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How to Write a Research Paper in High School

What’s covered:, how to pick a compelling research paper topic, how to format your research paper, tips for writing a research paper, do research paper grades impact your college chances.

A research paper can refer to a broad range of expanded essays used to explain your interpretation of a topic. This task is highly likely to be a common assignment in high school , so it’s always better to get a grasp on this sooner than later. Getting comfortable writing research papers does not have to be difficult, and can actually be pretty interesting when you’re genuinely intrigued by what you’re researching. 

Regardless of what kind of research paper you are writing, getting started with a topic is the first step, and sometimes the hardest step. Here are some tips to get you started with your paper and get the writing to begin! 

Pick A Topic You’re Genuinely Interested In

Nothing comes across as half-baked as much as a topic that is evidently uninteresting, not to the reader, but the writer. You can only get so far with a topic that you yourself are not genuinely happy writing, and this lack of enthusiasm cannot easily be created artificially. Instead, read about things that excite you, such as some specific concepts about the structure of atoms in chemistry. Take what’s interesting to you and dive further with a research paper. 

If you need some ideas, check out our post on 52 interesting research paper topics .

The Topic Must Be A Focal Point

Your topic can almost be considered as the skeletal structure of the research paper. But in order to better understand this we need to understand what makes a good topic. Here’s an example of a good topic:

How does the amount of pectin in a vegetable affect its taste and other qualities?

This topic is pretty specific in explaining the goals of the research paper. If I had instead written something more vague such as Factors that affect taste in vegetables , the scope of the research immediately increased to a more herculean task simply because there is more to write about, some of which is overtly unnecessary. This is avoided by specifications in the topic that help guide the writer into a focused path.

By creating this specific topic, we can route back to it during the writing process to check if we’re addressing it often, and if we are then our writing is going fine! Otherwise, we’d have to reevaluate the progression of our paper and what to change. A good topic serves as a blueprint for writing the actual essay because everything you need to find out is in the topic itself, it’s almost like a sort of plan/instruction. 

Formatting a research paper is important to not only create a “cleaner” more readable end product, but it also helps streamline the writing process by making it easier to navigate. The following guidelines on formatting are considered a standard for research papers, and can be altered as per the requirements of your specific assignments, just check with your teacher/grader!

Start by using a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial, in 12 or 11 sized font. Also, add one inch margins for the pages, along with some double spacing between lines. These specifications alone get you started on a more professional and cleaner looking research paper.

Paper Citations 

If you’re creating a research paper for some sort of publication, or submission, you must use citations to refer to the sources you’ve used for the research of your topic. The APA citation style, something you might be familiar with, is the most popular citation style and it works as follows:

Author Last Name, First Initial, Publication Year, Book/Movie/Source title, Publisher/Organization

This can be applied to any source of media/news such as a book, a video, or even a magazine! Just make sure to use citation as much as possible when using external data and sources for your research, as it could otherwise land you in trouble with unwanted plagiarism. 

Structuring The Paper

Structuring your paper is also important, but not complex either. Start by creating an introductory paragraph that’s short and concise, and tells the reader what they’re going to be reading about. Then move onto more contextual information and actual presentation of research. In the case of a paper like this, you could start with stating your hypothesis in regard to what you’re researching, or even state your topic again with more clarification!

As the paper continues you should be bouncing between views that support and go against your claim/hypothesis to maintain a neutral tone. Eventually you will reach a conclusion on whether or not your hypothesis was valid, and from here you can begin to close the paper out with citations and reflections on the research process.

Talk To Your Teacher

Before the process of searching for a good topic, start by talking to your teachers first! You should form close relations with them so they can help guide you with better inspiration and ideas.

Along the process of writing, you’re going to find yourself needing help when you hit walls. Specifically there will be points at which the scope of your research could seem too shallow to create sizable writing off of it, therefore a third person point of view could be useful to help think of workarounds in such situations. 

You might be writing a research paper as a part of a submission in your applications to colleges, which is a great way to showcase your skills! Therefore, to really have a good chance to showcase yourself as a quality student, aim for a topic that doesn’t sell yourself short. It would be easier to tackle a topic that is not as intense to research, but the end results would be less worthwhile and could come across as lazy. Focus on something genuinely interesting and challenging so admissions offices know you are a determined and hard-working student!

Don’t Worry About Conclusions

The issue many students have with writing research papers, is that they aren’t satisfied with arriving at conclusions that do not support their original hypothesis. It’s important to remember that not arriving at a specific conclusion that your hypothesis was planning on, is totally fine! The whole point of a research paper is not to be correct, but it’s to showcase the trial and error behind learning and understanding something new. 

If your findings clash against your initial hypothesis, all that means is you’ve arrived at a new conclusion that can help form a new hypothesis or claim, with sound reasoning! Getting rid of this mindset that forces you to warp around your hypothesis and claims can actually improve your research writing by a lot!

Colleges won’t ever see the grades for individual assignments, but they do care a bit more about the grades you achieve in your courses. Research papers may play towards your overall course grade based on the kind of class you’re in. Therefore to keep those grades up, you should try your absolute best on your essays and make sure they get high-quality reviews to check them too!

Luckily, CollegeVine’s peer review for essays does exactly that! This great feature allows you to get your essay checked by other users, and hence make a higher-quality essay that boosts your chances of admission into a university. 

Want more info on your chances for college admissions? Check out CollegeVine’s admissions calculator, an intuitive tool that takes numerous factors into account as inputs before generating your unique chance of admission into an institute of your selection!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

How to Write a Research Paper as a High School Student

By Carly Taylor

Senior at Stanford University

6 minute read

Read our guide to learn why you should write a research paper and how to do so, from choosing the right topic to outlining and structuring your argument.

What is a research paper?

A research paper poses an answer to a specific question and defends that answer using academic sources, data, and critical reasoning. Writing a research paper is an excellent way to hone your focus during a research project , synthesize what you’re learning, and explain why your work matters to a broader audience of scholars in your field.

The types of sources and evidence you’ll see used in a research paper can vary widely based on its field of study. A history research paper might examine primary sources like journals and newspaper articles to draw conclusions about the culture of a specific time and place, whereas a biology research paper might analyze data from different published experiments and use textbook explanations of cellular pathways to identify a potential marker for breast cancer.

However, researchers across disciplines must identify and analyze credible sources, formulate a specific research question, generate a clear thesis statement, and organize their ideas in a cohesive manner to support their argument. Read on to learn how this process works and how to get started writing your own research paper, integrating skills like critical thinking and advanced academic writing.

How do I choose my topic?

Tap into your passions.

A research paper is your chance to explore what genuinely interests you and combine ideas in novel ways. So don’t choose a subject that simply sounds impressive or blindly follow what someone else wants you to do – choose something you’re really passionate about! You should be able to enjoy reading for hours and hours about your topic and feel enthusiastic about synthesizing and sharing what you learn.

We've created these helpful writing resources to inspire you to think about your own passion project . Polygence also offers a passion exploration experience where you can dive deep into three potential areas of study with expert mentors from those fields.

