RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
TOPIC:
Research Report, Research Proposal
and APA Format

2. INTRODUCTION
 Research report is a medium to communicate research work with
relevant people.
 It is also a good source of preservation of research work for the
future reference.
 It requires a good deal of knowledge, imagination, experience,
and expertise. It demands a considerable time and money.
 A research proposal is a brief and coherent summary of the
proposed research study, which is prepared at the beginning of a
research project.
 The aim of a research proposal is to justify the need for a specific
research proposal and present the practical methods and ways to
conduct the proposed research.
 In other words, a research proposal presents the proposed
design of the study and justifies the necessity of the specific
research.
 A research proposal describes what you intend to do and why you
intend to do it.

3. WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT
 Research report is the final stage of every research in which research
procedure, analysis, findings and so forth aspects of research
endeavors are presented in organized and systematic way.
 It is the process of scientific and professional communication
regarding research findings.
 The general purpose of research report is to convey the sufficient
details of research works.
 It not only convinces the readers but let them known about the
findings of already carried out research or project work or the
purpose of the work have been done.
 Effective report deserves:
Uniformity,
Consistency, and
Regularity
 The report includes the reasons for initiating the project, a
description of the project steps, a presentation of data, and a
discussion of how the data relate to the research question or topic.

4. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH REPORT
 To provide the information regarding the findings of
research work i.e. methods, data analysis, conclusion and
so on in the systematic, scientific and accepted way.
 To elicit crucial facts for solution derived and decision
making.
 To prove the worth and legitimacy of assigned research
job.
 To provide the judgment tools for the judgment of quality
and talent of researcher within and outside the academia.
 To communicate the research findings professionally.
 To pertain the credibility of the research.
 To develop appreciation of standards, consolidate
arguments and identify the knowledge gaps.

5. TYPES OF RESEARCH REPORT
 Formal and Informal report
 Written and Oral report
 Internal and external report
 long and short report
 Descriptive and Analytical report
 Technical and popular report
But, for the academic report like Thesis, GRP or Project reports, only
either descriptive or analytical report is prepared.
 1. Descriptive Report
In descriptive report, researcher describes the facts, trends or
opinions experienced or gathered during the research work. In such
reports, data presentation and analysis are more importantly
presented. Such reports are more suitable in case of describing
current situations, etc. It is more popular method of report writing.

6. CON…..
 2. Analytical report
Reports are prepared with analyzing and interpretation
of the facts or trends or situations. This means analytical
report is one step ahead than descriptive reports. Such
reports follow the scientific investigation and reporting.
Analytical reports also recommend some measures to
improve the situation with stating different problems on
the situation. Policy research and managerial research
which are normally funded by any agencies seeking
solution of prevailing problems demand analytical
report.

7. PROCEDURE OF RESEARCH REPORT WRITING
 General guidelines can help for writing research reports:
 1. Revising expectation
 Before starting report writing, researcher should revisit the purpose
of research and expectation from the researcher. If the researcher is
intended to submit academic reports, minimum steps and format
are well designed.
 2. Preparing outline
 On the basis of nature of data, objective of research, and
requirement of the evaluating agency, researcher need to prepare
outline i.e. roadmap to the research report.
 Outline helps to arrange the idea before starting write up. It is the
planning phase for the content of report for making it more
effective.
 During this phase, researcher should also plan the time frame
within which a report is to be completed and submitted.

8. CON…
 3. Arranging data
On the basis of objectives, population and sample for the research,
researcher collects the data from different sources. Different types of
data are collected for the purpose. Such different data from different
sources need to be processed and tabulated. Only relevant data are
sequentially arranged so that right information will be obtained at the
right time for the right purpose. For this different tables of data need
to be prepared and named properly.
 4. Start writing
Report should started within introduction and proceed with the
content and topic arranged on the outline. Each topic or section
consists of specific feature and way of writing.
 5. Preparing the first draft
Researcher should update and upgrade the report with series of
revisions. For this purpose, the first draft is to be prepared and revisit
the whole draft carefully. Add or remove the necessary descriptions,
interpretations, and analysis.

