Written Report: Definition Technical Report Writing

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How to write a research paper: guidelines for students

HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER: PREPARATION OF GUIDELINES

Purposes of writing research paper

The following points provoke the researchers to do research and write research paper:

Distribution of results is a general requirement by the research funded.

Barter of knowledge and expertise with colleague scientists, locally and internationally.

Used as tool for evaluation of personnel.

Career making

Personal satisfaction. (Feyen,2003)

An objective of organizing a research paper is to allow people to read your work selectively.

Papers communicate ideas, Your goal is to attract the mind of your reader with your idea

To convey your idea from your head to your reader's head Everything serves this single goal (Simon Peyton Jones)

To present ideas and facts found through the reading of various material

Finding out something that no one else has found earlier

Research papers place an emphasis on the development of a student's critical thinking and writing skills.

Format of a research paper

The research paper has some elements in common and some differ according to the nature and area of study Research papers usually have five chapters with well-established sections in each chapter

Chapter I - Introduction

Chapter II - Background

Chapter III - Methodology

Chapter IV - Results

Chapter V - Conclusions and Recommendations

Ref: http://www.statpac.com/research-papers/research-proposal.htm

Generally; the following format is used by the researchers:

Research paper

Title Page

Objectives

Introduction to Your Study

Review of Literature

Methods Section

Data analysis

Results/ findings Section

Discussion Section

Recommendations section

Conclusions section

References Section

TITLE PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I - Introduction
     Introductory paragraphs
     Statement of the problem
     Purpose
     Significance of the study
     Research questions and/or hypotheses
CHAPTER II - Background
     Literature review
     Definition of terms
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)
     Validity and reliability
     Assumptions
     Scope and limitations
CHAPTER IV - Results
CHAPTER V - Conclusions and recommendations
     Summary (of what you did and found)
     Discussion (explanation of findings - why do you think you found what you did?)
     Recommendations (based on your findings)
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
Adopted from: David s. Walonick, 2005, Elements of a research proposal and report

Writing different element of research paper

3.1. Writing "Introduction"

The following guidelines should be kept in mind while writing introduction

Describe the problem, its causes and its solution signs

Describe the importance of the problem to be solved

Motivate the problem and state your hypothesis.

Tell what problem you are attempting to address, or what are you trying to find out.

Tell its importance and tell why this issue or problem is investigated

Tell about the hypothesis in introduction

Tell what will be the benefits of your study

Tell how this study can contribute to existing knowledge

Tell about the process, research methods, how you are going to investigate the issue, or trying to solve the problem.

If there are any limitations or constraints on your study (for example, did you only have a small sample? provide detail in introduction.

Tell a story, and tell it well, introduction should be interesting, telling some unique idea.

Use plenty of concrete examples (or a running example) and figures

Quote data sources, e.g., industry analysts, market surveys, case studies

People often (and naturally) make up their mind within the first few pages, so provide necessary information about objectives, significance, and methodology in it.

Introduce all your terminology here – especially, acronyms you plan to use often.

Provide a concrete problem definition, accessible to a computer-literate person without "dumping down" the problem to people in your field.

Provide a concrete list of your thesis' contributions

point out the timeliness or value of your research;

define an abstract or special term used in your thesis;

explain why you have taken this particular aspect of your topic;

inform your reader of the various aspects of your topic other than the one you have chosen;

give pertinent anecdote that provides a direct means of leading into your topic;

Summarize how you have approached your topic.

Whatever your approach, your introduction should be relevant;

it should gain the immediate attention of your reader,

It should clarify your thesis in some way.

The researcher should start introduction with a broad basis and then narrow down to particular field of study, explaining the rationale behind each step.

It should be as concise as possible. It can be a tricky part of the paper to write, so many scientists and researchers prefer to write it last, ensuring that they miss no major points, but do not forget to keep it Short.

Attempt to inform the reader about the rationale behind the work, not only telling rationale, but also justifying why your work is an essential component of research in the field. (Shuttleworth,2009)

The reader, by the end of the introduction, should know exactly what you are trying to achieve with the paper. In addition, your conclusion and discussion will refer back to the introduction, and this is easier if you have a clearly defined problem.

