Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

IHRB Project TR-xxx

4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date

6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No.

InTrans Project yy-xxx

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

Institute for Transportation

Iowa State University 11. Contract or Grant No.

2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700

Ames, IA 50010-8664

12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Iowa Highway Research Board

Iowa Department of Transportation 14. Sponsoring Agency Code

800 Lincoln Way

Ames, IA 50010

15. Supplementary Notes

Visit www.intrans.iastate.edu for color PDFs of this and other research reports.

16. Abstract

17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement

 alphabetic—lowercase No restrictions.

19. Security Classification (of this 20. Security Classification (of this 21. No. of Pages 22. Price
report) page)

Unclassified. Unclassified. xxx NA

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized

 PROJECT REPORT TITLE: SUBTITLE

Final Report
month yyyy

Principal Investigator
Name
Title
Center for Transportation Research and Education, Iowa State University

Co-Principal Investigator
Name
Title
Center for Transportation Research and Education, Iowa State University

Research Assistant
Name

Authors
Primary Author, Second Author, and Third Author

Sponsored by
the Iowa Highway Research Board
(IHRB Project TR-xxx)

Preparation of this report was financed in part

through funds provided by the Iowa Department of Transportation
through its research management agreement with the
Institute for Transportation
(InTrans Project yy-xxx)

A report from
Institute for Transportation
Iowa State University
2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
Ames, IA 50010-8664
Phone: 515-294-8103
Fax: 515-294-0467
www.intrans.iastate.edu
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...........................................................................................................................................................................ix

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.........................................................................................................................................................................xi

USING TEXT/PARAGRAPH STYLES IN MICROSOFT WORD..............................................................................................................1

FRONT MATTER......................................................................................................................................................................................1

Technical Report Documentation Page...................................................................................................................................1

Executive Summary..................................................................................................................................................................2

PARTS OF THE REPORT........................................................................................................................................................................2

Lists..........................................................................................................................................................................................2
Figures......................................................................................................................................................................................3
Tables.......................................................................................................................................................................................3
Display Equations.....................................................................................................................................................................4

APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES................................................................................................................................................4

Appendix Numbering................................................................................................................................................................4
Additional Resources...............................................................................................................................................................4

REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................................................................5

Author-Date System.................................................................................................................................................................5
Notes System...........................................................................................................................................................................6

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Geographic information systems specialist...............................................................................................................................3

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Road length by pavement serviceability.....................................................................................................................................3

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank XXX for sponsoring this research. Acknowledgments are actually required in the master agreement
between the Institute for Transportation and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report template provides style and formatting suggestions to help researchers working on InTrans project reports. To use this
template, make a copy of the file, delete the example text, and begin composing your report, referring to the examples and tips in
the original document if necessary.

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USING TEXT/PARAGRAPH STYLES IN MICROSOFT WORD

A “style” is a set of definitions for how a heading or paragraph will look, including the font and spacing. Understanding how to use
these styles will help you to create an uncluttered and consistently formatted report.

In Microsoft Word’s styles menu, choose styles such as “Heading 1” and “Body text” to help you create a consistently formatted
report. Styles also enable you to generate and update the Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables automatically.

Here are the guidelines for formatting documents using styles:

 Do as little manual formatting as possible when you type the text. Instead, apply the appropriate style to each paragraph (a
“paragraph” is defined by a hard carriage return at its end; it may not actually be a paragraph of text).
 Don’t use extra carriage returns at the ends of paragraphs! Applying the styles will take care of the vertical spacing for you.
 Be sure to use the Body text style (and not the Body Text or Normal style) in your report document.
 Don’t type first-level headings in all caps; use title case/capitalization and let the Heading 1 style convert the heading to all
caps and boldface type. (You can use the Navigation pane in Word to navigate within your document and to proofread your
headings for consistency.)

This report “template” or starter document was created with most of the styles you will need built into it. These styles should appear
in the Styles bar (or “Quick Style Gallery”) at the top right of your Home tab when you open this Word starter document. You might
want to peruse what is there for your use in reports now. Note which style is applied to the various parts of this starter document.
The style will appear as highlighted in the Styles bar on the Home tab when you click on a different part of this document.

For example, Body text is highlighted when you click on this paragraph. Now, click on FRONT MATTER below and Heading 1
becomes highlighted. When you click on Technical Report Documentation Page below, Heading 2 becomes highlighted. When you
click in the bulleted list above, and then click on the down arrow on the scroll list for the Styles gallery, you will see that List Bullet is
highlighted.

FRONT MATTER

Technical Report Documentation Page

All InTrans reports should have a technical report documentation page (first page of this template), with identifying information and
an abstract. The technical report documentation page follows the front cover for the convenience of the sponsor and readers. The
abstract will also be used to communicate the project results on the web.

Abstracts should be no longer than three paragraphs. Because the abstract will appear separate from the report, it should not
contain reference citations. The use of abbreviations, acronyms, figures, tables, and display equations should be avoided.

Executive Summary

An executive summary should be included when requested by the sponsor.

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Because the executive summary may appear separate from the report, it should not contain reference citations unless absolutely
necessary. If references are necessary, please use footnotes. Abbreviations and acronyms should be defined at their first use both
in the executive summary and again in the body of the report. Figures, tables, and display equations may be used with discretion.

