Report-Writing

1. Report-Writing

2. WorkshopOverview • What is a report? • Sections of a report • Report-Writing Tips

3. What is a Report? • Reports are like recipes; they must contain certain ‘ingredients’ (i.e. elements) for it to ‘taste good’ (i.e. to get a good mark) • Each section of the report has particular content requirements • To write a good report, you must only include the information that is required for each section e.g. you don’t discuss your results in the methods section • A good report must have cohesion & unity - Each section must be related to the other sections

4. The Sections of a Report • Title Page • Abstract • Introduction • Methods • Participants • Design • Materials • Procedure & Method/s of analysis • Results • Discussion • References • Appendices

5. Title Page & Title • The title page is the cover page of the document • The format varies, depending on what your kaiako requires, but it may include: • The title of the report (essential) • Your name (essential) • Your ID number • Course name • Course Coordinator • Date submitted • Word Count

6. Abstract • The abstract is the summary of the report • Found in journal articles, abstracts give a summary of the research you are reading • They are about 200-300 words long • They discuss: • What topic you were looking at • Topic & aim of study • What you did (method) • What you found (results) • The implications of your results (from discussion)

7. Introduction Section • This part of the report sets the scene for the research • It starts generally and then narrows down toward your hypotheses - the questions you are going to address via your research • It includes a literature review on the subject • This review touches on the relevant aspects that help the reader understand, later on, why you chose the design you did, the materials, etc • Points out the research ‘gap’ • It helps us understand how you developed the research questions and hypotheses

8. Introduction Format Introduction of your research • A paragraph or so that sets the context of the report Overview of how the introduction is organised • The organisation of the literature review • In this paragraph, mention that you will finish with a discussion of the research aims (hypotheses) Literature review • Include description of key ideas, key research findings • Make sure the reader understands the rationale for your methodology and hypotheses

9. Introduction Format Research hypotheses • These are your research questions • They are the aims of the research • They are what you want to investigate • Arrange them in order of importance • Use this same order throughout the report (i.e.) • The Results section and • The Discussion.

10. Methods The methods section is broken into parts: • Participants • How many? • How were they recruited? • Ethics approval required & granted? • Design (analysis) • How did you design this experiment so you could analyse the data? • (e.g.) t-tests, ANOVA factoral design, qualitative analysis employed.

11. Methods The methods section is broken into parts: • Materials • This includes test materials, equipment and questionnaires, etc. • Procedure • How did you actually do this? • You need to describe it so that a person understands how you did the research • You need to describe it so that someone else could replicate the research.

12. Results • This section outlines what you found • To ensure the report organisation is consistent throughout you must: • Report the results in the same order that your hypotheses appeared in the introduction • Report results using figures or tables only when it will better clarify the results • Statistical analyses go here • If you use figures and tables, refer to them in the results section (e.g.) “Table one shows…” • Explain your results, but don’t interpret them • Label tables and figures correctly

13. Results • Labelling tables (Tables titles are at the “Top”) Table 2. NFI Patient and NFI Family Record Forms Likert-scale Scores

14. Results • Labelling figures (Figure titles ‘Fall’ to the bottom) Figure 1. Comparison of NFI scores for Patient 1 at July 2002 and October 2003.

15. Discussion • Discuss your results in the same order that your hypotheses or aims appeared in the introduction • Discuss: • What you found – refer back to your hypotheses and whether they were supported • What the implications are – do your findings agree with the previous research already mentioned in your literature review? • Whether they generalize beyond your immediate research? Or do they only apply in this case? • What are the limitations of your study? • What could you suggest for future studies?

16. References • This section of the report should be headed References • Use APA format • See APA Referencing Workshop

17. Appendices • Appendices are used for: • Raw data tables • Questionnaires/Tests/Survey forms • Pamphlets & Brochures • Any other documents that are necessary material for the reader, yet would break the flow of the report too much if included in the report itself • Where do they go? • After the References section, starting on a new page

18. Report Writing Tips • Use Template (Handout) • Check each section to ensure it contains relevant information • Check it for consistency (e.g.) • Hypotheses, Results, Discussion should appear in the same order through the whole report • Your Discussion should refer back to your literature review when comparing what you found to the findings of the literature • Spell-check and grammar check your report • Check references for APA style errors • Proof-read it!

19. Summary • A report has specific sections that need specific inclusions • Sections were covered in detail and a template supplied • Consistency is important

20. Remember… If you need more help, just ask your Kaiako or Student Support Advisor. We are here for you!