Writing the Research Report

I) The Writing Process

• The intrinsic value of a study can be easily
destroyed by a poor final report or presentation.
• A well-presented study can impress the reader more
than another study with greater scientific quality but
a weaker presentation.
• Hence, researchers must make special efforts to
communicate clearly and fully their research results.
• Writing is a process- It takes time, and effort and it
improves with practices.
• When writing the research report it would be important
to consider:
• What is the purpose of the report?
• Who will read the report?
• What are the circumstances and limitations under
which the report was written?
• How will the report be used? etc.
Generally the writing process has three major phases:
• i) Pre-writing
• prepare to write by arranging notes on the literature,
making lists of ideas, outlining, completing
bibliographic citations, and organizing comments on
data analysis.
• ii) Composing
• get your ideas onto paper as a first draft by free-
writing, drawing up the bibliography and footnotes,
preparing data for presentation, and forming of an
introduction and conclusion.
• iii) Rewriting
• evaluate and polish the report by improving
coherence, proofreading for mechanical errors,
checking citations, and reviewing voices and
usages.
• This step actually involves two related procedures:
revising and editing.
• Revising – is the process of inserting new ideas,
adding supportive evidences, deleting or changing
new ideas, strengthening transitions and links
between ideas.
• Editing – is the process of cleaning up and
tightening and involves the mechanical aspects of
writing such as spelling, grammar usage, verb
tense, sentence length and paragraph organization.
• Types of Research Reports
• Reports my be defined in terms of their degree of
formality and design.
• We may have:
» short reports and
» long reports.
• a). Short Reports
• Short reports are more informal and are appropriate
for studies in which the problem is well defined, of
limited scope and for which methodologies are
simple and straightforward.
– Example: interim reports.
 – At the beginning, there should be a brief statement on
the problem examined and its breadth and depth.
– Next comes the conclusions and recommendations,
followed by findings that support the conclusions.
• b) Long Reports
• Long reports are long and follow well-defined
formats.
– They are of two types, the technical or base
report and the popular report.
• Which of these to use depends chiefly on the
audience and the researcher’s objectives.
i) The technical report
• this report should include full documentation and
detail - it is the major source document.
• It is the report that has the full story of what was
done and how it was done.
• It contains information on the:
• sources of the data,
• sampling design,
• data gathering instruments,
• data analysis methods, as well as
• a full presentation and analysis of the data.
• Conclusions and recommendation should be clearly
related to specific findings.
ii) The popular report
• The popular report is designed for the non-
technical audience with no research background
and may be interested only in results rather than
methodology.
• Decision makers need help in making
decisions.
• Popular report should encourage rapid reading, quick
comprehension of major findings and prompt
understanding of the implication and conclusions.
• Report Format for Long Reports
• Two arrangements are typically used – the logical
format and the psychological format.
• The logical format
• the introductory information covering the purpose
of the study, the methodology and limitations is
followed by the findings.
• The findings are analyzed and then followed by
the conclusions and recommendations.
The psychological format
• this is largely an inversion of the logical order and
is mostly used in popular reports.
• The conclusions and recommendations are
presented immediately after the introduction with
the findings coming later.
• Readers are quickly exposed to the most critical
information – the conclusions and recommendations.
• If they wish to go further they may read on into the
findings, which support the conclusion clearly given.
• Other report formats include the chronological report,
which is based on time sequence or occurrence.
II) Components of a Technical Report
– While some may be dropped, other may be added and
their order may vary from one situation to another, a
research report contains several components or
elements.
• In general there are three parts: the prefatory
pages, the body of the report and the appended
sections.
• A) Prefatory pages – this section includes the title
page, letters of authorization (if any), tables of contents,
charts and illustrations, synopsis (summary, abstracts).
• The Title page – the title page should include four
items: the title of the report, the date, for whom prepared
and by whom the report was prepared.
– A satisfactory title should be brief, but should at least
include:
• The variables included in the study, the type of
relationship between the variables, and the
population to which the results may be applied.
• The table of contents – any report of several sections
that totals more than six to ten pages should have a table
of content.
• Abstract (Synopsis) – this is a short summary.
– For conference papers, research papers, theses and
dissertations, you will almost always be asked to write
an abstract.
– It goes first in the report, but should be written last.
– It helps the reader determine whether the full report
contains important information.
– Different publications have different size limits,
usually between 100 and 250 words
• It is essential that your abstract includes all the keywords
of your research.
