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Types and Differences of Academic Research Papers
Writing a research paper is something every student has to do. Even though it seems complicated and it comes with a long list of requirements, writing a research paper is not as difficult as it seems. Indeed, there are some details you need to pay attention to. But many of the students who had to write a research paper admit that they mainly struggled with two challenges: finding the right idea and actually writing it.
And what might make matters worse is that every subject comes with an additional list of guidelines. For example, a history research paper has some specific rules students need to follow. On top of this, there are many different types of academic research papers. So, let’s delve into their particularities and shed more light on these differences.
But firstly, let’s see what a research paper is.
What Is a Research Paper?
A research paper is something every student needs to do. Most of them hate this task, mainly because it cannot be completed on a weekend. Instead, you need to invest a lot of time and effort into research, conducting the experiment, collecting data, analyzing it, and presenting everything smoothly and logically. There are a lot of steps along the process you need to complete and this turns out to be a little bit scary. Even though you can find a custom research paper online, this does not mean that your job is done.
Shortly said, a research paper is an important written work you need to undergo. You need to choose a topic and find valid and scientific sources for it. You need to research, formulate some hypotheses, and then find ways to test them. You can do this through an experiment or by asking people to fill in your form. This is the step of data collecting. What follows next is analyzing the data and then presenting the results and your findings.
These details might change from type to type. So, let’s see which are the main types of research papers.
Argumentative
Well, the name suggests it all. An argumentative research paper is about presenting arguments in favor or to the detriment of a certain idea. But because it is a research paper, you also need to back up your arguments with solid facts and data. Some of this data you can obtain from your research. Or, you can conduct your own experiment. This type of academic research paper also depends on the topic you need to argue about.
Cause and Effect
This type of academic research paper might be the most interesting of all. And also, one of the most challenging. But in the end, it comes with a lot of rewards. In a cause and effect research paper, you need to identify the causes of a specific phenomenon and explore the effects. It can be something that has already happened (such as the global COVID pandemic) or something that might happen in the future (more frequent droughts and hurricanes due to climate change). You can conduct a case study and highlight the causes and effects you have identified. Or you can select a topic and conduct an experiment or survey by yourself. Either way, at the end, when the reader will explore your research paper, they need to clearly understand the information you share there.
Analytical
An analytical research paper is about analyzing different topics. It can be about analyzing the solutions we have to adapt to different changes (for example, climate changes). It can be an event of phenomena that have taken place recently (for example, the volcanic eruption in the Pacific). But the main particularity and detail you need to keep in mind is that you need to carefully analyze all the evidence and information you come across. You need to present the information from different points of view and explore the possibilities.
Compare and Contrast
For a compare and contrast academic research paper, you need two different subjects or topics. You need two perspectives or points of view to analyze and then present your findings. This might be the most common research paper type students need to write. But it helps you improve your critical thinking, research, and organization skills.
Ending Note
When you find out that you need to write an academic research paper, you might feel stressed, overwhelmed, or even scared. Indeed, a research paper is more complex than an essay. But at the same time, it is not as challenging as it may seem. Each research paper type has some particularities you need to keep in mind when working on it. But apart from these, the steps are kind of the same. And you can easily navigate through different types during your college years.
Bio lines: Samuel Walsh is a content writer. He loves writing articles on scientific topics. Making science understandable to everyone is his goal.
