Report Writing Lect (Compatibility Mode)

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MBA (MS) 5 Years VII Sem

July-Dec. 2016
WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT

[APA STYLE]
by
Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV
Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV
The purpose of the written report is

to present the results of your
research, but more importantly to
provide a persuasive argument to
readers of what you have found.
Figure 19.3 The Report Preparation and Presentation Process
Research process and research report

F gi u r e
1 9 . 3
T h e
R e p o r t
P r e p a r a
t o
i n &
P r e s e n t
a t io n
P r o c e s s
Research process
Hypothesis
Design
Experiment
Problem
definition
Approach to
problem
Research
design
Field
work
Testing
Reporting
Data Analysis
Report
Data
preparation preparation &
& Analysis Presentation
Interpretation, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Research report
Title
Problem Definition, Approach, Research Design, and Field Work
Report Preparation
Abstract
Oral Presentation
Introduction
Methods
Results
Conclusion
Reading of the Report by the Client

References
Appendix
3
Purpose of Reports
Report Rules
Reports enable you to communicate to others:

What was carried out
How it was carried out
Why it was carried out
What was found
What the results actually mean
Reports enable further exploration of ideas.
Any psychologists who publishes their research uses
the same APA/MLA report format.
Research Follow-up
Standardised format (quick finding of details)

format guidelines of the American Psychological
Association (APA).
The abstract and conclusions are arguably the most
important sections of the report.
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Report Structure
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Is used by many publications throughout the

behavioral sciences, however, it is not
universal.
Introduction
Results
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THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL

ASSOCIATION (APA) STYLE
Abstract
Method
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Participants
Design
Apparatus/Materials
Procedure
Discussion & Conclusion

References
Cite Sources for Support and to:
Title page
Abstract
Body (introduction, LR, method, results,
conclusion)
References
Tables and Pictures
Extras: content / index, appendix,
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Components of an Empirical
Research Paper in Economics
A report in APA-style
Avoid Plagiarism
Give Credit Appropriately
Advance Knowledge Base
Make Research Easier for Future Scholars
10
Abstract
The abstract is a self-contained and brief summary of the key
points from the study.
Title
Abstract
Table of Contents
Introduction and Literature Survey
Theoretical Analysis
Empirical Testing
Conclusions
References
The abstract (like the rest of the report) should be written in the
third person.
The third person avoids the use of I and we instead use It
was decided or The investigator(s) choose to
Although the first section after the title, the abstract should be
written last.
Abstracts should be no more than 150 words.
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What should an abstract

contain?
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An abstract should contain the following:

Brief statement of the problem being investigated.
The design used (for experiments only).
Relevant participant details (e.g. 20 males & 20
females).
Stimulus materials used (experiments)
Principal results.
Main conclusions and nature of discussion.
Aim of Study
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Introduction
The purpose of the introduction to the research
report is to provide the rationale for the research.
Rationale (including previous research in the area and
the current hypotheses).
The introduction should contain:
What have previous researchers discovered about this issue
or problem?
What does your research attempt to prove?
Review of (relevant) background material including existing
theories and key findings.
Outline the exact problem to be researched and the research
hypotheses.
Outline the expected results what do you expect to find
once you have conducted
research?
Instructor: Dr. the
Kapil Jain,
IIPS-DAVV
15
Design
Participant
Details
Key Results
Nature of
Discussion
14
Introduction =? (lit review)

1. A general introduction to the topic of the paper and why this
problem is important and deserves new research.
2. The relevant literature; only the articles that are directly
relevant to your research question. Do not provide detailed
descriptions. The literature review should not be an articleby- article description of one study after another; instead, the
articles should be presented in an integrated manner.
3. The specific goal, hypothesis, or question that the research
study addresses. State the problem or purpose of your study,
and clearly define the relevant variables.
4. Briefly describe the research strategy . Also explain how the
research strategy provides the information necessary to
address your hypothesis or research question.
16
Literature Review
The Written Literature Review
Try to find a few closely related studies rather

than many unrelated studies.
Select only those references that are truly
useful and contribute to your arguments.
A literature review is a summary of the

major studies that have been published on
a research topic. Literature review is
usually included as part of the introduction
in research papers.
re
Collaborative remembering refers to recall by groups rather than by an individual.

