how the author(s) went about doing their research. It should let you know a) what method they used to gather data (survey, interviews, experiments, etc.), why they chose this method, and what the limitations are to this method.

The methodology section should be detailed enough that another researcher could replicate the study described. When you read the methodology or methods section:

• What kind of research method did the authors use? Is it an appropriate method for the type of study they are conducting?
• How did the authors get their tests subjects? What criteria did they use?
• What are the contexts of the study that may have affected the results (e.g. environmental conditions, lab conditions, timing questions, etc.)
• Is the sample size representative of the larger population (i.e., was it big enough?)
• Are the data collection instruments and procedures likely to have measured all the important characteristics with reasonable accuracy?
• Does the data analysis appear to have been done with care, and were appropriate analytical techniques used? 

A good researcher will always let you know about the limitations of his or her research.

The results section in a scholarly article is where the author(s) talk about what they found in their research study. Most scholarly articles will have a section labeled results or findings.

Research articles are full of data . The data should be complete and directly support the conclusions the authors' draw about their research question.

Tables, graphs, and charts are good indicators that this is a research article. The tables should represent the data in a clear and readable manner.

The discussion section is where the author(s) write about what they found and what they think it means. The authors may also draw some conclusions about the research and what significance it has in this section. This section will also tell you what some of the issues were with the research or using a specific population for a research study.

The final section is usually called the conclusion or recommendations. Here is where the authors summarize what they found, why they think their research is significant and, if appropriate, make recommendations about future actions or future research that needs to be conducted. In some cases, the conclusion is part of the discussion section.

At the end of a scholarly article, you will find a list of the works cited by the author(s). This list is called a reference list, works cited or bibliography. In scholarly articles, this list will generally be quite long and include articles, books, and other sources.

When you look at the references, take a look at the dates of the articles and books listed. Are they recent?  Does this list include both historic and current articles? If you know something about the topic, do you recognize any of the authors listed?

Scholarly vs Popular

Scholarly & Popular Articles   by  adstarkel . Used under  CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

How to Tell if a Source is Scholarly/Academic

How to tell if a Source is Scholarly/Academic   by  adstarkel . Used under  CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Finding Scholarly/Academic Articles

To locate scholarly/academic articles, your best bet is to look in one of our databases or use WorldCat Discovery and limit your search to articles. You will likely find that there are LOTS of popular sources in with the academic ones, even within our databases. Use the Peer-Review Limiter to your advantage. This option is normally located in the left column; you can see screenshots of this option from WorldCat Discovery (left) and our EBSCO databases (right).

This will limit your search to publications that are most scholarly/academic. It does not necessarily filter to include publications that go through a strict peer-review process. It also does not apply the filter at the article level; occasionally it will allows articles that are not scholarly/academic to come through (for example, an editorial opinion piece can be published in a scholarly journal but the article itself is not scholarly). 

If you have questions about whether or not a source is scholarly/academic, ask your professor or a librarian!

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Anatomy of a Research Article

• Identiying Primary Sources
• APA Style Guide

In class, we discussed not just how to locate research articles in the LLBA, but also how to read them strategically by identifying their main components. As I noted in class, this will vary by field and there are times you can identify the field based just on how an article is structured. Being aware of this is an important research skill and part of being a strategic reader.

Remember that, when conducting your literature review, you don't need to read every article you find in depth. Rather, your scanning it for relevance to see which ones fit the scope of your project. You can do this by reading the abstract and introduction. If they look promising, scroll down to the results, discussion, and conclusion to see how well it fits with your project.

For example, common features of Social Science articles are:

• Author credentials
• Introduction
• Literature review
• overview of the study being conducted or analyzed
• Works Cited

Being able to identify these components and noting that they each serve a specific purpose can make a 30-40 page research study seem a lot less intimidating.

This can also give you insight into the norms of the field you're working in and how to structure your own study. 

***Pro Tip:

In class, I showed you how to scan articles for terms like "more research is needed" or "further research is needed." These terms usually appear in the discussion section or conclusion of an article and they're useful because the authors are telling you what to do next. Once you start gather articles for your lit review, scan them for those terms and you'll gain insight into where to go with your own research because they're literally telling you what needs to be done next.

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• Last Updated: Sep 12, 2024 4:35 PM
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• Academic essay overview
• The writing process
• Structuring academic essays
• Types of academic essays
• Academic writing overview
• Sentence structure
• Academic writing process
• Improving your academic writing
• Titles and headings
• APA style overview
• APA citation & referencing
• APA structure & sections
• Citation & referencing
• Structure and sections
• APA examples overview
• Commonly used citations
• Other examples
• British English vs. American English
• Chicago style overview
• Chicago citation & referencing
• Chicago structure & sections
• Chicago style examples
• Citing sources overview
• Citation format
• Citation examples
• College essay overview
• Application
• How to write a college essay
• Types of college essays
• Commonly confused words
• Definitions
• Dissertation overview
• Dissertation structure & sections
• Dissertation writing process
• Graduate school overview
• Application & admission
• Study abroad
• Master degree
• Harvard referencing overview
• Language rules overview
• Grammatical rules & structures
• Parts of speech
• Punctuation
• Methodology overview
• Analyzing data
• Experiments
• Observations
• Inductive vs. Deductive
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative
• Types of validity
• Types of reliability
• Sampling methods
• Theories & Concepts
• Types of research studies
• Types of variables
• MLA style overview
• MLA examples
• MLA citation & referencing
• MLA structure & sections
• Plagiarism overview
• Plagiarism checker
• Types of plagiarism
• Printing production overview
• Research bias overview
• Types of research bias
• Example sections
• Types of research papers
• Research process overview
• Problem statement
• Research proposal
• Research topic
• Statistics overview
• Levels of measurment
• Frequency distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Measures of variability
• Hypothesis testing
• Parameters & test statistics
• Types of distributions
• Correlation
• Effect size
• Hypothesis testing assumptions
• Types of ANOVAs
• Types of chi-square
• Statistical data
• Statistical models
• Spelling mistakes
• Tips overview
• Academic writing tips
• Dissertation tips
• Sources tips
• Working with sources overview
• Evaluating sources
• Finding sources
• Including sources
• Types of sources

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Parts of a Research Paper

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Parts of a Research Paper: Definition
• 3 Research Paper Structure
• 4 Research Paper Examples
• 5 Research Paper APA Formatting
• 6 In a Nutshell

Parts of a Research Paper: Definition

The point of having specifically defined parts of a research paper is not to make your life as a student harder. In fact, it’s very much the opposite. The different parts of a research paper have been established to provide a structure that can be consistently used to make your research projects easier, as well as helping you follow the proper scientific methodology.

