Unit 8

Writing a Research Report

• Sharing the Results of Research Studies
• Benefits of Sharing Research Results
• 1. Adds to the knowledge base in a particular
scientific field.
• 2. Improves the overall quality of research
being conducted.
• 3. Allows other researchers to replicate a
study’s results or extend the study’s findings.
• 4. Improves the way we live.
 Contd.
• the editors evaluate the quality of the study
and the manuscript, and then they make a
recommendation regarding whether the
manuscript should be published in the journal.
This is referred to as the peer-review process
 Presentation of Research Results
• One option available to those researchers
who decide to share the results of their
research is to present their findings at
professional conferences
• One of the primary functions of these
conferences is to serve as outlets for the
presentation of research results that are
relevant to that particular scientific field
• Because professional conferences are held so
frequently, they provide for the dissemination
• of up-to-date research findings
• Researchers have several options available to
them in terms of presenting their results at
professional conferences
• A poster presentation, as the name indicates,
involves presenting the results of a research
study in a poster format. At many conferences,
this is a preferred presentation format for
students and beginning researchers (probably
because there are many available presentation
slots, which makes it less competitive than other
presentation formats). An oral presentation
involves speaking about the research results for a
specified amount of time (sometimes as short as
10 minutes). Finally, a symposium is a collection
of related oral presentations that are presented
as a group.
• At most conferences, it is generally considered
more prestigious to have your study accepted
as an oral presentation. Often, short
summaries of the research—abstracts—are
then published in a journal so that people who
did not attend the conference can become
familiar with the results of the studies.
• Presumably, only the most well-conducted
• studies and well-written manuscripts will
make it through this peer-review process to
publication.
• As a result, the publication process tends to
weed out poorly conducted studies, which has
the effect of improving the quality of the
research being conducted
 Publication of Research Results
• Publication of research results is, by far, the
most common method of disseminating the
results of a research study
• There are several publication options,
including books, book chapters, monographs,
newsletters, working reports, technical
reports, and Internet-based articles. However,
publication in a peer-reviewed professional
journal is generally considered the primary
and most valued outlet for the dissemination
of research results
• Once a researcher decides on a particular
journal, he or she must prepare the manuscript
in accordance with the style and formatting
requirements of the journal
• Different journals—and even different fields of
• study—have different formatting and style
requirements, and it is very important that
researchers strictly adhere to those
specifications
 Typical Sections of a Manuscript

For manuscripts that describe empirical studies, the

following sections are typically included:
1. Title
2. Abstract (brief summary of the study)
3. Introduction (rationale and objectives for the study;
hypotheses)
4. Method (description of research design, study sample,
and research procedures)
5. Results (presentation of data, statistical analyses, and
tests of hypotheses)
6. Discussion (major findings, interpretations of data,
conclusions, limitations of study, and areas for future
research)
• After the manuscript is submitted to a journal,
the editor of the journal sends the manuscript to
several reviewers who are asked to review the
manuscript and make a publication
recommendation
• There are generally two categories of reviewers
for journals: (1) consulting editors (who review
manuscripts for the journal on a regular basis)
and (2) ad hoc editors (who review manuscripts
for the journal less frequently, typically on an as
needed basis)
most journals use some combination
of the following publication decisions
1. Accepted: The manuscript is accepted contingent on the
author’s making revisions specified by the journal
reviewers. Almost no manuscript is accepted for
publication as submitted (i.e., with no revisions), and
some accepted manuscripts may require several rounds
of revisions before finally being published.
2. Rejected: The manuscript is rejected, and the author will
not be invited to revise and resubmit the manuscript for
further publication consideration. Manuscripts can be
rejected for many different reasons, including design
flaws, an unimportant topic, and a poorly written
manuscript.
3. Rejected-resubmit: The manuscript is rejected, but the
author is invited to revise and resubmit the manuscript
for future publication Consideration
 PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCH DESIGN
AND METHODOLOGY
• principles of research methodology that
should be kept in mind when engaging in
research
• Keep Your Eyes Open
• Perhaps the most basic lesson to guide your
research is to keep your eyes open
• many ideas for research studies are
discovered simply by observation of the
environment in which we live
• Be An Empiricist
• The hallmark of being a good researcher is being an
empiricist
• Empiricists rely on the scientific method to acquire
new knowledge. The scientific method’s heavy
emphasis on direct and systematic observation and
hypothesis testing in the acquisition of new knowledge
effectively distinguishes science from pseudo-science
and non science
• Moreover, to be able to draw valid conclusions based
on your research, which is the goal of all research, it is
essential that you adhere to the empirical approach
 Be Creative

