Reporting the Finding

Undertaking writing
– Draft the research proposal
– Write summaries, self-memos or entries in the research notebook
– Keep a reflective diary
– Consult literature related to the research topic and draft an early
version of the literature review
– Revise the literature review as the research progresses
• Writing helps to progress the task of producing the project
report, dissertation or thesis and avoid the perception that
this is a monumental chore to be undertaken at the final
stage of the project
• Helps to focus the thoughts and aid the analysis
 Undertaking writing
• Create time for the writing - Writing requires sustained effort
and concentration. Writing on successive days will also help to
ensure the continuity of the ideas.
• Write when the mind is fresh - Writing is a creative process so it
is important to write at the time of day when your mind is at its
freshest.
• Find a regular writing place - Writing is often best undertaken in
the same place without any distractions.
• Create a structure for the writing - Writing requires structure
even for each chapter. Once the researcher has a structure for
the chapter composed of a number of sections and possibly sub-
sections, he or she can start to write each section in turn.
 Undertaking writing
• Set goals and achieve them - Writing may involve goal or target
setting. This can be helpful to see whether the researchers are ‘on
time’.
• Finish a writing session on a high point and provide a link to a new
session - Many writers prefer to get to the end of a section before
they finish writing so that they do not lose any ideas they have
developed during that session. This also allows them to tidy up one
set of materials and to lay out the set for the next session of writing.
• Ensure to keep multiple copies of the work - in order not to waster
the effort that have been invested.
• Get someone to read the work - If the project report does not
communicate to the reader in the way it should, the researcher will
get it back for revision work in the long run. It is much better to try
to ensure that this does not happen.
 Structuring your project report
• Choosing a structure to write up your research project
• According to Yin (2014), there are six ‘reporting approaches’ in terms of what
the report structure emphasizes or reflects. One of the approaches is not
explained.
– Linear-analytic approach - A project report is structured to logically reflect the research
process. It is well suited to a deductive, theory-testing approach but is also adaptable to other
research approaches.
– Comparative approach - The emphasis is placed on devising a structure that allows analytical
comparisons to be made. Different types of comparisons may be made.
– Chronological approach - A structure is devised that allows the emphasis to be placed on the
sequence of events evident in the data set.
– Theory-building approach - A structure is devised that allows the emphasis to be placed on the
emergence of data collection and analysis, the refinement of research ideas and the
development of themes, relationships and explanations.
– Suspense approach - The emphasis is placed on devising a structure that allows the reader to
understand how an explanation has been built.
 Structuring your project report
• How might these underlying structural types
affect your choice of report structure?
– The described reporting approaches helps in
evaluating what type of structure will best suit the
project report.
– The approaches can be used in combination
– The researchers can devise a structure that
incorporates elements from more than one
approach.
Characteristics of the traditional structure

Abstract
Introduction
Literature review
Methodology/Method
Findings/Results
Discussion
Conclusion
References/Bibliography
Appendices
Characteristics of the traditional structure

• Abstract
– A short summary of the complete content of the project
report.
– A good Abstract should be short; self- contained; a reflection
of the report’s content; adequate to inform the reader
about the report; objective, precise and easy to read.
• Introduction
– Gives the reader a clear idea about the central issue of
concern in the research and why this was worth studying.
– Includes a full statement of the research question(s),
research aim and research objectives.
Characteristics of the traditional structure

