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Research Paper – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

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Research Paper

Definition:

Research Paper is a written document that presents the author’s original research, analysis, and interpretation of a specific topic or issue.

It is typically based on Empirical Evidence, and may involve qualitative or quantitative research methods, or a combination of both. The purpose of a research paper is to contribute new knowledge or insights to a particular field of study, and to demonstrate the author’s understanding of the existing literature and theories related to the topic.

Structure of Research Paper

The structure of a research paper typically follows a standard format, consisting of several sections that convey specific information about the research study. The following is a detailed explanation of the structure of a research paper:

The title page contains the title of the paper, the name(s) of the author(s), and the affiliation(s) of the author(s). It also includes the date of submission and possibly, the name of the journal or conference where the paper is to be published.

The abstract is a brief summary of the research paper, typically ranging from 100 to 250 words. It should include the research question, the methods used, the key findings, and the implications of the results. The abstract should be written in a concise and clear manner to allow readers to quickly grasp the essence of the research.

Introduction

The introduction section of a research paper provides background information about the research problem, the research question, and the research objectives. It also outlines the significance of the research, the research gap that it aims to fill, and the approach taken to address the research question. Finally, the introduction section ends with a clear statement of the research hypothesis or research question.

Literature Review

The literature review section of a research paper provides an overview of the existing literature on the topic of study. It includes a critical analysis and synthesis of the literature, highlighting the key concepts, themes, and debates. The literature review should also demonstrate the research gap and how the current study seeks to address it.

The methods section of a research paper describes the research design, the sample selection, the data collection and analysis procedures, and the statistical methods used to analyze the data. This section should provide sufficient detail for other researchers to replicate the study.

The results section presents the findings of the research, using tables, graphs, and figures to illustrate the data. The findings should be presented in a clear and concise manner, with reference to the research question and hypothesis.

The discussion section of a research paper interprets the findings and discusses their implications for the research question, the literature review, and the field of study. It should also address the limitations of the study and suggest future research directions.

The conclusion section summarizes the main findings of the study, restates the research question and hypothesis, and provides a final reflection on the significance of the research.

The references section provides a list of all the sources cited in the paper, following a specific citation style such as APA, MLA or Chicago.

How to Write Research Paper

You can write Research Paper by the following guide:

• Choose a Topic: The first step is to select a topic that interests you and is relevant to your field of study. Brainstorm ideas and narrow down to a research question that is specific and researchable.
• Conduct a Literature Review: The literature review helps you identify the gap in the existing research and provides a basis for your research question. It also helps you to develop a theoretical framework and research hypothesis.
• Develop a Thesis Statement : The thesis statement is the main argument of your research paper. It should be clear, concise and specific to your research question.
• Plan your Research: Develop a research plan that outlines the methods, data sources, and data analysis procedures. This will help you to collect and analyze data effectively.
• Collect and Analyze Data: Collect data using various methods such as surveys, interviews, observations, or experiments. Analyze data using statistical tools or other qualitative methods.
• Organize your Paper : Organize your paper into sections such as Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Ensure that each section is coherent and follows a logical flow.
• Write your Paper : Start by writing the introduction, followed by the literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and follows the required formatting and citation styles.
• Edit and Proofread your Paper: Review your paper for grammar and spelling errors, and ensure that it is well-structured and easy to read. Ask someone else to review your paper to get feedback and suggestions for improvement.
• Cite your Sources: Ensure that you properly cite all sources used in your research paper. This is essential for giving credit to the original authors and avoiding plagiarism.

Research Paper Example

Note : The below example research paper is for illustrative purposes only and is not an actual research paper. Actual research papers may have different structures, contents, and formats depending on the field of study, research question, data collection and analysis methods, and other factors. Students should always consult with their professors or supervisors for specific guidelines and expectations for their research papers.

Research Paper Example sample for Students:

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health among Young Adults

Abstract: This study aims to investigate the impact of social media use on the mental health of young adults. A literature review was conducted to examine the existing research on the topic. A survey was then administered to 200 university students to collect data on their social media use, mental health status, and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. The results showed that social media use is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also found that social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) are significant predictors of mental health problems among young adults.

Introduction: Social media has become an integral part of modern life, particularly among young adults. While social media has many benefits, including increased communication and social connectivity, it has also been associated with negative outcomes, such as addiction, cyberbullying, and mental health problems. This study aims to investigate the impact of social media use on the mental health of young adults.

Literature Review: The literature review highlights the existing research on the impact of social media use on mental health. The review shows that social media use is associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental health problems. The review also identifies the factors that contribute to the negative impact of social media, including social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO.

Methods : A survey was administered to 200 university students to collect data on their social media use, mental health status, and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. The survey included questions on social media use, mental health status (measured using the DASS-21), and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.

Results : The results showed that social media use is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also found that social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO are significant predictors of mental health problems among young adults.

Discussion : The study’s findings suggest that social media use has a negative impact on the mental health of young adults. The study highlights the need for interventions that address the factors contributing to the negative impact of social media, such as social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO.

Conclusion : In conclusion, social media use has a significant impact on the mental health of young adults. The study’s findings underscore the need for interventions that promote healthy social media use and address the negative outcomes associated with social media use. Future research can explore the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing the negative impact of social media on mental health. Additionally, longitudinal studies can investigate the long-term effects of social media use on mental health.

Limitations : The study has some limitations, including the use of self-report measures and a cross-sectional design. The use of self-report measures may result in biased responses, and a cross-sectional design limits the ability to establish causality.

Implications: The study’s findings have implications for mental health professionals, educators, and policymakers. Mental health professionals can use the findings to develop interventions that address the negative impact of social media use on mental health. Educators can incorporate social media literacy into their curriculum to promote healthy social media use among young adults. Policymakers can use the findings to develop policies that protect young adults from the negative outcomes associated with social media use.

References :

• Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2019). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Preventive medicine reports, 15, 100918.
• Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Escobar-Viera, C. G., Barrett, E. L., Sidani, J. E., Colditz, J. B., … & James, A. E. (2017). Use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A nationally-representative study among US young adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 1-9.
• Van der Meer, T. G., & Verhoeven, J. W. (2017). Social media and its impact on academic performance of students. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 16, 383-398.

Appendix : The survey used in this study is provided below.

Social Media and Mental Health Survey

• How often do you use social media per day?
• Less than 30 minutes
• 30 minutes to 1 hour
• 1 to 2 hours
• 2 to 4 hours
• More than 4 hours
• Which social media platforms do you use?
• Others (Please specify)
• How often do you experience the following on social media?
• Social comparison (comparing yourself to others)
• Cyberbullying
• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
• Have you ever experienced any of the following mental health problems in the past month?
• Do you think social media use has a positive or negative impact on your mental health?
• Very positive
• Somewhat positive
• Somewhat negative
• Very negative
• In your opinion, which factors contribute to the negative impact of social media on mental health?
• Social comparison
• In your opinion, what interventions could be effective in reducing the negative impact of social media on mental health?
• Education on healthy social media use
• Counseling for mental health problems caused by social media
• Social media detox programs
• Regulation of social media use

Thank you for your participation!

Applications of Research Paper

Research papers have several applications in various fields, including:

• Advancing knowledge: Research papers contribute to the advancement of knowledge by generating new insights, theories, and findings that can inform future research and practice. They help to answer important questions, clarify existing knowledge, and identify areas that require further investigation.
• Informing policy: Research papers can inform policy decisions by providing evidence-based recommendations for policymakers. They can help to identify gaps in current policies, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and inform the development of new policies and regulations.
• Improving practice: Research papers can improve practice by providing evidence-based guidance for professionals in various fields, including medicine, education, business, and psychology. They can inform the development of best practices, guidelines, and standards of care that can improve outcomes for individuals and organizations.
• Educating students : Research papers are often used as teaching tools in universities and colleges to educate students about research methods, data analysis, and academic writing. They help students to develop critical thinking skills, research skills, and communication skills that are essential for success in many careers.
• Fostering collaboration: Research papers can foster collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers by providing a platform for sharing knowledge and ideas. They can facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships that can lead to innovative solutions to complex problems.

When to Write Research Paper

Research papers are typically written when a person has completed a research project or when they have conducted a study and have obtained data or findings that they want to share with the academic or professional community. Research papers are usually written in academic settings, such as universities, but they can also be written in professional settings, such as research organizations, government agencies, or private companies.

Here are some common situations where a person might need to write a research paper:

• For academic purposes: Students in universities and colleges are often required to write research papers as part of their coursework, particularly in the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. Writing research papers helps students to develop research skills, critical thinking skills, and academic writing skills.
• For publication: Researchers often write research papers to publish their findings in academic journals or to present their work at academic conferences. Publishing research papers is an important way to disseminate research findings to the academic community and to establish oneself as an expert in a particular field.
• To inform policy or practice : Researchers may write research papers to inform policy decisions or to improve practice in various fields. Research findings can be used to inform the development of policies, guidelines, and best practices that can improve outcomes for individuals and organizations.
• To share new insights or ideas: Researchers may write research papers to share new insights or ideas with the academic or professional community. They may present new theories, propose new research methods, or challenge existing paradigms in their field.

Purpose of Research Paper

The purpose of a research paper is to present the results of a study or investigation in a clear, concise, and structured manner. Research papers are written to communicate new knowledge, ideas, or findings to a specific audience, such as researchers, scholars, practitioners, or policymakers. The primary purposes of a research paper are:

• To contribute to the body of knowledge : Research papers aim to add new knowledge or insights to a particular field or discipline. They do this by reporting the results of empirical studies, reviewing and synthesizing existing literature, proposing new theories, or providing new perspectives on a topic.
• To inform or persuade: Research papers are written to inform or persuade the reader about a particular issue, topic, or phenomenon. They present evidence and arguments to support their claims and seek to persuade the reader of the validity of their findings or recommendations.
• To advance the field: Research papers seek to advance the field or discipline by identifying gaps in knowledge, proposing new research questions or approaches, or challenging existing assumptions or paradigms. They aim to contribute to ongoing debates and discussions within a field and to stimulate further research and inquiry.
• To demonstrate research skills: Research papers demonstrate the author’s research skills, including their ability to design and conduct a study, collect and analyze data, and interpret and communicate findings. They also demonstrate the author’s ability to critically evaluate existing literature, synthesize information from multiple sources, and write in a clear and structured manner.

Characteristics of Research Paper

Research papers have several characteristics that distinguish them from other forms of academic or professional writing. Here are some common characteristics of research papers:

• Evidence-based: Research papers are based on empirical evidence, which is collected through rigorous research methods such as experiments, surveys, observations, or interviews. They rely on objective data and facts to support their claims and conclusions.
• Structured and organized: Research papers have a clear and logical structure, with sections such as introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. They are organized in a way that helps the reader to follow the argument and understand the findings.
• Formal and objective: Research papers are written in a formal and objective tone, with an emphasis on clarity, precision, and accuracy. They avoid subjective language or personal opinions and instead rely on objective data and analysis to support their arguments.
• Citations and references: Research papers include citations and references to acknowledge the sources of information and ideas used in the paper. They use a specific citation style, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Peer-reviewed: Research papers are often peer-reviewed, which means they are evaluated by other experts in the field before they are published. Peer-review ensures that the research is of high quality, meets ethical standards, and contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the field.
• Objective and unbiased: Research papers strive to be objective and unbiased in their presentation of the findings. They avoid personal biases or preconceptions and instead rely on the data and analysis to draw conclusions.

Advantages of Research Paper

Research papers have many advantages, both for the individual researcher and for the broader academic and professional community. Here are some advantages of research papers:

• Contribution to knowledge: Research papers contribute to the body of knowledge in a particular field or discipline. They add new information, insights, and perspectives to existing literature and help advance the understanding of a particular phenomenon or issue.
• Opportunity for intellectual growth: Research papers provide an opportunity for intellectual growth for the researcher. They require critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, which can help develop the researcher’s skills and knowledge.
• Career advancement: Research papers can help advance the researcher’s career by demonstrating their expertise and contributions to the field. They can also lead to new research opportunities, collaborations, and funding.
• Academic recognition: Research papers can lead to academic recognition in the form of awards, grants, or invitations to speak at conferences or events. They can also contribute to the researcher’s reputation and standing in the field.
• Impact on policy and practice: Research papers can have a significant impact on policy and practice. They can inform policy decisions, guide practice, and lead to changes in laws, regulations, or procedures.
• Advancement of society: Research papers can contribute to the advancement of society by addressing important issues, identifying solutions to problems, and promoting social justice and equality.

Limitations of Research Paper

Research papers also have some limitations that should be considered when interpreting their findings or implications. Here are some common limitations of research papers:

• Limited generalizability: Research findings may not be generalizable to other populations, settings, or contexts. Studies often use specific samples or conditions that may not reflect the broader population or real-world situations.
• Potential for bias : Research papers may be biased due to factors such as sample selection, measurement errors, or researcher biases. It is important to evaluate the quality of the research design and methods used to ensure that the findings are valid and reliable.
• Ethical concerns: Research papers may raise ethical concerns, such as the use of vulnerable populations or invasive procedures. Researchers must adhere to ethical guidelines and obtain informed consent from participants to ensure that the research is conducted in a responsible and respectful manner.
• Limitations of methodology: Research papers may be limited by the methodology used to collect and analyze data. For example, certain research methods may not capture the complexity or nuance of a particular phenomenon, or may not be appropriate for certain research questions.
• Publication bias: Research papers may be subject to publication bias, where positive or significant findings are more likely to be published than negative or non-significant findings. This can skew the overall findings of a particular area of research.
• Time and resource constraints: Research papers may be limited by time and resource constraints, which can affect the quality and scope of the research. Researchers may not have access to certain data or resources, or may be unable to conduct long-term studies due to practical limitations.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Research Paper

29 December 2023

last updated

A research paper is a product of seeking information, analysis, human thinking, and time. Basically, when scholars want to get answers to questions, they start to search for information to expand, use, approve, or deny findings. In simple words, research papers are results of processes by considering writing works and following specific requirements. Besides, scientists research and expand many theories, developing social or technological aspects of human science. However, in order to write relevant papers, they need to know a definition of the research, structure, characteristics, and types.

Definition of What Is a Research Paper and Its Meaning

A research paper is a common assignment. It comes to a situation when students, scholars, and scientists need to answer specific questions by using sources. Basically, a research paper is one of the types of papers where scholars analyze questions or topics , look for secondary sources , and write papers on defined themes. For example, if an assignment is to write a research paper on some causes of global warming or any other topic, a person must write a research proposal on it, analyzing important points and credible sources . Although essays focus on personal knowledge, writing a research paper means analyzing sources by following academic standards. Moreover, scientists must meet the structure of research papers. Therefore, writers need to analyze their research paper topics , start to research, cover key aspects, process credible articles, and organize final studies properly.

The Structure of a Research Work

The structure of research papers depends on assignment requirements. In fact, when students get their assignments and instructions, they need to analyze specific research questions or topics, find reliable sources , and write final works. Basically, the structure of research papers consists of the abstract , outline , introduction , literature review , methodology, results , discussion, recommendations, limitations, conclusion , acknowledgments , and references. However, students may not include some of these sections because of assigned instructions that they have and specific types of research papers. For instance, if instructions of papers do not suppose to conduct real experiments, the methodology section can be skipped because of the data’s absence. In turn, the structure of the final work consists of:

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🔸 The First Part of a Research Study

Abstract or an executive summary means the first section of a research paper that provides the study’s purpose, research questions or suggestions, main findings with conclusions. Moreover, this paragraph of about 150 words should be written when the whole work is finished already. Hence, abstract sections should describe key aspects of studies, including discussions about the relevance of findings.

Outline serves as a clear map of the structure of a research study.

Introduction provides the main information on problem statements, the indication of methodology, important findings, and principal conclusion. Basically, this section of a research paper covers rationales behind the work or background research, explanation of the importance, defending its relevance, a brief description of experimental designs, defined research questions, hypotheses, or key aspects.

🔸 Literature Review and Research or Experiment

Literature Review is needed for the analysis of past studies or scholarly articles to be familiar with research questions or topics. Hence, this section summarizes and synthesizes arguments and ideas from scholarly sources without adding new contributions. In turn, this part is organized around arguments or ideas, not sources.

Methodology or Materials and Methods covers explanations of research designs. Basically, techniques for gathering information and other aspects related to experiments must be described in a research paper. For instance, students and scholars document all specialized materials and general procedures. In this case, individuals may use some or all of the methods in further studies or judge the scientific merit of the work. Moreover, scientists should explain how they are going to conduct their experiments.

Results mean the gained information or data after the research or experiment. Basically, scholars should present and illustrate their findings. Moreover, this section may include tables or figures.

🔸 Analysis of Findings

Discussion is a section of a research paper where scientists review the information in the introduction part, evaluate gained results, or compare it with past studies. In particular, students and scholars interpret gained data or findings in appropriate depth. For example, if results differ from expectations at the beginning, scientists should explain why that may have happened. However, if results agree with rationales, scientists should describe theories that the evidence is supported.

Recommendations take its roots from a discussion section where scholars propose potential solutions or new ideas based on obtained results in a research paper. In this case, if scientists have any recommendations on how to improve this research so that other scholars can use evidence in further studies, they must write what they think in this section.

Limitations mean a consideration of research weaknesses and results to get new directions. For instance, if researchers found any limitations of studies that could affect experiments, scholars must not use such knowledge because of the same mistakes. Moreover, scientists should avoid contradicting results, and, even more, they must write it in this section.

🔸 The Final Part of a Conducted Research

Conclusion includes final claims of a research paper based on findings. Basically, this section covers final thoughts and the summary of the whole work. Moreover, this section may be used instead of limitations and recommendations that would be too small by themselves. In this case, scientists do not need to use headings for recommendations and limitations. Also, check out conclusion examples .

Acknowledgments or Appendix may take different forms, from paragraphs to charts. In this section, scholars include additional information on a research paper.

References mean a section where students, scholars, or scientists provide all used sources by following the format and academic rules.

Research Characteristics

Any type of work must meet some standards. By considering a research paper, this work must be written accordingly. In this case, the main characteristics of research papers are the length, style, format, and sources. Firstly, the length of research work defines the number of needed sources to analyze. Then, the style must be formal and covers impersonal and inclusive language. In turn, the format means academic standards of how to organize final works, including its structure and norms. Finally, sources and their number define works as research papers because of the volume of analyzed information. Hence, these characteristics must be considered while writing research papers.

Types of Research Papers

In general, the length of assignments can be different because of instructions. For example, there are two main types of research papers, such as typical and serious works. Firstly, a typical research paper may include definitive, argumentative, interpretive, and other works. In this case, typical papers are from 2 to 10 pages, where students analyze research questions or specific topics. Then, a serious research study is the expanded version of typical works. In turn, the length of such a paper is more than 10 pages. Basically, such works cover a serious analysis with many sources. Therefore, typical and serious works are two types of research papers.

Typical Research Papers

Basically, typical research works depend on assignments, the number of sources, and the paper’s length. So, a typical research paper is usually a long essay with the analyzed evidence. For example, students in high school and colleges get such assignments to learn how to research and analyze topics. In this case, they do not need to conduct serious experiments with the analysis and calculation of data. Moreover, students must use the Internet or libraries in searching for credible secondary sources to find potential answers to specific questions. As a result, students gather information on topics and learn how to take defined sides, present unique positions, or explain new directions. Hence, typical research papers require an analysis of primary and secondary sources without serious experiments or data.

Serious Research Studies

Although long papers require a lot of time for finding and analyzing credible sources, real experiments are an integral part of research work. Firstly, scholars at universities need to analyze the information from past studies to expand or disapprove of researched topics. Then, if scholars want to prove specific positions or ideas, they must get real evidence. In this case, experiments can be surveys, calculations, or other types of data that scholars do personally. Moreover, a dissertation is a typical serious research paper that young scientists write based on the research analysis of topics, data from conducted experiments, and conclusions at the end of work. Thus, serious research papers are studies that take a lot of time, analysis of sources with gained data, and interpretation of results.

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay

A character analysis essay is a challenging type of essay students usually write for literature or English courses. In this article, we will explain the definition of character analysis and how to approach it. We will also touch on how to analyze characters and guide you through writing character analysis essays.

Typically, this kind of writing requires students to describe the character in the story's context. This can be fulfilled by analyzing the relationship between the character in question and other personas. Although, sometimes, giving your personal opinion and analysis of a specific character is also appropriate.

