The IMRAD Format

Conrado F./ Vidal Jr., PhD

Director, Center for Research and Publication
Olivarez College, Parañaque City

What is IMRAD?

IMRaD format refers to a scientific paper structure with four main sections: Introduction, Methods, Results and
Discussion. This format is used for reporting research in the social sciences, natural sciences, engineering and computer
studies. The format facilitates reading as it allows readers to easily go to the section and seek information at the same
time make sense of the information. Below is the structure of IMRAD.

THE IMRAD FORMAT

Source: Wu (2011)

I. THE ABSTRACT
The abstract, which appears as header of the IMRAD, is the mini version of your paper. It must be written in the past
tense to refer to a research work which is already done or completed. The abstract should be between 250 – 300 words,
excluding the title and author details.

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Parts of the abstract
Introduction - 25% of their space on importance of research
Methods- 25% of their space on what you did
Results 35% of their space on what you found: this is the most important part of the abstract
Discussion 15% of their space on the implications of the research
Keywords: are words or phrases that capture the most important aspects of your paper.

SAMPLE ABSTRACT: (with labels)

Mapping reading strategy orchestration of tertiary ESL students

Conrado F. Vidal Jr.
email address here

(Introduction)Although extensive research has identified the learning strategies of students learning second or foreign
languages, several concerns remain unexplored (Oxford, 2011). One of these concerns is identifying localized strategic
behavior (Cohen, 2007) or specific strategies selected for a task. Thus, the study investigated the use of language
strategy in L2 reading tasks of six participants to identify emerging patterns and degree of strategy orchestration.
(Methods) The participants enrolled in Communication Arts 2 were equally grouped as either proficient or less
proficient. Method triangulation was used to analyze data from the reading stages: pre-reading, while-reading, and post
reading. Data from think-aloud protocol (TAP), the main data gathering procedure, was complemented by other data
gathering procedures: stimulated recall interview, and observations. (Results) In general, participants used varied
strategy quantities and types. However, more proficient participants have richer strategy repertoires compared to less
proficient participants who have limited strategy inventory. In addition, leaners showed preferences for some
strategies. It was evident that proficient participants have better metacognitive awareness, which enable them to
produce better strategy clusters and chains. On the other hand, less proficient participants produced shorter chains and
clusters with limited strategy types. (Discussions)Results suggested the explicit embedding of strategy instruction in the
ESL classroom which can assist students to improve strategy management. Also, the need of research to further
understand the role of metacognition on strategy orchestration is highly recommended.

Keywords: language learning strategies, strategy orchestration, strategy cluster and chains, think a-loud protocol

II. INTRODUCTION
Written in the present tense, the introduction provides an overview of the research work. Generally, this section
includes:

 Nature and scope of the problem / objective of the study

 Review of relevant literature and studies
 Your hypothesis (if any)
 Your approach used in the study and justification of this approach
The introduction is broken down into three rhetorical moves. Introduced by Swales (1990) in his CARS (Create a
Research Space) to describe a particular rhetorical or linguistic pattern, stage, or structure conventionally found in a
text or in a segment of a text. These moves are shown in the succeeding table:

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 Table 1. Rhetorical moves in the introduction

Move Sub-Moves Sample Language

Move 1: Establishing a
Research Territory a) Show that the research area is a) Evidence suggests that X is among the
important, problematic, or relevant in most important factors for …
Describes the current some way Existing research recognizes the critical
state of knowledge and role played by …
research on the topic. b) Introduce and review previous b) Data from several studies suggest that
research in the field Extensive research has shown …

Move 2: One or more of these are included:

Establishing a Niche
a) Claim something is wrong with the a) Smith’s analysis does not take into
Establishes motivation previous research account …
for the study. Usually b) Highlight a gap in the field b) Previous studies on X have not dealt with
this move is short, and c) Raise a question where research in …
can be addressed in just field is unclear c) Research on the subject has been unable
one or several d) Contribute something additional to to specify whether …
sentences. the field d) This study seeks to obtain data which will
help to address these research gaps.

