WRITING RESEARCH

REPORT
 The final and the last step in any research is to make report of the
findings of the study accessible to all.
 By this report, the research sponsors, government, students,
academicians can get to learn and understand the research related
work.

• research report is a well-crafted document that outlines the processes,

data, and findings of a systematic investigation.

• It is an important document that serves as a first-hand account of the

research process, and it is typically considered an objective and
accurate source of information
 Features of a Research Report
• It is a detailed presentation of research processes and
findings, and it usually includes tables and graphs.
• It is written in a formal language
• It is usually written in the third person (avoid pronouns
e.g. me, I, you, yours but rather he, she).
• It is formally structured with headings, sections, and
bullet points.
• It always includes recommendations for future
actions.
 Types of Research Report
•1. Journal Articles
– Original report
– Review article
– Case studies
•2. Technical Report: Presented following industrial based
research
•3. Monograph/Book
•4. Seminars
•5. Thesis/ Dissertation: Produced in partial fulfillment of the
requirements of a course/programme
 Importance of Research Report
•A means to identify knowledge gaps for further inquiry.
•A means to effectively communicate the findings of a
systematic investigation. What has been done while
hinting at other areas needing systematic investigation
(knowledge transfer).
•Allows for presentation of information in a precise and
concise manner.
•Allow to easily send out information to stakeholders
rather than engaging in personal detailing.
 STEPS IN WRITING REPORT

The usual steps involved in writing report are

1. Logical Analysis of the subject matter
2. Preparation of the final outline
3. Preparation of the rough draft
4. Re- writing and polishing
5. Preparation of the final bibliography
6. Writing the final draft.
 MECHANISM OF WRITING A REPORT:
1. Selecting the topic
2. Planning the paper
3. Developing the statement of purpose
4. Gathering the Information
5. Connecting your thoughts
6. Giving credit where credit is due
7. Quoting, Summarizing
8. Citations (Crediting Sources within the paragraph)
9. Editing and Proof reading
10. General guidelines for reference listings
 Structures
Refers to organization of the chapters
Layout may differ based on Institution
– Preliminary Pages
• Title,
• acknowledgement,
• Table of contents,
• list of tables, list of figures
• Abstract
– Introduction
– Materials and Methods
– Results
– Discussions

– Recommendations

– Acknowledgements

– References

– Appendices
 ABSTRACT
• This is a comprehensive summary of the
study:
– the procedures used,
– findings and
– the conclusions of the study.

It increases the readership of the article or a

research study because it provides a review of
the complete study.
 ABSTRACT
• It is the gateway to the contents of the
dissertation.
• The structure may differ from one journal
to the other but the contents are the same.
• Though the first part of the thesis, yet it is
to be written last
 QUALITY OF A GOOD ABSTRACT

• It explains in one paragraph why the paper is

important.
• The final sentences explain the major
implications of the work.
• Concise and readable
• Length should be one paragraph with
approximate 300-400 words
• Do not have citations
• Use numbers where appropriate
 Abstract should provide answer to
these questions
What did you do?- Aim
Why did you do it?/ What question were
you trying to answer?- Motive
How did you do it?- methodology
What did you learn? - Results
Why does it matter?
-Significant/implication.
 Things to Avoid
 Avoid jargon or any technical terms that most
readers won't understand.
 Avoid abbreviations or acronyms that are not
commonly understood unless you describe what
they mean.
 Abstracts do not have a bibliography or citations.
 Abstracts do not contain tables or graphs.
 Should only include procedures done by you, and
you should not put acknowledgements to anyone
in your abstract.
 To Write A Good Abstract
• For your first draft, don't be overly concerned
about the length but make sure you include all
the key information.
• Then take your draft and start crossing out
words, phrases, and sentences that are less
important than others.
• Look for places where you can combine
sentences in ways that shorten the total
length.
• Put it aside for a while, then come back and re-
read your draft. With a fresh eye, you'll
probably find new places to cut.
 INTRODUCTION

