research paper 30

How To Write A Research Paper

Step-By-Step Tutorial With Examples + FREE Template

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | March 2024

For many students, crafting a strong research paper from scratch can feel like a daunting task – and rightly so! In this post, we’ll unpack what a research paper is, what it needs to do , and how to write one – in three easy steps. 🙂 

Overview: Writing A Research Paper

What (exactly) is a research paper.

• How to write a research paper
• Stage 1 : Topic & literature search
• Stage 2 : Structure & outline
• Stage 3 : Iterative writing
• Key takeaways

Let’s start by asking the most important question, “ What is a research paper? ”.

Simply put, a research paper is a scholarly written work where the writer (that’s you!) answers a specific question (this is called a research question ) through evidence-based arguments . Evidence-based is the keyword here. In other words, a research paper is different from an essay or other writing assignments that draw from the writer’s personal opinions or experiences. With a research paper, it’s all about building your arguments based on evidence (we’ll talk more about that evidence a little later).

Now, it’s worth noting that there are many different types of research papers , including analytical papers (the type I just described), argumentative papers, and interpretative papers. Here, we’ll focus on analytical papers , as these are some of the most common – but if you’re keen to learn about other types of research papers, be sure to check out the rest of the blog .

With that basic foundation laid, let’s get down to business and look at how to write a research paper .

Overview: The 3-Stage Process

While there are, of course, many potential approaches you can take to write a research paper, there are typically three stages to the writing process. So, in this tutorial, we’ll present a straightforward three-step process that we use when working with students at Grad Coach.

These three steps are:

• Finding a research topic and reviewing the existing literature
• Developing a provisional structure and outline for your paper, and
• Writing up your initial draft and then refining it iteratively

Let’s dig into each of these.

Need a helping hand?

Step 1: Find a topic and review the literature

As we mentioned earlier, in a research paper, you, as the researcher, will try to answer a question . More specifically, that’s called a research question , and it sets the direction of your entire paper. What’s important to understand though is that you’ll need to answer that research question with the help of high-quality sources – for example, journal articles, government reports, case studies, and so on. We’ll circle back to this in a minute.

The first stage of the research process is deciding on what your research question will be and then reviewing the existing literature (in other words, past studies and papers) to see what they say about that specific research question. In some cases, your professor may provide you with a predetermined research question (or set of questions). However, in many cases, you’ll need to find your own research question within a certain topic area.

Finding a strong research question hinges on identifying a meaningful research gap – in other words, an area that’s lacking in existing research. There’s a lot to unpack here, so if you wanna learn more, check out the plain-language explainer video below.

Once you’ve figured out which question (or questions) you’ll attempt to answer in your research paper, you’ll need to do a deep dive into the existing literature – this is called a “ literature search ”. Again, there are many ways to go about this, but your most likely starting point will be Google Scholar .

If you’re new to Google Scholar, think of it as Google for the academic world. You can start by simply entering a few different keywords that are relevant to your research question and it will then present a host of articles for you to review. What you want to pay close attention to here is the number of citations for each paper – the more citations a paper has, the more credible it is (generally speaking – there are some exceptions, of course).

Ideally, what you’re looking for are well-cited papers that are highly relevant to your topic. That said, keep in mind that citations are a cumulative metric , so older papers will often have more citations than newer papers – just because they’ve been around for longer. So, don’t fixate on this metric in isolation – relevance and recency are also very important.

Beyond Google Scholar, you’ll also definitely want to check out academic databases and aggregators such as Science Direct, PubMed, JStor and so on. These will often overlap with the results that you find in Google Scholar, but they can also reveal some hidden gems – so, be sure to check them out.

Once you’ve worked your way through all the literature, you’ll want to catalogue all this information in some sort of spreadsheet so that you can easily recall who said what, when and within what context. If you’d like, we’ve got a free literature spreadsheet that helps you do exactly that.

Step 2: Develop a structure and outline

With your research question pinned down and your literature digested and catalogued, it’s time to move on to planning your actual research paper .

It might sound obvious, but it’s really important to have some sort of rough outline in place before you start writing your paper. So often, we see students eagerly rushing into the writing phase, only to land up with a disjointed research paper that rambles on in multiple

Now, the secret here is to not get caught up in the fine details . Realistically, all you need at this stage is a bullet-point list that describes (in broad strokes) what you’ll discuss and in what order. It’s also useful to remember that you’re not glued to this outline – in all likelihood, you’ll chop and change some sections once you start writing, and that’s perfectly okay. What’s important is that you have some sort of roadmap in place from the start.

At this stage you might be wondering, “ But how should I structure my research paper? ”. Well, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution here, but in general, a research paper will consist of a few relatively standardised components:

• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology

Let’s take a look at each of these.

First up is the introduction section . As the name suggests, the purpose of the introduction is to set the scene for your research paper. There are usually (at least) four ingredients that go into this section – these are the background to the topic, the research problem and resultant research question , and the justification or rationale. If you’re interested, the video below unpacks the introduction section in more detail. 

The next section of your research paper will typically be your literature review . Remember all that literature you worked through earlier? Well, this is where you’ll present your interpretation of all that content . You’ll do this by writing about recent trends, developments, and arguments within the literature – but more specifically, those that are relevant to your research question . The literature review can oftentimes seem a little daunting, even to seasoned researchers, so be sure to check out our extensive collection of literature review content here .

With the introduction and lit review out of the way, the next section of your paper is the research methodology . In a nutshell, the methodology section should describe to your reader what you did (beyond just reviewing the existing literature) to answer your research question. For example, what data did you collect, how did you collect that data, how did you analyse that data and so on? For each choice, you’ll also need to justify why you chose to do it that way, and what the strengths and weaknesses of your approach were.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that for some research papers, this aspect of the project may be a lot simpler . For example, you may only need to draw on secondary sources (in other words, existing data sets). In some cases, you may just be asked to draw your conclusions from the literature search itself (in other words, there may be no data analysis at all). But, if you are required to collect and analyse data, you’ll need to pay a lot of attention to the methodology section. The video below provides an example of what the methodology section might look like.

By this stage of your paper, you will have explained what your research question is, what the existing literature has to say about that question, and how you analysed additional data to try to answer your question. So, the natural next step is to present your analysis of that data . This section is usually called the “results” or “analysis” section and this is where you’ll showcase your findings.

Depending on your school’s requirements, you may need to present and interpret the data in one section – or you might split the presentation and the interpretation into two sections. In the latter case, your “results” section will just describe the data, and the “discussion” is where you’ll interpret that data and explicitly link your analysis back to your research question. If you’re not sure which approach to take, check in with your professor or take a look at past papers to see what the norms are for your programme.

Alright – once you’ve presented and discussed your results, it’s time to wrap it up . This usually takes the form of the “ conclusion ” section. In the conclusion, you’ll need to highlight the key takeaways from your study and close the loop by explicitly answering your research question. Again, the exact requirements here will vary depending on your programme (and you may not even need a conclusion section at all) – so be sure to check with your professor if you’re unsure.

Step 3: Write and refine

Finally, it’s time to get writing. All too often though, students hit a brick wall right about here… So, how do you avoid this happening to you?

Well, there’s a lot to be said when it comes to writing a research paper (or any sort of academic piece), but we’ll share three practical tips to help you get started.

First and foremost , it’s essential to approach your writing as an iterative process. In other words, you need to start with a really messy first draft and then polish it over multiple rounds of editing. Don’t waste your time trying to write a perfect research paper in one go. Instead, take the pressure off yourself by adopting an iterative approach.

Secondly , it’s important to always lean towards critical writing , rather than descriptive writing. What does this mean? Well, at the simplest level, descriptive writing focuses on the “ what ”, while critical writing digs into the “ so what ” – in other words, the implications. If you’re not familiar with these two types of writing, don’t worry! You can find a plain-language explanation here.

Last but not least, you’ll need to get your referencing right. Specifically, you’ll need to provide credible, correctly formatted citations for the statements you make. We see students making referencing mistakes all the time and it costs them dearly. The good news is that you can easily avoid this by using a simple reference manager . If you don’t have one, check out our video about Mendeley, an easy (and free) reference management tool that you can start using today.

Recap: Key Takeaways

We’ve covered a lot of ground here. To recap, the three steps to writing a high-quality research paper are:

• To choose a research question and review the literature
• To plan your paper structure and draft an outline
• To take an iterative approach to writing, focusing on critical writing and strong referencing

Remember, this is just a b ig-picture overview of the research paper development process and there’s a lot more nuance to unpack. So, be sure to grab a copy of our free research paper template to learn more about how to write a research paper.

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• How to write a research paper

Last updated

11 January 2024

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With proper planning, knowledge, and framework, completing a research paper can be a fulfilling and exciting experience. 

Though it might initially sound slightly intimidating, this guide will help you embrace the challenge. 

By documenting your findings, you can inspire others and make a difference in your field. Here's how you can make your research paper unique and comprehensive.

• What is a research paper?

Research papers allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of a particular topic. These papers are usually lengthier and more detailed than typical essays, requiring deeper insight into the chosen topic.

To write a research paper, you must first choose a topic that interests you and is relevant to the field of study. Once you’ve selected your topic, gathering as many relevant resources as possible, including books, scholarly articles, credible websites, and other academic materials, is essential. You must then read and analyze these sources, summarizing their key points and identifying gaps in the current research.

You can formulate your ideas and opinions once you thoroughly understand the existing research. To get there might involve conducting original research, gathering data, or analyzing existing data sets. It could also involve presenting an original argument or interpretation of the existing research.

Writing a successful research paper involves presenting your findings clearly and engagingly, which might involve using charts, graphs, or other visual aids to present your data and using concise language to explain your findings. You must also ensure your paper adheres to relevant academic formatting guidelines, including proper citations and references.

Overall, writing a research paper requires a significant amount of time, effort, and attention to detail. However, it is also an enriching experience that allows you to delve deeply into a subject that interests you and contribute to the existing body of knowledge in your chosen field.

• How long should a research paper be?

Research papers are deep dives into a topic. Therefore, they tend to be longer pieces of work than essays or opinion pieces. 

However, a suitable length depends on the complexity of the topic and your level of expertise. For instance, are you a first-year college student or an experienced professional? 

Also, remember that the best research papers provide valuable information for the benefit of others. Therefore, the quality of information matters most, not necessarily the length. Being concise is valuable.

Following these best practice steps will help keep your process simple and productive:

1. Gaining a deep understanding of any expectations

Before diving into your intended topic or beginning the research phase, take some time to orient yourself. Suppose there’s a specific topic assigned to you. In that case, it’s essential to deeply understand the question and organize your planning and approach in response. Pay attention to the key requirements and ensure you align your writing accordingly. 

This preparation step entails

Deeply understanding the task or assignment

Being clear about the expected format and length

Familiarizing yourself with the citation and referencing requirements 

Understanding any defined limits for your research contribution

Where applicable, speaking to your professor or research supervisor for further clarification

2. Choose your research topic

Select a research topic that aligns with both your interests and available resources. Ideally, focus on a field where you possess significant experience and analytical skills. In crafting your research paper, it's crucial to go beyond summarizing existing data and contribute fresh insights to the chosen area.

Consider narrowing your focus to a specific aspect of the topic. For example, if exploring the link between technology and mental health, delve into how social media use during the pandemic impacts the well-being of college students. Conducting interviews and surveys with students could provide firsthand data and unique perspectives, adding substantial value to the existing knowledge.

When finalizing your topic, adhere to legal and ethical norms in the relevant area (this ensures the integrity of your research, protects participants' rights, upholds intellectual property standards, and ensures transparency and accountability). Following these principles not only maintains the credibility of your work but also builds trust within your academic or professional community.

For instance, in writing about medical research, consider legal and ethical norms, including patient confidentiality laws and informed consent requirements. Similarly, if analyzing user data on social media platforms, be mindful of data privacy regulations, ensuring compliance with laws governing personal information collection and use. Aligning with legal and ethical standards not only avoids potential issues but also underscores the responsible conduct of your research.

3. Gather preliminary research

Once you’ve landed on your topic, it’s time to explore it further. You’ll want to discover more about available resources and existing research relevant to your assignment at this stage. 

This exploratory phase is vital as you may discover issues with your original idea or realize you have insufficient resources to explore the topic effectively. This key bit of groundwork allows you to redirect your research topic in a different, more feasible, or more relevant direction if necessary. 

Spending ample time at this stage ensures you gather everything you need, learn as much as you can about the topic, and discover gaps where the topic has yet to be sufficiently covered, offering an opportunity to research it further. 

4. Define your research question

To produce a well-structured and focused paper, it is imperative to formulate a clear and precise research question that will guide your work. Your research question must be informed by the existing literature and tailored to the scope and objectives of your project. By refining your focus, you can produce a thoughtful and engaging paper that effectively communicates your ideas to your readers.

5. Write a thesis statement

A thesis statement is a one-to-two-sentence summary of your research paper's main argument or direction. It serves as an overall guide to summarize the overall intent of the research paper for you and anyone wanting to know more about the research.

A strong thesis statement is:

Concise and clear: Explain your case in simple sentences (avoid covering multiple ideas). It might help to think of this section as an elevator pitch.

Specific: Ensure that there is no ambiguity in your statement and that your summary covers the points argued in the paper.

Debatable: A thesis statement puts forward a specific argument––it is not merely a statement but a debatable point that can be analyzed and discussed.

Here are three thesis statement examples from different disciplines:

Psychology thesis example: "We're studying adults aged 25-40 to see if taking short breaks for mindfulness can help with stress. Our goal is to find practical ways to manage anxiety better."

Environmental science thesis example: "This research paper looks into how having more city parks might make the air cleaner and keep people healthier. I want to find out if more green spaces means breathing fewer carcinogens in big cities."

UX research thesis example: "This study focuses on improving mobile banking for older adults using ethnographic research, eye-tracking analysis, and interactive prototyping. We investigate the usefulness of eye-tracking analysis with older individuals, aiming to spark debate and offer fresh perspectives on UX design and digital inclusivity for the aging population."

6. Conduct in-depth research

A research paper doesn’t just include research that you’ve uncovered from other papers and studies but your fresh insights, too. You will seek to become an expert on your topic––understanding the nuances in the current leading theories. You will analyze existing research and add your thinking and discoveries.  It's crucial to conduct well-designed research that is rigorous, robust, and based on reliable sources. Suppose a research paper lacks evidence or is biased. In that case, it won't benefit the academic community or the general public. Therefore, examining the topic thoroughly and furthering its understanding through high-quality research is essential. That usually means conducting new research. Depending on the area under investigation, you may conduct surveys, interviews, diary studies, or observational research to uncover new insights or bolster current claims.

7. Determine supporting evidence

Not every piece of research you’ve discovered will be relevant to your research paper. It’s important to categorize the most meaningful evidence to include alongside your discoveries. It's important to include evidence that doesn't support your claims to avoid exclusion bias and ensure a fair research paper.

8. Write a research paper outline

Before diving in and writing the whole paper, start with an outline. It will help you to see if more research is needed, and it will provide a framework by which to write a more compelling paper. Your supervisor may even request an outline to approve before beginning to write the first draft of the full paper. An outline will include your topic, thesis statement, key headings, short summaries of the research, and your arguments.

9. Write your first draft

Once you feel confident about your outline and sources, it’s time to write your first draft. While penning a long piece of content can be intimidating, if you’ve laid the groundwork, you will have a structure to help you move steadily through each section. To keep up motivation and inspiration, it’s often best to keep the pace quick. Stopping for long periods can interrupt your flow and make jumping back in harder than writing when things are fresh in your mind.

10. Cite your sources correctly

It's always a good practice to give credit where it's due, and the same goes for citing any works that have influenced your paper. Building your arguments on credible references adds value and authenticity to your research. In the formatting guidelines section, you’ll find an overview of different citation styles (MLA, CMOS, or APA), which will help you meet any publishing or academic requirements and strengthen your paper's credibility. It is essential to follow the guidelines provided by your school or the publication you are submitting to ensure the accuracy and relevance of your citations.

11. Ensure your work is original

It is crucial to ensure the originality of your paper, as plagiarism can lead to serious consequences. To avoid plagiarism, you should use proper paraphrasing and quoting techniques. Paraphrasing is rewriting a text in your own words while maintaining the original meaning. Quoting involves directly citing the source. Giving credit to the original author or source is essential whenever you borrow their ideas or words. You can also use plagiarism detection tools such as Scribbr or Grammarly to check the originality of your paper. These tools compare your draft writing to a vast database of online sources. If you find any accidental plagiarism, you should correct it immediately by rephrasing or citing the source.

12. Revise, edit, and proofread

One of the essential qualities of excellent writers is their ability to understand the importance of editing and proofreading. Even though it's tempting to call it a day once you've finished your writing, editing your work can significantly improve its quality. It's natural to overlook the weaker areas when you've just finished writing a paper. Therefore, it's best to take a break of a day or two, or even up to a week, to refresh your mind. This way, you can return to your work with a new perspective. After some breathing room, you can spot any inconsistencies, spelling and grammar errors, typos, or missing citations and correct them. 

• The best research paper format 

The format of your research paper should align with the requirements set forth by your college, school, or target publication. 

There is no one “best” format, per se. Depending on the stated requirements, you may need to include the following elements:

Title page: The title page of a research paper typically includes the title, author's name, and institutional affiliation and may include additional information such as a course name or instructor's name. 

Table of contents: Include a table of contents to make it easy for readers to find specific sections of your paper.

Abstract: The abstract is a summary of the purpose of the paper.

Methods : In this section, describe the research methods used. This may include collecting data, conducting interviews, or doing field research.

Results: Summarize the conclusions you drew from your research in this section.

Discussion: In this section, discuss the implications of your research. Be sure to mention any significant limitations to your approach and suggest areas for further research.

Tables, charts, and illustrations: Use tables, charts, and illustrations to help convey your research findings and make them easier to understand.

Works cited or reference page: Include a works cited or reference page to give credit to the sources that you used to conduct your research.

Bibliography: Provide a list of all the sources you consulted while conducting your research.

Dedication and acknowledgments : Optionally, you may include a dedication and acknowledgments section to thank individuals who helped you with your research.

• General style and formatting guidelines

Formatting your research paper means you can submit it to your college, journal, or other publications in compliance with their criteria.

Research papers tend to follow the American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), or Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) guidelines.

Here’s how each style guide is typically used:

Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS):

CMOS is a versatile style guide used for various types of writing. It's known for its flexibility and use in the humanities. CMOS provides guidelines for citations, formatting, and overall writing style. It allows for both footnotes and in-text citations, giving writers options based on their preferences or publication requirements.

American Psychological Association (APA):

APA is common in the social sciences. It’s hailed for its clarity and emphasis on precision. It has specific rules for citing sources, creating references, and formatting papers. APA style uses in-text citations with an accompanying reference list. It's designed to convey information efficiently and is widely used in academic and scientific writing.

Modern Language Association (MLA):

MLA is widely used in the humanities, especially literature and language studies. It emphasizes the author-page format for in-text citations and provides guidelines for creating a "Works Cited" page. MLA is known for its focus on the author's name and the literary works cited. It’s frequently used in disciplines that prioritize literary analysis and critical thinking.

To confirm you're using the latest style guide, check the official website or publisher's site for updates, consult academic resources, and verify the guide's publication date. Online platforms and educational resources may also provide summaries and alerts about any revisions or additions to the style guide.

Citing sources

When working on your research paper, it's important to cite the sources you used properly. Your citation style will guide you through this process. Generally, there are three parts to citing sources in your research paper: 

First, provide a brief citation in the body of your essay. This is also known as a parenthetical or in-text citation. 

Second, include a full citation in the Reference list at the end of your paper. Different types of citations include in-text citations, footnotes, and reference lists. 

In-text citations include the author's surname and the date of the citation. 

Footnotes appear at the bottom of each page of your research paper. They may also be summarized within a reference list at the end of the paper. 

A reference list includes all of the research used within the paper at the end of the document. It should include the author, date, paper title, and publisher listed in the order that aligns with your citation style.

10 research paper writing tips:

Following some best practices is essential to writing a research paper that contributes to your field of study and creates a positive impact.

These tactics will help you structure your argument effectively and ensure your work benefits others:

Clear and precise language:  Ensure your language is unambiguous. Use academic language appropriately, but keep it simple. Also, provide clear takeaways for your audience.

Effective idea separation:  Organize the vast amount of information and sources in your paper with paragraphs and titles. Create easily digestible sections for your readers to navigate through.

Compelling intro:  Craft an engaging introduction that captures your reader's interest. Hook your audience and motivate them to continue reading.

Thorough revision and editing:  Take the time to review and edit your paper comprehensively. Use tools like Grammarly to detect and correct small, overlooked errors.

Thesis precision:  Develop a clear and concise thesis statement that guides your paper. Ensure that your thesis aligns with your research's overall purpose and contribution.

Logical flow of ideas:  Maintain a logical progression throughout the paper. Use transitions effectively to connect different sections and maintain coherence.

Critical evaluation of sources:  Evaluate and critically assess the relevance and reliability of your sources. Ensure that your research is based on credible and up-to-date information.

Thematic consistency:  Maintain a consistent theme throughout the paper. Ensure that all sections contribute cohesively to the overall argument.

Relevant supporting evidence:  Provide concise and relevant evidence to support your arguments. Avoid unnecessary details that may distract from the main points.

Embrace counterarguments:  Acknowledge and address opposing views to strengthen your position. Show that you have considered alternative arguments in your field.

7 research tips 

If you want your paper to not only be well-written but also contribute to the progress of human knowledge, consider these tips to take your paper to the next level:

Selecting the appropriate topic: The topic you select should align with your area of expertise, comply with the requirements of your project, and have sufficient resources for a comprehensive investigation.

Use academic databases: Academic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and JSTOR offer a wealth of research papers that can help you discover everything you need to know about your chosen topic.

Critically evaluate sources: It is important not to accept research findings at face value. Instead, it is crucial to critically analyze the information to avoid jumping to conclusions or overlooking important details. A well-written research paper requires a critical analysis with thorough reasoning to support claims.

Diversify your sources: Expand your research horizons by exploring a variety of sources beyond the standard databases. Utilize books, conference proceedings, and interviews to gather diverse perspectives and enrich your understanding of the topic.

Take detailed notes: Detailed note-taking is crucial during research and can help you form the outline and body of your paper.

Stay up on trends: Keep abreast of the latest developments in your field by regularly checking for recent publications. Subscribe to newsletters, follow relevant journals, and attend conferences to stay informed about emerging trends and advancements. 

Engage in peer review: Seek feedback from peers or mentors to ensure the rigor and validity of your research. Peer review helps identify potential weaknesses in your methodology and strengthens the overall credibility of your findings.

• The real-world impact of research papers

Writing a research paper is more than an academic or business exercise. The experience provides an opportunity to explore a subject in-depth, broaden one's understanding, and arrive at meaningful conclusions. With careful planning, dedication, and hard work, writing a research paper can be a fulfilling and enriching experience contributing to advancing knowledge.

How do I publish my research paper? 

Many academics wish to publish their research papers. While challenging, your paper might get traction if it covers new and well-written information. To publish your research paper, find a target publication, thoroughly read their guidelines, format your paper accordingly, and send it to them per their instructions. You may need to include a cover letter, too. After submission, your paper may be peer-reviewed by experts to assess its legitimacy, quality, originality, and methodology. Following review, you will be informed by the publication whether they have accepted or rejected your paper. 

