Chapter 5

Writing Research Reports and Papers

Parts of Research Report

How to write the skeleton of the components of the research report
How to draft and write research report
How to write research paper

1
 Structure of Research Report
 Title page
 Declaration and Certificate
 Table of contents Front
 List of Tables  
matter
 List of Figures
 Nomenclature and List of Abbreviations
 Abstract
 Introduction [10 percent]
 Literature review [10 percent]
 Materials and Methods [10 percent]
 Results and Discussion [50 percent]
 Conclusion and Recommendation [20 percent]
 References
 Appendices

2
1-Title page
 Contains
 Title

 Author’s name and affiliation

 The Year

3
a-Title
 A concise statement of the main topic and should
identify the variables.
 Should be a reflection of the contents of the
document.
 Fully explanatory when standing alone.
 Should not contain redundancies such as ‘a study
of…..or ‘an investigation of……
 Abbreviations should not appear in the title.
 Should contain 12 to 15 words.
4
b- Author’s name and affiliation
 Preferred order of names- start with 1st,
middle followed by last name.
 Full names should be used, initials should be
avoided.
 Titles like Dr. should not appear in the names.
 Affiliation should be well illustrated i.e.
 ‘A thesis/ research project submitted to the Department
of ………in the School of …………. in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the award of the degree of …….. of
Arba Minch University.’
 The year should follow at the bottom of the
caption.
5
6
2- Declaration and Certificate
Should include both the candidate’s and the
supervisor’s declaration and duly signed.
 Declaration
 This thesis is my original work and has not been
presented for a degree in any other University
…………………. ………………… Signature Date
 Certificate
 This thesis has been submitted for examination
with my approval as University Supervisor
……………… ………………. Signature Date

7
3- Abstract
 Typically, the subsections are:
 BACKGROUND (PROBLEM CONTEXT, OBJECTIVE) = 1–2

sentences

 METHODS (METHODOLOGY) = 2–3 sentences

 RESULTS = <10 sentences

 CONCLUSION = 1 sentence

8
4- Table of Contents
 The heading should be in title case and single spaced.
 The chapter titles should be in caps and bold. –
 The subheadings should follow each chapter title and should
be in title case.
 Subheading of rows should be – Chapters & Pages indicated
once at the top of each column e.g.,

CHAPTER 1 PAGE
1.1 Introduction………………………………1
1.2 Statement of the problem………………2
 
Reference
Appendices

9
5. List of Tables  

List of Tables

Description
Table No Page

No
Table 2.1 Summary of important publications on PTC
30
Table 2.2 Summary of important publications on experimental works in
32
column contactors
Table 2.3 Summary of important publications on experimental works in
33
microreactors

10
6. List of Figures
List of Figures

Description
Figure No Page

No
Concentration profiles for very slow reaction regime
Figure 2.1 47
Concentration profiles for slow reaction regime when CAo=0
Figure 2.2-a 48
Concentration profiles for slow reaction regime when CAo≠0
Figure 2.2-b 49
Concentration profiles for fast reaction regime
Figure 2.3 50

11
7. Nomenclature and List of Abbreviations

List of Abbreviations

Al ROH=n-amyl alcohol

Aliquat 336 Tricapryl methyl ammonium chloride

AO Aqueous to organic flow rate ratio

Nomenclature

a Effective interfacial area with film, m2/m3

a’ Effective interfacial area without film, m2/m3

12
8. Introduction

D. Aims and Objectives

E. Significance of study
F. Chapterization of the report
13
9. Literature review
 This should include;
 2.1 Introduction
 2.2 Theoretical review/Conceptual Framework
 Review the empirical and theoretical literature relevant to the
problem being investigated.
 Indicate what has been done by other researchers including the
methodologies used and identify gaps.
 The hypothesized variables should be subheadings of the
literature review to form a framework that would help in analysis.
 Conceptual framework should demonstrate an understanding of
what variable influences what.
 Cite 3-5 references per key section in the text.
 Use standard method of citation. Consistency is important in
citation.
 2.3 Critique of the existing literature relevant to the study.
 2.4 Summary
 2.5 Research gaps and means to solution
14
10. Materials and Methods
 For materials
 Specify the apparatuses, including the manufacturers’
names and addresses.
 Identify all chemicals and supplies used

