chapter THIRTEEN

Writing about Research

Once you have conducted your research, and once you have started to
recognise and analyse patterns in your data, you are probably ready to start
drafting your report. Like other noble human endeavours, this can be a lonely
process and one that involves writing and rewriting. However, without this
process, no matter how brilliant the researcher and no matter how enlightening
the research, the findings would be of little use to anyone. Conducting the
research is only part of the research process. Communicating it effectively
makes it meaningful and useful.
This chapter aims to:

introduce a range of conventions and stylistic features of writing about

research
review the writing process
help you analyse and meet the needs of your primary audience
introduce a structure for a research report
outline the key features of research report sections.

Writing your report

By the time you arrive at the point of writing your research report you should
have a solid literature review. This was, after all, one of the first steps that you
took in the research process, and will form part of your research report. However,
you may wish to review it and refine it before you include it in the final draft of
your report. The literature review needs to be presented in such a way as to set
the contextual and theoretical foundations for your report. This may not have
been fully evident when you first conducted the review and began to write it. Now
you need to show how it served as the springboard for your research, and you
need to refine the language so that it shows the links between what you intended
to do and what you have actually done.
By the time you get to this point you should also have a good set of notes
that you made during the process of reading for your research and analysing

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your data. These notes may be rather rough and tentative, but if you examine
them carefully you will probably find that there is a pattern in them; some of
them are merely descriptive while others may be in the form of summaries
and critiques. Just as you looked for patterns in your data, you should start
looking for patterns in your notes. This will help you construct an outline for
your research report.
A research report Let us begin by considering one possible outline for a research report. We say
has clearly organised
‘one possible outline or structure’ because, while all reports have some common
sections.
elements, they may also have many differences. The differences arise because
each research topic may require slightly different treatment, and different
lecturers and university departments may have specific requirements. In all
cases, the organisation of key sections should enable you to convey your findings
and discussion logically. We will look at the features of some key sections in
more detail later in this chapter.

A research report outline

Example
Report sections
Requirements for reports will vary according to the topic of your report, the lecturer’s/
tutor’s specific requirements and the anticipated response from as well as the anticipated
needs of your audience. Below is a guide on what information to include in common
sections of reports.

Cover (or title) page: include title of your report, submission date, your name and
the names of all team members, the name of the person or organisation for whom
the report was prepared; make it look professional
Table of contents: this should reflect all sections of your report; it must show all
headings and numbering (first degree and second degree headings) and page
numbers
Acknowledgments: it is customary to acknowledge your supervisor (in your case,
this will probably be your lecturer or tutor)
Statement of ethics approval: if you were involved in conducting human
research, you will most probably have the approval of the ethics committee at
your educational institution. It is important to make a statement to this effect
at the beginning of your report. You should also attach a copy of the approved
application in the Appendices section
Abstract: this is usually written last but appears at the front of your report. It serves
as a ‘snapshot’ of all the main points from all sections of the report. It is written in
complete sentences and paragraphs. Aim for approximately half a page in length.
 CH A PTER 13: W RI T ING ABOUT RES E A RC H 287

1 Introduction (this is an example of a first degree heading)

1.1 Statement of research topic/question (this is an example of a second degree heading)

The major research question/topic/issue/problem and any embedded minor questions.
This needs to be a succinct statement about the main topic of investigation. One or two
sentences are sufficient. Any minor, embedded questions can be presented as bulleted
points. This was covered in the previous chapter.

1.2 Purpose
Try to express the purpose in one to two sentences. State as concisely as possible the aim
of your report: Why are you writing it? What is the issue that you are investigating and
why? For example, you may write:
The purpose of this report is to investigate the flow of information in the Admissions office
at James College and to recommend improvements.
(It is not appropriate to state that you are writing it because it is an assessment piece.)

1.3 Background
The purpose of this section is to bring the reader up to date by outlining the history of the
topic/problem/situation that you are investigating and linking it to the current situation.
The level of detail will depend on your assessment of your primary audience’s familiarity
with the topic/problem/situation on which you are reporting.

