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How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper

Writing a research paper is both an art and a skill, and knowing how to write the methods section of a research paper is the first crucial step in mastering scientific writing. If, like the majority of early career researchers, you believe that the methods section is the simplest to write and needs little in the way of careful consideration or thought, this article will help you understand it is not 1 .

We have all probably asked our supervisors, coworkers, or search engines “ how to write a methods section of a research paper ” at some point in our scientific careers, so you are not alone if that’s how you ended up here.  Even for seasoned researchers, selecting what to include in the methods section from a wealth of experimental information can occasionally be a source of distress and perplexity.   

Additionally, journal specifications, in some cases, may make it more of a requirement rather than a choice to provide a selective yet descriptive account of the experimental procedure. Hence, knowing these nuances of how to write the methods section of a research paper is critical to its success. The methods section of the research paper is not supposed to be a detailed heavy, dull section that some researchers tend to write; rather, it should be the central component of the study that justifies the validity and reliability of the research.

Are you still unsure of how the methods section of a research paper forms the basis of every investigation? Consider the last article you read but ignore the methods section and concentrate on the other parts of the paper . Now think whether you could repeat the study and be sure of the credibility of the findings despite knowing the literature review and even having the data in front of you. You have the answer!   

Having established the importance of the methods section , the next question is how to write the methods section of a research paper that unifies the overall study. The purpose of the methods section , which was earlier called as Materials and Methods , is to describe how the authors went about answering the “research question” at hand. Here, the objective is to tell a coherent story that gives a detailed account of how the study was conducted, the rationale behind specific experimental procedures, the experimental setup, objects (variables) involved, the research protocol employed, tools utilized to measure, calculations and measurements, and the analysis of the collected data 2 .

In this article, we will take a deep dive into this topic and provide a detailed overview of how to write the methods section of a research paper . For the sake of clarity, we have separated the subject into various sections with corresponding subheadings.  

Table of Contents

What is the methods section of a research paper ?  

The methods section is a fundamental section of any paper since it typically discusses the ‘ what ’, ‘ how ’, ‘ which ’, and ‘ why ’ of the study, which is necessary to arrive at the final conclusions. In a research article, the introduction, which serves to set the foundation for comprehending the background and results is usually followed by the methods section, which precedes the result and discussion sections. The methods section must explicitly state what was done, how it was done, which equipment, tools and techniques were utilized, how were the measurements/calculations taken, and why specific research protocols, software, and analytical methods were employed.  

Why is the methods section important?  

The primary goal of the methods section is to provide pertinent details about the experimental approach so that the reader may put the results in perspective and, if necessary, replicate the findings 3 .  This section offers readers the chance to evaluate the reliability and validity of any study. In short, it also serves as the study’s blueprint, assisting researchers who might be unsure about any other portion in establishing the study’s context and validity. The methods plays a rather crucial role in determining the fate of the article; an incomplete and unreliable methods section can frequently result in early rejections and may lead to numerous rounds of modifications during the publication process. This means that the reviewers also often use methods section to assess the reliability and validity of the research protocol and the data analysis employed to address the research topic. In other words, the purpose of the methods section is to demonstrate the research acumen and subject-matter expertise of the author(s) in their field.  

Structure of methods section of a research paper  

Similar to the research paper, the methods section also follows a defined structure; this may be dictated by the guidelines of a specific journal or can be presented in a chronological or thematic manner based on the study type. When writing the methods section , authors should keep in mind that they are telling a story about how the research was conducted. They should only report relevant information to avoid confusing the reader and include details that would aid in connecting various aspects of the entire research activity together. It is generally advisable to present experiments in the order in which they were conducted. This facilitates the logical flow of the research and allows readers to follow the progression of the study design.   

It is also essential to clearly state the rationale behind each experiment and how the findings of earlier experiments informed the design or interpretation of later experiments. This allows the readers to understand the overall purpose of the study design and the significance of each experiment within that context. However, depending on the particular research question and method, it may make sense to present information in a different order; therefore, authors must select the best structure and strategy for their individual studies.   

In cases where there is a lot of information, divide the sections into subheadings to cover the pertinent details. If the journal guidelines pose restrictions on the word limit , additional important information can be supplied in the supplementary files. A simple rule of thumb for sectioning the method section is to begin by explaining the methodological approach ( what was done ), describing the data collection methods ( how it was done ), providing the analysis method ( how the data was analyzed ), and explaining the rationale for choosing the methodological strategy. This is described in detail in the upcoming sections.    

How to write the methods section of a research paper  

Contrary to widespread assumption, the methods section of a research paper should be prepared once the study is complete to prevent missing any key parameter. Hence, please make sure that all relevant experiments are done before you start writing a methods section . The next step for authors is to look up any applicable academic style manuals or journal-specific standards to ensure that the methods section is formatted correctly. The methods section of a research paper typically constitutes materials and methods; while writing this section, authors usually arrange the information under each category.

The materials category describes the samples, materials, treatments, and instruments, while experimental design, sample preparation, data collection, and data analysis are a part of the method category. According to the nature of the study, authors should include additional subsections within the methods section, such as ethical considerations like the declaration of Helsinki (for studies involving human subjects), demographic information of the participants, and any other crucial information that can affect the output of the study. Simply put, the methods section has two major components: content and format. Here is an easy checklist for you to consider if you are struggling with how to write the methods section of a research paper .   

• Explain the research design, subjects, and sample details  
• Include information on inclusion and exclusion criteria  
• Mention ethical or any other permission required for the study  
• Include information about materials, experimental setup, tools, and software  
• Add details of data collection and analysis methods  
• Incorporate how research biases were avoided or confounding variables were controlled  
• Evaluate and justify the experimental procedure selected to address the research question  
• Provide precise and clear details of each experiment  
• Flowcharts, infographics, or tables can be used to present complex information     
• Use past tense to show that the experiments have been done   
• Follow academic style guides (such as APA or MLA ) to structure the content  
• Citations should be included as per standard protocols in the field  

Now that you know how to write the methods section of a research paper , let’s address another challenge researchers face while writing the methods section —what to include in the methods section .  How much information is too much is not always obvious when it comes to trying to include data in the methods section of a paper. In the next section, we examine this issue and explore potential solutions.   

What to include in the methods section of a research paper  

The technical nature of the methods section occasionally makes it harder to present the information clearly and concisely while staying within the study context. Many young researchers tend to veer off subject significantly, and they frequently commit the sin of becoming bogged down in itty bitty details, making the text harder to read and impairing its overall flow. However, the best way to write the methods section is to start with crucial components of the experiments. If you have trouble deciding which elements are essential, think about leaving out those that would make it more challenging to comprehend the context or replicate the results. The top-down approach helps to ensure all relevant information is incorporated and vital information is not lost in technicalities. Next, remember to add details that are significant to assess the validity and reliability of the study. Here is a simple checklist for you to follow ( bonus tip: you can also make a checklist for your own study to avoid missing any critical information while writing the methods section ).  

• Structuring the methods section : Authors should diligently follow journal guidelines and adhere to the specific author instructions provided when writing the methods section . Journals typically have specific guidelines for formatting the methods section ; for example, Frontiers in Plant Sciences advises arranging the materials and methods section by subheading and citing relevant literature. There are several standardized checklists available for different study types in the biomedical field, including CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) for randomized clinical trials, PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis) for systematic reviews and meta-analysis, and STROBE (STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology) for cohort, case-control, cross-sectional studies. Before starting the methods section , check the checklist available in your field that can function as a guide.     
• Organizing different sections to tell a story : Once you are sure of the format required for structuring the methods section , the next is to present the sections in a logical manner; as mentioned earlier, the sections can be organized according to the chronology or themes. In the chronological arrangement, you should discuss the methods in accordance with how the experiments were carried out. An example of the method section of a research paper of an animal study should first ideally include information about the species, weight, sex, strain, and age. Next, the number of animals, their initial conditions, and their living and housing conditions should also be mentioned. Second, how the groups are assigned and the intervention (drug treatment, stress, or other) given to each group, and finally, the details of tools and techniques used to measure, collect, and analyze the data. Experiments involving animal or human subjects should additionally state an ethics approval statement. It is best to arrange the section using the thematic approach when discussing distinct experiments not following a sequential order.  
• Define and explain the objects and procedure: Experimental procedure should clearly be stated in the methods section . Samples, necessary preparations (samples, treatment, and drug), and methods for manipulation need to be included. All variables (control, dependent, independent, and confounding) must be clearly defined, particularly if the confounding variables can affect the outcome of the study.  
• Match the order of the methods section with the order of results: Though not mandatory, organizing the manuscript in a logical and coherent manner can improve the readability and clarity of the paper. This can be done by following a consistent structure throughout the manuscript; readers can easily navigate through the different sections and understand the methods and results in relation to each other. Using experiment names as headings for both the methods and results sections can also make it simpler for readers to locate specific information and corroborate it if needed.   
• Relevant information must always be included: The methods section should have information on all experiments conducted and their details clearly mentioned. Ask the journal whether there is a way to offer more information in the supplemental files or external repositories if your target journal has strict word limitations. For example, Nature communications encourages authors to deposit their step-by-step protocols in an open-resource depository, Protocol Exchange which allows the protocols to be linked with the manuscript upon publication. Providing access to detailed protocols also helps to increase the transparency and reproducibility of the research.  
• It’s all in the details: The methods section should meticulously list all the materials, tools, instruments, and software used for different experiments. Specify the testing equipment on which data was obtained, together with its manufacturer’s information, location, city, and state or any other stimuli used to manipulate the variables. Provide specifics on the research process you employed; if it was a standard protocol, cite previous studies that also used the protocol.  Include any protocol modifications that were made, as well as any other factors that were taken into account when planning the study or gathering data. Any new or modified techniques should be explained by the authors. Typically, readers evaluate the reliability and validity of the procedures using the cited literature, and a widely accepted checklist helps to support the credibility of the methodology. Note: Authors should include a statement on sample size estimation (if applicable), which is often missed. It enables the reader to determine how many subjects will be required to detect the expected change in the outcome variables within a given confidence interval.  
• Write for the audience: While explaining the details in the methods section , authors should be mindful of their target audience, as some of the rationale or assumptions on which specific procedures are based might not always be obvious to the audience, particularly for a general audience. Therefore, when in doubt, the objective of a procedure should be specified either in relation to the research question or to the entire protocol.  
• Data interpretation and analysis : Information on data processing, statistical testing, levels of significance, and analysis tools and software should be added. Mention if the recommendations and expertise of an experienced statistician were followed. Also, evaluate and justify the preferred statistical method used in the study and its significance.  

