Do you want people to read your published article on your study or evidence-based practice project? Of course you do! But unless you start with an introduction that draws readers in, many will abandon the article without absorbing your key points.
Fortunately, taking a structured approach can help you craft an introduction that answers the key question—Why does this study or project matter?—and pulls readers into the article. All types of articles can benefit from a powerful introduction, including research studies and quality improvement (QI) and evidence-based practice (EBP) projects.
The funnel serves as a common introduction structure for research studies. The top of the funnel (and the start of the article) is broad. The funnel then narrows down, ultimately reaching the study question and the approach to answering the question. In an article published in the AMWA Journal, medical writer Crystal Herron discusses three key elements of the funnel.
Context and significance
At the top of the funnel, Herron says authors need to gain reader’s attention with a compelling hook or lead. Ideas for compelling hooks include a startling statistic (for example, the high prevalence of a disease that a reader might think isn’t that common) or something that taps into the reader’s emotions (for example, if your study is about supporting patients newly diagnosed with cancer, you could write about how patients suffer when they aren’t supported). If you choose the statistics approach, select only a few key ones; including too many can cause readers’ eyes to glaze over.
Herron then advises defining the larger problem that the study addressed. Consider what information is unknown or what problem needs a solution. For instance, if your study is about a technologic intervention to address loneliness in young people, you’d want to include the extent of loneliness among this population.
Rationale and relevance
Herron says the middle of the funnel sets the stage for the study. It should include what’s known and unknown. Ultimately, you’ll want to explain the specific problem that the study tries to address and how it will help address a larger issue. For example, you might have developed a strategy to improve social connections among patients with severe heart failure, which could help the larger problem of decreased quality of life.
Question and approach
At the narrowest part of the funnel, Herron recommends including the study question and a brief introduction as to how you approached the study. The latter might include the type of study (for example, retrospective vs. prospective) or theoretical approach.
Herron recommends against giving a summary of the study findings, which should be in the abstract and discussion portions of the article. She argues that including a summary is like reading the first chapter of a book and then jumping to the end without reading the full story; if you know how the story ends, you’re less likely to enjoy it. However, others (me included) feel that including a brief summary of the results will entice people to keep reading.
QI and EBP Projects
Much of Herron’s advice can be applied to QI and EBP project articles, but I also want to share these key questions that Jo Rycroft-Malone and Christopher Burton suggest the introduction to these articles should answer:
- What’s currently known about the topic? Provide information on what policy, practice, and research evidence show about best practices related to the topic and how others have previously improved practice.
- What prompted the need to address this issue? For example, a safety issue may have resulted in a need to examine current practice.
- What’s the gap or current practice or problem you’re attempting to improve? Clearly identify the gap between what’s currently happening in practice and what the evidence suggests should be happening.
- What’s the improvement-related question? Include the main and any secondary questions.
- What’s the context of the improvement? Be thorough. Readers need to know the details, such as processes, people, and patterns of care in the setting where the project took place.
- What theory and/or framework guided your project? Describe how you used it to plan, implement, and evaluate the project.
Of course, many of these questions could also broadly apply to studies, so now you have two tools for improving your introductions!
Cynthia Saver, MS, RN, is editor of the award-winning book Anatomy of Writing for Publication for Nurses, 5thed. She has more than three decades of publishing experience as a writer, editor, and publishing executive. Cynthia’s work has appeared in many journals, and her past positions include editorial director for American Nurse Journal, which she helped launch. Cynthia is passionate about helping nurses share their expertise by writing for publication and happily shares her knowledge though The Writing Mind blog, articles, short presentations, and workshops.
References
Herron CR. The key elements of an introduction section of a research manuscript. AMWA J. 2025;40(2):36-8. doi:10.55752/amwa.2025.426
Rycroft-Malone J, Burton C. Reporting the quality improvement or evidence-based practice project. In: Saver C, ed. Anatomy of Writing for Publication for Nurses. 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International; 2024;231-40.
