how to start a disease research paper

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Research Papers

How to Write a Medical Research Paper

Last Updated: August 12, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Chris M. Matsko, MD . Dr. Chris M. Matsko is a retired physician based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With over 25 years of medical research experience, Dr. Matsko was awarded the Pittsburgh Cornell University Leadership Award for Excellence. He holds a BS in Nutritional Science from Cornell University and an MD from the Temple University School of Medicine in 2007. Dr. Matsko earned a Research Writing Certification from the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) in 2016 and a Medical Writing & Editing Certification from the University of Chicago in 2017. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 89% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 206,132 times.

Writing a medical research paper is similar to writing other research papers in that you want to use reliable sources, write in a clear and organized style, and offer a strong argument for all conclusions you present. In some cases the research you discuss will be data you have actually collected to answer your research questions. Understanding proper formatting, citations, and style will help you write and informative and respected paper.

Researching Your Paper

Pick something that really interests you to make the research more fun.
Choose a topic that has unanswered questions and propose solutions.

Step 2 Determine what kind of research paper you are going to write.

Quantitative studies consist of original research performed by the writer. These research papers will need to include sections like Hypothesis (or Research Question), Previous Findings, Method, Limitations, Results, Discussion, and Application.
Synthesis papers review the research already published and analyze it. They find weaknesses and strengths in the research, apply it to a specific situation, and then indicate a direction for future research.

Keep track of your sources. Write down all publication information necessary for citation: author, title of article, title of book or journal, publisher, edition, date published, volume number, issue number, page number, and anything else pertaining to your source. A program like Endnote can help you keep track of your sources.
Take detailed notes as you read. Paraphrase information in your own words or if you copy directly from the article or book, indicate that these are direct quotes by using quotation marks to prevent plagiarism.
Be sure to keep all of your notes with the correct source.
Your professor and librarians can also help you find good resources.

Keep all of your notes in a physical folder or in a digitized form on the computer.
Start to form the basic outline of your paper using the notes you have collected.

Writing Your Paper

Start with bullet points and then add in notes you've taken from references that support your ideas. [1] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
A common way to format research papers is to follow the IMRAD format. This dictates the structure of your paper in the following order: I ntroduction, M ethods, R esults, a nd D iscussion. [2] X Research source
The outline is just the basic structure of your paper. Don't worry if you have to rearrange a few times to get it right.
Ask others to look over your outline and get feedback on the organization.
Know the audience you are writing for and adjust your style accordingly. [3] X Research source

Use a standard font type and size, such as Times New Roman 12 point font.
Double-space your paper.
If necessary, create a cover page. Most schools require a cover page of some sort. Include your main title, running title (often a shortened version of your main title), author's name, course name, and semester.

Break up information into sections and subsections and address one main point per section.
Include any figures or data tables that support your main ideas.
For a quantitative study, state the methods used to obtain results.

Step 4 Write the conclusion and discussion.

Clearly state and summarize the main points of your research paper.
Discuss how this research contributes to the field and why it is important. [4] X Research source
Highlight potential applications of the theory if appropriate.
Propose future directions that build upon the research you have presented. [5] X Research source
Keep the introduction and discussion short, and spend more time explaining the methods and results.

State why the problem is important to address.
Discuss what is currently known and what is lacking in the field.
State the objective of your paper.
Keep the introduction short.

Highlight the purpose of the paper and the main conclusions.
State why your conclusions are important.
Be concise in your summary of the paper.
Show that you have a solid study design and a high-quality data set.
Abstracts are usually one paragraph and between 250 – 500 words.

Unless otherwise directed, use the American Medical Association (AMA) style guide to properly format citations.
Add citations at end of a sentence to indicate that you are using someone else's idea. Use these throughout your research paper as needed. They include the author's last name, year of publication, and page number.
Compile your reference list and add it to the end of your paper.
Use a citation program if you have access to one to simplify the process.

Continually revise your paper to make sure it is structured in a logical way.
Proofread your paper for spelling and grammatical errors.
Make sure you are following the proper formatting guidelines provided for the paper.
Have others read your paper to proofread and check for clarity. Revise as needed.

Expert Q&A

Ask your professor for help if you are stuck or confused about any part of your research paper. They are familiar with the style and structure of papers and can provide you with more resources. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Refer to your professor's specific guidelines. Some instructors modify parts of a research paper to better fit their assignment. Others may request supplementary details, such as a synopsis for your research project . Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Set aside blocks of time specifically for writing each day. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism is using someone else's work, words, or ideas and presenting them as your own. It is important to cite all sources in your research paper, both through internal citations and on your reference page. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 2

↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3178846/
↑ http://owl.excelsior.edu/research-and-citations/outlining/outlining-imrad/
↑ http://china.elsevier.com/ElsevierDNN/Portals/7/How%20to%20write%20a%20world-class%20paper.pdf
↑ http://intqhc.oxfordjournals.org/content/16/3/191
↑ http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html#form

About This Article

To write a medical research paper, research your topic thoroughly and compile your data. Next, organize your notes and create a strong outline that breaks up the information into sections and subsections, addressing one main point per section. Write the results and discussion sections first to go over your findings, then write the introduction to state your objective and provide background information. Finally, write the abstract, which concisely summarizes the article by highlighting the main points. For tips on formatting and using citations, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to start your research paper [step-by-step guide]

1. Choose your topic

2. find information on your topic, 3. create a thesis statement, 4. create a research paper outline, 5. organize your notes, 6. write your introduction, 7. write your first draft of the body, 9. write your conclusion, 10. revise again, edit, and proofread, frequently asked questions about starting your research paper, related articles.

Research papers can be short or in-depth, but no matter what type of research paper, they all follow pretty much the same pattern and have the same structure .

A research paper is a paper that makes an argument about a topic based on research and analysis.

There will be some basic differences, but if you can write one type of research paper, you can write another. Below is a step-by-step guide to starting and completing your research paper.

Choose a topic that interests you. Writing your research paper will be so much more pleasant with a topic that you actually want to know more about. Your interest will show in the way you write and effort you put into the paper. Consider these issues when coming up with a topic:

make sure your topic is not too broad
narrow it down if you're using terms that are too general

Academic search engines are a great source to find background information on your topic. Your institution's library will most likely provide access to plenty of online research databases. Take a look at our guide on how to efficiently search online databases for academic research to learn how to gather all the information needed on your topic.

Tip: If you’re struggling with finding research, consider meeting with an academic librarian to help you come up with more balanced keywords.

If you’re struggling to find a topic for your thesis, take a look at our guide on how to come up with a thesis topic .

The thesis statement is one of the most important elements of any piece of academic writing. It can be defined as a very brief statement of what the main point or central message of your paper is. Our thesis statement guide will help you write an excellent thesis statement.

In the next step, you need to create your research paper outline . The outline is the skeleton of your research paper. Simply start by writing down your thesis and the main ideas you wish to present. This will likely change as your research progresses; therefore, do not worry about being too specific in the early stages of writing your outline.

Then, fill out your outline with the following components:

the main ideas that you want to cover in the paper
the types of evidence that you will use to support your argument
quotes from secondary sources that you may want to use

Organizing all the information you have gathered according to your outline will help you later on in the writing process. Analyze your notes, check for accuracy, verify the information, and make sure you understand all the information you have gathered in a way that you can communicate your findings effectively.

Start with the introduction. It will set the direction of your paper and help you a lot as you write. Waiting to write it at the end can leave you with a poorly written setup to an otherwise well-written paper.

The body of your paper argues, explains or describes your topic. Start with the first topic from your outline. Ideally, you have organized your notes in a way that you can work through your research paper outline and have all the notes ready.

After your first draft, take some time to check the paper for content errors. Rearrange ideas, make changes and check if the order of your paragraphs makes sense. At this point, it is helpful to re-read the research paper guidelines and make sure you have followed the format requirements. You can also use free grammar and proof reading checkers such as Grammarly .

Tip: Consider reading your paper from back to front when you undertake your initial revision. This will help you ensure that your argument and organization are sound.

Write your conclusion last and avoid including any new information that has not already been presented in the body of the paper. Your conclusion should wrap up your paper and show that your research question has been answered.

Allow a few days to pass after you finished writing the final draft of your research paper, and then start making your final corrections. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gives some great advice here on how to revise, edit, and proofread your paper.

Tip: Take a break from your paper before you start your final revisions. Then, you’ll be able to approach your paper with fresh eyes.

As part of your final revision, be sure to check that you’ve cited everything correctly and that you have a full bibliography. Use a reference manager like Paperpile to organize your research and to create accurate citations.

The first step to start writing a research paper is to choose a topic. Make sure your topic is not too broad; narrow it down if you're using terms that are too general.

