Your research paper needs a clear focus for your reader to understand your findings and interpretations. Many scientists struggle to maintain this all-important focus in their research writing, but there is a simple solution: focusing on the research question. The research question is the central point of your paper. It tells the reader what you want to find out, and the information you present in every section of your paper should contribute to answering this question. The Introduction should explain why the research question is important, the Methods should show how the research question was answered, the Results should present the data needed to answer the question, and the Discussion should answer the question and justify that answer. In this post, I look at each section of the research paper in detail and consider how we can use our research question to stay on track.
Introduction
Although the research question is typically asked towards the end of the Introduction, we should still keep it in mind from the start. Why? Because the background information we include should explain to the reader why this question needs to be answered. The published literature is vast, and it is easy to lose focus. Making sure that your background information is relevant to your research question will help you to stay on track. Start off with the general background information and gradually narrow the focus down to the specific question.
Once you have written a first draft of your Introduction, check each of the sentences in turn. Are they guiding your reader towards the research question or veering off topic? Delete any sentences that are irrelevant to your research question to avoid misdirecting your reader (or giving them no direction at all).
Methods and Results
The research question is relevant in the Methods section because here we show the reader how the question was answered. Make sure that the methods you present can feasibly address the research question, otherwise the reader will be confused. Likewise, the Results section should present findings that answer the research question. Findings that do not directly contribute to answering the research question might leave your reader wondering how this data fits into your research story. For example, a prominent first figure that describes in detail how a knockout mouse was generated may distract the reader from the more important phenotypic findings that actually answer the research question. Consider putting figures like this into the supplementary information (if the journal offers this) so that your reader can focus on the information that is relevant to the research question.
Discussion
The purpose of the Discussion is to answer the research question. The first few sentences should remind the reader what the research question was and then give the answer. This is the perfect base from which to justify your answer based on your results. Scientists often lose focus in their Discussion by repeating introductory information at the start instead of addressing their research question straight away. Remember that repeating the research question will remind your reader what your study is about without you having to go back to the beginning of the story. So check that the first sentences of your Discussion repeat and answer your research question.
In the Discussion, you also justify your answer based on the data you gathered. If some of your results were unexpected, you may be tempted to change your original question to fit these new findings. But this will confuse your reader. Stay true to your original research question and give possible reasons for any unexpected results. You can also defend your answer by comparing your findings with those in the published literature. A good way to maintain focus here is to select studies that are most relevant to your own for these comparisons.
Stay on track
Lack of focus can disrupt effective communication in research writing. Checking whether the information presented in each section of your research paper aligns with your research question can help maintain focus and communicate your ideas more clearly.
Claire Bacon is a former research scientist with professional qualifications in copyediting and medical editing. She edits scientific research papers and teaches courses on scientific writing.