UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (COSS)

INFORMATION STUDIES UNIT
MA. INFORMATION STUDIES
GROUP ASSIGNMENT

COURSE CODE: IL 619

COURSE TITLE: INFORMATION USER STUDIES
COURSE INSTRUCTOR: PROF. KELEFA MWANTIMWA
PARTICIPANTS

NAMES REGISTRATION NUMBER

JOHN S. MOSHI 2024-06-02184
ASIA H. TURRA 2024-06-01685
EPAFRA NYAMBARO 2024-06-02204
NEEMA Y. NDYANGA 2024-06-00607

QUESTION:
Data analysis, presentation and report writing
Data analysis is a process of breaking data into its essential components mainly to find out it is
uniqueness elements and structure; the ultimate goal is make sure that more is done that just
describing the data i.e. interpret, explain and understands and even at far to predict the future
(Timmermans & Tavory, 2022). By breaking data into its essential make up it is important since
it’s possible to view how the pieces of data are interconnected, also it becomes easy to classify
data. However, by assigning connections between these pieces of data, a new way or foundation
for assigning description emerges.

According to Eldridge (2025) data analysis is a systematic process of collecting, cleaning

transforming, and describing, modelling and interpreting data by employing the systematic
analytical processes. Cresswell and Clark (2018) highlights that data analysis is conducted
basing on the response to study questions, through unique steps and decision of the researcher.
By using these steps the researcher presents, interprets and validate the data.

Timmermans & Tavory (2022) pointed out that three major processes are involved i.e.
connecting, describing and classifying, these are somewhat circular processes, aiming at
answering how, why, and of course what questions. In the study the researcher may employ
quantitative methods and qualitative methods for data analysis and interpretation.

The following are the rationales for data analysis;

To simplify communication of results. In simplifying the communication of complex information

data analysis is very important. Examining and interpretation of data gives clear insights which
can be understood by different types of audience, also the transform of raw data into visualized
form is done by the involvement of charts and graphs. This gives room for audience to grasp
complex concepts easily (Ott, & Longnecker, 2010).

To ensure credibility. Data analysis gives the credibility of the research findings, this is due to
the application of appropriate statistical techniques which helps the researcher to describe,
summarize and evaluate data which gives trust to the results. Also, the study credibility is
archived by the use of multiple data source or methods to cross verify the findings which both
increase the study credibility (Ott, & Longnecker, 2010).

To make informed decision. To come up with good decision data analysis is very crucial for it
transform raw data into valuable form. By doing research and come up with the results on the
problem at hand and when the data is analyzed it replace guessing by having evidences which is
very important in decision making of how the data is going to solve the research problem (Ott, &
Longnecker, 2010).

Validating hypothesis. Before doing the study, the hypothesis is very important, therefore data
analysis aims into validating the hypotheses if were valid or not. By collecting data and
examining them then he/she can test the assumption that were present before the study if they are
true or no. Therefore, data analysis ensures conclusion is made from the evidence and not from
the estimations which gives the reliability and credibility of the research findings (Ott, &
Longnecker, 2010).The methods of quantitative data analysis are usually grouped into two major
categories, namely descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.

Descriptive statistics aim at describing the sample providing essential means of understanding
the data by focusing on the general characteristics of the population that is currently under study
and the data has been collected from (Lund Research, 2018). Measurements of the descriptive
statistics are divided into measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion.

Measures of central tendency are the measurements which tells the point which the items have a
tendency to cluster, where it is considered as the most representative of the entire set of data.
Sometimes it is referred to as statistical average. Mean, median, and mode makes up the common
known measurements of central tendency. Mean is the sum of all the data values divided by
number values sometimes referred to as the average. It is the measure central location of data
(Sweeney & Williams, 2025). While, median is the value of the middle item of series when it is
arranged in ascending or descending order of magnitude but mode is the data value that has
greatest or maximum frequency in a series, it is useful method in dealing with popular sizes
(Kothari, 2004).

Measurement of dispersion describes how the data are distributed and relate to each other. The
measures of dispersion frequently used are range, mean deviation and standard deviation. Range
is the difference between the highest and lowest values in the data. Also, mean deviation is the
average of difference of the values of items from average of the series. In calculating mean
deviation, the minus sign is ignored while taking the total for obtaining the mean deviation
Standard deviation is defined as the square-root of the average of squares of deviations, when
such deviations for the values of individual items in a series are obtained from the arithmetic
average (Lund Research, 2018).