The format of your research paper will vary depending on the journal you submit to. Make sure to check first which citation style does the journal follow, in order to format your paper accordingly. Check Getting started with your research paper outline to have an idea of what a research paper looks like.

The last step of your research paper should be proofreading. Allow a few days to pass after you finished writing the final draft of your research paper, and then start making your final corrections. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gives some great advice here on how to revise, edit and proofread your paper.

There are plenty of software you can use to write a research paper. We recommend our own citation software, Paperpile , as well as grammar and proof reading checkers such as Grammarly .

Spartanburg Community College Library
SCC Research Guides

RES 111 - Disease Report

7. Write Your Paper

Write Your Paper/Project

Getting started.

Writing Fundamentals from Writer's Reference Center This has links to articles on writing any document, paraphrasing, quotations, writing a thesis statement, outline, body paragraphs, conclusion, and writing about themes, characters, form, symbols, etc.
Choosing a Research Topic and Creating a Thesis This guide from the SCC Library provides students information on how to choose a research topic for an assignment including what makes a good research topic, concept mapping, background research, and narrowing a topic and most importantly information about creating a thesis.
Choosing a Topic (Tutorial) This SCC Library tutorial will walk you through how to choose an appropriate topic for a research assignment and help you turn your research topic into a thesis statement.

APA Formatting for Papers

If you're using MLA Format for your paper - see our MLA Guide

Formatting Your Title Page and Paper-APA This guide from SCC Library provides you instructions in MS Word on how to format the title page and paper in APA for student papers.
Formatting Your Reference Page-APA This guide from SCC Library provides you instructions in MS Word for formatting references page correctly including proper font and hanging in-dent.
Sample Paper in APA Format This sample paper shows how an APA paper should look.

Incorporating Sources into a Research Project & Avoiding Plagiarism

Organizing Your Research This guide from the SCC Library provides information on creating research note cards, source tables, and research outlines to help organize your sources so that you can incorporate them into your paper.
Incorporating Sources into a Research Project This guide from the SCC Library provides resources on how to properly include sources in a research project without plagiarism, whether through good note-taking, following the research process, or using direct quotations, paraphrasing, or summarizing, etc.
How to Paraphrase: Avoid Plagiarism in Research Papers with Paraphrases & Quotations (3 min. video) This video explains how to paraphrase information correctly to avoid plagiarism.
English Composition I: The Writer's Circle, Lesson 9, Part 4, Integrating Research (Video) This video talk about citing sources to avoid plagiarizing. (1 min)

Additional Resources

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) This site contains resources for writing, research, grammar, mechanics, and style guides (MLA & APA).

The Learning Center (TLC)

Free, online virtual tutoring is available 24/7 through NetTutor (link found on the TLC Page or in D2L)
Visit the TLC in-person at Giles or other campuses. Visit the TLC Portal Page (SCC Log in Required) for hours and English and Computer tutor availability.
Email your paper/project to them at [email protected] . They offer a 48 hour turn-around on papers (excluding weekends and holidays), and ask that you send a copy of the assignment as well. The paper needs to be Microsoft Word format (don't share a copy of your OneDrive/cloud account), and please include your due date and SCC college ID number in the email.

Visit the The Learning Center located in the P. Dan Hull Building, rooms E2, E5, E6. See TLC Portal Page (SCC log in required) for additional locations. Contact The Learning Center for more information .

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Next: 8. Prepare Your Presentation >>
1. Getting Started
2. Explore Your Topic
3. Search Tips
4. Find Sources
5. Cite Your Sources
6. Evaluate Your Sources
8. Prepare Your Presentation
Last Updated: Sep 19, 2024 10:30 AM
URL: https://libguides.sccsc.edu/res111-disease

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TIP Sheet HOW TO START (AND COMPLETE) A RESEARCH PAPER

You are a re-entry student and it's been fourteen years since you've written a paper. You coasted through high school on your charm and good looks and never actually wrote a research paper. You have written research papers, but every time is like the first time, and the first time was like a root canal. How do you start? Here is a step-by-step approach to starting and completing a research paper.

Choose a topic.
Read and keep records.
Form a thesis.
Create a mind map or outline.
Read again.
Rethink your thesis.
Draft the body.
Add the beginning and end.
Proofread and edit.

You may read this TIP Sheet from start to finish before you begin your paper, or skip to the steps that are causing you the most grief.

1. Choosing a topic: Interest, information, and focus Your job will be more pleasant, and you will be more apt to retain information if you choose a topic that holds your interest. Even if a general topic is assigned ("Write about impacts of GMO crops on world food supply"), as much as possible find an approach that suits your interests. Your topic should be one on which you can find adequate information; you might need to do some preliminary research to determine this. Go to the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature in the reference section of the library, or to an electronic database such as Proquest or Wilson Web, and search for your topic. The Butte College Library Reference Librarians are more than happy to assist you at this (or any) stage of your research. Scan the results to see how much information has been published. Then, narrow your topic to manageable size:

Once you have decided on a topic and determined that enough information is available, you are ready to proceed. At this point, however, if you are having difficulty finding adequate quality information, stop wasting your time; find another topic.

2. Preliminary reading & recordkeeping Gather some index cards or a small notebook and keep them with you as you read. First read a general article on your topic, for example from an encyclopedia. On an index card or in the notebook, record the author, article and/or book title, and all publication information in the correct format (MLA or APA, for example) specified by your instructor. (If you need to know what publication information is needed for the various types of sources, see a writing guide such as S F Writer .) On the index cards or in your notebook, write down information you want to use from each identified source, including page numbers. Use quotation marks on anything you copy exactly, so you can distinguish later between exact quotes and paraphrasing. (You will still attribute information you have quoted or paraphrased.)

Some students use a particular index card method throughout the process of researching and writing that allows them great flexibility in organizing and re-organizing as well as in keeping track of sources; others color-code or otherwise identify groups of facts. Use any method that works for you in later drafting your paper, but always start with good recordkeeping.

3. Organizing: Mind map or outline Based on your preliminary reading, draw up a working mind map or outline. Include any important, interesting, or provocative points, including your own ideas about the topic. A mind map is less linear and may even include questions you want to find answers to. Use the method that works best for you. The object is simply to group ideas in logically related groups. You may revise this mind map or outline at any time; it is much easier to reorganize a paper by crossing out or adding sections to a mind map or outline than it is to laboriously start over with the writing itself.

4. Formulating a thesis: Focus and craftsmanship Write a well defined, focused, three- to five-point thesis statement, but be prepared to revise it later if necessary. Take your time crafting this statement into one or two sentences, for it will control the direction and development of your entire paper.

For more on developing thesis statements, see the TIP Sheets "Developing a Thesis and Supporting Arguments" and "How to Structure an Essay."

5. Researching: Facts and examples Now begin your heavy-duty research. Try the internet, electronic databases, reference books, newspaper articles, and books for a balance of sources. For each source, write down on an index card (or on a separate page of your notebook) the publication information you will need for your works cited (MLA) or bibliography (APA) page. Write important points, details, and examples, always distinguishing between direct quotes and paraphrasing. As you read, remember that an expert opinion is more valid than a general opinion, and for some topics (in science and history, for example), more recent research may be more valuable than older research. Avoid relying too heavily on internet sources, which vary widely in quality and authority and sometimes even disappear before you can complete your paper.

Never copy-and-paste from internet sources directly into any actual draft of your paper. For more information on plagiarism, obtain from the Butte College Student Services office a copy of the college's policy on plagiarism, or attend the Critical Skills Plagiarism Workshop given each semester.

6. Rethinking: Matching mind map and thesis After you have read deeply and gathered plenty of information, expand or revise your working mind map or outline by adding information, explanations, and examples. Aim for balance in developing each of your main points (they should be spelled out in your thesis statement). Return to the library for additional information if it is needed to evenly develop these points, or revise your thesis statement to better reflect what you have learned or the direction your paper seems to have taken.

7. Drafting: Beginning in the middle Write the body of the paper, starting with the thesis statement and omitting for now the introduction (unless you already know exactly how to begin, but few writers do). Use supporting detail to logically and systematically validate your thesis statement. For now, omit the conclusion also.

For more on systematically developing a thesis statement, see TIP sheets "Developing a Thesis and Supporting Arguments" and "How to Structure an Essay."

8. Revising: Organization and attribution Read, revise, and make sure that your ideas are clearly organized and that they support your thesis statement. Every single paragraph should have a single topic that is derived from the thesis statement. If any paragraph does not, take it out, or revise your thesis if you think it is warranted. Check that you have quoted and paraphrased accurately, and that you have acknowledged your sources even for your paraphrasing. Every single idea that did not come to you as a personal epiphany or as a result of your own methodical reasoning should be attributed to its owner.

