TOPIC 3

TYPES OF REPORT

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the unit, students should be able to:

i. Illustrate 3 differences between informational reports and analytical

reports. (PLO 1, C3, LL1)
ii. Produce one incident report based on the layout highlighted. (PLO 1, C3,
LL1)
iii. Prepare one field trip report according to the format provided. (PLO 1, C3,
LL1)
CONTENT:

3.1 What is a Report?

A report is a very formal document that is written for a variety of purposes,
generally in the sciences, social sciences, engineering and business disciplines.
Primarily, findings pertaining to a given or specific task are written up into a
report. It should be noted that reports are considered to be legal documents in
the workplace and, thus, they need to be precise, accurate and difficult to
misinterpret.

A report is designed to convey and record information that will be of practical use
to the reader. It is organized into discrete units of specific and highly visible
information.
3.1 Types of Report

The table below displays the types of reports and the differences.

Table 3.1 Types of report

Informational
Inform or instruct present
information
Reader sees the details of events,
activities or conditions
No analysis on the situation, no
conclusion, no recommendations.
Examples:
Analytical
Written to solve problems
Information is analyzed
Conclusions are drawn and
recommendations are made.
Examples:

3.2.1 Incident/Accident Report

3.2.1.1 When to submit an incident/accident report?

3.2.1.3 Sample of an accident form;
3.2.2 Lab report
3.2.2.1 Functions of lab reports
3.2.2.2 Format
A typical lab report includes: title, abstract, introduction, materials and methods,
results, discussion, references and literature cited.

Lab Report Template

1. Title

A brief, concise, yet descriptive title.

2. Statement of the Problem

What question(s) are you trying to answer?

Include any preliminary observations or background information about the
subject.

3. Hypothesis

Write a possible solution for the problem.

Make sure this possible solution is a complete sentence.
Make sure the statement is testable.

4. Materials

Make a list of ALL items used in the lab.

5. Procedure

Write a paragraph (complete sentences) which explains what you did in

the lab.
Your procedure should be written so that anyone else could repeat the
experiment.

6. Results (Data)
 This section should include any data tables, observations, or additional
notes you make during the lab.
You may attach a separate sheet(s) if necessary.
All tables, graphs and charts should be labeled appropriately

7. Conclusions

Accept or reject your hypothesis.

EXPLAIN why you accepted or rejected your hypothesis using data from
the lab.
Include a summary of the data - averages, highest, lowest, etc to help the
reader understand your results
List one thing you learned and describe how it applies to a real-life
situation.
Discuss possible errors that could have occurred in the collection of the
data (experimental errors).

3.2.3 Field trip report

A field trip report is a description of what you did, when you did it, where you
went, why you went, who was with you and how you went there.

Field trips provide you with an opportunity to learn issues in the real world, so
make the most of them. They usually include a conducted component and/or
some form of group investigation. During the fieldtrip you should listen to any
guided discussion but also be prepared to make your own observations and
contributions

It is important that you take notes and make field sketches (if appropriate) whilst
you are in the field. Notes could include material presented by lecturers or ideas
which arise during discussion, plus your own reflections or questions about an
issue. All of this information will be invaluable when you have to report on your
experiences
If you are carrying out an investigation, make sure that you take careful notes of
everything you do so that should you (or someone else) wishing to repeat the
investigation you could replicate it exactly.

Keep good notes on and during the field course so you dont have to do it when
you get back and have forgotten it.

Reporting on conducted work or group project work requires a slightly different

approach, and some guidelines are given below.

Introduction

Include a brief account of where the fieldwork took place, the overall aims of the
fieldwork, and what you were investigating.

Field Observations

Include a detailed account of what you observed and, if required, some comment
on its significance. Include photographs and field sketches and refer to other
relevant research that has been done. Do not provide a day by day account but
try to arrange the material to show your understanding of what youve studied. To
help with this, look out for any recurring themes.

Conclusions

Tie together the report with a concise account; draw together the key issues as a
series of bullet points.

Notes and diagrams made whilst on the field trip will prove invaluable when you
get home and have to write up the field trip report.

Sample of Field Trip Report

Field Trip Report to UTHM Health Centre

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
 24 December 2009

Attendees:
Sazuliana Sanif
Noryani Neni Ahmad Jamain
Iza Nurhidayah Ismail
Mohd Talha Mohd Idris
Zainal Abidin Sayadi

Introduction

The purpose of this field trip was to look at existing conditions and facilities
available at UTHM Healthcare Centre. Apart from that the trip was also
intended to discuss possible improvements that can be suggested to the
management of the centre.

The health centre was initially known as Students' Health Centre started its
operation in May 2002. At its initial stage there were only two registered
nurses and a doctor available. However, to date the centre has the luxury of
having two medical doctors, two dentists, two medical assistants, nine
registered nurses, two dental surgery assistant, a radiographer, a pharmacist
and a physiotherapist.

The centre has the following objectives:

1. to provide the centre with state of the art medical facilities.
2. to diagnose and treat patients professionally and efficiently.
3. to prevent and control infectious and contagious diseases.
4. to raise awareness in term of health knowledge among staff and students
and the locals.

Field Observation

The centre is the sole centre that provides healthcare to students; alternatively
staff have the choices to seek medical help form panel clinics chosen by the
university. However, according to the observation from mid day till evening
there were many staff that sought medical assistance from the center as it
was said that the centre provides much better facilities and medicine as
compared to the panel clinics.

The centre is capable of catering approximately 200 medical patients and 100
dental patients on day to day basis. In addition to out-patients service the
centre also provides hemodialysis unit which can cater up to eight patients at
one time. This unit was newly established as to meet the demand of the
 increasing number of kidney patients among staff and staffs family members.

It was found out that waiting time was one of a significant problem at that
centre. Most patients usually had to wait up to 20 minutes before getting
treatments. Other than that it was also observed that patients had to wait
approximately another 15 minutes to get their prescriptions.

Conclusion

It is obvious that healthcare plays a major role in ensuring students academic

success. Therefore it is important for the centre to render its best service to
cater the needs of its patients. In regards of waiting time the centre should
consider of adding more medical staff to its workforce.

ACTIVITIES:
ACTIVITY 1
List down 3 differences of informational report and analytical report.

Analytical Report Informational Report

ACTIVITY 2

Plan a field trip to any office/centre in UTHM. In the course of the trip, you should
find out:
The general operation of the office/centre
History of its establishment
Write a field trip report of at least 600 words long, exclusive of any footnotes,
bibliography, etc. Include maps and/or images if appropriate. You should focus on
at least one aspect of the geography of the areas and include your impressions
of what you see. The choice of focus will depend entirely on the nature of the
trips. You do not necessarily need to do any background research on any
selected themes, but some knowledge of the theme and the specific trip you
select are likely to be helpful in writing good reports. Include sources in a
bibliography if you do make use of any, but this is not a major requirement.

ACTIVITY 3
FilI in the form based on a situation provided by your lecturer.