A research design is a strategy for answering yourresearch question using empirical data. Creating a research design means making decisions about:
Your overall aims and approach
The type of research design you’ll use
Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
Your data collection methods
The procedures you’ll follow to collect data
Your data analysis methods
A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims and that you use the right kind of analysis for your data.
You might have to write up a research design as a standalone assignment, or it might be part of a largerresearch proposal or other project. In either case, you should carefully consider which methods are most appropriate and feasible for answering your question.
Published on
June 7, 2021
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
August 2, 2021.
In MLA style, the list of Works Cited (also known as a reference list or bibliography) appears at the end of your paper. It gives full details of every source that you cited in the text.
Like the rest of an MLA format paper, the Works Cited should be left-aligned and double-spaced with 1-inch margins.
You can use the free Scribbr Citation Generator to create and manage your Works Cited list. Choose your source type and enter the URL, DOI or title to get started.
Summarizing means giving a concise overview of a text’s main points in your own words. A summary is always much shorter than the original text.
Writing a summary does not involve critiquing or analyzing the source—you should simply provide a clear, objective, accurate account of the most important information and ideas, without copying any text from the original and without missing any of the key points.
The exact format of a quote depends on how long it is and which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism.
Example of a quote“As natural selection acts solely by accumulating slight, successive, favourable variations, it can produce no great or sudden modification; it can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin, 1859, p. 510).
Published on
October 16, 2020
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
November 19, 2020.
A research paper is an extended piece of writing based on in-depth independent research. It may involve conducting empirical research or analyzing primary and secondary sources.
Writing a good research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic and advance an original argument. To convincingly communicate your ideas, you need a logical structure and a clear style that follows the conventions of academic writing.
When you’ve finished writing your paper, use this checklist to evaluate your work.
Published on
February 7, 2020
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
May 31, 2021.
When you apply for graduate school, you’ll usually be asked to submit a resume or CV along with your application. A graduate school resume should give a focused, concise overview of relevant experiences and achievements.
The exact sections you include depend on your experiences and on the focus of the program you’re applying to. Ensure your resume gives full details of:
Your college education
Relevant work experience
Relevant voluntary and extracurricular experience
Any awards, honors, publications, or other relevant achievements
Any relevant skills, certifications, and memberships
The main difference from a regular resume is that you’ll put more emphasis on your education and academic interests to show that you’re a good candidate for graduate school.
Download the Word templates and adjust them to your own purposes.
The APA manual (published by the American Psychological Association) is mostly used in social science and education fields.
The MLA Handbook (published by the Modern Language Association) is mostly used in humanities fields.
In both styles, a source citation consists of:
A brief parenthetical citation in the text
A full reference at the end of the paper
However, citations look slightly different in each style, with different rules for things like title capitalization, author names, and placement of the date.
There are also some differences in layout and formatting. Download the Word templates for a correctly formatted paper in either style.
