Report Writing

A research report is an outcome of a scientific investigation, and its purpose is to convey the
information contained in the report to the reader or audience. Most research study start with
written proposal. All research proposals and research reports are roughly same mainly at first
three chapters. The identical difference is proposal will be written as future tense. Such as in
proposal will be like “ researcher will obtain from the sample”. In research report “ researcher
obtained from sample”.

BASIS FOR RESEARCH PROPOSAL RESEARCH REPORT

COMPARISON

Meaning Research Proposal can be defined Research Report can be defined as

as the document prepared by the the document in which the
researcher so as to give a researched and analysed data is
description of the research organized and presented by the
program in detail. It is typically a researcher in a systematic manner.
request for research funding for the
subject under study. The research
proposal seeks final approval, for
which it is submitted to the relevant
authority.

Written in Future Tense Past Tense

Preparation At the beginning of the project After the completion of the project

Length Short Comparatively long

Deals with Problem or topic to be investigated. Results of the completed research

work.

Determines What will be researched, why the What is researched, what sources are
research is important and how the used to collect data, how the data is
researched will be conducted? collected, what are the findings, what
are the recommendations for future
 research?

Chapters Introduction, Literature Review, Introduction, Literature Review,

Research Methodology Research Methodology, Results,
Interpretation and Analysis,
Conclusion and Recommendation

Sections of a thesis/ research report:

Front Matter/Preliminary Material

The front matter frames the thesis work. It includes these elements:

1. Title page. Your department will have a standard title page form you are required to
follow. The title should be informative, contain keywords, and reveal the topic of the
thesis. Include the title, author, thesis supervisor, place, and date.
2. Abstract. The abstract section of the thesis should provide a complete outline of the
thesis. Generally, abstracts are between 200 and 250 words. You can only finalize after
you have completed writing up the rest of your thesis.
It tells the reader:
 o WHAT question the research is answering or what gap in previous research the
present research fills?
o HOW the research was done i.e. the methodology that was used.
• WHAT the research found i.e. the results
• SO WHAT, tells why the results are significant and what the implications are/may
be.
3. Table of contents. List the key subject headings and subheadings of your thesis with
their page numbers. Number the front-matter section in lowercase roman numerals. Be
sure to list acknowledgments, appendixes, and bibliography.
4. List of figures. Include the figure numbers, figure titles, and page numbers.
5. List of tables. Include the table numbers, table titles, and page numbers.

The Body of Your Report

In the thesis body, you provide the introduction, narrative, and analysis of your work. The body
includes these elements:

6. Introduction. State (1) the purpose of the investigation,

(2) the problem being investigated (statement of the problem,),
(3) the background (context and importance) of the problem (citing previous work by
others),
(4) your thesis and general approach, and
(5) the criteria for your study's success.,
(6) hypotheses, why it is important, objectives of the work, scope of the work
7. Literature Review/Theory. Represent other research in the relevant area. Discuss
related work and indicate how it relates to the report. Develop the theoretical basis for
your design or experimental work, including any governing equations. It may be useful to
do a chronological format where you discuss from the earliest to the latest research,
placing your research appropriately in the chronology.

8. Materials & Methods/Materials, apparatus, and procedures. List and describe key
materials and apparatus. Then, describe the procedure in enough detail that others can
 duplicate it. For design studies, this section includes component design, fabrication,
assembly, and testing procedures. Use illustrations.
Function of Materials and Methods:
In general, a materials and methods section should give clearly the following
information:
• Details of experimental procedure- what was done and how
• Details of quantities, times and all relevant parameters and experimental
conditions
• Details of equipment
• Details of materials
How to write materials:
• This section is meant to give the details of all the materials used.
• The reason for providing all the necessary details is to enable any competent
worker to repeat our experiment.
• The experimental materials, such as animals, plants, and microorganisms, should
be identified specifying the genus, species and strain.
• The source of materials, i.e., the place of collection or purchase should be given.
• Measurements/Instruments details should be given
• Write in the past tense
How to write methods:
• Provide the reader enough details so they can understand and replicate your
research.
• Explain new methodology in detail; otherwise name the method and cite the
previously published work.
• Be precise in describing measurements and include errors of measurement or
research design limits.
• Write in past tense
9. Results & Discussion.
Result: This is where you indicate what you found in your research. Present the results,
usually with accompanying tables and graphs. Characterize the patterns and quality of the
 results and estimate their accuracy and precision. Detailed data go to an appendix. Use
analytical graphics.
Discussion: Discuss the meaning of the results, stating clearly what their significance is.
Compare the results with theoretical expectations and account for anything unexpected.
This is where you discuss the relevance of your results and how your findings fit with
other research in the area. It will relate back to your literature review and your
introductory thesis statement.
10. Conclusions. What is the strongest and most important statement that you can make from
your observations? This is a summary of the most significant results/findings. Review the
results about the original problem statement. You should not include any new material in
this section. Assess the success of the study in light of the criteria of success you gave in
the introduction. Sometimes you could indicate some areas where your research has
limits or where further research would be useful. Include the broader implications of your
results.
To write this section effectively, you can ask yourself a few more things, such as:
Can your results apply to other situations?
Did the results fill the gap in knowledge as described in the Introduction?
How are your findings similar to or different from related studies?
Would your results lead to another hypothesis?
11. Recommendations. If applicable, recommend directions for future work.

End Matter

The end matter is mainly referential material too detailed to fit well in the main narrative of work
done. It includes these elements:

12. Acknowledgments. Acknowledge assistance from advisors, sponsors, funding agencies,

colleagues, technicians, and so on.
13. Conflict of interest:
14. Ethical statement:

The Supplementary Material

15. Appendixes. Provide detailed calculations, procedures, data in separate appendixes. Give
each appendix a title, a letter (Appendix A, B, C), and an introductory paragraph. - These
should add extra information to the report. If you include appendices they must be
referred to in the body of the report and must have a clear purpose for being included.
Each appendix must be named and numbered.
16. References or Bibliography. This includes all references used in your report or referred
to for background information. cite all ideas, concepts, text, data that are not your own if
you make a statement, back it up with your own data or a reference.