 Describe the salient characteristics of all experimental

subjects and tell exactly how the subjects were found or
chosen, including the eligibility requirements, the criteria
for exclusion, and the nature of the source population
from which they were drawn.
 For methods
 Explain the overall design of your research program
 Fully describe all the operations and procedures in sufficient detail to
allow other workers to repeat them and to reproduce your results
 Cite references for all previously documented methods, including any
statistical methods
 Give complete recipes for any new or modified techniques
 Explain the procedures used to analyze your data
15
11. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 A detailed presentation of the findings of the
study, with supporting data in the form of
tables and charts together with a validation of
results (explanation)
 Style of presentation – presentation of raw data followed
by discussion
 Table titles should be at the top of the tables.

 Tables copied from elsewhere should have source below

them.
 Figure titles should be at the bottom of the figures.


16
Describe results succinctly

Describe specific trends, significant effect,

similarity/contrast, exception, limitation, etc.

 Tables can be used to display precise

numeric values
 Figures are better for conveying trends or
proportions

17
18
11.1 RESULTS

19
11.2 DISCUSSION

20
 12. Conclusion and Recommendation
 What is the strongest and most important statement that you can make from
your observations?
 Refer back to problem posed, and describe the conclusions that you
reached from carrying out this investigation
 Summarize new observations, new interpretations, and new insights that
have resulted from the present work.

1. INTRODUCTION-A brief on the chapter

2. SUMMARY- This is an extended abstract
3. CONCLUSIONS- Must be derived from the
summary
4. RECOMMENDATIONS- Should come from
the conclusions
21
13. References
 For books and pamphlets the order may
be as under:
1. Name of author, last name first.
2. Title, underlined to indicate italics.
3. Publisher, Place and date of publication

 Example
 Kothari, C.R., Quantitative Techniques, Vikas
Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1978.
22
13. References…….
 For journals, magazines and newspapers the order may
be as under:
1. Name of the author
2. Title of article.
3. Name of journal .
4. The volume and number.
5. The date of the issue.
6. The pagination.
 Example
 Good, R. J., Elbing, E., Generalization of Theory for Estimation of Interfacial
Energies, Ind. Eng. Chem., 62, 3 (1970) 54-78

 One should also remember that they are not the only
acceptable forms. The only thing important is that,
whatever method one selects, it must remain consistent.
23
14. APPENDICES

 questionnaires,

 sample information,

 mathematical derivations and the like ones

 Tables and graphs of less importance

24
15. How to draft and write research report
 Your entire report/paper should point
unavoidably toward its Conclusion

25
The language aspect
 Use quantifiable adjectives
 ‘Tall’ should be defined numerically, for example,
‘greater than 2 m’ or ‘greater than 7 km.’
 Scientific Use of Tenses
 the present tense indicates general knowledge and
general principles, while the past tense indicates
results of experiments.
 Each Paragraph Makes One Point
 each paragraph should contain one main idea

26
The language aspect…
 Inside a Scientific Paragraph
 The Lead Sentence
 The Subsequent Sentences

 Internal Flow
 each sentence of a paragraph should set the stage
for the following sentence. Each internal sentence
should be an extension of its predecessor.
 the subject or object from sentence number one the

subject or object of sentence number two.

