EVALUATION, STEPS AND LAYOUT OF A RESEARCH REPORT

TANVI SHARMA ROLL NO. 11696 M.E. (I.T.) 2ND SEM

Desirable Characteristics
A good quality research report:

Attempts to fairly present all perspectives. Provides context information suitable for the intended audience. Carefully defines research questions and their links to broader issues. Discusses critical assumptions made in the analysis, such as why a particular data set or analysis method is used or rejected.

Contd..

Is respectful to people with other perspectives. Provides adequate references. Does not exaggerate on implications.

Describes analysis ,limitations and cautions.

Undesirable Characteristics
Research questions are designed to reach a particular conclusion. Alternative perspectives or contrary findings are ignored or suppressed. Data and analysis methods are biased. Conclusions are based on faulty logic. Limitations of analysis are ignored

Contd..
Key data and analysis details are unavailable for review by others. Researchers are unqualified and unfamiliar with specialized issues. People with differing perspectives are insulted and ridiculed. Citations are primarily from special interest groups or popular media, rather than from peer reviewed professional and academic organizations.

Different steps in writing a report

1) Analysis of the subject matter: Concerned with development of subject. Two ways are: (a) Logically (based on mental connections and associations). (b) Chronologically (based on a connection or sequence in time or occurrence). 2) Preparation of the final outline: Outlines are framework upon which long written works are constructed and a reminder of points to

3) Preparation of the rough draft: What a researcher has done in the context of his research study. Procedure adopted in collecting material for study Various limitations faced Technique of analysis adopted Broad findings and generalizations Various suggestions to offer regarding the problem concerned. 4) Rewriting and polishing of the rough draft: Check report for weaknesses in logical development or presentation. Material should have unity and cohesion. Consistency and mechanics of writinggrammar, spelling and usage should be checked.

5) Preparation of the final bibliography: should contain all those works which the researcher has consulted Should be arranged alphabetically. Divided into two parts: 1) names of books and pamphlets 2) names of magazine and newspaper articles.

For books and pamphlets the order may be as under: 1. Name of author, last name first. 2. Title, underlined to indicate italics. 3. Place, publisher, and date of publication. 4. Number of volumes. Example: Kothari, C.R., Quantitative Techniques, New Delhi, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 1978. For magazines and newspapers the order may be as under: 1. Name of the author, last name first. 2. Title of article, in quotation marks. 3. Name of periodical, underlined to indicate italics. 4. The volume or volume number. 5. The date of the issue. 6. The pagination. Example: Trevino, V. Robert, Coping with Short-term International Money Flows, The Banker, London, September, 1971, p. 995.

 When the author is unknown reference should be given by the title of the article

6) Writing the final draft: Concise and objective. Simple language Avoiding vague expressions such as it seems, there may be, and the like ones. Avoid abstract terminology and technical jargon. Illustrations and examples must be incorporated. Should not be dull and must show originality.

Layout of the research report:

A comprehensive layout of the research report should comprise : (A)Preliminary pages (B) Main text (C) End matter. (A)Preliminary Pages: title and date. acknowledgements in form of Preface or Foreword. table of contents. list of tables and illustrations

Title Page: Concise, heading indicating what the report is about. -Title of the Research Project, -Name of the researcher, -Purpose of the research project, -Date of Publication.
Table of Contents: List of major sections and headings with page numbers. Contents Chap no. Chapter I Chapter_name Intoduction P.no. 1

 Acknowledgements : Acknowledging Institute Principal, Faculty Guide -both research guide and technical guide, research participants, friends etc. List of Tables: This section includes title and page number of all tables. Table No. No. 1. Income levels of Respondents 31 Title Page

List Of Figures: This section contains title and page number of all graphs, pie charts etc. Figure No. Title Page No.

(B) Main Text: Provides outline of research report with all details. Each main section of report should begins on new page. Main Text includes: Introduction. Statement of findings and recommendations. Results. Implications drawn from results. Summary.

Introduction: Should contain clear statement of objectives of research. Summary of other relevant research may be stated. Hypotheses of study. Definitions of major concepts employed in study. Methodology adopted in conducting study. Scope of study & boundary lines should be demarcated. Limitations under which research project was completed.
Statement of findings and recommendations: It should be in non-technical language so that it can be

Results: Findings of study, with supporting data. Tables and charts. Should contain statistical summaries and reductions of the data rather than the raw data. All the results should be presented in logical sequence and split into readily identifiable sections. Implications of the results: (a) Statement of inferences drawn from present study which may be expected to apply in similar circumstances. (c) Relevant questions that still remain unanswered or new questions raised by the study.

Summary: Brief the research problem, methodology, major findings and major conclusions drawn from the research results. (C) End Matter: Appendices should be enlisted in respect of all technical data such as questionnaires, sample information, mathematical derivations. Bibliography of sources consulted should also be given. Index (an alphabetical listing of topics) should be given at the end of the report.

Mechanics of writing a research report

Paper: Bond Paper ( need not be executive bond) Size: 8.5inches X 11 inches (unruled paper) -black or blue-black ink (if written by hand) Margin: Left- 1.5 inch Top- 1 inch Bottom- 1 inch Right- 0.5 inch Font: Times New Roman

Spacing: Double The footnotes:Typed in single space separated from one another by double space, should be numbered Binding: Black Rexin Gold Embossing on Cover: Research Title Student Name Name of Institute Year of Submission

Why do reports sometimes fail ?

Over all message is not clear. Report is badly structured. Report is too long. Inappropriate language for intended audience. Report is boring, does not engage the reader. Report is full of grammatical and spelling errors.