1.4 Scope
This is where you make a statement about the extent of your research. For example, if you
studied the communication patterns at a fast-food outlet, the scope should tell the reader
whether the study was statewide or conducted within an outlet in a particular suburb;
whether it was conducted over a period of one day or one week and so on. If you
conducted a survey, you should state the number of respondents.

1.5 Limitations
As a researcher/writer, you do not have unlimited resources. Limitations are those factors
that prevent you from, for example, preparing a more comprehensive report. In this
section you can make a statement about the time and word limitations, about budgetary
limitations and, if appropriate, you can make a statement about your inability to obtain
crucial information due to corporate or institutional confidentiality.
(It is inappropriate to comment here on due dates for other assignments and/or the heavy
workload that you may have as a student.)

1.6 Methods
This section contains information about the manner in which the information was gathered
and analysed. Describe and justify your sampling technique (for example, why did you
choose random sampling?) and your sample size (for example, why did you interview 20
people from a population of 150?). Indicate any limitations to your research due to the nature
288 ES SENTI AL AC ADEMIC SK IL L S

of your sample. Also describe briefly the research instruments used (such as the
questionnaire, interview and so on) and the procedures followed.

2 Literature review
In this section you present your review of literature on this issue. This will have served as
the theoretical foundation for your study. Now you need to present it to your readers in a
way that will set the theoretical context for them.

3 Findings
(This section may have a more informative title and it may have subsections—be guided by
your topic and your lecturer or tutor.)
This is the start of the ‘body’ of your report (do not use the heading ‘The Body’). In this
section you simply present data or facts. You can use combinations of tables, graphs and
other visuals. Examples, descriptions or explanations can be included, but do not enter
into a discussion, interpretation or analysis here.

4 Discussion
(May have subsections and more informative headings—be guided by your topic and your
lecturer or tutor.)
In this section you need to discuss the implications of your research, examine underlying
causes of any problems and generally comment on, analyse and interpret the data or
facts presented in the Findings section. Remember to make links to theory (show how you
interpret the results from within the theoretical framework of your literature review) and to
use a referencing system. Discuss the validity (see Chapter 11) of your research.

5 Conclusion
The aim of a conclusion is to make a statement or statements about the major issues or
problems presented in the report. Each conclusion is tailored to the purpose of the report. If
the report aims to solve problems, a conclusion will consist of a statement of major
problems—causes, effects and solutions. A conclusion in an informative report may reiterate
main ideas presented in the report. This section must not contain any new information.

6 Recommendation
(May not be necessary; be guided by your topic and your lecturer or tutor.)
This section should be a ‘call for action’, and it must be clearly linked to your findings and
discussion. It may also be a call for further research into an aspect of your topic, issue or
problem. Present your recommendations in order of priority and use the wording and
layout as follows:
It is recommended that:

All students follow these guidelines

All students proofread their work
Further research is undertaken into …
 CH A PTER 13: W RI T ING ABOUT RES E A RC H 289

List of references and/or bibliography

List of references: an alphabetical list of all sources cited in the report.

Bibliography: an alphabetical list of all sources cited in the report (as per List of
references) as well as all texts consulted (but not used or cited) when preparing for
the report.

Appendix
Include any additional information for your readers’ information. Attach any information
that, if included in the body of the report, would interfere with the ‘flow’ of information in
the report.

General presentation guidelines

Use normal Arial or Times New Roman, 12-point font for text
Use bold 14-point font for main headings and 12-point font for subheadings
Do not go beyond third level headings
Use double spacing
Aim for a detached, objective tone—use more passive constructions. Do not
personalise (do not use ‘I’ or ‘We’)
Do not use fancy fonts and borders—aim for a professional presentation
Edit and proofread your work.

Is the above outline suitable for your topic? Why or why not? Activity

Consult with your lecturer or tutor, then list the main headings and
subheadings of the report that you plan to write. Keep the entire outline in
mind as you start drafting under the main headings and subheadings. However,
allow for some flexibility in your outline. As you progress you may wish to add,
delete or rearrange the sequence of the sections. Also remember, although it is
presented at the very beginning of the report, the abstract is usually the last
section to be written. Why do you think this is?
Let us now look more closely at some key considerations when preparing
student research reports.