This will help guide your writing process so you can focus on key elements one at a time. It will also provide a valuable outline that you can rely on to effectively structure your assignment. Having a solid structure will make your research paper easier to understand, and it will also prepare you for a possible future as a researcher, since all modern science is created around similar precepts.

Have you been struggling with your academic homework lately, especially where it concerns all the different parts of a research paper? This is actually a very common situation, so we have prepared this article to outline all the key parts of a research paper and explain what you must focus as you go through each one of the various parts of a research paper; read the following sections and you should have a clearer idea of how to tackle your next research paper effectively.

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What are the main parts of a research paper?

There are eight main parts in a research paper :

• Title (cover page)

Introduction

• Literature review
• Research methodology
• Data analysis
• Reference page

If you stick to this structure, your end product will be a concise, well-organized research paper.

Do you have to follow the exact research paper structure?

Yes, and failing to do so will likely impact your grade very negatively. It’s very important to write your research paper according to the structure given on this article. Follow your research paper outline   to avoid a messy structure. Different types of academic papers have very particular structures. For example, the structure required for a literature review is very different to the structure required for a scientific research paper.

What if I'm having trouble with certain parts of a research paper?

If you’re having problems with some parts of a research paper, it will be useful to look at some examples of finished research papers in a similar field of study, so you will have a better idea of the elements you need to include. Read a step-by-step guide for writing a research paper, or take a look at the section towards the end of this article for some research paper examples. Perhaps you’re just lacking inspiration!

Is there a special formatting you need to use when citing sources?

Making adequate citations to back up your research is a key consideration in almost every part of a research paper. There are various formatting conventions and referencing styles that should be followed as specified in your assignment. The most common is APA formatting, but you could also be required to use MLA formatting. Your professor or supervisor should tell you which one you need to use.

What should I do once I have my research paper outlined?

If you have created your research paper outline, then you’re ready to start writing. Remember, the first copy will be a draft, so don’t leave it until the last minute to begin writing. Check out some tips for overcoming writer’s block if you’re having trouble getting started.

Research Paper Structure

There are 8 parts of a research paper that you should go through in this order:

The very first page in your research paper should be used to identify its title, along with your name, the date of your assignment, and your learning institution. Additional elements may be required according to the specifications of your instructors, so it’s a good idea to check with them to make sure you feature all the required information in the right order. You will usually be provided with a template or checklist of some kind that you can refer to when writing your cover page .

This is the very beginning of your research paper, where you are expected to provide your thesis statement ; this is simply a summary of what you’re setting out to accomplish with your research project, including the problems you’re looking to scrutinize and any solutions or recommendations that you anticipate beforehand.

Literature Review

This part of a research paper is supposed to provide the theoretical framework that you elaborated during your research. You will be expected to present the sources you have studied while preparing for the work ahead, and these sources should be credible from an academic standpoint (including educational books, peer-reviewed journals, and other relevant publications). You must make sure to include the name of the relevant authors you’ve studied and add a properly formatted citation that explicitly points to their works you have analyzed, including the publication year (see the section below on APA style citations ).

Research Methodology

Different parts of a research paper have different aims, and here you need to point out the exact methods you have used in the course of your research work. Typical methods can range from direct observation to laboratory experiments, or statistical evaluations. Whatever your chosen methods are, you will need to explicitly point them out in this section.

Data Analysis

While all the parts of a research paper are important, this section is probably the most crucial from a practical standpoint. Out of all the parts of a research paper, here you will be expected to analyze the data you have obtained in the course of your research. This is where you get your chance to really shine, by introducing new data that may contribute to building up on the collective understanding of the topics you have researched. At this point, you’re not expected to analyze your data yet (that will be done in the subsequent parts of a research paper), but simply to present it objectively.

From all the parts of a research paper, this is the one where you’re expected to actually analyze the data you have gathered while researching. This analysis should align with your previously stated methodology, and it should both point out any implications suggested by your data that might be relevant to different fields of study, as well as any shortcomings in your approach that would allow you to improve you results if you were to repeat the same type of research.

As you conclude your research paper, you should succinctly reiterate your thesis statement along with your methodology and analyzed data – by drawing all these elements together you will reach the purpose of your research, so all that is left is to point out your conclusions in a clear manner.

Reference Page

The very last section of your research paper is a reference page where you should collect the academic sources along with all the publications you consulted, while fleshing out your research project. You should make sure to list all these references according to the citation format specified by your instructor; there are various formats now in use, such as MLA, Harvard and APA, which although similar rely on different citation styles that must be consistently and carefully observed.

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Research Paper Examples

When you’re still learning about the various parts that make up a research paper, it can be useful to go through some examples of actual research papers from your exact field of study. This is probably the best way to fully grasp what is the purpose of all the different parts.

We can’t provide you universal examples of all the parts of a research paper, since some of these parts can be very different depending on your field of study.

To get a clear sense of what you should cover in each part of your paper, we recommend you to find some successful research papers in a similar field of study. Often, you may be able to refer to studies you have gathered during the initial literature review.

There are also some templates online that may be useful to look at when you’re just getting started, and trying to grasp the exact requirements for each part in your research paper:

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Research Paper APA Formatting

When you write a research paper for college, you will have to make sure to add relevant citation to back up your major claims. Only by building up on the work of established authors will you be able to reach valuable conclusions that can be taken seriously on a academic context. This process may seem burdensome at first, but it’s one of the essential parts of a research paper.

The essence of a citation is simply to point out where you learned about the concepts and ideas that make up all the parts of a research paper. This is absolutely essential, both to substantiate your points and to allow other researchers to look into those sources in cause they want to learn more about some aspects of your assignment, or dig deeper into specific parts of a research paper.

There are several citation styles in modern use, and APA citation is probably the most common and widespread; you must follow this convention precisely when adding citations to the relevant part of a research paper. Here is how you should format a citation according to the APA style.

In a Nutshell

• There are eight different parts of a research paper that you will have to go through in this specific order.
• Make sure to focus on the different parts of a research paper one at a time, and you’ll find it can actually make the writing process much easier.
• Producing a research paper can be a very daunting task unless you have a solid plan of action; that is exactly why most modern learning institutions now demand students to observe all these parts of a research paper.
• These guidelines are not meant to make student’s lives harder, but actually to help them stay focused and produce articulate and thoughtful research that could make an impact in their fields of study.

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Research This: What Are the 5 Parts of a Research Paper?

Do you need to write a research paper to complete your high school coursework? Do you need help with identifying the different parts of an APA research paper?

Conducting research is a key step in widening your awareness and learning . It follows a scientific process, making it applicable to studies beyond educational institutions. It makes research and studies useful in all fields like business, public knowledge, and more.

Here, we’ll discuss the parts of a research paper, focusing on five key parts and their subparts. We also included some tips on how to write a good research paper. Continue below to learn more: 

1. Parts of a Research Paper: The Problem and Its Background 

When writing a research paper, the first thing to do is to present the problem you aim to address. Include the background of the study in this part. Discuss what drove you to conduct this research.