What is a good opening sentence for a research paper? 

Beginning your research paper with a compelling introduction can ensure readers are interested in going further. A relevant quote, a compelling statistic, or a bold argument can start the paper and hook your reader. Remember, though, that the most important aspect of a research paper is the quality of the information––not necessarily your ability to storytell, so ensure anything you write aligns with your goals.

Research paper vs. a research proposal—what’s the difference?

While some may confuse research papers and proposals, they are different documents. 

A research proposal comes before a research paper. It is a detailed document that outlines an intended area of exploration. It includes the research topic, methodology, timeline, sources, and potential conclusions. Research proposals are often required when seeking approval to conduct research. 

A research paper is a summary of research findings. A research paper follows a structured format to present those findings and construct an argument or conclusion.

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How to Write a Research Paper

Use the links below to jump directly to any section of this guide:

Research Paper Fundamentals

How to choose a topic or question, how to create a working hypothesis or thesis, common research paper methodologies, how to gather and organize evidence , how to write an outline for your research paper, how to write a rough draft, how to revise your draft, how to produce a final draft, resources for teachers .

It is not fair to say that no one writes anymore. Just about everyone writes text messages, brief emails, or social media posts every single day. Yet, most people don't have a lot of practice with the formal, organized writing required for a good academic research paper. This guide contains links to a variety of resources that can help demystify the process. Some of these resources are intended for teachers; they contain exercises, activities, and teaching strategies. Other resources are intended for direct use by students who are struggling to write papers, or are looking for tips to make the process go more smoothly.

The resources in this section are designed to help students understand the different types of research papers, the general research process, and how to manage their time. Below, you'll find links from university writing centers, the trusted Purdue Online Writing Lab, and more.

What is an Academic Research Paper?

"Genre and the Research Paper" (Purdue OWL)

There are different types of research papers. Different types of scholarly questions will lend themselves to one format or another. This is a brief introduction to the two main genres of research paper: analytic and argumentative. 

"7 Most Popular Types of Research Papers" (Personal-writer.com)

This resource discusses formats that high school students commonly encounter, such as the compare and contrast essay and the definitional essay. Please note that the inclusion of this link is not an endorsement of this company's paid service.

How to Prepare and Plan Out Writing a Research Paper

Teachers can give their students a step-by-step guide like these to help them understand the different steps of the research paper process. These guides can be combined with the time management tools in the next subsection to help students come up with customized calendars for completing their papers.

"Ten Steps for Writing Research Papers" (American University)  

This resource from American University is a comprehensive guide to the research paper writing process, and includes examples of proper research questions and thesis topics.

"Steps in Writing a Research Paper" (SUNY Empire State College)

This guide breaks the research paper process into 11 steps. Each "step" links to a separate page, which describes the work entailed in completing it.

How to Manage Time Effectively

The links below will help students determine how much time is necessary to complete a paper. If your sources are not available online or at your local library, you'll need to leave extra time for the Interlibrary Loan process. Remember that, even if you do not need to consult secondary sources, you'll still need to leave yourself ample time to organize your thoughts.

"Research Paper Planner: Timeline" (Baylor University)

This interactive resource from Baylor University creates a suggested writing schedule based on how much time a student has to work on the assignment.

"Research Paper Planner" (UCLA)

UCLA's library offers this step-by-step guide to the research paper writing process, which also includes a suggested planning calendar.

There's a reason teachers spend a long time talking about choosing a good topic. Without a good topic and a well-formulated research question, it is almost impossible to write a clear and organized paper. The resources below will help you generate ideas and formulate precise questions.

"How to Select a Research Topic" (Univ. of Michigan-Flint)

This resource is designed for college students who are struggling to come up with an appropriate topic. A student who uses this resource and still feels unsure about his or her topic should consult the course instructor for further personalized assistance.

"25 Interesting Research Paper Topics to Get You Started" (Kibin)

This resource, which is probably most appropriate for high school students, provides a list of specific topics to help get students started. It is broken into subsections, such as "paper topics on local issues."

"Writing a Good Research Question" (Grand Canyon University)

This introduction to research questions includes some embedded videos, as well as links to scholarly articles on research questions. This resource would be most appropriate for teachers who are planning lessons on research paper fundamentals.

"How to Write a Research Question the Right Way" (Kibin)

This student-focused resource provides more detail on writing research questions. The language is accessible, and there are embedded videos and examples of good and bad questions.

It is important to have a rough hypothesis or thesis in mind at the beginning of the research process. People who have a sense of what they want to say will have an easier time sorting through scholarly sources and other information. The key, of course, is not to become too wedded to the draft hypothesis or thesis. Just about every working thesis gets changed during the research process.

CrashCourse Video: "Sociology Research Methods" (YouTube)

Although this video is tailored to sociology students, it is applicable to students in a variety of social science disciplines. This video does a good job demonstrating the connection between the brainstorming that goes into selecting a research question and the formulation of a working hypothesis.

"How to Write a Thesis Statement for an Analytical Essay" (YouTube)

Students writing analytical essays will not develop the same type of working hypothesis as students who are writing research papers in other disciplines. For these students, developing the working thesis may happen as a part of the rough draft (see the relevant section below). 

"Research Hypothesis" (Oakland Univ.)

This resource provides some examples of hypotheses in social science disciplines like Political Science and Criminal Justice. These sample hypotheses may also be useful for students in other soft social sciences and humanities disciplines like History.

When grading a research paper, instructors look for a consistent methodology. This section will help you understand different methodological approaches used in research papers. Students will get the most out of these resources if they use them to help prepare for conversations with teachers or discussions in class.

"Types of Research Designs" (USC)

A "research design," used for complex papers, is related to the paper's method. This resource contains introductions to a variety of popular research designs in the social sciences. Although it is not the most intuitive site to read, the information here is very valuable. 

"Major Research Methods" (YouTube)

Although this video is a bit on the dry side, it provides a comprehensive overview of the major research methodologies in a format that might be more accessible to students who have struggled with textbooks or other written resources.

"Humanities Research Strategies" (USC)

This is a portal where students can learn about four methodological approaches for humanities papers: Historical Methodologies, Textual Criticism, Conceptual Analysis, and the Synoptic method.

"Selected Major Social Science Research Methods: Overview" (National Academies Press)

This appendix from the book  Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy , printed by National Academies Press, introduces some methods used in social science papers.

"Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: 6. The Methodology" (USC)

This resource from the University of Southern California's library contains tips for writing a methodology section in a research paper.

How to Determine the Best Methodology for You

Anyone who is new to writing research papers should be sure to select a method in consultation with their instructor. These resources can be used to help prepare for that discussion. They may also be used on their own by more advanced students.

"Choosing Appropriate Research Methodologies" (Palgrave Study Skills)

This friendly and approachable resource from Palgrave Macmillan can be used by students who are just starting to think about appropriate methodologies.

"How to Choose Your Research Methods" (NFER (UK))

This is another approachable resource students can use to help narrow down the most appropriate methods for their research projects.

The resources in this section introduce the process of gathering scholarly sources and collecting evidence. You'll find a range of material here, from introductory guides to advanced explications best suited to college students. Please consult the LitCharts  How to Do Academic Research guide for a more comprehensive list of resources devoted to finding scholarly literature.

Google Scholar

Students who have access to library websites with detailed research guides should start there, but people who do not have access to those resources can begin their search for secondary literature here.

"Gathering Appropriate Information" (Texas Gateway)

This resource from the Texas Gateway for online resources introduces students to the research process, and contains interactive exercises. The level of complexity is suitable for middle school, high school, and introductory college classrooms.

"An Overview of Quantitative and Qualitative Data Collection Methods" (NSF)

This PDF from the National Science Foundation goes into detail about best practices and pitfalls in data collection across multiple types of methodologies.

"Social Science Methods for Data Collection and Analysis" (Swiss FIT)

This resource is appropriate for advanced undergraduates or teachers looking to create lessons on research design and data collection. It covers techniques for gathering data via interviews, observations, and other methods.

"Collecting Data by In-depth Interviewing" (Leeds Univ.)

This resource contains enough information about conducting interviews to make it useful for teachers who want to create a lesson plan, but is also accessible enough for college juniors or seniors to make use of it on their own.

There is no "one size fits all" outlining technique. Some students might devote all their energy and attention to the outline in order to avoid the paper. Other students may benefit from being made to sit down and organize their thoughts into a lengthy sentence outline. The resources in this section include strategies and templates for multiple types of outlines. 

"Topic vs. Sentence Outlines" (UC Berkeley)

This resource introduces two basic approaches to outlining: the shorter topic-based approach, and the longer, more detailed sentence-based approach. This resource also contains videos on how to develop paper paragraphs from the sentence-based outline.

"Types of Outlines and Samples" (Purdue OWL)

The Purdue Online Writing Lab's guide is a slightly less detailed discussion of different types of outlines. It contains several sample outlines.

"Writing An Outline" (Austin C.C.)

This resource from a community college contains sample outlines from an American history class that students can use as models.

"How to Structure an Outline for a College Paper" (YouTube)

This brief (sub-2 minute) video from the ExpertVillage YouTube channel provides a model of outline writing for students who are struggling with the idea.

"Outlining" (Harvard)

This is a good resource to consult after completing a draft outline. It offers suggestions for making sure your outline avoids things like unnecessary repetition.

As with outlines, rough drafts can take on many different forms. These resources introduce teachers and students to the various approaches to writing a rough draft. This section also includes resources that will help you cite your sources appropriately according to the MLA, Chicago, and APA style manuals.

"Creating a Rough Draft for a Research Paper" (Univ. of Minnesota)

This resource is useful for teachers in particular, as it provides some suggested exercises to help students with writing a basic rough draft. 

Rough Draft Assignment (Duke of Definition)

This sample assignment, with a brief list of tips, was developed by a high school teacher who runs a very successful and well-reviewed page of educational resources.

"Creating the First Draft of Your Research Paper" (Concordia Univ.)

This resource will be helpful for perfectionists or procrastinators, as it opens by discussing the problem of avoiding writing. It also provides a short list of suggestions meant to get students writing.

Using Proper Citations

There is no such thing as a rough draft of a scholarly citation. These links to the three major citation guides will ensure that your citations follow the correct format. Please consult the LitCharts How to Cite Your Sources guide for more resources.

Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide

Some call  The Chicago Manual of Style , which was first published in 1906, "the editors' Bible." The manual is now in its 17th edition, and is popular in the social sciences, historical journals, and some other fields in the humanities.

APA Citation Guide

According to the American Psychological Association, this guide was developed to aid reading comprehension, clarity of communication, and to reduce bias in language in the social and behavioral sciences. Its first full edition was published in 1952, and it is now in its sixth edition.

MLA Citation Guide

The Modern Language Association style is used most commonly within the liberal arts and humanities. The  MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing  was first published in 1985 and (as of 2008) is in its third edition.

Any professional scholar will tell you that the best research papers are made in the revision stage. No matter how strong your research question or working thesis, it is not possible to write a truly outstanding paper without devoting energy to revision. These resources provide examples of revision exercises for the classroom, as well as tips for students working independently.

"The Art of Revision" (Univ. of Arizona)

This resource provides a wealth of information and suggestions for both students and teachers. There is a list of suggested exercises that teachers might use in class, along with a revision checklist that is useful for teachers and students alike.

"Script for Workshop on Revision" (Vanderbilt University)

Vanderbilt's guide for leading a 50-minute revision workshop can serve as a model for teachers who wish to guide students through the revision process during classtime. 

"Revising Your Paper" (Univ. of Washington)

This detailed handout was designed for students who are beginning the revision process. It discusses different approaches and methods for revision, and also includes a detailed list of things students should look for while they revise.

"Revising Drafts" (UNC Writing Center)

This resource is designed for students and suggests things to look for during the revision process. It provides steps for the process and has a FAQ for students who have questions about why it is important to revise.

Conferencing with Writing Tutors and Instructors

No writer is so good that he or she can't benefit from meeting with instructors or peer tutors. These resources from university writing, learning, and communication centers provide suggestions for how to get the most out of these one-on-one meetings.

"Getting Feedback" (UNC Writing Center)

This very helpful resource talks about how to ask for feedback during the entire writing process. It contains possible questions that students might ask when developing an outline, during the revision process, and after the final draft has been graded.

"Prepare for Your Tutoring Session" (Otis College of Art and Design)

This guide from a university's student learning center contains a lot of helpful tips for getting the most out of working with a writing tutor.

"The Importance of Asking Your Professor" (Univ. of Waterloo)

This article from the university's Writing and Communication Centre's blog contains some suggestions for how and when to get help from professors and Teaching Assistants.

Once you've revised your first draft, you're well on your way to handing in a polished paper. These resources—each of them produced by writing professionals at colleges and universities—outline the steps required in order to produce a final draft. You'll find proofreading tips and checklists in text and video form.

"Developing a Final Draft of a Research Paper" (Univ. of Minnesota)

While this resource contains suggestions for revision, it also features a couple of helpful checklists for the last stages of completing a final draft.

Basic Final Draft Tips and Checklist (Univ. of Maryland-University College)

This short and accessible resource, part of UMUC's very thorough online guide to writing and research, contains a very basic checklist for students who are getting ready to turn in their final drafts.

Final Draft Checklist (Everett C.C.)

This is another accessible final draft checklist, appropriate for both high school and college students. It suggests reading your essay aloud at least once.

"How to Proofread Your Final Draft" (YouTube)

This video (approximately 5 minutes), produced by Eastern Washington University, gives students tips on proofreading final drafts.

"Proofreading Tips" (Georgia Southern-Armstrong)

This guide will help students learn how to spot common errors in their papers. It suggests focusing on content and editing for grammar and mechanics.

This final set of resources is intended specifically for high school and college instructors. It provides links to unit plans and classroom exercises that can help improve students' research and writing skills. You'll find resources that give an overview of the process, along with activities that focus on how to begin and how to carry out research. 

"Research Paper Complete Resources Pack" (Teachers Pay Teachers)

This packet of assignments, rubrics, and other resources is designed for high school students. The resources in this packet are aligned to Common Core standards.

"Research Paper—Complete Unit" (Teachers Pay Teachers)

This packet of assignments, notes, PowerPoints, and other resources has a 4/4 rating with over 700 ratings. It is designed for high school teachers, but might also be useful to college instructors who work with freshmen.

"Teaching Students to Write Good Papers" (Yale)

This resource from Yale's Center for Teaching and Learning is designed for college instructors, and it includes links to appropriate activities and exercises.

"Research Paper Writing: An Overview" (CUNY Brooklyn)

CUNY Brooklyn offers this complete lesson plan for introducing students to research papers. It includes an accompanying set of PowerPoint slides.

"Lesson Plan: How to Begin Writing a Research Paper" (San Jose State Univ.)

This lesson plan is designed for students in the health sciences, so teachers will have to modify it for their own needs. It includes a breakdown of the brainstorming, topic selection, and research question process. 

"Quantitative Techniques for Social Science Research" (Univ. of Pittsburgh)

This is a set of PowerPoint slides that can be used to introduce students to a variety of quantitative methods used in the social sciences.

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Writing a Research Paper

This page lists some of the stages involved in writing a library-based research paper.

Although this list suggests that there is a simple, linear process to writing such a paper, the actual process of writing a research paper is often a messy and recursive one, so please use this outline as a flexible guide.

Discovering, Narrowing, and Focusing a Researchable Topic

• Try to find a topic that truly interests you
• Try writing your way to a topic
• Talk with your course instructor and classmates about your topic
• Pose your topic as a question to be answered or a problem to be solved

Finding, Selecting, and Reading Sources

You will need to look at the following types of sources:

• library catalog, periodical indexes, bibliographies, suggestions from your instructor
• primary vs. secondary sources
• journals, books, other documents

Grouping, Sequencing, and Documenting Information

The following systems will help keep you organized:

• a system for noting sources on bibliography cards
• a system for organizing material according to its relative importance
• a system for taking notes

Writing an Outline and a Prospectus for Yourself

Consider the following questions:

• What is the topic?
• Why is it significant?
• What background material is relevant?
• What is my thesis or purpose statement?
• What organizational plan will best support my purpose?

Writing the Introduction

In the introduction you will need to do the following things:

• present relevant background or contextual material
• define terms or concepts when necessary
• explain the focus of the paper and your specific purpose
• reveal your plan of organization

Writing the Body

• Use your outline and prospectus as flexible guides
• Build your essay around points you want to make (i.e., don’t let your sources organize your paper)
• Integrate your sources into your discussion
• Summarize, analyze, explain, and evaluate published work rather than merely reporting it
• Move up and down the “ladder of abstraction” from generalization to varying levels of detail back to generalization

Writing the Conclusion

• If the argument or point of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize the argument for your reader.
• If prior to your conclusion you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the end of your paper to add your points up, to explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction.
• Perhaps suggest what about this topic needs further research.

Revising the Final Draft

• Check overall organization : logical flow of introduction, coherence and depth of discussion in body, effectiveness of conclusion.
• Paragraph level concerns : topic sentences, sequence of ideas within paragraphs, use of details to support generalizations, summary sentences where necessary, use of transitions within and between paragraphs.
• Sentence level concerns: sentence structure, word choices, punctuation, spelling.
• Documentation: consistent use of one system, citation of all material not considered common knowledge, appropriate use of endnotes or footnotes, accuracy of list of works cited.

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How to Write a Research Paper

Undergrads often write research papers each semester, causing stress. Yet, it’s simpler than believing if you know how to write a research paper . Divide the task, get tips, a plan, and tools for an outstanding paper. Simplify research, writing, topic choice, and illustration use!

A research paper is an academic document that involves deep, independent research to offer analysis, interpretation, and argument. Unlike academic essays, research papers are lengthier and more detailed, aiming to evaluate your writing and scholarly research abilities. To write one, you must showcase expertise in your subject, interact with diverse sources, and provide a unique perspective to the discussion. 

Research papers are a foundational element of contemporary science and the most efficient means of disseminating knowledge throughout a broad network. Nonetheless, individuals usually encounter research papers during their education; they are frequently employed in college courses to assess a student’s grasp of a specific field or their aptitude for research. 

Given their significance, research papers adopt a research paper format – a formal, unadorned style that eliminates any subjective influence from the writing. Scientists present their discoveries straightforwardly, accompanied by relevant supporting proof, enabling other researchers to integrate the paper into their investigations.

This guide leads you through every steps to write a research paper , from grasping your task to refining your ultimate draft and will teach you how to write a research paper.

Understanding The Research Paper

A research paper is a meticulously structured document that showcases the outcomes of an inquiry, exploration, or scrutiny undertaken on a specific subject. It embodies a formal piece of academic prose that adds novel information, perspectives, or interpretations to a particular domain of study. Typically authored by scholars, researchers, scientists, or students as part of their academic or professional pursuits, these papers adhere to a well-defined format. This research paper format encompasses an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. 

The introduction provides context and outlines the study’s significance, while the literature review encapsulates existing research and situates the study within the broader academic discourse. The methodology section elucidates the research process, encompassing data collection and analysis techniques. Findings are presented in the results section, often complemented by graphical and statistical representations. Interpretation of findings, implications, and connection to existing knowledge transpire in the discussion section. 

Ultimately, the conclusion encapsulates pivotal discoveries and their wider import.

Research papers wield immense significance in advancing knowledge across diverse disciplines, enabling researchers to disseminate findings, theories, and revelations to a broader audience. Before publication in academic journals or presentations at conferences, these papers undergo a stringent peer review process conducted by domain experts, ensuring their integrity, precision, and worth.

Academic and non-academic research papers diverge across several dimensions. Academic papers are crafted for scholarly circles to expand domain knowledge and theories. They maintain a formal, objective tone and heavily rely on peer-reviewed sources for credibility. In contrast, non-academic papers, employing a more flexible writing style, target a broader audience or specific practical goals. These papers might incorporate persuasive language, anecdotes, and various sources beyond academia. While academic papers rigorously adhere to structured formats and established citation styles, non-academic papers prioritize practicality, adapting their structure and citation methods to suit the intended readership.

The purpose of a research paper revolves around offering fresh insights, knowledge, or interpretations within a specific field. This formal document serves as a conduit for scholars, researchers, scientists, and students to communicate their investigative findings and actively contribute to the ongoing academic discourse.

Research Paper Writing Process – How To Write a Good Research Paper

Selecting a suitable research topic .

Your initial task is to thoroughly review the assignment and carefully absorb the writing prompt’s details. Pay particular attention to technical specifications like length, formatting prerequisites (such as single- vs. double-spacing, indentation, etc.), and the required citation style. Also, pay attention to specifics, including an abstract or a cover page.

Once you’ve a clear understanding of the assignment, the subsequent steps to write a research paper are aligned with the conventional writing process. However, remember that research papers have rules, adding some extra considerations to the process.

When given some assignment freedom, the crucial task of choosing a topic rests on you. Despite its apparent simplicity, this choice sets the foundation for your entire research paper, shaping its direction. The primary factor in picking a research paper topic is ensuring it has enough material to support it. Your chosen topic should provide ample data and complexity for a thorough discussion. However, it’s important to avoid overly broad subjects and focus on specific ones that cover all relevant information without gaps. Yet, approach topic selection more slowly; choosing something that genuinely interests you is still valuable. Aim for a topic that meets both criteria—delivering substantial content while maintaining engagement.

Conducting Thorough Research 

Commence by delving into your research early to refine your topic and shape your thesis statement. Swift engagement with available research aids in dispelling misconceptions and unveils optimal paths and strategies to gather more material. Typically, research sources can be located either online or within libraries. When navigating online sources, exercise caution and opt for reputable outlets such as scientific journals or academic papers. Specific search engines, outlined below in the Tools and Resources section, exclusively enable exploring accredited sources and academic databases.

While pursuing information, it’s essential to differentiate between primary and secondary sources. Primary sources entail firsthand accounts, encompassing published articles or autobiographies, while secondary sources, such as critical reviews or secondary biographies, are more distanced. Skimming sources instead of reading each part proves more efficient during the research phase. If a source shows promise, set it aside for more in-depth reading later. Doing so prevents you from investing excessive time in sources that won’t contribute substantively to your work. You should present a literature review detailing your references and submit them for validation in certain instances. 

Organizing And Structuring The Research Paper

According to the research paper format , an outline for a research paper is a catalogue of essential topics, arguments, and evidence you intend to incorporate. These elements are divided into sections with headings, offering a preliminary overview of the paper’s structure before commencing the writing process. Formulating a structural outline can significantly enhance writing efficiency, warranting an investment of time to establish one.

Start by generating a list encompassing crucial categories and subtopics—a preliminary outline. Reflect on the amassed information while gathering supporting evidence, pondering the most effective means of segregation and categorization.

Once a discussion list is compiled, deliberate on the optimal information presentation sequence and identify related subtopics that should be placed adjacent. Consider if any subtopic loses coherence when presented out of order. Adopting a chronological arrangement can be suitable if the information follows a straightforward trajectory.

Given the potential complexity of research papers, consider breaking down the outline into paragraphs. This aids in maintaining organization when dealing with copious information and provides better control over the paper’s progression. Rectifying structural issues during the outline phase is preferable to addressing them after writing.

Remember to incorporate supporting evidence within the outline. Since there’s likely a substantial amount to include, outlining helps prevent overlooking crucial elements.

