WRITING A RESEARCH

REPORT
PRESENTED BY

M. NURUL ISLAM
DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS
UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA

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 What is a research report?
DEFINITION
A research report is an outcome of a scientific investigation and its purpose
is to convey information contained in the report to the reader or audience.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

All research reports use roughly the same format. It doesnt matter whether
youve done a customer satisfaction survey, an employee opinion survey, a
health care survey, or a marketing research survey. All have the same basic
structure and format. The rationale is that readers of research reports, i.e.
decision makers, sponsors, etc. will like to know exactly

How to solve the problem they are encountering?

Have the objectives of the study been fulfilled?
How can the results of the study be utilized?
Have the results of the study policy implications?
Can the recommendations be implemented?
and many other queries.
Once youve learned the basic rules for report writing, you can apply them to any research discipline.

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GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Research reports usually have five to six
chapters with well-established sections in
each chapter. Readers of the report will be
looking for these chapters and sections, so
you should not deviate from the standard
format unless you are specifically requested
to do so by the sponsor of the research.

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PROPOSAL AND A
REPORT

Most research studies begin with a written

proposal. Again, nearly all proposals follow
the same format. In fact, the proposal is
identical to the first three chapters of the
final report except that it is written in future
tense. In the proposal, you might say
something like `` the researchers will
obtain the sample from., while in the
report, it would be changed to `` the
researchers obtained the sample from ``
Once again, with the exception of tense,
the proposal becomes the first three 4
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PROPOSAL AND A
REPORT

The most commonly used style for writing

research reports is called ``APA and the rules
are described in the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association. Any library
or bookstore will have it readily available. The
style guide contains hundreds of rules for
grammar, layout, and syntax. This paper will
cover the most important ones.
Avoid the use for first person pronouns. Refer to
yourself or the research team in third person.
Instead of saying `` I will or ``We will say
something like `` The researcher will. Or The
research team will .
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STYLE, LAYOUT, AND PAGE
FORMATTING

Title page
All text on the title page is centered vertically
and horizontally. The title page has no page
number and it is not counted in any page
numbering.
Page layout
Left margin: 1.5

Right margin: 1

Top margin: 1

Bottom margin: 1
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STYLE, LAYOUT, AND PAGE
FORMATTING

Page numbering
Pages are numbered at the top right. There should
be 1 of white space from the top of the page
number to the top of the paper. Numeric page
numbering begins with the first page of Chapter I
(although a page number is not placed on page 1).

Spacing and justification

All pages are single sided. Text is doublespaced,
except for long quotations and the bibliography
(which are single-spaced). There is one blank line
between a section heading and the text that
follows it. Do not right-justify text. Use ragged-
right.
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STYLE, LAYOUT, AND PAGE
FORMATTING

Font face and size

Any easily readable font is acceptable. The
font should be 10 points or larger. Generally,
the same font must be used throughout the
manuscript, except that
Tables and graphs may use a different font,

and
Chapter titles and section headings may

use a different font.

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OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS AND SECTIONS

CHAPTER 1-Introduction

Introductory paragraphs

Statement of the problem

Purpose/Objectives

Significance of the study

Research questions and /or hypotheses
CHAPTER II-Background

Literature review

Definition of terms/Operational definition
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 OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS AND SECTIONS

CHAPTER III-Methodology
Restate purpose and research questions or

null hypotheses
Population and sampling

Instrumentation (include copy in appendix)

Procedure and time frame

Analysis plan (state critical alpha level and

type of statistical tests)

Assumptions

Scope and limitations

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OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS AND SECTIONS

CHAPTER IV-Results and

Discussion
CHAPTER V- Conclusions and
Recommendations
REFERENCES
APPENDIX

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CHAPTER I- Introduction
Introductory Paragraphs

Chapter I begins with a few short introductory

paragraphs (a couple of pages at most). The
primary goal of the introductory paragraphs is
to catch the attention of the readers and to get
them `` turned on about the subject. It sets the
stage for the report (Paper, Thesis) and puts
your topic in perspective. The introduction often
contains dramatic and general statements
about the need for the study. It uses dramatic
illustrations or quotes to set the things on.
When writing the introduction, put yourself in
your readers position-would you continue
reading? 12
 CHAPTER I- Introduction

Statement of the Problem

The statement of the problem is the focal
point of your research. It is just one sentence
(with several paragraphs of elaboration).
You are looking for something wrong.
or something that needs close attention
or existing methods that no longer seem to be
working.