The background of the study also often serves as an introduction. After giving the context and purpose of your study, state the problem. Go back to this part of the research paper when writing the title and questionnaire.

The next slice of information to share is the significance of the study. What benefits does the study offer and who will it benefit? Later, when you write your recommendations, review this part.

Give the assumptions of the study. In short, think about the possible outcomes of your research. It’s a good way to communicate to the readers your desired results at the end of the research. 

Next, define the scope and limitations of the study. You add more context to the study by determining its coverage. Finally, define the terms used in the study to help readers reach a deeper understanding.

2. Review of Related Literature

Once you have a background, context, and limits, present a review of the literature. It helps to avoid casting doubt on the impartiality of your study.

Among all the parts of a research paper (APA format), this section is one of the most exhausting. During this phase, you and your fellow researchers must read a lot. It’s draining if you’re not the type who likes reading but prefers experimentation.

Your goal is to look for evidence supporting or refuting your study. Provide organized data from related literature. Categorize them under various subheadings. 

Keep in mind that this part is a combination of all studies. Avoid putting a simple list of individual summaries. Integrate the supporting data with your goals and expectations. 

Other than summarization, paraphrase and write indirect speeches. Doing these practices help avoid plagiarizing others’ content. You must have the skill and good command of language and writing to accomplish this task. 

3. Research Method and Procedures

Next in the parts of a research paper is to present the methods and procedures used in the research. Write down how you did the study as well as the research methods. Qualitative research is a good example.

Include the steps of a qualitative research procedure when writing your methods. The section must explain why the method was the best choice for the study.

Follow it with the subjects of the study. Your goal is to describe your respondents. Include important details such as who they are, their demographics, where they’re from, and more. Ensure that these details are relevant to further your study.

Put the details of the instruments used in the study under the right section. In most studies, the instrument is a questionnaire. After that, write your data-gathering procedures.

Once you have these down, discuss your statistical treatment strategy. Include your sampling method, formulas, and other treatments. If you find this part difficult, don’t hesitate to get research paper help  from professionals. 

4. Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of the Gathered Data

Fourth among the essential parts of a research paper is the presentation of all the gathered data. The most common strategy is to tabulate all the data from the questionnaires. Don’t forget to describe the results you found in your study.

If your study used both qualitative and quantitative tools, describe their separate results. Interpretations of the data must accompany the tables and descriptions. If you don’t include the interpretations of the data, your audience won’t know your tables’ meaning.

Before interpreting the gathered data, analyze it well. For example, you’re writing these parts of a historical research paper. Don’t stop at describing the type of procedures and/or software that you used.

You should also try to formulate a conclusion based on the data you gathered. This leads us to the next and final part of a research paper. 

5. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Next, summarize the research paper, especially the data interpretations. Scan and reread the research paper to get a good idea of its contents. Keep the focus of the paper in mind.

In the conclusion, answer the earlier-stated problems. Here, you’ll prove or disprove your hypotheses and assumptions. Finally, include recommendations for further research, like focuses, actions, and other aspects. 

Does writing a research paper seem exhausting or taxing? While it may seem that way for people who aren’t fond of writing or documenting their work, it’s essential. Students and even non-students can learn from writing research papers . 

You learn how to gather and analyze data before making assumptions. Applying this in real life makes you a person with critical thinking skills. Research also promotes curiosity, the use of multiple sources, and better reading skills. 

Create a Conducive and Comprehensive Research Paper Today

Those are the different parts of a research paper and their subparts. Now you know the necessary components of your research paper. Use these to guide your writing process and make informative content.

Are you looking to supplement your writing knowledge? For more educational content on research and related topics, see our other guides now.

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Cut up and leased out, the bodies of the poor suffer a final indignity in Texas

The University of North Texas Health Science Center built a flourishing business using hundreds of unclaimed corpses. It suspended the program after NBC News exposed failures to treat the dead and their families with respect.

DALLAS — Long before his bleak final years, when he struggled with mental illness and lived mostly on the streets, Victor Carl Honey joined the Army, serving honorably for nearly a decade. And so, when his heart gave out and he died alone 30 years later, he was entitled to a burial with military honors.

Instead, without his consent or his family’s knowledge, the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office gave his body to a state medical school, where it was frozen, cut into pieces and leased out across the country.

A Swedish medical device maker paid $341 for access to Honey’s severed right leg to train clinicians to harvest veins using its surgical tool. A medical education company spent $900 to send his torso to Pittsburgh so trainees could practice implanting a spine stimulator. And the U.S. Army paid $210 to use a pair of bones from his skull to educate military medical personnel at a hospital near San Antonio.

In the name of scientific advancement, clinical education and fiscal expediency, the bodies of the destitute in the Dallas-Fort Worth region have been routinely collected from hospital beds, nursing homes and homeless encampments and used for training or research without their consent — and often without the approval of any survivors, an NBC News investigation found.

Honey, who died in September 2022, is one of about 2,350 people whose unclaimed bodies have been given to the Fort Worth-based University of North Texas Health Science Center since 2019 under agreements with Dallas and Tarrant counties . Among these, more than 830 bodies were selected by the center for dissection and study. After the medical school and other groups were finished, the bodies were cremated and, in most cases, interred at area cemeteries or scattered at sea. Some had families who were looking for them.

For months as NBC News reported this article, Health Science Center officials defended their practices, arguing that using unclaimed bodies was essential for training future doctors. But on Friday, after reporters shared detailed findings of this investigation, the center announced it was immediately suspending its body donation program and firing the officials who led it. The center said it was also hiring a consulting firm to investigate the program’s operations.

“As a result of the information brought to light through your inquiries, it has become clear that failures existed in the management and oversight of The University of North Texas Health Science Center’s Willed Body Program,” the statement said. “The program has fallen short of the standards of respect, care and professionalism that we demand.”

Last year, NBC News revealed in its “Lost Rites” investigation that coroners and medical examiners in Mississippi and nationally had repeatedly failed to notify families of their loved ones’ deaths before burying them in pauper’s graveyards . That investigation led reporters to North Texas, where officials had come to view the unclaimed dead not as a costly burden, but as a free resource.

Before its sudden shuttering last week, the Health Science Center’s body business flourished. 

On paper, the arrangements with Dallas and Tarrant counties offered a pragmatic solution to an expensive problem: Local medical examiners and coroners nationwide bear the considerable costs of burying or cremating tens of thousands of unclaimed bodies each year. Disproportionately Black, male, mentally ill and homeless, these are individuals whose family members often cannot be easily reached, or whose relatives cannot or will not pay for cremation or burial.

