How to Write a Technology Research Paper: Detailed Steps & Guidelines
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Need advice on how to write a technology research paper fast? Unfortunately, there is no magic formula for creating a successful research paper. Actually, it’s the question of being able to organize your time and research materials effectively. In this article, you will find essential steps that can serve you as a general guide for writing your next research paper on technology.
You’ll find advice on how to select a winning topic, organize the research process, make a working outline, and write typical research paper sections. Besides, we’ll provide you with 20 impressive technology research paper topics to help you get started.
What Is a Technology Research Paper?
First, let’s define what type of academic assignment a technology term paper is and find out how it should be structured.
A technology research paper is an extended writing assignment. To successfully complete research papers, students need to identify a broad area of research related to the subject, do some general background reading to focus the research topic, formulate a clear research question, study lots of primary and secondary sources to answer that research question, and write a paper, presenting a clear and logical argument with proper citations.
Typically, the technology research paper writing has the following structure:
- An abstract is a brief summary of the research paper not more than 250 words in length.
- An introduction provides readers with the background information and explanations of key terms.
- The body is typically broken down to different sections such as literature review, methods, findings, discussion, and conclusion.
- Works Cited/References page contains the list of all the resources that an author used for obtaining the necessary information.
But you may be given different guidelines for organizing your research paper. So you should check with your instructor the basic layout of the technology research paper you were assigned to write. Besides, you can check styles guides such as APA, MLA etc. to get more information about organizing your research paper.
Choose an Interesting Technology Research Paper Topic
Technology is a vast subject area and it offers a wide range of good topics to choose from for research work. Technology is constantly evolving and lots of new subjects are added with every passing day. You should choose a topic that you are interested in and feel comfortable writing about. Then you are likely to enjoy the writing process and will be able to demonstrate your passion for the subject of your paper and impress your readers.
Make sure that your topic is researchable and you can find enough secondary and primary sources. On the other hand, if the topic of your research paper is too broad, you should narrow it to one particular aspect so that could be able to examine it thoroughly within the limits of your research paper. For example, if you are interested in big data, you can write about developing effective big data strategies for business.
Not sure which technology research paper topic to choose? Have a look at this short list of awesome term paper topic ideas and feel free to use them for completing your own projects.
- Problems of Regulation of Infertility Technologies;
- What Is The Future of Genetically Modified Food Technologies?
- Main Differences Between Brains And Computers;
- Inequality in Access to Technological Developments;
- Genetic Testing on People;
- Long-term Impact of Technologies on the Global Economy;
- How Can Technology Help Determine the Possible Future Health Risks?
- What Is the Role of Genetically Modified Food Technologies in Solving Hunger Issues?
- How Can People Use New Technologies to Change The World?
- Positive and Negative Effects of Living in a Technological World;
- Digital Tools and Productivity at Work;
- Censorships and Control of the Internet;
- What Is Better: Organic Food or Genetically Modified Food?
- Advancements in Reproduction Technologies;
- How Can New Technologies Help In Treating Morbid Obesity?
- How Can Genetic Engineering Help in Treating Genetic Diseases?
- Will Virtual Reality Technologies Change Humans?
- Impact of Technologies on the Interaction of People in the Workplace;
- New Technologies and Teaching Traditional Researching Skills;
- Why Is Machine Learning the Future?
Research the Topic
If the chosen topic is not familiar to you, you should do some background reading to get a better idea of it. You can read subject encyclopedias and handbooks because they give concise scholarly overviews of the most important aspects of different topics.
Your next step is to find and read relevant sources that meet your assignment’s requirements. You can use a variety of printed and electronic sources:
- scholarly books that provide in-depth analysis of specific subjects in historical context;
- articles from scientific journals that offer the latest information;
- newspapers that provide the basic information on the topic and can serve primary sources.
You will need to use library resources at your university and tools for locating scholarly articles and books. Read the sources that you have found and jot down the most interesting ideas that you can use for citing, summarizing or paraphrasing in your paper. Don’t forget to note the necessary information about each source that you will need for creating the References page (title, author, year of publication etc.). You can take notes using separate cards for each source or on a spreadsheet.
Make an Outline
Plan your research paper by creating a detailed sentence outline. First, create a strong thesis statement that will clearly communicate the subject of your technology research paper and your approach to investigating it. It will guide your writing and help you stay focused on the subject of your research paper. For example, if you are writing about the advantages of virtual reality for business, your thesis can be like this one:
‘Many businesses are now taking advantage of integrating virtual reality devices into their day-to-day work to reduce spending, enhance system security, and ensure faster disaster recovery.’