Try to provide the reader with enough information on the topic to be able to conclude that the research is important and that the hypotheses are reasonable.

Any prior work on the topic would be useful to include here, although prior work that is most directly related to the hypotheses would be of greatest value.

3.2. *Writing "Review of related literature"

Know the key papers and players in your field

Begin by reading everything you can find in the general reference ("big books") section of the library.

Survey your field in depth, knowing the seminal and the recent work

When you read a paper in your field, make sure to cover all the papers referenced in that paper as well

End-result should look like an ACM Computing Surveys article

Mention all of the related work in your thesis

Acknowledge the role that each paper has played in evolving your field

Be constructively critical of where the shortcomings of each paper are, to the extent that it justifies your approach

subject matter should be appropriate for publication in the journal to which it is submitted

10. the work should be scientifically and technically sound

11. the work should be sufficiently unique

12. the paper should be well written and organized

13. the title should be appropriately chosen

14. the abstract should be a good summary of the paper

15. adequate reference and synthesis should be given for previous contributions in this area

16. the Figures and Tables should be effective supplemental to the text

17. the paper should be understood by a wide scientific and technical audience

18. the materials and results should support the discussion and conclusions

19. the authors should explain and demonstrate satisfactorily why the presented methodology is needed

20. The authors should explain and demonstrate and its advantages and disadvantages over other methods.

21. The literature review should identify gaps in current knowledge

22. show that your research builds on previous work

23. show that your research is important and relevant

24. show that you're aware of important developments in your area

25. identify different view points and/or highlight areas of controversy

26. critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of previous research

27. only include well-conducted, robust and unbiased research

28. research published in peer reviewed journals is usually the best quality research

29. Include work disagreeing with the research hypothesis, it shows that you know the opposing points as well.

30. identify areas for future research, when you review the related literature, you find many problems to be solved, many topics to be discussed and many discoveries to be made

31. show that you are aware of the important issues in your research area, and you are focusing the one

32. highlight the best and most influential research in the review

33. do a critical discussion of others work

34. summarize or paraphrase important parts of the literature

35. As you read the articles, make note of authors and page numbers so you can easily make citations and references later.

36. After you have read everything related to your project's topic, history, background, philosophical foundations, social or psychological underpinnings, etc., synthesize what you have read into an integrated summary that is between 2 and 3 pages in length.

37. This part of your review might be based on one professional "handbook" or "encyclopedia" or it may be pieced together from several such sources.

38. Locate ten (or more) empirical studies that are related in some way to your project.

39. Be sure to cite all quotes, ideas, and information not considered "common knowledge."

40. Read all available studies before attempting to begin your review. This will give you some perspective on the range of information and the relationship of the various papers to your own project.

41. Organize the studies logically and in order of relevance to your project.

42. Briefly point out areas of commonality, agreement, or disagreement as exists between the various studies you have chosen.

43. Be sure to maintain a complete bibliographic record for each study, article, or book you cite in your report. Use your APA manual. R. Redmon(2010)

44. Note areas of commonality and/or support for your study. Note apparent strengths and/or weakness in the design or the author's logic.

45. Aim for an average of one page per study. Some studies may get two pages while others may only deserve a half page review.

46. Devote more time and space to studies that inform your own study more fully and more closely.

47. Your organization should provide reasonable coherence and a logical progression of thought from the beginning of the review to the end.

48. The review should read like one large review of the whole body of literature, not like ten mini-reviews.

49. Using the notes generated in the last step, "flesh out" a critical, analytical review for each study.

50. Whenever possible, break the review into categories or sub-topics by using topic headings. (See APA manual for style conventions) Your review should have at least two internal subject headings: "Background" (from reference books) and "Formal Studies."

51. Write a brief conclusion (summary) that restates the key aspects of your review

52. After writing your review, revise it by paying particular attention to "parallelism" "flow" and "clarity."

*Writing "Research methodologies"

Describe the basic methods you employed in your study.

Cite other studies that use a similar framework.

Explain in detail about Methods used to choose subjects (participants).

Describe your subjects and the contextual setting but be certain to provide total anonymity.

Identify important variables and provide complete operational definitions.

Describe your data collection method and what you did to insure the validity of the data.

Explain how your data will be interpreted.