Let's explain the specifics of how to do a character analysis by getting straight to defining what is a character analysis. Our term paper writers will have you covered with a thorough guide!

What Is a Character Analysis Essay?

The character analysis definition explains the in-depth personality traits and analyzes characteristics of a certain hero. Mostly, the characters are from literature, but sometimes other art forms, such as cinematography. In a character analysis essay, your main job is to tell the reader who the character is and what role they play in the story. Therefore, despite your personal opinion and preferences, it is really important to use your critical thinking skills and be objective toward the character you are analyzing. A character analysis essay usually involves the character's relationship with others, their behavior, manner of speaking, how they look, and many other characteristics.

Although it's not a section about your job experience or education on a resume, sometimes it is appropriate to give your personal opinion and analysis of a particular character.

What Is the Purpose of a Character Analysis Essay

More than fulfilling a requirement, this type of essay mainly helps the reader understand the character and their world. One of the essential purposes of a character analysis essay is to look at the anatomy of a character in the story and dissect who they are. We must be able to study how the character was shaped and then learn from their life. 

A good example of a character for a character analysis essay is Daisy Buchanan from 'The Great Gatsby.' The essay starts off by explaining who Daisy is and how she relates to the main character, Jay Gatsby. Depending on your audience, you need to decide how much of the plot should be included. If the entire class writes an essay on Daisy Buchanan, it is logical to assume everyone has read the book. Although, if you know for certain that your audience has little to no knowledge of who she is, it is crucial to include as much background information as possible. 

After that, you must explain the character through certain situations involving her and what she said or did. Make sure to explain to the reader why you included certain episodes and how they have showcased the character. Finally, summarize everything by clearly stating the character's purpose and role in the story. 

We also highly recommend reading how to write a hook for an essay .

Still Need Help with Your Character Analysis Essay?

Different types of characters.

To make it clear how a reader learns about a character in the story, you should note that several characters are based on their behaviors, traits, and roles within a story. We have gathered some of them, along with vivid examples from famous literature and cinema pieces:

Types of Characters

• Major : These are the main characters; they run the story. Regularly, there are only one or two major characters. Major characters are usually of two types: the protagonist – the good guy, and the antagonist: the bad guy or the villain. 
• Protagonist (s) (heroes): The main character around whom most of the plot revolves. 

For example, Othello from Shakespeare's play, Frodo from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and Elizabeth Bennet from 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen.

• Antagonist (s): This is the person that is in opposition to the protagonist. This is usually the villain, but it could also be a natural power, set of circumstances, majestic being, etc. 

For example, Darth Vader from the Star Wars series by George Lucas, King Joffrey from Game of Thrones, or the Wicked Queen from 'Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.'

• Minor : These characters help tell the major character's tale by letting them interact and reveal their personalities, situations, and/or stories. They are commonly static (unchanging). The minor characters in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien would be the whole Fellowship of the ring. In their own way, each member of the Fellowship helps Frodo get the ring to Mordor; without them, the protagonist would not be a protagonist and would not be able to succeed. In the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, minor characters are Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. They consistently help Harry Potter on his quests against Voldemort, and, like Frodo, he wouldn't have succeeded without them.

On top of being categorized as a protagonist, antagonist, or minor character, a character can also be dynamic, static, or foil.

• Dynamic (changing): Very often, the main character is dynamic.

An example would also be Harry Potter from the book series by J.K. Rowling. Throughout the series, we see Harry Potter noticing his likeness to Voldemort. Nevertheless, Harry resists these traits because, unlike Voldemort, he is a good person and resists any desire to become a dark wizard.

• Static (unchanging): Someone who does not change throughout the story is static.

A good example of a static character is Atticus Finch from “How to Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. His character and views do not change throughout the book. He is firm and steady in his beliefs despite controversial circumstances. 

• Foils : These characters' job is to draw attention to the main character(s) to enhance the protagonist's role.

‍ A great example of a foil charact e r is Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle.

How to Analyze a Character 

While preparing to analyze your character, make sure to read the story carefully.

• Pay attention to the situations where the character is involved, their dialogues, and their role in the plot.
• Make sure you include information about what your character achieves on a big scale and how they influence other characters.
• Despite the categories above, try thinking outside the box and explore your character from around.
• Avoid general statements and being too basic. Instead, focus on exploring the complexities and details of your character(s).

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

To learn how to write a character analysis essay and gather a more profound sense of truly understanding these characters, one must completely immerse themself in the story or literary piece.

• Take note of the setting, climax, and other important academic parts.
• You must be able to feel and see through the characters. Observe how analysis essay writer shaped these characters into life.
• Notice how little or how vast the character identities were described.
• Look at the characters' morals and behaviors and how they have affected situations and other characters throughout the story.
• Finally, observe the characters whom you find interesting. 

Meanwhile, if you need help writing a paper, leave us a message ' write my paper .'

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay

When writing a character analysis essay, first, you have to choose a character you'd like to write about. Sometimes a character will be readily assigned to you. It's wise to consider characters who play a dynamic role in the story. This will captivate the reader as there will be much information about these personas.

Read the Story

You might think that if you already have read the book, there is no need to do so again; however, now that you know the character you would like to focus on, reading it again will have plenty of benefits. It will give you an opportunity to be more precise while reading the scenes that relate directly to your character and are important for his/her analysis. While reading the book, pay attention to every tiny detail to make sure you grasp the whole array of your character's traits. 

Consider the following things:

• What specific descriptions does the author provide for each character?

For example, when J.K. Rowling describes Harry Potter for the first time, she describes his clothes as old and oversized, his hair untidy, and his glasses as broken. It might seem just like a simple description, but she expresses compassion and pity for an orphan neglected by his only relatives. 

• What kinds of relationships does your character have with others?

Think about how Harry builds up his friendships with others. First, he and Ron do not like Hermione because she acts like a know-it-all, but when she gets stuck in the dungeons with a horrendous troll, he rushes to save her regardless. 

• How do the actions of the character move the plot forward?

In 'The Philosopher's Stone,' Harry is very observant of any events taking place at school. He analyzes people's actions, which builds up the plot around the stone and its importance for the magical world.

Get help with your character analysis from our experts.

Choose a Dynamic Character

Choosing a dynamic character is a great idea. This does not necessarily have to be the protagonist, but a character that undergoes many changes has grown throughout the story and is not boring and/or static. This gives you a perfect advantage to fully show the character and make your paper entertaining and engaging for the reader. If you choose a character that is not very dynamic, your essay might seem monotonous because your character will not end up doing much and will not be very involved in the story.

While you are reading, it is useful to take notes or highlight/underline any of the critical elements of the story. This will add depth to your character description(s). By providing vivid and specific examples, you connect your reader to the character, and the character comes alive in their eyes. Review your notes and formulate the main idea about your character when you're finished reading with your character in mind.

Make an initial draft while taking note of the character analysis essay outline provided by your instructor. You may follow the recommended character analysis essay format if you have not been provided with a sample.

Choose a Main Idea

While reading the story, make sure you keep track of your notes. It is a good idea to look at them, choose the ones that are the most representative of your character and find patterns. This will be your thesis. Then, you must support this idea with examples and situations involving your character. 

If your character were Jem Finch from 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, the main idea would be how his personal character is shaped through racial conflicts, social inequalities, and internal struggles between public opinion, his own views, and what is actually right. Essaypro offers you history essay help. Leave us a notice if you need to proofread, edit, or write your essay.

Character Analysis Questions

Now that you have jotted down some main concepts about your character, here is a list of questions that can help you fill in the blanks you might still have:

• Where do the events involving your character take place?
• What are the relationships between your character and other significant characters?
• What is the primary change your character has gone through throughout the story?
• What is your character's background?
• What is your character's occupation?
• What kind of emotions does your character go through?
• What are your character's values?
• What is your character's value?
• Does your character have friends?
• Is there a lesson your character has learned by the end of the story?
• Does the character achieve the goals he/she has set for himself/herself?

Make a Character Analysis Essay Outline

When you're unsure how to write a character synopsis, remember that creating a literary analysis outline is one of the most critical steps. A well-constructed character analysis outline will keep your thoughts and ideas organized.

Character Analysis Essay Introduction:

Make the introduction to your paper brief and meaningful. It should hold together your entire essay and spark your audience's interest. Write a short description of the character in question. Don't forget to include a character analysis thesis statement which should make a case for the character's relevance within the narrative context.

Character Analysis Essay Body:

Subdivide your body paragraphs into different ideas or areas regarding the character. Look at your professor's rubric and ensure you'll be able to tackle all the requirements. You should also be provided with questions to be answered to formulate your analysis better. The body should answer the following questions:

• What is the character's physical appearance, personality, and background?
• What are the conflicts the character experiences, and how did he/she overcome them?
• What can we learn from this character?
• What is the meaning behind the character's actions? What motivates him/her?
• What does the character do? How does he/she treat others? Is he/she fair or unjust?
• What does the character say? What is his/her choice of words? Does he/she have a rich vocabulary?
• How does the character describe themself? How do others describe him/her?
• What words do you associate with the character? Perhaps a word like 'hope,' 'bravery,' or maybe even 'freedom'?

Character Analysis Essay Conclusion:

It's time to master the secrets of how to write character analysis essay conclusions. Your ending should also hold your ideas together and shape a final analysis statement. Mention things about the character's conflicts that we could experience in real life. Additionally, you can write about how a character should've reacted to a certain situation.

Character Analysis Essay Example

Read our blogs ‘Character Analysis of Jem Finch', 'The Great Gatsby Book Through Daisy Buchanan Character,' 'Analysis of Characters in Beowulf,' or simply use these character analysis essay examples to reference your paper. You might also be interested in a synthesis essay example .

Now that you know what is character analysis, it might be time to choose a character to write about. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to type ' do my homework for me ,' you should contact our writers. You also get a free plagiarism report, formatting, and citing when  buying an essay from us!

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How To Write A Research Paper

Step-By-Step Tutorial With Examples + FREE Template

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

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

Overview: Writing A Research Paper

What (exactly) is a research paper.

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

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

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

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

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

Overview: The 3-Stage Process

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

These three steps are:

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

Let’s dig into each of these.

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Step 1: Find a topic and review the literature

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Step 2: Develop a structure and outline

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

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

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

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

• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology

Let’s take a look at each of these.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Step 3: Write and refine

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

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

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

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

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

Recap: Key Takeaways

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

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

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

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Writing a Research Paper Introduction | Step-by-Step Guide

Published on September 24, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on March 27, 2023.

The introduction to a research paper is where you set up your topic and approach for the reader. It has several key goals:

• Present your topic and get the reader interested
• Provide background or summarize existing research
• Position your own approach
• Detail your specific research problem and problem statement
• Give an overview of the paper’s structure

The introduction looks slightly different depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or constructs an argument by engaging with a variety of sources.

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Table of contents

Step 1: introduce your topic, step 2: describe the background, step 3: establish your research problem, step 4: specify your objective(s), step 5: map out your paper, research paper introduction examples, frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction.

The first job of the introduction is to tell the reader what your topic is and why it’s interesting or important. This is generally accomplished with a strong opening hook.

The hook is a striking opening sentence that clearly conveys the relevance of your topic. Think of an interesting fact or statistic, a strong statement, a question, or a brief anecdote that will get the reader wondering about your topic.

For example, the following could be an effective hook for an argumentative paper about the environmental impact of cattle farming:

A more empirical paper investigating the relationship of Instagram use with body image issues in adolescent girls might use the following hook:

Don’t feel that your hook necessarily has to be deeply impressive or creative. Clarity and relevance are still more important than catchiness. The key thing is to guide the reader into your topic and situate your ideas.

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This part of the introduction differs depending on what approach your paper is taking.

In a more argumentative paper, you’ll explore some general background here. In a more empirical paper, this is the place to review previous research and establish how yours fits in.

Argumentative paper: Background information

After you’ve caught your reader’s attention, specify a bit more, providing context and narrowing down your topic.

Provide only the most relevant background information. The introduction isn’t the place to get too in-depth; if more background is essential to your paper, it can appear in the body .

Empirical paper: Describing previous research

For a paper describing original research, you’ll instead provide an overview of the most relevant research that has already been conducted. This is a sort of miniature literature review —a sketch of the current state of research into your topic, boiled down to a few sentences.

This should be informed by genuine engagement with the literature. Your search can be less extensive than in a full literature review, but a clear sense of the relevant research is crucial to inform your own work.

Begin by establishing the kinds of research that have been done, and end with limitations or gaps in the research that you intend to respond to.

The next step is to clarify how your own research fits in and what problem it addresses.

Argumentative paper: Emphasize importance

In an argumentative research paper, you can simply state the problem you intend to discuss, and what is original or important about your argument.

Empirical paper: Relate to the literature

In an empirical research paper, try to lead into the problem on the basis of your discussion of the literature. Think in terms of these questions:

• What research gap is your work intended to fill?
• What limitations in previous work does it address?
• What contribution to knowledge does it make?

You can make the connection between your problem and the existing research using phrases like the following.

Now you’ll get into the specifics of what you intend to find out or express in your research paper.

The way you frame your research objectives varies. An argumentative paper presents a thesis statement, while an empirical paper generally poses a research question (sometimes with a hypothesis as to the answer).

Argumentative paper: Thesis statement

The thesis statement expresses the position that the rest of the paper will present evidence and arguments for. It can be presented in one or two sentences, and should state your position clearly and directly, without providing specific arguments for it at this point.

Empirical paper: Research question and hypothesis

The research question is the question you want to answer in an empirical research paper.

Present your research question clearly and directly, with a minimum of discussion at this point. The rest of the paper will be taken up with discussing and investigating this question; here you just need to express it.

A research question can be framed either directly or indirectly.

• This study set out to answer the following question: What effects does daily use of Instagram have on the prevalence of body image issues among adolescent girls?
• We investigated the effects of daily Instagram use on the prevalence of body image issues among adolescent girls.

If your research involved testing hypotheses , these should be stated along with your research question. They are usually presented in the past tense, since the hypothesis will already have been tested by the time you are writing up your paper.

For example, the following hypothesis might respond to the research question above:

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The final part of the introduction is often dedicated to a brief overview of the rest of the paper.

In a paper structured using the standard scientific “introduction, methods, results, discussion” format, this isn’t always necessary. But if your paper is structured in a less predictable way, it’s important to describe the shape of it for the reader.

If included, the overview should be concise, direct, and written in the present tense.

• This paper will first discuss several examples of survey-based research into adolescent social media use, then will go on to …
• This paper first discusses several examples of survey-based research into adolescent social media use, then goes on to …

Full examples of research paper introductions are shown in the tabs below: one for an argumentative paper, the other for an empirical paper.

• Argumentative paper
• Empirical paper

Are cows responsible for climate change? A recent study (RIVM, 2019) shows that cattle farmers account for two thirds of agricultural nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands. These emissions result from nitrogen in manure, which can degrade into ammonia and enter the atmosphere. The study’s calculations show that agriculture is the main source of nitrogen pollution, accounting for 46% of the country’s total emissions. By comparison, road traffic and households are responsible for 6.1% each, the industrial sector for 1%. While efforts are being made to mitigate these emissions, policymakers are reluctant to reckon with the scale of the problem. The approach presented here is a radical one, but commensurate with the issue. This paper argues that the Dutch government must stimulate and subsidize livestock farmers, especially cattle farmers, to transition to sustainable vegetable farming. It first establishes the inadequacy of current mitigation measures, then discusses the various advantages of the results proposed, and finally addresses potential objections to the plan on economic grounds.

The rise of social media has been accompanied by a sharp increase in the prevalence of body image issues among women and girls. This correlation has received significant academic attention: Various empirical studies have been conducted into Facebook usage among adolescent girls (Tiggermann & Slater, 2013; Meier & Gray, 2014). These studies have consistently found that the visual and interactive aspects of the platform have the greatest influence on body image issues. Despite this, highly visual social media (HVSM) such as Instagram have yet to be robustly researched. This paper sets out to address this research gap. We investigated the effects of daily Instagram use on the prevalence of body image issues among adolescent girls. It was hypothesized that daily Instagram use would be associated with an increase in body image concerns and a decrease in self-esteem ratings.

The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements:

• A hook to catch the reader’s interest
• Relevant background on the topic
• Details of your research problem

and your problem statement

• A thesis statement or research question
• Sometimes an overview of the paper

Don’t feel that you have to write the introduction first. The introduction is often one of the last parts of the research paper you’ll write, along with the conclusion.

This is because it can be easier to introduce your paper once you’ve already written the body ; you may not have the clearest idea of your arguments until you’ve written them, and things can change during the writing process .

The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .

A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.

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Accelerating Progress: A New Era of Research on Character Development

• Published: 03 May 2017
• Volume 46 , pages 1240–1245, ( 2017 )

Cite this article

• Sarah Clement   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9622-5084 1 &
• Richard Bollinger 1  

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Adolescent character development is a high priority for educators, policymakers, and front-line youth workers. To meet this growing demand, and as exemplified in the five articles in this special section, character development scholars are drawing from a range of academic disciplines to push beyond the traditional boundaries of the science of character development. These articles highlight important trends in character research, including the co-development of a subset of character strengths, the articulation of developmental trajectories of character, the use of advanced methodological approaches, and the implications for education. Studies such as these are critically important for establishing the research base that will be used to design the character development programs of tomorrow.

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Introduction

The science and practice of character needs a change. To reference one popular idiom, it needs a shot in the arm. The study of an individual’s character has existed in some form or another since Aristotle’s writing of Nicomachean Ethics in 350 BC. Following a pattern of rising and falling interest over the intervening two millennia, “character” experienced a bit of a renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s, with scholars such as Lickona ( 1993 ) and Ryan ( 1989 ) highlighting the important role character development plays in schools, workplaces, communities, and in homes. Coupled with rising public interest in the topic (e.g. Brooks, 2015 ; Duckworth, 2016 ; Tough, 2012 ), there has been a tremendous demand for additional insights into how an individual—or a group of individuals—can cultivate character. Despite the early contributions of Lickona, Ryan, and others, character development and more specifically character education still suffers from a relative lack of progress. Apart from a select few, the vast majority of character education programs vary little in structure and/or function from the programs of the 1980s and 1990s. This pattern will not change unless scholars engage in research projects, like those in this special section, that challenge long-standing assumptions about character development and offer innovative solutions.

In the prototypical model, a character education program will provide time-limited resources (e.g., readings, reflection exercises) to teachers in a school, which the teachers then distribute among their students. After completing the readings and exercises, the hope is the students will improve on some—or perhaps many—dimensions of character. While there may be select instances of effectiveness for this type of model, there are many underexplored assumptions that may help explain why a program of this design is likely not demonstrating larger effects, including:

Framing the problem . Is it in fact the case that students simply don’t know about character development and with more information they will all succeed in further cultivating character?

Normative development . What should we expect of x character strength at y age?

Relational nature of character . If Brooks ( 2016 ) is right, and character is cultivated in the context of close relationships, should we expect that focusing on any teacher-student relationship is sufficient for cultivating character? Are teacher–student relationships particularly well-suited to the development of certain kinds of character strengths?

Dosage . Is character something that can be cultivated in one class session? Twelve? Do all character strengths require the same amount of attention over time?

Community of character —How do people of good character influence others in the context of social groups?

In addition to these, there are many more unanswered questions that we have not included here. The point is that we are at an inflection point for our understanding of how character develops across the life span. By addressing these key questions and others, scholars can accelerate our understanding of both the science and practice of character.

Laying the Foundation for New Research

The five articles in this special section address topics at the forefront of our understanding, including the multidimensional nature of character, the relationship between the development of distinct character strengths, individual “profiles” of character, the developmental trajectory of specific strengths, the role of character development in education, and interventions that capitalize on the motivations that drive adolescent behavior. In many cases, the research presented here will lay the foundation for decades of future inquiry. More provocatively, several of the articles in this special section highlight the need to rethink the design of traditional character interventions. We will comment on each of the above topics in turn, closing with broader implications for the study of character in youth and adolescence.

The Underlying Structure of Individual Character

One of the fundamental questions within the study of character development is the nature of one’s individual character. A robust philosophical literature on the topic exists, with many scholars following the lead set forth by Aristotle, who suggested that a person’s character is comprised of moral and civic virtue (Aristotle 1999 ). Psychologists and educationalists, while more recent to the discussion, have been eager to identify models of character that are theoretical predicated and supported by empirical evidence. Many of these scholars can point to Lickona and Davidson’s ( 2005 ) conceptualization of moral and performance character as a key starting point. In this special section, Baehr suggests a four-dimensional model of moral, civic, intellectual, and performance character. According to Baehr, these four dimensions are not mutually exclusive or exhaustive, but he does note that performance virtues are “structurally different” (p. 5) to the others. Whereas the first three are driven by intrinsic motivation for the good—the good neighbor, good citizen, and good thinker in Baehr’s words—performance virtues “lack a univocal underlying motivation” (p. 3). However, performance virtues remain valuable for their usefulness, as Baehr claims, in executing an individual’s intrinsically motivated goals.

