WRITING YOUR PROJECT REPORT Lecture 12 Professional Development and Research Lecturer: R. Milyankova

Objectives of the lecture  View the writing of the final project report  Write in such a way that you can reflect on all you have learned while conducting the research  Write a final project report that presents an authoritative account on your research  Ensure that your report meets the necessity assessment criteria

Getting started with writing  Writing is the only time when we really think  Writing while studying in school or university is rehearsing the ideas of others (that is why boring)  Start writing the moment you start working on the project  Do not worry that most recent publications will not be included – they can be easily incorporated

Getting started with writing  Create time for your writing – you need concentration. In order to write 2000 words you need a day  Write when your mind is fresh – writing is a highly creative process  Find a regular writing place – combine the psychological comfort with the practical features of your writing place  Set REALISTIC goals and achieve them – this needs self-discipline; if the goals are too ambitious the quality of your work may suffer as you rush to meet the goal  Use a word processor – longhand writing and then verbatim; word count is a priority; make enough copies

Getting started with writing  Generate a plan – set your own system, generate stages: - write the main topic in the middle of the page; - jot down the other ideas that occur to you at other points on the page; - as the page begins to fill, relationships between ideas suggest themselves and lines between the ideas may be drawn; - this allows you to group the ideas into discrete but related “chunks”, which enables to form a section or a chapter.  Finish the writing session on a high point - if it is a complex session you may forget the main idea  Get friends to read your work – your project tutor should not be the first to read your work

Starting your project report 1. Suggested structure: ▪ Rationale and research questions ▪ Literature review ▪ Methods ▪ Findings ▪ Analysis and conclusions ▪ References ▪ Appendices  This structure helps when you select the deductive approach  It could be different when you select the inductive approach

Starting your project report a/ The rationale – most important, contains four short paragraphs, answering the questions: - What are my research questions and why are they so important - How will I go about answering these research questions; - What will I find out in answer of my research questions; - What conclusions shall I draw regarding my research questions.  It should be short (i.e. 300 – 500 words)  It must be self-contained – it must summarize the complete content of your report  Must satisfy the reader’s needs  Must convey the same emphasis as the report itself – the reader must get and accurate impression of the report’s content  Should be objective, precise and easy to read

Starting your project report b/ The literature review – informs directly about any specific hypothesis that your research is designed to test c/ Methodology – should help in understanding the reliability and validity of methods, selected by you and includes:  Setting: - what was the research setting - why did you choose it - what ethical issues are raised with this study and how are they addressed

Starting your project report  Participants in the sample: - how many - how were they selected - what were their characteristics - how were refusals / non-returned handled  Materials - tests / scales / interviews or observation schedules / questionnaires that were used - how were these instruments developed - how were the resulting data analyzed

Starting your project report  Procedures - What are the characteristics of the interviewers and observers, how they were trained - how valid and reliable you think the procedures were - what instructions were given to participants - how many interviews, observations, questionnaires were there, how long did they last, where did they take place - when was the research carried out

Starting your project report d/ Findings – here you report the facts and that is most easy to write, - present just facts and do not start to discuss them - structure your findings in a clear and easily understood manner – use tables, graphs, diagrams e/ Analysis and conclusions – as long as Findings - for each finding there should be at least one conclusion - you may use a matrix to easily explain the results f/ References – - Footnotes - Harvard / APA g/ Appendices – should be kept to the minimum

About the writing style  Clarity and simplicity –one idea, one sentence  Write simple sentences – they speak about common sense  Avoid jargon – even the professional one  Check your spelling and grammar – the word processor does not help when you want to use “morale” instead of “moral”  Use the proper person, tense and gender – be careful with passive and active voice,

Meeting the assessment criteria  They depend on the research programme  Lower levels - Show knowledge and comprehension of the topic covered  Intermediate levels – show application and analysis  Higher levels – show synthesis and evaluation