• The introduction gives a broad and general

overview of the subject. It introduces the
research topic with a proper background
and motivate the reader's to read a report
thoroughly
 Components of Introduction
• Statement of the problem : A clear and definitive statement of
what was studied.
• Justification for the study : A brief statement of why the study
was done; a reason for the research or potential uses for or
contribution to be made by the results.
• Significance for the study: Need for the study. An elaboration
of the purpose of undertaking the study and establishing the
importance of the problem.
• Scope of the study : This may include information on what
subjects and variables were studied; what data gathering
instruments were used; and the details about the methods and
the time and duration of the study.
• Limitations: An indication of the inherent weaknesses in the
study; factors that could not be controlled adequately and
could have affected the results.
• Statement of objectives : The objective(s)
of the study stated precisely.
• Hypotheses : Prediction of the eventual
outcomes of the study.
• Definition of terms : A list of important
terms used during the investigation and
reporting.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
 The biggest part of the paper.
 Describe what others have done and hence set the
benchmark for the current study
 Section organization reflects how your argument
unfolds
 Each section should have a main point
 Each paragraph should have a main point
 Ensure that each section leads on to subsequent
section- let it flow
 Keep sentence length to less than 2 lines.
 Avoid one sentence paragraph
 Avoid repeated use of words
 Write in the active voice- it improves
reading pace.
E.g.
Excessive drinking can cause dementia (active)
Dementia can be caused by excessive drinking (in
active)
Include only those work relevant to your
research
Organize your content according to ideas not
publications.
Do not simply quote- copy and paste. Ensure
that you have read the materials and where
possible incorporate your opinions.
 Things to Avoid
• Over-reliance on low-quality sources: This includes a broad collection of non-
academic sources like blog posts, opinion pieces, publications by advocacy groups
and daily news articles.

• A lack of landmark/seminal literature: Landmark literature refers to the articles

that initially presented an idea of great importance or influence within a particular
discipline. In other words, the articles that put the specific area of research “on the
map”, so to speak.

• Lack of current literature: A strong literature review should also incorporate

the current literature. It should, ideally, compare and contrast the “classics” with
the more up to date research, and briefly comment on the evolution.

• Description instead of integration and synthesis: Students think that a

literature review is simply a summary of what each researcher has said. A lengthy,
detailed “he said, she said”.
• Irrelevant or unfocused content: The inclusion of irrelevant content.
Some chapters can waffle on for pages and pages and leave the reader
thinking, “so what?” To ensure you stay on-topic and focus, you need to
revisit your research aims, objectives and research questions

• Plagiarism and poor referencing: This one is by far the most

unforgivable literature review mistake, as it carries one of the heaviest
penalties, while it is so easily avoidable. All too often, we encounter
literature reviews that, at first glance, look pretty good. However, a quick
run through a plagiarism checker and it quickly becomes apparent that
the student has failed to fully digest the literature they’ve reviewed
and put it into their own words.
 Materials and Methods
• Provide information to allow the reader to
assess the believability of your results
• Provide information needed by another
researcher to replicate your experiment.
• Describe your materials, procedure and
principle of methods.
• Calculation, technique, procedure, equipment,
and calibration plots
• Limitation, assumptions, and range of validity.
• Description of your analytical methods,
including reference to any specialized statistical
software
 Results
• The results are actual statements of
observations, including statistics, tables
and graphs.
• Indicate information on range of variation.
• Mention negative results as well as
positive. Do not interpret results – save that
for the discussion.
• Present sufficient details so that others can
draw their own interference and construct
their own explanations.
 Results continues
• Use S.I. units (m, s, kg, W, etc.) throughout the
thesis.
• Break up your results into logical segments by
using subheadings.
• Key results should be stated in clear sentences
at the beginning of paragraphs.
Better: “X had significant positive relationship with Y
(p<0.05)
Not “There is a significant relationship between X and
Y”.
• Describe the nature of the findings; do not just
tell the reader whether or not they are
 Results vs. Discussion sections
• May be combined in some reports

