0% found this document useful (0 votes)
220 views4 pages

Understanding the IMRD Format

The IMRD Cheat Sheet outlines the structure and essential components of an IMRaD report, emphasizing the importance of each section: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. It provides guidelines on how to effectively present research findings, including the allocation of space in the abstract and the necessary moves in the discussion. The document also includes examples to illustrate the application of these principles in research writing.

Uploaded by

Gilbert Pavo
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
220 views4 pages

Understanding the IMRD Format

The IMRD Cheat Sheet outlines the structure and essential components of an IMRaD report, emphasizing the importance of each section: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. It provides guidelines on how to effectively present research findings, including the allocation of space in the abstract and the necessary moves in the discussion. The document also includes examples to illustrate the application of these principles in research writing.

Uploaded by

Gilbert Pavo
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

IMRD Cheat Sheet

Abstract
Abstracts can vary in length from one paragraph to several pages, but they follow the IMRaD format and
typically spend:
• 25% of their space on importance of research (Introduction)
• 25% of their space on what you did (Methods)
• 35% of their space on what you found: this is the most important part of the abstract (Results) •
15% of their space on the implications of the research (Discussion)

Introduction & Importance (Make a case for your new research)


Begin by explaining to your readers what problem you researched and why the research is necessary.
Convince readers that it is important that they continue to read.
Discuss the current state of research in your field, expose a “gap”
or problem in the field, and then explain why your present research is
a timely and necessary solution to that gap. See Novelty Handout.

Methods (What did you do?)


Methods are usually written in past tense and passive voice with lots of headings and subheadings. This
is the least-read section of an IMRaD report.

Results (What did you find?)


Results are where the findings and outcomes of the research
go. When talking about this data, we can think of the results as having two
parts: report and comment. The reporting function always appears in the results section while the
comment function can go in the discussion section. Make sure all tables and figures are
labeled and numbered separately. Captions go above tables and
beneath figures.
(See Example on Page 3)
1. Refer to your table or figure and state the main
trend
Table 3 shows that Spam Filter A correctly filtered more junk emails than Filter B
2. Support this trend with data
ReportFilter A correctly filtered… The average difference is…
3. (If needed) Note any additional, secondary trends and support them with data
In addition… Figure 1 also shows…
4. (If needed) Note any exceptions to your main trends or unexpected outcomes
However…

5. (If needed) Provide an explanation


A feasible explanation is…. This trend can be explained by…
Comment6. (If needed) Compare to other research
X is consistent with X’s finding… In contrast, Y found… 7. (If
needed) Evaluate whether the findings support or
contradict a hypothesis
8. State the bottom line: what does the data mean?
These findings overall suggest… These data indicate…

Discussion (What does it mean?)


Discussion sections contain the following moves:
1. They summarize the main findings of
the study. This allows readersto skip to
the beginning of the discussion section and understand the main “news”
in the report. 2. They connect these findings to other research
3. They discussflaws in the current study.
4. They use these flaws as reasons to suggest additional, future
research.
5. (If needed) They state the implications of their findings for
future policy or practice.
Examples
Abstract
• 25% (Introduction)
• 25% (Methods)
• 35% (Results)
• 15% (Discussion)
This experiment tests the effect of choke type and gun selection on
target accuracy in order to Introduction determine the best gun
specifications. Three competent shooters of approximately equivalent
Methods marksmanship abilities tested three different choke types (full, modified, and
improved) and two
different guns
(a
Remington
11-87
semi-automatic
and
a
Beretta
682
Gold
E).
With
a
confidence
Results
level of 95%, the gun selection ended up to be the only
significant factor. The Beretta was found more accurate than the Remington possibly
because the Beretta’s weight is centered in the middle of the gun while the Remington
is a little barrel-heavy. However, if the confidence level is
lowered to 90%, choke type is also significant, with the improved
choke more accurate than the modifiedor full. Thus, for target
shooting, the most accurate combination would be the Discussion
Beretta with an improved choke.