Measures of skewness and kurtosis, correlation, and regression. This is the other measures of
descriptive statistics are Measures of skewness and kurtosis are describing the shape of the data
distribution. Skewness is defined as the absence in symmetry in the distribution of data, therefore
data can either be left skewed, right skewed or symmetric. Kurtosis on the other hand is referred
to as the convexity of the frequency curvature, it can be observed in its three main types i.e.
leptokurtic when the data is relatively peaked than normal, mesocratic is when the data is not too
peaked nor too flat, and platykurtic is when the data is too flatter than normal. (Lund Research,
2018).

Inferential Statistics is a method that allows the use information collected from a sample to make
decisions, predictions or inferences from a population. It grants permission to give statements
that goes beyond the available data or information. There are three measures of inferential
statistics i.e. t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test and Chi-square test. Firstly, T-test is a
statistical measure that is used to measure the significance of the difference between two group
means or sample means. Secondly, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test is a statistical method
that is used to compare mean of the three or more samples unlike the t-test which compare two
groups or samples. Thirdly, Chi-square test which is used to measure the extent to which the
observed frequencies are deviating from the corresponding expected frequencies of the sample,
to find out the difference between observed frequencies and expected frequencies (Lund
Research, 2018)

Correlation, it measures the extent of relationship between two or more related variables, when
change occurs in one variable it causes change in another variable. Correlation can be expressed
in four type’s positive, negative, perfect, and linear and non-linear correlation. Positive
correlation is when the increased or decreased change in one variable is resulting to increased or
decreased change in another variable; also negative correlation is when the change in one
variable is inversely affecting the other variable i.e. if there is an increase in one variable then
there is a decrease in the other variable or vice versa; moreover, perfect correlation is when
change in one variable is causing change of the equivalent same proportion in another variable;
additionally, if those changes occur in the same direction it is said to be a perfect positive
correlation but if they occur in the opposite direction they are referred to as perfect negative
correlation; furthermore, linear correlation is when there is a change in one variable then there is
a constant change in another variable; and, non-linear correlation is when there is a change in
one variable but the change in other variable is not constant but at inconsistent rate.

Furthermore, another important type of inferential statistics is regression. It is the statistical

method which is used to study the relationship between two variables, giving the researcher an
opportunity to predict how change in one variable usually independent variable affect another
variable normally dependent variable, basically to find out what influence does that change has
in the social phenomenon, it is assumed to be more useful in understanding patterns of
relationship in social dynamics in the datasets at hand

Qualitative data analysis plays crucial role in understanding non-numerical data such as data
collected from interviews, focus group data, observation and documents. It is a systematic
process of organizing data collected from the field, mostly used to understand social phenomena.
Qualitative data process is systematic and flexible useful in uncovering patterns, meanings and
themes of important insights of human behavior, relationship and societal dynamics (Maxwell,
2016). It employs the following common methods; thematic analysis, grounded theory, content
analysis, phenomenological analysis, disclosure analysis, narrative analysis and case study
analysis;

Thematic analysis, is the most used method in social science research, the ultimate reason for use
of this method is its ability to offer more flexible approach to identify, analyze and interpret
patterns within a set of qualitative data. Normally, the researcher has to go through
questionnaires reading the answers for the open ended questions or listening to the audio
recordings from the field to gain an overall understanding of the data. The researcher then groups
the data basing on their relations and assign them a unique code, for the recurring themes to
basically fall under a distinct unique code. It is important for the researcher to make sure that the
grouping of data maintain the accuracy of the responses from the scripts (Creswell, & Creswell,
2023).

Content analysis. This is the common and systematic method that aim at analyzing textual,
visual, or audio form of data to essentially find out patterns, themes and/or meaning, in this
method data sets are grouped to find out reoccurring themes. It employs inductive or deductive
approaches to make sure that the patterns are occurring in the natural setting (Creswell, &
Creswell, 2023).

Narrative analysis which is focused on what participant say and used to find out what meaning
can be derived from these narrations, it focused on the content, structure and contexts of their
stories to find out how participants perceive their experiences, important aspects of the stories
such as chronological flow, and characters. It highly focuses on the contextual and subjective
nature of human experiences as important tool of understanding their social environment
(Creswell, & Creswell, 2023).