The purpose of the report as an assessment piece is to assess your

knowledge of the research process and the extent of your knowledge of
the topic, issue or problem. The purpose of your report as a research
study may be to solve a problem or illuminate an issue.
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Because your research study is conducted within the specific context

of an academic environment, your report must also meet specific
academic requirements: you must reference the work of others; you
must acknowledge the work of others; and you must adopt an appropriate
academic style. It is always advisable to check with your tutor or lecturer
for any specific requirements that they may have.

Thinking What are some features of an academic style of writing?

Academic writing usually has an objective, ‘detached’ tone, that is, a tone
devoid of any personal reference, with a style that avoids humour and emotion.

Activity Writing styles

1 Imagine that you have the task of teaching a person from a country without kangaroos
what a kangaroo looks like, what it eats, how it reproduces, how it moves and about its
anatomical features and so on. What kind of information would you include? What
kind of language would you use?
2 Now imagine that you have to write a poem about a kangaroo. How would the kind of
information that you present change? How would the language and the tone change?
3 Conduct a quick online research activity to locate a scientific report or an
encyclopaedia entry on the bald eagle. Now locate a poem or a piece of creative prose
about an eagle. What are some of the features of the different kinds of writing?

We would suggest that in the first instance you would use very precise
information about the kangaroo’s anatomical features (such as the average
length of the tail, the duration of the gestation period and the skeletal structure),
and about its habitat and so on. In the second instance you might use more
emotive language to describe its relationship to human beings, its funny way of
getting about and so on.
You must also decide on the right level of use of disciplinary language, often
referred to as ‘jargon’.

Thinking What is disciplinary language? Can you think of some examples? Why do people use
disciplinary language? When is it inappropriate to use disciplinary language?
 CH A PTER 13: W RI T ING ABOUT RES E A RC H 291

Disciplinary language has its place. Often people working in the same field
develop a form of shorthand for explaining complex concepts. This has the effect
of making their communication within their community more efficient. For
instance, a group of computer technicians may communicate quite effortlessly
using terms such as CPU and RAM. However, many experts forget that people
outside their community do not have the same expertise. For this reason, you
need to consider how familiar your primary audience is likely to be with your
specialised terminology.
Some of your data may be numerical and may need to be presented in the
form of tables and graphs. You need to decide the best way of communicating
your data to your reader. This may involve combining written and visual
information.

The primary audience

With the exception of the kind of writing that you do in your diary or when you
are writing a shopping list for yourself, you write for an audience. Sometimes
you will have a definite idea about who this audience is but, more often than
not, you will have to imagine them so that you can adapt what you need to
communicate to their needs.
As you begin your first draft consider the following issues. Who are your
primary readers? While a diverse audience may read your report over time,
your report will have a primary readership. This is the group of readers you
need to identify and write for. Consider the following:

Who are they? What is their education level? What is their level of
familiarity with your topic/issue/problem? Why are they likely to be
interested in this research report? Of course, for most of you, this will be
one of the first research projects that you have undertaken and reported
on. Therefore, your primary readers will be your lecturers or tutors and
your peers. In other words, you will initially probably pitch your writing
at a tertiary-educated audience with some specialist knowledge of the
topic.
What do they expect from this kind of report in terms of overall report
structure and quality of information?
What do your readers expect to know about you, your background as a
researcher and your qualifications to undertake and present this research
on this topic, issue or problem?
What kind, and how much, common knowledge can you assume? In other
words, are they likely to share disciplinary knowledge about the topic, in
which case you can bypass some of the fundamentals, or are they likely
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to be decision-makers from different disciplines for whom you will need

to include some more introductory information?
Will they be familiar with the discipline or subject-specific vocabulary
and specialised terminology, or will you have to include a glossary of
terms?

Let us consider a topic such as the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer. Imagine
Thinking
that you were asked to write a report on how the CPU works, aimed at the following
groups:

1 A group of 16-year-old high school students in an inner suburb of Melbourne

2 A group of retirees in a word-processing class in the University of the Third Age
3 A group of unemployed people in their early 50s who are retraining in preparation
for entering the workplace.
In each case, how would the presentation of your information be different? Why?
Now, reflect in the same way about how you will prepare your report for your
primary audience.

