Before you start your research, you need to be clear about what you want to research.
Firstly, it is important to define the question and identify the doubts that need to be answered, which is the basis of the research. Then, one needs to look for papers related to the research topic, find out what others have already discussed, and look for gaps in the research, which can help us better understand the problem we want to research.
Once the question has been identified, it needs to be translated into what we need to research.
For example, we could ask “How does this compound affect plant growth?” Or “How can we improve student motivation?” These questions can help us determine the object, methodology and scope of the study.
Next, we need to design the entire research plan.
The plan needs to include the research timetable, participants, tools to be used, etc. Here, we also need to consider the funding, staff assistance, etc. required for the study.
After designing the plan, support needs to be sought.
Advice can be sought from mentors or colleagues who can provide us with useful suggestions to make the study more feasible. If they think the plan is not satisfactory enough, it needs to be revised in time.
After designing the plan, we need to carry out the research according to the plan.
Various problems may be encountered during the research, which need to be recorded and solved in time.
Finally, a research report needs to be written.
The report needs to collate all the data, organise the language and elaborate our research findings. At the same time, the effectiveness of the research programme and whether it is worth continuing need to be explored.
The standard format of SCI paper is as follows:
Title: the title should be concise and express the main purpose and content of the paper, and it should also contain the key words of the paper and also indicate the type of research.
Abstract: Abstract is a summary of the main content of the paper, including the objectives, methods, results and conclusions of the study, which is usually no more than 250 words and must be written in present tense.
Keywords: Keywords are a set of terms used to describe the topic of the paper and can help the article to be indexed and searched. Keywords should be no more than 10 words, separated by commas.
Introduction: the introduction is an introduction to the background and objectives of the paper’s research, including why the topic is being researched and what the significance of the topic is.
Materials and methods: the materials and methods section is to detail what methods were used in the study, such as experimental design, data collection, analysis and interpretation.
Results: the results section is to show the data and findings obtained from the study. The content is to be organised in a clear and logical way and the statistical significance of the findings is to be reported.
Discussion: the discussion section is to evaluate and interpret the results of the study and is to discuss the implications and limitations of the study. References to other relevant studies should also be included, as well as addressing any questions or controversies that may arise.
Conclusion: the conclusion section is a summary of the main points of the study, emphasising the importance of the findings and suggesting possible directions for future research.
References: the references section is a list of all references used in the paper, including journal articles, books and websites. References are to be organised in a specific style, such as Vancouver style or Harvard style, and each entry is to be listed in alphabetical order. References are to include text citations and full citations for each source.
