Chapter 7

RESEARCH REPORT PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION

 RESEARCH REPORT
• A research report is:
– a written document or oral presentation based on a
written document that communicates the purpose,
scope, objective(s), hypotheses, methodology,
findings, limitations and finally, recommendations of
a research project to others.
– The last stage of a research process.;
– It is more than a summary of findings; rather it is a
record of the research process.
• The researcher has to convince the client that
the research findings can be acted on for their
own benefit.
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 Purpose/need of report
• Report shows the data, analysis, and
conclusions which can be used for academic
and application purpose.
• Quality of your project is judged by your
report.
• Organizations, professors, researchers and
students use good reports for different
purposes.

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 Types of Research Report

• Types
– Descriptive reports: they are mere
description of facts or opinions gathered
by researchers .
– Analytical reports: in addition to
presenting facts and figures, it attempts to
interpret cause effect relationship in
relation to study problem
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• Types of reports:-
– Technical Report:
• suitable for a target audience of researchers,
research managers or other people familiar
with and interested in the technicalities such
as research design, sampling methods,
statistical details etc.,
– Popular Report: suitable for:
• a more general audience, interested mainly
in the research findings as it is non-technical
in nature.
• The writing style is designed to facilitate easy
and rapid reading and understanding of the
research findings and recommendations. 5
REPORT PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION PROCESS

Problem Definition, Data Pre-report

Research Design Analysis
and Methodology Writing
Activities

Interpretation of
Research
findings

Report
Report
Preparation Writing
Activities

Oral
Presentattion

Post
RESEARCH Reading of the
Report by the Report
FOLLOW-UP
client Writing

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 The first step in the process involves..

• the interpretation of the results of data analysis in

light of:
– the research problem investigated,
– and the research design and methodology followed.
• The research report is a means of communication
that can be understood, believed, trusted by
everyone who are likely to be affected by the
research, and acted upon by the decision maker.

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 Before writing the report…

• the researcher should discuss: the major findings,

conclusions, and recommendations with the key
decision makers.
– necessary to ensure that the report meets the client's
needs and is ultimately accepted.
• The entire research project:
– should be summarized in a single written report or in
several reports addressed to different readers.
– should present the findings in such a way that they can
be used directly as input into decision making.

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 Presentation

• Generally, an oral presentation supplements

the written report.
• The client should be given adequate time to
read the report.
– If necessary, the researcher should assist the
client in understanding the report,
implementing the findings, undertaking further
research, and evaluating the research process
in retrospect.
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 Report Format
• No universally accepted standard format or style for
research writing. Different researchers may prepare
their reports differently.
– The personality, background, expertise, and responsibility
of the researcher and those of the decision maker for
whom the report is written interact to give each report a
unique character.
– Report formats are likely to vary with the nature of the
project itself. However, the research report closely
resembles the steps of the research process.

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 Most research reports include the following format:
I. Title page
IX. Literature review
II. Recommendation Letter
a. Conceptual review
III. Vivo –Voce sheet
b. Theoretical review
IV. Table of contents c. Empirical Review
V. List of tables d. Research gap
VI. List of figures
VII. Abbreviations
VIII. Introduction
a. Background to the study
b. Statement of the problem
c. objectives,
d. limitation,
e. Significance of the study
f. organization of study
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X. Research Methodology XV. Summary,
a. Type of research design Conclusions and
b. population and sample
c. Data collection from secondary recommendations
sources XVI. References
d. Data collection from primary
sources XVI. Appendix
e. Scaling techniques
f. period of study
a. Questionnaires and
g. Sampling techniques forms
h. Field work b. Statistical output
i. method of analysis c. Lists/ schedules
XII.Data analysis
a. Presentation of data
b. data analysis
c. findings

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 Essentials of good Report Writing
– Readers: The report should take into account the
level of readers' technical sophistication,
– Adherence to study objectives: A research report
must show that the research objectives have
been accomplished..
– Easy to follow: The most basic characteristic of a
good report is that it is easy to follow.
• It should be well organized, logically structured, and
clearly and lucidly written. Headings and sub-
headings should be used for different topics and
subtopics respectively..
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 Essentials of good Report Writing
• Objectivity: Report writing should always be guided by
objectivity.
– Should accurately present the methodology, results, and
conclusions of the project, without slanting the findings to
conform to the expectations of management.
• Selectivity: A researcher must use his or her discretion in deciding
what should be included in the report.
• Concise: A report should be concise. Yet brevity should not be
achieved at the expense of completeness.
• Presentation: The report should be professionally done with
quality paper, good typing, and attractive binding.

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 Essentials of good Report Writing
• Visual aids: Key information presented in the text of a research report
should be reinforced with tables, graphs, pictures, maps, and other
visual devices.
• Guidelines for Tables: Statistical tables are a vital part of the report
and deserve special attention.
– Every table should have a number and brief but clear title.
– Basis or unit of measurement should be clearly stated to facilitate
understanding.
– The arrangement of the data item should emphasize the most important
aspect of the data being presented.
– If necessary, explanations, comments etc. should be provided as
footnotes.
– If the table presents secondary data, the source(s) must be cited clearly.

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 Oral Presentation

• Should be carefully prepared keeping the audience in mind.