Writing The Introduction

According to the research paper format , the introduction of a research paper must address three fundamental inquiries: What, why, and how? Upon completing the introduction, the reader should clearly understand the paper’s subject matter, its relevance, and the approach you’ll use to construct your arguments.

What? Offer precise details regarding the paper’s topic, provide context, and elucidate essential terminology or concepts.

Why? This constitutes the most crucial yet challenging aspect of the introduction. Endeavour to furnish concise responses to the subsequent queries: What novel information or insights do you present? Which significant matters does your essay assist in defining or resolving?

How? To provide the reader with a preview of the paper’s forthcoming content, the introduction should incorporate a “guide” outlining the upcoming discussions. This entails briefly outlining the paper’s principal components in chronological sequence.

Developing The Main Body 

One of the primary challenges that many writers grapple with is effectively organizing the wealth of information they wish to present in their papers. This is precisely why an outline can be an invaluable tool. However, it’s essential to recognize that while an outline provides a roadmap, the writing process allows flexibility in determining the order in which information and arguments are introduced.

Maintaining cohesiveness throughout the paper involves anchoring your writing to the thesis statement and topic sentences. Here’s how to ensure a well-structured paper:

• Alignment with Thesis Statement: Regularly assess whether your topic sentences correspond with the central thesis statement. This ensures that your arguments remain on track and directly contribute to the overarching message you intend to convey.
• Consistency and Logical Flow: Review your topic sentences concerning one another. Do they follow a logical order that guides the reader through a coherent narrative? Ensuring a seamless flow from one topic to another helps maintain engagement and comprehension.
• Supporting Sentence Alignment: Each sentence within a paragraph should align with the topic sentence of that paragraph. This alignment reinforces the central idea, preventing tangential or disjointed discussions.

Additionally, identify paragraphs that cover similar content. While some overlap might be inevitable, it’s essential to approach shared topics from different angles, offering fresh insights and perspectives. Creating these nuanced differences helps present a well-rounded exploration of the subject matter.

An often-overlooked aspect of effective organization is the art of crafting smooth transitions. Transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and larger sections are the glue that holds your paper together. They guide the reader through the progression of ideas, enhancing clarity and creating a seamless reading experience.

Ultimately, while the struggle to organize information is accurate, employing these strategies not only aids in addressing the challenge but also contributes to the overall quality and impact of your writing.

Crafting A Strong Conclusion 

The purpose of the research paper’s conclusion is to guide your reader out of the realm of the paper’s argument, leaving them with a sense of closure.

Trace the paper’s trajectory, underscoring how all the elements converge to validate your thesis statement. Impart a sense of completion by ensuring the reader comprehends the resolution of the issues introduced in the paper’s introduction.

In addition, you can explore the broader implications of your argument, outline your paper’s contributions to future students studying the subject, and propose questions that your argument raises—ones that might not be addressed in the paper itself. However, it’s important to avoid:

• Introducing new arguments or crucial information that wasn’t covered earlier.
• Extending the conclusion unnecessarily.
• Employing common phrases that signal the decision (e.g., “In conclusion”).

By adhering to these guidelines, your conclusion can serve as a fitting and impactful conclusion to your research paper, leaving a lasting impression on your readers.

Refining The Research Paper

• Editing And Proofreading 

Eliminate unnecessary verbiage and extraneous content. In tandem with the comprehensive structure of your paper, focus on individual words, ensuring your language is robust. Verify the utilization of active voice rather than passive voice, and confirm that your word selection is precise and tangible.

The passive voice, exemplified by phrases like “I opened the door,” tends to convey hesitation and verbosity. In contrast, the active voice, as in “I opened the door,” imparts strength and brevity.

Each word employed in your paper should serve a distinct purpose. Strive to eschew the inclusion of surplus words solely to occupy space or exhibit sophistication.

For instance, the statement “The author uses pathos to appeal to readers’ emotions” is superior to the alternative “The author utilizes pathos to appeal to the emotional core of those who read the passage.”

Engage in thorough proofreading to rectify spelling, grammatical, and formatting inconsistencies. Once you’ve refined the structure and content of your paper, address any typographical and grammatical inaccuracies. Taking a break from your paper before proofreading can offer a new perspective.

Enhance error detection by reading your essay aloud. This not only aids in identifying mistakes but also assists in evaluating the flow. If you encounter sections that seem awkward during this reading, consider making necessary adjustments to enhance the overall coherence.

• Formatting And Referencing 

Citations are pivotal in distinguishing research papers from informal nonfiction pieces like personal essays. They serve the dual purpose of substantiating your data and establishing a connection between your research paper and the broader scientific community. Given their significance, citations are subject to precise formatting regulations; however, the challenge lies in the existence of multiple sets of rules.

It’s crucial to consult the assignment’s instructions to determine the required formatting style. Generally, academic research papers adhere to either of two formatting styles for source citations:

• MLA (Modern Language Association)
• APA (American Psychological Association)

Moreover, aside from MLA and APA styles, occasional demands might call for adherence to CMOS (The Chicago Manual of Style), AMA (American Medical Association), and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) formats.

Initially, citations might appear intricate due to their numerous regulations and specific details. However, once you become adept at them, citing sources accurately becomes almost second nature. It’s important to note that each formatting style provides detailed guidelines for citing various sources, including photographs, websites, speeches, and YouTube videos.

Tips For Writing An Effective Research Paper 

By following these research paper writing tips , you’ll be well-equipped to create a well-structured, well-researched, and impactful research paper:

• Select a Clear and Manageable Topic: Choose a topic that is specific and focused enough to be thoroughly explored within the scope of your paper.
• Conduct In-Depth Research: Gather information from reputable sources such as academic journals, books, and credible websites. Take thorough notes to keep track of your sources.
• Create a Strong Thesis Statement: Craft a clear and concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or purpose of your paper.
• Develop a Well-Structured Outline: Organize your ideas into a logical order by creating an outline that outlines the main sections and their supporting points.
• Compose a Captivating Introduction: Hook the reader with an engaging introduction that provides background information and introduces the thesis statement.
• Provide Clear and Relevant Evidence: Support your arguments with reliable and relevant evidence, such as statistics, examples, and expert opinions.
• Maintain Consistent Tone and Style: Keep a consistent tone and writing style throughout the paper, adhering to the formatting guidelines of your chosen citation style.
• Craft Coherent Paragraphs: Each paragraph should focus on a single idea or point, and transitions should smoothly guide the reader from one idea to the next.
• Use Active Voice: Write in the active voice to make your writing more direct and engaging.
• Revise and Edit Thoroughly: Proofread your paper for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and sentence structure. Revise for clarity and coherence.
• Seek Peer Feedback: Have a peer or instructor review your paper for feedback and suggestions.
• Cite Sources Properly: Accurately cite all sources using the required citation style (e.g., MLA, APA) to avoid plagiarism and give credit to original authors.
• Be Concise and Avoid Redundancy: Strive for clarity by eliminating unnecessary words and redundancies.
• Conclude Effectively: Summarize your main points and restate your thesis in the conclusion. Provide a sense of closure without introducing new ideas.
• Stay Organized: Keep track of your sources, notes, and drafts to ensure a structured and organized approach to the writing process.
• Proofread with Fresh Eyes: Take a break before final proofreading to review your paper with a fresh perspective, helping you catch any overlooked errors.
• Edit for Clarity: Ensure that your ideas are conveyed clearly and that your arguments are easy to follow.
• Ask for Feedback: Don’t hesitate to ask for feedback from peers, instructors, or writing centers to improve your paper further.

In conclusion, we’ve explored the essential steps to write a research paper . From selecting a focused topic to mastering the intricacies of citations, we’ve navigated through the key elements of this process.

It’s vital to recognize that adhering to the research paper writing tips is not merely a suggestion, but a roadmap to success. Each stage contributes to the overall quality and impact of your paper. By meticulously following these steps, you ensure a robust foundation for your research, bolster your arguments, and present your findings with clarity and conviction.

As you embark on your own research paper journey, I urge you to put into practice the techniques and insights shared in this guide. Don’t shy away from investing time in organization, thorough research, and precise writing. Embrace the challenge, for it’s through this process that your ideas take shape and your voice is heard within the academic discourse.

Remember, every exceptional research paper begins with a single step. And with each step you take, your ability to articulate complex ideas and contribute to your field of study grows. So, go ahead – apply these tips, refine your skills, and witness your research papers evolve into compelling narratives that inspire, inform, and captivate.

In the grand tapestry of academia, your research paper becomes a thread of insight, woven into the larger narrative of human knowledge. By embracing the writing process and nurturing your unique perspective, you become an integral part of this ever-expanding tapestry.

Happy writing, and may your research papers shine brightly, leaving a lasting mark on both your readers and the world of scholarship.

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30 Page Essay & Research Paper Examples

What does a 30 page essay look like? Find the answer below!

30 page essays are 700 to 750 words long (double-spaced 12 pt). They contain 7 to 9 paragraphs. A paper of such a length is rarely an essay. You’ll more likely be assigned a 30 page research paper or term paper at the graduate level.

How long does it take to write a 30 page essay? Such a long piece should be properly planned. If you need to perform research and add references, you’ll need at least 30 hours. Trying to complete such a serious task in one day is not a good idea.

If you’re searching for 30 page paper examples, look at the collection below. Get inspired to write your own piece with the samples we’ve prepared!

30-page Essay Examples: 98 Samples

Action research project: causes of the problem and solution strategy.

• Subjects: Education Study Courses and Education Programs
• Words: 8036

The Difficulties Children Face in a Foreign Linguistic Environment

• Subjects: Sociological Issues Sociology
• Words: 8099

Modern Libya’s History

• Subjects: Asia History
• Words: 7388

Nike Business Code of Ethics

• Subjects: Business Business Ethics
• Words: 8208

A Critical Evaluation of the Impact of Project Management Office on the Organization’s Delivery of Information Technology Projects

• Subjects: Business Strategic Management
• Words: 9078

The Unique Apple Stores Internal and External Forces

• Subjects: Business Organizational Management
• Words: 7953

Sustainable Cities: Curitiba

• Subjects: Economic Systems & Principles Economics
• Words: 8123

Feasibility Study Of KSA Sports and Leisure Club

• Subjects: Business Case Study
• Words: 7752

Gulf Cooperation Council Currency Union

• Subjects: International Relations Politics & Government
• Words: 8673

The opportunity to succeed for women entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia

• Subjects: Business Entrepreneurship
• Words: 8776

Exporting Paper Products from Sydney, Nova Scotia, to Saudi Arabia

• Subjects: Business Industry
• Words: 8093

Listening Skills and Healthcare: A Quantitative Survey Technique

• Subjects: Health & Medicine Medical Ethics
• Words: 7466

Program Outcomes in a Non-Profit Organization Serving at Risk Youth in an Urban Metropolitan Area

• Subjects: Education Education Issues
• Words: 9906

Exploitation of Copyrights, Trademarks and Intellectual Property Rights in Modern Day Business: An Examination of Adverse Practices in an Internet Dominated Era

• Subjects: Intellectual Property Law
• Words: 6105

How Can an Organization Implement an Enterprise Resource Planning System?

• Subjects: Business Logistics
• Words: 8238

Shackleton Brand Products

• Subjects: Business Marketing Project
• Words: 3066

Mixed Ability Classes

• Words: 8282

Google Company’s Performance and Compensation Policies

• Subjects: Business Company Analysis
• Words: 8155

Impact of Volatility in Oil Price in GCC Economy

• Subjects: Economic Concepts Economics
• Words: 8263

Yahoo Corporation Performance Through the History

• Subjects: Business Company Information
• Words: 8267

Securities Markets in the UAE

• Subjects: Economics Trade
• Words: 8715

The Ayla Event Hall Construction Project

• Subjects: Construction Engineering Design
• Words: 1478

Global Warming Impacts on Canadian Arctic Security

• Subjects: Environment Global Warming
• Words: 8266

Home Gardening Veggies Business Plan

• Words: 8184

The UAE Maternity Law and Women’s Employment Behaviour

• Subjects: Business Workforce
• Words: 8026

Dubai vs. Boston Higher Education

• Subjects: Education Education System
• Words: 8303

Dubai Police Force: Human Resource Department

• Subjects: Law Enforcement Politics & Government
• Words: 8250

Altered Representations in Posters from Different Cultures

• Subjects: Advertising Entertainment & Media
• Words: 8310

Business Law and Bankruptcy

• Subjects: Business & Corporate Law Law
• Words: 8308

Abu Dhabi Government Schools Leadership Style Principles

• Subjects: Education Teacher Career
• Words: 8722

Apple Inc.’s and Samsung Electronics Company’s Finances

• Words: 7909

Saudi Arabian Commercial and Investment Banks

• Subjects: Banking Analysis Economics
• Words: 8295

Canadian Activities in the Arctic Council

• Subjects: International Organizations Politics & Government
• Words: 8312

Do-Do Online Fresh Food Supply LLC’s Business Plan

• Words: 8290

Effects of Corporate Governance on Firm Performance

• Subjects: Business Corporate Governance
• Words: 8248

Fair and Unfair Competition Under Trademarks

• Subjects: Branding Business
• Words: 8260

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Immunoglobulin M

• Subjects: Health & Medicine Healthcare Research
• Words: 8108

Globalization, Food, and Ethnic Identity in Literature

• Subjects: American Literature Literature
• Words: 8218

Saudi National Project Management Office’s Practices

• Subjects: Project Management Tech & Engineering

Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Industry Analysis

• Words: 8223

Social Media and Shopping Behavior of Emirati College Students

• Subjects: Entertainment & Media Media Influences
• Words: 8464

Sheikh Khalifa Medical City Supply Chains

• Subjects: Health & Medicine Healthcare Institution
• Words: 8234

Nonprofits’ Long-Term Sustainability in the UK

• Words: 7608

Food Inspection Procedures in Saudi Arabia

• Subjects: Diet & Nutrition Food Safety
• Words: 9531

Irrigation Water Reduction Using Water-Absorbing Polymers

• Subjects: Environment Environmental Management
• Words: 8177

Ottawa Region ICT Centres Project

• Words: 5260

Standardization and Adaptation of McDonald’s India and the UK

• Subjects: Business Marketing
• Words: 11284

Personality Test for Managers and Leaders

• Subjects: Business Leadership Styles
• Words: 8495

Decision-Making in Cancer MDT

• Subjects: Health & Medicine Oncology
• Words: 7477

Sales and Marketing Assistant Internship

• Subjects: Business Professions
• Words: 8271

Engineering OleT Enzyme for Better Biofuel Yield

• Subjects: Chemistry Sciences
• Words: 8140

ABC Online Legal Consulting Firm Business Plan

• Words: 8287

Service Improvement at the XYZ Health Center

• Words: 8233

Emergency Response to Haiti Earthquake

• Subjects: Disasters Environment

American Nursing: Human Resource Administration

• Subjects: Administration and Regulation Health & Medicine
• Words: 8318

British Petroleum Alternative Energy

• Subjects: Economics Financial Reporting
• Words: 4557

An Evaluation of Hardware Systems Best Suited for Bioinformatics Searching

• Subjects: Computer Science Tech & Engineering
• Words: 8432

Business Plan for Luggage Wrapper

• Words: 7089

Skoda Auto: Strategic Management

• Words: 8137

Global Financial Meltdown and Its Impact on Saudi Arabia

• Subjects: Big Economic Issues Economics
• Words: 8243

Attack by Ahurastan on Azerbaijan and Sustaining Peace Enforcement Mission in Nagorno-Karabakh

• Subjects: Modern Warfare Warfare
• Words: 11771

Tourism Inventory for Kuwait

• Subjects: Tourism World Tourism
• Words: 8187

Sports Stadium for Team Organization and Community

• Subjects: Sports Sports Culture
• Words: 8956

Company Analysis: HealthStream

• Words: 8207

Multinationals in Saudi Arabia: ABB Saudi Arabia Case

• Words: 10399

Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and H.G. Wells’s “The Island of Dr. Moreau”

• Subjects: British Literature Literature
• Words: 5235

Dental Implants: Early, Immediate and Delayed Loading

• Subjects: Dentistry Health & Medicine
• Words: 8076

Awareness and Receptiveness to Various Medicine Methods

• Words: 8663

Chilling Effects of Take Down Notices & Cease and Desist Letters

• Subjects: Education Writing & Assignments
• Words: 8265

Developments in the Field of Machine Learning

• Subjects: Engineering Tech & Engineering
• Words: 7349

WTO Impacts on the Economy of Saudi Arabia

• Subjects: Economics International Trade Policy

Entrepreneurship and Small Business – Setting up a Business of Portable Rental Halls

• Subjects: Business Strategy

Katara Events Website Project Development

• Words: 8159

Marketing Communication and Plan for Open Doors Letting Agency

• Subjects: Business Marketing Communication
• Words: 5768

Key Issues That Influence Police Behavior

• Subjects: Criminal Law Law
• Words: 8276

Consumer Protection Under Gulf State Laws

• Subjects: Consumer Law Law
• Words: 8327

Income State of Islamic Banks

• Words: 8221

Controlled Foreign Corporation and Passive Foreign Investment Corporation Rules: Impact on Foreign Investment

• Subjects: Economics Investment
• Words: 8369

The Arizona Children Association and CiteHealth: The Merger Project

• Words: 2545

Use of the Internet by Small Businesses

• Subjects: Business E-Commerce
• Words: 7807

3D Technology History in Cinema Industry

• Subjects: Art Cinema Art
• Words: 9346

French Revolution: Role of Propaganda and Music

• Subjects: History Western Europe
• Words: 7374

Strategy for Foreign Automotive Firms in China

• Words: 11368

Psychology: Emotional Regulation

• Subjects: Professional Psychology Psychology
• Words: 9374

Stay-Home Moms and Full-Time Working Mothers: Indicators of Happiness

• Subjects: Family, Life & Experiences Personal Experiences
• Words: 7847

Is Globalization Responsible for Shaping the Global Crisis?

• Subjects: Economics Globalization

Fundamental Analysis of Regional Conflicts on Dubai Financial Markets

• Words: 2758

Proposing Best Practices for the National Project Management Office

• Subjects: Business Management
• Words: 4119

Humanities and Justice Studies

• Words: 9153

Body Image and Its Influence on British Society

• Subjects: Sociological Theories Sociology
• Words: 8258

Societal Views on Refugees and Children’s Mental Wellbeing

• Words: 8339

Blockchain Decentralized Systems and Intellectual Property Globalization

• Subjects: Other Technology Tech & Engineering
• Words: 8286

Review of “Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics” Book

• Words: 5500

US Household Goods Moving and Storage Industry

Family business succession in asian countries.

• Words: 8061

Representation of Power and Sexuality in Oscar Wilde’s “A Woman of No Importance”

• Subjects: Literature Plays
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Dance as a Cultural Practice to Alleviate Nostalgia Among Immigrants

• Subjects: Art Dance
• Words: 8301

Application of Schumpeter’s Innovative Entrepreneurship Theory to Ooredoo

• Words: 8185

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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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Home » Research Paper Format – Types, Examples and Templates

Research Paper Format – Types, Examples and Templates

Table of Contents

Research paper format is an essential aspect of academic writing that plays a crucial role in the communication of research findings . The format of a research paper depends on various factors such as the discipline, style guide, and purpose of the research. It includes guidelines for the structure, citation style, referencing , and other elements of the paper that contribute to its overall presentation and coherence. Adhering to the appropriate research paper format is vital for ensuring that the research is accurately and effectively communicated to the intended audience. In this era of information, it is essential to understand the different research paper formats and their guidelines to communicate research effectively, accurately, and with the required level of detail. This post aims to provide an overview of some of the common research paper formats used in academic writing.

Research Paper Formats

Research Paper Formats are as follows:

• APA (American Psychological Association) format
• MLA (Modern Language Association) format
• Chicago/Turabian style
• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) format
• AMA (American Medical Association) style
• Harvard style
• Vancouver style
• ACS (American Chemical Society) style
• ASA (American Sociological Association) style
• APSA (American Political Science Association) style

APA (American Psychological Association) Format

Here is a general APA format for a research paper:

• Title Page: The title page should include the title of your paper, your name, and your institutional affiliation. It should also include a running head, which is a shortened version of the title, and a page number in the upper right-hand corner.
• Abstract : The abstract is a brief summary of your paper, typically 150-250 words. It should include the purpose of your research, the main findings, and any implications or conclusions that can be drawn.
• Introduction: The introduction should provide background information on your topic, state the purpose of your research, and present your research question or hypothesis. It should also include a brief literature review that discusses previous research on your topic.
• Methods: The methods section should describe the procedures you used to collect and analyze your data. It should include information on the participants, the materials and instruments used, and the statistical analyses performed.
• Results: The results section should present the findings of your research in a clear and concise manner. Use tables and figures to help illustrate your results.
• Discussion : The discussion section should interpret your results and relate them back to your research question or hypothesis. It should also discuss the implications of your findings and any limitations of your study.
• References : The references section should include a list of all sources cited in your paper. Follow APA formatting guidelines for your citations and references.

Some additional tips for formatting your APA research paper:

• Use 12-point Times New Roman font throughout the paper.
• Double-space all text, including the references.
• Use 1-inch margins on all sides of the page.
• Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches.
• Use a hanging indent for the references (the first line should be flush with the left margin, and all subsequent lines should be indented).
• Number all pages, including the title page and references page, in the upper right-hand corner.

APA Research Paper Format Template

APA Research Paper Format Template is as follows:

Title Page:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Institutional affiliation
• A brief summary of the main points of the paper, including the research question, methods, findings, and conclusions. The abstract should be no more than 250 words.

Introduction:

• Background information on the topic of the research paper
• Research question or hypothesis
• Significance of the study
• Overview of the research methods and design
• Brief summary of the main findings
• Participants: description of the sample population, including the number of participants and their characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.)
• Materials: description of any materials used in the study (e.g., survey questions, experimental apparatus)
• Procedure: detailed description of the steps taken to conduct the study
• Presentation of the findings of the study, including statistical analyses if applicable
• Tables and figures may be included to illustrate the results

Discussion:

• Interpretation of the results in light of the research question and hypothesis
• Implications of the study for the field
• Limitations of the study
• Suggestions for future research

References:

• A list of all sources cited in the paper, in APA format

Formatting guidelines:

• Double-spaced
• 12-point font (Times New Roman or Arial)
• 1-inch margins on all sides
• Page numbers in the top right corner
• Headings and subheadings should be used to organize the paper
• The first line of each paragraph should be indented
• Quotations of 40 or more words should be set off in a block quote with no quotation marks
• In-text citations should include the author’s last name and year of publication (e.g., Smith, 2019)

APA Research Paper Format Example

APA Research Paper Format Example is as follows:

The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health

University of XYZ

This study examines the relationship between social media use and mental health among college students. Data was collected through a survey of 500 students at the University of XYZ. Results suggest that social media use is significantly related to symptoms of depression and anxiety, and that the negative effects of social media are greater among frequent users.

Social media has become an increasingly important aspect of modern life, especially among young adults. While social media can have many positive effects, such as connecting people across distances and sharing information, there is growing concern about its impact on mental health. This study aims to examine the relationship between social media use and mental health among college students.