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CHAPTER I- Introduction

Example of a problem statement:

``The frequency of job layoffs is creating fear,

anxiety, and a loss of productivity in middle
management workers.
While the problem statement itself is just one
sentence, it is always accompanied by several
paragraphs that elaborate on the problem.

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CHAPTER I- Introduction
Here you:
Present persuasive arguments why the problem is

important enough to study.

Include the opinions of others (politicians, futurists,

other professionals).
Explain how the problem relates to business, social

or political trends by presenting data that

demonstrates the scope and depth of the problem.
Try to give dramatic and concrete illustrations of the

problem.

After writing this section, make sure you can easily

identify the single sentence that is the problem
statement.
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 CHAPTER I- Introduction
Objectives/Purposes
The purpose is a single statement or paragraph that
explains what the study intends to accomplish. A few
typical statements are:
The goal of this study is to
overcome the difficulties the current management are
encountering
..identify the causes of recent unrest in the labor
market.
. understand the causes or effects of high divorce rate.
.refine our current understanding of the marriage law
. provide a new interpretation of export and import
policy .
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CHAPTER I- Introduction
Significance of the Study
This section creates a perspective for looking
at the problem. It points out how your study
relates to the larger issues and uses a
persuasive rationale to justify the reason for
your study. It makes the purpose worth
pursuing The significance of the study answers
the questions:
Why is your study important?

To whom is it important?

What benefit (s) will occur if your study is

done? 17
CHAPTER I- Introduction
Research Questions and/ or Hypotheses
Chapter I lists the research questions
(although it is equally acceptable to present
the hypotheses or null hypotheses). No
elaboration is included in this section. An
example would be:
The research questions for this study will be:
What are the attitudes of
Is there a significant difference between.
Is there a significant relationship
between
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CHAPTER II- Background
Chapter II may begin with a review of the
literature. It is important because it shows what
previous researchers have discovered. It is
usually quite long and primarily depends upon
how much research has previously been done in
the area you are planning to investigate. If you
are planning to explore a relatively new area,
the literature review should cite similar areas of
study or studies that lead up to the current
research. Never say that your area is so new
that no research exists. It is one of the key
elements that proposal readers look at when
deciding whether or not to approve a proposal. 19
CHAPTER II- Background
Chapter II should also contain a definition of
terms section when appropriate. Include it if
your paper uses special terms that are unique
to your field of inquiry or that might not be
understood by the general reader.
``Operational definitions (definitions that you
have formulated for the study) should also be
included. An example of an operational
definition is ``For the purpose of this research,
improvement is operationally defined as the
difference of the posttest and pretest score, i.e.

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Improvement=Posttest score Pretest score.
CHAPTER III-Methodology

The methodology section describes your basic

research plan. It usually begins with a few
short introductory paragraphs that restate
purpose and research questions. The
phraseology should be identical to that used
in Chapter 1. Keep the wording of your
research questions consistent throughout the
document. 21
CHAPTER III-Methodology

Population and Sampling

Define the population

Draw a representative sample from the
population
Do the research on the sample
Infer your results from the sample back
to the population

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CHAPTER III-Methodology
As you can see, it all begins with a precise
definition of the population. The whole idea of
inferential research (using a sample to represent
the entire population) depends upon an accurate
description of the population. When youve
finished your research and your make statements
based on the results, who will that apply to ?
Usually, just one sentence is necessary to define

the population. Examples are `` 23

 CHAPTER III-Methodology

The population for this study is:

All adult customers who make a purchase in
our stores during the reference time of the
study
All home owners in the Dhaka City. Or
All potential consumers of our product.
While the population can usually be defined
by a single statement, the sampling procedure
needs to be described in extensive detail. 24
 CHAPTER III-Methodology
There are numerous sampling methods from which
you need to choose an appropriate one. Describe in
minute detail how you will select the sample. Use
specific names, places, times, etc. Dont omit any
details. This is extremely important because the
reader of the paper must decide if your sample will
sufficiently represent the population.
Survey Design
State clearly what research design you are going to
employ. Fundamentally, choice of a research design
depends primarily on the objectives of the study.
State clearly whether the study is one time or
repetitive, experimental or non-experimental. 25
CHAPTER III-Methodology

Instrumentation
If you are using a survey that was designed by
someone else, state the source of the survey.
Describe the theoretical constructs that the
survey is attempting to measure. Include a
copy of the actual survey in the appendix and
state that a copy of the survey design is in the
appendix. Other instruments, such as a
questionnaire, pro-forma, schedule, consent
form etc that were used in the survey to
record information, should al be furnished in
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the appendix
 CHAPTER III-Methodology

Procedure and time frame

State exactly when the research will begin

and when it will end.

Describe any special procedures that will be

followed (e.g. instructions that will be read to

participants, presentation of an informed
consent form, etc.)
Analysis Plan
The analysis plan should be described in detail.
Each research question will usually require its
own analysis. 27
 CHAPTER III-Methodology
Thus, the research questions should be
addressed one at a time followed by a description
of the type of statistical tests that will be
performed to answer that research question. In
doing so
Be specific.
State what variables will be included in the analysis
Identify the dependent and independent variables
if such a relationship exists.
State the decision making criteria (e.g., the critical
alpha level)
Mention the computer software that will be used.
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 CHAPTER III-Methodology

Validity and reliability

If the survey design youre using was designed

by someone else, then describe the previous
validity and reliability assessments. When using
an existing instrument, youll want to perform
the same reliability measurement as the author
of the instrument. If youve developed your own
survey design, then you must describe the steps
you took to assess its validity and a description
of how you will measure its reliability.
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 CHAPTER III-Methodology

Validity refers to the accuracy or truthfulness of

a measurement. Are we measuring what we
think we are? There are no statistical tests to
measure validity. All assessments of validity are
subjective opinions based on the judgment of
the researcher. Nevertheless, there are at least
three types of validity that should be addressed
and you should state what steps you took to
assess validity.
Face validity

Content validity

Construct validity 30
 CHAPTER III-Methodology

Face validity: It refers to the likelihood that a

question will be misunderstood or
misinterpreted. Presetting a survey is a good
way to increase the likelihood of face validity.

Content validity: It refers to whether an

instrument provides adequate coverage of a
topic. Expert opinions, literature searches, and
pretest open-ended questions help to establish
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content validity.
 CHAPTER III-Methodology

Construct validity: It refers to the theoretical

foundations underlying a particular scale or
measurement. It looks at the underlying theories
or constructs that explain a phenomenon. In
other words, if you are using several survey items
to measure a more global construct (e.g. a
subscale or a survey), then you should describe
why you believe the items comprise a construct.
If a construct has been identified by previous
researchers, then describe the criteria they used
to validate the construct. 32
 CHAPTER III-Methodology

A technique known as confirmatory factor

analysis is often used to explore how individual
survey items contribute to an overall construct
measurement. Measurement attitude, aptitude
and personality test fall under this construct
validity
Reliability is synonymous with repeatability or
stability. A measurement that yields consistent
results over time is said to be reliable. When a
measurement is prone to random error, it lacks 33
 CHAPTER III-Methodology

There are three basic methods to test reliability:

test-retest, equivalent form, and internal
consistency. Most research uses some form of
internal consistency. When there is a scale of
items all attempting to measure the same
construct, then we would expect a large degree
of coherence in the way people reliability is to
ask the same question with slightly different
wording in different parts of the survey. The
correlation between the items is a measure of 34
 CHAPTER III-Methodology
Assumptions
All research studies make assumptions. The most
obvious is that the sample represents the
population. Another common assumption is that
an instrument has validity and is measuring the
desired constructs. Still another is that
respondents will answer a survey truthfully. The
important point is for the researcher to state
specifically what assumptions are being made.
Scope and limitations
All research studies also have limitations and a
finite scope. Limitations are often imposed by time
and budget constraints. Precisely list the
limitations of the study. Describe the extent to
which you believe the limitations are likely
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degrade the quality of the research.
 CHAPTER IV- Results and
Discussion

