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How Can You Create a Well Planned Research Paper Outline

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You are staring at the blank document, meaning to start writing your research paper . After months of experiments and procuring results, your PI asked you to write the paper to publish it in a reputed journal. You spoke to your peers and a few seniors and received a few tips on writing a research paper, but you still can’t plan on how to begin!

Writing a research paper is a very common issue among researchers and is often looked upon as a time consuming hurdle. Researchers usually look up to this task as an impending threat, avoiding and procrastinating until they cannot delay it anymore. Seeking advice from internet and seniors they manage to write a paper which goes in for quite a few revisions. Making researchers lose their sense of understanding with respect to their research work and findings. In this article, we would like to discuss how to create a structured research paper outline which will assist a researcher in writing their research paper effectively!

Publication is an important component of research studies in a university for academic promotion and in obtaining funding to support research. However, the primary reason is to provide the data and hypotheses to scientific community to advance the understanding in a specific domain. A scientific paper is a formal record of a research process. It documents research protocols, methods, results, conclusion, and discussion from a research hypothesis .

Table of Contents

What Is a Research Paper Outline?

A research paper outline is a basic format for writing an academic research paper. It follows the IMRAD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion). However, this format varies depending on the type of research manuscript. A research paper outline consists of following sections to simplify the paper for readers. These sections help researchers build an effective paper outline.

1. Title Page

The title page provides important information which helps the editors, reviewers, and readers identify the manuscript and the authors at a glance. It also provides an overview of the field of research the research paper belongs to. The title should strike a balance between precise and detailed. Other generic details include author’s given name, affiliation, keywords that will provide indexing, details of the corresponding author etc. are added to the title page.

2. Abstract

Abstract is the most important section of the manuscript and will help the researcher create a detailed research paper outline . To be more precise, an abstract is like an advertisement to the researcher’s work and it influences the editor in deciding whether to submit the manuscript to reviewers or not. Writing an abstract is a challenging task. Researchers can write an exemplary abstract by selecting the content carefully and being concise.

3. Introduction

An introduction is a background statement that provides the context and approach of the research. It describes the problem statement with the assistance of the literature study and elaborates the requirement to update the knowledge gap. It sets the research hypothesis and informs the readers about the big research question.

This section is usually named as “Materials and Methods”, “Experiments” or “Patients and Methods” depending upon the type of journal. This purpose provides complete information on methods used for the research. Researchers should mention clear description of materials and their use in the research work. If the methods used in research are already published, give a brief account and refer to the original publication. However, if the method used is modified from the original method, then researcher should mention the modifications done to the original protocol and validate its accuracy, precision, and repeatability.

It is best to report results as tables and figures wherever possible. Also, avoid duplication of text and ensure that the text summarizes the findings. Report the results with appropriate descriptive statistics. Furthermore, report any unexpected events that could affect the research results, and mention complete account of observations and explanations for missing data (if any).

6. Discussion

The discussion should set the research in context, strengthen its importance and support the research hypothesis. Summarize the main results of the study in one or two paragraphs and show how they logically fit in an overall scheme of studies. Compare the results with other investigations in the field of research and explain the differences.

7. Acknowledgments

Acknowledgements identify and thank the contributors to the study, who are not under the criteria of co-authors. It also includes the recognition of funding agency and universities that award scholarships or fellowships to researchers.

8. Declaration of Competing Interests

Finally, declaring the competing interests is essential to abide by ethical norms of unique research publishing. Competing interests arise when the author has more than one role that may lead to a situation where there is a conflict of interest.

Steps to Write a Research Paper Outline

  • Write down all important ideas that occur to you concerning the research paper .
  • Answer questions such as – what is the topic of my paper? Why is the topic important? How to formulate the hypothesis? What are the major findings?
  • Add context and structure. Group all your ideas into sections – Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion/Conclusion.
  • Add relevant questions to each section. It is important to note down the questions. This will help you align your thoughts.
  • Expand the ideas based on the questions created in the paper outline.
  • After creating a detailed outline, discuss it with your mentors and peers.
  • Get enough feedback and decide on the journal you will submit to.
  • The process of real writing begins.

Benefits of Creating a Research Paper Outline

As discussed, the research paper subheadings create an outline of what different aspects of research needs elaboration. This provides subtopics on which the researchers brainstorm and reach a conclusion to write. A research paper outline organizes the researcher’s thoughts and gives a clear picture of how to formulate the research protocols and results. It not only helps the researcher to understand the flow of information but also provides relation between the ideas.

A research paper outline helps researcher achieve a smooth transition between topics and ensures that no research point is forgotten. Furthermore, it allows the reader to easily navigate through the research paper and provides a better understanding of the research. The paper outline allows the readers to find relevant information and quotes from different part of the paper.

Research Paper Outline Template

A research paper outline template can help you understand the concept of creating a well planned research paper before beginning to write and walk through your journey of research publishing.

1. Research Title

A. Background i. Support with evidence ii. Support with existing literature studies

B. Thesis Statement i. Link literature with hypothesis ii. Support with evidence iii. Explain the knowledge gap and how this research will help build the gap 4. Body

A. Methods i. Mention materials and protocols used in research ii. Support with evidence

B. Results i. Support with tables and figures ii. Mention appropriate descriptive statistics

C. Discussion i. Support the research with context ii. Support the research hypothesis iii. Compare the results with other investigations in field of research

D. Conclusion i. Support the discussion and research investigation ii. Support with literature studies

E. Acknowledgements i. Identify and thank the contributors ii. Include the funding agency, if any

F. Declaration of Competing Interests

5. References

Download the Research Paper Outline Template!

Have you tried writing a research paper outline ? How did it work for you? Did it help you achieve your research paper writing goal? Do let us know about your experience in the comments below.

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What’s Included: Research Paper Template

If you’re preparing to write an academic research paper, our free research paper template is the perfect starting point. In the template, we cover every section step by step, with clear, straightforward explanations and examples .

The template’s structure is based on the tried and trusted best-practice format for formal academic research papers. The template structure reflects the overall research process, ensuring your paper will have a smooth, logical flow from chapter to chapter.

The research paper template covers the following core sections:

  • The title page/cover page
  • Abstract (sometimes also called the executive summary)
  • Section 1: Introduction 
  • Section 2: Literature review 
  • Section 3: Methodology
  • Section 4: Findings /results
  • Section 5: Discussion
  • Section 6: Conclusion
  • Reference list

Each section is explained in plain, straightforward language , followed by an overview of the key elements that you need to cover within each section. We’ve also included links to free resources to help you understand how to write each section.

The cleanly formatted Google Doc can be downloaded as a fully editable MS Word Document (DOCX format), so you can use it as-is or convert it to LaTeX.

FAQs: Research Paper Template

What format is the template (doc, pdf, ppt, etc.).

The research paper template is provided as a Google Doc. You can download it in MS Word format or make a copy to your Google Drive. You’re also welcome to convert it to whatever format works best for you, such as LaTeX or PDF.

What types of research papers can this template be used for?

The template follows the standard best-practice structure for formal academic research papers, so it is suitable for the vast majority of degrees, particularly those within the sciences.

Some universities may have some additional requirements, but these are typically minor, with the core structure remaining the same. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to double-check your university’s requirements before you finalise your structure.

Is this template for an undergrad, Masters or PhD-level research paper?

This template can be used for a research paper at any level of study. It may be slight overkill for an undergraduate-level study, but it certainly won’t be missing anything.

How long should my research paper be?

This depends entirely on your university’s specific requirements, so it’s best to check with them. We include generic word count ranges for each section within the template, but these are purely indicative. 

What about the research proposal?

If you’re still working on your research proposal, we’ve got a template for that here .

We’ve also got loads of proposal-related guides and videos over on the Grad Coach blog .

How do I write a literature review?

We have a wealth of free resources on the Grad Coach Blog that unpack how to write a literature review from scratch. You can check out the literature review section of the blog here.

How do I create a research methodology?

We have a wealth of free resources on the Grad Coach Blog that unpack research methodology, both qualitative and quantitative. You can check out the methodology section of the blog here.

Can I share this research paper template with my friends/colleagues?

Yes, you’re welcome to share this template. If you want to post about it on your blog or social media, all we ask is that you reference this page as your source.

Can Grad Coach help me with my research paper?

Within the template, you’ll find plain-language explanations of each section, which should give you a fair amount of guidance. However, you’re also welcome to consider our private coaching services .

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Outline of a 5 Page Paper

Writing a 5 page paper?

What structure should your 5 page paper assume?

What is the proper outline of a 5 page paper?

Academic papers usually vary in areas such as genre and their level of comprehensiveness.

For this reason, you need to understand the  different genres  since they define texts used, how the texts should be used, and how the texts should be structured.

A 5 Page Paper

How long should it take to write a 5 page paper, introduction, how to create an outline of a 5 page paper.

  • I. Introduction
  • II. Background
  • III. Point 1: Teenage pregnancy affects teenager’s physical health
  • IV. Point 2: Teenage pregnancy affects teenager’s social health
  • V. Point 3: Teenage pregnancy affects teenager’s mental health
  • VI. Point 4: Physical, social, and mental health have direct impact on each other
  • VII. Point 5: Teenage mothers are more predisposed to more stress and physical health
  • VIII. Conclusion

1. Brainstorm on the topic

2. create a comprehensive outline, 3. start with the thesis and the body, 4. keep in mind the thesis when writing, 5. use transitions effectively, 6. rewrite and proofread your work.

A 5 page paper is a common assignment in learning institutions.

Writing it however requires and understanding of key writing knowledge and skills.

This understanding determines how comprehensive the 5 page paper will be.

The level of comprehensiveness encompasses the length and details of the academic paper’s content.

You have to be cognizant of the amount of details required.

Note that the difference in details can be manifested in the length of the academic paper.

For instance, details in a  500 words essay , 5 page paper, and a  10 page research paper  would vary widely even though they may be on a similar topic area.

Time management is key when writing a 5 page paper.

It is apparent that you need adequate time to write a quality academic paper.

This bring us to the question, “how long should it take to write a 5 page paper?”

Well, time required depends on the nature of the academic paper.

Note that a 5 page paper may assume different genres, including:

1.  Essays ,

2.  Research papers ,

3.  Reports , etc.

These genres usually require different amounts of time to execute.

For instance, research papers and reports may require more time to write compared to essays since they demand more extensive evidence and consequently more researching time.

So answers to the question on how much time it should take to write a 5 page paper are likely to vary depending on the requirements of the specific academic paper.

Time required to write a 5 page essay may not necessarily the same for a 5 page research paper or report.

Considering all the above factors, writing a 5 page paper could require between 10 and 48 hours.

It is therefore critical to plan your time wisely.

Note that despite the difference it time, the outline of a 5 page paper is fairly standard.

Basic Outline of a 5 Page Paper

The outline of a 5 page paper assumes the basic format for common academic papers.

Such an outline does not pay much attention to the length of the academic paper but rather considers the respective parts of the paper.

These parts include:

1. Introduction

3. Conclusion

Accordingly, the basic outline of a 5 page paper should be as illustrated below.

The introduction of an outline of a 5 page paper should constitute key elements, including:

1. An attention grabber

2. An overview of the entailed issues

3. Definition of key terminologies

4. Statement on the controversial nature of the subject (for  argumentative papers )

5. Topic’s background information

6. An antithesis (for argumentative papers)

Note that the introduction should also have a thesis statement as its last sentence(s).

The thesis statement should/ could:

1. Stipulate the paper’s overall focus

2. Briefly highlight the paper’s main points

In the outline of a 5 page paper, the body should do the following:

1. Present the points of the academic paper in line with the theses in a clear manner.

2. Provide details, examples, and explanations supporting the points.

3. Provide evidence from sources (for research papers), including summaries, paraphrases, quotations, etc.

4. Address counter arguments (for argumentative papers).

This is the last part in an outline of a 5 page paper.

1. Restate the thesis statement in the introductory part.

2. Provide a brief summary of all points in the body part.

3. Provide a statement on consequences of failing to embrace the positions (for argumentative papers).

4. Finish with a strong clincher statement.

It is advisable that you employ a standard approach when outlining your 5 page paper.

The most effective way of creating an outline of a 5 page paper therefore involves outlining each of the academic paper’s paragraphs.

Such outlining entail:

1. Developing a topic sentence for each paragraph

2. Identifying the purpose of each paragraph

3. Identifying repetitive ideas among the paragraphs

4. Determining paragraphs that may require combining or splitting

The above approach in outlining of an academic paper is very effective. This is because the topic sentence and purpose of each paragraph helps ensure that you remain on course and to the point.

Accordingly, the approach can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses of the academic paper.

Example of an Outline of a 5 Page Paper

Below is a 5 page paper example on the link between teenage pregnancy and health.

I.  Introduction

1. Problem : Teenage pregnancy rates remain consistently high while healthcare costs keep on rising.

2. Focus : Teenage mothers

3. Key terms : Teenage pregnancy, teenage mothers

Thesis statement :  Because of the parental responsibility (provide sources) and susceptibility to depression (provide sources), teenage mothers suffer a higher risk for mental health problems.

II.  Background

1. Historical overview of teenage pregnancy : Teenage mothers in the past did not experience extreme pressure from society (provide citation).

2. Historical overview of teenage mothers’ health:  In the past teenage mothers accessed adequate social, financial, and health support (citation).

3. Current link between teenage health and teenage pregnancy:  Nowadays, teenage mothers face more social, financial, and psychological pressure when raising their children (citations).

4. Research gap:  There is limited information on the health implications of the current societal conditions among teenage mothers.

III. Point 1 : Teenage pregnancy affects teenager’s physical health

1. Teenage pregnancy increases risk for pregnancy complications (citations).

2. Teenagers do not know how to watch changes in their health and health conditions (citations).

IV. Point 2 : Teenage pregnancy affects teenager’s social health

1. Teenage pregnancy comes along with social stigma (citations).

2. Teenage pregnancy exerts financial burden to the teenage and their families (citations).

V. Point 3 : Teenage pregnancy affects teenager’s mental health

1. Teenage pregnancy predisposes the teenager to stress and depression (citations).

2. Stress and depression are core causes of mental health issues (citations).

VI. Point 4 : Physical, social, and mental health have direct impact on each other

1. Mental health problems are correlated with social and physical health problems (citations).

2. Stress and depression can manifest themselves in physical form (citations).

VII. Point 5 : Teenage mothers are more predisposed to more stress and physical health

1.  Many teenage mothers lack adequate social and financial support (citations).

2. Financial and social problems often correlate with poor childcare, dropping out of school, unhealthy lifestyles, etc. (citations).

