Reportingand

SharingtheFindings
ModuleVIII
GuidelinesinMakingConclusion
Researchers in general consider conclusions their greatest contribution
tothefundofknowledge.Drawingconclusionsisoneofthechallenging
tasksintheentireresearchprocess.

Afindingisusuallyconsideredthechiefoutcomeoftheresearchprocess.
It denotes totality of the entire investigation. Here, the researcher
makessurethateachresearchquestionhasacorrespondinganswer.

Inessenceaconclusionallowsthereaderstoseeyourresearchusefulin
knowledge creation as it matters the way it does to the readers. When
theysaysowhatafterreadingyourconclusion,theremustbewrongin
your conclusion, so you need to rethink and rewrite it without
unnecessarilyrepeatingtheresults.
Letustakealookatsometipsinpreparingawellcraftedconclusion.

1. Writetheconclusionasconciseaspossible.Oneortwoparagraphs
maybeenough.

2. Neversimplyrestatetheresults.Discusssalientfindingand
interpret.

3. Drawattentiontolimitations,exceptionsorlackofcorrelation
betweenyourresearchfindingsandthoseofthepreviousstudies.
Thisisthetimewhenyouneedtocheckifyourresearchfindings
andinterpretationscontrastoragreetotherelatedliterature.

4. Stateanddiscussinquickmannertheimplicationsoftheresearch
findingsaswellasanypracticalapplicationoftheresearchresults.

5. Stateandcondenseyourevidencesforeachconclusion.
Somekeywordsorphrasescanbeusedtostartaconclusion.
Summarizingthecontent
Restatementofaims(research)
Summarizingthefindings(research)
Suggestingimplications
Significanceofthefindings(researchcontribution)
Significanceofthefindingswithaqualification
Limitationsofthecurrentstudy
GuidelinesinMakingRecommendations

Like drawing conclusions, preparing recommendations require

researchersabilitytoofferplausible,ifnotfeasiblemeanstoimprove
or further the investigation being conducted. Oftentimes,
recommendations are numbered as broken down. In other occasions,
they are stated in paragraph form. The number of recommendations
usuallydependsonthenumberofconclusionsdrawn.
 TechniquesinListingReferences
Listing references may vary in style as presented in Module IV.
Oftentimes, it is dependent on the prescribed format that has been
adopted among researching individuals in schools, industries or
community.

For various reasons, APA has been widely known an used at

presented by many researchers all over the world particularly those
from social sciences and hard sciences such as physics, chemistry,
environment sciences, among others. To avoid wastage of time and
efforts, you should get to know the citation and referencing style
prescribedinyourrespectivedisciplines.
TheProcessofReportWriting
Writing as a language skill may be so difficult to may people; others
finditchallengingwhiledauntingforsome.Inresearch,thistaskmay
be made easier when the researcher has obtained a full grasp of the
overall research undertakings. Critical thinking, apart from exact
writing,isneededinpreparingaresearchreport.

One important thing is that you should follow the writing format of
theresearchreportsetbytheschoolwhereyoustudy.
Burnard(2004)outlined10basicpartsandsectionsofapublishable
qualitativeresearcharticle:

1.Abstract

Beingwrittenthelast,theabstractusuallycontains200250
wordsdependingontheguidelinesoftheresearchorganizationwhere
yousubmityourpaperforpublication.

Thebasiccomponentsofresearchabstractinclude

1. Topicintroduction

2. Mainobjectiveofthestudy

3. Researchdesign/method

4. Samplingtechniqueandinstrumentation

5. Findingsofthestudy

6. Conclusions,and

7. Recommendations.
2.Introduction

AwellwrittenIntroduction
Setstheoverviewofthestudy
Putsthestudyincontext
Definestheresearchproblemortopicinvestigated
Statesstrongjustificationforconductingthestudy
Demonstratesclearconnectionofthestudytopreviousresearchers

3.Aimsofthestudy

This part of the research report clearly states the main objective
and specific objectives of the study. The researcher makes sure that
those are achievable. Oftentimes, time and money are considered in
researchplanninggiventhecapabilityoftheresearcherinconducting
theentireresearch.
4.ReviewofLiterature

This subpart of the paper may be optional given the current

trends in writing a publishable research paper. Modern research
scientists, to include the researching professionals, have popularized
theideaofmakingtheliteraturereviewembeddedinalmostallsub
parts of the paper. This is predominantly found in the Introduction
andResultsandDiscussion.

Oftentimes, research experts use recent reference materials

(usually five years back from the present time). This is to warrant
freshnessoftheresearchfindingsthatyoumayconsiderinyourown
research.

5.Sample

The research sample is the subset of the target population. It is

determinedsubstantiallytoestablishconvincing,ifnot,wideranging
generalization of the research findings. In qualitative research, data
saturation dictates the sample size with the sample previously
determined.
6.DateCollectionMethods

In general, a scientific research needs to be carried out on exact data

gathering method. Dependent on the desired data to obtain, such
methodshouldbehandledwithmaximumprecision.

7.DataAnalysisMethods

Qualitative researchers always choose the most appropriate data

analysis method. Failure to properly operationalize certain method of
data analysis may impair the researcher to accurately analyze and
interprettheresearchfindings.

8.ResultsandDiscussion

TheDiscussionpartconsistsofsalientfindingsanalyzedanddiscussed
using the researchers analytical thinking skills. It contains his or her
interpretationoftheresultsandpersonalinsightsensuringvalidityand
reliabilityoftheresearchfindings.
The findings of the study usually show the outgrowth of the inquiry
whichusuallyappearsintextualformasinthecaseofthequalitative
research.Interpretingthefindingsisoneofthechallengingtasksofa
qualitative researcher apart from identifying emerging themes and
patterns.

9.Conclusions

Generally, conclusions are usually considered the researchers

contributiontoscience.Itisinthispartoftheresearchreportwhere
theresearchquestionsareansweredwhiledrawinggeneralization,if
not, stating inferences, implications, and interpretations of the
research findings. It is important to note that qualitative research
doesnotgeneralize,thuscannotreallymakeconclusions.

10.Recommendations

This part of the research report is sometimes treated optional.

Recommendations are usually based on the findings and conclusions
havingalloftheseweavedtothecore.