research paper introductions

How to Write a Research Paper Introduction (with Examples)

The research paper introduction section, along with the Title and Abstract, can be considered the face of any research paper. The following article is intended to guide you in organizing and writing the research paper introduction for a quality academic article or dissertation.

The research paper introduction aims to present the topic to the reader. A study will only be accepted for publishing if you can ascertain that the available literature cannot answer your research question. So it is important to ensure that you have read important studies on that particular topic, especially those within the last five to ten years, and that they are properly referenced in this section. 1 What should be included in the research paper introduction is decided by what you want to tell readers about the reason behind the research and how you plan to fill the knowledge gap. The best research paper introduction provides a systemic review of existing work and demonstrates additional work that needs to be done. It needs to be brief, captivating, and well-referenced; a well-drafted research paper introduction will help the researcher win half the battle.

The introduction for a research paper is where you set up your topic and approach for the reader. It has several key goals:

• Present your research topic
• Capture reader interest
• Summarize existing research
• Position your own approach
• Define your specific research problem and problem statement
• Highlight the novelty and contributions of the study
• Give an overview of the paper’s structure

The research paper introduction can vary in size and structure depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or is a review paper. Some research paper introduction examples are only half a page while others are a few pages long. In many cases, the introduction will be shorter than all of the other sections of your paper; its length depends on the size of your paper as a whole.

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Table of Contents

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The introduction in a research paper is placed at the beginning to guide the reader from a broad subject area to the specific topic that your research addresses. They present the following information to the reader

• Scope: The topic covered in the research paper
• Context: Background of your topic
• Importance: Why your research matters in that particular area of research and the industry problem that can be targeted

The research paper introduction conveys a lot of information and can be considered an essential roadmap for the rest of your paper. A good introduction for a research paper is important for the following reasons:

• It stimulates your reader’s interest: A good introduction section can make your readers want to read your paper by capturing their interest. It informs the reader what they are going to learn and helps determine if the topic is of interest to them.
• It helps the reader understand the research background: Without a clear introduction, your readers may feel confused and even struggle when reading your paper. A good research paper introduction will prepare them for the in-depth research to come. It provides you the opportunity to engage with the readers and demonstrate your knowledge and authority on the specific topic.
• It explains why your research paper is worth reading: Your introduction can convey a lot of information to your readers. It introduces the topic, why the topic is important, and how you plan to proceed with your research.
• It helps guide the reader through the rest of the paper: The research paper introduction gives the reader a sense of the nature of the information that will support your arguments and the general organization of the paragraphs that will follow. It offers an overview of what to expect when reading the main body of your paper.

What are the parts of introduction in the research?

A good research paper introduction section should comprise three main elements: 2

• What is known: This sets the stage for your research. It informs the readers of what is known on the subject.
• What is lacking: This is aimed at justifying the reason for carrying out your research. This could involve investigating a new concept or method or building upon previous research.
• What you aim to do: This part briefly states the objectives of your research and its major contributions. Your detailed hypothesis will also form a part of this section.

How to write a research paper introduction?

The first step in writing the research paper introduction is to inform the reader what your topic is and why it’s interesting or important. This is generally accomplished with a strong opening statement. The second step involves establishing the kinds of research that have been done and ending with limitations or gaps in the research that you intend to address. Finally, the research paper introduction clarifies how your own research fits in and what problem it addresses. If your research involved testing hypotheses, these should be stated along with your research question. The hypothesis should be presented in the past tense since it will have been tested by the time you are writing the research paper introduction.

The following key points, with examples, can guide you when writing the research paper introduction section:

• Highlight the importance of the research field or topic
• Describe the background of the topic
• Present an overview of current research on the topic

Example: The inclusion of experiential and competency-based learning has benefitted electronics engineering education. Industry partnerships provide an excellent alternative for students wanting to engage in solving real-world challenges. Industry-academia participation has grown in recent years due to the need for skilled engineers with practical training and specialized expertise. However, from the educational perspective, many activities are needed to incorporate sustainable development goals into the university curricula and consolidate learning innovation in universities.

• Reveal a gap in existing research or oppose an existing assumption
• Formulate the research question

Example: There have been plausible efforts to integrate educational activities in higher education electronics engineering programs. However, very few studies have considered using educational research methods for performance evaluation of competency-based higher engineering education, with a focus on technical and or transversal skills. To remedy the current need for evaluating competencies in STEM fields and providing sustainable development goals in engineering education, in this study, a comparison was drawn between study groups without and with industry partners.

• State the purpose of your study
• Highlight the key characteristics of your study
• Describe important results
• Highlight the novelty of the study.
• Offer a brief overview of the structure of the paper.

Example: The study evaluates the main competency needed in the applied electronics course, which is a fundamental core subject for many electronics engineering undergraduate programs. We compared two groups, without and with an industrial partner, that offered real-world projects to solve during the semester. This comparison can help determine significant differences in both groups in terms of developing subject competency and achieving sustainable development goals.

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With Paperpal Copilot, create a research paper introduction effortlessly. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through how Paperpal transforms your initial ideas into a polished and publication-ready introduction.

How to use Paperpal to write the Introduction section

Step 1: Sign up on Paperpal and click on the Copilot feature, under this choose Outlines > Research Article > Introduction

Step 2: Add your unstructured notes or initial draft, whether in English or another language, to Paperpal, which is to be used as the base for your content.

Step 3: Fill in the specifics, such as your field of study, brief description or details you want to include, which will help the AI generate the outline for your Introduction.

Step 4: Use this outline and sentence suggestions to develop your content, adding citations where needed and modifying it to align with your specific research focus.

Step 5: Turn to Paperpal’s granular language checks to refine your content, tailor it to reflect your personal writing style, and ensure it effectively conveys your message.

You can use the same process to develop each section of your article, and finally your research paper in half the time and without any of the stress.

The purpose of the research paper introduction is to introduce the reader to the problem definition, justify the need for the study, and describe the main theme of the study. The aim is to gain the reader’s attention by providing them with necessary background information and establishing the main purpose and direction of the research.

The length of the research paper introduction can vary across journals and disciplines. While there are no strict word limits for writing the research paper introduction, an ideal length would be one page, with a maximum of 400 words over 1-4 paragraphs. Generally, it is one of the shorter sections of the paper as the reader is assumed to have at least a reasonable knowledge about the topic. 2 For example, for a study evaluating the role of building design in ensuring fire safety, there is no need to discuss definitions and nature of fire in the introduction; you could start by commenting upon the existing practices for fire safety and how your study will add to the existing knowledge and practice.

When deciding what to include in the research paper introduction, the rest of the paper should also be considered. The aim is to introduce the reader smoothly to the topic and facilitate an easy read without much dependency on external sources. 3 Below is a list of elements you can include to prepare a research paper introduction outline and follow it when you are writing the research paper introduction. Topic introduction: This can include key definitions and a brief history of the topic. Research context and background: Offer the readers some general information and then narrow it down to specific aspects. Details of the research you conducted: A brief literature review can be included to support your arguments or line of thought. Rationale for the study: This establishes the relevance of your study and establishes its importance. Importance of your research: The main contributions are highlighted to help establish the novelty of your study Research hypothesis: Introduce your research question and propose an expected outcome. Organization of the paper: Include a short paragraph of 3-4 sentences that highlights your plan for the entire paper

Cite only works that are most relevant to your topic; as a general rule, you can include one to three. Note that readers want to see evidence of original thinking. So it is better to avoid using too many references as it does not leave much room for your personal standpoint to shine through. Citations in your research paper introduction support the key points, and the number of citations depend on the subject matter and the point discussed. If the research paper introduction is too long or overflowing with citations, it is better to cite a few review articles rather than the individual articles summarized in the review. A good point to remember when citing research papers in the introduction section is to include at least one-third of the references in the introduction.

The literature review plays a significant role in the research paper introduction section. A good literature review accomplishes the following: Introduces the topic – Establishes the study’s significance – Provides an overview of the relevant literature – Provides context for the study using literature – Identifies knowledge gaps However, remember to avoid making the following mistakes when writing a research paper introduction: Do not use studies from the literature review to aggressively support your research Avoid direct quoting Do not allow literature review to be the focus of this section. Instead, the literature review should only aid in setting a foundation for the manuscript.

Remember the following key points for writing a good research paper introduction: 4

• Avoid stuffing too much general information: Avoid including what an average reader would know and include only that information related to the problem being addressed in the research paper introduction. For example, when describing a comparative study of non-traditional methods for mechanical design optimization, information related to the traditional methods and differences between traditional and non-traditional methods would not be relevant. In this case, the introduction for the research paper should begin with the state-of-the-art non-traditional methods and methods to evaluate the efficiency of newly developed algorithms.
• Avoid packing too many references: Cite only the required works in your research paper introduction. The other works can be included in the discussion section to strengthen your findings.
• Avoid extensive criticism of previous studies: Avoid being overly critical of earlier studies while setting the rationale for your study. A better place for this would be the Discussion section, where you can highlight the advantages of your method.
• Avoid describing conclusions of the study: When writing a research paper introduction remember not to include the findings of your study. The aim is to let the readers know what question is being answered. The actual answer should only be given in the Results and Discussion section.

To summarize, the research paper introduction section should be brief yet informative. It should convince the reader the need to conduct the study and motivate him to read further. If you’re feeling stuck or unsure, choose trusted AI academic writing assistants like Paperpal to effortlessly craft your research paper introduction and other sections of your research article.

1. Jawaid, S. A., & Jawaid, M. (2019). How to write introduction and discussion. Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia, 13(Suppl 1), S18.

2. Dewan, P., & Gupta, P. (2016). Writing the title, abstract and introduction: Looks matter!. Indian pediatrics, 53, 235-241.

3. Cetin, S., & Hackam, D. J. (2005). An approach to the writing of a scientific Manuscript1. Journal of Surgical Research, 128(2), 165-167.

4. Bavdekar, S. B. (2015). Writing introduction: Laying the foundations of a research paper. Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 63(7), 44-6.

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How to Write an Introduction for a Research Paper

How to write an introduction for a research paper? Eventually (and with practice) all writers will develop their own strategy for writing the perfect introduction for a research paper. Once you are comfortable with writing, you will probably find your own, but coming up with a good strategy can be tough for beginning writers.

The Purpose of an Introduction

Your opening paragraphs, phrases for introducing thesis statements, research paper introduction examples, using the introduction to map out your research paper.

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• First write your thesis.Your thesis should state the main idea in specific terms.
• After you have a working thesis, tackle the body of your paper before you write the rest of the introduction. Each paragraph in the body should explore one specific topic that proves, or summarizes your thesis. Writing is a thinking process. Once you have worked your way through that process by writing the body of the paper, you will have an intimate understanding of how you are supporting your thesis. After you have written the body paragraphs, go back and rewrite your thesis to make it more specific and to connect it to the topics you addressed in the body paragraph.
• Revise your introduction several times, saving each revision. Be sure your introduction previews the topics you are presenting in your paper. One way of doing this is to use keywords from the topic sentences in each paragraph to introduce, or preview, the topics in your introduction.This “preview” will give your reader a context for understanding how you will make your case.
• Experiment by taking different approaches to your thesis with every revision you make. Play with the language in the introduction. Strike a new tone. Go back and compare versions. Then pick the one that works most effectively with the body of your research paper.
• Do not try to pack everything you want to say into your introduction. Just as your introduction should not be too short, it should also not be too long. Your introduction should be about the same length as any other paragraph in your research paper. Let the content—what you have to say—dictate the length.

The first page of your research paper should draw the reader into the text. It is the paper’s most important page and, alas, often the worst written. There are two culprits here and effective ways to cope with both of them.

First, the writer is usually straining too hard to say something terribly BIG and IMPORTANT about the thesis topic. The goal is worthy, but the aim is unrealistically high. The result is often a muddle of vague platitudes rather than a crisp, compelling introduction to the thesis. Want a familiar example? Listen to most graduation speakers. Their goal couldn’t be loftier: to say what education means and to tell an entire football stadium how to live the rest of their lives. The results are usually an avalanche of clichés and sodden prose.

The second culprit is bad timing. The opening and concluding paragraphs are usually written late in the game, after the rest of the thesis is finished and polished. There’s nothing wrong with writing these sections last. It’s usually the right approach since you need to know exactly what you are saying in the substantive middle sections of the thesis before you can introduce them effectively or draw together your findings. But having waited to write the opening and closing sections, you need to review and edit them several times to catch up. Otherwise, you’ll putting the most jagged prose in the most tender spots. Edit and polish your opening paragraphs with extra care. They should draw readers into the paper.

After you’ve done some extra polishing, I suggest a simple test for the introductory section. As an experiment, chop off the first few paragraphs. Let the paper begin on, say, paragraph 2 or even page 2. If you don’t lose much, or actually gain in clarity and pace, then you’ve got a problem.

There are two solutions. One is to start at this new spot, further into the text. After all, that’s where you finally gain traction on your subject. That works best in some cases, and we occasionally suggest it. The alternative, of course, is to write a new opening that doesn’t flop around, saying nothing.

What makes a good opening? Actually, they come in several flavors. One is an intriguing story about your topic. Another is a brief, compelling quote. When you run across them during your reading, set them aside for later use. Don’t be deterred from using them because they “don’t seem academic enough.” They’re fine as long as the rest of the paper doesn’t sound like you did your research in People magazine. The third, and most common, way to begin is by stating your main questions, followed by a brief comment about why they matter.

Whichever opening you choose, it should engage your readers and coax them to continue. Having done that, you should give them a general overview of the project—the main issues you will cover, the material you will use, and your thesis statement (that is, your basic approach to the topic). Finally, at the end of the introductory section, give your readers a brief road map, showing how the paper will unfold. How you do that depends on your topic but here are some general suggestions for phrase choice that may help:

• This analysis will provide …
• This paper analyzes the relationship between …
• This paper presents an analysis of …
• This paper will argue that …
• This topic supports the argument that…
• Research supports the opinion that …
• This paper supports the opinion that …
• An interpretation of the facts indicates …
• The results of this experiment show …
• The results of this research show …

Comparisons/Contrasts

• A comparison will show that …
• By contrasting the results,we see that …
• This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of …

Definitions/Classifications

• This paper will provide a guide for categorizing the following:…
• This paper provides a definition of …
• This paper explores the meaning of …
• This paper will discuss the implications of …
• A discussion of this topic reveals …
• The following discussion will focus on …

Description

• This report describes…
• This report will illustrate…
• This paper provides an illustration of …

Process/Experimentation

• This paper will identify the reasons behind…
• The results of the experiment show …
• The process revealed that …
• This paper theorizes…
• This paper presents the theory that …
• In theory, this indicates that …

Quotes, anecdotes, questions, examples, and broad statements—all of them can used successfully to write an introduction for a research paper. It’s instructive to see them in action, in the hands of skilled academic writers.

Let’s begin with David M. Kennedy’s superb history, Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945 . Kennedy begins each chapter with a quote, followed by his text. The quote above chapter 1 shows President Hoover speaking in 1928 about America’s golden future. The text below it begins with the stock market collapse of 1929. It is a riveting account of just how wrong Hoover was. The text about the Depression is stronger because it contrasts so starkly with the optimistic quotation.

“We in America today are nearer the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land.”—Herbert Hoover, August 11, 1928 Like an earthquake, the stock market crash of October 1929 cracked startlingly across the United States, the herald of a crisis that was to shake the American way of life to its foundations. The events of the ensuing decade opened a fissure across the landscape of American history no less gaping than that opened by the volley on Lexington Common in April 1775 or by the bombardment of Sumter on another April four score and six years later. The ratcheting ticker machines in the autumn of 1929 did not merely record avalanching stock prices. In time they came also to symbolize the end of an era. (David M. Kennedy, Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945 . New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 10)

Kennedy has exciting, wrenching material to work with. John Mueller faces the exact opposite problem. In Retreat from Doomsday: The Obsolescence of Major War , he is trying to explain why Great Powers have suddenly stopped fighting each other. For centuries they made war on each other with devastating regularity, killing millions in the process. But now, Mueller thinks, they have not just paused; they have stopped permanently. He is literally trying to explain why “nothing is happening now.” That may be an exciting topic intellectually, it may have great practical significance, but “nothing happened” is not a very promising subject for an exciting opening paragraph. Mueller manages to make it exciting and, at the same time, shows why it matters so much. Here’s his opening, aptly entitled “History’s Greatest Nonevent”:

On May 15, 1984, the major countries of the developed world had managed to remain at peace with each other for the longest continuous stretch of time since the days of the Roman Empire. If a significant battle in a war had been fought on that day, the press would have bristled with it. As usual, however, a landmark crossing in the history of peace caused no stir: the most prominent story in the New York Times that day concerned the saga of a manicurist, a machinist, and a cleaning woman who had just won a big Lotto contest. This book seeks to develop an explanation for what is probably the greatest nonevent in human history. (John Mueller, Retreat from Doomsday: The Obsolescence of Major War . New York: Basic Books, 1989, p. 3)

In the space of a few sentences, Mueller sets up his puzzle and reveals its profound human significance. At the same time, he shows just how easy it is to miss this milestone in the buzz of daily events. Notice how concretely he does that. He doesn’t just say that the New York Times ignored this record setting peace. He offers telling details about what they covered instead: “a manicurist, a machinist, and a cleaning woman who had just won a big Lotto contest.” Likewise, David Kennedy immediately entangles us in concrete events: the stunning stock market crash of 1929. These are powerful openings that capture readers’ interests, establish puzzles, and launch narratives.

Sociologist James Coleman begins in a completely different way, by posing the basic questions he will study. His ambitious book, Foundations of Social Theory , develops a comprehensive theory of social life, so it is entirely appropriate for him to begin with some major questions. But he could just as easily have begun with a compelling story or anecdote. He includes many of them elsewhere in his book. His choice for the opening, though, is to state his major themes plainly and frame them as a paradox. Sociologists, he says, are interested in aggregate behavior—how people act in groups, organizations, or large numbers—yet they mostly examine individuals:

A central problem in social science is that of accounting for the function of some kind of social system. Yet in most social research, observations are not made on the system as a whole, but on some part of it. In fact, the natural unit of observation is the individual person…  This has led to a widening gap between theory and research… (James S. Coleman, Foundations of Social Theory . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990, pp. 1–2)

After expanding on this point, Coleman explains that he will not try to remedy the problem by looking solely at groups or aggregate-level data. That’s a false solution, he says, because aggregates don’t act; individuals do. So the real problem is to show the links between individual actions and aggregate outcomes, between the micro and the macro.

The major problem for explanations of system behavior based on actions and orientations at a level below that of the system [in this case, on individual-level actions] is that of moving from the lower level to the system level. This has been called the micro-to-macro problem, and it is pervasive throughout the social sciences. (Coleman, Foundations of Social Theory , p. 6)

Explaining how to deal with this “micro-to-macro problem” is the central issue of Coleman’s book, and he announces it at the beginning.

Coleman’s theory-driven opening stands at the opposite end of the spectrum from engaging stories or anecdotes, which are designed to lure the reader into the narrative and ease the path to a more analytic treatment later in the text. Take, for example, the opening sentences of Robert L. Herbert’s sweeping study Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society : “When Henry Tuckerman came to Paris in 1867, one of the thousands of Americans attracted there by the huge international exposition, he was bowled over by the extraordinary changes since his previous visit twenty years before.” (Robert L. Herbert, Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988, p. 1.) Herbert fills in the evocative details to set the stage for his analysis of the emerging Impressionist art movement and its connection to Parisian society and leisure in this period.

David Bromwich writes about Wordsworth, a poet so familiar to students of English literature that it is hard to see him afresh, before his great achievements, when he was just a young outsider starting to write. To draw us into Wordsworth’s early work, Bromwich wants us to set aside our entrenched images of the famous mature poet and see him as he was in the 1790s, as a beginning writer on the margins of society. He accomplishes this ambitious task in the opening sentences of Disowned by Memory: Wordsworth’s Poetry of the 1790s :

Wordsworth turned to poetry after the revolution to remind himself that he was still a human being. It was a curious solution, to a difficulty many would not have felt. The whole interest of his predicament is that he did feel it. Yet Wordsworth is now so established an eminence—his name so firmly fixed with readers as a moralist of self-trust emanating from complete self-security—that it may seem perverse to imagine him as a criminal seeking expiation. Still, that is a picture we get from The Borderers and, at a longer distance, from “Tintern Abbey.” (David Bromwich, Disowned by Memory: Wordsworth’s Poetry of the 1790s . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998, p. 1)

That’s a wonderful opening! Look at how much Bromwich accomplishes in just a few words. He not only prepares the way for analyzing Wordsworth’s early poetry; he juxtaposes the anguished young man who wrote it to the self-confident, distinguished figure he became—the eminent man we can’t help remembering as we read his early poetry.

Let us highlight a couple of other points in this passage because they illustrate some intelligent writing choices. First, look at the odd comma in this sentence: “It was a curious solution, to a difficulty many would not have felt.” Any standard grammar book would say that comma is wrong and should be omitted. Why did Bromwich insert it? Because he’s a fine writer, thinking of his sentence rhythm and the point he wants to make. The comma does exactly what it should. It makes us pause, breaking the sentence into two parts, each with an interesting point. One is that Wordsworth felt a difficulty others would not have; the other is that he solved it in a distinctive way. It would be easy for readers to glide over this double message, so Bromwich has inserted a speed bump to slow us down. Most of the time, you should follow grammatical rules, like those about commas, but you should bend them when it serves a good purpose. That’s what the writer does here.

The second small point is the phrase “after the revolution” in the first sentence: “Wordsworth turned to poetry after the revolution to remind himself that he was still a human being.” Why doesn’t Bromwich say “after the French Revolution”? Because he has judged his book’s audience. He is writing for specialists who already know which revolution is reverberating through English life in the 1790s. It is the French Revolution, not the earlier loss of the American colonies. If Bromwich were writing for a much broader audience—say, the New York Times Book Review—he would probably insert the extra word to avoid confusion.

The message “Know your audience” applies to all writers. Don’t talk down to them by assuming they can’t get dressed in the morning. Don’t strut around showing off your book learnin’ by tossing in arcane facts and esoteric language for its own sake. Neither will win over readers.

Bromwich, Herbert, and Coleman open their works in different ways, but their choices work well for their different texts. Your task is to decide what kind of opening will work best for yours. Don’t let that happen by default, by grabbing the first idea you happen upon. Consider a couple of different ways of opening your thesis and then choose the one you prefer. Give yourself some options, think them over, then make an informed choice.

Whether you begin with a story, puzzle, or broad statement, the next part of the introduction should pose your main questions and establish your argument. This is your thesis statement—your viewpoint along with the supporting reasons and evidence. It should be articulated plainly so readers understand full well what your paper is about and what it will argue.

After that, give your readers a road map of what’s to come. That’s normally done at the end of the introductory section (or, in a book, at the end of the introductory chapter). Here’s John J. Mearsheimer presenting such a road map in The Tragedy of Great Power Politics . He not only tells us the order of upcoming chapters, he explains why he’s chosen that order and which chapters are most important:

The Plan of the Book The rest of the chapters in this book are concerned mainly with answering the six big questions about power which I identified earlier. Chapter 2, which is probably the most important chapter in the book, lays out my theory of why states compete for power and why they pursue hegemony. In Chapters 3 and 4, I define power and explain how to measure it. I do this in order to lay the groundwork for testing my theory… (John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics . New York: W. W. Norton, 2001, p. 27)

As this excerpt makes clear, Mearsheimer has already laid out his “six big questions” in the introduction. Now he’s showing us the path ahead, the path to answering those questions.

At the end of the introduction, give your readers a road map of what’s to come. Tell them what the upcoming sections will be and why they are arranged in this particular order.

After having written your introduction it’s time to move to the biggest part: body of a research paper.

Back to How To Write A Research Paper .

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• If you are writing in a new discipline, you should always make sure to ask about conventions and expectations for introductions, just as you would for any other aspect of the essay. For example, while it may be acceptable to write a two-paragraph (or longer) introduction for your papers in some courses, instructors in other disciplines, such as those in some Government courses, may expect a shorter introduction that includes a preview of the argument that will follow.  
• In some disciplines (Government, Economics, and others), it’s common to offer an overview in the introduction of what points you will make in your essay. In other disciplines, you will not be expected to provide this overview in your introduction.  
• Avoid writing a very general opening sentence. While it may be true that “Since the dawn of time, people have been telling love stories,” it won’t help you explain what’s interesting about your topic.  
• Avoid writing a “funnel” introduction in which you begin with a very broad statement about a topic and move to a narrow statement about that topic. Broad generalizations about a topic will not add to your readers’ understanding of your specific essay topic.  
• Avoid beginning with a dictionary definition of a term or concept you will be writing about. If the concept is complicated or unfamiliar to your readers, you will need to define it in detail later in your essay. If it’s not complicated, you can assume your readers already know the definition.  
• Avoid offering too much detail in your introduction that a reader could better understand later in the paper.
• picture_as_pdf Introductions

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Learning how to start a research paper is the first checklist item of your academic writing journey. A compelling research paper introduction sets the stage for everything that follows. It clearly defines your argument and gives readers a roadmap for what’s in store.

But why is a strong introduction to a research paper so important? Simple. It grabs attention and lays the foundation stone of your argument. Through this practical guide, we’ll explore the various elements to include in your introduction for a research paper. We’ll try to shed light through practical tips and examples. So let’s dive in! 

Want to elevate the quality of your research paper? Learn more

How to write a research paper introduction?

First impressions always matter, and this is why adding a strong introduction to a research paper is so important. But what does it constitute? There are 3 main parts broadly – The hook, the background information, and the thesis statement. 

Let’s look at each one in detail:

The first sentence is your hook, designed to capture the reader’s attention. It can be a provocative question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement. The aim is to pique interest and pose the overarching question that your research seeks to answer. A well-crafted hook is like a magnet—it draws the reader into your intellectual arena.

Example: Did you know chocolate was once used as currency in ancient civilizations?

Background information

When it comes to writing a research paper introduction , your reader needs context but not information overload. Here, you set the stage by providing just enough background information on the topic at hand.

It can include previous studies on the same topic, the scope, and some context. Consider this your chance to orient your audience before delving into the complexities of your argument. 