Move 3: One or more of these are included:

Occupying the Niche
a) Outline your purposes and state the a) The purpose of this investigation is to
Shows how your nature of your research explore the relationship between…
research fills the niche b) State your hypothesis or research b) We investigate the following research
and brings new question you seek to answer question: …
perspectives to the c) Share your findings c) This study provides new insights into...
field. d) Elaborate on the value of your d) The present research explores, for the first
research time, the effects of …
e) Outline the structure that the e) This paper has been divided into four
research paper will follow parts. The first part deals with …

Source: https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/imrad-reports-introductions

EXAMPLES:

NICHE 1: Establishing a Territory

Show that the research area is important, problematic, or relevant in some way
Teachers often provide students advice on how to improve language skills. Teachers’ suggestions will be more
effective if they have a comprehensive knowledge of students’ learning strategies. As Fleming and Walls (1998) would
put it, an understanding and awareness of learning strategies on the part of the teachers and students may provide
valuable insights into the process of language learning.

Introduce and review previous research in the field

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 Research supports the effectiveness of using L2 learning strategies. More so, various studies have shown that
successful language learners often use strategies in an orchestrated manner, which Oxford (2011) termed as strategy
chain. Successful language learners select strategies that work together in a highly-orchestrated way that fit the
requirements of the language task. A combination of strategies often has more impact than single strategies. When used
together, language strategies improve proficiency or level of achievement in specific language tasks. More so, certain
strategies are linked to particular skills or tasks. For example, L2 writing uses strategies of planning, self-monitoring,
deduction and substitution.

NICHE 2: Establishing a Niche

Highlight a gap in the field

In spite of the vast research made in this area of L2 learning, LLS is still a relatively new research area in the
Philippines, as there seems to be limited local literature and studies. More so, some LLS areas are relatively unexplored,
one of which is LLS used in combinations, which experts termed as LLS orchestration. The limited studies on strategy
orchestration prompted this researcher to explore the considerable potential in investigating the topic

NICHE 3: Occupying a Niche:

Outline your purposes and state the nature of your research

… With more than 30 years of research history, Greenfield and Macaro (2007) noted that language learning strategy
is still a young field; as several areas of LLS have remained not fully explored, including the topic of this research. Many
experts have claimed that several factors influence LLS choice and use. Some learners are more successful than others;
more successful learners develop better strategic behavior. Language strategic behavior involves employing either a
single strategy or a set of strategies. Better strategic behavior has to do with ability to orchestrate certain strategies
either in a cluster or chain. Thus, this study will identify the strategic behaviors of students in completing reading-writing
tasks. It is hoped that documenting LLS orchestration will result to a better understanding of L2 learning.

III. METHOD
In this section you describe what was done in the study. Use simple past tense to refer to work that was done.
Method is quite similar to Chapter Two of the Germanic format. In this section you sufficiently describe the materials or
tool used, of data gathering procedure in a logical order and details so that procedure can be reproduced. If your study
is quantitative, describe the statistical tools used to analyze data.

Example:
Since the study’s main concern was to determine the degree of relationship between vocabulary learning
attitudes and choice of vocabulary learning strategies, correlational descriptive design was used. Researchers
investigated one group of respondents, students of Purposive Communication course and collected quantitative data of
two variables to determine if there is significant statistical correlation between them.
The respondents of the study were selected from college freshmen enrolled in Purposive Communication during
the period of the study, first semester of SY 2018-2019. Two hundred forty-two (240) students were chosen from the
population based on the following parameters:
Population : 650 college freshmen
Confidence level : 95%
Confidence interval : 5

The respondents were taken from 14 sections handled by three professors. From each section, 17 or 18
respondents were randomly selected through lottery technique. Random sampling was chosen to remove any bias
asevery member of the population had an equal chance to be selected as respondent.
Data were collected through a self-report questionnaire or a survey form designed with two five-point Likert
scales. The first scale adopted from Kulikova (2015) contained 26 items on vocabulary learning attitudes. A few items
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were rewritten to address the concern on culture as the original survey tool was intended for learners of Russian.
Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement on English vocabulary learning using the response anchors
suggested by Vagias (2006).

