research

2.  A research report is the ultimate outcome of the
research process. A research process can not be
considered complete until its report has been
written and disseminated.
 Writing a report highlights the research project
and helps in the dissemination of the research
findings.
 Dissemination of research findings serves
scientific, professional, and public functions.
 An effective dissemination of scientific
information leads to an overall improvement in
knowledge and practice among health care
providers.

3.  Research reports are an effective means of
communicating research findings to readers and
interested audience.
 A good research report has following characteristics:
 A research report must have characteristics of
conciseness, clarity, honesty, completeness, and
accuracy.
 A research report must be long enough to cover the
subject content and short enough to maintain interest
among its users and consumers.
 It must be written and presented logically so that
different pieces of the research process fit effectively.
 Abstract terminology and technical jargons must be
avoided in the research report.

4.  Presentation of the research report must
be lucid and visually attractive, so that it
can be interesting to its users.
 Research report must reflect its
originality.

5.  IMRAD format
 I - Introduction
M - Methods
A - Results
R - And
D - Discussion

6.  It is often written in funnel-shaped structure. The
research begins broadly to establish a framework
to understand the study and narrows it down to the
specifics of what he or she intended to learn.
 It includes;
I. Background of the study
II. Need of the study
III. Research problem
IV. Objectives
V. Hypothesis/assumptions
VI. Operational definitions
VII.Conceptual framework
VIII.Literature review

7.  Research design
 Research setting
 Target population
 Sampling technique and sample size
 Development and description of data collection
tools
 Validity and reliability of research tools
 Methods and procedures of data collection
 Pilot study and tool tryout
 Feasibility of the study
 Ethical consideration
 Plan for data analysis

8.  It is the heart of the research reports.
 If both descriptive and inferential statistics
have been used, then results start with
descriptive statistics to present sample
characteristics.
 Later analysed data are presented in
accordance with study objectives using
descriptive and inferential statistics.
 Inferential statistics are generally used to test
the preset hypotheses and inferences after the
rejection or acceptance of the hypotheses.

9.  A typical discussion section addresses the
following questions.
1. What were the main findings?
2. What do the findings mean?
3. How do the results compare with prior
knowledge on the topic?
4. What can be concluded about the findings
vis-a-vis their use in nursing practices and
nursing theories and in future nursing
research?

10.  Conclusion includes the paragraphs that summarize
what was done and found from present study as precise
as posiible.
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE REPORT
 Title: it should include the variables under study
population, and place of the study. The title should be
clear and concise, ideally not more than about 15 words.
 Abstract: it is an unstructured paragraph of 100-200
words or in a structured from with subheads such as
background and objectives, methods, results and
conclusion. It should be written clearly so that a reader
can decide whether to read the entire report or not.

11.  Keywords: substance, methodology, and
theoretical terms can be used as keywords: these
keywords are used in the index to help others
locate the study.
 References: the reference style should be
selected after reviewing the manuscript or
report. Usually, Vancouver reference style is
used in health sciences literature.
 Acknowledgement: Those people whose
contribution does not quality them for
authorship are sometimes acknowledged at the
end of the report or the beginning of the report.

12.  Logical analysis of the subject matter
 Preparation of the final outline
 Preparation of the rough draft
 Rewriting and polishing the rough draft
 Preparation of final bibliography
 Writing the final draft

13.  Preliminary pages : This section includes;
i. Cover page
ii. Certification of work from the guide and
principal
iii. Acknowledgement
iv. Index/table of contents
v. List of tables
vi. List of the figures
vii. List of the abbreviations

14.  Main text: This section includes;
 Chapter 1: introduction
 Introductory paragraphs
 Significance or need of the study
 Research problem
 Objectives
 Hypotheses or assumption
 Scope and delimitation
 Operational definition
 Conceptual framework

15.  Chapter 2: literature review
 It shows what previous researchers have
explored and discovered about the phenomenon
under study.
 It is usually quite long and primarily depends
upon how much research has previously been
done in the area you are planning to investigate.
 If you are planning to explore a relatively new
area, the literature review should cite similar
areas of study that lead up to the current
research.
 Never say that your area is so new that no
research exists.

16.  Chapter 3: Methodology
 Design of the research study
 Research setting
 Target population
 Sampling technique and sample size
 Development and description of tool
 Validity and reliability of research tool
 Procedure and time frame of data collection
 Pilot study
 Feasibility of the study
 Ethical considerations
 Analysis plan

17.  Chapter 4: Analysis and interpretation of
data
 This section presents the description of the
study sample, and analysis and interpretation of
the data through descriptive and inferential
statistics and data are usually presented through
tables, graphs, etc.
 Chapter 5: Discussion
 The discussion includes the explanation of
findings, where the researcher presents his or
her finding through critical analysis along with
comparison with other similar research findings.
 This section also presents the verdict on
whether your findings support existing theories.
 Explain the results and present possible reasons
why the results might have turned out the way

18.  Chapter 6: Conclusions and
recommendations
 Conclusion includes a paragraphs that
summarize what you did and found.
 The present recommendations should be
based on your findings.
 Avoid the temptation to present the results
based on your own beliefs or biases that are
not specifically supported by your data.
 Recommendations fall into two categories.
The first is recommendations to the study
sponsor. The second is recommendation to
other researchers.