VIII.  Conclusion

1. Restatement of thesis : Teenage mothers are at a high risk for mental and physical health problems for the rest of their lives.

2. Clincher statement:  Society needs local educational campaigns; educators need to address this situation and seek methods for curbing teenage pregnancy in order to promote healthy lifestyles among teenagers, and should educate students on the impacts of teenage pregnancies.

Tips for Writing a 5 Page Paper

Now that you know how to develop the outline of a 5 page paper, you can go ahead and write the paper.

The writing process requires observing key tips.

Accordingly, some of the key tips you should observe when writing a 5 page paper include:

You should in great heights exercise your imagination and thinking on the academic paper topic under review.

Brainstorming is critical in providing a comprehensive picture of what you should be dealing with.

Remember to keep notes when brainstorming.

Key issues to deliberate on when brainstorming include:

1. The meaning the topic has to you.

2. The purpose of writing on the particular topic.

3. Potential challenges to come across when writing on the topic.

4. Potential solutions to these challenges.

5. Views of others on the topic.

6. Potential unique perspectives about the topic.

7. Availability of relevant sources.

Before writing, you should come up with a detailed outline of a 5 page paper.

The outline should guide you on the content to include, where it helps you effectively remain on course.

Note that outline making is a trial and error process that should allow you to experiment with different potential outlines before settling on the most appropriate.

Accordingly, when creating the outline you should come up with:

1. Thesis statement

2. Main points

It is advisable to write the thesis statement first.

You should then write the body before going ahead to write the introduction and finishing with the conclusion.

You should always consider the thesis when writing every single paragraph and sentence of the 5 page paper.

It is necessary to note that all your work must converge towards the thesis.

Transitions should be well used throughout the 5 page paper.

Transitions within the main point, between the main points/ paragraphs, and between examples/ evidence should be used appropriately.

Such use is essential in enhancing the flow of the academic paper.

It is important to go through the 5 page paper to help determine whether all information included is relevant and adequate.

Remove meaningless information and supplement the inadequate one.

Also, correct writing errors and ensure that the paper flows effectively.

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What does a five page essay look like? If you’re searching for an answer to this question, you’re in the right place! Such a paper is a standard high school and college assignment. That’s why it might be written on almost any topic. Organic farming, overpopulation, police brutality, and abortion are just some examples.

A 5 page essay word count is usually 1200 to 1250 words (12 pt., double-spaced). The length of a typical academic paragraph is 100 to 150 words. So, there are 12 to 16 paragraphs in a five page essay.

If you need 5 page essay examples, take a look at the list below. We’ve collected A+ samples for you to get inspired. Good luck with your essay!

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Hacks to Write a Five Page Essay Paper in a Day or Less

How to write a five page essay fast

Let’s face it, writing a five-essay paper fast is not a walk in the park. Like a comprehensive essay , it entails planning, critical thinking, researching, outlining, writing, and polishing. Yet, it is a typical writing assignment in high school, college, and university. Even graduate students pursuing MBAs, Masters, and PhDs write five-page essays on various topics.

One thing is for sure; it is an ideal essay for honing research, writing, creativity, critical thinking, reasoning, and organization skills. However, while some find it easy to write it, some students might struggle, especially if the deadline is shorter.

If you were assigned a five-page paper and need advice on saving time and finishing your 5-page essay paper fast, this quick guide is a perfect place for you to start. We cover aspects such as the meaning of a five-page essay, how to plan and budget time for it, and the steps it takes to write a well-organized and professional essay that scores you a better grade.

Let’s dig right in!

What is a 5-page essay?

A five-page essay is an academic piece of assignment assigned to students to write about a specific topic in 5 full pages. If it is double-spaced, it is between 1250 words and 1500 words assuming a page is anything between 250 and 300 words. If it is single-spaced, it is between 2500 words and 3000 words.

It is a typical essay for nursing, English language, English literature, sociology, business and management, medicine and health sciences, biology, social work, and humanity subjects.

Because of its length, it is expected that students explore different topics in the five pages. Therefore, it always requires 5-8 references or sometimes ten resources, depending on the complexity of the subject or topic.

As it is considered a short assignment, its deadline is often between a few hours and three days. Therefore, when assigned such an essay, do not panic. Instead, follow the steps outlined below to conquer your fears of writing.

The time it takes to write a 5-page essay

In most cases, five-page papers are assigned within a one-week submission window. In other courses, you can be assigned homework to write a five-page paper overnight. Still, some professors assign five pages essay papers to be completed between 10 to 48 hours.

Suppose you are settled to write a five-page essay paper. In that case, it will only take you 10 hours or less, depending on your motivation, the complexity of the content of the paper, availability of resources, your typing speed, and your writing skills. A professional and experienced writer will take 5-6 hours at most, planning, drafting, writing, and polishing a 5-page essay.

Writing fast is relative. For example, a student rushing to complete a last-minute essay may only have a few hours to do it. On the other hand, a student who wants to complete their essay, submit it, and move to other things will also want to hasten the process of writing their essay. At the same time, a student assigned to write an essay that is five pages long under a day would also want to write faster.

The secret of writing a five-page essay paper fast lies in adequate planning. By the end of this guide, you will be able to write a five-page essay in under 8 hours, and not just write it but write it to the desired quality.

Budgeting time for a five-page essay

Assuming you already have a topic and want to write a five-page essay, you should divide the writing process into prewriting, writing, and post-writing stages.

During the prewriting stage, you engage in brainstorming, formulating a thesis, outlining, and researching. Naturally, therefore, pre-writing should take much of your time. Precisely, it should take 60 percent of the entire time you have to write the essay. If you have an hour to fall a tree, spend at least 45 minutes sharpening the ax and the remaining 15 minutes falling the tree quickly. Well, that analogy applies here. We have tested it, our writers use it, and it works perfectly.

Budget your time as follow if you have 12 hours to complete a 5-page essay: brainstorming (2 hours), research (5 hours), and writing an outline (1 hour).

In the writing stage, you frame your title, set the title page, write the body paragraphs, and write the introduction and conclusion. The writing stage should take 25% of the entire time you have to write an essay. For instance, if you have 12 hours to write an essay, allocate 3 hours to the writing section: writing the body paragraphs (2 hours), writing the introduction (20 minutes), writing the conclusion (20 minutes), and setting the title page (10 minutes)

Finally, in the post-writing stage , spend the remaining 15% of the entire time. For instance, if you have 12 hours, allocate one hour for rewriting and editing, one hour for proofreading, and thirty minutes for formatting.

Steps to Write a 5-page essay fast

Now that you are conversant with the essay writing process or stages, and you have probably budgeted your time well, here are some steps to follow to write that five-page essay fast, accurately, and coherently.

Kickout the distractions

To be able to write any essay fast, you need to raise your concentration levels. Therefore, the first step is to find a good place to write your essay . It could be your room, a spot in the library, café, or office, or at your friend’s place.

Let it be distraction-free enough to give you room for concentrating on the task ahead of you. For example, if you work well when listening to music, have your favorite music that sparks your morale in the background.

Another thing, keep off any distractions – turn off your phone or put it in silent mode, mute social media notifications, and don’t engage anyone on the phone unless it is utterly vital.

Have a schedule and stick to it

With the mind free to think, create a schedule for your paper. You can do this manually on sticky notes and pin it where you can see it.

You can place it on a mirror, table, at the back of your laptop, or on the surface of your study area.

Ensure that each time is spent as budgeted to prevent deadline violations or lateness, which can cost you some marks.

Brainstorm for points and the way forward

Assuming you have the topic, begin by brainstorming. Brainstorming stretches your mind , expands your creativity, and makes you actively think of the best ways to solve a problem.

If you brainstorm well, you will create a mind map that guides your writing process. Besides, it makes the research process easier.

While brainstorming, be at ease but do not relax too much. Decide on the points you want to feature in your essay, the claims and the counterclaims, and the examples you want to give. As you brainstorm, take notes. These questions can help you as you brainstorm:

  • What is the meaning of the topic?
  • What is the purpose of the essay?
  • Are there enough sources for this essay?
  • What are some examples I can give?
  • What are the likely challenges, potential solutions, and recommendations?
  • What unique lens can I view this problem given what others have written?
  • What perspective am I sticking to for this essay?
  • What are the resources and research materials that I will need?

Structure you essay

Now that you have brainstormed, design a proper essay scaffold that will determine the flow of ideas or order of points in your essay. by writing an outline, you are developing a framework that defines your essay paper.

 It is a blueprint or landmark that gives your essay some direction. Outlining helps in avoiding the number one killer of research skills: information overload. When you derail, you will not derail when you have an outline.

Research Widely and Deeply

Nothing substitutes comprehensive research when writing an essay. However, you must check various sources to understand the subject of your essay and get facts to support your thesis.

Although Wikipedia and website blogs are not recommended as scholarly sources, use them to familiarize yourself with your topic .

Check through the governmental documents, pdf files published by organizations, and research journal articles to get facts and evidence to support your thesis. When researching, you will generate fresh ideas to make your essay presentable, engaging, and of high quality.

To avoid information overload, check the authenticity of the information, check for the recency of the information, and omit information that is obsolete, does not create rigor in your essay, or has questionable facts.

As a rule of thumb, always choose information published within the last five years, unless you need old seminal works on frameworks, concepts, and ideas. Keep an inventory of every research that matters.

You can do so using online bibliography organizers such as Zotero, Citethisforme, or Citefast. However, it is best if you decide the number of references to use in your essay early enough so that you can organize them better and cite them as you write for a fast, accurate, and efficient writing process.

Complete the body paragraphs

Although many students prefer to begin their essays with the title, introduction, body, and then conclusion, we find it practical to deal with the body of your essay first. Developing the body paragraphs helps you to understand the flow of your essay better.

 You will know how to develop topic sentences that support the thesis and link each paragraph to one another and the thesis.

The supporting paragraphs in the body of your essay should be between 3-8 paragraphs, depending on the essay's word count . Ensure that every paragraph has its own idea, and it should be supported by facts, evidence, and examples from research.

Cite the body paragraphs where you paraphrase, summarize, or quote from other resources. As well, conclude the body paragraphs with concluding sentences that make sense and link to the next paragraphs or sections of your essay.

Given that your essay is 5-pages long, the body should be comprehensive; it should at least be 4-pages long with 5-8 paragraphs. In addition, each paragraph should have at least 5-9 sentences for good balance.

And to top it all up, write your paragraphs using short, clear, and concise sentences. Of course, once in a while, you can throw in long sentences, but ensure that they are sound and fit the context of your essay. 

Write a catchy introduction

Your introduction is one of the earliest contact points with your readers second to your title. Ensure that it creates a lasting first impression . You must begin the introduction with an appropriate hook . Essay hooks or attention grabbers help to grab the attention of your readers and introduce the topic generally. You can use relevant statistics, facts, evidence, anecdotes, or quotes.

As well, give good background information on your topic. Finally, finalize the introduction paragraph with one or two lines of your thesis statement that announces your main argument in the essay. Ensure that your introduction foreshadows your argument; it is where you frame your arguments.

We have a complete guide on how to begin an essay , familiarize with the process.

Write the conclusion of your essay

In an essay, the topic sentences are signposts that work together with the conclusion and introduction to guide a reader through the arguments in your essay. The conclusion must be succinct but comprehensive enough. You can achieve this through restating the main argument, recapping or summarizing the logic of the argument, and writing a final statement that reinforces the argument better. If possible, include an active call to action for your readers by suggesting materials for further reading or recommending solutions. This is the very last page in your five-page essay, and it should leave a lasting impact on your readers.

Polish your essay without rushing

When you are done with the writing phase, take a break. It helps refresh your mind and develop an objective mind, which can help you spot little or silly mistakes you made while writing.

Rewriting your essay helps to rephrase the essay and make it straightforward, coherent, and accurate. It can also be helpful when you have identified plagiarism in your essay. To speed up the process, read out loud your essay to yourself and make the changes that seem relevant. You will be amazed at how keen you are to be able to catch errors and improve the essay.

You should also proofread and edit your essay, which entails checking for any omissions, misspellings, punctuation errors, grammatical mistakes, and typos in your essay. Make sure that everything flows.

Finally, you need to spend some quick 10-20 minutes checking the format of your essay. Double-space your essay , check on the font style and size, check if your essay's cover or title page is good, and check whether you have achieved the desired essay length . If you are short of a few words, follow our recommended steps to increase the length of your essay . Remember to format the paper in APA , MLA, Harvard, or Chicago formatting styles.

Parting Shot!

Now that you know the tips to write a five-page essay fast, you can apply them when writing a 3-page essay, 4-page essay, or two-page essay. The process is literary the same, only that you will reduce the budget for prewriting, writing, and post writing, respectively.

If you need someone to write your last-minute essay, we have fast essay writers who can help. It could be that you realized late that you have an upcoming deadline, have an emergency, or things are getting pretty sticky with writing an essay, do not struggle alone.

2 out of 3 students get help from experts, their friends, parents, and classmates. Instead of facing the ridicule that comes with such available help, our experts will never judge you. They will write your essay professionally and fast. We are a cheap writing website, so be sure to get a first-timers’ discount. Ask from our support team.

If you decide to write it on your own, keep practicing, perfect, and scale through the heights of academia. We wish you the best of luck!

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  • How Long Does It Take to Write a 5-page Paper
  • Do You Know How Long Does It Take to Write a 5-page Paper?

Do You Know How Long Does It Take to Write a 5-page Paper?

Is it Easy to Estimate the Time Needed for a 5-page Paper?

What are the main factors, number and reliability of sources, your writing skills, writing an excellent 5-page paper, 1) topic is your start point, 2) conduct the research, 3) don’t skip the outline, 4) revise your paper.

Every time when you start working on your writing assignment, you may wonder, how much time will it take to complete it? If it is a two pages essay or an average research paper , you can easily estimate the time (taking into account your topic). What about writing a 5-page paper? How long does it take to write a 5-page paper? Read this article, we will try to find the answer to this question.

Not easy, it is almost impossible to estimate the time before analyzing some details & this is why:

  • You don’t know does the paper need some easy or good research to be done;
  • You need to study your sources, this process takes a couple of days;
  • You will study other papers written on your topic;
  • If it is an experience story or definition essay , it may take a lot of time to distinguish paragraphs, it depends on the requirements, etc.

So each writing assignment requires the different amount of time from an hour to a couple of days or even weeks. It is based on the type of the paper, topic, your purpose, & requirements (single or double spaced, specific terminology, etc.). Your writing skills influence.

Your topic is the main factor which influences the working time. It may be simple or complex, boring or interesting to you. If your topic is complex, you will have to make more deep research and spend a lot of time on it.