Describe how you tested the validity of your hypothesis, including how you accommodated, eliminated, or controlled extraneous variables that might also have influenced the observed outcome.

Write a brief conclusion that leads into the Findings section.

It is a good idea to cite similar studies and a "research" reference book (like your text) as you describe your methods.

In a paper you MUST provide the details, but FIRST convey the idea

Explain in detail about why you picked this approach

Explain in detail about basis for knowing this approach

Explain in detail about your overall philosophy in your approach

Explain in detail about other approaches did you consider and discard

Explain in detail where did they fall short? How were they inappropriate?

Explain in detail about interesting negative or counter-intuitive results you have.

( Carnegie Mellon, 2006)

The author must provide a clear and precise description of how an experiment was done, and the rationale for the specific experimental procedures chosen.

It must be written with enough information so that the experiment could be repeated by others to evaluate whether the results are reproducible

It must be written with enough information so that the audience can judge whether the results and conclusions are valid.

The methods section should describe what was done to answer the research question and describe how it was done

The methods section should justify the experimental design, and explain how the results were analyzed.

Once all elements of the methods section are written, subsequent drafts should focus on how to present those elements as clearly and logically as possibly.

The description of preparations and measurements should be organized chronologically.

For clarity, when a large amount of detail must be presented, information should be presented in sub-sections according to topic.

Material in each section should be organized by topic from most to least important. (Kallet,2004)

Explain in detail about the materials used in the study

Explain in detail about how the materials were prepared

Explain how measurements were made and what calculations were performed

Explain in detail about which statistical tests were done to analyze the data

The methodology section of this paper should be approximately 1 - 2 pages in length. (R. Redmon,2010)

The researcher should give a complete justification of the choice of the procedure of data collection and show with reference to the procedures used by experienced researchers in that field. (Adeeb et all, 2007)

3.4. *Writing "Data analysis"

As a rule, do not construct a table unless repetitive data must be
presented. www.questia.com

the type that is monotonously repetitive, do not need to be brought together in either a table or a graph.www.questia.com

The analyses section is cut and dry. It precisely follows the analysis plan laid out in Chapter III. Each research question addressed individually.

For each research question, Restate the research question using the exact wording as in Chapter I

For each research question If the research question is testable, state the null hypothesis

For each research question State the type of statistical test(s) performed

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.

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 text), then don't include it.

Simply present the results. Do not attempt to explain the results in this chapter. (Walonick, 2005)

Examine your table and write up what it shows (supports your hypothesis, rejects your hypothesis, inconclusive, etc. and why).

Along with every table, researcher must give its interpretation and analysis.

The researcher should present the analysis of one or two tables to the supervisor and do the further analysis according to her/his recommendations and advice.

The researcher should give numbers to all the tables and write their topic above clearly.

The statistics presented in the table must be checked carefully as they play important role in results. (Adeeb et all, 2007)

3.5. *Writing "Findings/ results"

Simply describing your results may not seem that tricky, but there is an art to it. Things to remember when writing up results include...

Depending on the type of study you conducted, construct a report of the data collected and what was learned from that data.

Begin with a brief introduction, explaining how you have organized the information in the section.

"Raw data" and "statistical analysis" are best represented by a combination of exposition, charts, graphs, and tables.

In a pure quantitative study, this section is often rather brief. In a qualitative study, this section is necessarily very long, taking the form of "thick" description and detailed narrative.

Most of your studies are going to be mixed genre. The quantitative and qualitative elements of your data may be integrated in any way you think best. (Redmon2010)

If the results do not show any thing about an objective of the research early written in introduction, that objective should be removed from there. (Adeeb et all,2007)

focus on the key results - these are the ones that answer your research question

be clear and concise - make sure your readers know exactly which results you're describing

don't go into too much detail - you only need to direct your readers to important information

let your pictures do the talking - if you have made good use of graphs and tables you'll only need to describe general trends ('the graph shows that as mean springtime temperature increased, so did the population of migrant birds')

be careful not to omit anything important- your readers weren't party to your research so you need to tell them what you discovered

You must talk about every table, figure and chart - if it's not worth talking about, leave it out

make life easier for your readers by simplifying your results: 75% is easier to understand than 150 out of 200, and 'nearly 10% is easier to digest than 9.98%

describe your results don't explain or discuss them

The" Result" sections of your paper should total between 5 and 20 pages in length. (Redmon,2010)

3.6. * Writing the Discussion Section

The discussion section of your dissertation is one of the most important parts of a dissertation, and its worth the most marks. This section includes a substantial "discussion" of what you think your results mean and why you think things worked out the way they did in your study.

