A research article usually follows the IMRAD structure. It helps readers find what they need quickly: a reviewer reads the methods, a practitioner the results, a student the introduction.

What each section does

  • Introduction — why the problem matters, what is known, what is still unknown, and your research question.
  • Materials and methods — what was done, where, when and how; another researcher must be able to repeat it.
  • Results — what you found: numbers, tables, figures. No interpretation.
  • Discussion — what the results mean, how they compare with other studies, limitations.
  • Conclusion — a short answer to the research question and recommendations.

Common mistakes

  • Interpreting in the Results (“this shows that…”) — that belongs in the Discussion.
  • Leaving out the sample size and the statistical method in the Methods.
  • Adding new data in the Conclusion.