By Dr. Crisol A. Bruza

June 2016

There are several, though similar, ways of writing research reports, be it a simple research paper, thesis or dissertation. This article presents some simple guidelines to help you in writing your research report.

Materials.  Your research report must be typed on 81/2 " x 11 " substance 20 or 24 bond paper. “Typed" means encoded in a computer because revisions are easier and cheaper if you use a word processor to write your paper.

Presentation.  When you type your paper, remember to use these

Margins. Top, bottom, and right margins should all be I inch, and the left margin should be 1 1/2 inches. The left margin is larger because eventually your thesis will be bound. All of the copies should be double-spaced and typed on one side only.

Page Numbering. All of the preliminaries should be numbered with small Roman numerals at the bottom center of each page. The title page is considered (i) but it is not numbered. The approval page is not numbered. If a dedication page and acknowledgment page are used, they are numbered iii and iv, respectively. The Abstract (usually two pages) I not numbered. The same sequence of numbering is continued throughout the remaining pages of the preliminaries. The text is numbered with Arabic numerals beginning with the first page of Chapter 1. The chapters use Arabic numerals. The first page of each chapter is numbered at the bottom center with each succeeding page of the chapter numbered in the upper right. The separate pages for the Bibliography or the Appendix are numbered at the bottom center.

Font. Use Times New Roman 12 points for the text, 14 points bold for the headings and 18 points bold for the Chapters. Term “Chapter” in capital and lower cases and chapter title all capital cases.

Parenthetical Notes. All sources of information used in the text or body of your research report should be indicated using APA parenthetical notes, rather than footnotes or endnotes.

Captions and headings. Captions (of figures) and headings (of tables) should be written in capital and lower cases following the rules for capitalization. Tables and figures are numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals throughout the paper. Captions are placed below the figures and headings are placed above the tables. Tables and figures are placed after its discussion or presentation in the text. If you use many tables and figures in each chapter, you may use numbers 1 to 4 and so on for chapters and decimal point followed by the number of tables and figures from 1 to the last.

Outline. In making an outline, use the Harvard outline.

Language.  You must write your research report in standard American English. Use terms that are simple, concrete, specific, and familiar. Avoid grammatical errors and spelling or punctuation mistakes. Use the Associated Press Style guide. Seek the assistance of English teachers in polishing your final work. Use prescribed style for tenses (narrative present to avoid mistakes in verb forms for different situations described) and voice (passive voice to emphasize what is done rather than who does it).

Organization.   Parts of a research report can be broadly grouped into three categories: the preliminaries, the text or body, and the reference materials. The preliminaries present the necessary information to help readers find information in your thesis. The text is your original writing. The reference materials, as the name implies, cover your documentation and bibliography, or any other information that you use in conducting your research.

Preliminaries. The preliminaries should be in the following order:

• Title Page

• Approval Sheet

• Dedication

• Acknowledgments

• Abstract

• Table of Contents

• List of Tables

• List of Figures

Title Page.  The title page data should be flush center. The title should be 2 inches from the top of the bond paper. It should not exceed 12 words; it should include only important key words of research problem or topic. The first line of paper label (A Thesis/ Presented to/ the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences/ University of the East – Caloocan) should be 2 inches from the first line of the title. The first line of the course label (In Partial Fulfillment/ of the Requirements for the Degree/ Bachelor of Arts Major in Communication Arts) should be three inches from the first line of the paper label.  The last line of the name of the researcher and the date of submission (by/ First Name MI Surname/Month Year) is 1 inch. The title page, although counted, is unnumbered.

Approval Sheet. The approval sheet contains the title of the research report, the name of the researcher/s, the adviser, the defense panel, the department chair, the research coordinator, and the College Dean.

Dedication. This is a statement from the author/s to persons or groups to whose honor the effort and product of the thesis is offered. This a set of short statements of tribute beginning with “To…”. No heading is required on the dedication page. The text of short dedications should be centered between the left and right margins and 2″ from the top of the page.

Acknowledgments.  This section contains expressions of appreciation for guidance and assistance. This should be limited to one page.

Abstract. The abstract is a summary of the entire text or body.  The abstract should include the statement of the problems, the specific questions or the hypotheses, a brief description of the research design, major findings, and the conclusion. It is unnumbered and not counted because it is not part of the research report. This should not go beyond 150 words (for thesis; 300 for dissertation).