You should use elements of your review of literature in this section to inform and validate your interpretations.

Begin this section with a review of your hypothesis and major findings, indicating in what ways your study either confirms or refutes your hypothesis.

This section of your study is also where you explain how your study might be used by others.

You should discuss the extent to which your findings may be generalized to other populations.

You should describe any problems you encountered (at least 3).

Finally, offer recommendations to other researchers in the field and suggest ideas for future research (at least 3).

The" Discussion" sections of your paper should total between 5 and 20 pages in length. R. Redmon(2010)

interpret and explain your results in this section

answer your research question in this section

justify your approach in this section

Critically evaluate your study in this section

Don't just describe your results, explain them. It's your job to interpret your results for your readers, and your interpretation must be accurate.

3.7. *Writing "Recommendations"

The researcher compiles recommendations after finding the results of the research, the following guidelines can be very helpful for her/him:

Don't view this necessarily as a list of the limitations of your thesis

Think of what you would do if you had an extra year in your Ph.D.

Don't worry – this is not for your advisor to hold your feet to the fire

Think of 2-3 other follow-on Ph.D. dissertations that you can envision. (Carnegie Mellon,2006)

Derive recommendations from the findings

Ten effective and practicable recommendations are enough instead of unnecessary irrelevant ones.

You can prepare one recommendation on the basis of each finding

One recommendation should be regarding g the indication for further research on that area in an aspect found by you. ( Adeeb et all,2007)

3.8. *Writing "Conclusions"

The conclusion of the research paper is the most valuable single part of it. All the material you have gathered means nothing to your reader until you present the conclusion

Be reflective and honest

Explain in detail about the lessons learned

Explain in detail about the overall insights

Explain in detail whether you solved the problem completely, if not completely, how much progress have you made in your field because of your work

Don't bore the reader with a cut-and-paste of your Introduction chapter

(Carnegie Mellon,2006)

Analyze and evaluate your main points for your reader

Consider the consequences and general implications of them to your conclusion. Although no actual new information is usually introduced in the concluding paragraphs, the conclusion is the only "original" contribution you offer in your paper.

3.9. * Writing the References Section

Do not staple, whole punch, or place your "turn-in" copy in any kind of binder.

Make copies of all articles you are using in case you need to return to them later.

Also, write all necessary bibliography information directly on your copies. This will prevent a second search to find things like publisher, copyright dates, volume and issue numbers, page numbers, etc.

Make several copies of your work and save everything regularly to floppy disk or CDROM. Do not rely exclusively on your computer's main "hard" disk.

Carefully follow all APA guidelines for manuscript style. (R. Redmon,2010)

Use APA manual for models of organization, style, and content.

Include a bibliography statement for every source you have cited in your study and limit this section to only those sources you have cited in this study

4. *Do's and don'ts of writing a research paper

Put a clean and informative coveron your project with a title, your name, a date of submission, and for what class this project was submitted.

You must number all pages since that is how others will cite your work.

Use standard size and style font. Use conventional margins left right and at top and bottom. Use one and a half spaces unless otherwise told. It makes it easier to read and write corrections/comments by the instructor.

an outline should be included after the title page

The formal aim of the paper should be stated in the opening paragraph.

Write your Introduction LAST. Your paper will, basically, consist of three parts: an Introduction, an Argument, and a Conclusion – in that order

The conclusion should return to the opening, and examine the original purpose in the light of the data assembled.

It is a prime error to present conclusions that are not directly related to the evidence previously presented. www.questia.com

be clear and truthful about Your assumptions

be clear and truthful about Your limitations

be clear and truthful about Requirements of your solution/approach – both mandatory and optional

be clear and truthful about Constraints under which your solution will work

Above all, be clear and truthful about the causes of these assumptions, limitations, requirements & constraints

A concrete validation plan for your hypothesis, experiments, simulation, Theorems, proofs, etc.

