Anybody, who is reading the research report, must necessarily be conveyed enough about the study so that he can place it in its general scientific context, judge the adequacy of its methods and thus form an opinion of how seriously the findings are to be taken. For this purpose there is the need of proper layout of the report. The layout of the report means as to what the research report should contain. A comprehensive layout of the research report should comprise preliminary pages, the main text and the end matter.

1. LAYOUT & MECHANICS
OF
RESEARCH REPORT
Presented by
ASHLIN T
V

2. Research report consists of :-
 The Preliminary Section (Prefatory Pages)
 The Main Text (Main body of the Report)
 The Reference Section (End matter)
2Layout of Research report

3. The Preliminary (Prefatory Pages)
 The Title Page
 Acknowledgement
 Researcher’s Declaration
 Research Supervisor’s Certificate
 Abstract
 Table of content
 List of tables
 List of figures
 List of abbreviations
3

4. 4Name of the thesis
Thesis submitted to:
XYZ UNIVERSITY, City
For the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSPHY
Submitted by :
XYZ
Under the Supervision of :
Prof. ABC
INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH
XYZ UNIVERSITY, City, HARYANA [INDIA]
Date

5. 5RESEARCHER‘S DECLARATION
I declare that the thesis entitled “…………” is a record of
independent research work carried out by me under the
supervision and guidance of Prof. XYZ. This has not been
previously submitted for the award of any other diploma, degree
or other similar title.
Place:… (NAME)
Date:…… Signature of the
Researcher

6. RESEARCH SUPERVISOR’S CERFICIATE 6
Certified that the thesis entitled “………..” submitted to the XYZ
University, City for the award of degree of Doctor of
Philosophy is a record of independent research work carried out
by Mr./Ms….. a Research Scholar Ph.D. programme, under my
supervision and guidance. This has not been previously
submitted for the award of any diploma, degree or other similar
title.
Place (Name)
Date Signature of the Supervisor

7. 7

8. 8

9. 9

10. 10

11. The Main Text (Main body of the Report)
 Introduction
 Statement of the problem
 Significance of the problem
 Purpose of study
 Assumptions
 Definition of the concept
 Objective of the study
 Hypothesis
11

12.  Research methodology
 Analysis of data
 Inferences
 Conclusion
 Research findings
 Contribution of the study
 Limitations of the study
 Scope for the future
12

13. The Reference Section (End matter)
 Reference
 Appendices
 Bibliography
 Index
13

14. 14

15. 1. Size of physical design:
 Unruled paper 8 ½” x 11”
 Blue or black ink
 Margins – left ( 1 to 1 ½”), right (1/2”),
top & bottom (1”)
 Typing - Double spaced
 One side
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Mechanics of Report Writing

16. 2.Procedure:
3.Layout:
 Well thought and appropriate
 Consider objective and nature of the problem
4.Treatment of quotations:
 Quotation marks
 Double spaced
 If it is more than 4 or 5 lines, single spaced
16

17. 5.Footnotes:
 Meant for cross references, citation of authorities and
sources, acknowledgement and explanation from a
point of view
 Placed at the bottom of the page
 Numbered consecutively
 Single spaced
17

18. 18

19. 6.Documentation style:
 Regarding the single-volume reference:
 Author’s name in normal order
 Title of the work, underlined to indicate italics
 Place and date of publication
 Pagination references
Eg.1 Kothari, C.R. Quantitative Techniques, New
Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., Inc. 1978,
p. 995.
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20.  Regarding multi-volumed reference:
 Author’s name in the normal order;
 Title of work, underlined to indicate italics;
 Place and date of publication;
 Number of volume;
 Pagination references (The page number).
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21. .
 Regarding works arranged alphabetically:
 No pagination is needed for alphabetically arranged
works.
Eg.1 “Salamanca,” Encyclopedia Britannica, 14th Edition
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22.  Regarding periodicals reference:
 Name of the author in normal order;
 Title of article, in quotation marks;
 Name of periodical, underlined to indicate italics;
 Volume number;
 Date of issuance;
 Pagination
22

23.  Regarding second-hand quotations reference:
 Original author and title;
 “quoted or cited in,”;
 Second author and work.
Eg.3 J.F. Jones, Life in Ploynesia, p. 16, quoted in History of the
Pacific Ocean area, by R.B.Abel, p. 191.
23

24.  Case of multiple authorship:
 In case of multiple authorship, et al or “and
others” should be used.
Eg.4 Hughes et al, “Science or Promotion”, SAGE Journals,
2013, p.13.
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25. 7.Punctuation:
 Author’s name
 Title of the book
 Title
 Edition
 Place of publication
 Name of the publisher
 Date of publication
 Volume
 Page reference
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26. 8. Use of statistics, charts and graphs:
 It is used in the form of tables, charts, bars, line
graphs
and pictograms.
 Neat and attractive
 Self explanatory and complete in itself
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27. 9.Final drafts:
 Revising and rewriting the rough draft of the report
 Are the sentences clear?
 Grammatically correct?
 Whether it is logical?
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28. 10.Bibliography:
 Prepared and appended to the research report
28

29. 11.Preparation of the index:
 Index acts as a good guide for the report
 Two ways : subject index and author index
 Alphabetically arranged
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30. Thank you
30