Report Writing

Dr. Amit Kumar Sahoo

 Sections In Report Writing
• Title
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methods
• Results and Discussion
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• Appendices
• References
How To Draw Conclusion
1. The results chapters should each present the data, and only the data, which has
been collected in the research project.
2. A conclusion at the end of each results chapter should summarise the key points,
but not make any judgements about them.
3. The concluding chapter can bring together the summaries and relate them to the
theoretical framework of the research.
4. Then, you can draw conclusions about your theory (or the absence of theory if you
took a grounded research approach), and draw out any findings that can be
generalized.
5. You can now comment on the importance of those findings and use them as the
basis for recommendations for further research or practical action.
Evaluation checklist
• According to Maxwell (1992), the following checklist will help you judge the
quality of your report.
1. Purpose of Study
2. Background or Context of the Problem:
a) Is clearly described.
b) Is related to the relevant literature.
c) Literature review is comprehensive, well organised and critically discussed.
d) Literature pertinent to various aspects of the problem is not neglected.
3. Significance of the Study
4. Research Methods
5. Assumptions and Limitations
6. Definitions
7. Description and Analysis of Data
8. Conclusions
What are citing & referencing
Citing
• notating when you quote, paraphrase, use an idea, or summarise from
someone else
• gives the reader the original source
Referencing
• creating a list of sources you have cited
• different from a bibliography, which also includes sources you read but
did not use directly in writing your text
When and what to cite
Within & at the end of the text when you use ideas from, or refer
to, another person’s work.
Applies to:
facts, figures, ideas & theories
From:
books, journals, internet, videos, lecture notes etc.
Exception:
common knowledge
How to cite from Books
• APA
In-text: (Bryson, 1995, pp. 12-15) or (Bryson, 1995) Reference:
Bryson, B. (1995). Notes from a small island. London, England:
Black Swan.
• Chicago
In-text: (Bryson 1995, 12-15) or (Bryson 1995) Reference: Bryson,
Bill. 1995. Notes From a Small Island. London : Black Swan.
How to cite from Articles

• APA
In-text: (Secker, 1997, p. 56) or (Secker, 1997)
Reference: Secker, J. (1997). The digital library: A new
perspective. Journal of Documentation, 13(2), 53-65.
• Chicago
In-text: (Secker 1997, 56) or (Secker 1997)
Reference: Secker, Jane. 1997. “The Digital Library: A
New Perspective.” Journal of Documentation 13(2):53-65.
 Harvard Referencing Style
Books
In-text citations
A page number is required if you are paraphrasing, summarising or quoting directly:
(Karskens 1997, p. 23)
Ward (1966, p. 12) suggests that
If you are only citing the main idea of the book:
(Karskens 1997)
List of References
Include information in the following order:
•author's surname, and initial(s)
•year of publication
•title of publication (in italics and with minimal capitalisation),
•edition (if applicable. Abbreviated as 'edn')
•publisher
•place of publication.
Karskens, G 1997, The Rocks: life in early Sydney, Melbourne University Press, Carlton.
Ward, R 1966, The Australian legend, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
 Harvard Referencing Style
Journal articles (print)
In-text citations
If the page number is required, as it is for summarising, paraphrasing and direct quoting:
(Kozulin 1993, p. 257)
If you are citing the main idea of the article only:
(Kozulin 1993)
List of References
Include information in the following order:
•author's surname and initial
•year of publication
•title of the article (between single quotation marks and with minimal capitalisation)
•title of the journal or periodical (in italic font using maximum capitalisation)
•volume number (vol.)
•issue number (no.)
•page range of the article
•DOI (Digital Object Identifier), if available.
Kozulin, A 1993, 'Literature as a psychological tool', Educational Psychologist, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 253-265,
Commonly Used APA Style in Referencing
 Commonly Used APA Style in Referencing
Basic format for a print book citation:
Author last name, first/middle initial. (Year). Title of book. Publisher.
Example:
McAdoo, M.L. (2010). Building bridges: Connecting faculty, students, and the college library. American Library
Association.
Basic format for an eBook citation:
Author last name, first/middle initial. (Year). Title of book [version information]. DOI or URL
Example:
Brundage, E. (2016). All things cease to appear: A novel [Kindle version]. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
https://catalog.saclibrary.org/OverDrive/98244775-9fba-428a-a741-1594bebc8470/Home
Journal Articles
If a journal article includes a DOI (digital object identifier), it should be included in the citation. The DOI is
often located in the top header or bottom footer of the page. If no DOI is present and can't be found
on www.crossref.org, and the article was obtained from a website, include the website URL. If the article was
obtained from a Library Database, such as EBSCO, it is likely available from other providers as well, which
means it's not necessary to include the database information or URL. APA has more information about how to
use DOIs and URLs on its website.
Basic format for a journal article citation:
Author last name, first/middle initial. (Year) Title of article. Title of journal, volume(issue number), pages. DOI
or URL