Slide 2:WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT The research process is not complete unless the findings of a study are reported. Research becomes useful only when the results are communicated to possible users in a form that is understandable and usable. Research results can be disseminated in many forms, the most common of which are the thesis/dissertation, scientific papers, and articles in research journals. This chapter deals with the parts of a research report and how it is written. Emphasis is given to the writing of a thesis.


Slide 3:Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, the learners shall be able to: identify the different ways of disseminating research results, describe the parts of a research report and how each part is written, and critique and revise parts of sample research reports, prepare an outline of their research report.


Slide 4:The Research Report To be useful, research results must be reported so they can be read and used. So that research reports will be read and used by more people, they should be written and presented in a form that is understandable and usable. A research report should be written in a style that is appropriate to its intended audience or readers.


Slide 5:Writing the Research Report With a well-written research proposal, half of the research report is almost done. With little modifications, the introduction, literature review and the methodology sections of the proposal can be the first three major sections of a research report. To these, the findings, discussions, conclusions, and recommendations, preliminary sections and references can be added.


Slide 6:The form and style of a research report is usually prescribed by the institution where the report will be submitted. The form and style of reports may vary from institution to institution, but the main elements of the reports are basically the same. Most reports, including thesis and dissertations have three main sections, the preliminary parts, the text (body) of the report, and the reference materials. The specific parts under each major section are outlined and described below.


Slide 7:Major Parts of a Research Report I. Preliminary Sections Title Page (Title of the Report, Author, Date) Approval Sheet Abstract Table of Contents List of Tables/Figures Acknowledgments The Text/Body of he Report Introduction: a. Statement of the problem/research objectives b. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework (if needed) c. Hypotheses (if any) d. Significance of the study e. Scope and Limitation Literature Review Methodology (design, sampling, data collection techniques used, analytical procedures) Findings and Discussions Conclusions and Recommendations III. Reference Materials References/Bibliography Appendixes


Slide 8:I. THE PRELIMINARY SECTIONS Title Page. The title page contains the title of the study, the author and the date of completion. The title must be brief and simply worded. Abstract. The abstract is a brief descriptive summary of the research report. It includes the statement of the research problem or objectives of the study, a brief description of the research methods used, a summary of the major findings, and statement of conclusions and recommendation. Some institutions require an Executive Summary, which is slightly longer than an abstract.


Slide 9:Approval Sheet. The approval sheet provides space for the signatures of the adviser, readers or oral defense panelists, dean, and others, indicating their acceptance of the research work. Most institutions have a model form for this. Table of Contents. The Table of Contents lists all the parts of the report and the page numbers which are indicated along the right margin. The wording, capitalization and punctuations of titles and headings should be written exactly as they are in the text.


Slide 10:List of Tables/Figures. The List of Tables/Figures indicates the number and title of all the tables/figures in the text and their page number. Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals throughout the text. Acknowledgments. The acknowledgments is where the writer expresses appreciation and gratitude for assistance received in the conduct of the study. Acknowledgements must be expressed simply, sincerely, and tactfully.


Slide 11:II. THE TEXT (BODY) The body of the report begins with the first page of Chapter 1. Numbering in Arabic numerals starts on this page with number “1.” All pages in this section are numbered including section or chapter title pages. Page numbers are positioned one inch from the top of the page at the right margin. The body of the report are divided into: Introduction, Review of Related Literature, Methodology, Findings, Discussions, and Conclusions and Recommendations.


Slide 12:Introduction. The introductory chapter provides the background of the research. It explains the need for the study, states the research problem/objectives and hypotheses, if any, specifies the scope and limits of the study, and explains the significance of the problem. All these are found in a well-written proposal. With slight modifications, this section in the proposal can be used in the final report (See parts of a proposal in previous chapter).


Slide 13:Review of Related Literature. The review of related literature, usually written as a separate chapter, should not only summarize the articles, books, and other references reviewed, rather, call the readers’ attention to common findings as well as conflicting results of previous studies (see details in Chapter 2).


Slide 14:Methodology. This chapter should describe how the study was conducted. Emphasis should be given to design, sampling procedure, data collection techniques, instruments used, and analytical procedures. The methodology should be discussed in the past tense.


Slide 15:Findings and Discussions. The findings of the study constitute the data presentation and the researcher’s analysis of these data. The discussion, which may be written separately from or integrated with the findings, presents the researchers interpretation of the data, and statements on the implication of the findings to theory and findings of related studies. The discussion goes beyond the data.


Slide 16:Conclusions and Recommendation. Conclusions are general statements which provide answers to the research problem. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, recommendations are stated. The implications of the findings for revising existing body of knowledge or theories are also be included in this section.