• Literature Review
– To set the study within its wider, theoretical context so
the reader understands how the study relates to the
work that has already been done on the topic.
• Method
– A detailed and transparent chapter giving the reader
sufficient information to understand why the
researcher chose the method he or she used, to assess
the reliability and validity of the procedures used, and
to evaluate the trustworthiness of the findings.
Characteristics of the traditional structure
• Findings/Results
– In a quantitative study, the results of the statistical analyses will be
included. Tables and graphs are used to illustrate the findings.
– In a qualitative study, the results of the qualitative analysis will be
included.
– Discussing the results should not be done in this chapter and the
findings should be structured in a clear, logical and easily understood
manner.
• Discussion
– To interpret the results presented in the previous chapter.
– Should discuss about the relation of the findings to the research
questions or objectives discussed in the Introduction and the
implications of the research for the relevant theories which were
detailed in the Literature Review.
Characteristics of the traditional structure
• Conclusions
– Be careful not to present any new material
– should be a conclusion to the whole project
– Answering the research question(s), meeting the objectives and, if
appropriate, supporting or refuting the research hypotheses or propositions
– A logical extension of a section in the Conclusions that should be devoted to
the limitations of the research
• References
– Ensure to cite all those sources to which the researchers have referred in the
text in reference section
– Ensure that all data and material taken verbatim from another person’s
published or unpublished written or electronic work in order to avoid
charges of plagiarism
Characteristics of the traditional structure
• Appendices
– Should be kept to the minimum
– Should be included in the main body of the report if the material
in an appendix is crucial to the reader’s understanding
– Should include a blank copy of the questionnaire, interview or
observation schedule
• Recommendations
– The most important section in the typical management report or
consultancy report (discussed later) this may be the most
important section
– Whether to include a recommendation section depends on the
objectives of the research
Characteristics of alternative structures

• The implications of using Action Research,

Case Study, Ethnography, Grounded Theory
and Narrative
• Research strategy may lead the researchers to
use a report structure that is different to the
traditional one or to use a report form that
appears to be the same as or similar to the
traditional structure, but where some sections
within it are constructed differently.
Characteristics of alternative structures
Action Research
• Action Research is very different to traditional, deductive research.
• Each cycle of the research involves a process of diagnosing or constructing
issues, planning action, taking action and evaluating action.
• Action Research is likely to involve at least three such cycles.
• In this way, Action Research differs from other research strategies because
of its explicit focus on action related to multiple stages of research.
• The researcher should devise a structure that allows to report and evaluate
this process without losing any of its richness and emergent character.
• At the end of each section or chapter describing a particular cycle or stage
of your Action Research, they suggest including a section of interpretation
that seeks to make sense of these events and starts to theorise about
them.
Characteristics of alternative structures
• Case Study
• The purpose, nature and analysis of, and approach to, case study research is
likely to affect the way in which the project report is structured.
• The inclusion of a single case or multiple cases and the way in which this
case or these cases are analysed will also affect the structure of the project
report.
• A case study strategy using a single case which requires embedded analytical
units within it to be analysed separately, or one that includes multiple cases,
suggests using a reporting structure that allows the different analytical units
or cases to be compared.
• While case study research requires a structure that permits the context of
the case study to be described and its analytical importance to be
established, it will be important to make sure that the structure the
researcher chose maintains an appropriate balance between description,
analysis and interpretation.
Characteristics of alternative structures
• Ethnography
• Many ethnographies published in academic journals broadly reflect the
structural outline of the traditional structure.
• Ethnography is defined as a ‘style of social science writing which draws
upon the writer’s close observation of and involvement with people in a
particular social setting and relates the words spoken and the practices
observed or experienced to the overall cultural framework within which
they occurred’.
• Not to suggest that a particular style is associated with a specific way of
structuring an ethnographic report.
• To recognize that each style will have implications for the content and
therefore the structure of the resulting ethnography.
Characteristics of alternative structures
• Grounded Theory
• In a Grounded Theory approach, theoretical framework is
developed from the collected and analysed data.
• The structure of the report will need to allow
demonstrating how the researcher developed the
theoretical framework.
• Devise a structure that preserves the analytical processes
the researcher engaged in, continues to encourage the
development of the analysis, emphasizes how it developed
and evaluates it with the intention of demonstrating to the
readers that the reseacher’s grounded theory is convincing.
Characteristics of alternative structures
• Narrative
• The structure of Narrative Research project report may be influenced by the
following factors:
– the purpose in using a narrative approach;
– the nature of the narratives the researcher collect; and
– the type of Narrative Analysis he or she undertake.
• The structure of a project report is likely to be shaped around the use of an
extended narrative or narratives.
• A narrative structure provided by the sole narrator or by a small number of
narrators may influence not only the analysis of the data provided but also the
form that the report adopts.
• The role of the researcher as analyst and presenter is likely to be more dominant
in terms of shaping the structure of the project report. The type of Narrative
Analysis being undertaken may also affect the structure the researcher devise for
the project report.