Baehr’s theoretical model differs from current psychological models, which often reflect a 3-dimensional model. The National Research Council ( 2012 ) for example, using the language of “21 st Century skills,” posits three domains: cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Park and colleagues ( 2016 ) also make the case for this three-factor model, highlighting intellectual, interpersonal, and intrapersonal competences as the core components of an individual’s character. Similarly, using data from the Values in Action (VIA) survey, McGrath ( 2015 ) has identified three factors he labels caring, inquisitiveness, and self-control. A notable similarity between these models, along with Baehr’s, is the presence of a character strengths factor focused on the intellect, one on interacting with others, and one on self-regulation.

One clear distinction between the above models and Baehr’s is the collapsing of the moral and civic factors into a single, other-focused factor. This difference highlights the failure of the psychological models to adequately address moral and civic virtue, and motivations more broadly. In part, at least for the NRC, the omission of language around moral virtue is likely because educators have grown wary of using the terminology of morals or mortality in public schools (Lickona 2014 ). However, even if a three-factor model is indeed the model best supported by empirical data, the question of motivation should not be ignored, and is likely of vital importance. As Lickona ( 2014 ) noted in a recent talk, “Attention to performance character gives achievement a moral purpose: We develop our talents in order to contribute to society.” Specifically, how individuals and communities internalize that moral motivation is still an open empirical question.

Relationships among Character Strengths

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle (trans. 1999) proposed the concept of the “unity of the virtues,” to excel in one requires excellence in all. While not making a claim as sweeping as Aristotle’s, several of the articles included in this special section address how character strengths may relate to each other. In his article’s conclusion, Baehr alludes to this conceptualization when he argues that directly forming intellectual virtues like humility, thoroughness, and open-mindedness “better equips” students for forming moral virtue. Baehr notes that a student equipped with intellectual virtue cares deeply about knowledge, truth, and understanding, and is honest and open about his limitations and her duties to others. Each of these disposes a student towards moral virtues like compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness. Here, Baehr is making a theoretical assertion, one that is ripe for empirical exploration.

While the relationship between the intellectual and moral character strengths has not been explored empirically, studies examining the relationship between other character strengths are beginning to emerge. Malin et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) directly address how purpose may relate to gratitude and compassion. The authors note that all three virtues are other-oriented, have empathy and sympathy as likely prerequisites, and result in prosocial behavior of some sort. Using cross-sectional analyses, the authors found a small but significant relationship between purpose and the other three strengths of interest: gratitude, compassion, and grit. Like Froh et al. ( 2010 ), who identified that gratitude may motivate students towards contributing to their communities, Malin et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) identified that “qualitative differences in gratitude and compassion between those with full purpose and those who are not yet realizing their purposeful aspirations” (p. 12).

With their qualitative work, Malin and colleagues identified two findings with broader implications for the character development field. First, they identified three primary profiles of purpose/gratitude interactions with their sample (active purpose/dispositional gratitude; non-active purpose/conditional gratitude, and little purpose/little gratitude). Second, despite a small but significant correlation between grit and purpose in the quantitative data, qualitative findings in Malin et al.’s study did not indicate that purposeful students were grittier than non-purposeful students. The authors note that differences in life stage (early adolescence vs. adult) may help explain the divergent findings. These are intriguing results that begin to frame important future questions regarding how different strengths co-develop across the life span.

Individual Profiles

Interestingly, rigorous scientific studies on character development are recent enough that scholars are still working to identify not only how each character strength relates to the others on a meta-level, but also the individual trajectories of specific character strengths (e.g., Callina et al. 2017 , in this special section). Perhaps even more significant than their discussion of the relationship between character strengths, Malin et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) note,

For most people during most of development, character is far from unitary. Feelings, thoughts, and actions related to virtues may be frequently misaligned; and the virtues (or “character strengths”) themselves may develop at an uneven pace, with some maturing while others grow slowly or not at all. Thus at every phase of development an individual has a distinct profile of virtues… (p. 2).

This idea of a “distinct profile of virtues,” is significant for at least two reasons. First, the concept of a distinct profile aligns well with the dynamic nature of character development represented by relational developmental systems frameworks (e.g., Lerner and Callina 2014 ). This framework, which stands in contrast to formerly held notions of character traits as stable and immutable (e.g., Costa and McCrea 1980 ; 2006 ), emphasizes the relationship between the individual and his context, which will vary across time and place. It has become increasingly clear over the past decade that successful models of character development incorporate this dynamic perspective, with a focus on both the individual and his or her context.

Second, and relatedly, if individuals have a distinct profile of virtues at every phase of development, there are profound implications for the design and implementation of character interventions. Looking across fields, other disciplines have already made the transition from solutions based on population averages to individually-tailored approaches; this includes, but is in no way limited to precision medicine (Hudson et al. 2015 ), precision public health (Koury et al. 2016 ), and online marketing (Gilmore and Erdem 2008 ). These approaches seek to maximize benefit for each individual, rather than for the incredibly small proportion of the population that fit within the parameters of “average” (Rose 2016 ). We explore this issue in more detail below.

Specifying Developmental Trajectories

In addition to their call for a much-needed line of research that focuses on the study of the integration of character strengths, Malin et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) agree that further research is also needed on the specification of developmental trajectories and unique contributions of specific strengths. Unfortunately, the majority of studies on character development are relatively limited in either sample size and/or the number of waves of data collection. One might think that some of the well-known longitudinal studies of development (e.g., NICHD Early Child Care Research Network 2005 ) could contain variables relevant to the measurement of character. While some of these large datasets do have some character-related variables (primarily as they relate to executive function and self-control), none of them contain robust assessments of an individual’s character. As one potential solution to this challenge, Callina et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) discuss the applicability of integrative data analysis (cf. Curran and Hussong 2009 ) to the articulation of developmental trajectories for specific character strengths. Using data from four studies with independent samples, the team was able to identify shared items for the assessment of hopeful future expectations. They then used these shared items as “anchors” to create a new, integrated dataset and, after fitting growth curve models to the data, established a developmental trajectory from age 7 to 26 of hopeful future expectations. As the authors note, this method provides a cost-effective means to integrate a substantial number of datasets with robust assessments of character, but limited sample size.

The dual importance of understanding both individual character development profiles and the broader developmental trajectories of specific character strengths is demonstrated in Jayawickreme, Brocato, and Blackie’s study in this special section. They examine the popular maxim that adversity is a prerequisite to the formation of wisdom. They cite the popular quote “That which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger” in justifying the relevance of an analysis on how particular personality characteristics relate to well-being and how, following adversity, they may contribute to the formation of growth-inducing (character-forming) vs. stagnating personal narratives. Although the researchers found primarily null results, the article identifies the centrality of the unique person-experience interaction in forming character. Even if the broad developmental trajectory of certain character strengths, like wisdom, identify certain experiential contexts, like adversity, as key components for development, Jayawickreme et al.’s ( 2017 , in this special issue) findings identify that a large variance exists in whether and how that character strength manifested. This variance is due to the multitude of outcomes that can occur in an interaction involving the unique characteristics of the individual and the unique nature of the adverse experience (amongst many other factors). This finding emphasizes the importance of identifying both specific development trajectories of the virtues (to identify general trends) while also drawing out distinct personal profiles of virtue development (to identify meaningful between-person particularities).

Moving beyond Traditional “Character Education”

As Baehr ( 2017 , in this special section) notes in the opening to the second part of his article, “[t]here is…a growing sense that education should be aimed at more than the transmission of knowledge, the honing of cognitive skills, or the achievement of high scores on standardized tests” (p. 5). Baehr outlines a compelling argument for organizing the educational experience around intellectual virtues such as curiosity, open-mindedness, intellectual autonomy, and intellectual humility. In his words, these “virtues have clear and central importance to academic learning” (p. 6). Critically, this model moves beyond an exclusive focus on performance character to include aspects of character development that are vital to the development of students who will contribute positively to society. “Intellectual character,” Baehr writes, “is that dimension of the self or human psychology in which cognitive functioning intersects with positive character” (p. 6). As other models of character education continue to struggle with documenting effectiveness (e.g., Social & Character Development Research Consortium 2010 ), scholars and practitioners alike need to reconsider the ways in which character can be seamlessly infused into the culture and curriculum of schools. Baehr’s work on intellectual virtues represents an exciting potential way forward.

Demand-driven Character Programs

While some critics of character education point to the “add-on” nature of the programming as a weakness in the design, and others are concerned with identifying the “right” combination of character strengths, what is often lost in the consideration is the strengths the adolescents themselves already bring to the table. In their qualitative work, Malin et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) found that adolescents in their sample are “driven by love, respect, and worry for their families; by concern for people suffering at their schools and in their communities; by outrage at injustice; and by problems in the environment and society that they wanted to fix” (p. 12). These concerns are what motivate adolescents to cultivate character by contributing to others. Why not use these issues as a starting point?

Seider et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) use a character lens to understand how Freire’s ( 1970 , 1973 ) concept of critical consciousness is cultivated across different high school models. Critical consciousness uses adolescents’ sense of injustice as a motivating driver that leads students to engage in their communities in an effort to improve them. This perspective aligns well with what Malin et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) identified in their own sample of students. Seider et al. ( 2017 , in this special section) found that “the programming and practices associated with different schooling models foster particular strengths associated with critical consciousness, but simultaneously deemphasize or even weaken others” (p. 13). While the authors note that this is a preliminary conclusion, there is already an interesting follow-up question, “Is a specific focus on leveraging adolescents’ sense of injustice and motivation to improve their communities more effective in cultivating character than traditional character education programs which focus on transmission of knowledge?”

Each of the articles in this special section offer to lay the groundwork for exciting new lines of research in character development. There is still much to be discovered about the nature of character development and how it is cultivated. As we noted at the outset of this article, we are at an inflection point in our understanding of character; the research in this special section are excellent examples of the ways in which we can accelerate discovery and positively influence the lives of others.

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Author Contributions

S.C. conceived of the initial outline of the commentary, wrote the initial draft, and oversaw final revisions. R.B. provided feedback on the initial outline, expanded the thinking and writing of several of the sections, and commented on the revisions. Both S.C. and R.B. have read the manuscript and approved its submission.

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Both authors are employed by the John Templeton Foundation, which has provided financial support for the empirical research presented by lead authors Callina, Seider, and Malin. The Foundation has also supported theoretical work and related empirical research conducted by lead authors Baehr and Jayawickreme, respectively.

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Clement, S., Bollinger, R. Accelerating Progress: A New Era of Research on Character Development. J Youth Adolescence 46 , 1240–1245 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0681-9

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• A Research Guide
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How to Write a Character Analysis

• What is a character analysis
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• Finding examples

What Is a Character Analysis?

By definition, character analysis is the process of evaluating the specific traits of a literary person. It will consider additional elements, such as their role in the story and the various conflicts they experience.

When you make a character analysis, it is crucial to remain critical, ask concise analysis questions, and base your conclusions about each hero being analyzed on the three areas mentioned earlier.

Typically, an author will use great detail when describing the person’s outward appearance. As a reader, you can usually deduce the person’s age, body size, ethnicity, and many other relevant characteristics.

The writer may reveal traits like behavior, motivation, personality evaluation, or relationship habits. Taking the time to analyze these elements clearly will allow you to begin to develop the framework of the person’s inward and outward qualities.

Meaning of the Character Analysis

More often than not, experienced writers tend to avoid directly mentioning the characters’ traits in their books; it is up to the reader to be mindful of catching these traits as the storyline progresses.

Character analysis means not only picking up on the subtle hints that the author may use to develop their characters but also reading between the lines and noticing the tiny details that might initially seem insignificant. A different example may be a character who has undergone several catastrophic experiences in the storyline but ends up experiencing a proverbial happy ending.

How to Choose a Hero for Character Analysis?

Each hero has many facets of good writers, so analyzing characters can be challenging. But it’s still an exciting assignment. You can choose yourself if your character analysis does not specify who to explore in the selected work.

To do this, read the work and find the one who pleases you the most. It may not be the main character, but the one who played an essential role in the book. Pay attention to the description of actions, texture, etc., to see if they suit your character analysis.

There are several different types of heroes, each playing a small part in one huge puzzle. Persons can be good, inadequate, insignificant, or even stereotypical.

Here are the types of personalities that you might encounter in your reading.

Character Analysis Outline and Structure

As you continue to make character analyses, you may find that they fit into one, two, or three specific categories, which is okay. Your goal is to describe the hero, their role in the story, and the value they bring.

Describe the hero. Readers are introduced to the books they read through the words the heroes use, the emotions they experience, and the things they do. It is relatively easy to determine a person based on their outward behaviors.

As the story develops, you will receive slight hints about personality through how they say, act, move, and mannerisms. Ultimately, you will discover that the heroes fit into one of the abovementioned hero categories.

Explore the role. Defining the hero’s role is also necessary when you start to do a character analysis.

Asides from expressing unique personality traits, the hero will also fit into a specific role in the story. It will either be a major role, as a vital component of the story, or a minor role, as a smaller and less significant story component.

Outline the growth and development. To complete your analysis, explain how the person matures and changes as the plot progresses.

The majority of heroes will go through several changes throughout the story. Pay attention to whether the hero becomes stronger, falls apart, enters new relationships, learns something new about themselves, etc. Note any areas or scenes where these changes occur. You may be alerted to these with cues like “it was then that he realized…” or “suddenly, for the first time in years, she…”

Useful information: How to do a research paper outline ?

Characterization Essay Outline Sample

Like nearly all other reports, the character analysis will consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Introduction: A good introduction is a glue that binds the entire exploration together. It asks a question. It alerts the reader of what is to come. Briefly describe the person being analyzed to generate interest.

Body: The body paragraphs should be organized and divided to group like-minded ideas or information together but follow the sequence of the key points mentioned in the introduction. Here are some character analysis questions:

• What are the physical attributes of the hero? What do they look like? What is their background?
• What conflicts does the person experience? How do they overcome this? If they don’t, why?
• What can the reader learn from the hero? What are the key takeaways or essential lessons?

Summary: The conclusion is the part that summarizes your essay. It is where you will have one final opportunity to restate your thesis and highlight the most important traits or findings from your analysis of the person in question. It is good practice to paraphrase two or three of the points made in the body paragraphs and provide a couple of examples for each. You may use a quote representing the person  or speculate where they would fit into the ‘real world.’

If it still seems confusing, do not hesitate to refer to the experts in writing a character analysis.

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: Step-by-step Writing Guide

Analyzing a character, particularly an exciting person, can be fun. It requires a certain degree of investigative theory and a keen desire to understand the ‘personality’ of a person who isn’t a person but rather someone else’s creative process. Luckily for most of us, deciding to characterize a character doesn’t require a strong knowledge of the human psyche or Freudian theories.

So, how to analyze a character?

Step 1. Choose a hero

Read the text and decide who you will analyze in the character analysis. Think about how they influenced the development of the plot and how detailed the chosen person is described in the character analysis. Do not choose characters mentioned in only a few sentences in the book. Such minor characters will be difficult to analyze.

Step 2. Read the story and highlight essential points for the character analysis

Here are the things to look at when completing a character analysis:

• Motivation: What are the underlying reasons why the character being analyzed acts the way they do? Do they act impulsively? Do they act ethically?
• Actions: How does the character act? How do their actions affect those around them? Are they the type to thwart wrongdoings? Or are they devious and mischievous? Similar to real life, how a character acts says much about who they are.
• What do they say: Does the character appear to have a firm grasp of education? Do they use a lot of slang? Do they use generational phrases? Perhaps they speak as though they are a detective or a cheerleader? Do they say ‘the bee’s knees’ or ‘blessed be’? Many books do not have the added advantage of having photos or pictures, so the author must paint the character using words.
• Descriptions: How do those who interact with the character describe them? How does the character describe themselves? These descriptions can be physical, judgemental, or even emotional.
• Names: Consider a character named “Problem Pete” or “Little Alice”. What sort of imagery does this convey? Do you find yourself making assumptions based on those names? Of course, you do. That is exactly what the author wants to happen.

Step 3. Pick a main idea

Think about what problem your analysis will develop around and what message you want to convey. For example, if you are analyzing Harry Potter, you might choose the central idea:

• Friendship and love;
• Problems of growing up;
• Standing up for your beliefs;
• Relationships in the family;
• Confrontation of good and evil.

In one book, one person is described from different grades.

Step 4. Write a plan for the character analysis

Write a plan for your character analysis paper. What will you say first, what arguments will you give, and what will you write afterward? Make sure your plan covers all aspects of the problem you are describing.

Step 5. Write a character analysis

Following the plan, start to write a character study and describe the hero. Feel free to quote and write examples. On the contrary, this approach will increase the credibility of your character research.

After writing the character analysis, check the formatting and the absence of errors.

Character Development Analysis Formatting Tips

Regarding character analysis, formatting is vital. Here are a few tips for writing clear and organized research:

• Start with a clear introduction stating the character’s name, role, and other important information.
• Use quotes from the text to support your character analysis. Be sure to cite the page number and explain how the quote relates to your point.
• Organize your analysis by theme or trait. For example, you could discuss the character’s appearance, personality, motivations, and actions.
• Use transitions to connect your ideas and make your analysis flow smoothly. Words like “however,” “in addition,” and “furthermore” can be helpful.
• End with a character analysis conclusion that summarizes your analysis and offers insights into the character’s significance in the text.

Finding Examples of the Character Analysis

Now you know how to write a character description. And such an analysis will no longer bring any difficulties for you. However, seeing examples gives more transparency to this process.

If you need more ideas for inspiration to make an analysis, you can find them on educational websites like Tidewater Community College offers.

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Academic writing refers to a style of expression that researchers use to define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and specific areas of expertise. Characteristics of academic writing include a formal tone, use of the third-person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice. Like specialist languages adopted in other professions, such as, law or medicine, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning about complex ideas or concepts within a community of scholarly experts and practitioners.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide . New York: Routledge, 2008; Ezza, El-Sadig Y. and Touria Drid. T eaching Academic Writing as a Discipline-Specific Skill in Higher Education . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020.

Importance of Good Academic Writing

The accepted form of academic writing in the social sciences can vary considerable depending on the methodological framework and the intended audience. However, most college-level research papers require careful attention to the following stylistic elements:

I.  The Big Picture Unlike creative or journalistic writing, the overall structure of academic writing is formal and logical. It must be cohesive and possess a logically organized flow of ideas; this means that the various parts are connected to form a unified whole. There should be narrative links between sentences and paragraphs so that the reader is able to follow your argument. The introduction should include a description of how the rest of the paper is organized and all sources are properly cited throughout the paper.

II.  Tone The overall tone refers to the attitude conveyed in a piece of writing. Throughout your paper, it is important that you present the arguments of others fairly and with an appropriate narrative tone. When presenting a position or argument that you disagree with, describe this argument accurately and without loaded or biased language. In academic writing, the author is expected to investigate the research problem from an authoritative point of view. You should, therefore, state the strengths of your arguments confidently, using language that is neutral, not confrontational or dismissive.

III.  Diction Diction refers to the choice of words you use. Awareness of the words you use is important because words that have almost the same denotation [dictionary definition] can have very different connotations [implied meanings]. This is particularly true in academic writing because words and terminology can evolve a nuanced meaning that describes a particular idea, concept, or phenomenon derived from the epistemological culture of that discipline [e.g., the concept of rational choice in political science]. Therefore, use concrete words [not general] that convey a specific meaning. If this cannot be done without confusing the reader, then you need to explain what you mean within the context of how that word or phrase is used within a discipline.

IV.  Language The investigation of research problems in the social sciences is often complex and multi- dimensional . Therefore, it is important that you use unambiguous language. Well-structured paragraphs and clear topic sentences enable a reader to follow your line of thinking without difficulty. Your language should be concise, formal, and express precisely what you want it to mean. Do not use vague expressions that are not specific or precise enough for the reader to derive exact meaning ["they," "we," "people," "the organization," etc.], abbreviations like 'i.e.'  ["in other words"], 'e.g.' ["for example"], or 'a.k.a.' ["also known as"], and the use of unspecific determinate words ["super," "very," "incredible," "huge," etc.].

