A-manual-for-writers-of-research-papers-theses-and-dissertations

give them a framework for understanding itMost introductions run about 10 percent of the whole (in the sciences they are often shorter).Your conclusion also has three aims. It should do the following:leave readers with a clear idea of your claimmake readers understand its importancesuggest further researchYour conclusion should usually be shorter than your introduction. (In theses and dissertations,the introduction and conclusion are usually separate chapters.)10.1 Draft Your Final IntroductionDifferent fields seem to introduce reports in different ways, but behind most of them is apattern with the four parts described in 6.2.2:1. Opening context or background. When this summarizes relevant research, it's called aliterature review that puts your project in the context of other research and sets up the nextstep. Keep it short.2. A statement of your research question. This is typically a statement of what isn't knownor understood or of what is flawed about the research you cited in step 1. It often beginswith a but, however, or other word signaling a qualification.3. The significance of your question. This answers So what? It is key to motivating yourreaders.4. Your claim. This answers your research question expressed in step 2. Here is anabbreviated example (each sentence could be expanded to a paragraph or more):For centuries, risk analysts have studied risk as a problem in statistics and the rational uses of probabilitytheory. contextBut risk communicators have discovered that ordinary people think about risk in ways that seemunrelated to statistically based probabilities. questionUntil we understand how nonexperts think about risk, animportant aspect of human cognition will remain a puzzle. significanceIt appears that nonexperts judge risk byvisualizing worst-case scenarios, then assessing how frightening the image is. claim10.1.1 Establish a Brief Context of Prior ResearchNot every report opens with a survey of research. Some begin directly with a researchquestion stated as something not known or understood, followed by a review of the relevantliterature. This is a common strategy when the gap in knowledge or understanding is wellwww.itpub.net