For more on writing papers that stay on-topic, see the TIP Sheets "Developing a Thesis and Supporting Arguments" and "How to Structure an Essay." For more on avoiding plagiarism, see the Butte College Student Services brochure, "Academic Honesty at Butte College," or attend the Critical Skills Plagiarism Workshop given each semester.

9. Writing: Intro, conclusion, and citations Write the final draft. Add a one-paragraph introduction and a one-paragraph conclusion. Usually the thesis statement appears as the last sentence or two of the first, introductory paragraph. Make sure all citations appear in the correct format for the style (MLA, APA) you are using. The conclusion should not simply restate your thesis, but should refer to it. (For more on writing conclusions, see the TIP Sheet "How to Structure an Essay.") Add a Works Cited (for MLA) or Bibliography (for APA) page.

10. Proofreading: Time and objectivity Time permitting, allow a few days to elapse between the time you finish writing your last draft and the time you begin to make final corrections. This "time out" will make you more perceptive, more objective, and more critical. On your final read, check for grammar, punctuation, correct word choice, adequate and smooth transitions, sentence structure, and sentence variety. For further proofreading strategies, see the TIP Sheet "Revising, Editing, and Proofreading."

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Andrei V. Alexandrov; How to Write a Research Paper. Cerebrovasc Dis 1 August 2004; 18 (2): 135–138. https://doi.org/10.1159/000079266

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Background: Busy strokologists often find little time for scientific writing. They sometimes develop a mental condition equivalent to that known by neurologists as writer’s cramp. It may result in permanent damage to academic career. This paper provides advice how to prevent or treat this condition. Methods: Prepare your manuscript following the IMRaD principle (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion), with every part supporting the key message. When writing, be concise. Clearly state your methods here, while data belong to Results. Successful submissions combine quality new data or new thinking with lucid presentation. Results: Provide data that answer the research question. Describe here most important numeric data and statistics, keeping in mind that the shorter you can present them, the better. The scientific community screens abstracts to decide which full text papers to read. Make your point with data, not arguments. Conclusions: Conclusions have to be based on the present study findings. The time of lengthy and unfounded speculations is over. A simple message in a clearly written manuscript will get noticed and may advance our understanding of stroke.

By now you probably wrote an abstract and submitted it to a stroke conference. Your mentor reminds you several times to start drafting a paper, and you have no idea where to start. As a simple trick, copy and paste your abstract so that Background becomes your introduction. For the rest, follow the IMRaD principle: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion [ 1, 2, 3 ]. Think what ‘take home message’ you’d like to deliver and to whom. The title sells the paper.

‘Busy strokologists often find little time ... to treat this condition’: this introduction concisely describes the study hypothesis, rationale, purpose, and objectives. A three-paragraph introduction is plenty for most topics. Expand with facts from papers previously published by others, among whom you may occasionally find your mentor. Do a thorough literature search for earlier sources dealing with your subject [ 4, 5, 6 ]. Tell here what is known in the field. You do not need to refer to every paper ever written on this topic. Select key references and remember that for publishing purposes, less is better than more. Consult your mentor as often as possible – he is the senior author after all.

The third paragraph should state the research question [ 7 ]. You may take an original paper already published in Cerebrovascular Diseases to use as a template. Formulate the research question clearly since data presentation should provide equally clear answers.

The first author drafts the manuscript and determines co-authors [ 8 ]. Although general guidelines are available [ 8 ], the reality often demands seeking advice from your mentor. Inappropriate inclusion of authors will decrease the likelihood of manuscript acceptance.

Describe subject selection criteria and data collection tools. Make this description detailed enough so that if someone wants to repeat the study, it will be possible. If new imaging technology was used, tell how and by whom these tests were validated. Avoid presenting actual data in this section: ‘Study subjects were recruited from 1,215 patients admitted to our stroke unit from August 1999 through August 2002’. Instead say: ‘Study subjects were recruited from consecutive patients admitted to our stroke unit. Inclusion criteria were ...’. Methods may disclose power calculations, estimated sample size, and stopping rules.

Provide additional evidence that would increase confidence in the reliability of your methods. Control for biases, validation of research tools, ‘blinding’ of observers – all of these facts, if established before the study initiation, will strengthen the manuscript. Describe in detail the outcome models or dependent variables. For clinical outcomes or surrogate markers, reference a pivotal trial or study that established their relevance.

Documentation of protection of research subjects is essential. Clearly state if a local ethics committee approved your study. This ensures patients or animal rights protection, particularly if experiments were performed. The author also needs to disclose funding sources and potential for commercial bias such as connections with the pharmaceutical industry. Data safety monitoring, independent data acquisition and analysis during clinical trials and appropriate overseeing committees should be mentioned if applicable.

Major scientific journals currently accept less than 25% of submitted manuscripts. If rejected, it does not necessarily mean your manuscript is poor. Rejection means that reviewers did not give it a high enough priority. You should not be too disappointed because, after all, you got very good advice how to improve your manuscript. Follow reviewers’ suggestions and you increase the likelihood that another esteemed journal will accept it. The most important factors for publication are the quality, novelty, reliability and scientific or clinical importance of your work. A manuscript should disclose new information or a new way of thinking about old information. If not, it will not be published – regardless of how well it is written. Avoid redundant or duplicate publications since these should not be published. Scientific publishing is extremely competitive, and chances are that by the time you conceived the project, 10 other groups were already doing it and 5 others have already published it. Stay on top of current literature and know the limitations of research done by others.

The last paragraph of this section should describe tools of statistical analysis appropriate to study design. Consult a statistician before embarking on a project, work with a statistician to analyze and interpret the data, and have a statistician reviewing the whole manuscript for clarity of statistical analysis and data presentation.

Your results are the most important part of the manuscript. Present them clearly by avoiding long and confusing sentences. The shorter you can present your data in tables and figures, the better. Remain focused and disciplined. The flurry of numbers and ‘p’ values should follow simple logics. Start by describing your study subjects, use actual numbers for study demographics. Avoid opening sentences like: ‘Table 1 summarizes our findings in sub-group C’. This makes reviewers frustrated since they have to flip back and forth through pages to understand what was done to study subjects.

Make data presentation so clear and simple that a tired person riding late on an airplane can take your manuscript and get the message at first reading. Very few people can write a perfect manuscript on the first draft. Return to the draft, read it, change cumbersome parts, read other papers and change the draft again, and again, and again. I still do it before I give the manuscript to my co-authors. But do not hold it for too long. Remember, ‘10 other groups ...’.

Present results to colleagues since they would likely ask for more data or analyses. Most likely the reviewers of any esteemed journal would do the same, so include data in the first draft of your manuscript. The internal review is helpful to determine sufficient data to answer the research question.

Most importantly, provide data relevant to the research question. Observations beyond the primary research question can be included in the manuscript, if they strengthen your case. Remember to stay in focus. If you get lost from the aim of the study, so will be reviewers. Prestigious journals have a strict word limit for papers they accept. You need all this space to deliver the key message, so do not mess around but concentrate on the essential. Packing manuscript with data is better than splitting the paper into separate small ones.

Mention a statistical test that generated specific ‘p’ values or coefficients. Show absolute numbers as well as percentages so that reviewers can judge the significance of your observations. Remember that statistical difference does not necessarily translate into clinical significance.

Make your point with data, not arguments.

This section should start with: ‘Our study showed ...’ to lucidly summarize your study findings. Discussion is often the weakest part of the manuscript. Do not repeat the introduction. Do not present any new data that were not shown in the results section and avoid repeating data presentation. There is no reason to underline how terrific your results are – let them speak for themselves.

The second paragraph may describe the novelty of your findings or if they parallel previous research. Remember, only the beginners try to refer to all published papers in the field. No esteemed journal can afford the space needed for this. A skillful selection of the most pertinent references demonstrates a command of the relevant literature. Confirmatory research makes passing the review process more difficult. Arbitrarily, the ratio of abstracts to original papers in curriculum vitae should be less than 3 to 1. If there are too many abstracts, you either have writer’s cramp or the quality of your research is insufficient for publication.

The third paragraph may describe how your study contradicts previous research or established dogmas. If there was disagreement about study interpretation by co-authors, mention different conclusions drawn from your results or other studies [ 9, 10 ]. Avoid general statements that are not founded in data. Do not provide your opinion how to solve a problem that was not directly evaluated in your study. Do not write a review of all possible mechanisms that you have not accounted for in your study. You can write a short but to-the-point Discussion.

The fourth paragraph should describe study limitations. If you do not discuss study weaknesses, the reviewers will. Study limitations may be contrasted with study strengths. This part may also mention unresolved questions and direction of future research.

