As with any paper, the opening paragraph is written in a way that catches the reader's interest to read more. It includes the following common components (these items are not bulleted in your final paper):
This section examines the literature that is available to support the need for the study and for the research question.
This section describes how you complete you study. It includes a thorough description of the steps taken to accomplish this tack. This section may include the following components in Level 2 headings:
This section describes the themes and relationships discovered in your study. It includes narratives, quotes or stories from your participants. Consider the following components:
This discussion section is the heart of a research article. It reflects your interpretation of the results in terms of the purpose of the study and the outside world. In this part of the paper the author(s) express opinions, including comments on the importance of the results, limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, practice implications, and how the information will be disseminated. It is a good idea to reread your study in its entirely as you write this section because you may find that a significant connection or finding may suddenly become evident that you missed before.
In this section:
The conclusion is typically brief, but provides the reader with concise summary of your findings, and what you want the reader to take away from the study.