Some areas are less explored by authors, others are more popular. If you can find a lot of reliable sources, it will make your writing process much easier. The topic which is not examined gives a lot of space for investigation, finding & presenting your own innovative ideas. But if you need to write your paper fast, it’s better to choose the topic on which you can find a lot of reliable resources & papers.

If you have excellent writing skills, it will be easy for you to cope with a 5-page paper & you will hardly ask the question how long it takes to write a 5-page paper. But if you are not an expert & have strict deadlines, this issue may bother you. In this case, it is better to delegate this task to professional writes . It is obvious that the expert will write this paper much faster along with following all requirements such as the list of sources, style, format, etc.

Writing a 5-page paper is the process which has its own peculiarities as any other work. It is not as easy as it may seem. You are limited with space & you have to check every your sentence in order to avoid unnecessary & meaningless information in your paper. We have some advice of the algorithm, just follow it as advice from the professional writers & you will succeed with it.

The topic of your paper influences the length. Considering it, you should understand that it’s better to choose the narrow topic. Only having a narrow area you will be able to write a 5-page paper. Wide & complex topic requires research, & you have no space to represent it in your work. That’s why you need to find the field which is interesting to you & then narrow it to the topic. Take into account the details & availability of reliable evidence. If you come up with an interesting topic, it will make the half of your success.

It is obvious that you don’t need to make deep & long research if you ask how long it takes to write a 5-page paper. Generally, 4-5 sources will be enough. You are not limited you can study the topic as much as you want, as deep as you want, it is up to you to decide. Pay attention that you need to choose only reliable sources that you can trust, keep yourself on a safe side.

Even if the paper is not long, it still needs the outline. Don’t skip this step, it will become your greatest helper when you start writing. After you learn everything about how to write a 5-page research paper here, you can read more about research paper outline . An outline will organize your work, you will feel more confident, realizing that you don’t put unnecessary points to your work.

Remember that the first version of your writing paper is always a draft. Revise it after you finish. We sure you will find something that you need to add or to delete. If you don’t make a draft, you will spend less time on writing your paper but you will have more chances to get good grade if you don’t skip it.

Revise & polish work may seem boring; it is an obligatory step of the process if you want to be successful with your assignment. Check your grammar, content & pay attention to your thesis statement. Revise introduction & conclusion twice because teachers always pay special attention to it.

How To Write A Research Paper

Research Paper Example

Nova A.

Research Paper Example - Examples for Different Formats

Published on: Jun 12, 2021

Last updated on: Feb 6, 2024

research paper examples

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Writing a research paper is the most challenging task in a student's academic life. researchers face similar writing process hardships, whether the research paper is to be written for graduate or masters.

A research paper is a writing type in which a detailed analysis, interpretation, and evaluation are made on the topic. It requires not only time but also effort and skills to be drafted correctly.

If you are working on your research paper for the first time, here is a collection of examples that you will need to understand the paper’s format and how its different parts are drafted. Continue reading the article to get free research paper examples.

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Research Paper Example for Different Formats

A research paper typically consists of several key parts, including an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and annotated bibliography .

When writing a research paper (whether quantitative research or qualitative research ), it is essential to know which format to use to structure your content. Depending on the requirements of the institution, there are mainly four format styles in which a writer drafts a research paper:

Let’s look into each format in detail to understand the fundamental differences and similarities.

Research Paper Example APA

If your instructor asks you to provide a research paper in an APA format, go through the example given below and understand the basic structure. Make sure to follow the format throughout the paper.

APA Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example MLA

Another widespread research paper format is MLA. A few institutes require this format style as well for your research paper. Look at the example provided of this format style to learn the basics.

MLA Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example Chicago

Unlike MLA and APA styles, Chicago is not very common. Very few institutions require this formatting style research paper, but it is essential to learn it. Look at the example given below to understand the formatting of the content and citations in the research paper.

Chicago Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example Harvard

Learn how a research paper through Harvard formatting style is written through this example. Carefully examine how the cover page and other pages are structured.

Harvard Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Examples for Different Research Paper Parts

A research paper is based on different parts. Each part plays a significant role in the overall success of the paper. So each chapter of the paper must be drafted correctly according to a format and structure.

Below are examples of how different sections of the research paper are drafted.

Research Proposal Example

A research proposal is a plan that describes what you will investigate, its significance, and how you will conduct the study.

Research Proposal Sample (PDF)

Abstract Research Paper Example

An abstract is an executive summary of the research paper that includes the purpose of the research, the design of the study, and significant research findings.

It is a small section that is based on a few paragraphs. Following is an example of the abstract to help you draft yours professionally.

Abstract Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Literature Review Research Paper Example

A literature review in a research paper is a comprehensive summary of the previous research on your topic. It studies sources like books, articles, journals, and papers on the relevant research problem to form the basis of the new research.

Writing this section of the research paper perfectly is as important as any part of it.

Literature Review in Research Sample (PDF)

Methods Section of Research Paper Example

The method section comes after the introduction of the research paper that presents the process of collecting data. Basically, in this section, a researcher presents the details of how your research was conducted.

Methods Section in Research Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Conclusion Example

The conclusion is the last part of your research paper that sums up the writer’s discussion for the audience and leaves an impression. This is how it should be drafted:

Research Paper Conclusion Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Examples for Different Fields

The research papers are not limited to a particular field. They can be written for any discipline or subject that needs a detailed study.

In the following section, various research paper examples are given to show how they are drafted for different subjects.

Science Research Paper Example

Are you a science student that has to conduct research? Here is an example for you to draft a compelling research paper for the field of science.

Science Research Paper Sample (PDF)

History Research Paper Example

Conducting research and drafting a paper is not only bound to science subjects. Other subjects like history and arts require a research paper to be written as well. Observe how research papers related to history are drafted.

History Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Psychology Research Paper Example

If you are a psychology student, look into the example provided in the research paper to help you draft yours professionally.

Psychology Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example for Different Levels

Writing a research paper is based on a list of elements. If the writer is not aware of the basic elements, the process of writing the paper will become daunting. Start writing your research paper taking the following steps:

  • Choose a topic
  • Form a strong thesis statement
  • Conduct research
  • Develop a research paper outline

Once you have a plan in your hand, the actual writing procedure will become a piece of cake for you.

No matter which level you are writing a research paper for, it has to be well structured and written to guarantee you better grades.

If you are a college or a high school student, the examples in the following section will be of great help.

Research Paper Outline (PDF)

Research Paper Example for College

Pay attention to the research paper example provided below. If you are a college student, this sample will help you understand how a winning paper is written.

College Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example for High School

Expert writers of CollegeEssay.org have provided an excellent example of a research paper for high school students. If you are struggling to draft an exceptional paper, go through the example provided.

High School Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Examples are essential when it comes to academic assignments. If you are a student and aim to achieve good grades in your assignments, it is suggested to get help from  CollegeEssay.org .

We are the best writing company that delivers essay help for students by providing free samples and writing assistance.

Professional writers have your back, whether you are looking for guidance in writing a lab report, college essay, or research paper.

Simply hire a writer by placing your order at the most reasonable price. You can also take advantage of our essay writer to enhance your writing skills.

Nova A. (Literature, Marketing)

As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.

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Writing An Example Outline For A 5 Page Research Paper

A five-page research paper is the easiest assignment that a student will ever be given in an English class. It takes up about a page of single-spaced writing and can be completed in just a few hours if the student is focused. To get started on this type of writing, students should begin by creating an outline of their work. This outline will consist of an introduction, a conclusion and three body paragraphs.

The Introduction and Thesis Statement

The beginning of any research paper will always be the introduction. This introduction should include an interesting anecdote, question or fact that draws the reader into the story line. In the middle or toward the end of the introduction, the student will want to include their thesis statement. This will normally take up just one sentence, and it will consist of the student's entire argument. In the thesis statement, the student will need to state their case. For it to be considered a thesis statement, it has to be debatable. Likewise, the student must also be able to support their argument through facts and evidence.

Making the Body Paragraphs

In a five-paragraph essay, there are only three body paragraphs to worry about. Each body paragraph needs a topic sentence that sums it up and builds on the thesis statement. Additionally, the body paragraphs will need to have two or three pieces of supporting evidence that support them. These pieces of evidence can be drawn from books, course materials, academic journals or the Internet. To get the best grade, students will need to make sure that all of their evidence is from reputable, academic sources.

The Conclusion

At the end of the research paper, the student needs to write the conclusion. In essence, this portion of the document will sum up the student's argument and restate the original thesis statement. When the reader finishes the conclusion, they should be swayed to believe in the student's argument. There should be no lasting questions or problems in the reader's mind because it is the student's job to make sure that these questions have already been answered in the main portion of the paper.

Students who need extra help with building an outline can always ask their teacher for examples or advice. In addition, there are many resources available online that the student can use as a guide. From writing websites to library books, students can get the help that they need to complete their research paper without any hassles.

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How to Write a Good 5-Page Essay

High school students are often asked to prepare an effective 5-page essay about a chosen topic. On the one hand, this assignment is very easy. On the other hand, novice high school students will have solid troubles with writing, because it is hard to complete a logical and informative paper of this kind if your experience is poor. If you want to learn something about 5-page essay writing , you are able to use our writing tips for your advantage.

Step One: Research Your Topic

The initial duty of every student is to research his topic carefully and collect information about it. One ought to look through several sources in order to understand his subject better. Moreover, when you read books, you learn something new about your topic. Consequently, you have wiser ideas and you know what you want to describe.

Step Two: Prepare an Outline

It does not worth mentioning that you should plan the process of writing accurately. It is impossible to compose a successful 5-page essay if you do not arrange this process wisely. The best way to give a good start to your essay is to design a good outline. You are expected to mention every important section, thought provoking point and issue that you want to place into your essay. Remember that a good 5-page essay should consist of three parts – exposition, the main body and denouement.

Step Three: Write a Good Introduction

When you are going to write an introduction, you ought to know that your task is to attract reader’s attention and to clarify the topic and the main subject of your paper. You are able to prepare a good thesis statement in order to make your 5-page essay sound better. Try to make a precise thesis statement that will cover only one sentence. Your introduction should occupy no more than a half of a standard page.

Step Four: Write the Main Body

The main body is a bit longer part of your essay and it should occupy four pages. This section should be divided into paragraphs that describe your personal ideas about your subject. You will need to observe your problem from several sides in order to make it look like a real informative essay. Choose the best arguments to support your thoughts and devote a paragraph to every idea and argument. With the help of this approach, you will be able to create a concise and understandable text.

Step Five: Summarize Your Essay

When you are through with your main body, you are able to conclude your analysis and provide readers with the results of this brief research. Show the relevance of your subject with the help of a thought provoking catchy quotation. This final chapter of your 5-page essay should cover the last half of a page.

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Research Paper Examples - Free Sample Papers for Different Formats!

Research Paper Example

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Crafting a comprehensive research paper can be daunting. Understanding diverse citation styles and various subject areas presents a challenge for many.

Without clear examples, students often feel lost and overwhelmed, unsure of how to start or which style fits their subject.

Explore our collection of expertly written research paper examples. We’ve covered various citation styles and a diverse range of subjects.

So, read on!

Arrow Down

  • 1. Research Paper Example for Different Formats
  • 2. Examples for Different Research Paper Parts
  • 3. Research Paper Examples for Different Fields
  • 4. Research Paper Example Outline

Research Paper Example for Different Formats

Following a specific formatting style is essential while writing a research paper . Knowing the conventions and guidelines for each format can help you in creating a perfect paper. Here we have gathered examples of research paper for most commonly applied citation styles :

Social Media and Social Media Marketing: A Literature Review

APA Research Paper Example

APA (American Psychological Association) style is commonly used in social sciences, psychology, and education. This format is recognized for its clear and concise writing, emphasis on proper citations, and orderly presentation of ideas.

Here are some research paper examples in APA style:

Research Paper Example APA 7th Edition

Research Paper Example MLA

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is frequently employed in humanities disciplines, including literature, languages, and cultural studies. An MLA research paper might explore literature analysis, linguistic studies, or historical research within the humanities. 

Here is an example:

Found Voices: Carl Sagan

Research Paper Example Chicago

Chicago style is utilized in various fields like history, arts, and social sciences. Research papers in Chicago style could delve into historical events, artistic analyses, or social science inquiries. 

Here is a research paper formatted in Chicago style:

Chicago Research Paper Sample

Research Paper Example Harvard

Harvard style is widely used in business, management, and some social sciences. Research papers in Harvard style might address business strategies, case studies, or social policies.

View this sample Harvard style paper here:

Harvard Research Paper Sample

Examples for Different Research Paper Parts

A research paper has different parts. Each part is important for the overall success of the paper. Chapters in a research paper must be written correctly, using a certain format and structure.

The following are examples of how different sections of the research paper can be written.

Research Proposal

The research proposal acts as a detailed plan or roadmap for your study, outlining the focus of your research and its significance. It's essential as it not only guides your research but also persuades others about the value of your study.

Example of Research Proposal

An abstract serves as a concise overview of your entire research paper. It provides a quick insight into the main elements of your study. It summarizes your research's purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions in a brief format.

Research Paper Example Abstract

Literature Review 

A literature review summarizes the existing research on your study's topic, showcasing what has already been explored. This section adds credibility to your own research by analyzing and summarizing prior studies related to your topic.

Literature Review Research Paper Example

Methodology

The methodology section functions as a detailed explanation of how you conducted your research. This part covers the tools, techniques, and steps used to collect and analyze data for your study.

Methods Section of Research Paper Example

How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper

The conclusion summarizes your findings, their significance and the impact of your research. This section outlines the key takeaways and the broader implications of your study's results.

Research Paper Conclusion Example

Research Paper Examples for Different Fields

Research papers can be about any subject that needs a detailed study. The following examples show research papers for different subjects.

History Research Paper Sample

Preparing a history research paper involves investigating and presenting information about past events. This may include exploring perspectives, analyzing sources, and constructing a narrative that explains the significance of historical events.

View this history research paper sample:

Many Faces of Generalissimo Fransisco Franco

Sociology Research Paper Sample

In sociology research, statistics and data are harnessed to explore societal issues within a particular region or group. These findings are thoroughly analyzed to gain an understanding of the structure and dynamics present within these communities. 

Here is a sample:

A Descriptive Statistical Analysis within the State of Virginia

Science Fair Research Paper Sample

A science research paper involves explaining a scientific experiment or project. It includes outlining the purpose, procedures, observations, and results of the experiment in a clear, logical manner.

Here are some examples:

Science Fair Paper Format

What Do I Need To Do For The Science Fair?