Example : “There has been a significant increase in the incidence of diabetes in recent years. This has led to an increased demand for effective diabetes management strategies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new diabetes management program in improving patient outcomes.”

The thesis statement

This is the core of your research paper introduction paragraph. It succinctly outlines the aim and focus of your paper. This is usually the first sentence in the introductory paragraph of a research paper.

Example: This paper reviews the recent research in cultural psychology and how culture is the byproduct of interpersonal relations and evolution. 

Some practical tips:

• Keep your thesis statement specific.
• Express a single main idea in your statement.
• Make your thesis statement invite the main discussion.

In Summary:

• A compelling hook grabs attention.
• Just enough background sets the stage and orients the reader.
• A clear thesis statement should warrant discussion and take some sort of a stand.

Armed with these three pillars, you’re well on your way to crafting an introduction paragraph of a research paper that captivates and informs.

In the following sections, we’ll dive deeper into how to start a research paper , offering tailored advice for various types of research undertakings.

How to Start A Research Paper: Actionable Tips

So you’re staring at that blinking cursor, feeling the weight of a thousand academic journals on your shoulders. The task: figure out how to start a research paper. Let’s ditch the anxiety and get right to the point!

Understand your audience

First and foremost, know who you’re talking to. Is your audience a group of academics or a more general readership? Understanding your audience is like knowing your stage and adjusting your tone and language accordingly.

To define your audience, try to create a persona – age, sex, economic level, social status, and so on. You can do this by:

• Conducting an online survey
• Organizing focus groups
• Talking to your audience directly via phone calls

Research beforehand

Before you even type the first word, dig deep into your topic. Consult sources, both primary and secondary, to have a well-rounded understanding of the issue.

Check the following aspects before moving to the next step:

• Identify Keywords : Find relevant keywords that are related to your topic.
• Database Diving : Utilize academic databases like PubMed for medical research or JSTOR for humanities.
• Cross-Reference : Always double-check facts from multiple sources.

You can rely on two kinds of sources for your research, as mentioned below:

Primary Sources : These are your firsthand accounts or direct evidence. If you’re tackling a historical topic, primary sources could be letters, diaries, or newspaper articles from the time. In scientific research, it might be the raw data from experiments.

Secondary Sources : These are interpretations or analyses of primary sources. Academic articles, reviews, and most books fall under this category. 

Craft a strong thesis statement

A thesis statement focuses on a specific topic. So make your thesis statement is clear and concise.

Follow the steps mentioned below to craft a strong thesis statement:

• Be specific : Aim for specificity. Instead of saying, “Social media affects mental health,” say, “Excessive use of social media contributes to increased levels of anxiety among teenagers.”
• Keep an arguable point : Your thesis should make a claim that can be debated. If it’s a universally accepted fact, there’s no point in arguing.
• Be focused : Keep it tight and focused. Your thesis statement should be one to two sentences max. It’s the tagline of your paper; it should be concise and to the point.
• Position it well : Generally, your thesis should appear towards the end of your introduction. It’s like the crescendo in a musical piece, building up to the main event.
• Revise : Don’t be afraid to go back and tweak it as your paper evolves.

Example: An analysis of the college admission process reveals one challenge facing counselors: accepting students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds.

Outline your points

Before diving into the writing, sketch out an outline. This serves as your roadmap, outlining the key points and sub-points you’ll tackle. In essence, it’s the blueprint of your academic paper.

Follow these points to create an outline of the research:

• Identify the main points : These are the arguments or topics that are crucial to your research. List them in the order you plan to address them.
• Keep solid sub-points and supporting evidence : For each main point, jot down sub-points or examples that support it.
• Maintain a logical flow : Make sure your points follow a logical sequence. Your arguments should build upon each other.
• Use transitional phrases : Consider how you’ll transition from one point to the next.
• Maintain flexibility : Your outline isn’t set in stone. As you dig deeper into your research, you may discover new points that fit better.

Start writing

Once you outline your points, it’s time to venture forth. A strong start incorporates the hook, background, and thesis statement, as we’ve discussed. But don’t get stuck striving for perfection; you can always revisit and refine.

Key Takeaways:

• Know your audience.
• Pre-research is your scouting phase.
• Your thesis is your anchor.
• Outlining sets the stage.
• Just start—perfection comes later.

By following these tips, you’ll be well-equipped to begin your research paper. In the sections that follow, we’ll explore how to write an introduction for a research paper, focusing on specific types for a more targeted approach.

How to Write a Research Paper Introduction for Different Types of Papers?

Research papers come in various types – argumentative, empirical, and review papers. Writing an introduction for a research paper of each type comes with its own specific nuances. 

Below are distinctive elements for crafting introductions across various research paper types:

Argumentative paper

An argumentative paper aims to persuade. Your introduction here should not only present your thesis but also hint at the counterarguments you’ll dismantle. Think of it as a debate stage; you’re not just stating your case but also preempting the opposing views.

Example: “School uniforms: they’re a subject of constant debate in the field of education. Supporters argue they create a sense of unity and reduce distractions, leading to better academic performance. Critics claim they stifle individuality and have no real impact on learning. This paper will argue that implementing school uniforms in public schools leads to improved academic performance by fostering a focused learning environment.”

Empirical paper

Here, you’re the scientist, the explorer. Your introduction should outline the research question and the methods you’ll use to answer it. If a specific hypothesis needs testing, it should be mentioned in the research question. 

Topic – Empirical Studies on Product-Service Systems – A Systematic Literature Review

Introduction Example – The rising global population, accelerating technological development, increasing resource usage, and intensifying environmental impacts make sustainability the key issue for the entire society. This has resulted in the growing importance of product-service systems (PSS) in academics and industrial fields. 

As an ‘integrated bundle of products and services which aims at creating customer utility and generating value’ [1], PSS is one of the most effective instruments that move society towards sustainability [2]. According to its evolution, the classical categorization of PSS includes product-oriented PSS, user-oriented PSS, and result-oriented PSS [3]

Review paper

In a review paper, you summarize existing studies on a topic. Your introduction should highlight the main findings so far and where your paper fits into the dialogue.

Example: “Over the past decade, remote work has transitioned from a corporate perk to a standard practice, especially in tech industries. While some argue that remote work increases productivity and employee satisfaction, others point to challenges like communication breakdowns and feelings of isolation. This paper will review existing literature on the effectiveness of remote work, examining its impact on employee productivity, mental health, and organizational cohesion.”

Remember the following points:

• Argumentative papers need a persuasive touch.
• Empirical papers require a hint of methodology.
• Review papers demand an overview of existing research.

Tips for All Types:

• Be concise: Whether you’re persuading, exploring, or reviewing, get to the point.
• Be focused: Keep your thesis statement tight and direct.
• Be engaging: Use your hook to draw readers in, no matter the type of paper.

By tailoring your introduction to the type of paper you’re writing, you’ll align your research with the expectations of your audience. Each type has its nuances, but the core principles of how to write an introduction for a research paper across these diverse types—capturing attention, providing context, and stating your thesis—remain constant. In the end, it’s all about setting the stage for the research that follows.

Research paper introduction example

Imagine you’re crafting an empirical research paper on the impact of social media on mental health. How would a compelling introduction of a research paper look?

Let’s break it down via a concrete research paper introduction example:

“In today’s digital age, social media platforms have become ubiquitous, shaping our interactions and emotional landscapes. While these platforms promise connectivity, emerging research suggests a darker narrative: a potential link between social media usage and declining mental health. This study aims to explore this complex relationship through a comprehensive analysis of survey data and psychological assessments. Employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, we endeavor to answer the pressing question: Does social media negatively impact mental health?”

In this example, the hook points out how common social media use is. The background information provides context by acknowledging both the positive and negative aspects of social media. Finally, the thesis statement outlines the research question and the methodology.

Key Elements:

• A relatable hook draws the reader in.
• Contextual background sets the stage.
• A clear thesis statement outlines the research aim and method.

In a nutshell, the introduction of a research paper serves as a mini-blueprint for the paper. It sets the stage, intrigues the reader, and outlines the research scope—all in a concise manner.

This guide should serve as a useful starting point in understanding how to start an introduction for a research paper. Explore research paper editing services to structure and articulate your ideas in a polished manner effectively. This can ensure you write your research paper with no typos and in refined academic language.

Keep reading to further enhance your knowledge of writing research papers! 

• Research Paper Format: APA, MLA, & Chicago Style

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What is a "good" introduction?

Citing sources in the introduction, "introduction checklist" from: how to write a good scientific paper. chris a. mack. spie. 2018..

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This is where you describe briefly and clearly why you are writing the paper. The introduction supplies sufficient background information for the reader to understand and evaluate the experiment you did. It also supplies a rationale for the study.

• Present the problem and the proposed solution
• Presents nature and scope of the problem investigated
• Reviews the pertinent literature to orient the reader
• States the method of the experiment
• State the principle results of the experiment

It is important to cite sources in the introduction section of your paper as evidence of the claims you are making. There are ways of citing sources in the text so that the reader can find the full reference in the literature cited section at the end of the paper, yet the flow of the reading is not badly interrupted. Below are some example of how this can be done:     "Smith (1983) found that N-fixing plants could be infected by several different species of Rhizobium."     "Walnut trees are known to be allelopathic (Smith 1949,  Bond et al. 1955, Jones and Green 1963)."     "Although the presence of Rhizobium normally increases the growth of legumes (Nguyen 1987), the opposite effect has been observed (Washington 1999)." Note that articles by one or two authors are always cited in the text using their last names. However, if there are more than two authors, the last name of the 1st author is given followed by the abbreviation et al. which is Latin for "and others". 

From:  https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/imrad-reports-introductions

• Indicate the field of the work, why this field is important, and what has already been done (with proper citations).
• Indicate a gap, raise a research question, or challenge prior work in this territory.
• Outline the purpose and announce the present research, clearly indicating what is novel and why it is significant.
• Avoid: repeating the abstract; providing unnecessary background information; exaggerating the importance of the work; claiming novelty without a proper literature search. 
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How to Write an Introduction for a Research Paper

Table of Contents

Writing an introduction for a research paper is a critical element of your paper, but it can seem challenging to encapsulate enormous amount of information into a concise form. The introduction of your research paper sets the tone for your research and provides the context for your study. In this article, we will guide you through the process of writing an effective introduction that grabs the reader's attention and captures the essence of your research paper.

Understanding the Purpose of a Research Paper Introduction

The introduction acts as a road map for your research paper, guiding the reader through the main ideas and arguments. The purpose of the introduction is to present your research topic to the readers and provide a rationale for why your study is relevant. It helps the reader locate your research and its relevance in the broader field of related scientific explorations. Additionally, the introduction should inform the reader about the objectives and scope of your study, giving them an overview of what to expect in the paper. By including a comprehensive introduction, you establish your credibility as an author and convince the reader that your research is worth their time and attention.

Key Elements to Include in Your Introduction

When writing your research paper introduction, there are several key elements you should include to ensure it is comprehensive and informative.

• A hook or attention-grabbing statement to capture the reader's interest.  It can be a thought-provoking question, a surprising statistic, or a compelling anecdote that relates to your research topic.
• A brief overview of the research topic and its significance. By highlighting the gap in existing knowledge or the problem your research aims to address, you create a compelling case for the relevance of your study.
• A clear research question or problem statement. This serves as the foundation of your research and guides the reader in understanding the unique focus of your study. It should be concise, specific, and clearly articulated.
• An outline of the paper's structure and main arguments, to help the readers navigate through the paper with ease.

Preparing to Write Your Introduction

Before diving into writing your introduction, it is essential to prepare adequately. This involves 3 important steps:

• Conducting Preliminary Research: Immerse yourself in the existing literature to develop a clear research question and position your study within the academic discourse.
• Identifying Your Thesis Statement: Define a specific, focused, and debatable thesis statement, serving as a roadmap for your paper.
• Considering Broader Context: Reflect on the significance of your research within your field, understanding its potential impact and contribution.

By engaging in these preparatory steps, you can ensure that your introduction is well-informed, focused, and sets the stage for a compelling research paper.

Structuring Your Introduction

Now that you have prepared yourself to tackle the introduction, it's time to structure it effectively. A well-structured introduction will engage the reader from the beginning and provide a logical flow to your research paper.

Starting with a Hook

Begin your introduction with an attention-grabbing hook that captivates the reader's interest. This hook serves as a way to make your introduction more engaging and compelling. For example, if you are writing a research paper on the impact of climate change on biodiversity, you could start your introduction with a statistic about the number of species that have gone extinct due to climate change. This will immediately grab the reader's attention and make them realize the urgency and importance of the topic.

Introducing Your Topic

Provide a brief overview, which should give the reader a general understanding of the subject matter and its significance. Explain the importance of the topic and its relevance to the field. This will help the reader understand why your research is significant and why they should continue reading. Continuing with the example of climate change and biodiversity, you could explain how climate change is one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity, how it affects ecosystems, and the potential consequences for both wildlife and human populations. By providing this context, you are setting the stage for the rest of your research paper and helping the reader understand the importance of your study.

Presenting Your Thesis Statement

The thesis statement should directly address your research question and provide a preview of the main arguments or findings discussed in your paper. Make sure your thesis statement is clear, concise, and well-supported by the evidence you will present in your research paper. By presenting a strong and focused thesis statement, you are providing the reader with the information they could anticipate in your research paper. This will help them understand the purpose and scope of your study and will make them more inclined to continue reading.

Writing Techniques for an Effective Introduction

When crafting an introduction, it is crucial to pay attention to the finer details that can elevate your writing to the next level. By utilizing specific writing techniques, you can captivate your readers and draw them into your research journey.

Using Clear and Concise Language

One of the most important writing techniques to employ in your introduction is the use of clear and concise language. By choosing your words carefully, you can effectively convey your ideas to the reader. It is essential to avoid using jargon or complex terminology that may confuse or alienate your audience. Instead, focus on communicating your research in a straightforward manner to ensure that your introduction is accessible to both experts in your field and those who may be new to the topic. This approach allows you to engage a broader audience and make your research more inclusive.

Establishing the Relevance of Your Research

One way to establish the relevance of your research is by highlighting how it fills a gap in the existing literature. Explain how your study addresses a significant research question that has not been adequately explored. By doing this, you demonstrate that your research is not only unique but also contributes to the broader knowledge in your field. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize the potential impact of your research. Whether it is advancing scientific understanding, informing policy decisions, or improving practical applications, make it clear to the reader how your study can make a difference.

By employing these two writing techniques in your introduction, you can effectively engage your readers. Take your time to craft an introduction that is both informative and captivating, leaving your readers eager to delve deeper into your research.

Revising and Polishing Your Introduction

Once you have written your introduction, it is crucial to revise and polish it to ensure that it effectively sets the stage for your research paper.

Self-Editing Techniques

Review your introduction for clarity, coherence, and logical flow. Ensure each paragraph introduces a new idea or argument with smooth transitions.

Check for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and awkward sentence structures.

Ensure that your introduction aligns with the overall tone and style of your research paper.

Seeking Feedback for Improvement

Consider seeking feedback from peers, colleagues, or your instructor. They can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improving your introduction. Be open to constructive criticism and use it to refine your introduction and make it more compelling for the reader.

Writing an introduction for a research paper requires careful thought and planning. By understanding the purpose of the introduction, preparing adequately, structuring effectively, and employing writing techniques, you can create an engaging and informative introduction for your research. Remember to revise and polish your introduction to ensure that it accurately represents the main ideas and arguments in your research paper. With a well-crafted introduction, you will capture the reader's attention and keep them inclined to your paper.

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Research Paper – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Research Paper

Definition:

Research Paper is a written document that presents the author’s original research, analysis, and interpretation of a specific topic or issue.

It is typically based on Empirical Evidence, and may involve qualitative or quantitative research methods, or a combination of both. The purpose of a research paper is to contribute new knowledge or insights to a particular field of study, and to demonstrate the author’s understanding of the existing literature and theories related to the topic.

Structure of Research Paper

The structure of a research paper typically follows a standard format, consisting of several sections that convey specific information about the research study. The following is a detailed explanation of the structure of a research paper:

The title page contains the title of the paper, the name(s) of the author(s), and the affiliation(s) of the author(s). It also includes the date of submission and possibly, the name of the journal or conference where the paper is to be published.

The abstract is a brief summary of the research paper, typically ranging from 100 to 250 words. It should include the research question, the methods used, the key findings, and the implications of the results. The abstract should be written in a concise and clear manner to allow readers to quickly grasp the essence of the research.

Introduction

The introduction section of a research paper provides background information about the research problem, the research question, and the research objectives. It also outlines the significance of the research, the research gap that it aims to fill, and the approach taken to address the research question. Finally, the introduction section ends with a clear statement of the research hypothesis or research question.

Literature Review

The literature review section of a research paper provides an overview of the existing literature on the topic of study. It includes a critical analysis and synthesis of the literature, highlighting the key concepts, themes, and debates. The literature review should also demonstrate the research gap and how the current study seeks to address it.

The methods section of a research paper describes the research design, the sample selection, the data collection and analysis procedures, and the statistical methods used to analyze the data. This section should provide sufficient detail for other researchers to replicate the study.

The results section presents the findings of the research, using tables, graphs, and figures to illustrate the data. The findings should be presented in a clear and concise manner, with reference to the research question and hypothesis.

The discussion section of a research paper interprets the findings and discusses their implications for the research question, the literature review, and the field of study. It should also address the limitations of the study and suggest future research directions.

The conclusion section summarizes the main findings of the study, restates the research question and hypothesis, and provides a final reflection on the significance of the research.

The references section provides a list of all the sources cited in the paper, following a specific citation style such as APA, MLA or Chicago.

How to Write Research Paper

You can write Research Paper by the following guide:

• Choose a Topic: The first step is to select a topic that interests you and is relevant to your field of study. Brainstorm ideas and narrow down to a research question that is specific and researchable.
• Conduct a Literature Review: The literature review helps you identify the gap in the existing research and provides a basis for your research question. It also helps you to develop a theoretical framework and research hypothesis.
• Develop a Thesis Statement : The thesis statement is the main argument of your research paper. It should be clear, concise and specific to your research question.
• Plan your Research: Develop a research plan that outlines the methods, data sources, and data analysis procedures. This will help you to collect and analyze data effectively.
• Collect and Analyze Data: Collect data using various methods such as surveys, interviews, observations, or experiments. Analyze data using statistical tools or other qualitative methods.
• Organize your Paper : Organize your paper into sections such as Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Ensure that each section is coherent and follows a logical flow.
• Write your Paper : Start by writing the introduction, followed by the literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and follows the required formatting and citation styles.
• Edit and Proofread your Paper: Review your paper for grammar and spelling errors, and ensure that it is well-structured and easy to read. Ask someone else to review your paper to get feedback and suggestions for improvement.
• Cite your Sources: Ensure that you properly cite all sources used in your research paper. This is essential for giving credit to the original authors and avoiding plagiarism.

Research Paper Example

Note : The below example research paper is for illustrative purposes only and is not an actual research paper. Actual research papers may have different structures, contents, and formats depending on the field of study, research question, data collection and analysis methods, and other factors. Students should always consult with their professors or supervisors for specific guidelines and expectations for their research papers.

Research Paper Example sample for Students:

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health among Young Adults

Abstract: This study aims to investigate the impact of social media use on the mental health of young adults. A literature review was conducted to examine the existing research on the topic. A survey was then administered to 200 university students to collect data on their social media use, mental health status, and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. The results showed that social media use is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also found that social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) are significant predictors of mental health problems among young adults.

Introduction: Social media has become an integral part of modern life, particularly among young adults. While social media has many benefits, including increased communication and social connectivity, it has also been associated with negative outcomes, such as addiction, cyberbullying, and mental health problems. This study aims to investigate the impact of social media use on the mental health of young adults.

Literature Review: The literature review highlights the existing research on the impact of social media use on mental health. The review shows that social media use is associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental health problems. The review also identifies the factors that contribute to the negative impact of social media, including social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO.

Methods : A survey was administered to 200 university students to collect data on their social media use, mental health status, and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. The survey included questions on social media use, mental health status (measured using the DASS-21), and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.

Results : The results showed that social media use is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also found that social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO are significant predictors of mental health problems among young adults.

Discussion : The study’s findings suggest that social media use has a negative impact on the mental health of young adults. The study highlights the need for interventions that address the factors contributing to the negative impact of social media, such as social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO.

Conclusion : In conclusion, social media use has a significant impact on the mental health of young adults. The study’s findings underscore the need for interventions that promote healthy social media use and address the negative outcomes associated with social media use. Future research can explore the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing the negative impact of social media on mental health. Additionally, longitudinal studies can investigate the long-term effects of social media use on mental health.

Limitations : The study has some limitations, including the use of self-report measures and a cross-sectional design. The use of self-report measures may result in biased responses, and a cross-sectional design limits the ability to establish causality.

Implications: The study’s findings have implications for mental health professionals, educators, and policymakers. Mental health professionals can use the findings to develop interventions that address the negative impact of social media use on mental health. Educators can incorporate social media literacy into their curriculum to promote healthy social media use among young adults. Policymakers can use the findings to develop policies that protect young adults from the negative outcomes associated with social media use.

References :

• Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2019). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Preventive medicine reports, 15, 100918.
• Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Escobar-Viera, C. G., Barrett, E. L., Sidani, J. E., Colditz, J. B., … & James, A. E. (2017). Use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A nationally-representative study among US young adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 1-9.
• Van der Meer, T. G., & Verhoeven, J. W. (2017). Social media and its impact on academic performance of students. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 16, 383-398.

Appendix : The survey used in this study is provided below.

Social Media and Mental Health Survey

• How often do you use social media per day?
• Less than 30 minutes
• 30 minutes to 1 hour
• 1 to 2 hours
• 2 to 4 hours
• More than 4 hours
• Which social media platforms do you use?
• Others (Please specify)
• How often do you experience the following on social media?
• Social comparison (comparing yourself to others)
• Cyberbullying
• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
• Have you ever experienced any of the following mental health problems in the past month?
• Do you think social media use has a positive or negative impact on your mental health?
• Very positive
• Somewhat positive
• Somewhat negative
• Very negative
• In your opinion, which factors contribute to the negative impact of social media on mental health?
• Social comparison
• In your opinion, what interventions could be effective in reducing the negative impact of social media on mental health?
• Education on healthy social media use
• Counseling for mental health problems caused by social media
• Social media detox programs
• Regulation of social media use

Thank you for your participation!

Applications of Research Paper

Research papers have several applications in various fields, including:

• Advancing knowledge: Research papers contribute to the advancement of knowledge by generating new insights, theories, and findings that can inform future research and practice. They help to answer important questions, clarify existing knowledge, and identify areas that require further investigation.
• Informing policy: Research papers can inform policy decisions by providing evidence-based recommendations for policymakers. They can help to identify gaps in current policies, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and inform the development of new policies and regulations.
• Improving practice: Research papers can improve practice by providing evidence-based guidance for professionals in various fields, including medicine, education, business, and psychology. They can inform the development of best practices, guidelines, and standards of care that can improve outcomes for individuals and organizations.
• Educating students : Research papers are often used as teaching tools in universities and colleges to educate students about research methods, data analysis, and academic writing. They help students to develop critical thinking skills, research skills, and communication skills that are essential for success in many careers.
• Fostering collaboration: Research papers can foster collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers by providing a platform for sharing knowledge and ideas. They can facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships that can lead to innovative solutions to complex problems.

When to Write Research Paper

Research papers are typically written when a person has completed a research project or when they have conducted a study and have obtained data or findings that they want to share with the academic or professional community. Research papers are usually written in academic settings, such as universities, but they can also be written in professional settings, such as research organizations, government agencies, or private companies.

Here are some common situations where a person might need to write a research paper:

• For academic purposes: Students in universities and colleges are often required to write research papers as part of their coursework, particularly in the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. Writing research papers helps students to develop research skills, critical thinking skills, and academic writing skills.
• For publication: Researchers often write research papers to publish their findings in academic journals or to present their work at academic conferences. Publishing research papers is an important way to disseminate research findings to the academic community and to establish oneself as an expert in a particular field.
• To inform policy or practice : Researchers may write research papers to inform policy decisions or to improve practice in various fields. Research findings can be used to inform the development of policies, guidelines, and best practices that can improve outcomes for individuals and organizations.
• To share new insights or ideas: Researchers may write research papers to share new insights or ideas with the academic or professional community. They may present new theories, propose new research methods, or challenge existing paradigms in their field.

Purpose of Research Paper

The purpose of a research paper is to present the results of a study or investigation in a clear, concise, and structured manner. Research papers are written to communicate new knowledge, ideas, or findings to a specific audience, such as researchers, scholars, practitioners, or policymakers. The primary purposes of a research paper are:

• To contribute to the body of knowledge : Research papers aim to add new knowledge or insights to a particular field or discipline. They do this by reporting the results of empirical studies, reviewing and synthesizing existing literature, proposing new theories, or providing new perspectives on a topic.
• To inform or persuade: Research papers are written to inform or persuade the reader about a particular issue, topic, or phenomenon. They present evidence and arguments to support their claims and seek to persuade the reader of the validity of their findings or recommendations.
• To advance the field: Research papers seek to advance the field or discipline by identifying gaps in knowledge, proposing new research questions or approaches, or challenging existing assumptions or paradigms. They aim to contribute to ongoing debates and discussions within a field and to stimulate further research and inquiry.
• To demonstrate research skills: Research papers demonstrate the author’s research skills, including their ability to design and conduct a study, collect and analyze data, and interpret and communicate findings. They also demonstrate the author’s ability to critically evaluate existing literature, synthesize information from multiple sources, and write in a clear and structured manner.

Characteristics of Research Paper

Research papers have several characteristics that distinguish them from other forms of academic or professional writing. Here are some common characteristics of research papers:

• Evidence-based: Research papers are based on empirical evidence, which is collected through rigorous research methods such as experiments, surveys, observations, or interviews. They rely on objective data and facts to support their claims and conclusions.
• Structured and organized: Research papers have a clear and logical structure, with sections such as introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. They are organized in a way that helps the reader to follow the argument and understand the findings.
• Formal and objective: Research papers are written in a formal and objective tone, with an emphasis on clarity, precision, and accuracy. They avoid subjective language or personal opinions and instead rely on objective data and analysis to support their arguments.
• Citations and references: Research papers include citations and references to acknowledge the sources of information and ideas used in the paper. They use a specific citation style, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Peer-reviewed: Research papers are often peer-reviewed, which means they are evaluated by other experts in the field before they are published. Peer-review ensures that the research is of high quality, meets ethical standards, and contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the field.
• Objective and unbiased: Research papers strive to be objective and unbiased in their presentation of the findings. They avoid personal biases or preconceptions and instead rely on the data and analysis to draw conclusions.

