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QUARTER 2
MODULE 2

Writing the Report Survey Field

Report/Laboratory/Scientific
Technical Report
In this module, you will have access to a number of fascinating and engaging learning
possibilities about the principles and uses of surveys, experiments, and scientific observations.
At the end of this module, you are expected to produce a well-written report for various disciplines.

CONTENT:

Lesson 2.1 Determining the Objectives and Structures of Various Kinds of Reports
CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-IIe-j-6

Lesson 2.2 Designs, Tests, and Revising Survey Questionnaires

CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-IIe-j-7

Lesson 2.3 Conducting Surveys, Experiments or Observations

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Lesson 2.4 Gathering Information from Surveys, Experiments, or Observations

CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-IIe-j-9

Lesson 2.5 Summarizing Findings and Executing the Report through Surveys
CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-IIe-j-11

Lesson 2.6 Writing a Survey Report

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Lesson Determining the Objectives and Structures of

2.1 Various Kinds of Reports

In this lesson, you will understand the basic principles of writing report in detail, including
what information it contains, how that information is formatted and organized. You may begin by
understanding the meaning of the word, report.

Many scholars have defined report as any informational work made with an intention to
relay information or recounting certain events in a presentable manner. These are often conveyed
in writing, speech, television, or film. Moreover, considering report as an administrative necessity,
hence, most official form of information or work are completed via report. Note that report is
always written in a sequential manner in order of occurrence.

A key feature of report is that it is formally structured in sections. Hence, the use of
sections makes it easy for the reader to jump straight to the information they need. Unlike an
essay which is written in a single narrative style from start to finish, each section of a report has
its own purpose and will need to be written in an appropriate style to suit – for example, the
methods and results sections are mainly descriptive, whereas the discussion section needs to be
analytical.

Reports communicate information which has been compiled as a result of research and
analysis of data and of issues. Please note however that reports can cover a wide range of topics,
but usually focus on transmitting information with a clear purpose, to a specific audience. It this
sense, you can come up with your own definition of report as, “a systematic, articulate, and orderly
presentation of research work in a written form”.

Good reports are documents that are accurate, objective and complete. They should also
be well-written, clearly structured and expressed in a way that holds the reader's attention and
meets their expectations. Remember, that you may be required to write several different types of
reports so it would be better for you to understand them well. So, here are the most common
types of reports that you need to understand, it is well that you get to familiarize the different
types of reports so you know particularly when and how to use them in the near future that your
teacher or your college professor would require you to write one.

Guide Questions:

What are the different types of report writing? What are its purposes? Who are its target
audience? How is a particular type of report being written?

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1. TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS (The disciplines

with an applied focus such as Engineering,
Information Technology, Commerce, Accounting
and Finance.)

This type of report writing simulate the

process of report writing in industry.
Assignments are set in the form of a problem
or a case study. The students research the
problem, and present the results of the
research in a report format.

Technical writing is form of writing technical communication or documentation in

science and technology or applied science that helps people understand a product or
service.
The main purpose of technical writing is to inform and to trigger the person into
action such as purchasing a product or service. Its purpose may also be instructed
persuade, but never to entertain. The content is factual and straightforward. It is
expressed in formal, standard or academic language. The write-up uses a specialized
vocabulary and follows a set of rules and conventions. It is also organized in a sequential
or systematic pattern. Often, it is detail-oriented and require advance knowledge in the
specific field. The tone of technical writing output is objective and its audience is specific
uses language to evoke either an emotional or intellectual response from the audience or
reader.
Examples of technical writing are end user documentation like user manuals that
accompany cellular phones, personal computers.

2. FIELD REPORTS (Commonly found in the disciplines such

as Law, Industrial Relations, Psychology, Nursing, History
and Education.)

These types of reports require the student to

analyze his or her observations of phenomena or events
in the real world in light of theories studied in the course.

The purpose of a field report in the social

sciences is to describe the observation of people, places,
and/or events and to analyze that observation data in order to identify and categorize
common themes in relation to the research problem underpinning the study. The content
represents the researcher's interpretation of meaning found in data that has been
gathered during one or more observational events.

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Field reports are assigned with the intention of improving your understanding of
key theoretical concepts by applying methods of careful and structured observation of,
and reflection about, people, places, or phenomena existing in their natural settings. Field
reports facilitate the development of data collection techniques and observation skills and
they help you to understand how theory applies to real world situations. Field reports are
also an opportunity to obtain evidence through methods of observing professional
practice that contribute to or challenge existing theories.

