Finalizing a research article topic might feel overwhelming, especially the first time you try it. But at its core, research is simply structured curiosity. It’s about asking questions, exploring what you know, and framing it all into a meaningful narrative. Writing your research paper is essentially writing a story with a beginning, middle, and end—except the story is based on facts and scientific evidence. So how do you find the right question to ask? How do you settle on a topic that matters both to you and the scientific community? Here’s a step-by-step process that works.
Start by understanding the focus of your research group. Read as much as possible about the work they’ve already done. Many universities and institutions include research priorities in their annual strategic plans. These documents offer helpful insights into what your department is interested in exploring, which increases your chances of alignment and acceptance.
A research article reports the results of original research, assesses its contribution to the body of knowledge in a given area, and is published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. Research articles contain several standard parts and it is necessary to understand the distinctive elements in order to accurately evaluate the research being presented. The various parts may be presented in a slightly different arrangement or be titled differently but the essential parts of the paper will be the same.
Parts of a Research Article
a) Title and Author information: The title provides the main idea of the article and authors are listed, along with their affiliation.
b) Abstract: A paragraph that summarizes the article.
c) Introduction (may not always be labelled): Provides background, states the purpose of the research, may discuss previous research leading up to the study and may state a hypothesis or question.
d) Method or Methodology: Describes how the research was conducted, with details about the study sample, assessment measures, and procedure.
e) Results or Findings: A summary of the findings presented in text or table format, may have individual sections with specific information.
f) Discussion, Comments or Conclusion: Explains how the results answered the research question and may suggest future areas for research.
g) References: A listing of works cited by the author(s).
C. How to finalize your Research topic?
A research topic is the research question you are going to answer in your paper. The process of finding a good research topic may seem difficult the first time.
Finalizing your research’ is basically writing about what you know. Writing up your research is basically just writing. You know the facts: ask a question, give it a thrust (a beginning, middle and end), make it interesting, write it up and turn it in.
Here are some of the things you could do.
1. Understand the focus of the research group:
Read as much as about the work published to understand the focus of your research group. Each university has its areas of interest listed in their annual strategic plan.
2. Identify knowledge gaps
While reading the previous work, you will probably notice some knowledge gaps – areas of potential research. It is important to read your local research in the context of broader scientific knowledge. A gap in your research group might have been answered by another group.
3. Talk to people within and without your area of interest
Speak to people who specialize in English language, media, global studies, virology, and so forth. This will offer a clearer window to what you could focus your study on.
4. Write a review manuscript
Write informal reviews every six months. Although it appear as unnecessary, this will help you stay abreast with advancement and knowledge gaps in your research area.
5. Prepare a detailed project proposal
Use your review manuscript for developing your research proposal. The proposal is always detailed and oftentimes I include time frames and protocols.
6. Be flexible
Although you want your research article detail-oriented and always want to stick to plan, science sometimes happen in unplanned avenues. Be ready to challenge your flexibility.
Once you’re familiar with the ongoing research, begin identifying knowledge gaps. As you go through published work, you’ll often notice areas that seem under-explored or unanswered. However, don’t stop there. A gap in your local research might already be addressed elsewhere. So always view local findings within the context of the broader scientific world.
Talking to people outside your field can also be enlightening. Speak with students and researchers from different disciplines—language studies, global health, virology, or even sociology. Often, these cross-disciplinary conversations offer new angles and inspiration for your research direction. You never know when a side conversation might lead you to a compelling research question.
It also helps to write informal review manuscripts regularly—every six months or so. Although they may seem unnecessary, they’re extremely useful. These reviews keep you up-to-date with advancements in your field and allow you to spot trends or emerging areas of inquiry. Over time, you’ll start developing a sharper sense of where your field is headed.
Types of Research Article
a) Original Research: Traditional research articles describing any substantive contribution to knowledge and understanding in plant computational biology.
An article is considered original research if…
- it is the report of a study written by the researchers who actually did the study.
- the researchers describe their hypothesis or research question and the purpose of the study.
- the researchers detail their research methods.
- the results of the research are reported.
- the researchers interpret their results and discuss possible implications.
b) Technical Advances: Papers presenting exciting new research tools, methods, and techniques.
Technical advance articles should present a new experimental or computational method, test or procedure. The method described may either be completely new, or may offer a better version of an existing method. The article must describe a demonstrable advance on what is currently available.
The method needs to have been well tested and ideally, but not necessarily, used in a way that proves its value.
c) Reviews: Summarized content and suggesting future research directions. A review article surveys and summarizes previously published studies, instead of reporting new facts or analysis. Review articles are sometimes also called survey articles or, in news publishing, overview articles.
Review articles teach about:
- recent major advances and discoveries
- significant gaps in the research
- current debates
- ideas of where research might go next
- the main people working in a field
d) Opinion: Opinions are a review or re-analysis that challenges prevailing views on a topical issue. It is a written prose piece typically published by a newspaper or magazine which expresses the opinion of the periodical.
e) Editorials: Editorials are short invited opinion pieces on topical issues. An editorial, is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a
newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned.
Editorials are typically published on a dedicated page, called the editorial page, which often features letters to the editor from members of the public; the page opposite this page is called the op-ed page and frequently contains opinion pieces (hence the name think pieces) by writers not directly affiliated with the publication.
However, a newspaper may choose to publish an editorial on the front page.
f) Letters to the Editor: Letters are short articles that pertain directly to an article published in the journal.
g) Commentaries: Short discussion of topical issues such as a recently published article, policy, science and society or scientific issues.
Use those insights to create a detailed project proposal. Your proposal should not only define your topic and objectives but also include timelines, protocols, and potential outcomes. This clarity helps you stay focused and also communicates your seriousness to supervisors or funding agencies.
Lastly, be flexible. While it’s good to have a structured plan, science is rarely linear. New data might steer you in a different direction, and unexpected findings can reshape your hypothesis entirely. Staying open to these changes is what makes your research both authentic and impactful.
Bonus:
Original research, technical advance, review, and opinion articles should include a maximum 250-word abstract, and up to 8000 words in text, 50 references, and 10 figures. Concise presentation is preferred with additional information/detail included in supplementary material. Editorials, letters to the editor, and commentaries should be no longer than 1000 words, with a maximum of 10 references and 2 figures. These article types do not have abstracts.
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