This is complete well described slides about the Research Chapter in Technical Report Writing.

1. RESEARCH
By:
Raj Kumar BE-(Electrical Engineering)
Sukkur IBA University

2. WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
• Research
• The systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources, etc.
in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
• An endeavour to discover new or collate old facts etc. by the scientific
study of a subject or by a course of critical investigation
[Oxford Concise Dictionary]

3. WHY CONDUCT RESEARCH ?
 A Tool for Building Knowledge and Efficient Learning
 Research is required not just for students and academics, but for all
professionals. It is also important for budding and veteran writers, both
offline and online
 An Aid to Business Success
 Research benefits business. Many successful companies, such as those
producing consumer goods or mass-market items, invest in research
and development
 Important in School, College, University and Work Environment
 To better understand a Technical term or concept
 To resolve a problem
 To find out the solutions and different methods for any issue
 We may think the answer is obvious, common sense even
 We have subjected our problem to rigorous scientific scrutiny, our
'knowledge' remains little more than guesswork or at best, intuition.

4. IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH
• Major Component for Reports
• While writing Reports, Research is a important tool for both
• Long Reports
• Short Reports
• Study Implications
• Study should seek to contextualize its findings within the larger body of research
• Always be of high quality in order to produce knowledge

5. REASONS FOR RESEARCH
• Create Content
• Support Content with Details, Quotes, Paraphrases and Summaries
• Emphasize the Importance of an idea
• Enhance the Reliability of an opinion
• Show importance of a Subject to the larger Business Community
• Address the Audience’s need for documentation and substantiation

6. RESEARCH TYPES
• Secondary Research
• Rely on already printed and published information taken from sources
including
• Books
• Periodicals
• Newspapers
• Encyclopedias
• Reports
• Proposals
• other Business documents

7. RESEARCH TYPES
• Primary Research
• Performed or generated by yourself
• Rely on following source
• Observations
• Tests of Equipment
• Laboratory Experiments
• Parenthetical Citations

8. RESEARCH TYPES
• Field Research
• Type of Primary Research
• Consists of Following
• Survey or questionnaire
• Face to Face Interviews
• Using Social Media to collect information
• Visiting Job sites

9. SURVEYING FOR PRIMARY RESEARCH
• Schedule a convenient time for Interview
• Explain why you need the Interview and Information
• How long the survey should take
• Come prepared
• Create survey questions by using value-based scale as
• 1 for Strongly Agree
• 2 for Agree
• 3 for Disagree
• 4 for Strongly Disagree
• Ask Participants for permission to use their responses
• Thank the Participants

10. SURVEY USED TO CONDUCT PRIMARY
RESEARCH

11. USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR RESEARCH
• Social Media provides an almost instantaneous focus group in the following
ways
• Monitor Customer Comments
• Pose Research Questions
• Develop Info-Graphics
• Research the Latest News
• Get Quotes to Support your Ideas
• Access Academic and Research Blogs

12. RESEARCH WRITING CRITERIA
• Recognize your Audience
• High-Tech
• Low-Tech
• Lay
• Use of Effective Style (appropriate to your reader and purpose)
• Most Formal (Organized and Informative)
• Using effective formatting Techniques
• Overall Organization
• Internal Organization
• Parenthetical Source Citations
• Works Cited-documentation

13. THE WRITING PROCESS
• Prewriting
• Examine Purpose and Goals
• Consider Audience
• Gather Data
• Writing
• Organize the Draft according to logical Sequence
• Format Content to allow for ease of access
• Rewriting
• Revise
• Proofread

14. THE WRITING PROCESS
• Revise
• Add Missing Details
• Delete Wordiness
• Simplify Word Usage
• Enhance the Tone
• Reformat Text
• Practice the Speech
• Proofread
• Correct Errors

15. THE WRITING PROCESS

16. THE WRITING PROCESS

17. PREWRITING RESEARCH TECHNIQUE
1. Select General Topic
• May be Technical Term, Phrase, Innovation or Dilemma
2. Spot-Check Errors
• Use Pro-Quest, Infotrac etc.
3. Establish a Focus
4. Research the Topic
 Books
 Periodicals
• Indexes to General , Popular Periodicals
Examples
• Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
• Periodicals Research I or II
• Ebscohost
• SIRS Researcher (emphasizes social issues)
• Newsbank (Emphasizes newspaper articals)

18. PREWRITING RESEARCH TECHNIQUE
• Indexes to Specialized , Scholarly or Technical Periodicals
Example
• Applied Science & Technology Index
• Business Periodicals Index
• ABI / Inform
• General Science Index
• Social Sciences Index
• ERIC (Education Resources Information Centre )
• MEDLINE
• PsycINFO
• NEXIS/LEXIX
• Sirs(social Issues Resources)

19. PREWRITING RESEARCH TECHNIQUE
Internet
• Directories
• Search Engines
• Metasearch Engines

20. 5. Read Your Researched Material And Take Notes
6. Isolate the main points
7. Write a statement of purpose
8. Create an out line
PREWRITING RESEARCH TECHNIQUE