Each paragraph in your paper should make one point, and each paragraph should begin with a declarative sentence stating that point.

what's part of your thesis and what is definitely not, provide detail about it

It is always helpful to have appropriate graphics such as maps, tables, charts or other graphic representations in the paper. These should be used sparingly but they can make a paper richer and more professional.

Schmidt (2003) strongly believes that nothing is quite as effective as a few really significant quotations from authorities on whatever you are researching. A few well-chosen quotes that reinforce the major thesis or conclusions of your project are very useful.

Don't Expect to shoe-horn all of the work that you did during your research career into your thesis

Present a set of scattered, unrelated results that don't add up to a whole

stay factual throughout the research

Ask your peers and colleagues in your research group for feedback

Ask your advisor for continuous feedback

Your advisor is your biggest champion, your biggest promoter. This person wants to see you succeed and will rave about you and your work enthusiastically to everyone

Discuss your thesis layout, problem definition, goals of the month, etc.

For sticky issues, your advisor will find you the right "connections" to fill in the gaps in your thesis

Acknowledge the people who helped you, even if it was a little thing

Explain in detail why will your work change the world (or at least your field)?

Explain in detail what would you do differently, if you had a do-over?

Explain in detail how much of your work can be generalized?

Explain in detail about what part of the work was research and what was engineering?(Carnegie Mellon,2006)

Don't put down a paper just for the sake of "showing off" how much you know

Don't make the criticism harsh/personal, just because you do not like the author or the author has disagreed with you or disapproved of your approach (J. Feyen,2003)

Eliminate the passive voice from your papers.

Quote first; explain later. It is better for readers to understand what you want to say.

Never say "It is clear that . . . .," or "it is obvious that." Do not use the words "clearly," or "obviously," or "undoubtedly," as in "the statute clearly authorizes . . . .," or "the Feist opinion obviously changes copyright law in important ways." If it is clear, or obvious, or free from doubt, then there if no need to say that.

Words or phrases like "Moreover," "In addition," "Furthermore," "As such," "Notwithstanding," are sometimes useful, but rarely; most of the time they get people into trouble.

Watch out for "as explained below" and "as explained above." Do not make the reader's understanding of something depend on something that you say later or earlier

It is not necessary to provide plastic covers or binders for research papers. A staple through the upper-left-hand corner will be acceptable.

Do not Oversell your thesis or its claims – be honest and you will be respected

Do not Use hyperbole (e.g., "highly reliable", "extremely efficient")

Do not Try to confuse the reader with big words – plain, simple English is best

Do not try to sound like your thesis covers your entire field ( Mellon,2006)

About the Author

Adeeb,M.A.&Rehmani,S.H(2007), Rules And Style In Writing Phil And PhD Theses, Pakistan, The Islamia University, Bahawalpur

Bell, J(2006),Doing Your Research Project, (4th Ed) England, Berkshire, Open University Press

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mleone/web/how-to.html

http://www.experiment-resources.com/how-to-write-an-introduction.html

http://www.tailoredessays.com/how-write/research-paper/introduction- conclusion.htm2003-2010 TailoredEssays.com

http://www.mondofacto.com/study-skills/research

The Research Project: How to Write It(2004): Ralph Berry ,Rout ledge.: New York.

Jeffrey H. Kahn, (2010)Sample APA Paper for Students Interested in Learning APA Style, 6th Edition, Illinois State University

http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.html

Steffen Schmidt, How to Write a Good Research Paper, Iowa State University

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~sws/ResearchPaperGuide.htm

Mark Burns, 2010 ,http://www.auburn.edu/~burnsma/papers.html

· David s. Walonick, 2005, Elements of a research proposal and report

· http://www.statpac.com/research-papers/research-proposal.htm

Dale Story http://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/StudentResearchResources/BasicElementsOfAResearchPaper.pdf

Kara Kockelman 2008Critical Elements of a High-Quality Research Paper, University of Texas, Austin

http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/kockelman/public_html/TRB08CriticalElementsHighQualityResearchPaper.pdf

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Thursday, 29 April 2010

Definition Technical Report Writing