REPORT PAPER

Essentially, a report is a short, sharp, concise document which is written for a particular purpose and audience. It generally sets outs and analyses a situation or problem,
often making recommendations for future action. It is a factual paper, and needs to be clear and well-structured.

Reports may contain some or all of the following elements:

1. A description of a sequence of events or a situation;
2. Some interpretation of the significance of these events or situation, whether solely your own analysis or informed by the views of others, always carefully referenced
3. An evaluation of the facts or the results of your research;
4. Discussion of the likely outcomes of future courses of action;
5. Your recommendations as to a course of action; and
6. Conclusions.
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/report-writing.html

FIELD REPORTS
This type of report is intended to improve student understanding of key theoretical concepts of a course through observation of and reflection about real life practice. In
addition, this type of report facilitates the development of data collection and observation skills and allows students to see how theory applies to real world practice. The
function of field reports is to describe an observed person, place or event and to analyse that observation.

When writing a field report you need to:

 systematically observe and accurately record in detail the varying aspects of a situation;
 constantly analyse your observation for meaning (i.e. what's going on here?, what does this mean?, what else does this relate to?);
 keep the report’s aims in mind while you are observing;
 consciously observe, record and analyse what you hear and see in the context of a theoretical framework/s (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992).

ELEMENTS OF A FIELD REPORT

Field reports usually consist of the following elements:
 Description - what you have seen or observed
 Analysis - strengths and weaknesses, reflection or evaluation of observations in light of theory and key concepts of your course or the broader context of your
discipline.
 Appendix - information that supports your analysis but is not essential to its explanation i.e. full transcripts of observation, maps, court session details.
https://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/5b.html

COMMON STRUCTURE OF A FIELD REPORT

I. Introduction
The introduction should describe the research problem, the specific objectives of your research, and the important theories or concepts underpinning your field study. The
introduction should describe the nature of the organization or setting where you are conducting the observation, what type of observations you have conducted, what your
focus was, when you observed, and the methods you used for collecting the data.

II. Description of Activities

 What -- describe what you observed. Note the temporal, physical, and social boundaries you imposed to limit the observations you made. What were your
general impressions of the situation you were observing. For example, as a student teacher, what is your impression of the application of iPads as a learning
device in a history class; as a cultural anthropologist, what is your impression of women's participation in a Native American religious ritual?
 Where -- provide background information about the setting of your observation and, if necessary, note important material objects that are present that help
contextualize the observation [e.g., arrangement of computers in relation to student engagement with the teacher].
 When -- record factual data about the day and the beginning and ending time of each observation. Note that it may also be necessary to include background
information or key events which impact upon the situation you were observing [e.g., observing the ability of teachers to re-engage students after coming back
from an unannounced fire drill].
 Who -- note background and demographic information about the individuals being observed e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, and/or any other variables relevant to
your study]. Record who is doing what and saying what, as well as, who is not doing or saying what. If relevant, be sure to record who was missing from the
observation.
 Why -- why were you doing this? Describe the reasons for selecting particular situations to observe. Note why something happened. Also note why you may
have included or excluded certain information.

III.  Interpretation and Analysis

Always place the analysis and interpretations of your field observations within the larger context of the theories and issues you described in the introduction. Part of your
responsibility in analyzing the data is to determine which observations are worthy of comment and interpretation, and which observations are more general in nature.
Here are some questions to ask yourself when analyzing your observations:
 What is the meaning of what you have observed?
 Why do you think what you observed happened? What evidence do you have for your reasoning?
 What events or behaviors were typical or widespread? If appropriate, what was unusual or out of ordinary? How were they distributed among categories of
people?
 Do you see any connections or patterns in what you observed?
 Why did the people you observed proceed with an action in the way that they did? What are the implications of this?
 Did the stated or implicit objectives of what you were observing match what was achieved?
 What were the relative merits of the behaviors you observed?
 What were the strengths and weaknesses of the observations you recorded?
 Do you see connections between what you observed and the findings of similar studies identified from your review of the literature?
  How do your observations fit into the larger context of professional practice? In what ways have your observations possibly changed or affirmed your
perceptions of professional practice?
 Have you learned anything from what you observed?

IV.  Conclusion and Recommendations

The conclusion should briefly recap of the entire study, reiterating the importance or significance of your observations. Avoid including any new information. You should
also state any recommendations you may have. Be sure to describe any unanticipated problems you encountered and note the limitations of your study. The conclusion
should not be more than two or three paragraphs.

V.  Appendix
Examples of information that could be included in an appendix are figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, pictures, maps, drawings, or, if applicable, transcripts
of interviews.

VI.  References
List all sources that you consulted and obtained information from while writing your field report.

SURVEY REPORT
A survey report is a formal piece of writing based on research.
Report writing is one of the most important components in the survey research cycle. Survey findings need to be presented in a way that is readable and technically
acceptable.
The overall aim of the written report is to communicate the survey findings. A report provides a formal record of the survey research, and can provide a foundation for
future research efforts.
The written report is often the only aspect of a survey research project that gets exposure. Consequently, the overall quality of a project is often judged on how well the
report is written and presented.

