Starting sentence with “indeed” to complete previous statement

Question

Is it correct to add a sentence that starts with indeed in order to complete a previous statement? For example,

The political crisis has a negative influence on the economy. Indeed, foreign investments have never been as low.

Is it recommended to start a sentence with indeed in a research paper?

Answer 1

Is this sentence grammatically correct?

Yes, the sentence is OK. The meaning is something like this:

The political crisis has a negative influence on the economy. You can see that this is true, because, for example, foreign investments have never been as low.

Is it recommended to start a sentence with "indeed" in a research paper?

I don't think "recommended" is the right choice of words—that makes it sound like you should use it whether or not it is called for—but it should be acceptable.

Answer 2

Indeed you can. :-)

Answer 3

"Indeed" can start a sentence as either a conjunction or an interjection.

As a conjunction, indeed provides emphasis or indicates that the sentence is an example of, or evidence for, a claim made in the previous sentence.

As an interjection, indeed indicates surprise or sarcastic doubt. In this use, indeed is often the only word in the sentence. He thinks she'll marry him? Indeed!

In formal writing, the use as a conjunction, to mean the same thing as "for example" is perfectly acceptable. That was precisely the way you used it. Just don't use it too often or it gets tedious. If "for example" is starting to get tedious, switch it up with an "indeed".