• A good presentation does not mean a lengthy presentation.
• Carefully selected visual aids such as graphs, tables, charts,
maps etc. help presentation.
– However, Too many visual aids, particularly statistical tables,
could often be boring and may not serve any purpose.
• During oral presentation, people may seek clarification.
– The speaker must be patient and should not show signs of anger
or frustration. He or she should be natural, establish eye contact
with the audience, and interact with them.
– Body language and descriptive gestures are also quite useful.

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Organization of report
In any kind of report writing (an M.A or PhD
thesis) a researcher must have a clear idea
what he/she is writing.
For example, why this particular topic is
chosen or why it is important for research, its
objectives, types of tools being used for
collecting data , major research findings and
conclusions.
 Introduction
There are at least five major parts in any
research report or thesis writing:
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Analysis of Research Findings
• Summary and Conclusion
 Introduction (contd.)
This part should cover:
i) Statement of research problem or problems of
research,
ii) Conceptual/theoretical framework of research, and
iii) Objectives of study.
i) Statement of Research problem
• In an academic or applied type of research, a
researcher has to convince either his/her supervisor
of the school or the funding agency that this
research has problems which demands research.
• A research should pose a question that is “important
academically” or in the real world.
 Introduction (contd.)
While justifying your research problem, consider the
following points:
• Why is your topic a problem which demands
research?
• What kinds of questions your research asks?
While justifying , highlight these points
• Nobody has done research on this topic and so
this is a new area for research;
• Others have done research on this topic and their
findings are like this. But they have not covered
the following topics which demands research.
 Introduction (contd.)
• Also state why the research project is
important and, if applicable how it relates
to the national policies of the government.
• To justify the research problem, a researcher
must do the extensive literature review on
the research topic
ii) Conceptual/theoretical framework
of research design
• Without a proper theory or conceptual framework,
research work or paper related with social science
becomes less powerful or analytical in explaining the
social behaviour or phenomena of people.
• A theory, according to Marshall (1994:532) is “
embraces a set of interrelated definitions and
relationships that organizes our concept of
understanding of the empirical world in the
systematic way”.
• There are different notions of theory in social
sciences in general.
Conceptual/theoretical framework of
research design
• Some scholars think that theory is simply as
generalizations about and classifications of the social
world. Others believe that theoretical statements
should be translated into empirical, measurable or
observable propositions and systematically tested.
• One can show the statistical relationship between
crime and poverty, poverty and high fertility,
education vs. human development and so on.
• Only doing extensive literature review, a researcher
can discuss his conceptual or theoretical framework
of research design
 iii) Objectives of study
• A researcher must clearly specify what
he/she wants to do in the research.
• Objectives should be clear and it should not
be too many. If you have resource constraints
and time limits, you must limit yourself with
few objectives
 Part II: Methodology
• In research methodology, a researcher must clearly
spell out what kind of tools and techniques have
been used in collecting data, time spent in collecting
data and constraints. In general, there are three
approaches in collecting data (information) in any
research i)
• i) Quantitative,
• ii) Qualitative and
• iii) Mixed
• Quantitative research uses numbers and applies
statistical tools and techniques to analyse data.
 Methodology (contd.)
• Quantitative research uses numbers and applies
statistical tools and techniques to analyse data;
• it tends to be based on numerical measurements of
specific aspects of phenomena;
• it seeks measurements and analysis that are easily
replicable by other researchers.
• This approach is largely known as survey research
approach. A questionnaire is a must while collecting
the quantitative data.
• In general, three types of questionnaire is designed
for collecting information: a) structured
questionnaire, b) semi structured questionnaire and
c) unstructured questionnaire.
 Methodology (contd.)
• Considering the nature of the research different
types of sampling methods are used while
collecting information from different respondents.
Qualitative research does not rely on numerical
measurements alone;
• it focuses on small number of cases,
• uses intensive interviews,
• a comprehensive account of some event or unit or
phenomenon, issue, etc
 Methodology(contd.)
• The larger goal in collecting the quantitative data is
to search for patterns that will help to explain a
process of social, economic or political phenomena.
• The quantitative research methods the context of
socio-cultural life that affects the social, economic
and political conditions of people.
• The mixed method is using both kinds of
quantitative and qualitative tools for collecting
information and the analysis of data are made
accordingly.
 Part III. Data Management and
Analysis of Research Findings
• Data analysis and management depend on the type
of objective and nature of the research work.
• Normally, the quantitative and qualitative data are
managed and analyzed in the following ways.
Quantitative data
• In general terms, a researcher has to specify
whether the data will be analyzed manually or by
the computer.
 Data Management (contd.)
• The programs and statistical procedures to analyze
data in the computer analysis have to be clearly
specified.
• Quantitative data sets are put into the computer
program (if the sample size and variables to analyze
are “good “in number).
• The data sets are formatted in the SPSS or other
programs as required. After that frequency tables
are generated in the form of tables, figures, graphs
and flow diagrams for the report.
• The second step is the cross tabulation of the data
and a researcher must identify variables for cross
tabulation
Part IV. Summary and Conclusion

In this part a researcher must neatly

summarize his/her overall research findings.
Conclusion should discuss the contributions
made by the research in the academic or the
real world.