What if I don’t have the confidence to say that my research is important? If most authors of similar research papers in your field begin by establishing the significance of the topic, but you don’t, it may seem to the editor or reader that your research topic is NOT important. Check your target journal — it’s not a question of confidence; it is about writing in an accepted, conventional way. If most target articles in your field begin this way, yours should too; don’t be shy about stating why or how your research topic is important or useful. Do all research papers begin like this? No, they don’t. As always, the target readership is the deciding factor. Some research topics are very narrow, and all those who will want to read your research paper are part of a small research community for whom a statement about the importance of the field is unnecessary, and possibly even inappropriate. In that case, it is common to begin with a statement about the specific focus of research in the field, a definition of a key term or some factual information necessary to understand the topic.