V.  Punctuation Scholars rely on precise words and language to establish the narrative tone of their work and, therefore, punctuation marks are used very deliberately. For example, exclamation points are rarely used to express a heightened tone because it can come across as unsophisticated or over-excited. Dashes should be limited to the insertion of an explanatory comment in a sentence, while hyphens should be limited to connecting prefixes to words [e.g., multi-disciplinary] or when forming compound phrases [e.g., commander-in-chief]. Finally, understand that semi-colons represent a pause that is longer than a comma, but shorter than a period in a sentence. In general, there are four grammatical uses of semi-colons: when a second clause expands or explains the first clause; to describe a sequence of actions or different aspects of the same topic; placed before clauses which begin with "nevertheless", "therefore", "even so," and "for instance”; and, to mark off a series of phrases or clauses which contain commas. If you are not confident about when to use semi-colons [and most of the time, they are not required for proper punctuation], rewrite using shorter sentences or revise the paragraph.

VI.  Academic Conventions Among the most important rules and principles of academic engagement of a writing is citing sources in the body of your paper and providing a list of references as either footnotes or endnotes. The academic convention of citing sources facilitates processes of intellectual discovery, critical thinking, and applying a deliberate method of navigating through the scholarly landscape by tracking how cited works are propagated by scholars over time . Aside from citing sources, other academic conventions to follow include the appropriate use of headings and subheadings, properly spelling out acronyms when first used in the text, avoiding slang or colloquial language, avoiding emotive language or unsupported declarative statements, avoiding contractions [e.g., isn't], and using first person and second person pronouns only when necessary.

VII.  Evidence-Based Reasoning Assignments often ask you to express your own point of view about the research problem. However, what is valued in academic writing is that statements are based on evidence-based reasoning. This refers to possessing a clear understanding of the pertinent body of knowledge and academic debates that exist within, and often external to, your discipline concerning the topic. You need to support your arguments with evidence from scholarly [i.e., academic or peer-reviewed] sources. It should be an objective stance presented as a logical argument; the quality of the evidence you cite will determine the strength of your argument. The objective is to convince the reader of the validity of your thoughts through a well-documented, coherent, and logically structured piece of writing. This is particularly important when proposing solutions to problems or delineating recommended courses of action.

VIII.  Thesis-Driven Academic writing is “thesis-driven,” meaning that the starting point is a particular perspective, idea, or position applied to the chosen topic of investigation, such as, establishing, proving, or disproving solutions to the questions applied to investigating the research problem. Note that a problem statement without the research questions does not qualify as academic writing because simply identifying the research problem does not establish for the reader how you will contribute to solving the problem, what aspects you believe are most critical, or suggest a method for gathering information or data to better understand the problem.

IX.  Complexity and Higher-Order Thinking Academic writing addresses complex issues that require higher-order thinking skills applied to understanding the research problem [e.g., critical, reflective, logical, and creative thinking as opposed to, for example, descriptive or prescriptive thinking]. Higher-order thinking skills include cognitive processes that are used to comprehend, solve problems, and express concepts or that describe abstract ideas that cannot be easily acted out, pointed to, or shown with images. Think of your writing this way: One of the most important attributes of a good teacher is the ability to explain complexity in a way that is understandable and relatable to the topic being presented during class. This is also one of the main functions of academic writing--examining and explaining the significance of complex ideas as clearly as possible.  As a writer, you must adopt the role of a good teacher by summarizing complex information into a well-organized synthesis of ideas, concepts, and recommendations that contribute to a better understanding of the research problem.

Academic Writing. Writing Center. Colorado Technical College; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide . New York: Routledge, 2008; Murray, Rowena  and Sarah Moore. The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach . New York: Open University Press, 2006; Johnson, Roy. Improve Your Writing Skills . Manchester, UK: Clifton Press, 1995; Nygaard, Lynn P. Writing for Scholars: A Practical Guide to Making Sense and Being Heard . Second edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2015; Silvia, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2007; Style, Diction, Tone, and Voice. Writing Center, Wheaton College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.

Strategies for...

Understanding Academic Writing and Its Jargon

The very definition of research jargon is language specific to a particular community of practitioner-researchers . Therefore, in modern university life, jargon represents the specific language and meaning assigned to words and phrases specific to a discipline or area of study. For example, the idea of being rational may hold the same general meaning in both political science and psychology, but its application to understanding and explaining phenomena within the research domain of a each discipline may have subtle differences based upon how scholars in that discipline apply the concept to the theories and practice of their work.

Given this, it is important that specialist terminology [i.e., jargon] must be used accurately and applied under the appropriate conditions . Subject-specific dictionaries are the best places to confirm the meaning of terms within the context of a specific discipline. These can be found by either searching in the USC Libraries catalog by entering the disciplinary and the word dictionary [e.g., sociology and dictionary] or using a database such as Credo Reference [a curated collection of subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides from highly regarded publishers] . It is appropriate for you to use specialist language within your field of study, but you should avoid using such language when writing for non-academic or general audiences.

Problems with Opaque Writing

A common criticism of scholars is that they can utilize needlessly complex syntax or overly expansive vocabulary that is impenetrable or not well-defined. When writing, avoid problems associated with opaque writing by keeping in mind the following:

1.   Excessive use of specialized terminology . Yes, it is appropriate for you to use specialist language and a formal style of expression in academic writing, but it does not mean using "big words" just for the sake of doing so. Overuse of complex or obscure words or writing complicated sentence constructions gives readers the impression that your paper is more about style than substance; it leads the reader to question if you really know what you are talking about. Focus on creating clear, concise, and elegant prose that minimizes reliance on specialized terminology.

2.   Inappropriate use of specialized terminology . Because you are dealing with concepts, research, and data within your discipline, you need to use the technical language appropriate to that area of study. However, nothing will undermine the validity of your study quicker than the inappropriate application of a term or concept. Avoid using terms whose meaning you are unsure of--do not just guess or assume! Consult the meaning of terms in specialized, discipline-specific dictionaries by searching the USC Libraries catalog or the Credo Reference database [see above].

Additional Problems to Avoid

In addition to understanding the use of specialized language, there are other aspects of academic writing in the social sciences that you should be aware of. These problems include:

• Personal nouns . Excessive use of personal nouns [e.g., I, me, you, us] may lead the reader to believe the study was overly subjective. These words can be interpreted as being used only to avoid presenting empirical evidence about the research problem. Limit the use of personal nouns to descriptions of things you actually did [e.g., "I interviewed ten teachers about classroom management techniques..."]. Note that personal nouns are generally found in the discussion section of a paper because this is where you as the author/researcher interpret and describe your work.
• Directives . Avoid directives that demand the reader to "do this" or "do that." Directives should be framed as evidence-based recommendations or goals leading to specific outcomes. Note that an exception to this can be found in various forms of action research that involve evidence-based advocacy for social justice or transformative change. Within this area of the social sciences, authors may offer directives for action in a declarative tone of urgency.
• Informal, conversational tone using slang and idioms . Academic writing relies on excellent grammar and precise word structure. Your narrative should not include regional dialects or slang terms because they can be open to interpretation. Your writing should be direct and concise using standard English.
• Wordiness. Focus on being concise, straightforward, and developing a narrative that does not have confusing language . By doing so, you  help eliminate the possibility of the reader misinterpreting the design and purpose of your study.
• Vague expressions (e.g., "they," "we," "people," "the company," "that area," etc.). Being concise in your writing also includes avoiding vague references to persons, places, or things. While proofreading your paper, be sure to look for and edit any vague or imprecise statements that lack context or specificity.
• Numbered lists and bulleted items . The use of bulleted items or lists should be used only if the narrative dictates a need for clarity. For example, it is fine to state, "The four main problems with hedge funds are:" and then list them as 1, 2, 3, 4. However, in academic writing, this must then be followed by detailed explanation and analysis of each item. Given this, the question you should ask yourself while proofreading is: why begin with a list in the first place rather than just starting with systematic analysis of each item arranged in separate paragraphs? Also, be careful using numbers because they can imply a ranked order of priority or importance. If none exists, use bullets and avoid checkmarks or other symbols.
• Descriptive writing . Describing a research problem is an important means of contextualizing a study. In fact, some description or background information may be needed because you can not assume the reader knows the key aspects of the topic. However, the content of your paper should focus on methodology, the analysis and interpretation of findings, and their implications as they apply to the research problem rather than background information and descriptions of tangential issues.
• Personal experience. Drawing upon personal experience [e.g., traveling abroad; caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease] can be an effective way of introducing the research problem or engaging your readers in understanding its significance. Use personal experience only as an example, though, because academic writing relies on evidence-based research. To do otherwise is simply story-telling.

NOTE:   Rules concerning excellent grammar and precise word structure do not apply when quoting someone.  A quote should be inserted in the text of your paper exactly as it was stated. If the quote is especially vague or hard to understand, consider paraphrasing it or using a different quote to convey the same meaning. Consider inserting the term "sic" in brackets after the quoted text to indicate that the quotation has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source, but the source had grammar, spelling, or other errors. The adverb sic informs the reader that the errors are not yours.

Academic Writing. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article. Cornell University; College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Murray, Rowena  and Sarah Moore. The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach . New York: Open University Press, 2006; Johnson, Eileen S. “Action Research.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education . Edited by George W. Noblit and Joseph R. Neikirk. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020); Oppenheimer, Daniel M. "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly." Applied Cognitive Psychology 20 (2006): 139-156; Ezza, El-Sadig Y. and Touria Drid. T eaching Academic Writing as a Discipline-Specific Skill in Higher Education . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020; Pernawan, Ari. Common Flaws in Students' Research Proposals. English Education Department. Yogyakarta State University; Style. College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Structure and Writing Style

I. Improving Academic Writing

To improve your academic writing skills, you should focus your efforts on three key areas: 1.   Clear Writing . The act of thinking about precedes the process of writing about. Good writers spend sufficient time distilling information and reviewing major points from the literature they have reviewed before creating their work. Writing detailed outlines can help you clearly organize your thoughts. Effective academic writing begins with solid planning, so manage your time carefully. 2.  Excellent Grammar . Needless to say, English grammar can be difficult and complex; even the best scholars take many years before they have a command of the major points of good grammar. Take the time to learn the major and minor points of good grammar. Spend time practicing writing and seek detailed feedback from professors. Take advantage of the Writing Center on campus if you need help. Proper punctuation and good proofreading skills can significantly improve academic writing [see sub-tab for proofreading you paper ].

Refer to these three basic resources to help your grammar and writing skills:

• A good writing reference book, such as, Strunk and White’s book, The Elements of Style or the St. Martin's Handbook ;
• A college-level dictionary, such as, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ;
• The latest edition of Roget's Thesaurus in Dictionary Form .

3.  Consistent Stylistic Approach . Whether your professor expresses a preference to use MLA, APA or the Chicago Manual of Style or not, choose one style manual and stick to it. Each of these style manuals provide rules on how to write out numbers, references, citations, footnotes, and lists. Consistent adherence to a style of writing helps with the narrative flow of your paper and improves its readability. Note that some disciplines require a particular style [e.g., education uses APA] so as you write more papers within your major, your familiarity with it will improve.

II. Evaluating Quality of Writing

A useful approach for evaluating the quality of your academic writing is to consider the following issues from the perspective of the reader. While proofreading your final draft, critically assess the following elements in your writing.

• It is shaped around one clear research problem, and it explains what that problem is from the outset.
• Your paper tells the reader why the problem is important and why people should know about it.
• You have accurately and thoroughly informed the reader what has already been published about this problem or others related to it and noted important gaps in the research.
• You have provided evidence to support your argument that the reader finds convincing.
• The paper includes a description of how and why particular evidence was collected and analyzed, and why specific theoretical arguments or concepts were used.
• The paper is made up of paragraphs, each containing only one controlling idea.
• You indicate how each section of the paper addresses the research problem.
• You have considered counter-arguments or counter-examples where they are relevant.
• Arguments, evidence, and their significance have been presented in the conclusion.
• Limitations of your research have been explained as evidence of the potential need for further study.
• The narrative flows in a clear, accurate, and well-organized way.

Boscoloa, Pietro, Barbara Arféb, and Mara Quarisaa. “Improving the Quality of Students' Academic Writing: An Intervention Study.” Studies in Higher Education 32 (August 2007): 419-438; Academic Writing. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Academic Writing Style. First-Year Seminar Handbook. Mercer University; Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article. Cornell University; Candlin, Christopher. Academic Writing Step-By-Step: A Research-based Approach . Bristol, CT: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2016; College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Style . College Writing. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Invention: Five Qualities of Good Writing. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Considering the Passive Voice in Academic Writing

In the English language, we are able to construct sentences in the following way: 1.  "The policies of Congress caused the economic crisis." 2.  "The economic crisis was caused by the policies of Congress."

The decision about which sentence to use is governed by whether you want to focus on “Congress” and what they did, or on “the economic crisis” and what caused it. This choice in focus is achieved with the use of either the active or the passive voice. When you want your readers to focus on the "doer" of an action, you can make the "doer"' the subject of the sentence and use the active form of the verb. When you want readers to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself, you can make the effect or the action the subject of the sentence by using the passive form of the verb.

Often in academic writing, scholars don't want to focus on who is doing an action, but on who is receiving or experiencing the consequences of that action. The passive voice is useful in academic writing because it allows writers to highlight the most important participants or events within sentences by placing them at the beginning of the sentence.

Use the passive voice when:

• You want to focus on the person, place, or thing affected by the action, or the action itself;
• It is not important who or what did the action;
• You want to be impersonal or more formal.

Form the passive voice by:

• Turning the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.
• Changing the verb to a passive form by adding the appropriate form of the verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.

NOTE: Consult with your professor about using the passive voice before submitting your research paper. Some strongly discourage its use!

Active and Passive Voice. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Diefenbach, Paul. Future of Digital Media Syllabus. Drexel University; Passive Voice. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.  

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13.1 Formatting a Research Paper

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Apply general APA style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use APA style , the documentation and formatting style followed by the American Psychological Association, as well as MLA style , from the Modern Language Association. There are a few major formatting styles used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian:

• AMA (American Medical Association) for medicine, health, and biological sciences
• APA (American Psychological Association) for education, psychology, and the social sciences
• Chicago—a common style used in everyday publications like magazines, newspapers, and books
• MLA (Modern Language Association) for English, literature, arts, and humanities
• Turabian—another common style designed for its universal application across all subjects and disciplines

While all the formatting and citation styles have their own use and applications, in this chapter we focus our attention on the two styles you are most likely to use in your academic studies: APA and MLA.

If you find that the rules of proper source documentation are difficult to keep straight, you are not alone. Writing a good research paper is, in and of itself, a major intellectual challenge. Having to follow detailed citation and formatting guidelines as well may seem like just one more task to add to an already-too-long list of requirements.

Following these guidelines, however, serves several important purposes. First, it signals to your readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field; it is the literary equivalent of wearing a tailored suit to a job interview. Second, it shows that you respect other people’s work enough to give them proper credit for it. Finally, it helps your reader find additional materials if he or she wishes to learn more about your topic.

Furthermore, producing a letter-perfect APA-style paper need not be burdensome. Yes, it requires careful attention to detail. However, you can simplify the process if you keep these broad guidelines in mind:

• Work ahead whenever you can. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” includes tips for keeping track of your sources early in the research process, which will save time later on.
• Get it right the first time. Apply APA guidelines as you write, so you will not have much to correct during the editing stage. Again, putting in a little extra time early on can save time later.
• Use the resources available to you. In addition to the guidelines provided in this chapter, you may wish to consult the APA website at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.

General Formatting Guidelines

This chapter provides detailed guidelines for using the citation and formatting conventions developed by the American Psychological Association, or APA. Writers in disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, psychology, and education follow APA style. The major components of a paper written in APA style are listed in the following box.

These are the major components of an APA-style paper:

Body, which includes the following:

• Headings and, if necessary, subheadings to organize the content
• In-text citations of research sources
• References page

All these components must be saved in one document, not as separate documents.

The title page of your paper includes the following information:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Name of the institution with which the author is affiliated
• Header at the top of the page with the paper title (in capital letters) and the page number (If the title is lengthy, you may use a shortened form of it in the header.)

List the first three elements in the order given in the previous list, centered about one third of the way down from the top of the page. Use the headers and footers tool of your word-processing program to add the header, with the title text at the left and the page number in the upper-right corner. Your title page should look like the following example.

The next page of your paper provides an abstract , or brief summary of your findings. An abstract does not need to be provided in every paper, but an abstract should be used in papers that include a hypothesis. A good abstract is concise—about one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty words—and is written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as apparent here as in the body of your paper. When writing the abstract, take a just-the-facts approach, and summarize your research question and your findings in a few sentences.

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you read a paper written by a student named Jorge, who researched the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets. Read Jorge’s abstract. Note how it sums up the major ideas in his paper without going into excessive detail.

Write an abstract summarizing your paper. Briefly introduce the topic, state your findings, and sum up what conclusions you can draw from your research. Use the word count feature of your word-processing program to make sure your abstract does not exceed one hundred fifty words.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers that present extensive primary research, such as your own experiment or survey. In your abstract, summarize your research question and your findings, and briefly indicate how your study relates to prior research in the field.

Margins, Pagination, and Headings

APA style requirements also address specific formatting concerns, such as margins, pagination, and heading styles, within the body of the paper. Review the following APA guidelines.

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

• Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
• Use double-spaced text throughout your paper.
• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in a legible size (10- to 12-point).
• Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references section. Page numbers appear flush right within your header.
• Section headings and subsection headings within the body of your paper use different types of formatting depending on the level of information you are presenting. Additional details from Jorge’s paper are provided.

Begin formatting the final draft of your paper according to APA guidelines. You may work with an existing document or set up a new document if you choose. Include the following:

• Your title page
• The abstract you created in Note 13.8 “Exercise 1”
• Correct headers and page numbers for your title page and abstract

APA style uses section headings to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and to know immediately what major topics are covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may also be divided into subsections, sub-subsections, and so on. These smaller sections, in turn, use different heading styles to indicate different levels of information. In essence, you are using headings to create a hierarchy of information.

The following heading styles used in APA formatting are listed in order of greatest to least importance:

• Section headings use centered, boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words in the heading capitalized.
• Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Headings use title case.
• The third level uses left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings use a capital letter only for the first word, and they end in a period.
• The fourth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
• The fifth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are italicized and not boldfaced.

Visually, the hierarchy of information is organized as indicated in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” .

Table 13.1 Section Headings

A college research paper may not use all the heading levels shown in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” , but you are likely to encounter them in academic journal articles that use APA style. For a brief paper, you may find that level 1 headings suffice. Longer or more complex papers may need level 2 headings or other lower-level headings to organize information clearly. Use your outline to craft your major section headings and determine whether any subtopics are substantial enough to require additional levels of headings.

Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 “Exercise 2” , begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above. If your major sections should be broken into subsections, add those headings as well. Use your outline to help you.

Because Jorge used only level 1 headings, his Exercise 3 would look like the following:

Citation Guidelines

In-text citations.

Throughout the body of your paper, include a citation whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources. As you learned in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , the purpose of citations is twofold: to give credit to others for their ideas and to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired. Your in-text citations provide basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a longer entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.

In-text citations must provide the name of the author or authors and the year the source was published. (When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead.) When directly quoting a source, it is also required that you include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.

This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence, as in these examples.

Epstein (2010) points out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Here, the writer names the source author when introducing the quote and provides the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. The page number appears in parentheses after the closing quotation marks and before the period that ends the sentence.

Addiction researchers caution that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (Epstein, 2010, p. 137).

Here, the writer provides a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence that includes the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number separated by commas. Again, the parenthetical citation is placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.

As noted in the book Junk Food, Junk Science (Epstein, 2010, p. 137), “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive.”

Here, the writer chose to mention the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed the title with a parenthetical citation. Note that the parenthetical citation is placed before the comma that signals the end of the introductory phrase.

David Epstein’s book Junk Food, Junk Science (2010) pointed out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Another variation is to introduce the author and the source title in your sentence and include the publication date and page number in parentheses within the sentence or at the end of the sentence. As long as you have included the essential information, you can choose the option that works best for that particular sentence and source.