What NOT to include in the methods section of a research paper  

To address “ how to write the methods section of a research paper ”, authors should not only pay careful attention to what to include but also what not to include in the methods section of a research paper . Here is a list of do not’s when writing the methods section :  

• Do not elaborate on specifics of standard methods/procedures: You should refrain from adding unnecessary details of experiments and practices that are well established and cited previously.  Instead, simply cite relevant literature or mention if the manufacturer’s protocol was followed.  
• Do not add unnecessary details : Do not include minute details of the experimental procedure and materials/instruments used that are not significant for the outcome of the experiment. For example, there is no need to mention the brand name of the water bath used for incubation.    
• Do not discuss the results: The methods section is not to discuss the results or refer to the tables and figures; save it for the results and discussion section. Also, focus on the methods selected to conduct the study and avoid diverting to other methods or commenting on their pros or cons.  
• Do not make the section bulky : For extensive methods and protocols, provide the essential details and share the rest of the information in the supplemental files. The writing should be clear yet concise to maintain the flow of the section.  

We hope that by this point, you understand how crucial it is to write a thoughtful and precise methods section and the ins and outs of how to write the methods section of a research paper . To restate, the entire purpose of the methods section is to enable others to reproduce the results or verify the research. We sincerely hope that this post has cleared up any confusion and given you a fresh perspective on the methods section .

As a parting gift, we’re leaving you with a handy checklist that will help you understand how to write the methods section of a research paper . Feel free to download this checklist and use or share this with those who you think may benefit from it.  

References  

• Bhattacharya, D. How to write the Methods section of a research paper. Editage Insights, 2018. https://www.editage.com/insights/how-to-write-the-methods-section-of-a-research-paper (2018).
• Kallet, R. H. How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper. Respiratory Care 49, 1229–1232 (2004). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15447808/
• Grindstaff, T. L. & Saliba, S. A. AVOIDING MANUSCRIPT MISTAKES. Int J Sports Phys Ther 7, 518–524 (2012). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3474299/

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4 Writing the Materials and Methods (Methodology) Section

The Materials and Methods section briefly describes how you did your research. In other words, what did you do to answer your research question? If there were materials used for the research or materials experimented on you list them in this section. You also describe how you did the research or experiment. The key to a methodology is that another person must be able to replicate your research—follow the steps you take. For example if you used the internet to do a search it is not enough to say you “searched the internet.” A reader would need to know which search engine and what key words you used.

Open this section by describing the overall approach you took or the materials used. Then describe to the readers step-by-step the methods you used including any data analysis performed. See Fig. 2.5 below for an example of materials and methods section.

Writing tips:

• Explain procedures, materials, and equipment used
• Example: “We used an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer to analyze major and trace elements in the mystery mineral samples.”
• Order events chronologically, perhaps with subheadings (Field work, Lab Analysis, Statistical Models)
• Use past tense (you did X, Y, Z)
• Quantify measurements
• Include results in the methods! It’s easy to make this mistake!
• Example: “W e turned on the machine and loaded in our samples, then calibrated the instrument and pushed the start button and waited one hour. . . .”

Technical Writing @ SLCC Copyright © 2020 by Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies at SLCC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Materials and Methods Examples and Writing Tips

Abstract | Introduction | Literature Review | Research question | Materials & Methods | Results | Discussion | Conclusion

In this blog, we look at how to write the materials and methods section of a research paper. In most research papers, the materials and methods section follows the literature review section. This is generally the easiest section to write because you are simply reproducing what you did in your experiments. It is always a good idea to start writing your research paper with the materials and methods section.

1. What is the purpose of the materials and methods section?

Materials and methods should describe how you did your research and detail the experimental procedure. One of the most important things to bear in mind while writing the materials and methods section is that it should have enough detail so that other researchers in your field can replicate your experiments and reproduce your results.  You should provide all the steps in a logical order so that your readers can follow your description easily.

2. Materials and Methods Examples

The structure of the methods section will very much depend on your discipline. If you are not sure about the structure, then the best place to start will be to go through the methods section of some previously published papers from your chosen journal. We will look at some examples of materials and methods structure in different disciplines. 

2.1. Materials & methods example #1 (Engineering paper)

If you are writing an engineering sciences research paper in which you are introducing a new method, your materials and methods section would typically include the following information.

You can start with the top-level summary of the method. You can try to answer these questions. Are you proposing a new method? Or,  Are you using a standard method from the literature?  Or, Are you extending a previously published method? If so, is it your previous work? or work published by a different author?

Then you can talk about the reasons for choosing this method. You can quote previous papers that have used this method successfully to support your arguments. Then, you can talk about the actual implementation details of the methods.

Then you can talk about how the methods were validated to confirm that they are suitable for your research. You can also include information about any pilot or preliminary studies you conducted before the full study. Then you can explain how you propose to test and evaluate the methods to prove that they are better than the existing methods. Here, you can talk about metrics and statistical tests you will be using to evaluate your method.

2.2. Materials & methods example #2 (Measurement paper)

If you are writing a paper that deals with measurements, you would typically include the following information in your materials and methods section.

You can start by talking about the experimental setup. You can try to answer these questions. What equipment was used to perform the measurements? What was the make and the model of the equipment?  How many technicians took the measurements?  How experienced were the technicians?

Then you can talk about the parameters that were measured during the experiment. Then you can talk about the actual measurement procedure. How were the samples prepared for the measurements?  How many measurements were taken? Were the measurements repeated for consistency? Was there a time interval between successive measurements?

Then you can talk about measurement conditions and constraints. Were the measurements performed at room temperature or under special conditions? Were there any practical difficulties while performing the measurements, if so, how did you overcome them?

Most importantly, you must list all the calculations in the form of detailed equations and formulas so that readers know exactly how the data was produced.

2.3. Materials & methods example #3 (Survey questionnaire paper)

If you are writing a survey questionnaire paper , you would typically include the following information in your materials and methods section.

You can start by talking about your participants. Who is your target population? What are their demographics? How did you recruit them?  How did participants provide consent for your study? What sampling method did you use to select the participants?

Then you can talk about the survey type. Was it a phone interview? Was it a personal interview? Was it an online survey? Or, Was it a written survey?

Then you can talk about the questionnaire design. How did you choose the questions? How many questions were there? What type of questions were they? Were they open ended questions, or close ended questions, or rating scale questions, or a mixture of different types of questions?

Then you can talk about how the questionnaire was administered. If it is an online survey, how did you get the questionnaire to the participants? Did you email them? Or did you post the survey forms?

If you are doing a personal interview. How did you conduct the interviews? Was it one to one interview, or was it done in batches, or did you use focus groups? How did the participants behave during the interview?

Then you can talk about questionnaire testing. Did you test your questionnaire before the main study? Did you have to make any changes after initial testing?  Did you have to translate the questionnaire into multiple languages? Then finally you can talk about different types of statistical tests you used to analyze the survey responses.

2.4. Materials & methods example #4 (Medical clinical trial paper)

If you are writing a medical research paper , your materials and methods section would typically include the following information.

You can start by providing information about the study design. Was it a randomized trial, or an observational trial? Was it a prospective study, or a retrospective study? Was the study double-blinded, or single-blinded?

Then, you can talk about how the ethical approval was obtained for the study and clarify if the clinical trial was registered. if so, then provide the registration number.

Then, you can talk about how the participants were recruited for the study, and explain the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, you can talk about how the participants were grouped into control and placebo groups, and explain how the medication was administered.

Then, you can talk about what outcomes were measured. What was the primary outcome? What was the secondary outcome? What was the follow up period? You can try to answer these questions. Then you can finish off with some information about the statistical tests you used to analyze the data.

3. Frequently Asked Questions

One of the common mistakes people make is using vague language in materials and methods. Reviewers won’t like it, and they will reject the paper on the basis that the section is not elaborate enough for other researchers to reproduce your experiments.

Make sure you write the materials and methods section in past tense, since you are reporting something that has already happened.

