1. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Chapter 21: Preparing a Research Report Objectives List general rules for writing and preparing a research report. Identify and briefly describe the major sections and writing style of a research report produced as a thesis, dissertation, or manuscript for publication in a professional journal.

2. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 Preparing a Research Report Research reports are written for many purposes (e.g., thesis, dissertation, publication, to fulfill funding requirements). Research reports describe what happened in the study and the results that were obtained. A well-written report presents enough information for replication of the study.

3. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 Preparing a Research Report Getting started Writing is a stumbling block for many researchers. Finding time to write is challenging. Make a schedule. Establishing routines helps many researchers. Start writing early in the research process.

4. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 Preparing a Research Report Take time during data collection to revise the research plan. Begin with an outline. Plan on substantial rewriting. Reward writing progress. Be aware of personal avoidance strategies.

5. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 General Guidelines Look for progress, not perfection. Write whatever comes to mind and then revise what you have written. Writing, editing, and rewriting clarifies your thoughts. Editing is a critical part of the writing process. Edit your own writing.

6. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 General Guidelines Write first without consideration for grammar, syntax, and punctuation. Do not allow editing to be an avoidance strategy. Write at the same time every day, at a time when you won’t be disturbed. Write to a friend or a parent so that you write simply.

7. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 Preparing a Research Report Format and style Write with a concise and straightforward style that reflects scholarship. Be concise. Avoid jargon. Read your work aloud and have others read it as well. Read your work backwards. Format refers to the general pattern of organization and arrangement of the report. Formats do vary slightly, but most follow a general template. All include a condensed version of the study.

8. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 Preparing a Research Report Style refers to the rules of grammar, spelling, etc. Most colleges and universities and journal outlets follow a particular style. There are variations among styles. Most styles include some similar rules. e.g., Do not use abbreviations or contractions unless well-established or clearly defined. e.g., Numbers at beginnings of sentences are written out and numbers are written out if the number is nine or less. Style manuals specify how to cite references.

9. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 Preparing a Research Report Formatting theses and dissertations Preliminary pages Title page The title should communicate what the study is about. Ask others to describe what the study is about based upon your title. Acknowledgements page Acknowledge those who significantly contributed to the research.

10. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 Preparing a Research Report Preliminary pages Table of contents Outline of the report that indicates page numbers of major sections and subsections. List of tables and figures Includes list of tables and figures is included on a separate page with number, page numbers and title of each table or figure.

11. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 Preparing a Research Report Preliminary pages Abstract Many colleges and universities require abstracts or summaries. There is generally a word limit (e.g., 350).

12. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Introduction Includes a description of the research problem or topic. Statement of the problem Includes variables examined in the study and definitions of key terms that may not have clear universal definitions. A brief background and statement of significance should be included.

13. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Review of related literature The review of the literature summarizes what is known about the problem or topic. This section is NOT a series of abstracts but an integrated summary. The least related references are discussed first leading to the most relevant (e.g., think of a funnel).

14. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Statement of the hypothesis In quantitative studies a hypothesis should state the expected relations among variables. The hypothesis should flow from the literature review. Variables are defined in operational terms. The hypothesis is testable.

15. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Significance of the study The significance of the study may appear in one or more of several sections of the main body of the report. e.g., Early in the introduction, at the conclusion of the literature review, with the hypothesis.

16. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 16 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Method Participants This section includes how participants were selected, the population they represent, sample size, and characteristics of the sample. This section should provide the reader with information for potential replication and to assist in judging external validity.

17. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 17 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Method Instruments All data collection instruments should be described fully. Include psychometric properties of all the instruments. If a new instrument was developed, information regarding development and pilot testing is included. Instruments are often appended.

18. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Method Design A description of the design and a rationale for the selection of the design is included in this section. Threats based upon the selected design are addressed.

19. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 19 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Method Procedure Describes the steps that the researcher followed in conducting the study. The steps are chronologically presented in enough detail to support replication of the study. Qualitative researchers may provide more information about the procedure than quantitative researchers.

20. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 20 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Results This section includes the statistical techniques and inferential interpretations applied to the data and the results of these analyses. Each hypothesis is addressed in the results section. Tables and figures often accompany results sections in quantitative studies.

21. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 21 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Results Qualitative research studies report results in the form of descriptions and quotations that support the themes that emerged from the data. Caution should be taken not to overgeneralize the findings. The results should be kept separate from the conclusions.

22. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 22 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Discussion (Conclusions and Recommendations) This section should present the theoretical and rationale implications of the research. Include in this section implications for future practice and research. The researcher may express opinions in the discussion.

23. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 23 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report References The reference section of the report lists all the sources used. References should appear consistent with the required style.

24. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 24 Preparing a Research Report Main body of the report Appendixes In a thesis or dissertation, the appendixes usually include instruments, raw data, and materials too lengthy to include in the body of the report.

25. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 25 Preparing a Research Report Writing for journal publication Journal articles are typically shorter than theses or dissertations. Take time to familiarize yourself with various outlets. Select the appropriate journal.

26. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 26 Preparing a Research Report Writing for journal publication Comply with the rules for the selected journal. These may vary. Polish the manuscript when it is complete. Complete another word-by-word edit. Prepare a cover letter in accord with style standards and requirements of the journal outlet.