While your joy is well deserved, do not slack off before completing your references section. Although little research is needed for this chapter, the references section bears much weight on your paper. If poorly done, you may face plagiarism claims, exposing you to harsh penalties. 

Read on for tips on writing a bibliography in a research paper and examples to familiarize you with various referencing methods. 

What is a bibliography in a research paper?

A bibliography is a list that accounts for all the sources you used in arguing various claims. This list guides a user to easily trace materials if they intend to pursue various ideas further or to confirm your evidence.

Any sources that are not cited within the bibliography count as plagiarized work since they fail to credit the sources used in their work. The bibliography usually comes after your conclusion and varies depending on the format recommended by your tutor. 

Types of bibliography in research papers

At times your tutor may recommend a certain type of bibliography to use in your work. What is the difference between annotated and analytical bibliographies? 

Analytical bibliographies explain the physical nature of a source including the number of pages, paper, and binding, and any issues that cropped up in material from manuscript to publishing. Conversely, an annotated bibliography includes details as to why you chose a specific source for your research paper. 

Enumerative bibliographies are common in academic writing and list your sources in a particular order, i.e., alphabetically. 

Format of bibliography in a research paper

Regardless of style, some general rules apply to bibliographies for research papers. When formatting your bibliography:

• Include a page header. Depending on the style recommended for your paper, the header might comprise the running head/ your last name and a page number. 
• Add a title. The title may range from ‘references’ to ‘Works Cited’ or ‘bibliographies’ depending on your formatting style.
• Sort the list according to the first word of the citation. This allows a reader to easily trace a bibliography for an in-text citation.
• Use a hanging indent with the first line of each entry flush left and the subsequent lines indented at 0.5”. 
• Begin your bibliographies on a new page of your paper.

How to make a bibliography in a research paper

As recommended earlier, you should record the details for each source used in your work as you develop your paper. Doing so allows you a smooth writing experience and also reduces the likelihood of omitting any bibliography. 

When writing bibliographies, start by collecting all the necessary information for your bibliographies. Next, format your references in the right style by consulting the guidelines for your referencing style. 

Here, will tackle an example of a bibliography in a research paper for various referencing styles.

Bibliographies in MLA

For books: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

For websites: Authors name, the title of the page (in quotations), website name in italics, publication date, URL without the HTTPS://

Bibliographies in APA

For books: Last name, Initials. (Year). Book title (Editor.) (Edition). Publisher.

For websites: Last name, Initials. (Year, Month, Day). Title of article. Publication Name. URL with the HTTPS://

How to cite a research paper in a bibliography

Research papers make for great evidence for your claims. These papers usually lend legitimacy to your claims as they are supported by practical evidence as opposed to claims in journals. 

When writing a bibliography for a published research paper: Last, First name. Thesis/Dissertation title. Year of Publication. Name of University, type of degree.

If it’s pending publishing: Author Surname, Initial. (Year of Production). Manuscript title [Unpublished manuscript]. Department, University Name.

Or 

Author Surname, Initial. (Year of Production). Manuscript title [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department, University Name.

How to include annotated bibliography in a research paper

An annotated bibliography often works students up as they struggle with determining what to include in the bibliography. These bibliographies should contain the key arguments in the source and show the validity of the arguments and selected methods. 

When writing the annotated bibliography, check the abstract of a paper and establish the key details to tackle in your bibliography. Ideally, you should highlight the key argument and the research approach that the author opted to take. 

Like other entries, the annotated bibliography should be double-spaced and feature a hanging indent. The first line of the entry should be left aligned with all subsequent lines featuring a half-inch indent. Also, the 50-200 word summary should be written in a single paragraph. 

If you are struggling with your analytical paper, this guide will highlight the process of writing an analysis paper and tips to make the process easy. We will also highlight various topics in analysis to inspire your topic selection. 

How to write an analytical paper

When writing an analysis paper, you are tasked with analysing the themes, arguments, research methods, and claims made in a paper. After this analysis, present your opinions on the quality of a paper and highlight your perceived weaknesses of a paper. 

To write an effective analytical research paper, the following steps ought to come in handy. 

1. Select a topic

Topic selection is a crucial determinant in your academic writing experience. Ideally, select a topic that evokes your interests to have ample impetus for in-depth research.

If a topic has not been provided by your tutor, you should find an interesting idea within the scope of your research question. Ideally, your topic should analyse specific aspects of the topic to ensure that you exhaust your analysis within the provided word count.

For instance, you could argue that the approach used in a paper was not legitimate and highlight various biases that discredit the results. Also, you could show how the results do not necessarily reflect on the conclusion and cite sources that have yielded contrary findings. 

2. Perform primary research

Before writing your essay, peruse multiple materials relating to the topic. These materials will give you a good grounding of the topic, helping you to better break down the object under study. 

The primary research should also include a study of the publication/ event you are studying. After familiarizing yourself with the field and getting a scope of the topic, you can objectively scrutinize a topic to make substantial queries on various aspects of the subject.

