Workshop Overview What is a report? Sections of a report Report-Writing Tips

Reports are like recipes; they must contain certain ‘ingredients’ (i.e. elements) for it to ‘taste good’ (i.e. to get a good mark) Each section of the report has particular content requirements To write a good report, you must only include the information that is required for each section e.g. you don’t discuss your results in the methods section A good report must have cohesion & unity - Each section must be related to the other sections What is a Report?

The Sections of a Report Title Page Abstract Introduction Methods o Participants o Design o Materials o Procedure & Method/s of analysis Results Discussion References Appendices

Title Page & Title The title page is the cover page of the document The format varies, depending on what your kaiako requires, but it may include: o o The title of the report (essential) o o Your name (essential) o o Your ID number o o Course name o o Course Coordinator o o Date submitted o o Word Count

Abstract The abstract is the summary of the report Found in journal articles, abstracts give a summary of the research you are reading They are about words long They discuss: o o What topic you were looking at o o Topic & aim of study o o What you did (method) o o What you found (results) o o The implications of your results (from discussion)

Introduction Section This part of the report sets the scene for the research It starts generally and then narrows down toward your hypotheses - the questions you are going to address via your research It includes a literature review on the subject o o This review touches on the relevant aspects that help the reader understand, later on, why you chose the design you did, the materials, etc o o Points out the research ‘gap’ o o It helps us understand how you developed the research questions and hypotheses

Introduction Format Introduction of your research A paragraph or so that sets the context of the report Overview of how the introduction is organised The organisation of the literature review In this paragraph, mention that you will finish with a discussion of the research aims (hypotheses) Literature review Include description of key ideas, key research findings Make sure the reader understands the rationale for your methodology and hypotheses

Introduction Format Research hypotheses These are your research questions They are the aims of the research They are what you want to investigate Arrange them in order of importance Use this same order throughout the report (i.e.) o o The Results section and o o The Discussion.

Methods The methods section is broken into parts: Participants o o How many? o o How were they recruited? o o Ethics approval required & granted? Design (analysis) o o How did you design this experiment so you could analyse the data? o o (e.g.) t-tests, ANOVA factoral design, qualitative analysis employed.

Methods The methods section is broken into parts: Materials o o This includes test materials, equipment and questionnaires, etc. Procedure o o How did you actually do this? o o You need to describe it so that a person understands how you did the research o o You need to describe it so that someone else could replicate the research.

Results This section outlines what you found To ensure the report organisation is consistent throughout you must: o o Report the results in the same order that your hypotheses appeared in the introduction o o Report results using figures or tables only when it will better clarify the results o o Statistical analyses go here o o If you use figures and tables, refer to them in the results section (e.g.) “Table one shows…” o o Explain your results, but don’t interpret them o o Label tables and figures correctly

Results Labelling tables (Tables titles are at the “Top”) Table 2. NFI Patient and NFI Family Record Forms Likert-scale Scores NFI Patient Record (n = 16) NFI Family Record (n = 16) Factor/scaleMeanSDMeanSD Depression Somatic Memory/Attention Communication Aggression Motor

Results Labelling figures ( F igure titles ‘ F all’ to the bottom) Figure 1. Comparison of NFI scores for Patient 1 at July 2002 and October 2003.

Discussion Discuss your results in the same order that your hypotheses or aims appeared in the introduction Discuss: o o What you found – refer back to your hypotheses and whether they were supported o o What the implications are – do your findings agree with the previous research already mentioned in your literature review? o o Whether they generalize beyond your immediate research? Or do they only apply in this case? o o What are the limitations of your study? o o What could you suggest for future studies?

References This section of the report should be headed References Use APA format See APA Referencing Workshop

Appendices Appendices are used for: o o Raw data tables o o Questionnaires/Tests/Survey forms o o Pamphlets & Brochures o o Any other documents that are necessary material for the reader, yet would break the flow of the report too much if included in the report itself Where do they go? o o After the References section, starting on a new page

Report Writing Tips Use Template (Handout) Check each section to ensure it contains relevant information Check it for consistency (e.g.) o o Hypotheses, Results, Discussion should appear in the same order through the whole report o o Your Discussion should refer back to your literature review when comparing what you found to the findings of the literature Spell-check and grammar check your report Check references for APA style errors ! Proof-read it!

Summary A report has specific sections that need specific inclusions Sections were covered in detail and a template supplied Consistency is important

Remember… If you need more help, just ask your Kaiako or Student Support Advisor. We are here for you!