RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Table of Contents

 Title
 Background
 Introduction
 Methodology
 Results
 Discussion
 Acknowledgement
 References

1. Title
The title is the first part of the research/research paper, which the editor/lecturer,
examiner, reviewer reads. Researchers often struggle to write good titles for their
research. They spend most of the time writing the principal part of the research including
methods, results, and discussion. Little time and thought are spared for the title,
keywords, and abstract. However, the title, abstract, and keywords are the most three
decisive factors which play a pivotal role in communicating the crux of the research to
the readers and editors.

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 Most often, the title of the research paper/research functions as the sole factor
which influences the decision of the readers on whether to read or skip a particular
paper/project.
However, there are no standard guidelines for writing a good title in various scientific
disciplines. Seeking the professional assistance of a research paper/project/dissertation
writing service could help the author write the paper, but the best judge of the paper
would be the author.

1. The title should be simple, precise, and catchy.

The main function of a title is to provide a concise summary of the research.
Therefore, the title should be brief and clear. One should use active verbs and avoid
complicated noun-based phrases. A lengthy title will distract the readers’ attention
away from the important aspects of the research. The title should also be able to
convey to non - specialists [example is the editor of a journal] the gist of the article.
Ideally, the title should be written after one has completed writing the main article and
has developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the article contents. This will
help in writing a clear concise and scientific title. The guidelines of
the Publication Manual of the American Psychologist Association recommend simplicity
and brevity to avoid misleading indexing services [5]. The title generally
should not exceed 150 characters or 12–16 words, though this should be tailored to
the instructions of the specific journal.

2. The title should contain pertinent, descriptive words pertaining to the research.
The title should be as specific as possible and include some of the keywords
listed in the manuscript. It should accurately reflect the nature and focus of the
study. Information about the study design should be a part of the title especially for
randomized controlled trials [RCTs], systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. This is
mandated by many journals. If the article reports on results using solely nonhuman
model systems, the species must be specified in the title.
The following format can be used as a rough guide for writing a title – research

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question + research design + population + geographic area of study (what, how,
with whom, where). The last two may be excluded in case of word constraints.
There is no full stop at the end of the title.
For example, “Prevalence of iron deficiency anemia before and after food fortification
with iron in a rural community in North India, a randomized controlled trial”
(23 words, 147 characters with spaces).
3. Avoid abbreviations/numerical parameters in the title.
As a rule, abbreviations are not used in the title, but if for some reason commonly
used abbreviations are used in the title, they should be defined in the abstract. If the
article reports on results using solely nonhuman model systems, the species must be
specified in the title.
For example, “Dosimetric profile of VMAT in post-mastectomy radiotherapy”
uses abbreviations which may not be immediately familiar to the readers. A more
suitable title would be “Dosimetric profile of volumetric modulated arc therapy in
post-mastectomy patients.”
For example, “The use of morphine decreases the duration of pain by 14 h in
patients with bone metastasis” uses a numerical parameter which is unnecessary
and may decrease the relevance of the article
There are many different types of titles, but the three most commonly used ones
have been outlined by Jamali and Nikzad [8, 9]:
(a) Declarative Titles – Declarative title state the main findings stated in the paper.
These titles convey the most information and are the most appropriate for
research articles.
For example, “Food fortification decreases the prevalence of iron deficiency
anemia in rural India.”
(b) Descriptive Titles – Descriptive title describes the subject of the research without
revealing the conclusions. It includes the relevant information of the
research hypothesis which is studied (e.g., participant, intervention, control,
and outcome; PICO). A descriptive title has certain advantag will get a snapshot
information about the contents of the article. A descriptive

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title contains important “keywords,” which increases the probability of the article being
discovered by the search engines [10]. Unlike a declarative title, the
conclusions are also not revealed and it will help to sustain a reader’s
curiosity.
For example, “Effect of food fortification on the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in
rural India.”
(c) Interrogative Titles – Interrogative title poses the subject of research as a question.
They are more appropriate for literature reviews. For example, “Does food
fortification decrease the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in rural India?”
Generally, of the three types, descriptive titles are the most commonly used.
Titles can also be classified based on the construction of the sentence. They are
categorized into three groups – nominal titles, compound titles, or a full sentence.
(a) Nominal titles capture the main essence of the paper, e.g., “The effect of fast
food on obesity and weight gain.”
(b) Compound titles or hanging titles consist of two parts separated by a colon.
Dividing a title into two parts helps to provide additional information on the
study design, e.g., “Impact of food fortification in children with iron deficiency
anemia: a randomized controlled trial.”
It also provides information regarding the geographic area, e.g., “Prevalence
of tuberculosis in children in a rural community of South India: a 5-year epidemiological
study” and the temporal relation of an intervention, e.g., “Long-term
benefits of 5 years of adjuvant Anastrazole: a 10-year follow-up of a randomized trial in
breast cancer.” Compound titles also correlate with higher number
of citations [11].
(c) Full sentence titles tend to be longer and assert the outcome of the study. For
example, “Post radiotherapy dysphagia is an independent risk factor for
increased mortality in elderly patients: a prospective observational study”.
A longer title is more likely to contain a given search term and is therefore identified
more easily. Since most of the journals have a limit on the number words which
can be used in a title, they are uncommonly usedes. The readers

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Example:
 Wireless QoS Routing Protocol (WQRP): Ensuring Quality Service in Mobile
Adhoc Networks.
 CS-ATMA: A Hybrid Single Channel MAC Layer Protocol for Wireless Sensor
Networks.