Psychology Research Paper Sample

Writing a psychology research paper involves studying human behavior and mental processes. This process includes conducting experiments, gathering data, and analyzing results to understand the human mind, emotions, and behavior.

Here is an example psychology paper:

The Effects of Food Deprivation on Concentration and Perseverance

Art History Research Paper Sample

Studying art history includes examining artworks, understanding their historical context, and learning about the artists. This helps analyze and interpret how art has evolved over various periods and regions.

Check out this sample paper analyzing European art and impacts:

European Art History: A Primer

Research Paper Example Outline

Before you plan on writing a well-researched paper, make a rough draft. An outline can be a great help when it comes to organizing vast amounts of research material for your paper.

Here is an outline of a research paper example:

Here is a downloadable sample of a standard research paper outline:

Research Paper Outline

Want to create the perfect outline for your paper? Check out this in-depth guide on creating a research paper outline for a structured paper!

Good Research Paper Examples for Students

Here are some more samples of research paper for students to learn from:

Fiscal Research Center - Action Plan

Qualitative Research Paper Example

Research Paper Example Introduction

How to Write a Research Paper Example

Research Paper Example for High School

Now that you have explored the research paper examples, you can start working on your research project. Hopefully, these examples will help you understand the writing process for a research paper.

If you're facing challenges with your writing requirements, you can hire our essay writing help online.

Our team is experienced in delivering perfectly formatted, 100% original research papers. So, whether you need help with a part of research or an entire paper, our experts are here to deliver.

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How long does it take to write a Research Paper: 5 or 30 Pages

  • by Joseph Kenas
  • February 24, 2023
  • Writing Tips

time to write a Research Paper

You may be wondering how long it might take one to come up with a research paper and well, research papers do not have a definite time required to be written as they vary from writer to writer depending on speed and ability.

It should be understood that the time taken to write a research paper is reliant on a number of issues such as the technicality of the research paper, the extent of the research and the timeframe given for the research paper among other factors.

How long does it take to write a Research Paper?

time you need

The time taken to write a research paper depends on the skills, length of the paper, the technicality of the topic plus the speed of the writer and therefore it is not easy to get the exact time that a research paper might take apart from having estimates.

It might take you two hours or less as an average writer for a 500-600-word research paper. For instance:

  • A 1500-word paper might take you four hours or so depending on the complexity of the work and your writing skills while a 5-page research paper of about 1500-1650 words might take you four to five hours for a slow writer while a fast writer might require three hours for the same.
  • A 10-page research paper which mostly includes class assignments might take you five to ten hours as a fast writer since it ranges from between 2500-2750 words while a slow writer might take twelve hours or even a day.
  • A 20-page research paper may take 4-5 days for a slow writer while the same can take 2 days for a fast writer depending on the organization, speed and research skills of the writer.
  • A 40-page research paper might take a fast writer three to three and half days while a slow writer might take six to eight days.

What Factors determine the time you use to write a Paper?

Technicality of the research paper.

The time taken on a research paper depends on the technicality and complexity of the content.

Technical topics from fields such as biology, physics, nursing and geography will most likely take most of your time to write as compared to less technical areas like sociology and art topics.

doing research

The Extent of the Research

A research paper that is in-depth and requires critical analysis normally requires a lot of time due to thorough research.

This means that the more complex the subject the greater extent the research will be. Research papers on topics science will definitely fall into this category.

The Timeframe given for the Research Paper

Your personal schedule, the deadline of the research paper and timeframe for your research paper will determine the time you will take to complete it.

The more time at your disposal means the longer you will take to complete the paper and therefore you should strive to complete the paper as fast as possible in order to have more time to polish it and make it better.

How to Speed up your Writing

One of the key ingredients in trying to write a research paper using the shortest time possible is speed.

It will come as no surprise that the faster you organize yourself in terms of looking for relevant information for your paper, piecing information together in proper flow and writing it, the shorter the time your paper will take.

To write Faster strive to type faster

You surely need to Train yourself to type faster so as to increase your writing pace. This can be achieved through thorough typing exercises and habitual playing of typing games that will boost muscle memory in the fingers.

speed chart

It is also important to learn how to type without looking at the keyboard in case you are that type that does so and also try to avoid the hunt and peck technique which entails not using all the ten fingers in typing.

This will train you to become a faster, efficient and stronger typist.

You can also turn to websites and sites that can guide you on how fast or slow your typing is and also provide you with tips, lessons and exercises on how to increase your typing speed in terms of words per minute since typing faster in essence means writing faster.

Keep on writing without worrying about mistakes 

In order to write fast, one of the cardinal rules is to keep on writing without editing. This is because if you edit as you write, your brain will be distracted from the actual task of writing and this will ultimately slow you down.

In as much as you might see obvious mistakes as you write, try and edit the work after you are done with the draft on a page or so.

Optimize the Flow of your Work

If you want to write fast, another quick way is to be in an environment that is set up to facilitate quick writing. This implies that you should not have any distractions, have a good sitting posture and arm yourself with an outline and notes on the topic you are writing about.

It does not mean that in order to optimize the flow of your work you create a flawless environment; it implies that you make your writing environment as conducive as possible. 

Avoid Distractions

In the event that you are writing using your phone, it is advisable that you have it on a do not disturb mode in order to bar any notification which may impede your fast writing.

In case you are on a computer, browser extensions such as Leechblock and Pause can help you to deal with the temptation of peeping at distracting websites, an act that will slow down your concentration and speed.

Imagine telling yourself that you will glance at twitter or Facebook for seconds…never will that happen, just block them out and write.

Proper Sitting Posture

sitting posture

If you want to write faster, a proper sitting posture will be essential because it means being in a comfortable position on your desk as you write.

You will also need to sit up straight with your forearms resting comfortably on your desk. This reduces the strain that is put on your arms, hands, back and neck while typing.

At times you might find yourself writing while in a public place, while traveling on public transit or even in a park that might force you to sit and work in a not so comfortable position, try your best to get close to the best kind of posture needed.  

Reduce Distractions 

Having notes and an outline can prove handy when you want to cut down on the chances of distraction during writing. You can decide to have them on printed paper or rather open a tab on whatever gadget you are using.

Ultimately they will go a long way in helping you to save time as you write instead of wasting your time looking for them when need arises.

research paper 5 pages

Joseph is a freelance journalist and a part-time writer with a particular interest in the gig economy. He writes about schooling, college life, and changing trends in education. When not writing, Joseph is hiking or playing chess.

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Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous

FILE - A security person moves journalists away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a World Health Organization team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan in China's Hubei province on Feb. 3, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - A security person moves journalists away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a World Health Organization team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan in China’s Hubei province on Feb. 3, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - A volunteer looks out near a Chinese national flag during a farewell ceremony for the last group of medical workers who came from outside Wuhan to help the city during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on April 15, 2020. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - A farewell ceremony is held for the last group of medical workers who came from outside Wuhan to help the city during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on April 15, 2020. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - A policeman moves journalists back from a farewell event held for the last group of medical workers who came from outside Wuhan to help the city during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on April 15, 2020. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - A security guard waves for journalists to clear the road after a convoy carrying the World Health Organization team entered the Huanan Seafood Market on the third day of a field visit in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on Jan. 31, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - A photographer on a tall ladder tries to take photos of the World Health Organization convoy after it entered the Huanan Seafood Market on the third day of field visit in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on Jan. 31, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - Marion Koopmans, right, and Peter Ben Embarek, center, of the World Health Organization team say farewell to their Chinese counterpart Liang Wannian, left, after a WHO-China Joint Study Press Conference at the end of the WHO mission in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 9, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - Peter Ben Embarek of a World Health Organization team attends a joint press conference at the end of their mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on Feb. 9, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

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BEIJING (AP) — The hunt for the origins of COVID-19 has gone dark in China, the victim of political infighting after a series of stalled and thwarted attempts to find the source of the virus that killed millions and paralyzed the world for months.

The Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus from the first weeks of the outbreak, despite statements supporting open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation found. That pattern continues to this day, with labs closed, collaborations shattered, foreign scientists forced out and Chinese researchers barred from leaving the country.

The investigation drew on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews that showed the freeze began far earlier than previously known and involved political and scientific infighting in China as much as international finger-pointing.

FILE - A policeman moves journalists back from a farewell event held for the last group of medical workers who came from outside Wuhan to help the city during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on April 15, 2020. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

As early as Jan. 6, 2020, health officials in Beijing closed the lab of a Chinese scientist who sequenced the virus and barred researchers from working with him.

Scientists warn the willful blindness over coronavirus’ origins leaves the world vulnerable to another outbreak, potentially undermining pandemic treaty talks coordinated by the World Health Organization set to culminate in May.

At the heart of the question is whether the virus jumped from an animal or came from a laboratory accident. A U.S. intelligence analysis says there is insufficient evidence to prove either theory, but the debate has further tainted relations between the U.S. and China.

FILE - A photographer on a tall ladder tries to take photos of the World Health Organization convoy after it entered the Huanan Seafood Market on the third day of field visit in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Jan. 31, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Unlike in the U.S., there is virtually no public debate in China about whether the virus came from nature or from a lab leak. In fact, there is little public discussion at all about the source of the disease, first detected in the central city of Wuhan.

Crucial initial efforts were hampered by bureaucrats in Wuhan trying to avoid blame who misled the central government; the central government, which muzzled Chinese scientists and subjected visiting WHO officials to stage-managed tours; and the U.N. health agency itself, which may have compromised early opportunities to gather critical information in hopes that by placating China, scientists could gain more access, according to internal materials obtained by AP.

Gymnast Evita Griskenas is shown during a press conference at the Team USA Media Summit Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)

In a faxed statement, China’s Foreign Ministry defended China’s handling of research into the origins, saying the country is open and transparent , shared data and research, and “made the greatest contribution to global origins research.” The National Health Commission, China’s top medical authority, said the country “invested huge manpower, material and financial resources” and “has not stopped looking for the origins of the coronavirus.”

It could have played out differently, as shown by the outbreak of SARS , a genetic relative of COVID-19, nearly 20 years ago. China initially hid infections then, but WHO complained swiftly and publicly. Ultimately, Beijing fired officials and made reforms. The U.N. agency soon found SARS likely jumped to humans from civet cats in southern China and international scientists later collaborated with their Chinese counterparts to pin down bats as SARS’ natural reservoir.

But different leaders of both China and WHO, China’s quest for control of its researchers, and global tensions have all led to silence when it comes to searching for COVID-19’s origins. Governments in Asia are pressuring scientists not to look for the virus for fear it could be traced inside their borders.

Even without those complications, experts say identifying how outbreaks begin is incredibly challenging and that it’s rare to know with certainty how some viruses begin spreading.

“It’s disturbing how quickly the search for the origins of (COVID-19) escalated into politics,” said Mark Woolhouse, a University of Edinburgh outbreak expert. “Now this question may never be definitively answered.”

FILE - A security person moves journalists away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a World Health Organization team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan in China's Hubei province on Feb. 3, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

A security person moves journalists away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a World Health Organization team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan in China’s Hubei province on Feb. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

CLOUDS OF SECRECY

Secrecy clouds the beginning of the outbreak. Even the date when Chinese authorities first started searching for the origins is unclear.

The first publicly known search for the virus took place on Dec. 31, 2019, when Chinese Center for Disease Control scientists visited the Wuhan market where many early COVID-19 cases surfaced.

However, WHO officials heard of an earlier inspection of the market on Dec. 25, 2019, according to a recording of a confidential WHO meeting provided to AP by an attendee. Such a probe has never been mentioned publicly by either Chinese authorities or WHO.

In the recording, WHO’s top animal virus expert, Peter Ben Embarek, mentioned the earlier date, describing it as “an interesting detail.” He told colleagues that officials were “looking at what was on sale in the market, whether all the vendors have licenses (and) if there was any illegal (wildlife) trade happening in the market.”

A colleague asked Ben Embarek, who is no longer with WHO, if that seemed unusual. He responded that “it was not routine,” and that the Chinese “must have had some reason” to investigate the market. “We’ll try to figure out what happened and why they did that.”

Ben Embarek declined to comment. Another WHO staffer at the Geneva meeting in late January 2020 confirmed Ben Embarek’s comments.

The Associated Press could not confirm the search independently. It remains a mystery if it took place, what inspectors discovered, or whether they sampled live animals that might point to how COVID-19 emerged.

FILE - Peter Ben Embarek of a World Health Organization team attends a joint press conference at the end of their mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Feb. 9, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Peter Ben Embarek of a World Health Organization team attends a joint press conference at the end of their mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in China’s Hubei on Feb. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

A Dec. 25, 2019, inspection would have come when Wuhan authorities were aware of the mysterious disease. The day before, a local doctor sent a sample from an ill market vendor to get sequenced that turned out to contain COVID-19. Chatter about the unknown pneumonia was spreading in Wuhan’s medical circles, according to one doctor and a relative of another who declined to be identified, fearing repercussions.

A scientist in China when the outbreak occurred said they heard of a Dec. 25 inspection from collaborating virologists in the country. They declined to be named out of fear of retribution.

WHO said in an email that it was “not aware” of the Dec. 25 investigation. It is not included in the U.N. health agency’s official COVID-19 timeline .

When China CDC researchers from Beijing arrived on Jan. 1 to collect samples at the market, it had been ordered shut and was already being disinfected, destroying critical information about the virus. Gao Fu, then head of the China CDC, mentioned it to an American collaborator.

“His complaint when I met him was that all the animals were gone,” said Columbia University epidemiologist Ian Lipkin.

FILE - Marion Koopmans, right, and Peter Ben Embarek, center, of the World Health Organization team say farewell to their Chinese counterpart Liang Wannian, left, after a WHO-China Joint Study Press Conference at the end of the WHO mission in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 9, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Marion Koopmans, right, and Peter Ben Embarek, center, of the World Health Organization team say farewell to their Chinese counterpart Liang Wannian, left, after a WHO-China Joint Study Press Conference at the end of the WHO mission in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Robert Garry, who studies viruses at Tulane University, said a Dec. 25 probe would be “hugely significant,” given what is known about the virus and its spread.

“Being able to swab it directly from the animal itself would be pretty convincing and nobody would be arguing” about the origins of COVID-19, he said.

But perhaps local officials simply feared for their jobs, with memories of firings after the 2003 SARS outbreak still vivid, said Ray Yip, the founding head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outpost in China.

“They were trying to save their skin, hide the evidence,” Yip said.

The Wuhan government did not respond to a faxed request for comment.

Another early victim was Zhang Yongzhen, the first scientist to publish a sequence of the virus . A day after he wrote a memo urging health authorities to action, China’s top health official ordered Zhang’s lab closed.

