The Guide to Writing a Reflective Journal for Research

Project
1. Introduction
As part of meeting the requirements for EN411 Research Project A in Semester 1 and
EN421 Research Project B in Semester 2 you must maintain and submit Reflective
Journals. Make sure that you read this short Guide carefully. Your research
experiences will likely take many forms as you move from EN411 to completing
EN421. Your journal will not focus solely on the technical matters in your engineering
research. The development of your broader professional skills such as teamwork,
occupational health and safety knowledge and multimedia communication are also
very important.

2. Reflective Writing
Reflective writing is an important skill for professional engineers to develop. Engineers
often write descriptions of their technical experiences, that is they write about what
they have done. They often do not reflect on what they experienced, the non-technical
things that they might have learnt, and how they might do things better or differently
next time.

When you record your reflections, you must also analyse your experiences and/or
observations and communicate what you have learned from your reflections (of your

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experiences). Some resources on how to write your reflective journal can be found at
the sites below, via links copied from a range of Australian Universities.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT n.d) states that, ‘all reflective writing,
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however, has certain key features you need to include that relate to the 4Rs of
reflection’. The 4Rs are copied below.
1. Report (describe) an issue or experience and explain why it is important to
your professional practice. Give your initial response to the experience or issue.
Recount the experience or issue on which you have chosen to reflect. Explain
what happened and in what context. Your initial response to the experience or
issue can show where you stood before you started to analyse the situation.
2. Relate the issue / experience to your own skills, professional experience or
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discipline knowledge Describe any similar or related experiences you’ve had
and whether the conditions were the same or different. Make connections
between this and your previous knowledge and experience of similar situations.
3. Reason about (discuss) the issue/incident to show an understanding of how
things work in this discipline or professional field You should highlight
significant factors in the experience showing why they are important for a new
understanding. Relate these back to the academic literature including
theoretical or research-based literature as appropriate. Use qualitative and/or
quantitative evidence where appropriate. Discuss different perspectives
involved, e.g. ethical, social, legal, organisational, professional.
4. Reconstruct your understanding or future practice Outline the changes in your
understanding and/or behaviour as a result of the experience and your
reflection upon it. Explain the implications for this in your future professional
practice. What actions will you take and why?

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 2.1 Weblinks to Australian University Resources on Reflective Journals
RMIT
https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/2_AssessmentTasks/assess_pdf/journals_technical.pdf

Curtin University
https://resources.curtin.edu.au/file/faculty/sci/1.4_Reflective-Report-Guide.pdf

UNSW
https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/examples-reflective-writing

ANU
https://www.anu.edu.au/students/academic-skills/writing-assessment/reflective-writing/learning-
journals

UoW
https://www.uow.edu.au/student/learning-co-op/assessments/reflective-writing/

Monash
https://www.monash.edu/rlo/assignment-samples/information-technology/reflective-writing-in-it

3. Your Reflective Journal Format

Your report will normally have the following format. You should start preparing your

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report from Day 1 of your research (or even earlier) and update it at least weekly. You
can use the following headings to help you set out your report. Some areas must be
included.
3.1 Cover Page
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You must have a cover page and an example of the cover page. It must provide the
following details:
 Research Topic Title
 Details of the Progress Report/Thesis that your Journal is accompanying
 Your name and student number
3.2 Introduction
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You should have an introduction, which will provide summarised details and
background of your research topic.
3.s Your Personal Activities - Reflections
This is where you must provide details about your reflections on your activities. They
would normally be outlined on at least a weekly basis, and some (not necessary all) of
the following matters could be covered. Refer to the 4Rs for more ideas.

 The important information/knowledge that you learnt from such as activities,

tasks and experiments. These aspects could be such as meetings with your
research supervisor, discipline knowledge related to your research,
occupational health and safety, self-organisation, management skills,
sustainability, communication or technical matters. You may want to restrict
yourself to the 3 of 4 most important aspects and not record trivial matters.
 An outline of any challenges, problems or difficulties that you had to deal with
and how you solved them. These may be related to such as accessing
laboratory facilities, technical assistance and meeting failures.
 Describe the successes that you have experienced such as finding a key
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 research paper, booking access to key equipment and good outcomes from
meeting with your research supervisor.
 Reflect on what you have done and describe if it confirms or contradicts what
you have experienced in your engineering course to date.
 Outline if what you done has changed your understanding of what it means to
be an engineer.
 Describe if your activities and experiences have helped develop any of your
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies.
5. Conclusions/Summary
You must have a conclusion or summary where you outline in broad terms how and
what you have benefited and learnt from your experiences during the semester.
6. Appendices
You may use appendices if necessary, however they would not normally be required
as they would appear in the report.

4. Recording Your Professional Engineering Practice Reflections

The simplest way to record your reflections is chronological. This is a common format
when you undertake longer-term activities where you have a reasonable variety in your
work from week to week. You would write about one to two pages per week as you go,
however there is no upper limit.

5.

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Don’t Leave Writing Your Reflective Journal to the Last Minute
Remember at the start of your research you should acknowledge to your project
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supervisor that you know that you must write a reflective report about your
experiences, and that they will be asked to read and approve it. Talk to your project
supervisor about the option of reading the report in parts, or all at the end.

6. References
QUT n.d, How to write a reflective task, viewed 2 January 2022,
https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/writing-well/reflectivewriting.html
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