Reporting and Sharing Findings,

Data Presentation, Data Analysis

and Interpretation, Synthesis of
Findings and Interpretations
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the topic the students should be able to:
• Discuss the techniques in listing references;
• Discuss the process of report writing;
• Discuss the selection criteria and process of best design;
• Discuss the description of the respondents;
• Discuss the sources of data;
• Discuss the research instruments;
• Discuss the data gathering procedures;
• Discuss the data analysis and interpretation; and
• Discuss the synthesis of findings and interpretations.
• Research adheres to certain manner of making public
its findings. It is incapable of convincing any readers of
the genuineness of the research report unless it follows
the academically and professionally accepted standards
of writing the report in terms of its language, structure or
format, and acknowledgement or recognition of the
sources of knowledge responsible for making the entire
research study reputable, genuine, and credible basis
for effecting changes in this world.
 Techniques in Listing References

• At the end of all pieces of academic writing, you need a list of

materials that you have used or referred to. This usually has a
heading: references but may be bibliography or works cited
depending on the conventions of the system you use.
• The object of your writing is for you to say something for
yourself using the ideas of the subject, for you to present ideas
you have learned in your own way. The emphasis should be on
working with other people’s ideas, rather than reproducing their
words. The ideas and people that you refer to need to be made
explicit by a system of referencing. This consists of a list of
materials that you have used at the end of the piece of writing
and references to this list at various points throughout the
essay. The purpose of this is to supply the information needed
to allow a user to find a source.
 The Process of Report Writing
• 4 steps of academic report writing:
• At it's simplest, there are 4 straightforward steps to academic report writing: Plan, Write, Reference your sources,
and Review.
• Step 1. Plan
• Before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard!), it is important to plan your approach to the assignment. This
includes:
• Define the purpose - Make sure you have carefully read and analysed the assignment and have a clear idea of the
exact purpose.
• Gather information - Use a variety of sources in your research, and be aware of the ABC's of each source:
• Authorship (who has written this material?)
• Bias (might the author be biased in any particular way)
• Currency (how up-to-date or relevant is this source?)
• Be sure to keep track of each source you use, so that you'll be able to correctly reference each of your sources in the
final essay.
• Structure your material - Try not to impose a structure too early; gather your ideas, assess them, then organise and
evaluate them. Once this is done, you can identify the 3 to 5 main ideas around which to structure the report or essay.
The overall structure of a report or essay should look something like this:
• Introduction - outlining your approach to the report or essay
• Body - 3 to 5 main points; 1 or 2 paragraphs for each main point
• Summary and/or conclusions - summarise/conclude your main message
• List of references - list all sources used in preparing the report or essay
• Step 2. Write
• Many people mistakenly begin at this stage! You'll find it much easier to write a good paper
after you have clarified the purpose, gathered the relevant information, assessed and
evaluated the information, and planned the structure (as described above).
• Most writing advice suggests that you begin by writing a rough draft of each of the main
sections first. After this, you can more easily write the introduction (outlining your approach)
and the summary/conclusion (summarising the key ideas of the report or essay).
• The introduction is one of the most important paragraphs. An effective introduction introduces
the topic and purpose of the report or essay and outlines your approach, i.e. the main ideas
that will be developed within it. After reading just the introduction, the reader should know (i)
the purpose of the paper and (ii) the main ideas which will be covered within it.
• Step 3. Reference your Sources
• Refer to the Basics of Correct Referencing to find guidelines for citing and referencing all of
the sources you use in your report or essay.
• Step 4. Review
• Once your first draft is written, it's time to refine and revise, taking care to use a clear writing
style. Finally, proof-read from start to finish; it is often useful to ask someone else to do this, as
errors can go unnoticed when you have worked on a piece of writing for some time.
Selection Criteria and Process of Best Design

General Guidelines in Reporting and Writing the Best Design

• The research design, methods or techniques used as defined from
different sources
• A discussion of how this method/s was/were used in the present study.
 The Description of the Respondents
General Guidelines in Reporting and Writing the Respondents or
Subject of the Study
• The first paragraph should discuss the topic or subject of te
research
• The size of population and its important characteristics in relation
to what is studied.
• Include the sample size and the sampling technique used.
• Include also the variables considered in case there are equating
factors, the strata in case of stratified sampling or percentages in
case of proportional sampling.
• A distribution table for the sample size which is followed by a
discussion.
 The Sources of Data and the Research Instruments

General Guidelines in Reporting and Writing the Sources of Data

• The section deals with a detailed description of the research
instruments used in the research such as questionnaire, pre-
test, post-test, structured interview, observation, actual
measurement using tools or equipment and others. Response
manner to the questionnaire or test should be mentioned.
• In case of researcher-made instruments, validation process
should be discussed and figures or results must be presented
when statistical measures were used.
• If the instruments were adopted, the author should be
recognized and source should be documented.
 The Data Gathering Procedure
General Guidelines in Reporting and Writing Data Gathering Procedure
• This section discusses in paragraph form the different activities undertaken
to complete the research which follows the general procedure of the study.
A Gantt Chart of Activities may guide the discussion.
• For experimental or scientific researches, an operational procedure of the
experiment should be presented in which can be supported by a flow chart
for clarity.
 Data Analysis and Interpretation , Synthesis and Interpretations
General Guidelines in Reporting and Writing Data Analysis and
Interpretation
• An introductory paragraph is provided at the start of the chapter
• Subtitles of sections are based on the questions in the statement of
the problem, stated in declarative form, single-space bold.
• Table and figure numbers and titles are written in capital lower case
at the center, single spaced. Title should come after the number,
arranged in inverted pyramid.
• Tables and figures should be in continuous numbering. It should be
presented first before discussion. Enclosed tables with double line
on top should be used. Graphs should be colored.
• Discussion should follow the format, presentation of the table, the
table itself, analysis and interpretation, then implications. Related
literature and studies may be used to support the findings.