“They used their official power against me and our colleagues,” Zhang wrote in an email provided to AP by Edward Holmes, an Australian virologist.

On Jan. 20, 2020, a WHO delegation arrived in Wuhan for a two-day mission. China did not approve a visit to the market, but they stopped by a China CDC lab to examine infection prevention and control procedures, according to an internal WHO travel report. WHO’s then-China representative, Dr. Gauden Galea, told colleagues in a private meeting that inquiries about COVID-19’s origins went unanswered.

By then, many Chinese were angry at their government . Among Chinese doctors and scientists, the sense grew that Beijing was hunting for someone to blame.

“There are a few cadres who have performed poorly,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said in unusually harsh comments in February . “Some dare not take responsibility, wait timidly for orders from above, and don’t move without being pushed.”

The government opened investigations into top health officials, according to two former and current China CDC staff and three others familiar with the matter. Health officials were encouraged to report colleagues who mishandled the outbreak to Communist Party disciplinary bodies, according to two of the people.

Some people both inside and outside China speculated about a laboratory leak. Those suspicious included right-wing American politicians , but also researchers close to WHO.

The focus turned to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a high-level lab that experimented with some of the world’s most dangerous viruses.

In early February 2020, some of the West’s leading scientists, headed by Dr. Jeremy Farrar, then at Britain’s Wellcome Trust, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, banded together to assess the origins of the virus in calls, a Slack channel and emails.

They drafted a paper suggesting a natural evolution, but even among themselves, they could not agree on the likeliest scenario. Some were alarmed by features they thought might indicate tinkering.

“There have (been) suggestions that the virus escaped from the Wuhan lab,” Holmes, the Australian virologist, who believed the virus originated in nature, wrote in a Feb. 7, 2020, email. “I do a lot of work in China, and I can (assure) you that a lot of people there believe they are being lied to.”

American scientists close to researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology warned counterparts there to prepare.

James LeDuc, head of a Texas lab, emailed his Wuhan colleague on Feb. 9, 2020, saying he’d already been approached by U.S. officials. “Clearly addressing this will be essential, with any kind of documentation you might have,” he wrote.

FILE - A security guard waves for journalists to clear the road after a convoy carrying the World Health Organization team entered the Huanan Seafood Market on the third day of a field visit in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Jan. 31, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

The Chinese government was conducting its own secret investigation into the Wuhan Institute. Gao, the then-head of the China CDC, and another Chinese health expert revealed its existence in interviews months and years later . Both said the investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, which Holmes, the Australian virologist, also heard from another contact in China. But Gao said even he hadn’t seen further details , and some experts suspect they may never be released.

WHO started negotiations with China for a further visit with the virus origins in mind, but it was China’s Foreign Ministry that decided the terms.

Scientists were sidelined and politicians took control. China refused a visa for Ben Embarek, then WHO’s top animal virus expert. The itinerary dropped nearly all items linked to an origins search, according to draft agendas for the trip obtained by the AP. And Gao, the then-head of the China CDC who is also a respected scientist tasked with investigating the origins, was left off the schedule.

Instead, Liang Wannian, a politician in the Communist Party hierarchy, took charge of the international delegation. Liang is an epidemiologist close to top Chinese officials and China’s Foreign Ministry who is widely seen as pushing the party line, not science-backed policies , according to nine people familiar with the situation who declined to be identified to speak on a sensitive subject.

Liang ruled in favor of shutting the Wuhan market at the beginning of the outbreak, according to a Chinese media interview with a top China CDC official that was later deleted . Significantly, it was Liang who promoted an implausible theory that the virus came from contaminated frozen food imported into China. Liang did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Most of the WHO delegation was not allowed to go to Wuhan, which was under lockdown. The few who did learned little. They again had no access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology or the wildlife market and obtained only scant details about China CDC efforts to trace the coronavirus there.

On the train, Liang lobbied the visiting WHO scientists to praise China’s health response in their public report. Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saw it as the “best way to meet China’s need for a strong assessment of its response.”

The new section was so flattering that colleagues emailed Aylward to suggest he “dial it back a bit.”

“It is remarkable how much knowledge about a new virus has been gained in such a short time,” read the final report, which was reviewed by China’s top health official before it went to Tedros.

As criticism of China grew, the Chinese government deflected blame. Instead of firing health officials, they declared their virus response a success and closed investigations into the officials with few job losses.

“There were no real reforms, because doing reforms means admitting fault,” said a public health expert in contact with Chinese health officials who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

In late February 2020, the internationally respected doctor Zhong Nanshan appeared at a news conference and said that “the epidemic first appeared in China, but it did not necessarily originate in China.”

FILE - A policeman moves journalists back from a farewell event held for the last group of medical workers who came from outside Wuhan to help the city during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on April 15, 2020. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

A policeman moves journalists back from a farewell event held for the last group of medical workers who came from outside Wuhan to help the city during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on April 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Days later, Chinese leader Xi ordered new controls on virus research . A leaked directive from China’s Publicity Department ordered media not to report on the virus origins without permission , and a public WeChat account reposted an essay claiming the U.S. military created COVID-19 at a Fort Detrick lab and spread it to China during a 2019 athletic competition in Wuhan. Days later, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson repeated the accusation .

The false claims enraged U.S. President Donald Trump, who began publicly blaming China for the outbreak, calling COVID-19 “the China virus” and the “kung-flu.”

Chinese officials told WHO that blood tests on lab workers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were negative, suggesting COVID-19 wasn’t the result of a lab accident there. But when WHO pressed for an independent audit, Chinese officials balked and demanded WHO investigate the U.S. and other countries as well.

By blaming the U.S., Beijing diverted blame. It was effective in China , where many Chinese were upset by racially charged criticism . But outside China, it fueled speculation of a lab leak coverup.

By the time WHO led another visit to Wuhan in January 2021, a year into the pandemic, the atmosphere was toxic.

Liang, the Chinese health official in charge of two earlier WHO visits, continued to promote the questionable theory that the virus was shipped into China on frozen food. He suppressed information suggesting it could have come from animals at the Wuhan market, organizing market workers to tell WHO experts no live wildlife was sold and cutting recent photos of wildlife at the market from the final report. There was heavy political scrutiny, with numerous Chinese officials who weren’t scientists or health officers present at meetings.

Despite a lack of direct access, the WHO team concluded that a lab leak was “extremely unlikely.” So it was infuriating to Chinese officials when WHO chief Tedros said it was “premature” to rule out the lab leak theory, saying such lab accidents were “common,” and pressed China to be more transparent.

China told WHO any future missions to find COVID-19 origins should be elsewhere, according to a letter obtained by AP. Since then, global cooperation on the issue has ground to a halt; an independent group convened by WHO to investigate the origins of COVID-19 in 2021 has been stymied by the lack of cooperation from China and other issues.

Chinese scientists are still under heavy pressure, according to 10 researchers and health officials. Researchers who published papers on the coronavirus ran into trouble with Chinese authorities. Others were barred from travel abroad for conferences and WHO meetings. Gao, the then-director of the China CDC, was investigated after U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a review of COVID-19 data, and again after giving interviews on the virus origins.

New evidence is treated with suspicion. In March 2023, scientists announced that genetic material collected from the market showed raccoon dog DNA mixed with COVID-19 in early 2020, data that WHO said should have been publicly shared years before. The findings were posted, then removed by Chinese researchers with little explanation.

The head of the China CDC Institute of Viral Disease was forced to retire over the release of the market data, according to a former China CDC official who declined to be named to speak on a sensitive topic.

“It has to do with the origins, so they’re still worried,” the former official said. “If you try and get to the bottom of it, what if it turns out to be from China?”

Other scientists note that any animal from which the virus may have originally jumped has long since disappeared.

“There was a chance for China to cooperate with WHO and do some animal sampling studies that might have answered the question,” said Tulane University’s Garry. “The trail to find the source has now gone cold.”

Cheng reported from Geneva.

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Title: phi-3 technical report: a highly capable language model locally on your phone.

Abstract: We introduce phi-3-mini, a 3.8 billion parameter language model trained on 3.3 trillion tokens, whose overall performance, as measured by both academic benchmarks and internal testing, rivals that of models such as Mixtral 8x7B and GPT-3.5 (e.g., phi-3-mini achieves 69% on MMLU and 8.38 on MT-bench), despite being small enough to be deployed on a phone. The innovation lies entirely in our dataset for training, a scaled-up version of the one used for phi-2, composed of heavily filtered web data and synthetic data. The model is also further aligned for robustness, safety, and chat format. We also provide some initial parameter-scaling results with a 7B and 14B models trained for 4.8T tokens, called phi-3-small and phi-3-medium, both significantly more capable than phi-3-mini (e.g., respectively 75% and 78% on MMLU, and 8.7 and 8.9 on MT-bench).

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This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

Published on 24.4.2024 in Vol 26 (2024)

The Impact of Video-Based Microinterventions on Attitudes Toward Mental Health and Help Seeking in Youth: Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial

Authors of this article:

Author Orcid Image

Original Paper

  • Diana Lemmer 1, 2 , MSc   ; 
  • Markus Moessner 1 , PD, PhD   ; 
  • Nicolas Arnaud 3 , PhD   ; 
  • Harald Baumeister 4 , Prof Dr   ; 
  • Agnes Mutter 4 , MSc   ; 
  • Sarah-Lena Klemm 5 , BSc   ; 
  • Elisa König 6 , Dipl-Psych   ; 
  • Paul Plener 6, 7 , Prof Dr Med   ; 
  • Christine Rummel-Kluge 5 , Prof Dr Med   ; 
  • Rainer Thomasius 3 , Prof Dr Med   ; 
  • Michael Kaess 8, 9 , Prof Dr Med   ; 
  • Stephanie Bauer 1, 2, 10 , Prof Dr  

1 Center for Psychotherapy Research, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

2 Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

3 German Centre for Addiction Research in Childhood and Adolescence, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

4 Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

5 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany

6 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany

7 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

8 University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

9 Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

10 German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Partner site Mannheim/Heidelberg/Ulm, Heidelberg, Germany

Corresponding Author:

Stephanie Bauer, Prof Dr

Center for Psychotherapy Research

Center for Psychosocial Medicine

University Hospital Heidelberg

Bergheimer Str. 54

Heidelberg, 69115

Phone: 49 6221 56 7345

Fax:49 6221 56 7350

Email: [email protected]

Background: Mental health (MH) problems in youth are prevalent, burdening, and frequently persistent. Despite the existence of effective treatment, the uptake of professional help is low, particularly due to attitudinal barriers.

Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness and acceptability of 2 video-based microinterventions aimed at reducing barriers to MH treatment and increasing the likelihood of seeking professional help in young people.

Methods: This study was entirely web based and open access. The interventions addressed 5 MH problems: generalized anxiety disorder, depression, bulimia, nonsuicidal self-injury, and problematic alcohol use. Intervention 1 aimed to destigmatize and improve MH literacy, whereas intervention 2 aimed to induce positive outcome expectancies regarding professional help seeking. Of the 2435 participants who commenced the study, a final sample of 1394 (57.25%) participants aged 14 to 29 years with complete data and sufficient durations of stay on the video pages were randomized in a fully automated manner to 1 of the 5 MH problems and 1 of 3 conditions (control, intervention 1, and intervention 2) in a permuted block design. After the presentation of a video vignette, no further videos were shown to the control group, whereas a second, short intervention video was presented to the intervention 1 and 2 groups. Intervention effects on self-reported potential professional help seeking (primary outcome), stigma, and attitudes toward help seeking were examined using analyses of covariance across and within the 5 MH problems. Furthermore, we assessed video acceptability.

Results: No significant group effects on potential professional help seeking were found in the total sample ( F 2,1385 =0.99; P =.37). However, the groups differed significantly with regard to stigma outcomes and the likelihood of seeking informal help ( F 2,1385 =3.75; P =.02). Furthermore, separate analyses indicated substantial differences in intervention effects among the 5 MH problems.

Conclusions: Interventions to promote help seeking for MH problems may require disorder-specific approaches. The study results can inform future research and public health campaigns addressing adolescents and young adults.

Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00023110; https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00023110

Introduction

Mental health (MH) problems in youth are prevalent and pose severe health-related, social, and financial burdens on individuals [ 1 - 5 ] and societies [ 6 , 7 ]. Approximately half of all mental disorders first manifest before the age of 18 years [ 8 ], and MH problems in youth often persist and aggravate over the life span [ 9 - 14 ]. Therefore, the need for effective prevention and intervention programs targeting young people is an important public health goal. However, while effective MH services exist, most youth with MH problems do not seek professional help. Low uptake has been reported for various conventional [ 15 - 18 ] as well as digital MH services [ 19 - 22 ]. The burden of mental illness can only be alleviated at the population level if a substantial proportion of the population uses the available services [ 23 , 24 ]. Otherwise, the public health impact of MH services remains limited. Thus, increasing the reach of MH services (ie, fostering the uptake and use of professional help) is vital for the improvement of youth MH at the population level.

To facilitate service use, specific barriers to help seeking need to be addressed. Previous research has indicated that attitudinal factors pose larger impediments to help seeking than structural factors (eg, treatment costs and inconvenient scheduling) [ 25 , 26 ]. Specifically, self-reliance, a low perceived need for help [ 25 - 27 ], low treatment expectations [ 28 ], stigma [ 26 , 27 , 29 , 30 ], and poor MH literacy [ 27 , 31 , 32 ] have been identified as major contributors to the lack of professional help seeking.

Different approaches to facilitate help seeking and promote positive attitudes toward MH issues and help seeking in youth have been evaluated in previous research, including face-to-face and digital interventions. In a systematic mapping review, 84% (106/126) of the studies focused on school-based interventions, whereas only 10 (8%) articles covered internet-based approaches to improve MH literacy, MH-related attitudes, stigma, and help-seeking behavior in adolescents [ 33 ]. The internet-based interventions included both minimal, single-session interventions [ 34 , 35 ] and multisession approaches intended to be used over several weeks [ 36 , 37 ], with different outcome measures. A total of 4 studies focused on MH more broadly, whereas 6 studies investigated interventions for specific MH problems (depression: n=5; eating disorders: n=1). Keeping the limited number of studies in this area of research in mind, the results nevertheless point to the potential of internet-based interventions with respect to reduced stigma (2 studies), enhanced help-seeking intentions (2 studies), and improved help-seeking behaviors (1 study).

