Source: Minjeong Lee, Things I Wish I Knew Before Writing a Paper.
PART 1. What Does a Paper Do?
Q01. What exactly is a paper?
Q02. How is a paper different from other kinds of writing?
Q03. How is a paper different from a report?
Q04. How is a thesis different from a journal article?
Q05. How should a master’s thesis differ from a doctoral dissertation?
Q06. Does a paper always have to contain something new?
Q07. If I write well, can I write a good paper?
Q08. What is a “claim” in a paper?
Q09. What is “evidence” in a paper?
Q10. What is an argument?
Q11. Is there a right answer in a paper?
Q12. Can I write what I personally want to say in a paper?
PART 2. How Do You Develop a Research Topic and Questions?
Q13. If I’m interested in something, does that make it a research topic?
Q14. What is the difference between a research topic and a research subject?
Q15. How do I find a good research topic?
Q16. How can I tell if my research topic is too broad?
Q17. What if someone has already studied the topic I had in mind?
Q18. What exactly is “problem awareness”?
Q19. What is a research problem?
Q20. Aren’t problem awareness and a research problem the same thing?
Q21. What should I write about the need for the research?
Q22. What is a research purpose?
Q23. Are research objectives different from the research purpose?
Q24. What is the difference between a research problem and a research question?
Q25. What is the difference between a research purpose and a research question?
Q26. My research content and research purpose keep sounding the same. How do I tell them apart?
Q27. Where do research questions come from?
Q28. How do I judge whether a research question is good?
Q29. How many research questions are appropriate?
Q30. Should I write my research questions first and then read prior research?
Q31. Can I change my research question in the middle of the research?
PART 3. How Do You Read and Organize Prior Research?
Q32. Why do I need to read prior research?
Q33. How many papers should I read?
Q34. Do I have to read a paper from beginning to end?
Q35. What should I note down after reading a paper?
Q36. How do I tell which papers only need the abstract and which need a close reading?
Q37. I can’t remember what I read in prior research. What should I do?
Q38. What should go into a literature summary table?
Q39. Why shouldn’t I summarize paper by paper?
Q40. What is the difference between “summarizing” and “reviewing” prior research?
Q41. How should I categorize prior research?
Q42. What is a research gap?
Q43. Isn’t “there is little prior research” itself a research gap?
Q44. Can I find a gap even in a topic that has been studied extensively?
Q45. How far back should I go with references?
Q46. Can I cite old papers?
PART 4. Concepts, Theory, and Perspectives on Research
Q47. Why do “concepts” matter in a paper?
Q48. Can’t I just use a dictionary definition?
Q49. What if prior studies define a concept differently?
Q50. What is the difference between a conceptual definition and an operational definition?
Q51. Why do I need a theory?
Q52. Once I pick a research topic, should I look for a theory right away?
Q53. What is the difference between the theoretical background and prior research?
Q54. What is the difference between a theoretical framework and a conceptual framework?
Q55. Does using several theories make for better research?
Q56. What on earth is ontology?
Q57. What is epistemology?
Q58. How do ontology and epistemology differ?
Q59. How do positivism, constructivism, and interpretivism differ?
Q60. Is methodology different from research methods?
Q61. How are ontology, epistemology, methodology, and research methods connected?
PART 5. How Do You Choose a Research Method?
Q62. Which is better, quantitative or qualitative research?
Q63. When should I decide on my research method?
Q64. If I run a survey, is it quantitative research?
Q65. If I conduct interviews, is it qualitative research?
Q66. How many participants do I need?
Q67. Can I borrow a research method directly from a previous paper?
Q68. Is research ethics a procedure to complete after the research is done?
PART 6. How Do You Build the Logic of a Paper?
Q69. What should I write in the research background?
Q70. How is the need for the research different from the research background?
Q71. How much should I write for the theoretical background?
Q72. How should I structure a paragraph?
Q73. If I get feedback that “the logic is weak,” what should I fix?
Q74. Does citing a lot mean I have enough evidence?
Q75. What is the difference between “suggests,” “confirmed,” and “proved”?
Q76. What is the difference between results and discussion?
PART 7. How Do You Write and Revise a Paper?
Q77. Do I have to write well from the start?
Q78. My research question keeps changing as I write. Is that okay?
Q79. Do I need to use difficult expressions to write academically?
Q80. When I get feedback, should I just fix the sentences right away?
Q81. When there is too much to revise, where should I start?
Q82. When can a paper be considered “finished”?
PART 8. How Do You Communicate with Your Advisor and Peers?
Q83. What should I prepare before meeting my advisor?
Q84. Do I have to incorporate all of my advisor’s feedback?
Q85. What should I do if my advisor and I disagree on the research direction?
Q86. What should I do when my advisor says something different from last time?
Q87. How should I ask when I don’t understand the feedback?
Q88. What kind of feedback should I ask my peers for?
Q89. How should a paper study group be run so that it actually helps?
Q90. Do I need to practice explaining my research out loud?
PART 9. How Should You Study to Sustain Your Research?
Q91. What should I study first to write a paper?
Q92. Should I read introductory textbooks or papers first?
Q93. Do I really need to read the original sources?
Q94. Should reading and writing be done separately?
Q95. What should I write in a research notebook?
Q96. How should I manage files and versions?
Q97. Can I use AI in writing my paper?
Q98. I keep feeling like I’m going back to square one. Am I doing something wrong?
Q99. What is the most important habit for sustaining research over time?
Q100. Finally, what question should I return to most often while writing a paper?