We are all observers of people, their interactions, places, and events; however, your
responsibility when writing a field report is to conduct research based on data generated
by the act of designing a specific study, deliberate observation, synthesis of key findings,
and interpretation of their meaning.

3. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS (They are common in all the Sciences

and Social Sciences.) These reports use a standard
scientific report format describing methods, results and
conclusions to report upon an empirical investigation.

The purpose of a science report is to clearly

communicate your key message about why your scientific
findings are meaningful. In order to do this, you need to
explain why you are testing a hypothesis, what
methodology you used, what you found, and why your
findings are meaningful. This requires a clear link between your introduction and your
analysis/discussion.

The scope and style of reports varies widely. It depends on three key factors: the report's
intended audience, the report's purpose and the type of information/subject to be
communicated.

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Lesson
2.2 Designs, Tests, and Revising Survey Questionnaires

In the previous lessons, you have learned that there are various kinds of reports depending
on the objective of the researcher. In each kind of report, there are instruments used to gather
data. One of the ways to gather data through a survey is by using a survey questionnaire.

Have you experienced entering a restaurant or a café and you were asked to answer a
series of questions about your experience at that place or their service? There are some places
where all you need is to choose the type of smiley that speaks of how you feel after your
experience at their place. These are examples of simple survey questionnaires.

A questionnaire is a structured series of questions designed to

collect primary data from respondents. A well-designed questionnaire
motivates respondents to provide accurate and complete information which
is very helpful in attaining the survey’s objective. (QuickMBA.com, n.d.)

DESIGNING A QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Determine the research problem or the target information.

2. Choose the type of questions and method of administration: (written, email or web form,
telephone interview, personal interview).
3. Determine the general question content needed to obtain the desired information.
4. Determine the form of responses.
5. Choose the exact question wording.
6. Make sure that the sequence of the questions is effective.
7. Test the questionnaire and revise if needed.

TYPE OF QUESTIONS AND ITS USAGE

1. Open-Ended

Open-ended questions are those that invite a participant to answer in their own
words, opening up a conversation and capturing greater detail, by providing more
information than a simple yes or no answer. Open-ended questions are great for
qualitative research, and when used in a questionnaire are typically answered using text
boxes.

Example: How do you like to spend your free time?

If you could improve one thing about our product, what would you change?
What matters most to you in the workplace?

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2. Closed-Ended

Closed-ended questions give the respondent a limited amount of options to

choose from, inviting a simple, often one-word answer. They are great for collecting
quantitative data and are popular in surveys, as quantitative data is easier to analyze than
qualitative data. There are a few versions of close-ended questions, from dichotomous
(e.g. yes or no) to multiple choice, with each having advantages and best use cases.

Examples: Did you achieve what you came here to do today?

Do you prefer working on solo or team tasks?
How often do you go to a restaurant? Weekly, monthly, yearly, less than yearly,
never.

3. Multiple choice

Multiple choice questions are one of the most fundamental question types in a
questionnaire, presenting respondents with either single select options or multi-select
options (where more than one answer can be chosen from a list). Age range would be an
example of single select whilst picking from a list of foods might be multi-select, should
more than one response apply. Example multiple choice questions:

Examples:

• How many devices do you use to browse the internet? 1 | 2 | 3+

• Which of these have you visited in the last month?
(Tick all that apply): Cinema | Restaurant | Leisure centre | Gallery | Concert venue
• Have you visited a dentist in the past 12 months? Yes | No

4. Likert scale

Likert scale questions capture respondents’ opinions – specifically the extent to

which they agree or disagree with a statement. Often based on a 5, 7 or even 10-point
scale, responses might range from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”, or “very
satisfied” to “very unsatisfied”. To ensure that those without an opinion are not forced to
respond inaccurately, a neutral mid-point choice is also typically included, such as “neither
agree nor disagree”.

Example of Likert scale questions:

How satisfied are you with the product?

Customers Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied
Customer A
Customer B
Customer C

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5. Rating questions

Rating questions are used to enable a comparison of different research items

(such as product or service features) using a consistent scale. Participants might be
asked to rate a series of choices on a rating scale (say 1-5) where 1 = ‘Not at all important’
and 5 = ‘Very important’.
There are a variety of scales these questions can use such as numbers, frequency
(daily to annually, never to always), comparative weighting, stars, ‘smiley’ emojis, hearts
and more.

Example rating questions:

• Out of 5, how would you rate our delivery service?

• How many stars would you give the training course overall?
• How important is dress code in your choice of employer?