Participants: Participants were 500 college students at the University of XYZ, recruited through online advertisements and flyers posted on campus. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 25, with a mean age of 20.5 years. The sample was 60% female, 40% male, and 5% identified as non-binary or gender non-conforming.

Data was collected through an online survey administered through Qualtrics. The survey consisted of several measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression symptoms, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety symptoms, and questions about social media use.

Procedure :

Participants were asked to complete the online survey at their convenience. The survey took approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations, and multiple regression analysis.

Results indicated that social media use was significantly related to symptoms of depression (r = .32, p < .001) and anxiety (r = .29, p < .001). Regression analysis indicated that frequency of social media use was a significant predictor of both depression symptoms (β = .24, p < .001) and anxiety symptoms (β = .20, p < .001), even when controlling for age, gender, and other relevant factors.

The results of this study suggest that social media use is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety among college students. The negative effects of social media are greater among frequent users. These findings have important implications for mental health professionals and educators, who should consider addressing the potential negative effects of social media use in their work with young adults.

References :

References should be listed in alphabetical order according to the author’s last name. For example:

• Chou, H. T. G., & Edge, N. (2012). “They are happier and having better lives than I am”: The impact of using Facebook on perceptions of others’ lives. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(2), 117-121.
• Twenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among U.S. adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(1), 3-17.

Note: This is just a sample Example do not use this in your assignment.

MLA (Modern Language Association) Format

MLA (Modern Language Association) Format is as follows:

• Page Layout : Use 8.5 x 11-inch white paper, with 1-inch margins on all sides. The font should be 12-point Times New Roman or a similar serif font.
• Heading and Title : The first page of your research paper should include a heading and a title. The heading should include your name, your instructor’s name, the course title, and the date. The title should be centered and in title case (capitalizing the first letter of each important word).
• In-Text Citations : Use parenthetical citations to indicate the source of your information. The citation should include the author’s last name and the page number(s) of the source. For example: (Smith 23).
• Works Cited Page : At the end of your paper, include a Works Cited page that lists all the sources you used in your research. Each entry should include the author’s name, the title of the work, the publication information, and the medium of publication.
• Formatting Quotations : Use double quotation marks for short quotations and block quotations for longer quotations. Indent the entire quotation five spaces from the left margin.
• Formatting the Body : Use a clear and readable font and double-space your text throughout. The first line of each paragraph should be indented one-half inch from the left margin.

MLA Research Paper Template

MLA Research Paper Format Template is as follows:

• Use 8.5 x 11 inch white paper.
• Use a 12-point font, such as Times New Roman.
• Use double-spacing throughout the entire paper, including the title page and works cited page.
• Set the margins to 1 inch on all sides.
• Use page numbers in the upper right corner, beginning with the first page of text.
• Include a centered title for the research paper, using title case (capitalizing the first letter of each important word).
• Include your name, instructor’s name, course name, and date in the upper left corner, double-spaced.

In-Text Citations

• When quoting or paraphrasing information from sources, include an in-text citation within the text of your paper.
• Use the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the punctuation mark.
• If the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence, only include the page number in parentheses.

Works Cited Page

• List all sources cited in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
• Each entry should include the author’s name, title of the work, publication information, and medium of publication.
• Use italics for book and journal titles, and quotation marks for article and chapter titles.
• For online sources, include the date of access and the URL.

Here is an example of how the first page of a research paper in MLA format should look:

Headings and Subheadings

• Use headings and subheadings to organize your paper and make it easier to read.
• Use numerals to number your headings and subheadings (e.g. 1, 2, 3), and capitalize the first letter of each word.
• The main heading should be centered and in boldface type, while subheadings should be left-aligned and in italics.
• Use only one space after each period or punctuation mark.
• Use quotation marks to indicate direct quotes from a source.
• If the quote is more than four lines, format it as a block quote, indented one inch from the left margin and without quotation marks.
• Use ellipses (…) to indicate omitted words from a quote, and brackets ([…]) to indicate added words.

Works Cited Examples

• Book: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Year.
• Journal Article: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, publication date, page numbers.
• Website: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Webpage.” Title of Website, publication date, URL. Accessed date.

Here is an example of how a works cited entry for a book should look:

Smith, John. The Art of Writing Research Papers. Penguin, 2021.

MLA Research Paper Example

MLA Research Paper Format Example is as follows:

Your Professor’s Name

Course Name and Number

Date (in Day Month Year format)

Word Count (not including title page or Works Cited)

Title: The Impact of Video Games on Aggression Levels

Video games have become a popular form of entertainment among people of all ages. However, the impact of video games on aggression levels has been a subject of debate among scholars and researchers. While some argue that video games promote aggression and violent behavior, others argue that there is no clear link between video games and aggression levels. This research paper aims to explore the impact of video games on aggression levels among young adults.

Background:

The debate on the impact of video games on aggression levels has been ongoing for several years. According to the American Psychological Association, exposure to violent media, including video games, can increase aggression levels in children and adolescents. However, some researchers argue that there is no clear evidence to support this claim. Several studies have been conducted to examine the impact of video games on aggression levels, but the results have been mixed.

Methodology:

This research paper used a quantitative research approach to examine the impact of video games on aggression levels among young adults. A sample of 100 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 was selected for the study. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that measured their aggression levels and their video game habits.

The results of the study showed that there was a significant correlation between video game habits and aggression levels among young adults. The participants who reported playing violent video games for more than 5 hours per week had higher aggression levels than those who played less than 5 hours per week. The study also found that male participants were more likely to play violent video games and had higher aggression levels than female participants.

The findings of this study support the claim that video games can increase aggression levels among young adults. However, it is important to note that the study only examined the impact of video games on aggression levels and did not take into account other factors that may contribute to aggressive behavior. It is also important to note that not all video games promote violence and aggression, and some games may have a positive impact on cognitive and social skills.

Conclusion :

In conclusion, this research paper provides evidence to support the claim that video games can increase aggression levels among young adults. However, it is important to conduct further research to examine the impact of video games on other aspects of behavior and to explore the potential benefits of video games. Parents and educators should be aware of the potential impact of video games on aggression levels and should encourage young adults to engage in a variety of activities that promote cognitive and social skills.

Works Cited:

• American Psychological Association. (2017). Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/08/violent-video-games
• Ferguson, C. J. (2015). Do Angry Birds make for angry children? A meta-analysis of video game influences on children’s and adolescents’ aggression, mental health, prosocial behavior, and academic performance. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(5), 646-666.
• Gentile, D. A., Swing, E. L., Lim, C. G., & Khoo, A. (2012). Video game playing, attention problems, and impulsiveness: Evidence of bidirectional causality. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 1(1), 62-70.
• Greitemeyer, T. (2014). Effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106(4), 530-548.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chicago/Turabian Formate is as follows:

• Margins : Use 1-inch margins on all sides of the paper.
• Font : Use a readable font such as Times New Roman or Arial, and use a 12-point font size.
• Page numbering : Number all pages in the upper right-hand corner, beginning with the first page of text. Use Arabic numerals.
• Title page: Include a title page with the title of the paper, your name, course title and number, instructor’s name, and the date. The title should be centered on the page and in title case (capitalize the first letter of each word).
• Headings: Use headings to organize your paper. The first level of headings should be centered and in boldface or italics. The second level of headings should be left-aligned and in boldface or italics. Use as many levels of headings as necessary to organize your paper.
• In-text citations : Use footnotes or endnotes to cite sources within the text of your paper. The first citation for each source should be a full citation, and subsequent citations can be shortened. Use superscript numbers to indicate footnotes or endnotes.
• Bibliography : Include a bibliography at the end of your paper, listing all sources cited in your paper. The bibliography should be in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, and each entry should include the author’s name, title of the work, publication information, and date of publication.
• Formatting of quotations: Use block quotations for quotations that are longer than four lines. Indent the entire quotation one inch from the left margin, and do not use quotation marks. Single-space the quotation, and double-space between paragraphs.
• Tables and figures: Use tables and figures to present data and illustrations. Number each table and figure sequentially, and provide a brief title for each. Place tables and figures as close as possible to the text that refers to them.
• Spelling and grammar : Use correct spelling and grammar throughout your paper. Proofread carefully for errors.

Chicago/Turabian Research Paper Template

Chicago/Turabian Research Paper Template is as folows:

Title of Paper

Name of Student

Professor’s Name

I. Introduction

A. Background Information

B. Research Question

C. Thesis Statement

II. Literature Review

A. Overview of Existing Literature

B. Analysis of Key Literature

C. Identification of Gaps in Literature

III. Methodology

A. Research Design

B. Data Collection

C. Data Analysis

IV. Results

A. Presentation of Findings

B. Analysis of Findings

C. Discussion of Implications

V. Conclusion

A. Summary of Findings

B. Implications for Future Research

C. Conclusion

VI. References

A. Bibliography

B. In-Text Citations

VII. Appendices (if necessary)

A. Data Tables

C. Additional Supporting Materials

Chicago/Turabian Research Paper Example

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Political Engagement

Name: John Smith

Class: POLS 101

Professor: Dr. Jane Doe

Date: April 8, 2023

I. Introduction:

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. People use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with friends and family, share their opinions, and stay informed about current events. With the rise of social media, there has been a growing interest in understanding its impact on various aspects of society, including political engagement. In this paper, I will examine the relationship between social media use and political engagement, specifically focusing on how social media influences political participation and political attitudes.

II. Literature Review:

There is a growing body of literature on the impact of social media on political engagement. Some scholars argue that social media has a positive effect on political participation by providing new channels for political communication and mobilization (Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996; Putnam, 2000). Others, however, suggest that social media can have a negative impact on political engagement by creating filter bubbles that reinforce existing beliefs and discourage political dialogue (Pariser, 2011; Sunstein, 2001).

III. Methodology:

To examine the relationship between social media use and political engagement, I conducted a survey of 500 college students. The survey included questions about social media use, political participation, and political attitudes. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.

Iv. Results:

The results of the survey indicate that social media use is positively associated with political participation. Specifically, respondents who reported using social media to discuss politics were more likely to have participated in a political campaign, attended a political rally, or contacted a political representative. Additionally, social media use was found to be associated with more positive attitudes towards political engagement, such as increased trust in government and belief in the effectiveness of political action.

V. Conclusion:

The findings of this study suggest that social media has a positive impact on political engagement, by providing new opportunities for political communication and mobilization. However, there is also a need for caution, as social media can also create filter bubbles that reinforce existing beliefs and discourage political dialogue. Future research should continue to explore the complex relationship between social media and political engagement, and develop strategies to harness the potential benefits of social media while mitigating its potential negative effects.

Vii. References:

• Delli Carpini, M. X., & Keeter, S. (1996). What Americans know about politics and why it matters. Yale University Press.
• Pariser, E. (2011). The filter bubble: What the Internet is hiding from you. Penguin.
• Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.
• Sunstein, C. R. (2001). Republic.com. Princeton University Press.

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Format

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Research Paper Format is as follows:

• Title : A concise and informative title that accurately reflects the content of the paper.
• Abstract : A brief summary of the paper, typically no more than 250 words, that includes the purpose of the study, the methods used, the key findings, and the main conclusions.
• Introduction : An overview of the background, context, and motivation for the research, including a clear statement of the problem being addressed and the objectives of the study.
• Literature review: A critical analysis of the relevant research and scholarship on the topic, including a discussion of any gaps or limitations in the existing literature.
• Methodology : A detailed description of the methods used to collect and analyze data, including any experiments or simulations, data collection instruments or procedures, and statistical analyses.
• Results : A clear and concise presentation of the findings, including any relevant tables, graphs, or figures.
• Discussion : A detailed interpretation of the results, including a comparison of the findings with previous research, a discussion of the implications of the results, and any recommendations for future research.
• Conclusion : A summary of the key findings and main conclusions of the study.
• References : A list of all sources cited in the paper, formatted according to IEEE guidelines.

In addition to these elements, an IEEE research paper should also follow certain formatting guidelines, including using 12-point font, double-spaced text, and numbered headings and subheadings. Additionally, any tables, figures, or equations should be clearly labeled and referenced in the text.

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

AMA (American Medical Association) Style Research Paper Format:

• Title Page: This page includes the title of the paper, the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and any acknowledgments or disclaimers.
• Abstract: The abstract is a brief summary of the paper that outlines the purpose, methods, results, and conclusions of the study. It is typically limited to 250 words or less.
• Introduction: The introduction provides a background of the research problem, defines the research question, and outlines the objectives and hypotheses of the study.
• Methods: The methods section describes the research design, participants, procedures, and instruments used to collect and analyze data.
• Results: The results section presents the findings of the study in a clear and concise manner, using graphs, tables, and charts where appropriate.
• Discussion: The discussion section interprets the results, explains their significance, and relates them to previous research in the field.
• Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes the main points of the paper, discusses the implications of the findings, and suggests future research directions.
• References: The reference list includes all sources cited in the paper, listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name.

In addition to these sections, the AMA format requires that authors follow specific guidelines for citing sources in the text and formatting their references. The AMA style uses a superscript number system for in-text citations and provides specific formats for different types of sources, such as books, journal articles, and websites.

Harvard Style

Harvard Style Research Paper format is as follows:

• Title page: This should include the title of your paper, your name, the name of your institution, and the date of submission.
• Abstract : This is a brief summary of your paper, usually no more than 250 words. It should outline the main points of your research and highlight your findings.
• Introduction : This section should introduce your research topic, provide background information, and outline your research question or thesis statement.
• Literature review: This section should review the relevant literature on your topic, including previous research studies, academic articles, and other sources.
• Methodology : This section should describe the methods you used to conduct your research, including any data collection methods, research instruments, and sampling techniques.
• Results : This section should present your findings in a clear and concise manner, using tables, graphs, and other visual aids if necessary.
• Discussion : This section should interpret your findings and relate them to the broader research question or thesis statement. You should also discuss the implications of your research and suggest areas for future study.
• Conclusion : This section should summarize your main findings and provide a final statement on the significance of your research.
• References : This is a list of all the sources you cited in your paper, presented in alphabetical order by author name. Each citation should include the author’s name, the title of the source, the publication date, and other relevant information.

In addition to these sections, a Harvard Style research paper may also include a table of contents, appendices, and other supplementary materials as needed. It is important to follow the specific formatting guidelines provided by your instructor or academic institution when preparing your research paper in Harvard Style.

Vancouver Style

Vancouver Style Research Paper format is as follows:

The Vancouver citation style is commonly used in the biomedical sciences and is known for its use of numbered references. Here is a basic format for a research paper using the Vancouver citation style:

• Title page: Include the title of your paper, your name, the name of your institution, and the date.
• Abstract : This is a brief summary of your research paper, usually no more than 250 words.
• Introduction : Provide some background information on your topic and state the purpose of your research.
• Methods : Describe the methods you used to conduct your research, including the study design, data collection, and statistical analysis.
• Results : Present your findings in a clear and concise manner, using tables and figures as needed.
• Discussion : Interpret your results and explain their significance. Also, discuss any limitations of your study and suggest directions for future research.
• References : List all of the sources you cited in your paper in numerical order. Each reference should include the author’s name, the title of the article or book, the name of the journal or publisher, the year of publication, and the page numbers.

ACS (American Chemical Society) Style

ACS (American Chemical Society) Style Research Paper format is as follows:

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Style is a citation style commonly used in chemistry and related fields. When formatting a research paper in ACS Style, here are some guidelines to follow:

• Paper Size and Margins : Use standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper with 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Font: Use a 12-point serif font (such as Times New Roman) for the main text. The title should be in bold and a larger font size.
• Title Page : The title page should include the title of the paper, the authors’ names and affiliations, and the date of submission. The title should be centered on the page and written in bold font. The authors’ names should be centered below the title, followed by their affiliations and the date.
• Abstract : The abstract should be a brief summary of the paper, no more than 250 words. It should be on a separate page and include the title of the paper, the authors’ names and affiliations, and the text of the abstract.
• Main Text : The main text should be organized into sections with headings that clearly indicate the content of each section. The introduction should provide background information and state the research question or hypothesis. The methods section should describe the procedures used in the study. The results section should present the findings of the study, and the discussion section should interpret the results and provide conclusions.
• References: Use the ACS Style guide to format the references cited in the paper. In-text citations should be numbered sequentially throughout the text and listed in numerical order at the end of the paper.
• Figures and Tables: Figures and tables should be numbered sequentially and referenced in the text. Each should have a descriptive caption that explains its content. Figures should be submitted in a high-quality electronic format.
• Supporting Information: Additional information such as data, graphs, and videos may be included as supporting information. This should be included in a separate file and referenced in the main text.
• Acknowledgments : Acknowledge any funding sources or individuals who contributed to the research.

ASA (American Sociological Association) Style

ASA (American Sociological Association) Style Research Paper format is as follows:

• Title Page: The title page of an ASA style research paper should include the title of the paper, the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation. The title should be centered and should be in title case (the first letter of each major word should be capitalized).
• Abstract: An abstract is a brief summary of the paper that should appear on a separate page immediately following the title page. The abstract should be no more than 200 words in length and should summarize the main points of the paper.
• Main Body: The main body of the paper should begin on a new page following the abstract page. The paper should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides, and should be written in 12-point Times New Roman font. The main body of the paper should include an introduction, a literature review, a methodology section, results, and a discussion.
• References : The reference section should appear on a separate page at the end of the paper. All sources cited in the paper should be listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. Each reference should include the author’s name, the title of the work, the publication information, and the date of publication.
• Appendices : Appendices are optional and should only be included if they contain information that is relevant to the study but too lengthy to be included in the main body of the paper. If you include appendices, each one should be labeled with a letter (e.g., Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.) and should be referenced in the main body of the paper.

APSA (American Political Science Association) Style

APSA (American Political Science Association) Style Research Paper format is as follows:

• Title Page: The title page should include the title of the paper, the author’s name, the name of the course or instructor, and the date.
• Abstract : An abstract is typically not required in APSA style papers, but if one is included, it should be brief and summarize the main points of the paper.
• Introduction : The introduction should provide an overview of the research topic, the research question, and the main argument or thesis of the paper.
• Literature Review : The literature review should summarize the existing research on the topic and provide a context for the research question.
• Methods : The methods section should describe the research methods used in the paper, including data collection and analysis.
• Results : The results section should present the findings of the research.
• Discussion : The discussion section should interpret the results and connect them back to the research question and argument.
• Conclusion : The conclusion should summarize the main findings and implications of the research.
• References : The reference list should include all sources cited in the paper, formatted according to APSA style guidelines.

In-text citations in APSA style use parenthetical citation, which includes the author’s last name, publication year, and page number(s) if applicable. For example, (Smith 2010, 25).

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A 30-page text usually contains 7450 to 7500 words in case you use 12-point Times New Roman, double spaced. This is the most common format for all the major citation styles.

How long does it take to write a 30 page essay?

It will take you 5 to 10 minutes to type one page on a keyboard. However, if you need to write a 30 page essay from scratch, it will take you not less than 30 to 31 hours.

How many paragraphs are in a 30 page essay?

A paragraph in academic writing should be at least 75 words long. So, a 30 page essay is to contain 75 to 99 paragraphs.

What does a 30 page essay look like?

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One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great paper.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or other people seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific or specialized topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to choose a topic that fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

• Discuss the main differences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance .
• Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
• How is sexism portrayed in different types of media (music, film, video games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
• How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern American music?
• How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
• How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

Current Events

• What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?
• How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
• How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
• Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and North Korea.
• What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of unemployment?
• What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum wage?
• How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other countries?
• How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/decades?
• How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
• What impact has the Affordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
• What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
• What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
• Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies  (some of which tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain) .
• Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their careers?
• Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized tests?
• Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
• Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests than students in public schools?
• Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
• How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop affect their studies?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Montessori Method ?
• Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
• What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
• How does the US education system compare to education systems in other countries?
• What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students' health?
• Which methods are most effective at reducing bullying in schools?
• Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
• Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
• How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
• Should graduate students be able to form unions?

• What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
• How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
• Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
• Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
• How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
• How can human trafficking be reduced in the United States/world?
• Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?
• Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most effective at preventing future crimes?
• Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
• Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are similar and different from one another.
• Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
• Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
• Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
• Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
• Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
• How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
• How do the healthcare plans of various countries differ from each other?
• What are the most effective ways to treat depression ?
• What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods?
• Which methods are most effective for improving memory?
• What can be done to lower healthcare costs in the US?
• What factors contributed to the current opioid crisis?
• Analyze the history and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic .
• Are low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
• How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
• Which methods are most effective to get parents to vaccinate their children?
• What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
• How does stress affect the body?
• Discuss the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
• What were the causes and effects of the Salem Witch Trials?
• Who was responsible for the Iran-Contra situation?
• How has New Orleans and the government's response to natural disasters changed since Hurricane Katrina?
• What events led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
• What were the impacts of British rule in India ?
• Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
• What were the successes and failures of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
• What were the causes of the Civil War?
• How did Abraham Lincoln's assassination impact the country and reconstruction after the Civil War?
• Which factors contributed to the colonies winning the American Revolution?
• What caused Hitler's rise to power?
• Discuss how a specific invention impacted history.
• What led to Cleopatra's fall as ruler of Egypt?
• How has Japan changed and evolved over the centuries?
• What were the causes of the Rwandan genocide ?

• Why did Martin Luther decide to split with the Catholic Church?
• Analyze the history and impact of a well-known cult (Jonestown, Manson family, etc.)
• How did the sexual abuse scandal impact how people view the Catholic Church?
• How has the Catholic church's power changed over the past decades/centuries?
• What are the causes behind the rise in atheism/ agnosticism in the United States?
• What were the influences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the Buddha?
• How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

Science/Environment

• How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
• How has the use and elimination of DDT affected bird populations in the US?
• Analyze how the number and severity of natural disasters have increased in the past few decades.
• Analyze deforestation rates in a certain area or globally over a period of time.
• How have past oil spills changed regulations and cleanup methods?
• How has the Flint water crisis changed water regulation safety?
• What are the pros and cons of fracking?
• What impact has the Paris Climate Agreement had so far?
• What have NASA's biggest successes and failures been?
• How can we improve access to clean water around the world?
• Does ecotourism actually have a positive impact on the environment?
• Should the US rely on nuclear energy more?
• What can be done to save amphibian species currently at risk of extinction?
• What impact has climate change had on coral reefs?
• How are black holes created?
• Are teens who spend more time on social media more likely to suffer anxiety and/or depression?
• How will the loss of net neutrality affect internet users?
• Analyze the history and progress of self-driving vehicles.
• How has the use of drones changed surveillance and warfare methods?
• Has social media made people more or less connected?
• What progress has currently been made with artificial intelligence ?
• Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
• What are the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom?
• How is Google search affecting our intelligence?
• When is the best age for a child to begin owning a smartphone?
• Has frequent texting reduced teen literacy rates?

How to Write a Great Research Paper

Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn good research paper topics into great papers.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause of the Civil War, other key causes include differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a strong paper.

What's Next?

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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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.

• Break through writer’s block. Write your research paper introduction with Paperpal Copilot

Table of Contents

What is the introduction for a research paper, why is the introduction important in a research paper, craft a compelling introduction section with paperpal. try now, 1. introduce the research topic:, 2. determine a research niche:, 3. place your research within the research niche:, craft accurate research paper introductions with paperpal. start writing now, frequently asked questions on research paper introduction, key points to remember.

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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Crafting a comprehensive research paper can be daunting. Understanding diverse citation styles and various subject areas presents a challenge for many.

