Report

-A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a

specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered
orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents.
-Reports can cover a wide range of topics, but usually focus on transmitting
information with a clear purpose, to a specific audience. 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.
-The structure of a report and the purpose and contents of each section is shown
below.
TITLE PAGE report title
your name
submission date
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY overview of subject matter
methods of analysis
findings
recommendations
TABLE OF CONTENTS list of numbered sections in report and
their page numbers
INTRODUCTION terms of reference
outline of report’s structure
BODY headings and sub-headings which
reflect the contents of each section.
Includes information on method of
data collection (if applicable), the
findings of the report and discussion
of findings in light of theory
CONCLUSION states the major inferences that can be
drawn from the discussion
makes recommendations
REFERENCE LIST list of reference material consulted
during research for report
 APPENDIX information that supports your
analysis but is not essential to its
explanation

Survey Report
Survey reports make recommendations based on a careful analysis of data tallied
and organized from survey findings. A good survey report requires you to
systematically move from a big-picture summary down to your specific
recommendations. How you write it determines whether you convince others to
follow your advice or you are ignored. The purpose of writing a survey report is to
study a research topic thoroughly, and to summarize the existing studies in an
organized manner. It is an important step in any research project.
I Structure:

Introduction
State the purpose/aim of the report, when and how the information was gathered.

Main Body
All the information collected and analysed is presented clearly and in detail (break
down the respondents into groups according to sex, age and place of residence,
state the main differences between groups). Subheadings, numbers or letters can be
used to separate each piece of information.

Conclusion
Sum up the points mentioned above. If necessary a recommendation can be
included as well (one way of summing up is making some general comments).

Field report
Field report is a complete report that created by field engineers or officers, who
visit the field on regular basis to monitor.They have to create a detail field
infection report to submit it to their senior officers. 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.
ield reports usually consist of the following elements:
 Description - what you have seen or observed
 Analysis - strengths and weaknesses, reflection or evaluation of observations
in light of theory and key concepts of your course or the broader context of your
discipline.
  Appendix - information that supports your analysis but is not essential to its
explanation i.e. full transcripts of observation, maps, court session details.
Field reports usually do not have a specific format: you may choose to have
separate sections for the description and analysis parts of your report or to have
paragraphs that combine these two types of writing i.e. an event is described and
then its theoretical significance is analysed. How you choose to format your report
will be determined by the task that you have been set, the observations that you
make, the theoretical perspective that is driving your analysis or your course’s
particular guidelines.

Science Laboratory Report

The purpose is to report on what you did, what you learned from an
experiment and why the findings matter.
Lab reports can vary in length and format. These range from a form to fill in
and submit before leaving the lab, to a formal written report. However, they all
usually follow a similar basic structure.
Title- precisely identifies the focus of the lab
Abstract- provides an overview of the report content, including findings and
conclusions, usually the last part of the document to be written, may not be
required in a short lab report

Introduction-

provides appropriate background to the experiment and briefly explains any

relevant theories, states the problem and/or hypothesis and

concisely states the objective/s of the experiment

Method- describes equipment, materials and procedure(s) used, may include flow
charts of procedures and/or diagrams of experimental set-up, outlines any
processing or calculations performed on the collected data (if applicable)

Results and analysis- presents results of the experiment graphically or by using

tables. Figures often include error bars where applicable, discusses how results
were analysed, including error analysis
Discussion- interprets key results in relation to the aims/research question,
summarises key findings and limitations, makes recommendations to overcome
limitations and indicate future directions in research

Conclusion- reminds the reader what problem was being investigated, summarises
the findings in relation to the problem/hypothesis, briefly identifies big-picture
implications of the findings (Answers the question "So What?")

References- lists the publication details of all sources cited in the text, allowing
readers to locate sources quickly and easily, usually follows a specific referencing
style
Appendices- an appendix (plural = appendices) contains material that is too
detailed to include in the main report, such as tables of raw data or detailed
calculations

Technical Report
A technical report (also scientific report) is a document that describes the
process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research or the state of
a technical or scientific research problem. It might also include recommendations
and conclusions of the research.
A technical report is a formal report designed to convey technical information in a
clear and easily accessible format. It is divided into sections which allow different
readers to access different levels of information. This guide explains the commonly
accepted format for a technical report; explains the purposes of the individual
sections; and gives hints on how to go about drafting and refining a report in order
to produce an accurate, professional document.
Structure
A technical report should contain the following sections;
Section Details
Must include the title of the report. Reports for
assessment, where the word length has been specified,
Title page
will often also require the summary word count and the
main text word count
A summary of the whole report including important
Summary
features, results and conclusions
Contents Numbers and lists all section and subsection headings
 with page numbers
States the objectives of the report and comments on the
way the topic of the report is to be treated. Leads
Introduction
straight into the report itself. Must not be a copy of the
introduction in a lab handout.
Divided into numbered and headed sections. These
The sections which make
sections separate the different main ideas in a logical
up the body of the report
order
A short, logical summing up of the theme(s) developed
Conclusions
in the main text
Details of published sources of material referred to or
References quoted in the text (including any lecture notes and URL
addresses of any websites used.
Other published sources of material, including
Bibliography websites, not referred to in the text but useful for
background or further reading.
List of people who helped you research or prepare the
Acknowledgements
report, including your proofreaders
Any further material which is essential for full
understanding of your report (e.g. large scale diagrams,
Appendices (if appropriate)
computer code, raw data, specifications) but not
required by a casual reader