• Creativity is particularly important in

generating new research ideas, coming up
with appropriate and perhaps novel research
designs, and thinking
• about the implications of your research
studies. Thinking outside the box has led to
many great scientific discoveries. Good
research is often as much art as it is science,
so being creative is an important asset to the
process
 Research Begets Research
• This principle emphasizes the importance of
following a logical progression when conducting
research
• Science advances in small increments through
well-conducted research studies
• Adhere to Ethical Principles
• The rights of study participants are of paramount
importance in the research context, and
protecting those rights takes precedence over all
other research-related considerations
 Have Fun
• Try to have fun while conducting research
• As with anything else, if you are having
• fun while you do it, you will be more likely to
become engaged in the process. Research can
be exciting, so take pride in being part of
something that will advance science and
potentially improve the way we all live
CHECKLIST OF RESEARCH-RELATED
CONCEPTS AND CONSIDERATIONS
• 1. Follow the scientific method
• 2. Keep the goals of scientific research in mind
• 3. Choose a research topic carefully
• 4. Use operational definitions
• 5. Articulate hypotheses that are falsifiable
and predictive
• 6. Choose variables based on the research
question and hypotheses
• 7. Use random selection whenever possible
• 8. Use random assignment whenever possible
• 9. Be aware of multicultural considerations
• 10. Eliminate sources of artifact and bias
• 11. Choose reliable and valid measurement
strategies
• 12. Use rigorous experimental designs
• 13. Attempt to increase the validity of a study
• 14. Use care in analyzing and interpreting the
data
• 15. Become familiar with commonly
encountered ethical considerations
• 16. Disseminate the results of research studies
 Writing and Presenting the
Dissertation
• Research report writing is not simply a matter
of describing what has been done and how it
has been done. It also requires the author to
focus on the specific purpose of the research
when reporting results and findings. In
addition, it must be presented in a style that is
easy to understand and that allows the reader
to make connections with the original purpose
of research, its specific objectives and
analysis, conclusions, and any
recommendations that may arise from it.
• There is no ‘standard’ way in which research results are ‘written up’
• Typical Marking Criteria
• Typical Criterion and Typical Weighting
• Problem Formulation: Relevance of the research topic, formulation of the
research problem and setting out of the research problem(10%)
• Research Method Employed: Validity and effectiveness of the research
methods used. (15%)
• Content: Critical appraisal of the literature and evaluation of relevant
data. (30%)
• Quality of Argument: The extent to which arguments are advanced on
valid and reliable evidence. (25%)
• The use of a theoretical framework in advancing themes and ideas.
• Conclusions and Recommendations: Extent to which the dissertation
meets its stated objectives. (20%)
WHAT SHOULD A DISSERTATION LOOK
LIKE?
• A dissertation should reveal all of the
following characteristics:
• Nature of the Work
• Relevance
• Word Limit
• Timetable
• Presentation
 Nature of the Work
• The main purpose of a dissertation is to enable
you to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
examiners that you can undertake an
independent piece of research in a specialist
area of your choice.
• This will involve you in showing that you can
design, implement and defend a research
project in terms of the research problem
identified, the research method(s) used and
the conclusions arrived at
 Relevance
• Relevance of a dissertation can be viewed from
a number of perspectives:
• The research topic may be strongly policy-
oriented or heavily theory-oriented.
• It may involve a high degree of statistical
analysis or a high degree of discursive analysis.
• It may be strongly linked to a single theoretical
framework or to a number of theoretical
models.
• It may be a work-based research project or
not.
 Word Limit
• Poor dissertations either tend to be very short
or excessively long. Very short dissertations
reflect a lack of content and very long
dissertations suggest poor arguments, poor
organisation and poor editing. undergraduate
dissertations should lie in the range of 10,000
to 12,000 words and masters dissertations
12,000 to 14,000 words.
• However, the length is normally specific to the
programme you study and so you should
comply with advice given by your lecturers
 Timetable
• It is important that you plan your dissertation
—so construction of a timetable to ensure
that you complete on time is important.
Remember that writing up research work
takes a long time. Split the dissertation into
three parts which are:
• Part 1: Doing the literature review,
determining aims and formulating the
problem
• Part 2: Collection and analysis of the data
• Part 3: Writing up the work
 Presentation