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Research Paper Example for Different Formats

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Social Media and Social Media Marketing: A Literature Review

APA Research Paper Example

APA (American Psychological Association) style is commonly used in social sciences, psychology, and education. This format is recognized for its clear and concise writing, emphasis on proper citations, and orderly presentation of ideas.

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Research Paper Example APA 7th Edition

Research Paper Example MLA

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is frequently employed in humanities disciplines, including literature, languages, and cultural studies. An MLA research paper might explore literature analysis, linguistic studies, or historical research within the humanities. 

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Found Voices: Carl Sagan

Research Paper Example Chicago

Chicago style is utilized in various fields like history, arts, and social sciences. Research papers in Chicago style could delve into historical events, artistic analyses, or social science inquiries. 

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Chicago Research Paper Sample

Research Paper Example Harvard

Harvard style is widely used in business, management, and some social sciences. Research papers in Harvard style might address business strategies, case studies, or social policies.

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Harvard Research Paper Sample

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A research paper has different parts. Each part is important for the overall success of the paper. Chapters in a research paper must be written correctly, using a certain format and structure.

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Research Proposal

The research proposal acts as a detailed plan or roadmap for your study, outlining the focus of your research and its significance. It's essential as it not only guides your research but also persuades others about the value of your study.

Example of Research Proposal

An abstract serves as a concise overview of your entire research paper. It provides a quick insight into the main elements of your study. It summarizes your research's purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions in a brief format.

Research Paper Example Abstract

Literature Review 

A literature review summarizes the existing research on your study's topic, showcasing what has already been explored. This section adds credibility to your own research by analyzing and summarizing prior studies related to your topic.

Literature Review Research Paper Example

Methodology

The methodology section functions as a detailed explanation of how you conducted your research. This part covers the tools, techniques, and steps used to collect and analyze data for your study.

Methods Section of Research Paper Example

How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper

The conclusion summarizes your findings, their significance and the impact of your research. This section outlines the key takeaways and the broader implications of your study's results.

Research Paper Conclusion Example

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Research papers can be about any subject that needs a detailed study. The following examples show research papers for different subjects.

History Research Paper Sample

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Sociology Research Paper Sample

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Science Fair Paper Format

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Psychology Research Paper Sample

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Here is an example psychology paper:

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Art History Research Paper Sample

Studying art history includes examining artworks, understanding their historical context, and learning about the artists. This helps analyze and interpret how art has evolved over various periods and regions.

Check out this sample paper analyzing European art and impacts:

European Art History: A Primer

Research Paper Example Outline

Before you plan on writing a well-researched paper, make a rough draft. An outline can be a great help when it comes to organizing vast amounts of research material for your paper.

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Here is a downloadable sample of a standard research paper outline:

Research Paper Outline

Want to create the perfect outline for your paper? Check out this in-depth guide on creating a research paper outline for a structured paper!

Good Research Paper Examples for Students

Here are some more samples of research paper for students to learn from:

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Research Paper Example Introduction

How to Write a Research Paper Example

Research Paper Example for High School

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• 15 April 2024

Revealed: the ten research papers that policy documents cite most

• Dalmeet Singh Chawla 0

Dalmeet Singh Chawla is a freelance science journalist based in London.

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Policymakers often work behind closed doors — but the documents they produce offer clues about the research that influences them. Credit: Stefan Rousseau/Getty

When David Autor co-wrote a paper on how computerization affects job skill demands more than 20 years ago, a journal took 18 months to consider it — only to reject it after review. He went on to submit it to The Quarterly Journal of Economics , which eventually published the work 1 in November 2003.

Autor’s paper is now the third most cited in policy documents worldwide, according to an analysis of data provided exclusively to Nature . It has accumulated around 1,100 citations in policy documents, show figures from the London-based firm Overton (see ‘The most-cited papers in policy’), which maintains a database of more than 12 million policy documents, think-tank papers, white papers and guidelines.

“I thought it was destined to be quite an obscure paper,” recalls Autor, a public-policy scholar and economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. “I’m excited that a lot of people are citing it.”

The most-cited papers in policy

Economics papers dominate the top ten papers that policy documents reference most.

Data from Sage Policy Profiles as of 15 April 2024

The top ten most cited papers in policy documents are dominated by economics research; the number one most referenced study has around 1,300 citations. When economics studies are excluded, a 1997 Nature paper 2 about Earth’s ecosystem services and natural capital is second on the list, with more than 900 policy citations. The paper has also garnered more than 32,000 references from other studies, according to Google Scholar. Other highly cited non-economics studies include works on planetary boundaries, sustainable foods and the future of employment (see ‘Most-cited papers — excluding economics research’).

These lists provide insight into the types of research that politicians pay attention to, but policy citations don’t necessarily imply impact or influence, and Overton’s database has a bias towards documents published in English.

Interdisciplinary impact

Overton usually charges a licence fee to access its citation data. But last year, the firm worked with the London-based publisher Sage to release a free web-based tool that allows any researcher to find out how many times policy documents have cited their papers or mention their names. Overton and Sage said they created the tool, called Sage Policy Profiles, to help researchers to demonstrate the impact or influence their work might be having on policy. This can be useful for researchers during promotion or tenure interviews and in grant applications.

Autor thinks his study stands out because his paper was different from what other economists were writing at the time. It suggested that ‘middle-skill’ work, typically done in offices or factories by people who haven’t attended university, was going to be largely automated, leaving workers with either highly skilled jobs or manual work. “It has stood the test of time,” he says, “and it got people to focus on what I think is the right problem.” That topic is just as relevant today, Autor says, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence.

Most-cited papers — excluding economics research

When economics studies are excluded, the research papers that policy documents most commonly reference cover topics including climate change and nutrition.

Walter Willett, an epidemiologist and food scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, thinks that interdisciplinary teams are most likely to gain a lot of policy citations. He co-authored a paper on the list of most cited non-economics studies: a 2019 work 3 that was part of a Lancet commission to investigate how to feed the global population a healthy and environmentally sustainable diet by 2050 and has accumulated more than 600 policy citations.

“I think it had an impact because it was clearly a multidisciplinary effort,” says Willett. The work was co-authored by 37 scientists from 17 countries. The team included researchers from disciplines including food science, health metrics, climate change, ecology and evolution and bioethics. “None of us could have done this on our own. It really did require working with people outside our fields.”

Sverker Sörlin, an environmental historian at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, agrees that papers with a diverse set of authors often attract more policy citations. “It’s the combined effect that is often the key to getting more influence,” he says.

Has your research influenced policy? Use this free tool to check

Sörlin co-authored two papers in the list of top ten non-economics papers. One of those is a 2015 Science paper 4 on planetary boundaries — a concept defining the environmental limits in which humanity can develop and thrive — which has attracted more than 750 policy citations. Sörlin thinks one reason it has been popular is that it’s a sequel to a 2009 Nature paper 5 he co-authored on the same topic, which has been cited by policy documents 575 times.

Although policy citations don’t necessarily imply influence, Willett has seen evidence that his paper is prompting changes in policy. He points to Denmark as an example, noting that the nation is reformatting its dietary guidelines in line with the study’s recommendations. “I certainly can’t say that this document is the only thing that’s changing their guidelines,” he says. But “this gave it the support and credibility that allowed them to go forward”.

Broad brush

Peter Gluckman, who was the chief science adviser to the prime minister of New Zealand between 2009 and 2018, is not surprised by the lists. He expects policymakers to refer to broad-brush papers rather than those reporting on incremental advances in a field.

Gluckman, a paediatrician and biomedical scientist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, notes that it’s important to consider the context in which papers are being cited, because studies reporting controversial findings sometimes attract many citations. He also warns that the list is probably not comprehensive: many policy papers are not easily accessible to tools such as Overton, which uses text mining to compile data, and so will not be included in the database.

The top 100 papers

“The thing that worries me most is the age of the papers that are involved,” Gluckman says. “Does that tell us something about just the way the analysis is done or that relatively few papers get heavily used in policymaking?”

Gluckman says it’s strange that some recent work on climate change, food security, social cohesion and similar areas hasn’t made it to the non-economics list. “Maybe it’s just because they’re not being referred to,” he says, or perhaps that work is cited, in turn, in the broad-scope papers that are most heavily referenced in policy documents.

As for Sage Policy Profiles, Gluckman says it’s always useful to get an idea of which studies are attracting attention from policymakers, but he notes that studies often take years to influence policy. “Yet the average academic is trying to make a claim here and now that their current work is having an impact,” he adds. “So there’s a disconnect there.”

Willett thinks policy citations are probably more important than scholarly citations in other papers. “In the end, we don’t want this to just sit on an academic shelf.”

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00660-1

Autor, D. H., Levy, F. & Murnane, R. J. Q. J. Econ. 118 , 1279–1333 (2003).

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Willett, W. et al. Lancet 393 , 447–492 (2019).

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What the data says about abortion in the U.S.

Pew Research Center has conducted many surveys about abortion over the years, providing a lens into Americans’ views on whether the procedure should be legal, among a host of other questions.

In a  Center survey  conducted nearly a year after the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision that  ended the constitutional right to abortion , 62% of U.S. adults said the practice should be legal in all or most cases, while 36% said it should be illegal in all or most cases. Another survey conducted a few months before the decision showed that relatively few Americans take an absolutist view on the issue .

Find answers to common questions about abortion in America, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Guttmacher Institute, which have tracked these patterns for several decades:

How many abortions are there in the U.S. each year?

How has the number of abortions in the u.s. changed over time, what is the abortion rate among women in the u.s. how has it changed over time, what are the most common types of abortion, how many abortion providers are there in the u.s., and how has that number changed, what percentage of abortions are for women who live in a different state from the abortion provider, what are the demographics of women who have had abortions, when during pregnancy do most abortions occur, how often are there medical complications from abortion.

This compilation of data on abortion in the United States draws mainly from two sources: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Guttmacher Institute, both of which have regularly compiled national abortion data for approximately half a century, and which collect their data in different ways.

The CDC data that is highlighted in this post comes from the agency’s “abortion surveillance” reports, which have been published annually since 1974 (and which have included data from 1969). Its figures from 1973 through 1996 include data from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and New York City – 52 “reporting areas” in all. Since 1997, the CDC’s totals have lacked data from some states (most notably California) for the years that those states did not report data to the agency. The four reporting areas that did not submit data to the CDC in 2021 – California, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey – accounted for approximately 25% of all legal induced abortions in the U.S. in 2020, according to Guttmacher’s data. Most states, though,  do  have data in the reports, and the figures for the vast majority of them came from each state’s central health agency, while for some states, the figures came from hospitals and other medical facilities.

Discussion of CDC abortion data involving women’s state of residence, marital status, race, ethnicity, age, abortion history and the number of previous live births excludes the low share of abortions where that information was not supplied. Read the methodology for the CDC’s latest abortion surveillance report , which includes data from 2021, for more details. Previous reports can be found at  stacks.cdc.gov  by entering “abortion surveillance” into the search box.

For the numbers of deaths caused by induced abortions in 1963 and 1965, this analysis looks at reports by the then-U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, a precursor to the Department of Health and Human Services. In computing those figures, we excluded abortions listed in the report under the categories “spontaneous or unspecified” or as “other.” (“Spontaneous abortion” is another way of referring to miscarriages.)

Guttmacher data in this post comes from national surveys of abortion providers that Guttmacher has conducted 19 times since 1973. Guttmacher compiles its figures after contacting every known provider of abortions – clinics, hospitals and physicians’ offices – in the country. It uses questionnaires and health department data, and it provides estimates for abortion providers that don’t respond to its inquiries. (In 2020, the last year for which it has released data on the number of abortions in the U.S., it used estimates for 12% of abortions.) For most of the 2000s, Guttmacher has conducted these national surveys every three years, each time getting abortion data for the prior two years. For each interim year, Guttmacher has calculated estimates based on trends from its own figures and from other data.

The latest full summary of Guttmacher data came in the institute’s report titled “Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2020.” It includes figures for 2020 and 2019 and estimates for 2018. The report includes a methods section.

In addition, this post uses data from StatPearls, an online health care resource, on complications from abortion.

An exact answer is hard to come by. The CDC and the Guttmacher Institute have each tried to measure this for around half a century, but they use different methods and publish different figures.

The last year for which the CDC reported a yearly national total for abortions is 2021. It found there were 625,978 abortions in the District of Columbia and the 46 states with available data that year, up from 597,355 in those states and D.C. in 2020. The corresponding figure for 2019 was 607,720.

The last year for which Guttmacher reported a yearly national total was 2020. It said there were 930,160 abortions that year in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, compared with 916,460 in 2019.

• How the CDC gets its data: It compiles figures that are voluntarily reported by states’ central health agencies, including separate figures for New York City and the District of Columbia. Its latest totals do not include figures from California, Maryland, New Hampshire or New Jersey, which did not report data to the CDC. ( Read the methodology from the latest CDC report .)
• How Guttmacher gets its data: It compiles its figures after contacting every known abortion provider – clinics, hospitals and physicians’ offices – in the country. It uses questionnaires and health department data, then provides estimates for abortion providers that don’t respond. Guttmacher’s figures are higher than the CDC’s in part because they include data (and in some instances, estimates) from all 50 states. ( Read the institute’s latest full report and methodology .)

While the Guttmacher Institute supports abortion rights, its empirical data on abortions in the U.S. has been widely cited by  groups  and  publications  across the political spectrum, including by a  number of those  that  disagree with its positions .

These estimates from Guttmacher and the CDC are results of multiyear efforts to collect data on abortion across the U.S. Last year, Guttmacher also began publishing less precise estimates every few months , based on a much smaller sample of providers.

The figures reported by these organizations include only legal induced abortions conducted by clinics, hospitals or physicians’ offices, or those that make use of abortion pills dispensed from certified facilities such as clinics or physicians’ offices. They do not account for the use of abortion pills that were obtained  outside of clinical settings .

(Back to top)

The annual number of U.S. abortions rose for years after Roe v. Wade legalized the procedure in 1973, reaching its highest levels around the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to both the CDC and Guttmacher. Since then, abortions have generally decreased at what a CDC analysis called  “a slow yet steady pace.”

Guttmacher says the number of abortions occurring in the U.S. in 2020 was 40% lower than it was in 1991. According to the CDC, the number was 36% lower in 2021 than in 1991, looking just at the District of Columbia and the 46 states that reported both of those years.

(The corresponding line graph shows the long-term trend in the number of legal abortions reported by both organizations. To allow for consistent comparisons over time, the CDC figures in the chart have been adjusted to ensure that the same states are counted from one year to the next. Using that approach, the CDC figure for 2021 is 622,108 legal abortions.)

There have been occasional breaks in this long-term pattern of decline – during the middle of the first decade of the 2000s, and then again in the late 2010s. The CDC reported modest 1% and 2% increases in abortions in 2018 and 2019, and then, after a 2% decrease in 2020, a 5% increase in 2021. Guttmacher reported an 8% increase over the three-year period from 2017 to 2020.

As noted above, these figures do not include abortions that use pills obtained outside of clinical settings.

Guttmacher says that in 2020 there were 14.4 abortions in the U.S. per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. Its data shows that the rate of abortions among women has generally been declining in the U.S. since 1981, when it reported there were 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women in that age range.

The CDC says that in 2021, there were 11.6 abortions in the U.S. per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. (That figure excludes data from California, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey.) Like Guttmacher’s data, the CDC’s figures also suggest a general decline in the abortion rate over time. In 1980, when the CDC reported on all 50 states and D.C., it said there were 25 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44.

That said, both Guttmacher and the CDC say there were slight increases in the rate of abortions during the late 2010s and early 2020s. Guttmacher says the abortion rate per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 rose from 13.5 in 2017 to 14.4 in 2020. The CDC says it rose from 11.2 per 1,000 in 2017 to 11.4 in 2019, before falling back to 11.1 in 2020 and then rising again to 11.6 in 2021. (The CDC’s figures for those years exclude data from California, D.C., Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey.)

The CDC broadly divides abortions into two categories: surgical abortions and medication abortions, which involve pills. Since the Food and Drug Administration first approved abortion pills in 2000, their use has increased over time as a share of abortions nationally, according to both the CDC and Guttmacher.

The majority of abortions in the U.S. now involve pills, according to both the CDC and Guttmacher. The CDC says 56% of U.S. abortions in 2021 involved pills, up from 53% in 2020 and 44% in 2019. Its figures for 2021 include the District of Columbia and 44 states that provided this data; its figures for 2020 include D.C. and 44 states (though not all of the same states as in 2021), and its figures for 2019 include D.C. and 45 states.

Guttmacher, which measures this every three years, says 53% of U.S. abortions involved pills in 2020, up from 39% in 2017.

Two pills commonly used together for medication abortions are mifepristone, which, taken first, blocks hormones that support a pregnancy, and misoprostol, which then causes the uterus to empty. According to the FDA, medication abortions are safe  until 10 weeks into pregnancy.

Surgical abortions conducted  during the first trimester  of pregnancy typically use a suction process, while the relatively few surgical abortions that occur  during the second trimester  of a pregnancy typically use a process called dilation and evacuation, according to the UCLA School of Medicine.

In 2020, there were 1,603 facilities in the U.S. that provided abortions,  according to Guttmacher . This included 807 clinics, 530 hospitals and 266 physicians’ offices.

While clinics make up half of the facilities that provide abortions, they are the sites where the vast majority (96%) of abortions are administered, either through procedures or the distribution of pills, according to Guttmacher’s 2020 data. (This includes 54% of abortions that are administered at specialized abortion clinics and 43% at nonspecialized clinics.) Hospitals made up 33% of the facilities that provided abortions in 2020 but accounted for only 3% of abortions that year, while just 1% of abortions were conducted by physicians’ offices.

Looking just at clinics – that is, the total number of specialized abortion clinics and nonspecialized clinics in the U.S. – Guttmacher found the total virtually unchanged between 2017 (808 clinics) and 2020 (807 clinics). However, there were regional differences. In the Midwest, the number of clinics that provide abortions increased by 11% during those years, and in the West by 6%. The number of clinics  decreased  during those years by 9% in the Northeast and 3% in the South.

The total number of abortion providers has declined dramatically since the 1980s. In 1982, according to Guttmacher, there were 2,908 facilities providing abortions in the U.S., including 789 clinics, 1,405 hospitals and 714 physicians’ offices.

The CDC does not track the number of abortion providers.

In the District of Columbia and the 46 states that provided abortion and residency information to the CDC in 2021, 10.9% of all abortions were performed on women known to live outside the state where the abortion occurred – slightly higher than the percentage in 2020 (9.7%). That year, D.C. and 46 states (though not the same ones as in 2021) reported abortion and residency data. (The total number of abortions used in these calculations included figures for women with both known and unknown residential status.)

The share of reported abortions performed on women outside their state of residence was much higher before the 1973 Roe decision that stopped states from banning abortion. In 1972, 41% of all abortions in D.C. and the 20 states that provided this information to the CDC that year were performed on women outside their state of residence. In 1973, the corresponding figure was 21% in the District of Columbia and the 41 states that provided this information, and in 1974 it was 11% in D.C. and the 43 states that provided data.

In the District of Columbia and the 46 states that reported age data to  the CDC in 2021, the majority of women who had abortions (57%) were in their 20s, while about three-in-ten (31%) were in their 30s. Teens ages 13 to 19 accounted for 8% of those who had abortions, while women ages 40 to 44 accounted for about 4%.

The vast majority of women who had abortions in 2021 were unmarried (87%), while married women accounted for 13%, according to  the CDC , which had data on this from 37 states.

In the District of Columbia, New York City (but not the rest of New York) and the 31 states that reported racial and ethnic data on abortion to  the CDC , 42% of all women who had abortions in 2021 were non-Hispanic Black, while 30% were non-Hispanic White, 22% were Hispanic and 6% were of other races.

Looking at abortion rates among those ages 15 to 44, there were 28.6 abortions per 1,000 non-Hispanic Black women in 2021; 12.3 abortions per 1,000 Hispanic women; 6.4 abortions per 1,000 non-Hispanic White women; and 9.2 abortions per 1,000 women of other races, the  CDC reported  from those same 31 states, D.C. and New York City.

For 57% of U.S. women who had induced abortions in 2021, it was the first time they had ever had one,  according to the CDC.  For nearly a quarter (24%), it was their second abortion. For 11% of women who had an abortion that year, it was their third, and for 8% it was their fourth or more. These CDC figures include data from 41 states and New York City, but not the rest of New York.

Nearly four-in-ten women who had abortions in 2021 (39%) had no previous live births at the time they had an abortion,  according to the CDC . Almost a quarter (24%) of women who had abortions in 2021 had one previous live birth, 20% had two previous live births, 10% had three, and 7% had four or more previous live births. These CDC figures include data from 41 states and New York City, but not the rest of New York.

The vast majority of abortions occur during the first trimester of a pregnancy. In 2021, 93% of abortions occurred during the first trimester – that is, at or before 13 weeks of gestation,  according to the CDC . An additional 6% occurred between 14 and 20 weeks of pregnancy, and about 1% were performed at 21 weeks or more of gestation. These CDC figures include data from 40 states and New York City, but not the rest of New York.

About 2% of all abortions in the U.S. involve some type of complication for the woman , according to an article in StatPearls, an online health care resource. “Most complications are considered minor such as pain, bleeding, infection and post-anesthesia complications,” according to the article.

The CDC calculates  case-fatality rates for women from induced abortions – that is, how many women die from abortion-related complications, for every 100,000 legal abortions that occur in the U.S .  The rate was lowest during the most recent period examined by the agency (2013 to 2020), when there were 0.45 deaths to women per 100,000 legal induced abortions. The case-fatality rate reported by the CDC was highest during the first period examined by the agency (1973 to 1977), when it was 2.09 deaths to women per 100,000 legal induced abortions. During the five-year periods in between, the figure ranged from 0.52 (from 1993 to 1997) to 0.78 (from 1978 to 1982).

The CDC calculates death rates by five-year and seven-year periods because of year-to-year fluctuation in the numbers and due to the relatively low number of women who die from legal induced abortions.

In 2020, the last year for which the CDC has information , six women in the U.S. died due to complications from induced abortions. Four women died in this way in 2019, two in 2018, and three in 2017. (These deaths all followed legal abortions.) Since 1990, the annual number of deaths among women due to legal induced abortion has ranged from two to 12.

The annual number of reported deaths from induced abortions (legal and illegal) tended to be higher in the 1980s, when it ranged from nine to 16, and from 1972 to 1979, when it ranged from 13 to 63. One driver of the decline was the drop in deaths from illegal abortions. There were 39 deaths from illegal abortions in 1972, the last full year before Roe v. Wade. The total fell to 19 in 1973 and to single digits or zero every year after that. (The number of deaths from legal abortions has also declined since then, though with some slight variation over time.)

The number of deaths from induced abortions was considerably higher in the 1960s than afterward. For instance, there were 119 deaths from induced abortions in  1963  and 99 in  1965 , according to reports by the then-U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, a precursor to the Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC is a division of Health and Human Services.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published May 27, 2022, and first updated June 24, 2022.

Support for legal abortion is widespread in many countries, especially in Europe

Nearly a year after roe’s demise, americans’ views of abortion access increasingly vary by where they live, by more than two-to-one, americans say medication abortion should be legal in their state, most latinos say democrats care about them and work hard for their vote, far fewer say so of gop, positive views of supreme court decline sharply following abortion ruling, most popular.