The University of North Texas Health Science Center used some of these bodies to teach medical students. Others, like Honey’s, were parceled out to for-profit medical training and technology companies — including industry giants like Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific and Medtronic — that rely on human remains to develop products and teach doctors how to use them. The Health Science Center advertised the bodies as being of “the highest quality found anywhere in the U.S.”

Do you have a story to share about the use of unclaimed bodies for research? Contact us .

Proponents say using unclaimed bodies transforms a tragic situation into one of hope and service, providing a steady supply of human specimens needed to educate doctors and advance medical research. But for families who later discover their missing relatives were dissected and studied, the news is haunting, compounding their grief and depriving them of the opportunity to mourn.

“The county and the medical school are doing this because it saves them money, but that doesn’t make it right,” said Thomas Champney, an anatomy professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine who researches the ethical use of human bodies . “Since these individuals did not consent, they should not be used in any form or fashion.”

A half-century ago, it was common for U.S. medical schools to use unclaimed bodies, and doing so remains legal in most of the country, including Texas. Many programs have halted the practice in recent years, though, and some states, including Hawaii, Minnesota and Vermont, have flatly prohibited it — part of an evolution of medical ethics that has called on anatomists to treat human specimens with the same dignity shown to living patients.

The University of North Texas Health Science Center charged in the opposite direction.

Through public records requests, NBC News obtained thousands of pages of government records and data documenting the acquisition, dissection and distribution of unclaimed bodies by the center over a five-year period.

An analysis of the material reveals repeated failures by death investigators in Dallas and Tarrant counties — and by the center — to contact family members who were reachable before declaring a body unclaimed. Reporters examined dozens of cases and identified 12 in which families learned weeks, months or years later that a relative had been provided to the medical school, leaving many survivors angry and traumatized.

Five of those families found out what happened from NBC News. Reporters used public records databases, ancestry websites and social media searches to locate and reach them within just a few days, even though county and center officials said they had been unable to find any survivors.

In one case, a man learned of his stepmother’s death and transfer to the center after a real estate agent called about selling her house. In another, Dallas County marked a man’s body as unclaimed and gave it to the Health Science Center, even as his loved ones filed a missing person report and actively searched for him.

From 2023: NBC News’ “Lost Rites” investigation

• After a mother in Jackson, Mississippi, reported her son missing, police kept the truth from her for months.
• ‘They just threw him away’: Another Mississippi man was buried without his family’s knowledge .
• America’s patchwork death notification system routinely leaves families in the dark.
• The Department of Justice took action after a Mississippi coroner buried men without notifying their families.
• The Jackson Police Department adopted a next-of-kin notification policy following NBC News’ reporting.

Before the Health Science Center announced it was suspending the program, officials in the two counties had already told NBC News they were reconsidering their unclaimed body agreements in light of the reporters’ findings. 

Commissioners in Dallas County recently postponed a vote on whether to extend their contract. The top elected official in Tarrant County, Judge Tim O’Hare — who voted to renew the county’s agreement with the center in January — said he planned to explore legal options “to end any and all immoral, unethical, and irresponsible practices stemming from this program.”

“No individual’s remains should be used for medical research, nor sold for profit, without their pre-death consent, or the consent of their next of kin,” O’Hare’s office said . “The idea that families may be unaware that their loved ones’ remains are being used for research without consent is disturbing, to say the least.” 

NBC News also shared its findings with dozens of companies, teaching hospitals and medical schools that have relied on the Health Science Center to supply human specimens. Ten said they did not know the center had provided them with unclaimed bodies. Some, including Medtronic, said they had internal policies requiring consent from the deceased or their legal surrogate.

DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson company, said it had paused its relationship with the center after learning from a reporter that it had received body parts from four unclaimed people. And Boston Scientific, whose company Relievant Medsystems used the torsos of more than two dozen unclaimed bodies for training on a surgical tool , said it was reviewing its transactions with the center, adding that it had believed the program obtained consent from donors or families.

“We empathize with the families who were not reached as part of this process,” the company said.

The Army said it, too, was examining its reliance on the center and planned to review and clarify internal policies on the use of unclaimed bodies. Under federal contracts totaling about $345,000, the center has provided the Army with dozens of whole bodies, heads and skull bones since 2021 — including at least 21 unclaimed bodies. An Army spokesperson said officials had not considered the possibility that the program hadn’t gotten consent from donors or their families.

The Texas Funeral Service Commission, which regulates body donation programs in the state, is conducting a review of its own. In April, the agency issued a moratorium on out-of-state shipments while it studies a range of issues, including the use of unclaimed bodies by the Health Science Center.

In the case of Victor Honey, it shouldn’t have been hard for Dallas County investigators to find survivors: His son shares his father’s first and last name and lives in the Dallas area. Family members are outraged that no one from the county or the Health Science Center informed them of Honey’s death, much less sought permission to dissect his body and distribute it for training.

It wasn’t until a year and a half after he died that his relatives finally learned that news — from a chance encounter with a stranger struck by the similarity of the father’s and son’s names, followed by a phone call from NBC News.

“It’s like a hole in your soul that can never be filled,” said Brenda Cloud, one of Honey’s sisters. “We feel violated.”

Two years before Honey’s death, Oscar Fitzgerald died of a drug overdose outside a Fort Worth convenience store. County officials failed to reach his siblings or adult children, so they had no voice in deciding whether to donate his body. It was taken to the University of North Texas Health Science Center, pumped with preservatives and assigned to a first-year medical student to study over the coming year.

Five months passed before his family learned from a friend in September 2020 that he was dead. ​​When his brother rushed to Fort Worth to claim the remains, he said he was told by the Health Science Center that he’d have to wait — the program was not done using the body.

Patrick Fitzgerald, who had last seen his 57-year-old brother the previous Thanksgiving, was aghast.

“Now that the family has come forward,” he said, “you mean to tell me we can’t have him?”

Instead, Fitzgerald said he was told his family must fill out donation consent forms to eventually receive his brother’s ashes. A year and a half later — after the body had been leased out a second time, to a Texas dental school — the center billed the family $54.50 in shipping costs for the box that arrived at Fitzgerald’s Arkansas home containing his brother’s remains. He also received a letter from Claudia Yellott, then the manager of UNT’s body donation program.

“UNT Health Science Center and our students value the selfless sacrifice made by your family,” Yellott wrote.

As of Friday, Yellott’s photo and bio were missing from the Health Science Center website, along with those of Rustin Reeves, the longtime director of the center’s anatomy program . Yellott confirmed to NBC News that she had been terminated and declined to comment further. Reeves did not respond to messages. The center declined to specify who was fired. 

The Fitzgeralds’ ordeal was the scenario one Tarrant County commissioner had feared in 2018, when Yellott and Reeves pitched their plan to receive the county’s unclaimed dead.