Acronyms & Abbrevations: Try to use acronyms and abbreviations for long method names. Abbreviations and acronyms are a great way to make your writing concise and save time. Define the acronyms and abbreviations during their first occurrence then use the short form in the rest of the text. The common practice is to put the acronym and abbreviations in parentheses after the full term.

Use different layouts: Another problem you are likely to face is that your methods section can sound like manual if you have too much text in it. In particular, if you are dealing with a very complex procedure, the readers might find it dry and tedious. So try to provide some variety to the layout. Try to use bullet points and numberings instead of long paragraphs to make it easy for the readers to understand the procedure. You can use flow diagrams to illustrate the process rather than describing it.

When you are using a standard method that is well described in literature, the standard practice is to reference the paper rather than repeating the entire procedure. You can also provide a brief summary of the procedure in your own words.

For example, you can say something like this, “The details of the procedure have been reported previously in…”, and reference the previous paper. And then, you can follow it up with a brief summary of the method from the previous paper.

If you are extending a previous method, then you can do something like this. You can say that, “Some minor modifications were made to the method described in…” and reference the previous paper.  And then, you can follow it up with the list of refinements you made to the previous method in order to adapt it to your work.

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How to Write an APA Methods Section | With Examples

Published on February 5, 2021 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on June 22, 2023.

The methods section of an APA style paper is where you report in detail how you performed your study. Research papers in the social and natural sciences often follow APA style. This article focuses on reporting quantitative research methods .

In your APA methods section, you should report enough information to understand and replicate your study, including detailed information on the sample , measures, and procedures used.

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Table of contents

Structuring an apa methods section.

Participants

Example of an APA methods section

Other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an apa methods section.

The main heading of “Methods” should be centered, boldfaced, and capitalized. Subheadings within this section are left-aligned, boldfaced, and in title case. You can also add lower level headings within these subsections, as long as they follow APA heading styles .

To structure your methods section, you can use the subheadings of “Participants,” “Materials,” and “Procedures.” These headings are not mandatory—aim to organize your methods section using subheadings that make sense for your specific study.

Note that not all of these topics will necessarily be relevant for your study. For example, if you didn’t need to consider outlier removal or ways of assigning participants to different conditions, you don’t have to report these steps.

The APA also provides specific reporting guidelines for different types of research design. These tell you exactly what you need to report for longitudinal designs , replication studies, experimental designs , and so on. If your study uses a combination design, consult APA guidelines for mixed methods studies.

Detailed descriptions of procedures that don’t fit into your main text can be placed in supplemental materials (for example, the exact instructions and tasks given to participants, the full analytical strategy including software code, or additional figures and tables).

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Begin the methods section by reporting sample characteristics, sampling procedures, and the sample size.

Participant or subject characteristics

When discussing people who participate in research, descriptive terms like “participants,” “subjects” and “respondents” can be used. For non-human animal research, “subjects” is more appropriate.

Specify all relevant demographic characteristics of your participants. This may include their age, sex, ethnic or racial group, gender identity, education level, and socioeconomic status. Depending on your study topic, other characteristics like educational or immigration status or language preference may also be relevant.

Be sure to report these characteristics as precisely as possible. This helps the reader understand how far your results may be generalized to other people.

The APA guidelines emphasize writing about participants using bias-free language , so it’s necessary to use inclusive and appropriate terms.

Sampling procedures

Outline how the participants were selected and all inclusion and exclusion criteria applied. Appropriately identify the sampling procedure used. For example, you should only label a sample as random  if you had access to every member of the relevant population.

Of all the people invited to participate in your study, note the percentage that actually did (if you have this data). Additionally, report whether participants were self-selected, either by themselves or by their institutions (e.g., schools may submit student data for research purposes).

Identify any compensation (e.g., course credits or money) that was provided to participants, and mention any institutional review board approvals and ethical standards followed.

Sample size and power

Detail the sample size (per condition) and statistical power that you hoped to achieve, as well as any analyses you performed to determine these numbers.

It’s important to show that your study had enough statistical power to find effects if there were any to be found.

Additionally, state whether your final sample differed from the intended sample. Your interpretations of the study outcomes should be based only on your final sample rather than your intended sample.

Write up the tools and techniques that you used to measure relevant variables. Be as thorough as possible for a complete picture of your techniques.

Primary and secondary measures

Define the primary and secondary outcome measures that will help you answer your primary and secondary research questions.

Specify all instruments used in gathering these measurements and the construct that they measure. These instruments may include hardware, software, or tests, scales, and inventories.

• To cite hardware, indicate the model number and manufacturer.
• To cite common software (e.g., Qualtrics), state the full name along with the version number or the website URL .
• To cite tests, scales or inventories, reference its manual or the article it was published in. It’s also helpful to state the number of items and provide one or two example items.

Make sure to report the settings of (e.g., screen resolution) any specialized apparatus used.

For each instrument used, report measures of the following:

• Reliability : how consistently the method measures something, in terms of internal consistency or test-retest reliability.
• Validity : how precisely the method measures something, in terms of construct validity  or criterion validity .

Giving an example item or two for tests, questionnaires , and interviews is also helpful.

Describe any covariates—these are any additional variables that may explain or predict the outcomes.

Quality of measurements

Review all methods you used to assure the quality of your measurements.

These may include:

• training researchers to collect data reliably,
• using multiple people to assess (e.g., observe or code) the data,
• translation and back-translation of research materials,
• using pilot studies to test your materials on unrelated samples.

For data that’s subjectively coded (for example, classifying open-ended responses), report interrater reliability scores. This tells the reader how similarly each response was rated by multiple raters.

Report all of the procedures applied for administering the study, processing the data, and for planned data analyses.

Data collection methods and research design

Data collection methods refers to the general mode of the instruments: surveys, interviews, observations, focus groups, neuroimaging, cognitive tests, and so on. Summarize exactly how you collected the necessary data.

Describe all procedures you applied in administering surveys, tests, physical recordings, or imaging devices, with enough detail so that someone else can replicate your techniques. If your procedures are very complicated and require long descriptions (e.g., in neuroimaging studies), place these details in supplementary materials.

To report research design, note your overall framework for data collection and analysis. State whether you used an experimental, quasi-experimental, descriptive (observational), correlational, and/or longitudinal design. Also note whether a between-subjects or a within-subjects design was used.

For multi-group studies, report the following design and procedural details as well:

• how participants were assigned to different conditions (e.g., randomization),
• instructions given to the participants in each group,
• interventions for each group,
• the setting and length of each session(s).

Describe whether any masking was used to hide the condition assignment (e.g., placebo or medication condition) from participants or research administrators. Using masking in a multi-group study ensures internal validity by reducing research bias . Explain how this masking was applied and whether its effectiveness was assessed.

Participants were randomly assigned to a control or experimental condition. The survey was administered using Qualtrics (https://www.qualtrics.com). To begin, all participants were given the AAI and a demographics questionnaire to complete, followed by an unrelated filler task. In the control condition , participants completed a short general knowledge test immediately after the filler task. In the experimental condition, participants were asked to visualize themselves taking the test for 3 minutes before they actually did. For more details on the exact instructions and tasks given, see supplementary materials.

Data diagnostics

Outline all steps taken to scrutinize or process the data after collection.

This includes the following:

• Procedures for identifying and removing outliers
• Data transformations to normalize distributions
• Compensation strategies for overcoming missing values

To ensure high validity, you should provide enough detail for your reader to understand how and why you processed or transformed your raw data in these specific ways.

Analytic strategies

The methods section is also where you describe your statistical analysis procedures, but not their outcomes. Their outcomes are reported in the results section.

These procedures should be stated for all primary, secondary, and exploratory hypotheses. While primary and secondary hypotheses are based on a theoretical framework or past studies, exploratory hypotheses are guided by the data you’ve just collected.

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This annotated example reports methods for a descriptive correlational survey on the relationship between religiosity and trust in science in the US. Hover over each part for explanation of what is included.

The sample included 879 adults aged between 18 and 28. More than half of the participants were women (56%), and all participants had completed at least 12 years of education. Ethics approval was obtained from the university board before recruitment began. Participants were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk; www.mturk.com). We selected for a geographically diverse sample within the Midwest of the US through an initial screening survey. Participants were paid USD $5 upon completion of the study.

A sample size of at least 783 was deemed necessary for detecting a correlation coefficient of ±.1, with a power level of 80% and a significance level of .05, using a sample size calculator (www.sample-size.net/correlation-sample-size/).

The primary outcome measures were the levels of religiosity and trust in science. Religiosity refers to involvement and belief in religious traditions, while trust in science represents confidence in scientists and scientific research outcomes. The secondary outcome measures were gender and parental education levels of participants and whether these characteristics predicted religiosity levels.

Religiosity

Religiosity was measured using the Centrality of Religiosity scale (Huber, 2003). The Likert scale is made up of 15 questions with five subscales of ideology, experience, intellect, public practice, and private practice. An example item is “How often do you experience situations in which you have the feeling that God or something divine intervenes in your life?” Participants were asked to indicate frequency of occurrence by selecting a response ranging from 1 (very often) to 5 (never). The internal consistency of the instrument is .83 (Huber & Huber, 2012).

Trust in Science

Trust in science was assessed using the General Trust in Science index (McCright, Dentzman, Charters & Dietz, 2013). Four Likert scale items were assessed on a scale from 1 (completely distrust) to 5 (completely trust). An example question asks “How much do you distrust or trust scientists to create knowledge that is unbiased and accurate?” Internal consistency was .8.