Ask a difficult question

In the traditional classroom, top students are expected to always know the answers to the questions the teacher asks. But a research paper is YOUR chance to pose a big question that no one has answered yet and figure out how to make a contribution to answering that question. So don’t be afraid if you have no idea how to answer your question at the start of the research process — this will help you maintain a motivational sense of discovery as you dive deeper into your research. If you need inspiration, explore our database of research project ideas and easy research topics for high school students.

Be as specific as possible

It’s essential to be reasonable about what you can accomplish in one paper and narrow your focus down to an issue you can thoroughly address. For example, if you’re interested in the effects of invasive species on ecosystems, it’s best to focus on one invasive species and one ecosystem, such as iguanas in South Florida , or one survival mechanism, such as supercolonies in invasive ant species . If you can, get hands on with your project.

You should approach your paper with the mindset of becoming an expert in this topic. Narrowing your focus will help you achieve this goal without getting lost in the weeds and overwhelming yourself.

Would you like to write your own research paper?

Polygence mentors can help you every step of the way in writing and showcasing your research paper

How do I prepare to write a research paper?

Conduct preliminary research.

Before you dive into writing your research paper, conduct a literature review to see what’s already known about your topic. This can help you find your niche within the existing body of research and formulate your question. For example, Polygence student Jasmita found that researchers had studied the effects of background music on student test performance, but they had not taken into account the effect of a student’s familiarity with the music being played, so she decided to pose this new question in her research paper.

Pro tip: It’s a good idea to skim articles in order to decide whether they’re relevant enough to your research interest before committing to reading them in full. This can help you spend as much time as possible with the sources you’ll actually cite in your paper.

Skimming articles will help you gain a broad-strokes view of the different pockets of existing knowledge in your field and identify the most potentially useful sources. Reading articles in full will allow you to accumulate specific evidence related to your research question and begin to formulate an answer to it.

Draft a thesis statement

Your thesis statement is your succinctly-stated answer to the question you’re posing, which you’ll make your case for in the body of the paper. For example, if you’re studying the effect of K-pop on eating disorders and body image in teenagers of different races, your thesis may be that Asian teenagers who are exposed to K-pop videos experience more negative effects on their body image than Caucasian teenagers.

Pro Writing Tip: It’s okay to refine your thesis as you continue to learn more throughout your research and writing process! A preliminary thesis will help you come up with a structure for presenting your argument, but you should absolutely change your thesis if new information you uncover changes your perspective or adds nuance to it.

Create an outline

A research paper outline is a tool for sketching out the structure of your paper by organizing your points broadly into subheadings and more finely into individual paragraphs. Try putting your thesis at the top of your outline, then brainstorm all the points you need to convey in order to support your thesis.

Pro Tip: Your outline is just a jumping-off point – it will evolve as you gain greater clarity on your argument through your writing and continued research. Sometimes, it takes several iterations of outlining, then writing, then re-outlining, and then rewriting in order to find the best structure for your paper.

What are some key tips when writing?

Introduction.

A research paper introduction should move the reader from your broad area of interest into your specific area of focus for the paper. It generally takes the form of one to two paragraphs that build up your thesis statement and give the reader an idea of the broad argumentative structure of your paper. After reading your introduction, your reader should know what claim you’re going to present and what kinds of evidence you’ll analyze to support it.

Topic sentences

Writing crystal clear topic sentences is a crucial aspect of a successful research paper. A topic sentence is like the thesis statement of a particular paragraph – it should clearly state the point that the paragraph will make. Writing focused topic sentences will help you remain focused while writing your paragraphs and will ensure that the reader can clearly grasp the function of each paragraph in the paper’s overall structure.

Transitions

Sophisticated research papers move beyond tacking on simple transitional phrases such as “Secondly” or “Moreover” to the start of each new paragraph. Instead, each paragraph flows naturally into the next one, with the connection between each idea made very clear. Try using specifically crafted transitional phrases rather than stock phrases to move from one point to the next which will make your paper as cohesive as possible.

In her research paper on Pakistani youth in the U.S. , Polygence student Iba used the following specifically crafted transition to move between two paragraphs: “Although the struggles of digital ethnography limited some data collection, there are also many advantages of digital data collection.” This sentence provides the logical link between the discussion of digital ethnography's limitations from the prior paragraph and the upcoming discussion of this technique’s advantages in this paragraph.

What is a research paper conclusion?

Your conclusion can have several functions:

To drive home your thesis and summarize your argument

To emphasize the broader significance of your findings and answer the “so what” question

To point out some questions raised by your thesis and/or opportunities for further research

Your conclusion can take on all three of these tasks or just one, depending on what you feel your paper is still lacking up to this point.

How do I cite my sources?

Last but not least, crediting your sources is extremely important. There are many different citation formats, such as MLA, APA, and Chicago style. Research online or consult an expert to make sure you know which citation style is standard in your field of interest.

You have several options for keeping track of your bibliography:

Use a notebook to record the relevant information from each of your sources: title, author, date of publication, journal name, page numbers, etc.

Create a folder on your computer where you can store your electronic sources

Use an online bibliography creator such as Zotero, Easybib, or Noodletools to track sources and generate citations

Under our Projects tab, you can read research papers by Polygence students. You can also explore other opportunities for high school research and writing contests .

If you’re interested in finding an expert mentor to guide you through the process of writing your own independent research paper, consider applying to be a Polygence scholar today!

Your research paper helps even you earn college credit , get published in an academic journal , contribute to your application for college , and improve your college admissions chances !

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Interested in doing an exciting research project? Click below to get matched with one of our expert mentors!

Research Paper Examples for High School Students

Indigo Research Team

Are you about to write a research paper but staring at a blank page, confused and overwhelmed?

Well, you're not alone. Most students find themselves in this position, especially on their first paper.

You probably have questions like "How exactly should my sections be organized?" or "What should my biology research paper look like?

It's enough to make anyone feel lost.

This article provides a guiding light through the fog. In the next few minutes, we'll provide several research paper examples for high school students you can use as a guide.

Sound good? Then, let's dive right in!

What is a Research Paper?

A research paper is an academic paper that answers a specific question.

Writing a quality paper is a big deal in academia. It represents the highest level of academic study - where you dive deep into investigating a topic, analyzing information, and making an original argument supported by extensive research.

The goal is to further the boundaries of knowledge in your field. You challenge existing theories with new perspectives that could reshape the understanding of that topic area. It takes rigorous critical thinking and skills to synthesize mounds of information into meaningful conclusions that contribute new insights.

Writing research helps you grow as a scholar, too. The intense process of engaging deeply with a complex topic builds your research, analytical, and academic writing abilities. By sharing fresh ideas and findings with others, you stimulate the growth of knowledge in your discipline.

There are different types of research papers. It depends on your objective and methodology (how you conduct the research).

Analytical Research Paper

An analytical paper focuses on examining different viewpoints from published works on a topic. You evaluate the information to provide a comprehensive, unbiased understanding.

Argumentative or Persuasive Research Paper

An argumentative or persuasive paper takes a stand on a controversial issue and argues for that position. You try to convince the reader that your viewpoint is correct or best by using evidence and logic.

Experimental Research Paper

Experimental papers document the process and results of experiments the author performed. This details the step-by-step methodology, data collected, analysis done, and conclusions made. It's commonly used in scientific fields.

Survey Research Paper

Survey papers collect data directly from people about their thoughts, behaviors, or traits. The data gets analyzed to make inferences about the broader population sampled.

