How to write a research summary

How to write a research summary

It is a description that is meant for prospective readers. The author should provide an overview of their study. Identify some of the most vital points in your research to help you write quality content. Ensure that you are knowledgeable about the subject matter of your research. Instructors in different universities and colleges assign research summaries to their students regularly. The assignments help learners to interact and interpret academic papers. Usually, a research summary uses the same format as the original article.

Tips for Writing a Research Summary

a)   Understand the bigger picture.

You need to have the main message of your original article in mind when you are writing a research summary. It is recommendable for authors to scan or re-read the work to remind them about the objectives, hypothesis, crucial evidence, and conclusions in the original article. Re-reading the work helps to ensure that you only write relevant content for your audience.

b)   Creating an outline.

It helps to develop a good structure for the research summary. Some people prefer using research summary templates to ensure proper organization of their work.

c)   Sketch the elements of your conclusions.

The section of your research paper contains such as things such as crucial evidence in a study, its potential implications, importance of the study topic, limitations of the study, and recommendations for further research. Sketching these elements before writing the conclusion ensures that you do not miss out any details.

d)   Include Visual elements.

It is always advisable for students to include elements such as charts and graphs in their work as it helps to improve its readability.

e)   Avoid plagiarism.

One may be tempted to quote a text as it is from a source. However, presenting the ideas as your own will lead to plagiarized work and hence low performance. Your instructors always expect you to write and submit original work.

f)   Check your word count.

In most cases, tutors give instructions to their students about the recommended word count for all the sections of a research summary. The number of words should be according to the instructions of your teachers.

g)   Always proofread your work.

The primary goal of this exercise is to ensure that the research is free from all errors which may include grammar and spelling. You should also avoid any wordiness and formatting issues in your assignment. You can seek the help of a friend during proofreading.

h)   Use an appropriate writing style.

All your content must be impersonal, straight to the point, and must be based on available evidence.

Insights for you to Avoid Common Mistakes

•   Skimming the article.

It is a crucial exercise as it enables individuals to understand the content of all the sections of an article and its importance. Skimming also helps in prioritizing different parts of an article that contain crucial evidence that can be used to support the statements in a research summary.

•   Analyze and understand the topic of your work and the article.

It is not possible for an individual to write an informative research summary if they have not understood the topic of their work and the article. One should seek to understand definitions, concepts, and models in a particular subject matter. Researchers become knowledgeable about the existing knowledge of a topic by reading the literature review of an article.

•   Make notes as you read the article.

You can do this by writing a sentence after every paragraph to summarize the main ideas that you can use in your research summary. However, avoid doing extensive writing while reading an article as you may realize that there is other more important information in the other parts. It is not advisable to have too much coloring in the article unless you have crucial evidence.

•   Develop a draft.

It should contain all the main ideas from all the paragraphs of an article and any supporting evidence. Always ensure that you have included all the main elements of a research summary in the draft.

The Main Sections of a Research Summary

I.   Title.

It shows the topic of the assignment and may even show some findings and arguments of the research work.

II.   Abstract.

Concise language is used in this section to provide a description of the study. It is included in most types of articles and mostly comprises of a maximum of 500 words. The abstract of a research summary is shorter than for most types of academic assignments.

III.   Introduction.

It is an essential component of any research summary. One of the contents of the section is a literature review which helps readers to understand the current state of the research topic. The author also explains the significance of the subject and outlines the hypothesis of the study.

IV.   Methods.

The author explains the methods that were used to collect and analyze data for the research. Some of the most common techniques include surveys and sampling. Some of such details about methodology are exempted when writing a research summary.

V.   Results.

Authors are expected to use concise language in this part of the assignment as it is one of the largest. It comprises of evidence from all experiments, an analysis of primary data used during the research and observations.

VI.   Discussion.

Students are required to provide an interpretation of the results obtained from their research, theoretical models, strengths, and limitations of the study at this point.

VII.   Conclusion.

Some articles may merge this section with the discussions. Most instructors advise their students to separate them when writing the research summary. The writers should evaluate their hypothesis to find out whether they are valid or invalid.

VIII.   References.

Several formats are used to cite relevant sources that were used to write the research summary. The most common techniques used include MLA and APA. Failure to cite the sources correctly leads to plagiarism which is a serious offense.

With the above information, you will be in a position to write a perfect research summary that helps you to get good grades.