This document outlines the structure and key components of a research report. It begins by defining a research report as a completed study describing an investigation that addresses questions, collects and analyzes data, and draws conclusions. The document then discusses the main sections of a research report, including the introductory section with components like the title page and abstract, the main body with literature review and methodology, and the reference section. It provides details on what each section and subsection should contain to clearly communicate the research process and findings.

1. EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH (837)
UNIT 9: REPORT WRITING
Dr. Zaheer Ahmad
Course Coordinator

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE UNIT
 Explain the significance of the report writing
 Discuss the main division of a research report
 Identify the preliminary section of the report
 Specify the requirement of main body of the research report
 Evaluate the summary and conclusions part of the research
report
 Analyse the typing format of research report
 List the supplementary section of the report such as
bibliography, appendices and index
 Discuss the abstract of a report; and
 Appreciate the process of report writing

3. WHAT IS A RESEARCH REPORT?
 A research report is a completed study that
describes an investigation or exploration of a
problem, identifies questions to be addressed, and
includes data collected, analyzed, and interpreted
by the researcher. On The basis of Findings
conclusions are drawn and recommendations are
made for addressing/ improving the researched
phenomena/ issue/ problem

4. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESEARCH
REPORT AND RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research Report Research Proposal
A research report is
prepared after a study is
completed.
A research proposal is
prepared before a study
begins.
A research report
communicates what was
actually done in a study, and
what resulted.
A research proposal
communicates a
researcher’s plan for a
study.

5. STRUCTURE OF A RESEARCH
REPORT
The research report format mainly consists of three
main sections:
1. The Introductory Section
2. The Main Body of the Report
3. The Reference Section

6. I) THE INTRODUCTORY SECTION
a) Title page
b) Acknowledgements (if any)
c) Table of Contents
d) List of Tables (if any)
e) List of figures (if any)
f) Abstract

7. THE INTRODUCTORY SECTION
a) Title Page:
 Title Page identifies the title of the report, the name of
the researcher, the name of the guide, institution, month
and year of submission.
 The title should communicate what the study is about. A
well constructed title makes it easy for the reader to
understand and determine the nature of the topic .

8. b) Acknowledgments:
This page permits the writer to express
appreciation to persons who have contributed
significantly to the research.
c) Table of Contents:
The table of contents is an outline of the report
that indicates the page number on which each major
section and subsection begins.
d) List of Tables:
A list of all the tables included in the report along
with the page numbers should be provided.

9. e) List of Figures:
A list of all the figure included in the report along
with the page numbers should be provided.
f) Abstract:
The abstract is a brief but comprehensive
summary of the research report. It includes a concise
statement of the goal of the research, the type of
participants and instruments, outlines the methods,
major results and conclusions. Abstract must be limited
to a specific number of words, usually between 200 and
500 words.

10. II) THE BODY OF THE REPORT
1. Introduction
a) Background/ Context of the Study
b) Rationale of the Study
c) Statement of the Problem
d) Objectives of the Study
e) Statement of Hypotheses/ Research Questions
f) Significance of the problem
g) Assumptions/ Limitations and Delimitations of the Study
h) Operational Definitions of key terms

11. 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
(ANALYSIS OF PREVIOUS RESEARCHES)
1. The Review of Related Literature indicates
what is known and what has already been
done about the problem or topic.
2. Its function is to educate the reader about the
area under study.
3. Review is done by exploring topic in detail
4. Studying and reporting researches done
5. Presenting their summaries/ main points

12. 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
(ANALYSIS OF PREVIOUS RESEARCHES)
6. Presenting review which should be maximum
one third of the whole study by least relevant
to most relevant researches
7. Summing up the literature review in a way
that shows there is a gap/ need which this
research intends to fill or address
8. All references cited in this section should be
presented in the reference list

13. 3. METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
DESIGN OF THE STUDY
 This section provides a detailed description of
the methodology used in the study. e.g.
population, sample size and sampling
techniques and tools used in the study.
 The purpose of this section is to describe in
detail how a researcher performed the study so
that someone should be able to replicate the
study based on the information that a
researcher provide in this section.
 It also includes development of instrument and
reporting their validity and reliability.

14. 3. METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
This section is written almost under the following
headings at masters level:
 Types of research
 Population
 Sampling techniques and sample
 Research instruments
 Procedure of data collection/ experimentation

15. 4) RESULTS (ANALYSIS OF DATA)
Data analysis contains two types
of statistics;
 Descriptive Statistics: It tells us about the
characteristics of the sample. It includes mode,
median, frequencies, percentages, mean and
standard deviation, etc.
 Inferential Statistics: It tells us the parameters
of the population. It includes one sample, paired
samples, independent samples t-test, one way
analysis of variance (ANOVA), etc.
This analysis is presented in tables and figures.

16. DISCUSSION
 Some reports, research articles, conference papers, and some
theses of M.Phil/ PhD level also have discussion section which
includes interpretation and evaluation of the results.
 Explaining how this research supports or contradicts the
previous researches done in the field and limitation of this
research are explained and implications for the future are also
suggested.
 There is variation in the report format depending upon, the
university/ organization, level (M.A., M.Phil and Ph.D) and type
(conference paper, research article, thesis/ dissertation)

17. 5. SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSION &
RECOMMENDATIONS
 This section first present the summary of the
whole study.
 Based on the results, findings are presented
here
 Based on the findings, major conclusions
are drawn
 Based on the conclusions,
recommendations are made for improving
the studied phenomena

18. III) THE REFERENCE SECTION
The References section provides the
reader with all the information needed to
seek out and obtain all original sources
used in the research. it is written in the
alphabetical order.

19. APPENDICES/ ANNEXURES
This section provide a place for
important information. It includes tools
prepared by the researcher and used in
the study. It may be lettered, interview,
names, raw data and data analysis
sheets.