{"id":44039,"date":"2025-12-03T14:21:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T08:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?post_type=video&p=44039"},"modified":"2025-12-03T14:39:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T09:09:41","slug":"research-paper-writing-qna","status":"publish","type":"video","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/research-paper-writing-qna","title":{"rendered":"Research Paper Writing Demystified: Q&A with Raffaella Gozzelino"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writing\u00a0a research paper is not a\u00a0simple task. But it can be simplified, provided you know\u00a0how to approach\u00a0it systematically. In this video, you will find\u00a0expert advice to help you confidently write the Results section and Discussion section of your research paper\u2014plus so much more!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Raffaella Gozzelino (Asst. Professor, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal) answers questions asked by researchers like you on one of our live webinar training sessions. Here are the excerpts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0In this age of AI, how do you strike a balance between staying authentic and not being left behind?\u00a0How can I safely use AI in research writing?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0AI is a powerful tool we can use to improve our writing, but it does not\u00a0substitute for\u00a0our creativity. Machines\u00a0have\u00a0not\u00a0yet\u00a0taken\u00a0over\u00a0our\u00a0brains!\u00a0So please do use it as a tool. Maintain your creativity in terms of structure, in terms of what you want to use as a take-home message, and what you want to describe.\u00a0Use\u00a0AI to improve your sentences.\u00a0But\u00a0know that\u00a0there are many journals that would like to know whether you used\u00a0AI or not. And\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not a matter of excluding your paper or rejecting your paper, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a matter of acknowledging.\u00a0You need to clarify how AI was used.\u00a0Always be sure to\u00a0first draft your manuscript\u00a0so\u00a0you can continue being authentic\u00a0and then use AI to simply improve it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0How would you divide the methods section based on paragraphs, study design selection criteria, statistics?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0There are many journals that already provide you with instructions.\u00a0The more you read\u00a0literature, the more you adopt the formats that have\u00a0been already\u00a0published.\u00a0For instance,\u00a0in the case of\u00a0a cell biology study, the first thing you put are cells;\u00a0primary cells, cell lines, reagents, how you isolated the protocol, how\u00a0you\u00a0maintained\u00a0the culture,\u00a0and\u00a0how you treated\u00a0them.\u00a0So,\u00a0these\u00a0are\u00a0details that\u00a0the paragraphs\u00a0should\u00a0cover.\u00a0Observe\u00a0the graphs\u00a0and\u00a0think:\u00a0\u201cHow\u00a0did I get this graph?\u201d \u201cWhat did I use?\u201d \u201cWhich is the protocol I used?\u201d \u201cWhich are the cells I used?\u201d \u201cHow did I isolate them?\u201d\u00a0You\u00a0then\u00a0start writing the methods section.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0How to avoid plagiarism in the methods section, especially when some methods are\u00a0reported\u00a0in many papers using all expressions possible?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0The\u00a0editors are mostly lenient when checking the\u00a0methods section. But remember that regardless of\u00a0only three to\u00a0four\u00a0words in\u00a0some expressions that always\u00a0remain\u00a0the same.\u00a0But the\u00a0sentence would need to be constructed in a different manner.\u00a0However, there is more tolerance by the editors because\u00a0it is a formal section.\u00a0Plagiarism is more\u00a0of a concern in\u00a0other sections, like the introduction, the results, or the discussion.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0writing\u00a0the discussion session of my qualitative research. I\u00a0provide about\u00a0three specific excerpts from the dataset for my teams. At the end of each\u00a0I\u00a0provide a\u00a0discussion\u00a0of\u00a0about\u00a0two paragraphs. Is this\u00a0acceptable?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0Yes, but\u00a0pay attention to the\u00a0specific rules that you are bound to. In the discussion you always need to start\u00a0narrow. So, provide the discussion about the datasets and then open it up a bit more.\u00a0You\u00a0finish\u00a0the section\u00a0with a general concept. But remember that it depends\u00a0on the journal that you would like to\u00a0submit\u00a0to, because some journals merge the results in the discussion.\u00a0So do\u00a0look at papers that are in the journal that you want to publish and try\u00a0understanding\u00a0how it can be applied\u00a0to your\u00a0paper.\u00a0This\u00a0will allow you to describe\u00a0the discussion section well.