The following are the challenges of data analysis

Inaccuracy and incompleteness of data. Is when data are not correct and they are missing out
important pieces. Inaccuracies occurs when errors, incomplete entries, duplicate entries,
inconsistency in entries and the units of measurements are found in the data. Incompleteness in
data analysis occurs when certain field do not contain expected data. Inaccuracy and
incompleteness both pauses serious challenge in data analysis. Example, analysis of age entries
that was filled both in numerical form and non-numerical form by two different respondent
causes a challenge. The major cause of this challenge is when the respondents are responding to
the questions without researcher administration, especially if it is questionnaire (Ott, &
Longnecker, 2010)

Bias. Occurs when judgement of data is inaccurate or unfair. It happens when analysis of results
is influenced by inaccuracies or inconsistencies, these are likely to occur if data being analyzed is
not sufficient representative of the sample or phenomena being studied. Also, it can occur when
the tool for analysis is being given instruction to make sure that certain kind of results obtained,
this will essentially impact the analysis of data resulting to bias whether intended or unintended.
The major cause of this challenge is the complex nature of human behavior and other societal
factors. Example, the group (sample) that is selected to participate in the study may not fully
represent the population therefore some important opinions and experiences may not be captured
during data collection therefore analysis of these data is not going to be exhaustive eventually
causing biasness (Ott, & Longnecker, 2010).
Data complexity. After collecting data, the researcher normally is finding himself or herself
having a huge amount of data sets, the major complexity that rises at this point is the nature of
data collected from the field where within the single set of data there might be numerical data
and non-numerical data from survey and questionnaires, qualitative answers from interviews and
observation checklists, and sometimes researcher has to deal with the population statistics. These
are different types of data therefore, combining and analyzing them together is more difficult
task. Also, at the study area it is not easy to identify what factors are contributing to the observed
dynamics in the collected data, this is more challenging when researcher is conducting a
longitudinal study. Example, interpretation of data from spoken words (audio recordings),
written words from interviews and questionnaire require carful interpretation due to their
subjectivity (Ott, & Longnecker, 2010).

Insufficient knowledge on analysis method and tools. Sometimes the researcher may lack
necessary skills and expertise either in phenomena under study and its population, methods of
analysis and tools of carryout the analysis process. Therefore, this causes a serious challenge
since the researcher might fail to identify appropriate tool and methods as well as techniques for
the contexts being studied. Example, if the researcher is not knowledgeable enough may fail to
understand the pattern that the analyzed data is indicating (Ott, & Longnecker, 2010).

Misinterpretation. This is inappropriate understanding of collected data. Occurs when the data
are misunderstood and therefore make improper conclusion. The major reason of the
misinterpretation of data is when researcher oversimplify the obtained data from the field even
though the data are in its complex form, sometimes the researcher may misuse the methods of
analysis and result to misinterpreted data. Occasionally data misinterpretation may be resulting
from the improper visualization of data. Example, when generalization of the findings is done
without considering the situation that the data were collected from (Ott, & Longnecker, 2010).

Generalization of findings. It is a process of applying conclusions of associations shown from in

specific observation of data set in a broader population or sometimes a new different context. It
happens as a challenge during data analysis when the assumption drawn from the specific data
are incorrectly applied to another context especially when the sample used in data collection are
not representative of the second group and do not consider the implications of the environment
of this second group. This challenging is even more intensified by the complexity of the human
behavior especially in the social context. Example, cultural differences and disparities among
societies may pause a challenge when generalization is done basing on the findings, for instance
data collected in Dar es salaam on agricultural practice can pause a seriously challenge if applied
in Morogoro region due to the nature of this locations (Ott, & Longnecker, 2010).

Data presentation is the process of visually or textually organizing and delivering data and
analysis results to help others understand and interpret the findings (Kothari, 2018). It follows
data analysis and helps organize information by converting it into a more accessible and readable
format.

The following are the rationales for Data Presentation

Data presentation plays a crucial role in transforming complex datasets into more understandable
and digestible forms. To draws attention to key findings, making it easier for audiences to
interpret the information effectively. Clear and accessible presentation enables decision-makers
in fields such as business, government, and research to quickly analyze data and make informed
choices, leading to faster and more impactful outcomes (Alem, 2020). Additionally, well-
presented data engages audiences by using visuals that convey stories more effectively than plain
numbers or text, which is particularly valuable in academic papers, reports, and public
presentations (Kothari, 2018). Proper data presentation also highlights relationships and trends,
allowing for easy comparisons or tracking of changes over time.

