While writing your research paper, you would come across elements that are the building blocks of a research paper. However, these often technical and confusing terms in research papers may trip up early career researchers. They may find some terms or elements overlapping and may struggle to differentiate between them. Through this article, we aim to clear the deck for successful research writing by helping you understand commonly confused research terms.
1. Citations and references
One set of confusing terms in research is citations and references You All sources used in a paper must always be mentioned within or at the end of the research paper. Text taken verbatim from any source must have all the details of the source within the paper and alongside the text. In research paper terms, this is a citation. References, on the other hand, are the listed versions of all the sources – books, articles, documents, videos, interviews – that were consumed as a part of research and used for writing the research paper.
2. Aim and objectives
These research paper terms might have similar meanings but when these terms are used in research, they should be considered separate. You may think of aims as the ultimate destination and objectives as the route you take to reach your destination. Here’s something to help understand these confusing terms in research. Aims refer to the outcome of the study – anything that you found out, could prove, or could conclude through your research. On the other hand, objectives are the ways in which you’re going to attain your research aims. Aims are broad in nature, while objectives are very specific and focused. Some types of manuscripts only require you to state an aim, others only objectives, and some require both.
3. Research methods and research methodology
Yes, these research paper terms are not interchangeable. Research methodology refers to the principles that guide you to pick the suitable methods for your research paper. For example, it helps you decide what kind of data analysis would help you achieve your aim – qualitative or quantitative. Research methods are the actual methods used to perform the experiments required to successfully complete your research paper. Depending on your research methodology, the research methods may vary including, but not limited to, observation, surveys, interviews, and laboratory experiments. So, be very careful when working with these two confusing terms in research and writing these sections.
4. Background of a study and introduction
It’s essential to understand these research paper terms to impress your readers – journal editors, fellow researchers, and your target audience. The background of a study is the missing piece of the existing literature’s puzzle. Its purpose is to state the significance of your study and the position of your research paper within the existing literature. It is not lengthy and helps the reader understand your topic of research with a wider perspective. Meanwhile, the introduction of a research paper is the opening section of your paper. It’s meant to set the context for the rest of the paper, establish the purpose of the study, and state the research question. So be sure not to mix up these confusing terms in research.
5. Implications and limitations
Another set of research paper terms that researchers often get confused about is implications and limitations. The ways in which your research findings can be helpful and may be applied are called implications, whereas the shortcomings or the way in which your research findings cannot be applied in real life are the limitations. Stating these two distinct research terms gives a holistic view of the applicability and scope of your research findings, and thus, having clarity on the meaning of these confusing terms in research is crucial.
6. Footnotes and endnotes
The last pair of research paper terms is footnotes and endnotes. Despite their self-explanatory names, this pair of confusing terms in research is a common source of error. Footnotes and endnotes are a way of providing additional information in your research paper. At times, authors may want to elaborate something they have written, but since adding an explanation within the main text may obstruct the flow, this information is added either at the bottom of the page or at the end of the research paper. Depending on the positioning, these additional notes are categorized as footnotes or endnotes when talking about research paper terms. As the names suggest, footnotes are mentioned at the bottom of the page, while endnotes are mentioned at the end of the research paper. Since both have the same function, it’s only a matter of choice which one you prefer to use. While footnotes make it convenient for the reader, having endnotes makes your paper clutter-free.
I hope reading this article helped you distinguish between these confusing terms in research. Moreover, as you gain experience by reading more research papers and writing more papers, you will get better at understanding these research paper terms and other nuances.
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