 Connect Succeeding Paragraphs
 by making the lead sentence of each paragraph
refer to the previous paragraph.
27
15.1. WRITING SCIENTIFIC TEXT
 BEGIN TO WRITE WHILE YOU EXPERIMENT
 START BROADLY, WORK ON THE DETAILS LATER
 A MAGNIFIED VIEW OF THE WRITING PROCESS
 Use the Skeletal Outlines

 Pile in Ideas

 Collect Information from Outside Resources

 Form Rough Sentences

 Arrange the Sentences into Themes

 Make Your Themed Lists into Rough

Paragraphs
 Put Together One Paragraph for Each Topic

28
15.2. WRITING DURING RESEARCH
 Writing drafts of your scientific Report/paper while you
are experimenting helps to keep your day-to-day
research orderly
 KEEP A COMPUTERIZED NOTEBOOK for both a
diary and a reference record
 The Diary—Record Your Work Notes
 Two types of diary entries require some extra
forethought:
 notes about your experimental techniques and
 records of your results
 References—Archive Your Sources
 Computerized reference records make these notes easy
to organize, to search, and to reorganize.
29
15.3. COMPOSING THE SECTIONS OF A RESEARCH PAPER
 To deliver content with the least distractions, scientific
papers have a stereotyped form and style.
 The standard format of a research paper has six
sections:
 Title and Abstract, which summarize the paper
 Introduction, which describes where the paper’s
research question fits into current science
 Materials and Methods, which translates the research
question into a detailed method of operations
 Results, which is an orderly compilation of the data
observed after following the research recipe
 Discussion, which consolidates the data and connects it
to the data of other researchers
 Conclusion, which gives the one or two scientific points
to which the entire paper leads
30
15.3. COMPOSING A RESEARCH PAPER…..

 It is more efficient to work on the draft of

your paper from the middle out, from the
known to the discovered,

 1. Materials and Methods

 2. Results

 3. Discussion

 4. Conclusion

 5. Introduction

 6. Title and Abstract

31
15.3. COMPOSING A RESEARCH PAPER…..
 Your Materials and Methods can be described before
you have generated your Results.
 Your Results must be collected and organized before
you can analyze them in your Discussion.
 Your Discussion recaps your Results and points you to
a Conclusion.
 You must know your Conclusion before you can write
an Introduction that sets the Conclusion in its natural
place in science.
 The Introduction shows that your Conclusion was
previously unknown or unproven.
 The Title and Abstract, which summarize your paper,
must first have a completed paper to summarize.
32
15.3.1 Materials and Methods
 A Method  Results Report
 Begin writing your paper with the Materials and
Methods section
 Materials and Methods give definition and
meaning to your data
 Results are only scientific when accompanied by
the recipes used to generate
 irreducible core of a research paper is its central
pair of sections, the Materials and Methods and
the Results

33
*15.3.2 Writing Your Materials and Methods Section
 Your Daily Lab Notebook Is a First Draft
 record your materials and methods midst of your
experiments, when all the technical details are still
fresh in your mind.
 Be Exhaustive
 Explain the overall design of your research program
 Fully describe all the operations and procedures
 Cite references for all previously documented methods, including
any statistical methods
 Give complete recipes for any new or modified techniques
 Explain the procedures used to analyze your data
 Include Detailed Instructions
 Write a Statistical Methods/Experimental Plan Subsection
 Organize the Materials and Methods as an Instruction Manual
34
15.3.3 Results

 Carving Out Your Results from Your Observations

 Record Everything While You Experiment

 Limit Your Final Report to the Key Variables

 Exploratory Data Analysis

 Try Out a Variety of Visual Arrangements
 Tables- when data are few
 Graphs-
 Pictures, Diagrams, and Charts
 Write a Description of the Pattern in Your Data 35
15.3.4 DISCUSSION

 Discussion should do two things:

 First, it should present a clear, concise summary of
your data.
 Second, it should link your observations to those of

other scientists in one or both of these ways:

 Include an annotated list comparing specific
aspects of your data to data that is already in
the scientific archives.
 Use your data and related data from the
scientific archives to generate a proposal, a
generality, a theory, or a model..

36