An introduction section of any research paper provides the justification for the research you are doing, beyond “curiosity”. The introduction section uses a synthesis of previous research to explain:
what researchers already know about your topic how researchers have studied your topic (populations, tools, etc.)
what researchers don’t know yet about your topic your research hypothesis (and why you are making that hypothesis)
Your introduction section should follow the “upside down triangle” approach such that it starts broad and gets more specific as you identify the major concepts and theories relevant to your research question and specific hypothesis about what you expect to find.
Step 1: Outline
Create a 1-page outline of the major topics you will need to address in your introduction literature review. You should think about how the major topics relate to your research question in a way that demonstrates the importance of your question as well as the logical hypothesis you have about the outcomes. Identify key definitions or theories you might need to explain for your audience.
Step 2: Literature
Search
Find at least 6 articles related to your research topic and take notes on them (ideally you already have two of these from the research proposal lab). You will not submit these notes, but keeping them clear and concise will help you when writing your Intro draft.
Step 3: Literature Review
Organize points from each article into groups based on topical similarities
Edit your introduction outline to document how the different articles address the major topics you identified in it. Each major topic should be linked to a minimum of two articles.
Edit your introduction outline to include new areas to discuss or strike out topics that do not serve the bigger “story” you are creating. Identify whether you need to do additional research under any of your major topics.
