Have you been assigned a survey paper and don't know where to begin? Then you are in the right place. Unlike regular research papers describing your research, a survey paper summarizes more than 20 papers. It is a service to the community. Instead of people reading various papers to understand a particular topic, they need to read one; the survey paper.
Writing a good survey paper is challenging because you must go through many papers to present a sane survey. You must cover all the relevant papers comprehensively to present a state-of-the-art view. You must also learn how to structure a survey paper to know what goes where. Doing this will make the process easier and analyze the findings scientifically.
In this guide, we define a survey paper and the goals for writing one. We will also show you how to write an impactful survey paper.
Before we dive into what qualifies a good survey paper, let us first state what a survey paper is not. A high-quality survey paper is not annotated bibliography. So, what exactly is a survey paper? A survey paper is a piece of writing that summarizes and provides a thorough overview of the published research papers written on a particular topic. They provide necessary information about the current state of particular research. In other words, it offers a whirlwind trip of some of the most relevant research in a particular field.
The survey paper extracts the conclusions from a study and sets the groundwork for future research.
So, what goes into a survey paper? To answer this, you have to ask it in reverse, what do you want to gain from conducting the survey? Consider how you want to make the survey more beneficial to the readers. Remember that the point of a survey paper is to provide an organized view of the current situation in the field. Therefore, your focus should be to cite the most relevant paper about certain research.
When witting a survey paper, you must include the following:
Writing a survey paper will help you understand the following:
Use the following steps to guide you when learning how to write a survey paper.
Learning how to write a good survey paper requires choosing an interesting topic. Writing will be more exciting and relevant when you select a topic you are passionate about. Use some brainstorming techniques to find what you are comfortable with. However, do not be afraid to go for something outside your comfort zone.
Once you find an interesting topic, narrow it to something more manageable. If you choose a broad topic, you will find a lot of information that you may not be to focus on. You should also do some background reading to ensure that what you have selected is specific.
If you are facing any hardships, ask for help from your professor or read the guidelines on topic selection given by your instructor.
Remember that you must deeply understand the field you are about to survey. This understanding should be enough for you to be aware of the following about the topic:
Learning how to write a survey paper is the first step of the process. You must also develop the most potent topics to guide you. With that said, the following are some topics that could inspire you:
Some of the good topics for a survey paper include:
Now that you have a more specific topic, you have to define the scope of the survey. Defining the scope is about defining every aspect you will consider in the survey. This includes the topic to cover and when those relevant papers were published. The first step of scoping is identifying all questions that will guide the literature review.
Write down the most relevant and credible research material that you will include in your literature review. It is good to do this early on and ensure you follow it diligently. When you develop inclusion and exclusion criteria, the number of papers to be reviewed will likely reduce.
What's your literature search protocol going to look like? Use the following criteria to narrow down the sources to use:
Set this criterion before you begin your research to avoid doing the work multiple times while attempting to organize your findings.
Go through digital libraries such as ACM, IEEE, and Google Scholar to find research material. Also, find research groups or faculty in that area and dig into their work and pointers.
Now that you have collected all the papers you need to survey, you must read and understand what is being said. Reading scientific research papers can be tricky, especially if you do not know what to look for. Make sure that you understand the research as well as evaluate its reliability. As you read,
Ensure you read all the sections of these research papers, from the introduction to the conclusion. You can read it as often as it suits you as long as you understand what is being said.
Also, ensure you read the papers like you already know what you will write about them.
Next, process the information collected by doing the following:
It's essential to extract the methodologies used in the papers. Then identify the advantages and disadvantages of those research papers.
Ensure you are not just listing the sources you've collected, as this will defeat the purpose and do nothing for your readers. Do more to provide valuable information to the readers. Readers will appreciate synthesized information instead of listed contributions of papers. For instance, if a concept has been mentioned in about 20 research papers, deduce the main characteristics of that particular concept and report them. Then, provide citations with every mentioned feature.
What do you want readers to know? You have to provide the implications of the survey. These are questions from your survey that justify further exploration. They show how your findings could influence policies or theories. These implications could be either practical or theoretical. Practical means that your findings could affect related practices, while theoretical means that they could impact theories in your field of study.
