UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació Grau d’Informació i Documentació Research Methods Research reports Professor: Ángel Borrego

Structure of a research report Preliminaries:Title Author(s) [Affiliations / Contributions] Table of contents Abstract / Executive summary Lists of abbreviations, tables and figures (if needed) Body:Introduction Literature review Methodology Results Discussion Conclusion References and appendices:Acknowledgements References Annexes

Title Aimed to attract the attention of the reader. Brief, but including the most relevant keywords. Summarise the main topic of the report and identify the variables involved. Avoid redundant statements like “A study of…”, “An investigation of…” A study of issues relating to academic achievement at school The relationship between use of the school library and academic achievement in primary school children School children’s performance on academic tests and how this is affected by use of the school library The effect of the use of the school library on school children’s academic achievement

Title Titles can be indicative or informative: Use of the school library and children’s academic achievement Use of the school library improves children’s academic achievement

The results show that the use of the internet is positively associated with the use of public libraries. Those using the internet tend also to use the public library. Thus, the use of the internet does not replace the use of the public library, but merely complements it. It is found that the frequency of internet use is a strong predictor of public library use.

Authors Average number of authors per article in astronomy Example of an article in Nature

Authors contributions

Abstract, executive summary Helps to decide what to read in more depth. Sometimes, the information in the abstract or the executive summary is enough for the reader. Overview of the study: its focus, its value, its findings, its implications. Beware! It’s a summary, not an introduction (you DO state your conclusions in the abstract) Abstract ( words) / Executive summary (1 page)

Scholarly e-books: the views of students and academics This study aims to find out about the perspective of students and academics on e- books. The article provides an analysis of the answers of a sample of students and academics to a set of questions about e-books contained in a survey. The main advantages and limitations of e-books according to the respondents are identified. Any problems with this abstract?

Scholarly e-books: the views of students and academics This study presents the results of an online survey on e-books in academic libraries. Results show that students and academics are willing to accept e-books as a substitute for printed books. Portability and searchability are the biggest advantages of e‐books. However, e‐books have yet to improve features such as printing and screenreading. Do you prefer this one?

Structured abstract Lloyd, A. et al. (2013). Connecting with new information landscapes: information literacy practices of refugees. Journal of Documentation, 69 (1), 121 – 144.

IMRAD Introduction - Why was the study undertaken? What was the research question, the tested hypothesis or the purpose of the research? Methods - When, where, and how was the study done? What materials were used or who was included in the study groups? Results - What answer was found to the research question; what did the study find? Was the tested hypothesis true? and Discussion - What might the answer imply and why does it matter? How does it fit in with what other researchers have found? What are the perspectives for future research?

Introduction General topic under investigation Justification of the study Aims or questions and, if applicable, hypotheses Delimitation of the study: population and concepts Organization of the remainder of the report

Methodology Description of the research design and the procedures followed: a skilled reader must be able to reproduce the study. Subjects: population and sample. Instruments and techniques for data collection: questionnaires, interview schedules, observation checklists, focus groups participants, instructions to participants, etc. Limitations and weaknesses.

Results Answer the initial questions exposing the results that corroborate these answers. Do not: –Interpret or explain results. –Reference the published literature. –Repeat the same information more than once (in text, tables and figures). –Present data that does not match with the research questions.

Discussion Interpret and evaluate the results of the study. Relate your results to those previously discussed in the literature review. Do not hide any anomalous results even if they are opposed to your initial hypothesis. If possible, try to give an alternative explanation, if not just explain that is what has been found. Suggest, if applicable, future directions or how the research design might be modified for the next inquiry.

Conclusion Consequences of what has been previously exposed (implications, benefits, advice based on your results…). Explain what is the importance of the research and why readers should care. Do not to repeat the information that has been already presented in previous sections.

Acknowledgements, references and appendices Acknowledgments: –People/Institutions that have provided any resources or ideas, have participated, have provided data, have reviewed drafts, etc. References: –You are expected to read authoritative texts and peer-reviewed research such as journal articles, books, conference proceedings, etc. –Increases your credibility. Appendices: –Additional data or figures that are not in the text, instructions to participants, questionnaires, reproduction of original documents, etc.