Table ___. Response anchors for vocabulary learning attitudes

Response Interpretation
1 Strongly disagree
2 Disagree
3 Neutral
4 Agree
5 Strongly agree

The second scale was for vocabulary learning strategy use, adopted from Kapipour and Naveh (2011). The five-
point interval scale is composed of 40 items grouped according to the VLS type; the breakdown of which is shown
below:
Table ___. VLS types

VLS Type Number of

items
1. Determination strategies 7
2. Social strategies 5
3. Memory strategies 16
4. Cognitive strategies 7
5, Metacognitive strategies 5
Total 40

Although the data gathering tool was adopted, it needed to be validated as it was derived from two survey tools
and some items were revised. Face validation was gone as a panel of experts commented and recommended
improvements on the survey tool. After which pilot testing was conducted. The results of the pilot test were tabulated as
principal consistency analysis and internal consistency were computed. The Cronbach alpha reliability estimate of the
scale was adequate towards excellent at 0.975.
Data collected from the survey were subjected to appropriate statistical tools for analysis and interpretation.
First, weighted mean was computed to determine the vocabulary learning attitudes and VLS use and choice. Analysis of
variance (ANOVA) for independent means was calculated to find out if the reported type of VLS use and choice
(determination, social, memory, cognitive and metacognitive strategies) are significantly different or not. Furthermore,
to determine if vocabulary learning attitudes correlates with VLS use and choice, the Pearson r correlation was
calculated.

IV. RESULTS
The Results section presents the data, the facts – what you found, calculated, discovered, or observed. Simple
past is used to report what was found or observed. You may use tables and figures to summarize data. Make sure that
all tables and figures are labeled and numbered separately. Captions go above tables and beneath for figures.

Table ___. Collegiate enrolment for 1st semester, AY 2019-2020

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 This is the most important part of your report, which involves two parts:
 The report
 The comment

The report section is written in the following manner:

1. Refer to your table or figure and state the main trend

Example: Table ___ shows that female enrollees outnumbered male enrollees.
2. Support the trend with data
Example: On the average females outnumbered males by 7% in programs surveyed.
3. (IF needed) Note any additional, secondary trends and support them with data.
Example: This trend was noticed for the past five years in the report published by the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED)
4. (IF needed) Note any exceptions to your main trends or unexpected outcomes.
Example: However, this enrollment trend was not observed in the Criminology Program.

On the other hand, the comment section, may be written this way:

1. (IF needed) Provide an explanation

Example: This trend can be explained by . . .
2. (IF needed) Compare to other researches
Example: This is consistent with the findings by Dela Cruz (2018) in her study
3. (IF needed) Evaluated whether the findings support or contradict a hypothesis
Example: The findings align with the hypothesis forwarded by Garcia (2018)
4. State the bottom line: what does the data mean?
Example: These findings overall suggest that

Comments are sometimes called hedging or qualifying of claims. In academic and scientific writing. It is
important to distinguish facts from claims. Hence, writers often use tentative language called hedging. Here are a few of
hedging words you may use:
Modal verbs: might, may, could
Lexical verbs: appear, suggest, seem, imply
Modal adverbs: probably, possibly, apparently
Modal nouns: possibility, estimate

Now let’s put together the textual explanation of Table 1, showing the report and comment sections.

Table ___ shows that female enrollees outnumbered male enrollees 1,500 to 1,350. On the average, females
outnumbered males by 10% in all schools surveyed. This trend was reported by the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED, 2018) for the period of 2013-2017. Former CHED Chairperson, Patricia Licuanan (Quisimundo, 2018) observed
that more females finished college than males. However, this enrollment trend was not observed in the criminology
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program as there were 346 males and 125 females. This is consistent with the findings by Dela Cruz (2018) in her study
when she surveyed the attitudes of Filipino adolescents on college education. Her study pointed those female
adolescents reflected a more positive attitude that their male counterparts on completion of college degrees. The
findings align with the hypothesis forwarded by Garcia (2018) that suggest the country’s positive perspective on gender
equality in education. Education is for all, regardless of gender.

