Basic Considerations in Preparing Research Report

A research paper is a type of academic writing that entitles a more theoretical and decisive thinking. It is
considered as part of every student's life, thus, making it one essential tool to gauge a student's critical
and analytical capabilities.

Another task that you as a researcher will perform is presenting your research to the community. To
recall, one main goal of a research work is to create new knowledge and to share this knowledge to the
community. Hence, a research report is an essential product after conducting research. As a researcher
yourself, you have to consider the basics in preparing research report:

1. Use of easy-to-understand words

Not everyone who will be reading your work is a scientist or has the same technical background as you
have. To make more people easily know and comprehend the ideas you want to present, use simple and
easy-to-understand words. Your research work is not a place to show off your extensive vocabulary. The
use of highly technical words (unless necessary) and unfamiliar words must be avoided. Technical words,
if used, should be defined operationally in the Definition of Terms section.

2. Good organization

To show good organization, your paper must be consistent and cohesive. In order to show consistency,
your discussions should focus solely on your research topic, never deviating from it. Each discussion
should lead to the outcome or results of your study in order to show cohesion.

3. Comprehensive

One characteristic of a well-written research work is being comprehensive. It means discussing every
angle or perspective, supported by valid data, leaving no areas unclarified. You must not let any stone go
unturned.

4. Direct to the point

This is not a venue to showcase your creative writing prowess. The use of figures of speech and other
expressions must be avoided as they could lead to misinterpretations. Hence, your research report must
be direct to the point, not beating around the bush.

5. The paper is thoroughly proofread.

Misspellings, grammatical errors, and other errors related to writing conventions can tarnish the quality of
your paper and undermine the effort you put in writing your paper. To avoid this, have someone
thoroughly proofread your paper.

CONTENT ANS STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT/ INSTITUTIONAL GUIDELINES

Most scientific papers are prepared according to a standard format called IMRAD, which represent the
first letters of the words Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, And, Discussion. These do not
represent the complete list of headings or components of research papers; the missing parts are: Title,
Authors, Keywords, Abstract, Conclusions, And References. Additionally, some papers include
Acknowledgments and Appendix (Appendices).
1. Title-

An extremely important component of the paper, a good title will attract readers who might not
otherwise read the paper and may help future researchers find important information.

A good title of a research paper should:

• Contain as few words as possible: many journals limit titles to 12 words

• Be easy to understand • Describe the contents of the paper accurately and specifically

• Avoid abbreviations, formulas, and jargon

• Not include any verb

• Not contain low-impact words such as ‘‘Some notes on …,’’ ‘‘Observations on …,’’ ‘‘Investigations
on …,’’ ‘‘Study of …,’’ and ‘‘Effect of …’’

• Not be flashy as in newspapers (e.g., avoid statements like ‘‘Agroforestry can stop deforestation’’)

• Report the subject of the research rather than the results

• Follow the style preference of the target journal.

2. Abstract

An Abstract is a mini-version of the paper (Day 1988). The American National Standards Institute
says ‘‘A well prepared abstract enables readers to identify the basic content of a document quickly
and accurately, to determine its relevance to their interests, and thus to decide whether they need to
read the document in its entirety’’ (ANSI 1979). Therefore, it is extremely important that the Abstract
be written clearly.

The abstract should be definitive rather than descriptive; i.e., it should give facts rather than say the
paper is ‘‘about’’ something. Since an abstract will usually be read by an average of 100 times more
people than will read the full paper, it should convey the information itself, not just promise it (Luellen
2001). For example, avoid phrases such as ‘‘… are described’’ or ‘‘… will be presented’’ in an
abstract; instead, describe them, present them (except in Abstracts for conferences or annual
meetings, written several months in advance of the event). As Ratnoff (1981) stated, ‘‘Reading a
scientific article isn’t the same as reading a detective story.’’

The Abstract should not contain:

• Abbreviations or acronyms unless they are standard or explained

• References to tables or figures in the paper

• Literature citations

• Any information or conclusion not in the paper itself

• General statements

• Complex, winding, verbose sentences.

Thus, in the Abstract, statements referring to the rationale and introduction, interpretation of results,
and conclusions are in present tenses, whereas materials and methods and results are in past tense.
The Abstract should not contain:

• Abbreviations or acronyms unless they are standard or explained

• References to tables or figures in the paper

• Literature citations

• Any information or conclusion not in the paper itself

• General statements

• Complex, winding, verbose sentences.

3. Introduction
A good introduction is relatively short. It tells why the reader should find the paper interesting,
explains why the author carried out the research, and gives the background the reader needs to
understand and judge the paper.

It defines the nature and extent of the problems studied, relates the research to previous work
(usually by a brief review of the literature clearly relevant to the problem), explains the objectives
of investigation, and defines any specialized terms or abbreviations to be used in what follows.
Remember that the Introduction leads logically to, and clearly states, the hypothesis or principal
theme of the paper.