3. Choose a thesis

After familiarizing yourself with the knowledge in a field, select a statement that summarizes your argument. For instance, you may analyse the reasons behind alcohol addiction by college students. 

Your thesis should indicate the analytical paper topic, giving your reader a gist of your key argument. 

4. Conduct secondary research

After selecting your thesis, conduct extensive research on the field to establish the sources that support your standpoint. Also, take note of sources that oppose your argument as they can be of great help in your analysis.

Arguing against counterarguments allows you to highlight their weaknesses, improving the overall quality of your argument. When addressing your research, we suggest that you start by brainstorming ideas that could make up your argument.

Next, research these ideas and prune the arguments that are indirectly related to your thesis. 

5. Prepare an outline

After collecting all the information related to your topic, sort your arguments into paragraphs. The outline should highlight the ideas contained in each section, helping you gauge the flow of arguments in your paper.

The outline will allow you to gauge the completeness of your research paper analysis section, helping you revisit your sources before you start writing. 

6. Write your paper

After preparing your outline, write your first draft. Your draft should investigate your ideas in depth and include the necessary intext citations for evidence in your paper. 

After completing your first draft, run it through multiple rounds of editing to highlight any errors. You should consider engaging an expert editor for quality feedback and guidance to resolve various issues within your paper. 

Analysis paper topics

Concept analysis paper topics

1. What causes juvenile alcoholism?
2. What are the psychological and social causes of bullying?
3. How can we reduce inequity among people?
4. How and why do gender roles differ among cultures?
5. the primary factors of fast climate change
6. Why and exactly how to tackle the subject of sexual education
7. What are the available treatments for insomnia?
8. Is higher education associated with increased job security?

Data analysis topics

9. Big data confidentiality and security concerns
10. Machine learning techniques for massive data
11. Describe the significance of probabilistic categorization in data mining
12. Explain why density-based clustering is required.
13. What is the significance of data exploration in data analysis?
14. What exactly is data retention, and why is it so important?

Process analysis paper topics

15. How do you deal with test anxiety and stress?
16. How do you quit smoking?
17. What influence does gambling have on people’s mental health?
18. The advantages of meditation in the process of breaking unhealthy habits like smoking
19. How does a viral disease manifest itself in the body?
20. What is the greatest technique to boost your immune system?

Topics for Rhetorical Analysis

21. What’s the difference between Symbolism and Imagery?
22. Many high school students despise home-schooling
23. The effects of video games on pre-schoolers
24. The Influence of Horror Films on Middle and Pre-schoolers
25. The significance of symbolism in literature and art
26. How lack of access and poverty affect young Americans’ home-schooling

Your results should be presented in an easy and concise manner that allows readers to easily derive various conclusions. What information should feature in the scientific paper results section? Read our guide for tips on writing an outstanding results section of a research paper.

What is the results section of a research paper?

The results chapter of a research paper is the section where you report the findings of various experiments performed during your study. This chapter presents the data you have collected in a logical order, often with the use of descriptive figures such as graphs and tables.

The results chapter tackles all data relating to your research objectives. Although you should show links between various variables, refrain from introducing theories regarding these correlations.

What goes in the results section of a research paper?

After your research, you might have collected a ton of calculations and data for various variables. Covering all this information in your paper may result in a lengthy chapter that limits the optimal analysis of your results. 

You should thus trim your information to the details that help you make inferences relevant to your research questions. Some of the items to include in the results section of a research paper APA include: 

• An introduction highlighting the research objectives you intend to cover in your experiment.
• A detailed outline of the process you used to reach your results including any variables you adjusted to test your hypothesis.
• The process of data collection and the criteria and ethical considerations that were made when selecting your sample group.
• Charts, tables, and summarized paragraphs for the data you collected. Here, we recommend that you represent your data in a manner that’s easy for the reader to compare and investigate your conclusions.  
• You may also include a short explanation after each figure to show the reader how you interpreted the results, avoiding confusion. The visual aids and explanations should explain the frequency and correlation of events when various variables were tweaked and the causality of events. This should however be done without arguing possible reasons for these observations. 
• Finally, conclude your results with a summary of the key findings yielded during your study.

Note: calculations used to coalesce the data should be covered in the appendices chapter. 

How to write the results section of a research paper

How do you go about writing the results section of your research paper? These steps ought to come in handy to avoid the confusion inspired by copious amounts of data. 

1. Check instructions

The faculty guideline often outlines the requirements of presenting your results in a research paper. It is best that you revisit these guidelines to establish the completeness of the information you have coalesced. 

Also, check other publications to familiarize yourself with the visualizations and content to prepare in the findings section. 

2. Sort your findings into sections

Your experiment features multiple variables each geared towards investigating a research question. Before you start writing, revisit the research questions and sort your data into various categories.

Doing this allows you to sort your data in a manner that’s easy for readers to follow your results with minimum confusion. 