Description of the sample

Nearly all research collects some demographic
information. It is important to report the
descriptive statistics of the sample because it lets
the reader decide if the sample is truly
representative of the population.
Analyses
The analysis section is cut and dry. It precisely
follows the analysis plan laid out in Chapter III.
Each research question is addressed individually.
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 CHAPTER IV- Results and
Discussion
For each research question:
1. Restate the research question using the exact
wording as in Chapter I
2. If the research question is testable, state the
null hypothesis
3. State the type of statistical test (s) performed
4. Report the statistics and conclusions,
followed by any appropriate table (s)
Numbers and tables are not self-evident. If you
use tables or graphs, refer to them in the text and
explain what they say, An example is:
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 CHAPTER IV- Results and
Discussion
``Table 4 shows a strong negative relationship
between delivery time and customer satisfaction
(r=-.72, p=.03). All tables and figures have a
number and a descriptive heading.
For example:
Table 4: The relationship between delivery time
and customers satisfaction.
Avoid the use of trivial tables or graphs. If a graph or
table does not add new information (i.e. information
not explained in the test), then dont include it.
Simply present the results.
Do not attempt to explain the results in this chapter.
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 Chapter V- Conclusions and
recommendations

Begin the final chapter with a few paragraphs

summarizing what you did and found (l.e. the
conclusions from Chapter IV)
Discussions

Discuss the findings.

Do your findings support existing theories?

Explain why you think you found what you

did.
Present plausible reasons why the results

might have turned out the way they did.

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 Chapter V- Conclusions and
recommendations
Recommendations
Present recommendation based on your findings.
Avoid the temptation to present recommendations
based on your own beliefs or biases that are not
specifically supported by your data.
Recommendations fall into two categories.
The first is recommendations to the study sponsor.

What actions do you recommend they take based

upon the data?
The second is recommendation to other
researchers. There are almost always that a study
could be improved or refined. What would you
change if you were to do your study over again?
These are the recommendations to other
researchers.
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 References

APA format should be used to cite references

within the paper. If you name the author in your
sentence, then follow the authors name with the
year in parentheses. For example:
Jones (2004) found that.
If you do not include the authors name as part
of the text, then both the authors name and
year are enclosed in parentheses. For example:
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 References

Examples:
Bradburn, N.M. & Mason, W.M. (1964). The effect of
question order on response. Journal of Marketing
Research 1 (4), 57-61.
Bradburn, N.M. & Miles, C. (1979). Vague
quantifiers. Public Opinion Quarterly 43 (1), 92-101
Appendix
Include a copy of any actual instruments. If used,
include a copy of the informed consent form.
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Figure : Schematic diagram displaying stages
of research process

1. Problem
identificatio
n 2. Literature
8. Report
writing review

7. Data Process 3.
analysis is Objectives
iterative &
hypotheses

6. Data 4. Research
collection design
5. Sample
design

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 Overview of different stages of a proposal
Question you must Steps you will take Important element of each
ask step
Selection, analysis
What is the problem -Problem identification
and statement of
and -Prioritizing problems
the research
Why should it be -Problem analysis
problem
studied? -Justification of the problem

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 Table: Summary of a Report

Individual Sections Contents of Each Section/ Chapter

Title page Concise heading indicating what the report is about
Table of contents List of major sections and heading with page numbers
Abstract or Executative Concise summary of main findings
Summary
Introduction Why and what you researched
Background Review of literature and operational definition of terms
Methodology What you did and how you did
Results What you found
Discussions Relevance of your results/ findings
Conclusions Summary of results with justification and decision you
arrived at
Recommendations What needs to be done as a result of your findings
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THE END

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