Table of Contents. The table of contents should list all elements of the preliminaries, the chapter titles, the main headings, and the subheadings in the body and the reference materials.  The beginning page of each section is indicated along the right hand margin. The titles, headings, and subheadings should be connected to the page numbers by using period leaders.  The numbering, wording, capitalization, and punctuation of the chapters, titles, and headings should be exactly the same as they are in the text or body.

List of Tables and List of Figures. They are written as the Table of Contents is.

The body. The text or body is the most important part of your research report. It is divided into chapters, which are further subdivided into headings, and if necessary subheadings. Based on the principle “Tell your reader what you are going to tell him, then tell him, and tell him what you told him,” all chapters (except Chapter 1) and all headings should have a short introduction of their contents. Here are the chapters and their headings:

Chapter 1 Introduction

            Background of the Study

            Statement of the Problem

Significance of the Study

Scope and Limitation

Chapter 2 Framework of the Study

            Review of Related Studies

            Theoretical Framework

            Conceptual Framework

            Hypotheses

            Definition of terms

Chapter 3 Research Design

            Research Method

            Research Locale

            Nature of the Subject and Respondents

            Data and Their Sources

            Research Instrument

            Procedure

Chapter 4 Analysis and Interpretation of Data

            Introduction of the chapter

Analysis

Presentation of data for hypothesis 1   

Presentation of data for hypothesis 2

                        Interpretation

Answer to Specific Question 1 based on the data analyzed

·       Statistical interpretation

·       Historical interpretation                                                        

Answer to Specific Question 1 based on the data analyzed

·       Statistical interpretation

·       Historical interpretation        

And so on

Theoretical Implications

Synthesis

Chapter 5  Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendation

            Summary of Findings (Enumeration of answers to the specific questions)

Conclusion (Answer to the research problem based on the findings, brief discussion of supporting data)

            Recommendations (in relation to the findings and conclusion)

Introduction. Give the background of your study by establishing the need for the study. State the problem of your study and analyze it by breaking up the problem into specific problems. Explain why the study is significant to the stakeholders of your field. And finally, explain the scope and limitation of your study.

Framework of the Study.  Make a review of studies related to your study to give your reader a historical framework of your study. Explain the theory that is used as basis of the study. Make the theory concrete by presenting the conceptual framework of your study that illustrates the independent variables and dependent variables. Present the hypotheses of your study. And define the special terms as they are used in your study; these terms include the variables and their related terms.

Research Design. Discuss the research method used in your study. Describe your research locale. Discuss the nature of your subject; also explain the sampling method used if applicable . Identify the data that are gathered and their sources. Describe the research instrument. And finally explain the procedure of gathering and analyzing the data.

Analysis and Interpretation of Data. Analysis. Present the results of your study by analyzing the data gathered.  Analyze the data, which are classified according to the null hypotheses. Use appropriate statistical tools: frequency analysis, percentage analysis, mean/average, and hypothesis tests.  Use tables, and figures to illustrate the results of the study. Interpretation.  Explain or establish the meanings of the findings for each specific question. Relate the findings of the study to those of the studies reviewed in Chapter 2. Interpret the theoretical implications of the findings. Synthesize the findings and interpretation.

Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations. Summarize the findings of your study by enumerating one-sentence answers to your specific questions.  Conclude your study by answering your research question (problem). Make recommendations based on your findings and conclusion.

Appendices. These include materials that supplement the text or body. They should be organized as appendixes.  They should be presented in the following order:

Appendices

·       Questionnaires, coding system

·       Original data and their tabulations or illustrations

·       Related articles

·       Bibliography (Use APA)

·       Curriculum Vitae

References

Campbell, William Giles, Stephen Vaughan Ballou, and Carole Slade. 8^th ed. (1991). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Cornell University Library PSEC Documentation Committee. (April 2011). APA Citation Style. Retrieved June 4, 2014 from http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa

Infohost. (2005). Basics of Thesis Writing. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from infohost.nmt.edu/~grad/studentinfo/ OldReqs.pdf

Kornhaber, David Kornhaber (2000). Outlining. Writing Center at Harvard University. Retrieved June 4, 2014 from http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/outlining

Levine, S. Joseph.  (2007). Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation. Learner Associates.net. Retrieved April 8, 2007, from http://www.learnerassociates.net/dissthes/

University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill (2007, October). The Graduate School Thesis and Dissertation Guide. Retrieved February 9, 2013, from http://gradschool.unc.edu/etdguide/.