The following are the types of Data Presentation

Data presentation can be divided into three main types: textual, tabular, and figures. Textual
presentation uses written descriptions to explain data findings. Tables organize data into rows
and columns for easy comparison, while figures, such as graphs and charts, visually depict trends
and relationships in the data (Maxwell, 2016).

Textual data presentation uses written descriptions to summarize and interpret data. This type of
presentation is especially important in qualitative research, but it also plays a significant role in
quantitative research when interpreting results, providing context, and discussing implications.
Textual data presentation can take two forms statements and narratives. Statements are
commonly used to highlight key results and provide statistical evidence supporting the findings.
Researchers use statements to explain the meaning of numerical findings, highlighting key
trends, and ensuring that the reader understands the implications of statistical tests (Timmermans
& Tavory, 2022). These statements often include numerical details, significance levels, and other
statistical metrics to concisely convey results.

In qualitative data analysis, textual presentation focuses on discussions or narratives that

demonstrate how themes or categories emerge from the data. Diverse perspectives are presented
to reflect varying views within the study, and rich descriptions are used to provide vivid, detailed
examples that engage the reader and bring the findings to life (Paul, 2020).

Textual presentation is particularly suited for research situations where detailed explanations are
required. It is ideal for clarifying complex ideas that may be difficult to interpret from tables or
figures alone, ensuring the data's meaning is easily understood. This method is commonly used
in qualitative research, such as interviews, focus groups, and ethnography, where rich,
descriptive narratives are necessary to convey findings (Ishtiaq, 2019). Additionally, textual
presentation is invaluable when researchers need to interpret their results by connecting them to
existing theories, models, or frameworks, providing a deeper context for their analysis.

Tabular data presentation is the second way of presenting data in research, it uses tables to
arrange and structure data systematically. Tables are invaluable for comparing various data
groups or illustrating how data evolves over time. Data is organized into rows and columns based
on its characteristics, facilitating straightforward comparisons and easy reference (Creswell, &
Creswell, 2023). Tables are best used for presenting exact numerical data, such as statistical test
results or financial figures, where precision is crucial. They are also effective for organizing
categorical data, like demographics (e.g., age, gender, or location), into clear categories. Tables
are also useful for showing comparisons across groups or conditions, such as test scores from
different schools, to highlight differences or similarities (Alem, 2020). They are commonly
employed to present descriptive statistics, including measures like mean, median, standard
deviation, and frequency distributions, in an organized format.

A well-designed table ensures clarity and readability by including several essential components.
Table numbers provide easy referencing, especially when multiple tables are used. The title
serves as a concise and descriptive heading at the top, summarizing the table’s content, while the
head note, placed below the title, clarifies specific details, such as units of measurement. The
main body or field forms the core of the table, presenting the relevant numerical or statistical
data. A footnote at the bottom explains any omissions or limitations in the data, such as missing
values, and the source of data, also located at the bottom, ensures reliability by citing the original
source for verification or further exploration (Kothari, 2018).

Figures are essential tool for presenting research data visually, offering a graphical
representation that allows researchers to highlight key trends, patterns, and relationships
(Creswell, & Creswell, 2023). In research, data presentation can be done in four ways using
figures, this includes charts, graphs, diagrams and maps.

Graphs are visual tools used to represent numerical data on axes, highlighting relationships,
trends, and patterns between variables. They are particularly effective for displaying continuous
data and illustrating changes or correlations over time (Maxwell, 2016).

Common types of graphs include line graphs, which show trends over a specific period by
connecting data points with straight lines, making them ideal for tracking changes in variables
like temperature or stock prices. Scatter plots represent individual data points on a two-
dimensional plane to examine relationships between two continuous variables, such as height
and weight. Area graphs is another type of graph similar to line graphs but with the area beneath
the line filled in, emphasize the magnitude of changes over time and are effective for comparing
cumulative data across trends. Bubble charts is another variation of scatter plots but it does add a
third dimension by using the size of bubbles to represent additional variables (Alem, 2020).
Lastly, pictographs is a form of graph that use pictures or symbols to represent data, making
them visually appealing and easy to interpret.

Charts are effective tools for summarizing and organizing data into categories, often using visual
elements like bars or slices to highlight comparisons or distributions. The most common used
type of charts includes bar chart and pie chart. A bar chart uses rectangular bars, either vertical or
horizontal, to represent values, making it particularly useful for comparing data across categories
or groups (Paul, 2020). Pie charts, on the other hand, represent data as slices of a circle, with
each slice showing the percentage contribution of components to a whole. This format
emphasizes the relative importance of each part, with the circle’s 360° representing 100%. Both
types of charts make data visually accessible and easy to interpret.
A diagram can be used to present data in research, it is a simplified visual representation of
concepts, processes, systems, or relationships, often used to explain or clarify abstract ideas.
Diagrams focus on structure or flow rather than numerical data (Ishtiaq, 2019).