Introduction
Bioplastics are manufactured from renewable biomass sources rather than petroleum and other fossil fuels. 1
Bioplastics may be a sustainable alternative to petroleum plastics because they use fewer fossil fuels in production
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as they biodegrade1a. Most bioplastics are currently made from starch-based

1 Sinsermsuksakul, Prasert, Rupak Chakraborty, Sank Bok Kim, Steven M. Heald, Tonio
Buonassisi, and Roy G. Gordon. “Antimony-Doped Tin (III) Sulfide Thin Films.”
Chemistry of Materials. 2012 (24). 4556-4562. Web. ACS Publications.
21 Oct., 2013.
plastics or starch-polyester blends.1b However, polylactic acid (PLA), a
thermoplastic aliphatic polyester typically derived from corn starch, tapioca or
sugarcane, may become a more commercially viable option.3 PLA resembles traditional plastic, making it
acceptable to consumers, and is able to be processed on
equipment already used for petroleum plastics. PLA has been used for biodegradable medical
implants, packing materials, diapers and 3D printers. However, although PLA biodegrades under carefully controlled
conditions, it is not yet compostable except in industrial composting facilities and cannot be mixed with other
recyclable materials. This limits the commercial viability of PLA because the infrastructure to transport bioplastic
waste to appropriate composting facilities has not yet been developed.2 A device that composts PLA and other
bioplastics within a home composting environment would make PLA a more viable commercial option.3 Methods1

Sb-Doped SnS Thin Film.


Pure, stoichiometric, single-phase SnS thin films can be obtained by atomic
layer deposition (ALD) from the reaction of bis(N,N'-diisopropylacetamidinato)tin(II)
[Sn(MeC(NiPr)2)2, referred here as Sn(amd)2] and hydrogen sulfide
(H2S).3 Rather than using ALD as previously reported,3 SnS thin films
were deposited using a modifiedchemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, referred
here as a pulsed-CVD, to speed up the deposit rate to ~15 times higher than that of ALD…

Material Characterization.
Film morphology was characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy
(FESEM, Zeiss, Ultra-55). The film thickness was determined from
cross-sectional SEM. The elemental composition of the films was
determined by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS, Ionex 1.7 MV
Tandetron) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS)…
Results
A.
Table 3 shows that Spam Filter A correctlyfiltered more junk emails than Filter
B.1 Filter A correctlyfiltered 88% of junk emails whereasfilter B only
filtered 63% correctly.2 However, Filter A takes longer to run than Filter B.4 This increased run time is due
to the type of programming language used in Filter A.5 These findings overall suggest that Spam Filter
A is a better filter than Filter B even though it takes longer
to run.8

B.
Fig. 3 shows that the electrical conductivity of the Cu-doped ZnO
is much lower than that of the undoped ZnO. The electrical
1

conductivity of even the 100 ppm Cu-doped ZnO specimen was


about 3 orders of magnitude lower than that of the undoped
ZnO. As the doped Cu content increased, the electrical conductivity gradually decreased. As a
2 3
result,
the 1000 ppm Cu-doped ZnO had the electrical conductivity 5
orders of magnitude lower than that of the undoped ZnO. 8

Discussion

The data collected from this small study suggests that verbal instructions are not needed to Summarize
complete a simple assembly task and may even interfere with the task. The participants who results
received words plus pictures made more errors, took longer to complete the task, and were less
confident that they had completed the task correctlythan
participants who receivedpictures
alone. One reason for this finding may be the simplicity of the task
since none of the guidelines Explain results we examined suggest that textual
information would interfere with visual instructions.
Our study is hampered by the small number and homogeneity of our
participants. All of our Flaws participants were college students
and this may have affected our results. Additional research might
examinewhether older participants would benefit from verbal instructions accompanying
pictures. More research is also needed examining different tasks. Our
study involved a highly physical task (constructing a lego vehicle). Future research should examine
how pictures and verbal instructions might interact on a more conceptual task, such as installing and using a Future
research software program.

