A scientific paper, or publication, is a document that shares your original work or findings to the community or to the public - the first real paper will be a huge advancement in any researcher’s career.
Papers that have gone through and passed rigorous peer review will get published in a journal, a trusted record for sharing research findings. These journals differ in ranking and relevance, which will be touched on a little later in this page.
Keep in mind that research isn’t just about publication. As a a beginner researcher, your opportunity for a publication as well as your position in the authorship list may be lower. This will all be part of the realistic publishing process.
A student in high school can get published through the means of high school journals, competitions, or through collaborating/working under their mentor for a professional publication.
Here’s a brief overview of what the publishing process looks like… (More information is covered later in this page.)
Writing process
Choosing your journal & the submission process
Peer review & revision
Rejection / Acceptance & Publication
Original Research Articles
After you’ve conducted your research and have gathered new, original findings, they should all be shared in a document that is, like the name, an original research article. Original research papers focuses solely on your own discovery, directly contributing to current scientific knowledge.
Original research papers are commonly structured in the IMRaD format (Introduction, Method, Results & Discussion), a standardised 4-part structure. Let’s have a look through it!
Scientific research papers require an abstract, which is a short summary of the entire study, often featured before the actual content.
You can check out the structure below in the section later on in this page, ‘Research Paper Example’ - featuring an annotation of one of our guide advisor’s work!