Advantages of Research Paper

Research papers have many advantages, both for the individual researcher and for the broader academic and professional community. Here are some advantages of research papers:

• Contribution to knowledge: Research papers contribute to the body of knowledge in a particular field or discipline. They add new information, insights, and perspectives to existing literature and help advance the understanding of a particular phenomenon or issue.
• Opportunity for intellectual growth: Research papers provide an opportunity for intellectual growth for the researcher. They require critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, which can help develop the researcher’s skills and knowledge.
• Career advancement: Research papers can help advance the researcher’s career by demonstrating their expertise and contributions to the field. They can also lead to new research opportunities, collaborations, and funding.
• Academic recognition: Research papers can lead to academic recognition in the form of awards, grants, or invitations to speak at conferences or events. They can also contribute to the researcher’s reputation and standing in the field.
• Impact on policy and practice: Research papers can have a significant impact on policy and practice. They can inform policy decisions, guide practice, and lead to changes in laws, regulations, or procedures.
• Advancement of society: Research papers can contribute to the advancement of society by addressing important issues, identifying solutions to problems, and promoting social justice and equality.

Limitations of Research Paper

Research papers also have some limitations that should be considered when interpreting their findings or implications. Here are some common limitations of research papers:

• Limited generalizability: Research findings may not be generalizable to other populations, settings, or contexts. Studies often use specific samples or conditions that may not reflect the broader population or real-world situations.
• Potential for bias : Research papers may be biased due to factors such as sample selection, measurement errors, or researcher biases. It is important to evaluate the quality of the research design and methods used to ensure that the findings are valid and reliable.
• Ethical concerns: Research papers may raise ethical concerns, such as the use of vulnerable populations or invasive procedures. Researchers must adhere to ethical guidelines and obtain informed consent from participants to ensure that the research is conducted in a responsible and respectful manner.
• Limitations of methodology: Research papers may be limited by the methodology used to collect and analyze data. For example, certain research methods may not capture the complexity or nuance of a particular phenomenon, or may not be appropriate for certain research questions.
• Publication bias: Research papers may be subject to publication bias, where positive or significant findings are more likely to be published than negative or non-significant findings. This can skew the overall findings of a particular area of research.
• Time and resource constraints: Research papers may be limited by time and resource constraints, which can affect the quality and scope of the research. Researchers may not have access to certain data or resources, or may be unable to conduct long-term studies due to practical limitations.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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How to write an effective introduction for your research paper

Last updated

20 January 2024

Reviewed by

However, the introduction is a vital element of your research paper . It helps the reader decide whether your paper is worth their time. As such, it's worth taking your time to get it right.

In this article, we'll tell you everything you need to know about writing an effective introduction for your research paper.

• The importance of an introduction in research papers

The primary purpose of an introduction is to provide an overview of your paper. This lets readers gauge whether they want to continue reading or not. The introduction should provide a meaningful roadmap of your research to help them make this decision. It should let readers know whether the information they're interested in is likely to be found in the pages that follow.

Aside from providing readers with information about the content of your paper, the introduction also sets the tone. It shows readers the style of language they can expect, which can further help them to decide how far to read.

When you take into account both of these roles that an introduction plays, it becomes clear that crafting an engaging introduction is the best way to get your paper read more widely. First impressions count, and the introduction provides that impression to readers.

• The optimum length for a research paper introduction

While there's no magic formula to determine exactly how long a research paper introduction should be, there are a few guidelines. Some variables that impact the ideal introduction length include:

Field of study

Complexity of the topic

Specific requirements of the course or publication

A commonly recommended length of a research paper introduction is around 10% of the total paper’s length. So, a ten-page paper has a one-page introduction. If the topic is complex, it may require more background to craft a compelling intro. Humanities papers tend to have longer introductions than those of the hard sciences.

The best way to craft an introduction of the right length is to focus on clarity and conciseness. Tell the reader only what is necessary to set up your research. An introduction edited down with this goal in mind should end up at an acceptable length.

• Evaluating successful research paper introductions

A good way to gauge how to create a great introduction is by looking at examples from across your field. The most influential and well-regarded papers should provide some insights into what makes a good introduction.

Dissecting examples: what works and why

We can make some general assumptions by looking at common elements of a good introduction, regardless of the field of research.

A common structure is to start with a broad context, and then narrow that down to specific research questions or hypotheses. This creates a funnel that establishes the scope and relevance.

The most effective introductions are careful about the assumptions they make regarding reader knowledge. By clearly defining key terms and concepts instead of assuming the reader is familiar with them, these introductions set a more solid foundation for understanding.

To pull in the reader and make that all-important good first impression, excellent research paper introductions will often incorporate a compelling narrative or some striking fact that grabs the reader's attention.

Finally, good introductions provide clear citations from past research to back up the claims they're making. In the case of argumentative papers or essays (those that take a stance on a topic or issue), a strong thesis statement compels the reader to continue reading.

Common pitfalls to avoid in research paper introductions

You can also learn what not to do by looking at other research papers. Many authors have made mistakes you can learn from.

We've talked about the need to be clear and concise. Many introductions fail at this; they're verbose, vague, or otherwise fail to convey the research problem or hypothesis efficiently. This often comes in the form of an overemphasis on background information, which obscures the main research focus.

Ensure your introduction provides the proper emphasis and excitement around your research and its significance. Otherwise, fewer people will want to read more about it.

• Crafting a compelling introduction for a research paper

Let’s take a look at the steps required to craft an introduction that pulls readers in and compels them to learn more about your research.

Step 1: Capturing interest and setting the scene

To capture the reader's interest immediately, begin your introduction with a compelling question, a surprising fact, a provocative quote, or some other mechanism that will hook readers and pull them further into the paper.

As they continue reading, the introduction should contextualize your research within the current field, showing readers its relevance and importance. Clarify any essential terms that will help them better understand what you're saying. This keeps the fundamentals of your research accessible to all readers from all backgrounds.

Step 2: Building a solid foundation with background information

Including background information in your introduction serves two major purposes:

It helps to clarify the topic for the reader

It establishes the depth of your research

The approach you take when conveying this information depends on the type of paper.

For argumentative papers, you'll want to develop engaging background narratives. These should provide context for the argument you'll be presenting.

For empirical papers, highlighting past research is the key. Often, there will be some questions that weren't answered in those past papers. If your paper is focused on those areas, those papers make ideal candidates for you to discuss and critique in your introduction.

Step 3: Pinpointing the research challenge

To capture the attention of the reader, you need to explain what research challenges you'll be discussing.

For argumentative papers, this involves articulating why the argument you'll be making is important. What is its relevance to current discussions or problems? What is the potential impact of people accepting or rejecting your argument?

For empirical papers, explain how your research is addressing a gap in existing knowledge. What new insights or contributions will your research bring to your field?

Step 4: Clarifying your research aims and objectives

We mentioned earlier that the introduction to a research paper can serve as a roadmap for what's within. We've also frequently discussed the need for clarity. This step addresses both of these.

When writing an argumentative paper, craft a thesis statement with impact. Clearly articulate what your position is and the main points you intend to present. This will map out for the reader exactly what they'll get from reading the rest.

For empirical papers, focus on formulating precise research questions and hypotheses. Directly link them to the gaps or issues you've identified in existing research to show the reader the precise direction your research paper will take.

Step 5: Sketching the blueprint of your study

Continue building a roadmap for your readers by designing a structured outline for the paper. Guide the reader through your research journey, explaining what the different sections will contain and their relationship to one another.

This outline should flow seamlessly as you move from section to section. Creating this outline early can also help guide the creation of the paper itself, resulting in a final product that's better organized. In doing so, you'll craft a paper where each section flows intuitively from the next.

Step 6: Integrating your research question

To avoid letting your research question get lost in background information or clarifications, craft your introduction in such a way that the research question resonates throughout. The research question should clearly address a gap in existing knowledge or offer a new perspective on an existing problem.

Tell users your research question explicitly but also remember to frequently come back to it. When providing context or clarification, point out how it relates to the research question. This keeps your focus where it needs to be and prevents the topic of the paper from becoming under-emphasized.

Step 7: Establishing the scope and limitations

So far, we've talked mostly about what's in the paper and how to convey that information to readers. The opposite is also important. Information that's outside the scope of your paper should be made clear to the reader in the introduction so their expectations for what is to follow are set appropriately.

Similarly, be honest and upfront about the limitations of the study. Any constraints in methodology, data, or how far your findings can be generalized should be fully communicated in the introduction.

Step 8: Concluding the introduction with a promise

The final few lines of the introduction are your last chance to convince people to continue reading the rest of the paper. Here is where you should make it very clear what benefit they'll get from doing so. What topics will be covered? What questions will be answered? Make it clear what they will get for continuing.

By providing a quick recap of the key points contained in the introduction in its final lines and properly setting the stage for what follows in the rest of the paper, you refocus the reader's attention on the topic of your research and guide them to read more.

• Research paper introduction best practices

Following the steps above will give you a compelling introduction that hits on all the key points an introduction should have. Some more tips and tricks can make an introduction even more polished.

As you follow the steps above, keep the following tips in mind.

Set the right tone and style

Like every piece of writing, a research paper should be written for the audience. That is to say, it should match the tone and style that your academic discipline and target audience expect. This is typically a formal and academic tone, though the degree of formality varies by field.

Kno w the audience

The perfect introduction balances clarity with conciseness. The amount of clarification required for a given topic depends greatly on the target audience. Knowing who will be reading your paper will guide you in determining how much background information is required.

Adopt the CARS (create a research space) model

The CARS model is a helpful tool for structuring introductions. This structure has three parts. The beginning of the introduction establishes the general research area. Next, relevant literature is reviewed and critiqued. The final section outlines the purpose of your study as it relates to the previous parts.

Master the art of funneling

The CARS method is one example of a well-funneled introduction. These start broadly and then slowly narrow down to your specific research problem. It provides a nice narrative flow that provides the right information at the right time. If you stray from the CARS model, try to retain this same type of funneling.

Incorporate narrative element

People read research papers largely to be informed. But to inform the reader, you have to hold their attention. A narrative style, particularly in the introduction, is a great way to do that. This can be a compelling story, an intriguing question, or a description of a real-world problem.

Write the introduction last

By writing the introduction after the rest of the paper, you'll have a better idea of what your research entails and how the paper is structured. This prevents the common problem of writing something in the introduction and then forgetting to include it in the paper. It also means anything particularly exciting in the paper isn’t neglected in the intro.

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How to Write a Research Introduction

Last Updated: December 6, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD . Megan Morgan is a Graduate Program Academic Advisor in the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Georgia in 2015. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,655,803 times.

The introduction to a research paper can be the most challenging part of the paper to write. The length of the introduction will vary depending on the type of research paper you are writing. An introduction should announce your topic, provide context and a rationale for your work, before stating your research questions and hypothesis. Well-written introductions set the tone for the paper, catch the reader's interest, and communicate the hypothesis or thesis statement.

Introducing the Topic of the Paper

• In scientific papers this is sometimes known as an "inverted triangle", where you start with the broadest material at the start, before zooming in on the specifics. [2] X Research source
• The sentence "Throughout the 20th century, our views of life on other planets have drastically changed" introduces a topic, but does so in broad terms.
• It provides the reader with an indication of the content of the essay and encourages them to read on.

• For example, if you were writing a paper about the behaviour of mice when exposed to a particular substance, you would include the word "mice", and the scientific name of the relevant compound in the first sentences.
• If you were writing a history paper about the impact of the First World War on gender relations in Britain, you should mention those key words in your first few lines.

• This is especially important if you are attempting to develop a new conceptualization that uses language and terminology your readers may be unfamiliar with.

• If you use an anecdote ensure that is short and highly relevant for your research. It has to function in the same way as an alternative opening, namely to announce the topic of your research paper to your reader.
• For example, if you were writing a sociology paper about re-offending rates among young offenders, you could include a brief story of one person whose story reflects and introduces your topic.
• This kind of approach is generally not appropriate for the introduction to a natural or physical sciences research paper where the writing conventions are different.

Establishing the Context for Your Paper

• It is important to be concise in the introduction, so provide an overview on recent developments in the primary research rather than a lengthy discussion.
• You can follow the "inverted triangle" principle to focus in from the broader themes to those to which you are making a direct contribution with your paper.
• A strong literature review presents important background information to your own research and indicates the importance of the field.

• By making clear reference to existing work you can demonstrate explicitly the specific contribution you are making to move the field forward.
• You can identify a gap in the existing scholarship and explain how you are addressing it and moving understanding forward.

• For example, if you are writing a scientific paper you could stress the merits of the experimental approach or models you have used.
• Stress what is novel in your research and the significance of your new approach, but don't give too much detail in the introduction.
• A stated rationale could be something like: "the study evaluates the previously unknown anti-inflammatory effects of a topical compound in order to evaluate its potential clinical uses".

Specifying Your Research Questions and Hypothesis

• The research question or questions generally come towards the end of the introduction, and should be concise and closely focused.
• The research question might recall some of the key words established in the first few sentences and the title of your paper.
• An example of a research question could be "what were the consequences of the North American Free Trade Agreement on the Mexican export economy?"
• This could be honed further to be specific by referring to a particular element of the Free Trade Agreement and the impact on a particular industry in Mexico, such as clothing manufacture.
• A good research question should shape a problem into a testable hypothesis.

• If possible try to avoid using the word "hypothesis" and rather make this implicit in your writing. This can make your writing appear less formulaic.
• In a scientific paper, giving a clear one-sentence overview of your results and their relation to your hypothesis makes the information clear and accessible. [10] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
• An example of a hypothesis could be "mice deprived of food for the duration of the study were expected to become more lethargic than those fed normally".

• This is not always necessary and you should pay attention to the writing conventions in your discipline.
• In a natural sciences paper, for example, there is a fairly rigid structure which you will be following.
• A humanities or social science paper will most likely present more opportunities to deviate in how you structure your paper.

Research Introduction Help

Community Q&A

• Use your research papers' outline to help you decide what information to include when writing an introduction. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
• Consider drafting your introduction after you have already completed the rest of your research paper. Writing introductions last can help ensure that you don't leave out any major points. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Avoid emotional or sensational introductions; these can create distrust in the reader. Thanks Helpful 50 Not Helpful 12
• Generally avoid using personal pronouns in your introduction, such as "I," "me," "we," "us," "my," "mine," or "our." Thanks Helpful 31 Not Helpful 7
• Don't overwhelm the reader with an over-abundance of information. Keep the introduction as concise as possible by saving specific details for the body of your paper. Thanks Helpful 24 Not Helpful 14

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• ↑ https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185916
• ↑ https://www.aresearchguide.com/inverted-pyramid-structure-in-writing.html
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/introduction
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/PlanResearchPaper.html
• ↑ https://dept.writing.wisc.edu/wac/writing-an-introduction-for-a-scientific-paper/
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/planresearchpaper/
• ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3178846/

About This Article

To introduce your research paper, use the first 1-2 sentences to describe your general topic, such as “women in World War I.” Include and define keywords, such as “gender relations,” to show your reader where you’re going. Mention previous research into the topic with a phrase like, “Others have studied…”, then transition into what your contribution will be and why it’s necessary. Finally, state the questions that your paper will address and propose your “answer” to them as your thesis statement. For more information from our English Ph.D. co-author about how to craft a strong hypothesis and thesis, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Starting Your Research Paper: Writing an Introductory Paragraph

• Choosing Your Topic
• Define Keywords
• Planning Your Paper
• Writing an Introductory Paragraph

The Dreaded Introductory Paragraph

Writing the introductory paragraph can be a frustrating and slow process -- but it doesn't have to be.  If you planned your paper out, then most of the introductory paragraph is already written.  Now you just need a beginning and an end.

Here's an introductory paragraph for a paper I wrote.  I started the paper with a factoid, then presented each main point of my paper and then ended with my thesis statement.

  Breakdown:

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Writing a Research Paper

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The Research Paper

There will come a time in most students' careers when they are assigned a research paper. Such an assignment often creates a great deal of unneeded anxiety in the student, which may result in procrastination and a feeling of confusion and inadequacy. This anxiety frequently stems from the fact that many students are unfamiliar and inexperienced with this genre of writing. Never fear—inexperience and unfamiliarity are situations you can change through practice! Writing a research paper is an essential aspect of academics and should not be avoided on account of one's anxiety. In fact, the process of writing a research paper can be one of the more rewarding experiences one may encounter in academics. What is more, many students will continue to do research throughout their careers, which is one of the reasons this topic is so important.

Becoming an experienced researcher and writer in any field or discipline takes a great deal of practice. There are few individuals for whom this process comes naturally. Remember, even the most seasoned academic veterans have had to learn how to write a research paper at some point in their career. Therefore, with diligence, organization, practice, a willingness to learn (and to make mistakes!), and, perhaps most important of all, patience, students will find that they can achieve great things through their research and writing.

The pages in this section cover the following topic areas related to the process of writing a research paper:

• Genre - This section will provide an overview for understanding the difference between an analytical and argumentative research paper.
• Choosing a Topic - This section will guide the student through the process of choosing topics, whether the topic be one that is assigned or one that the student chooses themselves.
• Identifying an Audience - This section will help the student understand the often times confusing topic of audience by offering some basic guidelines for the process.
• Where Do I Begin - This section concludes the handout by offering several links to resources at Purdue, and also provides an overview of the final stages of writing a research paper.

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Learn How to Write an Introduction for a Research Paper

Updated 24 Jul 2024

Though introduction to any writing is frequently associated with beginning, it's not that simple for an introduction to a research paper. Here you can find a guide on how to write an introduction for a research paper, which presents a topic to the reader. While creating an introduction students frequently get lost in the consistency of their thoughts. But following the structure and simple rules, you will succeed with your writing and get the desired mark.

What is a Research Paper Introduction?

An introduction is the initial part of a research paper and the part that a reader is likely to read first (at least when focusing deeply and reading it in detail). Hence, definitions, notions, and other information required for understanding the paper are presented/listed here.

Every research paper needs context so that readers can understand why you have created it. This is exactly what you can do in your research paper introduction. Of course, this can mean that your introduction is the hardest part of an essay to write first. So, it is essential that you take your time and make sure you get it right.

The introduction of writing is going to set out your rationale, which is what research will be based around. Your readers should be able to tell what they are reading right from the beginning and whether it interests them.

It is essential that you make the beginning of your research paper interesting and engage with your readers from the first line. This will make sure that people continue to read and learn about what you have found out. You should also state a hypothesis and the way you think your work will turn out in conclusion. You must always include an introduction to your paper.

Sana Shaikh

"Introductions need to be organized, succinct, and clear. Clear writing is essential when writing a research paper. Often, students work so hard in crafting an interesting hook that the rest of the introduction devolves into another direction. For students, I always recommend clearly identifying what your thesis is - what are you planning on focusing on for your paper? As a reader, do I know what the premise of the paper is before I continue reading? For research papers, engagement is in the pithiness of writing and the organizational structure. In introductions particularly, the statement of organization is vital. The statement of organization dictates how the rest of the paper will be structured and what the reader should look to when they are reading. For research papers, follow your passions. What interests you? What is a topic that keeps you up at night? What are you passionate about? Finding a topic that resonates with you is key when aiming to write ideas clearly." Sana Shaikh, PhD, Director of School Operations in Springfield Public Schools

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Writing an Introduction to a Research Paper – What to Include

So, what should you include in your introduction? We will give you a list below so that you can prepare a research paper introduction outline and follow it when you are writing.

What are the parts of the introduction in research?

The introduction of a research paper may contain a few other parts/elements such as the chief goal(s) and objectives of the research, a brief but informative outline of the following content, explained, concept definitions, a brief history of the research into the topic, recent related discoveries, etc.

Start with Announcing Your Topic

There are many research topics . The topic is the fundament of any writing you prepare. Regarding, the angle you look at your topic, it will reflect different aspects. It’s better to begin with outlining your topic. There is no secret on how to start a research paper intro: you should just state your topic and add some connected with topic issues that bothers you a lot. This is a perfect strategy to intrigue the reader.

It is recommended to start with general info and then narrowing down to specific aspects. Try not to deepen into a state of things in the beginning, but explain your view on the topic. If you are going to use some difficult expressions in the central part of an essay, make them clear to any reader and point out their connection with your topic.

Review the Literature

Developing a statement in the main body, you will need some literature sources to refer to. While your idea can sound a bit subjectively, if you maintain it with citations extracted from works of famous scientists, authors, or philosophers, you will prove your point. Don’t neglect modern time scholars that are being deeply concerned about the issue or opinion you stated. The introduction should briefly state what the literature will be about.

Stress on Rationale

The rationale is the key element of your beginning. Once you stated the topic, it’s time to prove it’s relevant and gives readers food for thought. The rationale serves as an indicator of both the importance of your essay and your attitude to the issue. The rationale should be laconic and precise to show the reader the significance of your research.

State Your Thesis

The thesis statement marks the conclusive part of the introduction for the research paper or research summary and transition to the actual research. This sentence supports all the things you have written before and collects all your ideas in a logical and concise saying. If your subject is too complicated, you should make the thesis statement comprehensible with it. The thesis is what runs through your paper. That’s why the intro where a thesis is stated sets the tone for the entire work.

Your thesis should:

• Give general info on topic
• Be engaging and precise
• Reflect the significance of raised issue

If all these are ready, the only thing left is to make the outline for research paper structure.

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Conclude With the Outline

When all the important work is done, it’s time for the outline of the research paper’s structure. Not every mentor requires the structure overview in the introduction, but sometimes students are asked to stress on few aspects of their future research. This is not about the detailed depiction of every part of your work. The outline is a short paragraph, which consists of 3 or 4 sentences and represents your plan for the entire paper. You can also look for some essay introduction examples to grab some ideas.

View an Example of an Introduction in Research Paper

Sometimes, it is best to explore an example of an introduction in a research paper in order to understand it better. Check out the example that we have created:

Did you know that there are currently over 2.3 million Americans incarcerated for their crimes? While it is widely believed that prison should be the punishment for crime, statistics find that 77 percent of prisoners will re-offend once they are released. This suggests that prison is not working to reduce recidivism. My research paper aims to demonstrate that prison does not work as a way to prevent crime and that alternatives should be considered, such as restorative justice and other community sentencing.

Writing Tips for Students Who Want to Know all About Introduction

Dr. Elizabeth M. Minei

"A strong introduction to a research paper should probably be written last. The introduction needs to include: 1) what the topic is focused on, 2) how the research was conducted(method), 3) what the findings are (generally), 4) and how the paper contributes to the overall field. These items are often unanswerable until the paper is complete. An introduction should also absolutely have a few sentences that specifically detail what they will read in the upcoming pages. Research Papers are NOT like fiction writing where you might want to sustain the mystery—instead,you want to show them the payoff up front. If the reader gets to the end of the introduction and does not know what to expect in the rest of the paper, you may have missed the mark." Dr. Elizabeth M. Minei, PhD, Associate Professor at Baruch College, Founder and C.E.O. of EMinei Consulting

So, how to write an intro for a research paper?

• Define and Explain Concepts

Is writing including concepts that are going to be complicated for the average reader to understand? If the answer is yes, this means that you should take your time to explain them as best as you can in your introduction. This includes any jargon or terms that you think will be important to know before reading your findings and analysis.

• Start with a Quotation

You want to capture your reader’s attention right from the beginning. If you are not sure how to do that effectively, think about including a quotation that captures the heart of the topic. This will be particularly true if your essay is for social subjects, such as English, History, and humanities. It is going to help create a picture in the reader’s head, and they will remember this when they are reading your work. Depending on the subject of your paper, it could also include a striking statistic.

• Communicate your Structure

Readers need to know not only why you are conducting a particular research topic, but also how you intend to do it. It means that your introduction should set out the structure that will be followed in your article. It will allow a reader to easily navigate between different parts and make sure that it all makes sense.

Need Additional Help?

As you see, writing research papers introduction is not that challenging if you follow the guide. But sometimes even the smartest students fail in choosing a competitive topic and building a solid thesis. Even if you consider your topic important, it can seem questionable for your professor. How to write an introduction for a research paper and make it flawless?

We present you with professional help from writers who are full of new ideas to reflect them in your assignment! Browsing “how to write a research paper introduction” and trying to write a paper on your own you may lose those precious hours of your time. Asking us for help, you will get rid of your constant worries. Can you write my research papers ? Yes, we can! Presenting only top-notch content, we help many students achieve the desired outcome and improve their academic performance. Our writers don’t tolerate plagiarism - real professionals create their writings from scratch. We believe that even the most complicated task has the simplest solution and our paper writers can always find it. If you doubt, place your order and get assured we don’t mouth empty words!

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How do you write a good intro?

Writing a good intro requires matching well the information in it with the rest of the paper – it must “serve” the needs of the rest of the paper. It should introduce the reader smoothly into the topic and facilitate an easy read (without requiring the excessive aid of external sources).

How do you write an introduction for a research paper?

In case you have difficulties starting with the introduction first, a fairly universal advice is to write it last (apart from the thesis, goals, and objectives). Thus, after writing other sections (that have a clearer/ more rigid structure) you’ll be able to decide both on the type of content that would match better the rest of your paper but also on the word count you can dedicate to this section.

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How to write an introduction for a research paper

Writing an introduction for a research paper can be one of the hardest parts of the writing process. How do you get started? In this post, we discuss the components of an introduction and explore strategies for writing one successfully.

What is an introduction?

The introduction to a research paper provides background information or context on the topic. It also includes the thesis statement and signposts that let the reader know what you will cover in the rest of the paper.

Depending on the type of research paper that you’re writing, you may also include a brief state of the field in your introduction. You might also put that in a separate section, called a literature review. Before you tackle writing your introduction, be sure to consult the assignment guidelines for your paper.

How to write an introduction

An introduction provides an overview of your topic and any background information that your readers need to know in order to understand the context. It generally concludes with an explicit statement of your position on the topic, which is known as your thesis statement.