Clearly, there is a need for more research in this area, particularly with respect to digital brief and microinterventions (ie, highly focused in-the-moment interventions with a narrower scope and time frame than standard interventions [ 38 ]), which allow for a flexible, easily accessible, scalable, and efficient delivery of MH content. Initial research on such brief and microinterventions with psychoeducational and destigmatizing components has shown promising results. For instance, a brief acceptance-facilitating intervention that included a text-based personalized psychoeducation component had a small but significant effect on the intention to use MH services in German university students [ 39 ]. More recently, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in young adults, university students, and adolescents with short video interventions demonstrated effects with regard to public stigma toward schizophrenia [ 40 , 41 ] and depression [ 42 , 43 ], as well as help-seeking intentions [ 42 ] and attitudes [ 43 ]. Furthermore, an Australian pilot study with international students found that a brief, web-based MH literacy intervention alleviated MH stigma. However, it had no significant effect on help-seeking intentions or MH literacy [ 44 ].

Another component of previous help seeking–facilitating strategies has been storytelling. A pilot study on a video-based intervention indicated that storytelling was well accepted and perceived as engaging [ 45 ]. In addition, an RCT evaluated internet-based storytelling programs with varying interactivity and stigma-related content. Significant reductions in MH stigma and microaggression toward individuals with MH problems were observed [ 46 ].

Concerning the theoretical foundation of interventions, few studies have investigated help seeking–promoting strategies that were explicitly based on the premises of health behavior models. Logsdon et al [ 47 ] evaluated an internet-based depression intervention for adolescent mothers, which was conceptualized according to the theory of planned behavior. The intervention led to significant improvements in help-seeking attitudes, intentions, and behavior. Another well-established and yet more recent health behavior model, which incorporates elements of previously developed approaches, is the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) [ 48 ]. It encompasses a stage theoretical perspective on health behavior and includes a motivational, intention-forming phase as well as a volitional phase, where planning and behavior maintenance occur. In both the HAPA model and the updated version of the theory of planned behavior, namely, the reasoned action approach, outcome expectancies (or instrumental attitudes) play a crucial role in the formation of intentions, and intentions significantly predict actual behavior [ 49 , 50 ]. The results of previous research on a trauma recovery internet intervention support the use of the HAPA model for the prediction of e-MH engagement. Specifically, outcome expectations significantly predicted the intention to use the intervention (β=.36) [ 51 ]. Skepticism about treatment effectiveness has further been identified as a predictor for not using MH services in another study with university students [ 28 ].

Building on the findings of previous research, this study investigates the short-term effectiveness of 2 brief animated video interventions to promote potential professional help seeking in a general sample of adolescents and young adults aged 14 to 29 years using a web-based RCT approach. Both interventions aimed to improve participants’ willingness to seek professional help (ie, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, and counseling services) for 5 MH problems (generalized anxiety disorder [GAD], depression, bulimia, nonsuicidal self-injury [NSSI], and problematic alcohol use). The inclusion of various MH problems allowed for the investigation of potential differential effects. While one intervention followed a destigmatizing and psychoeducational approach, the other intervention aimed to induce positive outcome expectancies in accordance with the HAPA model through storytelling. The interventions were both compared to each other and to a nonintervention control group (CG) where participants were presented with a stand-alone video vignette without an additional intervention video. This approach was chosen due to both contextual (ie, vignette characters were described as experiencing difficulties in several life domains, and thus, additional control videos referring to the vignettes were unfeasible) and practical (ie, the creation of 10 additional videos was not necessary) considerations.

This study had the following objectives:

  • To investigate the short-term effectiveness of the 2 interventions in the promotion of potential MH help seeking (professional and informal), whereby self-reported professional help seeking was defined as the primary outcome.
  • To investigate the interventions’ effectiveness in the improvement of self-reported attitudes toward MH problems and MH service use (stigmatization and attitudes toward seeking MH services).
  • To evaluate the interventions’ self-reported acceptability.

Within the framework of this study, the videos were evaluated as stand-alone interventions. They were not developed to replace existing interventions. However, in case of favorable outcomes, they have the potential to complement existing health care services. Results and procedures are reported in accordance with the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys [ 52 ] and the CONSORT-EHEALTH (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials of Electronic and Mobile Health Applications and Online Telehealth) [ 53 ]. The study was preregistered at the German Clinical Trials Register on September 23, 2020 (DRKS00023110).

Study Design

This anonymous, fully automated, web-based, parallel-group exploratory RCT compared the effects of intervention 1 (psychoeducational intervention) and intervention 2 (positive consequences of help seeking) against those of the CG (no further videos after the case vignette) with regard to potential help seeking, attitudes toward help seeking, and stigma. The design comprised 15 conditions in total (5 MH problems × 3 interventional conditions). Randomization was stratified by gender and implemented using a permuted block design (block sizes: 15 and 30). Due to anonymous participation and automated randomization, researchers were unable to assign specific conditions to individuals. However, 2 of the authors were able to view the randomization list. The video material was aligned with the participants’ gender to increase identification with the character (ie, participants who identified as woman, female, or nonbinary viewed videos with a female protagonist [Paula], and participants identifying as man or male viewed videos with a male protagonist [Paul]). The study components and conditions as well as the study procedure are shown in Figure 1 .

research paper 5 pages

Recruitment and Sample

Recruitment started in October 2020 and ended in May 2022. Youth aged between 14 and 29 years with sufficient German language skills were eligible for participation. The age of 14 years is widely accepted as appropriate to provide informed consent for medical decisions and participation in studies [ 54 , 55 ]. The upper age limit of 29 years aligns with the definition of emerging adulthood, a separate life stage between adolescence and adulthood [ 56 , 57 ]. Participants were primarily recruited through the web on social media platforms and via mailing lists, web-based marketplaces, and forums for adolescents and young adults (eg, accounts and emails of youth clubs and student associations). As an incentive to complete the study, participants were offered to take part in an optional gift card lottery at the end of the study (100 gift cards of €20 [US $21.58]). We asked participants for a valid email address if they were interested in the lottery and stored email addresses separately from other study data and user IDs to ensure anonymous participation.

We recorded page change time stamps. Participants whose time stamp data indicated that the video or the videos they were assigned to had not been fully viewed (ie, duration of stay<length of the respective videos) were excluded from statistical analyses. Furthermore, only data from participants who completed all questionnaires were included in the final analysis (n=1394; completion rate: 1394/2435, 57.25%). We also excluded 5 cases with duplicate user IDs, which occurred due to a technical error and indicated repeated participation ( Figure 1 ). HTTP cookies were used to assign individual user IDs to participants. For each session, new cookies were generated and used. Therefore, duplicate participation was possible after the completion of each study session and was not registered by the system. In the 5 aforementioned cases, duplicate IDs were mistakenly generated when participants tried to use the “back” button of their web browser and restarted their participation.

This study was conducted in an open access, voluntary web-based setting. A website was established to provide study information and enable participation. The ASMO software (Center for Psychotherapy Research) [ 58 ] was used to implement the RCT. A randomization list with numbers representing the conditions was generated and embedded in our ASMO database [ 58 ] before recruitment. Data were collected at the Center for Psychotherapy Research, Heidelberg. The study’s technical functionality and usability were extensively tested before recruitment by the authors and their colleagues at their respective institutions. Before their participation, the youth received detailed information about the aims, scope, procedures, data processing, and data storage of the study on the website. Participants were informed that they would be randomly assigned to 1 of 5 MH problems and 1 of 3 video versions. They were not informed about the specific health issues or the conditions’ details before participation. As the aim of the conditions was to provide information about a specific MH problem, blinding of participants after assignment to the interventions was not possible. Only participants who provided informed consent through a web-based checkbox were eligible for participation. After study completion, participants were debriefed in writing about the objectives on the study website. The debriefing form also included contact information for formal help services. Study duration amounted to approximately 30 minutes. Participants were first asked to complete sociodemographic and screening questionnaires; were then randomly assigned to 1 of the 15 experimental conditions; and, finally, were presented with the outcome questionnaires. The whole study (including informed consent and gift card lottery pages) comprised 26 pages with 1 to 12 items on each page. Each segment or measure was presented on 1 or 2 separate pages depending on its respective length. Some items were conditional for adaptive questioning (eg, when lifetime NSSI was denied, no further questions about NSSI were presented). Changes to the item responses could only be made while they had not been confirmed through a click on the “next” button, which brought participants to the next page. There was no “back” button.

Sociodemographics and Screening

All measures were self-reported. The sociodemographic form asked participants about their age, gender, migration background, education, whether they knew someone with MH problems, and participants’ previous or current MH service use (actual help seeking). Thereafter, participants’ subjective psychological distress was assessed using several screening instruments.

Anxiety symptoms were measured using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) [ 59 ]. Symptom frequency within the previous 2 weeks was indicated on a 4-point response scale. Total scores (potential range 0-21) were used for further analyses. Scores of ≥5 indicate a mild anxiety symptomatology, scores of ≥10 indicate a moderate anxiety symptomatology, and scores of ≥15 indicate a severe anxiety symptomatology [ 59 ].

The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) [ 60 ] was used for depression symptomatology assessment. Frequencies of depression symptoms within the previous 2 weeks were measured on a 4-point scale. Total scores (potential range 0-27) were calculated for further analyses. Total scores of ≥5 were interpreted as mild, scores of ≥10 were interpreted as moderate, scores of ≥15 were interpreted as moderately severe, and scores of ≥20 were interpreted as severe depression symptomatology [ 60 ].

The Weight Concerns Scale (WCS) [ 61 , 62 ] assessed weight and body shape concerns. It consists of 5 items with varying response scale types (4- to 7-point scales). The response categories of each item represent scores between 0 and 100. The mean across all items was used for further analyses. Scores of ≥57 are indicative of a high risk of eating disorders [ 61 ].

Problematic alcohol use during the previous 12 months was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for Consumption (AUDIT-C) [ 63 , 64 ]. It comprises 3 items with 5-point response scales. Sum scores range between 0 and 12. A score of 0 indicates abstinence, whereas scores between 1 and 3 are interpreted as moderate alcohol consumption. Scores of ≥4 indicate hazardous alcohol consumption [ 63 , 65 ].

A total of 4 items of the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview [ 66 ] served to assess NSSI. The first item identified whether participants had ever harmed themselves without suicidal intention. If participants reported lifetime NSSI, the 3 subsequent questions were presented. These items measured the frequency of NSSI within the last year, the age at the first occurrence of NSSI, and the age at the last occurrence of NSSI. Item responses were analyzed separately and descriptively.

Experimental Conditions and Materials

The interventional strategies were applied using short animated videos. The videos were created with the Pro+ version of the web-based animation tool Powtoon (Powtoon Limited) [ 67 ]. Each research group involved in this study prepared materials for 1 of the 5 MH problems based on their respective field of expertise. The materials were structured in a similar fashion across MH problems. The main characters, Paul and Paula, were introduced as students aged 16 years in each condition. In total, 30 videos were created: 5 MH problems × 2 main character genders × 3 video types. Participants in the control condition only viewed a vignette, whereas participants in both intervention groups each viewed 1 additional video (either for intervention 1 or intervention 2). A subset of the videos was pretested between July 2020 and September 2020 with a convenience sample of 9 youths (mean age 18.56, SD 3.74 years; range 14-24 years; 3/9, 33% male), who confirmed comprehensibility and overall acceptability.

All participants viewed a case vignette. Each vignette depicted the respective main character, who was affected by 1 of 5 MH problems (GAD, depression, bulimia, NSSI, or problematic alcohol use). The vignettes introduced the characters to the viewers in a third-person perspective and described their challenges in their everyday lives due to their MH conditions (eg, difficult emotions and cognitions, physical symptoms, and social and school-related issues). The accurate diagnostic labels were not presented in the vignettes [ 68 ]. Vignette duration ranged from 2 minutes, 19 seconds to 2 minutes, 47 seconds (mean 2 min, 29 s; SD 11 s). The bulimia vignettes were developed first. They were inspired by the vignettes by Mond et al [ 69 ] and adapted in accordance with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition diagnostic criteria, as well as further literature on the symptomatology and psychological strain of bulimia [ 70 ]. The bulimia vignettes then served as a template for the vignettes of the other 4 MH problems.

Intervention 1

Intervention 1 aimed to improve MH literacy and decrease stigmatization through the presentation of psychoeducational information to encourage help seeking. These intervention videos first presented the correct diagnostic label, prevalence rates, and core symptoms of the condition shown in the vignette. Next, 5 destigmatizing and psychoeducational facts about the respective condition were presented (eg, “Bulimia is a serious illness and not a lifestyle”), which were inspired by the work by Bulik [ 71 ]. The videos then presented treatment options, information about potential challenges in professional help seeking, and encouraging statements about the benefits of professional MH support. Intervention 1 video durations ranged from 4 to 5 minutes (mean 4 min, 27 s; SD 21 s). The information provided in these intervention videos was based on epidemiological, etiological, diagnostic, barrier-related, and interventional findings on the respective MH problems (eg, the studies by Bulik [ 71 ], Keski-Rahkonen and Mustelin [ 72 ], and Nagl et al [ 73 ] for bulimia).

Intervention 2

The second strategy (intervention 2) was based on the premises of the HAPA [ 48 ]. Intervention 2 was designed to induce positive outcome expectancies of professional help seeking through the continuation of Paul and Paula’s stories. The videos showed the main characters 1 year after their initial situation as described in the vignettes. Intervention 2 videos first demonstrated the help-seeking process of the main characters in a retrospective fashion. Encouraged by their teachers, friends, or parents, the main characters sought and received professional support from a psychotherapist. The psychotherapist’s gender matched the gender of the main character. The videos showed how the psychotherapist informed the main character about the correct diagnostic label of their condition and shortly portrayed the therapeutic process. The process included initial difficulties of the main character, such as feelings of insecurity about disclosing their experiences to their therapist, which were resolved over time, and the main characters became invested in their psychotherapy. Then, 5 positive consequences of psychotherapy were presented, such as decreased impairment and an improved quality of life. The videos ended with the notion that the main character was still facing occasional difficulties, but substantial improvements in overall well-being and satisfaction with their decision to seek help were emphasized. Intervention 2 video durations ranged from 4 minutes, 1 second to 4 minutes, 29 seconds (mean 4 min, 15 s; SD 14 s). These interventions were designed in accordance with previous literature on the therapeutic process in MH conditions, including treatment expectations, experiences, and consequences [ 74 ].

Outcome Measures

Primary outcome measure.

Our primary outcome was the potential use of professional MH services (ie, the hypothetical likelihood of seeking formal sources of help if participants experienced Paul’s or Paula’s MH problem), measured using a 12-item version of the General Help Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ) [ 75 ]. The GHSQ measures the willingness of seeking various formal and informal sources of help within the next 4 weeks for an indicated MH problem on a 7-point rating scale (1=“extremely unlikely”; 7=“extremely likely”). The maximum score among the 3 items, which measured potential help seeking with professional MH services (psychotherapists, psychiatrists, and counseling services), was used as our primary outcome. The GHSQ is the most frequently used instrument for help seeking [ 76 ].

