Week 5 Lecture 2

Writing a research report

Lecture objective
• To learn how to write a research report
Research report
• “A research report is a publication that reports on the findings of a
research project” (Wikipedia, 2023, no pagination)

• Research report shares the same overall IMRaD structure as journal

articles, but research reports are often longer, more formal, and
published by an institution. Journal articles often have a very specific
word count (+/- 6000 words), are more focused, and are published in
the journal.
Research question
• What are UWC undergraduate science students' perceptions of
Western medicine and traditional medicine?
Titles
• At the start of your document, at the top of the page
• In bold, centred (not a bigger font)
• Sentence case (Only the first word and Proper Nouns are capitalised)
• Titles don’t get full stops
Colon titles
Colon titles: They are often very good at grabbing your attention
Colon titles are used to provide additional context, to provide information on the where and when, or
to indicate that the focus is on a specific idea.
For example:
• South African Politics
• South African Politics: What are the most recent developments?
• South African Politics: The run up to the 2020 elections
• South African Politics: The development of the municipality in Stellenbosch
• South African Politics: The lasting influence of Nelson Mandela

Colon titles will also often include a quote from a respondent that sums up the entire project
(qualitative research):
“My work is bleeding”: Exploring students’ emotional responses to first-year assignment feedback
Colon titles (Contd.)
Colons are also used to grab the attention, especially by making use of humour:
• Fantastic yeasts and where to find them: The hidden diversity of dimorphic
fungal pathogens
• You probably think this paper’s about you: Narcissists’ perceptions of their
personality and reputation
• Snakes on a spaceship: An overview of python in heliophysics

There is currently some debate about whether humour should be allowed in

scientific writing, but a recent study suggests that articles with humorous titles
are more likely to grab the attention of readers and/or to be cited (Guglielmi,
2022, no pagination)
Research report: IMRaD structure
• Introduction •I
• Materials and methods •M
• Results and Discussion • RaD
• Conclusion
• References
Introduction

General Specific
• Introduce topic • Topic = Traditional and Western
• State aim of study medicine, (differing) perceptions
thereof
• Provide broad overview of study
• Aim is to determine the
• Provide overview of the report perceptions students have
• How was data collected and
from whom? (NO DETAIL)
• What is the report doing?
Introduction length
• The length of the introduction will be determined by the overall
length of the writing
• E.g., for a journal article (usually about 6000 words) your introduction
could be a couple of paragraphs (usually, anything between one and
three) (it also depends on whether the literature review is included in
the introduction)
• For a thesis (MA = 40 000 words, PhD = 80 000), your introduction
might be a whole chapter
• For an essay, your introduction will be one paragraph (about 10% of
the overall word count)
Example
Introduction
The publication of The Imitation Game in 1950 awakened the birth of what is known as
Artificial intelligence (AI) today (Tableau, n.d., no pagination). Artificial intelligence is
simply the science of making machines that can think like humans (Pattam, 2021, no
pagination). It is inevitable that people have different levels of understanding AI due to
their exposure to AI. A survey done by the World Economic Forum found that 64% of
people had a good understanding of artificial intelligence, and there was a higher
percentage of emerging countries like South Africa that had a better understanding of
what AI is than in high-income countries (2022, no pagination). This indicates that
globally, people seem to know a lot about AI; yet, it is unclear how much university
students know about AI. The aim of the study is therefore to determine what South
African university students know about artificial intelligence. Data was collected from six
students from students studying business and science at the University of Western Cape.
The report provides the findings from this study.
Materials and methods
• What did you do?
• How did you do it?
• Who was involved?
• Why?
• Were there any problems/complications? How did you overcome
them?
• Ethics statement
• Limitations statement (often included in the conclusion)
Example
Methods
Firstly, qualitative, primary data was collected. This qualitative data was an online questionnaire
sent to the participants. Qualitative and secondary data was also collected from published
sources and post research studies. The primary data was collected by approaching people
halfway through during lunch period because people are more receptive and open to doing
tasks. The selected participants were told about the research on AI awareness in South African
universities, then asked if they do the EED module and what they study before proceeding to ask
for their email to send a questionnaire if they agreed to participate. The data was collected from
participants who studied anything involving business or science. So, there were three
participants studying science and three participants studying business. The data collected from
the questionnaire were systematically analysed to determine the level of AI awareness amongst
business and science students. The data was analysed by comparing the overall results from both
science and business students to a survey done by the World Economic Forum and Pew Research
Center for validity. After comparing the results from a broader aspect, the data was specifically
analysed amongst the business and science students.
Ethics statement
• Research was conducted in line with UWC’s standards for ethical and responsible
research. Respondents were informed that participation was voluntary and that
there would be no consequences if they chose not to participate. Once
respondents indicated that they would participate, they signed a consent form.
Confidentiality of the respondents was assured through the use of pseudonyms.
Limitation statement
Data was only collected from [insert number] students, and as such the findings
may not be reflective of the entire student population. Moreover, data was only
collected from students at UWC, and it is possible that the responses may have
been different at other universities. Nevertheless, the findings provide a useful
starting point for understanding how university students in perceive traditional
medicine and western medicine.
Results and Discussion