FEATURES OF A GOOD SURVEY REPORT

A good report should:
• meet the brief and address the objectives
• present clear findings with strong conclusions (and recommendations if appropriate)
• be accurate and free of errors
• use tables, graphs and text appropriately
• be written in a way that will convey the results without overwhelming or boring the reader.

STRUCTURE OF A SURVEY REPORT

Most survey research reports follow a fairly standard structure with the following inclusions:

FRONT PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT/SUMMARY
The executive summary should summarise all the main points discussed in the report, including the methods, key results (preferably grouped by objectives or themes)
and conclusions/recommendations.
The executive summary should ideally be limited to one or two pages. It should highlight the key messages that the decision makers will need to know, but not
necessarily every result that is of statistical significance. The summary should be the most polished part of the document, as it will almost certainly be the part that is most
read.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES (INTRODUCTION)

This section provides the reader with context to understand the background to the survey, and the reasons for which the research has been conducted. It would typically
also include information on how the research results are intended to be used. The amount of detail provided in this section will depend on the nature and complexity of
the survey.

METHODOLOGY
This part discusses who has been included in the survey and why, the source material or list from which respondents from the target population were drawn (the list may
include individuals, households or institutions), how many people were surveyed, how they were contacted, and the method of data collection. Individual sub-sections
may be required to adequately cover all the details, depending on the complexity of the survey. Highly technical information regarding survey method and operations can
be included in an appendix.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

This is the main body of the report, containing details of the survey results. Consider structuring this section according to the objectives of the project or themes, rather
than by question order. Refer back to the research objectives and ensure they are all covered. The information contained in this section shows the key results from the
survey. It does not need to include every possible breakdown of the data. Rather, it should highlight results that are of both statistical and practical significance.

APPENDICES
The survey questionnaire should always be included in the appendices. The appendices may also contain detailed technical information about survey methodology,
collection processes, data processing and analysis techniques. Appendices commonly contain a glossary of technical terms and a list of figures and graphs.
Alternatively, a glossary and list of figures and graphs can be provided at the front of the document, to introduce and explain technical terms the reader will encounter.

REFERENCES
 SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL REPORTS
Technical reports describe the process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research. Include in-depth experimental details, data, and results.
Technical reports are usually produced to report on a specific research need. They can serve as a report of accountability to the organization funding the research. They
provides access to the information before it is published elsewhere.
http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/techreports

IMPORTANT POINTS OF A SCIENTIFIC/TECHNIAL REPORT

A technical report mainly answers the following questions:
 What did you do?
 What did you find out?

STRUCTURE OF A SCIENTIFIC/TECHNICAL REPORT

The sections of a scientific report are:
 Title  Results
 Abstract  Discussion
 Introduction  Reference List
 Method  Appendices

LABORATORY REPORT
Lab reports are written to describe and analyse a laboratory experiment that explores a scientific concept.
A laboratory report provides a formal record of an experiment. The discussion of objectives, procedures, and results should be specific enough that interested readers
could replicate the experiment.
Laboratory reports are written for several reasons. One reason is to communicate the laboratory work to management. In such situations, management often bases
company decisions on the results of the report. Another reason to write laboratory reports is to archive the work so that the work will not have to be done in the future.

PURPOSE OF A LABORATORY REPORT

They are typically assigned to enable you to:

 Conduct scientific research.

 Formulate a hypothesis(es) about a particular stimulus, event, and/or behaviour.
 Review relevant literature to justify your hypothesis.
 Allow someone to replicate your study by providing precise details.
 Apply statistics to test your hypothesis.
 Explore theoretical explanations.
 Evaluate research objectively and methodically.
 Communicate concisely and precisely.
http://owll.massey.ac.nz/assignment-types/what-is-a-lab-report.php

STRUCTURE OF A LABORATORY REPORT

Although most laboratory reports will include the following sections, some experiments will require a different format.
 Abstract: a brief informational synopsis of your experiment, typically under 200 words. Strive to use informational or declarative rather than descriptive prose.
 Introduction: identifies the experiment to be undertaken. Explains its objectives and significance, and provides the background necessary to understand it.
When appropriate, the background should indicate theoretical predictions.
 Procedures (or Methods): the procedures section should provide readers with enough information that they could replicate your experiment if they so desired.
Select the level of detail appropriately.
 Results and Discussion (sometimes presented as separate sections): conveys results relevant to the goals of the experiment. Analyzes the results and discuss
their implications. Acknowledges possible sources of error. Considers presenting information visually with graphs and tables; provide figure captions.
 Conclusions: this section places specific results into the context of the experiment as a whole. (If your laboratory report is short, the Discussion section may
serve as a sufficient conclusion.) Evaluates the results in light of the objectives stated in the introduction.
 Appendices: this is the place to include data too extensive or tangential to warrant inclusion in the main body of the report, but necessary as procedural or
analytical evidence.
https://twp.duke.edu/sites/twp.duke.edu/files/file-attachments/lab-report-1.original.pdf

Other formats may consist of the following:

 Title Page
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Methods and Materials (or Equipment)
 Experimental Procedure
 Results
 Discussion
 Conclusion
 References
 Appendices
 Further Reading