Manuscript Preparation

We’ve talked about several useful writing tips that authors should consider while drafting or editing their research papers. In particular, we’ve focused onfigures and legends, as well as the Introduction,Methods, andResults. Now that we’ve addressed the more technical portions of your journal manuscript, let’s turn to the analytical segments of your research article. In this […]

Research requires us to scrutinize information and assess its credibility. Accordingly, when we think about various phenomena, we examine empirical data and craft detailed explanations justifying our interpretations. An essential component of constructing our research narratives is thus providing supporting evidence and examples. The type of proof we provide can either bolster our claims or […]

Which words do you capitalize in a title? Have you ever been confused about which words to capitalize in the title of your manuscript? You have probably seen titles where only the first word is capitalized (so-called “sentence case”), titles where all words seem to be capitalized (“title case”), and also titles that look like […]

The academic community can be conservative when it comes to enforcing academic writing style, but your writing shouldn’t be so boring that people lose interest midway through the first paragraph! Given that competition is at an all-time high for academics looking to publish their papers, we know you must be anxious about what you can […]

Silke Haidekker has a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Hannover. She is a Clinical Research Associate in multiple pharmaceutical companies in Germany and the USA. She now works as a full-time medical translator and writer in a small town in Georgia. Of Rats and Panic Attacks: A Doctoral Student’s Tale You would probably […]

What is the Rationale of the Study? The rationale of the study is the justification for taking on a given study. It explains the reason the study was conducted or should be conducted. This means the study rationale should explain to the reader or examiner why the study is/was necessary. It is also sometimes called […]

What is the Background of the Study in Research? The background of the study is the first section of a research paper and gives context surrounding the research topic. The background explains to the reader where your research journey started, why you got interested in the topic, and how you developed the research question that […]

What is an RRL in a research paper? A relevant review of the literature (RRL) is an objective, concise, critical summary of published research literature relevant to a topic being researched in an article. In an RRL, you discuss knowledge and findings from existing literature relevant to your study topic. If there are conflicts or […]

What is a Research Problem Statement? A research problem statement is a concise statement describing the problem or issue addressed by the research study. The research problem should be composed in a way that both experts and non-experts in the field can understand. Every research paper describes the investigation of a problem: by adding knowledge […]

Sometimes you don’t want to cite an online or print article but rather an entire book. Citing a book is in principle not different from citing any other source. But, as always, there are subtle differences between academic style guides regarding the information you need to provide and how to present it. No matter what […]

Can I Cite ChatGPT in academic papers? You might have to cite ChatGPT, in fact, if you used it in your writing process. The question is, rather, Is it ethical to use ChatGPT in academic writing at all? Educational institutions and style guides do not necessarily agree on this issue, and rules and policies are […]

We all know there are citation rules for books and journal articles, but modern media come in many more formats, and it might not always be clear how they need to be referenced. Here, we look at the rules for how to cite a podcast and walk you through the common referencing styles. When to […]