IMRaD is a standard scientific format for presenting written research that allows researchers to present original research in a way that is easy to follow, read, and critique. IMRaD stands for Introduction, Results, and Discussion This format for representing research is designed to answer various questions at each stage of your scientific paper. Let's take a look at each section.
1. Introduction. In this section, you identify the problem and the context around it.
2. Methods. This explains the process by which you collect data to investigate the problem.
3. Results. This presents your data. It should be presented and analyzed clearly without bias.
4. Discussion. The discussion connects your results to the wider context.
What is the importance of IMRaD?
The IMRaD process makes it easy for scientists to explain and present the results of their research. Besides this, it also makes it easier for other scientists to read and critique your research. More importantly, sections such as the methods give information on how to replicate your experiments or reproduce your results by other scientists.
In the following sections, I will provide tips on how each section of a scientific paper should be written.
What is the Introduction?
The introduction is where you contextualize your study. You should let readers know or understand the broader context within which your study exists. This means what is that is the relevance and importance to the wider society.
To ensure that your introduction does its job of impressing your readers and walking them from the problem being tackled by your research to the solution that you propose, you should adopt the funnel approach. What exactly is the funnel approach to writing your introduction?
The funnel approach describes a specific strategy that begins with a broad perspective that progressively narrows down to the specific details of your research. This would entail breaking your introduction into the following parts:
The Problem Scope
Introduce Your Research Statements
Make your objectives clear
State Your Hypotheses
The problem scope is where you explain the wider significance of the problem to society. For example, a scientist researching levels of heavy metal poisoning in cacao trees (used to produce chocolate) on a plantation growing near factories can let us know how this can affect human health.
The research statements and objectives of the study are where you narrow down the focus. For example, what are the specific cacao plantations are you looking at to collect samples for your study? What criteria are you using to determine safe versus dangerous levels of heavy metals in cacao tissue samples?
The hypothesis is where you narrow down your whole experiment into a single question or statement. For example, H1: Cacao plantations near factories will likely have unsafe levels of heavy metal poisoning.
What is the Methods?
The method section is where you explain the process of collecting data and carrying out your experiment. It is an important step in the research process as it allows other scientists to see how they can replicate your work.
In science, this principle is known as reproducibility. It is the cornerstone to establish the validity and rigor of your research process. This section goes by several names depending on the field of study or the journal.
It can be called Method, Methodology, or Materials and Methods. In the Methods, you should describe Materials used in your experiment. This refers to the scientific instruments and chemicals or substances used in a lab experiment.
The methods section should be concise. It should not be overloaded with details of procedures, especially if these procedures are standard for your field of study. Think about including extra details in the appendix or supplementary section of your manuscript.
What are the Results?
The results section is that part of the paper where you present your data. The integrity of your paper relies on your results. The main priorities should be clarity and completeness. Presenting complete data makes your research more credible. Even when the results are not what you would expect, they should still be reported.
If your results are not too complicated or large, fully describe them in the text. Information that is too complicated must be placed in tables. In some instances, datasets are so large that it would not be practical to include all tables in the body of the text. In such cases, include them as supplementary tables. Results are usually written in the past tense as they describe past events.
The introduction and methods tell the why and how of your research; the discussion focuses on the meaning of your research; however, the results answer the questions that launched the rationale of your paper.
As a result, you should strive for clarity. The thing about scientific writing is that it's not a literary contest. This is especially true for the academic writing associated with scientific articles. You don’t have to worry about writing eloquently. Just aim for clarity. How?
● Use tables properly
● Be concise
● Leave out extraneous descriptions
● Avoid repeating information already located in tables
In writing the results, you should strive to strike a balance between avoiding redundancy and providing complete information. These tips will help you do so.
Using statistics and tables
Statistics and tables are a big part of the results section. Tables help to arrange information clearly and efficiently. Properly formatted tables mean that you have to spend less time writing. Here are a few tips to follow when using tables:
Table titles should be concise and descriptive. They are usually phrases instead of complete sentences.
Tables should not be spread over more than one page. If so, it should separated into two
A table should be complete. That is, abbreviations should be defined in notes at the bottom of the table if necessary.
Tables can be used to present categories, as well as descriptive and multivariable statistics. Quite often, they can be at the heart of the study and can tell readers about the importance and validity of your results.
What is the Discussion?
The discussion section is where you explain the wider meaning and relevance of your outcomes. This importance and relevance could have a number of implications, including for:
The theory/theories underlying your field of study
The economy/industry
The wider society
For example, we could look at a recent example in the real world: the discovery of a cheaper scientific method to produce synthetic or lab-grown diamonds. This could have massive implications for the industry and wider society. It means that the price of diamonds could drastically go down.
People in society might even have to reconsider the value that is placed on diamonds since mass manufacturing of such a product means that it's no longer as rare and valuable (or expensive) as perceived before this scientific and industrial breakthrough.
The discussion involves four steps. 1. Summarizing your results objectively; 2. Pointing out limitations; 3. Explaining the implications of your results; and 4. Making recommendations.
1. Clearly state and summarize the results. Objectively report on your outcomes. If your hypotheses were not supported, try to explain why.
2. Point out the limitations. Don't be afraid to acknowledge your study's limitations. For example, explain how generalizable your results are. If your study population was not large and representative enough, your study may not be applicable to the wider population.
3. Explain the implications. This means explaining the importance of your study and what it implies for your field of study and wider society. Please take into account the limitations when doing so. Think about consider your outcomes in the following terms:
Theoretical implications
Clinical implications
Practical significance
For example, are there any problems that have been solved by your outcomes? Are there any problems that remain unresolved? Lastly, have any new problems arisen from these outcomes? Make sure that you provide a clear line of logic and reason when discussing implications.
4. Make recommendations. The last part of your discussion includes making recommendations. If there are policy or economic implications for your study, you should explain how policymakers could react in terms of the most effective policies to implement.
Here, you should be as objective as possible. Also, you should base your recommendations on the actual results and provide clear reasoning and logic for them.
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Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, November 21). What Is IMRaD? https://www.eminentediting.com/post/what-is-imrad |
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