Comparative Research Paper

Comparative papers highlight similarities and differences between theories, policies, or phenomena. Comparing things leads to deeper understanding.

Cause and Effect Research Paper

Cause and effect papers explore reasons why some events happen, or conditions exist and outcomes that then emerge. The researcher tries to establish causal links between variables.

Review Research Paper

Finally, a review paper synthesizes all existing research on a topic to identify overarching trends, gaps, and consensus in that field or discipline.

As you can see, each research paper type serves unique aims and requires certain perspectives. Understanding these distinctions helps guide your approach when conducting and writing up studies. 

The landscape of academia progresses through work recorded in papers like these, driving innovation. They remain vital for spreading knowledge and encouraging a thoughtful culture of exploration.

The key is first to understand the purpose behind the specific research paper you aim to tackle. Get clear on the methodology and outcome goals upfront.

It takes time and skill to compose the best papers that contribute to knowledge.

Different Research Paper Examples for High School Students

Writing a quality research paper can feel intimidating at first. However, having solid sample research examples to guide you makes it much more manageable. The type of research paper you write depends on your area of study.

In this section, you’ll find several research examples across different disciplines written by our students here at Indigo Research:

Physics Research Paper Example

Physics explores the laws around motion, energy, and forces. You could investigate why objects fall at different speeds, how magnets work to attract metal, or how electricity flows through wires. Researching core concepts like gravity, friction, magnetic fields, or light waves reveals insights into the physics of how the world works.

Here is a good research paper example in physics. 

• Axions as a Model of Dark Matter

Biology Research Paper Example

Biology delves into the living world of animals, plants, cells, and ecosystems. You might study metamorphosis across a butterfly's life cycle stages, how pollution impacts forest health, or the intricate parts that make up a single cell. Understanding foundational building blocks like ecosystems, plant life cycles, cell anatomy, and more can yield fascinating discoveries.

Here are some well-written research papers on biology for guidance.

• A Stretchable and Tough Small-scale Magnetic Actuator for Biomedical Applications

Psychology Research Paper Example

Psychology aims to reveal why humans think, feel, and act the way we do through studying emotions, memory, development, and interactions. Investigating what triggers anger responses, factors impacting eye-witness memory, peer pressure effects on teens, or impacts of rap music lyrics on mood represents just a snippet of psychological research possibilities out there to captivate any burgeoning psychologist!

Here is a research essay example in psychology for guidance.

• Sustained Attention Outcomes of ADHD Traits and Typically Developing Participants

Economics Research Paper Example

Economics analyzes financial decision-making around supply, demand, trade, and resources. You could explore reasons for inflation, stock market trends, how governments intervene in markets, or why everyday goods' prices fluctuate over time. Real-world applications make economics research intriguing for unraveling modern money matters.

Here is an example of student research paper on economics for guidance.

• Impact of YouTubers on Cryptocurrency

AI and Machine Learning Research Paper Example

AI and machine learning study how to engineer computer systems and robots capable of “thinking" intelligently like humans. It's an exciting frontier with innovations like self-driving vehicles, personalized ads served by algorithms analyzing your browsing data, or AI programs winning strategy games against grandmasters.

Evaluation metrics for neural networks, implementing pattern recognition, and analyzing bias in data or code – the options for hands-on testing are vast enough to launch forward machine intelligence that enhances lives.

Here is a sample short research paper example on AI and Machine Learning.

• Personalized Hybrid Recommender System with Average Time Intervals

Computer Science Research Paper Example

Computer science underlies software, apps, video games, and websites, transforming modern life through coding languages and powering the technology we engage with daily. Possible investigations include modeling a mobile app, evaluating website security vulnerabilities, debugging video game mods you create, comparing software engineering code methods, or prototyping a computational art bot to generate poems.

Here is a free example of a research paper as a guide on computer science research.

• Accelerating and Improving Simulation Performance in Communication Systems Modeling through Parallel Computing and Clustering

History Research Paper Example

History research connects past and present events, social movements, and influential leaders' lasting impacts on modern life. Deeply exploring WWII's complex catalysts, how the civil rights movement unfolded through key milestones, the rippling influences of Ada Lovelace's innovations, or lessons we can learn from the Space Race era now in a renewed age of interstellar exploration can anchor history's meaningful life teachings in our memory.

Below is an example of a sample undergraduate research paper to write for history research.

• Yugo Wars: A Case Study on the Peacekeeping Efforts in Bosna-Hercegovina

Math Research Paper Example

Math research elucidates the world through numeracy, geometry, algebra, statistics, calculus, and more. You can consider comparing statistical methods, implementing probability theory, discovering patterns in prime numbers, demonstrating geometry theorems, or modeling applications of derivatives/integrals. The pure science of mathematics interlinks with every other domain, opening cross-disciplinary opportunities!

Here is an example of a math research paper to use as a guide.

• Paradoxes in Special Theory of Relativity

Law Research Paper Example

Law research examines legal principles, court precedents, and regulations upholding rights plus justice in societies. Analyzing Supreme Court decisions validating rights, evaluating the effectiveness of criminal procedures, or studying juvenile law complexities represents just a small sample of legal avenues to bolster understanding of ethical codes steering modern civilization.

Here is an example of a law research paper you can use as a guide.

• Mental Health Through the Lens of Law

Medicine Research Paper Example

Medical research aims to improve healthcare through clinical treatment insights, pharmaceutical advances, diagnostic technologies, vaccination developments, or surgical innovations against prevalent diseases and global epidemics. Choose burning topics like cancer immunotherapies, coronavirus variants analysis, anesthesiology during operations, the efficacy of antidepressants, post-stroke rehabilitation, or maternal health policies to drive life-saving medical revelations!

Here are examples of medical research papers for high school students.

• An Evaluation of Communication Methods for Community Outreach in Patients with Diabetes

Astronomy Research Paper Example

Ever wonder what's happening beyond Earth? In astronomy, you can dive into the vast universe! Write about planets, stars, galaxies, black holes, or even the Big Bang. Explain how stars are born, what planets contain, and how telescopes help us see faraway space objects. Imagine the mysteries you can uncover.

Here is an example of a written research paper on astronomy. 

• INTEGRAL mission - Automation of Transponder Swaps Scheduling and Schedule Validation

Media Research Suggestion Example

Movies, TV shows, social media – media is everywhere! Media research looks at how it influences us. Explore how advertisements try to persuade us, how social media impacts relationships, or how news channels shape world understandings. You could research on nearly everything. Like how special effects excite moviegoers, how influencers gain followers, or how to spot fake news online. The insights are endless.

Here is an example of a scholarly paper sample on Media for high school students.

• Role of Interactive Multimedia in Environment Awareness

A Sample Research Paper 

The potential of microbiome manipulation in honeybees to mitigate colony collapse disorder (ccd).