Potential participants were invited to participate in the survey online using Qualtrics (www.qualtrics.com). The survey consisted of multiple choice questions regarding demographic characteristics, the Centrality of Religiosity scale, an unrelated filler anagram task, and finally the General Trust in Science index. The filler task was included to avoid priming or demand characteristics, and an attention check was embedded within the religiosity scale. For full instructions and details of tasks, see supplementary materials.

For this correlational study , we assessed our primary hypothesis of a relationship between religiosity and trust in science using Pearson moment correlation coefficient. The statistical significance of the correlation coefficient was assessed using a t test. To test our secondary hypothesis of parental education levels and gender as predictors of religiosity, multiple linear regression analysis was used.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles

Methodology

• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Thematic analysis
• Cohort study
• Peer review
• Ethnography

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Conformity bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Availability heuristic
• Attrition bias
• Social desirability bias

In your APA methods section , you should report detailed information on the participants, materials, and procedures used.

• Describe all relevant participant or subject characteristics, the sampling procedures used and the sample size and power .
• Define all primary and secondary measures and discuss the quality of measurements.
• Specify the data collection methods, the research design and data analysis strategy, including any steps taken to transform the data and statistical analyses.

You should report methods using the past tense , even if you haven’t completed your study at the time of writing. That’s because the methods section is intended to describe completed actions or research.

In a scientific paper, the methodology always comes after the introduction and before the results , discussion and conclusion . The same basic structure also applies to a thesis, dissertation , or research proposal .

Depending on the length and type of document, you might also include a literature review or theoretical framework before the methodology.

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Materials and Methods: 7 Writing Tips

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Here are some tips for writing a good Materials and Methods section, which can lead to reproducibility of your results and credibility in the eyes of reviewers and readers.

Updated on January 2, 2011

One critical aspect of publishing research is describing the methods used in enough detail that the experiments can be reproduced by others. Some manuscripts are rejected because there is insufficient detail in the methods section.

In an editorial for the American Journal of Roentgenology , James Provenzale says, “ One of the more common reasons for rejection of a manuscript is that the reviewers cannot fully understand how the study was conducted. ” However, several journals have page limits or page charges, and the Materials and Methods section can take up valuable space.

For more tips on writing the Materials and Methods section of your manuscript, please see our downloadable white paper, Setting the Scene: Best Practices for Writing Materials and Methods .

What are the most important things to include, and how can you be sure that you're being concise AND sufficiently thorough? Here are seven tips for writing a good Materials and Methods section, which can lead to reproducibility of your results and credibility in the eyes of reviewers and readers. This list is not exhaustive; always remember to check the instructions for authors from your target journal for additional requirements or suggestions.

7 Tips for Writing an Effective Materials and Methods Section in Your Research Manuscript:

1. begin writing the materials and methods while you are performing your experiments..

Writing during the research process will prevent you from forgetting important details and save you time when you begin writing the full manuscript. You can also ask co-authors who performed specific experiments to write the corresponding parts of the Methods section.

2. Start with general information that applies to the entire manuscript and then move on to specific experimental details.

Examples of general information that you could begin with are characteristics of the study population, sources and genotypes of bacterial strains, or descriptions of samples or sample sites. Then, you could share more details about your experiment.

3. Match the order in which methods are described to the order of the results that were generated using those methods.

Also, be sure that each method you used is described, even if it is just a quick sentence (e.g., “Toxin assays were performed as described [reference]”). This practice is helpful for transparency, as well as reproducibility.

4. Always include citations for procedures that have been described previously.

If you made any modifications, be sure to list them.

5. Describe statistical tests as fully as possible.

Give as much information about the tests as possible; just mentioning a t -test is not sufficient for the reader to determine if the correct statistical analysis was performed.

6. Avoid discussing the pros and cons of certain methods or results of any kind.

Save evaluations for different methods for the Discussion section of your paper.

7. To save space, be concise, yet thorough, when listing the equipment you used.

You might consider listing all of your equipment purchased from a single company in one sentence. Or, you could create a flowchart figure of the steps in an important procedure.

Before you finish your manuscript, ask yourself the following questions about your Materials and Methods section to ensure that you have included all important information.

1. Is there sufficient detail so that the experiments can be reproduced?

2. Is there excess information that could be removed without affecting the interpretation of the results?

3. Are all the appropriate controls mentioned?

4. Are all appropriate citations included?

5. Is the source of each reagent listed?

Writing the Materials and Methods can be tedious, but a well-written section can enhance your chances of publication and strengthen your conclusions. If you have further questions, download our free white paper on writing the Materials and Methods section or send us an email . Best of luck with your research!

Ben Mudrak, PhD

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Materials and methods

The study’s methods are one of the most important parts used to judge the overall quality of the paper. In addition the Methods section should give readers enough information so that they can repeat the experiments. Reviewers should look for potential sources of bias in the way the study was designed and carried out, and for places where more explanation is needed.

The specific types of information in a Methods section will vary from field to field and from study to study. However, some general rules for Methods sections are:

• It should be clear from the Methods section how all of the data in the Results section were obtained.
• The study system should be clearly described. In medicine, for example, researchers need to specify the number of study subjects; how, when, and where the subjects were recruited, and that the study obtained appropriate ‘informed consent’ documents; and what criteria subjects had to meet to be included in the study.
• In most cases, the experiments should include appropriate controls or comparators. The conditions of the controls should be specified.
• The outcomes of the study should be defined, and the outcome measures should be objectively validated.
• The methods used to analyze the data must be statistically sound.
• For qualitative studies, an established qualitative research method (e.g. grounded theory is often used in sociology) must be used as appropriate for the study question.
• If the authors used a technique from a published study, they should include a citation and a summary of the procedure in the text. The method also needs to be appropriate to the present experiment.
• All materials and instruments should be identified, including the supplier’s name and location. For example, “Tests were conducted with a Vulcanizer 2.0 (XYZ Instruments, Mumbai, India).”
• The Methods section should not have information that belongs in another section (such as the Introduction or Results).

You may suggest if additional experiments would greatly improve the quality of the manuscript. Your suggestions should be in line with the study’s aims. Remember that almost any study could be strengthened by further experiments, so only suggest further work if you believe that the manuscript is not publishable without it.

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Materials and method: The “Recipe” of a research

Ashish kumar.

Editor, Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology, Professor and Head, Department of Periodontics, Dental College, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Lamphelpat, Imphal-795004, Manipur, India. E-mail: moc.liamffider@79ramukhsihsa

In any research article, the detailed description and process of an experiment is provided in the section termed as “Materials and Method.” The Materials and Method section is also called Method section in few journals. This section describes how the experiment was conducted to arrive at the results. The aim of this section in any research article is to describe the process in detail for “reproducibility” which means that procedure of the experiment and related materials should be adequately described so that the other researchers working on the similar topic/area, should be able to conduct a similar experiment and replicate the results to allow corroboration of the inferences of the research. The reproducibility of the results is crucial for their scientific merit.[ 1 ] This section has been equated to “recipe section” which describes what to use, how much to use and how to use to come to the final product.[ 2 ]

Vital details of the research need to be described in this section. At the beginning of the section, the study design needs a description in terms of well-defined commonly used nomenclature (longitudinal, cross-over study”, “randomised controlled trial”, etc). The mention of the study design in the initial part of materials and method section is important as it helps the readers understand the research based on the merits and limitations of study design. The inclusion of study designs also help in understanding the type of statistical tests that can be appropriately applied in evaluating the data.[ 3 ] Randomisation being a crucial aspect of many clinical studies, has to be defined clearly.

The information about sample size, inclusion and exclusion criteria (sample characteristics) also should find a description in this aspect of the material and method section. An adequate sample size of a study would be able to provide the precision of our estimates and thus have adequate power of study to draw conclusions and justify answers to query being explored in the research.[ 3 ] The information of the sample characteristics is important to accomplish the aims of the experiment (hypothesis). Apart from this, the details of the approval from ethical board and trial registration should be mentioned here.[ 4 ]

The next aspect of Materials and Method should incorporate the description of materials in terms of quantity, precise technical descriptions and the method of preparations, if any. The details of the manufacturers of chemical reagents and equipment should also find a mention here. Generic names should be preferred over trade names. If study has usage of microorganisms or experimental animals, a clear description of such entities in terms of species/strains or genus species is required.[ 5 ]

The description of the method of the experiment should be accurate, concise but complete. The process should be written as a explanation of a process, not as a laboratory manual procedure. If the methods, devices, or techniques which have been used by authors, are in routine usage, and are widely known and published, then such methods do not require detailed description. But the authors should compulsorily mention the original article or references from where the readers can get information about the method in detail to replicate the procedure. If any treatment is being investigated, then exact treatment protocol should be described. Techniques/method which are new or uncommon should be explained fully and any related references should also be mentioned.