The concluding paragraph can summarize the potential significance of your findings and what changes to research or clinical practice your data may support. This is a critical part since it is easy to overestimate the significance of your research. Avoid broad claims and strong statements. Remember that even pioneer break-through studies require independent confirmation. Publication in a peer-reviewed journal means completion of your project and dissemination of research results [ 11, 12 ].

Clinicians need to develop skills in scientific writing. If you make a significant observation, a proper and fast scientific communication is required [ 12 ]. Improving your scientific writing is a life-long process. If and when your papers are rejected, remember that most manuscripts face the same fate. Avoid choosing an inappropriate journal for your manuscript submission. Common reasons for rejection include inappropriate or incomplete statistics; over-interpretation of results; inappropriate or sub-optimal instrumentation; a sample too small or biased; difficult-to-follow writing; insufficient problem statement; inaccuracy or inconsistency of the data reported; incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated review of the literature; insufficient data presented, and defective tables or figures [ 13, 14, 15 ]. When reading criticism, learn from your mistakes or the advice given to you. While wrestling with reviewers, you will become a better scientific writer but also a better, more critical scientist. In the long run this will make a major difference to your academic career, and probably will also improve your patient care. Most likely, your way of writing will become more evidence based.

An anonymous and probably frustrated academician once said: ‘Publish or perish!’. This brutally honest statement should motivate you to learn yet another set of useful skills. Good luck!

The author is not a native English speaker. I am indebted to John Norris, MD, FRCP, for – among many things during fellowship training – his patience with my ‘a’s and ‘the’s, and the first lessons in study design, analysis, and presentation. The infamous ‘Norris Rules’ that he taught his fellows are partly reflected in this paper.

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Why Choose Our Disease Research Topics?

Educators want you to convince them that you have taken the time to think about your topic and research it extensively. What’s more, your research should make a meaningful contribution to your study field. Therefore, select a good topic and research it extensively before you start writing. Analyze your information to determine what will make it to your research paper. Here is a list of 100 disease research paper topics worth considering for your paper or essay.

Infectious Disease Topics for Research Papers

Are you interested in infectious disease research topics? If yes, you will find this list interesting. This category comprises hot topics in infectious disease fields. Consider some of these ideas for your research paper.

The virology, epidemiology, and prevention of COVID-19
The diagnosis of COVID-19
Prevention vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 infection
Questions people ask about COVID-19
Clinical features of COVID-19
COVID-19 management in a hospital setting
Infection control for COVID-19 in homes and healthcare settings
Skin abscess and cellulitis in adults
Clinical manifestation, diagnosis, and epidemiology of yellow fever
Transmission and epidemiology of measles
Role of untreated inflammation of genital tract in HIV transmission
Racial inequities of COVID-19 and HIV in black communities
Community-acquired pneumonia overview in adults
The use of procalcitonin in the infections of lower respiratory tract
Herpes simplex virus prevention and treatment
Uncomplicated Neisseria gonorrhea treatment
Society guidelines for COVID-19
Why public education is crucial in fighting COVID-19
Overview of Ebola over the last two decades
Investigations into the use of monoclonal antibody in treating Ebola

This category also has some of the best infectious disease presentation topics. Nevertheless, learners should prepare to research extensively before writing academic papers on these topics.

Interesting Disease Topics

Maybe you want to research and write a research paper on a topic that most people find interesting. In that case, consider these disease topics for research paper.

Discuss bulimia as a common eating disorder
Why are so many young people suffering from anorexia?
What causes most eating disorders
How serious are sleep disorders
Discuss rabies treatment- The Milwaukee protocol
Is assisted suicide a way to treat terminal diseases?
What are the effects of brain injuries?
What are professional diseases?
Is autism a norm variant or a disease?
The history of pandemics and epidemics
The role of antibiotics in treating diseases
What causes insomnia?
What are the effects of insomnia?
How to cope with insomnia
Can sleeping pills cure insomnia?
Explain what causes long-term insomnia
Using traditional medicine to fight insomnia
How to deal with bulimia and nervosa
How eating disorders affect self-harm behavior
How feminism affect anorexic women phenomenon

This is a list of easy disease topics for papers. What’s more, most people will find these research paper disease topics interesting to read about. Nevertheless, students should take time to research their preferred topics to come up with brilliant papers on any of these human disease research paper topics.

Cardiovascular Disease Research Topics

Maybe you’re interested in topic ideas on heart disease. Perhaps, you want to write about an illness of the respiratory system. In that case, consider these heart disease research topics.

An investigation of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
A research of the causes of coronary artery disease
Antithrombotic therapy in surgical valve and prosthetic heart valve repair
Intervention choice for severe cases of calcific aortic stenosis
Prognosis and treatment of heart failure using preserved fraction of injection
Infective endocarditis management in adults
Risk assessment for cardiovascular disease for primary prevention
Prognosis and treatment of acute pericarditis
Treatment of reflex syncope in adolescents and adults
Anticoagulant therapy for preventing thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation
Cardiac manifestations of COVID-19 in adults
Acute decompensated heart failure treatment
What is hypertriglyceridemia?
How to manage elevated low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in cardiovascular disease
Management and evaluation of cardiac disease
Conduction system and arrhythmias disease and COVID-19
Myocardial infarction in COVID-19
Can somebody inherit a cardiac disease?
How effective are treatments for irregular heartbeat?
How to determine the risk for a sudden cardiac death

This list comprises some of the best special disease topics. That’s because most people reading about these topics might not have heard about them before. Nevertheless, this category also has interesting research topics for disease control that may help individuals that want to avoid or manage some illnesses.

Research Topics for Chronic Disease

You probably know somebody living with a chronic illness. Unlike controversial topics in infectious disease, people don’t talk much about chronic illnesses. And for this reason, some people don’t know about these illnesses. When writing about non-communicable illnesses, you can settle for human genetic disease topics or even research topics for sickle cell disease. Here are some of the topics about non-communicable diseases that you can write about.

The risk of breast cancer after childbirth
Postpartum PTSD- Effective preventative measures
Experiences of females suffering from cardiac disease during pregnancy- A systematic review
Husbands attendance and knowledge of wives’ postpartum care in rural areas
Postpartum depression screening by perinatal nurses in hospitals
Gestational diabetes mellitus screening from the rural perspective
Maternal mortality- How to help cardiac and pregnant patients
Sex differences in cardio metabolic disorders and major depression- Effect of immune exposures and prenatal stress
Determinants and prevalence of anxiety and antepartum depressive symptoms in fathers and expectant mothers- Outcomes from perinatal psychiatric morbidity
Evaluating the effect of community health workers on non-communicable diseases, tuberculosis, malnutrition, antenatal care, and family planning
History of women with postpartum affective disorder and the risk of future pregnancies recurrence
New self-care guide package and its effect on neonatal and maternal results in gestational diabetes
Depressive symptoms and life events in pregnant women- Moderating the resilience role and social support
Gestational diabetes and ethnic disparities
Pregnancy and diabetes- Opportunities and risks
Cardiovascular disease maternal death reduction- A pragmatic investigation
Meta-analysis and systematic review of gestational diabetes mellitus diagnosis with a two-step or one-step associations and approaches with negative pregnancy outcomes
Gestational diabetes mellitus treatment in women- A Cochrane systematic overview
Research in non-communicable diseases in Africa- A strategic investment
How to finance the national response to non-communicable diseases

Whether you opt to write about research paper topics in Huntington’s disease or non-communicable liver disease topics, you have to engage in extensive research to come up with a brilliant paper. We have more health research topics for you, so don’t hesitate to check them. Therefore, select an idea you will be comfortable researching and writing about. That way, you will avoid enduring a boring process of investing your topic and writing the paper. If you want to hire someone to help you with your assignment, just c ontact us with a “ do my research paper now ” request and we’ll get your papers done.

Basics of Writing a Research Paper on a Disease

Writing a research paper on a disease can look like an overwhelming task at the outset, but when you have a general topic it makes it a little easier to start out. There are so many different kinds of diseases and it’s such a well-researched topic that it should be a relatively simple set of tasks compared to other kinds of research papers.

Find a Topic

You already have the first struggle done: finding your umbrella topic, which in this case is diseases. Now you just have to narrow it down. There are several ways to do this.

Consider your experience. Have you ever known anyone with a particular kind of disease? Has there been something in the news recently about an outbreak or epidemic? Do you yourself have any kind of disease?
Chances are you are connected to someone with a disease in some way. Draw from your own experience to zero in on a topic.
Ask a medical professional what diseases he or she most frequently comes across. This may be your best bet as far as finding information if it is widely known.

Researching

A simple internet search will get you far, but there are other ways to find information too.

