Research proposal definition

A research proposal is a detailed summary of what you intend to research. It includes a major question or central issue you need to address through the research paper.

Your research paper proposal explains the significance of the topic and the processes and procedures you intend to follow to make sure the final research is successful.

Writing a research paper proposal is a crucial part of your academic life as it proves to the reader that you have the ultimate ability to communicate complex matters in a simplified way, ensuring the reader understands what you intend to reveal through your research. 

Besides, based on your research proposal, you will get an appropriate supervisor specialized in the specific area for easy collaboration.

How to write a topic proposal for a research paper

Your research proposal should have a topic addressing the issue you intend to cover. In some cases, you may be given several topic options to choose from, or you may get the freedom to pick a researchable topic of your own.

In any case, you should revise your research proposal topic well to ensure it meets the set requirements. If possible, you can ask your tutor to help you decide on a perfect topic.

Note: In the research proposal, you should explain the importance of the topic and why it matters a lot that you had to perform the research.

That is why it is always recommended that you pick a topic that interests you and a topic you can easily find materials for research. You can always review apa research proposal example topics to gain inspiration.

The structure of a research proposal

Although the presentation of a research paper will vary slightly based on the topic subject, the following elements are general, and it could be ideal if you learned and mastered how to present the sections:

• Title page
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Research design
• Reference list

Note: even if the research proposal sections vary in one way or the other, the overall purpose is always the same. Therefore, make sure you stick to making your research proposal a simplified plan to help you feel okay with the direction you have decided to follow and to generally get organized.

Pro tips to help you write the best research proposal

If you’ve sampled a research paper proposal example apa but still can’t figure out how to write a good one, use the following tips:

• Create a research proposal timeline

Since writing a research proposal may seem a draining and unending task, you might need to consider breaking it into small and manageable tasks to give you the psych and motivation to fulfill the objectives of the paper.

• Keep it simple

Avoid complex terms and phrases in your research proposal to make it easy for reviewers to understand your points. Besides, ensure your final draft is free from grammar errors and mistakes to prove you can handle the research well.

Conclusion

Are you in the process of writing a research proposal? Do you have a proposal for research paper example to relate to? Well, writing a compelling research proposal shouldn’t be a hard task. Simply follow the details highlighted in this guide, and everything else will fall into place.

There could come a moment after you’ve done the research, compiled all the ideas you have, and put them up in a paper but haven’t reached the required number of words. Remember, you must submit your paper after fulfilling all the requirements. In such a scenario, what’s the best way forward? How do you go about it to ensure you meet the required word count? Keep reading to understand how to lengthen a paper easily.

How long should a research paper be?

Before evaluating how to make your paper longer, maybe you are wondering how long is a research paper.

Well, while the length of every research paper differs based on the topic or subject matter, it is significant to note that an average research paper will require about 4,000 – 6000 words. However, based on your tutor’s guidelines and the nature of your topic, you can get to write a research paper of more than 10,000 words or as less as 2000 words. Just ensure you master the art of writing such a paper and the best approaches on how to make research paper longer.

Tricks to make research paper longer

Should you fail to meet the required research paper length, the following tips will always come in handy:

1. Always create an outline for the paper

One practical way how to make a paper longer is drafting an outline as you prepare to write the final paper. A detailed outline will help you figure out the appropriate number of words to include in every section to meet the required word count.

2. Include examples in your points

Several examples in your essay will for sure lengthen your paper. When adding value points to support your topic or thesis statement, you will be making a claim, which you must describe and give supporting details for the reader to understand. Therefore, using examples in different scenarios will help you to write a longer essay.

3. Hire a professional editor

When you feel like you’ve exhausted all you can when writing your research paper and don’t know how to lengthen a paper anymore, this is the right time to get help by hiring a professional.

An expert in academic writing tasks can quickly read through the paper’s requirements, analyze what you’ve written, and identify instances where there is a need for more content or more explanation.

Getting professional help will not only increase your research paper length but also help you submit a high-quality paper, free from grammar and typo mistakes.

4. Cite as you write

Most students often prefer to write a paper first, then do the citations later, which is a wrong move. Citing later can leave you with less number of words. Therefore, whenever you write your paper, always cite as you move forward. This will put you in a better position to keep track of the word count.

5. Review sections that aren’t clear

Once you finish writing any research paper, there is a possibility that some points or sections aren’t quite clear. As a way of making your paper longer, try to review such sections as you add more context to meet your word count target.

6. Include quotes

It is okay to add insightful quotes in your essay after describing an argument. However, make sure you cite the quotes appropriately and that the quotes align with the subject matter of your paper. Such quotes will not only help you lengthen your paper but also help you argue out your points.

Conclusion

Not once or twice, you will often find yourself stuck with your paper as a result of not attaining the required word count. In such instances, do not submit a paper that doesn’t meet the required word count. Apply some of the above tricks, and you will be good to go.

How do professors check for plagiarism?