They described it as a win for everyone: The county would save on burial costs and the center would, as Yellott phrased it , obtain “valuable material” needed to educate future physicians.

The commissioners were elated at the prospect of saving up to a half-million dollars a year. But one, Andy Nguyen, questioned the morality of dissecting bodies of people with no family to consent and raised the possibility of survivors coming forward later, horrified to learn how their relatives were treated.

“Just because they don’t have any next of kin doesn’t mean they have no voice,” Nguyen said .

After the Health Science Center pledged to handle each body with dignity, all five commissioners voted to approve the agreement. A little over a year later, Dallas County struck a similar deal, with one major difference: While Tarrant County families who couldn’t afford to make funeral arrangements were given an option to donate their relatives’ bodies to the center, Dallas County gave survivors no choice.

Soon, a steady stream of bodies began to flow to the center. The program went from receiving 439 bodies in the 2019 fiscal year to nearly 1,400 in 2021 — about a third of them unclaimed dead from Dallas and Tarrant counties. This coincided with a multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation of the Health Science Center’s body storage facilities and laboratories.

The supply of unclaimed dead helped bring in about $2.5 million a year from outside groups, according to financial records . Many of those payments came from medical device makers that spent tens of thousands of dollars to use the center-run laboratory space, BioSkills of North Texas, to train clinicians on how to use their products — a revenue stream made possible by the school’s robust supply of “cadaveric specimens.”

That economic engine has now stalled; the center announced it was permanently closing the BioSkills lab in response to NBC News’ findings. In its statement, the center said it “is committed to addressing all issues and taking corrective actions to maintain public trust.”

The partnerships with Dallas and Tarrant counties, which drew little attention when they were adopted, quietly rippled through the community of professionals who work with the dead and dying in North Texas.

Eli Shupe, a bioethicist at the University of Texas at Arlington, was volunteering with a Tarrant County hospice provider in late 2021 when a chaplain made a comment that rocked her.

“Oh, poor Mr. Smith,” Shupe recalled the chaplain saying. “He doesn’t have long, and then it’s off to the medical school.”

Her shock led Shupe to spend months studying the use of unclaimed bodies in Texas. As she investigated, she pondered a philosophical question: People have the right to make decisions about their bodies while they’re alive, but should that right die with them?

No, she ultimately concluded, it should not.

Shupe herself has signed up to give her body to the Health Science Center when she dies, in part to underscore that she doesn’t oppose body donation. But she emphasized that it was her choice.

“What they’re doing is uncomfortably close to grave-robbing,” she said.

Shupe was alluding to the dark history, long before voluntary body-donation programs, when U.S. medical schools turned to “resurrectionists,” or “body snatchers,” who dug up the graves of poor and formerly enslaved people. To curb this ghastly 19th-century practice, states adopted laws giving schools authority to use unclaimed bodies for student training and experiments.

Many of those laws remain on the books, but the medical community has largely moved beyond them. Last year, the American Association for Anatomy released guidelines for human body donation stating that “programs should not accept unclaimed or unidentified individuals into their programs as a matter of justice.”

Experts said the Health Science Center appeared to be an outlier in terms of the number of unclaimed bodies it used. No national data exists on this issue, so NBC News surveyed more than 50 major U.S. medical schools. Each of the 44 that answered said they don’t use unclaimed bodies — and some condemned doing so.

Joy Balta, an anatomist who runs a body donation program at Point Loma Nazarene University, chaired the committee that wrote the anatomy association’s new guidelines. He said using unclaimed bodies violates basic principles of dignity and consent now embraced by most experts in his field.

One reason that bodies should come only from consenting donors, Balta and others note: Some religions have strict views about how the dead should be treated.

“We don’t know if the individual is completely against their body being donated, and we can’t just disregard that,” Balta said.

Since 2021, dozens of entities have received unclaimed bodies from the Health Science Center — including some, like the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, that explicitly prohibit the practice on ethical grounds. 

The Little Rock-based school received shipments of skull bones and heads in 2023 and 2024 that included parts harvested from unclaimed bodies, records show. Leslie Taylor, a University of Arkansas medical school spokesperson, said because the UNT office that provided specimens is called the Willed Body Program , officials “believed they came from donors who willed their remains for education and study.”

Taylor said the school would adopt procedures to ensure it receives bodies only from people who have given explicit permission.

Before abruptly suspending the program last week, the Health Science Center had vigorously defended its practices. 

“An unclaimed individual is incapable of consenting to any process after death, which includes burial, donation, cremation, eco-burials or any other use of the body,” the center had said in a statement on Aug. 16. “If a relative is not located or does not claim the remains, a decision must still be made.”

Shupe argued that it’s problematic for a public medical school to benefit from the deaths of the “very poor” in its community. She has now embarked on a campaign to end the use of unclaimed bodies in Texas and nationally.

After publishing a newspaper essay criticizing the practice, she brought her concerns directly to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court at a meeting last year, asking officials to consider the message being sent to marginalized residents and people of color. 

“How does it look,” she said , “when a Black body is dissected with nobody’s permission at all, simply because they died poor?”

All Victor Honey’s family has to go by are faded memories, a handful of keepsakes, online snapshots and a trail of court records spanning eight states and Washington, D.C. These clues tell a disjointed story of an Army veteran tormented by paranoid delusions who repeatedly rejected help as he slid into homelessness and whose body went unclaimed, despite having a family who cared deeply for him.

His two sisters remember Honey teaching them math, making them laugh, shielding them from bullies and helping raise them when their parents divorced and moved the family from Mississippi to Cleveland in the 1970s. He was meticulous, hardworking, well-dressed — and in search of a calling.

After starting college, Honey joined the Army in late 1984 and reported to Texas’ Fort Hood, where he trained as a medic and, at a military club, danced with a soon-to-be Air Force enlistee named Kimberly. They married not long after and had a daughter. A son followed.

The young family lived at the base until 1988, when Honey’s enlistment ended. He then joined the Army Reserves in Dallas and was called up to support the first Gulf War. Though he didn’t want to go, he spent four months in Germany, so upset about the deployment that he rarely left his base. He remained angry after he returned home.

Kimberly Patman said Honey had multiple affairs, leading them to separate in 1992, which threw him into a deep depression. He sought mental health services from a local Department of Veterans Affairs facility and was given antipsychotic medication that he quit after a month, saying he was allergic.

From there, his life unraveled.

In 1995, Honey was arrested in Dallas for trespassing. A doctor at the jail called Patman and said he’d had some kind of breakdown. She called his father in Cleveland, who brought him home.

He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but refused to take the medication that eased his delusional thoughts. He was convinced people were coming after him, barricaded himself in his room and became a compulsive hoarder, filing papers in a leather satchel.

He was off his medications in early 1997 when he stole a car from a dealership and robbed three banks in three states — each time handing a teller a note demanding money. He had no weapon. He was sentenced to three years in federal prison.