19.  End matter
 References
 Bibliography
 Appendix/ annexure

20.  References or bibliography may be written
using American Psychological Association,
Modern Language Association, Chicago
Manual of Style Format, Campbell, Vancouver
and Harvard styles.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REFERENCES
AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Bibliography is listing of all the materials that
have been consulted while writing an article or
a book. References, on the other hands, are
those that have been referred to in article or

21.  Though researcher might have referred to these
materials while preparing a rough draft, the
contents of these may or may not have been
included in the actual text. A list of all such
materials is known as bibliography.
 References are a list of those materials that are
directly included in the actual text.
 All the items in references are cited directly in the
text, all the items of bibliography may not be cited
directly in the text.
 References can be used to support the statement or
used to supplement the findings, a bibliography
does not have such roles.
 a bibliography will contain all research materials,
including books, magazines, periodicals, websites,
and scientific papers, which researcher referred.

22.  References contain source of material like
quotes or texts, which has been actually used
when writing an essay or article.
 Both bibliography and references appear at the
end of the book or article, but if both are
available , bibliogrphy comes after the
references.
 Both bibliography and references are arranged
alphabetically, but a references list also be
arranged in numeric or Vancouver style.

23. 1. Books
2. Secondary resources
3. Dictionary
4. Dissertation or dissertation abstract
5. Magazines/ Periodicals
6. Scholarly Journal
7. Newspaper Articles, Editorials, Letters to the
Editor
8. Non- Print Resources
9. Personal Communication
10. Classroom Lecture
11. Government Documents

24.  Single- author book and part of a book:
• Garner, B. A. (2003).Garner’s Modern American Usage. New York:
Oxford University Press.
 Book with two or more authors:
• Ligon, M., Carpenter, K., Brown, W., & Milsop, A. (1983). Computers in
the world of business communications. Hartford, CT: Capital Press.
 Edition other than first (Republished book):
• Creech, P.J. (2004). Radiology and the technology of the absurd. Boston:
Houghton- Mifflin. (Originally work published 1975).
 An edited volume (Anthology or reference book):
• Stanton, D. C., & Farbman, E.(Eds.).(2003). The female autograph:
Theory and practice of autobiography. Middletown, CT: Capital Press.
• If you are refereeing to an article or signed chapter in an edited volume,
your reference would look like this:
• Pepin, R.E., (2002). Uses of time in the political novels of Joseph Conrad.
In C. W. Darling, Jr., J. Shields, & E.C. Farbman (Eds.), Chronological
looping in political novels (pp.99-135). Hartford: Capital Press.

25.  Book without author or editor listed:
 Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary.(1961).
Springfield, MA: G & C. Merriam.
To alphabetize such an entry on your Reference
page, use the first significant word of the title
(ignoring the articles, “a”, “an”. “the”).
 Multivolume work:
 Nadeau, B. M. & Darling, J. M. (Eds.). (1994-
2003). Studies in the history of cutlery (Vols.
4-6). Utica NY: Mohican Valley- River Press.

26.  O’Connor, C. O. & DeLoatch, K.L. (2003).
Whatever happened to the humanities? In I.
Rubenzahl (Ed.), studies in Byzantine
Intrigue (pp. 235-278). Hartford, CT:
Merganser University Press.
 To use material that is Quoted or
paraphrased elsewhere when you do not use
the original resource, your reference will
include the source of your language.
 As Villa trenchantly points out, “ Perhaps
the conflict seems so strong because the
stakes are so low”.

27. DISSERTATION OR DISSERTATION
ABSRACT
 When you have used an abstract of the
dissertation found on microfilm in
Dissertation Abstracts International. If
you are using microfilm source, include
in parentheses at the end of your entry,
the university microfilm number.
 Darling, C. W. (1976). Giver of due
regard: the poetry of Richard Wilbur.
Dissertation Abstracts International, 44,
4465. (AAD44-8794)

28.  Wheatcroft, G. (2004, June). The Tragedy of Tony
Blair. The Atlantic, 293, 56-72. Thomas, E. &
Hosenball, M.(2004, May 31). Bush’s Mr. Wrong: The
Rise and Fall of Chalabi. Newsweek, 143, 22-32.
SCHOLARLY JOURNAL
 Many scholarly journals number their pages
consecutively throughout a given volume. Thus,
volume one might end on page 345 and the first page
of volume two would be number 345. Do not use p. Or
pp. to indicate page numbers. Notice that proper nouns
are capitalized in an APA – style title, but other words
are not. The coma separates the title of the journal
from the volume number, but the volume number is
also italicized.

29.  If the article is “signed”, begin with that author’s name.
Do not omit the “The” from the title of a newspaper.
 Poirot, C.(2004, March 17). HIV prevention pill goes
beyond ‘morning after’. The Hartford Courant, pp. F1,
F6.
 If the author’s name is not available, begin the reference
with the headline or title in the author position.
 New exam for doctor of future.(1989, March 15). The
New York Times, p. B-10.
 If the text being cited is from an editorial or letter to the
editor indicate the nature of the source in brackets after
the title and date.
 Silvermna, P.H. (2004, June). Genetic engineering
{Letter to the ediotr}. The Atlantic, 293, 14.

30.  Film
 Film with limited circulation
 Cassette
 Television programme
 Musical recording

31.  Because this material is not recoverable, it
should not be listed in the list of references.
 It can, however , be cited parenthetically
within the text. It is extremely important that
what is cited in this way be legitimate and
have scholarly integrity.
 Interview :
 Phone conversation: