What does an appendix look like in a research paper

What is an appendix in a research paper?

What does an appendix look like in a research paper? A frequently asked question between students is “What is an appendix in a research paper?”. The answer to this question would be that “an appendix is a summary of all the references included in any academic paper.” appendixes are frequently used in every academic journal. You can also see the appendix in any book written for academic purposes. It is common for professors and instructors to ask students to add an appendix to their work. 

Appendixes include all the crucial information that is used in the research paper. The benefit of the summary is that it can clear all the info to help the readers better understand their arguments. Such a section usually contains statistics and references taken from various reliable sources and writers. Pay attention that their number might vary accordingly with the type of the research paper). 

How to know if your research paper needs an appendix

Here is a set of questions that you should ask yourself when you want to decide between presenting the information in an appendix or the main body of your paper:

• Is this information integral to readers’ understanding of your research paper? If you think the answer to this question is yes, you should not put it in an appendix and use them in the main body of your paper. 
• If you include that information in your paper, would it disturb the general flow of your research paper? Again, if this question is yes, that information would be more in place when presented in the appendix. 
• Will the information provide additional support for what is already used in your paper? If you think the answer is yes, the best choice would be to include it in an appendix. 

Take heed not to turn your research paper appendix into a trash can for information. Remember that the information you put in your appendix should support your research paper while being relevant and valuable. Try to include the information that helps your readers better comprehend your arguments, not the info that would only cause unwanted confusion. 

How to write an appendix for a research paper

When writing an appendix, you are not expected to follow any specific predefined structure or pattern because there is no acknowledged structure for writing an appendix. A writer should consider particular points when writing an appendix for a research paper. These points are introduced separately in the following paragraphs. 

First, you can review the related literature and analyze what other studies and researchers had done when using an appendix in their academic papers. This way, you will be able to gather background knowledge that helps you make your appendix. 

The best next thing to do is review your paper. Carefully check your paper from paragraph to paragraph to see what information is crucial and should be included in your writing. You should pick the more important info that is somehow integral to your argument(s) and have them in the body of research while leaving further referrals to be presented at the end. Don’t forget to take notes. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so it’s better to ask somebody else to read your outline so that you can double-check that the info you are going to put in your appendix is valuable and practical.

After that, you can search for and gather all the information you require for your appendix and then evaluate their level of relevance to your academic paper. Remember that you are not supposed to include all the little pieces of information that you find in your research paper. 

The next thing to do is organize your appendix. Try to make all the befitting pre arrangements for the order you present the info in your appendix. Remember to use headings and subheadings, sections, numbering, and other means when trying to arrange your appendix. If you have too much info at hand, you can use several appendices to categorize them. To help your readers better comprehend your information, you can come up with appendices on various subjects. 

The last step would be proofreading your research appendix before trying to publish your paper. 

What type of information should you include in an appendix for a research paper

An appendix is usually filled with the data that further expand the research topic. This is why such information can be presented in various forms. Some examples are as follows: 

1. Surveys. A significant number of researchers use surveys as a basis for their methodology. Such surveys are usually presented as appendices. You should try to include surveys just the way they were presented to the answers. And the way that the respondents answered the survey’s questions can provide the reader with a reliable picture of the findings. 
2. Interviews. Whether interviews are done as transcripts or recordings, you should present them in an appendix. To have maximum transparency, you should try to list the questions and their actual answers. 
3. Correspondence. You must include all communications with a partner(s) in researching an appendix. These communications can be audio transcripts, letters, text messages, emails, etc. 
4. Statistical data. When you have too much raw data at hand, you should include it in your research paper as an appendix. Even if you have used part of that data in your research, you should still present the entire data. 
5. Non-textual items. Suppose you have too many figures, tables, photos, charts, graphs, or illustrations in your research. In that case, you should consider adding them in the form of an appendix.  
6. Research tools. You should specify an appendix in your paper to acknowledge all the instruments you used to perform your research. Some examples of such devices would be cameras, any specific software, cameras, and so on.   

What is the Appendix Format

The formatting of the appendix is pretty much the same as your main text formatting. Your appendix has a title page labeled with a numeral or a letter with whatever order that is cited in your text. Subtopics or sub-headers are to be labeled in the same format. 

Take this as an example:

• Title: Appendix B: Data from Site 111 (the second cited appendix in the text).
• Subheader: 1: Data considering Female Species.
• Tables/Figures: Figure A1. Female fertility in the third Year (tables also would follow the same formatting).

The first appendix would be labeled as “Appendix A” and the third one as “Appendix C” and so on, with the same form for tables, sub-headers, and figures. Don’t forget the author guidelines for citing your appendices in the main body of your research.

Your appendix pages are typically numbered and as an extension of your primary research text, meaning that if your research text ends on page 24, your first appendix would be on page 25.  

What is the role of an appendix in a research paper

If you want to fully understand the nature of an appendix in a research paper, first, you should grasp the function of this section. It is more likely that you would be writing an APA paper appendix. Still, it does not make any considerable difference. This is because all appendices are essentially the same, and their formats vary slightly. The function of an appendix in APA papers is to provide a context for information that has too much detail or otherwise would make the paper too complicated. The primary function of an appendix section is to prevent you from bombarding your audience with too much data and excessive detail. With the help of an appendix, you can keep your focus on your subject matter and reduce excessive explanations in the main body of your text.  

Tips For Writing an Appendix

You may have some general idea about how you can write an appendix for a paper, but are you sure you can write your appendix without making any major errors? Don’t worry if you do not have access to a professional essayist to ask them for help! Instead, you can follow a simple rule; when writing an appendix for a research paper, you must always give it a title and a label. Keep in mind that each appendix should be presented on a separate page.

In case you have only one appendix, you will label it as “Appendix” and when referencing, use “(see Appendix).” Now, this final tip is quite important: you should limit every one of your appendices to only one exclusive topic. You shouldn’t write two appendices that discuss the same subject; otherwise, you will face some consequences. Keep in mind that you can use any data from outside sources as long as you mention your sources in the references section and cite them in parentheses. Furthermore, you don’t have to make a new and separate reference section for your appendices.  

More resources

• What is an outline for a research paper?
• List of appendices example
• Methodology section of research paper
• How do I do an APPENDIX in APA style?