After he was released, Honey tried living in Cleveland, but abruptly left.

“He just disappeared,” Patman said. “They didn’t know where he was. We didn’t know where he was. And it was like that for years.”

He eventually drifted to Washington, where he wound up on the streets. He filed more than a dozen lawsuits, claiming an array of grievances. He posted a video to YouTube in which he showed his broken teeth and suggested the police were responsible. “This is a horrendous, horrendous life here in Washington,” he told the camera.

He landed in Dallas again in late 2018. He was arrested multiple times for fare evasion and filing a false police report, and appeared at city council meetings claiming he’d been wrongfully charged. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency room nurse who was attempting to provide him care.

And then came the phone call that brought the family together again.

In early 2022, a caseworker at a Dallas-area hospital contacted Honey’s daughter, Victoria, in Montgomery, Alabama, to say he was in intensive care and might not survive, the family said. Patman and Victoria rushed to his side and were told his kidneys were failing.

“We’re here, the kids are here, we love you,” Patman told Honey. In response, he opened his eyes and asked, “Why did you divorce me?” They ended up laughing about it.

Brenda Cloud, his sister, called from Cleveland. “I would just talk to him and remind him of growing up and of his children, and he had a lot to fight for,” she said.

Honey’s condition improved, but he ignored advice to go to a nursing home and instead checked himself out. Several weeks later, he got on the phone with his namesake son. They’d often gone years without talking, but the son said he knew his father loved him.

That was Victor Carl Honey’s last contact with his family.

On Sept. 19, 2022, Honey was discovered semiconscious in a wheelchair at a downtown Dallas light rail station and taken to Baylor University Medical Center. He died early the next morning. He was 58.

After a Baylor social worker was unable to find his family, Honey’s body was transported to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office, where an investigator was assigned to find next of kin.

The county investigator sought information from police and area hospitals but was unable to locate relatives. She then turned to the internet, where she found numbers for Patman, Honey’s brother in Ohio, his stepmother and his late father, but she reported they were disconnected. On Oct. 17, 2022, the investigator wrote that her search was complete and no family was found. The medical examiner’s office deemed Honey’s body unclaimed.

That same day, Honey was delivered to the University of North Texas Health Science Center, where he was placed in a freezer, awaiting assignment.

One of the most solemn duties of local government is notifying families when someone dies. Though the world, in so many ways, has never been more connected, finding survivors still can be difficult in an era of growing homelessness and increasingly fractured families. 

Death investigators at the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office follow a detailed checklist: They reach out to area hospitals to seek emergency contact information, search missing person reports, and comb public records databases for possible phone numbers. They also call neighbors and homeless shelters. If no family is found, they must sign an affidavit stating they did all they could.

In Tarrant County, officials delegated the primary responsibility for contacting next of kin to the Health Science Center, which said it takes similar steps.

But these efforts repeatedly fell short.

For two and a half years, Fran Moore of Lodi, New York, didn’t know what happened to her 79-year-old father, Carl Yenner. She cried when an NBC News reporter notified her in February that he had died at a Dallas hospital in May 2021 and his body had been sent to the Health Science Center.

Moore said she and her brother had struggled to stay in touch with their father across the miles. After not hearing from him, her brother filed a missing person report in Wichita Falls, about two hours from Dallas, where Yenner had lived. They still don’t know how he wound up in Dallas, how he died or why nobody contacted them. A Dallas County worker signed a form in June 2021 stating she had completed an exhaustive search for possible relatives.

But after spotting Yenner’s name on a list of unclaimed bodies provided by Dallas County, NBC News quickly identified Moore and her brother as Yenner’s children and found working phone numbers for each of them.

“If you could find us,” Moore said, “why didn’t they?”

Another question left unanswered: Given that Yenner was an Army veteran and entitled to federal burial benefits , what was the economic argument for Dallas County to send his body to the Health Science Center? At least 32 unclaimed veterans, including Honey, have been given to the program since 2020, records show.

After the center was done with Yenner’s body, it was cremated and interred among fellow service members at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. Moore said she’s heartbroken she couldn’t bury him with the rest of his family in New Jersey.

“To not have any kind of funeral for him,” she said, “for his family to come see him to say goodbye?”

Without commenting on specific cases, Dallas County Administrator Darryl Martin offered condolences to families whose relatives were used by the program. He said his staff works hard to locate family members and treats bodies with dignity. He didn’t address the use of unclaimed veterans.

In January, in an attempt to improve its efforts to find survivors in Tarrant County, the Health Science Center hired a company called The Voice After Life , whose mission is to help governments locate families of the unclaimed. The center said it has found families in about 80% of cases since then; officials did not know the previous success rate.

In a statement issued weeks before announcing it was suspending the program, the center said it “seeks to understand and honor the wishes of the family and deceased.”

It did not, however, honor the wishes of Michael Dewayne Coleman’s relatives. 

Coleman, 43, died alone on Oct. 21, 2023, in a Dallas hospital after possibly being hit by a car. An investigator for the medical examiner signed off on his case file, saying “all reasonable efforts” had been made to find next of kin.

But his relatives should have been easy to reach. More than a week before his death, his fiancée, Louisa Harvey, had filed a missing person report with the Dallas Police Department after he failed to return from a night out with friends, not knowing he was already languishing in a hospital. She spent months searching for him, alongside two of Coleman’s sisters. She printed missing person posters and canvassed neighborhoods near their home.

She said she called the detective assigned to the missing person case almost every day, eventually suspecting that finding Coleman wasn’t a priority because of his criminal record, which included illegal drug use and two domestic violence convictions.

Harvey finally learned of his death in March, after the Dallas County medical examiner listed him as an unclaimed body in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs , a free federal database meant to connect missing person reports with reports of unclaimed bodies. By the time Harvey found the posting online, the medical examiner had sent Coleman’s body to the Health Science Center.

His family could have learned of his death months earlier if the police detective assigned to find Coleman had listed him as a missing person in NamUs, but records show he never did. In response to questions from NBC News, a Dallas Police spokesperson said the department had opened an internal investigation into the detective’s handling of the case and would implement a policy change to prevent similar mistakes. 

Harvey couldn’t believe Coleman’s body had been donated without the family’s consent — or his. Last year, while filling out an application for a state ID, she said, Coleman had made clear he didn’t want his organs donated because of his distrust of the medical system; she doubts he would have wanted to donate his whole body.

But when Harvey and one of Coleman’s sisters, Shea Coleman, repeatedly asked the medical examiner and the Health Science Center to release his body — or at least to let them view it — they were told no. In June, a worker at the medical examiner’s office wrote in case notes that she spoke to Yellott, the manager of UNT’s body donation program, who told her Coleman was slated to be used in a longer-term course and that his family could receive his remains when the center was finished with him.