• Stick to the guidelines on the number of words the project report should contain.
 Writing reports for different audiences
• The academic report will usually be much longer and
contain contextual description that the
organizational audience does not require.
• In business setting, the managers reading the report
will probably be less interested in the literature
review and the development of theory than the
academic audience.
• They will, however, be interested in
recommendations for future action and these will
need to be written into the organizational version.
 The consultancy report
• The following factors should be considered to plan a consultancy
report.
– The kinds of readers of the consultancy report
– The types of information and level of details that readers will expect
– The expected forms of report presentation
– The level of knowledge that readers had
– The purpose of using the report in the future
– The key messages and recommendations that the researchers want to
provide
 
• Avoid presenting a partial point of view and selecting only those
data that support it
• Devise a structure that allows conveying the messages to the
organizational audience who will read the report.
 Making the report’s content clear and
accessible
• Choosing a title - A good title is one that has the minimum possible
number of words while describing the content of the report
accurately.
• Tell a clear story – Report should be easy to understand. Abstract and
conclusion can help to find out that the report is clear to understand
and explain and the analysis is logical.
• Helping the reader to get all the information out that they need –
– Dividing the work – Divide in such a way that it is easy for readers to find their way
round it and for them always to be clear where they are, where they have come from,
and where they are going.
– Previewing and summarising chapters - Include a few words at the beginning of the
chapter that provide a description of how the chapter is to contribute to answering the
research question, the methods used in this part of the study, and the points that are
covered, have a brief summary of the content of the chapter.
– Tables and graphics – researcher should make sure that, wherever possible, he or she
has introduced the table or diagram before it appears in the text.
Developing an appropriate writing style

• Clarity and simplicity

– Write simple sentences
– Avoid jargon
– Beware of using large numbers of quotations
from the literature
– Check spelling and grammar
– Avoiding common grammatical errors
Developing an appropriate writing style
• Person, tense and gender
– The research approach and strategy that informs your methods
may dictate your choice of personal pronoun.
– An impersonal style is appropriate for example using the term ‘the
author’. Be careful with excessive use of ‘I’ and ‘we’.
– The researcher is an intrinsic part of the research process.
– Use the present tense when referring to previously published
work and the past tense when referring to your present results.
– Misuse of gender can give offence to many people of both sexes.
– Be aware of any specific discriminatory or potentially insulting
concepts, terms and expressions which may be used in the
research due to the particular context of the research.
Developing an appropriate writing style
• Preserving anonymity
– Invent pseudonyms for organizations and not to name
individual participants.

• The need for continual revision

– The quality of the work will be judged. Therefore, it is
important to polish the work with successive drafts until
the work is to the satisfied quality.
– Having completed a second draft may make the researcher
feel confident enough to give it to someone read.
 Meeting the assessment criteria
• The following criteria are needed to meet and two
processes are needed to conduct
– Application is thought of as the ability to apply certain principles
and rules in particular situations.
– Analysis may be illustrated by the ability to break down the data
and to clarify the nature of the component parts and the
relationship between them.
– Synthesis is the process of putting together or assembling
various elements so as to create a new statement or conclusion.
– Evaluation is the process of judging materials or methods in
terms of their accuracy and internal consistency or by comparing
them against external criteria.
Writing a reflective essay or section
• Being reflective and reflexive is integral to some
research strategies, or particular variants of these.
• Conducting research in a reflective and reflexive
way is also important in Action Research and
Grounded Theory strategies.
• It will be appropriate to write this in the first
person, using ‘I’ and ‘my’: such as ‘my experience’,
‘what did I learn’ and ‘what I did differently’.
 Oral presentation of the report
• Planning and preparing
– All presentations should have clear aims and objectives.
– Keep it clear and simple.
– think about the general approach in delivering the presentation
– use own strength to enjoy the opportunity to share the detailed knowledge with an
interested audience.  
• Using visual aids
– The use of visual aids will do more than enhance the understanding of the audience.
– Help to look better prepared and therefore more professional.
– Use digital videos or PowerPoint slides for visual aids.
• Making the presentation
– Have prepared the presentation carefully and practice it beforehand.
– Be positive about the presentation and the report.
– Ensure to deliver it in the allotted time.