A dedication in a research paper is a great way to show thanks, appreciation and gratitude to someone who influenced, supported or helped with the specific paper. Any dedication should include a few key aspects to ensure it is effective and understood. The dedication should include who it is for, why it is for them and their relationship to the author. For example, the who it is for may read
. "dedicated to Riley," the why may read "who stood by me through the long hours of research and writing," and the relationship may read "a wonderful life partner." By ensuring these fields are complete the dedication will seem complete and be easily understood by anyone who may read it. By adding a dedication to a research paper the author is giving acknowledgment to those individuals who made an impact on the writing of the paper.There are many websites that offer samples of dedications for research papers that are both reliable and trustworthy. One site is http://ronrecord.com/PhD/intro.html. On this site is a real dedication for a paper that was written by a college student. This paper shows the proper way to write an effective dedication that is both meaningful and heartfelt. By acknowledging a special person in the paper it shows both appreciation and pride in what has been accomplished. A great tip when beginning to write a dedication is to elaborate as much as possible about the person it is being dedicated to. Tell of their accomplishments and how they helped or encouraged during the writing process. This is their time to shine and feel good about how they influenced the author. Another sample dedication letter can be found at http://lap.umd.edu/lap/Papers/Dissertations/Murphy_Dissertation_2000/front.htm. By following previously written sample dedications the customized version is sure to read smoothy and give the proper recognition.