In 12 to 24 months.

In August, after NBC News inquired about his case, a Health Science Center official told reporters that Coleman’s body would be cremated and returned to the family much sooner — an abrupt reversal that the center attributed to the Texas Funeral Service Commission’s temporary ban on out-of-state body shipments. Ten days later, the medical examiner called Harvey to let her know Coleman’s ashes were ready to be picked up.

The center’s refusal to let her see her fiancé’s body has made it harder to grieve, Harvey said.

“I’m lying awake every night thinking, ‘Is that my Michael?’” she said. “‘Did he actually die?’”

After Victor Honey’s body arrived at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, the harvesting began.

Depending on how they were to be used, bodies were either frozen or embalmed. Some were left whole and set aside to train students. Others, like Honey’s , were dissected with scalpels and bone saws, to be distributed on the open market.

In November 2022, Honey’s right leg was used in a training at the center paid for by Getinge, a Swedish medical technology company that makes instruments for use in a surgical procedure called endoscopic vein harvest.

In January 2023, a week after the medical examiner’s office reported that Honey was eligible for a veteran’s burial, bones from his skull were shipped to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston — where Honey had been ordered to report before his Gulf War deployment more than three decades earlier.

In May 2023, the Health Science Center shipped Honey’s torso to Pittsburgh, where the training company National Bioskills Laboratories provided it to a medical product company renting its facilities to teach doctors a pain-relief procedure called spinal cord stimulation.

NBC News informed Getinge, the Army and National Bioskills about the center’s regular use of unclaimed bodies and Honey’s family not providing consent.

Dr. Douglas Hampers, National Bioskills’ CEO and an orthopedic surgeon, said he was disturbed to learn his company has received unclaimed bodies and expressed sympathy for Honey’s family.

While human specimens are crucial for medical advances, Hampers said bodies should not be used without consent. He said his company would ensure that it no longer accepted unclaimed bodies and would adopt policies to make certain future specimens were donated with families’ permission.

“I don’t think you have to violate a family’s rights in order to train physicians,” he said.

A Getinge spokesperson emailed a statement saying only that the company regularly reviews its policies and operations, “including what we expect from our suppliers.”

In a statement, the Army said that if Honey’s remains were procured legally, the use of his body complied with the service’s current policies.

In July 2023, after Honey’s torso had been returned to the Health Science Center, his remains were cremated and later his ashes were brought to the Dallas County medical examiner.

And there they sat, with no one to claim them. Months passed.

In late April, Honey’s son, Victor, was boxing cans at the Dallas food bank where he volunteered when a woman approached him. She’d overheard someone calling out his name. “Do you know someone else named Victor Honey?” she asked him.

The woman said she knew his father when they both stayed at a downtown homeless shelter and had heard he died. Victor didn’t want to believe it. He tried to put it out of his mind. But the next morning, he called his mother and told her what he’d heard. She cried out and burst into tears.

An internet search led Victor to the medical examiner’s office, which confirmed the details of his father’s death and later told him the remains were available to be picked up.

About the same time, NBC News had found Honey’s name on a list of people whose unclaimed bodies were obtained by the Health Science Center. Using public records, a reporter tracked down Patman, Honey’s ex-wife, and sent her a message on Facebook. She responded immediately.

On a call, the reporter broke the news of how Honey’s body was used.

His family was appalled. Patman said she would have argued against Honey being cut apart and studied, noting that he once told her that he didn’t want to be an organ donor. Victor, though, said he might have been open to donating his father’s body for medical research.

“But y’all should have asked us about it,” he said. “They just sent his body parts away.”

When the family gathered in early June to finally lay Honey to rest, many expressed remorse about not being able to help him. They were frustrated to have no say in what happened to his body. And they said they hoped sharing his story would help spare others from similar anguish.

“Victor had a big, strong family,” Patman told family members. “And now we are going to speak for him.”

On a muggy Monday morning, a couple dozen of Honey’s relatives — nieces and nephews, siblings and cousins, Patman and their children — gathered in a pavilion at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery for the farewell they had long been denied.

A recording of taps played. A soldier knelt in front of Honey’s daughter, Victoria, and handed her a folded U.S. flag “as a symbol of our appreciation of your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.”

After the funeral, Honey’s relatives made their way to Section 40, Grave No. 464, where a crew dug a hole and placed the urn in the ground. They installed a temporary marker that soon would be replaced by a white granite headstone standing among rows of thousands.

Brenda Cloud, Honey’s sister, is furious over what transpired in the 622 days between her brother’s death and his burial. And she wants answers for the others whose bodies were cut up and studied without consent.

“Whether they had family or not,” she said, “every person deserves to have that dignity.”

Mike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigative reporter for NBC News, based in Maryland, and author of "They Came for the Schools."

Jon Schuppe is an enterprise reporter for NBC News, based in New York.

Susan Carroll was a senior enterprise editor for NBC News, based in Houston.

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Are you in the American middle class? Find out with our income calculator

About half of U.S. adults (52%) lived in middle-income households in 2022, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the most recent available government data. Roughly three-in-ten (28%) were in lower-income households and 19% were in upper-income households.

Our calculator below, updated with 2022 data, lets you find out which group you are in, and compares you with:

• Other adults in your metropolitan area
• U.S. adults overall
• U.S. adults similar to you in education, age, race or ethnicity, and marital status

Find more research about the U.S. middle class on our topic page .

Our latest analysis shows that the estimated share of adults who live in middle-income households varies widely across the 254 metropolitan areas we examined, from 42% in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, to 66% in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, Washington. The share of adults who live in lower-income households ranges from 16% in Bismarck, North Dakota, to 46% in Laredo, Texas. The share living in upper-income households is smallest in Muskegon-Norton Shores, Michigan (8%), and greatest in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (41%).

How the income calculator works

The calculator takes your household income and adjusts it for the size of your household. The income is revised upward for households that are below average in size and downward for those of above-average size. This way, each household’s income is made equivalent to the income of a three-person household. (Three is the whole number nearest to the  average size of a U.S. household , which was 2.5 people in 2023.)

Pew Research Center does not store or share any of the information you enter.

We use your size-adjusted household income and the cost of living in your area to determine your income tier. Middle-income households – those with an income that is two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income – had incomes ranging from about $56,600 to $169,800 in 2022. Lower-income households had incomes less than $56,600, and upper-income households had incomes greater than $169,800. (All figures are computed for three-person households, adjusted for the cost of living in a metropolitan area, and expressed in 2022 dollars.)