Honeybees fill the vital ecological roles of pollinating diverse wild and agricultural plant species globally. However, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) poses escalating threats by inflicting sudden population crashes where adult worker bees inexplicably abandon hives. While researchers have identified likely culprits, including pesticides, habitat loss, viruses, and mites, fully elucidating CCD’s triggers remains challenging. Recently, attention shifted to better understanding the links between honeybee digestive tract microbial communities and CCD susceptibility. Studies reveal alterations within gut microorganism populations of collapse-prone bee colonies. These discoveries inspired promising yet still emerging microbiome-focused interventions aiming to improve hive resilience like probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal transplants. If efficacious and scalable solutions emerge through further research, microbial amendments in apiculture could help mitigate CCD while benefiting ecosystems, agriculture, and food security worldwide.

Introduction

Bees’ extraordinary pollination services enable sexual reproduction for nearly 90% of wild plant species and over 70% of global food crops. This linchpin role of managed honeybees upholding ecosystem biodiversity and supporting agricultural productivity explains rising concerns over Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). First reported in 2006, CCD describes mysterious honeybee hive abandonments where adult worker bees inexplicably disappear, leaving behind the queen, some nurses, and lingering honey and pollen reserves. Their unexplained failures to return disabled colonies cascaded into population crashes.

While global apiculture continually sustains some attrition, the accelerating rates and enigmatic characteristics of CCD-afflicted declines have alarmed farmers, conservationists and policy makers alike due to our interdependence with bees propagating crops, orchards, and botanical abundance. Investigations of the disorder’s erratic outbreaks gradually compiled causes ranging from pesticide exposures to inadequate nutrition. One relative newcomer on the list of contributing stress factors - alterations within bees’ digestive tract microbial communities – shows particular promise for explaining susceptibilities while offering potential mitigation opportunities through microbiome manipulation techniques.

Like humans and most creatures, bees rely on densely populated gut microbial communities aiding digestion, nourishing development, calibrating immunity, and mediating toxins. Swarming with bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms, a bee’s microbiome exhibits its own ecological equilibrium where different species carve distinct metabolic niches while also interacting cooperatively or competitively to stabilize overall population dynamics and hive functionality.

Research reveals that much like other mammals, individual bees initially acquire gut microbes through environmental transmission from adults, then continue inoculating colony members throughout their lives via ongoing physical contact and shared food. Colonies maintain somewhat consistent core microbial signatures across seasons and geographies. However, when examining CCD-decimated hives, scientists noticed stark microbiome composition deviations from the established baseline of healthy colonies with reduced bacterial diversity and framed the shifts as either potential causes or results of collapse events. Ongoing studies parse details, but abundant evidence already shows microbiome status correlates with disease susceptibility generally.

These revelations spurred inquiries into whether purposefully altering bee microbiomes through probiotics, prebiotics or fecal microbial transplants could boost hive hardiness and prevent the disorder's destructive outcomes. If such microbiome-focused solutions prove efficacious, they could offer more sustainable management practices curtailing CCD pandemics to safeguard ecological integrity and agricultural outputs.

Results/Cues

Probiotics provide targeted ingestible doses of live supplemental microbes conjectured to benefit organismal and even emotional health. Researchers demonstrated that administering certain Lactobacilli strains orally enhances honeybee cognitive capacities while increasing gut microbiome diversity. Monitoring energetically costly probiotic production and field application feasibility at commercial scales will fall to agriculture experts. But thus far, studies report colony productivity improvements, supporting further probiotic development to improve resistance to colony decline.

Prebiotics refer to fibrous nutritional compounds fed to animals to stimulate growth and reproduction among their naturally occurring microbial gut inhabitants. Studies confirm prebiotic supplementation bolsters digestive tract microbial density and diversity in managed bee colonies while appearing to reduce susceptibility to pathogenic infiltration. Confirming efficiency across seasons and geographies remains necessary before producers adopt the practice en masse. Additionally, scientists must rule out unintended side effects from systematically nurturing certain untargeted microorganisms alongside beneficial commensals before deeming the method safe.

Finally, fecal microbial transplantation, an approach more commonly applied to recalibrate human digestion, has recently provided promising proof of concepts for stabilizing honeybee colony health as well. Experiments demonstrated transplanting microbiota from healthy donor colonies to disturbed recipient hives caused the recipients’ microbial composition to shift toward donor equilibrium. This also corresponded with reduced indications of immunological distress and pathogenic infiltration while promoting colony growth. Refining techniques and safety profiles could further make bee-to-bee probiotic transfers part of common practice pending field studies at true operational scales.

Despite promising early results from these microbiome-based interventions, researchers still face challenges translating laboratory success into optimized therapeutic techniques for industry-level beekeeping operations. Significant knowledge gaps remain regarding how to identify which core microbes comprise healthy bee microbiomes for different environments and genotypes. 

Controlling for inadvertent contamination introduction also demands continued vigilance. Field studies spanning multiple seasons and geographies will help gauge the true costs, scalability, and efficacy of rolling out given interventions. Lastly, perhaps the greatest challenge entails convincing traditionally minded beekeepers to adopt progressive microbiome-minded practices through further demonstration of reliable returns on investment.

A growing body of research links honeybee microbiome status with colony health and functionality, lending credence to the idea that microbiome disruption intensifies Colony Collapse Disorder’s compounding stress factors to trigger sudden yet devastating hive failure. 

These revelations propelled recent initiatives testing targeted microbiome modifications like probiotics, prebiotics, and microbe-based transplantation methods to try inoculating resilience within delicate bee colonies against collapse. Developing these techniques to balance efficacy, safety, and scalability, which persist across diverse real-world scenarios, remains an ongoing work. 

But early results bolster hopes that microbial amendments could soon emerge as viable tools for sustainably managing honeybee health to preserve these species’ ecological contributions while also protecting global agriculture’s productive potential it relies upon. Perhaps harnessing the microbiome’s power will illuminate pathways toward securing food and habitat for all species, including our own.

Anderson, K. E., et al. (2013). Gut microbial communities of honey bees are linked to hive health and nesting ecology. PLoS ONE, 8(6), e64046.

Engel, P., & Moran, N. A. (2013). The gut microbiota of bees: potential impacts on individual and colony health. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2(1), 30-34.

Kwong, W. K., & Moran, N. A. (2016). Gut microbial symbiosis in honey bees: the potential role of selected lactobacilli in colony health. PLoS One, 11(3), e0151028.

Raymann, K., Moran, N. A., & Reuter, M. (2017). Ecological drivers of gut microbiota composition in social bees. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 362(14), fnw254.

Mao, W., et al. (2017). RNA-seq reveals impact of glyphosate-induced gut microbiome dysbiosis on honey bee health. Gut Microbes, 8(3), 245-255.

Vásquez, A., et al. (2017). Gut microbiome modulation as a potential approach to enhance bee health. Microbial Ecology, 74(2), 407-420.

Kakutani, T., et al. (2016). Effects of prebiotics on gut Lactobacillus flora and fructosyltransferase activity in the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 78(2), 219-225.

Zheng, H., et al. (2020). Fecal microbiota transplantation restores gut microbiota and promotes honey bee worker longevity. Apidologie, 51(3), 807-817.

Final Takeaway

The key when writing a research paper in any field is to convey clearly your entire research process. It's ethical to refer to examples on the paper you're to write on. That's why we've taken the time to show you several examples of student research papers across various disciplines so you'll know how to proceed with your paper. 

If you still find it really difficult to write your own research paper, even with the examples we've provided, start your research journey with Indigo Research! Not only we will show you how to write a publishable research paper, you will also learn the necessary skills that will benefit you in the future.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, how do i write a research paper as a high school student.

