Introduction and research question

Watch or re-watch the part of The Academic Table about the introduction

A good introduction clarifies the purpose of the study.

• Why are you conducting this particular study?
• Who will be using the knowledge you generate?
• Who will the study help?

You define and legitimise an academic problem by explaining why it is a relevant study.

Is having personal interests allowed?

Although having a personal interest is allowed, your academic reader would rather hear you argue why this is a relevant study based on academic knowledge.

Find your academic voice

It’s a good idea to spend time on this part, because by arguing academically for your choices, you speak with a clear academic voice, and that’s what you need to do.

It’s important to narrow down your subject matter because the more you’ve narrowed down your subject, the better your workflow will be.

Can you delimit the subject too much?

If it turns out that you’ve narrowed down your subject too much, it’s usually easy to expand it a little. However, the opposite approach can be harder once you’ve begun working on the rest of your assignment.

Not necessarily, but you need to give as concrete an answer as possible in your conclusion, so it makes sense to phrase your research question as an actual question.

Your reader is a specialist who, by default, has the same academic knowledge and therefore preconceptions as yourself.

Convince your reader of your choices

Imagine a reader who is mostly interested in finding out how you’re using the specialist terms and whether you’ve actually understood them. Not what the specialist terms are.

Your reader is highly specialised, so you need to use your assignment to convince him or her that you are using the specialist terms and methods correctly. You do this by arguing in favour of your choices along the way.

The academic craftsmanship

The aim of your assignment is therefore not to tell your reader something new, but to argue in favour of your choices. This means, for example, that you don’t necessarily need to explain specialist terms, but can simply refer to an explanation of the term.

This is part of the academic craftsmanship you practise when writing academic papers.

No, not necessarily. But they can help you narrow your investigative focus.

Yes, that’s how it’s typically done. But you may want to consult your supervisor about whether you should take a different approach.

Proceed with the other sections of your assignment

However, your introduction will often be considered as tentative, so you may return to it at a later date.

An introduction should be as short and to the point as you can make it. Therefore, the length of the introduction depends on the size of the assignment. For this reason, we cannot provide a concrete answer to this question.

You’ll have to do this several times during the writing process.

The introduction provides a direction

An introduction serves as the direction you set in your assignment and the work you need to do. That’s why it makes sense to create a working introduction at the start of the writing process.

Too much and too little

Therefore, write enough of the introduction so that you will be able to move on to the other elements of your assignment. But don’t write too much, or you may find it difficult to adjust the introduction along the way as you learn more.

The introduction is not set in stone from the get-go

It’s only at the very end that you know exactly what to include in your introduction. That’s why at the end of the writing process, you should spend time making sure your introduction and conclusion are coherent.

Yes, you can adjust your research question during the assignment process. However, always discuss it with your supervisor so that you both agree on the direction of your assignment.

However, the title of the assignment usually cannot be changed

There may be rules about not changing the title of the assignment. This is most often the case when there is an assignment contract, e.g. in connection with a bachelor project and master’s thesis. If you want to change the title of your assignment, you will probably have to run it by your local degree programme secretary.

Have you ensured the following in the introduction?

• That your concepts and theories match your assignment reader’s level of understanding?
• That you’ve written your introduction so that it only includes what is relevant?
• Does your introduction argue why this is the research question you need to investigate?