This document provides guidance for research report writing and presentation. It discusses the basic structure of a research report, including sections for an abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and conclusions. It also provides tips for using online resources, bibliography software, file saving, and avoiding plagiarism. Guidelines are offered for creating effective presentations using PowerPoint, including structuring the presentation, interacting with the audience, and preparing for questions. The document concludes with sections on designing effective posters and exhibiting products to communicate research findings.

1. J.O. Abere
julius.abere@eksu.edu.ng
January 28, 2015

2. 1. Research Report Writing
2. Online Journals & Resources
3. Bibliography Software
4. Saving your work
5. Plagiarism
6. Presentation
7. Poster & product exhibition

3. 1.0 Research Report Writing
 A report is a form of professional
document
 Different readers will be looking for
different information
 They may have different levels of
understanding
 They may only need an overview

4. 1.1 Report Style
So:
 Follow a standard format
 Think of your readers’ needs
 Make it easy for them to extract
information

5. 1.2 Basic Structure
 Title page
 Abstract
 Contents, Lists of Figures & Tables
 Nomenclature
 Aims and objectives
 Introduction
 *Middle sections (not to be used as heading)
 Conclusions & Further works
 References
 Appendices

6. 1.3 Middle sections
Review of Literature
 What others have done.
 Identifying the GAP
 How you would fill the gap
 Likely addition to knowledge
Methodology
 How you did it
Results
 Your lab data. Analysis & findings.

7. 2. Online Journals & Resources
 Web of Science
 Web of Knowledge
 Google Scholar
 Video and Audio learning resources
 Illustrations: Pictures, Charts, etc.

8. 3.0 Bibliography Software
 Cite while you write
 Endnote & MSWord
 Endnote
 Online access
 Importation of Citation
 Adopting a standard style.
 MSWord standard writing skill (Do it yourself).

9. 3.1 MS Word (Workshop)
 Writing enhanced with soft skills
 Use MS Word 2007 upward
 REFERENCES tab could help with
 Table of contents
 List of figures or captions
 Bibliography (select preferred style)
 Footnotes, etc.
[Need some hours of interactive practice]

10. 4. Saving your work
 Old style
 Your PC
 Flash
 Drives (cloud/internet)
 Google
 Drop box
 Sky (MS)
 E-mail
Advantages: no virus or corruption of PCs.
You are on-the-go with your work.

11. 5. Plagiarism
 Avoid copying and cheating.
 Give reference to the source of text, figures,
tables, charts, designs, CAD drawings,
computer programs, equations, etc.
 Software packages (online) to check against
plagiarism.
 Declaration of originality (examples online).

12. 6.0 Presentation
 Worth at least 10% of total marks
 10minutes + 5 minutes for questions
 PowerPoint available
 You do not have to include everything
 Tell a coherent story
 Present your results clearly

13. 6.1 Structure
 Title page
 Introduction
 Aims and objectives
 Methodology: how things were done
 Results: data analysis & findings
 Conclusions
 Further work
 Questions

14. 6.2 What not to say
o First I did this,
o Then I did this,
o But that didn’t work.
o So I tried this,
o And that didn’t work either,
o So in desperation I tried this last week,
o And it worked!
o But now I’ve run out of time.

15. 6.3 Using PowerPoint
 Do not put everything on the screen.
 Speak your work.
 Let the people read.
 Be very clear – graphs, figures etc.
 Make text legible.
 Avoid spelling mitsnakes
 Use animations & graphics with wisdom.

16. 6.4 Audience
 Start well
 Pitch it at the right level
 Maintain interest
 Eye contact
 Interaction
 Humour
 Variety
 Emphasis

17. 6.5 Questions
 Try and provide an answer
 Admit if you don’t know / don’t
understand
 Agree to disagree
 Don’t fight

18. 6.6 Yourself
 Prepare well in advance.
 Rehearse.
 Avoid “erms”.
 Positive approach.
 Don’t panic.
 Examiners want to build you.

19. 7.1 Poster Design
 Assembly of major constituent parts of research
results or findings.
 Graphical summary of the work.
 Major Statement
 CAD drawings, Charts, Equations, etc.
 Major Further Work
 Major Publications from the work
 Display / Exhibition.

20. 7.2 Product exhibition
 Designed and fabricated machine/device.
 User’s manual.
 List of accessories.
 Proper documentation/copies.
 Installation and pilot systems.
 Commercialization.

21. 8 Summary
 Plan for writing-up and presentation.
 Use standard referencing style.
 Use software and web-based resources.
 Time is money. Time is short.
 Make your product worthwhile.
 Prepare for success.
 Do it.

22. Appreciation
 The support of the Mechanical Engineering
Department is gratefully acknowledged.
for time & resources made available for the seminar.