I'm working on a research paper for a competition and it's my first time doing this. Any tips or resources on how to tackle a research paper at the high school level? Thanks!

First off, congratulations on taking the initiative to participate in a research paper competition! Writing a research paper can seem daunting, but breaking it down into steps will make the process more manageable. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to tackle a research paper at the high school level:

1. Choose a topic : Start by selecting a subject that interests you and fits the competition's guidelines. It's important to choose a focused topic rather than a too general or too narrow one.

2. Conduct preliminary research : Familiarize yourself with the topic by looking up related articles, books, and online resources. Note any significant themes, questions, or perspectives that stand out to you during this initial phase.

3. Develop a research question : Based on your early findings, develop a research question that guides your investigation. A strong research question should be clear, focused, and complex enough to require thoughtful analysis.

4. Gather detailed information : Use databases, journals, books, and other reliable sources to collect data related to your research question. Keep track of your sources for citation purposes.

5. Organize and evaluate : As you gather information, analyze the material and look for key points, patterns, and trends. Organize your findings in a logical manner (by theme, chronology, or viewpoint).

6. Develop a thesis : Your thesis statement should be a concise argument that answers your research question and captures the central idea of your paper. This will help guide your writing.

7. Create an outline : Establish a structure for your paper by outlining the introduction, body, and conclusion. This will help you organize your thoughts, create a logical progression of ideas, and keep your paper focused on the main points.

8. Write the paper : Begin by writing a draft of your paper following your outline. Start with the body paragraphs, covering the main points and evidence for each, and then move on to the introduction and conclusion.

9. Revise and edit : After completing your draft, review it for content, organization, grammar, and style. Solicit feedback from peers and teachers who can provide constructive criticism and help you improve the paper.

10. Cite your sources : Use the appropriate citation style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) to document your sources in-text and in a bibliography or works cited page at the end of your paper.

To learn more, read this blog post: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-research-paper-in-high-school/

Don't forget to carefully follow your competition's specific guidelines and submission criteria throughout the process. Good luck with your research paper!

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A Guide to Writing a Scientific Paper: A Focus on High School Through Graduate Level Student Research

Renee a. hesselbach.

1 NIEHS Children's Environmental Health Sciences Core Center, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

David H. Petering

2 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Craig A. Berg

3 Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Henry Tomasiewicz

Daniel weber.

This article presents a detailed guide for high school through graduate level instructors that leads students to write effective and well-organized scientific papers. Interesting research emerges from the ability to ask questions, define problems, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and make critical connections. This process is incomplete, unless new results are communicated to others because science fundamentally requires peer review and criticism to validate or discard proposed new knowledge. Thus, a concise and clearly written research paper is a critical step in the scientific process and is important for young researchers as they are mastering how to express scientific concepts and understanding. Moreover, learning to write a research paper provides a tool to improve science literacy as indicated in the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards (1996), and A Framework for K–12 Science Education (2011), the underlying foundation for the Next Generation Science Standards currently being developed. Background information explains the importance of peer review and communicating results, along with details of each critical component, the Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results , and Discussion . Specific steps essential to helping students write clear and coherent research papers that follow a logical format, use effective communication, and develop scientific inquiry are described.

Introduction

A key part of the scientific process is communication of original results to others so that one's discoveries are passed along to the scientific community and the public for awareness and scrutiny. 1 – 3 Communication to other scientists ensures that new findings become part of a growing body of publicly available knowledge that informs how we understand the world around us. 2 It is also what fuels further research as other scientists incorporate novel findings into their thinking and experiments.

Depending upon the researcher's position, intent, and needs, communication can take different forms. The gold standard is writing scientific papers that describe original research in such a way that other scientists will be able to repeat it or to use it as a basis for their studies. 1 For some, it is expected that such articles will be published in scientific journals after they have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. Scientists must submit their articles for examination by other scientists familiar with the area of research, who decide whether the work was conducted properly and whether the results add to the knowledge base and are conveyed well enough to merit publication. 2 If a manuscript passes the scrutiny of peer-review, it has the potential to be published. 1 For others, such as for high school or undergraduate students, publishing a research paper may not be the ultimate goal. However, regardless of whether an article is to be submitted for publication, peer review is an important step in this process. For student researchers, writing a well-organized research paper is a key step in learning how to express understanding, make critical connections, summarize data, and effectively communicate results, which are important goals for improving science literacy of the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards, 4 and A Framework for K–12 Science Education, 5 and the Next Generation Science Standards 6 currently being developed and described in The NSTA Reader's Guide to A Framework for K–12 Science Education. 7 Table 1 depicts the key skills students should develop as part of the Science as Inquiry Content Standard. Table 2 illustrates the central goals of A Framework for K–12 Science Education Scientific and Engineering Practices Dimension.

Key Skills of the Science as Inquiry National Science Education Content Standard

National Research Council (1996).

Important Practices of A Framework for K–12 Science Education Scientific and Engineering Practices Dimension

National Research Council (2011).

Scientific papers based on experimentation typically include five predominant sections: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion . This structure is a widely accepted approach to writing a research paper, and has specific sections that parallel the scientific method. Following this structure allows the scientist to tell a clear, coherent story in a logical format, essential to effective communication. 1 , 2 In addition, using a standardized format allows the reader to find specific information quickly and easily. While readers may not have time to read the entire research paper, the predictable format allows them to focus on specific sections such as the Abstract , Introduction , and Discussion sections. Therefore, it is critical that information be placed in the appropriate and logical section of the report. 3

Guidelines for Writing a Primary Research Article

The Title sends an important message to the reader about the purpose of the paper. For example, Ethanol Effects on the Developing Zebrafish: Neurobehavior and Skeletal Morphogenesis 8 tells the reader key information about the content of the research paper. Also, an appropriate and descriptive title captures the attention of the reader. When composing the Title , students should include either the aim or conclusion of the research, the subject, and possibly the independent or dependent variables. Often, the title is created after the body of the article has been written, so that it accurately reflects the purpose and content of the article. 1 , 3

The Abstract provides a short, concise summary of the research described in the body of the article and should be able to stand alone. It provides readers with a quick overview that helps them decide whether the article may be interesting to read. Included in the Abstract are the purpose or primary objectives of the experiment and why they are important, a brief description of the methods and approach used, key findings and the significance of the results, and how this work is different from the work of others. It is important to note that the Abstract briefly explains the implications of the findings, but does not evaluate the conclusions. 1 , 3 Just as with the Title , this section needs to be written carefully and succinctly. Often this section is written last to ensure it accurately reflects the content of the paper. Generally, the optimal length of the Abstract is one paragraph between 200 and 300 words, and does not contain references or abbreviations.