The Introduction should be relatively brief; most journals recommend less than 500 words. Avoid
repetition: do not repeat the Abstract in the Introduction (and Introduction in the Discussion).Do
not go into an extensive literature review; two to four most relevant and recent citations should be
adequate to corroborate a statement. Do not repeat well-known facts nor state the obvious.

The objective is written in past tense.

4. Materials and Method

The purpose of this section is to present in a simple and direct manner what has been done, how,
and when, and how the data were analyzed and presented.

This section should provide all the information needed to allow another researcher to judge the
study or actually repeat the experiment.

The simplest way to organize this section is chronologically; include all necessary information, but
avoid unnecessary details that the readers are supposed (ought) to know.

The section should include the following though not necessarily in this order:
• Description of the study location (climate, soil—by US Soil Taxonomy and/ or FAO system,
vegetation, etc., to the extent such information is relevant to the study)
• Design of the experiment with number of replications and sampling procedures used
 • Plants or animals involved, with exact descriptions (genus, species, strain, cultivar, line, etc.);
include Latin names in italics, even for common plants, upon first mention in text (e.g., maize or
corn, Zea mays L.)
• Materials used, with exact technical specifications and quantities and their source or method of
preparation. Generic or chemical names are better than trade names, which may not be
universally recognized. Some journals as well as companies require that the company’s name is
included in parentheses after the material is mentioned
• Assumptions made and their rationale
• Statistical and mathematical procedures used to analyze and summarize the data.

Methods followed should be described, usually in chronological order, with as much precision and
detail as necessary. Standard methods need only be mentioned, or may be described by
reference to the literature as long as it is readily available.

Special attention may be paid to ensure that:

• Ambiguities in abbreviations or names are avoided
• All quantities are in standard units
• All chemicals are specifically identified so that another scientist can match them exactly in
repeating the work
• Every step is explained, including the number of replications
• All techniques are described, at least by name if they are standard, or in as much detail as
needed if you have modified a standard technique or devised a new one
• Irrelevant and unnecessary information that does not relate to the results or confuses the reader
is avoided.

5. Results
This section presents the new knowledge; therefore, it is the core of the paper. Thus, the value of
the paper depends on what is contained in this (Results) section, and it must be presented in an
absolutely clear manner in just the right number of words, neither more nor less. It is usually
easiest to follow the results if they are presented in the same order as the objectives are
presented in the Introduction.
Some guidelines on presenting the results are given below:
• Present the results simply and clearly
• Report only representative data rather than (endlessly) repetitive data
• Do not report large masses of data; reduce them to statistically analyzed summary forms and
present in tables or figures along with essential statistical information to facilitate understanding
and comparing them
• Repeat in the text only the most important findings shown in tables and graphs; in other words,
do not repeat in the text all or many of the data presented in tables and figures
• Include negative data—what was not found—only if useful for interpreting the results
• Cite in the text every table and figure by number • Include only tables and figures that are
necessary, clear, and worth reproducing
• Avoid verbose expressions: e.g., instead of saying ‘‘It is clearly shown in Table 2 that the
presence of tree canopy reduced light transmission to ground …,’’ say ‘‘Light transmission to
ground was reduced by the presence of tree canopy (Table 2).’’

Tables and figures are an integral part of a well-written scientific paper, and they appear in the
Results section (but there are exceptions). While tables present accurate numbers, figures show
trends and features. Do not present the same data in tables and graphs.
6. Discussion
This is the section where the authors explain meanings and implications of the results. The
section pulls everything together and shows the importance and value of the work and is
therefore the most innovative and difficult part of the paper to write.

A good discussion should:

• Not repeat what has already been said in the review of literature
• Relate the results to the questions that were set out in the Introduction
• Show how the results and interpretations agree, or do not agree, with current knowledge on the
subject, i.e., previously published work
• Explain the theoretical background of the observed results
• Indicate the significance of the results
• Suggest future research that is planned or needed to follow up
• Deal with only the results reported in the study
• Stay away from generalizations and conjectures that are not substantiated by the results
presented
• State conclusions with evidence for each.

7. Conclusions
Conclusions should, rather than just repeating results, state well-articulated outcomes of the
study and briefly suggest future lines of research in the area based on findings reported in the
paper. In poor writing, it is not uncommon to find conclusions such as ‘‘more research is needed
before conclusions can be drawn.’’ In that case, why publish a paper from which conclusions
cannot be drawn? Some journals do not allow a separate Conclusion section. In that case, the
last paragraph or a few sentences of the Discussion can be used to state the conclusions.

8. References:
Preparing a proper reference list is one of the most tedious aspects of finalizing a manuscript for
publication.

References and Works Cited are used differently depending on the style used. References is
used in APA Style while Works Cited is used in MLA Style.

APA and MLA Styles Compared and Contrasted (California State University– Chico)

As you can recall, APA stands for American Psychological Society and MLA stands for Modern
Language Association. These two methods of citation are the ones more frequently used by
educational institutions in the country. Below is a table showing the similarities and differences in
formatting the APA reference list and MLA works cited.