• An abstract should briefly:
– Re-establish the topic of the research.
– Give the research problem and/or main objective of
the research.
– Indicate the methodology used.
– Present the main findings and conclusions
• The main point to remember is that it must be short,
because it should give a summary of your research.
Common Problems in preparing the Abstract
– Too long and Too much detail. If your abstract is
too long, it may be rejected. Abstracts that are too
long often have unnecessary details.
• The abstract is not the place for detailed
explanations of methodology or the context of your
research problem.
– Too short. Shorter is not necessarily better. You
should review your abstract and see where you could
usefully give more explanation.
• B) The body of the report – contains the introduction,
findings, summary and conclusions and
recommendations.
• 1) Introduction – the introduction comes at the start of
the writing and normally contains several major
subsections.
– It introduces the research by situating it (by giving
the background) and presenting the research
problem as well as the rationale or significance.
• The problem – the statement of the problem usually
contains three parts namely the background, the problem
statement itself and the objectives.
– In the background, researchers should introduce the
major variables and the type of relationships between
them and relate them to previous research and theory.
• What is it that we don’t know? What is the gap in
our knowledge this research will fill?
– The background information leads to a statement of
the specific problem, which the research addresses
(research questions).
– What steps will the researcher take to try and fill this
gap or improve the situation? (Objectives)
• Why is this research important? Who will benefit? Why
do we need to know this? Why does this situation,
method, model or piece of equipment need to be
improved? (Rationale).
• Scope and limitations – some people shy away from
mentioning limitations. Such an attitude is
unprofessional and unethical.
• Is the study limited to a specific geographical area
or to only certain aspects of the situation? (Scope)
• Is there any factor, condition or circumstance
that prevents the researcher from achieving all
his/her objectives? (Limitations)
Common problems in writing the Introduction
• Too much detail, and hence too long:
– Although you will cover important points, detailed
descriptions of method, study site and results should
come in later sections.
• Repetition of words, phrases or ideas. A high level of
repetition makes your writing look careless.
• Unclear problem definition. Without a clear definition
of your research problem, your reader is left with no
clear idea of what you were studying.
• Poor organization. Writing an introduction that
effectively introduces your research problem is not an
easy task.
2. Literature Review
– The report also frequently includes a literature review
and links the problem with theory.
– Literature means the works you consulted in order to
understand and investigate your research problem.
• Journal articles: these are good especially for up-to-
date information.
• Books: books tend to be less up-to-date as it takes
longer for a book to be published than for a journal
article.
– Text books offer a good starting point from which to
find more detailed sources.
• Conference proceedings: these can be useful in
providing the latest research, or research that has not
been published.
– They also provide information on which people are
currently involved.
• Government/corporate reports: many government
departments and corporations commission or carry out
research.
• Newspapers: since newspapers are generally intended
for a general (not specialized) audience, the information
they provide will be of very limited use for your
literature review- but can be a starting point.
• Theses and dissertations: these can be useful sources of
information.
• Internet: the fastest-growing source of information is the
Internet.
• But remember that:
– 1) anyone can post information on the Internet so the
quality may not be reliable,
– 2) the information you find may be intended for a
general audience and hence less detailed, and
– 3) more and more refereed electronic journals (e-
journals) are appearing on the Internet - the quality is
more reliable (depending on the reputation of the
journal).
• CD-ROMS: more and more bibliographies are being put
onto CD-ROM for use in academic libraries, so they can
be a very valuable tool in searching for the information
you need.
• Magazines: magazines intended for a general audience
(e.g. Time) are unlikely to be useful in providing the sort
of information you need.
– Magazines may be a starting point by providing news
or general information about new discoveries,
policies, etc. that you can further research in more
specialized sources.
Common Problems:
• Trying to read everything: if you try to be
comprehensive you will never be able to finish the
reading!
– The literature review should not provide a summary of
all the published work that relates to your research, but
a survey of the most relevant and significant work.
• Reading but not writing: Writing takes much more effort
than reading- don't put writing off until you've "finished"
reading.
• Not keeping bibliographic information: When preparing
your reference you might notice that you have forgotten to
keep the information you need.
– To avoid this nightmare always put references into your writing.
3. The methods: Answers at least two main questions:
• How was the data collected or generated?
• How was it analyzed?
• The data collection step should cover at least five items:
– (i) the target population that is being studied and any
sampling methods used.
