Original (scientific) paper - The IMRAD layout

Abstract

Certain rules on how to write original (scientific) papers are pointed out. The structure of all mandatory sections of the paper (i.e. introduction, material and methods, results and discussion), representing the IMRAD layout is described in detail. Apart from the general rules concerning the preparation of these sections, the importance of following precisely the instructions to authors published by journals is also emphasized. It is important to publish results of scientific research for many reasons. Some of the reasons are (1): giving credibility to the research, informing a broad audience of the achieved scientific results, adding credibility to one's own reputation, improving chances for personal promotion, etc. After all, if scientific results were not published and available to a wide scientific audience, it would be as if they had never existed. Today, it is regarded that original (scientific) papers are the only acceptable way of publishing scientific results. A scientific paper is a written and published report describing original research results (2). However, this definition is quite short and should be supplemented by the fact that it has to be the first announcement of scientific results, capable of being repeated. It should also be noted that it has to be written in a certain way and validly published, i.e. in a primary journal having a respectable peer-reviewing process or other primary publication, which means that it will be accessible to a broad scientific audience. Scientific papers generally follow the IMRAD layout - the acronym that stands for four basic sections of the paper: Introduction (What question was asked?), Material and method (How was it studied?), Results (What was found?) and Discussion (What do the findings mean?). The aim of this paper is to emphasize essential points of these basic sections.