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You would like to get some inspiration on how to create an outline for a research paper or thesis? Then you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, I will explain step by step how you can create the perfect structure for your text so that you only need to fill in the blanks and can focus on your writing.

Towards a super strong paper or thesis outline

We all learn the classic structure of a text in school: introduction – main body – conclusion.

However, academic papers differ from essays that follow this structure. Here, we need to put a little more effort into preparing such papers, no matter if they are an assignment for a class in college or the final thesis for your studies.

In principle, the basic structure of introduction, body, and conclusions is not wrong. It is just too broad to work with for an academic paper. That’s why today we’re going to delve into more detail.

My first piece of advice on how to create an outline for a research paper would be: If you have never read a proper research article (about 15 pages) that you find millions of in scientific databases, you should do so now.

In research, publications must always follow the same principle. It is optimally designed to “sell” your own research results to an unknown reader.

So take a look at a classic “paper” and pay attention to the headings in which the document is divided. Here is an example outline of such a research article.

Since students should practice the scientific exploration of a topic in their assignments, it makes sense to mimic actual research. The closer you get to the standards of real research with your work, the better your grade will be. I promise.

This means, conversely, that you will never have a problem setting up an outline again. Every new research paper will structure itself; you just need to insert your topic into the basic structure.

The basic structure can be the same for every paper. Now let’s take a look at what such an outline looks like:

#1 Cover page

The first physical page of your paper is some sort of cover page. Check your department’s information to see if there is a template for it. Otherwise, you can design your own cover page.

The following information must not be missing from the cover page of your paper:

• Title of the paper
• Subtitle (optional)
• Designation of the seminar or lecture
• The department or institute
• Name of the supervisor (including all academic titles)
• Your contact information (name, address, telephone, university email address, student ID number)
• Table of contents (optional)

At the beginning of my study career, I usually manually tinkered with my table of contents using OpenOffice. Not a good idea. Read up a bit or watch a tutorial on YouTube on how to automatically create your table of contents in Word.

The automatic table of contents is a huge relief and saves you so much time. In addition, the page numbers are always correct, and you don’t have to worry about anything anymore. Just set the font and font size so that it looks appealing and visually matches the rest of your paper.

#2 Introduction

The next step on how to create an outline for a research paper is the content of your paper. The structure of an introduction for a term paper ALWAYS follows the same pattern:

A cool quote to your liking (optional)

Explain research motivation and relevance

Identify an existing research problem

Name the objective of your paper (including research questions)

Describe your method or approach to answer those questions

Articulate a contribution statement about why your paper is an important gain in knowledge

Now that we have clarified the structure of your introduction, let’s move on to the next major section of your term paper.

#3 Literature sections

Every discipline works a little differently. However, they all overlap in the structure of their research articles, which is why all papers can be structured in a similar way.

You must make individual adjustments for your field of study, such as the weighting of individual chapters. The method and what is considered theory also varies from field to field.

Since the scope of a student paper generally does not necessarily require empirical research, the approach is most often literature-based.

This means that the results of the term paper are based solely on existing research literature, without collecting unique data.

What does this mean for our outline?

The “method” you choose for our paper is initially a literature review. Hence, the first step required is to review current research literature.

Even if you are studying history, dentistry, law, or physics, there is always current research literature on any topic. Every year, thousands of research articles are published that reflect the current state of research in a discipline.

State of the art

In this part of your paper, you create two or three literature sections that explain the state of the art of your topic.

You begin to explain your topics including definitions and current findings from general to specific.

EXAMPLE: If your topic is “Aggression and Video Games”, you start with the literature on aggression in human psychology and define what it is (general).

Then you present recent studies on researching human behaviour in relation to video games (more specific) and finally, what has been researched specifically on your topic, aggression and video games (specific).

You can also imagine this principle as a funnel. You start with a general overview of research in your field and then move closer to your specific problem.

Easy, right?

Theoretical Background

The second part of your literature section can be a theoretical background, but only if you refer to a single model or theory throughout your work.

Then you should present this specific theory in detail in a separate chapter and relate it to your topic.

A research paper can also suffice with some literature sections on the current state of the art.

If you do not want to delve into a specific theory or model, that is fine.

You simply have to make this decision. At this point, the general structure of a research paper is not so rigid.

It often helps to consult with your supervisor about which approach they recommend in a specific case.

#4 Methodology

Once you have developed your theory and reviewed the current literature, we move on to the next section on how to create an outline for a research paper. The methodology or research design section involves the description of methodical steps or your research design in general.

However, this section is typical for empirical studies in which you need to describe your data collection and analyses techniques. If you have a systematic approach to analysing literature, you can explain how you did this in this section as well. If there is no systematic approach, you can skip this section.

#5 Results

If you are work only with literature, this section is where you get really analytical. So far, you have worked descriptively, meaning that you have summarized existing research in your own words and provided many different references.

Every good paper requires some sort of original contribution, and you should provide yours at this point. It is a crucial step on how to create an outline for a research paper. Even if it means reflecting on a problem or placing a subject matter into a different context, this is where your creativity and interpretation comes in if you work with literature.

If you work empirically, this results or findings section involves less interpretation. Instead, you should focus on the description of the results from your data analysis. Show the reader what you have done and bring all your findings together to form a story that the reader can follow.

#6 Discussion

After you have analysed some literature or empirical data, we come to another critical part of your paper’s structure: the discussion of your findings. This is where things get serious.

How well can you connect your own findings with the literature (and theory) and answer your research questions?

It may sound challenging, but with a little practice, you’ll get a feel for it. The term “discussion” here does not refer to a subjective debate or the inclusion of different opinions. What a researcher means with a discussion is a juxtaposition of your results with existing research.

You start with a short summary and interpretation of what you have done and then include more and more other references.

Quote some key sources from your literature review again and explain what your work means in relation to them. Do not introduce new references.

One way to make a discussion more appealing is to summarize your findings in a single figure or table to that a lazy reader could understand the essence of your work by only looking at this one figure or table.

Especially if you have some theoretical elements in your contribution, a figure helps to make it more accessible to the reader.

#7 Conclusion

Now we are almost at the end of the paper outline. However, that does not mean that we can slow down here. Every section requires the same dedicated attention.

In the conclusion, you are back on the meta level like in the introduction. The structure of your conclusion could look like this:

• Summarize your results concisely
• Formulate a polished answer to your research question
• Highlight the contribution you make to the literature (or theory)
• Name any contributions to practice (if any)
• Identify limitations you had while conducting your study
• Consider which topics you or others could investigate in the future

You can divide your conclusion into individual subheadings, but you do not have to.

For detailed instructions on how to write a conclusion, refer to my comprehensive guide that is linked in the top right corner.

Next Steps

That was a lot of information to take in. But actually, structuring a research paper or thesis is not that difficult. The outline remains the same with every other academic work, even if the topics change. And now you know this outline!

Before you even start writing your paper or thesis, it is important to create an outline. It is the roadmap for your writing process now AND the reader later on.

Once you have set up your outline, you won’t face writer’s block because you always know what to do next with this structure.

You would like to know how to overcome Parkinson’s Law?

This article will briefly explain what Parkinson’s Law is and how it affects your time management. But since there are hundreds of articles about Parkinson’s Law available online, I will focus less on how it works and more on how to actually beat it.

To support you in that process, I will give you 3 steps that will help you to overcome Parkinson’s Law once and for all.

If you can reduce the impact Parkinson’s Law has on your work only by a couple of percent, you will see phenomenal gains in your productivity.

Make sure to stay until the end of the video, when I will share with you in what situation this productivity-hacking can backfire.

What is Parkinson’s Law?

Parkinson’s Law states that work will always expand to fill the time available for its completion.

I will read that sentence again.

Work will always expand to fill the time available for its completion.

This still fascinating statement was made by Cyril Northcote Parkinson, a famous British historian and author, in 1955.