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• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 18 April 2024

Characterising smoking and nicotine use behaviours among women of reproductive age: a 10-year population study in England

• Sarah E. Jackson   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5658-6168 1 , 2 ,
• Jamie Brown 1 , 2 ,
• Caitlin Notley 3 ,
• Lion Shahab 1 , 2 &
• Sharon Cox 1 , 2  

BMC Medicine volume  22 , Article number:  99 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Tobacco smoking affects women’s fertility and is associated with substantial risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study explored trends by socioeconomic position in patterns of smoking, use of non-combustible nicotine products, and quitting activity among women of reproductive age in England.

Data come from a nationally representative monthly cross-sectional survey. Between October 2013 and October 2023, 197,266 adults (≥ 18 years) were surveyed, of whom 44,052 were women of reproductive age (18–45 years). Main outcome measures were current smoking, vaping, and use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), heated tobacco products (HTPs), and nicotine pouches; mainly/exclusively smoking hand-rolled cigarettes and level of dependence among current smokers; past-year quit attempts among past-year smokers; and success of quit attempts among those who tried to quit. We modelled time trends in these outcomes, overall and by occupational social grade (ABC1 = more advantaged/C2DE = less advantaged).

Smoking prevalence among women of reproductive age fell from 28.7% [95%CI = 26.3–31.2%] to 22.4% [19.6–25.5%] in social grades C2DE but there was an uncertain increase from 11.7% [10.2–13.5%] to 14.9% [13.4–16.6%] in ABC1. By contrast, among all adults and among men of the same age, smoking prevalence remained relatively stable in ABC1. Vaping prevalence among women of reproductive age more than tripled, from 5.1% [4.3–6.0%] to 19.7% [18.0–21.5%], with the absolute increase more pronounced among those in social grades C2DE (reaching 26.7%; 23.3–30.3%); these changes were larger than those observed among all adults but similar to those among men of the same age. The proportion of smokers mainly/exclusively smoking hand-rolled cigarettes increased from 40.5% [36.3–44.9%] to 61.4% [56.5–66.1%] among women of reproductive age; smaller increases were observed among all adults and among men of the same age. Patterns on other outcomes were largely similar between groups.

Conclusions

Among women of reproductive age, there appears to have been a rise in smoking prevalence in the more advantaged social grades over the past decade. Across social grades, there have been substantial increases in the proportion of women of reproductive age who vape and shifts from use of manufactured to hand-rolled cigarettes among those who smoke. These changes have been more pronounced than those observed in the general adult population over the same period.

Peer Review reports

Tobacco smoking is the single largest cause of premature mortality and morbidity and for some groups carries extra risks. For women of reproductive age (15–45 years [ 1 ]) risks include reduced fertility, and for women who are pregnant smoking increases the chances of complications, miscarriage, and premature birth, and post-partum is associated with adverse infant health outcomes [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Children whose parents smoke face greater exposure to the effects of second-hand smoke and are more likely to take up smoking themselves [ 5 , 6 ]. Reducing smoking in pregnancy has been identified as a priority for tobacco control activity [ 7 , 8 ] and has attracted considerable research attention [ 3 ]. However, much of the harm associated with smoking in pregnancy could be prevented by reducing smoking among women of reproductive age before they become pregnant. There is good evidence from representative population surveys on the prevalence and patterns of smoking in the adult population in England [ 9 ]. However, less is known about women of reproductive age specifically. Understanding patterns of smoking, levels of dependence, and quitting activity in this target group and how they are changing over time can inform the development of interventions and targeting of resources.

In addition to the substantial, well-established risks of smoking during pregnancy, there are also likely (albeit lower) risks associated with use of non-combustible nicotine products [ 10 ]. A range of non-combustible nicotine products are available in England — including nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), nicotine vaping products (often referred to as e-cigarettes or vapes), heated tobacco products (HTPs), and nicotine pouches — which deliver nicotine without most of the harmful components of tobacco smoke. Evidence suggests that using non-combustible nicotine products during pregnancy poses considerably lower risks for adverse outcomes than smoking, with NRT likely providing the greatest reduction, but that any use of nicotine is likely to be worse for the developing foetus than none [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. It is therefore important to monitor use of non-combustible nicotine products among women of reproductive age.

In examining smoking and non-combustible nicotine use among women of reproductive age, it is important to consider differences across socioeconomic groups. Smoking is a socioeconomically patterned behaviour: people from less advantaged groups are much more likely to smoke, show greater signs of dependence, and experience disproportionate levels of harm from smoking [ 16 ]. This disparity is particularly pronounced for smoking in pregnancy. Compared with women from advantaged backgrounds, those from disadvantaged backgrounds are not only more likely to smoke before pregnancy, but are also less likely to quit in pregnancy, and among those who quit, more likely to resume smoking after birth [ 17 , 18 ].

This study aimed to characterise patterns of smoking, cigarette dependence, quitting activity, and use of non-combustible nicotine over the past decade among women of reproductive age in England, and obtain up-to-date estimates of these in 2023. A secondary aim was to explore differences by socioeconomic position. Specific research questions (RQs) were:

Among women of reproductive age in England, to what extent have there been changes between 2013 and 2023 in:

The prevalence of smoking, nicotine vaping, and use of NRT, HTPs, and nicotine pouches;

The main type of cigarettes smoked (manufactured/hand-rolled) and levels of cigarette dependence, among those who currently smoke;

Rates of quit attempts, among those who have smoked regularly in the past year; and

Success in quitting, among those who have made an attempt to stop smoking in the past year?

To what extent have these changes differed by socioeconomic position (indexed by occupational social grade)?

How far do results for RQ1-3 reflect what has occurred across the entire adult population in England over this period?

Pre-registration

The study protocol and analysis plan were pre-registered on Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/em8g2 ). We made one amendment prior to peer review. We had planned to analyse time trends with survey month modelled using restricted cubic splines with five knots. However, for analyses of trends in current use of nicotine pouches, we reduced this to three knots to avoid overfitting, because pouch use was only assessed over a relatively short period (November 2020–October 2023) and prevalence was assumed to be zero before this, based on previous evidence [ 19 ].

Data were drawn from the Smoking Toolkit Study, an ongoing monthly cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative representative sample of adults (≥ 16 years) in England [ 20 ]. The study uses a hybrid of random probability and simple quota sampling to select a new sample of approximately 1700 adults each month. Interviews are held with one household member in selected geographic output areas until quotas are fulfilled. The quotas are based on factors influencing the probability of being at home (i.e. working status, age and gender). This hybrid form of random probability and quota sampling is considered superior to conventional quota sampling. Here, the choice of households to approach is limited by the random allocation of small output areas and rather than being sent to specific households in advance, interviewers can choose which households within these small geographic areas are most likely to fulfil their quotas. Therefore, unlike random probability sampling, it is not appropriate to record the response rate in the Smoking Toolkit Study.

Data were collected monthly through face-to-face computer-assisted interviews up to February 2020. However, social distancing restrictions under the COVID-19 pandemic meant that no data were collected in March 2020, and data from April 2020 onwards have been collected via telephone. The telephone-based data collection relies upon the same combination of random location and quota sampling, and weighting approach as the face-to-face interviews and comparisons of the two data collection modalities indicate good comparability [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].

For the present study, we used data from respondents to the monthly survey over a 10-year period from October 2013 to October 2023 (the most recent data available at the time of analysis). We restricted the sample to those aged ≥ 18 years as 16 and 17-year-olds were not surveyed in all waves. Our primary focus was women of reproductive age (which we defined as per the Office for National Statistics [ 1 ] as up to 45 years). We also provided data on these outcomes among the entire adult population in England for context.

Smoking status

Participants were asked which of the following best applies to them:

I smoke cigarettes (including hand-rolled) every day

I smoke cigarettes (including hand-rolled), but not every day

I do not smoke cigarettes at all, but I do smoke tobacco of some kind (e.g. pipe, cigar or shisha)

I have stopped smoking completely in the last year

I stopped smoking completely more than a year ago

I have never been a smoker (i.e. smoked for a year or more)

For analyses of current smoking, those who responded a-c were considered current smokers (coded 1) and those who responded d - f non-smokers (coded 0). For (unplanned) analyses of non-daily smoking (see statistical analysis section), those who responded b were considered non-daily smokers (coded 1) and all others (i.e. daily smokers or non-smokers) were coded 0. For analyses of quit attempts, those who responded a-d were considered past-year smokers and those who responded e-f were excluded.

Use of non-combustible nicotine products

Several questions asked participants about use of a range of nicotine products. Current smokers were asked ‘Do you regularly use any of the following in situations when you are not allowed to smoke?’; past-year smokers were asked ‘Can I check, are you using any of the following either to help you stop smoking, to help you cut down or for any other reason at all?’; and non-smokers were asked ‘Can I check, are you using any of the following?’. Those who reported using e-cigarettes in response to any of these questions were considered current vapers; those who reported using NRT (nicotine gum, lozenges/tablets, inhaler, nasal spray, patch, or mouth spray) current NRT users; those who reported using HTPs (‘heat-not-burn cigarette (e.g. iQOS, heatsticks)’) current HTP users; and those who reported using nicotine pouches (‘tobacco-free nicotine pouch/pod or ‘white pouches’ that you place on your gum’) current nicotine pouch users.

HTPs were included in the list of response options from December 2016 and nicotine pouches from November 2020; given the low prevalence of use of these products [ 19 , 24 ], we imputed missing values as 0 (indicating no use) for participants surveyed before the response options were introduced. As a sensitivity check, we reran these models from the time when these data were available (i.e. December 2016 onwards for HTPs and November 2020 onwards for pouches); the results were unchanged.

Main type of cigarettes smoked

Current smokers were asked ‘How many cigarettes per day do you usually smoke?’ and ‘How many of these do you think are hand-rolled?’. Main type of cigarettes smoked was defined as hand-rolled for those reporting at least 50% of their total cigarette consumption is hand-rolled, and manufactured for those reporting that less than 50% is hand-rolled. This definition has been used in previous studies [ 25 , 26 , 27 ] and allows inclusion of those who smoke both hand-rolled and manufactured cigarettes.

Level of cigarette dependence

Current smokers were asked to self-report ratings of the strength of urges to smoke over the past 24 h [not at all (coded 0), slight (1), moderate (2), strong (3), very strong (4) and extremely strong (5)]. This variable was also coded ‘0’ for smokers who responded ‘not at all’ to the (separate) question: ‘How much of the time have you spent with the urge to smoke?’ [ 28 ]. This measure has been validated and performs at least as well as the Fagerström Test of Cigarette Dependence and the Heaviness of Smoking Index in predicting smoking cessation while not being subject to bias due to population-level changes in cigarette consumption over the time period of the study [ 28 ]. Scores were skewed towards lower values so we log-transformed this variable for analysis (with values of 0 imputed as 0.01 before the transformation was applied) and reported results as geometric means.

Quit attempts

Past-year smokers were asked: ‘How many serious attempts to stop smoking have you made in the last 12 months? By serious attempt I mean you decided that you would try to make sure you never smoked again. Please include any attempt that you are currently making and please include any successful attempt made within the last year’. Those who reported making at least one serious quit attempt in the past year were coded 1, else they were coded 0.

Success of quit attempts

Past-year smokers who had made an attempt to quit in the past year were asked: ‘How long did your most recent serious quit attempt last before you went back to smoking?’ Those who reported that they were still not smoking were coded 1, else they were coded 0.

Occupational social grade

Occupational social grade was defined according to the National Readership Survey classification [ 29 ] and categorised as ABC1 (includes managerial, professional, and upper supervisory occupations) and C2DE (includes manual routine, semi-routine, lower supervisory, and long-term unemployed). This occupational measure of social grade is a valid index of SES, widely used in research in UK populations, which is particularly relevant in the context of tobacco use [ 30 ].

Statistical analysis

Data were analysed in R version 4.2.1. Participants with missing data on key variables were excluded on a per-analysis basis (see Table 1  footnote for details). The Smoking Toolkit Study uses raking to weight the sample to match the population of England in terms of key demographics. These key demographics are determined each month using data from the UK Census, the Office for National Statistics mid-year estimates, and the National Readership Survey [ 20 ]. The following analyses used weighted data.

Where there were sufficient data, we used regression models (logistic/linear as appropriate, using the ‘svyglm’ command) to estimate monthly time trends in each outcome among women of reproductive age, overall and by occupational social grade. For the overall analysis, models only included time as an independent variable. For the analysis by occupational social grade, models included time, social grade, and their interaction as independent variables — thus allowing for time trends to differ across social grades. Time (survey wave) was coded 1…n where n was the total number of months in the time series (including March 2020 when no data were collected). Time was modelled continuously using restricted cubic splines with five knots (placed at equal quantiles of the data), to allow relationships with time to be flexible and non-linear, while avoiding categorisation. We were unable to model the interaction between time and occupational social grade for use of HTPs and nicotine pouches because very few women of reproductive age in the sample reported using these products at this time. We repeated these models using data from all adults (≥ 18 years) in England, to provide context.

We used predicted estimates from our models to (i) plot the prevalence (or geometric mean, for level of cigarette dependence) of each outcome over the study period (overall and by social grade, among women of reproductive age and in the entire adult population), and (ii) derive up-to-date estimates of the prevalence of each outcome in October 2023. We followed the ‘New Statistics’ approach to reporting and interpretation of results [ 31 , 32 ], focusing on effect sizes and confidence intervals rather than dichotomous thinking about statistical significance (i.e. whether a result is significant or not significant, based on an arbitrary threshold). Where confidence intervals overlap, we report changes as ‘uncertain’.

In addition to our pre-registered analyses, where there was evidence that the trend in an outcome among women of reproductive age differed from the trend in the entire adult population, we repeated the model among men of the same age (18–45 years). This allowed us to explore whether the difference in trends was due to age more generally or was specific to women of reproductive age. We also added two unplanned analyses following peer review. In the first, we modelled time trends in non-daily smoking, to explore whether changes in current smoking we observed may have been driven by changes in non-daily smoking specifically. In the second, we modelled time trends in dual use of tobacco and non-combustible nicotine (i.e. current smoking and current use of e-cigarettes, NRT, HTPs, or nicotine pouches) as an additional outcome.

A total of 197,266 (unweighted) adults aged ≥ 18 years were surveyed between October 2013 and October 2023 (weighted mean age = 47.9 years, 50.8% women, 44.6% social grades C2DE). Of these, 44,052 (unweighted) were women of reproductive age (18–45 years; weighted mean age = 31.5 years, 44.7% social grades C2DE).

Trends in smoking and use of non-combustible nicotine products

Table 1 summarises modelled changes in smoking and use of non-combustible nicotine products between October 2013 and October 2023 among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England.

There was an uncertain decline in smoking prevalence among women of reproductive age, from 19.9% [95%CI 18.5–21.5%] to 18.0% [16.5–19.6%] (Fig. 1 A). A similar decline was observed among all adults, from 19.2% [18.5–20.0%] to 17.0% [16.3–17.7%]. In both women of reproductive age and all adults, smoking prevalence was consistently higher among those from less advantaged social grades (C2DE; Fig. 2 A). However, changes over time differed, with an uncertain rise in smoking prevalence from 11.7% [10.2–13.5%] to 14.9% [13.4–16.6%] among women of reproductive age from more advantaged social grades (ABC1) and a considerable decline from 28.7% [26.3–31.2%] to 22.4% [19.6–25.5%] among those from less advantaged social grades (Fig. 2 A). By contrast, among all adults (Fig. 2 A) and among men of the same age (Additional file 1 : Fig. S1), smoking prevalence remained relatively stable among those from more advantaged social grades. Unplanned analyses indicated this pattern of results was not driven by non-daily smoking specifically: trends in non-daily smoking were similar between women of reproductive age and all adults and across social grades (Additional file 1 : Table S2; Additional file 1 : Fig. S2).

Trends in smoking and use of non-combustible nicotine products among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England, October 2013 to October 2023. Panels show trends in the prevalence of ( A ) smoking, ( B ) vaping, and use of ( C ) nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), ( D ) heated tobacco products, and ( E ) nicotine pouches. Lines represent modelled weighted prevalence by monthly survey wave, modelled non-linearly using restricted cubic splines (five knots; three knots for nicotine pouch use). Shaded bands represent 95% confidence intervals. Corresponding figures showing trends in smoking, vaping, and NRT use stratified by occupational social grade are provided in Fig. 2

Trends in smoking and use of non-combustible nicotine products among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England, October 2013 to October 2023 — stratified by occupational social grade. Panels show trends in the prevalence of ( A ) smoking, ( B ) vaping, and ( C ) use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), stratified by occupational social grade. ABC1 = more advantaged, C2DE = less advantaged. Lines represent modelled weighted prevalence by monthly survey wave, modelled non-linearly using restricted cubic splines (five knots). Shaded bands represent 95% confidence intervals

The prevalence of vaping more than tripled among women of reproductive age, from 5.1% [4.3–6.0%] to 19.7% [18.0–21.5%] (Fig. 1 B). A similar increase in vaping was observed among men of the same age, from 5.8% [5.0–6.8%] to 20.2% [18.5–22.1%] (Additional file 1 : Fig. S3A) and a smaller, but substantial, increase among all adults, from 4.5% [4.2–4.9%] to 13.2% [12.5–14.0%] (Fig. 1 B). These increases predominantly occurred between 2020 and 2023. As a result, in October 2023 vaping prevalence was higher among adults aged 18-45 compared with the entire adult population. In women of reproductive age, men of the same age, and the adult population in general, vaping prevalence was consistently higher among those from less advantaged social grades, and the absolute rise in prevalence was larger — reaching 26.7% in October 2023 among women of reproductive age from less advantaged social grades compared with 10.4% among those from more advantaged social grades (Fig. 2 A, Additional file 1 : Fig. S3B).

The prevalence of NRT use among women of reproductive age was similar to prevalence among all adults, and was relatively stable over time at approximately 3% (Fig. 1 C). NRT use was slightly more prevalent among those from less vs. more advantaged social grades and did not change substantially over time in either group (Fig. 2 C).

Use of HTPs and nicotine pouches increased by a small amount, both among women of reproductive age and among all adults, but remained rare (< 1%) across the study period (Fig. 1 D and E). There were insufficient numbers using these products to model time trends by social grade.

Trends in the prevalence of dual use followed a similar pattern to trends in vaping prevalence. The proportion of women of reproductive age using both tobacco and non-combustible nicotine increased from 6.2% [5.3–7.2%] to 9.5% [8.3–10.9%] across the study period (Additional file 1 : Table S2; Additional file 1 : Fig. S4). There was a similar rise among men of the same age (Additional file 1 : Fig. S5) and a smaller but significant rise among all adults (Additional file 1 : Fig. S4).

Trends in smoking characteristics and quitting activity

Table 1 summarises modelled changes in smoking characteristics and quitting activity between October 2013 and October 2023.

The proportion of current cigarette smokers who reported mainly or exclusively smoking hand-rolled cigarettes increased from 40.5% [36.3–44.9%] to 61.4% [56.5–66.1%] among women of reproductive age (Fig. 3 A). This increase was slightly larger than the increase observed among all adults, from 41.8% [39.5–44.1%] to 54.4% [52.0–56.9%] (Fig. 3 A), and among men of the same age, from 49.2% [45.1–53.4%] to 62.3% [57.6–66.7%] (Additional file 1 : Fig. S6A). The proportion mainly or exclusively smoking hand-rolled cigarettes was higher among less vs. more advantaged social grades (Fig. 4 A). The absolute increase in use of hand-rolled cigarettes over time was larger among women of reproductive age from less advantaged social grades, rising by 25.6 percentage points (from 42.8% [37.5–48.3%] to 68.4% [61.5–74.5%]) compared with women of reproductive age from more advantaged social grades (+17.2 percentage points; from 35.3% [28.5–42.8%] to 52.5% [46.0–59.0%]; Fig. 4 A). It was also considerably larger compared with men of the same age from less advantaged social grades (+13.3 percentage points; from 49.5% [44.2–54.8%] to 62.8% [55.9–69.2%]; Additional file 1 : Fig. S6B) and with all adults from less advantaged social grades (+13.9 percentage points; from 44.2% [41.4–47.1%] to 58.1% [54.6–61.5%]; Fig. 4 A).

Trends in smoking characteristics and quitting activity among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England, October 2013 to October 2023, Panels show trends in ( A ) the proportion of current cigarette smokers mainly smoking hand-rolled (vs. manufactured) cigarettes, ( B ) the geometric mean level of dependence among current smokers, ( C ) the proportion of past-year smokers making ≥ 1 past-year quit attempt, and ( D ) the proportion of past-year smokers who made ≥ 1 past-year quit attempt who were still not smoking at the time of the survey. Lines represent modelled weighted prevalence (or mean, for level of dependence) by monthly survey wave, modelled non-linearly using restricted cubic splines (five knots). Shaded bands represent 95% confidence intervals. Corresponding figures showing trends stratified by occupational social grade are provided in Fig. 4

Trends in smoking characteristics and quitting activity among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England, October 2013 to October 2023 — by occupational social grade. Panels show trends in ( A ) the proportion of current cigarette smokers mainly smoking hand-rolled (vs. manufactured) cigarettes, ( B ) the geometric mean level of dependence among current smokers, ( C ) the proportion of past-year smokers making ≥ 1 past-year quit attempt, and ( D ) the proportion of past-year smokers who made ≥ 1 past-year quit attempt who were still not smoking at the time of the survey, stratified by occupational social grade. ABC1 = more advantaged, C2DE = less advantaged. Lines represent modelled weighted prevalence (or mean, for level of dependence) by monthly survey wave, modelled non-linearly using restricted cubic splines (five knots). Shaded bands represent 95% confidence intervals

There was a decline in current smokers’ mean level of dependence among women of reproductive age and a similar decline among all adults (Fig. 3 B). These changes were concentrated among those from more advantaged social grades; among less advantaged social grades (who had consistently higher levels of dependence across the period) there was little change over time among women of reproductive age and an uncertain decline among all adults (Fig. 4 B).

The rate of quit attempts among past-year smokers was slightly but consistently higher among women of reproductive age compared with the entire adult population. It decreased between 2013 and 2018, then increased between 2018 and 2023, such that there was little overall change from the start to the end of the study period among women of reproductive age or among all adults (Fig. 3 C). There were divergent changes across social grades, with point estimates suggesting a potential decrease across the study period among those from more advantaged social grades and a potential increase among those from less advantaged social grades (in both women of reproductive age and all adults), although these changes were generally not statistically significant (Fig. 4 C).

The success rate of quit attempts increased from 18.8% [14.1–24.5%] to 31.8% [25.6–38.7%] among women of reproductive age (Fig. 3 D). A similar increase was observed among all adults over this period, from 16.8% [14.3–19.7%] to 25.4% [22.2–28.9%]. Increases in quit success may have been slightly greater among those from less vs. more advantaged social grades (e.g. among women of reproductive age: rising from 17.6% [11.9–25.3%] to 35.1% [25.8–45.8%] vs. 21.1% [14.1–30.4%] to 28.2% [21.0–36.7%], respectively), but this difference was uncertain (Fig. 4 D).