The statistical aspects should mention the statistical tests and the statistical computer packages that were used for data analysis. Use of an uncommon statistical test needs an explanation of its usage in the context of the study and a reference to the method for readers to refer.[ 5 ]

The material and method section may or may not have subheadings, depending upon the journal guidelines. The subdivisions can be: Study design, setting, subjects, data collection and data analysis[ 2 ] or overall design of the study, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample sizes and statistical power.[ 6 ]

It is of paramount importance that a consistency is maintained between the “Materials and Method” section and “Results” section of the article. Procedures described in Methods section should correlate with the results described in the Results section for readers to understand the association of the specific methodology to results.[ 4 ]

Often, few issues arise while writing Materials and Method like inclusion of unnecessary details or results. Limitations on number of references that can be cited in journals, many times, leads to this section being extremely concise and lacks details required for the “reproducibility”.[ 7 ] The details of the procedure are not completely mentioned by authors sometimes because of commercial reasons.[ 7 ] These situations result in compromise with the basic principle of “reproducibility” while writing this section.

In certain cases, the authors are apprehensive of results being reproduced and validity of their results being challenged. To avoid any questions being raised on the methodology and results, the authors provide insufficient details in this section to avoid reproducibility.[ 7 ]

The aim of any research is progression of knowledge in that particular field. One of the essential requirement for progression of scientific knowledge is “reproducibility” and the assessment of the validity of available results. This is achievable only if the authors provide sufficient details in the “Materials and Method section”.[ 7 ]

Writing this section should be simple and easy especially when this part is written after the completion of the study, as the authors would have performed the experiment themselves. This is one of the first sections written while writing a research article.

“History has repeatedly shown that when a new method or material becomes available, new uses for it arise.”

Wilson Greatbatch

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10. How to Write the Material and Methods Section

Plan détaillé, texte intégral.

1 Although traditionally, this section is only called “Material and Methods” (rarely: Study Site, Material and Methods), it can be composed of the following parts: study site, study organism, material, methods, statistical evaluation.

2 The aim of this section in scientific papers is to enable readers to assess the reliability of your work, and to be able to repeat it for verification if they want to do so. Science is about unearthing nature’s laws, and the cornerstone of the scientific method requires that experiments are repeatable: if the experiment is repeated under the same conditions, the same result should be obtained. A material and methods section should give enough detail to evaluate and, if needed, to repeat the experiments reported in the article.

3 You should carefully consider your potential readership. This allows you to provide enough, but not superfluous, information. Once you have reflected on what can be assumed as known by this readership about your setting, organisms, methods, etc., you can give detail accordingly: not too little, and not too much.

4 During peer review, this section is closely scrutinised. If the reviewer is in any doubt that the experiments are repeatable, or that the methods are appropriate, the manuscript will be rejected as unreliable, no matter how wonderful the findings are.

5 When describing your study site, consider your potential readership and give details accordingly (geographical particulars, history of the site, location, co-ordinates, maps). The aim is not to enable the reader to find your sampling plot, but to give a general understanding, a “feel” for the environment you worked in. Information on habitat, with photos, maps, drawings, is often useful, or wholly necessary.

Study Organism

6 Here, you should name all the species, strains, cultivars or races that were used in the experiments. You should also give precise information on their origin, storage or husbandry, including temperatures, photoperiod, feeding regimes, control, etc. Depending on the readership, you should consider giving other background information on life history, and the organism’s distribution in nature. If there is a long list of organisms or strains, consider preparing a table with this information.

7 Here, you should list all the materials necessary for your experiments. Give exact names, not generic or trade names, of chemicals used. Give a source (manufacturer with location) if the chemical in question is delicate (e.g. an enzyme), or rare, or its quality is critical. This would give additional information to the reader. This is, however, neither advertisement nor endorsement (for legal reasons, this should often be made explicit in the paper — see, e.g. the US public organisation policy: disclaimer: “The mention of any trade name does not constitute endorsement by XXX organisation”). For equipment used, give the name, specification/type, manufacturer, and conditions of use.

Sampling Methods and Measurements

8 Here, you should detail the procedures: how did you perform the observations, measurements, experiments? How many times, under what conditions? If you use a new method, give all the details necessary so that the reader can repeat your experiment from reading this section. If you used a published method, a reference to the original publication, preferably the one that first published the method, is usually sufficient with minimum description. If you modified a published method, detail the modification only. If the method is published, you should cite it — but consider where it was published? Is it a frequently used method? When was it published? A rarely-used method, published long ago in an obscure journal, needs a more detailed description than a much-used, current one. If the original publication is not widely available, you will have to provide detailed description. Editors often welcome more detail, especially if the published method is not in very wide use (with the appropriate reference, naturally). If you modified a published method that is widely available, detail the modification only.

9 When describing the procedure, be aware that only SI (Système International) units of measurement are allowed. A few units in common use are not official SI measurements and they cannot be used. Also, be aware of the precise use of measurement units — for example, in common use, weight is often given as grams, kilograms, etc., but these are units of mass, not of weight.

10 Any larger set of samples, measurements, or experiments will have the occasional error, a missing sample, a lost or mislaid tube. Do not keep silent about them. Indicate, clearly, how you dealt with errors, missing data, missing traps. This will not decrease your credibility — on the contrary.

Evaluation Methods/Statistics

11 Data will mostly be evaluated by using a statistical program. In most cases, a reference to the program (indicate the version used) is sufficient; give detail only if the method used is new. However, avoid the neophyte description: what’s new for you may not be new for readers. An experienced colleague can give advice on this matter. In general, it is always a good idea to discuss your chosen statistical method with others. Here, you should give a reason for the choice of statistical test, as well as stating how you tested the eventual conditions for using the chosen test (testing for assumptions for a given statistical test). The mention of the use of a commercial statistical program naturally assumes that you have valid access to the program in question. It is not unheard of program developers to search for the mention of their product in the literature to find out about illegal use.

12 Be careful with details when writing a material and methods section — your reputation is on the line! The reader was not by your side when the studies were done, so she will use the detail and clarity of this section as an indirect indication of your reliability and thoroughness.

13 A common error in this section is not offering enough detail. This does not happen because of the authors’ desire to hide anything — it is simply a mark of routine: many parts of the experimental protocol may become almost routine, and the small details are forgotten as they never change and are taken for granted. When the description is prepared, these details, vital for others, are often not included. A good test is whether a colleague, on reading the section, thinks she can repeat the experiment based on the given description of methods. Such a check is useful, because the writer often is too close to the methods, having done them countless times during the experimental process and, thus, omits some obvious but important, detail.

14 Specifically, take care with numbers, spelling, and punctuation. In this section, many “strange” names will occur: of chemicals, organisms, strains; concentrations, times and units of measurement are important. Meticulousness is the key word here: if you cannot be trusted to do simple things well, such as describing a method that you used hundreds of times, can you expect the readers to trust you when it comes to more significant and complicated aspects of reporting your research?

15 The order of description should be chronological; the description of what was done first should precede the later actions. However, you have to first mention all study sites, then all organisms, followed by a full list of all materials used, experiment-by-experiment and so on. Thus, if someone is only interested in all the details of, for example, your second experiment, she will have to jump from one part of this section to another. This seems a small price to pay for a consistent structure, which is followed by most journals.

16 This section describes your own work and, thus, the past tense is used, mostly, in this section. When describing the details, beware of the syntax. The following description is taken from Day and Gastel’s book (Day and Gastel, 2006), who, tongue-in-cheek, called it “the painful method”: “After standing in hot water for an hour, the flasks were examined”. I hope this was not performed as the sentence implies — probably the flasks, and not the researchers, were standing in hot water that long.

When to Write this Section?

17 It is best to start writing this section first, possibly even while working on the experiments. Otherwise, many details will be lost. Details and precision are vital here, and they are much easier to document during the work, or soon after, than weeks or months later. Additionally, there is often a practical reason, too. Most scientific work is done in teams; it is much easier to convince the team members to write their respective methods section while they are doing the work, or soon afterwards. Once the experiments are completed, and the team moves on to further projects, writing a complete methods section will take longer, and be done less satisfactorily.

18 Meticulousness pays, because, as stated above, reviewers are often of the opinion that if you cannot be trusted in doing simple things, you cannot expect trust in significant and complicated aspects of research. Science, in the view of many of its eminent practitioners is, after all, “99 % perspiration and 1 % inspiration”, so precise work, and the ability to describe things accurately, is a necessary condition of credibility. Science may well comprise a lot of precise work and fewer grand ideas; you prove your mastery of the methods applied by being able to describe them with clarity, in sufficient detail.

Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0 . Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.

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Research Paper Writing: 5. Methods / Materials

• 1. Getting Started
• 2. Abstract
• 3. Introduction
• 4. Literature Review
• 5. Methods / Materials
• 6. Results / Analysis
• 7. Discussion
• 8. Conclusion
• 9. Reference

Methods / Materials Overview

These sections of the research paper should be concise. The audience reading the paper will always want to know what materials or methods that were used. The methods and materials may be under subheadings in the section or incorporated together. The main objective for these sections is to provide specialized materials, general procedures, and methods to judge the scientific value of the paper.

What to include in the sections

• Described separately
• Include the chemicals, biological, and any equipment
• Do not include common supplies, such as test tubes, pipette tips, beakers, etc. or standard lab equipment
• Single out sources like a specific type of equipment, enzyme, or a culture
• These should be mentioned in a separate paragraph with its own heading or highlighted in the procedure section if there is one
• Refer to solutions by name and describe
• Describes in detail how the analysis was conducted
• Be brief when presenting methods under the title devoted to a specific technique or groups of procedures
• Simplify and report what the procedure was
• Report the method by name
• Use third person passive voice, and avoid using first person
• Use normal text in these sections
• Avoid informal lists
• Use complete sentences

Example of a Methods Section

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association Sixth Ed. 2010

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How to Write an Effective Materials and Methods Section for Clinical Studies

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ.
• 2 Rothman Institute, Philadelphia, PA.
• PMID: 30256241
• DOI: 10.1097/BSD.0000000000000722

The Materials and methods section of a research paper is oftentimes the first and easiest part to write. It details the steps taken to answer a research hypothesis, the success of which determines whether or not the study can be replicated. Arranging the section in chronological order, writing succinctly, and consistently using the third-person passive voice adds clarity and improves readability. Furthermore, utilizing headers, tables, and flow charts to break down difficult and complex experiments into logical subsections makes it easier for the reader to grasp complicated designs.

