The introduction

The introduction of a research paper leads a reader from the problem a study addresses to the question it set out to answer. A reader chooses here by which part of it is being written: the funnel from the broad problem to the gap, the sentence stating the aim the funnel narrows to, or the hypothesis a basic-science paper states as an explanation. It leaves the argumentative components a reader expects across every section, the introduction's among them, to the topic on the components each section has to carry, and statistical hypothesis testing to the topic on uncertainty and hypothesis tests.

• Write the introduction that leads to the question — the funnel from problem to gap, the banal first sentence, and the ordered steps down to what was done
• Draft the sentence that states the study's aim — naming the knowledge to be produced rather than the actions taken, and the PICOT items that make the sentence checkable
• The basic-science hypothesis — what a basic-science hypothesis is, and the predictions, hedges, impact claims and invented hypotheses an editor finds in its place