– (ii) the research design used and the rationale for
using it including the sample size,
– (iii) the materials and instruments used often with a
copy of these materials in the appendix,
– (iv) the specific data collection method (survey,
observation or experiment) and
– (v) a summary discussion of the data analysis
methods including the statistical tests, computer
programs, etc.
• Knowing how the data was collected helps you to
evaluate the validity and reliability of your results, and
the conclusions you draw from them.
• Your methodology should make clear the reasons why
you chose a particular method or procedure.
• The research methods must be appropriate to the
objectives of the study.
• It should also indicate assumptions, if there are any.
Common Problems
• unnecessary explanation of basic procedures
• problem blindness: Do not ignore significant problems
or pretend they did not occur.
• Often, recording how you overcame obstacles can form an
interesting part of the methodology.
4) Findings and Discussions – It is an organized
presentation of results and is generally the longest
section of the report.
• The Results Section includes:
– statement of results: the results are presented in a
format that is accessible to the reader (e.g. in graphs,
tables, diagrams or written text).
• Notice that raw data is usually put in an appendix,
if it is included at all.
– explanatory text: all graphs, tables, diagrams and
figures should be accompanied by text that guides the
reader's attention to significant results.
 – The text makes the results meaningful by pointing out
the most important results, simplifying the results,
highlighting significant trends or relationships and
perhaps commenting on whether certain results were
expected or unexpected.
• Table and figures in the text need numbers and clear
titles.
– Include only those tables and figures that present
main findings and need more elaborate discussion in
the text.
– Others may be put in annexes, or, if they don’t reveal
interesting points, be omitted.
The Discussion Section:
• In the discussion section we talk about what we see in
the data and give the reader unambiguous interpretation
of its meaning.
• The discussion section provides explanation of the
results and includes:
• Explanation of results: the writer comments on whether
or not the results were expected, and presents
explanations for the results, particularly for those that are
unexpected or unsatisfactory.
• References to previous research: comparison of the
results with those reported in the literature, or use of the
literature to support a claim or a hypothesis.
• Deduction: a claim for how the results can be applied
more generally.
5) Summary and Conclusion – the summary is a brief
restatement of the essential findings.
• Findings state facts while conclusions present inferences
drawn from the findings.
• The summary section presents:
– What was learned
– What remains to be learned (directions for future
research)
– The shortcomings of what was done (evaluation)
– The benefits, advantages, applications, etc. of the
research (evaluation), and
– Recommendations.
• The conclusions and recommendations should follow
logically from the discussion of the findings.
Common Problems
• Too long. The conclusion section should be short.
– The conclusion section should be as little as 2.5% of
an entire piece.
• Too much detail. Conclusions that are too long often
have unnecessary detail.
– Although you should give a summary of what was
learnt from your research, this summary should be
short, since the emphasis in the conclusions section is
on the implications, evaluations, etc. that you make.
• Failure to comment on larger, more significant
issues. Whereas in the introduction your task was to
move from general (your field) to specific (your
research), in the concluding section your task is to move
from specific (your research) back to general (your
field, how your research will affect the world).
• Failure to reveal difficulties encountered. Negative
aspects of your research should not be ignored.
– Problems, drawbacks etc. can be included in
summary in your conclusion section as a way of
qualifying your conclusions (i.e. pointing out the
negative aspects, even if they are outweighed by the
positive aspects).
6) Recommendations – this involves suggested future
actions.
• It makes easy reading for an outsider if the
recommendations are again placed in roughly the same
sequence as the conclusions.
• The recommendations could be for further study, to test,
deepen or broaden understanding in the subject area or
for managerial actions.
• The recommendations should take into consideration the
local conditions, constraints, feasibility and usefulness
of the proposed solutions.
7) The appended section – this includes appendix and
bibliography.
– i) Appendix – complex tables, statistical tests,
supplying documents, copies of forms used, detailed
description of the methodology, instructions to field
workers, and any other evidence that may be
important.
– The annexes should contain any additional
information needed to enable professionals to follow
your research procedures and data analysis.
– Information that would be useful to special categories
of readers but is not of interest to the average reader
can be included in annexes as well.
• Examples of information that can be presented in
annexes are:
• tables referred to in the text but not included in
order to keep the report short;
• lists of study sites, -districts, villages, etc. that
participated in the study;
• questionnaires or check lists used for data
collection.
ii) Bibliography – there should be a bibliographic section
if the study makes heavy use of secondary material.