Secondary Outcome Measures

GHSQ data on the potential use of informal sources (romantic partner, friend, parent, or other family member) and no intended help seeking (1 item) were used as secondary outcomes. For informal sources of support, the items’ maximum score was used for the analyses.

Attitudes toward help seeking were measured using the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS) [ 77 ] on a 5-point rating scale. It comprises 24 items. Its 3 dimensions—“psychological openness,” “help-seeking propensity,” and “indifference to stigma”—are represented with 8 items. Subscale scores range from 0 to 32. Higher scores indicate more positive attitudes.

The Universal Stigma Scale (USS) [ 78 ] was used for stigma measurement. It consists of 11 statements in 2 subscales (“blame/personal responsibility”: 5 items; “impairment/distrust”: 6 items). The extent of agreement with these statements is indicated on a 5-point Likert scale. Means were calculated for each of the 2 subscales. Lower scores indicate higher stigmatization.

Transportation (ie, the immersiveness of the stories presented in the videos) was measured using an adapted version of the Transportation Scale–Short Form [ 79 ]. Adjustments were made to suit the medium of the narratives (ie, video material in contrast to written stories). Our adapted version contained 5 items on a 7-point Likert scale.

Video acceptability was measured using a translated and adapted 4-item version of the acceptability and likability scale used by Gaudiano et al [ 45 ]. In total, 3 items measured overall likability, comprehensibility, and interestingness of the videos on a 5-point rating scale.

Statistical Analysis

Sociodemographic, screening, and outcome data were first analyzed descriptively. Intervention effects on potential professional help seeking (primary outcome) and secondary outcomes in the total sample (ie, across all MH problems and across participants with and without actual help seeking as reported in the screening) were analyzed via analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) at an α level of P <.05. In addition to the intervention group, the models included age as a covariate, the participants’ actual help seeking (fixed effects), and the 5 MH problems (random effects) as control variables. The results of the main ANCOVA in the total sample are presented in the Results section.

Subgroup ANCOVAs were conducted for each of the 5 MH problems separately. In this case, the respective screening scores (GAD-7, PHQ-9, WCS, number of NSSI events during the last year, and AUDIT-C) were included as additional covariates. Subgroup analyses were further conducted for cases with and without actual help seeking in the total sample and within each of the 5 MH issue groups.

In case of significant ( P <.05) and trend ANCOVA effects, pairwise group comparisons were conducted using 2-tailed t tests. All tests were 2-sided with an α level of 5%. Mean differences (MDs) adjusted for covariates are reported in the Results section.

An a priori power analysis was conducted using G*Power (Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf) [ 80 ]. Under the assumption of a medium effect size ( f =0.25), a minimum of 240 participants (80 per condition) were needed to test the expected effect within each of the 5 MH problems via ANCOVAs with a significance criterion of α=.05 and a power of 90%. Statistical analyses were performed using R (version 4.3; R Foundation for Statistical Computing) [ 81 ] and SPSS (version 28; IBM Corp) [ 82 ]. R was also used to generate the random allocation sequence. Authors involved in data analysis and interpretation were not blinded with respect to the assigned experimental conditions.

Deviations From the Protocol

In the beginning of recruitment, the upper age limit was raised from 25 years originally to 29 years due to the aforementioned findings of previous research.

Ethical Considerations

Ethics approval was obtained from Ethics Committee I of the Heidelberg Medical Faculty on July 27, 2020 (protocol S378/2020). The procedures were in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. All participants received information about the study’s aims, scope, procedures, data processing, and data storage on the study website in written form. Furthermore, all participants received contact information if they wished to clarify questions via telephone or email. Only participants who provided their informed consent through a web-based checkbox were eligible for participation. Participants were able to opt out of the study at any time by closing the study website, which they were informed of before their participation. Participants were offered to take part in an optional gift card lottery at the end of the study (100 gift cards of €20 [US $21.58] each). If they were interested in the lottery, they could enter their email address. Email addresses were stored separately from other study data and user IDs to ensure anonymity. All other data were collected and are reported anonymously. Thus, this study does not contain any individual data of identifiable participants.

Sample Characteristics

Figure 1 shows the flow of participants. Of the 2208 participants who were randomized to 1 of the 15 conditions, 472 (21.38%) were excluded because their time spent on the video pages fell below the durations of the videos they were assigned to, indicating that they did not view the entire videos. Of the remaining 1736 participants, 342 (19.7%) were excluded due to incomplete data (ie, they did not complete all the relevant scales that the study entailed [beginning with informed consent up to and including the last acceptability item]). Our final sample consisted of 1394 youths aged 14 to 29 years (mean 20.97, SD 3.67 years). Sociodemographic and screening results are shown in Table 1 .

a MH: mental health.

b GAD-7: 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale.

c PHQ-9: 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire.

d WCS: Weight Concerns Scale.

e SITBI-G: German version of the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview.

f NSSI: nonsuicidal self-injury.

g We excluded 4 cases in “Age of last NSSI – age of first NSSI” due to invalid values (age of first NSSI>age of last NSSI).

h AUDIT-C: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for Consumption.

A total of 79.56% (1109/1394) of the sample identified as woman or girl, and 44.76% (624/1394) were help seekers (ie, they used professional MH services at the time of or before data collection). On average, the youth were moderately anxious (mean GAD-7 score 8.38, SD 5.00) and depressed (mean PHQ-9 score 9.56, SD 6.07). While 22.88% (319/1394) reported abstinence in the AUDIT-C, 30.85% (430/1394) indicated hazardous alcohol consumption. A total of 19.58% (273/1394) were at high risk of developing an eating disorder according to the WCS. One-third (479/1394, 34.36%) of the sample reported a lifetime history of NSSI according to the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview, with a 12-month prevalence rate of 19.01% (265/1394).

Intervention Effects

The main results are presented in Table 2 .

a Results controlled for help seeking (fixed factor), mental health issue (random factor), and age (covariate).

b CG: control group.

c GHSQ: General Help Seeking Questionnaire.

d Higher scores represent a greater level of agreement.

e Pairwise comparisons were conducted in case of significant or trend analysis of covariance effects. Empty cells indicate that pairwise comparisons were not conducted due to the analysis of covariance results.

f USS: Universal Stigma Scale.

g Higher scores represent more positive attitudes toward mental health issues and help seeking.

h IASMHS: Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services.

i TS-SF: Transportation Scale–Short Form.

Figure 2 summarizes the results of the overall efficacy and the MH issue–specific subgroup analyses graphically. Specific results of the subgroup analyses can be found in Multimedia Appendices 1 , 2 , and 3 .

research paper 5 pages

Primary Outcome: Potential Professional Help Seeking (GHSQ)

On the 7-point scale of the GHSQ, most participants (1046/1394, 75.04%) selected a score of ≥4 (CG: 409/554, 73.8%; intervention 1: 316/410, 77.1%; intervention 2: 321/430, 74.7%). In total, 19.23% (268/1394; CG: 105/554, 19%; intervention 1: 74/410, 18%; intervention 2: 89/430, 20.7%) of participants reported a score of 7 (“extremely likely”), whereas 6.74% (94/1394; CG: 47/554, 8.5%; intervention 1: 24/410, 5.9%; intervention 2: 23/430, 5.3%) responded with a score of 1 (“extremely unlikely”). Across all MH problems, no statistically significant group main effect was found on potential professional help seeking ( F 2,1385 =0.99; P =.37; Table 2 ).

Secondary Outcomes

Potential informal help seeking (ghsq).

For informal sources of support, most participants (1190/1394, 85.37%) selected a score of ≥5 on the 7-point scale (CG: 478/554, 86.3%; intervention 1: 338/410, 82.4%; intervention 2: 374/430, 87%). For 43.69% (609/1394) of the participants, informal help seeking was “extremely likely,” with a selected score of 7 (CG: 244/554, 44%; intervention 1: 161/410, 39.3%; intervention 2: 204/430, 47.4%), whereas a minority of 1% (14/1394; CG: 4/554, 0.7%; intervention 1: 7/410, 1.7%; intervention 2: 3/430, 0.7%) responded with a score of 1 (“extremely unlikely”). In the total sample, significant group differences were found regarding informal help seeking ( F 2,1385 =3.75; P =.02), with intervention 2 showing a significantly higher mean score than intervention 1 (adjusted MD=0.25; P =.007; Table 2 ). In the subsample of help seekers across MH problems, the same pattern was observed ( F 2,616 =3.21; P =.04; adjusted MD=0.37; P =.01; Multimedia Appendix 1 ). A significant group effect was also found for the total sample in the problematic alcohol use conditions ( F 2,273 =3.51; P =.03; Multimedia Appendix 2 ). Both the CG (adjusted MD=0.42; P =.02) and intervention 2 (adjusted MD=0.41; P =.03) had greater mean scores than intervention 1.

No Potential Help Seeking (GHSQ)

With regard to no intention of seeking help with any of the potential sources listed in the GHSQ (“I would not seek help from anyone” item), almost half (674/1394, 48.35%) of participants selected a score of 1 or 2 (1=“extremely unlikely”; CG: 264/554, 47.7%; intervention 1: 185/410, 45.1%; intervention 2: 225/430, 52.3%), whereas 15.42% (215/1394) responded with a score of 6 or 7 (7=“extremely likely”; CG: 89/554, 16.1%; intervention 1: 68/410, 16.6%; intervention 2: 58/430, 13.5%). There were no statistically significant group differences in the total sample ( P =.07; Table 2 ). However, there were trends for group differences in some of the MH issue subgroups ( Multimedia Appendices 2 and 3 and Figure 2 ).

Public Stigma: Blame and Personal Responsibility (USS)

With regard to the USS blame and personal responsibility subscale, statistically significant group differences were found in the total sample ( F 2,1385 =3.25; P =.04; Table 2 ) and in non–help seekers across MH problems ( F 2,762 =3.21; P =.04; Multimedia Appendix 1 ). In the total sample, both intervention 1 and intervention 2 had significantly greater means compared to the CG (intervention 1>CG: adjusted MD=0.084 and P =.03; intervention 2>CG: adjusted MD=0.085 and P =.03). In the subgroup of non–help seekers, there was a significant difference between intervention 2 and the CG (adjusted MD=0.13; P =.02). Further subgroup analyses revealed no additional differences between experimental conditions. It should be noted that blame and personal responsibility data distributions were heavily skewed to the left (total sample: skew=−1.58). As logarithmic, natural logarithm, square root, and reciprocal transformations did not normalize the distributions, we decided to perform ANCOVAs using the untransformed blame data. Therefore, results should be interpreted with caution.

Public Stigma: Impairment and Distrust (USS)

For the USS distrust subscale, ANCOVAs revealed statistically significant group differences in the total sample ( F 2,1385 =8.01; P <.001; Table 2 ) in both help seekers ( F 2,616 =4.39; P =.01) and non–help-seekers across MH problems ( F 2,762 =3.74; P =.02; Multimedia Appendix 1 ). Moreover, statistically significant group differences were found in the total problematic alcohol use subsample ( F 2,273 =4.49; P =.01; Multimedia Appendix 2 ) and its subgroup of non–help seekers ( F 2,144 =4.00; P =.02; Multimedia Appendix 3 ). In the NSSI subgroup of non–help seekers, a significant group main effect was observed ( F 2,160 =4.50; P =.01; Multimedia Appendix 3 ). Across MH problems, both in the total sample (intervention 1>CG: adjusted MD=0.13 and P =.005; intervention 2>CG: adjusted MD=0.17 and P <.001) and the subsample of help seekers (intervention 1>CG: adjusted MD=0.16 and P =.02; intervention 2>CG: adjusted MD=0.17 and P =.01), significantly larger means in both interventions as compared to the CG were observed. Among participants without previous help seeking across MH problems, post hoc comparisons only revealed a statistically significant difference between intervention 2 and the CG (adjusted MD=0.16; P =.007). In the NSSI subgroup of non–help seekers, intervention 2 differed significantly from both the CG (adjusted MD=0.36; P =.005) and intervention 1 (adjusted MD=0.31; P =.02). For problematic alcohol use, in both the total sample and the subsample of non–help seekers, significant post hoc differences between intervention 2 and the CG (MD for the total=0.32 and P =.003; MD for those without previous help seeking=0.42 and P =.006) were found.

Psychological Openness (IASMHS)

No statistically significant group main effect on the IASMHS psychological openness subscale was found in the total sample ( Table 2 ). Significant effects were found in the total depression sample ( F 2,255 =4.59; P =.01; Multimedia Appendix 2 ) and its subgroup of non–help seekers ( F 2,138 =4.20; P =.02; Multimedia Appendix 3 ). In the total depression sample, intervention 1 showed a greater mean in comparison to the CG (adjusted MD=1.38; P =.046) and intervention 2 (adjusted MD=2.24; P =.003). In the subsample of non–help seekers in the depression conditions, intervention 1 was found to have a greater mean than intervention 2 (adjusted MD=2.75; P =.004), but no significant difference was found with the CG (adjusted MD=1.55; P =.09). No significant group main effects were observed in the other subsamples.

Help Seeking Propensity (IASMHS)

In the total sample, no significant group main effect was found for the IASMHS help seeking propensity subscale ( Table 2 ). Subgroup analyses revealed significant differences in the total bulimia sample ( F 2,271 =3.27; P =.04), where both intervention 1 (adjusted MD=1.51; P =.03) and intervention 2 (adjusted MD=1.40; P =.04) showed larger means than the CG ( Multimedia Appendix 2 ). No further group differences were found in the other subsamples.

Indifference to Stigma (IASMHS)

For the IASMHS indifference to stigma subscale, differential group main effects were found in the total sample ( F 2,1385 =3.18; P =.04; Table 2 ), in the subsample of non–help seekers ( F 2,762 =3.74; P =.02; Multimedia Appendix 1 ), in the total ( F 2,288 =3.22; P =.04; Multimedia Appendix 2 ) and non–help-seeking ( F 2,176 =4.48; P =.01; Multimedia Appendix 3 ) GAD samples, in the total bulimia sample ( F 2,271 =3.45; P =.03; Multimedia Appendix 2 ), and in the NSSI subsample of non–help seekers ( F 2,160 =3.23; P =.04; Multimedia Appendix 3 ). Across MH problems, the CG showed a larger mean than intervention 1 in the total sample (adjusted MD=0.97; P =.02), whereas a greater mean score in the CG compared to those of both intervention 1 (adjusted MD=1.20; P= .02) and intervention 2 (adjusted MD=1.15; P =.02) was found in the subsample without previous help seeking. A similar pattern emerged in the total GAD sample and its subsample of non–help seekers, where the CG’s means were significantly larger in comparison to those of intervention 1 (adjusted MD=2.09; P =.02) in the total sample and of both intervention 1 (adjusted MD=2.57; P =.02) and intervention 2 (adjusted MD=2.91; P =.008) among non–help seekers. In the total bulimia sample, intervention 1 had a significantly higher mean than intervention 2 (adjusted MD=2.26; P =.009), whereas both the CG (adjusted MD=2.10; P =.04) and intervention 2 had greater means than intervention 1 (adjusted MD=2.59; P= .02) in the NSSI subsample of non–help seekers.

