How to Structure a Research Paper (IMRaD)

What IMRaD stands for and why papers use it

IMRaD is the standard shape of an empirical research paper in the sciences and most social sciences: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. Each part answers one question. Why did you do this study? How did you do it? What did you find? What does it mean? A title and abstract sit in front, references and any appendices sit behind, and some papers add a short conclusion after the discussion.

The format exists because researchers rarely read papers from start to finish. Many read the abstract, glance at the figures, jump to the discussion, and only read the methods if they need to judge or repeat the work. A predictable research paper structure lets them do that. If your methods drift into the results, or your interpretation appears in the introduction, you break that promise, and readers have to hunt for what they came to find.

The full research paper structure, part by part

The table gives each part, the question it answers and what belongs in it. Treat it as a checklist when you outline: if a paragraph you have written does not answer the question of the section it sits in, it probably belongs somewhere else.

Tense follows a loose convention. Methods and results are usually in the past tense, because they report what you did and found. Established knowledge in the introduction and discussion is often in the present tense, while specific earlier studies are reported in the past tense or present perfect.

The introduction: from the field to your question

An introduction narrows like a funnel. It opens with the topic and why it matters, summarizes what earlier research has established, shows where that research stops or disagrees, and ends with the specific question or hypothesis your paper tests. The linguist John Swales described this pattern as the CARS model, for “Create a Research Space”: you establish the territory, establish a niche within it, then occupy that niche with your study.

The niche is usually a gap, and the guide to writing a literature review covers how to identify and state one. Keep the literature focused: in a short paper the introduction cites only the work that leads to your question, not everything you read. End with the question stated plainly, so a reader moving on to the methods knows exactly what they are designed to answer.

Methods and results: what you did and what you found

The methods section lets a reader judge your study and, in principle, repeat it. It usually has short subsections for the design, the participants or materials, the procedure and the analysis. Include every choice that could affect the results, and give a reason for the important ones; the guide to writing a methodology section goes through each part in detail.

The results section reports findings without explaining them. Organize it around your research questions or hypotheses in the order you introduced them, and report findings that did not support your hypothesis as fully as those that did. Every table and figure should be numbered and mentioned in the text, and the text should state the main point of each one, because a reader should not have to decode a chart to learn what it shows.

The discussion and conclusion: widening out again

If the introduction narrows like a funnel, the discussion widens back out, which is why IMRaD is often drawn as an hourglass. Open by answering your research question in a sentence or two. Then interpret the findings, compare them with the studies from your introduction, and offer explanations where your results differ from theirs.

After that, name the limitations honestly and say how they affect what you can claim, then describe implications for practice or theory and the questions your study leaves open. A conclusion, whether a separate section or the final paragraph, restates the main answer and its significance. It should not introduce new results or new sources; anything a reader meets for the first time in the conclusion belonged earlier.

The order to write a research paper in

The order a paper is read in is not the best order to write it in. You cannot introduce findings you have not yet written up, and an abstract drafted first rarely matches the paper that follows. This sequence works for most student projects:

The abstract comes almost last because it compresses everything else into one paragraph; the guide to writing an abstract shows how to fit purpose, method, results and conclusion into a tight word limit.

1. 1Write the methods first, while the details are fresh; you can often draft them while the data are still being collected.
2. 2Make your tables and figures next, then write the results around them, one research question at a time.
3. 3Draft the discussion, starting from a single sentence that answers your research question.
4. 4Write the introduction now that you know exactly what it has to set up, and cut any background the paper does not use.
5. 5Write the conclusion, then the abstract, checking that every claim in the abstract appears in the paper.
6. 6Choose the final title last, so it names what the paper actually found and studied.
7. 7Check the reference list against every citation in the text, in the style your course requires, such as APA.

When your paper does not follow IMRaD

IMRaD suits papers that report a study you carried out. Other kinds of paper use other structures. A literature review is usually organized by theme or debate. A history or philosophy paper follows the steps of an argument, with headings that name claims rather than stages. A paper reporting several studies repeats the methods and results for each before a general discussion. Some journals and courses merge results and discussion into one section.

Lab reports sit close to IMRaD but often add an aim, a list of materials and a separate conclusion; the guide to writing a lab report covers those differences. Whatever you write, the assignment brief or the journal’s author guidelines override any general template, including this one.

Common research paper structure mistakes

When a marker writes “structure” in the margin, it is usually one of these. Check your draft for each before you submit:

• Interpreting findings in the results section, or reporting new findings for the first time in the discussion.
• An introduction that summarizes every source you read instead of building toward your question.
• Methods that list steps without saying why they were chosen.
• Tables and figures that are never mentioned in the text.
• A discussion that repeats the results in different words instead of explaining what they mean.
• An abstract written first and never updated to match the finished paper.