Features of report sections

Now let us consider some key sections in your report in more detail. It is
important to remember that your lecturer or tutor may have specific guidelines,
and that you should always allow those to override yours if there is a difference.

The abstract
The abstract provides a The abstract appears at the very beginning of the report. Research can be very
summary of the report. complex, and the job of the writer is to make the job of navigating the report
easier for the reader. The abstract sets the scene for the readers. It serves as an
overview of all the main issues, arguments and findings that are presented in
the report. It helps to focus attention on the specific context for the research,
and it signals which issues are considered most important.
It is the shortest section (as a general rule, approximately 150–250 words)
and, although it appears at the beginning, it is usually the last section to be
written. This is because, as a snapshot of the report, it must include information
that appears in the conclusion, and the conclusion is not (and should not be)
reached, and therefore not written, until the end of the process.

The introduction helps

the reader understand The introduction
the aim of the research
and any limitations in The introduction usually comprises a number of subsections (see earlier
its production. example). Usually, this section follows the abstract. As is suggested by the word,
 CH A PTER 13: W RI T ING ABOUT RES E A RC H 293

its aim is to introduce the reader to the research project. In this section you
need to outline for your reader the kind of research that you are conducting, the
context of this research, the purpose of your research (above the obvious purpose
of completing an assessment piece), the methods that you have employed and why
you have done so, and the limitations on you as the researcher.
The writing must be as succinct as possible, but it must represent fully the
main aspects of the project.

Methods
The methods section, as the term suggests, is where the researcher sets out in The method section
more detail the methods that were used to gather data. If you were involved in outlines how the
research was conducted
human research, other researchers will be interested in whether or not your and how the data was
research is replicable. That is, would another researcher interested in the same analysed.

issue and using the same methods be able to collect the same data (even if she or
he ends up with different interpretations and conclusions)? Other researchers will
want to know what you did, why you did it, how you did it, to whom you did it
and how many you did it to. You will need to justify your decisions and choices.
Remember to maintain an objective, academic tone, and avoid personal
references and personal pronouns (avoid using ‘I’ and ‘we’).
One approach to writing this section is to identify the target population,
describe and justify the sampling procedure, describe and justify the
instruments that you used (such as an interview or questionnaire), and outline
the specific procedures for collecting the data.
Another important aspect of this section is the explanation of the data-
analysis process (for example, did you use a particular statistical package or a
specific measurement scale?). Your readers will be interested in how you arrived
at your conclusions, irrespective of whether they plan to replicate your study or
not. Provide an overview and justification of the analysis procedure that you used.

The literature review

In the last chapter we foreshadowed the need to conduct a review of the The literature review
literature. We also gave you a few tips on how to approach it. In this section, we provides an overview
of the literature as a
need to expand on this topic and discuss more fully how you might approach means of showing the
writing it. Let us begin by reviewing what a literature review is. need for the particular
research being
The literature review is an account of what has already been published on undertaken.
a topic, subject, issue or problem. The version that you finally present in your
report should not be representative of all that you could find on this topic but
rather, it should include only the most relevant material that you have found on
the topic. In other words, during your search you may have located 100 journal
articles on the broad research topic, but perhaps only 30 of those articles are
directly related to your specific topic.
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The articles and books that you consult and review must be written by
accredited scholars and researchers and should be peer reviewed. This allows
us to assume some credibility about the researchers. Just because something is
published on the internet does not mean that it is credible and widely respected
as a piece of research.
The purpose of a literature review is to convey to your readers the knowledge
and ideas that have already been established on a topic. Another purpose is to
establish the strengths and weaknesses of the knowledge and the ideas.
A literature review does include summaries of articles or chapters or books
but it must go beyond this. It is not a series of discrete pieces on individual
texts that you have reviewed. It is an integrated, cohesive piece of discursive
prose that comments critically on, and that draws connections between, the
texts that you have selected (irrespective of whether they agree or disagree with
each other). Furthermore, it must draw connections between the selected texts
and your research topic.
Here are more important points about a literature review:

Aim to organise the literature review around themes connected with

your research question.
As far as your supervisor, lecturer or tutor is concerned, the literature
review allows you to demonstrate your ability to:
– understand the literature
– identify relevant journal articles and books
– critically appraise the research of others.
A literature review must have the following features:
– It must be related directly to your research topic.
– It should identify areas of controversy between researchers.
– It must synthesise, or bring together, results into a discussion of what
is and what needs to be discovered.
– It should pose questions for further research in the area.