Another form of data presentation in figures is the use of maps, a map is a visual representation
of spatial data or geographic locations, used to display the distribution, intensity, or movement of
phenomena within a specific area. It highlights location-based relationships and patterns through
various types (Creswell John and Creswell David, 2023). The common types of maps include;
heat maps, choropleth, dot maps and flow maps. Heat maps use color gradients to represent the
concentration or intensity of a variable, such as population density or disease spread. Choropleth
maps shade predefined regions, like states or districts, to reflect variable values, with darker or
lighter tones indicating higher or lower levels. On the other hand, dot maps employ dots to
represent individual occurrences or events, making them ideal for visualizing the distribution of
discrete data points. Finally, flow maps illustrate movement or connections between locations,
such as migration, trade routes, or traffic, using lines or arrows to show direction and magnitude.
These map types effectively convey spatial information and trends.

The following are the challenges of Data Presentation

Despite its importance, data presentation comes with several challenges. One key issue is
ensuring clarity and accuracy while simplifying complex datasets, as oversimplification can lead
to the loss of details or misinterpretation. Poorly designed visuals or tables, with excessive
details can confuse rather than inform. For spatial or geographic data, issues such as inaccurate
scaling or the overuse of color gradients in maps can make it harder to understand (Sarter, 2006).
Another challenge lies in avoiding visual biases which can distort findings and lead to flawed
conclusions. Time and cost is another challenge in data presentation as creating accurate, clear,
and visually appealing outputs often requires substantial resources, skilled expertise, and
advanced tools.

REPORT WRITING

Research report is a channel of communicating the research findings to the readers of the report.
A good research report is one which does this task efficiently and effectively. Moreover is
considered as a major component of the research study for the research task remains incomplete
till the report has been presented and/or written (Kothari, 2004)

Report writing is an essential skill in both academic and professional domains. Reports assist in
making informed decisions and knowledgeable literature through the structured insights that they
contain. It can be said that report-making fills the gap that exists between data collection and its
application in practical sense. There is no formal research without a formal report as at the end of
research you need to communicate the ideas gained from the process (Mligo, 2016). There are
two of types of reports as follows;

Technical Report is a full written report of the study is required whether for recordkeeping or for
public dissemination the main emphasis of technical report is on; the methods employed,
assumptions made in the course of the study, the detailed presentation of the findings including
their limitations and supporting data should be given in the beginning.

Popular report is used if the research results have practical aspects and policy implications, gives
emphasis on simplicity and attractiveness. The simplification should be sought through clear
writing, minimization of technical, particularly mathematical, details and liberal use of charts
and diagrams. Attractive layout along with large print, many subheadings, even an occasional
cartoon now and then is another characteristic feature of the popular report. Besides, in such a
report emphasis is given on practical aspects and policy implications (Kothari, 2004)

Research report concerns four main things; it should give readers a clear understanding of the
research problem and why it merited an in-depth investigation, it should describe exactly how
data were collected in an attempt to resolve the problem, it should present the obtained data
precisely and completely, it should interpret the data for the reader and demonstrate exactly how
the data resolve the problem.

The Steps involved in writing report are as follows:

Logical analysis of the subject matter. Primarily concerned with the development of a subject.
The analysis is made on the basis of mental connections and associations between the one thing
and another and connection or sequence in time or occurrence (Kothari, 2004)
Preparation of the final outline: It involve outlining the framework upon which written works are
constructed. This will aid to the logical organization of the material and a reminder of the points
to be stressed in the report (Kothari, 2004)

Preparation of the rough draft. This is the vital activity as a researcher now sits to write down
what he has done in the context of his research study including the procedure adopted in
collecting the material for his study, limitations faced, the technique of analysis, findings and
generalizations and recommendations regarding the problem concerned (Kothari, 2004)

Rewriting and polishing of the rough draft: This part report writing, consume a lot of time than
the writing of the rough draft. It involve ensuring that information presented has unity and
cohesion, report view straight and firm and exhibit a definite pattern, moreover the researcher
should give outstanding attention on consistency of the rough draft and mechanics of writing
grammar, spelling and word usage (Kothari, 2004)