Citing a book with a single author is usually a straightforward task. Of course, your research may require that you cite many other types of sources, such as books or articles with more than one author or sources with no individual author listed. You may also need to cite sources available in both print and online and nonprint sources, such as websites and personal interviews. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.

Writing at Work

APA is just one of several different styles with its own guidelines for documentation, formatting, and language usage. Depending on your field of interest, you may be exposed to additional styles, such as the following:

• MLA style. Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other disciplines in the humanities.
• Chicago style. Outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style and sometimes used for papers in the humanities and the sciences; many professional organizations use this style for publications as well.
• Associated Press (AP) style. Used by professional journalists.

References List

The brief citations included in the body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations provided at the end of the paper in the references section. In-text citations provide basic information—the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number if necessary—while the references section provides more extensive bibliographical information. Again, this information allows your reader to follow up on the sources you cited and do additional reading about the topic if desired.

The specific format of entries in the list of references varies slightly for different source types, but the entries generally include the following information:

• The name(s) of the author(s) or institution that wrote the source
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

The references page is double spaced and lists entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an entry continues for more than one line, the second line and each subsequent line are indented five spaces. Review the following example. ( Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provides extensive guidelines for formatting reference entries for different types of sources.)

In APA style, book and article titles are formatted in sentence case, not title case. Sentence case means that only the first word is capitalized, along with any proper nouns.

Key Takeaways

• Following proper citation and formatting guidelines helps writers ensure that their work will be taken seriously, give proper credit to other authors for their work, and provide valuable information to readers.
• Working ahead and taking care to cite sources correctly the first time are ways writers can save time during the editing stage of writing a research paper.
• APA papers usually include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
• APA papers use a specific headings structure to provide a clear hierarchy of information.
• In APA papers, in-text citations usually include the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
• In-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, which provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Write a Research Paper Introduction (with Examples)

The research paper introduction section, along with the Title and Abstract, can be considered the face of any research paper. The following article is intended to guide you in organizing and writing the research paper introduction for a quality academic article or dissertation.

The research paper introduction aims to present the topic to the reader. A study will only be accepted for publishing if you can ascertain that the available literature cannot answer your research question. So it is important to ensure that you have read important studies on that particular topic, especially those within the last five to ten years, and that they are properly referenced in this section. 1 What should be included in the research paper introduction is decided by what you want to tell readers about the reason behind the research and how you plan to fill the knowledge gap. The best research paper introduction provides a systemic review of existing work and demonstrates additional work that needs to be done. It needs to be brief, captivating, and well-referenced; a well-drafted research paper introduction will help the researcher win half the battle.

The introduction for a research paper is where you set up your topic and approach for the reader. It has several key goals:

• Present your research topic
• Capture reader interest
• Summarize existing research
• Position your own approach
• Define your specific research problem and problem statement
• Highlight the novelty and contributions of the study
• Give an overview of the paper’s structure

The research paper introduction can vary in size and structure depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or is a review paper. Some research paper introduction examples are only half a page while others are a few pages long. In many cases, the introduction will be shorter than all of the other sections of your paper; its length depends on the size of your paper as a whole.

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Table of Contents

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The introduction in a research paper is placed at the beginning to guide the reader from a broad subject area to the specific topic that your research addresses. They present the following information to the reader

• Scope: The topic covered in the research paper
• Context: Background of your topic
• Importance: Why your research matters in that particular area of research and the industry problem that can be targeted

The research paper introduction conveys a lot of information and can be considered an essential roadmap for the rest of your paper. A good introduction for a research paper is important for the following reasons:

• It stimulates your reader’s interest: A good introduction section can make your readers want to read your paper by capturing their interest. It informs the reader what they are going to learn and helps determine if the topic is of interest to them.
• It helps the reader understand the research background: Without a clear introduction, your readers may feel confused and even struggle when reading your paper. A good research paper introduction will prepare them for the in-depth research to come. It provides you the opportunity to engage with the readers and demonstrate your knowledge and authority on the specific topic.
• It explains why your research paper is worth reading: Your introduction can convey a lot of information to your readers. It introduces the topic, why the topic is important, and how you plan to proceed with your research.
• It helps guide the reader through the rest of the paper: The research paper introduction gives the reader a sense of the nature of the information that will support your arguments and the general organization of the paragraphs that will follow. It offers an overview of what to expect when reading the main body of your paper.

What are the parts of introduction in the research?

A good research paper introduction section should comprise three main elements: 2

• What is known: This sets the stage for your research. It informs the readers of what is known on the subject.
• What is lacking: This is aimed at justifying the reason for carrying out your research. This could involve investigating a new concept or method or building upon previous research.
• What you aim to do: This part briefly states the objectives of your research and its major contributions. Your detailed hypothesis will also form a part of this section.

How to write a research paper introduction?

The first step in writing the research paper introduction is to inform the reader what your topic is and why it’s interesting or important. This is generally accomplished with a strong opening statement. The second step involves establishing the kinds of research that have been done and ending with limitations or gaps in the research that you intend to address. Finally, the research paper introduction clarifies how your own research fits in and what problem it addresses. If your research involved testing hypotheses, these should be stated along with your research question. The hypothesis should be presented in the past tense since it will have been tested by the time you are writing the research paper introduction.

The following key points, with examples, can guide you when writing the research paper introduction section:

• Highlight the importance of the research field or topic
• Describe the background of the topic
• Present an overview of current research on the topic

Example: The inclusion of experiential and competency-based learning has benefitted electronics engineering education. Industry partnerships provide an excellent alternative for students wanting to engage in solving real-world challenges. Industry-academia participation has grown in recent years due to the need for skilled engineers with practical training and specialized expertise. However, from the educational perspective, many activities are needed to incorporate sustainable development goals into the university curricula and consolidate learning innovation in universities.

• Reveal a gap in existing research or oppose an existing assumption
• Formulate the research question

Example: There have been plausible efforts to integrate educational activities in higher education electronics engineering programs. However, very few studies have considered using educational research methods for performance evaluation of competency-based higher engineering education, with a focus on technical and or transversal skills. To remedy the current need for evaluating competencies in STEM fields and providing sustainable development goals in engineering education, in this study, a comparison was drawn between study groups without and with industry partners.

• State the purpose of your study
• Highlight the key characteristics of your study
• Describe important results
• Highlight the novelty of the study.
• Offer a brief overview of the structure of the paper.

Example: The study evaluates the main competency needed in the applied electronics course, which is a fundamental core subject for many electronics engineering undergraduate programs. We compared two groups, without and with an industrial partner, that offered real-world projects to solve during the semester. This comparison can help determine significant differences in both groups in terms of developing subject competency and achieving sustainable development goals.

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The purpose of the research paper introduction is to introduce the reader to the problem definition, justify the need for the study, and describe the main theme of the study. The aim is to gain the reader’s attention by providing them with necessary background information and establishing the main purpose and direction of the research.

The length of the research paper introduction can vary across journals and disciplines. While there are no strict word limits for writing the research paper introduction, an ideal length would be one page, with a maximum of 400 words over 1-4 paragraphs. Generally, it is one of the shorter sections of the paper as the reader is assumed to have at least a reasonable knowledge about the topic. 2 For example, for a study evaluating the role of building design in ensuring fire safety, there is no need to discuss definitions and nature of fire in the introduction; you could start by commenting upon the existing practices for fire safety and how your study will add to the existing knowledge and practice.

When deciding what to include in the research paper introduction, the rest of the paper should also be considered. The aim is to introduce the reader smoothly to the topic and facilitate an easy read without much dependency on external sources. 3 Below is a list of elements you can include to prepare a research paper introduction outline and follow it when you are writing the research paper introduction. Topic introduction: This can include key definitions and a brief history of the topic. Research context and background: Offer the readers some general information and then narrow it down to specific aspects. Details of the research you conducted: A brief literature review can be included to support your arguments or line of thought. Rationale for the study: This establishes the relevance of your study and establishes its importance. Importance of your research: The main contributions are highlighted to help establish the novelty of your study Research hypothesis: Introduce your research question and propose an expected outcome. Organization of the paper: Include a short paragraph of 3-4 sentences that highlights your plan for the entire paper

Cite only works that are most relevant to your topic; as a general rule, you can include one to three. Note that readers want to see evidence of original thinking. So it is better to avoid using too many references as it does not leave much room for your personal standpoint to shine through. Citations in your research paper introduction support the key points, and the number of citations depend on the subject matter and the point discussed. If the research paper introduction is too long or overflowing with citations, it is better to cite a few review articles rather than the individual articles summarized in the review. A good point to remember when citing research papers in the introduction section is to include at least one-third of the references in the introduction.

The literature review plays a significant role in the research paper introduction section. A good literature review accomplishes the following: Introduces the topic – Establishes the study’s significance – Provides an overview of the relevant literature – Provides context for the study using literature – Identifies knowledge gaps However, remember to avoid making the following mistakes when writing a research paper introduction: Do not use studies from the literature review to aggressively support your research Avoid direct quoting Do not allow literature review to be the focus of this section. Instead, the literature review should only aid in setting a foundation for the manuscript.

Remember the following key points for writing a good research paper introduction: 4

• Avoid stuffing too much general information: Avoid including what an average reader would know and include only that information related to the problem being addressed in the research paper introduction. For example, when describing a comparative study of non-traditional methods for mechanical design optimization, information related to the traditional methods and differences between traditional and non-traditional methods would not be relevant. In this case, the introduction for the research paper should begin with the state-of-the-art non-traditional methods and methods to evaluate the efficiency of newly developed algorithms.
• Avoid packing too many references: Cite only the required works in your research paper introduction. The other works can be included in the discussion section to strengthen your findings.
• Avoid extensive criticism of previous studies: Avoid being overly critical of earlier studies while setting the rationale for your study. A better place for this would be the Discussion section, where you can highlight the advantages of your method.
• Avoid describing conclusions of the study: When writing a research paper introduction remember not to include the findings of your study. The aim is to let the readers know what question is being answered. The actual answer should only be given in the Results and Discussion section.

To summarize, the research paper introduction section should be brief yet informative. It should convince the reader the need to conduct the study and motivate him to read further. If you’re feeling stuck or unsure, choose trusted AI academic writing assistants like Paperpal to effortlessly craft your research paper introduction and other sections of your research article.

1. Jawaid, S. A., & Jawaid, M. (2019). How to write introduction and discussion. Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia, 13(Suppl 1), S18.

2. Dewan, P., & Gupta, P. (2016). Writing the title, abstract and introduction: Looks matter!. Indian pediatrics, 53, 235-241.

3. Cetin, S., & Hackam, D. J. (2005). An approach to the writing of a scientific Manuscript1. Journal of Surgical Research, 128(2), 165-167.

4. Bavdekar, S. B. (2015). Writing introduction: Laying the foundations of a research paper. Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 63(7), 44-6.

Paperpal is a comprehensive AI writing toolkit that helps students and researchers achieve 2x the writing in half the time. It leverages 21+ years of STM experience and insights from millions of research articles to provide in-depth academic writing, language editing, and submission readiness support to help you write better, faster.  

Get accurate academic translations, rewriting support, grammar checks, vocabulary suggestions, and generative AI assistance that delivers human precision at machine speed. Try for free or upgrade to Paperpal Prime starting at US$19 a month to access premium features, including consistency, plagiarism, and 30+ submission readiness checks to help you succeed.  

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Spirituality

Just released: new findings on character strengths, fifteen new studies explore one of psychology's most popular topics..

Posted May 14, 2021 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

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When a journal has a “special issue” dedicated entirely to a specific topic, it is a safe prediction that the topic area is thriving from a scientific perspective. This is certainly true for character strengths.

About 20 years ago, when the field of positive psychology was a newborn baby, psychologists Neal Mayerson and Martin Seligman (the founder of positive psychology) began classifying character strengths, creating the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS). Over the subsequent two decades, hundreds of studies on the subject of character strengths have been published.

This catalyzed an idea in one of the leading researchers in character strengths, Hadassah Littman-Ovadia, who is a professor at Ariel University in Israel. I asked Dr. Littman-Ovadia why she wanted to do the special issue and she had this to say:

"Shortly before COVID happened, the idea to create a special journal issue for Frontiers in Psychology on character strengths jumped in my mind. I realized it had been about 20 years since the original VIA Classification project. I felt it was time to celebrate this newer area in the field of psychology. And, I wanted to invite colleagues who had been working in the area to celebrate this 20-year anniversary."

Littman-Ovadia then recruited additional editors to help her in attaining articles from leading character strengths researchers and to then shepherd these through the peer-review process. Philippe Dubreuil and Pavel Freidlin stepped up to help, as did Christina Meyers, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Resource Studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. Dr. Meyers added this:

"We thought this anniversary would be the perfect moment to highlight many of the great achievements of the past and to also look ahead to the potential avenues for character strengths science in the future. I felt very strongly about that. From time to time, I think it’s important to take a moment and stand still, to look back and to look forward."

New Directions in Character Strengths Research

Let’s take a closer look at the 15 articles. What follows are short highlights of each article. References for each can be found at the end. All the articles are fully accessible for free here .

Two articles set the stage for the special issue by looking back and forward. The editorial offered highlights on the importance of the VIA character strengths—the VIA Classification of character strengths and the VIA Inventory of Strengths—for the field of positive psychology. In considering all of the articles, the authors outline five future directions for the science of character strengths. These include:

• further examination into character strengths criteria
• establishing additional, causal links between character strengths and various outcome
• exploring antecedents to character strengths and social/community outcomes of character strengths
• examining long-term and short-term changes in character strengths through multi-level lenses;
• further study on the use of character strengths at times of adversity, crisis, trauma , and hardship (Littman-Ovadia, Dubreuil, Meyers, & Freidlin, 2021).

This was followed by Neal Mayerson’s paper which argued for advancing population-wide psychological maturity around building character strengths collectively, especially in response to the exponential growth of technology. He, too, offered several future directions such as the areas of thriving (instrumentality, well-being, and collective good); surviving ( resilience ; modulating fight-or-flight responses); child-rearing; system dynamics; interpersonal dynamics; contextualizing character strengths; strengths-spotting; and character development across the lifespan (Mayerson, 2020).

Character Strengths and Adversity

The role of character strengths in adversity was the focus of a study during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Spain. All character strengths groupings/factors predicted an increase in mental health and positive emotions (with the exception of the strengths of restraint for the latter outcome). Character strengths of restraint and fortitude predicted a decrease in negative affect (Martinez-Marti et al., 2020).

Character Strengths and Morality

In the original VIA Classification text by Peterson and Seligman, there are 10 criteria that constitute qualification as a character strength. One of these criteria is that the character strengths be morally valued. This was examined in a study evaluating the 24 character strengths and whether they are morally valued in a German sample.

Every strength was found to be positively morally valued, even when there were no set consequences of the strength use. Some strengths were more morally valued than others with the top five being judgment, honesty, kindness, fairness, and hope (Stahlmann & Ruch, 2020).

Character Strengths and Virtues

A handful of studies focused on character strength and virtues. One study looked at how the VIA Classification might advance the science of virtues. It reviews the three-dimensional model of cardinal virtues (moral, self-regulatory, and intellectual domains), dimensional vs. categorical characterization of virtue, evolution of adaptations underlying human capacity for using virtues, impact on both individual and communal levels, reciprocity among virtues, and practical wisdom (McGrath & Brown, 2020).

Two other studies examined the categorization of each of the 24 strengths under their corresponding virtue. One of these examined data from 1,241 individuals and found that 22 out of the 24 character strengths correlated with their assigned virtue—with the exceptions of hope correlating highest with courage, and humor correlating highest with humanity. It also found that higher levels of reported “good character” occurred for those who either had one character strength in each virtue category or who had all the character strengths in at least one virtue category (Ruch, Heintz, & Wagner, 2020).

Another study found that behavioral examples of individuals’ highest character strengths in action were related to virtues, as opposed to behavioral examples of lowest strengths or non-excellent examples; results converged strongly (not perfectly) with the VIA Classification’s current arrangement of character strengths and corresponding virtues (Giuliani, Ruch, & Gander, 2020).

Character Strengths and Values

Many people ask about the connection between character strengths and values. I posit that “values” live in our head—our thinking and feeling—and we hold our values (e.g., value for hard work or value for our family) dear to us. Values, however, do not say something about our behavior, whether or not we actually put those thoughts/feelings into action. That’s where character comes in—the activation of our values.

One study took a look at the connection between values and character strengths. The researchers examined gratitude as a self-transcendence value and found it to be connected with prosocial behavior and peer acceptance in two samples of adolescents (Lavy & Benish-Weisman, 2021).

Domains of Life

The various domains of typical living were examined in one study, which found that different character strengths profiles emerged for each of the domains that people spend their time in—for example, work, education , leisure, personal relationships, and romantic relationships . Strengths-related behavior in the different domains of life was strongly connected to flourishing (Wagner, Pindeus, & Ruch, 2021).

In an article examining the character strengths profiles of medical professionals, the highest means among samples of medical students and physicians were fairness, honesty, judgment, kindness, and love. When comparing specialties, general surgeons had higher levels of honesty and prudence than psychiatrists (Huber et al., 2020).

Character Strengths in the Workplace

Two articles targeted character strengths in the workplace. In a study of 42 teams, relationships were found between specific team roles and character strengths to align with performance and work satisfaction. Those teams with more team roles represented on their teams had higher performance and teamwork quality and those teams averaging higher levels of teamwork and fairness (or more members scoring high on prudence and fairness) had higher teamwork quality. No negative effects of having too many team members with one particular character strength were found (Gander, Gaitzsch, & Ruch, 2020).

Another study examined the person-environment fit with character strengths and found higher levels of congruence between the character strengths of an individual and those in their occupational group and these correlated with higher current and future job satisfaction and life satisfaction. In other words, it is important for workers to fit their character strengths to their occupation (Gander, Hofmann, & Ruch, 2020).

Character Strengths and Spirituality

Two articles forged new territory by examining the sciences of character strengths and spirituality together. One article argued that the VIA Classification represents “the decoding of the human spirit.” It outlined six levels by which spirituality is already infused within the VIA Classification and offered wholeness as a superordinate virtue therein. It theorized how the fields of spirituality and character strengths can mutually enhance one another, outlining the grounding path (ways in which character strengths ground and enhance spirituality) and the sanctification path (ways in which spirituality enhances character strengths through the sacred) (Niemiec, Russo-Netzer, & Pargament, 2020).

Another article explored how character strengths can be viewed as pathways toward nonduality and that spirituality can be understood and practiced by using character strengths. It argued for the VIA Classification as an important lens for viewing the positive human spirit (Littman-Ovadia & David, 2020).

The Practice of Character Strengths

The practice of character strengths was made more systematic by bringing diffuse terms such as “strengths-based” and “strengths-based practitioner” into greater clarity with operational definitions, six guiding principles, and specificity on the various character strengths practices as are soaring, emerging, and ripe with potential. The same framework was offered for categorizing the current status of research domains in character strengths. A survey of 113 strengths-based practitioners is integrated into the discussion (Niemiec and Pearce, 2020).

Concluding Remarks

I asked two of the special editors what stood out to them most about the special issue. Dr. Littman-Ovadia noted:

"I like all 15 of the papers that were published in the special issue. Some of them are empirically based, some are theoretically based, and some visionary. I really like the two spirituality papers and the new directions noted in those and in other papers—new directions for the field."

Dr. Meyers commented:

"There were some fascinating new areas—such as those that linked character strengths and spirituality. Another was the examination of the mapping of the character strengths under the virtues and the potential for increasing virtuous behavior."

How about you? What are your favorite articles? Which offered the most interesting findings, insights, or directions for the field?