All new research can be categorized by field (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, geology) and by area within the field (e.g., biology: evolution, ecology, cell biology, anatomy, environmental health). Many areas already contain a large volume of published research. The role of the Introduction is to place the new research within the context of previous studies in the particular field and area, thereby introducing the audience to the research and motivating the audience to continue reading. 1

Usually, the writer begins by describing what is known in the area that directly relates to the subject of the article's research. Clearly, this must be done judiciously; usually there is not room to describe every bit of information that is known. Each statement needs one or more references from the scientific literature that supports its validity. Students must be reminded to cite all references to eliminate the risk of plagiarism. 2 Out of this context, the author then explains what is not known and, therefore, what the article's research seeks to find out. In doing so, the scientist provides the rationale for the research and further develops why this research is important. The final statement in the Introduction should be a clearly worded hypothesis or thesis statement, as well as a brief summary of the findings as they relate to the stated hypothesis. Keep in mind that the details of the experimental findings are presented in the Results section and are aimed at filling the void in our knowledge base that has been pointed out in the Introduction .

Materials and Methods

Research utilizes various accepted methods to obtain the results that are to be shared with others in the scientific community. The quality of the results, therefore, depends completely upon the quality of the methods that are employed and the care with which they are applied. The reader will refer to the Methods section: (a) to become confident that the experiments have been properly done, (b) as the guide for repeating the experiments, and (c) to learn how to do new methods.

It is particularly important to keep in mind item (b). Since science deals with the objective properties of the physical and biological world, it is a basic axiom that these properties are independent of the scientist who reported them. Everyone should be able to measure or observe the same properties within error, if they do the same experiment using the same materials and procedures. In science, one does the same experiment by exactly repeating the experiment that has been described in the Methods section. Therefore, someone can only repeat an experiment accurately if all the relevant details of the experimental methods are clearly described. 1 , 3

The following information is important to include under illustrative headings, and is generally presented in narrative form. A detailed list of all the materials used in the experiments and, if important, their source should be described. These include biological agents (e.g., zebrafish, brine shrimp), chemicals and their concentrations (e.g., 0.20 mg/mL nicotine), and physical equipment (e.g., four 10-gallon aquariums, one light timer, one 10-well falcon dish). The reader needs to know as much as necessary about each of the materials; however, it is important not to include extraneous information. For example, consider an experiment involving zebrafish. The type and characteristics of the zebrafish used must be clearly described so another scientist could accurately replicate the experiment, such as 4–6-month-old male and female zebrafish, the type of zebrafish used (e.g., Golden), and where they were obtained (e.g., the NIEHS Children's Environmental Health Sciences Core Center in the WATER Institute of the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee). In addition to describing the physical set-up of the experiment, it may be helpful to include photographs or diagrams in the report to further illustrate the experimental design.

A thorough description of each procedure done in the reported experiment, and justification as to why a particular method was chosen to most effectively answer the research question should also be included. For example, if the scientist was using zebrafish to study developmental effects of nicotine, the reader needs to know details about how and when the zebrafish were exposed to the nicotine (e.g., maternal exposure, embryo injection of nicotine, exposure of developing embryo to nicotine in the water for a particular length of time during development), duration of the exposure (e.g., a certain concentration for 10 minutes at the two-cell stage, then the embryos were washed), how many were exposed, and why that method was chosen. The reader would also need to know the concentrations to which the zebrafish were exposed, how the scientist observed the effects of the chemical exposure (e.g., microscopic changes in structure, changes in swimming behavior), relevant safety and toxicity concerns, how outcomes were measured, and how the scientist determined whether the data/results were significantly different in experimental and unexposed control animals (statistical methods).

Students must take great care and effort to write a good Methods section because it is an essential component of the effective communication of scientific findings.

The Results section describes in detail the actual experiments that were undertaken in a clear and well-organized narrative. The information found in the Methods section serves as background for understanding these descriptions and does not need to be repeated. For each different experiment, the author may wish to provide a subtitle and, in addition, one or more introductory sentences that explains the reason for doing the experiment. In a sense, this information is an extension of the Introduction in that it makes the argument to the reader why it is important to do the experiment. The Introduction is more general; this text is more specific.

Once the reader understands the focus of the experiment, the writer should restate the hypothesis to be tested or the information sought in the experiment. For example, “Atrazine is routinely used as a crop pesticide. It is important to understand whether it affects organisms that are normally found in soil. We decided to use worms as a test organism because they are important members of the soil community. Because atrazine damages nerve cells, we hypothesized that exposure to atrazine will inhibit the ability of worms to do locomotor activities. In the first experiment, we tested the effect of the chemical on burrowing action.”

Then, the experiments to be done are described and the results entered. In reporting on experimental design, it is important to identify the dependent and independent variables clearly, as well as the controls. The results must be shown in a way that can be reproduced by the reader, but do not include more details than needed for an effective analysis. Generally, meaningful and significant data are gathered together into tables and figures that summarize relevant information, and appropriate statistical analyses are completed based on the data gathered. Besides presenting each of these data sources, the author also provides a written narrative of the contents of the figures and tables, as well as an analysis of the statistical significance. In the narrative, the writer also connects the results to the aims of the experiment as described above. Did the results support the initial hypothesis? Do they provide the information that was sought? Were there problems in the experiment that compromised the results? Be careful not to include an interpretation of the results; that is reserved for the Discussion section.

The writer then moves on to the next experiment. Again, the first paragraph is developed as above, except this experiment is seen in the context of the first experiment. In other words, a story is being developed. So, one commonly refers to the results of the first experiment as part of the basis for undertaking the second experiment. “In the first experiment we observed that atrazine altered burrowing activity. In order to understand how that might occur, we decided to study its impact on the basic biology of locomotion. Our hypothesis was that atrazine affected neuromuscular junctions. So, we did the following experiment..”

The Results section includes a focused critical analysis of each experiment undertaken. A hallmark of the scientist is a deep skepticism about results and conclusions. “Convince me! And then convince me again with even better experiments.” That is the constant challenge. Without this basic attitude of doubt and willingness to criticize one's own work, scientists do not get to the level of concern about experimental methods and results that is needed to ensure that the best experiments are being done and the most reproducible results are being acquired. Thus, it is important for students to state any limitations or weaknesses in their research approach and explain assumptions made upfront in this section so the validity of the research can be assessed.

The Discussion section is the where the author takes an overall view of the work presented in the article. First, the main results from the various experiments are gathered in one place to highlight the significant results so the reader can see how they fit together and successfully test the original hypotheses of the experiment. Logical connections and trends in the data are presented, as are discussions of error and other possible explanations for the findings, including an analysis of whether the experimental design was adequate. Remember, results should not be restated in the Discussion section, except insofar as it is absolutely necessary to make a point.

Second, the task is to help the reader link the present work with the larger body of knowledge that was portrayed in the Introduction . How do the results advance the field, and what are the implications? What does the research results mean? What is the relevance? 1 , 3

Lastly, the author may suggest further work that needs to be done based on the new knowledge gained from the research.

Supporting Documentation and Writing Skills

Tables and figures are included to support the content of the research paper. These provide the reader with a graphic display of information presented. Tables and figures must have illustrative and descriptive titles, legends, interval markers, and axis labels, as appropriate; should be numbered in the order that they appear in the report; and include explanations of any unusual abbreviations.