To help write a good literature review consider the following:

Identify and never lose sight of the problem or research question that you
want your literature review to help define.
Are you searching for theories or/and for methodological approaches?
Where are you likely to find the information that you are seeking? In
academic journals, in government publications or in books?
How effective are your research skills? Do you need to brush up on your
electronic database search skills? Your librarian should be able to assist.
How effectively are you analysing the literature? Are you merely
summarising or can you see connections between various texts and your
research topic?
 CH A PTER 13: W RI T ING ABOUT RES E A RC H 295

Are you engaging with research that conflicts with your own findings?
Are you taking into account the possibility that other perspectives may
be valid and may inform the direction of your discussion?
How effectively are other writers whose work you are reviewing
formulating their arguments? Could they have approached the topic from
another perspective?
How thoroughly have the other writers evaluated the literature relevant
to the topic? Does their writing demonstrate the skills that we have
identified as being important?
How sound is their methodology? Do they identify their target group,
their sample size and sampling procedure? Do they explain why they
chose the instrument for data collection? Do they explain their data
analysis procedure?
Are the arguments well presented in a logical sequence? Do the
conclusions follow from the premises, or the findings presented in their
article or book?
Who do you think the articles are written for? Try to identify the primary
audience. What kind of evidence will you look for in the writing to help
you establish this?
Does the writer maintain a scholarly, objective tone?
Does this book or article relate to the specific question that you are
investigating? How?

How you organise a literature review is dependent on the aims of your

research, the type of material that you research (such as journals, books,
electronic journals, marketing brochures and video recordings) or topic(s) that
you research. You may structure your literature review in a number of ways,
including:

by themes or topics (if the topic is complex and multilayered with multiple
themes)
in chronological order (if it is important to show the development of a
theory or body of knowledge over time)
by order of relevance
comparing and contrasting (for example, with contentious issues, a
juxtaposition of opposing views may be informative for the reader)
using a funnel structure (moving from general to specific issues).

Findings or results Support findings from

quantitative data with
In the findings section (results section) you may need to combine verbal and graphics (such as tables
visual communication to convey the complete message. The verbal component and figures).
 296 ES SENTI AL AC ADEMIC SK IL L S

will typically form the greater part of your report. Visuals can illuminate, support,
enhance, extend and confirm what you write.

What kinds of data are best represented visually? Reflect on the various report sections
Thinking
in your outline. In which section might you find more visuals? What kinds of visuals are
available to you? What are some strengths and limitations of different kinds of visuals?

As we have stated earlier, you will probably need to combine visual and
verbal communication. Visuals, if well constructed and presented, have the
potential for enhancing comprehension of complex information. Furthermore,
quantitative data takes a numerical form, and needs to be presented in the form
of tables, charts and graphs.
Visuals can provide a summary or an overview of a complex phenomenon
that may otherwise take many words to explain. For example, consider what
kind of information a diagram can communicate about the human body in
comparison with just a verbal report on the body. Then consider how well a
combination of visual and verbal information may work.
Visuals can reveal trends and patterns embedded in your data that may
otherwise remain buried in masses of words and numbers.
Support findings from Findings from qualitative data need to be presented with a rich description.
qualitative data with
Whether you are reporting on the findings from an open question in your
quotations.
questionnaire or from an interview, give quotations from the data to support
the claims you are making. Do not provide the name of the respondent.
In some reports, it may be appropriate to combine findings and discussion,
but as a general rule we recommend that they are kept separate. Your findings
should be just that: a presentation of the data that you have found as a result of
a methodical research process. This data can be presented visually and described
verbally. Often when inexperienced writers attempt to combine the presentation
of their findings with a discussion of those findings, they run the risk of confusing
the ‘hard evidence’ and their interpretation of that evidence. Remember, different
people can analyse the same findings, the same data, and make different
interpretations and reach different conclusions.

