Writing research report

Writing Research Report
Dr. Kshitija Gandhi
PHD, MPHIL, MCOM,MBA,UGC NET
Vice Principal
Pratibha College of
Commerce and Computer studies

Introduction
Written form
Key aspects of research project.
A medium to communicate
A good source of preservation
Proper presentation of research findings
An art. It requires a good deal of knowledge,
imagination, experience, and expertise.
A considerable time and money.

Definitions
Research report is the systematic,
articulate, and orderly presentation of
research work in a written form.
Research report is a research document
that contains basic aspects of the
research project.
Research report involves relevant
information on the research work carried
out. It may be in form of hand-written,
typed, or computerized.

Report
Format
There is no one best format for all reports.
Format depends on several relevant variables. One must
employ a suitable format to create desirable impression
with clarity.
Report must be attractive.
It should be written systematically and bound carefully.
A report must use the format (often called structure) that
best fit the needs and wants of its readers.

Research
report is
divided into
three parts
I. First Part
(Formality Part):
Cover page Title page
Certificate or
statement
Index (brief
contents)
Table of contents
(detailed index)
Acknowledgement
List of tables and
figures used
Preface/forwarding/
introduction
Summary report

II. Main
Report
(Central Part
of Report):
(i) Statement of objectives
(ii) Methodology and research design
(iii) Types of data and its sources
(iv) Sampling decisions
(v) Data collection methods
(vi) Data collection tools
(vii) Fieldwork
(viii) Analysis and interpretation (including tables, charts, figures, etc.)
(ix) Findings
(x) Limitations
(xi) Conclusions and recommendations
(xii) Any other relevant detail

III. Appendix
Additional
Details
(i) Copies of forms used
(ii) Tables not included in findings
(iii) A copy of questionnaire
(iv) Detail of sampling and rate of response
(v) Statement of expenses
(vi) Bibliography – list of books, magazines,
journals, and other reports
(vii) Any other relevant information

Key Considerations/Factors
Objectives
Type of
problem/subject
Nature and type of
research
Audience or users
of research work
Size of report
Form of writing –
handwritten,
typed, or
computerized.
Time and cost Language

Key Considerations/Factors
Language Contents of report Order of contents
Number of
copies
Format – type and size of
paper; lengths width, and
depth of report; and pattern of
writing including paragraph,
indent, numbering, font size
and type, colouring, etc.
Binding (for soft, and,
particularly, for hard
copy) – type, quality of
material, colour, etc.,
related issues.

Structure
• A report is typically made up of three main divisions:
• (1) preliminary material,
• (2) body
• (3) supplementary material.
• Each of the sections contains a different kind of content. Refer to the
tables below: Table 1: Divisi

STEP 1 Analyse
the Task
careful reading of the assignment task as outlined in course
information book.
What is the purpose of the report? (It could be analysing,
persuading or reporting on an investigation.)
Who is the audience for the report?
What is the word limit? (Many times the word limit only
includes the body of the report.)
What is the topic of the report? (The topic may be specified by
the lecturer, but other times you will have a choice.)
What is the expected format of the report?

STEP 2
Develop a
Rough Plan
Jot
down
Jot down anything you already know
about the topic in the relevant sections.
Write Write a thesis statement that clarifies the
overall purpose of your report.
Use Use the section headings (outlined
above) to assist with your rough plan.

STEP 3 Do the Research
Steps 1 and 2 will guide research for this report. To report on other research on a
particular topic or do some research of own.
Keep referring to analysis and rough plan while you are doing your research to
ensure that remain on track.
Give plenty of time for this step, as the research phase of work will usually take
the most time of any step in producing report.
Also, ensure you keep correct bibliographic details for all of the material you may
later use in your report.

STEP 4 Draft
the Body of
Your Report
Introduction - The purpose of your report. The thesis
statement will be useful here. Background information may
include a brief review of the literature already available on
the topic so that you are able to ‘place’ your research in the
field. Some brief details of your methods and an outline of
the structure of the report.
§ Literature Review - If asked to do a separate literature
review, you must carefully structure your findings. It may be
useful to do a chronological format where you discuss from
the earliest to the latest research, placing your research
appropriately in the chronology. Alternately, you could
write in a thematic way, outlining the various themes that
you discovered in the research regarding the topic. Again,
you will need to state where your research fits.

Methodology
What you did and how you did it. It must be clearly written so that it
would be easy for another researcher to duplicate your research if
they wished to.
It is usually written in a 'passive' voice (e.g. the participants were
asked to fill in the questionnaire attached in Appendix 1) rather than
an 'active' voice (e.g. I asked the participants to fill in the
questionnaire attached in Appendix 1).
Clearly reference any material you have used from other sources.
Clearly label and number any diagrams, charts, and graphs. Ensure
that they are relevant to the research and add substance to the text
rather than just duplicating what you have said.
Do not include or discuss the results here.

Results
This is where you indicate what you found in your
research. You give the results of your research, but do
not interpret them.
Discussion - This is where you discuss the relevance of
your results and how your findings fit with other
research in the area. It will relate back to your
literature review and your introductory thesis
statement.
Conclusion - This is a summary of the most significant
results/findings. You should not include any new
material in this section. Sometimes you could indicate
some areas where your research has limits or where
further research would be useful.

Recommendations
• This includes suggestions for what
needs to be done as a result of
your findings. Recommendations
are usually listed in order of
priority

STEP 5 Draft the
Supplementary
Material
References or Bibliography
This includes all references used in your report or referred to for
background information.
This must be done using the referencing convention specified by
your lecturer/tutor.
Appendices
These should add extra information to the report. If you include
appendices they must be referred to in the body of the report and
must have a clear purpose for being included. Each appendix must
be named and numbered.

STEP 6 Draft
the
Preliminary
Material
Title of Report - Make sure this is
clear and indicates exactly what
you are researching. §
Table of Contents - List all
sections, sub headings
tables/graphs appendices and
give page numbers for each.
§ Abstract/Synopsis - This gives a
very brief overview of the report
in a condensed form. For more
specific details on how to write
this, please refer to the Learning
Guide Writing an Abstract.

STEP 7 Polish
Your Report
• The final step is checking your
report to ensure you have
followed all of the guidelines as
outlined in your course
information. For more detail on
how to do this well, please refer
to the Learning Guide Editing Your
Own Work.

• https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/sites/default/files/docs/l
earningguide-writingaresearchreport.pdf
• https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/research-report-
introduction-definition-and-report-format/48713

Writing research report

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