The opening section

Many papers begin with a hook: a short anecdote or scenario that draws the reader in and gives a hint of what the paper will cover. A hook allows you to capture your reader’s attention and provides an anchor for the context that you will provide in the bulk of the introduction.

Most of your introduction should be taken up with background information, but this doesn’t mean that you should fill your opening section with overly general statements. Instead, provide key pieces of information (like statistics) that a reader would need to know in order to understand your main argument.

The thesis statement

Towards the end of the introduction, you should state your thesis, preferably in the form of "I argue that..." or "This paper argues that..." or a similar phrase. Although it’s called a “thesis statement,” your thesis can be more than one sentence.

Finally, an introduction contains a brief outline or "signposts" of what the rest of the article will cover (also known as forecasting statements). You can use language like, “in what follows,” or “in the rest of the paper,” to signal that you are describing what you’ll do in the remainder of the paper.

Tips for writing an introduction

1. don’t rely on generalizations.

An introduction is not simply filler. It has a very specific function in a research paper: to provide context that leads up to a thesis statement.

You may be tempted to start your paper with generalizations like, “many people believe that...” or, “in our society...,” or a general dictionary definition, because you’re not sure what kind of context to provide. Instead, use specific facts like statistics or historical anecdotes to open your paper.

2. State your thesis directly

Once you’ve provided the appropriate, and specific, background information on your topic, you can move on to stating your thesis. As a rule of thumb, state your thesis as directly as possible. Use phrases like “I argue that..” to indicate that you are laying out your main argument.

3. Include signposts

A strong introduction includes clear signposts that outline what you will cover in the rest of the paper. You can signal this by using words like, “in what follows,” and by describing the steps that you will take to build your argument.

4. Situate your argument within the scholarly conversation

Some types of research papers require a separate literature review in which you explore what others have written about your topic.

Even if you’re not required to have a formal literature review, you should still include at least a paragraph in which you engage with the scholarly debate on your chosen subject. Be sure to include direct quotes from your sources . You can use BibGuru’s citation generator to create accurate in-text citations for your quotes.

This section can come directly before your thesis statement or directly after it. In the former case, your state of the field will function as additional context for your thesis.

Frequently Asked Questions about how to write an introduction for a research paper

A good introduction provides specific background information on your topic, sets up your thesis statement, and includes signposts for what you’ll cover in the rest of the paper.

An introduction should include context, a thesis statement, and signposts.

Do not include generalizations, apologies for not being an expert, or dictionary definitions in your introduction.

The length of your introduction depends on the overall length of your paper. For instance, an introduction for an 8-10 page paper will likely be anywhere from 1-3 pages.

You can choose to start an introduction with a hook, an important statistic, an historical anecdote, or another specific piece of background information.

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Guide on How to Write a Research Paper Introduction

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Research Paper Introduction – Definition
• 3 Research Paper Introduction: Structure
• 4 The Do’s and Don’ts
• 5 Research Paper Introduction: Example
• 6 In a nutshell

Research Paper Introduction – Definition

The research paper introduction arrests the reader’s attention from a general perspective to one specific area of a study. It outlines a summary of the research being conducted by condensing current understanding and background information about the topic, presenting the importance of the research in the form of a hypothesis, research questions , or research problem. It also outlines the methodological approach touching the likely outcomes that your study can reveal, and describing the remaining structure of the research paper.

Research paper introduction in academic writing is widely used in the presentation of a thesis and academic work. This article highlights the best ways to go about writing a captivating introduction to help you fine-tune your writing skills at the introductory level.

What is the purpose of a research paper introduction?

It establishes the depth, the context, and the importance of the research by summarizing and bringing the reader’s attention to your thesis. The research topic should be clear from the get-go. The introduction needs to draw in the reader whilst summarizing for them what it is that they’re about to read.

How do you start a research paper introduction?

You start the introduction of the research paper by presenting what your research paper is about. You’ll need some great sentence starters and transition words because your introduction needs to be well written in order to envoke the reader’s interest. Don’t forget to create some context and inform the reader about the research you have carried out.

How do you write a research paper introduction?

Draft your introduction on a piece of paper and edit it extensively before you add it to the final copy of your research paper. Be sure to refer to the research paper outline that you created before you started writing. Your sentences should be short and precise. It’s also important that you do not oversell your ideas at this point- remember that you’re still trying to draw the reader in.

What do you include in a research paper introduction?

You should highlight the key aspects of your thesis. It’s important that your thesis statement is placed towards the end of your research paper introduction. You are essentially briefly introducing the reader to concepts that they will come across in your research work.

How do you write a research paper introduction to a scientific research paper?

The information included in a scientific research paper introduction is very similar to what you would include in any other research paper . However, the overall structure of a scientific research paper is a bit different as you’ll need to include sections like ‘materials’ and ‘scientific processes’. Your introduction to a scientific research paper should highlight sufficient background information on the experiment that you did, making it easy for readers to understand and evaluate your research work.

What is the rationale in the research paper introduction?

The rationale for research is the highlight of why your research topic is worthy of the study and experimentation and how it adds value to already existing research works. You will probably need to bury yourself in books, do your research in the library and undertake descriptive research for your specific field. You need to become an expert in your chosen field and you should know exactly what you are contributing to the academic community with your research.

Tip: Read about the different parts of a research paper for a full rundown of which parts go where.

Research Paper Introduction: Structure

The structure of a research paper introduction should contain the main goal and the objective of the research. It should be a concise but enlightening outline of the soon-after context. Here you are required to state your rationale or reasons why you want to major into a particular subject or instead what problems you seek to solve in the subject matter.

Therefore, you need  comprehensible argumentation to emphasize the importance of your research topic to your reader. In addition, you want to excite the readers curiosity for the subject. Below you will find the prime points to create a convincing research paper introduction.

The Do’s and Don’ts

One of the things that should be evident throughout your research paper introduction is honesty to your readers. This will go a long way in establishing a piece of research work that can be relied on by other students and researchers in the future. You will also not find it hard explaining the rest of the research paper to the panellists.

• Your research paper introduction should be short, accurate and precise. Don´t tell stories at the introductory level of your research.

• Pick-point the ideas you want to talk about and the methodologies that you have derived from the course work for you to solve the hindrances that you encountered on the ground.

• Refer to diverse research paper introduction works and make sure to look for up-to-date researches for your thesis.

• Provide tangible shreds of evidence and supporting arguments to blueprint your findings, and at least prove the fact that what you are presenting is well researched as well as authentic.

• Find it worth to include relevant terms, may it be scientific or mathematical or even theological.

• Always remember to proofread your work.

• Scrutinize your research paper introduction before presentation for reliability and present it with utmost logic to show how it supports your research and not a mere throwing in of figures.

• Do not try explaining ideas that do not answer your research questions. This is a mere waste of time and will not lead to any new conclusion about your research paper introduction work.

• Do not write a lengthy research paper introduction. What will you write in the rest of the paper if you tell it all here?

• Do not state incomplete reasons for carrying out the research. You want to be as convincing as possible in your research paper introduction.

• Do not exceed the stated word limit. It brings about the fact that you do not know what you are talking about, instead, you present yourself as a bluff.

• Do not plagiarize your research paper introduction, just like any other portion of your research work. Check this before any submissions. Make sure all the hypothetical findings are genuine and unique.

Research Paper Introduction: Example

In a nutshell

• Research paper introduction introduces the core topic to your thesis.
• The introduction explains where you are coming from concerning your research. Therefore make your research paper introduction precise.
• The research paper introduction should be short, concise, and accurate.
• Your research paper introduction should highlight the rationale of your research, which is the support of the worthiness of your study and research experiments.
• A research paper introduction should be free from plagiarism.

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How to Write an Effective Research Paper Introduction

The introduction of a research paper has several purposes. It presents your topic, describes the problem your research seeks to solve, and outlines the structure of your paper. It can also inform your audience about how your study differs from the research that has already been done. Generally, the introduction helps you to show your audience why your research topic is worth exploring. It gives you the chance to convince your reader why they should stick around and see what you have to say.

The first 1-2 sentences of your introduction should give an elevator pitch of your work. Be clear, relevant, and to the point. Don't sweat the engagement of your first sentences. You might have heard the advice that, when writing, you should use the first few sentences to wow your readers, transporting them into a lyrical world of imagination. While this is certainly good counsel in creative writing or consumer literature to hook your reader, research papers are another story; you won't need quotes from wise heroes of the past to grab your readers' attention. In most cases, your audience comprises people already interested in the field who are intrigued by your title and want to delve into what you have found through your study, and you don't want to include trite snippets right at the outset. Of course, you don't want to bore your readers either, so strive for clarity and direct information about your study so the readers who navigate to your paper know what they can expect.

To introduce your research paper effectively, include the following elements in your introduction. You will expand on these topics in greater detail in the paper, but in the introduction to your paper, you'll provide a summary of each one.

• Overview: Provide a focused statement on the subject matter of your research. What questions are you seeking to answer? How will your study make the world a better place? Here you can also briefly describe any problems you encountered while conducting your study (and be sure to state that you will address these problems within the paper!).
• Prior research: It's important that your audience knows you've already explored the field and looked around at what has already been written. Briefly discuss what past studies have concluded on the subject and what that means for your current study. Maybe in your search, you found that your research is the first to address your specific topic, which is why your study is so valuable. Let your readers know that you've done your homework.
• Rationale: Make your case regarding why your study is important today. What will your findings bring to the field? Your research could address current issues and events, or it might illuminate gaps in previous research that need to be filled in order to move ahead in the academic field and strengthen future studies.
• Methodology: In your methodology paragraph, briefly name the processes you applied during your study. Why are these tools the best ones for your specific research? What answers do you get from using these methods? Details on your methodology can bring credibility to your study and help with future application of your findings to similar fields.

• Outline of the paper: At the conclusion on your introduction, offer a review of what your study will discuss specifically in the sections that follow.

Once you've gathered all of the necessary elements for your introduction, try these tips to make your introduction pop:

• Try finalizing your introduction after you've finished writing the body of the paper. While it's beneficial to map out what you want your introduction to say before you begin your paper, wait until you've elaborated on your research in detail, and then create your introduction. With the entire work fresh in your mind, you have a clear grasp on what it's about, your purpose in writing it, and what the study results mean for the world.
• Show, don't tell. When giving a brief summary of your work, give compelling details about why this study is a good one to conduct. Remember, you still want to be brief, but you can accomplish clarity and brevity while also enticing your readers to share your vision. For example, instead of stating, "Dual language educational programs are important for children," consider saying, "Dual language programs help students develop increased cognitive function, future linguistic advantages, and a broadened worldview."
• Keep it simple. Don't bury the good points of your work in excessive detail within the introduction. Your entire paper is where you will delve into the finer points of the research, so take stock of which ideas are the most important and stick to those nuggets to motivate your audience to read on.
• Speak to a broader audience. Your research will certainly attract specialists in the field who know every term you could possibly throw at them, but your audience also includes laymen and people who haven't spent as much time in the field as you have, knee-deep in your study. Remember to make your introduction accessible to those who aren't familiar with the industry jargon. The body of the paper is a great place to flex your muscles and the nitty-gritty details of your research results, but the introduction should be consumable by a much more general group. If you have to use specialized language, make sure to define those obscure terms that only a select few people would know.

Your introduction gives your readers greater access to your work. You are the expert, of course, but your goal is to display your findings to a broader audience, and your introduction is the key to accomplishing that objective. Follow these tips and examples to help you create a strong introductory section for your research paper.

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How to write a research paper: A step-by-step guide

Published July 20, 2020. Updated May 19, 2022.

Research Paper Definition

A research paper is an essay that evaluates or argues a perception or a point.

Overview of research paper

Research papers are papers written as in-depth analyses of the academic literature on a selected topic. A research paper outline consists of planning out the main sections of the paper, including the points and evidence, so that the drafting and editing processes are much easier. The research paper should have an introduction paragraph, at least three body paragraphs, a conclusion paragraph, and a Works Cited page. Some important steps should be followed while writing a research paper. The steps include understanding the instructor’s expectations for how to write a research paper, brainstorming research paper ideas, conducting research, defining the thesis statement, making a research paper outline, writing, editing again if required, creating a title page, and writing an abstract.

Key takeaways

• A research paper is an essay that analyzes or argues a perspective or a point.
• A research paper outline involves planning out the main sections of your paper, including your points and evidence, so that the drafting and editing processes go a lot smoother.
• Before you write your research paper outline, consult your instructor, research potential topics, and define your thesis statement.
• Your research paper should include an introduction paragraph, at least three body paragraphs, a conclusion paragraph, and a Works Cited page.

What are the steps to writing a research paper?

Here are 7 steps on how to write a research paper, plus two optional steps on creating a title page and an abstract:

Step 1: Understand your instructor’s expectations for how to write a research paper

Step 2: brainstorm research paper ideas, step 3: conduct research, step 4: define your thesis statement, step 5: make a research paper outline, step 6: write, step 7: edit, edit, and edit again, step 8 (optional): create a title page, step 9 (optional): write an abstract.

• Additional tips

Worried about your writing? Submit your paper for a Chegg Writing essay check , or for an Expert Check proofreading . Both can help you find and fix potential writing issues.

First, read and reread the rubric for the assignment. Depending on your field of study, the guidelines will vary. For instance, psychology, education, and the sciences tend to use APA research paper format, while the humanities, language, and the fine arts tend to use MLA or Chicago style.

Once you know which research paper format to use, take heed of any specific expectations your instructor has for this assignment. For example:

• When is it due?
• What is the expected page count?
• Will your instructor expect to see a research paper outline before the draft?
• Is there a set topic list or can you choose your own?
• Is there someplace to look at sample research papers that got A’s?

If anything isn’t clear about how to write a research paper, don’t hesitate to ask your instructor.

Being aware of the assignment’s details is a good start! However, even after reading them, you may still be asking some of the following questions:

• How do you think of topics for research papers?
• How do you think of interesting research paper topics?
• How do I structure an outline?
• Where can you find examples of research papers?

We’ll answer all of these questions (and more) in the steps below.

Some instructors offer a set of research paper topics to choose from. That makes it easy for you—just pick the research paper idea that intrigues you the most! Since all the topics have been approved by your instructor, you shouldn’t have to worry about any of them being too “broad” or “narrow.” (But remember, there are no easy research paper topics!)

On the other hand, many instructors expect students to brainstorm their own topics for research papers. In this case, you will need to ensure your topic is relevant as well as not too broad or narrow.

An example of a research paper topic that is too broad is “The History of Modernist Literature.” An expert would be hard-pressed to write a book on this topic, much less a school essay.

An example of a research paper topic that is too narrow is “Why the First Line of Ulysses Exemplifies Modernist Literature.” It may take a page or two to outline the ways in which the first line of Ulysses exemplifies traits of modernist literature, but there’s only so much you can write about one line!

Good research paper topics fall somewhere in the middle . An example of this would be “Why Ulysses ’ Stephen Exemplifies Modernist Literature.” Analyzing a character in a novel is broader than analyzing a single line, but it is narrower than examining an entire literary movement.

Next, conduct research and use an adequate number of reputable sources to back up your argument or analysis. This means that you need to evaluate the credibility of all your sources and probably include a few peer-reviewed journal articles (tip: use a database).

A lot of good sources can be found online or at your school’s library (in-person and online). If you’re stuck finding sources or would like to see a sample research paper, ask your librarian for help. If you’re having trouble finding useful sources, it may be a warning sign that your idea is too broad or narrow. For a more comprehensive look at research, check this out .

Your thesis statement is the most important line of your research paper! It encompasses in one sentence what your paper is all about. Having a concrete thesis statement will help you organize your thoughts around a defined point, and it will help your readers understand what they’re reading about.

If you could boil your paper down into a single line, what would that line be?

Here is an example of a working thesis:

In George Orwell’s  1984 , the Party manipulates citizens into total submission to the Party’s ideals through Newspeak, propaganda, and altered history.

For more information, see this guide on thesis statements .

Even if you think you chose an easy research paper topic, a structured, outlined research paper format is still necessary to help you stay organized and on-track while you draft. The traditional research paper outline example looks something like this:

Introduction

• Main point #1
• Main point #2
• Main point #3

Works cited

Let’s examine each section in detail.

Wondering how to start a research paper that gets an A? One good step is to have a strong introduction. Your research paper introduction will include the following elements:

• state your thesis (the one or two-line gist of your paper)
• explain the question you will answer or argument you will make
• outline your research methodology

1. Open with a hook

Keep your readers reading—hook them! A handy tip for writing a hook is to think about what made you choose this topic. What about your topic captured your interest enough to research it and write a paper about it?

A hook might sound something like the following examples:

Did you know that babies have around a hundred more bones than adults?

A language dies every fourteen days.

Of course, by no means does your opening line have to be so shocking. It could be as simple as you’d like, as long as it pulls your readers in and gives them an idea of what your paper is going to be about.

2.  Introduce relevant background context

After you’ve hooked your readers, introduce them to the topic at hand. What is already known about it? What is still a mystery? Why should we care? Finally, what work have you done to advance knowledge on this topic?

You can include a relevant quotation or paraphrase here, but keep it short and sweet. Your introduction should not be bogged down with anything less than essential.

3.  End on your thesis statement

Finally, end your introduction paragraph with your thesis statement, which is a concise sentence (just one, two max) summarizing the crux of your research paper.

Research paper introduction example

As John Wilkes Booth fled the scene of his assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, he yelled, “ Sic semper tyrannis ! The South is avenged!” Booth was an ardent supporter of the Southern cause during the Civil War era, but what made him passionate enough to assassinate a sitting president? Although Booth’s ire can be traced mostly to his backing of the South, there is more to the story than just that. John Wilkes Booth had three primary motives for assassinating Abraham Lincoln.

The body of your paper is not limited to three points, as shown below, but three is typically considered the minimum. A good rule of thumb is to back up each main point with three arguments or pieces of evidence. To present a cogent argument or make your analysis more compelling , present your points and arguments in a “strong, stronger, strongest” research paper format.

• Main point #1 – A strong point 
• Strong supporting argument or evidence #1
• Stronger supporting argument or evidence #2
• Strongest supporting argument or evidence #3
• Main point #2 – A stronger point
• Main point #3 – Your strongest point

The conclusion is crucial for helping your readers reflect on your main arguments or analyses and understand why what they just read was worthwhile.

• restate your topic
• synthesize your most important points
• restate your thesis statement
• tie it all into the bigger picture

1.  Restate your topic

Before you wrap up your paper, it helps to remind your readers of the main idea at hand. This is different than restating your thesis. While your thesis states the specific argument or analysis at hand, the main idea of your research paper might be much broader. For instance, your thesis statement might be “John Wilkes Booth had three primary motives for assassinating Abraham Lincoln.” The main idea of the paper is Booth’s assassination of Lincoln. Even broader, the research paper is about American history.

2.  Synthesize your most important points

The key here is to synthesize , not summarize . Many students don’t see the point of conclusions because they look at them as mere repetition of points that already have been made. They’re right—that’s not what a conclusion paragraph should do! To summarize is to objectively restate what you’ve already said in your paper. What you want to do instead is offer a new viewpoint. Take the points you’ve made and develop a unique understanding or perspective.

For example, assume the main points you made in your paper are the following:

John Wilkes Booth was loyal to the South and the Confederate States of America.

John Wilkes Booth strongly opposed the abolition of slavery.

John Wilkes Booth was vocal about his hatred of Abraham Lincoln.

Instead of simply restating those three points in your conclusion, you could synthesize the points:

John Wilkes Booth’s outspoken loyalty to the South and opposition to abolition motivated him to assassinate Lincoln, who was one of the most prominent proponents of the abolition of slavery and the Union side of the Civil War. If Lincoln’s cause succeeded, the economy and culture of the antebellum South that Booth advocated for would not survive. All of those reasons combined were why Booth saw it as imperative that Lincoln be killed.

3.  Restate your thesis statement

After you’ve synthesized the main points of your research paper, restate your thesis statement. This helps bring your paper full circle back to where you began.

4.  Tie it all into the bigger picture

Answer the “so what?” question of your argument or analysis in order to end your research paper by tying it into a bigger picture. What implications does your argument or analysis have on the research of others? Why does your discovery matter? If you’re not sure, ask a friend to ask you (or ask yourself) “so what?” until you’ve figured it out. Here’s how it might look:

Friend: What is your paper about?

You: John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln for three main reasons.

Friend: So what?

You: It’s important to know why he killed Lincoln.

Friend: Why is it important?

You: So we know what kind of things motivate assassins to kill presidents so we can avoid it happening in the future.

Just like that, you have tied your paper into the bigger picture. Your paper is more likely to have a strong impact on your readers (and receive a better grade) if you end it with a strong “take-home” message.

Tips for writing a great conclusion to your paper

• Link your conclusion to your introduction.
• Don’t give away all the answers. Remember, you don’t have to have all the answers. You can conclude your research paper with some questions for your readers to ponder.
• Propose a call to action. After conducting all this research and formulating some great arguments or analyses, you might believe something needs to be done. For example, if you wrote the aforementioned research paper about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, you might suggest a call to action that we all keep an eye out for potential presidential assassins like John Wilkes Booth.

Mistakes to avoid when concluding your research paper

• Being too wordy. Keep the conclusion concise.
• Failure to relate it back to your intro.
• Failure to reflect on the bigger picture. Provide a compelling synthesis of what was just written.

Research paper conclusion example

Presidential assassinations are particularly sad and defining points in American history. They shake the country and make the people ask, “How could this happen to the most powerful figure in our nation?” In this paper, we explored some of the reasons why assassinations happen. John Wilkes Booth’s outspoken loyalty to the South and opposition to abolition motivated him to assassinate Lincoln, who was one of the most prominent proponents of the abolition of slavery and the Union side of the Civil War. If Lincoln’s cause succeeded, the economy and culture of the antebellum South that Booth advocated for would not survive. Those three motives combined were why Booth saw it as imperative that Lincoln be killed. As history scholars, we should remember why and how this happened so that we can avoid it happening in the future.

A works cited or bibliography page (or pages) should be the final section of your paper. This section includes a list of the resources you consulted, quoted, or cited within the body of your work, as well as those which influenced your ideas on the topic.

This is only a basic research paper outline template, which can be altered depending on the length and purpose of your paper. Argumentative papers aim to prove a point through well-researched, persuasive argument, while analytical papers posit a question and explore possible answers throughout the paper. Either way, your goal as a writer is to find and share the truth, whether you do so before you start writing a research paper or while you’re writing it.

Once you have an outline in the above research paper format, it’s a good idea to consult with your teacher or a writing tutor to find ways to strengthen it. They’ll also be able to give you good writing advice, from how to start a research paper to how to find research paper ideas conducive to strong arguments. As you write, you might find yourself tweaking (or overhauling) your outline. That’s okay!

You already have a rock-solid topic, credible sources, and intuitive outline. Now, you just have to flesh it out into pages of flowing, articulate prose. (Okay, it won’t exactly be easy.)

Before you begin writing, you might find it helpful to look at sample research papers in your school’s library or writing center (many research paper examples can also be found online). This will give you an idea of how to do a research paper outline, build a research paper outline template, as well as give you several research paper introduction examples. Here is one example research paper .

Examples of research papers you’ll see will look crazy long. But remember, those weren’t completed in one sitting! So, don’t wait until the last minute to get started. You’ll need to factor in time for breaks, writing tutor consultations, and the dreaded writer’s block.

You will probably write multiple drafts. Don’t expect your first draft to be perfect. You may even need to change your main argument halfway through your draft. That’s okay! Be ready to re-brainstorm, re-outline, and rewrite.

This might just be the most important step. Even if you brainstorm the perfect topic, create a brilliant research paper outline, and write a strong first draft. None of that brilliance will shine through if your paper is full of typos, grammar errors, and rambling tangents.

You’ll want to complete these kinds of editing, in this order:

• line editing
• spell-checking
• proofreading

Revision deals with broad issues, such as an argument that doesn’t make sense or a source that doesn’t support your thesis. Line editing, spell-checking, and proofreading are more to do with your writing itself—the flow of your sentences and the presence of any spelling or grammatical errors.

Paper formatting

The format of your paper will depend largely on what paper or citation style your instructor has told you to use (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, etc.). In general though, here are some good paper formatting guidelines to follow:

• Use 1-inch margins around your paper.
• Use a standard font like Times New Roman, Arial, etc.
• Use a standard font size between 10-12 points.
• Make sure that the title of your paper, date you turn it in, course name, and your name appear somewhere on the first page. If this is for APA, you’ll create a title page. If for MLA, you’ll create a header.

After you finish, it also doesn’t hurt to check your paper for plagiarism .

Before you turn in that paper, don’t forget to cite your sources in APA format , MLA format , or a style of your choice.

A title page is not always needed but is sometimes requested by an instructor or required by a paper format (example: APA style). It is always the first page of a paper and is the cover that communicates what’s in store for a reader. Let’s discuss what a title page is, why it’s important, how to create one, and tips on writing a good title.

What is a title page?

A title page is the first page of the paper that displays the title, the author’s name, and other required information such as thhe course number, the instructor’s name, or the date .

Why have a title page?

The main purpose of title page is like the purpose of a book cover or a news article headline. Its purpose is to allow the reader to easily understand what the paper is about .

This makes it especially important for you to have an effective and well-written title for your essay. You want to capture the reader’s attention, so they feel that your work is worth reading.

A title page can also indicate that the paper is academic in nature. The structured nature of a title page is an indicator that a paper has been created using certain academic guidelines or standards.

What is included on the title page besides the title?

There are two title page formats that you may be asked to use for academic papers. One is called American Psychological Association, which is commonly known as APA, and the second is called Modern Language Association, generally referred to as MLA. APA is typically used for research involving technical and scientific topics while MLA is more likely to be used for humanities or literature topics. Even though they are similar, each has a different set of requirements for the title page.