3. Design your visual data representations

Visual representations are more efficient in highlighting the relationship between various datasets compared to words. However, start off by establishing the visual presentations that are permitted by your faculty. 

All the graphs and tables used should be self-explanatory and tackle all the data yielded in your research. When going about this section, ensure that you are conversant with spreadsheets to avoid various errors that might misrepresent your results.

4. Write down your findings

After preparing the relevant visual diagrams, offer a short summary for each table/ graph used. The summary should highlight the relationship between various variables to guide the reader on your interpretation. 

The summary will prepare the reader for arguments that you intend to make in the discussion. After writing your summaries, edit each chart and summary to ensure clarity. 

How to start a results section of a research paper

The results section in an academic paper should start by discussing the research questions of your paper. What do you intend to establish? By addressing this question, you can refocus the attention on the purpose of your paper, helping readers to reach various conclusions based on the data you collected.

Next, write the process you followed for research, highlighting any variables that were adjusted to provide a better basis for comparison. 

Final take

We hope that this guide has helped you overcome any challenges you were facing with your research paper. Be keen to check a research paper results example for a better understanding of how to write the research paper results.

If you are like me, you’d settle for the former gift as it looks well thought of and more appealing. However, this does not necessarily imply that the first gift was of lower value than the second. The packaging influenced your decision-making. 

Like the gifts, a hook determines your reader’s attitude toward your paper. A great hook sparks curiosity in your reader, guiding them to go through your work in a bid to scratch their intellectual itch. This article will highlight tips on how to write a good hook for a paper and reel in many readers from the scholarly sea. 

What is a hook in a research paper?

The mention of a hook conjures an image of a curved shiny metal used for fishing. Like the fisherman’s hook, an essay hook is a catchy element that pulls your readers into your work. 

This opening sentiment is found in the introduction of your research paper and highlights the importance of your research. The hook may do this by highlighting a popular fallacy or indicating the extent of the existing research gap that your research will bridge. 

How to write a hook for a research paper

Writing a hook for a research paper often proves a daunting task for many students. often, students may struggle with their introduction and fail to capture the essence of their work. Here, we will highlight some steps for writing a great research paper hook.

1. Gauge your audience

A research paper is often geared towards a knowledgeable audience of scholars. However, the interests of scholars may vary depending on the topic and niche of your paper. Ideally, refrain from complex jargon in your hook as this may obfuscate its meaning, rendering it worthless.

Also, gauge the interests of scholars in your discipline and write a hook that appeals to these interests. For instance, check the common debates regarding your topic and capture the alluring components of these debates to appeal to your reader’s interests. 

2. Create an outline

An outline is essential for understanding the entirety of your research paper’s argument. We recommend that you design an outline and prepare a hook that complements your key argument.

If you select rhetorical questions, settle for one that accentuates your key arguments. 

3. Gauge the purpose of your paper

The hook for research paper should set the mood for your introduction and your paper’s arguments. For instance, a funny hook would barely have an impact when introducing a complex topic. At best, this may give a reader the idea that your paper will not address the topic with the seriousness it calls for. 

You must prepare your thesis statement and work towards a hook that highlights the importance of your research. Also, consult your peers for an analysis of how well your hook introduces your topic. 

Easy ideas for a hook in a paper

If you are stuck with your hook, here are some research paper hook examples to guide your selection.

1. Question Hook

Question hooks are usually rhetorical and open-ended. These questions are geared to get a reader curious about a particular matter. 

Often, the questions should challenge a popular notion in your field or explore options that have been previously ignored in previous studies. 

e.g., What impact would a television set add in a classroom setting? Are we too fixated on the futuristic tech that we overlook the applications of the available teaching-learning resources?

2. Quotes

Quotes are popular in scientific writing. However, you don’t always have to rely on quotes from famous people. Instead, find quotes that are relevant to your topic or those that provoke a desired line of thought.

e.g., teach me and I will forget. Show me and I might remember. Engage me and I will learn. A popular quote that highlights the importance of engaging all senses in the teaching-learning process. While many teachers settle for the lecture method, research shows that various learners have varied methods of study… 

3. Statistical Facts

Like the former, facts are a staple for introductions in academic journals. The facts selected for your hook should be relevant to the topic and informative for your reader. Also, facts should feature an in-text citation to show their legitimacy. 

e.g., 65,000 people in the US suffer from mental issues and fail to seek help for fear of stigmatization (king, 2012). How can this be addressed to ensure maximum productivity of our workforce?

4. Clarifying a Popular Misconception

Another way to open your research paper is by challenging a belief that is popular in your discipline. 

e.g., Do poor academic results show the difference in learners’ cognitive capacities or rather highlight the ineptitude of a teacher’s methodologies? Since most classes cover a wide range of learners, is it not necessary to find each learner’s preferred mode of learning and guide them with proper tools?

Final take

We hope that this guide has answered your questions on writing a research paper hook. If you are still struggling with your paper, feel free to consult our experts for custom assistance.