Guidance for Original Research Articles

Original Research is new, never done before experimentation, investigation, discovery, design, manufacture or invention. There is a specific format for writing original research articles - following this guidance carefully will speed up our article peer-review process.

Writing Style

All sections of your article should be clear, accurate and concise. It should be understandable to a broad audience of 12-22 year olds, but primarily to others who are at your educational stage. All articles should be written in past tense, and an impersonal voice (i.e. avoid I, my, we, us, etc.).

Sections

The article should contain the following sections, in this order:
Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results, Discussion (and Conclusion), Acknowledgements (optional), References, Definitions of Key Words, and Appendices (optional).

Title Page

All submissions should have a title page which contains:

• Title of the article

• Author(s) name(s)

• Author(s) institution(s) when the work was undertaken - i.e. the name and address of your school/college/university

• Email contact details for the corresponding author.

Abstract

The abstract provides a short and concise summary of the entire paper. It should be one paragraph, of less than 250 words, and should include a brief outline of: why the research was conducted, the methods, the results, major discussion points, the conclusion and the overall significance of the project's findings. Generally, the abstract should not contain information which needs references to be cited. The reader should be able to read only the abstract and have a good idea of the contents of the entire paper. Though it is right at the start of the paper, when you are writing your article, it should be the last section you write.

Introduction

The introduction summarises the current literature around your topic and presents the scientific motivation for the project - this isn't looking for your personal motivations, but rather, why the research is important. It gives the reader the crucial context and background information they will need to be able to understand the rest of the paper, so may include the underlying science of the methods used, for example. All important terms and processes should be explained, but dictionary definitions should be avoided. Citations should be included throughout, and only information directly relevant to the study should be included (e.g. in a study about zebrafish swimming behaviour, information about their feeding or reproductive behaviours probably isn't relevant enough to include, unless the literature review has found links between the two). Be careful to avoid 'storytelling' or describing the entire history of the topic - it is much more effective to develop a clear and concise summary of current knowledge.
Overall, the introduction should begin very broad and become increasingly focussed on the aims and hypothesis being investigated. It should include the significance of the research that is being presented (i.e. the 'real world' importance of what you are doing), and you should state how your project provides a novel methodology or perspective. The introduction should conclude by stating the aims of the investigation, and your hypothesis(es).

Methods and Materials

In this section, photographs and diagrams can be particularly helpful in illustrating the experimental design. You should avoid lists of equipment or step by step/bullet pointed instructions. Instead, just write in paragraphs, and as with the entire article, this section should be written in past tense. Your choices of methodology should be justified. Write in enough detail that someone else at your educational stage would be able to replicate your methods, however, care should be taken to avoid adding excessive detail. For example: saying 'sulfuric acid was added to...' is not enough detail (it does not state the concentration used); 'a 0.1 mole per litre solution of sulfuric acid was made by adding 10ml of 1 mole per litre sulfuric acid to 90ml water. This was added to...' is too much detail (how the 1 mole per litre solution was prepared is superfluous); 'sulfuric acid (1 mol per litre) was added to...' contains just the right amount of information.

Where applicable, the following information should be included:

• Ethical considerations that took place when using subjects (animals, plants or humans).

• Description of research sites (if field based) and sample preparation/methods. NB: If methods have been replicated from literature, the methods section can be short and simply refer to the paper. For example: "Samples were prepared using the procedures outlined by Brown et al [1]".

• Details of relevant statistical tests and threshold values used for comparison.

Results

The results section should state the findings of the experiment, investigation, design, manufacture or invention. A typical results section will include tables and/or graphs and/or statistical analysis and/or the outcomes of any theories which have been developed - each individual graph/table/statistical analysis/outcome of a theory should be explained. The results should be stated in detail, and include primary interpretations of results, however the rationale behind results should be included in the discussion. Results should be given as a distinct section (i.e. not combined with the Discussion or any other section).

Discussion

The discussion section discusses the results, evaluates the procedures used, links the findings to the 'bigger picture' (i.e. what is the relevance and implications of the results) and suggests future work that could be done, based on the knowledge gained from this research.
In the discussion, the significant results are highlighted, and if you have carried out several experiments as part of your project, this is where you show the reader how these fit together. You should discuss any trends in the data and provide logical interpretations of these. If there are flaws in the experimental design, errors, or outliers, and these are deemed to be significant, then they should be discussed. You should then explain what the relevance and implications of your results are, for example...Do they present a way of improving water quality? Have you shown that your method of teaching young children about gender equality is effective? Or maybe your findings will improve diagnosis rates of a health condition.
That leads on to the final part of the discussion - suggestions of future work. What could you or others do to build on your research? Remember: Restating results should be avoided for an effective discussion section.

Conclusion (Part of Discussion Section)

To be valid, a conclusion must be related to the aim and supported by all of the data that has been presented. The conclusion should be contained within the Discussion. An effective conclusion will sum up the findings of the project and should be objective and concise. Sometimes projects find no correlation between the variables, or that the designed product is not effective - so long as you have provided a fully evaluative discussion, this is okay and a totally valid conclusion to make!

Acknowledgements (Optional)

A short acknowledgements paragraph is a good way of thanking people who have supported you to complete your project. This could include funders, technicians, a supervisor or teacher, or others whose help allowed you to carry out the project.

References

A full list of references should be given in the IEEE style. We know writing references can be a pain, so we've picked a style that Microsoft Word can format almost automatically for you - check out our guide to doing this! Your sources can include; scientific papers, web pages, books, interviews, or videos. All sources consulted should be reputable and trusted, ideally with peer-reviewed papers being the main type of source used. If you've got any questions about the suitability of your sources, send us an email.

Definitions of Key Words

This section is important in ensuring that the articles we publish are accessible to our audience. When deciding whether to include words in this section, think about whether a student at your educational stage could be reasonably expected to know what the word means, and whether it is easily searchable on the internet - if the answer to both is no, please include the definition. This list doesn't need to be exhaustive, just include up to 8 of the most important terms that will help readers understand your findings.

Appendices (Optional)

Most articles will not need any appendices, as the raw data is rarely included in scientific papers. It may be appropriate to include an appendix if, for example, you have carried out a survey as part of your methodology and do not wish to disrupt the flow of the Methods and Materials section. Where appropriate, the Appendix should include any sample calculations.

Still have questions? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions, or send us an email.

Ready to go? Head back to the Submit Your Article page to submit!