9. CON…
6. Review and rewrite
 Every report consists of scope of some improvement. It
is true that in each reading, you can find something to
rewrite or rearrange.
 This makes the report more interesting and excellent.
Thus, researcher must read and reread the draft again
and again.
 During this course of action, you need to compare the
report with format, methodological conformation,
values and data revisit as there may be some misprints,
if possible language expert need to be consulted.
 After rewriting the drafts, the final draft will be prepared
which can be submitted to the concern authority.

10. RESEARCH PROPOSAL
 A research proposal is a concise and coherent summary of
your proposed research.
 Referring to the current state of knowledge and any recent
debates on the topic. It also demonstrates the originality of
your proposed research.
 The proposal is the most important document that you
submit as part of the application process. It gives you an
opportunity to demonstrate that you have the aptitude for
graduate level research, for example, by demonstrating that
you have the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly,
concisely and critically.
 The proposal also helps us to match your research interest
with an appropriate supervisor.
 The quality of research proposal depends not only on the
quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality of
your proposal writing.

11. PROPOSAL WRITING
 Title:
It should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase,
"An investigation of . . ." could be omitted. Often titles are
stated in terms of a functional relationship, because such titles
clearly indicate the independent and dependent variables.
However, if possible, think of an informative but catchy title.
 Abstract: It is a brief
summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the
research question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis
(if any), the method and the main findings. Descriptions of the
method may include the design, procedures, the sample and
any instruments that will be used.

12. CON…
Introduction
 The introduction generally covers the following elements:
 State the research problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the
study.

 Provide the context and set the stage for your research question in such a
way as to show its necessity and importance.
 Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is
worth doing.
 Briefly describe the major issues and sub-problems to be addressed by your
research.
 Identify the key independent and dependent variables of your experiment.
Alternatively, specify the phenomenon you want to study.
 State your hypothesis or theory, if any. For exploratory or phenomenological
research, you may not have any hypotheses. (Please do not confuse the
hypothesis with the statistical null hypothesis.)
 Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in order to
provide a clear focus.

13. CON..
 Literature Review:
 The literature review serves several important functions:
 Ensures that you are not "reinventing the wheel".
 Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your
research.
 Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.
 Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and
research issues related to your research question.
 Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature
information.
 Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing
literature.
 Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as
the conceptual framework for your research.

14. CON…
 Methods:
 The Method section is very important because it tells your
Research Committee how you plan to tackle your research
problem. It will provide your work plan and describe the
activities necessary for the completion of your project.
 The data collection process in qualitative research has a far
greater impact on the results as compared to quantitative
research. That is another reason for greater care in describing
how you will collect and analyze your data.

15. CON…
 Results:
Obviously you do not have results at the proposal stage.
However, you need to have some idea about what kind of data
you will be collecting, and what statistical procedures will be
used in order to answer your research question or test you
hypothesis.
 Discussion:
It is important to convince your reader of the potential impact
of your proposed research. You need to communicate a sense
of enthusiasm and confidence without exaggerating the merits
of your proposal. That is why you also need to mention the
limitations and weaknesses of the proposed research, which
may be justified by time and financial constraints as well as by
the early developmental stage of your research area.

16. COMMON MISTAKES IN PROPOSAL WRITING
 Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.
 Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.
 Failure to cite landmark studies.
 Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical
contributions by other researchers.
 Failure to stay focused on the research question.
 Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the
proposed research.
 Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major
issues.
 Too much rambling -- going "all over the map" without a clear sense of
direction. (The best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a
seamless river.)
 Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.
 Too long or too short.
 Failing to follow the APA style.

17. APA FORMAT
 APA is one of many referencing styles used in academic
writing.
 APA stands for American Psychological Association.