The following example illustrates how cost-of-living adjustment for a given area was calculated: Jackson, Tennessee, is a relatively inexpensive area, with a  price level in 2022 that was 13.0% less than the national average. The San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metropolitan area in California is one of the most expensive, with a price level that was 17.9% higher than the national average. Thus, to step over the national middle-class threshold of $56,600, a household in Jackson needs an income of only about $49,200, or 13.0% less than the national threshold. But a household in the San Francisco area needs an income of about $66,700, or 17.9% more than the U.S. threshold, to be considered middle class.

The income calculator encompasses 254 of 387 metropolitan areas in the United States, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget  . If you live outside of one of these 254 areas, the calculator reports the estimates for your state.

The second part of our calculator asks about your education, age, race or ethnicity, and marital status. This allows you to see how other adults who are similar to you demographically are distributed across lower-, middle- and upper-income tiers in the U.S. overall. It does not recompute your economic tier.

Note: This post and interactive calculator were originally published Dec. 9, 2015, and have been updated to reflect the Center’s new analysis.   Former Senior Researcher Rakesh Kochhar and former Research Analyst Jesse Bennett also contributed to this analysis.

The Center recently published an analysis of the distribution of the  American population across income tiers . In that analysis, the estimates of the overall shares in each income tier are slightly different, because it relies on a separate government data source and includes children as well as adults.

Pew Research Center designed this calculator as a way for users to find out, based on our analysis, where they appear in the distribution of U.S. adults by income tier, as well as how they compare with others who match their demographic profile.

The data underlying the calculator come from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS contains approximately 3 million records, or about 1% of the U.S. population.

In our analysis, “middle-income” Americans are adults whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the national median, after incomes have been adjusted for household size. Lower-income households have incomes less than two-thirds of the median, and upper-income households have incomes more than double the median. American adults refers to those ages 18 and older who reside in a household (as opposed to group quarters).

In 2022, the  national  middle-income range was about $56,600 to $169,800 annually for a household of three. Lower-income households had incomes less than $56,600, and upper-income households had incomes greater than $169,800. (Incomes are calculated in 2022 dollars.) The median adjusted household income used to derive this middle-income range is based on household heads, regardless of their age.

These income ranges vary with the cost of living in metropolitan areas and with household size. A household in a metropolitan area with a higher-than-average cost of living, or one with more than three people, needs more than $56,600 to be included in the middle-income tier. Households in less expensive areas or with fewer than three people need less than $56,600 to be considered middle income. Additional details on the methodology are available in our  earlier analyses .

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Richard Fry is a senior researcher focusing on economics and education at Pew Research Center .

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• Credit Cards

5 Reasons I Switched From American Express to the Prime Visa

Published on Sept. 17, 2024

By: Dana George

• If it's been a while since you've used one of your old credit cards, you may find that pulling it out saves you money.
• By paying your credit card bill in full each month, any cash back you receive is 100% profit.
• Building cash back quickly is possible if you pay everyday expenses via a cash back credit card.

When it comes to credit card , I've decided to date around. For years, I believed I should shuffle through my credit cards, choose one that meets most of my needs, and marry myself to it. For example, until recently, most of our household bills were set up on autopay and linked to our American Express card .

1. I have a specific goal in mind

I dislike in-person shopping, so I tend to order what we need online. And more often than not, I order from Amazon. Whenever we need vitamins, toothpaste, or cleaning supplies, I pull up my Amazon app, place an order, and don't have to think about it again.

With the holidays approaching, I chose the Prime Visa to help pay for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since we do so much shopping on Amazon.com anyway, we might as well earn cash back to buy gifts.

2. 5% cash rewards

Each time we make a purchase on Amazon.com or Amazon Fresh, 5% of it comes back to us as an Amazon.com credit. We also get 5% cash rewards whenever we shop at a Whole Foods Market or pay for travel arrangements through Chase Travel.

And here's what's cool: We don't have to wait around for a credit to appear. We make a purchase one day, and the online credit is available to us the next day.

Plus, until Dec. 31, 2024, Amazon is running a promotion that tacks on another 1% cash rewards whenever we choose "Amazon Day Delivery" at checkout. Usually, that means a package we would typically receive in two days gets to us in three days. But that's a small price to pay for an extra 1% back.

3. Unlimited 2% cash rewards

In addition to 5% cash rewards on Amazon and Chase-related purchases, we earn unlimited 2% cash rewards at Amazon, AmazonFresh, and Whole Foods, and Chase Travel purchases with an eligible Prime membership. On all other purchases -- including the monthly bills we've moved over to the Prime Visa -- we earn 1% cash rewards.

Let's say we put $3,750 on the card each month. Our cash back for the month might look something like this:

• Amazon.com and Amazon Fresh purchases (5% of $800): $40 cash back
• Gas station and restaurant purchases (2% of $650): $13 cash back
• Miscellaneous expenses, including groceries, utilities, charitable donations, and entertainment (1% of $1,500): $15 cash back
• Services, including lawn care, power washing, and window cleaning (1% of $800) $8 cash back

That's $76 cash back, just for paying everyday expenses by credit card. We also charge larger-ticket items, things we would typically pay for directly from our checking account. For example, medical bills, home and auto repairs, veterinary bills, homeowners association (HOA) dues, and property taxes all go on the card.

Because we pay for pretty much everything with a credit card, I've gotten into the habit of paying it off in full at the end of each week. That way, I never have to worry about paying interest.

4. Prime bonuses

As Prime Visa card members, we routinely earn 10% or more back on a rotating selection of items. These limited-time offers pop up when we least expect them, but they're always a welcome surprise.

For example, one current Prime bonus is on a dual-band wireless internet router. It's on sale for 25% off its regular price ($99.99, marked down to $74.99), comes with a $15 off coupon, and offers Prime Visa cardholders 20% back. If I were to buy this router, I would pay $59.99 and get $12 cash back on my Prime Visa card.

Note: The primary 5% cash rewards on all Amazon.com purchases is built into these special offers. For example, if Amazon offers 10% back, the buyer gets their standard 5% plus 5% extra, for a total of 10% back.

5. Important perks are part of the package

When I switched from our Amex to the Prime Visa card, the only thing I worried about was the card perks and benefits I might be giving up. There was little reason for concern. Here's a quick rundown of Prime Visa benefits:

• $0 annual fee
• No foreign transaction fees when the card is used for purchases outside the U.S.
• Extended warranty protection
• Purchase protection
• Baggage delay insurance
• Zero liability for unauthorized charges
• Travel accident insurance
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Auto rental collision damage waiver

After years of dedicating myself to one card at a time, I've finally decided to play the field. The winner will be whichever card most closely meets our upcoming needs. While I don't especially enjoy changing autopay bills to a new card, I can complete the process in under an hour. Given how quickly our cash back rewards stack up, it's an hour well spent.

Our Research Expert

Dana is a full-time personal finance writer, with more than two decades of experience. Her focus is on helping readers feel less alone as they navigate their personal finances and offering actionable insights.

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