P5. Find a Template Paper
Now that you have selected a topic for your paper, find a paper that can serve as a template for your paper. It need not be on the same topic, but it helps to have it from the same field and a roughly similar structure, as explained below. As a template, it will give you guidance on structure and organization. You will refer to this quite a bit, so choose a paper on a topic you like.
STRUCTURE: The structure of a paper is determined (primarily) by its goal and its audience, for instance to (1) convey novel results to a group of peers (as most scientific papers do), (2) convey the thesis work of a student to a university, (3) summarize the research done over a period of time on a particular subject, or (4) introduce the general public to a particular scientific topic. For this course we are following #1.
You can look for papers by using e.g.:
- Your local library; see: Google Will Not Show You What Your Instructor Wants You To Find