Thinking We have just recommended that you present the findings in this section and avoid a
discussion of those findings. However, we recommend that you describe the findings. What
do you see as the difference between discussing something and describing it?
 CH A PTER 13: W RI T ING ABOUT RES E A RC H 297

Discussion or description?
Example
This chair is made from Tasmanian ash. It has four legs. Each leg is 50 cm in
height and 4 cm in width. It has a high back (70 cm in height, 30 cm in width) and a
30 × 30 × 15 cm cushioned seat. It is upholstered in black velvet.
This chair is much better than the ones in the kitchen. It is much more comfortable
because it has a cushioned seat. The ones in the kitchen are just moulded plastic and
very cold to the touch. This one is also more appealing to look at because of its timber
finish and black velvet upholstery.

The first example is a description of a chair. It aims to give the reader an idea of its physical
appearance and its structure. The second example is more of a discussion, as it compares
one chair with others and offers opinions about its comfort and appeal. Any two people could
look at the same chairs and offer different opinions, but the height of the legs, the size of the
cushioned seat and so on are measurable and verifiable.
Similarly, when you describe a chart or a graph in your report, the information must
be verifiable. Later, in your discussion section, you will be able to present an opinion, an
interpretation of the data in the chart or the graph.

Discussion
In the discussion section, link your data to the body of knowledge on the topic In the discussion section
by engaging in academic discussion with the writings of others. This means evaluate and interpret
your results.
that you link your findings and literature review and show the relationships
between them. This may mean that you need to present arguments in support
of your interpretation and arguments in conflict with your interpretation. The
purpose of the latter is twofold: on the one hand you show your readers that
you have read widely and that you are aware of, and have seriously considered,
divergent views; on the other hand it gives you an opportunity to refute those
views, through a clear line of argument, in order to strengthen yours.
Consider the following questions:

How are your findings similar to or different from the findings of previous
researchers?
Why are they similar or different?
How well does your research meet your stated purpose for the research?
Why or why not?

In this section, refer your reader back to the findings section and to relevant
graphs and tables. Also comment on the validity of your results (see Chapter 11).
 298 ES SENTI AL AC ADEMIC SK IL L S

The conclusion
Use the conclusion to In the conclusion, draw the research together into a coherent whole. The
link all parts of the
conclusions must be drawn only from the evidence presented in your report, so
report together.
do not include any new information here. Consider also the following questions:

What knowledge has been gained as a result of this research?

What, if anything, should be done better next time?
Was it worth the effort? Why? Why not?
How should this research be followed up?

Proofread your report. You may have finished the conclusion, but this does not necessarily mean
that you have finished the project. Every writer must learn to proofread for
typographical and spelling errors, logical development of arguments and logical
presentation of information. It is good idea to proofread for one type of error
at a time and then to give it to someone else to proofread. Another reader will
almost always pick up errors that you have missed, but they may also pick up
ambiguities in your discussion and so on.

Activity Reading a research article

Go to Appendix E for some exercises related to reading a research article.

Activity Go to our website <www.oup.com.au/orc/turner2e> for more activities on the skills

covered in this chapter.

SUMMARY
In this chapter you have been introduced to some of the main features of a
research report and the most important steps in writing it, including the need
to understand your audience and to write from a reader’s perspective. As a final
point, before you begin to research you have to read and critically evaluate a
large number of texts. Take this opportunity to learn how to write well from the
most effective of these.
 CH A PTER 13: W RI T ING ABOUT RES E A RC H 299

GLOSSARY
abstract an overview of all the main issues, arguments and findings that are
presented in a research report.
discussion section the part of a research report that links the findings to the
literature review and comments upon them.
findings section the part of a research report that presents findings but does not
comment upon them.
literature review an account of what has already been published on a topic,
subject, issue or problem, and is organised to reveal the connections between
the selected texts and the research topic.
research report a document that presents the entire research process in an
organised manner.