Among women of reproductive age in England, there were notable changes in smoking, use of non-combustible nicotine products, and quitting activity between October 2013 and October 2023. Smoking prevalence decreased among those from less advantaged social grades but appeared to increase among those from more advantaged social grades. In contrast, among all adults, and among men of the same age, smoking prevalence remained relatively stable among those from more advantaged social grades. Changes in use of other nicotine products among women of reproductive age were more similar to those observed among other adults. The prevalence of vaping more than tripled, while use of NRT remained stable. Use of HTPs and pouches increased slightly in recent years but remained rare. However, there was a particularly pronounced increase among women of reproductive age in the proportion of smokers mainly or exclusively smoking hand-rolled cigarettes, with smaller increases observed among all adults and men of the same age. The mean level of dependence declined among more but not less advantaged social grades. The rate of quit attempts was consistently higher among women of reproductive age, but did not change substantially overall. The success rate of quit attempts increased by a similar amount among women of reproductive age and all adults.

Our data indicate there has been a rise in smoking prevalence among more advantaged women of reproductive age in England over the past decade. This is a different pattern to the one we observed in the general adult population and among men of the same age, where smoking prevalence declined overall and was relatively stable among the more advantaged social grades. This identifies more advantaged women of reproductive age as a group that may benefit from targeted intervention to prevent the uptake of (or relapse to) smoking. Trends among women from less advantaged social grades were more encouraging, showing a decline in smoking. As a result, inequalities in smoking among women of reproductive age have narrowed over this period. While reducing inequalities is an important public health priority, this would ideally be achieved by accelerating the decline in smoking prevalence among less advantaged groups, rather than stalling or reversing progress among those who are more advantaged.

Previous analyses of data from the Smoking Toolkit Study suggested that smoking rates may have increased among young adults in England during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic [ 21 , 33 ]. However, the uncertain rise in smoking we observed among more advantaged women of reproductive age does not appear to have been driven by the pandemic: changes in smoking prevalence since the start of the pandemic were similar in this group to those among all adults and men of the same age from more advantaged social grades. Rather, the trends diverged prior to the pandemic. The reasons for this are unclear.

It is also unclear whether the uncertain rise in smoking prevalence among more advantaged women of reproductive age was driven by increased uptake among never smokers or relapse among former smokers (which is particularly common in the post-partum period [ 34 ]). We observed a decline in smokers’ mean level of dependence in this group of women. We speculated that there may have been an increase in non-daily smoking (e.g. social smoking) which is typically associated with lower levels of dependence [ 35 ]. Recent studies have documented increases in the prevalence of social smoking and non-daily smoking among adults in England [ 36 , 37 ]. However, an exploratory analysis showed no notable differences in trends in the prevalence of non-daily smoking between women of reproductive age and all adults, or across social grades. Further research is needed to understand the reasons for this possible rise in smoking among more advantaged women.

Alongside the change in the mean level of dependence, we also observed a shift in the main type of cigarettes being smoked — away from manufactured cigarettes towards hand-rolled cigarettes. While this change in product choice was observed across all adults who smoked (as has been documented elsewhere [ 36 ]), it was more pronounced among women of reproductive age from 2019 onwards than among all adults or men of the same age — particularly among women from less advantaged social grades. It is possible that differences were driven by differing financial pressures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The pandemic exacerbated gender inequalities, with women experiencing higher rates of job loss, taking on a disproportionate share of housework, childcare, and home-schooling responsibilities, and experiencing greater stress [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Job sectors in which women are overrepresented have done particularly badly since 2010, for example, with teaching and nursing pay freezes and creative sector cuts [ 45 , 46 ]. In addition, the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis worsened socioeconomic inequalities, hitting already disadvantaged groups harder [ 41 , 47 , 48 , 49 ], which will have reduced their disposable income to spend on tobacco. These financial pressures probably contributed to the reduction in smoking prevalence among women from less advantaged social grades and encouraged those who did not stop to switch to hand-rolled products (which are considerably cheaper than manufactured cigarettes [ 50 , 51 ]) as a way to afford to continue to smoke.

We also observed changes in quitting activity among women of reproductive age who smoked. There were increases in the rate of quit attempts and the success rate of quit attempts in recent years, with the increase in quit attempts reversing a declining trend in the early part of this study period. It is possible these changes were driven by an increased public health focus on reducing rates of smoking in pregnancy [ 7 ]. However, they largely mirrored changes observed among all adults, which were likely linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study found the start of the Covid-19 pandemic was associated with sustained increases in quitting among adults in England [ 33 ]. Our data show a similar pattern among women of reproductive age.

In addition to these changes in smoking and quitting activity, there were also changes in the use of non-combustible nicotine products. In particular, there was a substantial increase in vaping. In 2013, one in 20 women of reproductive age was a current vaper. By 2023, this number had risen to one in five. This finding is consistent with recent data showing a rapid rise in the uptake of vaping among young adults since a new generation of disposable vapes became popular from spring 2021 [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. It appears to be an age- rather than gender-related phenomenon: although we saw a greater rise in vaping among women of reproductive age compared with the general adult population, an unplanned analysis showed the rise was similar to that observed among men of the same age. Use of NRT remained low (~3%) and stable over time and use of HTPs and nicotine pouches increased but remained rare (< 1%).

Strengths of this study included the large, nationally representative sample and repeated assessment of a range of smoking, nicotine use, and smoking cessation behaviours. There were also limitations. The rise in smoking prevalence among more advantaged women of reproductive age was uncertain, with a small overlap in the 95% confidence intervals for estimates of prevalence at the start (10.2–13.5%) and end (13.4–16.6%) of the study period. Further research is needed to confirm this finding. Women of reproductive age are not a homogenous group and the trends we have reported may differ according to age, lived circumstances, including relationship status (since living with a partner who smokes is a key predictor of postpartum relapse [ 55 ]), by preparedness or plans to have children, as well as the relative stresses experienced by sociodemographic subgroups. Further research could dig deeper into the trends we have observed, looking at differences between younger and older women of reproductive age, those with and without children, and those working across different sectors (e.g. those that have experienced substantial cuts or pay freezes in recent years). Qualitative research would be useful to provide insight into why smoking may have risen among women of more advantaged social grades and the extent to which transitioning to hand-rolled cigarettes plays a role in maintaining smoking. Another limitation was that quitting outcomes were self-reported and relied on recall of the past 12 months, but there is no reason to expect recall to differ across the time series. In addition, success of quit attempts was defined as continuous abstinence from quit date to the time of the survey, rather than abstinence over a defined period (e.g. 6 months). Finally, while the survey was representative of adults in households in England, it excluded people experiencing homelessness or living in institutions, who typically have much higher rates of smoking and living in situations in which women typically have worse health outcomes [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. In addition, we used a hybrid sampling approach rather than random probability sampling — although comparisons with other sources suggest the survey recruits a nationally representative sample and produces similar estimates of key smoking variables [ 20 , 59 ].

While there has been a decline in smoking prevalence among women of reproductive age from less advantaged social grades over the past decade, smoking rates appear to have risen among women from more advantaged social grades. Across social grades, there have been substantial increases in the proportion of women of reproductive age who vape and shifts from use of manufactured to hand-rolled cigarettes among those who smoke. These changes have been more pronounced than those observed in the general adult population over the same period. Use of other non-combustible nicotine products among women of reproductive age remains low and does not differ substantially from the general adult population.

Availability of data and materials

Data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Heated tobacco product

Nicotine replacement therapy

Research question

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Cancer Research UK (PRCRPG-Nov21\100002) funded the Smoking Toolkit Study data collection and salary for SJ and SC. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.

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Conceptualisation: SJ, JB, CN, LS, SC. Data curation: JB. Formal analysis: SJ. Funding acquisition: LS, JB. Investigation: SJ, JB, CN, LS, SC. Methodology: SJ, JB, CN, LS, SC. Supervision: JB, SC. Visualisation: SJ. Writing — original draft: SJ. Writing — review and editing: SJ, JB, CN, LS, SC. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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JB has received unrestricted research funding from Pfizer and J&J, who manufacture smoking cessation medications. LS has received honoraria for talks, unrestricted research grants and travel expenses to attend meetings and workshops from manufacturers of smoking cessation medications (Pfizer; J&J), and has acted as paid reviewer for grant awarding bodies and as a paid consultant for health care companies. All authors declare no financial links with tobacco companies, e-cigarette manufacturers, or their representatives.

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Fig. S1. Trends in the prevalence of smoking among women of reproductive age compared with men of the same age (18-45 years) in England, October 2013 to October 2023 – overall and stratified by occupational social grade. Fig. S2. Trends in the prevalence of non-daily smoking among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England, October 2013 to October 2023 – overall and stratified by occupational social grade. Fig. S3. Trends in the prevalence of vaping among women of reproductive age compared with men of the same age (18-45 years) in England, October 2013 to October 2023 – overall and stratified by occupational social grade. Fig. S4. Trends in the prevalence of dual use of tobacco and non-combustible nicotine among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England, October 2013 to October 2023 – overall and stratified by occupational social grade. Fig. S5. Trends in the prevalence of dual use of tobacco and non-combustible nicotine among women of reproductive age compared with men of the same age (18-45 years) in England, October 2013 to October 2023– overall and stratified by occupational social grade. Fig. S6. Trends in the proportion of current cigarette smokers mainly smoking hand-rolled (vs. manufactured) cigarettes among women of reproductive age compared with men of the same age (18-45 years) in England, October 2013 to October 2023 – overall and stratified by occupational social grade. Table S1. Smoking, use of non-combustible nicotine products, smoking characteristics, and quitting activity among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23. Table S2. Modelled estimates of changes in non-daily smoking and dual use of tobacco and non-combustible nicotine among women of reproductive age compared with all adults in England, from October 2013 to October 2023.

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Jackson, S.E., Brown, J., Notley, C. et al. Characterising smoking and nicotine use behaviours among women of reproductive age: a 10-year population study in England. BMC Med 22 , 99 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03311-4

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Abstract: We present Jamba, a new base large language model based on a novel hybrid Transformer-Mamba mixture-of-experts (MoE) architecture. Specifically, Jamba interleaves blocks of Transformer and Mamba layers, enjoying the benefits of both model families. MoE is added in some of these layers to increase model capacity while keeping active parameter usage manageable. This flexible architecture allows resource- and objective-specific configurations. In the particular configuration we have implemented, we end up with a powerful model that fits in a single 80GB GPU. Built at large scale, Jamba provides high throughput and small memory footprint compared to vanilla Transformers, and at the same time state-of-the-art performance on standard language model benchmarks and long-context evaluations. Remarkably, the model presents strong results for up to 256K tokens context length. We study various architectural decisions, such as how to combine Transformer and Mamba layers, and how to mix experts, and show that some of them are crucial in large scale modeling. We also describe several interesting properties of these architectures which the training and evaluation of Jamba have revealed, and plan to release checkpoints from various ablation runs, to encourage further exploration of this novel architecture. We make the weights of our implementation of Jamba publicly available under a permissive license.

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Evaluating Algorithmic Bias in 30-Day Hospital Readmission Models: Retrospective Analysis

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• H Echo Wang 1 , DrPH   ; 
• Jonathan P Weiner 1, 2 , DrPH   ; 
• Suchi Saria 3 , PhD   ; 
• Hadi Kharrazi 1, 2 , MD, PhD  

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Background: The adoption of predictive algorithms in health care comes with the potential for algorithmic bias, which could exacerbate existing disparities. Fairness metrics have been proposed to measure algorithmic bias, but their application to real-world tasks is limited.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the algorithmic bias associated with the application of common 30-day hospital readmission models and assess the usefulness and interpretability of selected fairness metrics.

Methods: We used 10.6 million adult inpatient discharges from Maryland and Florida from 2016 to 2019 in this retrospective study. Models predicting 30-day hospital readmissions were evaluated: LACE Index, modified HOSPITAL score, and modified Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) readmission measure, which were applied as-is (using existing coefficients) and retrained (recalibrated with 50% of the data). Predictive performances and bias measures were evaluated for all, between Black and White populations, and between low- and other-income groups. Bias measures included the parity of false negative rate (FNR), false positive rate (FPR), 0-1 loss, and generalized entropy index. Racial bias represented by FNR and FPR differences was stratified to explore shifts in algorithmic bias in different populations.

Results: The retrained CMS model demonstrated the best predictive performance (area under the curve: 0.74 in Maryland and 0.68-0.70 in Florida), and the modified HOSPITAL score demonstrated the best calibration (Brier score: 0.16-0.19 in Maryland and 0.19-0.21 in Florida). Calibration was better in White (compared to Black) populations and other-income (compared to low-income) groups, and the area under the curve was higher or similar in the Black (compared to White) populations. The retrained CMS and modified HOSPITAL score had the lowest racial and income bias in Maryland. In Florida, both of these models overall had the lowest income bias and the modified HOSPITAL score showed the lowest racial bias. In both states, the White and higher-income populations showed a higher FNR, while the Black and low-income populations resulted in a higher FPR and a higher 0-1 loss. When stratified by hospital and population composition, these models demonstrated heterogeneous algorithmic bias in different contexts and populations.

Conclusions: Caution must be taken when interpreting fairness measures’ face value. A higher FNR or FPR could potentially reflect missed opportunities or wasted resources, but these measures could also reflect health care use patterns and gaps in care. Simply relying on the statistical notions of bias could obscure or underplay the causes of health disparity. The imperfect health data, analytic frameworks, and the underlying health systems must be carefully considered. Fairness measures can serve as a useful routine assessment to detect disparate model performances but are insufficient to inform mechanisms or policy changes. However, such an assessment is an important first step toward data-driven improvement to address existing health disparities.

Introduction

Background of algorithmic bias.

Predictive algorithms and machine learning tools are increasingly integrated into clinical decision-making and population health management. However, with the increasing reliance on predictive algorithms comes a growing concern of exacerbating health disparities [ 1 - 3 ]. Evidence has shown that widely used algorithms that use past health care expenditures to predict high-risk patients have systematically underestimated the health care needs of Black patients [ 4 ]. In addition, studies have shown that predictive performances of models predicting intensive care unit mortality, 30-day psychiatric readmission, and asthma exacerbation were worse in populations with lower socioeconomic status [ 5 , 6 ].

With algorithmic bias as a potentially pervasive issue, a few checklists have been published to qualitatively identify and understand the potential biases derived from predictive models [ 7 , 8 ]. However, no agreed-upon quantitative method exists to routinely assess whether deployed models will lead to biased results and exacerbate health disparities faced by marginalized groups [ 2 , 9 ]. In this study, we define algorithmic bias as the differential results or performance of predictive models that may lead to differential allocation or outcomes between subgroups [ 10 - 12 ]. In addition, we define disparity as the difference in the quality of health care (the degree to which health services increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes) received by a marginalized population that is not due to access-related factors, clinical needs, preferences, and appropriateness of intervention [ 10 , 13 ]. Fairness metrics, which are a set of mathematical expressions that formalize certain equality between groups (eg, equal false negative rates [FNRs]), were proposed to measure and detect biases in machine learning models [ 12 , 14 ]. Although the machine learning community has shown that fairness metrics are a promising way to identify algorithmic bias, these metrics are criticized for being insufficient to reflect the heterogeneous and dynamic nature of health care [ 15 , 16 ]. Fairness metrics can also be misleading or conflicting due to their narrow focus on equal rates between groups [ 12 , 15 ]. Furthermore, these metrics could be interpreted without context-specific judgment or domain knowledge, thus failing to connect predictions to interventions and the downstream health care disparity [ 15 , 17 ]. Most importantly, these measures are often not fully tested in real-world predictive tasks and lack evidence on how well these measures’ interpretation could guide intervention planning.

Background of Disparity in 30-Day Hospital Readmission

Predicting hospital readmissions is widely studied in health care management and delivery [ 18 - 21 ]. Hospital readmissions, especially unplanned or avoidable readmissions, are not only associated with a high risk of in-hospital mortality but also costly and burdensome to the health care system [ 19 , 22 ]. Since 2012, the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has imposed financial penalties for hospitals with excessive readmission rates [ 22 ]. CMS has consequently incentivized hospitals to segment patients by risk so that hospitals can target the delivery of these resource-intensive interventions to the patients at greatest risk, such as transitional care intervention and better discharge planning [ 19 , 23 , 24 ]. Many hospital readmission predictive models have been published, with >350 models predicting 30-day readmission identified in prior systematic reviews and our prior work [ 7 , 18 , 19 , 21 , 25 ]. The disparity in hospital readmission rates is well studied. For example, past studies have shown that Black patients have higher readmission rates after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics [ 26 - 29 ]. In addition to racial disparity, patients receiving care at racial and ethnic minority-serving hospitals [ 29 , 30 ] or living in disadvantaged neighborhoods have higher rates of readmission [ 31 - 33 ]. Research has also shown that disparity in health care use, including hospital readmission, is related to not only individuals’ racial and ethnic identity but also their communities [ 34 ]. Other research has also suggested that social environments, either the place of residence or the hospital where one receives care, may explain a meaningful portion of health disparity [ 35 , 36 ].

Despite model abundance and known disparity in hospital readmissions, research has been limited in evaluating how algorithmic bias or the disparate performances of these predictive models may impact patient outcomes and downstream health disparities once deployed. Lack of evidence is more prominent in how the model-guided intervention allocation may reduce or aggravate existing health disparities between different populations. To address this gap in evidence, in this study, we aimed to (1) implement a selection of fairness metrics to evaluate whether the application of common 30-day readmission predictive models may lead to bias between racial and income groups and (2) interpret the selected fairness metrics and assess their usefulness in the context of facilitating equitable allocation of interventions. In this paper, we represent the perspective of a health system or payer who uses an established, validated algorithm to identify patients at high risk of unplanned readmission so that targeted intervention can be planned for these patients. Thus, our main concern for algorithmic bias is the unequal allocation of intervention resources and the unequal health outcome as a result. Specifically, we are concerned about risk scores systematically underestimating or overestimating needs for a certain group, assuming the model we deploy is validated and has acceptable overall predictive performance.

Study Population and Data

This retrospective study included 1.9 million adult inpatient discharges in Maryland and 8.7 million inpatient discharges in Florida from 2016 to 2019. The State Inpatient Databases (SIDs) are maintained by the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, as part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), were used for this analysis. The SIDs include longitudinal hospital care data in the United States, inclusive of all insurance payers (eg, Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and the uninsured) and all patient ages [ 37 ]. The SIDs capture >97% of all eligible hospital discharges in each state [ 38 ]. Maryland and Florida were selected due to their different population sizes, compositions (eg, racial and ethnic distribution and urban to rural ratio), and health care environment (Maryland’s all-payer model vs Medicaid expansion not adopted in Florida) [ 39 , 40 ]. In addition, Maryland and Florida are among a small subset of states in which the SIDs contain a “VisitLink” variable that tracks unique patients within the state and across years from 2016 to 2019, allowing for the longitudinal analysis of readmissions across hospitals and different calendar years [ 41 ]. The SIDs were also linked to the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey Database to obtain hospital-level information. The study population excluded admissions where patients were aged <18 years, died in hospitals, were discharged against medical advice, or had insufficient information to calculate readmission (eg, missing the VisitLink variable or length of stay).

Study Outcome

The calculation of 30-day readmission followed the definition used by the HCUP [ 42 ]. Any inpatient admission was counted as an index admission. The all-cause 30-day readmission rate was defined as the number of admissions with at least 1 subsequent hospital admission within 30 days, divided by the total number of admissions during the study period. Unplanned, all-cause 30-day hospital readmissions were identified using the methodology developed by CMS [ 43 , 44 ]. The study cohort selection process and determination of unplanned readmission are outlined in Figure 1 .

Predictive Models

The LACE index [ 45 ], the HOSPITAL score [ 46 ], and the CMS hospital-wide all-cause readmission measure [ 43 ] were included in the analysis as they were validated externally and commonly used in practice based on our prior review [ 7 ]. The LACE index and the HOSPITAL score were designed for hospital staff to identify patients at high risk of readmission for targeted intervention efforts and have been converted to a scoring system and extensively validated. Thus, the 2 models were applied to obtain the predicted risk scores without retraining, to mimic how the models were used in practice. In total, 2 of the HOSPITAL score predictors—low hemoglobin and low sodium levels at discharge—were not available in the SIDs, and thus were excluded. The total risk scores were adjusted as a result. Details of model variables and how the 2 models were implemented are reported in Multimedia Appendices 1 and 2 . The CMS measure was evaluated using 2 approaches: applied as-is with existing coefficients and retrained to generate new coefficients using 50% of the sample. To ensure comparability between the CMS measure and other models, the predicted patient-level risk was used without the hospital-level effect from the original measure, and the CMS measure was limited to the “medicine cohort” [ 43 ]. On the basis of the CMS measure’s specification report, the patient population was divided into 5 mutually exclusive cohorts: surgery or gynecology, cardiorespiratory, cardiovascular, neurology, and medicine. The cohorts were determined using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Clinical Classifications Software categories [ 43 ]. The medicine cohort was randomly split 50-50 into a retraining and testing data set. The CMS measure includes age and >100 variables, representing a wide range of condition categories. The measure was trained on the retraining data set with 5 cross-validations and then run on the testing data set using the new coefficients to obtain the performance and bias metrics for the CMS retrained model. Separately, the CMS measure with the published coefficients was run on the full medicine cohort data set to obtain performance and bias metrics for the CMS as-is model. The existing model thresholds were used to classify a positive, or high-risk, class: 10 points for LACE, and high-risk (5 in the adjusted scoring) for modified HOSPITAL. The optimal threshold identified using the Youden Index [ 47 ] on the receiver operating characteristic curve was used for the 2 CMS measures.

We measured predictive performances and biases between Black and White subpopulations and between low-income and other-income subpopulations. Race is a normalized variable in the HCUP that indicates race and ethnicity. The low-income group was defined as the fourth quartile of the median state household income, whereas the remaining 3 quartiles were grouped as other income. The median state income quartiles were provided in HCUP SIDs and were calculated based on the median income of the patient’s zip code. Predictive performances of each model were derived for all population and each subpopulation using area under the curve (AUC), Brier statistic, and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit. Bias was represented by the group difference of the mathematical measures: false positive rate (FPR) difference (eg, FPR between Black and White patients), FNR difference, 0-1 loss difference, and generalized entropy index (GEI). FNR was calculated as the ratio between false negatives (those predicted as low risk while having an unplanned 30-day readmission) and the total number of positives. Similarly, the FPR was calculated as the ratio of false positives out of the total number of negative cases. Normalized total error rates is 0-1 loss, and it is calculated as the percentage of incorrect predictions. Bias measured by FPR, FNR, and 0-1 loss differences focus on unequal error rates. The GEI is a measure of income inequality and proposed to measure algorithm fairness between groups with a range between 0 and infinity, in which lower scores represent more equity [ 48 ].

Ethical Considerations

This study was not human subjects research, as determined by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Institutional Review Board. No compensation was provided.