• This section should contain all those works, which the
researcher has consulted.
• It should be arranged alphabetically and may be divided
into two parts.
• The first part may contain names of books and
pamphlets and the second part may contain names of
magazines and newspaper articles.
• There may be several bibliographic entry formats.
• For books and Pamphlets the following order may be
adopted.
Ø Name of the principal author, last name first
Ø Title, underlined or in italic styles
Ø Place, publisher and date of publication
Ø Number and volumes.
• Example: Kothari, C. R. Quantitative Techniques, New
Delhi, Vikas publishing house Pvt ltd. 1978.
Presentation Consideration
• Reports should be physically inviting, easy to read and
match the comprehension abilities of the designated
audiences (reader).
• (1) Style of writing: Remember that your reader:
– Is short of time
– Has many other urgent matters demanding his or her
interest and attention
– Is probably not knowledgeable concerning ‘research
jargon’
• It is always good to use words that convey thoughts
accurately, clearly and efficiently.
• Therefore the rules are:
– Simplify- Keep to the essentials.
– Justify- Make no statement that is not based on facts
and data.
– Quantify when you have the data to do so - Avoid
‘large’, ‘small’; instead, say ‘50%’, ‘one in three’.
– Be precise and specific in your phrasing of findings.
– Use short sentences.
– Be consistent in the use of tenses (past or present
tense).
– Aim to be logical and systematic in your presentation.
(2) Layout of the report
• A good physical layout is important since it will:
– make a good initial impression,
– encourage the readers, and
– give them an idea of how the material has been
organized so the reader can make a quick
determination of what he will read first.
• Poor reproduction, dirty typewriter type, incorrect
spelling and poor punctuation (typographic errors).
• Overcrowding of text, inadequate labeling of charts and
tables, etc. reduce the credibility of a report.
• Particular attention should be paid to make sure there is:
– An attractive layout for the title page and a clear table
of contents.
– Consistency in margins and spacing.
– Consistency in headings and subheadings, e.g.: font
size 16 or 18 bold, for headings of chapters; size 14
bold for headings of major sections; size 12 bold, for
headings of sub-sections, etc.
– Numbering of figures and tables, provision of clear
titles for tables, and clear headings for columns and
rows, etc.
– Accuracy and consistency in quotations and
references.
• Revising and finalizing the text
– Having done the ‘analytical’ and ‘creative’ work, you
now need to put on your critical judgment hat.
– You need to take a step back and review your report
from your audience’s viewpoint.
– Remember, their viewpoint is different.
• They are looking for reasons to believe.
• They need to be comfortable with your report and
accept your findings.
• The following questions should be kept in mind when
reading the draft:
– Have all important findings been included?
– Do the conclusions follow logically from the
findings? If some of the findings contradict each
other, has this been discussed and explained, if
possible? Have weaknesses in the methodology, if
any, been revealed?
– Are there any overlaps in the draft that have to be
removed? And is it possible to condense the content?
– Do data in the text agree with data in the tables? Are
all tables consistent (with the same number of
informants per variable), are they numbered in
sequence, and do they have clear titles and headings?
– Is the sequence of paragraphs and subsections logical
and coherent? Is there a smooth connection between
successive paragraphs and sections? Is the phrasing of
findings and conclusions precise and clear?
– Perform a spell check and grammar check
– Etc.
Briefings (presentation)
• Good presentation improves both the research and the
reputation of the researcher.
• A successful briefing typically requires a condensation
of a lengthy and complex body of information.
• Speaking rates should not exceed 100 to 150 words per
minute.
• About 20 minutes presentation is usually required.
• A detailed outline of what one is going to say includes
– Opening
– Findings and conclusions
– Recommendations
• The most important thing to keep in mind:
– The time will usually pass a lot more quickly than you
think
– Keep focused on the main ideas: The motivation, the
problem, and the main results
• You do not have to mention all of the difficulties and
shortcomings; people can ask during the presentation
• Hypotheses: Mention the ones whose tests you will
show. You do not have to mention all.
• Data: You do not need to mention response rates or
sample size misspecifications unless these are very
important; people can ask
• Organizing slides:
– A slide should contain a handful (25) of key points; it
should not fill the page
– Slides should not contain your entire presentation, just
the key things to remember
– Graphics can be useful if they tell the story