Take advantage of whatever resources are available in your school’s library. Most times, a school or university’s library will have access to journals and information databases that contain vast quantities of academic and research publications. Ask your librarian what sort of resources are available to you in this thread.
It might be old school, but look through paper versions of publications too. Oftentimes there is information present in physical books that never get scanned and entered into an online database or published online. Look in your school’s library for this too, as well as looking at your local discount book store.
Again, if you know people in the medical field, ask them for references as to how to find information. Most of them have to renew their license or do tests once every few years, so it is likely they would know where to find study information, text books, or information on new research. These people are valuable resources to you.

Once you’ve selected a topic and researched it thoroughly, treat your research paper on disease like any other paper. Do a thorough outline to organize your paper, write your paper with references and a reference page, and conclude strong. Once you’ve written it, read it aloud and have a friend read it, too, so you know what to revise.

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How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

Search for relevant literature
Evaluate sources
Identify themes, debates, and gaps
Outline the structure
Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

Quick Run-through
Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

Your university’s library catalogue
Google Scholar
Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
EconLit (economics)
Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

What question or problem is the author addressing?
What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
What are the key theories, models, and methods?
Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
What are the results and conclusions of the study?
How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

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To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

Most research has focused on young women.
There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Sampling methods
Simple random sampling
Stratified sampling
Cluster sampling
Likert scales
Reproducibility

Statistics

Null hypothesis
Statistical power
Probability distribution
Effect size
Poisson distribution

Research bias

Optimism bias
Cognitive bias
Implicit bias
Hawthorne effect
Anchoring bias
Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a paper .

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Disease Research Paper

View sample disease research paper. Browse research paper examples for more inspiration. If you need a health research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Feel free to contact our writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates.

Disease is a phenomenon that appears to have struck people globally at all times. However, the conceptions of what disease is have varied with time and place. This research paper gives an overview over various conceptions of disease and highlights what is at stake in the debates on the concept of disease. The core questions for the article are: what is disease and what are the ethical issues entangled in this question?

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Disease is a phenomenon experienced by most people during their lifetime, and it is something most people fear. Disease is a core concept in the health sciences, in philosophy, and in bioethics, but it is difﬁcult to deﬁne. Broadly speaking there are three types of deﬁnitions of disease: descriptivist, normativity, and hybrid deﬁnitions of disease, claiming that disease is given by phenomena described in nature, by human norms, or both nature and human norms, respectively.

The concept of disease is ethically important as it sets standards and limits, e.g., to what a health-care system is supposed to do and who deserves access to certain goods. It also inﬂuences people’s self-conception, their relations to others, their social roles, and their social status. Disease also raises a series of ethical issues, especially related to overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis, undertreatment and overtreatment, medicalization, and just distribution of healthcare resources. This makes disease an important concept with far-reaching implications for individuals, health professionals, health insurers, health policy makers, bioethicists, and politicians.

History And Development

From the interest of understanding and helping people, a wide range of theories and conceptions of disease have emerged. Such theories have altered with time and place. Table 1 gives a brief outline of some theories of disease.

This eagerness to understand disease can make us wonder, why is it so important to understand what disease is? Why is the concept of disease needed? There appear to be many reasons why the concept of disease is important:

Disease implies a right to attention and care, as disease is related to suffering.
Disease (in many countries) implies a right to treatment and is thus of great importance to individuals, health professionals, health-care institutions, health insurers, and health policy makers.
Disease (in many countries) implies exemptions from duties, such as the duty to work or to take care of others (e.g., relatives or friends).
Disease (in many countries) implies a right to economic compensation (e.g., during sick leave) and therefore is important to individuals, employers, insurers, and health policy makers.
Disease may exempt from accountability and moral responsibility (in cases of crime).
Disease is important for individuals to understand their own situation: “I cannot do or be as I would like, because I am diseased.”
Disease is important for individuals to explain situation to themselves and others.
Disease has been important to delimit the tasks of health care from other social tasks and topics.
Disease has been important to classify and organize the tasks of health care, e.g., in taxonomies and hospital departments.
Disease has been important to delineate the subject matter of health-related sciences.

Table 1 . Brief overview of some influential theories of disease throughout the history of medicine

Hence, disease is an important concept with far-reaching implications for individuals, health professionals, health insurers, health policy makers, bioethicists, and politicians. It sets standards, e.g., for how health professionals are educated and how health insurance is regulated, and it sets limits, e.g., who deserves access to certain goods. It also inﬂuences people’s self-conception, their relations to others, their social roles, and their social status (see below).

Conceptual Clarification/Definition

There have been many deﬁnitions of disease, all trying to highlight or clarify the various important aspects of disease given in the list above (Reznek 1987; Humber and Almeder 1997; Caplan et al. 1981; Cooper 2002; Murphy 2008; Ereshefsky 2009). At present, there is little agreement on how to deﬁne disease. The various deﬁnitions can be classiﬁed in descriptivist, normativist, and hybrid deﬁnitions.

Descriptivist positions deﬁne disease in terms of biological or mental phenomena which can be described in nature (Davies 2003). Hence, such deﬁnitions are often also called naturalist deﬁnitions. According to the most referred descriptivist deﬁnition, disease is an internal condition disturbing natural functioning. Hence, if a bodily or mental function is reduced below what is statistically normal, then there is disease. This deﬁnition is oftentimes called “the biostatistical theory of disease,” and it takes into account differences due to gender, age, and species, so that functional differences in such factors do not become diseases (Boorse 1975). That is, a person is not diseased although the person’s heart has reduced functioning at the age of 100 years old compared to the total population. Diseases are kinds that occur in nature, i.e., natural kinds, and they can be classiﬁed on the basis of characteristics that can be described in nature.

According to normativist deﬁnitions, disease is a social convention. Disease is the judgment that someone is harmed in a way that (is decided that) can be explained in terms of bodily or mental conditions or processes. Hence, human norms of harm decide what disease is and not biological or mental phenomena, therefore the name normativist. Accordingly, diseases are not natural kinds, although they may be classiﬁed according to phenomena which are considered to occur in nature. The reason is that the phenomena that is studied and classiﬁed in nature are so classiﬁed because they serve human interests, e.g., helping people. The electrical signals in the heart (measured by ECG) are of relevance for medicine because professionals think that they relate to something harmful that can be avoided. When the troponin level in the blood appears to be better in order to characterize, treat, or prevent disease, e.g., myocardial infarction, professionals (and subsequently laypersons) will pay attention to troponin. Correspondingly, it is because blood pressure is related to something harmful that hypertension is of interest in medicine. According to a normativist conception of disease, the phenomena that are measured and manipulated in medicine are relevant to medicine due to human interests (to understand and to help).

Table 2 . Three levels apparent in reflections on disease

Hybrid deﬁnitions of disease can be placed between descriptivist and normativist deﬁnitions of disease, as they combine elements from both. For example, disease has been deﬁned as harmful dysfunction, where dysfunction is a description of phenomena in nature, while the issue whether it is harmful is a value judgment. Only those deviations from normal functioning that are harmful can be termed disease (Wakeﬁeld 1992).

The debates on the concept of disease are sometimes complex and confusing. One reason for this can be that it is not always clear what is discussed, e.g., because the three levels described in Table 2 are confused.

There are also a wide range of terms related to disease, which sometimes are used synonymously, such as malady, illness, sickness, injury, wound, lesion, defect, deformity, disorder, disability, impairment, deﬁcit, etc. (Culver and Gert 1982). This research paper will not address all these terms but will try to clarify the relationship between some of them below, i.e., disease, illness, and sickness.

The Ethical Dimension Of Disease

Inherent in the debates on the concept of disease, there are a series of ethical issues, such as disease’s inherent imperative to help, over diagnosis, overtreatment, medicalization, and justice. These will be brieﬂy discussed in the following.

The Imperative To Help

The most obvious ethical aspect of disease is the imperative to help persons who suffer from disease. The term disease indicates that there is something that may be eased. Hence, disease calls us to help persons who are diseased in the best possible manner, either from duty (deontology), in order to maximize the total well-being (consequentialism); from the character of the professional (virtue ethics); or from the calling in the sufferer’s face (proximity ethics).

Who Decides What Disease Is?

In clinical practice as well in public debates, there are controversies on whether speciﬁc conditions count as disease. Previously, drapetomania (slaves running away), homosexuality, and dissidence have been counted as disease. Today it is discussed whether obesity, sorrow, baldness, freckles, and caffeine-induced insomnia count as disease. Speciﬁc interest groups may argue that something is a disease, while professionals may be hesitant, or conversely professionals may measure certain biological conditions that are not experienced by persons at all (and may be never will). Correspondingly, society may consider something to be a disease, while persons and professionals disagree. Attention deﬁcit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be but one example. Hence, who decides? This is a moral question that relates to the debate between descriptivists and normativists.