APA requirements:

• Research Paper Title
• Author’s full name (first name, middle initial, last name)
• Department and university name/Affiliation
• Course number and name
• Instructor’s/Professor’s name
• Assignment due date
• Page number
• All information is to be double spaced and centered
• Use Times New Roman font with 12 point size

MLA requirements:

It is important to note that usually a cover page is not required when using the MLA format. Instead, all the same points are found at the top of the first page of the research paper. However, if a title page is requested, it must meet the following requirements:

• Name of the school or university
• Title of the paper
• Subtitle of the paper (if necessary)
• Author’s/Student’s name
• Appropriate course number and name
• Use Times New Roman font with 12 as the font size
• Except for small words such as a, the, or, etc.
• The first letter of the first word should always be capitalized
• For BOTH formats, the first line should be spaced down three or four lines from the top margin.

Now, look at examples of both APA and MLA college research paper title page formats.

College research paper title page examples

Effects of Depression Symptoms on Quality of Sleep  

Jane A. Doe and John Z. Smith

Michigan State University

Jack Peterson, Instructor

March 11, 2021

Effects of Depression Symptoms on Quality of Sleep

Jane A. Doe and Joe Z. Smith

Professor Jack Peterson

Tips on writing a great title

There are few things to consider when creating the title of your research paper:

• Succinctly communicate what the topic of the paper is.
• Be concise.
• Give your reader a preview of your approach to the subject.
• Gain the reader’s interest in learning about your subject.

Below are two examples of titles. Think about which title is more effective and why.

• Student Loan Debt
• The Vanishing American Middle Class: How Student Loan Debt is Destroying the Next Generation and What Can Be Done About It

Hopefully, you noticed that while Title 1 is concise, it is not informative. It does not  give information on the writer’s approach to research on the topic. Title 2 is more interesting and precise than Title 1, and it communicates what problem the writer has researched. It is, however, very long.  An ideal title would be something in the middle like this:

Student Loan Debt and Its Impact on the Vanishing American Middle Class

Here are a few examples of bad titles:

• Television is Influential

(the title is very vague and doesn’t make the reader want to learn more)

• The Most Poisonous Snakes

(This title is too broad.)

• Outsourcing in the 21st Century

While this title is not terrible, it should include more detail. For example, what is being outsourced exactly?

A good paper title should convey your specific topic or argument and can hint at the conclusions. Here are some general guidelines to follow:

• Your title should be grammatically correct and in Title Case
• It should be formatted correctly
• It should not be a quote by someone else
• The title is not your thesis statement
• The title is not just rephrasing the topic or assignment
• Always follow your professor’s preferences
• Do not put your title in All CAPS or Italics

An abstract is a concise overview or summary of your research paper. The abstract is a paragraph that states the central question behind the research, describes the research methods, and summarizes the findings. After reading your abstract, readers should understand exactly what your paper is all about.

Abstracts are used in papers meant for publication in journals and are not typically required for student papers.

What’s the difference between an abstract and an introduction?

Many students have trouble understanding the difference between an abstract and an introduction. While it’s true that both may seem quite similar at first glance, an abstract is distinct from an introduction in several ways.

An abstract is a concise summary, whereas an introduction is much more detailed. When writing an introduction, you will provide an overview of the “why, what, when and how” of your study. On the other hand, an abstract provides readers with a quick overview of your paper without them having to read the entire paper. It will also provide a preview so they can better understand the paper when reading it or deciding whether or not they want to read it.

Why are abstracts necessary for research papers?

Abstracts help researchers to quickly identify studies relevant to subjects they need information on. If abstracts didn’t exist, people would have to sift through pages and pages of each study just to find this important information. In the modern era, abstracts are even more important because they contain keywords that make papers easier to find on the web. In addition, abstracts allow researchers to absorb key information without paying any money if the paper is not an open-source document.

Planning your abstract

Write the abstract after you have finished writing your paper.  You can’t summarize until you have written the paper.  The organization of an abstract is determined by the type of research paper.

Scientific abstracts include a concise summary of the following:

• OBJECTIVE: Clearly define the purpose of your research and the central question you aimed to answer.
• METHODS: Briefly explain research methods you used to answer your central question.
• RESULTS: Summarize the most important and relevant results of your study. Don’t include all of your results if there are too many to realistically fit.
• FINDINGS: Explain how your research answered your central problem or question. What the significance of your research? What kind of argument are you making in light of your results?  

Abstracts for research in humanities and the social sciences contain the following:

• The background and overview of your general topic
• A concise summary of your central argument and claims
• The rationale and purpose for your research in this specific area
• Your method and strategy for researching this topic and primary sources used to support your claims

There are different types of abstracts you may be asked to write, depending on the assignment. Common types of abstracts for the social sciences include the following:

• Critical Abstract: This type of abstract provides a judgment or comment on how reliable the study is. These types of abstracts are quite rare.
• Descriptive Abstract: A descriptive abstract simply summarizes the information found in a paper. There is no judgment involved, and these abstracts can be as short as 100 words.
• Informative Abstract: This is the most common type of abstract. It includes the main arguments,  the evidence presented and the most important findings. In most cases, this is the type of abstract you will be writing.
• Highlight Abstract: The purpose of a highlight abstract is to grab the reader’s attention. These are often incomplete, biased, and full of leading remarks intended only to attract readers. These are not used in academic writing.

Writing your abstract

Abstracts are usually between 150 and 300 words. An abstract for a research paper in the humanities or social sciences should be formatted as a single paragraph. For the sciences, you will need to clearly outline each section (Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion). The abstract follows the title page.

When it comes to actually writing your abstract, you can simply copy and paste key sentences from your paper and place them in a sequence. This is a good way to organize and outline your ideas before writing the abstract. You may prefer to write it another way – just be sure to include your main objective, method, and overall conclusion.  Regardless, be sure to make your abstract a clear and concise explanation of your rationale for the essay and primary findings.

Below is a sample APA abstract that a freshman college student taking psychology and studying addictive disorders might provide for her research.

Sample Psychology Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the overall efficacy of Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT) in individuals with opioid use disorder compared with those individuals who only receive treatment in the form of 12-step recovery style meetings and counseling. From 2017-present, most people who seek assistance for opiate addiction in the United States receive treatment in the form of MAT or 12-step (and related) forms of treatment. Some are provided with both. Using recent data from recognized and credible scientific and medical literature and peer-reviewed journals, I provide an analysis of current trends in how opioid-dependent individuals are likely to be treated and make an argument that MAT combined with counseling/therapy of any recovery model (not only 12-step type, e. g., Narcotics Anonymous or NA) is much more effective than recovery programs using 12-step meetings and fellowship as the primary method of treatment. Furthermore, I demonstrate that individuals with private insurance and access to private treatment (inpatient rehabilitation with medical detoxification and post-acute support) are more likely to receive MAT combined with therapy and, therefore, achieve long term success/ sobriety. Success is measured in the percentage of subjects who show long-term abstinence from opioids after 5 years compared to those who do not survive — or return to their opioid use disorder. The rationale for this research project is to find out how most Americans are treated for this debilitating health issue during the current “opioid epidemic” that resulted in 50,000 overdose-related deaths in 2019 alone. My hope is that my argument might increase awareness of the higher success rates of MAT compared to that of predominately 12-step only recovery as well as prompt discussion of making MAT more accessible to those without private medical insurance and the financial means to pay for it.

Sample Scientific Abstract

“The relationship between habitat use by voles (Rodentia: Microtus) and the density of vegetative cover was studied to determine if voles select forage areas at the microhabitat level.  Using live traps, I trapped, powdered, and released voles at 10 sites.  At each trap site I analyzed the type and height of the vegetation in the immediate area. Using a black light, I followed the trails left by powdered voles through the vegetation.  I mapped the trails using a compass to ascertain the tortuosity, or amount the trail twisted and turned, and visually checked the trails to determine obstruction of the movement path by vegetation.  I also checked vegetative obstruction on 4 random paths near the actual trail, to compare the cover on the trail with other nearby alternative pathways.  There was not a statistically significant difference between the amount of cover on a vole trail and the cover off to the sides of the trail when completely covered; there was a significant difference between on and off the trail when the path was completely open.  These results indicate that voles are selectively avoiding bare areas, while not choosing among dense patches at a fine microhabitat scale.”

Source: http://www.umt.edu/ugresearch/umcur/sample_abstracts.php

Additional tips for writing a research paper abstract

• Imagine you are another researcher looking at your abstract for the first time. Does it adequately summarize your research, or is essential information missing?
• Avoid redundancy.
• Do not use acronyms or abbreviations.
• Do not reference other literature.
• Do not use confusing terminology that new readers will not understand.
• Do not use images, graphs, or tables.
• Only describe the paper – do not defend your research in the abstract.
• No need to cite sources.
• Write in past tense, as the research is already complete.
• Use active tense when possible.

Example research paper on student stress

Why it’s worth learning how to write a research paper.

Learning how to write a research paper will allow you to strengthen your time management, communication, and analytical skills. What is a research paper for, after all, if not to help you grow as a student and a writer? Believe it or not, with enough practice, you’ll become a pro at finding interesting research paper topics, creating an organized research paper outline, and writing a clean draft that flows from introduction to conclusion.

Research paper template and example

• Research paper template
• Research paper example
• How to write a research paper
• Research paper topics
• Research paper outline

By Jolee McManus. Jolee earned a BA in English from the University of Georgia. She has several years of experience as a writing tutor and freelance copywriter and editor

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Organizing Academic Research Papers: 4. The Introduction

• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Executive Summary
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
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• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
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• How to Manage Group Projects
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Essays
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Acknowledgements

The introduction serves the purpose of leading the reader from a general subject area to a particular field of research. It establishes the context of the research being conducted by summarizing current understanding and background information about the topic, stating the purpose of the work in the form of the hypothesis, question, or research problem, briefly explaining your rationale, methodological approach, highlighting the potential outcomes your study can reveal, and describing the remaining structure of the paper.

Key Elements of the Research Proposal. Prepared under the direction of the Superintendent and by the 2010 Curriculum Design and Writing Team. Baltimore County Public Schools.

Importance of a Good Introduction

Think of the introduction as a mental road map that must answer for the reader these four questions:

• What was I studying?
• Why was this topic important to investigate?
• What did we know about this topic before I did this study?
• How will this study advance our knowledge?

A well-written introduction is important because, quite simply, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. The opening paragraph of your paper will provide your readers with their initial impressions about the logic of your argument, your writing style, the overall quality of your research, and, ultimately, the validity of your findings and conclusions. A vague, disorganized, or error-filled introduction will create a negative impression, whereas, a concise, engaging, and well-written introduction will start your readers off thinking highly of your analytical skills, your writing style, and your research approach.

Introductions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.

Structure and Writing Style

I. Structure and Approach

The introduction is the broad beginning of the paper that answers three important questions for the reader:

• What is this?
• Why am I reading it?
• What do you want me to think about / consider doing / react to?

Think of the structure of the introduction as an inverted triangle of information. Organize the information so as to present the more general aspects of the topic early in the introduction, then narrow toward the more specific topical information that provides context, finally arriving at your statement of purpose and rationale and, whenever possible, the potential outcomes your study can reveal.

These are general phases associated with writing an introduction:

• Highlighting the importance of the topic, and/or
• Making general statements about the topic, and/or
• Presenting an overview on current research on the subject.
• Opposing an existing assumption, and/or
• Revealing a gap in existing research, and/or
• Formulating a research question or problem, and/or
• Continuing a disciplinary tradition.
• Stating the intent of your study,
• Outlining the key characteristics of your study,
• Describing important results, and
• Giving a brief overview of the structure of the paper.

NOTE: Even though the introduction is the first main section of a research paper, it is often useful to finish the introduction very late in the writing process because the structure of the paper, the reporting and analysis of results, and the conclusion will have been completed and it ensures that your introduction matches the overall structure of your paper.

II.  Delimitations of the Study

Delimitations refer to those characteristics that limit the scope and define the conceptual boundaries of your study . This is determined by the conscious exclusionary and inclusionary decisions you make about how to investigate the research problem. In other words, not only should you tell the reader what it is you are studying and why, but you must also acknowledge why you rejected alternative approaches that could have been used to examine the research problem.

Obviously, the first limiting step was the choice of research problem itself. However, implicit are other, related problems that could have been chosen but were rejected. These should be noted in the conclusion of your introduction.

Examples of delimitating choices would be:

• The key aims and objectives of your study,
• The research questions that you address,
• The variables of interest [i.e., the various factors and features of the phenomenon being studied],
• The method(s) of investigation, and
• Any relevant alternative theoretical frameworks that could have been adopted.

Review each of these decisions. You need to not only clearly establish what you intend to accomplish, but to also include a declaration of what the study does not intend to cover. In the latter case, your exclusionary decisions should be based upon criteria stated as, "not interesting"; "not directly relevant"; “too problematic because..."; "not feasible," and the like. Make this reasoning explicit!

NOTE: Delimitations refer to the initial choices made about the broader, overall design of your study and should not be confused with documenting the limitations of your study discovered after the research has been completed.

III. The Narrative Flow

Issues to keep in mind that will help the narrative flow in your introduction :

• Your introduction should clearly identify the subject area of interest . A simple strategy to follow is to use key words from your title in the first few sentences of the introduction. This will help focus the introduction on the topic at the appropriate level and ensures that you get to the primary subject matter quickly without losing focus, or discussing information that is too general.
• Establish context by providing a brief and balanced review of the pertinent published literature that is available on the subject. The key is to summarize for the reader what is known about the specific research problem before you did your analysis. This part of your introduction should not represent a comprehensive literature review but consists of a general review of the important, foundational research literature (with citations) that lays a foundation for understanding key elements of the research problem. See the drop-down tab for "Background Information" for types of contexts.
• Clearly state the hypothesis that you investigated . When you are first learning to write in this format it is okay, and actually preferable, to use a past statement like, "The purpose of this study was to...." or "We investigated three possible mechanisms to explain the...."
• Why did you choose this kind of research study or design? Provide a clear statement of the rationale for your approach to the problem studied. This will usually follow your statement of purpose in the last paragraph of the introduction.

IV. Engaging the Reader

The overarching goal of your introduction is to make your readers want to read your paper. The introduction should grab your reader's attention. Strategies for doing this can be to:

• Open with a compelling story,
• Include a strong quotation or a vivid, perhaps unexpected anecdote,
• Pose a provocative or thought-provoking question,
• Describe a puzzling scenario or incongruity, or
• Cite a stirring example or case study that illustrates why the research problem is important.

NOTE:   Only choose one strategy for engaging your readers; avoid giving an impression that your paper is more flash than substance.

Freedman, Leora  and Jerry Plotnick. Introductions and Conclusions . University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Introduction . The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Introductions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Introductions . The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for an Argument Paper. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Resources for Writers: Introduction Strategies . Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Sharpling, Gerald. Writing an Introduction . Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick; Writing Your Introduction. Department of English Writing Guide. George Mason University.

Writing Tip

Avoid the "Dictionary" Introduction

Giving the dictionary definition of words related to the research problem may appear appropriate because it is important to define specific words or phrases with which readers may be unfamiliar. However, anyone can look a word up in the dictionary and a general dictionary is not a particularly authoritative source. It doesn't take into account the context of your topic and doesn't offer particularly detailed information. Also, placed in the context of a particular discipline, a term may have a different meaning than what is found in a general dictionary. If you feel that you must seek out an authoritative definition, try to find one that is from subject specific dictionaries or encyclopedias [e.g., if you are a sociology student, search for dictionaries of sociology].

Saba, Robert. The College Research Paper . Florida International University; Introductions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.

Another Writing Tip

When Do I Begin?

A common question asked at the start of any paper is, "where should I begin?" An equally important question to ask yourself is, "When do I begin?" Research problems in the social sciences rarely rest in isolation from the history of the issue being investigated. It is, therefore, important to lay a foundation for understanding the historical context underpinning the research problem. However, this information should be brief and succinct and begin at a point in time that best informs the reader of study's overall importance. For example, a study about coffee cultivation and export in West Africa as a key stimulus for local economic growth needs to describe the beginning of exporting coffee in the region and establishing why economic growth is important. You do not need to give a long historical explanation about coffee exportation in Africa. If a research problem demands a substantial exploration of historical context, do this in the literature review section; note in the introduction as part of your "roadmap" [see below] that you covering this in the literature review.

Yet Another Writing Tip

Always End with a Roadmap

The final paragraph or sentences of your introduction should forecast your main arguments and conclusions and provide a description of the rest of the paper [a "roadmap"] that let's the reader know where you are going and what to expect.

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Frequently asked questions

What should i include in a research paper introduction.

The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements:

• A hook to catch the reader’s interest
• Relevant background on the topic
• Details of your research problem

and your problem statement

• A thesis statement or research question
• Sometimes an overview of the paper

Frequently asked questions: Writing a research paper

A research project is an academic, scientific, or professional undertaking to answer a research question . Research projects can take many forms, such as qualitative or quantitative , descriptive , longitudinal , experimental , or correlational . What kind of research approach you choose will depend on your topic.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them.

In general, they should be:

• Focused and researchable
• Answerable using credible sources
• Complex and arguable
• Feasible and specific
• Relevant and original

All research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

Your research objectives indicate how you’ll try to address your research problem and should be specific:

Research objectives describe what you intend your research project to accomplish.

They summarize the approach and purpose of the project and help to focus your research.

Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement .

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in Chicago style are to:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Use 1 inch margins or larger
• Apply double line spacing
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch
• Include a title page
• Place page numbers in the top right or bottom center
• Cite your sources with author-date citations or Chicago footnotes
• Include a bibliography or reference list

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Set 1 inch page margins
• Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
• Center the paper’s title
• Use title case capitalization for headings
• Cite your sources with MLA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a Works Cited page at the end

To format a paper in APA Style , follow these guidelines:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman or 11 pt Arial
• If submitting for publication, insert a running head on every page
• Apply APA heading styles
• Cite your sources with APA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a reference page at the end

No, it’s not appropriate to present new arguments or evidence in the conclusion . While you might be tempted to save a striking argument for last, research papers follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the results and discussion sections if you are following a scientific structure). The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

The conclusion of a research paper has several key elements you should make sure to include:

• A restatement of the research problem
• A summary of your key arguments and/or findings
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

Don’t feel that you have to write the introduction first. The introduction is often one of the last parts of the research paper you’ll write, along with the conclusion.

This is because it can be easier to introduce your paper once you’ve already written the body ; you may not have the clearest idea of your arguments until you’ve written them, and things can change during the writing process .

The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .

A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.

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Finding and Reading Journal Articles

• Journal Articles: Why You Use Them

Why are articles so important to research?

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Journal articles are the academic's stock in trade, t he basic means of communicating research findings to an audience of one’s peers. That holds true across the disciplinary spectrum, so no matter where you land as a concentrator, you can expect to rely on them heavily. 

Regardless of the discipline, moreover,  journal articles perform an important knowledge-updating function .

Textbooks and handbooks and manuals will have a secondary function for chemists and physicists and biologists, of course. But in the sciences, articles are the standard and  preferred publication form. 

In the social sciences and humanities , where knowledge develops a little less rapidly or is driven less by issues of time-sensitivity , journal articles and books are more often used together.

Not all important and influential ideas warrant book-length studies, and some inquiry is just better suited to the size and scope and concentrated discussion that the article format offers.

Journal articles sometimes just present the most  appropriate  solution for communicating findings or making a convincing argument.  A 20-page article may perfectly fit a researcher's needs.  Sustaining that argument for 200 pages might be unnecessary -- or impossible.

The quality of a research article and the legitimacy of its findings are verified by other scholars, prior to publication, through a rigorous evaluation method called peer-review . This seal of approval by other scholars doesn't mean that an article is the best, or truest, or last word on a topic. If that were the case, research on lots of things would cease. Peer review simply means other experts believe the methods, the evidence, the conclusions of an article have met important standards of legitimacy, reliability, and intellectual honesty.

Searching the journal literature is part of being a responsible researcher at any level: professor, grad student, concentrator, first-year. Knowing why academic articles matter will help you make good decisions about what you find -- and what you choose to rely on in your work.

Think of journal articles as the way you tap into the ongoing scholarly conversation , as a way of testing the currency of  a finding, analysis, or argumentative position, and a way of bolstering the authority (or plausibility) of explanations you'll offer in the papers and projects you'll complete at Harvard. 

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Title: the artificial intelligence disclosure (aid) framework: an introduction.

Abstract: As the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools have grown in higher education and research, there have been increasing calls for transparency and granularity around the use and attribution of the use of these tools. Thus far, this need has been met via the recommended inclusion of a note, with little to no guidance on what the note itself should include. This has been identified as a problem to the use of AI in academic and research contexts. This article introduces The Artificial Intelligence Disclosure (AID) Framework, a standard, comprehensive, and detailed framework meant to inform the development and writing of GenAI disclosure for education and research.

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Research Papers on Autism Spectrum Disorders: Causes and Treatments

Autism information, introduction.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with no single, definitive cause. Research indicates that ASD likely results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Main Digest

Genetic factors.

• Heritability estimates for ASD range from 60% to 90%, suggesting a strong genetic component.
• De novo mutations, which occur spontaneously in sperm or egg cells, may play a role in some cases.
• Multiple genes are involved, with some rare mutations and many common genetic variations contributing to ASD risk.

Environmental Factors

Various environmental influences, particularly during prenatal development and early childhood, may contribute to ASD risk. These include:

• Advanced parental age
• Complications during pregnancy or childbirth
• Prenatal exposure to certain medications or environmental toxins
• Maternal health conditions during pregnancy (e.g., obesity, diabetes)

Gene-Environment Interactions

• Some individuals may be more susceptible to environmental influences due to their genetic makeup.
• The interplay between genetic predisposition and environmental factors is an active area of research.

Neurobiological Differences:

• ASD is associated with differences in brain structure and function, which may result from the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors.

Studies on Causes and Treatments of ASD Over the Years

Selected items on possible autism treatments and causes from our ASD publications list .

• DNA that Causes Autism and Schizophrenia Discovery of a genetic mutation and new synaptic adhesion signaling mechanism that causes intellectual disabilities.
• Link to Autism in Boys Found in Missing DNA Clues as to why Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects four times more males than females.
• Umbilical Cord Blood Fatty Acids Linked to Autism Spectrum Disorder Researchers unveil the link between cord blood fatty acid metabolites and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms in children.
• The Gut Microbiome's Role in Autism: How Missing Microbes Could Impact Social Behavior This study is one of the first to identify specific organisms within the human microbiota that can ameliorate a behavioral deficit associated with GI stress.
• Decoding Autism: Unveiling Its Developmental Roots Through Metabolism Metabolism is the language that the brain, gut and immune system use to communicate, and autism occurs when the communication between these systems is changed.
• GTF2I Gene Demystifies Autism GTF2I gene could mean the difference between outgoing personality and social difficulties which could lead to new treatments for autism.
• Butterfly Effect May Explain Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder Researchers analyzed whole genome sequencing data and found promoter de novo mutations in TADs containing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) genes were specifically associated with the disease.
• Correlation Between Increased Brain Space in Infants and Elevated Risk of Autism and Sleep Disturbances Researchers discover infants with abnormally enlarged perivascular spaces have a 2.2 times greater chance of developing autism compared to infants with the same genetic risk.
• New Genetic Clues Found in Study of Families With Multiple Children With Autism Largest ever study of families with more than one child with autism uncovered new risk genes and provided new insights into how genetics influence whether someone develops autism spectrum disorder.
• Endogenous Retrovirus Activation Increases Fetus Autism Susceptibility Ancient virus genome drives autism revealed as discoveries regarding autism onset found in research models.
• Giant Leap Forward in Understanding Autism In Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common cause of autism, sensory signals from the outside world integrate differently, causing them to be underrepresented by cortical pyramidal neurons in the brain.
• How Autism Arises: Multimodal Approach Toward the Biological Categorization of Autism The development of autism may be easier to understand due to an explanatory model that provides new insights into how risk factors give rise to autism and why there is such variability between individuals.
• Search for Autism Disrupted Brain Signals New research findings of one genetic risk for autism supports the idea that loss of a specific gene interferes with cells in the brain whose role is to inhibit signaling.
• Insight Into ASD Genetic Mutations and Possible Treatment Dartmouth study offers new insights into genetic mutations in autism disorders (ASD) and points to possible treatments.
• Breakthrough: 60 Autism-Linked Genes Revealed Integrating de novo and inherited variants in 42,607 autism cases identifies mutations in new moderate-risk genes.
• Urine and Blood Tests Can Indicate Autism in Children Link found between autism and damage to proteins in blood plasma could lead to an earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
• New Genetic Risk Factor for Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder Identified Study focused on identifying and characterizing low-lying genetic mutations that may have been missed in previous research, given these mutations are only present in a fraction of the bulk DNA of an individual.
• Early Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder May Be Possible Study reveals that by measuring a set of proteins in the blood earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be possible.
• Autism Linked to Increased Cerebrospinal Fluid in Infants Research reveals MRIs show a brain anomaly in nearly 70% of babies at high risk of autism who go on to be diagnosed, laying the groundwork for predictive aid for pediatricians and search for a potential treatment.
• Autism and Human Evolutionary Emergence of Collaborative Morality It is likely our ancestors would have had autism, with genetics suggesting the condition has a long evolutionary history.
• Link Between Mitochondrial DNA and Autism Spectrum Disorders Researchers confirm genetic link between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is passed on from the mother, and some forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Brain Neurotransmitter Linked to Autism Spectrum Disorders Harvard scientists for the first time have linked a specific neurotransmitter in the brain with autistic behavior.
• Jacobsen Syndrome and Autism Link Research finds rare genetic disorder known as Jacobsen syndrome has been linked with autism, the finding also offers clues into genetic underpinnings of autism.
• The Complex Origins of Autism Spectrum Disorder Researchers suggest the genetically-controlled mechanisms of plastic brain reorganization that potentially determine autistic capabilities and subtypes.
• Genetic Connection Between CHD8 Mutation and Autism Identified People with mutation in CHD8 gene have a very strong likelihood they will have autism marked by gastrointestinal disorders a larger head and wide set eyes.
• Insights from Recent Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders Article covers research into autism spectrum disorders including Elevated Leptin and Inflammation, Gene Expression Patterns, and other areas.
• Exploring the Controversial Link: Heavy Metal Exposure and Autism Risk Article looks at theories regarding the cause of autism and other chronic diseases due to increasing amounts of heavy metals in our environment.
• Connection Found Between Pregnancy Weight Gain and Autism New study examines link between pregnancy weight gain and autism spectrum disorders may provide clues into the cause of ASD.
• Study Finds No Connection Between Prenatal Mercury Exposure and Autism-like Behaviors New study reports there is no association between pre-natal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors.
• New Insights Suggest Gut Health Could Hold Key to Understanding Autism New research presents the first comprehensive bacterial analysis focusing on commensal or beneficial bacteria in children with autism spectrum disorder.
• Could Fragile X Be Key to Autism Puzzle? Findings suggest a possible novel therapeutic target for the treatment of fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of autism and intellectual disability.
• Toxic Chemicals Suspected to Cause ASD CEHC develop list of chemicals found in consumer products that are suspected to contribute to autism and learning disabilities to guide a research strategy to discover potentially preventable environmental causes.
• Discovery of Autism Biomarker Identified Siblings of people with autism show a similar pattern of brain activity to that seen in people with autism when looking at emotional facial expressions.
• The Role of Genetic Disruptions in Autism Study shows autism can be partially explained by abnormalities in certain genes.
• Does Evidence Link Autism to Vaccines and Mercury? Studies suggest vaccines and heavy metals, including mercury, may contribute to the alarming rise in autism.
• Childhood Vaccinations Vs. Autism Scientific and medical communities agree further research needs to be conducted before possible autism vaccination link can be dismissed.
• Discovery of SEMA5A as a New Genetic Link to Autism Researchers identify novel region of the human genome that may confer susceptibility to autism.