Results Discussion
• Present the raw data (5 • Unpack the significance of the
Questions) data
• Data can be presented in • Look for trends/patterns
paragraph form and then • How does it compare to other
supplemented with tables and research?
figures (see Week 6 Lecture 2)

When the results and discussion are done

together, then it is called ‘Findings’
Example
All participants correctly identified that AI stands for "Artificial Intelligence“. However, their
definitions of AI varied significantly. Vuyo associated AI with technological innovations, especially
within transportation (e.g., electric cars). Anam defined AI in terms of its ability to integrate with
daily objects and improve lives. B merely restated the acronym, suggesting a limited depth of
understanding or articulation. Londa's reference to AI as a "deception" of human intelligence
points towards a more skeptical stance, emphasizing the artificial nature of the technology. This
disparity in definition is aligned with the World Economic Forum's survey, which highlighted
varied global perceptions of AI. Not everyone has a clear and comprehensive understanding of
AI, even if they are aware of the term (World Economic Forum, 2022, no pagination).

When asked about how much they know about AI, most participants claimed to know "a little"
about AI, indicating a general awareness but not necessarily deep expertise, except Jack, who
claimed to know "a lot", yet his answers were not significantly more detailed than others. This
suggests that perceived knowledge does not always correlate with actual depth of
understanding. This is in line with the Pew Research Center's findings that while AI awareness is
increasing, comprehensive knowledge is still limited among the public (Kennedy, 2023, no
pagination).
Conclusion (general)
• The aim of the conclusion is to provide resolution
• Different genres have different expectations
• For an essay: Summarise the main points of the essay, no new
information, no sentimental statements
• In scientific articles or theses, the conclusion will ‘make a conclusion’
– you will answer the research question (but it will also summarise
the main points very briefly). These might include recommendations
for further study or limitations
• For popular pieces (e.g. blogs or commentaries or newspaper-y), you
might end with a nice sweeping statement
Conclusion (research report)
• Summarise the report
• Answer the research question
• Provide recommendations
- How to address the findings
- How to better do research
Example
Conclusion
The study aimed to assess how well students in South African universities,
specifically at the University of Western Cape, know about AI. The results showed
that while all participants knew what AI stood for, there were differences in the
depth and clarity of their understanding. Some students believed they had
knowledge about AI. Their explanations didn't fully match an understanding, which
is consistent with global research on the topic. It's worth noting that misconceptions
about AI bias still exist among students. However, the fact that AI is widely
recognized for its applications across sectors and its increasing role in life reflects
how ingrained it has become in our society’s awareness. Both science and business
students acknowledged the connection between AI, science, and business,
indicating a shared vision for society. Based on these findings, we can conclude that
UWC students do know quite a bit about AI.
Reference list
• Week 3 Lecture 2
• Week 4 Lecture 1
Technical requirements
• Font: Times New Roman / Arial / Calibri

• Font size: 12

• Alignment: Left / justified

• Title: You must provide a descriptive title for your report. The title should be in bold, left-aligned, and the same font
size as the rest of the report.

• Subheadings: Subheadings should be included (e.g., Introduction, Methods) and should be in bold, left-aligned, font
size 12.

• Tables/figures: You are allowed to make use of tables/figures, but you don’t have to. If you make use of them, then
you will have to engage with them, and they must serve an illustrative purpose.

• Cover page: There is no need for a cover page.

• You need at least 3 sources (you can reference each of these as many times as you need)

• Referencing: In-text references and a reference list is required.

• Word count: 1000-2500 words (including the limitations and ethics statements, but excluding the reference list)
Research report: More formal
version
• Cover page
• Contents page
• Abstract included
• Literature review included
• For more, see:
https://web.mit.edu/course/21/21.guide/rep-resc.htm
https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/ua/media/28/
learningguide-writingaresearchreport.pdf
**not needed for Assignment 2**
Questions?
Useful lecture material
• Week 3 Lecture 1: Becoming a scientific writer
• Week 3 Lecture 1: Becoming a good researcher
• Week 3 Lecture 2 and Week 4 Lecture 1: Referencing
• Week 4 Lecture 2: Synthesizing, using and integrating sources
• Week 6 Lecture 2: Being a good researcher (data collection)
• Week 7 Lecture 1: Presenting your data
 Reflect and review
• What kind of assignment is Assignment 2?
• Do you have to include tables/figures for Assignment 2?
• Do you have any questions about Assignment 2?
• Are you looking forward to Assignment 2?
• List at least one previously unfamiliar word or concept you
encountered in this class along with its definition. You can also include
ones that you have a different or deeper understanding of after this
lesson.