PARTS OF THE REPORT

Lists

List Types

To list items within a sentence, simply list them as one item, followed by the next item, and the next item. To emphasize the number
of items, use (1) the first item, (2) followed by the next item, and (3) the next item.

Use a bulleted list to list items vertically when the items do not represent a specific sequence or scale of importance:

 Pencils
 Paper
 Erasers

To emphasize the number of items or sequence of items, use a numbered list:

1. First, open the door.

2. Then step through.
3. Finally, close the door.

Do not use a numbered list when the items do not represent a specific sequence or scale of importance/ranking.

Common List Errors

Do not introduce a list with a phrase ending “including:” or “such as:”. Either eliminate the colon or add “the following” before the
colon.

Do not end list items with punctuation unless they are complete sentences. If they are complete sentences, use periods.

Figures

See Figure 1 for how to format a figure and its figure caption. Use the Figure style for proper alignment and set the Format Position
of your figures to Inline with Text. Use the Figure Caption style for your captions. Capitalize and punctuate your figure captions as
shown here.

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 Figure 1. Geographic information systems specialist

Tables

See Table 1 for the recommended formatting and borders on tables. Use the Table Title style for your table titles. Capitalize and
punctuate your table titles as shown here.

Table 1. Road length by pavement serviceability

Pavement serviceability
County Gravel (mi) Secondary (mi) Interstate (mi)

Cherokee County 42 42 70
O’Brien County 24 24 6
Polk County* 36 35 35

*Use the Table Note style

Display Equations

In equation (1) we show how to format equations using the Equation style:

A = 14 (q – 1) (1)

where A is the variable of automation and q is the length of twine used in the measurements.

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APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Appendix Numbering

When there are two or more appendixes, designate them Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. In such cases, tables, figures, and equations
should be numbered A.1, A.2 . . . B.1, B.2, etc.

Additional Resources

For more guidance on recommended word usage or style, see The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition.

For contract information, see Guidelines for Principal Investigators Conducting Research under the “Agreement for Management of
Research Conducted by Iowa State University for the Iowa Department of Transportation.”

In you have any questions, please contact Sue Stokke, InTrans report editor at 515-294-0289, [email protected].

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REFERENCES

The author-date system is the preferred documentation method, but the notes system may be used as long as it is used
consistently.

Author-Date System

To use the author-date system, cite a source in the text with the authors’ last names and year of publication in parentheses (Brett,
Johnson, and Bach 1989). The reference list should be alphabetized. Some reference examples are provided below.

Books

Walker, J. R., and T. Taylor. 1988. The Columbia Guide to Online Style. New York: Columbia University Press.

Parts of a Book

Phibbs, Brendan. 1987. Herrlisheim: Diary of a battle. In The Other Side of Time: A Combat Surgeon in World War II. Boston: Little,
Brown.

Periodicals

Calabrese, E. J., and L. A. Baldwin. 1999. Reevaluation of the fundamental dos-response relationship. BioScience 49:725–32.

Reports

Briggs, D. W., and B. V. Chatfield. 1987. Integrated Highway Information Systems. NCHRP Report 133. Washington, DC:
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council.

Theses and Dissertations

Murphy, G. J. 2000. Multiwavelength analyses of classical carbon-oxygen novae. PhD dissertation, Arizona State University.

Papers Presented at Meetings

O’Guinn, T. C. 1987. Touching greatness: Some aspects of star worship in contemporary consumption. Paper presented at the
annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York.
Online Sources

Minnesota Department of Transportation. 1999. Effectiveness of Law Enforcement in Reducing Vehicle Speeds in Work Zones. St.
Paul: Office of Construction, Construction Programs Section, Minnesota Department of Transportation.
http://www.senate.gov/statement.html.

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CD-ROMs

Hicks, R. J. Nuclear Medicine, from the Center of Our Universe. Victoria, Australia: ICE T Multimedia, 1996. CD-ROM.

Notes System

To use the notes system, cite a source in the text with an italicized number in parentheses (1). In the reference list, references
should be numbered and given in the order in which they are cited. Some reference examples are provided below.

Books

1. Harnack, Andrew, and Eugene Kleppinger. Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources. 3rd ed. New York: St.
Martin’s Press, 2000.

Parts of a Books

2. Ashbrook, James B., and Carol Rausch Albright. “The Frontal Lobes, Intending, and a Purposeful God.” Chap. 7 in The
Humanizing Brain. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1997.

Periodicals

3. Cook, Alison. “Phoenix Rising.” Gourmet, April 2000, 62–64.

Reports

3. Dempsey, B. Climatic Effects of Airport Pavement Systems: State of the Art. Report DOT2DRD-75-196. Washington, DC:
Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation, 1976.

Theses and Dissertations

4. Murphy, Priscilla Coit. “What a Book Can Do: Silent Spring and Media-Borne Public Debate.” PhD dissertation, University of
North Carolina, 2000.

Papers Presented at Meetings

5. Nass, Clifford. “Why Researchers Treat Online Journals Like Real People.” Keynote address, annual meeting of the Council of
Science Editors, San Antonio, TX, May 6–9, 2000.

Online Sources

6. Stevens, R. C. Testimony before United States Senate Special Committee on the year 2000 technology problem. 1998.
http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/statements/ 091098stevens.html.

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CD-ROMs

7. Hellman, Hal. Great Feuds in Science: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever. New York: John Wiley, 1998. CD-ROM.