Descriptivists tend to claim that nature decides. It is given by nature whether something is a disease or not, i.e., by abnormal functioning of some organ or process. But where to set the limits between normal and pathological? Does nature tell us the limit of glycated hemoglobin (A1C) in the blood for having diabetes type 1? Although hard core descriptivists claim that nature does, critiques argue that such limits are deﬁned from human interests of trying to help people in the best possible manner. If they are right, there are normative aspects at the core of the descriptivists’ conception of disease. Normativists on the other hand are clear that disease is based on human interests and values. However, it is not clear how values and interests are to be balanced. Is it the patients’, the professionals’, relatives, or society’s values and interests that will decide what disease is?

In order to try to clarify some of the conceptual and normative issues, it has been suggested to differentiate between various perspectives of disease, as indicated in Table 3.

Table 3 . Characteristics of three perspectives of human ailment: disease, illness, and sickness

The three perspectives can explain some of the conceptual controversies, as it may be difﬁcult to cover all perspectives of human ailment by one concept. Moreover, the perspectives may also clarify some of the normative issues in terms of conﬂict of interest between persons, professionals, and society (Hofmann 2002). Impotence (at the age of 70) may not be considered to be a disease from a medical perspective or a sickness from a social perspective, but it deﬁnitely may be perceived to be an illness, i.e., it is illness, but not disease and sickness. If all perspectives cohere, there is little controversy. If the perspectives diverge, there may be conceptual and ethical challenges.

Figure 1 indicates the relationship between the concepts of illness, sickness, and disease. Other perspectives, such as existential and risk-related perspectives, may be added.

Figure 1 . The relationship between the concepts of illness, sickness, and disease

As can be seen from vast and vivid debates on speciﬁc diseases, such as obesity, ADHD, and myalgic encephalomyelitis, there is no general agreement on whose perspective is prevailing. While descriptivist deﬁnitions of disease will favor the professional perspective, normativist deﬁnitions will have a higher afﬁnity to social perspectives. Several positions in bioethics will favor the personal perspective on human ailment, i.e., illness (Toombs 1990; Carel 2008).

Underdiagnosis And Overdiagnosis, Undertreatment And Overtreatment

The concept of disease delimits diseased from non-diseased, and where this limit is set is of ethical signiﬁcance. If the limit is set so that suffering persons who could have been helped are excluded, this is morally wrong. They are underdiagnosed, may be undertreated, and may experience unnecessary uncertainty, anxiety, pain, and death. Conversely, if the limits are too low, it is morally wrong as well. Then healthy persons are diagnosed as having a disease. They may become anxious from being diagnosed and they may be treated unnecessarily and have side effects from unnecessary treatment. While underdiagnosed persons oftentimes gain attention in the media (“could have been saved”), over diagnosed persons get little attention. They do not know that they are over diagnosed but are actually happy that “they found something and saved my life.” Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) may be one example, as it can result in invasive breast cancers, but it does not always do so. When found, DCIS are oftentimes treated as breast cancer, although one does not know whether they would actually have caused symptoms, suffering, or death.

Making Risk A Disease

Another ethical issue related to the concept of disease is the predictive aspirations in modern medicine. A wide range of tests are able to predict diseases. The ethical drive for this is to detect disease before it becomes noticeable and, by prevention or early treatment, to avoid disease or diminish its consequences. However, very few tests are perfect. The outcomes of tests are uncertain and so are the outcomes of subsequent treatment. Hence, the test provides a risk, or a range of risks, for a certain disease. For example, 55–65 % of women who inherit a BRCA1 mutation will develop breast cancer by age 70 years, while about 12 % of women in the general population will develop breast cancer sometime during their lives. Hence, testing positive for the BRCA1 mutation signiﬁcantly increases the risk of breast cancer but does not mean that the person will have breast cancer. It is a risk estimate. Such risk estimates do not only give people important opportunities to save their lives and reduce suffering; it also gives them difﬁcult choices, as it is uncertain whether they will become diseased, e.g., should a woman prophylactically remove her breasts? Hence, handling risk factors as disease poses ethical challenges to health policy makers, health professionals, and, last but not least, to individual persons. This also connects to ethical challenges with the right to know and the right not to know. The issue of making risk a disease relates to another ethical issue in modern medicine: medicalization.

Medicalization

It has been widely argued that the conception of disease has become too wide and inclusive, e.g., that it has come to include conditions that are considered to be part of ordinary life, such as sorrow (Horwitz and Wakeﬁeld 2007), stress, unhappiness, and various kinds of social behavior. It may be ethically challenging when the conceptions of disease make ordinary life conditions or behaviors subject to medical attention. Hence, the critique of medicalization is closely connected to the (unreﬂective) expansion of the concept of disease.

Disease As An Existential Threat

As disease traditionally has been life threatening and because most people die from a disease, disease is an existential issue. Hence, getting the message of having a disease may be disturbing and challenging, meriting attention and care, beyond handling the disease. Moreover, some diseases have symbolic attributes. Cancer has been considered to be a death sentence and has been a stigma. While the existential aspects of disease have been were at the core in the hospital tradition and still are in many parts of the world, they have gained less attention in modern Western medicine.

Social Prestige And Stigma

Disease is normally considered to be something negative. However, it may also have some positive aspects, such as increased attention, right to treatment, economic compensation, and freedom from duties (work), as pointed out before. Speciﬁc disease labels may give identity and strong relations between persons with the same disease. Conversely, not being labeled diseased may make people feel deserted, in despair, and guilty. Hence, disease labeling may inﬂuence people’s self-conception and self-esteem.

Moreover, professionals appear to have a relatively stable prestige hierarchy for disease entities (Album and Westin 2008). Organ speciﬁc diseases have higher prestige than vague diseases. Diseases related to organs placed in the upper part of the body, such as brain and heart, have higher prestige than those related to organs in lower body parts. Acute diseases prevail over chronic diseases. Hi-tech diseases trump low-tech or no-tech diseases. Such prestige hierarchies of disease tend also to be present in laypeople and patients as well. When disease hierarchies inﬂuence how patients are handled or how resources are allocated or prioritized, it becomes ethically challenging.

Conceptions of disease also raise ethical concerns beyond prestige hierarchies. The 90–10 gap is ethically relevant, as 90 % of research resources go to diseases relevant for 10 % of the global population. Correspondingly, it may also be argued that the disease concepts used in the economically richer part of the world is of little relevance to the poorer part of the world. It appears to be ethically important to increase the attention to disease entities that prevail in poorer populations, as well as avoiding a general disease concept that is biased toward afﬂuent populations.

Disease is a phenomenon experienced by most people during life. It is something most people fear, and it is a core concept in the health sciences, in philosophy, and in bioethics. Descriptivists tend to deﬁne disease as the malfunctioning of some organ or process and argue that diseases are natural kinds. Normativists, on the other hand, argue that disease is not discovered in nature but is the judgment that someone is harmed in a way that can be explained in terms of bodily or mental conditions or processes. Hybrid conceptions of disease claim that disease is both descriptive and normative, e.g., as harmful dysfunction.

The concept of disease sets standards and limits, e.g., to what a health-care system is supposed to do and who deserves access to certain goods. It also inﬂuences people’s self-conception, their relations to others, their social roles, and their social status. Hence, disease is an important concept with far-reaching implications for individuals, health professionals, health insurers, health policy makers, bioethicists, and politicians. It also raises a series of ethical issues, especially related to over diagnosis and underdiagnoses, under treatment and overtreatment, medicalization, and just distribution of health-care resources.

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Ereshefsky, M. (2009). Deﬁning ‘health’ and ‘disease’. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 40(3), 221–227.
Hofmann, B. (2002). On the triad disease, illness and sickness. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 27(6), 651–674.
Horwitz, A. V., & Wakeﬁeld, J. C. (2007). The loss of sadness. New York: Oxford University Press.
Humber, J. M., & Almeder, R. F. (Eds.). (1997). What is disease? Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.
Murphy, D. (2008). Health and disease. In A. Plutynski & S. Sarkar (Eds.), The blackwell companion to the philosophy of biology (pp. 287–298). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Reznek, L. (1987). The nature of disease. New York: Routledge.
Toombs, K. (1990). The meaning of illness: A phenomenological account of the different perspectives of physician and patient. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Wakeﬁeld, J. (1992). The concept of mental disorder: On the boundary between biological facts and social values. American Psychologist, 47, 373–388.
Mukherjee, S. (2011). The emperor of all maladies. A biography of cancer. New York: Scribner.
Sigerist, H. A. (1961). History of Medicine. Vol. II: Early Greek, Hindu, and Persian Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sontag, S. (1978). Illness as metaphor. New York: Farrar. Strays and Giroux.
Taylor, F. K. (1979). The concepts of illness, disease and morbus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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How Does Research Start?