21. PARENTHETICAL SOURCE
CITATIONS
1.APA Format (Psychological Association Association)
2.CSE (council of Science Editors)
3.MLA (Modern Language Association)

22. TANDS FOR AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
A STYLE TO AID IN THE FORMATION OF PAPERS
PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR THE MECHANICS OF WRITING,
INCLUDING ASPECTS OF PUNCTUATION, QUOTATION, AND THE
DOCUMENTATION OF SOURCES
A FORMATE/METHOD OF IDENTIFYING THE
SOURCES USED TO WRITE A PAPER
APA (American Psychological Association
citation)

23. Reference in text (when the text as a whole needs to
be cited)
Last name (year of publication)
Rowling (2005) argues for the development of new curricula.
Reference in text (when only part of the text, such as an
idea or a quote from a specific page, needs to be cited)
Last name (year of publication, page number)
lRowling (2005, p.189)
• Parenthetical Citations—One
Author

24. When a work has two authors, always cite both
authors.
Reference in text
Last names of authors separated by “and” (year of publication)
Rowling and Cramer (2005) argue for the development of new curricula.
When a work has three or more authors, always cite all the authors the first time
the text is used. Thereafter, use the first author’s last name followed by et al.
Omit year upon third time citing source.
Reference in text
Last names of authors separated with and before final name, (year of publication)
Rowling, Dowling, Benis, George, and Cramer (2005) argue for the development of new
curricula.
Rowling et al. (2005) argue . . .
Rowling et al. argue . . .
• Parenthetical Citations—More than One Author

25. When a work is signed “Anonymous,” cite the word “Anonymous.”
(Anonymous, year)
Statistics show a higher incidence of criminal activity during the summer months
(Anonymous, 2007, pp. 89-96).
Italicize the title of a book or periodical.
(Title of Book, or Title of Periodical, year, page number)
Statistics show a higher incidence of criminal activity during summer months (New Yorker,
2007, p. 97).
In most other cases, use double quote marks around the title,
publication year, page number
(“Article title or Chapter title,” year, page number)
Statistics show a higher incidence of criminal activity during summer months (“Study
Results,” 2007, p. 77).
• Parenthetical Citations—Works Without an Author

26. STANDS FOR MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION
A STYLE TO AID IN THE FORMATION OF PAPERS
MLA STYLE IS AN ACCEPTED WAY TO DOCUMENT
SOURCE MATERIAL FOR MANY TYPES OF HUMANITIES
DOCUMENTS. IT IS SIMPLER THAN SOME OTHER STYLE
GUIDES, SUCH AS THE APA STYLE AND CSE STYLE
PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR THE MECHANICS OF WRITING, INCLUDING
ASPECTS OF PUNCTUATION, QUOTATION, AND THE DOCUMENTATION
OF SOURCES
•MLA (Modern Language
Association)

27. INCLUDES THE AUTHOR'S LAST NAME AND PAGE NUMBER OF THE
REFERENCE
EXAMPLE:
WORDSWORTH STATED THAT ROMANTIC POETRY WAS MARKED BY
A "SPONTANEOUS OVERFLOW OF POWERFUL FEELINGS" (263).
• CITING REFERENCES (TEXT) IN MLA

28. AUTHOR’S LAST NAME COMES BEFORE THE GIVEN NAME OR
INITIAL TO FACILITATE ALPHABETIZING
USE THE NAME EXACTLY AS IT APPEARS ON THE TITLE
PAGE OF THE SOURCE’S NAME.
IF THE BOOK IS THE WORK OF AN AGENCY INSTEAD OF AN
INDIVIDUAL, THE NAME OF THE AGENCY TAKES
THE PLACE OF THE AUTHOR’S NAME.
THE TITLE AND THE SUBTITLE OF THE BOOK ARE
UNDERLINED.
• CITATION FOR Single Author

29. FOR MLA:
INCLUDES THE AUTHOR'S LAST NAME AND PAGE NUMBER OF THE
REFERENCE
FOR APA:
INCLUDES THE AUTHOR'S LAST NAME, THE DATE OF PUBLICATION, AND
THE PAGE NUMBER OF THE REFERENCE
• DIFFERENCE BETWEEN APA AND MLA (IN
TEXT)

30. “
”
FOR (QUOTATION)
• IN MLA:SHORT QUOTATIONS, FEWER THAN 4 COMPLETE LINES, ARE
IN THE TEXT ENCLOSED BY QUOTATION MARKS.
• LONGER QUOTES ARE DOUBLE INDENTED, SINGLE SPACED, AND ONLY
USE QUOTATION MARKS USED BY THE AUTHOR
• IN APA:Short quotations, fewer than 40 words, are
in the text enclosed by quotation marks.
• Long quotations of 40 or more words are displayed
in a double-spaced block of typewritten lines with
no quotation marks.
• It is indented five spaces from the left margin.