Research paper templates for methods, results, and discussion

Templates help plan; they do not fill in a paper

A useful research-paper template identifies a section's function, expected evidence, and relationship to the next section. It cannot decide the correct structure, supply results, justify a method, establish a claim, or replace a course, supervisor, journal, or ethics requirement.

Choose a pattern that fits the work

• Empirical report: commonly uses a research-context introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references; headings and placement can differ.
• Literature review: typically organizes sources by theme, method, debate, or trend rather than forcing separate methods and results sections.
• Research proposal: usually connects a problem, literature-based rationale, question, feasible approach, and practical or ethical considerations.
• Argument paper or course report: may need an introduction, claims and evidence, counter-considerations, and conclusion rather than an experimental-report structure.

Fictional learning example: map section functions before drafting

This fictional learning example is invented for practice and is not a submission template. For an invented study of a fictional student-planning workshop, a writer maps the Introduction to the problem and question, the Methods to the invented design and data route, the Results to planned factual reporting, and the Discussion to cautious interpretation and limits. When the writer finds that the available fictional notes cannot support a planned comparison, the outline changes before a conclusion is drafted. Let an evidence path shape the structure rather than filling brackets with invented details.

Fictional learning prompts: adapt only with verified project details

Methods prompt: What did you do, with whom or what data, and how did you analyse it? “This study used [design] to examine [question]. Data were collected from [source/participants] through [method] and analysed using [approach].”

Results prompt: What did the data show, in what logical order, and where should readers look? “[Finding] was observed for [group/condition] (see Table/Figure [X]). The analysis showed [pattern or statistic].”

Discussion prompt: What does the finding mean in relation to the question, literature, and study limits? “This finding suggests [interpretation]. It is consistent/inconsistent with [prior research] because [reason]. One limitation is [limit].”

Replace every bracket with details you can support from your own study, notes, or approved sources. Follow required terminology, tense, reporting standards, and formatting. Keep explanation and implications out of Results unless your discipline uses a combined section.

Use templates as adjustable planning tools

Purdue OWL recommends clarifying purpose, audience, and thesis, then listing, grouping, ordering, and labelling material. USC Libraries describes an outline as a framework for testing connections, order, gaps, and evidence; it should guide rather than constrain a project as research develops. UC San Diego Psychology identifies common APA-style empirical sections and important variations for reviews, multi-experiment papers, in-progress projects, and course assignments. The UC Irvine Results guide recommends factual, evidence-supported reporting in logical order with tables and figures mentioned in the text. Follow your own requirements where they differ.