It's important to note that while vaccines have been extensively studied, no scientific evidence supports a link between vaccinations and autism. The apparent increase in ASD prevalence in recent years is likely due to improved diagnostic criteria and greater awareness rather than a true increase in incidence.

Understanding the origins of autism remains an active area of research, with scientists working to unravel the complex interactions between genes, environment, and brain development. This knowledge is crucial for developing better interventions and support strategies for individuals with ASD.

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Research on a metal–organic framework (mof)-derived carbon-coated metal cathode for strengthening bioelectrochemical salt resistance and norfloxacin degradation.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods, 2.1. preparation of cathode catalysts, 2.1.1. synthesis of co@c (without the ce element), 2.1.2. synthesis of coce 0.25 @c, coce 0.5 @c, and coce 1 @c, 2.2. construction and start-up of reactors, 2.3. analysis and characterization, 2.3.1. electrochemical analysis, 2.3.2. characterization of the catalysts, 2.3.3. analysis of norfloxacin degradation efficiency, 2.3.4. analysis of anode microbial diversity, 3. results and discussion, 3.1. electrochemical analysis, 3.2. catalyst characterization analysis, 3.2.1. sem and tem, 3.2.2. xrd and ft-ir, 3.3. analysis of anode microbial community, 3.4. norfloxacin degradation analysis, 3.5. future research direction, 4. conclusions, supplementary materials, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Fan, M.; Li, H.; Wang, L.; Chen, Z.; Liu, J.; Chen, Y. Research on a Metal–Organic Framework (MOF)-Derived Carbon-Coated Metal Cathode for Strengthening Bioelectrochemical Salt Resistance and Norfloxacin Degradation. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 6711. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166711

Fan M, Li H, Wang L, Chen Z, Liu J, Chen Y. Research on a Metal–Organic Framework (MOF)-Derived Carbon-Coated Metal Cathode for Strengthening Bioelectrochemical Salt Resistance and Norfloxacin Degradation. Sustainability . 2024; 16(16):6711. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166711

Fan, Mengjie, Hui Li, Liuhong Wang, Zhixuan Chen, Jining Liu, and Yingwen Chen. 2024. "Research on a Metal–Organic Framework (MOF)-Derived Carbon-Coated Metal Cathode for Strengthening Bioelectrochemical Salt Resistance and Norfloxacin Degradation" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 6711. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166711

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Waterhypernet: a prototype network of automated in situ measurements of hyperspectral water reflectance for satellite validation and water quality monitoring.

• 1 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Brussels, Belgium
• 2 Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR-ISMAR), Rome, Italy
• 3 Laboratoire Océanographique de Villefranche (LOV), UMR7093 CNRS, Sorbonne Université (SU), Villefranche-sur-mer, France
• 4 Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IAFE, CONICET/UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 5 Tartu Observatory, University of Tartu (UT), Tartu, Estonia
• 6 Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Oostende, Belgium
• 7 National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, United Kingdom

This paper describes a prototype network of automated in situ measurements of hyperspectral water reflectance suitable for satellite validation and water quality monitoring. Radiometric validation of satellite-derived water reflectance is essential to ensure that only reliable data, e.g., for estimating water quality parameters such as chlorophyll a concentration, reach end-users. Analysis of the differences between satellite and in situ water reflectance measurements, particularly unmasked outliers, can provide recommendations on where satellite data processing algorithms need to be improved. In a massively multi-mission context, including Newspace constellations, hyperspectral missions and missions with broad spectral bands not designed for “water colour”, the advantage of hyperspectral over multispectral in situ measurements is clear. Two hyperspectral measurement systems, PANTHYR (based on the mature TRIOS/RAMSES radiometer) and HYPSTAR ® (a newly designed radiometer), have been integrated here in the WATERHYPERNET network with SI-traceable calibration and characterisation. The systems have common data acquisition protocol, data processing and quality control. The choice of validation site and viewing geometry and installation considerations are described in detail. Three demonstration cases are described: 1. PANTHYR data from two sites are used to validate Sentinel-2/MSI (A&B); 2. HYPSTAR ® data at six sites are used to validate Sentinel-3/OLCI (A&B); 3. PANTHYR and HYPSTAR ® data in Belgian North Sea waters are used to monitor phytoplankton parameters, including Phaeocystis globosa , over two 5 month periods. Conclusion are drawn regarding the quality of Sentinel-2/MSI and Sentinel-3/OLCI data, including indications where improvements could be made. For example, a positive bias (mean difference) is found for ACOLITE_DSF processing of Sentinel-2 in clear waters (Acqua Alta) and clues are provided on how to improve this processing. The utility of these in situ measurements, even without accompanying hyperspectral satellite data, is demonstrated for phytoplankton monitoring. The future evolution of the WATERHYPERNET network is outlined, including geographical expansion, improvements to hardware reliability and to the measurement method (including uncertainty estimation) and plans for daily distribution of near real-time data.

1 Introduction

Spaceborne optical remote sensing from daily 100–1000 m resolution multispectral “water colour” missions such as MODIS ( Franz et al., 2005 ), VIIRS ( Wang et al., 2016 ) and Sentinel-3/OLCI ( Garnesson et al., 2019 ) provides operational data to end-users for applications such as coastal water quality management (eutrophication, sediment transport, etc.). 10–100 m resolution “designed-for-land” missions such as Landsat 8&9 ( Pahlevan and Schott, 2013 ; Vanhellemont and Ruddick, 2014 ) and Sentinel-2 ( Hedley et al., 2018 ; Vanhellemont, 2019a ) have also become popular tools for coastal and inland water monitoring. 1–10 m resolution missions, including large satellites such as the Pléiades series ( Vanhellemont and Ruddick, 2018 ; Luo et al., 2020 ) and cubesat constellations from Newspace companies such as the PlanetScope Doves ( Vanhellemont, 2019b ) and SuperDoves ( Vanhellemont, 2023 ), are now emerging, and offer new opportunities for applications inside ports and small lakes, and for monitoring coastal operations (construction, dredging/disposal). This spacescape of low earth orbit missions is supplemented by a new generation of hyperspectral missions, such as DESIS ( Alonso et al., 2019 ), PRISMA ( Braga et al., 2022 ), ENMAP ( Kaufmann et al., 2006 ), EMIT ( Thompson et al., 2023 ) and PACE/OCI ( Gorman et al., 2019 ), which are expected to provide better information on phytoplankton species composition ( Dierssen et al., 2020 ; Lavigne et al., 2022 ). Finally the multispectral geostationary “water colour” missions, GOCI-1 and GOCI-2 ( Ryu et al., 2012 ), can provide a much higher frequency of data, e.g., for monitoring tidal and diurnal variability, as can the “meteorological” geostationary satellite sensors such as MSG/SEVIRI ( Neukermans et al., 2009 ) and MTG/FCI ( Kwiatkowska et al., 2016 ; Lavigne and Ruddick, 2018 ) and Himawari-8 ( Dorji and Fearns, 2018 ), albeit with a more challenging signal-to-noise ratio for the latter sensors. A non-exhaustive overview of the present and near-future satellite missions relevant for coastal and inland water quality monitoring can be found in Table 1 .

Table 1 . Overview of satellite missions used for aquatic applications.

To ensure that the products from all these satellite missions can be trusted by end-users, and particularly to identify any atmospheric correction errors, in situ measurements of water reflectance are needed to validate the satellite data products. The multispectral AERONET-OC network ( Zibordi et al., 2009 ; Zibordi et al., 2021 ) demonstrated clearly that radiometric validation of satellites is most efficiently achieved by a network of automated radiometers with common data acquisition and processing. In fact, the radiometric validation of the operational Sentinel-3/OLCI mission is currently achieved with only AERONET-OC data ( EUMETSAT, 2021 ; Zibordi et al., 2022 ). Shipborne and buoy data, from SeaBASS ( Werdell et al., 2003 ), CEFAS Smartbuoys ( Mills et al., 2003 ; Neukermans et al., 2012 ) and the Atlantic Meridional Transect ( Tilstone et al., 2021 ), are used in the validation context only for inherent optical properties and chlorophyll a concentration, while the single automated MOBY platform data ( Brown et al., 2007 ) are used for system vicarious calibration. Based on the AERONET-OC success, the prototype WATERHYPERNET network has been set up as an international network of sites running automated systems of pointable hyperspectral radiometers with common data acquisition and processing. WATERHYPERNET provides water reflectance validation data at hyperspectral resolution every cloud-free day for sites with diverse water and atmosphere conditions.

The use of hyperspectral radiometers in this massively multi-mission perspective has a clear advantage ( Figure 1 ) for matching in situ data to all satellite data spectral responses (including out-of-band response), and thus avoiding the uncertainties and possible model assumptions associated with band-shifting ( Mélin and Sclep, 2015 ; Pahlevan et al., 2017 ; Hieronymi, 2019 ). A disadvantage of the hyperspectral radiometers is the slower integration time, and generally less mature knowledge of instrument characteristics ( Vabson et al., 2019 ; Zibordi et al., 2019 ).

Figure 1 . Spectral bands of typical satellite missions to be validated compared with (top row) the CIMEL CE318TV-12 ( https://www.cimel.fr/solutions/ce318-t/#specifications ) used in AERONET-OC. The two versions of the CE318TV-12 instrument are displayed with common bands in red and optional bands in violet. The variant CE318TV-12-LC (“lake colour”) has bands 681 nm and 709 nm, while the CE318TV-12-OC (“ocean colour”) variant CE318TV-12-OC has bands 400 nm and 779 nm. The CE318-TU12 instrument used for multispectral land surface reflectance measurements ( Meygret et al., 2011 ) has a different set of 9 or 12 spectral bands. Satellite bands with central wavelength falling inside a CE318TV-12 common/optional band are shown in green/blue respectively and those falling outside such bands are shown in black. The latter will be particularly difficult to accurately estimate by band-shifting.

This paper describes the design of the prototype WATERHYPERNET network, including hardware (radiometer and associated system), software (data acquisition, and data processing and distribution by the HYPSTAR ® processor ( De Vis et al., 2024 )) and current validation sites. Examples are given of exploitation of datasets for satellite validation and water quality monitoring, and future perspectives for a long-term operational network are provided.

To facilitate reading of this paper, a table of acronyms is provided in Supplementary Table S1 .

2 The WATERHYPERNET network–overview

2.1 materials and equipment - hyperspectral radiometer systems.

Automated abovewater hyperspectral radiometer systems currently or recently used for measurement of water reflectance include: 3-sensor TRIOS/RAMSES with fixed azimuth ( Arabi et al., 2018 ); rotating azimuth TRIOS/RAMSES So-Rad ( Simis and Olsson, 2013 ); rotating azimuth DALEC ( Slivkoff, 2014 ; Brando et al., 2016 ); 3-sensor Seabird/HyperSAS with rotating azimuth ( Carswell et al., 2017 ); the WispStation with six optical paths at two fixed azimuth directions ( Peters et al., 2018 ); and the OSPREY system ( Hooker et al., 2012 ), which includes both zenith and azimuth pointing and both multispectral and hyperspectral detectors. For the WATERHYPERNET a crucial design choice was to use a pan-tilt unit, allowing both azimuth- and zenith-pointing, in contrast to all prior hyperspectral systems except the OSPREY.

WATERHYPERNET currently accepts two abovewater hardware systems: a) the PANTHYR system based on the mature TRIOS/RAMSES radiometer, and b) the HYPSTAR ® system based on a newly-designed radiometer.

The PANTHYR (PAN and Tilt HYperspectral Radiometer) system, shown in Figure 2A , is described in detail by (Vansteenwegen et al., 2019), and consists of two TRIOS/RAMSES radiometers (one irradiance, one radiance with 7° Field of View; 400–900 nm at 10 nm Full Width Half Maximum, FWHM) with external camera mounted on a FLIR PTU-D48 E pan-tilt unit controlled by a single-board Beaglebone Black Industrial computer and associated custom-built electronics.

Figure 2 . (A) PANTHYR radiometer system including separate irradiance sensor, radiance sensor and camera mounted on a pan-tilt unit; (B) HYPSTAR ® radiometer system with integrated radiance and irradiance sensors, camera and calibration monitoring LED source with plastic shroud. Cable tie spikes are used for bird avoidance.

The HYPSTAR ® (HYperspectral Pointable System for Terrestrial and Aquatic Radiometry) system, shown in Figure 2B and described in more detail in ( Kuusk et al., 2024 ), consists of a newly-designed hyperspectral radiometer (380–1020 nm at 3 nm FWHM) with integrated radiance and irradiance fore-optics and embedded RGB camera, mounted on a Will-Burt Bowler Rx pan-tilt unit, and controlled by a rugged Cincoze DE-1000 PC. The system has an integrated LED light source for relative calibration monitoring during long deployments–see Figure 2B . This light source is outside the HYPSTAR ® system optical path and so monitors not just changes in spectrometer responsivity, but also any contamination of the fore-optics, e.g., from dust or animals (spider webs, bird faeces, etc.).

Both systems include auxiliary sensors for ambient light and rain detection and the HYPSTAR ® has an ambient light sensor measuring continuously during radiometry. Power supplies (grid, solar + battery) and data transmission (cabled internet, wifi, 2G/3G/4G) are site dependent.

The systems are programmed to acquire data typically every 20 min during daylight, although site-specific adjustments between 15 and 30 min repeat period and/or limiting to a few hours around local solar noon are possible if justified by scientific needs or power limitations. Both systems follow an abovewater radiometry acquisition protocol based on ( Mobley, 1999 ), termed hereafter M1999. Measurements are acquired at 90° and/or 135° relative azimuth to Sun and potentially both left and right of Sun, when permitted by the local mounting structure and its shadows/reflections. Data are transmitted to land in near real time for automated, centralised processing and quality control. Extension of the processing to generate uncertainty estimates for data value is in progress following the work of the FRM4SOC project ( Banks et al., 2020 ; Ruddick et al., 2019 ). A data portal is under development to distribute data publicly to users such as satellite mission validation entities and developers of atmospheric correction algorithms. Pending implementation of these developments in an operational processing environment, some prototype datasets have been distributed via ZENODO, and are listed at https://waterhypernet.org/data/ .

An important feature of both these systems, also present on the precursor multispectral CIMEL CE318-T-OC (Seaprism) and the hyperspectral OSPREY system but not on other hyperspectral systems, is the use of a pointing system with both pan and tilt possibilities. While many other hyperspectral systems recognise the importance of panning to achieve the desired relative azimuth to Sun, tilting has three important advantages compared to typical fixed zenith/nadir angle systems: 1. Both sky and water radiance measurements can be made with the same radiometer, thus saving on acquisition cost and ensuring identical wavelength scale and radiometer sensitivity and characterisation for both sky and water radiance; 2. When not measuring, the radiometers can be “parked” pointed downwards to reduce fore-optics contamination from atmospheric deposition; 3. It is possible to adopt new pointing scenarios with different zenith/nadir angles from the standard M1999 protocol, e.g., scanning the principal plane into sunglint to better estimate the effective Fresnel reflectance coefficient ( Goyens and Ruddick, 2023 ) or scanning the skydome to check for clouds and/or obstructions or to estimate aerosol properties or Sun/moon pointing for calibration monitoring.

2.2 Validation sites

2.2.1 choice of validation site.

The PANTHYR and HYPSTAR ® systems are installed on fixed structures overlooking water enabling a tilt-free, standardised viewing geometry. The network should ideally cover a wide diversity of water, atmosphere and Sun conditions in order to provide validation data everywhere satellite data are used. In contrast to the criteria used for selection of vicarious calibration sites ( Zibordi et al., 2015 ), where optimal water, atmosphere and Sun conditions are preferred, validation data are needed also in the “difficult” or suboptimal conditions including dynamic and patchy waters, waters with bottom reflectance, hazy, variable and partially cloudy atmospheres, very low and very high Sun zenith angles, sites with strong adjacency effects, absorbing aerosols, etc.

Locations close to land are not excluded, since validation data are also needed for the metre-scale satellite missions ( Vanhellemont, 2019b ) to provide quality control (QC) for their unique applications close to land, e.g., in ports, small lakes and wide rivers, where atmospheric adjacency effects ( Reinersman and Carder, 1995 ; Santer and Schmechtig, 2000 ), and sensor point spread function effects may be problematic. However, sites close to land will obviously be applicable only to satellite missions with spatial resolution finer than a site-dependent maximum spatial resolution.

Some validation sites in regions of high natural spatial variability are also desirable since users need to understand satellite data quality in such regions, e.g., for dredging/disposal and other sediment transport applications, and for monitoring of patchy phytoplankton distributions. If the natural spatial variability can be characterised, e.g., by analysing satellite data at different spatial resolutions, then appropriate conclusions can be drawn when performing the matchup validation. For example, ( Dogliotti et al., 2015 ) demonstrates for a site close to the front of a coastal current that high spatial resolution sensors will give better agreement than low spatial resolution sensors. If the horizontal patchiness is also variable in time, e.g., because of horizontal advection, then matchup validation results may depend strongly on the time difference between in situ and satellite. When performing the matchup analysis it is therefore important to characterise the natural spatial and temporal variability of the water, and estimate the consequent uncertainty relating to the space and time differences between in situ and satellite measurements.

While natural space and time variability of the water target is not undesirable, since satellite data need to be validated in all conditions, artificial optical variability of the water target, induced by the measurement platform, is clearly to be avoided/minimised. It is obvious that measurements should not be made where the water-viewing sensor field of view includes either the measurement platform itself or the shadow of the measurement platform (including any underwater shadow). More subtle perturbations of the water target by reflection of Sun and skylight from the measurement platform should also be evaluated within the measurement uncertainty budget ( Talone and Zibordi, 2019 ), and minimised as far as possible. This can be understood intuitively by taking (or imagining taking) a fish-eye photo of the Sun/sky hemisphere at the water surface within the water-viewing sensor field of view. Any portions of such a photo where the sky is replaced by the measurement platform/instrument contribute to artificial contamination of the measurement. This contamination will depend on the solid angle of the artificial structure, the difference in colour compared to the replaced sky, and the zenith angle of the obstruction as seen from the water target.

The measurement platform may also induce local hydrodynamic and hence optical variability, e.g., turbid wakes ( Vanhellemont and Ruddick, 2014 ), and will directly impact the satellite measurement itself, especially at metre and decametre spatial resolutions ( Vanhellemont and Ruddick, 2015 ). These are generally undesirable but unavoidable. There is a clear preference for structures which allow water to freely flow underneath, e.g., offshore platforms or piers/jetties supported by underwater wood/steel beams, or slender structures, e.g., single-legged poles, and a preference to avoid structures which block underwater currents, e.g., concrete walls or wooden breakwaters.

While at the level of network organisation, there is a strategic interest to cover a wide range of water, atmosphere and Sun conditions, in practice the choice of validation sites is mainly opportunistic. Long-term operation of a validation site depends on sustained funding, a supportive platform owner and a very dedicated and motivated scientist acting as Principal Investigator. Over the time scale of a decade, there can be many and diverse disruptive events: funding gaps, platform ownership/policy changes, institutional changes, transfer of staff, priority shifts, interpersonal tensions, damage from natural events (esp storms) or accidents, hardware failures, safety issues, etc. It requires considerable determination to keep things running when difficulties arise.

2.2.2 Viewing geometry and installation considerations

The location of the measurement system on the measurement platform is also important, and should take account of platform shadow and its variation over the day and over the year, as well as any underlying obstructions which may contaminate the field of view and hence restrict useable azimuth angles for the water-viewing measurement. In general location on a corner is therefore preferred. The choice of corner will impact the possible measurement times (and hence cover satellites with different overpass times). Both the PANTHYR and HYPSTAR ® systems have been designed to allow flexible azimuthal pointing, and can be programmed to measure at 90°, 135°, 225° and/or 270° relative (away from) Sun if the angle is optically acceptable (not pointing at platform or platform shadow and pointing sufficiently far away from optical contamination caused by the platform). The M1999 acquisition protocol recommends a relative azimuth to Sun of 135° or 225° in order to minimise sunglint, particularly for moderate/high wave conditions. While such an azimuth is generally appropriate for measurements from the prow of a ship, which can be oriented for the measurement ( Ruddick et al., 2006 ), measurements from the corner of a fixed platform generally have a more limited range of azimuth angles where platform perturbations are minimal. In the AERONET-OC network ( Zibordi et al., 2009 ) the viewing azimuth of 90° or 270° was therefore adopted with a strict QC filtering restricting measurements typically to wind speed not exceeding 5 m/s ( Zibordi et al., 2021 ). The approach in WATERHYPERNET is to define a “keep-out zone” of absolute azimuthal directions where measurements should not be made because data will be contaminated by the platform either directly or indirectly. When the PANTHYR system wakes up to make a measurement, the four potential azimuth angles are checked against the keep-out zone, and acquisitions may be made for all acceptable azimuth angles. In practice generally only one or two of the four potential angles are acceptable. In the case where two azimuth angles are possible there is considerable value in comparing water reflectance between these two angles–clearly these two measurements should agree to within the estimated measurement uncertainty (after viewing angle correction), and if they do not then there is important information on how the measurement should be improved, possibly relating to the viewing angle correction, the skyglint/sunglint correction or optical contaminations from the platform. At the time of writing the keep-out zone is hard-coded per site as an absolute azimuth range, but repeated measurements at different azimuth angles are being analysed to build up a better understanding on a site-by-site basis of data quality as a function of Sun zenith and azimuth angle and viewing azimuth angle relative to Sun.

Both the PANTHYR and HYPSTAR ® systems measure downwelling irradiance directly, and hence require an unobstructed Sun/sky hemisphere (as opposed to the CIMEL/SeaPRISM system which estimates downwelling irradiance from a direct Sun measurement, and only requires an unobstructed direct Sun view). This means that the system should therefore ideally be located above all other artificial structures ( Mueller et al., 2003 ). Unfortunately this requirement is almost never possible in practice for offshore structures because of the safety requirements for masts with lights for navigation and for lightning protection rods. The system should therefore be located as high as possible and horizontally distanced from such masts, minimising the impact on the downwelling irradiance measurement. The associated residual uncertainty can be modelled, e.g., ( Castagna et al., 2019 ).

2.2.3 Existing and planned sites

Since the WATERHYPERNET network is at a prototype stage, the location of validation sites may vary considerably in the coming years as funding from the driving projects ceases, and as the network expands with new partners from more diverse funding sources. Despite this long-term (∼10 years) and even medium-term (∼3 years) uncertainty, the validation managers for many of the missions listed in Table 1 are already looking to WATERHYPERNET as a major source of radiometric validation data, both during the commissioning phases and during routine operations. The existing WATERHYPERNET sites are therefore provided in Table 2 , and will be updated continuously via the web site www.waterhypernet.org .

Table 2 . Overview of the first WATERHYPERNET validation sites. Each site has a 4 letter code (“ID”).

The latitude and longitude provided in Table 2 refers to the location of the instrument. When data are used for satellite validation studies it is typical to extract satellite data for a macropixel “doughnut” around the measurement location ( Pahlevan et al., 2021 ) or for a reference pixel horizontally shifted from the measurement platform ( Vanhellemont, 2019a ). This choice is the responsibility of the validation scientist using WATERHYPERNET data, and will generally be a function of the spatial resolution of the satellite sensor, as well as its viewing geometry and geolocation accuracy (including orthorectification) and site characteristics.

2.3 Demonstration in situ datasets

Following the successful AERONET-OC approach, and in the interests of reducing costs and achieving a high degree of standardisation, the WATERHYPERNET data acquisition, transmission, processing and distribution is fully automated in Near Real-Time (NRT, <24 h between data acquisition and data availability), at least for the data using pre-deployment radiometer calibration and default wind speed. Data distribution is foreseen from the www.waterhypernet.org data portal, but, during the current prototype phase, where the automated quality control does not yet meet the desired long-term standard, public release of the NRT data is not yet implemented. Despite this prototype status, while the data currently acquired and processed lack some of the features that will be implemented (full measurement uncertainty estimation, better characterisation of optical perturbations from the platforms, links to spectral convolution and BRDF correction tools), these data are already considered to be very valuable for assessing the quality of satellite data for wavelengths or geographical regions not covered by AERONET-OC.

The WATERHYPERNET v0 data are, for example, probably superior in quality to many shipborne reflectance measurements, because they are less subject to tilt, and certainly provide many more hyperspectral matchups per year than shipborne validation data sources. The WATERHYPERNET data should ideally have arrived at maturity at least 7 years ago, e.g., to support the validation of Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8, and are critically needed now for the validation of hyperspectral missions such as PRISMA, EnMAP, EMIT and PACE. Faced with this dilemma of having v0 prototype data that are considered useful but not of the final quality that is expected for routine operations in 2 years time, the current approach is to publicly release limited datasets via www.zenodo.org with appropriate disclaimers on quality and without the “WATERHYPERNET” branding.

In the present paper examples are given of prototype datasets and their application, for both PANTHYR and HYPSTAR ® systems.