• The writer must make it crystal clear to the

reader which statements are observation
and which are interpretation.
 Discussion
Start with a few sentences that summarize the most
important results. The discussion section should be
brief essay in itself, answering the following
questions:
• What are the major patterns in the observation?
• What are the relationships, trends and
generalizations among the results?
• What are the exceptions to these patterns or
generalizations?
• What are the likely causes (mechanisms)
underlying these patterns resulting prediction?
• Is there agreement or disagreement with previous
 Discussion continues
• Interpret results in terms of background laid out in
the introduction-what is the relationship of the
present results to the original questions?
• Multiple hypotheses: there are usually several
possible explanations for the results.
• Avoid bandwagons: Avoid jumping to a currently
fashionable point of view unless your results really
do strongly support them.
• What are the things we now know or understand that
we didn’t know understand before the present work?
• Include the evidence or line of reasoning supporting
each interpretation.
• What is the significance of the present results: why
 CONCLUSIONS
• What is the strongest and most important statement
that you can make from your observation?
• If you met the reader at a meeting six months from
now, what do you want them to remember about
your paper?
• Refer back to problems posed, and describe the
conclusions that you reached from carrying out this
investigation, summarize new observations, new
interpretations, and new insight that have resulted
from the present work.
• Include the broader implications of your results.
• Do not repeat word for word the abstract,
introduction or discussion.
 Recommendations

• Include when appropriate (most of the

time)
Remedial action to solve the problem.
Further research to fill in gaps in our
understanding
Directions for future investigations on this
or related topics.
 Acknowledgements

• Advisor(s)/ supervisor and anyone who

helped you:
• Technically (including materials, supplies)

• Intellectually (assistance, advice)

• Financially (for example, department

support, travel grants)
 CITATION
 The number system
The first cited paper received the first number
Reference listed by numbers

 The name year system

 Referencing Style
• There is no ‘universal’ system for referencing, scholars adopt one of the
following:
• Harvard : includes the author, the date of the work and the page number
in brackets in the body of the text, immediately following the
quote or reference (Corbridge, 1998, p.27)
• Chicago Referencing Style:
– In text: Author surname, date of publication, page number:-(Cottrell,
2008, 23)
– Cottrell, Stella. 2008. The Study Skills Handbook. Hampshire:
Palgrave Macmillan
• American Psychological Association (APA): Adair, J. G., & Vohra, N.
(2003).
The explosion of knowledge, references, and citations: Psychology’s
unique response to a crisis. American Psychologist, 58(1), 15–23.
doi: 10.1037/0003- 066X.58.1.15
• Modern Language Association of America (MLA)- Arts and humanities
• Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA)- Humanities
 Citing/Listing References
 Cite all ideas, concepts, text, data that are not your
own
 If you make a statement, back it up with your own data
or a reference
 All references cited in the text must be listed
 Cite single – author references by the surname of the
author (followed by date of the publication in
parenthesis)
.....according to Babatunde (2012)
– ....coccidian infections are increasing cause of diarrhoea in
tropics (Babatunde, 2012)
 Cite double-author references by the surnames of both
authors (followed by date of publication in parenthesis)
... this agreed with Sabiu and Irondi (2013)
 References continues
 Cite more than double-author references by the
surname of the first author followed by et al.,
and then the date of the publication
– Kolawole et al., (2013)
 List all references cited in the text in
alphabetical order or in order of cited
references from the context.
 It is acceptable to put the initials of the
individual authors behind their last names in
the list of references e.g. Bamisaye, FA;
Akintunde, JK and Adedayo, MR. (2011).
 Appendices
• Include all your data in the appendix
• References data/materials not easily
available
• Calculations (where more than 1-2 pages)
• List of equipment used for an experiment or
details of complicated procedures