If one believes in this law (which I do), then the complexity of a task is not the decisive factor for the amount of time it takes to complete, but rather the deadline.

And that is simply incredible.

According to Parkinson’s Law, your work magically expands to fill the time available to you.

A research paper for which you have six weeks will take you six weeks to complete. If your deadline is in three weeks, you will complete the work with the same quality within three weeks.

The complexity of the six-week paper is only seemingly higher or perceived as higher. In reality, the degree of complexity does not differ.

Why having too much time isn’t always good

The more time you have to complete a task, the longer the period of tension. You constantly have it in your head that you still have to finish it.

You are tense and perhaps even stressed. If you reduce the time, you also reduce the amount of stress you subject yourself to.

It may sound strange, but it’s true.

Parkinson’s Law does not assume that a task should be completed faster than necessary.

It states that the time we give ourselves for a task is far too generously calculated.

In reality, you need much less time to write a paper than you think. Either you plan a buffer or you simply set your personal deadline to the point where you have to start the next task.

Taking time is good.

But using time meaningfully is better. With knowledge of Parkinson’s Law, you can save valuable time. You just have to consider it in your planning.

My personal experience

Last year, I gained a lot of experience with Parkinson’s Law myself.

When I started to write articles for my blog and produced a video on the same topic for YouTube, I gave myself until Sunday afternoon.

That’s when the content usually went live. And guess when I finished with everything?

Always on Sunday around noon.

It doesn’t matter how busy my work week was. Sometimes I was on a business trip and had a thousand other things to do.

Sometimes the week had a public holiday and gave me plenty of time to write.

And yet – I always finished on Sunday.

It’s crazy.

How to Overcome Parkinson’s Law

You will be surprised at how quickly you can complete a task if you allocate less time to it.

Parkinson’s Law does not say that you should work harder.

It says that you should do the work that is necessary in less time. And that seems paradoxical, but it works.

If you assign the right amount of time to a task, you will gain time back. Additionally, the complexity of your task will be reduced to its natural state.

You probably know it yourself – on a study day in the library, you set out to work through the lecture notes of a course.

You start… get yourself a coffee… continue… then it’s already time for lunch… you randomly meet someone from another class… then back to the lecture notes… don’t forget the afternoon snack… wait, who’s messaging me on Instagram… and done!

You spent 7 hours in the library studying and worked through the lecture notes. Net working time: 3 hours. Maximum.

If you hadn’t assigned the lecture notes the whole day, but only 4 hours, you would have had a free afternoon and still completed your workload. Or you would have worked through the second set of notes as well.

3 Steps to Overcome Parkinson’s Law

You can implement these steps immediately.

1. Halve the deadline. For your next submission, be it a paper, report, or presentation – just halve the time you give yourself to complete it. Pretend it’s really serious and enter your own deadline in your calendar. Don’t say things like: “I will finish it by the end of the week.” Instead, say things like “I will finish it by the end of the day.”

What could possibly go wrong?

2. Apply deep work. To outsmart Parkinson’s Law, you need a strong productivity technique. Read “Deep Work” by Cal Newport if you haven’t done so already. It will change your life. The essence of it is that you plan distraction-free time slots throughout your day in which you work on the thing that matters most. It sounds underwhelming, but be honest to yourself. Are you immune to the distractions on you phone and your computer? I’m not. Deep work will teach you how to tame them.

Do you have what it takes turn your back on all distractions?

3. Have fun playing against the clock. Don’t take it too seriously. Imagine you could save 30% or even more time with your newly acquired knowledge of Parkinson’s Law. That would be fabulous. But you shouldn’t torture yourself because of it. If you lose the fun, no productivity technique in the world is sustainable.

See it as a game. It is all about consistency and slow growth. Keep doing the work consistently and you’ll become a winner.

A Word of Caution about Trying to Beat Parkinson’s Law

There is another saying that is as true as Parkinson’s Law.

It states that if you have good time management, you will be rewarded with more work.

If you are a student, entrepreneur or someone who works for himself, that’s fine. Overcoming Parkinson’s Law will positively affect you, as long as you keep a healthy balance and take care of your physical and mental health.

If you are working for somebody else, being quick means that you will get a reputation for that.

For example, if you are really quick at answering e-mails, you will not reduce your workload with e-mails but increase it.

Once people know you reply quickly, they keep sending you more e-mails.

The same happens with projects. If you finish them quickly, you will just end up getting more of hem assigned to you.

The risk here is that you will not be rewarded for the work you do.

Another risk is that co-workers will feel intimidated by you finishing work more quickly than expected.

It can be seen like at attack or undermining their own way of managing their time.

Consequently, the best possible situation for Parkinson’s Law to be overcome is when the outcomes are directly contributing to you and only you.

Keep crushing your goals!

Are you looking for a guide on how to paraphrase in a research paper or other academic texts?

Bullseye!

Here, you’ll get exactly that: a complete beginner’s guide to paraphrasing.

Using 3 simple examples of good and bad paraphrasing, I will explain to you how to skilfully rephrase the most important parts of your literature sources in your own words.

This will help you avoid being accused of plagiarism in your academic paper. And if you do it particularly elegantly, you might even receive an outstanding grade.

What is Paraphrasing?

The term “paraphrasing” comes from linguistics and simply means rewriting a text. When paraphrasing, you take the content of another document but present it by using your own words and grammar.

The technique of paraphrasing is not only used in academia. Journalists are true masters of paraphrasing because they have to put information they hear and read into their own words and efficiently highlight their essence.

This (hopefully) creates added value for the recipient of the text. In the videos on this channel, I also constantly paraphrase: I delve into my own treasure trove of knowledge and experience and research various sources to bring the most important information on a topic to the point for you.

The benefits of paraphrasing are obvious:

• The reader/viewer saves time
• The information can be transferred to a new context
• Unnecessary information is filtered out

And that’s exactly why you should paraphrase in your academic paper. But how do you know where the line is between paraphrasing and plagiarism? And how can ChatGPT help you to master this skill?

Stay tuned and you will find out.

Why it’s worth mastering paraphrasing

A significant portion of your academic writing is nothing more than paraphrased text. Whenever you consult ideas from external sources, there are two options:

• Direct quotation
• Indirect quotation (paraphrasing)

While you should only occasionally use direct quotes in your papers, for example for definitions, indirect quoting is required much more often. For example, if you want to provide an overview of the state of research in your literature section, correct paraphrasing is essential.

You can earn extra points by presenting the contents of the literature in an attractive and structured way. An outstanding academic paper must bring existing knowledge and facts into a logical and, if possible, new context that creates added value.

Flawless paraphrasing in you paper can help you achieve the following:

• You demonstrate that you have read deeply into the subject matter.
• The linguistic level of your work is elevated to an academically appropriate level.
• Your arguments manifest in a chain of logic.

I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. Let’s do some paraphrasing!

3 Examples of Good and Bad Paraphrasing

For the 3 examples, we’ll take the abstract of a well-known research article. On the basis of this abstract, we want to define the term “confirmation bias” in our own words.

This is the original text:

“Confirmation bias, as the term is typically used in the psychological literature, connotes the seeking or interpreting of evidence in ways that are partial to existing beliefs, expectations, or a hypothesis in hand. The author reviews evidence of such a bias in a variety of guises and gives examples of its operation in several practical contexts. Possible explanations are considered, and the question of its utility or disutility is discussed.” (Nickerson, 1998, p.175)

#1 Mentioning the reference at the end

This is how a paraphrase could look like:

The confirmation bias denotes a phenomenon that originates from experimental psychology. It implies that individuals tend to evaluate novel pieces of information based on predefined beliefs and expectations. This includes the acquisition and selection of information sources (Nickerson, 1998).

Notice that I have intentionally changed the grammar and choice of words but kept the meaning of the original text.

