Overview of an Introduction
Introduction is an essential part of a research paper.
It is the first section that a reader goes through and therefore should be captivating in its crafting in its efforts to express the subject under study.
Although writing an introduction is usually one of the last steps for writing a research paper, it demands adequate attention and effort.
This is because it guides the reader from the general subject area under investigation to the specific area of the research.
It defines the context of the research being undertaken by concisely doing the following:
1. Presenting understanding and background of the topic being studied
2. Stating the research problem, question, or hypothesis as a highlight of research purpose
3. Explaining the rationale of the study
4. Providing the approach taken by stipulating the methodology and potential outcomes
5. Explaining the structure of the research paper
All these purposes are characteristic in a good research paper introduction example.
Just like in the case of conclusion examples for a research paper, the introduction example may be different in its approach based on the field and discipline.
Importance of a Good Introduction
The importance of introduction in research cannot be overemphasized.
As the part that sets the tone of the research paper, you have to get it right.
In this, it has to answer several questions for the reader, including:
1. What is being studied?
2. What made the topic necessary to investigate?
3. What was known about the topic before this research?
4. How does this research advance knowledge on the topic?
These questions help the reader get a mental map of the research paper.
As such, the introduction gives you the opportunity to make a good first impression about the research paper.
As reflected in good research paper introduction examples, the introduction gives impression on:
1. Your writing style
2. Logic of the paper’s argument
3. Quality of the research
4. Validity of research results and conclusions
Therefore, to help readers get a positive impression of your research approach, analytical skills, and writing style, it is necessary to ensure that the introduction is effectively crafted.
Parts an Introduction
A good introduction for a research paper has five key parts that include:
1. Identifying the problem that prompted the study
This part of the introduction plays two main roles. First, it limits the scope of the research in terms of area and disciplinary approach to focus on the issue under study. Second, it stipulates the particular problem being examined and its relevance.
2. Reviewing literature related to the problem
As the second part of a good research paper introduction, this entails summing up the most significant findings on the problem being studied.
It covers the different controversies pertaining the issue.
Reviewing this literature serves key purposes such as: a) positioning the research paper within a specific scientific practice, b) strengthening the credibility of the researcher by helping showcase their knowledge about the issue, and c) continuing the research as a discussion among members of a field or discipline.
3. Establishing deficiencies in literature concerning the problem
As illustrated in research paper introduction examples, this part should show a gap in literature that requires filling up.
You have to demonstration that the current knowledge in a discipline or field is incomplete and there is therefore the need to complete it.
It is necessary to illustrate how your research is going to contribute towards finding new knowledge to curbing the deficiencies established.
You have to show that the deficiency on the area of topic you intend to study is grave and that it requires urgent action.
4. Communicating to a specific audience and identifying the significance the problem has on the audience
This part requires you to show that the research targets a specific group of people.
You are required to illustrate why the research study is important and necessary for a group of experts in a particular field or area.
Accordingly, you have to clearly explain the benefits the research study will yield to the community being addressed.
This includes highlighting how it will enhance the understanding of the discipline and the key implications the study will bring forth.
5. Establishing the purpose the proposed study seeks to fulfill
As the last part, good research paper introduction examples show that it should seek to explain what the research study intends to accomplish.
The part essentially aims to sum up the purpose of the research study.
It entails a purpose statement and it serves to convey the central point of the research study.
By reviewing the purpose statement, readers should be able to determine whether you succeeded in your endeavor or not.
Using the Narrative Style in Introduction
Using the narrative style in introductions for research paper helps improve reader engagement.
It is recommendable that you use a narrative hook whenever possible.
As illustrated in different research paper introduction examples, such a hook serves two functions that include:
1. Arousing interest in the study
2. Identifying a distinct research issue or problem
The narrative style is defined by five factors that include:
1. Setting: The style stipulates the time and location where the event or phenomenon occurred.
2. Narrative perspective: The style uses personal pronouns like “I, we, and our” to make the narrator explicit.
3. Sensory language: Applying the style requires the narrator to use words and phrases that express mental events like feelings, sensations, emotions, and beliefs.
4. Conjunctions: The style requires the narrator to connect the events in a logical manner by using a “causal” or “temporal” order of events.
This entails ensuring connectivity by using words and phrases that refer back to occurrences previously described in the text in order to create textual cohesion.
5. Appeal: In using the style, the narrator has to apply “evaluative or moral orientation” in addressing the reader.
Research Paper Introduction Example
As earlier alluded to, research paper introductions can assume to main approaches, that is, the five parts/ stages model and the narrative model.
As illustrated in the below examples, you should use your judgment to determine which one is more appropriate for your research paper.
Samples 1: Five parts/ stages model
Health burden arising from environmental risks in developing countries is increasing, with UAE recording a significant rise in measurement indicators. In 2008, 8,856 persons in the country died from environmentally-related diseases; a number that has risen to 10,000 deaths in the recent past. These statistics indicate a major shift in health risk factors from infectious diseases to non-infectious health conditions. Key environmental risks such as contaminated drinking water, polluted ambient air, contaminated seafood, polluted indoor air, and occupational exposures have been associated with UAE’s high disease burden levels. The cost-benefits analysis conducted on the disease burden resulting from these environmental risks show that arising sickness and loss of life has had a major negative impact on the country’s economy as reflected in its effects on GDP, income tax, loss in human capital, and increase in government welfare. Consequences of such environmental risks on UAE’s population and their implications on the economy show that there are important environmental consideration lessons for policy makers in developing countries since they are soon bound to face similar situations, if they are not facing them already.
Sample 2: Narrative model
Over an impromptu meeting in a patient waiting area at Scripps Memorial Hospital, David O’Connor, a former military attaché in the UK, told us a story that made us reflect on the access to health care for US veterans. He had just come from the UK to visit an English friend, a former Red Cross employee he had met during the Afghan war who had been diagnosed with cancer two years ago. Back in the US, his army veteran father had also been diagnosed with cancer about one year ago. While treatment for his UK friend had been going well, with all health care and rehabilitation services being provided and almost all costs covered by the government, his father’s treatment had been terminated. After misdiagnosing his father’s cancer for mental illness, VA had agreed to pay for his medical care from other doctors in San Diego. These appoints were however later cancelled by San Diego VA administrators. In a country believed to value and honor its veterans, he had made the mistake of filling federal complaints about the challenges he was facing accessing health care.
