The introduction is an obligatory section in the structure of a research paper.
It briefly presents all the main points justified in scientific work. The introduction as a calling card of the research paper reflects the fundamental aspects of the project.
Supervisors and committee members are first introduced to this important structural element of the presented work. The introduction forms the faculty’s opinion of the research as a whole and allows you to assess the level of knowledge of the student.
A properly-composed introduction will arouse the interest of teachers and increase the chances of students to pass the project well. In fact, the fate of the research paper depends on the introduction. It assesses the level of mastery of theoretical and practical material.
The introduction is designed to familiarize the audience with the research carried out, to create a clear impression, and concisely tell the essence of scientific work.
Elements of the structure of the introduction are strictly ordered and fully related to the content of the scientific work. Educational institutions develop their own guidelines for writing the introduction and the work as a whole. There is a certain standard with mandatory structural components.
The structure of the introduction contains the following components:
The topicality of the research topic
The most important part shows the importance of scientific research for today’s demands of society and considers the problem from a particular science. If these two conditions are not reflected in the work, the work of the student will not attract the attention of the members of the commission.
It is important to understand in advance whether the problem is worth studying. What will be the benefit of the solution of this problem to the student and modern society?
Before writing the relevance of the research topic, it is necessary to answer several questions:
- Why should the problem be addressed now?
- What will be the benefit to society?
- How will it affect the development of science?
- What is the level of development of the problem?
- What new can be learned by studying the problem?
By answering these questions, it is possible to justify the relevance of the research and to write a competent text.
Research Objective
Represents the end result to be achieved when the work is completed. Only one goal can be set for a scientific study. Sometimes it is allowed to divide it into two parts, with the presence of a logical relationship is mandatory.
The goal is assumed to be the following:
- development of methods for solving problems;
- a detailed analysis of the problem;
- selection of opportunities for improvement of processes, methods;
- establishment of cause-and-effect relations;
- finding patterns;
- studying the characteristic of the phenomenon.
The goal is almost consonant with the name of the work, the subject, or the problem.
In the project, it is necessary to formulate 3-5 tasks. They make it easier to achieve the goal. The formulation of tasks begins with active verbs.
The object and subject of the research
The success of a research project depends on a proper understanding and interpretation of the terminology. In any student research project (be it a thesis, dissertation, or abstract), you need to correctly define the object and subject of the research.
It is easy to find the meanings of these terms in a dictionary. When it is required to independently identify the object in the topic under study, students get lost and often misidentify it. The correct organization of the process of writing a scientific work and the result of the work depends on the correct formulation.
The object is the space under study. More multifaceted and broader concept than the subject.
The object of research can be:
Directions of science (field of knowledge, doctrine, theory).
- Social and legal institutions.
- Processes and phenomena of social life.
- Methods of activity in different spheres.
- Fundamental tendencies of the creation of economic laws.
- The software of all directions.
- Social groups in society.
- Institutions, organizations, etc.
The subject is the features and properties of the analyzed space. Constitutes the parts, facets, properties, nuances of the object under study.
Many students do not understand the importance of highlighting the object and subject. These meaningful elements of the introduction help to highlight the main idea from the beginning of reading the work, to orient in the right direction. It becomes easier for the student to select the necessary literature for writing the project.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a statement, an assumption, a guess. After the research will need to prove the truth or disprove the hypothesis.
The hypothesis in the paper is only labeled, not solved. The wording must be logical and understandable.
The sequence for developing a hypothesis is:
- Collection of facts and analysis.
- Formulation of the hypothesis.
- Establishing the implications.
- Comparison with experimental data.
- Accepting or disproving the hypothesis.
Research Methods
Techniques that help to explore a scientific problem. Methods are used to describe the process of studying the scientific problem and the subject of the research, achieving the purpose of the work.
Theoretical Significance
The significance of the research should be shown here. To indicate how the result can be applied in the work. Only having a high theoretical knowledge can confirm the independence and literacy of the given reasoning.
In fact, in this structural component of the introduction, the student argues the purpose of the paper. Here you should prove the usefulness of the research and the applicability of its results in practice.
Theoretical significance and validity make it possible:
- Implement the results of the research in practice;
- put forward evidence of the conclusions obtained during the research;
- to give arguments concerning the hypothesis.
Scientific novelty can be talked about if in the process of work there were achieved serious results, and the degree of study of the problem exceeded the previous level.
Informative and elaborated theoretical relevance allows you to get high results in the practical part. Successfully carried out research allows to develop of applied methodological recommendations, and serves as a direction for subsequent research.
Practical Significance
This section describes the innovations, concepts, and conclusions presented by the student to solve these problems, proven in fact. It is necessary to attach references, acts, extracts, conclusions, competitive awards, publications in journals, approved instructions, reviews, and reviews of heads of enterprises.
When describing the practical relevance, the innovativeness and effectiveness of solutions proposed in the work should be shown.
If the author cannot describe the theoretical and practical relevance of his project, it is necessary to analyze the result and think about how scientific work has benefited.
There are three types of effectiveness:
- The research revealed new knowledge, laws, regularities.
- The improvement in the life of society.
- Finding ways to save various resources.
Structure
All sections of the paper should be listed here, including the table of contents and bibliography.
Note
After completing the study it is necessary to return to the introduction, tweak and supplement it, taking into account the findings and results. It is important to pay special attention to the correctness of registration. It is the introduction carefully studied by members of the commission. It represents the entire certification work, it determines the quality of the project, the capabilities of the student, to judge the readiness to defend the project.