#2 Mentioning the source in the text

You can also name the author(s) of the text you quote in your text:

According to Nickerson (1998), the confirmation bias is a notion describing the individual evaluation of novel pieces of information that is based on predefined beliefs and expectations. This includes the acquisition and selection of information sources. 

However, this is also called an author-centric way of writing. If you review a lot of literature you should avoid using too many of these author-centric sentences.

#3 How you SHOULD NOT paraphrase

Let’s look at an example for a really bad paraphrase.

The confirmation bias denotes a phenomenon that describes the seeking or interpreting of evidence in ways that are partial to existing beliefs (Nickerson, 1988).

The first part of the sentence has been described in different words than used in the original. But the second part of it is identical to the original text.

This is not a paraphrase and not a good indirect quote. If you do not turn this into a direct quote, a plagiarism scanner will flag this sentence.

Therefore, always change up the terminology you use and also try to find your own grammatical structure for what you want to say.

How to systematically learn to paraphrase

Learning to paraphrase for academic writing is just like any other skill.

The more you practice, the better you.

Great advice, I know! Luckily, I have more to offer.

This is how you can practice.

Use as the basis for your next academic paper a document (or several) in which you have so-called excerpts from the references you want to paraphrase.

An excerpt is simply a text passage that you have copied from a text into some sort of document. Sometime you can also give it a comment for what you want to use it, so you keep an overview of all the reading you have done.

This document or collection of documents is thematically organized, for example according to the main terms used in your work.

From this document, you pick out the most exciting text passages, that you want to use and paraphrase one by one.

Copy them into you final manuscript document and practice to rephrase them. Once you are done with one text passage, pick the next one from your collection document that seems appropriate for your argument.

This is how you connect one paraphrase with the next and build a whole chapter by putting them together like a puzzle.

These are the most important steps for this process:

1. Conduct a literature search
2. Read the abstracts and the parts of the papers that align with what you are looking for
3. Copy text passages into your collection document (excerpting)
4. Organize them thematically
5. Selectively copy text passages from the collection document into your main document
6. Paraphrase
7. Connect the paraphrases with each other to form a unique argument

If you mix up these steps, it will quickly become confusing. There is nothing more frustrating than having to go back to your research because you realize that you haven’t collected enough text passages for a particular concept.

Now it’s time to practice, practice, practice.

Use ChatGPT to practice paraphrasing

In today’s world you can use tools like ChatGPT or QuillBot for paraphrasing. Doing so will save you a lot of time.

However, I recommend you use those tools to better understand the technique.

Do your first paraphrases manually and than give the same task to an AI.

If you compare the results, how exactly did the AI change the original wording and what can you learn from it?

When working with AI in the future, it will be important that you understand what it is that the AI is doing for you.

If you never practice paraphrasing yourself and let the AI do the work, you have learned nothing.

But if you learn the skill first and then use the AI to support you, you will be unstoppable.

Always stay in the driver’s seat. If you know how it works you can check if what the AI gives you is of good quality.

Otherwise, your fate is in the hand of an algorithm. And you do not want that, I suppose.

You have already heard of the Feynman Technique and but want to get a better idea of this study method?

You’ve come to the right place.

In this video, I will explain to you the 5 simple steps of the genius Feynman Technique and how you can integrate them into your daily study routine.

With the help of this method, you will no longer just learn superficially, but transform the material into real knowledge that will far outlast the upcoming exam.

Has anyone ever explained the true value of the Feynman Technique to you?

The typical way how studying works is: You absorb knowledge quickly, spill it out, and forget it forever.

No thank you.

In school and later when we do a university degree, we are required to recall knowledge on command. When the time for exams comes, we must deliver.

The ability to reproduce knowledge accurately does not necessarily correspond to the degree of understanding.

Even if someone can reproduce a model precisely and name its components, it does not necessarily mean that they have developed a profound understanding of it.

In this regard, many of the exams you are required to take at university are poorly constructed.

It’s no wonder, as with 600 students in one class, hardly anyone can give a presentation on a topic, let alone write a term paper. Therefore, standardized exams are necessary.

But if there is a good grade for superficial memorization, why should you make more effort than what is necessary?

To this question, I have two counter-questions.

Ask yourself.

#1 Did you start your degree only to get a qualification for a job in the shortest amount of time and with the least resistance?

#2 Are status and a quick salary more important to you than your personal development and education?

If you answer these questions with YES for yourself, then that’s perfectly fine.

However, in this case, the philosophy of Richard Feynman might not resonate with you as much.

But I would like you to hear me out and what Richard and I have to say.

At least he won a Nobel price in physics and was one of the most respected scientist ever. So his technique can’t be that bad.

If you want to ace your exams AND maximize your long-term personal development journey, the Feynman Technique is exactly right for you.

The Feynman Technique explained in 5 Steps

The Feynman Technique is about simplifying your study material step by step. This way, you can better understand it yourself and then leverage this effect by teaching it to others.

You become an expert in this topic and manifest your knowledge by explaining it to yourself and others in the simplest way possible.

But that’s not all.

You also discover where your knowledge gaps are and can adapt your study plan accordingly.

#1 Define the scope of what you want to learn

First and foremost, you should determine the field in which you want to acquire genuine knowledge. This can be a model from your lecture notes. Or it can be a new programming language.

The Feynman Technique really works with any topic you can imagine.

Take a sheet of paper or open a new page in Notion.

The title of your note should be the same as the topic you want to learn.

#2 Become your own teacher

Now, write the ENTIRE concept in the note. Imagine that you want to explain the topic to a person who has never heard of it before.

Use simple language and make your explanation as clear as possible.

However, you should not make it TOO easy and just slap on a superficial definition that does not go into depth.

Use an example (or two) to explain the concept better. Do not simply copy the Wikipedia page about your topic, but challenge yourself.

Search for scientific papers about your topic and put yourself in the shoes of a teacher: How would you explain the concept so that even the lazy kid in the back row can understand it?

#3 Fill in the gaps

In the third step of the Feynman Technique, you are supposed to recap your own explanation.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• At what point did you not really understand the explanation?
• Where were you uncertain?
• Does the explanation have any logical weaknesses in some places?

Now you know where you need to do further research. Find all the answers to your questions from your learning materials or external sources. You should also strengthen your knowledge where you were uncertain.

It is important that you do not cheat. Be honest to yourself about what you really understand and where you are still not sure.

Now go back to your note and update it. Let your newly acquired or reinforced knowledge flow into your explanation. Update the note as often as necessary and until your explanation sits like a second skin.

#4 The simpler, the better

The last step of the Feynman Technique emphasizes the basic idea of simplifying the explanation as much as possible.

Obviously, there comes a point where you cannot simplify your explanation any further without losing substantial content.

Still, try the following:

Go through your explanation and replace all technical terms and jargon with simple everyday language.

This ensures that EVERYONE (including yourself) understands the explanation. Provided it has no logical weaknesses.

Are you unsure about a particular technical term and what it means?

No problem, we’re among friends here.

Even if you’re reasonably certain, look it up again and read a definition.

In your explanation, drop the word and use your own words instead.

Even after six years of study and four years of doing a PhD, I still regularly look up technical terms because I don’t know them.

Sometimes I even forget their meaning if I haven’t read them for a long time. It is totally normal.

#5 Start teaching others

The Feynman Technique works wonders when you are alone. You simply explain the concept to yourself or even say it out loud.

However, there is a risk of doing two big mistakes:

• You deceive yourself and only superficially understand the concept.
• Your own feedback does not reveal your weaknesses because you do not know what you don’t know.

To avoid these two things, there is a very simple solution:

Form a study group.

If there are two of you, that is enough. However, 3-5 people are optimal.

Each group member gets a concept you all need to study and applies the Feynman Technique. Instead of explaining the topic to yourself, you present it to the group and receive feedback from each individual member.

This way, you can improve your explanation by light years. You can discover gaps and develop the ability to answer questions that go beyond your own explanation.

