Originality is a key criterion for evaluating the quality and significance of your research. But how do you demonstrate that your work is original and contributes to the existing knowledge in your field? In this article, you will learn some practical strategies to prove your research is original and avoid plagiarism and duplication.
One of the first steps to prove your research is original is to conduct a thorough and systematic literature review. A literature review is a critical analysis of the relevant sources on your topic, showing how they relate to your research question, objectives, and methods. A literature review also helps you to identify the gaps, controversies, and limitations in the current knowledge, and how your research addresses them. To synthesize the literature, you need to compare, contrast, and integrate the different perspectives, theories, and findings, and explain how they inform your own approach and argument.
Writing a review of literature is to provide a critical evaluation of the data available from existing studies. Review articles can provide a comprehensive foundation on a topic, explain the current state of knowledge, identify gaps in existing studies for potential future research, or highlight the main methodologies and research techniques. Hence, by reading some good recent review articles, any beginner in the field could get an idea of the field without much effort in locating resources. You may want to write a review article for your own interest, but for publication in a reputable journal, experience in the field is not only advised but also important.
Another way to prove your research is original is to justify your research design and methods. Your research design is the overall plan or structure of your study, including the research question, objectives, hypotheses, variables, and data collection and analysis techniques. Your methods are the specific tools and procedures you use to collect and analyze your data. You need to explain how your research design and methods are appropriate, valid, reliable, and ethical for answering your research question and meeting your objectives. You also need to acknowledge the limitations and challenges of your research design and methods, and how you address them.
Construct the relevant keywords for literature search - Start with the key concepts from your initial research proposal and expand these with your knowledge of the subject (key theories, concepts or authors you have come across); - Run a few initial searches and use the abstract and author-supplied keywords or subject headings; - Consider synonyms, antonyms and related terms, variant spellings, discipline-specific language, plurals, variant word endings, etc; - Avoid using too broad or general terms, use specific terms instead to get limited but relevant results;
A third way to prove your research is original is to present and interpret your data in a clear, coherent, and convincing way. Your data analysis is the process of transforming your raw data into meaningful and relevant information that answers your research question and supports your hypotheses. Your data interpretation is the process of explaining the significance and implications of your data analysis results, and how they relate to the existing literature and theory. You need to show how your data analysis and interpretation are accurate, consistent, and transparent, and how they reveal new insights, patterns, or relationships that advance the knowledge in your field.
Don’t waste a lot of time re-reading articles because you will not remember everything you read. Use tools like Evernote and Mendeley that will help take notes, store the relevant files for you, and also remember from which file you had picked which information.
A fourth way to prove your research is original is to discuss and conclude your findings in a logical and persuasive way. Your discussion is the section where you synthesize your data analysis and interpretation, and evaluate how they answer your research question and objectives. Your conclusion is the section where you summarize your main findings, contributions, and recommendations, and reflect on the limitations and implications of your research. You need to show how your discussion and conclusion are based on the evidence and arguments you have presented, and how they demonstrate the originality and significance of your research.
When reading to take notes: Preview the file before you start reading by looking at the text features to gain clues about the main ideas of the file. Keep focused and stay engaged while reading. Think critically about what you read while you read. Keep a record of what you read so you can more easily locate it in the future, but avoid over-highlighting. Write notes in your own words, because copying down information as it is in the file does not engage your brain and is not a strong strategy for learning and remembering content. Draw conclusions and identify main ideas of the text.
A fifth way to prove your research is original is to cite and reference your sources correctly and consistently. Citation and referencing are the practices of acknowledging the sources of information, ideas, or data that you use in your research. Citation is the act of inserting a brief note in the text that indicates the source of a quotation, paraphrase, or summary. Referencing is the act of providing a full bibliographic entry for each source in a list at the end of your document. You need to follow the citation and referencing style that is required by your discipline, journal, or institution, and avoid plagiarism and duplication.
A sixth way to prove your research is original is to include an originality statement and declaration in your document. An originality statement is a brief paragraph that summarizes the main aspects and contributions of your research, and confirms that your work is original and has not been submitted elsewhere. A declaration is a formal statement that declares that you are the sole author of your work, that you have acknowledged all the sources you have used, and that you have complied with the ethical and legal standards of your research. You need to sign and date your originality statement and declaration, and attach them to your document.