How does research start.

Clinical research aims to deliver healthcare advancements that are safe, beneficial, and cost-effective ( Ford & Norrie, 2016 ). Research requires a methodical approach to develop studies that generate high-quality evidence to support changes in clinical practice. The method is a step-wise process that attempts to limit the chances of errors, random and systematic, which can compromise conclusions ( Cummings, 2013 ) and invalidate findings. As healthcare professionals, nurses need to be versed in understanding the vast amount of information and available research in their field ( Pollock & Berge, 2018 ) to find the best evidence to guide their clinical practice and/or to develop their research. However, to effectively use the literature, it is imperative to understand the principles of critical appraisal and basic study designs.

There are many roles for nurses in research. Nurses can be consumers of research, by staying abreast of the current issues and trends in their specialty area; a nurse champion initiating quality improvement projects guided by the best clinical evidence ( Luz, Shadmi, & Drach-Zahavy, 2019 ) ( White, 2011 ); a member of an interprofessional research team helping to address a complex health problem; or an independent nurse scientist developing their scientific inquiry. Regardless of the nurse’s role in research, a common goal of clinical research is to understand health and illness and, to discover novel methods to detect, diagnose, treat, and prevent disease ( NCI, 2018 ).

This column is the first in a series focusing on the concepts of clinical research using a step by step approach. Each column will build upon earlier columns to provide an overview of the essential components of clinical research. The goal of the columns is to discuss the concepts that underpin evidence-based practice from research designs to data interpretation. Each article can serve as a review of the elements used to develop clinical research. The focus of this inaugural column is how to start the research process, which involves the identification of the topic of interest and the development of a well-defined research question. This article also discusses methods of how to formulate quantitative and qualitative research questions.

The inspiration for the Topic

The motivation to explore an area of inquiry often starts from an observation that leads one to question why does that occur or what if we did this instead? Speaking to patients and hearing their concerns about managing specific conditions or symptoms is another way to get inspired. Exploring new technologies, successful techniques, and procedures from other fields or disciplines and adapting them in a different area could be another source for new insights and discoveries ( Cummings, 2013 ). For example, those working in a cardiac setting may take an interest in fitness watches to monitor adherence to a walking program to reduce blood pressure and body weight. The ease of use, cost, and availability of fitness watches may be the draw to this technology. Staying curious and willing to explore ideas to solve or understand clinical issues is vital in engaging in clinical research since the goal of research is to improve the lives of patients.

Developing a research project requires knowing in depth the chosen area of inquiry (i.e., etiology, and treatment of hypertension). Methods to get immersed in the topic of interest include speaking to experts in the field and conducting a comprehensive literature review. Reading narrative review (NR) articles is one approach for updates on the latest issues and trends in the area of interest. NRs can address clinical, background, or theoretical questions. It can also summarize current findings, identify the gaps in research, and provide suggestions for the next steps in research ( Ferrari, 2015 ). On the downside, NRs can be biased based on the author(s) experience and interpretation of findings ( Pae, 2015 ). Systematic reviews (SR), another summary paper, differs from NRs, in that it uses a systematic approach to select, appraise, and evaluate the published reports ( Armstrong, Hall, Doyle, & Waters, 2011 ).

SRs start with a defined clinical question that is answered during the review ( Hoffmann et al., 2017 ). SRs use specific strategies for the inclusion criteria of papers to include or not to include. SRs help to understand what works or do not work in terms of intervention based-research ( Uman, 2011 ). SRs are excellent resources if your area of inquiry is leading towards an intervention based project. (See Table 1 for Classifications of Interventions).

Classifications Interventional Studies (Clinical Trials)

Category of Interventional Studies	Examples for Each Category
Treatment Trials	Testing of new medications, combination medications, new surgical procedure, dietary intervention
Prevention Trials	Testing of lifestyle changes, vaccines, medications
Screening Trials	Testing best approaches to screen or detect for health conditions
Diagnostic Trials	Testing procedures to diagnose specific conditions
Quality of Life Trials	Explore methods to best support individuals with chronic illness

Source: ( National Institutes of Health (NIH, 2019 )

Reviewing citations from published papers is another method to find relevant publications. Highly cited publications in a particular area could indicate a landmark paper, wherein the author(s) may have made an important discovery or identified a critical issue in the area. An essential goal of the literature review is to ensure that previously conducted studies are located and understood. Previous studies provide insight into recent discoveries, as well as dilemmas and challenges encountered in conducting the research.

The Research Question

The two branches of research methods are experimental and observational. Under the experimental methods, randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials belong in this category, while the observational methods include analytical studies with control groups and descriptive studies with no control groups. The analytical studies are cohort and case-control studies and descriptive studies are ecological, cross-sectional and case reports. Despite the differences in research methods, the common thread among the various types of research is the research question. The question helps guide the study design and is the foundation for developing the study. In the health sciences, the question needs to pass the “So what?” test. In that, is the issue relevant and lead to the advancement of the field and feasible in terms of conducting the study? Cummings and colleagues ( Cummings, 2013 ) use the mnemonic FINER (Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical, Relevant) to define the characteristics of a good research question.

Feasibility

Feasibility is a critical element of research. Research questions must be answerable and focused on using methods to measure or quantify change or outcome. For example, assessing blood pressure for a study designed to lower hypertension is feasible, because methods to measure blood pressure and results associated with normal, and stages of hypertension are established. For studies requiring human study participants, approaches to recruiting and to enrolling them into the research need careful planning. Strategies must consider where and how to recruit the best study participants who fit the study population under investigation. An adequate number of study participants must be available to implement the study. The allotted timeframe to complete the study, the workforce to perform the study, and the budget to conduct the investigation must also be realistic. Research studies funded by private or public sponsors usually have timeframes to complete an investigation (2 years, three years). Funders can also request for a timeline showing when aspects of the research are achieved (institutional review board approval, recruitment of participants, data analysis).

Interesting

Several reasons may drive interest in an area of inquiry. Cummings and colleagues ( Cummings, 2013 ), use the term Interesting to refer to an area of importance for the investigator to examine. For some investigators, an experience or an observation drives them to evaluate the underpinnings of a situation or condition. While for some, obtaining financial support either through private or public funding is an important consideration, and for others, the research question is the logical next step in their program of research.

Novel research implies that new information contributes to or advances a field of inquiry. It can also mean that research confirms or refutes earlier results. Replicating past research is appropriate to validate scientific findings. When repeating studies, improving previously used research methods (i.e., increase sample size, outcome measures, increase follow-up period) can strengthen the project. For example, a study replicating a hypertension study may add a way to physiologically assess dietary sodium intake instead of only collecting dietary food records to determine sodium intake.

Ethical research is mandatory, from the protection of human and animal subjects to the data collection, storage, and reporting of research results ( Applebaum, 2005 ; Grady, 2015 ). Research studies must obtain institutional review board (IRB) approval before proceeding with the investigation. IRB is known as an ethics committee. The committee reviews the proposed research plan to ensure that it has adequate safeguards for the well-being of the study participants, as well as evaluates the risk-benefits of the proposed study. If the level of the risk outweighs the benefits of the outcome, the IRB may require changes to the research plan to improve the safety profile or reject the study. For example, an IRB will not approve a study proposing to use a placebo when well-established and effective treatments are available. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers an excellent educational resource, titled, Clinical Research Training . This training is a free online tutorial for ethics, patient safety, protocol implementation, and regulatory research ( https://crt.nihtraining.com/login.php ). Registration is required to enter the NIH portal, and the course takes approximately three-four hours to complete.

Relevant research questions address critical issues. It will add to the current knowledge in the field. It may also change clinical practice or influence policy. The questions must be timely and appropriate for the study population under investigation. In continuing the hypertension example from above, for individuals diagnosed with hypertension, it is recognized that reducing the dietary intake of sodium and increasing potassium can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk for heart disease and stroke ( McDonough, Veiras, Guevara, & Ralph, 2017 ). Therefore, an investigator should target both the dietary intakes of sodium and potassium if conducting a dietary study to reduce blood pressure. Focusing solely on lowering dietary sodium intake does not take into consideration the best available evidence in the field.

Guidelines for Question Development: PICO, PEO

Guidelines are available to help frame the research question that clarifies the concepts of interest; common frameworks include PICO and PEO. PICO is best suited for quantitative studies, while PEO for qualitative studies ( Methley, Campbell, Chew-Graham, McNally, & Cheraghi-Sohi, 2014 ). Quantitative and qualitative methodologies view the research approach using different lenses. In quantitative research, numerical data is produced necessitating statistical analysis. While qualitative research generates themes using words, the outcome of interest for these studies is understanding phenomena and experiences. It is essential to recognize that some topics will not fit the PICO and PEO frameworks. Novice researchers should seek consultation from a mentor or academic research advisor to formulate the research question.