Statistical Analysis

Primary analyses were conducted using R (version 4.0.2; R Foundation for Statistical Computing). The aggregate condition categories required to calculate unplanned readmission and CMS measures were calculated in SAS software (version 9.4; SAS Institute) using the programs provided by the agencies [ 49 , 50 ]. GEI measures were calculated using the AI Fairness 360 package published by IBM Corp [ 51 ]. The unit of analysis was admission. FNR and FPR results were first stratified by individual hospital and visualized in a scatter plot. The racial bias results were then stratified by hospital population composition (eg, percentage of Black patients), which was shown to associate with the overall outcome of a hospital [ 35 ]. Hospitals were binned by the percentage of Black patients served in a hospital (eg, >10% and >20%), and the racial bias measures with their 95% CIs were calculated for each bin. For FNR difference, FPR difference, and 0-1 loss difference, the distribution across 2 groups was calculated, and the significance of the measure difference was assessed using the Student t test (2-tailed) under the null hypothesis that the group difference was equal to 0. For all statistical tests, an α of .05 was used.

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics

As presented in Table 1 , among the 1,857,658 Maryland inpatient discharges from 2016 to 2019, a total of 55.41% (n=1,029,292) were White patients and 33.71% (n=626,280) were Black patients, whereas in Florida, 64.49% (5,632,318/8,733,002) of the inpatient discharges were White patients and 16.59% (1,448,620/8,733,002) were Black patients.

White patients in both states were older, more likely to be on private insurance, and less likely to reside in large metropolitan areas or be treated in major teaching or large hospitals in urban areas. Compared to White patients, Black patients in Maryland had a longer length of inpatient stay, more inpatient procedures, fewer inpatient diagnoses, higher inpatient charges, and more comorbidities and were more likely to be discharged to home or self-care. However, Black patients in Florida had fewer inpatient diagnoses, fewer procedures, and fewer total charges. These patients also had longer lengths of inpatient stays, more comorbidities, and were more likely to be discharged to home or self-care. In both Maryland and Florida, those in the lowest income quartile were younger, had a longer length of inpatient stay, had higher inpatient charges, had more comorbidities, and had fewer procedures than other-income groups. The low-income group was less likely to reside in metropolitan areas but was more likely to be treated in major teaching hospitals. Except for those noted in footnote c of Table 1 , all characteristics showed statistically significant differences between racial and income groups (all P values <.001).

a MD: Maryland.

b FL: Florida.

c P values were computed between racial groups and between income groups, respectively. All P values are <.001 except for the ones in this footnote: P value for female between income groups=.80 and for discharge type between income groups=.99.

d CCI: Charlson Comorbidity Index.

Predictive Performance

The observed 30-day unplanned readmission rates in Maryland were higher in the Black and low-income patient groups (ie, 11.13% for White patients, 12.77% for Black patients, 10.59% for other-income patients, and 12.73% for low-income patients; Table 2 ).

a Predicted: the predicted readmission rates for LACE and HOSPITAL were calculated as the percentage of patients at high risk of unplanned readmission based on the model output for the group; and the predicted readmission rates for the two CMS models were the predicted probability of being at high risk of unplanned readmission for the group.

b LACE: The LACE Index for readmission risk.

c HOSPITAL: The modified HOSPITAL score for readmission risk.

d CMS: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (readmission measure).

e MD: Maryland.

f FL: Florida.

A fair and well-calibrated predictive model would be assumed to overpredict or underpredict readmission rates to a similar degree across racial or income groups. Compared to the observed readmission rates, the LACE index overestimated readmission rates in all subpopulations and was more pronounced in Black and low-income populations. The readmission rates estimated by the modified HOSPITAL score were closest to the observed rates. The CMS as-is model underestimated across subpopulations, and the estimated rates of readmission were similar between subpopulations, while the retrained CMS model overestimated in all subpopulations to a similar degree. In Florida, the observed 30-day unplanned readmission rates were higher than those in Maryland in all populations. Similar to Maryland, Florida’s observed readmission rates were also higher in the Black and low-income groups (ie, 13.94% for White populations, 17.14% for Black populations, 13.6% for other-income populations, and 16.03% for low-income populations) and had similar overestimation and underestimation patterns ( Table 2 ).

As presented in Table 3 , in Maryland, the retrained CMS model had better predictive performance (AUC 0.74 in all subpopulations) than the other 3 models, which only achieved moderate predictive performance (AUC between 0.65 and 0.68). The modified HOSPITAL score had the best calibration (Brier score=0.16−0.19 in all subpopulations), whereas the CMS as-is model performed poorly on the Brier score. Calibration was better in the White (compared to the Black) population and other-income (compared to low-income) populations in both states, and the AUC was higher or similar in the Black (compared to the White) population. In Florida, the CMS retrained model also performed better than the other models in all subpopulations (AUC 0.68-0.72), and the modified HOSPITAL score had the best calibration (Brier score 0.19-0.21). All models demonstrated excellent goodness of fit across subpopulations ( Table 3 ).

a LACE: The LACE Index for readmission risk.

b HOSPITAL: The modified HOSPITAL score for readmission risk.

c CMS: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (readmission measure).

d MD: Maryland.

e FL: Florida.

f AUC: area under the curve.

Bias Measures

Misclassification rates (ie, FPR difference and FNR difference) indicate relative between-group bias, whereas 0-1 loss differences indicate the overall error rates between groups. The between-group GEI indicates how unequally an outcome is distributed between groups [ 48 ]. In Maryland, the retrained CMS model and the modified HOSPITAL score had the lowest racial and income bias ( Table 4 ).

Specifically, the modified HOSPITAL score demonstrated the lowest racial bias based on 0-1 loss, FPR difference, and GEI, and the lowest income bias based on FPR and GEI. Retrained CMS demonstrated the lowest racial bias based on 0-1 loss and FNR difference, and the lowest income bias on all 4 measures. In Florida, racial biases based on FPR and FNR differences was generally greater than that in Maryland, especially for FNR differences. In Florida, the modified HOSPITAL score showed the lowest racial bias based on 0-1 loss, FPR difference, and GEI; the LACE index showed the lowest racial bias in FNR difference. Each model scored the best in at least one measure of income bias, but the overall HOSPITAL score and retrained CMS showed the lowest income bias in Florida. In both states, the White and other-income patient groups had a higher FNR, indicating that they were more likely to be predicted as low risk while having a 30-day unplanned readmission. The Black and low-income patient groups had a higher FPR, indicating that they were more likely to be predicted to be high-risk and not have a 30-day unplanned readmission. The overall error rates were higher in the Black and low-income patient groups compared to the White and other-income patient groups, respectively. Except for GEI and the values noted with a footnote in Table 4 , all other measures showed statistically significant differences (all P values <.001) between racial and income groups, respectively.

a The columns Difference (B-W) and Difference (L-O) indicate algorithmic bias measured as the difference in the bias measure (eg, FNR and FPR) between Black and White patients and between low-income and other-income groups.

c FNR: false negative rate.

d All P values of the bias measures are <.001 except for the ones in this footnote: the P value for FNR difference of LACE in MD is .41, and the FNR difference of CMS retrained in MD is .45, and FNR difference of CMS retrained in FL is .005. Statistical tests were not conducted for the GEI as this measure produces one value for the population.

e FPR: false positive rate.

f GEI: generalized entropy index.

g N/A: not applicable.

h HOSPITAL: The modified HOSPITAL score for readmission risk.

i CMS: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (readmission measure).

Stratification Analyses

The results were first stratified by hospital and then by patient population composition (percentage of Black patients). As shown in Figure 2 , the models’ FNR differences and FPR differences between the Black and White patients varied by hospital within the state, indicating hospital shifts when applying the same model. The modified HOSPITAL score was more likely to cluster near the “equality lines” (ie, when the FNR or FPR difference is 0) than other models in both states. Colors representing LACE and CMS as-is were mostly distributed in the first quadrant in Maryland, indicating that the majority of hospitals had a positive FPR difference (ie, Black patients with higher FPR) and a negative FNR difference (ie, White patients with higher FNR) when applying these 2 models ( Figure 2 ). Despite most hospitals falling in the first quadrant, the variance between hospitals appeared to be greater in Florida ( Figure 3 ). In addition, more hospitals in Florida fell in the far corners of the first and fourth quadrants than those in Maryland, indicating more hospitals with severe bias (eg, large racial differences in FPR or FNR). Refer to Multimedia Appendix 3 for the measures of income bias and hospital distribution for Maryland and Florida.

Hospitals with a higher percentage of Black patients have been shown to be associated with low resources and poorer outcomes for their patients [ 35 ]; thus, the results were stratified by the proportion of Black patients served in a hospital. In Figures 4 and 5 , each data point represents the racial bias (FNR difference or FPR difference) in a stratum of hospitals with a certain percentage of Black patients (eg, hospitals with at least 20% of Black patients). The error bars show the 95% CI of the bias measure in the strata. In both figures, the racial biases of all models, represented as FNR and FPR differences, decreased and approached zero as the hospital population became more diverse. In Maryland, the diminishing racial bias was particularly notable in hospitals where >50% of patients were Black ( Figure 4 ). The diminishing racial bias was also observed in Florida’s hospitals ( Figure 5 ). The direction of bias flipped for the LACE index and the modified HOSPITAL score in Florida hospitals with >50% of Black patients. In hospitals with a lower percentage of Black patients, Black patients had a lower FNR compared to White patients, while in hospitals with a higher percentage of Black patients, White patients had a higher FNR ( Figure 4 ). In Florida, the widening gap shown in the 2 CMS models for hospitals serving >60% of Black patients was likely attributed to the small number of hospitals and small sample size in the strata ( Figure 5 ). Refer to Multimedia Appendix 4 for the details on the bias measures stratified by payers for both Maryland and Florida.

Overall Findings

The abundance of research on fairness and bias has provided potential means to quantify bias, but there has been a gap to operationalize these metrics, interpret them in specific contexts, and understand their impact on downstream health disparity [ 7 ]. Our analysis demonstrated a practical use case for measuring algorithmic bias when applying or deploying previously validated 30-day hospital readmission predictive models in a new setting. Our approach to testing the fairness measures could serve as a framework for routine assessment of algorithmic bias for health care predictive models, and our results also revealed the complexity and limitations of using mathematical bias measures. According to these bias measures, the retrained CMS model and the modified HOSPITAL score showed the best predictive performance and the lowest bias in Maryland and Florida. However, the CMS as-is model showed subpar performance in both states, indicating that retraining on the local data not only improved predictive performance but also reduced group bias. In addition, large variations were detected between hospitals, and system- or hospital-level factors needed to be considered when interpreting algorithmic bias.

Measure Interpretation

Caution must be taken when using algorithmic bias to guide equitable intervention allocation, as the bias measures may not include key context. When designing a risk-based intervention based on model output, we would be naturally more concerned about FNR, as a higher FNR means a groups that is more likely to be predicted low in risk of readmission will indeed be readmitted, indicating missed opportunities for intervention [ 52 ]. Looking at bias measures alone, our results suggest that the risk to White and higher-income patients has a systematically higher proportion of false negatives estimated by common readmission models, suggesting more missed opportunities to intervene and prevent unplanned readmissions. This observation is contrary to our assumption, and other parts of the results show that White and higher-income patients were less sick with lower readmission rates. An explanation would suggest that the higher FNR observed in the White and higher-income patient groups might be attributed to health care use patterns. For example, research has shown that White individuals and higher socioeconomic patient groups were more likely to overuse health care resources, while Black patients and disadvantaged groups tended to underuse them [ 53 - 55 ]. The overutilizers could have more unplanned visits to the hospital when the risk was not high, while the underusing group may be more likely to defer or skip care and only use costly hospital resources when they must. Similarly, a higher FPR in Black and low-income patient groups would indicate more wasted resources on “false positives.” However, such a conclusion did not align with the rest of the study findings. These subpopulations, on average, had more chronic comorbidities and longer inpatient stays, indicating that Black and low-income patient groups were more likely to have conditions that warrant an unplanned readmission but did not show up in the observed data, potentially alluding to a health care access gap in these groups. In this case, drawing a conclusion simply based on the face value of higher FPR would lead to a reduction in the resources allocated to the sicker, more vulnerable populations. It is also important to note that, despite the racial difference in health behaviors and outcomes, race merely represents a social classification rather than the driver of the observed differences [ 56 ]. Although the performance of the evaluated readmission models differed by race, we do not recommend including race as a variable in a predictive model unless race is a biological or clinical risk factor for the predictive outcome.

The interpretation of measurable bias requires considering models’ predictive performance, the nature of health data, analytic frameworks, and the underlying health care delivery system. In our analysis, all models had modest performance, and the high FNRs may deter their application in a real setting, especially in the score-based models of LACE and HOSPITAL (ie, FNR ranges from 0.63 to 0.75). When calculating these measures, we assumed the observed outcome (ie, 30-day unplanned readmission) as the ground truth; however, it was important to recognize the key limitations of this truth and the measured bias. First, despite the HCUP state inpatient data being one of the most comprehensive and high-quality data for studying readmission, no guarantee existed that all readmissions and their causes were captured. It is possible that a patient had conditions that warranted an unplanned revisit to the hospital but either did not occur due to the patient’s unwillingness to seek treatment in time [ 57 , 58 ] or did not get documented (eg, out-of-state admissions were not captured in HCUP’s state-wide inpatient data by design). Such underdocumentation was more likely to impact disadvantaged populations and those with fragmented care, thus introducing embedded bias into the underlying data. Second, a higher percentage of Black patients sought care in academic teaching institutions (eg, 120,649/626,280, 19.26% of Black patients in Maryland and 231,379/1,448,620, 15.97% of Black patients in Florida, compared to 181,493/1,029,292, 17.63% of White patients in Maryland and 576,819/5,632,318, 10.24% of White patients in Florida), which were generally considered to deliver high-quality care [ 35 , 59 , 60 ]. These hospitals may have a more effective readmission prevention program while serving sicker patients, contributing to a higher FPR among Black and low-income patients. Third, as shown in Figure 2 , we observed that hospitals that served a high proportion of Black patients had a lower algorithmic bias. For example, in Maryland, the majority Black hospitals (>70% of patients served are Black) were in resource-poor neighborhoods, and both White and Black patients had similar higher-than-average readmission rates in these hospitals (data not shown). The fairer model performance in these hospitals was not necessarily a reflection of a higher quality of care, as all patients served in those hospitals had higher unplanned readmission rates. Finally, whether a readmission was unplanned or planned was determined using a well-established algorithm developed by CMS [ 43 , 44 ], which categorized readmissions based on the nature of the diagnoses and procedures (eg, acute vs routine). Research demonstrated that different diagnosis intensities existed between regions and hospitals, and a higher intensity of services was associated with a higher prevalence of common chronic diseases [ 61 ]. If diagnosis was not just a patient attribute but indeed reflected the systematic characteristics of the health care environment [ 62 ], the quality of unplanned readmission classification and other predictors in our models would be subject to encoded bias in the health care system. In fact, in our population, the average number of diagnoses was higher in White patients than in Black patients and higher in Maryland than in Florida, indicating the presence of such systematic variation ( Table 1 ). Of course, this is not a unique issue with our data set; electronic health records and other health data sets also reflect histories of unequal access to health care and carry racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and other societal biases due to how the data are collected [ 2 , 3 , 63 ].

Utility of Bias Measures

Once the limitations of real-world health data are acknowledged, the expectation of equity and interpretation of the measurable bias should adjust accordingly. First, it will be too restrictive to expect mathematical equality for measurable bias; rather, it is best viewed as a relative value to aid in the selection of a less biased model. Most real-world problems are based on imperfect data, and pushing the model to perform equally on these measures will inevitably create unintended results (eg, sacrificing accuracy and potentially increasing bias for other subpopulations) [ 15 ]. Second, a validated and accurate model may reveal the gap between the “supposed-to-be” state and the reality in the underlying data, showing areas of unmet needs [ 16 , 64 ], as we observed in our Black and low-income populations. Finally, the bias measures alone provide limited evidence about which group is being biased against and in which way. A conclusion based solely on the face value of a few bias measures can be misleading and may exacerbate the disparity already faced by marginalized groups. These quantitative bias measures are useful to evaluate a model’s disparate group performance on a given data set, but they are insufficient to inform the intervention allocation or mechanisms of potential bias, which are key to the mitigation strategies [ 15 ]. In addition, our study did not evaluate other definitions of bias, such as calibration or predictive parity, which do not focus on error rates and may require unique interpretation considerations.

This analysis addressed a fundamental gap in operationalizing fairness techniques. The selection of a bias definition and appropriate bias measures is as important as detecting bias itself, yet it has remained a blind spot in practice [ 2 ]. In addition to the fact that these mathematical notions cannot be satisfied simultaneously, using the appropriate measures is also highly contextual and data dependent [ 65 , 66 ]. For example, having a model with equal positive predictions across groups (known as demographic or statistical parity) would not be a meaningful measure for inherently unbalanced outcomes such as 30-day readmissions; however, based on the fairness concept, satisfying any of the bias measures would mean a fair model. In this study, the 4 evaluated bias measures showed consistent results, despite each measuring a different definition of bias. All selected measures were able to demonstrate the magnitude of bias, but FNR and FPR differences were the most informative, as they indicated the direction of bias and were more interpretable in the context of mitigation actions. In our attempt to translate the algorithmic bias findings to intervention planning, we found that the bias measures could serve as a quick and routine assessment to compare algorithms, subpopulations, or localities (eg, hospitals) to help target further investigation of drivers of potential disparity. However, simply relying on these statistical notions to make decisions could obscure or underplay the causes of health care disparities, and a more comprehensive approach is necessary. In real-world applications, the practical goal of predictive modeling must incorporate predictive accuracy and algorithmic bias, among other operational considerations. As there is usually a trade-off between these 2 model performance goals, the best model is likely the one that balances the 2 goals rather than the one achieving the highest possible accuracy or fairness alone.

Limitations

Our analysis has several limitations and caveats. First, none of the models evaluated in this analysis had high accuracy, which may affect the measurement of misclassifications. For simplicity and the focus on interpreting the bias measures, we did not evaluate machine learning models that usually improve local accuracy [ 20 ]. While the LACE index and the HOSPITAL score were used by hospitals to manage readmissions, the CMS measure was mostly used in payer operations or population health management in addition to CMS purposes (eg, budget allocation and hospital penalties); thus, it was not used as a typical predictive model. Although we believe the models evaluated in this study represented practical scenarios, we were unable to assess if a particular type of models, variables, weights, or modeling structures were more likely to be algorithmically biased. Second, we did not evaluate the scenario in which models can be optimized to minimize and constraint bias during training or retraining. Model optimization has been a popular approach to developing fair models but, it was considered out of scope as this analysis focused on model application and bias identification. Third, we only included bias measures that are algorithm-agnostic and can be routinely calculated; thus, they were not comprehensive or exclusive. Fourth, the conclusion was based on Maryland and Florida data, which would not represent all states nor the national average. For example, Maryland is a small state with an all-payer model payment system [ 39 ] and a high percentage of patients seeking care in neighboring states, whereas Florida is a large state with a large Hispanic population and has not adopted Medicaid expansion [ 40 ]. In addition, the data set we used was administrative in nature and did not have the detailed medical information (eg, medications, laboratory results, and clinical notes) to fully evaluate the potential drivers of our results, such as selection bias [ 67 ], data quality factors [ 68 ], and more accurate ascertainment of the outcome (ie, unplanned readmissions).

Conclusions

In conclusion, our analysis found that fairness metrics were useful to serve as a routine assessment to detect disparate model performance in subpopulations and to compare predictive models. However, these metrics have limited interpretability and are insufficient to inform mechanisms of bias or guide intervention planning. Further testing and demonstration will be required before using mathematical fairness measures to guide key decision-making or policy changes. Despite these limitations, demonstrating the differential model performances (eg, misclassification rates) is often the first step in recognizing potential algorithmic bias, which will be necessary as health care organizations move toward data-driven improvement in response to existing health care disparities. The potential subtle—and not so subtle—imperfections of underlying health data, analytic frameworks, and the underlying health care delivery system must be carefully considered when evaluating the potential bias that exists within predictive models. Finally, future research is required to improve the methodology of measuring algorithmic bias and to test more fairness definitions and measures (eg, calibration parity) through an operational lens. Future studies should also explore how modeling factors influence algorithmic bias (eg, how variable inclusions, weights, or scoring schemes affect the model’s differential performance). We hope that algorithmic bias assessment can be incorporated into routine model evaluation and ultimately inform meaningful actions to reduce health care disparity.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the contributions of Dr Darrell Gaskin and Dr Daniel Naiman of Johns Hopkins University for their input into the study conceptualization and results interpretation.

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Data Availability

The data sets analyzed during this study are available for a fee from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project [ 37 ].

Authors' Contributions

HEW and HK conceived the study concept, and all authors contributed to the study design. HEW analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. HK and HEW interpreted the results, and all authors provided input for the interpretations. All authors reviewed and contributed to the final manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

HEW is an employee of Merck & Co, and the employer had no role in the development or funding of this work. SS has received funding from NIH, NSF, CDC, FDA, DARPA, AHA, and Gordon Betty Moore Foundation. She is an equity holder in Bayesian Health, a clincial AI platform company; Duality Tech, a privacy preserving technology comlany and sits on the scientific advisory board of large life sciences (Eg Sanofi) and digital health startups (eg Century Health). She has received honoraria for talks from a number of biotechnology, research and health-tech companies. This arrangement has been reviewed and approved by the Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict-of-interest policies.

The LACE index.

The modified HOSPITAL score.

Income bias and hospital distribution in Maryland and Florida.

Racial and income bias measures by payer in Maryland and Florida.

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Abbreviations

Edited by A Mavragani; submitted 11.03.23; peer-reviewed by D Nerenz, J Herington; comments to author 07.12.23; revised version received 28.12.23; accepted 27.02.24; published 18.04.24.

©H Echo Wang, Jonathan P Weiner, Suchi Saria, Hadi Kharrazi. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 18.04.2024.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

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Meeting Time: 09:45 AM‑11:00 AM TTh  Instructor: Ali Anwar Course Description: Cloud computing serves many large-scale applications ranging from search engines like Google to social networking websites like Facebook to online stores like Amazon. More recently, cloud computing has emerged as an essential technology to enable emerging fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Machine Learning. The exponential growth of data availability and demands for security and speed has made the cloud computing paradigm necessary for reliable, financially economical, and scalable computation. The dynamicity and flexibility of Cloud computing have opened up many new forms of deploying applications on infrastructure that cloud service providers offer, such as renting of computation resources and serverless computing.    This course will cover the fundamentals of cloud services management and cloud software development, including but not limited to design patterns, application programming interfaces, and underlying middleware technologies. More specifically, we will cover the topics of cloud computing service models, data centers resource management, task scheduling, resource virtualization, SLAs, cloud security, software defined networks and storage, cloud storage, and programming models. We will also discuss data center design and management strategies, which enable the economic and technological benefits of cloud computing. Lastly, we will study cloud storage concepts like data distribution, durability, consistency, and redundancy. Registration Prerequisites: CS upper div, CompE upper div., EE upper div., EE grad, ITI upper div., Univ. honors student, or dept. permission; no cr for grads in CSci. Complete the following Google form to request a permission number from the instructor ( https://forms.gle/6BvbUwEkBK41tPJ17 ).

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• University awards
• Honorary professorships
• Collegiate awards
• Other CSE honors and awards
• Staff awards
• Performance Management Process
• Work. With Flexibility in CSE
• K-12 outreach overview
• Summer camps
• Outreach events
• Enrichment programs
• Field trips and tours
• CSE K-12 Virtual Classroom Resources
• Educator development
• Sponsor an event