The Dos and Don'ts of the Academia

Dealing with academic conventions during the process of writing

Taking into account that academic research articles are intended to report on results so as to produce new knowledge and theories as well as solving problems (Sampieri, Collado & Lucio, 1998), it is necessary to bear in mind that a specific framework should be carried out when dealing with these kinds of investigations.  According to the established academic standards, several parts should be present when composing research papers.  In addition, writing research reports (RP) in the educational field implies understanding the dos and don’ts of the academia.  All along this paper, a document in the field of science education will be analyzed considering the American Psychological Association (APA, 2007) academic conventions for communicating important findings.

Villoria’s (1998) RP seems to be an expository document which has been written to explain the social research methodology with reference to “the researcher’s job” (para. 1).  Considering types of research papers, the author has made use of an argumentative model in order to support her claims by means of the necessary evidence (Copley, Greenberg, Handley & Oaks, 1996). It should be noticed that Villoria’s (1998) paper lacks of an abstract section and other parts which are commonly found in any research article (RA).  For that reason, the document seems to correspond to a research paper (RP) genre for transmitting advances in the field of educational investigations.  According to Teiltelbaum (1975), RA differs from term papers due to critical thinking, evaluation and analysis of the different sources which are intended to provide an answer to the research question as well as relevant evidence to support the thesis statement.

Conversely to analytical papers, Villoria’s (1998) argumentative document develops through a problem-solution (P-S) structure which is thought to be more suitable for argumentative and evaluative texts. The author has made use of a situation, problem, solution and evaluation sequence for enhancing the audience’s reflection about the researcher’s role as well as the process of selection among others. By situating the reader within a context and then describing the problem regarding the social science researcher’s job, Villoria (1998) appears to be able to provide possible solutions based on substantial sources.  The author refers to previous works all along the development of her document, so as to support her arguments by means of reliable evidence.  

Although APA (2008) advises not to use footnotes “because they are often expensive for publishers to reproduce” (p. 202), Villoria (1998) has benefited from this resource. It seems as she has allowed the audience to identify sources and clarify concepts which have been mentioned in the text above.  In addition, the writer has reinforced her claims by evaluating the problem and, at the same time, providing a solution through critical assessment.  By suggesting the reader that “el investigador debe asumirse como un artesano activo porque va a construir algo y para ello va a tomar innumerable decisiones” (Villoria, 1998, para. 17), the writer is expressing her personal opinion through evaluative comments in the last part of her work.

By analyzing Villoria’s (1998) article as well as identifying the academic procedure for dealing with the different RP sections, it has been possible to reach the following conclusions.  The author seems to have presented her study in a well-balanced and comprehensible fashion taking into account the dos and don’ts of the academia.  She has been capable of engaging the audience through a process of reflection by applying APA conventions for either the transmission of information or outcome reports.  Although writers are free to choose between presenting isolated or blend sections, Villoria (1998) seems to have considered linguistics characteristics as well as layout and format following a problem-solution structure for discussing relevant features.  Consequently, it is possible to affirm that in order to produce academic pieces of writings, such as the previous research report, the writer has been able to apply specific requirements for coping with the academic demands.

References

American Psychological Association (2007). Concise rules of APA style. Washington, DC: British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

American Psychological Association (2008). Publication Manual (5^th ed.). Washington, DC: British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

Copley, C., Greenberg, L., Handley, E., & Oaks, S. (1996). The writer’s complex. Empire State College. Retrieved May 2011, from http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/home

Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., & Baptista Lucio, P. (1998). Metodología de la investigación. 2nd. Ed. McGraw Hill. México.

Lindón Villoria, A. (1998). De la investigación en ciencias sociales, de las “tesis” y la metodología de la investigación. El Colegio Mexiquense, A. C. 17, 1-7. Retrieved May 2011, from http:// www.cmq.edu.mx/component/docman/doc.../141-di0150111.html

 Teitelbaum, H. (1975). How to write theses: A guide to research paper. Monarch Press: New York, N.Y.