Once each member of the study group has presented, improved, and presented their own topic or concept, you switch topics. After all, everyone should learn everything.

Now it gets even better: there is already at least one expert on your topic in the group, since he or she has already worked on it. Therefore, the feedback from this person will be even better. From the third round on, you even get feedback from TWO experts, and so on…

Believe it or not, the Feynman Technique is absolutely genius for studying for exams.

If you have any questions technique, simply comment below.

Recap of the Feynman Technique

To quickly recap, these are the 5 steps you need to know to implement the Feynman Technique:

1. Define the scope if your topic and write it down on a (digital) note.
2. Write the entire explanation to your topic in simple language, as if you were explaining it to a layperson.
3. Review your explanation and identify any gaps or weaknesses.
4. Improve your explanation and replace any technical jargon with everyday language.
5. Form a study group and teach the topic to each other in a presentation. Rotate topics afterwards.

Are you looking for a guide on how to write a research proposal for your dissertation or thesis?

You have come to the right place, because in this article, I will show you how to prepare, structure, and write your research proposal in 6 simple steps.

With this knowledge you will easily convince your future supervisor that your research is going to make a difference and you better get the green light to start with it immediately!

What is a research proposal?

A research proposal is a basic outline of a research project. Its purpose is to convey the basic idea of the research that you plan to do and describe the project and its timeline.

In a research proposal, the focus is on the relevance and planning of a project. The goal is to convince the supervisor or journal editor about the potential value of your proposed study.

Ok, tall of this makes sense. But how do you write such a research proposal?

This is what this video is for. In the next 10 minutes or so, you will get a quick and complete solution for writing a research proposal. I have divided the process into 6 simple steps, which you can easily follow through step by step.

Before you start to write you research proposal

You need to know that a research proposal determines the direction of the next weeks and months of your research.

It is, so to speak, the blueprint of your study. Don’t worry if you can’t predict certain things or if you are uncertain. Oftentimes, the final version of how a study turns out differs significantly from the ideas presented in the research proposal.

Nevertheless, utmost concentration is required when writing your research proposal. It is not a tedious formality that must be completed according to the examination regulations.

The more effort you put into your research proposal, the more you will benefit from it during your academic work. This is because you can use all the contents you produce for your you final manuscript as well.

This means that the more effort you put into the research proposal, the less work is left for your final manuscript.

Writing a research proposal not only helps your supervisor evaluate your idea in writing, but also helps you, because it gives you a clear direction and actionable steps to undertake.

Now all we need is a blueprint for the blueprint.

#1 Introduction

The first element of your research proposal is the introduction. Fortunately, you can write it exactly as you would in the final manuscript. There is no difference in the structure of the argument.

You can find a complete guide to writing an introduction on my blog.

The following elements should be included in the introduction of your research proposal:

• Context of the topic
• Research motivation/relevance
• Precise research problem
• Objective(s) of your work/research questions
• Methodological approach
• Expected contribution(s)

With the creation of your research proposal, you already have a nearly complete draft of your final introduction. You can revise it at the end and adapt it to any changes that may come later.

#2 Mini-Literature-Review

You can integrate this part of your research proposal into the introduction (before you propose your research questions) or position it afterwards with its own heading.

Where you place it is not important. The important thing is that you demonstrate that you have conducted an initial literature research.

Focus on current or closely related literature to your topic and clarify the most important terms beforehand.

At the end of your research proposal, you should have a bibliography of about 1 page, which translates to 15 to 20 references.

It’s not enough to have only 3 or 4 references.

#3 Theoretical Framework

If your work is based on a theoretical concept or a specific model, then writing the research proposal is the right time to commit to it.

Explain it in basic terms and possibly include a figure that visualises it. However, do not spend too much time on this part of the research proposal, as it is the part that is most likely to change after you have received feedback from your supervisor.

The amount of effort you put into this should depend on this question: How detailed have you already discussed the theoretical foundation of your work with your supervisor?

#4 The outline of your final project

The preliminary outline is an essential part of writing a research proposal. It serves as a basis for further planning and discussion with your supervisor.

A tutorial about creating a great outline is also linked in the top right corner.

For the outline in your research proposal, it is not enough to simply list the headings of the chapters you plan to write. Add a paragraph to each heading explaining what the section will be about.

This should not happen on a content level – such as in the literature review – but on a descriptive meta-level. Here, you primarily explain your approach for each section to your supervisor.

#5 Timeline

The next step is a bit like project management: you create a timeline by assigning specific milestones with a deadline. This signals to your supervisor that you have thoroughly thought through your work on a planning level as well.

In addition, this timeline provides you with your own guideline for achieving intermediate goals. If you want to delve deeper into the topic, you can make yourself familiar with SMART goal-setting.

To really impress at this point, you can also add your timeline as a graphical representation to your research proposal. You can do this either as a GANTT chart (Free tool: Agantty) or with your own image, which you can put together using PowerPoint, for example.

#6 Bibliography

Don’t forget to create a bibliography at the end of your research proposal. You can have it automatically created by using a reference management program.

Good software includes EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley. Pick whatever you prefer and stick to it. It will save you so much time. Trust me.

FAQs about writing a research proposal

The last part of this tutorial will be a quick answer to the most frequently asked questions about writing a research proposal.

How long should my research proposal be?

The length of your research proposal is usually determined by your department or your supervisor. Typically, 3-5 pages are required. This length should not be exceeded or undershot in order to maintain the character of a research proposal.

Can I reuse content from my research proposal?

Yes. Anything you research or write for your research proposal can be used in the final version of your manuscript.

How much time should I invest in my research proposal?

As much as possible. A research proposal sets the groundwork for everything that comes after. If this groundwork is sound, you can impress your supervisor with a little extra effort and it will be much easier for you to begin with the main project.

What is the difference between a research proposal and an extended abstract?

An extended abstract already includes the results in their basic form and how they can be presented in the context of previous and future research.

The art of knowing how to write a systematic literature review must be learned, and depends heavily on how well you have acquired the tools of this method beforehand. To ensure the success of your endeavor, I provide you with 7 steps on how to write a systematic literature review in this article.

With these 7 steps, you will become familiar with this particular method and be able to structure your methodological approach from beginning to end. It may sound like a lot, but with such a demanding method, these 7 steps are all necessary.

So grab your favorite organic lemonade, sit back, and enjoy the show.

What is a Systematic Literature Review?

A systematic literature review is a standalone scientific study, meaning it is not intended to be written as part of a larger academic piece. It is confusing, because the background section in a paper or thesis are also often called ‘literature review’.

I will link a tutorial about writing a regular literature review here once it is produced.

What this tutorial is about is the method of conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) or systematic review.

This form of review originated in medicine, where a large number of small studies and results often need to be summarized. However, the systematic literature review has since proven itself useful in almost all other disciplines as well.

You should also not confuse it with other forms of review articles, such as the narrative review, a meta-analysis, and several other forms.

The narrative review, for example, is written from an expert’s perspective and weighs some sources more than others to build the intended argument better.

The focus of a meta-analysis is interested in combining the results of statistical calculations from many individual studies.

But let’s get back on how to write a systematic literature review. The most important characteristic of such a study is in the word “systematic.”

You might have heard that the of a research design is particularly important. In a systematic literature review, you are trying to achieve just this.

If other researchers would want to replicate the analysis of the literature that you did, they get all the information they need from you.

Objectives of a systematic literature review

In a systematic literature review, the literature search is carried out according to a predetermined protocol, so that ideally the same results are obtained upon repeated application.

A systematic literature review can pursue three different objectives:

1. To develop an understanding of a research area and to explain a topic in detail.
2. To provide researchers with a condensed overview of a large number of publications on a topic.
3. To be used as a basis for theory development or testing.

To enable you to create such a review, we will now look at the 7 steps on how to write a systematic literature review. These steps are based on my own experience, as well as the work of vom Brocke et al. (2015) and Durach et al. (2017).