Preparation of the final bibliography. This involve the task of compiling final list bibliography.
The bibliography, which is generally appended to the research report, is a list of literatures in
some way pertinent to the research which has been done. It should contain all those works which
the researcher has consulted (Kothari, 2004)

Writing the final draft. This is the final step where by a researcher compile an extensive report
written in a concise, objective style and simple language and avoid use of vague expression
abstract terminologies and technical jargon which may hinder the reader. The final draft should
aim on solving some intellectual problem and add to knowledge of both researcher, reader and
general scholarly community (Kothari, 2004)

The following are the rationale for report writing

Contribute to knowledge. This means that writing report as part of knowledge creation in
scholarly community since it add something in the body of knowledge by coming up with
findings which may act as a solution of the research problem. Therefore the report written will
add and be used as the foundation of new knowledge or insights through the topic in the
scholarly community (Gupta, & Gupta, 2011)
Communicate and document Findings. This means that report is written so as communicate the
findings of the study to other people so as to get feedback and comment, also through writing a
report will act as a means of documenting the findings which can be easy to be referred for future
use as a result of systematic record.

Support decision making. This means that the effectiveness of the report determine action to be
taken in the research which can enhance decision making process and provide feedback on what
had been reported as the findings of the study. Example in peer reviewing process submitted
report is used to decide if the paper should be accepted or rejected promotion process of
academic staff in academic institution as the quality of the research work is likely to be judged
mainly by the report (Kothari, 2004)

Policy development. Through different report written they can act as a plan towards development
of different policies where by the report can be used to benchmark when creating policies for
different implementations. Example marketing research in libraries and information science
remains valueless until they are responsible for policy decision (Kothari, 2004)

The following are the major components of a research report

Preliminary pages, this part start before the “introduction” chapter of your research report. Their
main function is to guide the reader about the type of report, type of people you interacted with
in order to produce the report. Normally, the preliminary pages part has the following
components arranged according to the sequence they should appear: first, the Title Page, the title
page provides the reader with the first impression of what is inside the work. The title page has
the name of the institution where the report is submitted, the title of the report (main and sub–
title if necessary), full name of the author of the report (first, second and surname), the purpose
for which the report is submitted (the requirement which the report fulfills), city and country, and
date of submission (month and year). It should be well–formulated, focused, concise, and
descriptive reflecting the whole of what you have presented in the report, especially the research
problem you have dealt with (Leedy, & Ormrod, 1980). The second aspect is the Declaration
which provides an oath and confirmation that the report presented is your own work, and that it
has not been presented anywhere else in part or in whole for the same or another purpose.
The third aspect is the Acknowledgements which expresses your sincere gratitude to the various
people who have facilitated the success of your research work and report writing in one way or
another. The fourth aspect is the Table of Contents, this part presents the logic of your argument
in the whole research report, is presented in the form of brief words of chapters and sub–chapters
including the page numbers where they will be found. It helps readers locate parts of your
argument which they are of interest. The fifth aspect is the List of Tables, lists the tables you
have included in the main body of your work in order to present data you obtained in the
research including their subsequent pages where they are found with labels and titles. The
seventh aspect is the definition of key terms and concepts to imply that not all terms and
concepts used in the study will need a definition in the beginning of the report and how they have
been used in the research report. The eighth aspect is the Abstract. Abstracts provide an
overview of the study. In quantitative research, they typically include the problem under
investigation, the research purpose and research questions or hypothesis, basic information about
the methods, population of interest, research subjects/respondents, and the main theory or
concept guiding the study. Abstracts are generally 150–200 words and should be written after
you have completed the rest of the research proposal (Mligo, 2016)

The Introduction chapter, this part gives readers an introduction you tell your readers what you
intend to tell them. This part of the report has to be concise and clear because it is the one that
will lead readers into understanding. The problem for your research is within the topic you
formulated earlier. You should always remember that no problem no research; and hence, no
new knowledge will be generated, and no advancement in whatever angle. In problem several
other issues must be elaborated in order to clarify it to the readers: What exactly is the problem
investigated? Why do you think it to be a problem? What sides are there to it? Are there any
efforts done before to address it? What are they? Have these efforts been successful or not?
These questions should be clearly answered in order to make the problem statement clearly
understood by your readers. You clearly state the main research question which you address in
the whole of your research work. You also have to formulate specific research questions that will
help test the thesis (hypothesis) statement. At the conclusion of your research report readers will
assess if the objectives you stated have been achieved or not. This means that you need to make
sure that the objectives you state in the introduction match with the outcomes of your research. It
is important that your readers understand it because it tells exactly what your study will
investigate. Therefore three aspects, research problem, research objectives, and research thesis,
are interrelated. Other part is the limitation of your research and your report, what your research
does not do and why, where were you not perfect in doing (weaknesses) and why, where are
your conclusions limited and why.