Writing a good survey paper is difficult if you fail to organize your thoughts and ideas about the topic. A general structure of a survey paper looks like this:
Title. Create a clear and concise title for your survey paper. Readers should know what they are about to read as soon as they read the title. Ensure the title is eye-catching to draw readers in. Instead of using complex terms, use active verbs and avoid unnecessary words and phrases. A good survey paper title should be 10-12 words long. Anything more than that will distract the reader from what is essential.
Furthermore, make sure to include relevant keywords. To help narrow these keywords, consider what readers would search for and include them in your title.
Many survey papers usually begin using the following terms, "The analysis of…" or "Modern trends in…” "Recent trends in..." and "Common traits of…" etc.
Abstract. This section of about 300 words gives an overview of the survey paper by briefly describing the issues that have been investigated, the methods used, and the research findings. You must write this section well, as it will help readers decide whether your work is worth reading.
Introduction. Like any other paper, a survey introduction should briefly explain how various researchers have solved the problem to create interest among readers. A good introduction should also include the following:
Literature Review. A literature review summarizes the scholarly article used during the research. It helps demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of the literature on the chosen topic. Also, provide an analysis of those articles.
Methodology. This section details how you collected and analyzed the information in the literature overview. This allows your audience to check whether the information is correct and dependable. A well-written methodology section will tell readers whether they can rely on your findings.
Findings. Also known as results, the finding section shows what you have gotten from using the methods highlighted in the methodology section. Provide these findings in a logical sequence without any interpretation. There are two ways you can interpret the findings but make sure you use only one:
Generally, the finding section should highlight the following:
Conclusion. The next part of the survey paper is the conclusion, which restates the main topic and summarises the key findings. Show how the survey has helped advance the topic, the limitations that should be addressed, and the implications for future results. The conclusion section should provide a synthesis of the results with the following:
Ensure your conclusion wraps up the survey process and provides closure to the readers. It should not be a repeat of the introduction.
References. The last part of the survey paper should provide a list of references used in the research. Readers can locate the source of the work to read more. A reference section also ensures no plagiarism issues, which is a serious academic offense. In short, the reference section ensures that your work is authentic and credible.
Now that you know the survey paper format, the next step is to write the first draft of your survey paper, following the structure or outline you developed in step 8. Your paper should have a list of key terms that helps the audience filter out what to expect in your paper. You can write the introduction and the abstract last after completing the paper. Ensure that the introduction paragraph starts with a good attention-getter, highlights the research problem, and provides a background into the research issue.
When writing about the surveys in the body of the paper, inform your readers about each research paper. Also, state whether the selected papers improve the other papers or advance the discussions in other papers. Include methods such as simulations, mathematical models, theoretical approaches, life-course analysis, and real-life deployment. You should also include the strengths and weaknesses of every research paper, the author's arguments, and the assumptions. In addition, ensure that you explain the challenges that arose as you read the representative research papers.
Like an academic essay, a good survey paper has no mistakes. After writing the first draft, you need to proofread, edit, and polish it into a final draft you can submit for grading/assessment.
Skim the instructions to remind yourself of what your professor or teacher expects, then read your first draft. As you read, make necessary corrections regarding syntax, word choice, writing mechanics, grammar, spelling, and organization.
Read the paper aloud to identify further mistakes and ambiguous sentences. You can use grammar and editing software or programs such as Grammarly, Ginger, Hemmingway Editor, etc.
It is easy to get confused when learning how to write a survey paper because you have to read and understand multiple papers. With that said, remember the following points to ensure you present a good survey paper.
A survey paper is an important paper that organizes and summarizes multiple research papers in a single paper for the reader's benefit. Therefore, instead of reading about 20 papers or more on a single topic, readers only need to read one. We have taken you through the process and assume you can write a survey paper. The main part of writing a survey paper is picking out the most relevant, credible research papers to provide an unbiased and progressive summary of the topic. It is important not to confuse a survey paper for a literature review; these are two different papers.
You can as well read our other guides to stay savvy in matters of academic writing:
If you are asked to write a survey paper and do not know where to begin, our expert writers can come in handy even after reading this comprehensive guide. We have the best paper writers online who can address any of your writing needs within a short turnaround time.
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