6. Ranking questions

Ranking questions ask respondents to indicate their preferences between a list of

research subjects (such as product attributes, packaging designs, or holiday destinations),
to identify which are the most and least favored. As few as two choices might be
presented, whilst a neutral/don’t know answer may or may not be included.

Ranking questions are useful for finding out what customers want, and work well
in conjunction with rating scale questions. Example ranking questions:

Rank the following subjects in order of preference – 1 being your favorite

and 5 being your least favorite.
1. Oral Communication
2. Reading and Writing
3. Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wika at Kulturang Filipino
4. 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
5. Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions

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Now that you know the different types of questionnaires and the procedure on how to design
a questionnaire, are you ready to form your questions?

QUESTION WORDING BASIC

1. Write short and simple questions

Respondents are often unwilling to study an item in order to understand it. Assume that
respondents will answer the questionnaire quickly. Therefore, provide clear, short items
that will not be misinterpreted.

Example: Given the security issues reportedly linked to POGOs, including related
criminal activities such as illegal operating hours, a rise in undocumented
workers from China, and a weak response from government agencies, do
you think that they should continue to operate in our country?

(PROBLEM: Long questions can be confusing.)

Better question: POGOs have recent reports about their illegal activities. Do you
think that they should continue to operate in our country?

2. Avoid leading questions, wording that influences respondent to consider a subject in a

weighted manner, or injects a preference or opinion.

Example 1: Do you hate the president of the Philippines?

Why is this leading? Because the question itself includes an opinion word.

Example 2: What do you think of when you hear “climate change”?

a) typhoons
b) global warming
c) the environment
d) greenhouse gases

Why is this leading? Because it forces the respondent to answer one of these
choices, even if none of them comes to mind.

3. Appropriately Open-Ended and Closed-Ended Question

Use open-ended questions when responses need to be elaborated by the

respondents for exhaustive and comprehensive data gathering. They are more suited to
exploratory research that looks to describe a subject based on trends and patterns.

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Closed-Ended questions are popular because they provide greater uniformity or

responses and are easily processed compared to open-ended questions. However, closed-
ended questions the response categories should be exhaustive and mutually exclusive. In
other words, all possible options should be provided.

Example: Why do you play sports?

A) Enjoyment B) Health C) Friends D) Others _________

4. Questions must be non-threatening and attempt to evoke the truth.

Example: Who do you think consume more cigarettes: you or your friends?

When a respondent is concerned about the consequences of answering a

question in a particular manner, there is a good possibility that the answer
will not be truthful.

5. Question Clarity Avoid ambiguities and vague words (e.g. usual, regular, normal)

Example:
Given questions: Problems: Better questions:
What is your number of How many eggs constitute a On days you eat eggs, how
serving of eggs in a serving? What does ‘a typical many eggs do you usually
typical day? day’ mean? consume?

Vague questions are difficult

Do you watch television How often do you watch
to answer (what is the
regularly? Television?"
meaning of "regularly"?)

Remember: Questions should mean the same thing to all respondents. All the terms should be
understandable or defined, time periods specified, complex questions asked in
multiple stages.

6. Do not use double-barreled questions. Ask one question at a time. Avoid asking 2
questions, imposing unwarranted assumptions, or hidden contingencies. Whenever you
use ‘and’ on a question or a statement, check if it is double-barreled.

Example: Do you find the classes you took during your first semester in SHS more
demanding and interesting than your JHS classes?

Yes No

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How would someone respond if they felt their SHS classes were more
demanding but also more boring than their JHS classes? Or less demanding
but more interesting? Because the question combines “demanding” and
“interesting,” there is no way to respond yes to one criterion but no to the
other. Do you find the classes you took during your first semester in SHS more
demanding than your JHS classes?

7. Clearly define the response scale dimension or continuum.

When using a response scale, clearly define the dimension or continuum respondents are
to use in their rating task.

Example: Response categories - Make them logical and meaningful!

NOT: Many – Some – A Few – Very Few – None

Instead, DO a Bipolar or Unipolar rating scale:

• Bipolar measures both direction and intensity of an attitude.

• Unipolar scale measures one concept with varying degrees of
intensity.

8. Minimize presuppositions – an assumption about the world whose truth is taken for
granted.

Answering a question implies accepting its presuppositions, a respondent may be led to

provide an answer even if its presuppositions are false.

Example 1: Are you a DDS or a Dilawan?

Problem: Presupposes that one of the alternatives is true.

Example 2: What are your usual hours of work?

Problem: Does respondent have usual hours of work?