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• How to Write an Effective Results Section. Snyder N, Foltz C, Lendner M, Vaccaro AR. Snyder N, et al. Clin Spine Surg. 2019 Aug;32(7):295-296. doi: 10.1097/BSD.0000000000000845. Clin Spine Surg. 2019. PMID: 31145152
• How to present research data consistently in a scientific paper. Laniado M. Laniado M. Eur Radiol. 1996;6(2):S16-8. Eur Radiol. 1996. PMID: 8797992
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Home » Term Paper – Format, Examples and Writing Guide

Term Paper – Format, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Definition:

Term paper is a type of academic writing assignment that is typically assigned to students at the end of a semester or term. It is usually a research-based paper that is meant to demonstrate the student’s understanding of a particular topic, as well as their ability to analyze and synthesize information from various sources.

Term papers are usually longer than other types of academic writing assignments and can range anywhere from 5 to 20 pages or more, depending on the level of study and the specific requirements of the assignment. They often require extensive research and the use of a variety of sources, including books, articles, and other academic publications.

Term Paper Format

The format of a term paper may vary depending on the specific requirements of your professor or institution. However, a typical term paper usually consists of the following sections:

• Title page: This should include the title of your paper, your name, the course name and number, your instructor’s name, and the date.
• Abstract : This is a brief summary of your paper, usually no more than 250 words. It should provide an overview of your topic, the research question or hypothesis, your methodology, and your main findings or conclusions.
• Introduction : This section should introduce your topic and provide background information on the subject. You should also state your research question or hypothesis and explain the importance of your research.
• Literature review : This section should review the existing literature on your topic. You should summarize the key findings and arguments made by other scholars and identify any gaps in the literature that your research aims to address.
• Methodology: This section should describe the methods you used to collect and analyze your data. You should explain your research design, sampling strategy, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques.
• Results : This section should present your findings. You can use tables, graphs, and charts to illustrate your data.
• Discussion : This section should interpret your findings and explain what they mean in relation to your research question or hypothesis. You should also discuss any limitations of your study and suggest areas for future research.
• Conclusion : This section should summarize your main findings and conclusions. You should also restate the importance of your research and its implications for the field.
• References : This section should list all the sources you cited in your paper using a specific citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).
• Appendices : This section should include any additional materials that are relevant to your study but not essential to your main argument (e.g., survey questions, interview transcripts).

Structure of Term Paper

Here’s an example structure for a term paper:

I. Introduction

A. Background information on the topic

B. Thesis statement

II. Literature Review

A. Overview of current literature on the topic

B. Discussion of key themes and findings from literature

C. Identification of gaps in current literature

III. Methodology

A. Description of research design

B. Discussion of data collection methods

C. Explanation of data analysis techniques

IV. Results

A. Presentation of findings

B. Analysis and interpretation of results

C. Comparison of results with previous studies

V. Discussion

A. Summary of key findings

B. Explanation of how results address the research questions

C. Implications of results for the field

VI. Conclusion

A. Recap of key points

B. Significance of findings

C. Future directions for research

VII. References

A. List of sources cited in the paper

How to Write Term Paper

Here are some steps to help you write a term paper:

• Choose a topic: Choose a topic that interests you and is relevant to your course. If your professor has assigned a topic, make sure you understand it and clarify any doubts before you start.
• Research : Conduct research on your topic by gathering information from various sources such as books, academic journals, and online resources. Take notes and organize your information systematically.
• Create an outline : Create an outline of your term paper by arranging your ideas and information in a logical sequence. Your outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
• Write a thesis statement: Write a clear and concise thesis statement that states the main idea of your paper. Your thesis statement should be included in your introduction.
• Write the introduction: The introduction should grab the reader’s attention, provide background information on your topic, and introduce your thesis statement.
• Write the body : The body of your paper should provide supporting evidence for your thesis statement. Use your research to provide details and examples to support your argument. Make sure to organize your ideas logically and use transition words to connect paragraphs.
• Write the conclusion : The conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis statement. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion.
• Edit and proofread: Edit and proofread your term paper carefully to ensure that it is free of errors and flows smoothly. Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
• Format and cite your sources: Follow the formatting guidelines provided by your professor and cite your sources properly using the appropriate citation style.
• Submit your paper : Submit your paper on time and according to the instructions provided by your professor.

Term Paper Example

Here’s an example of a term paper:

Title : The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity

As the world becomes more digitally interconnected, cybersecurity threats are increasing in frequency and sophistication. Traditional security measures are no longer enough to protect against these threats. This paper explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity, including how AI can be used to detect and respond to threats in real-time, the challenges of implementing AI in cybersecurity, and the potential ethical implications of AI-powered security systems. The paper concludes with recommendations for organizations looking to integrate AI into their cybersecurity strategies.

Introduction :

The increasing number of cybersecurity threats in recent years has led to a growing interest in the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve cybersecurity. AI has the ability to analyze vast amounts of data and identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate a security breach. Additionally, AI can automate responses to threats, allowing for faster and more effective mitigation of security incidents. However, there are also challenges associated with implementing AI in cybersecurity, such as the need for large amounts of high-quality data, the potential for AI systems to make mistakes, and the ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI in security.

Literature Review:

This section of the paper reviews existing research on the use of AI in cybersecurity. It begins by discussing the types of AI techniques used in cybersecurity, including machine learning, natural language processing, and neural networks. The literature review then explores the advantages of using AI in cybersecurity, such as its ability to detect previously unknown threats and its potential to reduce the workload of security analysts. However, the review also highlights some of the challenges associated with implementing AI in cybersecurity, such as the need for high-quality training data and the potential for AI systems to be fooled by sophisticated attacks.

Methodology :

To better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with using AI in cybersecurity, this paper conducted a survey of cybersecurity professionals working in a variety of industries. The survey included questions about the types of AI techniques used in their organizations, the challenges they faced when implementing AI in cybersecurity, and their perceptions of the ethical implications of using AI in security.

The results of the survey showed that while many organizations are interested in using AI in cybersecurity, they face several challenges when implementing these systems. These challenges include the need for high-quality training data, the potential for AI systems to be fooled by sophisticated attacks, and the difficulty of integrating AI with existing security systems. Additionally, many respondents expressed concerns about the ethical implications of using AI in security, such as the potential for AI to be biased or to make decisions that are harmful to individuals or society as a whole.

Discussion :

Based on the results of the survey and the existing literature, this paper discusses the potential benefits and risks of using AI in cybersecurity. It also provides recommendations for organizations looking to integrate AI into their security strategies, such as the need to prioritize data quality and to ensure that AI systems are transparent and accountable.

Conclusion :

While there are challenges associated with implementing AI in cybersecurity, the potential benefits of using these systems are significant. AI can help organizations detect and respond to threats more quickly and effectively, reducing the risk of security breaches. However, it is important for organizations to be aware of the potential ethical implications of using AI in security and to take steps to ensure that these systems are transparent and accountable.

References:

• Alkhaldi, S., Al-Daraiseh, A., & Lutfiyya, H. (2019). A Survey on Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Cyber Security. Journal of Information Security, 10(03), 191-207.
• Gartner. (2019). Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020. Retrieved from https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-for-2020/
• Kshetri, N. (2018). Blockchain’s roles in meeting key supply chain management objectives. International Journal of Information Management, 39, 80-89.
• Lipton, Z. C. (2018). The mythos of model interpretability. arXiv preprint arXiv:1606.03490.
• Schneier, B. (2019). Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-Connected World. WW Norton & Company.
• Wahab, M. A., Rahman, M. S., & Islam, M. R. (2020). A Survey on AI Techniques in Cybersecurity. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 11(2), 22-27.

When to Write Term Paper

A term paper is usually a lengthy research paper that is assigned to students at the end of a term or semester. There are several situations when writing a term paper may be required, including:

• As a course requirement: In most cases, a term paper is required as part of the coursework for a particular course. It may be assigned by the instructor as a way of assessing the student’s understanding of the course material.
• To explore a specific topic : A term paper can be an excellent opportunity for students to explore a specific topic of interest in-depth. It allows them to conduct extensive research on the topic and develop their understanding of it.
• To develop critical thinking skills : Writing a term paper requires students to engage in critical thinking and analysis. It helps them to develop their ability to evaluate and interpret information, as well as to present their ideas in a clear and coherent manner.
• To prepare for future academic or professional pursuits: Writing a term paper can be an excellent way for students to prepare for future academic or professional pursuits. It can help them to develop the research and writing skills necessary for success in higher education or in a professional career.

