Chapter 7 - Appendix – 3
COMMUNICATING
&
REPORTING THE RESULTS
Types of research report
• Written research reports
– Getting started
– Report components
– Main body of the report – technical aspects
– Main body of the report – structure and
content
• Other media
– Oral presentations
– Use of PowerPoint-type software
Written Research Reports: Types
• Types
– Management/planning project report
– Academic article
– Thesis / Graduation Project
• Distinguished by:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Authors
Content
Brief
Quality assurance
Readership
Published status
Length
Emphasis
Types of written research report
Characteristic
Management/
planning/project
report
Academic article
Academics
Thesis
Authors
In-house staff, external
consultants or funded
academics
Content
Report of
Report of academic Report of academic
commissioned or grant- research
research
funded project
Brief
Provided by
commission
organisation or outlined in grant
application
Generally selfgenerated (some
commissioned)
Honours, masters
doctoral students
Generally selfgenerated (some
grant-funded)
Types of report
Characteristic
Management/
planning/project
report
Quality assurance In-house: internal
consultants/academic:
reputation of
consultants /
researchers
Readership
Academic article
Anonymous
refereeing
process
Professional managers Primarily
/ planners and possibly academics
elected or appointed
board / council /
committee members
Thesis
Supervision +
examination by
external examiners
Primarily academics
Types of report (Continued)
Management
Characteristic / planning /
project
report
Academic article
Thesis
Published status
May or may not Publicly available (often
be publicly
on-line) in published
available
academic journals
Publicly available in libraries
and, recently, on-line; findings
generally published in summary
form in one or more academic
articles
Length
Varies
In the social / management
sciences, including leisure /
tourism:
Honours: c. 20,000 words
Master’s: c. 40,000 words
PhD: c. 70,000 words +
In the social /
management sciences,
including leisure /
tourism: 5000–7000
words
Types of report (Continued)
Emphasis
Management /
planning/ project
report
Emphasis on findings
rather than links with
the literature / theory
and methodology (but
latter must be
described)
Academic
article
Thesis
Methodology,
theory,
literature as
important as
the findings
Methodology,
theory,
literature as
important as
the findings
Getting started
• It’s never too early to start writing
• Many parts of a report can be written
early in the research process
Report components
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cover
Title page
Contents page(s)
Summary
Preface / Foreword
Acknowledgements
Main body of report
Appendices
Main body of report: technical aspects
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Section numbering
Paragraph numbering?
'Dot point' lists
Page numbering
Headers / footers
Heading hierarchy – use software ‘styles’
Typing layout/spacing
Tables and graphics
Referencing
Which person?
– Personal: ‘I/we conducted a survey’ or
– Impersonal ‘A survey as conducted’
Tables/graphics
• All should have:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Numbers, titles
Date of data
Geographical area
Nature of sample (e.g. age-range)
Sample size
Units of measurement, e.g. £, $
Source, unless related to the main study empirical
work
• Role of tables/graphics: presenting facts
• Role of text: comment, highlight key features,
summarise
Main body of report: structure and content
• Most important factors:
1. Structure
2. Structure
3. Structure
• Explain structure, emphasise throughout
the report
• Also: explain structures of individual
chapters/ sections throughout
Typical structure of academic articles
• Background / introduction / justification for the
research / nature of the problem / issue
• Review of the literature
• Specific outline of problem/issue/hypotheses
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions
• References
Between ‘methods’ and ‘results’
• In empirical research: as part of ‘methods’
or at the start of ‘results’, indicate:
– Size of sample achieved
– Response rates and consequences
– Sample characteristics and its
representativeness of the population
– Measures taken to correct any sample bias
Audiences and style
• Popular
• Decision-makers
• Experts: professional or academic
Report functions
• Report as record
– Information for current and future
reference
– Use appendices if necessary
• Report as narrative
– Telling a story, developing an argument
Report as narrative – structure
A. Introduction, etc.
B. Issue/problems/literature,
etc.
C. Data collection
D. Issue/topic 1: results/analysis
E. Issue/topic 2: results/analysis
F. Issue/topic 3: results/analysis
X. Summary/conclusions etc.
Other media
• Oral presentations:
• Audio-visual presentation is not the
same as a written report
• Must be designed in its own right – in
view of time available
• Typically involves being selective
• Sensible to rehearse to get timing right
PowerPoint-type software
•
•
•
•
•
•
Don’t stand in front of the screen!
Don’t overcrowd individual slides
Check readability on full-size screen
Use graphics where possible
Take care with coloured text/backgrounds
Use ‘animation’ as appropriate