Step 1: Get familiar with the topic

This you can do it in a totally unsystematic way.

Before you can start a systematic literature search, you need to have a basic understanding of the topic. This can be a bit of a challenge, as you are writing the review to achieve this understanding in the first place.

However, you will have an easier entry into the systematic part of your work if you just read in an unsystematic way first (Watch on YouTube: How to Read Papers Fast and Effectively) This is important to be able to come up with the correct search terms later. Here are three things to keep in mind:

1. Consider references outside your discipline.
2. Look at encyclopedias, Wikipedia, or popular science texts.
3. Set a time or page limit to avoid losing track of your objective.

Step 2: Know the reasons for your review

Your work will only be considered good if you can clearly argue why you have chosen a systematic literature review approach and what added value it brings to you and your readers.

If you are not sure where to start, read the methodological descriptions of other successfully published review articles. This will give you an idea of how you can argue your case.

The argumentation you should follow in the methods section also depends on the objective of your work. So, consider which of the aforementioned objectives applies to you the most and argue based on that why you chose a systematic literature review approach and how you established certain criteria for your search process.

Step 3: Define your search terms

Now we come to the “systematic” part on how to write a systematic literature review. Here you have endless possibilities for how you can structure your literature search.

To simplify things a bit, von Brocke et al. (2015) define four dimensions:

Process: Depending on the objective of the literature search, it can either be sequential, meaning “in one go”, or iterative, meaning in multiple passes at different times.

Sources: This includes the databases you select for your search or other metrics such as the frequency of citations, etc. The simplest option is usually to use the most important databases in your field and argue that they cover the research literature on your topic as well as possible.

Coverage: Should your review represent as much literature as possible or focus on the most important works?

Search techniques: These include keyword search, forward and backward search.

Step 4: Define your search parameters

Now we are already in the search process and the previously mentioned techniques.

Typically, you start with a keyword search, that means that you now identify your keywords and several combinations of them. You should choose these in such a way that the search for these keywords spits out the research you actually want.

Let’s say, for example, you want to write a review on “Digital Assistants in Medicine”. Here you would need different variants of “digital assistant”, for example, “conversational agent”, “virtual assistant”, or comparable terms. Depending on the focus, you would then combine this term with “care” or “clinical” or comparable terms.

Step 5: Identify relevant papers

After conducting a systematic literature search and narrowing down the selection of articles and contributions, you need to identify those that are most relevant to your topic and research question.

You can do this by, for example, reading the abstracts of all the papers and eliminating those that don’t quite fit the topic. Of course, this should also be done as systematically as possible.

What remains is a reasonable number of relevant articles that you should read thoroughly and include in your analysis. I am often asked about how many papers one should put in the analysis.

You cannot really predict that because you need to consider all the results you get.

By tightening or loosening your selection criteria, you can vary the number of relevant articles you include in your analysis. But keep in mind: Relevant remains relevant, and sometimes a systematic review yields 10 relevant papers, and sometimes 50. You can still decide how deeply you want to delve into the analysis, depending on the time available to you and the expectations your supervisor has.

In most cases, a thorough analysis with little relevant literature is more valuable than a superficial analysis with many less relevant articles.

Always stick to the most important papers in your analysis. You can usually recognize these by how often they are cited and where they are published.

Step 6: Justify every step of your search and selection process

In a systematic literature review, enormous importance is placed on how consistently the research design was conceived and implemented.

This includes justifications for every step you took. For example:

• Why were these and those databases selected?
• Were certain disciplines, journals, or conferences excluded and why? Which keywords are relevant, and how were they selected?
• Could certain techniques, such as a backward search, have improved the search?

Step 7: Visualize your process

In a systematic literature review, it is essential to use tables and figures extensively. In the analysis, for example, it is often helpful to create a large table of all relevant articles and create a kind of matrix.

Here you can graphically represent which content aspects or research results are present or not in each article.

This way, you can identify areas that have not been sufficiently researched or recognize other patterns that can serve as the result of your work.

Here is an example from Montenegro et al. (2019):

It also helps to create a graphical representation of your search process, for example with a flowchart. Here you can show each step individually. I would place this figure in the section that describes your methodological approach.

Phew, that was a lot of information.

I sincerely hope that you haven’t lost your interest in a systematic literature review. It really offers unique opportunities and can become a truly high-quality thesis or study. If you have any questions about this type of scientific work, please ask them in the comments, I’ll be happy to answer them!

I wish you a systematic rest of the day and say goodbye until next time!

You have almost completed your studies and only have to defend your thesis or dissertation in a presentation?

Then you should definitely stay tuned, because in this article we will discuss how to defend your thesis in the best possible way and successfully defend yourself against the attacks of the examiners.

We will go through your personal thesis presentation in 7 simple steps, so that you are perfectly prepared for your big day and go home with an outstanding grade.

What is a thesis or dissertation defense?

It is supposed to be a “discussion” between experts. You have already proven that you are an expert in your field with your thesis. Therefore, the term “defending” your thesis is a somewhat misleading term.

The defense of your thesis is not about justifying your approach since you have already discussed it thoroughly with your supervisor in previous discussions and handed in the written manuscript. Rather, this additional requirement serves to test whether you can discuss your topic at a high level.

The structure of a defense at your university depends on the examination regulations of your department. However, typically, such an event is structured as follows:

20 minutes presentation time and 20 minutes discussion for a master’s thesis and 45 minutes each for a PhD thesis.

During a thesis defense, examiners do not want to tear apart your thesis or fail you. They are want you to pass and just want to discuss the results of your research with you in person. Oftentimes, such a defense is only a formality for them.

7 Steps to prepare for a thesis or dissertation defense

From a student’s perspective, the situation may seem a bit different. Such a presentation does not happen every day, and discussing a research topic with multiple professors can seem a bit intimidating at first. But there is absolutely nothing to worry about – if you prepare like a pro and learn how to defend your thesis.

And I am going to show you how to do this.

By following these 7 steps during your preparation, you will leave a lasting impression in addition to your already outstanding thesis and secure the grade that you deserve.

#1 Read your thesis from a bird’s-eye view

Typically, a few weeks pass between submitting your thesis and defending it. Use this break to celebrate submitting your thesis and enjoy the peace after a stressful time. Don’t stress yourself out about the defense and how to defend your thesis, and leave your work untouched for at least a week.

Once you have regained your strength and feel ready to prepare for your defense, read your thesis again. However, this time, read it from the perspective of an outsider. Try to put yourself in the shoes of an examiner and evaluate its strengths, weaknesses, and get an unbiased overview.

With a little distance, you can view your work much more objectively and from a new perspective, even though it’s still your own words.

#2 Prepare your presentation

Now let’s dive into the details how to defend your thesis. Your defense will most likely start with a presentation that will also make up a large part of this final exam.

Now your skills that you have acquired during your studies in presentations are required. Tips for a successful presentation are one of my biggest passions, also because I can still learn a lot here myself.

For a regular presentation within a seminar, I would follow the principle to stand out as creatively as possible from the other presentations and presentation styles.

However, for the defense, a slightly more sober variant is recommended in order to do justice to the importance of this presentation.

These 3 points about the contents of your presentation should definitely be considered:

#1 Structure your presentation like your thesis

In your defense presentation, unless otherwise required, you concisely tell the story of your thesis. This means that you must come up with a similar structure to be able to completely retell your story and its arguments.

This means a brief introduction, your research motivation, a slide with the background, a methodology slide, results, discussion, and most importantly: contributions. Don’t forget limitations and recommendations for further research.

#2 Focus in your presentation on the results and contributions

One slide or two about the background is ok, but do not spend to long on this. Citing other literature is needed but not something that will get impress the examiners.

You should focus as much as possible on your unique data, results, and contributions.

#3 Sketch out your time allocation

Depending on how much time you have, you should plan exactly how many minutes will be allocated to each part of your presentation. The more important the section, the more time you should plan for it.