Better Question: What are your usual hours of work, or do you not have
usual hours?
Remember: Each question should have a specific purpose or should not be included in the
questionnaire.

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TESTING AND REVISING THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Have you experienced asking a dressmaker or a tailor sew your school uniform? What
does a tailor or dressmaker usually do before finally give you your sewn uniform? He or she would
let you fit it first, right? Why do you think so?

That is the same as the questionnaire. You are the tailor and the questionnaire is the
school uniform. You need to check if the questionnaire fits the respondents and your target
information. No matter how carefully you design a questionnaire, there is always the POSSIBILITY
of error. You are always certain to make some mistake. The surest protection against such error
is to PRE-TEST the questionnaire in full or in part. (Baxter, L. & Babbie, E., 2003)

That is the last part of designing your questionnaire before finally administering and
distributing it to your respondents. There are no fixed steps on how to test your questionnaire but
here are some general guidelines that might be helpful. Keep in mind that you are aiming for the
questionnaire to be as effective as it can be.

Some Practical Tips on Testing a Questionnaire:

1. Find 5 to 10 people from your target group.

2. Ask them to complete the survey while thinking out loud. (Take note of their opinions and
feedback)

3. Observe how they complete the survey. (Note their hesitations or where they made mistakes
in answering. This is an indication that the survey questions and layout are not clear enough
and needs improvement.)

Look at this example:

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4. Make improvements based on the results.

Quick tips before you finish the lesson:

✓ All questionnaires need an introduction. Be sure to have one.
✓ It is useful to begin every questionnaire with basic instructions for completing it.
✓ The format of a questionnaire is as important as the wording and ordering. Be sure
that it is spread out and uncluttered.
✓ Physical aspects such as page layout, font type and size, questions spacing, and
the type of paper should be considered. Always check on these.

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Lesson
2.3 Conducting Surveys, Experiments or Observations

You have explored the nature and purpose of designing a questionnaire, and now you are
ready to explore methods of data collection. There are varieties of methods of data collection
including observations, experiments, surveys, and others. The most common methods used are
experiments, observations, and surveys. The purpose of this lesson is for you to explore methods
of data collection, how they work in practice, the purpose of each, when their use is appropriate,
and what they can offer to your research

1. SURVEY. In doing a survey, the researcher must understand the right mode of inquiry for
establishing an inference whether in a large group of people or from a small number of
people in a group. The very aim of conducting a survey is to present and explain the actual
experiences of a certain population.

Conducting survey is done in three (3) steps:

• by email;
• telephone; and
• personal interview.

The method of data collection can be from observation to content analysis and
this can be used in the survey.

The challenges limitations of a survey are seen according to the following criteria:

• Appropriateness of the method

• Accuracy of what to observe
• Generalizability of findings
• Administrative constrains
• Ethical and political difficulties

An example of a survey is the open-ended questions. This is placed in a box form

and will permit your respondents to provide a unique answer. This kind of approach is able
to provide the respondents the freedom to say what they feel about a topic, which provided
you with an exploratory data that may unleash important issues, opportunities, issues, or
quotes. (Buensuceso, Dacanay, Manalo, and San Gabriel, 2016, p101)

Example:
You want to know what proportion of your English class likes rock music. You have
three different ways to conduct a study and you need to look at the key features of each
different method, the pros and cons and decide which method is best.

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You already know that a survey means that you are going to select people. And in
this case those people would be in the English class because that is your population and
then you will ask them questions or multiple questions depending on what you’re looking for.
In this example, you would randomly select people and you could ask, for example “Do you
like rock music?”

So, the positive side of this method is that it’s very time efficient. It’s very quick to just
come up with a question, ask someone a question and get their answer then record it. This
is also nice because you get the right to the point in your question, you’re designing the
question to get the exact information you’re looking for so it focuses on the desired
response.

The negative side of the survey is it’s very likely you could get biased responses and
remember biased responses caused us to get skewed data www.shsph.blogspot.com 5 and
the reason you could get a biased response is because when you ask someone a question
the wording is very important. The wording of the question or the way someone interprets
your question can cause you to have biased responses. So you have to careful with how you
will ask and formulate your question/s.

For example, if you ask someone, “Do you like rock music?” You might be biased
towards saying YES or NO depending on how they feel about rock music; whereas, maybe if
you had them rank different kinds of music and gave them different options that would give
you a better idea on how they really feel about this type of music.

Be careful when conducting a survey. Make sure the wording of your question is not
going to cause someone to answer in a different way.

