Creating a research paper outline is an important pre-writing stage helping to plan the research process and structure the paper properly. Writing a research paper requires deep research, but the structure may be different for a short work or for an in-depth study. This sample outline for research paper presents the explanation of all main parts, which may be adapted to your research requirements.

1. Development of a Research Question

Developing a research question for an outline is the start of research. Consider the following steps:

• Choosing a narrow topic for research
• Determining the purpose of research: whether detecting the impact of different factors, comparing interventions, solving the problem, or finding relations between variables
• Including variables in the research question

In medicine, the research question is presented in the PICOT format:

• P – population
• I – intervention
• C – comparison
• O – outcome
• T – time

For example, in older adults (P), how does drug interaction education (I) in comparison to its absence (C) can prevent adverse outcomes in outpatient settings (O) in 3 months (T)?

Create a title and hypothesis based on the research question: what research results or research question answer you hypothesize to get.

2. Explanation of Research Paper Parts

Overall, the in-depth research paper has the following parts:

• Title page
• Acknowledgement
• Abstract or Executive summary for business research or business report
• Table of contents
• Introduction with sub-headings
• Conceptual or theoretical framework
• Literature review
• Research methodology
• Findings for qualitative research and Results for quantitative research
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendices

Title Page

Format the title page depending on the chosen style: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, etc.

Title page formatting in the APA style:

• First, Middle, and Last Name
• Course
• Professor’s or Instructor’s Name
• Institutional Affiliation
• Date

Acknowledgement

It is a short statement or several sentences whether you express gratitude to stakeholders in your research.

Abstract

It is not necessary to include this part in your outline, but add it to the final paper. It is written a the end or after you have completed all other parts.

Abstract is between 150 and 250 words, presenting an overview of your work or its parts.

Include several keywords (from 3 to 5) after abstract that reflect what your research is about.

Table of Contents

Use the Microsoft Word function to create a table of contents.

Introduction with Subheadings

Similarly to abstract, you can create an outline for introduction at the beginning, but write it after completing the main parts of the paper. Include the following subheadings:

• Background information for your research topic – provide the context for the study and the problem discussed
• Add a brief discussion of academic discourse and gaps
• Significance – explain how research findings and results can contribute to the broad field of study and cover these gaps
• Research question, objectives, and hypotheses – write the question or issue you will research an objectives to achieve in order to answer this question
• Scope and structure – what the research will cover and what each part will include shortly
• Discuss limitations of your study
• Include a thesis statement, which can reflect the argument, research purpose, and importance – write what you aim to achieve with the research

Conceptual and Theoretical Framework

It can be included as part of introduction or as a separate part. Start with explaining the key concepts of your study. Present theories and theories in the field of your study.

Literature Review

Discuss the findings, methodologies, and gaps of research studies grouped based on common themes or subtopics related to your research question:

• What knowledge do other scholars have about your research question or issue?
• What methods and theoretical frameworks did they use?
• What strengths do their studies have?
• What have they not explored yet? What are gaps in their research?

Do not discuss just one source in one paragraph, but compare findings of various current and relevant sources.

Research Methodology

Present all steps you took to get results and findings and to come to a conclusion:

• Discuss the research design: qualitative (aimed at analyzing patterns), quantitative (collecting and analyzing quantifiable data), or mixed (combining both)
• Describe the sample: demographic characteristics and the number of participants in research
• Add criteria based on which the sample was selected
• Include ethical concerns like consent or confidentiality issues
• Present a data collection procedure, for example, through surveys or interviews
• Discuss data analysis or methods to analyze data: thematic analysis for qualitative research and statistical tools for quantitative research

Findings or Results

This part involves presenting qualitative or quantitative data without their discussion. You can use visuals to present data from surveys or interviews and tables to present data from thematic analysis.

Discussion

This part includes the analysis and interpretation of data:

• How are data from your research similar or different from information in the literature review?
• Have your data covered the gap in the literature?
• What do your findings or data mean for the field of study?

Conclusion

Summarize whether your research results or findings support the hypothesis or not and how hey answer the research question. Discuss the importance of your findings for the field of study or the contribution of your research. Propose ideas for future research.

References

Include a list of scholarly sources (primary and secondary) in the alphabetical order.

Appendices

You can include interview and survey questions here and any other supplementary information that can be referred to in the main text of the paper.

3. Sample Outline for Research Paper

The following sample outline for research paper is based on the paper parts discussed above. However, you do not need to include all of them in the outline, but only the most important:

• Introduction
• Theoretical Framework
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Findings/Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion

Find the Sample Outline for Research Paper below.

Takeaways

• Writing the research paper with the proper outline can help present findings in a structured way.
• The research paper outline can help plan the structure.
• The sample outline for research paper above can help you include all necessary parts.
• Download the Word file with the outline and insert your information and data.