To get started writing a research paper or laboratory report, it is important to consider if you have enough data or enough information to compose a paper. Additionally, it is also important to consider what you want you want to report and how to report it--clear communication of results is crucial when discussing the experiments.
This American Chemical Society (ACS) blog post on How to Write a Research Paper provides some general guidelines to determine when to write a paper and how to get started when it comes to reporting and communicating the results of an experiment or experiments.
Every discipline has a style and format that is used for scholarly communication, and chemistry as a field has a certain format for papers as well as a a style of writing that developed as the field itself grew and information was shared and published.
General Style and Writing Guidelines:
For information on specific sections that might appear in a scholarly article or laboratory report you may wish to go to the next section in this guide that provides a summary on all the different Parts of A Research Paper and provides links to articles that provide significant detail regarding the style and content for each major section.
Note: While the resources in the guide are meant to help, it is always important to follow the guidelines of the publication or course instructor that you are writing for.
Adapted from information found in Chapter 2 of the ACS Style Guide
Additional resources and information on each sections are also provided from the journal Clinical Chemistry from the section of their journal "Guide To Scientific Writing." Click on the title for a direct link to the PDF or use the corresponding citation for each article to view the online version. All articles are open access articles.
The title should be brief and specific enough to clearly communicate the contents of the paper/research, but should not be overly technical.
Thomas M Annesley, The Title Says It All, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 3, 1 March 2010, Pages 357–360, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2009.141523
The byline or list of authors includes all individuals that contributed in a substantial manner to the research being reported.
Generally, the person that did the research is listed as the first author of the paper and names are traditionally formatted as "first name, middle initial, and surname"
The abstract should provide an informative and brief summary of what is written in the paper, and should allow for a reader to quickly understand the nature/purpose of the research, the methods used, the results observed, and any major conclusions that came from the research.
Thomas M Annesley, The Abstract and the Elevator Talk: A Tale of Two Summaries, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 4, 1 April 2010, Pages 521–524, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2009.142026
An introduction puts the experiment or research into context; it should provide background regarding the question or problem being explored and using applicable scientific literature and references help explain why the question being answered or the research being pursued is relevant and/or important.
Thomas M Annesley, “It was a cold and rainy night”: Set the Scene with a Good Introduction, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 5, 1 May 2010, Pages 708–713, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.143628
Depending upon the publication or style, this section has many different possible names; chose the correct name for the section based upon the publication to which the research is being submitted or the laboratory report is meant to emulate.
This section should provide information regarding the techniques used in answering your research question and should say HOW the research question was probed or answered with enough information that another practitioner in the field could reproduce the experiment and results. In order to accomplish these goals, the experimental section should identify the materials used and must also provide sufficient details about characterization methods, experimental procedures, or any apparatus used that is not standard for the field.
Thomas M Annesley, Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why: The Ingredients in the Recipe for a Successful Methods Section, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 6, 1 June 2010, Pages 897–901, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.146589
The data collected or the results of the research/experiment are presented and summarized in this section often using graphs, tables, or equations. When dealing with a large amount of data, the results section provides a summary while additional results or data can be included in a supporting information section.
It is important to remember that in this section, the results are NOT put into context nor are the results or observations explained.
Thomas M Annesley, Show Your Cards: The Results Section and the Poker Game, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 7, 1 July 2010, Pages 1066–1070, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.148148
IRDAM = Introduction, Results, Discussion, Methods in terms of order of sections. Many ACS Journals follow this format!
IMRAD = Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion in terms of order of sections
Pamela A Derish, Thomas M Annesley, If an IRDAM Journal Is What You Choose, Then Sequential Results Are What You Use, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 8, 1 August 2010, Pages 1226–1228, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.150961
The discussion section highlights and interprets the results or data obtained and explains how the resulting data relates to the original research question. It explains how and why the results obtained are significant. It is appropriate to examine and explain why the results were observed and why the data was interpreted in a specific way. This is also the section where additional research or further work regarding the research question can be stated.
The results and the discussion can be presented as a combined "Results and Discussion" section if it makes sense to do so.
Thomas M Annesley, The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 11, 1 November 2010, Pages 1671–1674, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.155358'
Figures and tables should be included in the Results or the Results and discussion section and should support, clarify, and make your work more clear through a visual, organized, representation of the data collected.
Thomas M Annesley, Put Your Best Figure Forward: Line Graphs and Scattergrams, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 8, 1 August 2010, Pages 1229–1233, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.150060
Thomas M Annesley, Bars and Pies Make Better Desserts than Figures, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 9, 1 September 2010, Pages 1394–1400, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.152298
Thomas M Annesley, Bring Your Best to the Table, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 56, Issue 10, 1 October 2010, Pages 1528–1534, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.153502
The conclusion provides a brief summary of what was accomplished in a manner similar to the abstract, but the conclusion should specifically address how the results of the research relate back to the original question or problem.
A list of the published works that were cited in the paper or report using the proper citation and reference format for the field and publication (e.g. citing and providing a reference list using the American Chemical Society guidelines).
Thomas M Annesley, Giving Credit: Citations and References, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 57, Issue 1, 1 January 2011, Pages 14–17, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2010.158048
