Q: How to write a research paper? How much does it cost?

Once you have finished conducting your research, it is time to write a research paper and submit it to a journal. In fact, you can also start writing your paper as you conduct your research. A typical research paper follows the following format: 

Introduction>> Methods>> Results>>Discussion

This is popularly known as the IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion). You must follow this structure when you write you research paper. In addition, you need to know what you should include in each of these sections. Additionally, you will also need to know the ethical guidelines that you should follow when writing a research paper.

Here is a brilliant resource that will guide you on how to write a research paper. With over over 50 articles and 7 video tutorials it is a curated list that covers all aspects of writing a research paper, including ethical considerations, style and formatting guidelines, structure of the paper, and more.

Regarding the cost involved, there is no cost if you write the paper yourself. However, you might need to pay publication fees or article processing charges(APC) to get your paper published in a journal.

Some authors, especially in the field of medicine, are busy professionals and do not have the time to write a research paper themselves. Such authors sometimes engage the services of a medical writer or technical writer to write the paper for them. Of course, the author does the research himself/herself and provides the writer with all the formation and data. The job of the writer is only to write the research in the form of a manuscript with inputs from the author. In such cases, the writer is usually paid, and the cost depends on the number of pages or number of words written.