Provide definitions of specific terminologies that was used in your research report. You should
define words, terms, or concepts at the very beginning for readers to have the first impression of
them before they see them inside the work. However, you have to stick to those definitions
throughout your research report. Outline the assumptions you have about the thesis statement
you investigate. They are just your assumptions. The study must have a theoretical and/or
practical significance which state how it will offer a new explanation of a particular phenomenon
being investigated, or extends, redefines, or contrasts the existing explanation or how the study
will be of benefit to you, to other scholars of your own field, to policy-makers, and to the
community being researched towards solving an immediate problem. Therefore, the introduction
chapter consist of introduction to research problem, statement of research problem, objectives of
the study, research questions, and significance of the study, scope and limitation and the
definition of terms provided (Mligo, 2016)

The literature review chapter, the literature review chapter After knowing the thing which you
have dealt with in the introduction, readers will need to understand the type of literatures which
you have reviewed to assess the current state of knowledge about the stated research problem
and the rationale for selecting that type of literatures and whether the review has been done
appropriately in regard to what you dealt with in your research. The part also shows how you
locate it in the relevant, prominent, and current secondary literatures (researches previously
published by other scholars in your own field). Moreover this part show clearly the relationship
of your research work to a particular existing theory. It is from there where you will develop
your new explanations or test the existing one with your data. Readers will clearly note the
researches of previous researchers, their contributions, and the actual gap you intend to fill. You
have to put a remark of what contributions have the literatures you reviewed contribute and what
they do not, which you intend to contribute, the literature review will show that what you plan to
do will produce new original knowledge. Therefore by doing at least one of the aspects listed
above you will be sure that your research work does something unique; a thing that contributes to
what others have done in your field. (Mligo, 2016)

The Method chapter, this chapter involve showing and choosing the way (method) which you
have used to investigate your problem in order to provide answers to your main research
question. Concept of “method” as we use here in the research report as used here by
conceptualizing the place where one needs to reach. In the research report context, the “method”
is the whole means through which you investigated the problem to reach to the conclusions you
have reached. The method you used must be valid and reliable. It must be genuine and believable
to produce reliable research information. Therefore, the method you state in the method chapter
stand as a road map to measure the validity and reliability of your conclusions, and possibly of
the argument of the whole report. The structure of the method chapter contains the following
components: the introduction, the research design, the methodology, the limitations and
delimitations, the ethical considerations and the conclusion. In the research design you address
the question: Which paradigm and what type of study do I undertake in order to deal with my
research questions? You have to name and discuss the overall paradigm ((positivist, post
positivist or interpretivist) and approach (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method) you used to
investigate the thesis statement and reasons to use that paradigm and approach.

Furthermore state the design you used as the foundation for your research intervention: is it case
study, survey, phenomenological, experiment, case study, exploratory, correlation or others? You
have to deliberate how does that design work or worked in the context of your research work and
what limitations. Another aspect is sampling i.e. sample you selected, the sampling procedure
you used, the population, and how the sample was representative of the larger population
(population validity). Discuss the reasons for selecting that particular sample and the sampling
procedure you used., research instruments used—these are the techniques you used in collecting
that are interview, questionnaire, or observation, and focus group discussion and why selected
the instrument. Data obtained; example If your research is qualitative, you discuss the quality of
the data you have or expected to have: how did you record the data, was recording correctly
done.

Data analysis, interpretation and presentation process state how performed the process and
interpreting the data you had and why use that way of analysis and interpretation, for quantitative
analysis (statistical techniques you employed and how interpreted) and qualitative analysis (way
you obtained themes or concepts for interpretation) and presentation (tables, charts, graphs).
Ethical consideration inherent to your research work and how you tackled them following the
guidelines include; anonymity, confidentiality, and informed consent regarding the problems
encountered in your research process, how did you minimize harm to you as researcher and to
your informants, both physical and psychological how did you handle issues of plagiarism in
your writing stage .assurance of validity and reliability (Mligo, 2016)