V. DISCUSSION

The discussion shows the relationships among the facts as you put the results of your research in context of
previous researches. You should use the present tense to emphasize on established knowledge and present your
results. This section should include:

 Trends, relationships, generalizations shown by the results

 Any exceptions,
 outlying data and why
 How your results agree/ disagree with previous studies and why

Organization of this section typically follows the following rhetorical moves:

MOVE 1: Points to consolidate the research space

MOVE 2: Indicate the limitations of the study
MOVE 3: Identify useful areas of further research

These expressions can be used to compose MOVE 1:

• On the whole,
• Overall,
• In the main,
• With certain exceptions

Example:
Overall, findings research indicated the respondents’ general positive outlook on research. Studies have shown
(Bakar, 2010 & Remes, Helenius & Sinisaari, 2000) students are more likely to put effort into studying research methods
and statistics when they possess positive attitude towards the subject.

Move two is important to acknowledge limitations of your research. This is important for the following reasons:
 Not to overstate what the result means (hedge)
 How much weight can be attached to the findings
 Not meant to detract one’s own work

You may use any of the following expression to state your limited research scope
 It should be noted that this study has examined only . . .
 This analysis has concentrated on . . .
 The findings of this study are restricted to . . .
 This study has addressed only the issue of. . .
 However, the findings do not imply . . .
 Unfortunately, the data was not able to reveal the . . .

Example:
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 However, it should be noted that the study did not include the Hotel andRestaurant Management program as
Thesis 1 is taken by the students during the second semester of the academic year. The study was conducted during the
first semester of the said academic year.
Move 3, identify useful areas of further research, emphasize your research may have found an area that has yet
to be explored, or a problem might have presented itself that needs to be resolved.

Example:
Further researches on gender and research design used as factors to over-all research attitude should be
conducted to validate the results of this study.
Now, let’s put the three moves together:

Overall, findings research indicated the respondents’ general positive outlook on research. Studies have shown
(Bakar, 2010 & Remes, Helenius & Sinisaari, 2000) students are more likely to put effort into studying research methods
and statistics when they possess positive attitude towards the subject. However, the study did not include theHotel and
Restaurant Management program as Thesis 1 is taken by the students during the second semester of the academic year.
The study was conducted during the first semester of the said academic year.To validate the results of this study, further
researches on gender and research design used as factors to over-all research attitude should beconducted.

However, in most cases, conclusion and implications are incorporated in the discussion section; hence the table
below, summarizes a more detailed and comprehensive discussion.

Table 2. Rhetorical moves in the discussions

Move Sample Language

Restating the aims of the study The aim of the present research was to examine …
The purpose of the current study was to determine …
The main goal of the current study was to determine …

Summarizing main research findings These experiments confirmed that…

X made no significant difference to…
This study has shown that…

Suggesting implications for the field of The results of this study indicate that …
knowledge These findings suggest that in general …
The findings of this study suggest that …

Explaining significance or contribution of The study contributes to our understanding of …

the study These results add to the rapidly expanding field of …
The contribution of this study has been to confirm …

Acknowledging limitations A major limitation of this study is…

Being limited to X, this study lacks …
The small sample size did not allow …

Providing recommendations for future More research using controlled trials is needed to …

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 research A further study could assess the long-term effects of …
Considerably more work will need to be done to determine …

Offering recommendations for practice Greater efforts are needed to ensure …

or policy These findings suggest several courses of action for …
Continued efforts are needed to make X more accessible to …
Source: https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/imrad-reports-conclusions

Examples of the rhetorical moves shown in the table above are given below:

Restating the aims of the study

The main goal of this study is to explore processes of vocabulary acquisition of college freshmen students’
vocabulary learning beliefs and vocabulary learning strategies use, and the relationship between their beliefs and
strategies.

Summarizing main research findings

Among the important results of the study, this discussion highlights three important variables to faculty research
productivity, which are institutional and peer support peer, personality traits and academic qualification. In fact,
Schulze (2008) underscored the importance of institutional support as the single best predictor of faculty scholarly
activities. That is, support from the school enhances quality research among teachers.

Suggesting implications for the field of knowledge

Clearly, the results of the study imply a need to address the attitudes of undergraduate students toward
research, although most of the respondents agreed on the need to conduct research, their attitudes can be furthered
improved. Undertakings can be instituted to achieve this objective. First, factors that comprise students’ attitude
towards research should be identified. Furthermore, thesis advisers should strengthen discussions about the importance
of learning research and its relevance on making academic and professional career choice.