Based on this limited analysis, we recommend that instruction writers consider excluding verbal Implications
instructions on a simple assembly task. Our results indicate that verbal instructions may in some
cases interfere with users’ abilities to follow pictorial directions.

Common questions

Powered by AI

The implications of findings in an IMRaD format inform future research by highlighting gaps and limitations in current studies, thereby suggesting directions for subsequent investigations. They also inform policy-making by providing evidence-based recommendations for practice or regulatory changes. This dual purpose ensures that research not only contributes to the academic discourse but also addresses real-world problems, enhancing its relevance and application .

The choice of statistical confidence level is inherently tied to the likelihood of committing type I (false positive) or type II (false negative) errors, which directly affects the generalizability of research findings. A higher confidence level (e.g., 95%) reduces the probability of type I errors, making findings more robust but potentially overlooking some significant effects (increased type II errors). Conversely, a lower confidence threshold can increase sensitivity to actual effects but might also introduce more spurious results, complicating generalizability. Thus, an appropriate balance must be struck to ensure findings are both reliable and applicable to broader contexts .

The findings indicate that verbal instructions can interfere with performance when combined with pictures for simple tasks, suggesting that instructional materials should minimize verbal components in such scenarios. For complex tasks, however, a careful balance of visual and auditory information may be necessary to convey intricate procedures and enhance understanding. Therefore, designing instructional materials must consider task complexity and cognitive load, using visual aids primarily for simple tasks and a more integrated approach for complex ones .

Research shows that for simple assembly tasks, relying solely on pictures can be more effective than combining words with images. Participants completing tasks with pictures alone made fewer errors and showed more confidence compared to those who also received verbal instructions. This suggests pictorial data processing can be more intuitive and less confusing in certain contexts, indicating that under specific conditions, visual aids outperform verbal ones in enhancing task performance and efficiency .

The adoption of PLA as a commercially viable bioplastic is hindered by its limited compostability, as it requires industrial settings for composting and cannot mix with other recyclables. This limits its practical usability and disposal options. Possible solutions include developing household composting solutions for PLA and enhancing waste management infrastructure to accommodate industrial composting needs. Additionally, enhancing PLA's properties to improve degradability in less controlled environments could significantly enhance its commercial viability .

An IMRaD abstract is structured to allocate specific percentages of space to each section: 25% to Introduction (importance), 25% to Methods (what was done), 35% to Results (findings), and 15% to Discussion (implications). This ensures that readers quickly understand the research significance, methods, main findings, and implications, promoting efficient communication of the research's key aspects .

The 'Results' section of an IMRaD report should primarily include the data's main trends, supported by relevant data. Additional secondary trends and any exceptions should be noted if necessary. It's important to justify the data interpretation with comparisons to other research, observations, and possible explanations. Finally, the section should conclude by stating the overarching implications of the findings. Each element's importance lies in providing a clear and comprehensive understanding of the research outcomes and facilitating comparisons with existing data .

The synthesis of antimony-doped tin(III) sulfide thin films employed a pulsed-chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach instead of the atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. This method was chosen as it significantly increased the deposition rate, making the process more efficient and time-saving compared to the previous ALD method, which had a slower deposition rate .

Detailed methods descriptions are crucial in scientific communication as they allow replication and validation of results by other researchers. In an IMRaD report, despite being the least read, the Methods section provides essential context for assessing the validity and reliability of findings. Its detailed nature underlines the transparency of research processes, ensuring that others can build upon or critique the methods used. The perceived importance lies more in providing a foundation for further inquiries rather than immediate reader engagement .

Varying the confidence level during data analysis is appropriate in scenarios where the trade-off between type I and type II errors needs adjustment. For instance, in the experiment on choke type and gun accuracy, adjusting the confidence level from 95% to 90% made choke type a significant factor, which was not significant at a 95% level. This affects result interpretation by revealing factors that might not meet the stricter significance criteria but can still influence outcomes under more lenient conditions, allowing for deeper insights into data variability .

You might also like