Body Chapter, this part of the research report is the “findings” part, i.e., the outcomes part of
your whole research intervention. Emphasis in the report is given on the findings of most
practical interest and on the implications of these findings (Kothari, 2004). The data you process
are the findings for your research. In presenting, analyzing and interpreting them, you are
processing them from being “raw data” into “research evidence” that will help you argue or test
your thesis (hypothesis) statement. Presentation of your research findings, your analysis of those
findings, and your sub–conclusions about those findings. Through research report you need to
convince readers that your point of view is correct and worth taking into account and is done
only to substantiate reasons for the point you make with credible evidence. This can be supported
by the analyzed, interpreted and presented data which have been organized in a logical manner,
presented in the form of text, chart, tables, photographs, graphs, The sub–conclusions you make
will be found in the sections and sub–sections of the body part (Mligo, 2016)

The Conclusion chapter, it tells readers what has been done and its implication, discovered in the
investigation of your research thesis. This means that it provides the main conclusion to the small
conclusions made in the chapters, the sub–chapters and sections. The main thing to bear in mind
is that the conclusion chapter concludes about the problem posed in the introduction and the
argument to defend the proposed solution and what you state in the conclusion should match
with what you said in the introduction. The chapter include five aspects; summary of findings,
conclusions, summary of contributions to knowledge, recommendations for implementations,
and suggestions for further research. Conclusions are what you can now confidently say about
the whole work you have done to deal with your thesis statement, which you actually could not
say without the research process you did. Your conclusions may prove or disprove your thesis
statement and need to be honest and faithful to the research work you have done and to the
findings you have obtained.

Moreover there is recommendations for implementation spell out what you would recommend to
be done depending on the findings of your research (Kothari, 2004).You have to explain each
recommendation giving reasons why that recommendation is important. It may be improvement
of a situation, formulation of new policies, etc. The summary of contributions presents plainly
but concisely what new knowledge has your research added to your field of study depending on
the conclusions and findings you have put forth, the theoretical and practical implications of your
research work, how it built on the existing knowledge presented in the literature review section,
and how it differs from it in terms of new input. Therefore, this section must relate to your
literature review chapter, and the significance and objectives in the introductory chapter of the
research report. The suggestion for further research part presents the possible problems to be
investigated further (Mligo, 2016)

Bibliography or Reference, list of the report or publications you may want to construct a
bibliography (the list of all literatures consulted for your work even though not sighted) or a list
of references (which includes only the cited works). It will depend very much on the guidelines
provided by your university or funding agency (Both of them are advantageous). The
bibliography contains a good number of materials about the problem you researched; hence, it
becomes a good source for other researchers who will deal with a similar problem in your field.
The reference list is short and contains only the cited materials; hence, it makes it easy for
readers and examiners to look for something they would prefer to refer to. Therefore, the list of
works is also an important part of your research report that needs your utmost attention as will
contribute to make the reader identify the quality of secondary literature research you did and the
relevant contributors in the field, recent publications in recognized peer-reviewed journals,
specific contributions from books (not textbooks), and an accepted or convincing number of
publications in the list (Mligo, 2016)

Appendices. .At the end of the report, appendices should be enlisted in respect of all technical
data such as questionnaire guide, interview guide, observation checklist, and sample information.
Index (an alphabetical listing of names, places and topics along with the numbers of the pages in
a book or report on which they are mentioned or discussed) should invariably be given at the end
of the report. The value of index lies in the fact that it works as a guide to the reader for the
contents in the report (Kothari, 2004). The Challenges of report writing includes;

Time consuming. This means that during the first step of writing a report is a time consuming
task in data collection, literature review, data analysis and interpretation which require a
researcher to use a lot of time so as to come up with an extensive and comprehensive report
(Gupta, & Gupta, 2011)

Biasness. Sometimes during data analysis a researcher can unintentionally bias when interpreting
data and answers form respondents, whereby such situation can lead to analyzing data by using
researcher perception not respondent of view which may result to writing the findings which are
not reliable (Mligo, 2016)

Insufficient data. This means that when writing a report especially in the process of data analysis
and interpretation and writing findings and discussion may be difficult due to collected data to be
insufficient or are not that the researcher intended to get form responded which can hinder the
whole process of writing a report (Mligo, 2016)

Clarity and Precision: The process of guaranteeing clarity and precision is a big task for persons
making reports. Additionally, the said reports must be written in a manner that they can be easily
understood by the target audience and all the stakeholders at large. Thus, any complicated jargon
has to be avoided (Kothari, 2018).

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