WRITING THE RESEARCH WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORTREPORT

Course Title: Advanced Research Methods/

Methods of ResearchCourse Code: SSR 391/EDF 202

Renato E. Salcedo, MAEdDiscussant

I. Getting Started in Writing the Research Report

A. Plan the reportB. Know the purpose of the reportC. Know the audience of the report

Questions to be taken into account in knowing the audience Are all readers alike? What do they already know about the subject? What do they need to know? What are their attitudes to the subject, to the writer,

and to the writer’s objectives? Four Categories of Audience

academic/research community sponsors of research undertakings policy makers the general public, especially the beneficiaries of the

programs, projects, services arising from your studyD. Manage your time in writing the reportE. Writing the Report

II. The Academic Thesis and Dissertation

I. Definition A dissertation (also called thesis

or disquisition) is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional qualification. The word "thesis" comes from the Greek θέσις, meaning "position", and refers to an intellectual proposition. "Dissertation" comes from the Latin dissertātiō, meaning "discourse." The word thesis is utilised as part of a Bachelors or Masters course, dissertation is normally applied to a doctorate degree. (wikipedia.com)

B. Objectives of theses and dissertations to marshal all the relevant information

that relates to the topic or problem, and to support all data and arguments with sources of evidence

to carry out empirical work that has not been done before

to use already known material but with a new interpretation

to replicate a study that has been done in another country or context

to bring new evidence to bear an old issue

III. Content of the Thesis/Dissertation (DMMMSU General Format)

Preliminaries Title Page Approval Sheet Biographical Sketch Acknowledgement Dedication Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures Abstract

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

Situation Analysis Conceptual/Theoretical

Framework Statement of the Problem Hypotheses of the Study Significance of the Study Definition of Terms

Chapter 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Related Literature Related Studies

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY

Research Design Population and Sample Instrumentation Validation of Instruments Treatment of Data

Chapter 4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Chapter 5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary Conclusion Recommendations

BIBLIOGRAPHYAPPENDICES

A. Title Page the title should be both short (generally 15 words or

less) and descriptive of your study the title should indicate the key variables in the

study avoid trite and wasteful phrases such as "A study

of ..." or "An investigation to determine ..." the title should be presented in an inverted pyramid

form and should be in single space the title page includes the title of the study,

name of the researcher, institution, a statement of fulfilling requirements for the degree sought, and month and year of graduation.

the title page is the first page of the manuscript. It is considered page i, but the number must not appear on the page

the complete title should appear in ALL CAPS

B. Approval Sheet

the approval sheet includes the a statement that the research of the author has been examined and approved by the undersigned members of the Oral Examination Committee

For the Ph.D. programs, the Oral Examination Committee must have six (6) members; for the MA/MS programs, five members

C. Biographical Sketch

this section presents the personal profile of the author of the study

it must be written in the third person and could include the following information: place of birth, place of high school graduation, place and date of college graduation with degree(s) and major(s), professional or employment experience, scholarly publications, and memberships in professional societies.

D. Acknowledgement

this page is for the author to express professional and/or personal indebtedness. It is good to acknowledge the people who helped or participated in direct or indirect way to your thesis/dissertation.

the researcher must be consistent with the use of the third ("the author") or first person throughout

E. Dedication

serves as the section wherein the author can present to the readers to whom is he dedicating the study

F. Table of Contents this section is basically a topic outline of

the study. It gives the reader an overview of

the major topics covered by the study. it functions as an index to the work and

must fully and accurately reflect the organization of the information contained in the study

major headings, sub-headings, and page numbers must be included

the table of contents does not only provide a guide to finding sections but also to help describe the contents of the study

G. List of Tables this preliminary section enumerates

the tables contained in the study

H. List of Figures this section lists the figures

presented in the study a List of Tables/Figures is necessary

even if there is only one table/figure

I. Abstract the abstract contains the author’s name, month and

year of graduation, degree, institution and its address, and the title of the research and the name of the adviser;

the body of the abstract contains the research focus (i.e. statement of the problem(s)/research issue(s) addressed); the research methods used (experimental research, case studies, questionnaires, etc.); the salient results/findings of the research; and the main conclusions and recommendations

the abstract should have a maximum of 1,000 words or 3 pages

it should be in a narrative style and must not contain separate headings

the abstract serves two major purposes: it helps a person decide whether to read the paper, and it provides the reader with a framework for understanding the paper if they  decide to read it

formulas, diagrams or other illustrations are not included in the abstract

an abstract should not add any new information but should simply summarize the

thesis/dissertation in addition, abstracts help other researchers decide

which papers might be relevant to their respective studies

a researcher must write his abstract with an abundance of caution since it is usually the only part of the study read by some researchers and in most universities in the Philippines, the only part of a thesis/dissertation that can be photocopied

J. Situation Analysis

presents a birds-eye view of what readers would be expecting from your study

this section discusses the general context under which a research problem is to be studied

it presents the circumstances on why a researcher decided to undertake the research

it also acts as an introduction about the topic of your research

K. Research Framework this section presents the theoretical and

conceptual basis of a study showing linkages and meaning of the relationship of the different variables

theoretical frameworks are a type of intermediate theory that have the potential to connect to all aspects of inquiry (e.g., problem definition, purpose, literature review, methodology, data collection and analysis). Conceptual and theoretical frameworks act like maps that give coherence to empirical inquiry

a conceptual framework is based on generally accepted methods, practices, etc.

