Abstract | |
Background/Objective | Outline the background or context of the study and states the main objective or research question being addressed. Explain why the study was conducted and what gap in knowledge or problem it aims to address |
Methods | Provide an overview of the research design, methodology, and techniques used to conduct the study. Include details about the participants or sample, data collection methods, and data analysis procedures. |
Results | Summarize the main findings of the study. Highlight the key outcomes, trends, and significant results that emerged from the analysis of the collected data. It’s important to present these findings objectively and succinctly. |
Conclusions | Sum up the implications and conclusions drawn from the study’s findings. Address how the results answer the research question or contribute to the broader field of study. Discuss any potential applications, recommendations, or further research suggested by the findings |
Keywords | Include a list of keywords or phrases that are relevant to the study. These keywords help index the abstract and make it easier for readers to find the paper when searching for related topics |
Note: The abstract is limited to a specific word count ranging from 200-250 word. | |
Introduction | |
Background and Context | Begin by introducing the broader context within which your research is situated. This could involve discussing the general field of study, existing theories, previous research, or relevant historical developments. Provide enough information to help the reader understand the context of your study. |
Problem Statement and Rationale | Clearly state the research problem or question you’re addressing. Explain why this problem is worth investigating and why it’s relevant to the field. Discuss any gaps, inconsistencies, or limitations in the existing research that your study aims to address. |
Significance and Purpose | Explain the significance of your research. How will your study contribute to the field’s understanding, knowledge, or practice? Highlight the potential implications, practical applications, or theoretical advancements that may result from your findings. |
Objectives | State the specific objectives of your study. What do you aim to achieve with this research? If applicable, present the research questions or hypotheses that guide your investigation. |
Scope and Limitations | Clearly define the scope of your study. What aspects are included and excluded? Discuss any limitations, such as constraints on resources, data availability, or potential biases. |
Theoretical Framework | If your research is grounded in a particular theoretical framework or conceptual model, introduce it here. Explain how this framework informs your study and provides a lens through which to analyze the data. |
Methodology Overview | Provide a brief overview of the research methodology you employed. Describe the general approach you took to gather and analyze data. However, save the detailed methodology for the “Methods” section later in the paper |
Methods (For Research Papers) | |
Research Design | Describe the overall structure of the study, such as whether it’s experimental, observational, cross-sectional, longitudinal, etc. |
Participants or Sample | Specify the characteristics of the participants or subjects involved in the study. This includes demographic information and any relevant selection criteria. |
Data Collection | Detail the methods used to collect data. This could involve surveys, interviews, experiments, observations, or other techniques. Explain how the data was collected and why those methods were chosen. |
Variables and Measurements | Clearly define the variables under investigation and explain how they were measured or operationalized. Discuss any tools, scales, or instruments used for measurements. |
Procedure | Outline the step-by-step procedure followed in the study. This should include the sequence of activities from data collection to analysis. |
Data Analysis | Describe the techniques employed to analyze the collected data. Whether you’re using statistical tests, qualitative analysis, or a combination of the two, provide details about the methods and tools used. |
Ethical Considerations | Mention any ethical concerns associated with the study and how they were addressed, including informed consent, confidentiality, and adherence to relevant guidelines. |
Methods (For Systematic Reviews) | |
Search Strategy | Describe the systematic approach used to search for relevant literature. This might involve databases, keywords, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and any filters applied |
Inclusion Criteria | Explain the criteria used to select the studies included in the review. This could encompass publication dates, study designs, relevance to the topic, and other factors. |
Data Extraction | Detail how data from selected studies were extracted. This might include information about the authors, publication dates, research designs, key findings, and other relevant data points. |
Synthesis Method | Discuss how the gathered information was synthesized and organized. This could involve thematic analysis, narrative synthesis, or any other approach used to derive meaningful insights from the literature. |
