Writing
a research
report
OBJECTIVES
Throughout this discussion, you’ll be able to:
know the parts of a Research Report;
determine the meaning of each part and how it is
supposed to be written; and
realize the significance of writing a Research Report.
1 2
The RESEARCH
problem METHODOLO
and its GY
scope
3
RESULTS 4
AND summary
ANALYSIS
CHapter 1
The Problem and
Its Scope
INTRODUCTION
The introduction is the first chapter of your thesis
and appears right after the table of contents. It’s
essential to draw the reader in with a strong
beginning. Set the stage for your research with a
clear focus, purpose and direction.
Things to include in the introduction:
Topic and context: What does the reader need to know to
understand the dissertation?
Focus and scope: What specific aspect of the topic will you address?
Relevance and importance: How does the research fit into existing
work on this topic?
Questions and objectives: What does the research aim to find out
and how?
Overview of the structure: What does each chapter of the
dissertation contribute to the overall aim?
Begin by introducing your topic and giving any
necessary background information. It’s important to
contextualize your research and generate interest — aim to
show why the topic is timely or important (for example, by
mentioning a relevant news item, academic debate, or
practical problem).
topic and context
After a brief introduction to your general area of interest, narrow your focus and
define the scope of your research. For example:
- What geographical area are you investigating?
- What time period does your research cover?
- What demographics or communities are you researching?
- What specific themes or aspects of the topic does your research address?
focus and scope
Depending on your field, the importance of your research might focus on its
practical application (e.g. in policy or management) or on advancing scholarly
understanding of the topic (e.g. by developing theories or adding new empirical
data). In many cases it will do both.
- Helps solve a practical or theoretical problem
- Addresses a gap in the literature
- Builds on existing research
- Proposes a new understanding of the topic
Relevance and importance
This sets up the expectations of the rest of your
dissertation. How you formulate your research questions and
objectives will depend on your discipline, topic and focus, but
you should always clearly state the central aim of your
research.
questions and objectives
review of related literature
This is a detailed review of existing literature related
to the topic of a thesis or dissertation. It involves
discussing the key concepts in existing literature
related to your topic. If you find any gaps in the
reviewed literature, you can discuss these gaps and
also how your study plans to address some if not all
of these gaps.
WRITING THE RRL
1. Chronological: This approach describes each work in succession starting with
the earliest available information. Typically, the sources are grouped together and
discussed in order of their publication date, recording the research and
developments in the field, and on the specific topic over a period of time.
- This structure is generally used when the focus is to show how ideas or
methodology have progressed over time.
WRITING THE RRL
2. Thematic: In this model, the author organizes and discusses existing literature
based on themes or theoretical concepts he or she feels are important to
understanding the topic.
- This approach is usually considered stronger than the chronological model as it
does much more than just summarizing each study: it analyses existing knowledge
on the topic with regard to certain important issues, thus providing a sense of
direction or drawing readers’ attention to new angles or perspectives.
hOW IS THE rrl STRUCTURED?
discussion and
introduction body conclusion
This sets some context
by providing This contains This section summarizes the main
information about the the various contributions of significant studies
field of study, the studies and and discusses the questions that
relevance of the chosen literatures that the review has raised about the
topic within the field, are topic and field. This is where you
and the focus of the clearly mention the gaps in
literature review. research that the review has
sparked and the possible
suggestions for future research.
searching strategies for discovery of literature
1. Defining Keywords
2. Look for databases of your Sources
3. Follow citations
4. Use a reference manager
databases for your sources
theoretical framework
This is where you explain the theories that support
your research, showing that your work is grounded
in established ideas. Theories are developed to
explain phenomena, draw connections, and make
predictions
WRITING THE theoretical framework
1. Identify your Key Concepts
2. Evaluate and explain relevant theories
3. Show how your research fits in.
conceptual Framework
This defines the relevant variables of the sktudy and
maps out how they might relate to each other. It is
then represented in a visual format which is the
Schematic Diagram.
WRITING THE conceptual framework
1. Identify the variables.
2. Map out the relationship between the variables through
boxes and arrows.
3. Check whether there are other variables that might
influence the relationship between the independent and
dependent variable.
statement of the problem
This is used in a research work as a claim that
outlines the problem addressed in the study.
An effective problem statement should:
1. Put the problem in context
2. Describe the precise issue that the research will address
3. Show the relevance of the problem
4. Set the objectives of the research
writing the problem statement
1. Contextualize the problem
2. Show why it matters
3. Set your aims and objectives
hypothesis
A hypothesis states your predictions about what
your research will find. This serves as the tentative
answer to your research questions that has not been
tested.
developing a hypothesis
1. Ask a question
2. Do some preliminary research
3. Formulate your hypothesis
4. Refine your hypothesis
5. Write a null hypothesis
significance of the study
This implies the importance of the study and how
will these be relevant to various aspects of the study.
writing the significanc of the study
1. Outline the significance in a broader sense
2. Narrow it down to demonstrate the specific group
3. Highlight how will this be beneficial to the narrowed
specific group/s
definition of terms
This section defines the key terms used in the study.
This should be defined according to its use in the
study.
defining the terms
1. Identify the key terms that are significant in the study
2. Define the terms as to how it is being used
CHapter 1i
Research
Methodology
research design
This sectionis a framework for planning the research
study. This sets the parameters of your study.
Qualitative research design
This involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data to
understand concepts, opinions, or experiences.
Qualitative research methods
1. Observations
2. Interviews
3. Focus Groups
4. Surveys
5. Secondary Research
Qualitative data analysis
1. Prepare and organize your data
2. Reveiw and explore your data
3. Develop a data coding system
4. Assign codes to the data
Quantative research design
This involves collecting and analyzing numerical data. It can
be used to find patterns and averages, make predictions, test
casual relationship, and generalize results to wider
populations.
Quantative research methods
1. Descriptive research
2. Correlational Research
3. Experimental Research
Quantative data analysis
1. Descriptive statistics
2. Inferential Statistics
descriptive research design
This aims to accurately and systematically describe a
population, situation, or phenomenon.
It can answer what, where, when, and how questions
When to use descriptive research design?
Descriptive research is an appropriate choice when the
research aims to identify characteristics, frequencies, trends,
and categories.
descriptive research design methods
1. Survey Research
2. Observations
3. Case Studies
research locale
This section states the location where the study is
conducted.
Data Gathering procedure
This section states the process of gathering the date
needed in the study. This is written in the order of
what you conducted first and so on.
Statistical treatment
This section indicates what statistical method can be
applied in analyzing the data.
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