Research

REPORT WRITING

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Report writing is the last step in the research process and also the most difficult step. It is a
representation of complete research that the author has undertaken and the conclusions
arrived. Therefore, the report must be written in a lucid manner which is appropriate for the
readers to understand.

Report should be written in an academic style, language of which must be formal and not
journalistic.

A scientifically written research

Preliminaries Textual Body Terminal Items

6.1 Preliminaries
Title page

This is the first page of the report; it contains information which is essential for the
identification and representation of the author and the work. Some of the main information
included in the title page is –

-Title of Research
-Name of Researcher
-Purpose – Example: Research submitted for fulfillment of academic requirement
of XYZ University, for the LL.M Degree
-Date of Publication
-Name of Supervisor
Descriptive
-Logo of University/Institute (If required)

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 Declaration

This is an important part of the research report. In this, the author declares that the work
undertaken is his own work and has not been plagiarized from any source. In addition to it, the
author also mentions that due credit has been given to all the work that has been referenced or
used in the work. It also mentions the name of guides/supervisors and co-researchers.

Many universities and other organizations require the author to submit a plagiarism certificate,
declaring that the plagiarism is within the permissible limit.

Certificate by Supervisor

The certificate is provided by the guide/supervisor, acknowledging that the work undertaken and
submitted was done under his/her guidance and has been duly approved by him.

Acknowledgement

This section in the research report is included to show gratitude to the persons or institutions,
who significantly contributed during the project/research and helped to complete your project. It
may include Teachers, Administrative Staff, Participants, Seniors, Colleagues, Family & Friends etc.

Table of Content

In this section, all the content of the report, either in chapters or in sub-headings is listed by the
author.

List of Tables

It is a reference tool that allows readers to quickly and easily navigate to data in the research
report. The General format followed is:

S. No. Title of the Table Page No.

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 List of Figures

Similar to the list of tables, this section allows the readers to navigate to different figures
presented in the research report. The general format is:

S. No. Title of the Figure Page No.

Abstract or Synopsis

Abstract refers to the summary of a work that concentrates on the essence of the research work.
Synopsis is the brief summary of the major points of the research work, either as prose or as table.

6.2 Body of Report

Introduction

This section primarily focuses on answering the question – Why the research topic was chosen by
the author, why is the issue chosen important, what method has been used, why that particular
method is used and what does the author wish to prove/disprove, etc.

In other words, this section gives a detailed background of the work and sets the context of the
research. It should be noted that in Thesis or Dissertation there is a separate section for literature
review but in research paper/article there is no separate section and therefore, literature review is
included in Introduction in such case.

Some important heads included in Introduction are:

-Theoretical background
-Statement of Problem
-Historical Background
-Literature Review
-Objective of Study
-Hypothesis
-Limitations
-Ethical Considerations

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 Literature Review

It is a detailed summary of all the previous works that have been done by various researchers on
the issue that is directly or indirectly associated with the work that has been undertaken by the
author. It includes summary of scholarly articles, books, reports and other sources which are
relevant to the identified area of research.

Design of Study

This section includes all of the practical information that is followed by the researcher. This helps
the reader in understanding the process that has been followed by the author and also helps
reader in replicating, citing and also referencing the work later in their work. This section
highlights information such as:

-Methodology
-Methods of Data Collection
-Sources of Data
-Data Processing and Analysis Plan
-Overview of Report

Results

The author explains and presents all the findings and the analysis of the data that he has
undertaken in the research work. In this section, the results are presented as complete and
detailed which can be later summarized for specific references and also discusses the results.

Summary

In this section, the author summarizes the findings and draws conclusions based on the work
undertaken and the findings arrived at in relation to other research and literature.

In addition to findings, the author also includes recommendations based on his work and also
suggests issues for further research which can be undertaken on the research problem/issue.

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 6.3 Terminal Items

List of References/Bibliography

References/Bibliography is included in the research report to highlight the sources and details of
the work that has been used/cited in the research by the author.

Appendix

It contains all the information included in the body of the research. Generally, authors add
statistics and references from different sources and authors in the appendix.
An appendix is seen as supplementary to the research paper. It contains non-essential
information. The paper should stand alone without the appendix; the reader can still understand
the information on the paper if it were to be removed. Also, appendix pages don’t count as part of
the research paper.

Copy of Data Collection

The author must enclose the true copies of all the data collected as a part of the research process.
This helps in authenticating the data used by the author and thereby brings validity and reliability
to the report.

Sampling Plan details

Along with data collected, the author can also enclose the sampling plan followed to collect data
for the research.

Glossary

This section includes the list of terms with a brief explanation that are used in the report along
with the page or paragraph number where it has been used in the report.

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