Gander, F., Gaitzsch, I., & Ruch, W. (2020). The relationships of team role-and character strengths-balance with individual and team-level satisfaction and performance. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566222

Gander, F., Hofmann, J, & Ruch, W. (2020). Character strengths: Person-environment fit and relationships with job and life satisfaction. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01582

Giuliani, F., Ruch, W., & Gander, F. (2020). Does the excellent enactment of highest strengths reveal virtues? Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01545

Huber, A., Strecker, C., Kachel, T., Hoge, T., & Hofer, S. (2020). Character strengths profiles in medical professionals and their impact on well-being. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566728

Lavy, S., & Benish-Weisman, M. (2021). Character strengths as “values in action”: Linking character strengths with values theory – an exploratory study of the case of gratitude and self-transcendence. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.576189

Littman-Ovadia, H., & David, A. (2020). Character strengths as manifestations of spiritual life: Realizing the non-dual from the dual. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00960

Littman-Ovadia, H., Dubreuil, P., Meyers, M. C., & Freidlin, P. (2021). Editorial: VIA character strengths: Theory, research and practice. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.653941

Martinez-Marti, M. L., Theirs, C., I., Pascual, D., & Corradi, G. (2020). Character strengths predict an increase in mental health and subjective well-being over a one-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.584567

Mayerson, N. H. (2020). The character strengths response: An urgent call to action. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02106

McGrath, R. E., & Brown, M. (2020). Using the VIA classification to advance a psychological science of virtue. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.565953

Niemiec, R. M., & Pearce, R. (2020). The practice of character strengths: Unifying definitions, principles, and exploration of what’s soaring, emerging, and ripe with potential in science and in practice. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.590220

Niemiec, R. M., Russo-Netzer, P., & Pargament, K. I. (2020). The decoding of the human spirit: A synergy of spirituality and character strengths toward wholeness. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02040

Ruch, W., Heintz, S., & Wagner, L. (2020). Co-occurrence patterns of character strengths and measured core virtues in German-speaking adults. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.599094

Stahlmann, A. G., & Ruch, W. (2020). Scrutinizing the criteria for character strengths: Laypersons assert that every strength is positively morally valued, even in the absence of tangible outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.591028

Wagner, L., Pindeus, L., & Ruch, W. (2021). Character strengths in the life domains of work, education, leisure, and relationships, and their associations with flourishing. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.597534

Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D. , is the education director at the VIA Institute on Character.

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Research Objectives: The Compass of Your Study

Table of contents

• 1 Definition and Purpose of Setting Clear Research Objectives
• 2 How Research Objectives Fit into the Overall Research Framework
• 3 Types of Research Objectives
• 4 Aligning Objectives with Research Questions and Hypotheses
• 5 Role of Research Objectives in Various Research Phases
• 6.1 Key characteristics of well-defined research objectives
• 6.2 Step-by-Step Guide on How to Formulate Both General and Specific Research Objectives
• 6.3 How to Know When Your Objectives Need Refinement
• 7 Research Objectives Examples in Different Fields
• 8 Conclusion

Embarking on a research journey without clear objectives is like navigating the sea without a compass. This article delves into the essence of establishing precise research objectives, serving as the guiding star for your scholarly exploration.

We will unfold the layers of how the objective of study not only defines the scope of your research but also directs every phase of the research process, from formulating research questions to interpreting research findings. By bridging theory with practical examples, we aim to illuminate the path to crafting effective research objectives that are both ambitious and attainable. Let’s chart the course to a successful research voyage, exploring the significance, types, and formulation of research paper objectives.

Definition and Purpose of Setting Clear Research Objectives

Defining the research objectives includes which two tasks? Research objectives are clear and concise statements that outline what you aim to achieve through your study. They are the foundation for determining your research scope, guiding your data collection methods, and shaping your analysis. The purpose of research proposal and setting clear objectives in it is to ensure that your research efforts are focused and efficient, and to provide a roadmap that keeps your study aligned with its intended outcomes.

To define the research objective at the outset, researchers can avoid the pitfalls of scope creep, where the study’s focus gradually broadens beyond its initial boundaries, leading to wasted resources and time. Clear objectives facilitate communication with stakeholders, such as funding bodies, academic supervisors, and the broader academic community, by succinctly conveying the study’s goals and significance. Furthermore, they help in the formulation of precise research questions and hypotheses, making the research process more systematic and organized. Yet, it is not always easy. For this reason, PapersOwl is always ready to help. Lastly, clear research objectives enable the researcher to critically assess the study’s progress and outcomes against predefined benchmarks, ensuring the research stays on track and delivers meaningful results.

How Research Objectives Fit into the Overall Research Framework

Research objectives are integral to the research framework as the nexus between the research problem, questions, and hypotheses. They translate the broad goals of your study into actionable steps, ensuring every aspect of your research is purposefully aligned towards addressing the research problem. This alignment helps in structuring the research design and methodology, ensuring that each component of the study is geared towards answering the core questions derived from the objectives. Creating such a difficult piece may take a lot of time. If you need it to be accurate yet fast delivered, consider getting professional research paper writing help whenever the time comes. It also aids in the identification and justification of the research methods and tools used for data collection and analysis, aligning them with the objectives to enhance the validity and reliability of the findings.

Furthermore, by setting clear objectives, researchers can more effectively evaluate the impact and significance of their work in contributing to existing knowledge. Additionally, research objectives guide literature review, enabling researchers to focus their examination on relevant studies and theoretical frameworks that directly inform their research goals.

Types of Research Objectives

In the landscape of research, setting objectives is akin to laying down the tracks for a train’s journey, guiding it towards its destination. Constructing these tracks involves defining two main types of objectives: general and specific. Each serves a unique purpose in guiding the research towards its ultimate goals, with general objectives providing the broad vision and specific objectives outlining the concrete steps needed to fulfill that vision. Together, they form a cohesive blueprint that directs the focus of the study, ensuring that every effort contributes meaningfully to the overarching research aims.

• General objectives articulate the overarching goals of your study. They are broad, setting the direction for your research without delving into specifics. These objectives capture what you wish to explore or contribute to existing knowledge.
• Specific objectives break down the general objectives into measurable outcomes. They are precise, detailing the steps needed to achieve the broader goals of your study. They often correspond to different aspects of your research question , ensuring a comprehensive approach to your study.

To illustrate, consider a research project on the impact of digital marketing on consumer behavior. A general objective might be “to explore the influence of digital marketing on consumer purchasing decisions.” Specific objectives could include “to assess the effectiveness of social media advertising in enhancing brand awareness” and “to evaluate the impact of email marketing on customer loyalty.”

Aligning Objectives with Research Questions and Hypotheses

The harmony between what research objectives should be, questions, and hypotheses is critical. Objectives define what you aim to achieve; research questions specify what you seek to understand, and hypotheses predict the expected outcomes.

This alignment ensures a coherent and focused research endeavor. Achieving it necessitates a thoughtful consideration of how each component interrelates, ensuring that the objectives are not only ambitious but also directly answerable through the research questions and testable via the hypotheses. This interconnectedness facilitates a streamlined approach to the research process, enabling researchers to systematically address each aspect of their study in a logical sequence. Moreover, it enhances the clarity and precision of the research, making it easier for peers and stakeholders to grasp the study’s direction and potential contributions.

Role of Research Objectives in Various Research Phases

Throughout the research process, objectives guide your choices and strategies – from selecting the appropriate research design and methods to analyzing data and interpreting results. They are the criteria against which you measure the success of your study. In the initial stages, research objectives inform the selection of a topic, helping to narrow down a broad area of interest into a focused question that can be explored in depth. During the methodology phase, they dictate the type of data needed and the best methods for obtaining that data, ensuring that every step taken is purposeful and aligned with the study’s goals. As the research progresses, objectives provide a framework for analyzing the collected data, guiding the researcher in identifying patterns, drawing conclusions, and making informed decisions.

Crafting Effective Research Objectives

The effective objective of research is pivotal in laying the groundwork for a successful investigation. These objectives clarify the focus of your study and determine its direction and scope. Ensuring that your objectives are well-defined and aligned with the SMART criteria is crucial for setting a strong foundation for your research.

Key characteristics of well-defined research objectives

Well-defined research objectives are characterized by the SMART criteria – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Specific objectives clearly define what you plan to achieve, eliminating any ambiguity. Measurable objectives allow you to track progress and assess the outcome. Achievable objectives are realistic, considering the research sources and time available. Relevant objectives align with the broader goals of your field or research question. Finally, Time-bound objectives have a clear timeline for completion, adding urgency and a schedule to your work.

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Formulate Both General and Specific Research Objectives

So lets get to the part, how to write research objectives properly?

• Understand the issue or gap in existing knowledge your study aims to address.
• Gain insights into how similar challenges have been approached to refine your objectives.
• Articulate the broad goal of research based on your understanding of the problem.
• Detail the specific aspects of your research, ensuring they are actionable and measurable.

How to Know When Your Objectives Need Refinement

Your objectives of research may require refinement if they lack clarity, feasibility, or alignment with the research problem. If you find yourself struggling to design experiments or methods that directly address your objectives, or if the objectives seem too broad or not directly related to your research question, it’s likely time for refinement. Additionally, objectives in research proposal that do not facilitate a clear measurement of success indicate a need for a more precise definition. Refinement involves ensuring that each objective is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, enhancing your research’s overall focus and impact.

Research Objectives Examples in Different Fields

The application of research objectives spans various academic disciplines, each with its unique focus and methodologies. To illustrate how the objectives of the study guide a research paper across different fields, here are some research objective examples:

• In Health Sciences , a research aim may be to “determine the efficacy of a new vaccine in reducing the incidence of a specific disease among a target population within one year.” This objective is specific (efficacy of a new vaccine), measurable (reduction in disease incidence), achievable (with the right study design and sample size), relevant (to public health), and time-bound (within one year).
• In Environmental Studies , the study objectives could be “to assess the impact of air pollution on urban biodiversity over a decade.” This reflects a commitment to understanding the long-term effects of human activities on urban ecosystems, emphasizing the need for sustainable urban planning.
• In Economics , an example objective of a study might be “to analyze the relationship between fiscal policies and unemployment rates in developing countries over the past twenty years.” This seeks to explore macroeconomic trends and inform policymaking, highlighting the role of economic research study in societal development.

These examples of research objectives describe the versatility and significance of research objectives in guiding scholarly inquiry across different domains. By setting clear, well-defined objectives, researchers can ensure their studies are focused and impactful and contribute valuable knowledge to their respective fields.

Defining research studies objectives and problem statement is not just a preliminary step, but a continuous guiding force throughout the research journey. These goals of research illuminate the path forward and ensure that every stride taken is meaningful and aligned with the ultimate goals of the inquiry. Whether through the meticulous application of the SMART criteria or the strategic alignment with research questions and hypotheses, the rigor in crafting and refining these objectives underscores the integrity and relevance of the research. As scholars venture into the vast terrains of knowledge, the clarity, and precision of their objectives serve as beacons of light, steering their explorations toward discoveries that advance academic discourse and resonate with the broader societal needs.

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‘I’ve learned I need to treat my characters like people’: Varieties of agency and interaction in Writers’ experiences of their Characters’ Voices

John foxwell.

a Department of English Studies, Durham University, Hallgarth House, 77 Hallgarth Street, Durham DH1 3AY, United Kingdom

Ben Alderson-Day

b Department of Psychology, Durham University, Science Laboratories, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom

Charles Fernyhough

Angela woods.

• • Varied phenomenology of writers’ experiences of characters’ voices.
• • Important point of comparison for experiences of non-actual agents.
• • Automatized use of personality models suggesting non-inferential theory of mind.

Writers often report vivid experiences of hearing characters talking to them, talking back to them, and exhibiting independence and autonomy. However, systematic empirical studies of this phenomenon are almost non-existent, and as a result little is known about its cause, extent, or phenomenology. Here we present the results of a survey of professional writers ( n  = 181) run in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Participants provided detailed descriptions of their experiences of their characters in response to a phenomenological questionnaire, and also reported on imaginary companions, inner speech and hallucination-proneness. Qualitative analysis indicated that the phenomenology of the experience of agentive characters varied in terms of the characters’ separateness from the writer’s self and the kinds of interaction this did or did not allow for. We argue that these variations can be understood in relation to accounts of mindreading and agency tracking which adopt intuitive as opposed to inferential models.

1. Introduction

Engaging with fictional characters is a complex cognitive act which involves the interaction of a range of psychological processes, from mental imagery, to empathy, to theory of mind ( Waugh, 2015 , Oatley, 2012 , Keen, 2006 , Zunshine, 2006 ). Particularly intriguing – and difficult to account for – is the experience which frequently emerges from the creation of fictional characters. A large number of writers report vivid experiences of ‘hearing’ their characters talking to them, talking back to them, and exhibiting an atypical degree of independence and autonomy ( Watkins, 1986 , Taylor et al., 2003 , Porter Abbott, 2011 ):

Just as summer was ending, one or more of my characters – Celie, Shug, Albert, Sofia, or Harpo – would come for a visit. We would sit wherever I was, and talk. They were very obliging, engaging, and jolly. They were, of course, at the end of their story but were telling it to me from the beginning. Things that made me sad, often made them laugh. Oh, we got through that; don’t pull such a long face, they’d say (Alice Walker, 1983, p. 359 )

I always wondered about authors who told me that their characters took on a life of their own. I used to think they sounded a bit pretentious, but then I found out it’s true. I’ll find that a minor character suddenly begins to appear where she wasn’t plotted to be, clamouring for more attention and a meatier part in the narrative. (Rosie Blake, 2019 )

It does seem – and I realise this is a psychological trick and it sounds very coy – but it is as if they are speaking and leading those lives. It’s a very symbiotic relationship. You do seem to be with people who have minds of their own, thoughts of their own, but at the same time you’re very much involved in leading their lives with them. (Michael Frayn, 2011 )

Understanding what exactly such experiences entail, and why they occur, is therefore of importance to the understanding of how human beings can think about and relate to entities that lie outside of immediate and shared perceptual experience.

As an imaginative activity, the experience of fictional characters has often been understood in relation to the activities of play and make-believe, from the perspective of both readers ( Walton, 1990 ) and writers ( Watkins, 1986 ). Within this framework, characters find their analogue in childhood imaginary companions, which can similarly be experienced by their creators as wilful and independently minded. In their study of 50 writers, Taylor et al. (2003) found that 92% experienced what they termed the Illusion of Independent Agency (IIA), and that their sample scored significantly higher than general population norms on Bernstein and Putnam’s (1986) Dissociative Experiences Scale. Taylor et al. therefore suggest that both imaginary companions and the IIA are the result of children and writers (respectively) practicing imaginative pretence with such frequency that it becomes ‘automatized’, thus leading to a loss of awareness of conscious agency for these activities.

As a result of these findings, Taylor and Mannering (2007) further suggest that writers and children with imaginary companions could be considered ‘expert pretenders’, especially given what they refer to as the frequency with which writers report ‘the experience of characters becoming almost real’ ( Taylor & Mannering, 2007, pp. 240, 239 ). However, in their study Taylor et al. did not appear to separate the experience of characters’ agency and the experience of them as quasi-perceptual, whereas more recent theories of agency-tracking of non-actual agents suggest that there are good reasons for making just such a conceptual separation ( Wilkinson & Bell, 2016 ). Moreover, having had an imaginary companion during childhood did not associate with or predict a high degree of IIA ( Taylor et al., 2003 ), and figures from a more recent study ( Fernyhough, Watson, Bernini, Moseley, & Alderson-Day, 2019 ) suggest that Taylor et al.’s sample of writers did not report a higher rate of imaginary companions during childhood than is typical in an adult population sample. Therefore, although there appear to be some theoretical advantages to drawing parallels between children’s imaginary companions and the fictional characters of adult writers, evidence for a causal or trait link between the two is yet to be established.

Alternatively, writers’ experiences of their characters – particularly of their characters’ voices – could be understood according to certain models of inner speech. As verbal thought or ‘the subjective experience of language in the absence of overt and audible articulation’ ( Alderson-Day & Fernyhough, 2015, p. 931 ), inner speech would appear to encompass imaginative experiences of others’ speech, at least according to those models which view it as being essentially ‘dialogic’ and containing ‘other people’ ( Vygotsky, 1987 , Fernyhough, 1996 ). Here an analogue can be found in readers’ experiences of fictional characters, which also often involve vivid imaginative experiences of ‘hearing’ characters’ voices ( Vilhauer, 2016 , Alderson-Day et al., 2017 ). Alongside these experiences of auditory imagery, many readers infer the mental states of characters and impute intentionality ( Dixon and Bortolussi, 1996 , Herman, 2008 ). Although the processes underlying auditory imagery and social cognition are separable, readers’ experiences of fictional characters appear to provide another instance of overlap between the two. In light of the possible developmental relationship between inner speech and theory of mind ( Fernyhough & Meins, 2009 ), it is perhaps not surprising that the voice of the character (auditory imagistic) and the sense of the character as an independent agent (social-cognitive) should overlap in this fashion. However, from writers’ anecdotal accounts of their characters’ voices, it is difficult to tell whether they consider these voices to be a part of, or noticeably distinct from, their own ordinary inner speech.

Given that writers’ descriptions of their characters’ voices often appear to refer to experiences that are not typically shared by the majority of the population, it is also perhaps unsurprising that both cultural stereotypes and creativity research have associated writing with psychopathology ( Bentall, 2003 ; Sass, 2001 , Barrantes-Vidal, 2004 ). In line with this approach, the voice of the fictional character has its analogue in auditory verbal hallucination (AVH), which several prominent theories have associated with misattributed inner speech ( Frith, 1992 , Feinberg, 1978 , Bentall, 1990 ). However, although the descriptions which writers have given of their experiences of their characters might sometimes appear similar to descriptions of hallucinations, the phenomenology of these forms of experience deserves further investigation to avoid a simplistic or facile identification between them. Furthermore, while it has been suggested that hallucinatory experiences form a continuum with ‘ordinary’ psychological functioning ( Slade & Bentall, 1988 ), the extent to which hallucination-proneness correlates with aspects of imaginative experience (e.g. vividness of mental imagery) has not been established conclusively ( Bentall, 1990 , Barrett, 1993 , Aleman et al., 1999 ).

Writers’ experiences of their characters provides an important point of comparison and contrast with other forms of experience around which psychological models are constructed. However, the plausibility of any of these explanatory models – and the subsequent implications for theories of cognition – is ultimately dependent on what is meant when writers report their characters ‘talking back’, and what such experiences entail. Although there is a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence for this phenomenon, accounts can vary significantly, and it is sometimes difficult to determine the extent to which the writer in question is providing an intentionally literal or figurative description of the experience. The phenomenon has not been extensively investigated empirically, with only one large-scale study ( Taylor et al., 2003 ) and one small-scale study ( Doyle, 1998 ) that we know of.

The present study therefore set out to explore writers’ experiences of their characters’ voices in a detailed and systematic fashion using qualitative and quantitative approaches. To investigate this phenomenon, we collaborated with the Edinburgh International Book Festival to survey the large number of writers who were in attendance. Unlike all previous large-scale studies on writers to date, our sample was limited exclusively to those who were published and who had achieved sufficient professional success to warrant an invitation to one of the world’s largest and most prestigious literary festivals. The majority of our respondents specialised in fiction (77%), and particularly textual fiction (66%), though other forms and genres (e.g. poetry, non-fiction) were represented in the festival and in our sample.

The first aim of the study was to gather qualitative information on writers’ experiences of their characters’ voices, in order to shed light on what exactly writers meant when they reported ‘hearing’ their characters and having characters who ‘talked back’ to them. To this end, the survey contained a detailed phenomenological questionnaire on multiple aspects of the writing experience, including questions on dynamics, inner speech, dialogue, and agency.

The second aim of the study was to determine whether there were any differences between those writers who did and those who did not report ‘hearing’ their characters’ voices. To this end, the study also included a questionnaire on imaginary companions, a measure of everyday inner speech experiences (the Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire; McCarthy-Jones & Fernyhough, 2011 ), and a short measure of auditory hallucination-proneness (the Launay-Slade Hallucination Scale – Revised; Bentall & Slade, 1985 ). Based on the proposed associations between these concepts and hearing characters’ voices, we anticipated that writers who reported hearing their characters’ voices would display elevated rates of vivid inner speech and hallucination-proneness, and be more likely to have had an imaginary companion during childhood.

2. Methods and materials

2.1. participants.

Writers attending the 2014 Festival and the 2018 Festival were invited to take part in the survey via an email from the festival organisers, which expressed the aim of developing ‘a better understanding of the processes of literary creativity and in particular the ways writers and storytellers hear and interact with the voices of their characters’. The survey was not open to the general public. Of the 1486 guests invited to the festival across both years (including illustrators, artists, celebrities and public figures promoting books), a total of 181 writers (12%) took part in the survey (61% F; 37% M; 2% Other), with respondents coming primarily from the UK (82%). Participants were asked to choose a description of the form they specialised in (e.g. Fiction (Young Adult/Children’s)) from a list of seven options (see Table 1 for demographic details). The survey was live for five weeks in 2014 and six weeks in 2018. All procedures were approved by the ethics committee of a local university.

Demographics for the combined 2014 and 2018 samples.