The final section of the scientific article is the Reference section. When citing sources, it is important to follow an accepted standardized format, such as CSE (Council of Science Editors), APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), or CMS (Chicago Manual of Style). References should be listed in alphabetical order and original authors cited. All sources cited in the text must be included in the Reference section. 1

When writing a scientific paper, the importance of writing concisely and accurately to clearly communicate the message should be emphasized to students. 1 – 3 Students should avoid slang and repetition, as well as abbreviations that may not be well known. 1 If an abbreviation must be used, identify the word with the abbreviation in parentheses the first time the term is used. Using appropriate and correct grammar and spelling throughout are essential elements of a well-written report. 1 , 3 Finally, when the article has been organized and formatted properly, students are encouraged to peer review to obtain constructive criticism and then to revise the manuscript appropriately. Good scientific writing, like any kind of writing, is a process that requires careful editing and revision. 1

A key dimension of NRC's A Framework for K–12 Science Education , Scientific and Engineering Practices, and the developing Next Generation Science Standards emphasizes the importance of students being able to ask questions, define problems, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, draw conclusions, and communicate results. 5 , 6 In the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, we found the guidelines presented in this article useful for high school science students because this group of students (and probably most undergraduates) often lack in understanding of, and skills to develop and write, the various components of an effective scientific paper. Students routinely need to focus more on the data collected and analyze what the results indicated in relation to the research question/hypothesis, as well as develop a detailed discussion of what they learned. Consequently, teaching students how to effectively organize and write a research report is a critical component when engaging students in scientific inquiry.

Acknowledgments

This article was supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) grant (Award Number R25RR026299) from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. The SEPA program at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee is part of the Children's Environmental Health Sciences Core Center, Community Outreach and Education Core, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Award Number P30ES004184). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.

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Research Paper Examples for High School Students

• Last modified 2024-08-13
• Published on 2024-08-15

Enhance Your Research Skills with Aralia’s Research Scholar Classes

1. what is a research paper.

A research paper is a form of academic writing that requires a student to explore and analyze a particular topic in-depth. It involves gathering information from various sources, presenting an argument or thesis, and supporting it with evidence. Research papers are essential for developing critical thinking, building research skills, and preparing for college and beyond.

A primary research paper consists of seven main sections :

• The Abstract, which is a brief summary of the hypothesis, results, and conclusions;
• The Introduction, which provides background information, summarizes prior research, and outlines the study;
• The Methods and Experiments section, detailing the research process, study design, and procedures;
• The Results section, presenting data and statistical outcomes;
• The Discussion section, where the author interprets the results, offers conclusions, and suggests future research;
• The References section, listing all sources used;
• And finally, Tables and Figures, which display the data discussed in the paper.

To read more about each section, please refer to How to Read Scientific Research Papers – High School Edition .

2. What Are the Types of Research Paper?

There are various types of scientific research papers, each with a unique writing style that helps students develop different reading approaches. Primary articles present original research data and conclusions, allowing students to understand how research is conducted and to verify its authenticity. Secondary research documents, such as review articles and systematic reviews, provide overviews of relevant topics and expert perspectives, helping students gain a well-rounded understanding. However, students should critically assess all viewpoints. Special articles include letters to editors, commentaries, and correspondences, offering short communications on topics of interest, often responding to or providing feedback on primary research. These can be useful for students seeking additional insights or clarifications on primary research papers.

Additionally, other common research papers include analytical papers , which break down a topic into its components for deeper understanding; argumentative papers , where the writer presents and supports a particular viewpoint; and experimental papers, which document the process and results of scientific experiments. Each type helps students develop critical reading and writing skills for academic success.

3. How To Do Research

Conducting research in high school is a valuable way to explore your academic interests, develop critical thinking skills, and contribute to the broader body of knowledge. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

• Identify Your Research Interest : Begin by exploring subjects that genuinely fascinate you. Whether it’s a specific scientific field, a historical event, or a social issue, choosing a topic that resonates with you will keep you motivated throughout the research process. For more tips on selecting a research focus, check out How to Pursue Research Interest in High School .
• Understand the Research Process : Familiarize yourself with the key steps in conducting research, from developing a research question to collecting and analyzing data. A structured approach will help you stay organized and ensure your research is thorough and methodical. To dive deeper into these steps, refer to the 8 Steps in the Research Process .
• Design Your Study : Once you have a research question, plan how you will investigate it. This might involve designing experiments, conducting surveys, or reviewing literature. Consider what data you need, how you will collect it, and how you will ensure the reliability and validity of your findings. The Guide to Do Scientific Research in High School provides detailed insights into creating a research plan.
• Conduct the Research : Execute your research plan and document your process and observations meticulously.
• Analyze the Results : Once your data is collected, analyze it to see if it supports your hypothesis or answers your research question.
• Present Your Findings : You can present your research in various formats, such as a research paper, a presentation, or even at a science fair or competition. Make sure to communicate your methodology, findings, and conclusions.
• Seek feedback from teachers, mentors, or peers to refine your work.
• Once you feel that your papers are ready, you can choose a research journal to submit your work to for publication. Here are 17 Research Journals for High School Students.

Aralia Students Are 4x More Likely to Publish a Research Paper

4. research paper topics.

• Historical Research Topics : Exploring significant events, influential figures, and cultural movements can provide rich material for research papers. For example, students might investigate the causes and effects of World War I, the impact of the Renaissance on modern art, or the role of women in the American Revolution. Check out more historical research topics .
• Scientific Research Topics : Science topics offer opportunities to explore the natural world, human health, and technological advancements. Examples include studying the effects of climate change on biodiversity, analyzing the efficacy of different cancer treatments, or researching the ethical implications of genetic engineering.
• Literary Research Topics : Students might analyze themes, characters, and symbolism in classic or contemporary works. Examples include exploring the representation of women in Shakespeare’s plays, the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on American literature, or the influence of mythology in modern fantasy novels.
• Psychology Research Topics : For students interested in psychology, exploring topics such as the effects of social media on mental health, the psychology of learning and memory, or the impact of childhood trauma on adult behavior can provide unique insights. Discover 10 unique psychology research ideas for high school students . 

5. Different Research Paper Examples for High School Students

Below, we will explore examples of high school research papers to help students understand how to structure and present their work effectively. We’ll be drawing from the Journal of Student Research (JSR), a reputable platform that publishes exemplary research conducted by high school students across a wide range of fields.

Neuroscience Research Paper

Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system and brain, focusing on how they influence behavior, cognition, and overall health. Combining insights from biology, psychology, and medicine, it offers an exciting and complex field for students to research, with the goal of developing innovative treatments for neurological and psychiatric conditions.

“Alpha-Synuclein Targeting Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease” research focuses on alpha-synuclein, a protein that aggregates and plays a key role in developing Parkinson’s.

Ethics Research Paper

Ethics examines moral principles that govern human behavior and decision-making. For students, researching ethics offers an opportunity to delve into complex moral dilemmas and explore how ethical theories apply to real-world issues.

“Exploring the Interplay Between Religious Music, Emotions, and Ethics in Cultures Worldwide” investigates how religious music affects people’s emotional well-being and ethical values. The study highlights how music influences moral and ethical standards within religious practices, fostering pro-social behavior and ethical decision-making.

Artificial Intelligence Research Paper

Artificial Intelligence (AI) involves creating systems that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving. Delving into AI can spark interest in developing new solutions and understanding the implications of technology on society.

The Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Breast Cancer Screening examines the role of AI in enhancing breast cancer detection through mammography. The study reviews various AI models and their effectiveness in diagnosing breast cancer, highlighting the potential of deep learning technologies.