PICO incorporates the following components P opulation, I ntervention, C omparison, and O utcomes. Population considers the persons or community affected with a specific health condition or problem (i.e., middle-aged adults, aged 45-65 with stage 1 hypertension; older adults, aged 65 and older with stage 1 hypertension living in nursing homes). Intervention is the process or action under investigation in a clinical study. Interventions include pharmaceutical agents, devices, and procedures, such as education about diet or exercise. The intervention under study can be investigational or already available to consumers or healthcare professionals for use ( NLM, 2019 ). Comparison is the group assessed against the intervention (i.e., vegan diet versus the Mediterranean style diet). Outcome is the planned measure to determine the effect of an intervention on the population under study. Using the vegan versus Mediterranean style diet example, the Outcome of interest could be the percent of body weight loss and reduction of blood pressure.

PEO includes the following elements P opulation, E xposure, and O utcome. Population centers on those affected and their problems (i.e., middle-aged adults who smoke with hypertension). Exposure focuses on the area of interest (i.e., experience with smoking cessation programs; triggers of smoking). The Exposure viewpoint depends on the framing or wording of the research question and the goals of the project since qualitative studies can denote a broad area of research or specific sub-categories of topics ( Creswell, 2013 ). Outcome using the PEO model might examine a person’s experience with smoking cessation and the themes associated with quitting and relapsing. Since the PEO model is best suited for qualitative studies, Outcome tends to have elements of defining a person’s experiences or discovering processes that happen in specific locations or context ( Doody & Bailey, 2016 ). (See Table 2 for Sample Questions Using PICO and PEO).

Sample Questions Using PICO and PEO

PICO – Quantitative Designs
Component	Tip	Example
opulation	Start by asking, “How would I describe the group of patients I want to study? What are their ages, symptoms, gender, etc.?”	Middle-aged adults with stage 1 hypertension
ntervention	Ask, “What intervention am I considering using?”	Lower Sodium (1,500 mg) Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet with 4.7 mg of potassium.
omparison	Ask, “What is the other comparative intervention I want to use?”	Standard (2,300 mg of sodium) DASH diet with 4.7 mg of potassium.
utcome	Ask, “What do I want to accomplish?”	Reduction in blood pressure from the baseline level
PICO Question: How does the lower sodium DASH diet with 4.7 mg of potassium compared with the standard DASH diet with 4.7 mg of potassium in lowering blood pressure among middle-aged adults with stage 1 hypertension?
PEO – Qualitative Designs
Component	Tip	Example
opulation	Start by asking, “How would I describe the group of patients or community I want to study? What are their ages, symptoms, gender, etc.?”	Middle-aged adults with stage 1 hypertension who smoke daily
xposure	Ask, “What condition or action am I interested in studying?”	smoking behaviors
utcome	Ask, “What experiences or themes do I want to understand?”	attitude towards quitting
PEO Question: What are the attitudes of middle-aged adults who smoke daily with stage 1 hypertension towards smoking cessation?

To start in research, find an area of interest to study. For some, the inspiration for research comes from observations and experiences from the work-setting, colleagues, investigations from other fields, and past research. Before delving into developing a research protocol, master the subject of interest by speaking with experts, and understand the literature in the field. Use the FINER mnemonic as a guide to determine if the research question can pass the “So what?” test and use the PICO or PEO models to structure the research question. Formulating the appropriate research question is vital because the question is the starting point to select the design of the study, the population of interest, interventions, exposure, and outcomes.

Acknowledgments

This manuscript is supported in part by grant # UL1TR001866 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program.

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Sections of an Original Research Article. Original research articles make up most of the peer-reviewed literature , follow a standardized format, and are the focus of this article. The 4 main sections are the introduction, methods, results, and discussion, sometimes referred to by the initialism, IMRAD.
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We describe here the basic steps to follow in writing a scientific article. We outline the main sections that an average article should contain; the elements that should appear in these sections, and some pointers for making the overall result attractive and acceptable for publication. 1. Background.
PDF How to write a world-class paper
Informative abstracts summarize the article based on the paper structure (problem, methods, case studies, conclusions), but without section headings. Structured abstracts follow headings required by the journal. Often used in Medical journals. Check carefully which type fits the journal of your choice.
How to Create a Structured Research Paper Outline
How to write a research paper outline. Follow these steps to start your research paper outline: Decide on the subject of the paper. Write down all the ideas you want to include or discuss. Organize related ideas into sub-groups.
How to write a research paper
How to write a research paper. J. André Knottnerus ∙ Peter Tugwell. Download PDF. It is not an easy task to perform and report a good study or review, and therefore quite a number of papers have been published on presenting and explaining guidelines on how to optimally do this. In line with this topic, it is also useful to pay attention to ...
How to start your research paper [step-by-step guide]
1. Choose your topic. Choose a topic that interests you. Writing your research paper will be so much more pleasant with a topic that you actually want to know more about. Your interest will show in the way you write and effort you put into the paper. Consider these issues when coming up with a topic:
SCC Research Guides: RES 111
They offer a 48 hour turn-around on papers (excluding weekends and holidays), and ask that you send a copy of the assignment as well. The paper needs to be Microsoft Word format (don't share a copy of your OneDrive/cloud account), and please include your due date and SCC college ID number in the email.
How to Write a Research Paper
Develop a thesis statement. Create a research paper outline. Write a first draft of the research paper. Write the introduction. Write a compelling body of text. Write the conclusion. The second draft. The revision process. Research paper checklist.
How to Start (and Complete) a Research Paper
You may read this TIP Sheet from start to finish before you begin your paper, or skip to the steps that are causing you the most grief. 1. Choosing a topic: Interest, information, and focus. Your job will be more pleasant, and you will be more apt to retain information if you choose a topic that holds your interest.
Writing a Research Paper Introduction
Table of contents. Step 1: Introduce your topic. Step 2: Describe the background. Step 3: Establish your research problem. Step 4: Specify your objective (s) Step 5: Map out your paper. Research paper introduction examples. Frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction.
How to Write a Research Paper
This paper provides advice how to prevent or treat this condition. Methods: Prepare your manuscript following the IMRaD principle (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion), with every part supporting the key message. When writing, be concise. Clearly state your methods here, while data belong to Results.
100 Disease Research Topics
If yes, you will find this list interesting. This category comprises hot topics in infectious disease fields. Consider some of these ideas for your research paper. The virology, epidemiology, and prevention of COVID-19. The diagnosis of COVID-19. Prevention vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
How to Write a Research Protocol: Tips and Tricks
Open in a separate window. First section: Description of the core center, contacts of the investigator/s, quantification of the involved centers. A research protocol must start from the definition of the coordinator of the whole study: all the details of the main investigator must be reported in the first paragraph.
Disease Research Paper Topics
This section presents an extensive array of disease research paper topics, divided into ten categories to guide your selection process. 1. Infectious Diseases. The impact of COVID-19 on global health systems. The role of vaccination in the eradication of polio.
A Beginner's Guide to Starting the Research Process
Step 1: Choose your topic. First you have to come up with some ideas. Your thesis or dissertation topic can start out very broad. Think about the general area or field you're interested in—maybe you already have specific research interests based on classes you've taken, or maybe you had to consider your topic when applying to graduate school and writing a statement of purpose.
Guidelines To Writing A Clinical Case Report
A case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports usually describe an unusual or novel occurrence and as such, remain one of the cornerstones of medical progress and provide many new ideas in medicine. Some reports contain an extensive review of the relevant ...
How To Write A Research Paper On A Disease: Some Ideas
Basics of Writing a Research Paper on a Disease. Writing a research paper on a disease can look like an overwhelming task at the outset, but when you have a general topic it makes it a little easier to start out. There are so many different kinds of diseases and it's such a well-researched topic that it should be a relatively simple set of ...
How to Write a Literature Review
When you write a thesis, dissertation, or research paper, you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to: Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context; Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
Disease Research Paper
Abstract. Disease is a phenomenon that appears to have struck people globally at all times. However, the conceptions of what disease is have varied with time and place. This research paper gives an overview over various conceptions of disease and highlights what is at stake in the debates on the concept of disease.
How Does Research Start?
Clinical research aims to deliver healthcare advancements that are safe, beneficial, and cost-effective (Ford & Norrie, 2016). Research requires a methodical approach to develop studies that generate high-quality evidence to support changes in clinical practice. The method is a step-wise process that attempts to limit the chances of errors ...