Purpose of Term Paper

The main purposes of a term paper are:

• Demonstrate mastery of a subject: A term paper provides an opportunity for students to showcase their knowledge and understanding of a particular subject. It requires students to research and analyze the topic, and then present their findings in a clear and organized manner.
• Develop critical thinking skills: Writing a term paper requires students to think critically about their subject matter, analyzing various sources and viewpoints, and evaluating evidence to support their arguments.
• Improve writing skills : Writing a term paper helps students improve their writing skills, including organization, clarity, and coherence. It also requires them to follow specific formatting and citation guidelines, which can be valuable skills for future academic and professional endeavors.
• Contribute to academic discourse : A well-written term paper can contribute to academic discourse by presenting new insights, ideas, and arguments that add to the existing body of knowledge on a particular topic.
• Prepare for future research : Writing a term paper can help prepare students for future research, by teaching them how to conduct a literature review, evaluate sources, and formulate research questions and hypotheses. It can also help them develop research skills that they can apply in future academic or professional endeavors.

Advantages of Term Paper

There are several advantages of writing a term paper, including:

• In-depth exploration: Writing a term paper allows you to delve deeper into a specific topic, allowing you to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.
• Improved writing skills: Writing a term paper involves extensive research, critical thinking, and the organization of ideas into a cohesive written document. As a result, writing a term paper can improve your writing skills significantly.
• Demonstration of knowledge: A well-written term paper demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, which can be beneficial for academic or professional purposes.
• Development of research skills : Writing a term paper requires conducting thorough research, analyzing data, and synthesizing information from various sources. This process can help you develop essential research skills that can be applied in many other areas.
• Enhancement of critical thinking : Writing a term paper encourages you to think critically, evaluate information, and develop well-supported arguments. These skills can be useful in many areas of life, including personal and professional decision-making.
• Preparation for further academic work : Writing a term paper is excellent preparation for more extensive academic projects, such as a thesis or dissertation.

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• Nettle-induced Urticaria Treatment Study (NUTS): demonstrating the joy of research through a randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled trial
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• http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6099-0948 Rajendra Raman ,
• Tom Beddis ,
• Paul Bonhomme ,
• Maggie Currer ,
• Daniel Day ,
• Chloe Haigh ,
• Elspeth Pitt ,
• Alexander Robertson ,
• Heather Robertson ,
• Bappa Roy ,
• Jennifer Wood
• Emergency Department, Victoria Hospital , NHS Fife , Kirkcaldy , UK
• Correspondence to Dr Rajendra Raman, Victoria Hospital, Emergency Department, NHS Fife, Kirkcaldy, UK; rajendra.raman{at}nhs.scot

The use of dock leaves to ease the discomfort of nettle stings is a well-known folk remedy in the British Isles, yet has never been tested in a clinical trial. A group of Emergency Department doctors designed and conducted the Nettle-induced Urticaria Treatment Study (NUTS) as a research training and team-building exercise to address this gap in the Emergency Medicine evidence base.

• research design

https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2024-213915

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Introduction

The common nettle Urtica dioica is an abundant native plant in the British Isles. 1 Nettle stems and leaves are covered in trichomes, specialised stinging hairs with a brittle tip that snaps off when touched, exposing a sharp point through which a combination of bioactive substances (histamine, acetylcholine and serotonin) is injected into the skin. 2 3 Many thousands of people are probably stung by nettles every year in the UK, and while TOXBASE records no cases of severe or fatal poisoning, most people regard nettle stings as unpleasant and look for a remedy.

The use of broad-leaved dock Rumex obtusifolius to rub on nettle stings is a well-known folk remedy in the British Isles 4 . This practice is referenced by Chaucer ( Troilus and Criseyde : ‘Netle in, dokke out…’) so is at least 600 years old, and probably much older. No convincing biochemical mechanism has been suggested to explain why dock leaves help with nettle stings. It is possible that rubbing the area and/or the cooling effect of sap evaporating from a crushed leaf may be soothing; if so any large, fresh and non-toxic leaf would do the job, and dock may have become the leaf of choice simply because it grows in similar habitats to nettle ( online supplemental figure 1 ). 2

Supplemental material

To our knowledge the effect of dock on nettle stings has never been tested in a clinical trial. We conducted a research training and team-building exercise by designing the Nettle-induced Urticaria Treatment Study (NUTS), a randomised, double-blind, active placebo-controlled trial which follows in a long tradition of medical self-experimentation. 5

The participants were the authors of this paper, a group of healthy Emergency Department doctors. Each participant acted as their own control by having treatment applied to one of their arms and active placebo to the other.

Nettle stems of 30 cm with leaves attached were freshly harvested on the day of the study from one small area and confirmed to sting prior to the study. Stems were handled by the tip and base only, to avoid discharging trichomes prematurely.

Choice of placebo was considered at length. An appropriate active placebo (to mimic the physiological but not the therapeutic effect of the experimental intervention) 6 required a leaf of similar size, shape and texture to dock leaves, that was neither anti-inflammatory (eg, comfrey Simphytum spp) nor toxic (eg, foxglove Digitalis purpurea ). Thus, a domesticated plant of no known toxicity ( Lactuca sativa var. Longifolia – the sweet gem lettuce) was chosen.

Nettle stems were brushed ten times over demarcated areas of the flexor aspect of the participant’s right and left forearms simultaneously, two stems to each arm. The participant then applied a blindfold. After 60 seconds (to simulate the time it might take to find a dock leaf under field conditions) the participant rolled a die. If an odd number was rolled, dock leaf was applied to their right arm and active placebo to their left. For even numbers the arms were reversed.

Two dock leaves were rubbed on the designated intervention arm for 60 seconds, and two lettuce leaves rubbed on the placebo arm simultaneously. All leaves were then disposed of in an opaque bag, before the participant removed their blindfold. For consistency, one individual (not blindfolded) applied treatment and placebo to all study participants; the leaves were passed to this person in two identical bags, and she was unaware of which bag contained which leaf for each run of the experiment.

To assess blinding, after the 60 second treatment participants were asked which arm they thought was treated with dock and which with lettuce. Participants rated the discomfort felt in each arm at minutes 1–5, 10, 15 and 20 after stinging. The vague term ‘discomfort’ was used to integrate the varied sensations provoked by nettle stings, sometimes described as burning, itching, tingling or just ‘stinging’. Based on a single previous study of the sting of the nettle tree Dendrocnide moroides , 7 we asked participants to rate discomfort on a scale from 0 (‘no discomfort at all’) to 5 (‘the most discomfort you could imagine from a nettle sting’). This score was tracked until resolution of symptoms, and so was named the Insult to Complete Healing (ITCH) score.

The primary outcome was absolute reduction in ITCH score between minute 1 or 2 (whichever was greater) and minute 5 (3 minutes post-treatment). Secondary outcomes included absolute reduction in ITCH score at 10 and 20 minutes. We also recorded the Observable Urticaria / Count of Hives (OUCH) score as the total number of discrete wheals visible within the demarcated area at 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes. Participants photographed their own forearms at these time points, and OUCH scores were counted at a later date by an observer blinded to treatment arm to determine peak OUCH and time to peak OUCH.

Nine individuals took part in the study, and all completed data collection.

Three participants correctly stated which arm had been treated with dock, three were incorrect, and three were completely unable to say, suggesting that participants were adequately blinded.

The median absolute reduction in ITCH score at 5 minutes was 3 points for dock vs 2 points for lettuce, which was not statistically significant ( figure 1 ; 2-tailed Paired Sign Test, p=1).

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Median ITCH scores at minute 1 or 2 (whichever was greater, representing maximum pre-treatment discomfort) and at minute 5 in dock and lettuce treated arms. Possible ITCH scores range from 0 (‘no discomfort at all’) to 5 (‘the most discomfort you could imagine from a nettle sting’).

For secondary outcomes ( figure 2 ) while there was a statistically significant decrease in ITCH score with time across both study arms, there was no significant difference between dock and lettuce arms.

Median ITCH scores at minute 1 or 2 (whichever was greater, representing maximum pre-treatment discomfort) and minutes 5, 10 and 20 in dock and lettuce treated arms. Two Way ANOVA, p=0.0056 for time, p=0.391 for treatment arm.

The median peak OUCH score was 27 in the dock arm and 20 in the lettuce arm, while the median time to peak OUCH was 5 minutes in both arms, neither of which were statistically significant ( online supplemental figures 2 and 3 ).

In this randomised trial on eighteen nettled forearms belonging to nine individuals, reduction in discomfort at 5 minutes was 1 point greater with dock than with lettuce.

Though representing a 16.7% difference in favour of dock, this was not statistically significant, and mirrored the difference of 1 point in the initial ITCH score.

We observed that the discomfort of nettle stings eased rapidly over 15–20 minutes in both the dock and the lettuce arms, but that the effect was not significantly different between the two interventions. It is possible that the same relief would have occurred with no treatment at all, and our study design does not permit us to conclude that either dock or lettuce is better than simply doing nothing. This was quite deliberate. Patient/Public Involvement work from other studies suggests that children in particular do not consider doing nothing to be an acceptable option when they are in pain, 8 and we feel this may well be applicable to nettle stings.

Limitations of our study include our small sample size, which was dictated by volunteer number and precluded any power calculation. Nonetheless, we believe this to be the first clinical trial of this ancient treatment, and a signal towards benefit in the primary outcome suggests that an appropriately powered superiority trial should follow. Alternatively, if a few other Emergency Department research teams were to replicate our design, a participant-level meta-analysis of multiple small studies could reach a statistically valid conclusion.