3 Methods - WATERHYPERNET

3.1 data acquisition protocol.

For both the PANTHYR and the HYPSTAR ® system the data acquisition protocol is based closely on the M1999 measurement method. For each azimuth angle, ∆ ϕ , measurements are made of downwelling irradiance, E d ∆ ϕ , λ , upwelling water radiance, L u ∆ ϕ , θ v , λ and downwelling sky radiance, L d ∆ ϕ , 180 ° − θ v , λ for nadir-viewing angle θ v = 40 ° and wavelength λ . The sequence of measurements adopted here is: 3* E d , 3* L d , X* L u , 3* L d , 3* E d , where X = 6 for HYPSTAR ® , X = 11 for PANTHYR. With the single radiance sensor design concept these measurements cannot be made simultaneously, in contrast to typical shipborne supervised measurements ( Ruddick et al., 2006 ). This non-simultaneous acquisition has the slight disadvantage that measurements will be contaminated if there is significant time variation of illumination conditions, beyond the correctible Sun zenith angle variation, during the full sequence, which lasts typically <2 min for PANTHYR and <7 min for HYPSTAR ® . Such contamination occurs primarily if there are scattered clouds near the Sun disk, and can generally be detected when the first and last 3* E d (and, for HYPSTAR ® also first and last 3* L d ) are different by more than a pre-defined threshold and/or when the E d is much lower than a clear sky model E d as described in the next two subsections.

During the above-mentioned sequence a simple ambient light sensor measures continuously and can be used for identifying any variation in illumination during the sequential radiometric measurements.

3.2 Data processing and quality control

The primary radiometric measurand produced by WATERHYPERNET is the (directional) water-leaving radiance reflectance as represented by ρ w hereafter, and defined by:

where L w is the water-leaving radiance (with air-water interface reflection removed), and E d is the planar downwelling irradiance just above the water surface.

L w is estimated by correction of L u for light reflected at the air-water interface, assumed to be a multiple of L d , using the approach of ( Mobley, 1999 ) where the wind-roughened air-water interface is modelled via an “effective Fresnel coefficient”, ρ F :

ρ F is modelled using the look-up table of ( Mobley, 1999 ) with inputs for the solar zenith angle, viewing zenith angle, relative azimuth angle between Sun and sensor, and the wind speed. See section 4 of ( Ruddick et al., 2019 ) and references therein for a detailed discussion of this approach.

The wind speed is retrieved from the 0.25° gridded, 6-hourly nowcast wind speed provided by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) GDAS ( https://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds083.3/citation/ ).

For clear and moderately turbid, but not extremely turbid, water sites, a wavelength-independent “NIR Similarity Spectrum (SimSpec)” correction is applied, following ( Ruddick et al., 2005 ), using the expected constant ρ w ratio in the NIR (i.e., 780 and 870 nm) to correct for residual Sun glint.

3.2.1 PANTHYR data processing

Measurements are converted from digital counts to (ir)radiance using two laboratory instrument characterisations performed by Tartu Observatory (Estonia) before and after each deployment period. Calibration data for a specific scan are obtained from linear interpolation in time between pre-deployment and post-deployment instrument characterisation. The calibrated scan data are linearly interpolated from the instrument specific wavelengths to a common wavelength grid (355–900 nm, every 2.5 nm). Individual calibrated scans are subjected to quality control as in ( Ruddick et al., 2006 ), i.e., scans differing >25% at 550 nm from their neighbouring scans are rejected. For the E d measurements, this quality control step takes the change in Sun zenith angle between the measurements into account.

If sufficient calibrated scans are available in the cycle, i.e., ≥ 5 / 6 for E d and L d and ≥ 9 / 11 for L u , the scans are mean averaged, and the standard deviation is computed. ρ w is then computed according to (Eqs 1 , 2 ) for mean-averaged   L u , E d , and L d , and with ρ F as described in Section 3.2 .

Data are provided both with and without (“nosc” suffix in distributed datasets) the SimSpec correction, since the latter is expected to improve data for clear and moderately turbid waters but is expected to be inappropriate for extremely turbid waters – see ( Ruddick et al., 2006 ; Doron et al., 2011 ). The SimSpec-corrected data are currently recommended for Acqua Alta (VEIT) and Thornton Bank (TBBE) PANTHYR sites but not Oostende (O1BE).

The ρ w products are further quality controlled preserving only data fulfilling the following criteria:

1. L d 750  nm / E d   750  nm < 0.05 , removing non-clear sky conditions.

2. Variability (coefficient of variation) of ρ w 780  nm <0.1, removing highly variable conditions.

3. ρ w λ ≥ 0 for 350  nm ≤ λ ≤ 900  nm , removing spectra with negative reflectance retrievals.

4. ρ w λ (840–900 nm) is decreasing with wavelength for 840  nm ≤ λ ≤ 900  nm ( Ruddick et al., 2006 ), removing spectra potentially contaminated by solid objects, either from the platform or floating.

5. Bright water spectra (average VIS ρ w over 400–700 nm > 0.07 or average NIR ρ w over 780–950 nm > 0.01) have a local maximum at around 810 nm (805–815 nm) due to the local minimum in pure water absorption, removing potentially contaminated spectra.

6. E d measurements in the range 860–885 nm are within 20% of the Gregg and Carder (1990) clear sky model with an aerosol optical depth of 0.1 at normal pressure, removing cloudy, shadowed, or very hazy conditions.

An example of PANTHYR spectra for measured   L u , E d , and L d and derived L w and ρ w are provided in Figure 3 .

Figure 3 . Example of processing from PANTHYR data acquired at the Oostende (O1BE) site on 2023-04-29 at 14:40 UTC. (A) six scans of downwelling irradiance, E d . (B) six scans of downwelling (sky) radiance, L d , (C) 11 scans of upwelling (water + surface) radiance, L u , and resulting water-leaving radiance, L w . (D) water-leaving radiance reflectance, ρ w , with (“reflectance”) and without (“reflectance_nosc”) Similarity Correction. In this example the six scans of E d and L d are almost superimposed.

3.2.2 HYPSTAR ® data processing

In the HYPSTAR ® data processing, the following steps are performed.

1. The processing scheduler starts processing when a new sequence has been transmitted to the server. It first inspects, and reads the raw spectra and calibration data.

2. Raw spectra are then corrected for darks before they are calibrated to irradiance and radiance scans using pre-deployment calibration coefficients (post-deployment calibration coefficients are not yet available).

3. Next, since the irradiance and radiance measurements have a slight shift in wavelength, spectral interpolation is performed for the irradiance scans to fit the radiance wavelength scale.

4. L d   and E d   scans are then averaged per series. These series are temporally interpolated to fit the temporal time steps of the L u   scans.

5. ρ w is then computed for each L u   scan, with the time- and spectrally-coincident L d   and E d   , using (Eqs 1 , 2 ).

6. Finally, the NIR Similarity Spectrum correction is applied, where appropriate, and ρ w scans are averaged.

The random uncertainties (from the standard deviation between scans) and the systematic uncertainties (from the instrument calibration) are propagated through each of the processing steps listed above using the Monte Carlo method implemented in the CoMet toolkit ( www.comet-toolkit.org ). Multiple uncertainty components as well as associated error-correlation information are provided in each of the HYPSTAR ® products. Although implemented, these uncertainty products are not yet fully tested and will be released in the next version of the processing.

Throughout the abovementioned processing steps, several quality checks are performed to ensure that only high quality data are distributed. These include: 0) Pointing accuracy is checked and measurements with pointing errors >3° are rejected, 1) Raw spectra considered as outliers and/or presenting saturated counts or missing data, are discarded from further processing. Outliers are determined as any spectra for which the spectrally-integrated signal deviates more than three sigma or 25% (whichever is largest) from the mean; 2) After averaging over the scans, the E d   series deviating by >50% from a clear sky model or showing high variability over time (>10% deviation with the mean at 550 nm) are discarded from further processing, 3) ρ w is only computed if there are at least three scans per series for L u   , L d   and E d   , and, 4) final ρ w spectra are quality checked with site specific requirements. For example, site specific ρ w thresholds at particular wavelengths or wavelength ranges are used to track suspect spectra (e.g., noisy or non-water spectra), and ρ w spectra contaminated by nearby structures are also removed using viewing and illumination geometries coinciding with the platform and/or platform shadows.

Full data processing and default quality checks are described in ( De Vis et al., 2024 ). The HYPSTAR ® processor is fully accessible via ( https://github.com/HYPERNETS/hypernets_processor , accessed on 20 October 2023).

An example of HYPSTAR ® spectra for measured   L u , E d , and L d and derived L w and ρ w are provided in Figure 4 .

Figure 4 . Example of processing from HYPSTAR ® data acquired at the Zeebrugge (M1BE) site on 2023-04-09 at 13:01 UTC. (A) six scans of downwelling irradiance, E d . (B) six scans of downwelling (sky) radiance, L d , (C) six scans of upwelling (water + surface) radiance, L u , and resulting water-leaving radiance, L w . (D) water-leaving radiance reflectance, ρ w , with (“reflectance”) and without (“reflectance_nosc”) Similarity Correction. In this example the six scans of E d and L d are superimposed, indicating optimal clear sky conditions, and a difference in scans is visible only for L u .

4 Methods–demonstration cases

Three examples are shown here to demonstrate the usefulness of the WATERHYPERNET data. The corresponding satellite and/or in situ data processing is described in the following subsections.

4.1 Sentinel-2 validation–satellite data and matchup procedure

As a follow-up to the study of ( Vanhellemont, 2020 ), Sentinel-2 (A&B) (S2) data are compared to PANTHYR data for the Acqua Alta and Oostende sites.

The S2 satellites have onboard a 13 band MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) spanning the VSWIR with four bands at 10 m, six bands at 20 m and three bands at 60 m spatial resolution. MSI has two bands that are not processed to surface reflectance, one at 945 nm for estimation of water vapour, and one at 1.3 µm for the detection of cirrus clouds.

S2 satellite data for both sites were collected as top-of-atmosphere reflectance ( ρ t , “L1C”, orthorectified and tiled) and Sen2Cor ( Main-Knorn et al., 2017 ) surface reflectance (“L2SR”) for a 3 × 3 km region of interest (ROI), as defined by a bounding box in latitude and longitude, from the Google Earth Engine (GEE) archive ( Gorelick et al., 2017 ) on download dates between 2023-08-10 and 2023-08-13, including acquisitions from 2019-10-01 for Acqua Alta and 2022-02-27 for Oostende and up to 2023-08-11 for both sites. The GEE download uses the latest available processing baseline (from N0208 in late 2019 through N0509 early 2023, see Supplementary Data Sheet S1 for processor versions).

Imagery was processed to water-leaving radiance reflectance ( ρ w ) using ACOLITE_DSF using an ACOLITE GitHub clone dated 2023-08-10, with “3bfe8d8” commit ( https://github.com/acolite/acolite ). Inside the ROI the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) estimation is assumed uniform in this implementation (pixel-by-pixel processing is also possible in ACOLITE but not used here). Output resolution was 10 m, replicating pixels from the 20 and 60 m bands to fill the 10 m grid. S2 imagery was processed using the following two processor options:

1. ACOLITE/DSF with AOT estimated from VNIR bands (no SWIR) (termed “ACOLITE_DSF”)

2. ACOLITE/DSF with AOT estimated from VNIR bands (no SWIR) and optional per-pixel SWIR based glint correction (termed “ACOLITE_DSF_GC”)

Other processor options (including ancillary datasets for pressure, ozone and water vapour) are used according to the defaults documented in ( Vanhellemont, 2020 ).

Matchups with PANTHYR (using only 225° relative azimuth) were made using a 60 min full width window (i.e., +/-30 min around overpass time), linearly interpolated to the overpass time if possible, i.e., when two bounding measurements are available. PANTHYR data are spectrally convoluted to the Sentinel-2 (A&B) bands in reflectance space with spectral response functions S2-SRF_COPE-GSEG-EOPG-TN-15-0007_3.0 (dated 2018-01).

Satellite data are mean averaged over 11 × 11 10 m pixels centred on a reference location. The reference location used for extraction is located as specified in ( Vanhellemont, 2020 ) for Oostende, i.e., 90 m East of the platform, and for Acqua Alta by ( Vanhellemont, 2019a , Supplementary Material S2) avoiding platform and near platform pixels. Quality control was made using a threshold on the 95th percentile (P95) of the 11 × 11 pixel box, rejecting matchups where in this box P95 ρ t 1610  nm ≥ 0.05 or ρ t 1375  nm ≥ 0.005 , respectively filtering non-water and cirrus near the matchup location. The 3 × 3 km subscene data were also used, filtering out subscene P95 ρ t 443  nm ≥ 0.3 , thus removing scenes with nearby clouds or other very bright objects.

In situ and satellite matchup data are provided in Supplementary Data Sheet S2 .

Reduced Major Axis (RMA) regression lines and squared correlation coefficients, R 2 are provided for the comparison between in situ and satellite ρ w λ measurements, denoted x i and y i respectively, where i = 1 … n . Error statistics were computed for the Root Mean Squared Difference (RMSD), the Mean Difference (MD), and Mean Absolute Percentage Difference (MAPD) between the in situ and satellite measurements as follows:

4.2 Sentinel-3/OLCI validation - satellite data

Sentinel-3_OLCI/A&B data between February 2021 and March 2023 were downloaded from the EUMETSAT Data Store as Level 2 Water Full Resolution (WFR) products processed using the OLCI L2 processor IPF-OL-2 version 07 ( EUMETSAT, 2021 ; Zibordi et al., 2022 ) for the HYPSTAR ® deployments at six sites: Acqua Alta Oceanographic Tower (VEIT), Lake Garda (GAIT), Etang de Berre (BEFR), Gironde (MAFR), La Plata (LPAR) and Zeebrugge (M1BE).

An adaptation of the Matchup Data Base (MDB) approach proposed by EUMETSAT ( EUMETSAT, 2022 ) was used to organise the satellite and in situ data, and perform the validation analysis ( Gonzalez Vilas et al., 2024 ). Validation protocols were based on the recommendation available in the literature for medium-resolution satellites ( Concha et al., 2021 ), applying the same protocols for all the sites except for the adaptations noted below (1 valid pixel for GAIT and MAFR, negative satellite reflectance masking for BEFR, MAFR and LPAR).

The 15 OLCI bands between 400 and 865 nm are included in the analysis. The 1020 nm band is excluded because the low signal causes unreliable measurements.

Satellite measurements for each band were computed as the average, excluding outliers, for a measurement window of three by three pixels around the site location, using a strict criterium of nine valid pixels for all the sites except for GAIT and MAFR, where only one valid pixel was required because of the proximity of the coastline. Outliers are identified ( EUMETSAT, 2022 ) when the pixel value is lower (or greater) than mean minus (or plus) 1.5 standard deviations, where mean and standard deviation are computed using valid (non-flagged) pixels in the 3 × 3 extraction window. For masking, the default flag list proposed by EUMETSAT ( EUMETSAT, 2021 ) is used and is based on the Water Quality and Science Flags (WQSF) dataset for all the sites. As WQSF RNEG flags allow for low negative values up to a defined threshold, pixels with negative satellite reflectance between 400 nm and 442 nm are also masked for BEFR, MAFR and LPAR.

In situ measurements for each satellite band were extracted as the HYPSTAR ® L2 reflectances convoluted using the mean spectral response function for each Sentinel-3 mission ( https://sentinels.copernicus.eu/web/sentinel/technical-guides/sentinel-3-olci/olci-instrument/spectral-characterisation-data , accessed on 8 April 2024) without applying the NIR similarity spectrum correction for the validation of sites with highly turbid waters (i.e., MAFR, LPAR and M1BE).

In situ and satellite matchup data are provided in Supplementary Data Sheet S8 .

Reduced Major Axis (RMA) regression lines and squared correlation coefficients, R 2 are provided for the comparison between in situ and satellite ρ w λ measurements. Error statistics were computed for the Root Mean Squared Difference (RMSD), the Mean Difference (MD), and Mean Absolute Percentage Difference (MAPD) by Eqs 3 – 5 .

4.3 Phytoplankton monitoring time series

Reflectance data from the autonomous systems were used to derive phytoplankton parameters in Belgian North Sea waters over the spring-summer season in 2020 (PANTHYR at Oostende, O1BE, Supplementary Data Sheet S9 ) and 2023 (HYPSTAR ® at Zeebrugge_MOW1, M1BE, Supplementary Data Sheet S10 ). In this region, Phaeocystis globosa is considered as a non-toxic but undesirable phytoplankton species because of the unsightly and sometimes dangerous ( Philippart et al., 2020 ) generation of foam, and because the gelatinous mucus has potential impact on species composition at higher trophic levels ( Rousseau et al., 2000 ).

Chlorophyll a concentration (Chl-a hereafter) was calculated using the CRAT method ( Ruddick et al., 2001 ) from reflectance spectra (without SimSpec correction) that have passed quality control. This algorithm, designed for hyperspectral data, is based on the red-NIR reflectance spectrum but contrary to typical semi-analytical red-edge algorithms it avoids calculation of NIR backscattering for moderate-high Chl-a (>13.45 μg/L). This algorithm is less suitable for low Chl-a, but is relevant for the bloom events considered here.

Two indices for P. globosa were calculated from reflectance spectra based on existing algorithms which are described in detail in the cited papers, and briefly summarised here.

The Lubac Index (LI), defined in ( Lubac et al., 2008 ), is a binary algorithm (yes/no) indicating if the phytoplankton assemblage is dominated by P. globosa , and is based on the shape of the second derivative reflectance spectrum between 420 and 560 nm. The second derivative was calculated following the formulation described by ( Lubac et al., 2008 ; Lavigne et al., 2022 ) for intervals of 2.5 nm for the PANTHYR data and of 1 nm for the HYPSTAR ® data. Before making the second derivative calculation, ρ w spectra were smoothed to avoid strong outliers in the second derivative. A five-point window (12.5 nm) running average was applied to all PANTHYR spectra, and a nine-point window (8 nm) running average was applied 3 times to all HYPSTAR ® data.

The Modified Astoreca Line Height index (MALH), defined in ( Lavigne et al., 2022 ), and based on prior work by ( Astoreca et al., 2009 ) is a line height difference algorithm (Eq. 6 ) measuring the absorption anomaly at λ 2 = 482.5  nm with respect to a non-linear baseline between λ 1 = 470  nm and λ 3 = 490  nm :

where w = λ 2 − λ 1 λ 3 − λ 1 . a w   N I R and ρ w   N I R are respectively the pure water absorption and the water-leaving radiance reflectance at a near infrared band, here chosen as λ N I R = 700  nm , giving a w   N I R = 0.57   m − 1 according to ( Kou et al., 1993 ).

Finally, because MALH depends on the concentration of P. globosa , the ratio MALH/Chl-a is calculated as a proxy for the P. globosa fractional contribution to phytoplankton absorption. This ratio is calculated from the slope of linear regressions between MALH and Chl-a data available 48 h before and after the measurement date. Hence, a positive value suggests a high fraction of P. globosa in the phytoplankton community, and a negative value a low fraction of P. globosa . When the regression slope was not significant ( p -value ≤5%) results are shown in grey.

5.1 Validation of Sentinel-2 (A&B) by PANTHYR deployments at Acqua Alta and Oostende sites

The scatterplots comparing Sentinel-2 (A&B) water-leaving radiance reflectance with matchup PANTHYR in situ measurements from the Acqua Alta (VEIT) and Oostende (O1BE) validation sites are shown in Figure 5 for selected spectral bands. Scatterplots for all spectral bands can be found in Supplementary Data Sheet S3 . Results for Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B were very similar, and are presented together in this scatterplot. The results shown in Figure 5 are quite different for the two validation sites, suggesting different algorithm performance issues for the different turbidity ranges (Acqua Alta moderately turbid, Oostende highly turbid).

Figure 5 . Scatterplot of Sentinel-2 (A&B) satellite ( y -axis) and PANTHYR in situ ( x -axis) water-leaving radiance reflectance measurements for 155 matchups at the Acqua Alta (VEIT: 124 blue points) and Oostende (O1BE: 31 orange points) validation sites for three bands: (A) 443 nm, (B) 665 nm and (C) 865 nm. Satellite data processed by Sen2Cor (left column), ACOLITE_DSF (centre) and ACOLITE_DSF_GC (right column). The linear RMA regression line is shown in red with corresponding statistical metrics in text on each plot. Scatterplots for all other bands are available in Supplementary Data Sheet S3 .

For the Sen2Cor processor, the vertical dispersion of points in these scatterplots, and strong positive bias (MD) at all wavelengths with a striking overestimation of ρ w at 865 nm suggests a general underestimation of aerosol reflectance and/or uncorrected sunglint–this is not surprising for an algorithm which is designed for atmospheric correction over land, taking aerosol optical thickness from dense dark vegetation (if present in scene) or from the fall-back external meteorological data (CAMS) and with no sunglint, or even skyglint, correction.

For the ACOLITE_DSF processor, without sunglint correction, results are improved somewhat compared to Sen2Cor with reduction of the positive bias (MD) at all bands, suggesting better estimation of aerosol reflectance, but with many positively biased outliers, most obvious at 865 nm, where the expected and in situ measured ρ w is systematically low, especially at Acqua Alta.

For the ACOLITE_DSF_GC processor, with a sunglint correction, many of those positively biased outliers are now well-corrected at 865 nm, but little difference is found at 443 nm.

The spectral RMSD between Sentinel-2 (A&B) and PANTHYR measurements at Acqua Alta and Oostende for these matchups is shown in Figure 6 . The general decrease of RMSD with increasing wavelength for the Sen2Cor and ACOLITE_DSF_GC processors is quite different from the “water-like” RMSD spectrum found in a validation study in the La Plata estuary - see Figure 4A of ( Dogliotti et al., 2023 ). The RMSD spectrum of Figure 6 is typical of situations where the dominant error source is imperfect correction of atmospheric path reflectance (aerosols and/or Rayleigh)–see Figure 9 of ( Vanhellemont and Ruddick, 2021 ) and associated discussion in that paper for similar experience with atmospheric correction of Sentinel-3/OLCI. This error is greater for Sen2Cor as discussed above. Interestingly, comparison of ACOLITE_DSF with ACOLITE_DSF_GC in Figure 6 shows that the sunglint correction has successfully reduced RMSD for 665–865 nm but not for 443–560 nm. This suggests that the remaining dominant error for ACOLITE_DSF_GC is related to atmospheric path reflectance but not sunglint. From the ACOLITE_DSF_GC 443 nm scatterplot in Figure 5 it seems that the atmospheric path reflectance error is positively biased for the Acqua Alta site but negatively biased for the Oostende site. The leading hypotheses for these biases are:

• ACOLITE_DSF_GC gives positively biased ρ w 443 − 560  nm at the Acqua Alta site because of spatial variability of the atmosphere and/or air-water interface over the ROI. The fundamental DSF assumption is that the atmospheric composition (esp aerosols) and air-water interface are spatially invariant over the ROI, and can be estimated from the darkest pixel, where the water (or land surface) reflectance is negligible at least for a single wavelength. If the darkest pixel is “too dark”, e.g., because of sensor noise, a darker than average wave facet, cloud shadowing of the atmosphere, etc., then the AOT will be underestimated, and ρ w overestimated. If the validation pixel has a brighter atmosphere than the darkest pixel, e.g., because of patchy haze or undetected thin clouds, then a similar overestimation of ρ w will occur. This is an inherent positive bias to the DSF assumption of spatial uniformity of atmosphere and air-water interface over the ROI. This bias could perhaps be reduced by reducing the ROI (while preserving the need for a sufficiently large ROI to find an appropriate dark pixel) or otherwise detecting situations where the assumption of spatial uniformity is violated.

• ACOLITE_DSF_GC gives negatively biased ρ w 443 − 865  nm at the Oostende site because of images where the ROI does not contain a truly dark pixel-wavelength, when excluding the SWIR wavelengths. If there is a non-negligible ρ w at the selected dark pixel-wavelength then AOT is overestimated, and ρ w correspondingly underestimated. This bias could perhaps be reduced by including SWIR bands in the dark pixel-wavelength selection process, although such bands need careful treatment (averaging/filtering) because of the low signal-to-noise of the Sentinel-2/MSI sensor.

Figure 6 . Root mean squared difference (RMSD) between Sentinel-2 (A&B) and WATERHYPERNET/PANTHYR measurements at Acqua Alta (VEIT) and Oostende (O1BE) as a function of wavelength for the 155 matchups shown in Figure 5 .

Full testing of these hypotheses is beyond the scope of the present paper, which serves to demonstrate the usefulness of WATERHYPERNET in situ measurements in general and specifically to provide clues to how Sentinel-2 data quality might be improved when using ACOLITE_DSF.

In addition to the abovementioned biases, the scatterplots of Figure 5 suggest an important number of outlier cases. Validation outliers are not always studied in detail, particularly when there are a large number of matchups. However, these outliers contain very important information on the real quality of satellite data that reach end-users as well as vital clues on how to improve processing. While some of the outliers for Sen2Cor and ACOLITE_DSF can be attributed to the lack of a sunglint correction, many outliers remain in the ACOLITE_DSF_GC processing.

We define here “outlier” as a matchup where the difference between satellite and in situ exceeds the RMSD difference over all matchups for that site, i.e., Δ ρ w 443  nm > ρ w R M S D − s i t e 443  nm , where Δ ρ w (443 nm) is the difference between in situ and satellite measurements of ρ w (443 nm), ρ w R M S D − V E I T 443  nm = 0.01894 and ρ w R M S D − O 1 B E 443  nm = 0.01380 . All outliers (40/124 for VEIT and 11/31 for O1BE) were analysed subjectively by two experts on the basis of “Validation Diagnostic sheets” ( Supplementary Data Sheet S4–S7 ) showing the spectral plot for satellite ρ w (all three processors) compared to the in situ measurement, both hyperspectral and Sentinel-2 bands together with imagettes of the ROI for:

• Surface reflectance, ρ s , RGB composite (665 nm, 560 nm, 443 nm)

• Surface reflectance, ρ s , single band greyscale (443 nm)

• Surface reflectance, ρ s , single band greyscale (865 nm)

• Top Of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance, ρ t , single band greyscale (S2A:1373 nm, S2B: 1377 nm)

• Top Of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance, ρ t , single band greyscale (S2A: 2202 nm, S2B: 2186 nm)

All outliers were positively biased at ρ w 443   n m for VEIT and negatively biased at ρ w 443  nm for O1BE.

