Writing a research report
A research report is a crucial. Hence, it is very important that one learns how to write it well. A research paper communicates ideas and the researcher. Research reports ought to be free of error and clear in the presentation of ideas (Verschuren & Mellion, 2010). It ought to be coherent in its structure. It should also be well organized by use of an outline. Outlines give a brief overview of the scope of the research.
Formatting a research report
In formatting, a research report should be entirely double spaced and written in the APA writing style. Text margins should be set an inch away on all four sides of a page. All pages of the research report should also be well-numbered with paragraphs indented using the tab function (Christensen et al, 2011). An essential research paper usually lacks a title page. However, the instructor may request for a title page in some cases. Purdue University provides a guideline on how to write paper in various styles. These styles include the American Psychological Association (APA), the Modern Language Association (MLA) and Chicago manual. Other research writing styles include Harvard and Vancouver.
Organizing the research report
A research report prepared using APA writing style ought to be organized into several crucial parts. These include:
A title page comprises of the title of the research report, the author’s name and their affiliation and an author’s note.
Abstract (page 2)
The title page of a research report is often followed by an abstract of the research report. The abstract is a brief summary of the research report (Gay et al, 2011). Its main aim is to introduce the research report article. The abstract contains sufficient information to enable readers decide whether to read the entire research report. It makes the research report easier to comprehend when it is read.
Body of the research report (begins from page 3)
This comprises of:-
Introduction
In a research report, the introduction section begins immediately after the research abstract. The first paragraph of the research report basically introduces the research at page three.
Method
The method section comprises of the research report’s methodology, data collection, interpretation and analysis and discussions. Here, the researcher begins with a boldface level one heading. Further subsections of the research report will comprise of level 2 and level 3 subsections as illustrated.
References
Citing and referencing sources
It is important for a researcher to acknowledge the work of other researchers in writing their research report. This is because presenting other peoples works as one’s own is plagiarism (Weathington et al, 2013). APA writing styles often incorporate the author-date citation method. Here, the researcher acknowledges the name of the writer and the year of publication of the reference material. Also, when referencing a research report in APA writing style, the researcher first acknowledges the writers name and year of publication before listing the article title and its publication data (Winkler & Mc-cuen, 2011). References in a research report ought to also be listed in alphabetical order beginning with the author’s last name.
Finalizing a research report
Before presenting a research report, a researcher ought to give the paper one last look. It is important therefore for the researcher to double check that the formatting employed in the research report is correct. They may run their research report through a spelling and grammar checker to ensure correct use of spelling and grammar (Williams, 2011).
Works Cited
Christensen, L. B., Johnson, B., & Turner, L. A. (2011). Research methods, design, and
analysis (pp. 1-539). Allyn & Bacon.
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. W. (2011). Educational research: Competencies for
analysis and applications. Pearson Higher Ed.
Verschuren, P., Doorewaard, H., & Mellion, M. (2010). Designing a research project (Vol.
2). The Hague: Eleven International Publishing.
Weathington, B. L., Cunningham, C. J., & Pittenger, D. J. (2013) Writing the Research
Report. Understanding Business Research, 105-136.
Williams, C. (2011). Research methods. Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER),
5(3).
Winkler, A., & McCuen-Metherell, J. R. (2011). Writing the research paper: a handbook. Cengage Learning.