2. OBSERVATION. According to Buensuceso, Dacanay, Manalo, and San Gabriel (2016),

observation may take place in natural settings and involve the researcher taking lengthy
and descriptive notes of what is happening.

It is argued that there are limits to the situations that can be observed in their ‘natural’
settings and that the presence of the researcher may lead to problems with validity.

Limitations with observation include:

• Change in people’s behavior when they know they are being observed.
• A ‘snap shot’ view of a whole situation
• Think Big Brother…
• The researcher may miss something while they are watching and taking notes.
• The researcher may make judgments, make value statements or misunderstand
what has been observed

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Strength of observation:

• Can offer a flavor for what is happening

• Can give an insight into the bigger picture
• Can demonstrate sub-groups
• Can be used to assist in the design of the rest of the research
• Sometimes, the researcher becomes or needs to become a participant observer,
where he/she is taking part in the situation in order to be accepted and further
understand the workings of the social phenomenon.

Observation can sometimes obtain more reliable information about certain things
– for example, how people actually behave. It can also serve as a technique for verifying
or nullifying information provided in face-to-face encounters. People or environment can
be observed. When environment is researched, it can provide valuable background
information that may inform other aspects of the research.

Techniques for collecting data through observation:

a. Note taking
− This is the most common and easiest method of recording your
observations.
− Limitations include:
• Researcher might miss out on an observation as they are taking
notes.
• The researcher may be focused on a particular event or situation.
• There is room for subjective interpretation of what is happening.

b. Video recording
− This technique has the positive effect of giving you an unfiltered record
of the observation event. It also facilitates repeated analysis of your
observations. This can be particularly helpful as you gather additional
information or insights during your research.
− Limitations may include:
• People acting unnaturally towards the camera or others avoiding
the camera.
• The camera may not always see everything.

c. Photographs and artifacts

− Useful when there is a need to collect observable information or
phenomena such as buildings, neighborhoods, dress, and appearance.
− Artifacts include objects of significance – memorabilia, instruments,
tools and others.

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d. Illustrations
− This does not refer to an artistic endeavor but, rather, refers to the
possible need, for example, to draw a map of the observation setting or
illustrating objects in relation to people's behavior.

3. EXPERIMENT. According to Murdock (2020), in this method, you will randomly select
people and you need to split them into groups and they will now your control group.

So, for example, if you were doing an experiment about medication, and you
wanted to see if a medication was helping somebody. You would have your participants
in two different groups and you would get different treatments. One group would get the
medication you’re interested in finding out if it works and then the other group would
maybe get a different medication that they are going to take but they don’t know that it
actually doesn’t do anything. So that would tell us if there’s any bias in the experiment
towards somebody thinking they’d feel better just because they’re taking medication. So
that’s one example of how a control group would work.

Let’s consider again the same example given. You want to know what
proportion of your English class likes rock music.

In this situation with rock music, your control group could be having a group
that listen to a different genre of music so that way you would be observing one group
listening to rock and one group listening to something else and you could actually
compare. It would show you if people are responding a certain way just because you
are giving them a certain treatment versus how do they actually feel about rock
music.
So, the positive side of this is that the control group reduces bias whereas in
the survey and observational study, you didn’t have a control group. It also allows you
to determine if there’s a cause and an effect happening. So, it will really just give you
a much deeper understanding of how people are behaving based on your treatment
to them, especially to the example medication, you can really determine if the
medication is helping people or not.
The negative side of this method is, it is time consuming because you’re
going have two different groups. It is a little bit harder to keep track of who’s in which
group, how are you treating each group, and also this method always has to be
concerned with ethics meaning you are not going to persuade them to behave in
certain way or treating them in a way that is not okay.
In this situation, you can do any of these methods but you have to be aware
of the ways you can get bias especially in a survey, you can get a lot of bias responses
and an observational study if you don’t have a control group. So, an experiment is the
best way to get a least amount of bias.

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 ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES
MODULE 2 | Writing the Report Survey Field Report/Laboratory/Scientific Technical Report

Remember!

What's the difference between a survey and a questionnaire?

To put it simply, a questionnaire is a list of written questions aimed at getting information

about individuals. A questionnaire is usually limited in scope, and it is not used for gathering data
or analyzing statistics. A survey involves gathering data to use for analysis and forecasting. As
opposed to its questionnaire cousin, the data is not analyzed in isolation. Surveys do look for
trends, behavior, and the bigger picture. Here’s another way to put it: A questionnaire is one-
purpose data collection through a set of questions. A survey is data collection through a set of
questions for the purposes of statistical analysis.

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