• Good presentation is extremely important and

a professional looking dissertation can greatly
enhance your marks. Good argument, written
well, is important and so is the production of
high quality tables and figures.
• Tables and figures should be embedded in the
text wherever appropriate and be given clear
titles
 PRESENTING THE DISSERTATION
• Presenting a piece of research work is as important as including
the type of content discussed above.
• Presentation needs to focus on the following:
• Structure
• Aims and Objectives
• Current Knowledge
• Research Method
• Analysis
• Conclusions
• Style
• Citing Literature
• Typing
• Figures and Tables
• References - Binding
 Structure
• The structure of the final dissertation is normally presented as
follows:
• First inside page: Title, your name and year (2007, 2008, and so
on)
• Acknowledgements
• Contents page
• List of tables and figures
• Abstract
• First chapter: Introduction (research purpose and objectives)
• Subsequent chapters like, Chapters 2, 3, 4, etc.
• Final chapter: Conclusions
• Appendices
• References and Bibliography
 Aims and Objectives

• The first chapter, Chapter 1 (Introduction) of

the dissertation should contain the following
elements: the purpose of the research, i.e.,
the research ‘problem’ (expanding on the
abstract) and reasons why it was undertaken,
a clear statement of the overall aim and
specific objectives of the research. The latter
represent the hypotheses or propositions
which the research is intended to test.
 Current Knowledge
• The second chapter of the dissertation should
contain the literature review. This should help
you clearly identify where the gaps in
knowledge concerning your research topic
are, and relate these to your research
objectives. The literature should be discussed
in a critical mode to reflect on how the
weaknesses have been addressed by your
research. In other words, the literature review
should be a bridge between the objectives of
the research and the analysis to come
• An essential stage in any research work is to
review the literature, the purpose of which is to:
Know if the work has already been done.
• Identify the experts in the field.
• Select appropriate research methods.
• Understand where problems can lie.
• Appreciate the debate in the area and where
controversies lie.
• Help in generating hypothesis to be tested in
the research
 Research Method
• A section on the research methods used and
why these methods are appropriate to the
research questions is also included in the
dissertation. The main data sources used for
the research including the Limits of Validity
• which you have identified in relation to the
data are also included in the dissertation
 Analysis

• The subsequent chapters of the dissertation

should contain the substantive analysis of the
research questions as identified in the first
chapter and point to the critique in the
literature review where appropriate. This
enables the focus of the ‘argument’ to be
maintained throughout the dissertation.
 Conclusions
• This chapter clearly needs to be relevant to the
‘evidence’ cited in the substantive analysis. It
should clearly show which of the research
objectives have been achieved and which
remain ‘unanswered’. The conclusions
• should contain a discussion of the ‘limits’ of the
research in terms of: the research method and
specific research instruments used, the
theoretical framework used, the data analyzed
and the assumptions made.
• Additionally, you should be able to point to
particular aspects of the research topic which
require further investigation.
 Style
• A number of presentation (format) style rules
should be adopted.
• Dissertation Title: Bold, Capitals, 18 point
• Chapter Titles: Bold, Initial Capitals, 14 point
• Sub-headings: as in Chapter titles but 12 point
Quotations: Quotation marks to be used and
indented one space below paragraph and one
space above next paragraph. Source and page
number(s) should be clearly shown
 Citing Literature
• You must reference all the literature which
you discuss in the dissertation. This is
normally done using the Harvard referencing
system. The reason for this is that others can
refer to your sources; so it must be traceable
 Typing
• Normally your typescript should be one and a
half line spaced with a left margin throughout
of at least 25 mm. The typescript should be 12
point and Times newroman. Page numbers
should be consecutive and in Arabic numerals.
• Initial pages (contents, abstract, etc., and
appendices) should be in Roman numerals. All
page numbers should be placed at the bottom
centre of the page.
• The dissertation must normally be in English and a
declaration should be made that the work is the
author’s own and has not been submitted previously
for the award of any other qualification or as a
component of any other work undertaken by the
author.
• The dissertation may be printed on one side of the
paper. A4-sized paper of good quality should be
used; margins are normally as follows: Left (binding
edge) 25 mm.
• Other margins 25 mm.
• Each chapter should be sectioned into subsections,
and the subsections numbered and given a title
 Figures and Tables

• Figures and tables should be included in the main

text and referred to by the chapter number,
subsection and number. For example, referring
to a Pie chart, the fourth figure in Chapter 3,
Section 2, might be referred toas Figure 3.2.4.
After the figure, a caption should appear, that is
Figure 3.2.4-Pie Chart.
• A similar presenting style is followed with tables.
 References
• The references in the dissertation should be
referred by name and date in the text and
listed alphabetically in the bibliography at the
end.
• for a book, the reference style is as follows:
author’s name, date, title, publisher, where
published.
• For a journal reference, the layout is: name,
date, title of article, title of journal, volume
number, part number and inclusive page
numbers
 Binding

• It is important that the front and back cover of

the dissertation should be resilient to fading
and bending