Video Acceptability and Transportation

In the total sample, most participants (1041/1394, 74.68%) rated the videos with a score of “4” (705/1394, 50.57%) or “5” (336/1394, 24.1%) on the overall likability item. Regarding comprehensibility, 83.93% (1170/1394) rated the videos as “very comprehensible” (“5” on the 5-point scale), whereas 14.13% (197/1394) assigned them a score of “4.” With respect to the videos’ interestingness, the responses were distributed across the 5-point scale as follows: 27.4% (382/1394) of participants gave a rating of “5,” a total of 41.61% (580/1394) gave the videos a rating of “4,” a total of 22.02% (307/1394) assigned them a score of “3,” and 7.32% (102/1394) gave them a rating of “2.” A minority of participants (23/1394, 1.65%) rated the videos with a score of “1” on the interestingness scale.

In the total sample ( Table 2 ), the intervention 1 videos were rated as generally more likable ( F 2,1385 =12.20; P <.001; intervention 1>CG: adjusted MD=0.25 and P <.001; intervention 1>intervention 2: adjusted MD=0.20 and P <.001) and interesting ( F 2,1385 =6.39; P =.002; intervention 1>CG: adjusted MD=0.06 and P =.02; intervention 1>intervention 2: adjusted MD=0.07 and P <.001) in comparison to those of the CG and intervention 2. The groups did not differ significantly in video comprehensibility ( F 2,1385 =2.01; P =.13). Participants felt more “transported” into the videos’ narratives in the CG and intervention 1 as compared to participants in intervention 2 ( F 2,1385 =4.23; P =.02; CG>intervention 2: adjusted MD=0.17 and P =.03; intervention 1>intervention 2: adjusted MD=0.23 and P =.006; Table 2 ). Most subgroup analyses revealed either similar patterns with regard to general likability and interestingness (eg, total help seekers, total GAD sample, and GAD non–help seekers) or no significant differences (eg, GAD help seekers, bulimia help seekers, all depression samples, and all alcohol use samples; Multimedia Appendices 1 - 3 ). In the cases of bulimia (total and non–help-seeking subsamples; Multimedia Appendices 2 and 3 ) and NSSI ( Multimedia Appendix 2 ), different patterns emerged. In the total bulimia sample, the videos of both the CG and intervention 1 scored significantly higher on the interestingness scale than those of intervention 2 ( F 2,271 =4.49; P =.01; CG>intervention 2: adjusted MD=0.33 and P =.02; intervention 1>intervention 2: adjusted MD=0.44 and P =.005). In the total NSSI sample, the videos of both intervention 1 and intervention 2 were rated as significantly more likable than those of the CG ( F 2,277 =10.31; P <.001; intervention 1>CG: adjusted MD=0.51 and P <.001; intervention 2>CG: adjusted MD=0.29 and P =.008).

Principal Findings

This study developed and tested the short-term effectiveness of 2 brief video-based strategies targeted at adolescents and young adults (aged 14 to 29 years) aiming to foster potential professional help seeking (main outcome) and related attitudes for 5 MH problems. In the total sample, we did not find effects of either intervention 1 (psychoeducation) or intervention 2 (positive outcome expectancies) on our primary outcome. However, significant group effects were found with respect to potential informal help seeking, stigma toward others, and indifference to stigma in the total sample. While both intervention groups showed more favorable attitudes than the CG with regard to public stigma, this did not translate to participants’ own indifference to stigma. In this case, the CG showed significantly more positive attitudes in comparison to intervention 1. However, this finding was not apparent in the MH issue–specific subgroup analysis with the exception of GAD. Unintended adverse effects of MH interventions have been reported in previous research [ 83 - 85 ], which underlines the need for thorough evaluations of such interventions before their public dissemination. Accordingly, we would advise against the implementation of our GAD interventions at the current stage and would recommend the development and evaluation of other tailored strategies for this MH problem.

With regard to informal help, participants in intervention 2 showed a greater willingness to approach friends, family members, or romantic partners for help than participants in intervention 1. This might have been due to the interventions’ design as intervention 2 explicitly depicted improvements in social relationships after the main characters in the videos had sought professional support. Overall, the videos were well accepted and rated as quite interesting, with some room for improvement and with the videos of intervention 1 outperforming those of the other 2 conditions. All videos were, on average, rated as very comprehensible, and no significant group differences were observed in this regard. Interestingly, participants felt more transported into the narratives in the CG and intervention 1 as compared to those in intervention 2. As intervention 2 followed a narrative approach, continuing Paul and Paula’s vignette stories, this was surprising. However, as previously stated, intervention 1 was generally more liked and viewed as more interesting in comparison to intervention 2. The animated and fictional third-person approach of intervention 2 seemed to not have sparked as much interest in participants as the facts presented in intervention 1. While we aimed to increase identification with our main characters through the alignment of their genders with those of the participants, intervention 2 might have been insufficient with regard to the perceived “realness” of the story and the characters, which has been identified as crucial for the formation of narrative transportation and, in turn, attitudes and intentions [ 86 ]. The rather optimistic portrayal of the help-seeking process might have contributed to a lack of perceived authenticity in this sample as well. Furthermore, implicit MH statements in the videos’ scenarios could have been more fruitful. For instance, the viewer could have watched directly how Paul and Paula discussed their issues with a psychotherapist rather than having a narrator describe the situation to them. These types of videos have been associated with improved health literacy and more beneficial attitudes toward cervical cancer [ 87 ], and their application to the field of MH would be interesting.

We further observed differential outcomes with respect to the assigned MH problems and participants’ actual help-seeking status. While the CG outperformed either intervention 1 (total) or both interventions (subgroup of non–help seekers) for GAD with regard to stigma indifference and no further outcomes were found for GAD, different patterns emerged in the other MH issue groups. Results were mixed, where both intervention 1 and intervention 2 outperformed the other conditions in some of the outcomes but not in others (eg, in depression), or a clearer tendency toward the superiority of one of the interventions emerged (eg, in NSSI). In summary, our results point toward the usefulness of tailored interventions with regard to MH issue type and previous help-seeking experiences of potential target groups. Our finding that different strategies might work differently for each of the 5 MH problems included in our study is in accordance with those of previous research. For example, Ebneter and Latner [ 78 ] found varying stigmatizing attitudes among different MH problems. The participants in their study blamed a vignette character with an eating disorder more for their condition than a character with depression, whereas the latter was regarded as more impaired. Our finding that a destigmatizing and psychoeducational intervention such as intervention 1 might work better for bulimia fits their recommendation to target stigmatizing attitudes toward specific MH problems [ 78 ]. Similarly, alcohol dependency and self-endangering behaviors were perceived as particularly dangerous in a Swiss vignette study [ 88 ]. The humanizing depiction of our NSSI and problematic alcohol use characters within a framework of close supportive relationships, which improved in quality through psychotherapy, might have been a relevant factor for reduced distrust scores in the intervention 2 condition as compared to the CG and in the case of non–help seekers in the NSSI condition as compared to intervention 1 as well. This approach might be advantageous to reduce public stigma regarding MH problems that are viewed as particularly dangerous. Decisions for one or another interventional strategy may also depend on the specific goal and targeted outcome. While more research is needed, our study provides preliminary evidence for the tailored strategies suggested in Table 3 .

a Check marks (✓) represent recommended use of an intervention; crosses (X) represent advice against the use of an intervention; and question marks (?) represent inconclusive results and, therefore, no clear recommendation. Recommendations are solely based on the results of this study.

b GAD: generalized anxiety disorder.

c No recommended use.

d NSSI: nonsuicidal self-injury.

Limitations

One limitation of this study lies within the sole investigation of effects on hypothetical intentions and attitudes instead of actual help-seeking behavior. While intentions are substantially associated with behavior and provide valuable insights, they do not translate directly to behavior change [ 49 ]. Moreover, only short-term effects were investigated. Previous studies on short video-based interventions have demonstrated sustaining destigmatizing effects for 1 [ 40 ] and 5 months after their delivery [ 43 ]. While potential long-term effects of our interventions in particular remain unknown and might be investigated in the future, the current state of research points toward potentially impactful long-term effects of low-threshold microinterventions. Related to this, we did not investigate dose-response effects. Research on optimal doses (ie, durations, frequencies, and amounts of intervention components) needed for sustainable change through microinterventions and interventions in general is crucial for well-founded recommendations for or against specific interventions [ 89 ].

Just as in other microintervention studies among youth [ 39 ], group differences in our study were small. However, the potential high reach of easily accessible, low-threshold interventions such as the ones evaluated in this study is apparent in the final sample size of 1394. As it depends on both effectiveness and reach, this allows for a comparably high public health impact [ 23 , 24 ]. We also included trend effects in our overview ( Figure 2 ), which should be interpreted with caution. However, these findings might be useful to inform the planning of subsequent research in this field.

Future research should focus on improvements in the effectiveness of microinterventions. One approach could be the investigation of interventional framing. In a Japanese study on depression, loss-framed messages (ie, emphasizing negative consequences of refraining from help seeking) had a greater impact on help-seeking intentions than gain-framed (positive consequences of help seeking) or neutral (eg, prevalence rates) messages as well as unformatted, plain-text messages in middle-aged adults [ 90 ]. Thus, it might be interesting to conduct future studies on the effects of video-based microinterventions with differently framed messaging as the videos in this study emphasized potential gains of help seeking rather than potential losses of help seeking restraint.

Furthermore, our sample showed, on average, a high level of education, very little public stigma, a pronounced willingness to seek help, and a high rate of actual professional help seeking (624/1394, 44.76%), which limits the generalizability of our findings. More than 90% (1285/1394, 92.18%) of our sample knew someone with MH problems. While we were careful not to recruit MH experts, such as university students of medicine and psychology, youth with a personal interest in MH-related topics seemed to have been more inclined to participate. Related to this, we aimed for a community youth sample rather than a clinical sample. The scenarios that our items referred to were hypothetical and did not necessarily reflect participants’ own experiences due to the random assignment to 1 of the 5 MH problems. A similar approach with targeted interventions according to youth’s actual MH status and more individualized elements with regard to gender-related [ 91 ] and cultural [ 92 , 93 ] aspects could be promising in future research. Thus, upcoming studies should strive to align their research objectives more closely with the characteristics and needs of the selected target groups.

Finally, we did not include a comprehension check to assess participants’ understanding of and engagement with the content presented in the videos. While we accounted for the time participants spent on the video pages and only included participants with sufficient durations of stay in the final analyses, they may not have fully comprehended or attended to the video material. The substantial number of excluded participants who completed the study without meeting the time threshold (472/2208, 21.38%) underlines this potential issue. Thus, future studies should address this limitation by including comprehension checks to improve the robustness of the findings.

Conclusions

The low uptake of professional MH services in youth reflects the need for appropriate strategies to facilitate professional help seeking. This study investigated the effectiveness of 2 short video-based strategies targeted at youth (aged 14 to 29 years) on potential professional help seeking and related attitudes for 5 MH problems. While we did not find intervention effects on potential professional help seeking (with the exception of previous help seekers in the depression conditions), differential intervention effects depending on each MH problem and participants’ actual help-seeking status were found in our secondary outcomes, such as public stigma. Our study results can be used to inform the development of new antistigma interventions, which, based on our results, we would recommend tailoring to specific MH problems, target groups, and outcomes. While group differences were small, such low-threshold interventions can be easily disseminated and, therefore, hold potential for a high reach and, thus, a meaningful impact at the population level. More research is needed for more robust and generalizable recommendations.

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (funding identifier: 01GL1904). The Federal Ministry of Education and Research had no influence on the design of the study and was not involved in data collection, analysis, and interpretation or the writing of the manuscript. For the publication fee, the authors acknowledge financial support from Heidelberg University. The authors thank Sabrina Baldofski, Elisabeth Kohls, Felicitas Mayr, and Maria I. Austermann for their support in the creation of video materials for this study (depression and alcohol abuse videos). The authors thank Lutfi Arikan (University Hospital Heidelberg) for enabling the technical implementation of this study.

Data Availability

Individual participant data underlying the results presented in this publication (text, tables, figures, and appendices) and statistical code will be shared during the period of 3 months to 5 years following publication of the paper with researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal to the corresponding author.

Authors' Contributions

SB, MM, and MK conceptualized the study. SB led the grant application. SB, MM, MK, and DL contributed to the study design and selection of screening and outcome measures. DL prepared the technical implementation of this study. DL, AM, EK, and SK prepared the video interventions under the supervision of MM, NA, HB, PP, CRK, RT, and SB, who also provided feedback and information with regard to their fields of expertise. MM generated the random allocation sequence. DL was responsible for study recruitment, which was supported by student assistants. DL analyzed the data, wrote the first draft of this manuscript, and created its tables and figures, with SB and MM providing further feedback, guidance, and supervision during each step. All authors provided feedback on the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

PP is an advisor for Boehringer Ingelheim and has received speaker’s honoraria from InfectoPharm, GSK, Janssen, and Oral B.

Separate analysis of covariance results and pairwise comparisons for participants with and without previous help-seeking experience.

Separate analysis of covariance results and pairwise comparisons for outcomes per mental health problem.

Separate analysis of covariance results and pairwise comparisons for participants with and without previous help-seeking experience per mental health problem.

CONSORT-eHEALTH Checklist V 1.6.1.

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Abbreviations

Edited by G Eysenbach, T de Azevedo Cardoso; submitted 13.11.23; peer-reviewed by A Morgan; comments to author 15.12.23; revised version received 22.12.23; accepted 08.03.24; published 24.04.24.

©Diana Lemmer, Markus Moessner, Nicolas Arnaud, Harald Baumeister, Agnes Mutter, Sarah-Lena Klemm, Elisa König, Paul Plener, Christine Rummel-Kluge, Rainer Thomasius, Michael Kaess, Stephanie Bauer. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 24.04.2024.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

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