We did not exclude poets and non-fiction writers as several responded to the survey in relation to fiction they had also written, or responded in a way that clearly demonstrated the relevance of the questions to poetry (e.g. writing in the voice of a fictional character) and non-fiction writing (e.g. historical biography). 1

2.2. Measures

The survey was divided into three parts. Section 1 – the Writers’ Inner Voices Questionnaire – specifically asked about participants’ experiences of their characters during writing. Section 2 asked about imaginary companions. Section 3 included the questionnaire items on inner speech and auditory hallucination proneness.

2.2.1. Writers’ inner voices questionnaire

A phenomenological questionnaire was devised for the study, informed by Taylor et al.’s (2003) survey of writers and Woods, Jones, Alderson-Day, Callard, and Fernyhough’s (2015) survey of voice-hearers. All questions apart from 2, 3, and 4 required free-text responses (no word limit); questions 2, 3, and 4 were followed by free-text-response sub-questions if they were answered positively.

• 1. How do you experience your characters?
• 2. Do you ever hear your characters’ voices?
• 2.i. [If yes] Please try to describe what it is like to hear your characters’ voices.
• 2.ii. [If yes] How, if at all, are these experiences different from your own thoughts or inner speech?
• 2.iii. [If yes] How, if it all, are these experiences different from hearing the voice of someone who is present in the room?
• 3. Do you have visual or other sensory experiences of your characters, or sense their presence?
• 3.i. [If yes] Please tell us about these experiences.
• 4. Can you enter into a dialogue with your characters?
• 4.i. [If yes] Please tell us about these dialogues.
• 5. Do you feel that your characters always do what you tell them to do, or do they act of their own accord?
• 6. How does the way you experience your characters’ voices feed into your writing practice? Please tell us about this process.
• 7. Once a piece of writing or performance is finished, what happens to your characters’ voices?
• 8. If there are any aspects of your experience of your characters’ voices or your characters more broadly that you would like to elaborate on, please do so here.
• 9. In contexts other than writing, do you ever have the experience of hearing voices when there is no one around? If so, please describe these experiences. How do these experiences differ from the experience of hearing the voice of a character?

2.2.2. Imaginary companions questionnaire

The questionnaire on imaginary companions consisted of three categorical questions. If respondents answered positively, the question was followed by a text-box and an invitation to describe the experience further. The three questions were:

• 1. Did you have an imaginary friend or friends when you were growing up?
• 2. Do you have an imaginary friend or friends now?
• 3. If you ever had an imaginary friend or friends, did they sometimes act of their own accord (as opposed to always doing what you told them to do)?

2.2.3. Varieties of inner speech questionnaire ( McCarthy-Jones & Fernyhough, 2011 )

The VISQ is an 18-item questionnaire relating to the phenomenological characteristics of inner speech ( McCarthy-Jones & Fernyhough, 2011 ). It includes four factors: condensed inner speech ; dialogic inner speech ; other people in inner speech ; and evaluative/motivational inner speech . Participants rated their agreement with the statements provided (e.g. ‘I hear other people’s voices nagging me in my head’) on a 7-point Likert scale. 2 Each subscale has good internal reliability (all Cronbach’s alpha > 0.70; Alderson-Day et al., 2014 , McCarthy-Jones and Fernyhough, 2011 ).

2.2.4. Launay-Slade hallucination scale – Revised ( Bentall & Slade, 1985 )

A short 5-item version of the LSHS was used to assess proneness to unusual auditory experiences ( Bentall and Slade, 1985 , Morrison et al., 2000 ). Participants rated their agreement with the following five statements relating to atypical auditory phenomena:

• 1. I hear a voice speaking my thoughts aloud.
• 2. I hear the telephone ring and find that I am mistaken.
• 3. I hear people call my name and find that nobody has done so.
• 4. I can hear music when it is not being played.
• 5. I have had the experience of hearing a person’s voice and then found that there was no one there.

Although it is a short measure, the 5-item LSHS has been shown to have a moderate/good internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.69; McCarthy-Jones & Fernyhough, 2011 ).

2.3. Qualitative coding

The responses from Section 1 were coded using an inductive thematic analysis ( Braun & Clarke, 2006 ). Two raters (JF and AW) developed a set of descriptive codes from the dataset as a whole. Multiple iterations of the coding framework were discussed by the authors before the final version was applied to 20% of the dataset for independent coding by each rater. Once satisfactory inter-rater reliability had been reached ( k  = 0.79), the remainder of the dataset was independently coded by JF, with ambiguous cases flagged for discussion.

The coding scheme reflected four major themes in the data: firstly, concerning the dynamics of the experience, relating to how the writer experienced his/her characters; second, how the characters’ voices related to the writer’s own inner speech ; third, if dialogue with characters did occur, how such dialogue was experienced; and finally, if characters did appear to exhibit agency , how and when that agency appeared (see Table 2 for a full list of code definitions and frequencies). The inner speech codes, dialogue codes, and agency codes were exclusive – respondents could only receive one code from each of these code groups. All other codes were non-exclusive, although each respondent could only receive each code once.

Code definitions and frequencies.

3.1. Dynamics

Almost two thirds of writers in our sample reported hearing their characters’ voices (63%). In the majority of cases, this was clearly related to the sense of the character’s voice or appearance having distinctive characteristics (e.g. accent, gender, etc.).

I hear them in my mind. They have distinct voice patterns and tones, and I can make them carry on conversations with each other in which I can always tell who is ‘talking’. (R 35)

Often respondents would make explicit reference to their characters’ voices being imaginary, ‘in the head’, or ‘in the mind’s eye’; very few respondents suggested that their characters’ voices were the same as the voices of people actually present in the room. Over half of our sample (56%) reported visual or other sensory experiences of their characters, although responses varied greatly in terms of the ‘completeness’ of such imaginings:

I do sometimes see them, their bodies in particular; a way of standing, or turning, or another action. But I rarely, if ever, see the faces of my characters fully formed, hardly ever. (R 145)

Moreover, although 11% of respondents reported having felt the presence of their characters, this was usually described as occurring in the absence of any visual sense of the character:

I sense their presence as you sense somebody in a dream. They are very much known to me but only in peripheral vision and as an atmosphere or a force exerting itself. I wouldn’t be able to sit opposite a character, so to speak, and see them, talk to them etc. They aren’t something that can be interrogated or pinned down. (R 51)

Those writers who did not endorse hearing or seeing their characters sometimes gave explicit reasons for providing negative responses. Usually, the reason given was one of the following three: the writer was too conscious of embodying the characters’ voices to attribute those voices to the character; the writer experienced their characters more as narrative props or functions than personified agents; or the writer interpreted the question literally, and reserved ‘hearing’ and ‘seeing’ for experiences in other modalities:

Having found them, it’s then my job to embody them, which includes embodying their speech. This is not like listening, for me, nearly as much as it is like reading aloud […] I’m performing the people, I’m dramatising them (R 57)

I tend to think of my characters as narrative constructions rather than real people […] I don’t ‘hear’ those voices in my head. (R 59)

Variable – may be via any sense, but the sense is not experienced as real or in real time – more at the level of intensity that would be there in a memory (R 73)

Although respondents were not asked directly about experiential overlap, physical acting out, and observation, all three featured in writers’ attempts to describe how they experienced their characters. 22% of our sample reported that their imaginative experience of the storyworld occurred through their characters’ senses, as if they were sharing a physical body. In a few cases this was explicitly associated with being unable to see a character’s face:

If the character feels something I feel it, whether emotional or sensory. (R 40)

I often don’t see their faces precisely. Sometimes because I’m the character and I’m looking out, but often because I don’t really need to unless it’s important and I have to decide what they look like. It’s more like a dream in that sense. (R 38)

Physical acting out, which involved actually performing or rehearsing the speech and actions of characters, was reported by 11% of our sample. Often this feature was described as serving a distinct purpose:

I’ll play-act a dialogue between characters, in order to map out a scene in my head. (R 56)

Observation, on the other hand, tended to involve a sense of separation between writer and character, at least insofar as it involved watching or listening to characters from an external perspective. Often the writer would describe themselves as ‘just’ transcribing or recording events which they imagined observing, although in some cases the film or play metaphor used was extended to include their role as a ‘director’ or ‘editor’:

I can watch them going about their business in a kind of inner cinema screen often complete with dramatic score […] I find the imagined dialogue relatively easy to write it seems as if I just have to transcribe what they say. I can also rewind the inner tape and listen again if necessary (R 74)

I usually experience them as if I’m watching a disjointed film that I can play forwards and backwards, making small (or huge) changes to each scene and seeing alternative endings unfold in real time. […] I edit as I write, so the experience is of playing conversations as if using a suite of video-editing software – spooling forward and backwards. (R 168)

However, despite the apparent incompatibility of experiential overlap and observation, some respondents reported both kinds of experience. Usually this was because the writer referred to different experiences at different times, or experiences which related to different characters:

There is usually one character (always a central one) who feels like ‘me’ and I experience them from the inside out. Other characters I observe rather than inhabit. (R 114)

Over a third of writers reported experiencing their characters’ voices after having finished working on the narrative in which they appeared. Often these experiences were described as becoming increasingly attenuated or infrequent as time went by, and/or in terms of the characters being ‘replaced’ by characters from a new work. In a few cases, however, the characters persisted to such an extent that they affected or interfered with the writer’s new projects:

They live on but not in such a pressing way; they get superseded by the voices of other characters. (R 114)

They vanish mostly. Occasionally, with strong characters they come back later and mess up something that’s coming afterwards. A few of them will never go but they don’t get in the way. (R 120)

Finally, hallucinatory and hallucination-like experiences reported by writers in our sample (21%) varied considerably in their form and content. Most common were hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations (experienced while falling asleep or waking up), followed by single hallucinatory experiences and/or hallucinatory experiences during childhood. Some respondents who reported hallucinatory experiences stated that there was a noticeable qualitative difference between these experiences and their experiences of their characters.

I have experienced hypnagogic hallucinations […] These have mostly been aural in character and it’s a lot like eavesdropping in on conversations (the voices are never talking directly to me) […] I do actually hear them vividly, which is why I can be so emphatic about not hearing my characters at all. I have never heard them in this same physical way. (R 106)

I’ve had strong and convincing experiences of the presence of God. At least, I think I have: I described them, with the fatal consequence that it’s now difficult to remember what it was like apart from my description. Apart from the sense of needing to attend as purely and patiently as possible, without pre-emptive ordering that might close down what’s happening, I don’t think these experiences have very much in common with my experiences with characters. A different degree of otherness was involved. And I never heard a voice. (R 57)

Very few writers reported hallucinatory experiences which were in any way related to their characters:

I have heard character’s voices when I’ve been under extreme duress as well – once on a mountain, feeling as if I was unable to go forward or back, almost frozen with terror and vertigo, I clearly heard the voice of one of my characters telling me what to do, reassuring me and encouraging me to go on. (R 173)

3.2. Inner speech

Amongst those writers who did report hearing their characters’ voices, an important distinction emerged concerning the relationship that these writers described between their own inner speech and the characters’ voices. When stating that they heard their characters’ voices, some writers (30%) referred to their awareness of how the character’s voice sounded, or their sense of what the character would say in a given situation. For these writers, the character’s voice was not separate (or not separable) from their own inner speech, either because the character’s voice was a part of the writer’s inner speech, or because the character’s voice blurred the boundary between self and other:

I have a dual experience – I still have my own POV [point of view] but I have my characters’ too. (R 144)

It’s like when you see a dress in a shop window and you hear your mum’s voice saying ‘it won’t wash … ’ in your mind. It’s involuntary but not intrusive, and it’s not like hearing ‘real’ voices. Something like an invoked memory. […] I suppose it’s a kind of ventriloquism. Ultimately it’s me speaking to myself, but imagining/putting on a different voice to do it. (R 172)

By contrast, other writers (33%) stated that their characters’ voices were clearly distinct from their own inner speech. Often this distinction would be defined in terms of ownership, as if the character were a separate entity.

They feel ‘embodied’ in a way my own thoughts and interior monologues do not. They have an urgency and an ‘otherness’ – which I can sense rather than explain. (R 22)

They have a different voice to my own inner thoughts/speech; I can tell it’s a character and not me, and not just because of the subject matter. Also when my characters are running dialogue in my head I feel like a spectator, but with my own inner speech I feel like the one speaking. (R 122)

3.3. Dialogue

The most common form of dialogue with characters reported by our sample involved the writer speaking with a character directly (15%), with the character as a separate imaginary interlocutor. In some cases this form of dialogue was described as infrequent, or other forms were reported as being more common:

They sometimes tell me that what I have in mind for them isn’t right – that they would never behave or speak that way. I don’t usually answer back. (R 150)

I can ask them questions and they’d answer as if without my input, I haven’t done it much but when I do it works just as a normal conversation would do often times they do go off on a tangent. (R 29)

The remaining writers who reported engaging in dialogue with their characters were split between dialogue as character (8%) and dialogue as possible (8%). The former group contained responses which referred to the writer needing to take on the role of a character in order for dialogue to occur:

It’s not really me entering the dialogue, it’s me as another character so I can hear what they would say to each other. (R 104)

Dialogue as possible, on the other hand, was applied to responses in which the writer stated that they believed they could enter into dialogue with characters but that this was not ever actually practiced:

I can but I never do it. Still, when they surprise me by bending the conversation they are having with themselves or another character in an unexpected direction I might mutter: ‘So, that is what you are like.’ (R 26)

3.4. Agency

Although the majority of writers in our sample reported characters who exhibited their own agency (61%), there were substantial differences in terms of how and when this experience manifested. It was most common for writers to report that the agency of their characters only emerged after a certain point had been reached during the writing process (26%).

To begin with they feel under my control and then at that certain point when they feel completely real, it becomes a matter of me following them, hoping to steer. (R 100)

I nowadays just plan my books halfway as I know that in the middle of the writing process the characters will take over the story so my planning will become useless anyway. (R 41)

Although not as common, writers who described experiences of characters’ agency as infrequent or occasional also made up a substantial percentage of our sample (22%). In contrast to cases of temporally emergent agency, these responses gave no indication that the development of the narrative was necessary for characters to manifest agency, and therefore tended to implicitly or explicitly describe the phenomenon as unpredictable.

My characters can often swing the story in an unpredictable direction. Depending on the story, I can either rein them in or let them run with it. (R 152)

I LOVE it when my characters go off script. It’s one of my favourite parts of being a writer, and often these unexpected plot twists are the best of all. (R 37)

Finally, writers who reported characters’ agency without any indication of variability were least frequent in our sample (13%). However, these responses did not necessarily suggest that other aspects of the writing process were not under the writer’s control (e.g. situation, setting, etc.), only that the character was fully in control of their own speech/actions.

It’s the characters who make the thing happen. I can’t make them do what they don’t want to. (R 17)

I don’t think it’s ever a question of my telling them what to do. They just do what they do and I transcribe/describe their dialogue/actions. However, I set the parameters for their existence or activities – decide where they are located, who they are talking to etc. (R 106)

It is worth noting that several respondents who did not receive an agency code still reported being aware of not always consciously deciding aspects of the narrative and characters’ behaviour (including dialogue), but did not attribute agency to their characters:

[T]he characters are frames, sets of priorities and emotions with, if you like, narrative vectors. Those vectors in collision with external events and other characters will (must be engineered to) produce the story I want to tell. Sometimes the emergent pattern will take precedence over the plan; other times I will rework characters to push the narrative in the right direction. (R 36)

I find that whole thing of ‘my character just took over’ a bit cringey, to be honest. But then I am more of a plotter, so I like to know where I am going with a character. However, you can intend one thing, then find when you actually create the scene or circumstance, that your greater knowledge of your character suggests something better, more in keeping. (R 93)

Of course, writers who reported that their characters did exhibit agency often implicitly or explicitly affirmed that they knew their characters were imaginary (and aside from non-fiction writers, it was incredibly rare to find responses which positively affirmed any belief in the extra-textual ‘reality’ of characters). However, this awareness did not necessarily prevent the ‘illusion’ of experiencing characters’ agency from occurring.

3.5. Case studies – Variations in characters’ agency and alterity

R 157 – Characters exhibit agency and alterity

[I]n order to feel I really understand a character I have to be able to hear his/her voice in my head as if someone is speaking to me from outside my brain: if I feel like I’m creating what the character says, then the writing is rarely as good and it feels much more like an uphill battle. At the start of a book, I write more slowly and it’s much more painful as I’m still trying to ‘tune’ the characters in. As they start speaking in my head, it becomes easier and the writing speeds up and becomes more fun. […] I often see a ‘movie’ of the book as I write… but one I can move about in like the director, suggesting different dialogue (often a ‘conversation’ with the characters rather than an order) and moving things about as need be until the scene ‘runs’ right.

I tend to have a sense of how tall they are relative to me… And though I don’t see faces I do know roughly what they look like. I recognise real people mostly by their hair and specific memorable features so that carries over into what I see of my characters. Sometimes I see what they’re wearing – it depends if it’s important to me and them. I also have a sense of what it would feel like to be in a room with the characters – what their emotional ‘energy’ (for want of a better expression) is like at a given time. But mostly, unlike real people, they never feel like they’re standing too close to me!

My characters need to feel separate for me to hear their voices, which also means that when I’m trying to ‘put words in their mouth’ instead of listening they often talk back. And then we discuss things until I find what they would say. If I’m really stuck on the emotional transitions in the story, then listening to what the characters want to say is extremely important. […] I write in a way that’s equivalent to method acting: I have to be the character before I know what to write… and before I can listen to them as separate people in my head.

They definitely act of their own accord! And it’s usually best to let them. Plotting for me is as much about finding out *how* my Book-People get from A to B as deciding what I want the story to be about at the level of X happens and then Y. This is where a lot of the surprises in my work come from.

This response describes quite a well-developed sense of the character’s agency and alterity (the latter being a term from phenomenology which refers to that which is experienced as ‘not me’ or ‘other-than-me’ ( Overgaard & Henriksen, 2019 )). Alongside the separateness of the characters’ voices from the writer’s own inner speech, the writer observes her characters, has a sense of the characters’ presence, and sometimes enters into dialogue with characters as if they were separate entities. The characters’ agency is, moreover, explicitly linked to their alterity. What is particularly interesting in this case (and somewhat less common) is the way in which the agency of the characters only emerges after a process of inhabiting their perspectives: the writer shifts over time from ‘being’ certain characters to experiencing the fully-fledged independence of those characters in terms of both agency and alterity.

R 65 – Characters exhibit agency without alterity or additional dynamics

Once they are present, they engage in the action seemingly without any guidance. I don’t ‘hear’ them but I know what they’re saying, seeing, feeling, and I just write it down.

It [characters acting of their own accord] doesn’t happen all the time. It’s mostly to do with dialogue. Snatches of what they say jump into my head. This can progress the story in unexpected ways.

Sometimes I struggle to catch their voices and I know I haven’t ‘got’ the character yet. Sometimes I have to haul them back from places where they want to go but I don’t want them to. Sometimes they want to take over the story at the expense of the ‘main’ character and the plot I’m trying to pursue. It’s irritating when the demands of the plot force me to soften, alter, change, expunge a character. It’s very hard to get back into the swing of writing.

This writer provided negative responses to questions 2 and 3 (‘Do you ever hear your characters’ voices?’ and ‘Do you have visual or other sensory experiences of your characters, or sense their presence?’). In contrast to R 157, the experience of characters does not appear to involve the same kind or degree of quasi-sensory dynamics – instead, characters’ speech and actions are ‘known’ rather than observed. However, characters still appear to manifest agency, sometimes producing dialogue that does not feel consciously created. As with several other cases of occasional manifestations of characters’ agency, the writer acknowledges that the experience has a phenomenological profile which noticeably differs from experiences of characters when they are not manifesting agency. Particularly noteworthy in this response is the implication that these occasional manifestations of characters’ agency do not always take precedence over the writer’s plans for the narrative, since it was more common to find responses which suggested that characters’ actions that were apparently self-willed ought to take precedence over what the writer had consciously decided (i.e. ‘the character is always right’).

R 100 – Characters exhibit agency with additional dynamics but without alterity

[I experience my characters as] memories and daydreams, like I do people I have met in real life. Sometimes just visual, sometimes just audio, sometimes both.

It’s like questions or phrases that pop into my head that show me who the person is. They feel like memories of conversations, very similar to recollections of my real life. […] I am aware that I am generating the voices, even though I’m not sure what they will say. It’s like the best game ever.

I often make tea and run conversations between myself and a particular character, speaking both sides. Sometimes I enact my character and roleplay them making the tea and speaking their thoughts.