You then practice each part of your presentation until you nail it within the set time.

These 3 points about the style of your presentation also belong to the roadmap for a successful defense:

#1 Choose a simple, but appealing design template

If there is an official template from your university, grab it and adopt the best features. Usually, such templates are just ultra-boring.

In a regular presentation, we could be more creative here, but for such a formal appointment as the defense, you should play it safe with the slide design.

If there is no template provided, incorporate the university or department logo into your presentation (very important) and give the rest of the design its own professional touch with a custom font and your illustrations.

Never use more than two different font styles and sizes.

#2 Use as little text as possible

The standard advice for successful presentations should not be neglected in this article on how to defend your thesis. Everyone present knows how much you have to report on your topic. However, do not overload your slides with text.

A maximum of 3-4 bullet points per slide is more than enough! Try to convey even more information orally instead of just repeating what is on the slides.

Also, work with the figures and tables from your thesis. Here, no additional work is required, as you have already implemented your figures and tables in your thesis. Explaining the relationships and results of your research using beautiful illustrations is an absolute key step.

Make sure the labels are displayed large enough. Images with pixels in them are an absolute no-go and will lower your grade! So copy them into your PowerPoint slides in the best quality resolution.

#3 Reference your bullet points

Now back to the text on your slides. Everything that belongs to the introduction, literature and theory part, as well as the discussion of your results, must be referenced exactly as in your written work.

Add the corresponding authors in parentheses behind your bullet points, with a slightly smaller font size. Several sources behind a single statement are also welcome. The more, the better.

Now, as a final tip for the preparation I would like to urge you to practice definitions and explanations. The better you can explain a complex issue in understandable language using simple, logical arguments, the better your scientific performance can be evaluated.

#3 Practice for the question & answer part

When you are done with your defense presentation, the exciting part for everyone involved is just beginning: a small, informal discussion with questions and answers.

At this point, it’s worth noting that you really don’t need to panic. Professors are just humans who tell politically incorrect jokes to their colleagues after work and have one too many glasses of Vino Verde on weekends.

In a defense, they don’t want to embarrass anyone, but rather test how easily you can have a conversation about a scientific topic. So, stay relaxed and take a few seconds to let a question sink in before you answer.

If you did not understand the question, ask for clarification. This is not a problem! Rather ask for clarification than go on without getting the question.

If you can manage to name authors you’ve read for your work and also consider your own opinion on the topic, the examiners will love you.

If you can critically reflect on your topic and your own work by embedding it in a scientific discourse and its researchers, you’ve already won.

The clearer you describe your approach during your defense presentation, the fewer questions there will be about it afterwards.

In the end, there may be questions that demand a prediction about the future of the topic. Therefore, think about how research like yours could look like in a few years.

#4 Imagine for the worst-case scenario

The discussion can’t be 100% practiced, because you do not know what the questions will be. But you can influence the questions by eliminating all uncertainties pre-emptively in your presentation.

Once the content of your slides is ready, it’s time to practice your speech. The more you practice your defense presentation, the more unlikely will a worst-case scenario will be.

I’m not joking here, but if you want to deliver a really good presentation, just practice it 47 times. Or 22 times. Depending on how long it takes until it’s memorized. Practice it until you can recite it even in your sleep.

You don’t want to recite your speech like a robot, but rather come across as spontaneous yet confident. The better you’ve practiced your speech, the more you can focus on other things like your body language or eye contact.

Practice, practice, practice.

Grab a friend, your aunt, or your dog and use them as a test audience. Show that you have learned how to defend your thesis.

#5 Starting the day of your defense

The presentation is prepared, the USB stick is cleaned and rid of unpleasant vacation photos; now it can begin.

On the evening before your presentation, you should check again whether everything is complete and functioning properly.

Take 2 buses earlier. Leave 1 hour early in case a truck carrying M&Ms crashes on the way to the university.

Wear a proper shirt. (For ladies: as fancy as always.)

Have oatmeal, fruit, and nuts for breakfast. But the main thing is that you have breakfast.

Go to the room before anyone else and prepare the technology.

Wish everyone a good morning.

#6 Rock your referees

Now you can show what you have achieved in the past months. Be confident. You are the expert. Even if the armchair critics in the audience ask you critical questions, you will easily brush them off because you are well prepared.

Visualize how you have successfully passed your defense.

And before you know it, it becomes reality. You have passed. Not just the defense, but your entire degree.

Congratulations!

#7 Celebrate your success

Achievements should be celebrated.

Don’t schedule any other appointments on the day of your defense, but indulge in your favourite activities. Treat yourself to a great meal, perhaps some champagne, or an afternoon with no obligations. Maybe even take a vacation.

An exhausting time is behind you and an exciting one lies ahead. To help your mind separate these sections, plan a break.

And then you start your next adventure with full force.

You would like to know how to conduct a literature search for your academic paper, but you just don’t know what steps to take exactly?

Bing, Bing, Bing – Jackpot!

You have just found the solution.

Because in this article, I will give you a complete guide – on how to systematically search through the libraries and literature databases of your university and the Internet.

After just a few hours, you will have a complete overview of relevant literature for your topic and you can finally start writing.

I have divided the process of the literature search into 3 steps, which you can easily follow in sequence.

After this video, searching for academic literature will be easier than searching on Google for a recipe for mushroom risotto – I promise!

Get an Overview of the Popular Discourse #1

Educate Yourself

At the beginning of your literature search for your academic paper, you should get a general overview.

• How is the topic of your term paper perceived in the media?
• What controversies exist around this topic?
• In which regions of the world is it particularly relevant?
• What does Wikipedia say about it?

The first baby steps towards an outstanding term paper require a basic understanding of your research subject. It is perfectly fine to look into popular science literature and casually read up on the topic.

Simply put, you just use Google and see what you can find.

You should understand this step on how to conduct a literature search more as some self-education for yourself rather than a gathering of sources that you can cite.

Save the links of some (online) newspaper articles that contain useful information in a list in case you need them later.

Collect some Numbers

Here are some helpful platforms that you can also search:

• statista.com
• census.gov
• data.gov
• Google Public Data
• United Nations Statistics Division

If your academic paper ends up with 2-3 internet sources, that’s perfectly fine. The introduction is particularly suitable for citing such sources. After all, the presence of a topic in the mass media or political agendas can prove its relevance.

To really proceed systematically, take notes. The more articles and statistics you read, the better you get a feel for the important terms related to your topic. Write them down and create a pool of keywords. These are particularly important for the next step.

Online Search in Academic Databases #2

Google Scholar

Now you are delving into academic literature. From your notes, extract (at least) the 3 most important keywords for your literature search.

A first point of reference for the literature search can be Google Scholar. Google’s database indexes almost all academic papers and books. However, sometimes it will also list articles that are a bit shady or have not been subject to peer review.

This is because if you use Google Scholar, you need a very good understanding of what constitutes a good academic journal and what is trash.

Nevertheless, if you find articles that have been cited a lot (think 100 or more citations) by reputable journals and authors, you can assume that it is a legitimate article.

But be careful, sometimes supervisors do not like it if their students use Google Scholar because of the reasons I just mentioned. Ask your supervisor how they feel about it – then you are on the safe side.

Scientific Databases

Now let’s move to the next step on how to conduct a literature search.

From the websites of your university library, your department, and an email to your supervisor (“Which 3 literature databases can you recommend for my academic paper?”), you now gather (at least) the 5 most important databases in your research discipline.

There you enter your keywords into the search bar and download anything that seems relevant to you. Use the keywords in different combinations and their synonyms.

Collect all research articles you find in a folder on your PC so that you don’t lose track. For even more overview, you can create subfolders for each keyword. For example, if you are writing a paper on employer branding of IT companies for Generation Y, your keywords would be “employer branding”, “Generation Y”, and “IT”, including possible variations of them.

