MANUSCRIPT INTRODUCTION Problem Statement, Conceptual Framework, and Research Question

Abstract

A scholarly manuscript starts with an Introduction that tells a story. The Introduction orients the reader to the topic of the report, moving from broad concepts to more specific ideas.1 The Introduction should convince the reader, and all the more the reviewer, that the author has thought the topic through and has developed a tight, ‘‘researchable’’ problem. The Introduction should move logically from the known to the unknown. The actual components of an Introduction (including its length, complexity, and organization) will vary with the type of study being reported, the traditions of the research community or discipline in which it is based, and the style and tradition of the journal receiving the manu- script. It is helpful for the reviewer to evaluate the Intro- duction by thinking about its overall purpose and its indi- vidual components: problem statement, conceptual framework, and research question. Two related articles, ‘‘Ref- erence to the Literature’’ and ‘‘Relevance,’’ follow the pres- ent article.