In addition, students can go to 25 research opportunities for high school students to view a comprehensive list of research opportunities available to high school students, offering valuable insights into different fields and helping students find programs that align with their interests. 

6. Conduct Research With Aralia

Aralia Education offers a range of research opportunities for high school students, including mentorship programs and research projects. These programs are designed to help students develop their research skills and produce high-quality research papers. Consider participating in these to learn essential skills and prepare yourself to write research papers for competitions, college, and beyond!

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APA Style for beginners

Then check out some frequently asked questions:

What is APA Style?

Why use apa style in high school, how do i get started with apa style, what apa style products are available, your help wanted.

APA Style is the most common writing style used in college and career. Its purpose is to promote excellence in communication by helping writers create clear, precise, and inclusive sentences with a straightforward scholarly tone. It addresses areas of writing such as how to

• format a paper so it looks professional;
• credit other people’s words and ideas via citations and references to avoid plagiarism; and
• describe other people with dignity and respect using inclusive, bias-free language.

APA Style is primarily used in the behavioral sciences, which are subjects related to people, such as psychology, education, and nursing. It is also used by students in business, engineering, communications, and other classes. Students use it to write academic essays and research papers in high school and college, and professionals use it to conduct, report, and publish scientific research .

High school students need to learn how to write concisely, precisely, and inclusively so that they are best prepared for college and career. Here are some of the reasons educators have chosen APA Style:

• APA Style is the style of choice for the AP Capstone program, the fastest growing AP course, which requires students to conduct and report independent research.
• APA Style helps students craft written responses on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT because it teaches students to use a direct and professional tone while avoiding redundancy and flowery language.
• Most college students choose majors that require APA Style or allow APA Style as an option. It can be overwhelming to learn APA Style all at once during the first years of college; starting APA Style instruction in high school sets students up for success.

High school students may also be interested in the TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students , an annual competition from the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools for high school students to create a short video demonstrating how a psychological topic has the potential to benefit their school and/or local community and improve people’s lives.

Most people are first introduced to APA Style by reading works written in APA Style. The following guides will help with that:

Many people also write research papers or academic essays in APA Style. The following resources will help with that:

Instructors will also benefit from using the following APA Style resources:

In addition to all the free resources on this website, APA publishes several products that provide comprehensive information about APA Style:

The APA Style team is interested in developing additional resources appropriate for a beginner audience. If you have resources you would like to share, or feedback on this topic, please contact the APA Style team . 

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IJHSR has been published since 2019 and is the leading high school research journal. All manuscripts published by IJHSR are indexed internationally by EBSCO and Google Scholar , which makes it available to be searched by most libraries around the world. IJHSR selects the highest quality of high school student research work in all areas of science, including the behavioral and social sciences, technology, engineering, and math. IJHSR publishes both original research or literature review articles. Six issues are published each year. IJHSR has a rolling admission without a deadline and has an open access to public. A publication is a higher level of presentation and requires higher level of detail and work, therefore it is more  highly valued when compared to poster or oral presentations.

IJHSR is a publication of  Terra Science and Education,  a 501.c.3. nonprofit organization. 

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School Name, Age/Grade level, Interested STEM Area, Interested specific topic (if there is), Month of the year when the Scholar is expected, and any other related information to make the Scholar better prepared.

Scholar Registration

Scholars can expect one volunteered presentation per year, and additional visits in a year will be paid up to $100. You may choose how many engagements you would like to do in a year. Terra will place you within 25 miles of your home or work address.

If you have further questions before committing, please email Dr. Rick Beal ( [email protected] ).

If you are ready to volunteer please Register here!

Terra Science and Education is happy to announce the founding of the Terra Traveling STEM Show. In this program Terra provides STEM educational programing to summer camps organized by area schools and community groups. Terra Traveling STEM Shows can be 1 to 5 days in length and we can fit our programming to meet your STEM content and scheduling needs.

Terra Traveling STEM Shows are presented by the Terra STEM Scholars which is made up of local college faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and STEM practitioners who are ready to bring STEM to kids.

One week of programing costs approximately $7,000. Contact our program coordinator for more information or fill out this Interest Form.

Terra professional development is rigorous, current, relevant and appropriate for the professionals in the target audience. Terra continually updates and validates its activities based on emerging research, identified best practices, and student feedback. Terra specializes in professional development focused on education, educational administration, and numerous STEM topics. We can work with you to deliver the professional development experience that you need!

Professional Development Resources

Rick beal ph.d., fehmi damkaci, ph.d..

MEET OUR STAFF

Contract Instructors

• A Masters or Doctorate degree in education or content related to the training
• New York State Teachers Certification
• 10 years of experience in informal education/outreach/college extension
• Be a NYS Principal or Trainer for a NYS approved school district

Post Event Evaluation

Terra’s educational programming is open to local public and private schools.

Terra Science and Education offers new school development including charter schools for writing/managing school proposals. Our team includes experienced school developers, charter school proposal writers, new school program implementers, and establishing new schools, including budgeting, board development, staff recruitment.

• Will work with you to develop your proposal based on a project design provided by your team.
• Will work with you to develop a proposed school budget based on a project design provided by your organization.
• Will guide your team sharing best practices in the field to help you develop a better school program
• Will work with you to submit the proposal
• Will work with you to prepare you for the board interview process.
• Will provide school management and board meeting professional development.

How To Write A Research Paper

Step-By-Step Tutorial With Examples + FREE Template

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

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

Overview: Writing A Research Paper

What (exactly) is a research paper.

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

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

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

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

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

Overview: The 3-Stage Process

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

These three steps are:

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

Let’s dig into each of these.

Need a helping hand?

Step 1: Find a topic and review the literature

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Step 2: Develop a structure and outline

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

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

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

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

• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology

Let’s take a look at each of these.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Step 3: Write and refine

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

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

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

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

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

Recap: Key Takeaways

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

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

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

Can you help me with a full paper template for this Abstract:

Background: Energy and sports drinks have gained popularity among diverse demographic groups, including adolescents, athletes, workers, and college students. While often used interchangeably, these beverages serve distinct purposes, with energy drinks aiming to boost energy and cognitive performance, and sports drinks designed to prevent dehydration and replenish electrolytes and carbohydrates lost during physical exertion.

Objective: To assess the nutritional quality of energy and sports drinks in Egypt.

Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study assessed the nutrient contents, including energy, sugar, electrolytes, vitamins, and caffeine, of sports and energy drinks available in major supermarkets in Cairo, Alexandria, and Giza, Egypt. Data collection involved photographing all relevant product labels and recording nutritional information. Descriptive statistics and appropriate statistical tests were employed to analyze and compare the nutritional values of energy and sports drinks.

Results: The study analyzed 38 sports drinks and 42 energy drinks. Sports drinks were significantly more expensive than energy drinks, with higher net content and elevated magnesium, potassium, and vitamin C. Energy drinks contained higher concentrations of caffeine, sugars, and vitamins B2, B3, and B6.

Conclusion: Significant nutritional differences exist between sports and energy drinks, reflecting their intended uses. However, these beverages’ high sugar content and calorie loads raise health concerns. Proper labeling, public awareness, and responsible marketing are essential to guide safe consumption practices in Egypt.

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