EAPP Additional Notes (Topic 9 and 10)

Topic 9 - Position Paper

POSITION PAPER
- An essay sometimes called a point of view paper, which presents the
opinion of the author about an issue
- The purpose is to present your opinion regarding a debatable issue.
The goal is to make valid argument (opinion) and defend your side
- It is important to support your claims using evidences, and prepare for
counterarguments

Types
1. Academic position paper
- Papers that enable discussion on emerging topics. It is commonly
used to substantiate opinions and put forwards evidence in an
objective discussion such as research
2. Political position paper
- Commonly used in Political campaigns, organizations and
diplomatic arrangements in efforts to shed light and change the
landscape of politics
3. Legal position paper
- Commonly known as aide-memoire in international law - a
memorandum
 Topic 10 - Writing Report

REPORT
A concise document which is written for a particular purpose and
audience.
According to the dictionary, it is an official document that
presents findings from an observation or investigation of a
problem or issue.

It is a factual paper
Hence, it should be accurate, and free from biases.

Structure
Essay is different from a report
- reports are more informative, and follows a specific structure
- reports often include tables, graphs and analysis
- At the end of a report, recommendations are often presented.

I. Title section
- presents the title of report
 - may also include other info such as name of author and date
prepared
- a table of contents and definition of terms may be required

II. Summary
- all the major points such as methods, results etc., conclusion and
recommendation are included
- quick overview of the report
- best composed after completing the report

III. Introduction
- Introduce the problem to the reader; in simple language
- may include definition of terms

IV. Body
- main section of the paper, where the writer can include jargon
- includes subsections and subtitles
- presents the discussion of the findings.
- significance of the findings can be included at the final part

V. Conclusion
 - Restates the problem, summarize the key ideas, findings, and
presents the writer’s final impression based on findings

VI. Recommendation
- Refers to actions or ways that needs to be done
- based on findings, suggest a course of actions to address or solve
the issue
- a response to the key findings

VII. Appendices
- not essential part, but may be supplemetary as forms of proof to
provide better understanding of the paper

Tips for writing a good report

1. Keep it simple
2. Use active voice rather than passive
3. Grammar and punctuation

SURVEY
A method of gathering information form a sample. it involves asking
people questions with the purpose to investigate

A survey report is considered a formal written document that

objectively presents data and findings gathered through a process of
research. Its goal is to present the data in a full and objective manner.

Structure

I. Intro
- presents the when, how, and where data was gathered
- presents the purpose/aim

II. Body
- Presents all information from the data gathering process
- Present data in detail, organizing them into categories (e.g sex,
age, strand, occupation, etc.)

III. Conclusion
- Summary of all the major points discussed in the body.
- May provide comments or recommendations

Tips and Useful phrases

1. Formal, impartial language
- use more appropriate verbs such as claim, state, report, suggest,
agree, complain, shows, found

2. When reporting results, figures should be presented in the form of

percentages and proportions

Example
Proportion:
Three in five pregnant women claims that zumba helped them
during pregnancy
OR
Percentage:
60 percent of pregnant women claims that zumba helped them
during pregnancy
OR
Phrases:
The Majority of; A significant number of

Types of Survey
1. Interview
- It usually involves face to face or actual questioning.
- can be one on one, or group interview
- semi-structured or unstructured

2. Questionnaire
- Refers to a set of printed or written questions with a choice of
answers
- structured

Different aspects to consider:

- determine the scope and purpose, then the questions to be
included
- determine the response format

Constructing Structured Questions

1. Dichotomous Questions
- when question has two possible responses (answers)
- often Yes/No, True/False, Agree/Disagree
- putting a check or x mark in blanks, boxes
Example:
Sex: ___ Male ___ Female
2. Based on Level of Measurement
- classify in terms of measurement

A. Nominal
- putting numbers as placeholders for every response.
- the numbers do not carry any value

B. Ordinal
` - classifying/ organizing/ ranking a set of items by writing
numbers from 1 to 5
1 as highest/ first choice
5 as the lowest/ last choice

Example:
Rank the importance of the following basic needs. Fill in the
rank order using numbers 1 through 5. 1 as the most
important.
__ food __ money
__ shelter __ peace
__ love

C. Interval
- Determining opinions of respondents using number range
(1 to 5) or feeling range (very unsatisfied to very satisfied)

a.Likert scale aka bipolar scale

(Restaurant survey)
Please rate the quality of our food and service
Very Poor - Poor - Satisfactory - Good - Excellent
1 2 3 4 5

b.Semantic differential
- Asks people to rate a product or any set of items using a
multi-point rating options

Example of Semantic differential

(Teacher survey)
Please rate the treatment of your teacher to students
Fair O O O O O Unfair

c.Guttman scale
 - The respondent checks each item with which they agree

Example of Guttman scale

Please check the statements that applies to your lifestyle
__ Regularly goes to the gym
__ Observe proper diet
__ Sleep 8 or more hours a day
__ Do exercise regularly
__ No vices

3. Filter or Contingency Q’s

- Asking one question to determine if they are qualified or
experienced to qualify to answer subsequent questions.

Example:
Do you have sibling/s? __ Yes __ No
if Yes, how many?
__ 1 __ 2 – 4 __5 and up

Response Format
Help respondents answer more easily, and summarizing answers
become more efficient

1. Fill-in the blanks – simplest response format

Dichotomous response – putting either check or X mark; Yes/No
Or
Name: _____ Age: _____ Sex: _____

2. Check the answer – place/putting a check next to the choices

Please check if you have the following gadgets
laptop desktop
smartphone tablet

3. Circle the answer – encircling a number or item

4. Options to be clicked
O O O O O
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Stongly
Disagree Agree

Field report
A field report describes observation of people, places or events
Makes analysis in order to identify common themes.
Themes are the features or characteristics that are common among
observed data, which are relevant to your study.

A field report expresses the writer’s interpretation /meaning that was

drawn from the data gathered during his observations of the events.

Field report is most often used in the disciplines under applied social
sciences, such as anthropology, economics, politics, psychology,
history, law and linguistics.

Doing field report is essential, to be able to examine how scientific

theories apply – work in real life through scientific observation and
analysis.

Laboratory report
 An account of an experiment and what was discovered during the
experiment; a scientific paper

These reports may be published in public and subject to peer review by

other experts in the same field. If it is accepted by the majority, then
the findings of the study may become part of the accepted body of
scientific knowledge

It may be persuasive but also archival. It is archival in the sense that

future researches may use your work as a reference.

A lab report consists of the following parts:

1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Intro
4. Methodology
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. Literature cited