It is very important that you create a list of the most important databases in your discipline.

Instructors are thrilled if you ask them about it. In addition, there are some overarching databases that contain articles from almost all disciplines:

https://link.springer.com

https://www.scopus.com

https://www.webofscience.com

To be able to access those databases, you need a license. Universities hold a variety of these licenses – you just need to be in the university WiFi.

If you want to conduct the literature search from home or anywhere else in the world, you will need a VPN access. Check the pages of your university to see how to install it on your computer, or go to the technology support department at your university in person.

Offline Search in your Library #3

Try Online First

While reviewing your electronic sources, you will come across some standard works that are cited repeatedly. Most likely, they are also relevant to your work. To keep the effort as minimal as possible, proceed as follows:

Create a list on which you collect book titles that seem relevant to you.

First, search the literature databases from step 2 to see if they are available there as a PDF version.

Go to your university library’s website and search the catalog. Many books have now been digitized or purchased by universities in electronic form. If this is the case, you can simply find them through the catalog search and download them as a PDF (on the university network).

If the corresponding books are not electronically available, then there is only one option:

a trip to the library.

Your Last Resort

Only after you have completely checked your book list for online availability is it worthwhile to visit the library. You should keep this effort as minimal as possible because the time at the counter, on the bus, and between the shelves can be better used.

During my studies, I may have borrowed a total of 10 books, had to pay around 50 euros in fees because I returned them late, and they did not bring great added value to my academic papers.

Another time-consuming task is excerpting, that is, creating text passages from books and then transferring them from handwriting to digital form. With electronic sources, everything runs smoothly with Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.

However, in some disciplines or subject areas, you simply can’t write your papers without standard works. In this case, I can only recommend that you finish your online literature search first and then borrow and return all the books (not too many) in one go.

The Right Mix of Sources

As we have seen, there are different types of sources available to you. Roughly, they can be divided into 3 groups:

• Internet sources (reports, newspaper articles, etc.)
• Research articles (journal or conference papers)
• Books (and book chapters)

It’s not possible to say which type of sources is best suited for your an academic paper, because each discipline has its own way of publishing research.

Ask your supervisor or lecturer about this (this question is also very well received).

Ask them: What proportion of internet sources, research articles, and books would you recommend?

My personal recommendation for an academic paper in a discipline of the social sciences would be:

5% internet sources 10% books 85% research articles (papers)

But as I said, it really depends on the discipline and topic. Someone who needs an 80-year-old sociological theory for their work will not be able to avoid a few more books.

However, someone who is investigating the influence of chatbots on customer service in online retail will not find a suitable book on the topic, because before a book about chatbots is published and ends up in your university library, we will all have a robot monkey on our shoulder and be zipping around in flying taxis.

If you want to be successful when writing an academic paper you should avoid some common mistakes. I see them again and again in student assignments but also in paper submissions at academic conferences.

Imagine spending weeks or even months writing your academic paper. You put in all your effort and work late nights to deliver a good result. And on the day you receive your feedback, you get the bad news:

The outcome does not meet your expectations because you simply did not know that you should not have made that one mistake. You just didn’t know. How could you?

But this cannot happen to you anymore. Because in this video, I will show you the 7 most common mistakes that you should definitely avoid when writing your academic paper.

With this knowledge, you will come a lot closer to producing an outstanding academic paper. There are no secrets to it. There is only information that you do not yet know.

But we’re going to change that now.

#1 Not using a proven structure

Many academic papers that I read are incredibly extensive, use a lot of literature, and are linguistically top-notch. But is that enough for a paper to be outstanding?

No.

One of the biggest mistakes in writing academic papers is ignoring how papers in your field are expected to look like.

In particular, I am referring to the structure of your paper. This does not mean the titles you give each section (although they can sometimes be related to it). It means the logical structure of an academic paper.

If you just write freely and tell a story – that may be interesting, but research works differently.

An experienced researcher always expects a certain outline. A clear introduction, some literature background, a research design section, findings, discussion, and conclusion.

For a conceptual paper that does not include empirical data, you can replace the research design section with a clear explanation about how you are going the structure your argument but do so at the end of the introduction.

The structure of a paper always follows a certain logic. At the beginning, there is a relevant phenomenon or topic. You then motivate the need for doing research on this thing by identifying an interesting research problem. Stating a clear research objective also helps (introduction)

You then show what has been found previously and what this means for your own study (background).

You then explain how you aim to accomplish your research objectives (research design).

After taking the reader through the results of your analysis (findings) you interpret them and bring them in relation to what has been found previously (discussion).

Finally, you summarize your study, show in what ways it was subject to limitations and what you would recommend other research should focus on (conclusion).

What I just explained is the thought process in 90% of all academic papers.

And this very same structure is what your supervisor or reviewer expects from your paper.

A big mistake is trying to reinvent the wheel and not using this proven structure for your own papers.

#2 Insufficient use of citations

The next common mistake is not using citations correctly. There are two things that can go wrong.

First, you might not use enough references to support your argument.

I often see papers where (in the literature section or introduction) a paragraph of text is written that contains statements that require a citation but none is provided.

In other cases, there might be a whole paragraph with one citation at the end. While this is better than the first example, you can do better.

In your paper, you should show that you can craft your own argument instead of indirectly citing the argument of someone else. The trick is to collect multiple pieces of evidence from other studies and combine them to form your own argument. This might require several citations in a single sentence or train of thought.

Moreover, your supervisor or reviewer will pay attention to the following three points when assessing your paper:

Completeness: Were you able to identify the most important references and authors for your particular topic?

Depth: Did your literature review go beyond mere description and showed what the body of literature means in relation to the research problem?

Quality: Are the cited references from established outlets (books, journals, conferences) of your research discipline?

Can you actually use too much literature? Yes, of course. That’s why papers often have a page limit that includes the bibliography.

Rule of thumb: 15 pages = 30 scientific (!) references. (Exception: Systematic literature reviews can have longer bibliographies)

#3 Conceptual overload

The research objectives of an academic paper are often narrower than you might think. Even if the topic is a niche phenomenon, hundreds of pages could still be written about it. Take a look at some doctoral dissertations from your university (they are available in every library).

PhD students spend three to five years on a very tiny aspect within a tiny tiny topic and end up writing 400 pages about it.

Again and again, students make the mistake of writing their academic papers without enough focus.

You cannot narrow down your topic enough.

If you think you have already narrowed down your topic, then narrow it down even further. And then again.

At the beginning, you will wonder how on earth 15 pages could be written about it. At the end, you will be amazed how on earth 15 pages could be enough!

A good exercise to narrow down your topic is to articulate a clear research question.

In this question, you will only use 2 or 3 key concepts. The same concepts will then reappear in the background sections.

If you want to make your text more appealing to the reader by mixing up the language and using synonyms, stop doing it.

This is not how writing an academic paper works. Once a concept is defined you need to stick to it. This avoids confusion, because if you use synonym, the reader does not know if the definition still applies to this other term.

Unfortunately, researchers are very anal about those things. Therefore, it is best to stick to your key concepts and use them consistently throughout your paper.

#4 You do not arrive at an original contribution

Common mistake number four happens when your academic paper does not succeed in selling a unique contribution to the reader.

This problem occurs particularly in both empirical and literature-based papers.

In an empirical paper, it is not enough to just let the results of your data analysis speak for themselves. You need to explain to the reader why those results are interesting and provide something novel to the literature or theory.

Keep in mind that literature and theory are two different things. Refer to my other videos if you are not sure what the difference is.

But what if the data of your paper is simply other literature?

Here, the common mistake students often make is to provide a descriptive summary of what has been done.

Author A has found this and author B has found that.

This is not enough. You need to go beyond mere description at some point and get into an analytical mode. Find similarities, contradictions, or problems in the literature and interpret them.

Come up with your own interpretation of what the contents of all this literature means in relation to your research objective.

