Introduction

There are principles and guidelines to successfully write research. Higher studies include students providing 70% of the work and 30% by lectures. Lectures and methodological guidelines are provided to students, nevertheless little is provided on research rules. Some authors refer to the act of teaching students principles of writing research as the “rules of the game”. “The rules of the game also include research guidelines, viewpoint, critical thinking, advice, how to write and publish meaningful research, etc. Many are so basic, so taken-for-granted, tacit knowledge, that at times supervisors do not tell their students about them. The paper aims to discuss principles for successfully writing research.

Quick Guide on conducting research and being a researcher

Motivation/reason behind the research

More often it is required for students to know the motivation pushing them to engage in the research. It is important to situate why you engage in this project. You may want to have a master’s degree or a doctorate in order to achieve career goals, professional goals or personal achievements. For example, if the purpose is to become a lecturer, it is obvious that a master’s, PhD, scientific writing and publishing are needed to achieve this goal.

Research Planification 

Planification is a key element when conducting research. Choose the school, directives concerning enrolment, conditions for enrolment, and source of funding for the research, is it grant, scholarship, or personal funding?

Choose a research topic, and supervisor, even though in some schools’ supervisors are attributed to students depending on the topic and field of research. Discuss with supervisors on schedule, working sessions.

Bear in mind writing meaningful research

Write in a convincing and compelling manner. Conduct excellent research. Be creative, pick interesting topics that sound interesting. Provide a good literature review. Respect the format of writing by explaining the general context, why your research is important, what is already known about the topic, the “gap” or what is not yet known about the topic, why it is important to learn the new information that your research adds, and the specific research aim that your paper addresses. Your research aim should address the gap you identified, background information to enable readers to understand your study, pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them; methodological framework: study design and timing, data collection process, and justification of method used. 

Research should be fluent. Be clear and precise and ensure that the theory feeds the research topic by justifying theoretical practices. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You are not the first researcher in the world, to do research and provide findings, provide recommendations and give your point of view.

Enjoy your research and play your strengths

It is hard to be good at something you do not enjoy. The more you do research, the more you will enjoy it in a pain-pleasure kind of way. Use your expertise like language, and computational skills for research purposes. Get out of your comfort zone and develop your expertise.

Take ownership /responsibility for your research.

You are the first person responsible for conducting valuable research. You represent the work done. You are responsible for your research. Do not blame your supervisor, classmates, friends, or colleagues. The supervisor’s role is to guide the student in the research. In cases where the student meets difficulties with the supervisor, (absence, disrespect, harassment), it is advised to the student or researcher to look for other alternatives: request to change supervisor, change school, look for grants, scholarships, etc. seek for advice from peers, family, friends.

Bibliography

Sources are a key element in writing research, especially in social sciences. School libraries may not be sufficient to conduct certain research. In this case, look for other libraries in town that feed your research perspectives; look for online sources (Google Scholar, JSTOR, open editions, cairn, etc.). Some journals and reviews are open access and others require monthly newspaper subscriptions (set funds aside for this activity). Ask for advice from your supervisor, classmates and colleagues on how to easily get books and articles. By doing so they may help with links and websites.

Find a critical friend and do not compare yourself to other people

Before submitting your work, have a critical friend give you feedback and vice versa. If English is not your first language, a native-English-speaking critical friend is advantageous. You can be in the same university but your research purposes are different. You have different objectives, schedules, strategies and practices. Comparison is frequent with doctoral students. Some write their thesis within three years, others within four years, others may combine research with part-time work, and family, and others publish books and scientific articles while writing their thesis. Strategies that work for one person may not work for a different person or may need to be tweaked. The important thing is to move forward accordingly. You have your own objectives, follow your strategy, move one step at a time, and be productive. Set concrete and achievable goals.

Practice writing

Practice makes perfect. It is through practicing that you perfect your writing. The ability to write is not an innate talent, but rather a skill you develop and practice, understanding that writing is a skill to be learned, rather than a talent possessed only by some, can increase motivation to write. You can and should take ownership of obtaining this training. Take a class on science writing offered by your university, check out books on writing science from the library, and solicit feedback from peers and mentors. Because receiving and responding to feedback on your writing can be one of the hardest parts, you may feel reluctant to ask for it. However, feedback is critical to improving your writing and will be a necessary and persistent presence throughout your career. Approaching the feedback with the right mindset, and practicing receiving feedback when the stakes are low, can help alleviate some of the stings and make asking easier the next time. Iteratively receiving good, constructive feedback on your writing is one of the best and most efficient ways to improve and thus make writing easier

Conclusion

Writing research is not an innate talent, but a skill to develop. Developing this skill requires practice through writing, hard work, discipline and study of your best practices. The above-mentioned strategies help build accountability in writing. Importantly, every scientist/writer is different, and what works best for you might be the worst strategy for your colleague, friend, or trainee. However, by continually refining your writing practice, you can hone your writing muscles to the point where writing becomes an enjoyable part of being a scientist.