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EP 49: Use the IMRaD Structure to Write and Understand Scientific Essays
Some of you have probably seen the acronym IMRaD before. If you haven’t you need to know what it means and what disciplines use this structure for in essays and research papers.
IMRaD is an acronym that stands for introduction, methods, results, and discussion. It is the most commonly used format for scientific papers or papers that are based on experimental studies.
Join Cath Anne on Episode 49 as she walks you through the IMRaD structure.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Cath Anne: [00:00:00] Hi guys and welcome back to our channel. My name is Cath Anne and this is episode 49 of The Homework Help Show hosted by Homework Help Global. Here on the show we provide you with valuable content for your academic and student life. Let’s jump in.
Cath Anne: [00:00:28] Today we want to discuss something that is probably not a favorite topic for all students, which is writing a scientific research paper. More specifically we wanted to discuss the IMRAD structure. If you are planning to go into a masters or a Ph.D. program it can really help to understand the IMRAD structure because this will be something that you will likely be using quite consistently throughout your degree. When you are writing research papers it can also help you while you are in your undergraduate degree because it will allow you to understand scientifically written research papers.
Cath Anne: [00:01:11] It is important and effective to learn the research structure before you conduct any research. Let’s talk about the basic structure of the IMRAD. Some of you have probably seen the acronym IMRAD before – I,M,R,A,D – but if you haven’t you’ll need to know what it means and what disciplines use this structure.
Cath Anne: [00:01:35] IMRAD is an acronym that stands for introduction, methods, results, and or analysis, and discussion. There is some debate in the field around what the A stands for in the acronym. Some people say that the A stands for “and” simply joining the rest of the terms and some people believe that it stands for “analysis.” Today we will talk about analysis as well as the and.
Cath Anne: [00:02:06] In some disciplines such as medicine for example the Emeraude research structure is the only structure that is used in research papers. If we think about it the IMRAD structure has a lot in common with the three paragraph essay. In the three paragraph essay, to start with your introduction. You move onto the body and in the IMRAD this makes up the methods, results, and discussion section. And finally in the three paragraph essay you have your conclusion which is wrapped up by the discussion section in the IMRAD format.
Cath Anne: [00:02:44] Now let’s break it down and discuss each component of the route essay. First of course we have the introduction. The introduction states your topic and it’s a research problem that you are trying to address. First you state the topic you’re going to address and then you move on to a review of the literature. Essentially you are establishing what research exists out there on the topic that you are hoping to discuss in your research. Finally in your introduction you’ll want to establish a gap that you will intern fill with your research.
Cath Anne: [00:03:21] Secondly we have the methods section depending on what type of research you are going to do. There are all different types of methods that you will be using to collect data so the methods section can take a variety of different forms. This section should be clear detailed and to the point it will also specifically focus on only the research. Be sure in your methods section not to talk about any analysis or discussion you are simply discussing how you collected the data in your research. Be very detailed in this discussion. For example if you interview people talk about how many people you interviewed and include demographic information on the other hand if you conducted an experimental study talk about how you tested and how many times you tested you will want to include specifics and details to let your audience know what you have done in your research.
Cath Anne: [00:04:26] Thirdly we have the results section. The results section includes tables, graphs, quotations if you conduct qualitative interviews. In this section you are telling your audience what the results of your research is. In the section you are working towards an analysis but you are not doing an analysis as of yet that will come in the sections to follow.
Cath Anne: [00:04:56] Fourth is the analysis section. Now remember this is sometimes just a little a which is “and.” But we’ll talk about how it is the analysis section here. The analysis section discusses information about your research and includes a talk about what you or your audience could potentially learn from your research. Here you are presenting some ideas and are drawing the research together to discuss what the research implies you’re tying your research together and discussing what the research might suggest.
Cath Anne: [00:05:32] Finally we have the discussion section the discussion section focuses on knowledge that has been garnered by the research. Here you will also want to include any limitations on your research study and you’ll also want to include any future research that could be done on your specific topic if you’ve discovered something alarming in your research, you’ll want to discuss that in the discussion section. You will also make recommendations based on your research. You can use this structure when you are doing scientific research and it can also help you to easier understand articles that you might see in your undergraduate degree. If you want to see this structure in action I recommend going and looking at a few scientific papers. This will give you a sense of what the red structure looks like and you’ll be able to pick up on and understand more details of both scientific essays.
Cath Anne: [00:06:37] Okay so that’s it for me this week guys. I hope this video was of benefit. If you liked this video please give it a thumbs up and make sure to subscribe to our channel if you have any questions please jump into the comments. We always love to hear from you, And if you want to connect with us on social media all of our platforms are linked and listed in the description box below. Thanks for joining me.
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