Like dissertation writing, the research papers also have six parts: introduction, literature review, materials and methods, results and findings, and conclusion. For students, sometimes writing introductory or first chapter becomes challenging. But once they complete the introduction, the remaining research paper writing seems easy. Hence, in an effort to overcome some of these challenges, let’s discuss different sections of the research paper’s introductory chapter.
Sections in the First Chapter of Research Paper
Introduction
As the name suggests, an introduction is the first paragraph of a research paper. It is the place where readers want to see all the necessary details about your research. So, in this part of the introduction, you need to be slightly more attentive about the quality of the content. Further, it must be short, concise and simple because it aims to give background information about your research. Apart from all, the introductory paragraph must end with the thesis statement. Hence, the introduction gives readers a beginning of the thread to follow it.Problem Statement
After writing the introduction, the next thing to do is to describe a problem statement. In a research paper, the problem statement explains a scientific issue that you are going to solve through research. In other words, the problem statement is a situation demanding a solution, improvement and betterment. In addition, a researcher must know about the challenges he /she will face for improving the situation or solving the problem. Plus, a researcher can also describe the idealistic condition to solve the problem. As a whole, the problem statement must be evidence-based or should have a solution that you will discuss in the rest of the paper.Research Questions
Research questions are also an important part of the first chapter of the research paper. If you correctly construct the research questions, it will help readers understand what you want to answer. It helps in planning your research and also helps in anticipating the potential challenges. If research questions are properly formulated, it saves time, energy and effort for both the researcher as well as the reader. As a whole, the aim of research questions is to present a clear cut central theme of research.Scope of Study
A scope of the study explains all the important things you need to describe in the study. This clearly indicates what type of research researchers need in order to reach more reasonable conclusions. It also provides adequate answers to research questions to prove its usefulness. The scope of the study also includes previous as well as current study trends similar to a given study. The types of information you can further provide under the head of the scope of the research project include facts and theories in particular. In short, in the scope of the study, an author should relate the past trends, present efforts and future application of research under study.Significance of Study
There is a very fine line of difference between the significance and the scope of the study. The scope of the study explains the needs and aims of the study. But the significance of the study or research provides the importance of the study. It mostly shows the big picture and after-effects of a given study. Hence, to draft this section in the first chapter of a research paper, you can consider the impact of a particular study on the overall field of research. Further, you can also discuss which aspect of your study makes it remarkable. Plus, how humanity at large will get benefits from a current study. As a whole, the significance of the research is one of the easiest yet important parts of the first chapter of a research paper.Limitations of Study
Limitations in a research arise due to research boundaries and designs of study. Limitations due to the research boundaries include geographical constraints, limited access to data and many more. The other important cause of limitation is study design. Based on the design, the limitation may be due to a small sample size, comparison without correction and analysis or sampling restrictions. Thus, under the light of this limitation, the researcher must make a separate section to highlight the limitations of his research.Conceptual/Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis
If you have final results before writing the research paper, you can place a conceptual/theoretical framework and hypothesis in the introduction as well. In general, it depends on the nature of the research paper, and it is a matter of structural diversity. In the research involving hypotheses, you must add the conceptual/theoretical framework leading to hypotheses related to the research problem. A hypothesis is a tentative statement to test the possible relations between the variables. In this way, the reader can find all the background information by reading a well-structured introduction.Operational Definition of Terms
The last but not the least section of the first chapter of the research paper defines the key terms. Here, you need to define all the operational or technical terms based on how you will use them in the study. The purpose of this section is to provide your readers basic knowledge necessary to get the crux of the research paper.After a detailed discussion, we come to know that there are more or less eight basic parts of the first chapter of the research paper. Each of them has a specific purpose or contribution to the overall structure of chapter one. In short, they explain how particular research will impact a particular field.