At the end of your introduction, you give a preview about why your paper is important and what contribution the reader can expect. In the discussion, you explain the contribution in detail. Finally, the conclusion summarizes it one more time.

You can also use numbers to emphasize your contributions. First, Second, Third, and so on.

#5 Sloppy figures

Common Mistake Number Five:

Blurred Figures!

Did you copy your figure from a book, downloaded it from a Google search at 200×150 pixels, or draw it up by hand?

Not good.

Figures in academic papers must be razor sharp. Anything else is unacceptable. If you can even see one pixel, then recreate the image yourself in PowerPoint or Canva. Save it as a PDF or as a truly high-resolution image file.

If you are unsure, make a test print of the image and check the quality on paper. Trust me, the little extra effort is really necessary.

Don’t be the person who uses blurry figures in their academic paper.

This is how you show that you are a professional.

#6 Careless Grammar and Spelling Mistakes

The mother of all mistakes when writing an academic paper: linguistic clumsiness.

One or two typos will be forgiven.

However, if you allow spelling errors and incorrect grammar to be found on every page, then the reviewer will not even bother to assess the contents of your paper in detail.

Your supervisor won’t even blink an eye and will give you a bad grade.

Correct grammar and spelling is the absolute minimum that you must meet.

Therefore, follow my advice and have your work proofread. If you don’t want to spend money on it, then ask friends or family or a large language model that you trust.

Four eyes and a machine see more than just your two.

But seriously. I would argue that I have a certain level of linguistic skill. And yet, I make mistakes all the time.

I proofread scientific papers and job applications for other people – and find every single mistake – but my own texts are still not error-free.

You don’t see your own mistakes, no matter how good you are. Get help, then you’re on the safe side.

#7 Unintended plagiarism

Obviously, the worst mistake you can make when writing an academic paper is plagiarism. You have probably heard in the media that politicians or other important people have had their doctorates revoked for this reason.

Even a term paper can quickly become plagiarism, even if it was not intentionally planned.

An accusation of plagiarism can be made if individual text passages are taken literally without a citation of the original work.

If you are caught, you risk failing. Therefore, this mistake is quite fatal.

To definitely avoid plagiarism, you should become a specialist in paraphrasing and citing correctly.

As long as you pursue the good practice of academic work with the best intentions, nothing can go wrong, really.

Everything you learn at university and on this channel is plagiarism-proof.

Check out my video on ChatGPT Plagiarism to get a better idea of what plagiarism is and what it is not.

You would like to know how to read papers fast and effectively but you keep facing one of these challenges?

• The papers are hard to understand and only about 10% of the information sticks with you?
• You’re not sure what to look for in the papers to gather input for your own research paper?
• You have difficulty prioritizing which papers you should even read

Then be my guest for the next 10 minutes.

As a doctoral student, I deal with scientific papers every day. When I’m not writing one myself, I’m reading one. But not just any paper. I have a system.

If you read a scientific paper from beginning to end, it’s a rather suboptimal use of your time. Especially if you want to produce your own scientific work.

My system gives you 3 steps to follow on how to read scientific papers from now on – so that you can really make the most of your time and build knowledge pragmatically.

How to Read Papers Fast and Effectively

Every year, more than 2.5 million scientific papers are published worldwide (NCSES, 2019).

2.5 million!

There’s no time to read them all. That’s why it’s so important to approach the task with a plan.

You need to know exactly how to find the right scientific papers that are relevant to you and your work.

In addition, you need the right reading technique so that you don’t have to struggle through a scientific paper for hours just to extract a single definition.

And finally, you need a system to collect, process, and organize your knowledge so that you don’t forget everything a day later.

When you’re working on your scientific project, you’ll have a wealth of text passages, quotes, and results at your fingertips that you can use to beef up your current research or introduction.

Let’s go!

Step #1: Selecting relevant scientific papers

Okay, first of all, you need to accept that your time is limited – and so is the number of scientific papers you can read.

If you’re working on your thesis, you only have a couple of weeks or months, of which no more than one third should be spent on your literature review.

Let’s say you’re writing an undergraduate thesis and have the capacity to read 30 papers in addition to the method books you need to read. With these 3 steps, you can determine your top 30.

Create a reading list in the form of a table.

Conduct your literature search and collect all papers that appear relevant at first glance.

Abstract screening: Read all abstracts and decide which papers make it to the top 30 reading list based on the abstracts.

This step is also important in systematic literature reviews. Now you can start reading your top 30 reading list. The remaining papers will be neglected.

Step #2: The right reading technique to read papers fast

A (in my opinion) wrong approach on how to read papers fast and effectively would be to start with the first paper and work through it from beginning to end.

First, approach the paper with a paper screening:

Read the introduction, methods chapter, and conclusion.

Why?

These parts of a scientific paper are what I call meta-building blocks.

They are not purely content-based sections, but report one level higher, or “above” the contents. By reading these 3 sections, you will obtain the following information:

• Context
• Motivation
• Research problem
• The method that was used
• Main findings and contributions
• A summary of the most important results
• Contributions

If you now realize that you want to get more out of this paper, selectively decide to read additional chapters.

• For definitions: Read the literature review.
• For interest in theory: Read the theoretical background.
• To learn more about the scientific discourse on this topic: Read the discussion.
• For methodological questions and inspiration: Read the results.

Different papers can be useful in very different ways. You need to define the goal you have when reading a paper.

This is called selective reading.

You must allow yourself to skip large parts that do not contribute to you reaching your goal.

In a science podcast I regularly listen to, an author was recently a guest who had mathematically solved a theoretical problem in one of his papers. Since the reviewers wanted these elaborate calculations in the results section, he was now unsure whether this would deter many readers.

He himself then called on readers to simply skip the results section because it does not necessarily contribute to understanding the paper.

So even authors of papers want you to skip certain parts instead of loosing you as a reader somewhere in the middle.

Step #3: Create your own excerpt system

Creating an excerpt system is an important step in effectively managing and organizing the information you gather from scientific papers.

The basic goals of paper-reading are to understand the context, motivation, research problem, the method used, and the main results of the paper.

But you also want to have the contents ready to be cited or paraphrased for your own text.

To achieve this, you should create an entry in your excerpt document for each of the goals you have while reading papers.

Excerpts are extracts from scientific texts that you copy for direct quotes and paraphrase for indirect quotes. You can also add your own thoughts, notes, and interpretations to these extracts.

There are different ways to organize your excerpts:

• You can organize them within your reference management software. This has the advantage of having them readily available where you manage your references.
• Alternatively, you can create a system of individual tables and save them in a folder structure, e.g. in Google Drive, to organize your acquired knowledge by topic.
• Or you can create a huge Excel sheet with separate pages for each paper, so you have everything at your fingertips in one file.

Each system has its advantages and disadvantages, but the important thing is that you have a system that works for you.

It also depends on your working style and the software tools you use. Some people prefer to collect everything on paper and use pens and markers. This may not be as efficient, but it can be a good way to consolidate the information you gather.

#Bonus Tipp: Do not read papers on computer screens

Since we do most of our work on our computer, we also very likely read papers on our computer. If we believe the author Maryanne Wolf, who was a Professor for education at the University of California, we should immediately stop doing this.

In her work she explains that the way we read on screens is different from reading on paper or kindle. (By the way, reading on iPads counts as a computer screen). On those blue-light screens, our brain tends to skim read. Because that is what we do when we consume content on those devices.

Scientists found that, while reading on computer screens, our eyes follow z-patterns, jumping from one word to another while skipping large parts of the content. If you want to read papers effectively and retain the information, this is not good.

Reading on paper, in contrast, gives our brain the signal to focus on the text and avoid skim reading. So either you print your reading list on paper or, which would be a more sustainable option, get a large e-reader such as a kindle scribe* or a ReMarkable 2.

It makes reading papers much more fun!

*partner link