How to Write a Research Re

How to Write a Research Report
    Good morning, everyone. Today we are going to talk about how to write a research report. An objective of organizing a research paper is to allow people to read your work selectively. When I research a topic, I may be interested in just the methods, a specific result, the interpretation, or perhaps I just want to see a summary of the paper to determine if it is relevant to my study.
    For most studies, a proper research report includes the following sections, submitted in the order listed, each section to start on a new page. Some journals request a summary to be placed at the end of the discussion. Some techniques articles include an appendix with equations, formulas, calculations, etc. Some journals deviate from the format, such as by combining results and discussion, or combining everything but the title, abstract, and literature as is done in the journal Science. Your reports will adhere to the standard format. And I am going to go through some of the basic sections of research papers to give you a sense of what a standard research paper is.
    First of all, style. In all sections of your paper, use paragraphs to separate each important point except for the abstract, and present your points in logical order. Use present tense to report background that is already established. For example, “the grass is green.”  Always use past tense to describe results of a specific experiment, especially your own. For example, “When weed killer was applied, the grass was brown.” Remember—present tense for background, and past tense for results.
    Second, title page. Select an informative title, such as “Role of temperature in determination of the rate of development of Xenopus larvae.” A title such as “Biology lab” is not informative.  Include the name(s) and address(es) of all authors, and date submitted.
    Next, abstract.  Summarize the study, focusing on the results and major conclusions, including relevant quantitative data. It must be a single paragraph, and concise. It should stand on its own, therefore do not refer to any other part of the report, such as a figure or table. Avoid long sections of introductory or explanatory material. As a summary of work done, it is written in past tense.
     Fourthly, introduction. Introduce the rationale behind the study, including
     The overall question and its relevance to science
     Suitability of the experimental model to the overall question
     Experimental design and specific hypothesis or objective
     Significance of the anticipated results to the overall question
    Include appropriate background information, but please do not write everything you know about the subject.
     Fifthly, methods and materials. The purpose of this section is to document all of your procedures so that another scientist could reproduce all or part of your work. It is not designed to be a set of instructions. As awkward as it may seem, it is standard practice to report methods and materials in past tense, third person passive. Your laboratory notebook should contain all of the details of everything you do in lab, plus any additional information needed in order to complete this section. While it is tempting to report methods in chronological order in a narrative form, it is usually more effective to present them under headings devoted to specific procedures or groups of procedures. Some examples of separate headings are “sources of materials,” “experiment procedures”, “think aloud protocol,” and “statistical methods.” Try to be succinct without sacrificing essential information. Omit any background information or comments. If you must explain why a particular procedure was chosen, do so in the discussion.  Omit information that is irrelevant to a third party. For example, no third party cares what color ice bucket you used, or which individual logged in the data. Report how procedures were done, not how they were specifically performed on a particular day.
    Now, about results. Raw data are never included in a research paper.  Analyze your data, then present the analyzed or converted data in the form of a figure, table, or in narrative form. Present the same data only once in the most effective manner. By presenting converted data, you make your point succinctly and clearly.  Figures are preferable to tables, and tables are preferable to straight text. However, there are times when a figure is inappropriate, or the data come across more clearly if described in narrative form. To give your results continuity, describe the relationship of each section of converted data to the overall study. All converted data go into the body of the report, after the methods and before the discussion. Do not stick graphs or other data onto the back of the report just because you printed or prepared them separately.  Do not draw conclusions in the results section. Reserve data interpretation for the discussion.
    NO. 7, discussion. Interpret your data in the discussion. Decide if each hypothesis is supported, rejected, or if you cannot make a decision with confidence. Do not simply dismiss a study or part of a study as “inconclusive.” Make what conclusions you can, then suggest how the experiment must be modified in order to properly test the hypothesis(es). Explain all of your observations as much as possible, focusing on mechanisms. When you refer to information, distinguish data generated by your own studies from published information or from information obtained from other students. Decide if the experimental design adequately addressed the hypothesis, and whether or not it was properly controlled. One experiment will not answer an overall question, so keep the big picture in mind, where do you go next? The best studies open up new avenues of research.  What questions remain? Did the study lead you to any new questions? Try to think up a new hypothesis and briefly suggest new experiments to further address the main question. Be creative, and don’t be afraid to speculate.
    Finally, literature cited. List all literature cited in your report, in alphabetical order, by first author. In a proper research paper, only primary literature is used. That is original research articles authored by the original investigators. Some of your reports may not require references, and if that is the case simply state “no references were consulted.”
    OK. I think I have covered the basic elements of writing a research report. I am sure you will be able to submit a standard and well-structured one in due course.