APA
Basic rules

1. Reference list starts on a new page. Type the word ―References‖ centered at the top of the
page.
2. Double-space all reference list entries.
3. Use hanging indent form. The first line of each reference is set flush left and subsequent lines
are indented 1/2 inch.
4. Arrange alphabetically, not by format of publication: book, journal, etc.
5. The author should be the first element, even for web pages. If no author is present, use the
editor‘s name. If no editor is present, start with the book title or article title.
6. List author‘s last name, followed by a comma then initials for first and middle name. Do not
spell out author‘s first or middle name.
7. Use "&" instead of "and" when listing multiple authors of a single work.
8. For a journal article with more than seven authors, list the first seven authors and three
periods, and then list the last author.
9. The date is always the second element and is contained in parentheses.
10. Book and periodical titles should be in italics. Volume numbers of periodicals should be in
italics.
11. If a journal has both a volume and an issue number, write the volume number followed by
the issue number in parenthesis. There is no space between the volume number and the
open parenthesis.
12. Article titles are plain text. No quotes or italics.
13. Capitalize only the first word of the title and the subtitle for books, book chapters, and article
titles.
14. Capitalize the first letter of each word in a periodical title except articles (a, an, the).
15. Each element (author, date, title, etc.) of a citation is separated by a period and one space.

MLA
Basic rules

1. Works cited list starts on a new page. Type the words ―Works Cited‖ centered at the top of
the page.
2. Double space within and between entries.
3. Use hanging indent form. The first line of each citation is set flush left and subsequent lines
are indented one-half inch.
4. Arrange alphabetically, not by format of publication: book, journal, etc.
5. The author should be the first element of a citation, even for web pages. If no author is
present, use the editor‘s name. If no editor is present, start with the book title or article title.
6. List author‘s last name, followed by a comma then the author‘s first and/or middle name.
Spell out author‘s name. Do not use initials.
7. If a work has more than one author, only invert the first author‘s name.
8. Underline or italicize titles of books, journals, magazines, newspapers and films.
9. Article titles are placed within quotation marks.
10. Also use quotation marks for the titles of short stories, book chapters, poems and songs.
11. Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc. This rule does not apply to indefinite
or definite articles (a, an, the), short prepositions, or conjunctions unless one is the first word
of the title or subtitle.
12. Elements of a citation are separated by a period and one space.
Summary:
 Use well known sources
Many students often use sources like Wikipedia and other random webpages in order to rush through an
assignment. However, many students have been lectured by professors (in college) and teachers (in high
school) about those sources not being reputable or trusted. Why? Well if you go to the Wikipedia website,
you will see an “edit” link that you can click on and alter the content at any time. As a result, many
students may wind up with inaccurate data that they are looking for their research papers. Also, most of
the content that is seen in Wikipedia often lacks proper citation. So if you are writing a history paper about
the civil war, George Washington or General Lee, try to use sources like the History channel, Britannica
Encyclopedia or tangible/ebook versions of library books instead.
 

 Avoid plagiarism at all costs  

Many students were caught plagiarizing on their research papers and the outcome is not pretty. Little
things like citing a phrase that you insert word for word in your paper, or having lots of similarity in the way
you wrote the paper to other student’s work, are red flags. Those things will grab the professor’s attention
and have them call you out on it. If your professor is kind enough, he’ll tell you that you’re showing signs
of plagiarism, but most professors nowadays won’t tolerate it one bit. To avoid plagiarism at all costs, try
to make your content as original as you can. When you are reading your information that you’ve acquired,
try to digest it and then summarize it on your own words. If you have to insert a specific phrase that is
relevant, you should give proper citation, such as author’s name and page number where the text was
found. Last of all, at the end of writing the research paper, list all the citation sources in proper form
(depending on the citation format APA, MLA, etc.).
 

 Make your content flow

When writing your research paper, try not to place your content all of over the place. For example, if you
are writing about Henry Ford’s Car Company, the Vietnam War, or the evolution of computer processors,
write each paragraph chronologically including all the details. For example, if you are writing about the
Vietnam War, start from the beginning and offer some insight on the current stance of the countries
involved in the war, build up to what triggered the event, describe the events as they unfolded, and end
the paper on the aftermath and outcome of what happened. This concept is applicable for any research
paper especially if it is a history research paper. Focusing on the facts of an event in chronological
order will accurately frame your research paper and will help eliminate any confusion.
 
 Revise and revise again
Revision is so important. One missing comma or poorly written sentence can make a teacher frustrated or
distract them from understanding the point of your paper. If your paper lacks of lots of revision, it will show
your professor that you are not writing at a college level and hence are incapable of writing proficiently in
the real world.

 Always consult the opinion of other people

Admit it, it is always good to hear feedbacks. Feedbacks are considered the engine in knowing the effectively
of your work. It really helps in creating a more efficient research outcome.