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0I\u2019m writing a review paper and have made a descriptive table to show different studies, but it\u2019s really confusing in the discussion section as the table is already descriptive.\u00a0What should I mention in the discussion section?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0The review paper is a different topic because it does not\u00a0contain\u00a0many\u00a0results. It\u00a0contains\u00a0tables, and it might\u00a0contain\u00a0some results. But in the discussion, what you really need to emphasize is why your review is important. Why\u00a0is your review\u00a0different from others\u00a0found\u00a0in the literature?\u00a0Frame\u00a0the response to\u00a0this\u00a0in the context of general knowledge.\u00a0So,\u00a0you can refer to the table, but you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0need to interpret the table. What you need\u00a0to do is to say why your table is different from someone else\u2019s table and which is the gap that\u00a0fits better.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Any suggestions\u00a0for\u00a0websites where we can change the format or resolution of our figures?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0There are\u00a0several\u00a0software tools\u00a0that can help you.\u00a0Adobe\u00a0Illustrator is one\u00a0such tool.\u00a0And then you can manipulate the resolution in Photoshops as well. But remember that you can change filter settings if\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0in the entire figure. Do not do it just for specific pieces because the first thing that the journal will do is to check if you\u00a0manipulated\u00a0the figures. So, be careful with figure filters like\u00a0brightness\u00a0or\u00a0contrast.\u00a0If you are in doubt, request the service of a specific expert. And I would like to remind you\u00a0that there\u00a0are tools\u00a0from\u00a0Editage that are friendly to use,\u00a0especially for students and\u00a0new\u00a0researchers, such as\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>graphical abstract\u00a0services<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Mind the Graph<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(MTG).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0The information on how\u00a0a patient\u00a0is recruited is the first sentence in the result section or is\u00a0it\u00a0more appropriate in the methods section?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0This can be\u00a0added\u00a0in\u00a0the methods section because how you recruit patients\u00a0is\u00a0a methodological procedure, and you also need to insert\u00a0ethical\u00a0compliance. Do not forget that. Otherwise, your paper\u00a0will\u00a0immediately\u00a0be coming\u00a0back to you\u00a0requesting\u00a0that information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0As a PhD student, how many publications\u00a0are expected\u00a0before\u00a0submitting\u00a0dissertation?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0This depends on the\u00a0requirements\u00a0of your university.\u00a0I\u00a0encourage you to explore this with your university because it varies from state to\u00a0state\u00a0and from university to university.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0We always\u00a0write\u00a0the paper with the following sections: results, discussion, and conclusion. In the conclusion\u00a0section,\u00a0we plan to include the theoretical implication, practical recommendation, and research\u00a0limitations. What should be done where there is no institutional review board?<\/span><\/b>
\nA: This\u00a0structure depends on the instructions\u00a0for authors. When there is no institutional review board to get ethical clearance,\u00a0then you need to check whether there is a state\u00a0government\u00a0board that might give you\u00a0clarity on\u00a0that. Sometimes a university does not have an internal\u00a0board, especially\u00a0small universities, but they need to refer to governmental regulations such as\u00a0animal models\u00a0and review models.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0always confused by how\u00a0much\u00a0of\u00a0results I can bring into the discussion.<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0You\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0bring\u00a0results;\u00a0you bring interpretation\u00a0into\u00a0the discussion section. Results are to be written\u00a0separately, unless\u00a0the journal recommends combining the two sections.\u00a0Even then, the results are only interpreted in the discussion section.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Do you write the introduction and the\u00a0abstract\u00a0last?<\/span><\/b>
\nA:\u00a0The answer is\u00a0\u201cNo\u201d\u00a0for the introduction, but\u00a0\u201cYes\u201d\u00a0for the abstract. Remember that the editors receive a lot of manuscripts per day.\u00a0Therefore, you need to provide the best argument possible in the abstract for convincing the editor to send your manuscript for publication.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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