L. Research Paradigm

A model that seeks to illustrate the relationship of the key variables in the study, the flow of the research, and the processes that a study have undergone

M. Statement of the Problem

the part of the study which comprehensively enumerates the problems to be tackled in the study

the statement of the problem should be in question form

N. Hypotheses of the Study

the section that presents the assumptions of the study based on the problems

the hypotheses of the study is usually in the null form

O. Significance of the Study this section of the study answers why there

is a need for the research and who will benefit

applied and scientific contributions are usually discussed

the significance is addressed by discussing how the study adds to the theoretical body of knowledge in the field and the study's practical significance for communication professionals in the field being examined.

Ph.D. students also must explain how their research makes an original contribution to the body of knowledge in their discipline.

P. Definition of Terms

this section of the study provides a list of terms that are defined operationally (how it was used in the study)

its purpose would be to clarify certain terms used in the study which might not be easily understood by some readers

make citations if necessary e.g. (Aquino, 2007)

Q. Related Literature and Related Studies to prove the originality and value of the study, a

researcher must present a thorough review of the existing literature on the subject, and on closely related subjects

the literature review shows how a research builds on prior knowledge by presenting and evaluating what is already known about the research problem

the goal of the literature review is to demonstrate "the logical continuity between previous and present work"

this does not mean that a researcher would provide an exhaustive historical review. Analyze the relationships among the related studies instead of presenting a series of seemingly unrelated abstracts or annotations

this chapter should not merely string together what other researchers have found. Rather a researcher should discuss and analyze the body of knowledge with the ultimate goal of determining what is known and is not known about the topic

R. Research Design the design of the study, whether it is a case

study, a survey, a controlled experiment, a meta-analysis, or some other type of research, is conveyed through this section

Chapter 3 chapter describes and justifies the data gathering method used. This chapter also outlines how you analyzed your data.

the writing of this chapter should begin with the description of the research method that the researcher chose and an explanation on why this method was the most appropriate. In doing so, the researcher should cite reference literature about the method.

S. Population and Sample

this subsection of Chapter 3 describes the sample with a sufficient detail so that it is clear what population(s) the sample represents

it also presents a description of population and description of and justification for type of sample used or method for selecting units of observation

T. Instrumentation

a description of your instruments, including all surveys, tests, questionnaires, interview forms, and other tools used to provide data is presented in this section

it describes and justifies the data gathering method used as well as the development of instrument or method for making observations (e.g., question guide, categories for content analysis) and the administration of instrument or method for making observations (e.g., interviews, observation, content analysis)

U. Validation of Instruments

this is the part of the study where evidence of reliability and validity of the instrument/s is presented

V. Treatment of Data

this part of the study provides a description of data analysis and what were the statistical tools/formulae utilized in analyzing the collected data

W. Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data

this section is where the researcher reports on the findings of his study with its analysis and interpretation

this section may be in the form of descriptive text, tables, and figures

in the discussion of the findings, the researcher is the expert on his data set and an authority on the problem he is addressing

in this section, the researcher discusses and interprets the data for the reader by telling the reader the implications of the findings

Furthermore, a researcher must return to the specific problem he investigated and relate his findings to those of previous studies presented in the literature review and the research frameworks, by explaining relationships and supporting or disagreeing with what others have found. He can also draw his conclusions.

X. Summary

covers the highlights of the research or the major points raised. It provides a quick tour of the findings of the study

Y. Conclusions

this section provide the interconnections of the findings of the study. Conclusions are short, concise statements of the inferences that you have made because of your work.

it should highlight the key results from the research work and should derive the important facts out of your study and the results that you obtained.

Z. Recommendations

indicates the practical and even theoretical contributions of the study

the recommendations should flow logically from the findings of the study

a researcher can provide specific directions to policy makers and implementors regarding the measures or approaches that can be adopted or improved to correct problems encountered in the study

suggestions for future research can also be included

recommendations are usually presented in a concise format, so the use of a list is appropriate

AA. Bibliography

this section covers the different materials (e.g., books, journals, monographs, public documents, theses, dissertations, websites etc.) used as references in the study

an author can use a specific style but must be consistent in using the style he prefers

the full publication information of all sources cited in the manuscript should be provided

AB. Appendices

the appendices include materials that are too cumbersome to read in the body of the paper but are useful references for readers

the appendices contain material that is pertinent to the text, but not directly included (raw data, lengthy mathematical proofs or derivations, questionnaires and other data collection instruments, consent forms, policy statements etc.).