Ultimately, the goal of this study was to get our team talking about research in Emergency Medicine, providing a practical opportunity to explore concepts such as blinding, placebo choice and measurement while investigating a benign condition. We conclude that dock leaf may work for nettle stings, lettuce may be just as good, relief comes quickly either way, and research training in Emergency Medicine can be made extremely entertaining.

Ethics statements

Patient consent for publication.

Not applicable.

Ethics approval

No ethical approval was sought for this study. This was a team-building exercise in which all participants were willing volunteers who had previous lived experience of nettle stings and were thus aware of the risks of taking part.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Charlotte Beddis for assistance with statistical analyses and Dr Karin Purshouse for comments on the first draft of the manuscript.

• Wheeler KGR
• Ensikat H-J ,
• Wessely H ,
• Engeser M , et al
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Supplementary materials

Supplementary data.

This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.

• Data supplement 1
• Data supplement 2

Handling editor Edward Carlton

Contributors RR conceived the study. RR, TB, PB, MC, DD, CH, EP, AR, HR, BR and JW collaborated in the design of the study and participated in data collection. The manuscript was drafted by RR and edited and approved by all other authors.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests None declared.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.

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Based on the instantaneous milling thickness of unequal pitch end milling cutter milling force solution and simulation research

• ORIGINAL ARTICLE
• Published: 03 August 2024

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• Wei Zhang 1 , 2 ,
• Junli Wei 1 ,
• Minli Zheng 1 , 2 ,
• Bowen Si 1 &
• Lei Zhang 1  

The unequal pitch end milling cutter can change the feed per tooth and the cut-in and cut-out period of each cutter tooth by changing the distribution of the pitch of the end milling cutter so that the energy in the milling frequency domain is dispersed to achieve the purpose of reducing the milling vibration. Because the amplitude of vibration in the milling process is closely related to the milling force, this paper establishes the instantaneous static milling thickness model based on the real trajectory of the milling edge according to the milling process of the end milling cutter with unequal pitch and establishes the instantaneous dynamic milling thickness model based on the regeneration effect, on which the instantaneous milling force model is established. At the same time, the relationship model of milling force coefficient is established according to the average milling force method. From the relationship model of milling force coefficient, the linear relationship between average milling force and average feed per tooth is obtained. Then, the finite element simulation method is used to simulate the actual milling process of milling typical material Al7075-T6 with unequal pitch end mill, and the milling force coefficient is fitted by the simulation results. Finally, the accuracy of the milling force model and the finite element model has been validated through experiments, and the feasibility of calibrating the milling force coefficients through finite element simulation method has been demonstrated. The milling force model of unequal pitch end mill and the method of calibrating the milling force coefficient by finite element simulation proposed in this paper will provide a theoretical basis for the study of unequal pitch end mill in vibration reduction.

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Thanks to the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51775151). This work was supported in part by the Central Government for Supporting the Local High Level Talent (number 2020GSP11).

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Zhang, W., Wei, J., Zheng, M. et al. Based on the instantaneous milling thickness of unequal pitch end milling cutter milling force solution and simulation research. Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-024-14194-3

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Method prevents an AI model from being overconfident about wrong answers

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People use large language models for a huge array of tasks, from translating an article to identifying financial fraud. However, despite the incredible capabilities and versatility of these models, they sometimes generate inaccurate responses.

On top of that problem, the models can be overconfident about wrong answers or underconfident about correct ones, making it tough for a user to know when a model can be trusted.

Researchers typically calibrate a machine-learning model to ensure its level of confidence lines up with its accuracy. A well-calibrated model should have less confidence about an incorrect prediction, and vice-versa. But because large language models (LLMs) can be applied to a seemingly endless collection of diverse tasks, traditional calibration methods are ineffective.

Now, researchers from MIT and the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab have introduced a calibration method tailored to large language models. Their method, called Thermometer , involves building a smaller, auxiliary model that runs on top of a large language model to calibrate it.

Thermometer is more efficient than other approaches — requiring less power-hungry computation — while preserving the accuracy of the model and enabling it to produce better-calibrated responses on tasks it has not seen before.

By enabling efficient calibration of an LLM for a variety of tasks, Thermometer could help users pinpoint situations where a model is overconfident about false predictions, ultimately preventing them from deploying that model in a situation where it may fail.

“With Thermometer, we want to provide the user with a clear signal to tell them whether a model’s response is accurate or inaccurate, in a way that reflects the model’s uncertainty, so they know if that model is reliable,” says Maohao Shen, an electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate student and lead author of a paper on Thermometer .

Shen is joined on the paper by Gregory Wornell, the Sumitomo Professor of Engineering who leads the Signals, Information, and Algorithms Laboratory in the Research Laboratory for Electronics, and is a member of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab; senior author Soumya Ghosh, a research staff member in the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab; as well as others at MIT and the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab. The research was recently presented at the International Conference on Machine Learning.

Universal calibration

Since traditional machine-learning models are typically designed to perform a single task, calibrating them usually involves one task-specific method. On the other hand, since LLMs have the flexibility to perform many tasks, using a traditional method to calibrate that model for one task might hurt its performance on another task.

Calibrating an LLM often involves sampling from the model multiple times to obtain different predictions and then aggregating these predictions to obtain better-calibrated confidence. However, because these models have billions of parameters, the computational costs of such approaches rapidly add up.

“In a sense, large language models are universal because they can handle various tasks. So, we need a universal calibration method that can also handle many different tasks,” says Shen.

With Thermometer, the researchers developed a versatile technique that leverages a classical calibration method called temperature scaling to efficiently calibrate an LLM for a new task.

In this context, a “temperature” is a scaling parameter used to adjust a model’s confidence to be aligned with its prediction accuracy. Traditionally, one determines the right temperature using a labeled validation dataset of task-specific examples.

Since LLMs are often applied to new tasks, labeled datasets can be nearly impossible to acquire. For instance, a user who wants to deploy an LLM to answer customer questions about a new product likely does not have a dataset containing such questions and answers.

Instead of using a labeled dataset, the researchers train an auxiliary model that runs on top of an LLM to automatically predict the temperature needed to calibrate it for this new task.

They use labeled datasets of a few representative tasks to train the Thermometer model, but then once it has been trained, it can generalize to new tasks in a similar category without the need for additional labeled data.

A Thermometer model trained on a collection of multiple-choice question datasets, perhaps including one with algebra questions and one with medical questions, could be used to calibrate an LLM that will answer questions about geometry or biology, for instance.

“The aspirational goal is for it to work on any task, but we are not quite there yet,” Ghosh says.   

The Thermometer model only needs to access a small part of the LLM’s inner workings to predict the right temperature that will calibrate its prediction for data points of a specific task. 

An efficient approach

Importantly, the technique does not require multiple training runs and only slightly slows the LLM. Plus, since temperature scaling does not alter a model’s predictions, Thermometer preserves its accuracy.

When they compared Thermometer to several baselines on multiple tasks, it consistently produced better-calibrated uncertainty measures while requiring much less computation.

“As long as we train a Thermometer model on a sufficiently large number of tasks, it should be able to generalize well across any new task, just like a large language model, it is also a universal model,” Shen adds.

The researchers also found that if they train a Thermometer model for a smaller LLM, it can be directly applied to calibrate a larger LLM within the same family.

In the future, they want to adapt Thermometer for more complex text-generation tasks and apply the technique to even larger LLMs. The researchers also hope to quantify the diversity and number of labeled datasets one would need to train a Thermometer model so it can generalize to a new task.

This research was funded, in part, by the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab.

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Expert survey on the impact of cardboard and paper recycling processes, fiber-based composites/laminates and regulations, and their significance for the circular economy and the sustainability of the german paper industry.

1. Introduction

2. literature review, 2.1. environmental impact of paper, 2.2. paper recycling in germany, 2.3. paper laminates, coated paper and treated paper, 2.4. legislation in europe and germany and significance for paper recycling.

• Promote the use of materials and material combinations in the production of packaging subject to system participation that can be recycled to the highest possible percentage, taking into account the practice of sorting and recovery.
• Promote the use of recyclates and renewable raw materials”.

3. Materials and Methods

4. results and discussion, 4.1. classification of surveyed companies, 4.2. recycling procedures and challenges during recycling, 4.3. the importance and influence of legislation, 5. conclusions, supplementary materials, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Belle, J.; Hirtz, D.; Sängerlaub, S. Expert Survey on the Impact of Cardboard and Paper Recycling Processes, Fiber-Based Composites/Laminates and Regulations, and Their Significance for the Circular Economy and the Sustainability of the German Paper Industry. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 6610. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156610

Belle J, Hirtz D, Sängerlaub S. Expert Survey on the Impact of Cardboard and Paper Recycling Processes, Fiber-Based Composites/Laminates and Regulations, and Their Significance for the Circular Economy and the Sustainability of the German Paper Industry. Sustainability . 2024; 16(15):6610. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156610

Belle, Jürgen, Daniela Hirtz, and Sven Sängerlaub. 2024. "Expert Survey on the Impact of Cardboard and Paper Recycling Processes, Fiber-Based Composites/Laminates and Regulations, and Their Significance for the Circular Economy and the Sustainability of the German Paper Industry" Sustainability 16, no. 15: 6610. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156610

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