How can teachers tell if you plagiarized? Most students will assume that even if they cheat, the tutors won’t find out. Well, since they are professionals who have been in the industry for a long, they can distinguish plagiarized content from an original one.

Of course, before you get accused of plagiarism, teachers and professors use different strategies and software to check for duplicate or similar content to what you’ve provided in your paper.

Different forms of plagiarism checkers help teachers check your content against the website. Therefore, as a student, make sure you establish the plagiarism checker tools your tutor uses, learn how to use them, and submit plagiarism-free reports.

What’s more, such plagiarism checker tools will not only help you evade plagiarism, but some of these tools will help you correct other grammar and typing mistakes, thus, ensuring your paper is free from grammar errors and plagiarism too.

How to get out of plagiarism

Now that you understand the basics of plagiarism and how you can get caught easily, the following approaches will help you figure out how to prove you didn’t plagiarize your work and know what to say when caught plagiarizing as a way of defending yourself.

• Paraphrase your content

In a research paper, it is quite hard to create your own context and bring out a meaningful paper without having to use already existing materials from other authors.

Copying and pasting the exact words from the source will mean using other authors’ work without crediting their efforts. This is equal to plagiarism. To evade such a scenario, be sure to read and understand the context, then write in your own understanding, i.e., paraphrasing.

• Use quotes

How do teachers know you plagiarized? Well, some phrases are quite familiar in the eyes of the teacher. Therefore, it becomes easy for any teacher to detect plagiarized content in your paper. To avoid this, make sure you quote the phrase and give credit to the owner.

• Cite all your sources correctly

If you are wondering how to beat plagiarism checker, then you need to learn the art of citing your work. There are different citation styles, and you should always use the style approved by your tutor. If possible, include references to ensure you have what to say when caught plagiarizing.

• Use plagiarism checker tools

Well, just like the teachers use such tools to detect plagiarism, you, too, can use the same tools to evaluate your paper. Should there be any plagiarism detected in your paper, you can review the section, paraphrase, add quotes, or cite the sources appropriately.

Conclusion

Plagiarism is one element that makes students fail in their academic papers, even when they have done incredible research. Professors and learning institutes at large do not take plagiarism matters lightly. Therefore, as a student aiming at incredible grades, make sure you understand the whole concept of plagiarism and how you can stay away from plagiarism. In any case, I hope this guide has given you some useful insights on plagiarism matters.

Why is it important to use credible sources in research

The purpose of research paper sources is to show your efforts in doing the research and finding information to present. In academic writing, students must learn and know how to cite sources in a research paper as proof of their research processes.

Citing sources for a research paper is significant as it helps students avoid plagiarism, which is a harsh offense in academic writing.

But then, why is it crucial to use credible sources? A credible source is often written by an expert or professional in a given field. Such a source presents only factual information without bias and without errors.

Academic research papers communicate detailed information on a given topic, which will be read by other scholars and experts.

Therefore, using credible sources in research papers will make the reader believe in your research and the information you’ve presented in your paper.

Besides, credible sources will not only make the reader believe in your work, but they will also increase your chances of scoring higher grades.

How to use sources in a research paper

Of course, the information and details presented in a research paper are often from other experts. It can be from books, articles, or online materials. All these sources have authors. Therefore, while you may find the information appropriate for your paper, you must understand how to integrate sources into a research paper to give your paper a good structure. There are different ways on how you can use research paper sources in your paper, and some of the best ways include the following:

1. Quoting

The information from some sources may be hard to change, forcing you to use it as it is. It is more of copying the exact words and pasting them into your research paper. Therefore, make sure you include quotation marks with the details of the author to show the reader that they aren’t your own words.

2. Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is all about reading and understanding someone else’s work and then writing them in your own words based on your understanding. However, while writing the summary of another person’s work, make sure the meaning doesn’t change to drive the point home.

Note: paraphrasing isn’t about changing the sentence structure or interchanging some words. It is all about re-writing every detail afresh.

3. Summarizing

Summarizing may sound like paraphrasing to some level, but there is a slight difference. Summarizing is applicable where you have many ideas to present in your research paper as an overview of all other ideas. Here, there is no need for quotation marks.

How to identify a credible source

After understanding how to use sources in a research paper, the next element is to establish how to identify credible sources to use for your research project. Below are some tips to consider:

• Know the author

The author of a publication can show if the source is credible or not. You can evaluate this by analyzing their other published works and their reputation in the specific field.

• Check the website it’s published on

A specific website can tell you whether a source is credible or not. Check the number of publications and visits on the same website to establish its credibility.

How many sources for a research paper?

Before starting your research project, ask yourself, how many sources should a research paper have?

To answer this question, the appropriate number of research paper sources depends on the subject matter and nature of the project. However, an average research project should have 45 references.

Conclusion

Research paper sources play a significant role in bringing up a good academic paper. Therefore, I hope this write-up has given you useful insights on determining a credible source for your paper.