Three experiments investigated whether, relative to individual remembering,
collaborative remembering decreased correct recall and false recall using the DeeseRoediger-McDermott paradigm. Participants were first asked to study and recall five
lists of 15 words that were each semantically associated with a critical non-presented
word. Half the participants recalled the words by themselves, while the remaining half
were assigned to pairs and collaboratively recalled the words. In Experiment 1, pairs
produced the same number of false or correct words as individuals who were tested
alone. In Experiment 2, the interpersonal closeness of the groups was also
manipulated: friends and pairs who were not friends were assigned to the
collaborative groups. Both friends and non-friends produced fewer false or correct
words than individuals. Experiment 3, in which the performance of the individuals
and non-friend pairs were compared using a recall test of the same 75 words as the
previous experiments, replicated the results of Experiment 2. These results are
discussed in terms of the retrieval-strategy disruption.
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Example Abstract
(Masanobu Takahashi, 2007)
Abstract Contents
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The literature review should accomplish three goals:

It should identify the major findings on a topic up to
the present;
It should point out the principal deficiencies of
these studies or provide a sense of what is lacking
in the literature; and
It should conclude by leading into your research
question, by explaining how your research proposes
to contribute to the literature or address some
short-coming of a previous study.
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Theoretical Analysis
21
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Results
Usually, a results section begins with a statement
of the primary outcome of the study, followed by
the basic descriptive statistics (usually means and
standard deviations), then the inferential
statistics ( usually the results of hypothesis tests),
and finally the measures of effect size.
This section should include:

The data used;
The empirical model and type of statistical
analysis you employed;
The results you hypothesized;
The actual results; and
Your interpretation of the results.
A list of potential sources of information

about your topic;
A list of sources that you reviewed, or even
A list of summaries of the sources you
reviewed.
The purpose of the empirical testing part

of the research report is to provide the
empirical evidence for your research
argument. The theme of this section of the
paper can be summarized as: Given your
hypothesis, how did you test it and what
were your findings?
Empirical Testing of the Analysis
re
Empirical Testing of the Analysis
The purpose of this part of research is to

present the theoretical analysis of the issue
or problem you are investigating. This is
also described as presenting your
theoretical model.
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What a Literature Survey is

NOT
The Written Literature Review
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The results section simply provides a complete

and unbiased reporting of the findings, just the
facts, with no discussion of the findings
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Introduction to the Results
Clear and concise summary of the data that was collected and the
results of any statistical tests.
Each statistical test has its own format for reporting tests will be
provided during future lectures/seminars).
The results section is one of the most (without justice!) feared
sections of the report.
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Discussion
27
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Discussion: Structure
The discussion enables the interpretation and

explanation of the study results.
Results should be related back to research studies
discussed in the introduction.
The discussion outlines any limitations with the current
study (e.g. Extraneous variables) and provides a
rationale for future studies.
The discussion should contain ideas for where future
work might be directed.
Ultimately, the discussion states whether the results
support the experimental or null hypothesis.
The results section should start with descriptive (summary)

statistics (e.g. Mean, median, range etc.) before reporting any
statistical tests.
A summary table of descriptive statistics can be provided only
display information once and in one format (e.g. Written or table,
table or chart).
Use graphs where meaningful but ensure axis are consistent,
graphs and axis are titled and the graph means something to the
overall report.
Report the statistical tests used in the study.
It can be helpful to think of the discussion section as a

mirror image of the introduction. Remember, the
introduction moved from general to specific, using
items from the literature to focus on a specific
hypothesis. Now, in the discussion section, you begin
with a specific hypothesis ( your outcome) and relate it
back to the existing literature.
In the last paragraphs of the discussion section, you
may reach beyond the actual results and begin to
consider their implications and/ or applications.
Discussion
re
Discussion
The discussion section should begin with a