Quality Assessment | If applicable, explain how the quality of the included studies was assessed. Mention any tools or criteria used to evaluate the validity and reliability of the selected research |
Discussion | |
Restatement of Key Findings | Summarize the main results of your study. Provide a concise overview of the most important findings that directly address your research objectives or questions. |
Implications and Significance | Discuss the implications of your findings. How do your results contribute to the field’s understanding of the research problem? Explain the practical, theoretical, or academic significance of your work. Highlight how your study advances existing knowledge or fills gaps in the literature. |
Connection to Objectives | Reflect on whether your research objectives or hypotheses were met. If they were not fully met, discuss why and consider any unexpected outcomes. |
Recommendations | If applicable, offer recommendations for future research or practical applications based on your findings. Suggest areas that could benefit from further investigation, and discuss how your study provides a foundation for future work. |
Limitations | Acknowledge the limitations of your study. Address any constraints, biases, or factors that may have impacted the reliability or generalizability of your findings. Being transparent about limitations demonstrates a thoughtful and critical approach to research. |
Closing Thought | End the discussion with a thought-provoking or insightful statement that leaves the reader with a lasting impression. This could be a reflection on the broader implications of the research or a call to action related to the research topic. |
Avoid New Information | The discussion is not the place to introduce new information or concepts that have not been discussed earlier in the paper. Stick to summarizing and discussing the information already presented. |
Sections
All submissions should have the following sections in this order:
- Title
- Authors and affiliations
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Results
- Discussion
- Methods
- Acknowledgments
- References
Citation formatting
When submitting your article for publication, you will need two separate citation formats, one for reviewing and one for online publishing.
The standard citation format is as follows:
References are to be numbered, ordered sequentially as they appear in the text. References should appear as superscript numbers, before the punctuation mark, and without a space between the superscript number and the word1. Only one publication should be listed for each number.
To format the references:
- Please include all author names.
- Authors should be listed with initials of given names, followed by the surname (ex: J. B. Robertson, P. L. Cole)
- All articles cited must include the title, unitalicized, using sentence case capitalization (first word capitalized).
- Book titles should be italicized, and use standard capitalization.
- Journal names should be italicized, volume numbers bolded, followed by page numbers, and then the publication year in parentheses.
- References to websites should give authors if known, title of cited page, URL in full, and year of posting in parentheses.
Examples:
V. A. Zavala, P. M. Bracci, J. M. Carethers, L. Carvajal-Carmona, N. B. Coggins, M. R. Cruz-Correa, M. Davis, A. J. de Smith, J. Dutil, J. C. Figueiredo, R. Fox, K. D. Graves, S. L. Gomez, A. Llera, S. L. Neuhausen, L. Newman, T. Nguyen, J. R. Palmer, N. R. Palmer, E. J. Pérez-Stable, S. Piawah, E. J. Rodriquez, M. C. Sanabria-Salas, S. L. Schmit, S. J. Serrano-Gomez, M. C. Stern, J. Weitzel, J. J. Yang, J. Zabaleta, E. Ziv, L. Fejerman. Cancer health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities in the United States. Brit J Cancer. 124, 315–332 (2021).
D. Tao, Z. He, Y. Lin, C. Liu, Q. Tao, Where does fear originate in the brain? A coordinate-based meta-analysis of explicit and implicit fear processing. Neuroimage. 227, 117686 (2021).
Online publication citation format:
The online publication citation format is the same, except instead of using superscript numbers, the complete citation must be placed within double parentheses at every location in the text. The open parentheses must be preceded by a space. For multiple citations, each citation must be contained within its own set of double parentheses, with a superscript comma (,) between them, not a single quote (‘).
Examples:
Single citation:
These conduction electrons can oscillate and give rise to surface plasmon resonance\((U. Kreibig, M. Vollmer, Optical Properties of Metal Clusters. Springer Series Mate, 13–201 (1995).)). Surface plasmon resonance is a technique used to characterize binding interactions.
Multiple citations:
These conduction electrons can oscillate and give rise to surface plasmon resonance\((U. Kreibig, M. Vollmer, Optical Properties of Metal Clusters. Springer Series Mate, 13–201 (1995).)), ((W. Hou, S. B. Cronin, A Review of Surface Plasmon Resonance-Enhanced Photocatalysis. Adv Funct Mater. 23, 1612–1619 (2013).)). Surface plasmon resonance is a technique used to characterize binding interactions.