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Lecture 8 Scientific Report Writing Skills July 2024

a communication skills notes on scientific research

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19 views26 pages

Lecture 8 Scientific Report Writing Skills July 2024

a communication skills notes on scientific research

Uploaded by

leratontjan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Scientific Report writing

Communication Skills
Lecture 8
Definition of a report
A statement of the results of an investigation or
any matter on which definite information is
required. These include;
1. Opportunities,
2. Problems and
3. Decision making
Reports are a highly structured form of writing
following universal conventions
Importance of reports
Reports are used for:
• Effective decisions implementation
• Or to provide solutions to problems.
The effective use of a report is influenced by the
sufficiency and the accuracy of the report.
Structure of a report
1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Table of contents
4. Introduction
5. Statement of the problem
6. Objectives
7. Significance of the study
8. Procedure/Methods
9. Findings/Discussion
Structure of a report continues

10. Conclusions
11. Recommendations
12. Reference page
13. Appendices Pages
Contents of a title page
• The topic investigated – It should be
comprehensively stated.
• Academic titles are scientific descriptions: The
words used in your title should clearly relate to
what you want to do.
• The name of the person who requested the
report/lecturer
• The author and the institution or organization
• Supervisor (if applicable)
• The date submitted
Abstract
• The Abstract consists of 150-300 words and is
a concise summary of the study.
• It should generally be an overview of the
study, briefly covering the background,
research significance, methodology, major
findings, and principal conclusion.
Table of contents
• Indicate all report sections with page
numbers
• Report sections to the lefthand side
and page numbers on the right.
• For accuracy and efficiency, it should
be the last section to be completed.
Table of contents
1. Introduction ………………………………………….. 1
2. Statement of the problem ……………………… 2
2.1
2.2
3.
Introductory section
• State the main focus of the investigation
• Explain the problem at a general level
• Explain the problem in a specific context
▪ Your area of investigation
▪ Facts to be backed up by previous
investigations
• Explain the interest of the investigator
Statement of the problem

• This also functions as an introduction to your


proposal. In this section, go into detail about
your topic.
• brief description of the area to be
investigated, INCLUDE HYPOTHESIS
• In this section you provide a rationale or
justification for why the research needs to be
done.
Objectives of the study (research
questions)
• Reducing a research problem to a question
• Clearly state what you want to do to resolve
the problem raised earlier. What do you want
to achieve?
• Objectives can be framed as a list of
hypotheses to be tested/questions to be
answered, or plain statements of intent,
depending on the topic of your research.
Hypothesis
In a research proposal
• Describes the results that the researcher
expects to find.
• It is a prediction about the outcome the
researcher expects
Methodology/Procedure

Designing your research

- Programme to guide researcher to collect,


analyse and interpret findings of the research
- Description of the operations to be
undertaken to elicit data.
- Quasi-experimental designs
- Non-experimental or qualitative research
- Quantitative research
Methodology/Procedure
• How did you collect or gather the
information
• Provide an accurate account of how
the investigation was conducted
• Literature review
• Questionnaire
• Interviews
(THE METHODS ARE LIMITED TO SUITE FIRST YEAR
STUDENTS).
Methodology/Procedure
Questionnaire
A series of questions are given to the research
participants to answer.
Questions are very clear and straight to the
point.
Indicate when an explanation is needed from
the respondents
Methodology/Procedure
Interviews
Students to find out the definition and
the different types of interviews
Research methods
• Quantitative research
• Qualitative research

Research tools :
Interviews
Questionnaires
Observations
Surveys
Qualitative Vs Quantitative methods
• Qualitative methods include focus groups, in-
depth interviews, and reviews of documents
• While
• Quantitative methods include surveys,
structured interviews & observations, and
reviews of records or documents for numeric
information
Qualitative Vs Quantitative methods
Qualitative is more in-depth information on a
few cases
On the other hand
• Quantitative is less in-depth but more breadth
of information across a large number of cases
Qualitative Vs Quantitative methods
• Qualitative research has unstructured or semi-
structured response options
• Where as
• Quantitative research has fixed response
options
• Qualitative research is text-based where as
quantitative research Number-based
Qualitative Vs Quantitative methods
• Qualitative research has no statistical tests
whereas quantitative research statistical tests
are used for analysis

• Qualitative research is less generalizable


while quantitative research is more
generalizable
Qualitative Vs Quantitative methods
• Qualitative research is more subjective:
describes a problem or condition from the
point of view of those experiencing it

• Quantitative research is more objective:


provides observed effects (interpreted by
researchers) of a program, on a problem or
condition
Expected results

• What do you expect to find.


References
• Follow the required conventions, be
consistent (i.e. decide on a referencing
method, and use that one throughout. For our
purposes, the CPUT Harvard method of
referencing is to be used.)
• All sources referred to in your text should be
fully cited in your reference list
Stages in report writing
• Clarifying the terms of reference
• Planning the work
• Collecting the relevant information
• Organizing and structuring the
information
• Writing the first draft
• Checking and redrafting

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