Figure 7 shows an example Validation Diagnostic sheet for the matchup with Sentinel-2/A acquisition over Acqua Alta (VEIT) on 2022-11-21T10:03:44. Inspection of the ρ s 865  nm and ρ t 2202  nm imagettes suggests that there are thin (undetected) patchy clouds in the pixels near the reference location, marked as a red cross in Figure 7 . Furthermore cloud shadow at the dark pixel may add further low bias to the AOT estimate.

Figure 7 . Validation Diagnostics sheet for the matchup with Sentinel-2/A acquisition over Acqua Alta (VEIT) on 2022-11-21T10:03:44, showing the 3 km*3 km ROI (top-left) Surface reflectance RGB composite (665 nm, 560 nm, 443 nm); (top-right) spectral plot comparing ρ w from satellite (three processors, here ACOLITE_DSF and _DSF_GC coincide) with the in situ measurement, both hyperspectral (solid black) and Sentinel-2 bands (dashed black); (middle-left) surface reflectance at 443 nm; (middle-right) surface reflectance at 865 nm; (bottom-left) TOA reflectance at 1377 nm; (bottom-right) TOA reflectance at 2186 nm.

Figure 8 shows an example Validation Diagnostic sheet for the matchup with Sentinel-2/A acquisition over Oostende (O1BE) on 2022-06-12T10:59:33. Inspection of the ρ s R G B and ρ t 2202  nm imagettes suggests that there is a cloud/contrail shadow over the reference location. Inspection of the full image (not shown) showed indeed a suitably shaped and positioned contrail just South of this ROI.

Figure 8 . Validation Diagnostics sheet for the matchup with Sentinel-2/A acquisition over Oostende (O1BE) on 2022-06-12T10:59:33. Same plot content as in Figure 7 .

On the basis of this subjective expert analysis, the hypotheses for all outliers are:

• For VEIT, 37/40 outlier cases it is thought that the AOT used at the validation pixel is too low, although the underlying reason can be diverse, and is sometimes unclear. The dark pixel may be “too dark”, e.g., because of sensor noise, a darker than average wave facet, cloud shadowing of the atmosphere, etc., or the validation pixel may have a brighter atmosphere/interface than the dark pixel, e.g., because of patchy haze or undetected thin clouds. In 3/40 outlier cases, the cause of the outlier is difficult to discern. In 38/40 outlier cases (and most non-outlier cases) the DSF approach uses the 865 nm band (8A) for the dark pixel.

• For O1BE, 2/11 cases with the validation pixel in a cloud shadow and 9/11 cases where it is suspected that the dark pixel is not black enough because of thin clouds (including cirrus) and/or glint and/or water reflectance (when the 443 nm is used for the DSF). In 8/11 cases the DSF approach uses the 865 nm band (8A) for the dark pixel, with the 443 nm band (1) used in the other 3/11 cases.

5.2 Validation of Sentinel-3/OLCI (A&B) by HYPSTAR ® deployments at Acqua Alta, Lake Garda, Etang de Berre, Gironde, La Plata and Zeebrugge sites

Figure 9 shows the scatterplot of matchups between Sentinel-3_OLCI/A&B Level 2 Water Full Resolution (WFR) and the HYPSTAR ® deployments at six sites (VEIT, GAIT, BEFR, MAFR, LPAR and M1BE, see Section 4.2 ) for each individual band and grouped by satellite sensor.

Figure 9 . Scatterplots of matchups between OLCI sensor of Sentinel-3A (blue) and Sentinel-3B (red) for Acqua Alta (VEIT), Lake Garda (GAIT), Etang de Berre (BEFR), Gironde (MAFR), La Plata (LPAR) and Zeebrugge (M1BE) sites.

Overall, better fits were achieved between 490 nm and 885 nm ( R 2 > 0.88 ), whereas a higher dispersion and worse correlation were observed in the blue part of the spectrum (400 nm, 412.5 nm, 442.5 nm). A negative bias (MD) is observed in all the bands. While the regression slope is close to 1 (between 0.9 and 1.0) for bands 709–885 nm, the lower regression slope (between 0.79 and 0.89) for bands 442–681 nm suggests a systematic difference between satellite and in situ measurements that warrants further attention.

The spectral shape of the bias (MD) and RMSD ( Figures 10B, C ) for 442–885 nm is similar to a turbid water reflectance spectrum. While some atmospheric correction algorithms have uncertainty which can be proportional to water reflectance, this is not expected for the WFR algorithm, suggesting that this difference may be dominated in the range 442–885 nm either by a systematic in situ measurement error or by space (or, less likely, time or angular) differences between the satellite and the in situ measurement. Both satellite sensors show similar performance.

Figure 10 . (A) Scatter plot of ρ w matchups between satellite (Sentinel-3/OLCI WFR) and in situ (L2 HYPSTAR ® ) measurements including all the wavelengths. Data points are coloured by satellite. (B–D) : Spectral variation of validation metrics computed for each mission for the Sentinel-3 WFR matchups with HYPSTAR ® L2 in situ data. (B) Mean Difference; (C) RMSD; (D) Determination coefficient ( R 2 ).

The global scatter plot of matchups of Sentinel-3_OLCI/A&B Level 2 and HYPSTAR ® including all the bands is shown in Figure 10A . There is an overlap of data points from both sensors, with a good fit and high correlation ( R 2 = 0.93 ).

The number of valid matchups (whole spectra) from both sensors was very similar (S3A: 295, S3B: 300), as well as the global metrics including all the bands ( Table 3 ). Spectral variation metrics ( Figures 10B–D ) follow similar patterns for both S3A and S3B. In fact, RMSD and bias (MD) differences between both satellites are always lower than 0.0006 and 0.0002, respectively. The single satellite metric values are also close to those obtained combining both sensors (see R 2 and MD in Table 3 ).

Table 3 . Validation statistics for matchups between OLCI sensor of Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B for Acqua Alta (VEIT), Lake Garda (GAIT), Etang de Berre (BEFR), Gironde (MAFR), La Plata (LPAR) and Zeebrugge (M1BE) sites.

This analysis is reassuring as to the interoperability of the A and B units of the Sentinel-3/OLCI constellation, achieved by good harmonisation of space hardware and ground processing elements, and for the satellite ρ w in the NIR bands 709–885 nm. For the spectral range 442–681 nm a better understanding is needed of in situ measurement uncertainty before conclusions can be drawn on the atmospheric correction algorithm performance.

5.3 Phytoplankton monitoring from PANTHYR and HYPSTAR ® measurements in Belgian coastal waters

Although designed for the launching application of satellite validation, the WATERHYPERNET data can be used without satellite data for single point monitoring of water quality parameters, including phytoplankton.

Figure 11 shows a time series of phytoplankton parameters derived from the PANTHYR data at Oostende (O1BE) in 2020, extended from the previous analysis of Figure 5 of ( Lavigne et al., 2022 ) to include MALH per unit chlorophyll a as a biomass-independent indicator of species fraction of P. globosa . The striking difference in MALH between the end-April/beginning-May bloom (positive ⇒ dominated by P. globosa ), and the end-June bloom (negative ⇒ not dominated by P. globosa ) is matched by the LI flag, and can be traced back to subtle differences in curvature (second derivative) of the water-leaving radiance reflectance - see ( Lavigne et al., 2022 ) for full details.

Figure 11 . Time-series of phytoplankton parameters from the PANTHYR at Oostende (O1BE) for April-August 2020. (A) Chl-a concentration estimated from the CRAT algorithm (black dots, with concentrations <13.45 μg/L in grey) with daily mean (red line); (B) Phaeocystis globosa indicators: MALH on y -axis with suggested >0.01 threshold for presence and <0.003 for absence, together with point colouring from the LI flag and daily mean (solid black line); (C) MALH per unit Chl-a obtained by regression over a rolling 5-day window with point colouring according to significance of regression slope ( p -value).

Figure 12 shows a similar time series of phytoplankton parameters, but now derived from the HYPSTAR ® data at Zeebrugge (M1BE) in 2023. In this dataset, the phytoplankton blooms are less strong, and the MALH shows fewer positive values, although MALH, LI and MALH/Chl-a all indicate a phytoplankton bloom dominated by P. globosa in early/mid-Apr.

Figure 12 . Time-series of phytoplankton parameters from the HYPSTAR ® at Zeebrugge (M1BE) for Mar-August 2023. Details as for Figure 11 .

While the MALH algorithm was originally designed ( Astoreca et al., 2009 ) and refined ( Lavigne et al., 2022 ) for application to hyperspectral satellite data, and the WATERHYPERNET network was designed for validation of satellite data, these time series of in situ measurements both reinforce the expected potential of future hyperspectral satellite data, and raise the possibility of using standalone WATERHYPERNET data for single-point time series of water quality parameters. A similar study showed the potential for using HYPSTAR ® data for detecting the presence of cyanobacteria in a drinking water reservoir ( Goyens et al., 2022 ).

6 Discussion

6.1 summary of demonstration cases.

The results of Section 5.1 comparing PANTHYR data from Oostende and Acqua Alta with Sentinel-2 data show that:

• The ACOLITE_DSF atmospheric correction algorithm performs better than the Sen2Cor atmospheric correction (designed for land, but still the only standard Sentinel-2 product for coastal waters) for all spectral bands, for both clear and turbid waters ( Figure 5 ; Figure 6 ).

• The ACOLITE_DSF_GC atmospheric correction with SWIR-based sunglint correction performs better than ACOLITE_DSF (with no sunglint correction), but only for red and near infrared wavelengths (665–865 nm) - see Figure 6 . For shorter wavelengths (443–560 nm) the GC makes little difference to the RMSD over 155 matchups. This suggests that the dominant error source in satellite data processing when using ACOLITE_DSF_GC is not inadequate sunglint correction. The spectral shape of the RMSD between satellite and in situ reflectance suggests that the dominant error source is related to atmospheric path reflectance, probably associated with the aerosol correction, but the possibility of inaccurate Rayleigh or coupled Rayleigh-aerosol corrections (including air-water interface reflection) cannot be excluded.

• Detailed analysis of the biggest outliers for each site suggests quite different problems for the satellite data processing in clear versus turbid waters.

• For Oostende the negative bias of satellite data and the detailed inspection of the outlier matchups suggest in most cases that the ACOLITE_DSF(_GC) algorithm does not find a dark pixel-wavelength with sufficiently low surface reflectance, thus leading to an overestimation of aerosol reflectance and underestimation of ρ w . Processing for this region could be improved by including SWIR wavelengths in the dark pixel-wavelength search algorithm, provided sufficient filtering is applied to reduce noise in those bands.

• For Acqua Alta, the positive bias of satellite data and the detailed inspection of the outlier matchups suggest that the AOT used at the validation pixel is too low, although the underlying reason can be diverse, and is sometimes unclear. The dark pixel may be “too dark”, darker than the average atmospheric path reflectance over the 3*3 km ROI, e.g. because of sensor noise, a darker than average wave facet, cloud shadowing of the atmosphere, etc. Alternatively, the validation pixel may have a brighter atmosphere/interface than the dark pixel, e.g. because of patchy haze or undetected thin clouds.

• For both sites some outliers are seen to result from thin unmasked clouds, especially cirrus with TOA reflectance at 1.3 µm just less than the masking threshold of 0.005, and/or from cloud edges. Occasional cloud shadows, including the shadows of clouds outside the ROI, can give negative outliers. For these situations, the atmospheric correction algorithm performance statistics could be improved by better cloud and cloud shadow masking algorithms ( Lebreton et al., 2016 ) and stricter thresholds for cirrus and non-water pixels, although the latter will lead to a removal of data that may be of interest for some users/applications.

• For both sites, imagery of ρ w shows in some cases surface wave effects, suggesting that these have not been perfectly removed by ACOLITE_DSF_GC, the best-performing satellite data processing algorithm of those tested here.

• The large number of matchups provided by WATERHYPERNET, and the automation of the validation analysis, including a standard Validation Diagnostic sheet per matchup, is clearly essential for validation of Sentinel-2 ρ w , and consequently establishing confidence in downstream products for users, and providing recommendations for how to further improve the processing algorithm, here ACOLITE_DSF_GC.

• While the use of two contrasting validation sites provided very different and relevant information on satellite algorithm performance the analysis should be expanded to more validation sites in a future operational context.

The results of Section 5.2 comparing HYPSTAR® data from six validation sites with Sentinel-3 data show that:

• Reasonable results are achieved at all spectral bands (RMSD<0.014) with very similar performance for the A and B units of the Sentinel-3/OLCI, confirming that good interoperability of the constellation has been achieved by harmonisation of space hardware and ground processing elements.

• While in situ and satellite measurements agree well for the range 709-885 nm (regression slope between 0.9 and 1.0, RMSD<0.01) a more systematic difference is found for the range 490-681 nm ( R 2 >0.88 but regression slope between 0.79 and 0.89) where the RMSD has the spectral shape of turbid water reflectance. An explanation of this difference requires further study of the in situ measurements themselves, the satellite processing algorithm (including intermediate parameters such as aerosol Angstrom exponent), and any space-time differences between the satellite and the in situ measurement.

The results of Section 5.3 using the PANTHYR and HYPSTAR® data in Belgian waters (without satellite data), as a follow-up of work by ( Lavigne et al., 2022 ), show that:

• Phytoplankton biomass and some information on dominant species (here Phaeocystis globosa ) can be monitored at high frequency from these hyperspectral data.

This finding is of interest both in its own right for pointwise monitoring of water quality, and as a precursor for information that might be retrieved from the new generation of hyperspectral satellite missions ( Dierssen et al., 2020 ), provided that the treatment of sub-resolution scale spectral features such as absorbing atmospheric gases renders second derivative spectra of adequate quality ( Ruddick et al., 2023 ).

6.2 Discussion of WATERHYPERNET status and future

This paper has described the WATERHYPERNET, a federated network of automated in situ measurements of hyperspectral water reflectance designed for satellite validation. The medium-term ambition is to provide a sufficient quantity of high quality water reflectance data over sufficiently diverse water, atmosphere and Sun conditions to satisfy the needs for radiometric validation of all VIS/NIR (380–900 nm) spectral bands of all current and future optical satellite missions used for aquatic applications. The list of satellite missions expected to use WATERHYPERNET data is long, and includes: dedicated “water colour” missions such as Sentinel-3A&B (&C&D), MODIS, VIIRS; “land” missions repurposed for coastal and inland water applications such as Sentinel-2A&B (&C&D) and Landsat 8&9; recent and future hyperspectral missions such as PRISMA, ENMAP PACE … CHIME, SBG and the geostationary GLIMR; and the emerging “Newspace” cubesat constellations pioneered by the PlanetScope Doves and Superdoves.

The network is currently at the stage of a proof-of-concept prototype, with two functioning hardware systems, PANTHYR and HYPSTAR ® , automated data acquisition, transmission and processing of data and demonstration datasets. Although significant improvements are expected in the next 2 years with evolution of the in situ data processing, particularly regarding quality control and estimation of measurement uncertainties, the prototype datasets are already considered by satellite validation/performance team users to be relevant for showing some performance issues and by water quality managers for describing phytoplankton dynamics, including some indication of species composition.

6.3 Possibilities and limitations

The validation sites described here constitute a network with reasonable coverage of water and atmosphere conditions where satellite data need to be validated (i.e., everywhere where end-users use final products), including clear and turbid waters, coastal and inland waters, various phytoplankton species, low and moderate Coloured Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) absorption, various Sun zenith, cloud and wind conditions, etc. A very complete network could be achieved with 20 appropriately chosen validation sites, although the choice of site is clearly limited by availability of funding, dedicated local scientist(s) and stable mounting platforms. Moreover, the current sites can be affected by occasional and/or long-term downtime associated from diverse causes (hardware failures, recalibration of radiometers, platform and/or ship crew availability, funding, etc.).

If the network manager could choose where to locate additional validation sites it would be relevant to add: better coverage of the Southern hemisphere (for satellite commissioning phases occurring in the Northern hemisphere winter), one or two sites at very high latitude (e.g., >70° to validate for the difficult high zenith angles and high air masses but with increased acquisitions/week), one or two sites at low latitudes (e.g., <30° to validate for the difficult high sunglint conditions), one or more very nearshore/inland/high altitude sites for testing adjacency effect removal and atmospheric pressure (and hence Rayleigh scattering) differences, one or two sites with very high CDOM and better longitudinal coverage (e.g., over the West and East coasts of North or South America and over Western and Eastern Asia to provide validation data for geostationary satellites). However, it is likely that the siting of additional validation sites will be more opportunistic (related to national funding and individual motivated scientists) than strategic.

6.4 Challenges and opportunities

The main challenges in establishing and consolidating a network such as WATERHYPERNET are organizational (funding, governance/coordination) and hardware-related. The equipment used here consists of one system (PANTHYR) based on a mature/aging COTS radiometer and COTS pan-tilt with non-commercial assemblage of driving electronics and mechanics and one system (HYPSTAR ® ) with a newly-designed prototype radiometer and pre-commercial assembly of pan-tilt, host system PC and mechanics with some custom-designed elements (relay board, junction box/cabling). These systems can function autonomously for many months/years in the best cases, but are far from plug-n-play, requiring considerable expertise for preparation and installation and troubleshooting/repairs. The large number of components and the hostile environmental conditions combine to generate a wide range of low probability but high impact failure modes with difficult logistics (safety training and equipment, availability of transfer boats and crew and seaworthy specialized technical/scientific staff) for maintenance visits to most offshore sites.

Abovewater radiometry, led by the AERONET-OC network ( Zibordi et al., 2009 ; Zibordi et al., 2021 ), is now established as the main source of in situ data for radiometric validation of water colour missions, and there is a growing expertise in laboratory calibration and characterization of hyperspectral radiometers ( Talone et al., 2016 ; Zibordi et al., 2017 ; Talone and Zibordi, 2018 ; Vabson et al., 2019 ; Kuusk et al., 2024 ), and how to propagate the related uncertainties ( Białek et al., 2020 ; De Vis et al., 2024 ). However, there are still two elements of the measurement method where the quantification of measurement uncertainties for each individual measurement result can be improved:

• Removal of light reflected at the air-water interface is currently implemented in WATERHYPERNET using the wind speed formulation for effective Fresnel coefficient of ( Mobley, 1999 ), which is a common approach and corresponds to the recommendations of the IOCCG protocols ( Zibordi et al., 2019 ). However, there are many known problems with this model - see Section 4 and Section 6.2 of ( Ruddick et al., 2019 ) and references therein - and no clear consensus on the bias/uncertainty associated with this correction at moderate and high wind speed (>5 m/s), especially for the shorter wavelengths.

• The measurement bias/uncertainty associated with optical perturbations of the water target from the radiometer mounting structure, generally termed “platform perturbations” are not quantified for the WATERHYPERNET sites. An experimental determination of platform perturbations has been made only for the Acqua Alta AERONET-OC site ( Talone and Zibordi, 2019 ) to our knowledge, but is needed for all WATERHYPERNET sites (including Acqua Alta since the deployment there is not located at the same position on the platform as the AERONET-OC deployment).

In addition to these aspects of the measurement method, the uncertainties relating to space, time and viewing angle differences between the in situ measurement and the satellite measurement need to be included for a full validation uncertainty analysis, although these are beyond the scope of WATERHYPERNET, which aims to estimate first the uncertainty of the WATERHYPERNET measurement for its own space, time and viewing angle coverage. For comparison between satellite and in situ data:

• Spatial differences between satellite and in situ measurements can be quantified using higher resolution satellite data, potentially multispectral or even very broadband, which could provide a site-dependent estimate of spatial differences as a function of satellite pixel size. Some validation sites should only be used for metre or decametre scale satellite validation.

• Temporal differences between satellite and in situ measurements can generally be quantified from the bounding WATERHYPERNET measurements in time since these are continuous (notwithstanding QC) and are often small because of the 20 min sampling frequency.

• Angular differences between satellite and in situ measurements require the use of “BRDF-correction” models ( Morel and Gentili, 1996 ; Park and Ruddick, 2005 ; Lee et al., 2011 ). Since the latter are not (yet) mature and generic for all water types, the WATERHYPERNET approach will be, at least initially, to provide data in the acquisition geometry, and point to external tools if angular extrapolation is required by users.

As regards data processing, archiving and distribution and user support:

• The increase in number of sites and data volume will necessitate efficient storage, increased computing power, especially for the time-consuming uncertainty calculations, and careful automation, including exception handling.

• The transformation from evolving R&D project to maturing pre-operational service implies rigorous traceability and versioning including: instrument firmware, data acquisition software, data processing software and calibration and characterization data.

• Extension of the network to new site Principal Investigators (PI) and opening up of the datasets to the scientific community will increase the need for site PI and user support, including documentation, FAQ, online forum and individual responses.

6.5 Future perspectives

In this paper we describe the prototype of the WATERHYPERNET network, and demonstrate its utility for massively multi-satellite radiometric validation. Future work (next 2 years) will focus on:

• Keeping the existing validation sites running as far as possible, and adding a few new sites within the current hardware and human resource limits (especially radiometer manufacturing, calibration and characterization).

• Increasing uptime of validation sites with improvements to critical system components, diagnostics and troubleshooting procedures.

• Incremental improvements in automated and generic quality control of data, especially using experience and time series from these first deployments.

• Including air-water interface correction uncertainty in the quantification and output of measurement uncertainties for each measurement result (i.e., for each time and wavelength).

• Quantification of platform perturbations for each validation site/viewing azimuth/Sun zenith.

• Estimation of aerosol properties (optical thickness, Angstrom exponent) from the E d measurement to aid diagnosis of aerosol correction problems found in satellite data ( Zibordi et al., 2018 )

• Recommendations for reference location (away from platform and from land/mixed pixels) to be used for comparison with satellite imagery and quantification of spatial variability as a function of length scale of satellite data pixel ( Dogliotti et al., 2024 ).

• Near-real time public distribution of consolidated hyperspectral data from the whole network, with water reflectance data supplemented by radiance and irradiance data to facilitate spectral convolution of E d , L d and L u separately ( Burggraaff, 2020 ).

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/ Supplementary Material . Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

KR: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. VB: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. AC: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Writing–review and editing. AD: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing–review and editing. DD: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Writing–review and editing. CG: Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. JK: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Writing–review and editing. QV: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. DV: Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Writing–review and editing. AB: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing–review and editing. PD: Conceptualization, Data curation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Writing–review and editing. HL: Formal Analysis, Investigation, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. MB: Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing–review and editing. KF: Methodology, Resources, Writing–review and editing. AG: Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing–review and editing. LG: Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. KL: Conceptualization, Methodology, Resources, Software, Writing–review and editing. FO: Investigation, Resources, Writing–review and editing. PP: Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Writing–review and editing. EP: Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing–review and editing. LR: Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing–review and editing. MS: Investigation, Writing–review and editing. DV: Investigation, Writing–review and editing.

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was carried out in the context of: the H2020/HYPERNETS project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement no. 775983), the HYPERNET-POP project funded by the European Space Agency (contract no. 4000139081/22/I-EF), and by the PICT-2020/2636 project funded by the ANPCyT.

Acknowledgments

The Copernicus programme of the European Union, the European Space Agency and EUMETSAT is acknowledged for the supply of Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 data.

The Escuela Naval Militar and Servicio de Hidrografía Naval (LPAR), POM West-Vlaanderen Blue Accelerator Platform (O1BE), C-POWER (TBBE), the Italian National Research Council (Acqua Alta Oceanographic Tower—VEIT) and het agentschap Maritieme Dienstverlening en Kust (M1BE) are thanked for hosting and supporting the WATERHYPERNET validation sites.

Over the last 6 years we have benefited from input, discussions and support from many colleagues from the H2020/HYPERNETS and FRM4SOC projects and related activities and we thank particularly: Giuseppe Zibordi, Nigel Fox, Sam Hunt, Ilmar Ansko, Viktor Vabson, Kim Duong, Riho Vendt, Claudia Giardino, Mariano Bresciani, Salvatore Mangano, Javier A. Concha, André Cattrijsse, Daniel Spengler, Edouard Leymarie, Christope Penkerc’h, Erwin Goor, Miroslaw Darecki, Craig Donlon, Tania Casal, Ewa Kwiatkowska, Juan Gossn, Philippe Goryl, Kevin Alonso Gonzalez and Fabrizio Niro. Acknowledgement of these individuals does not constitute endorsement of or responsibility for the content of this work but is merely an expression of thanks.

Two reviewers are thanked for their careful reading and constructive suggestions.

Conflict of interest

Co-authors from Tartu University and Sorbonne University may benefit from future commercialisation of the HYPSTAR® radiometer and system. All authors are likely to receive future research funding for WATERHYPERNET data acquisition and/or exploitation. The authors declare that these interests do not affect the statements and findings of this paper, which has been written according to the normal scientific ethics and values of the academic community. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any other commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Publisher’s note

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Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsen.2024.1347520/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords: water colour, satellite validation, hyperspectral reflectance, in situ measurements, phytoplankton

Citation: Ruddick KG, Brando VE, Corizzi A, Dogliotti AI, Doxaran D, Goyens C, Kuusk J, Vanhellemont Q, Vansteenwegen D, Bialek A, De Vis P, Lavigne H, Beck M, Flight K, Gammaru A, González Vilas L, Laizans K, Ortenzio F, Perna P, Piegari E, Rubinstein L, Sinclair M and Van der Zande D (2024) WATERHYPERNET: a prototype network of automated in situ measurements of hyperspectral water reflectance for satellite validation and water quality monitoring. Front. Remote Sens. 5:1347520. doi: 10.3389/frsen.2024.1347520

Received: 30 November 2023; Accepted: 10 June 2024; Published: 05 August 2024.

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Copyright © 2024 Ruddick, Brando, Corizzi, Dogliotti, Doxaran, Goyens, Kuusk, Vanhellemont, Vansteenwegen, Bialek, De Vis, Lavigne, Beck, Flight, Gammaru, González Vilas, Laizans, Ortenzio, Perna, Piegari, Rubinstein, Sinclair and Van der Zande. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Kevin G. Ruddick, [email protected]

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