To begin with they feel under my control and then at that certain point when they feel completely real, it’s becomes a matter of me following them, hoping to steer.

I speak and write reams and reams of dialogue for everyone in all my stories. Conversations that couldn’t even logistically happen due to time barriers etc. too. I sometimes write a scene and then read it back and it’s almost like the character involved is saying to me, ‘I just wouldn’t do that, are you stupid?’

I think sometimes the character’s ‘voice’ can be as much a feeling as actually hearing words. I often picture characters sat waiting, looking at me like they’re saying, ‘Really? Is this what you’re going to make happen?’

I often hear the voice of my Grandmother in situations where a nugget of advice she would give me is particularly relevant.

As this response demonstrates, it was possible for writers to report experiencing their characters in a number of different ways, depending on the technique being used. However, here the writer does not describe his characters’ voices as being necessarily distinct from his own inner speech, in part because his inner speech already contains the voices of ‘other people’. In effect, the boundary between self and other is too blurred to suggest that the writer has any distinct impression of characters’ alterity – at least, not in the sense described by R 157. The forms of ‘interaction’ (i.e. dialogue) engaged in by the writer are also noticeably different, being more akin to a form of self-talk involving different perspectives than a conversation with an imaginary interlocutor. On the other hand, this writer also describes sometimes experiencing his characters in a manner similar to R 65: being aware of a character’s ‘voice’, and the intent behind it, without this necessarily involving an imaginative experience of the relevant (quasi-)sensory properties.

3.6. Associations within the writing experience: characters’ voices, inner speech, and agency

To examine these characteristics further, a series of chi-square analyses were run to compare the wider phenomenological characteristics of those (i) who did and did not endorse hearing their characters’ voices, (ii) those who described varying levels of the experience being distinct from their inner speech, and (iii) those who experienced their characters as having a notable degree of agency.

For hearing characters’ voices, associations were tested for the presence of visual characteristics, the feeling that the writer was observing their characters, engaging in a dialogue with characters, and the level of character agency (applying a Bonferroni correction across the four tests to reduce alpha to p  < 0.0125). Writers who experienced their characters’ voices were significantly likely to also experience their characters visually (χ 2  = 15.66, df  = 1, p  < 0.001), and to feel like they were observing their characters (χ 2  = 21.84, df  = 1, p  < 0.001). Experiencing character’s voices was also associated with them having any agency at all – whether occasionally, emerging over time, or fully (χ 2  = 21.01, df  = 3, p  < 0.001) – but not significantly with levels of dialogue (which failed to survive correction for multiple comparisons; χ 2  = 9.77, df  = 3, p  = 0.021).

Following this, we explored how the codes attributed for inner speech and characters’ voices (i.e. characters’ voices as fully distinct from inner speech, not distinct, or not there at all) picked out different patterns of experience. As above, chi-square tests were applied to our coding for observational experiences, dialogue, and agency, along with the addition of a further code: the sense of experiential overlap between writer and character. Those writers whose characters were fully distinct from their inner speech were significantly likely to report dialoguing as themselves with the character (χ 2  = 22.19, df  = 6, p  < 0.001), to feel like they were observing their characters (χ 2  = 32.15, df  = 2, p  < 0.001), and to experience their characters as possessing full agency (χ 2  = 28.29, df  = 6, p  < 0.001). In contrast, those who reported experiencing their characters’ voices, but without these voices being distinct from their inner speech, were also likely to describe their own experiences ‘overlapping’ with characters’ experiences in some way (χ 2  = 15.16, df  = 2, p  = 0.001).

We applied the same analysis to the coding for agency and its associations with observation and dialogue. Characters experienced as either fully agentic or whose agency emerged over time were significantly likely to be experienced in an observational way (χ 2  = 13.56, df  = 3, p  = 0.004). However, no association was seen between the capacity for dialogue and the characters’ perceived levels of agency (χ 2  = 13.52, df  = 9, p  = 0.140).

3.7. Associations with hallucination-proneness, imaginary companions, and everyday inner speech

Finally, we examined whether these distinctions regarding characters’ voices related to experiences outside of writing: namely hallucination-proneness (and specific reports of AVH), the presence or history of imaginary companions, and everyday experiences of inner speech (applying a Bonferroni correction across the seven tests to reduce alpha to p  < 0.007). Of the sample, 171 respondents completed all of the additional measures.

When writers with and without characters’ voices were compared, the former scored significantly higher for self-reported levels of hallucination-proneness on the LSHS ( t  = 2.826, df  = 169, p  = 0.005), although they were not more likely to report specifically AVH-like experiences in the survey itself (χ 2  = 2.58, df  = 1, p  = 0.109). For imaginary companions, only those with ( n  = 65) and without ( n  = 116) ICs during childhood were compared, as too few had current ICs (n = 10); nevertheless, no association was evident between having had an IC in the past or experiencing characters’ voices (χ 2  = 0.41, df  = 1, p  = 0.524). The four subscales of the VISQ were also examined: of these, only the experience of other people in inner speech was significantly elevated in those who experienced the voices of their characters ( t  = 2.863, df  = 169, p  = 0.005; all other p  > 0.250).

In addition to the distinction between writers who did and did not hear their characters’ voices, our qualitative analysis suggested that certain properties hung together, such as characters’ voices being distinct from inner speech, characters being observable, and characters exhibiting agency. In total 25 respondents (15%) had all three properties, constituting a group we defined as ‘high alterity’. Compared with the rest of the sample (and applying the same Bonferroni correction: p  < 0.007), the high alterity group did score significantly higher on the LSHS ( t  = 3.03, df = 169, p  = 0.003). There was also a non-significant trend for this group to be more likely to report AVH-like experiences in the survey itself, although this did not survive correction for multiple comparisons (χ 2  = 5.35, df  = 1, p  = 0.021). However, they were not more likely to have had an IC in the past, and the quality of their inner speech did not differ significantly from the rest of the sample.

4. Discussion

The first aim of this study was to survey the phenomenological qualities of writers’ experiences of their characters, particularly in relation to writers’ reports of ‘hearing’ characters’ voices. Although ‘hearing’ the voices of characters and experiencing characters as agentive were both fairly common amongst writers within our sample, these experiences were also varied and complex. The descriptions provided by respondents highlighted the multiple ways in which a character might be ‘heard’, ‘talked to’, and experienced as exhibiting independence.

Above all, the responses suggested an important distinction relating to whether (or not) characters manifested alterity , i.e. the extent to which they were experienced as separate or apart from the self ( Overgaard and Henriksen, 2019 , Zahavi, 1999 ). While it could be argued that, broadly speaking, any imagining of an ‘other’ necessarily entails a minimal sense of alterity, what we are concerned with here is the more pronounced sense of separation suggested by some of the responses. The features of writers’ experiences of their characters which indicated this latter sense of alterity include the experience of characters’ voices as distinct from the writers’ own inner speech (coming from outside the bounds of the self), and the experience of characters as capable of being observed or interacted with (separation from the self typically being a precondition for such activities). By contrast, other writers clearly did not experience their characters as exhibiting this form of alterity, often because their responses suggested a blurring of the boundary between self and other, or else because the character did not manifest the necessary features which would make interaction possible.

Those responses which indicated the alterity of characters would appear to support the analogy drawn between characters and imaginary companions ( Watkins, 1986 , Taylor et al., 2003 ), since these writers appeared to experience their characters as entities to be interacted with, or at least as manifesting a kind of alterity that would allow for such an interaction. In other words, for these writers, characters are experienced as sufficiently separate from the self to justify the comparison of a character to an imaginary ‘companion’, as opposed to being simply an imagining without this kind of external-to-self dimension. Of course, as with the imaginary companions of children ( Taylor & Mottweiler, 2008 ), this does not necessarily entail any belief in the reality of the characters on the part of the writer.

However, while there was a strong association between codes which suggested the alterity of characters and the sense of characters’ agency, the number of writers who reported characters’ agency was almost double that of writers whose responses indicated a sense of the characters’ alterity. Therefore, a large number of writers who did not observe their characters and who did not hear their characters’ voices as distinct from their own inner speech (or who did not hear their characters’ voices at all) still described their characters as exhibiting agency. This variation suggests that we should be wary of assuming an automatic (albeit intuitive) conflation of the two senses of ‘independence’ (as ‘separate’ and as ‘free’), especially since descriptions of characters’ agency did not necessarily refer to an imaginative experience of hearing or seeing the character as another agent in action . Instead, the experience of characters’ agency was often described as a sense of tension between the character and the plot, as a sudden awareness of ideas for the plot or snatches of dialogue which did not feel consciously determined, or as a sense of knowing how the character would behave in a given situation without having to consciously decide how the character would behave. Such experiences still appear to involve the sense of another’s agency, even if not accompanied by any concomitant sensory imaginings of that other in action. Note that this does not mean that sensory properties of characters are never imagined by these writers, but only that such quasi-sensory experiences do not appear to be a necessary feature of the experience of characters’ agency.

A possible parallel with such experiences of characters’ agency is to be found in voice-hearers’ descriptions of ‘soundless voices’, which involve a sense of receiving a message or meaning without any accompanying auditory properties Bleuler, 1911 , Janet, 1889 , Jones, 2010 , Larøi et al., 2012 . While these experiences might differ substantially in other respects, one possible area of overlap is the apparent experience of another’s agency without any accompanying sensory or quasi-sensory experience of that other. Accounting for this phenomenon, Wilkinson and Bell (2016) argue for the non-reflective (or ‘non-inferential’) detection and tracking of the agency of others ( Wilkinson & Bell, 2016 ). According to Wilkinson & Bell’s model, the form and modality of the experience of the other is incidental to the detection and representation of the other’s agency, given that human beings appear to be evolutionarily biased towards detecting and representing agents in their environments ( Barrett, 2000 ), and that contingency of behaviour appears to play a far more important role in agency attribution than the perceptual features of a perceived object ( Johnson, 2003 ). In effect, since the representation of an agent is not necessarily inferred from perceptual or quasi-perceptual phenomena which we know to be usual properties of agents (e.g., a voice, a body, a human face, etc.), the sense of the other’s agency is not necessarily dependent on an experience of the agent per se . 3 Indeed, the potential incorrigibility of our experiences of agents – the fact that we can still experience something as an agent even when we do not believe that it is an agent ( Johnson, 2003 ) – not only suggests that agent detection and representation is intuitive rather than inferential ( Wilkinson & Bell, 2016 ), but also appears particularly relevant to the ‘illusion’ of characters’ agency. According to this model, it is conceivable that the writer’s lack of conscious awareness of their own agency – such as might result from the automatic ( Taylor et al., 2003 ) or emergent ( Bernini, 2014 ) choices made during the writing process – could generate the illusion of characters’ agency even without being accompanied by any additional phenomenological features pertaining to those characters.

Another potentially similar experience is reported in Alderson-Day et al.'s (2017) study of readers, in which nearly a fifth of respondents described unbidden experiences of characters outside the context of reading. While this ‘experiential crossing’ sometimes involved simulations of a character’s speech, it more frequently contained instances of ‘mindstyle’ ( Fowler, 1977 , Semino, 2007 ) – a term from cognitive stylistics which refers to the linguistic rendering of the worldviews and cognitive habits of a particular character – or the more general deployment of a character’s ‘consciousness frame’ ( Palmer, 2004 ) – essentially a schema for the character’s perspective constructed during reading. As such, experiential crossing more often included characters’ thoughts and feelings as opposed to specifically quasi-perceptual elements, being ‘more like a habit of thinking or expectation of what a character would say in a given situation’ ( Alderson-Day et al., 2017 , p.107). Like writers’ reports of characters’ agency, readers’ awareness of the characters’ thoughts, feelings, or speech in response to extratextual situations appeared to be non-reflective, as opposed to being reached through deliberative empathising or reasoning about the characters’ mental states. As Alderson-Day et al. suggest, such experiences could be examples of the generation and deployment of ‘personality models’ used to predict (real-world) others’ behaviour in potential scenarios ( Hassabis et al., 2014 ). This understanding of experiences of characters’ agency could be expanded to include those writers who do hear their characters’ voices when considered in relation to certain theories of inner speech. According to a Vygotskian approach, the internalisation and articulation of others’ perspectives in dialogic inner speech make up an important part of higher cognition ( Fernyhough, 2008 ). Moreover, this does not only manifest as a more abstracted kind of perspective-taking; as the VISQ attempts to measure, there are varying degrees to which individuals are aware of their inner speech incorporating other people’s voices ( McCarthy-Jones & Fernyhough, 2011 ).

According to this approach, the experience of characters ‘acting of their own accord’ is not necessarily different in kind from our imaginings and predictions of the behaviour of real people, including the conscious awareness of other people’s voices in inner speech reported by some individuals. The sense of characters’ agency may arise because this experience is more noticeable and thus more noteworthy than automatically generated imaginings of real people, because (a) characters are fictional entities, and so the sense of their agency is arguably not diminished through comparison with the more conspicuous agency of a real individual with whom they share an identity, and (b) the later experience of automatic response generation which develops after a certain point contrasts with the experience of having to consciously decide how the character responds in the earlier stages of character creation. The preponderance of responses which described characters’ agency as temporally emergent or only occasionally manifesting would appear to support this notion, since these writers appeared to be aware of losing the sense of reflectively deciding how their characters acted. In effect, what becomes automatized is therefore not so much the general activity of pretence itself ( Taylor et al., 2003 ), but is instead the automatic prediction of particular characters’ responses to situations on the basis of having become familiar with their mental functioning, just as happens when we become better acquainted with real people ( Wittgenstein, 1980 , Hobson, 2002 , Herschbach, 2008 , Thomas and Fletcher, 2003 ). Indeed, several writers who described their characters’ agency as temporally emergent made this comparison explicitly (e.g., ‘There comes a point when that character is imaginatively real and I know them like you’d know a real person you’d met and consequently I can anticipate their behaviour’). Another parallel could be identified here with readers’ reports of experiential crossing, which similarly appear to involve the automatic deployment of a character’s consciousness frame ( Alderson-Day et al., 2017 ). The extent to which such experiences of characters’ agency also contain simulations of characters’ voices might conceivably vary in the same way that people can be aware of others’ perspectives or personality models being more or less fleshed out as ‘voices’ within their own everyday inner speech.

However, there may still be an important distinction to be drawn between writers who did and did not experience their characters with a high degree of alterity. As a whole, our sample of writers did not display any significant differences from other population samples on the three additional measures we included: prevalence of imaginary companions during childhood ( Fernyhough et al., 2019 ); the quality of inner speech on the VISQ ( McCarthy-Jones & Fernyhough, 2011 ), with the exception of the subscale which measures the experience of other people in inner speech (in which writers who heard their characters’ voices received higher scores); and hallucination-proneness on the LSHS ( McCarthy-Jones and Fernyhough, 2011 , Alderson-Day et al., 2017 ). Similarly, comparisons between writers who did and did not hear their characters’ voices showed no differences on the first two measures, apart from the ‘other people in inner speech’ subscale. Since respondents might have included their experiences of their characters’ voices as ‘other people’ in their inner speech, we are wary of assigning any importance to this difference, especially given that inner speech did not appear to differ in relation to any of the other subscales. However, those writers who heard their characters’ voices did receive a higher score on the LSHS than those who did not, while the group we defined as ‘high alterity’ (receiving the fully distinct from inner speech, observation, and agency codes) scored higher still. It is possible that more pronounced experiences of characters’ alterity are therefore related to a greater proneness to experiencing one’s imaginings in general as perceptual or quasi-perceptual phenomena. One important caveat, however, is that some writers who had ever had a hallucinatory experience in their lifetime stated that these experiences were noticeably different from their experiences of their characters’ voices.

4.1. Limitations

There are a number of limitations to consider when interpreting the results of the present study. This research is the largest mixed methods empirical investigation of a specific aspect of inner experience for which no established vocabulary exists; moreover, it investigates a population who are, by definition, expert in the metaphorical and figurative use of language. Analyses of these data were not, therefore, straightforward. While the online administration of a bespoke phenomenological questionnaire alongside the existing standardised measures was likely key to the successful recruitment of a sample size large enough for statistical analysis, the reliance on unverified self-report, cross-sectional design and inability to follow up with participants are obvious limitations of this research design. Anonymous participation and a corresponding lack of information about the participants’ professional profiles (notably genre and number of publications) make it impossible to speculate as to the existence or significance of differences between writers based either on their expertise or as reflected in their ‘outputs’. We also did not gather data on how long participants had been writing for, which might conceivably affect how their characters were experienced in terms of skill acquisition and automaticity.

Although limiting the study to writers presenting at the Edinburgh International Book Festivals ensured that participants were held in high esteem by members of the literary community, the sample cannot be said to be representative of writers generally. Both the invitation to respondents and the questionnaire were designed in relation to specific research objectives: investigating what writers meant when they reported ‘hearing’ the voices of their characters, and determining whether there were any differences between writers who did and did not report this phenomenon. It is therefore likely that writers who were disinterested in the idea of ‘experiencing’ characters declined to participate, and so it is not possible to estimate the extent to which our results are indicative of the prevalence of such experiences amongst writers more broadly. The study was also prompted by the language that some writers use in relation to their characters (e.g. ‘speaking’, ‘talking’, etc.), and so may not fully capture the complexity and multi-modality of writers’ experiences of their characters. Moreover, those aspects of writers’ experiences which only emerged during thematic analysis (such as experiential overlap and physical acting out) may be somewhat underreported, given that we did not directly ask about these experiences. While this is a possibility, asking direct questions can also lead to important facets of inner experience being missed: it can prompt demand characteristics, and can close down avenues of investigation by encouraging yes or no answers (see Woods et al., 2015 , for an example of a similar methodological approach in relation to AVHs). For these reasons, we chose to use a range of open and closed questions to elicit as wide a range of responses as possible.

A final concern is the potential for content overlap in the different constructs being measured by the questionnaires. This is particularly so for the VISQ subscale of ‘other people in inner speech’, since it may be the case that authors endorsing these items were simply re-describing the tendency to experience their characters’ voices. The VISQ is aimed more broadly at inner speech experiences in everyday life, and refers to other people, such as family members, rather than anyone who could be construed as fictional or imaginary ( McCarthy-Jones & Fernyhough, 2011 ). Nevertheless, we must treat the finding that writers who hear their characters’ voices received a higher score on this measure with caution. To clarify the issue, future work would need to make more careful distinctions regarding inner speech inside and outside the writing process.

Notwithstanding these limitations, the present study is, to our knowledge, the only survey of writers’ experiences of their characters which attempts to address the phenomenological complexity of these experiences within a large professional sample. Our results reveal a noticeable degree of heterogeneity which further research into this phenomenon should take into account. First, it would appear that while a small subset of writers do have pronounced experiences of their characters as entirely separate and self-determining agents, they are not particularly representative of writers’ experiences in general, not least because the agency and alterity of characters did not necessarily go hand in hand. Second, while there do seem to be some areas of overlap between writers’ experiences of their characters and analogous experiences of non-actual entities, there are also important phenomenological differences which should perhaps make us wary of relying on a singular explanatory model. Above all, the complexity of writers’ experiences of their characters highlights the need for a more refined conceptual framework for understanding our interactions with actual and non-actual agents in general, with implications for the wider field of social cognition. Many characters may indeed talk back, but not all will; systematic investigation of this phenomenon in a range of writers will allow for a fuller exploration of the boundaries of social cognition, imagination, and the sense of agency.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

John Foxwell: Methodology, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Ben Alderson-Day: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition. Charles Fernyhough: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition. Angela Woods: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Wellcome Trust, UK (WT098455 & WT108720). The authors would like to thank the Edinburgh International Book Festival for their support for the project.

1 For example, one poet stated: ‘I can hear them talking in my head, and it’s a strange hybrid of me and a separate personality’ ( R 62 ), while a historical biographer wrote that ‘It is a real challenge to imagine someone speaking to you from across the centuries […] It’s an extraordinary experience when it happens and can be almost like a private interview with, say, one of the world’s greatest conquerors’ ( R 181 ). As with fiction writers, there was substantial variation within these groups, but neither was large enough to allow for subdividing them further.

2 The 2014 survey used a 5-point Likert scale, the results of which were scaled up to match with the 2018 survey. The additional response options were added in the 2018 survey as part of the development of the VISQ-R (Alderson-Day et al., 2018).

3 As Wilkinson & Bell put it, according to this view ‘it would be possible to experience something as an agent  prior  to being consciously aware of any of its perceivable properties’ ( Wilkinson & Bell, 2016, p. 113).