During the next step, you have to group and regroup the notes that you have made during your research, taking into account different aspects of your topic. You should do your best to find a logical sequence in them. This sequence can serve as a foundation for your future outline.
Use brainstorming techniques to make a diagram or sketch of your argument (clustering, making mind maps). Write your thesis in the center of a page or at the top of it and cluster the key points you are going to make around it. Write the evidence you are planning to use under these points and use arrows to show connections between the ideas. When you are satisfied with the sketch, you can make an outline to determine the best structure to support your argument.
Write the First Draft
Write a rough draft of your technology research paper using your organized notes and the outline as guides. Write down the flow of your ideas and don’t worry about the proper punctuation or spelling at this stage of the writing process. With a detailed outline, you can start writing your paper from any section and don’t worry that you’ll miss some important points. Be ready to make several version of a rough draft and make adjustments in them until you are completely satisfied with the logical flow, clarity, and coherence of your text.
When writing paragraphs, you should ensure that all of them are strong, clearly develop the argument of your thesis statement, and make sense within your paper as a whole. Each paragraph should develop one main idea and begin with a topic sentence relevant to your thesis statement. You are to develop the main idea of your paragraphs in the supporting sentences and give enough evidence to convince your readers that your ideas are right. Use transitions to show connections between your ideas in separate sentences and different paragraphs.
Keep in mind that the information flow in research papers typically resembles the hourglass because it starts with general and goes to specific and then goes back to general again. You introduce the problem and give general information in such chapters as the introduction and the literature review. In methods and results, you have to present specific information about your project. In the discussion and conclusion, you need to discuss your research findings in a larger context.
Now let’s discuss what information you should include into each of your technology research paper chapters in detail.
Abstract
Abstracts are written for readers to help them quickly overview the overall content of a paper. You may find it too challenging to write this section of your research paper because of its strict word limit. It is typically written last when the entire paper has been completed. Your abstract has to include the presentation of your topic and the specific research question, give information about methods that you have used, and generally inform your readers about the results and findings.
Introduction
The primary goal of any introduction is to catch the attention of the audience and get the readers ‘turned o’ about the subject. It should follow an ‘inverted pyramid’ structure. You have to start broadly by providing the background information about your topic and then narrow down to a specific research question or thesis statement. You should also define the key term that you are going to use in your argument. Besides, explain the purpose of your study and its significance.
Literature Review
If your technology research paper relies on secondary research, you have to provide a good review of the existing literature and the history to help readers better understand the discussion to come. You need to synthesize the relevant information form a variety of significant sources that discuss some aspects of the problem and are somehow connected with the major point of your research project. You have to examine the major theories and their contributors.
Methods
If your research paper relies on primary research, you have to provide a detailed description of the research design and methods that you used to complete the study. You should provide your readers with enough information so that they could replicate the study.
Results/Findings
This chapter is included in research papers that are based on primary research. You should provide details about the results of your studies in a clear and unbiased way. You don’t have to discuss the significance of your findings in this section. This section can also include some tables or graphs if needed.
Discussion and Conclusions
This section is usually the longest in a research paper. You have to present a well-supported argument, a critique of existing theories or discussion of your results. If your project is based on primary research, you need to answer the hypothesis, interpret the results, and explain why they are reasonable and precise. You can also explain how your findings are related to the previous research that was discussed in the literature review.
In the conclusion, you need to reinforce the major claim and explain why it is significant. You can also give some recommendations for further research based on your findings.
References
No academic paper can be complete without the list of references. You should make a list of all academic sources that you used for writing your technology research paper. The format of this page should match the style that you used in the text of your paper according to the guidelines provided by your instructor.
When you have written your first draft, you have to put it aside and take a break for a while. Then you need to revise your draft to improve the content and the logic. You may need to delete some sentences or paragraphs, rearrange your paragraphs, and add some new information to make your explanation clear to your readers. You may also need to review some of your documentation.
Editing and Proofreading Tips from Our Writing Experts
- While editing, you should first look at your technology research paper at the paragraph level and check transitions between them. Then you should concentrate on separate sentences;
- A good idea is to read your research paper out loud. In this way, you may notice when a sentence sounds somehow “off” to you and needs to be changed;
- While proofreading, you should focus on the style of your research paper and check grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Don’t rely on grammar and spelling checkers. Instead, you should use a grammar book, a thesaurus for synonyms, and a good dictionary for correct spelling.