restatement of the hypothesis.
In the discussion section, you offer
interpretation, evaluation, and discussion of
the implications of your findings.
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The Results Section
Report the key findings, but does not say why
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Discuss the results of the current study,

explaining exactly what was found (avoid
using numbers).
Account for the research findings, relate
back to the previous research and
theories highlighted in the introduction
Discuss the limitations of the current
study and provide ideas for future
research. End with a conclusion.
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Conclusions
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Report Writing: General Style
Start writing early important details

about the study may be forgotten if
the write-up is left to the last minute.
Remember a naive reader should be
able to follow your report and
replicate your findings.
Read reading journal articles and
past dissertations will help you with
structuring your report and
understanding the required style.
Reflect reflect upon the comments
you receive on your practical reports
and essays these are provided to
help
you!
Instructor:
Dr. Kapil
Jain, IIPS-DAVV
33
Method
Participants
20 male and 20 female
participants from
Birmingham City
University participated in
the current study. No
other demographic
information was
collected.
Reports should be double-spaced.

Each major section (Abstract,
Introduction, Method, Results and
Discussion) should start on a new
page with the title of the section in
bold.
Each minor section (e.g. Participants)
should be in italics.
All pages should be numbered.
The last section is the Appendices
and includes raw data, Ethics
Approval Form and other relevant
information.
Research Proposal
Proposal
The basic purpose of a good research proposal is

to provide three kinds of information about
the research study.
1. What will be done.
2. What may be found.
3. How your planned research study is related to
other knowledge in the area.
Should describe ( 1) how the data will be

collected and analyzed, ( 2) the expected or
anticipated results, ( 3) other plausible
outcomes, and ( 4) implications of the expected
results.
re
Summarize what you found out, highlighting the most

important things.
State how the findings support or contradict previous
research
Make recommendations for practice or policy based on
your findings.
Make sure you include implications for social work.
Describe any limitations of the study.
What future research should be conducted on this issue
How did this project address the concepts of
empowerment, social justice, and diversity.
Successful Report Writing
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Tips for Conclusions Chapter
The purpose of this part of the research report is to

summarize your findings, that is, to restate your
argument and conclude whether or not it is valid. In light
of the statistical results, what can you infer about your
hypothesis? To what extent did your empirical testing
confirm your analysis?
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Exceptions
1. An abstract is optional in a research proposal.
2. The literature review in the introduction is typically more
extensive than the review in a research report.
3. The results and discussion sections are typically replaced
either by a combined Results/ Discussion section, or a section
entitled Expected Results and Statistical Analysis or Data
Analysis and Expected Results.
37

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H

MBA (MS) 5 Years VII Sem

WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

The purpose of the written report is

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Figure 19.3 The Report Preparation and Presentation Process

Research process and research report

Interpretation, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Problem Definition, Approach, Research Design, and Field Work

Reading of the Report by the Client

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Reports enable you to communicate to others:

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Standardised format (quick finding of details)

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Is used by many publications throughout the

THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL

Discussion & Conclusion

Cite Sources for Support and to:

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

What should an abstract

An abstract should contain the following:

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Introduction =? (lit review)

The Written Literature Review

Try to find a few closely related studies rather

A literature review is a summary of the

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Collaborative remembering refers to recall by groups rather than by an individual.

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

The literature review should accomplish three goals:

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

This section should include:

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

A list of potential sources of information

The purpose of the empirical testing part

Empirical Testing of the Analysis

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Empirical Testing of the Analysis

The purpose of this part of research is to

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

What a Literature Survey is

The Written Literature Review

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

The results section simply provides a complete

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Introduction to the Results

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

The discussion enables the interpretation and

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

The results section should start with descriptive (summary)

It can be helpful to think of the discussion section as a

Instructor: Dr. Kapil Jain, IIPS-DAVV

The discussion section should begin with a