Explaining significance or contribution of the study

The study confirms the importance of peer support l to positive research attitude since more likely, teachers
work directly with peers than with supervisors and managers. Peer recognition in the workplace can be an effective way
to both encourage behaviors that shape culture and to identify people who are higher performers or who have greater
influence across the organization

Acknowledging limitations

At this juncture, limitations of this study need to clarified. First, the study did not investigate many the
intervening factors that affect LLS choice and use. The study did not correlate respondents’ demographic profile, as done
in previous researches. Several studies have already indicated correlations, of different magnitudes, between language
learning strategy use and choice and gender, age, language proficiency, learning environment and other factors stated in
the review of related literature A more refined LLS use and choice environment can be created once these other factors
are investigated.

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Providing recommendations for future research

Finally, future researches on VLS can be conducted on different areas and concerns. Nyikos and Fan (2007)
observed that not enough VL researches have been conducted on learners learning preferences and their characteristics,
and proficiency level, learning environment, nature of tasks and materials studied, effectiveness of VL strategy
instruction, and development of methodological models.

General Checklist:

This checklist guides undergraduate thesis students and faculty researchers in documenting their investigation.
However, for external publication, please refer to the author’s guide provided by the organization or publication.

 Word length: 7,000 – 7,500 words excluding reference list, authors’ bio profiles and text of tables and figures
 MS Word format
 Text spacing is 1.5 between lines
 12-point font Times Roman
 Paper has no plagiarism
 Some tables, diagrams and figures may be included, accompanied by headings. Table headings are above the
table and figure heading below.
 Referencing should by APA style 6th edition
 References should be not less than 20
 Related studies should be within the last five years (2014-2018)
 Related literature should be within the last ten years (2009 – 2018)
 Continuous pagination placed on the lower right corner of the paper.
 All URL addresses in the reference list can be activated
 All permissions have been cleared for any copyrighted material (i.e. data gathering tool, figures, diagrams

About author’s profile: It should not more than 50 words highlighting the most important scientific investigation,
knowledge contribution and academic achievements. Do not include personal information (i.e. age, address, hobbies)

References:

Bakar KA, et. al (2010). Relationships between university students’ achievement, motivation, attitude and academic
performance in Malaysia. Procedia- social and behavioral sciences 2(2) 4906 – 4910

Cohen, A. D. (2007). Coming to terms with language learner strategies: surveying the experts. In Language learner
strategies, A. Cohen and E. Macaro, editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 29-45

Discussion Sections in Scientific Research Reports (IMRaD). Retrieved from https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/imrad-

reports-conclusions

Grenfell M. & Macaro, C. (2007). Claims and Critiques. In A. Cohen and E. Macaro, (Eds), Language learner strategies, 9-
28. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press

Introduction Sections in Scientific Research Reports (IMRaD). Retrieved from https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/

imrad-reports-introductions

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Kafipour, R. and Naveh, M. (2011). Vocabulary learning strategies and their contributions to
reading comprehension of EFL undergraduate students of Kerman Province. Europe journal of social science
23:4, 626 – 647

Kulikova, O. (2015). Vocabulary learning strategies and beliefs about vocabulary learning: A study of beginning university
students of Russian in the United States. (doctoral dissertation from University of Iowa) from
http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/1868

Nyikos, M. & Fan, M. (2007). A review of vocabulary learning strategies: Focus on language proficiency and learner voice.
Language learner strategies. A., Cohen and E. Macaro, ed.

Oxford, R. (2011). Teaching and researching language learning strategies. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson Education
Limited

Remes, V., Helenuis I. & Sinisaari I (2000). Research and medical students. Medical teacher 22(2) 164-167

Schulze, S. (2008). Academic research at a South African higher education institution: Quality issues. SAJHE 22(3)2008.
629–643. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.eduStatistics (2018) Commission on Higher Education.
Retrieved from https://ched.gov.ph

Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.

The IMRAD format: What goes where (n.d.). https://projects.ncsu.edu/esglobe/nmswishe/IMRAD%20Handout,pdf

Wu. J (2011) Improving the writing of research papers: IMRAD and beyond. Semantic Scholar. DOI:10.1007/s10980-
011-9674-3

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