Research: Conclusions and Recommendations

Reporting and Sharing Research Findings

• This module will educate on neatly wrapping up research ideas and packaging research reports.
• The module aims to enhance reader interest in the work.

Learning Competencies

• Draw conclusions from patterns and themes (CS_RS11-IVg-j-1).
• Formulate recommendations based on conclusions (CS_RS11-IVg-j-2).
• List references (CS_RS11-IVg-j-3).
• Present a written research report (CS_RS11-IVg-j-4).
• Finalize and present best design (CS_RS11-IVg-j-5).
• Write short description and present best design (CS_RS11-IVg-j-6).

Drawing Conclusions

• Before writing a conclusion, a summary of the findings should be made.
• Summary of findings serve as a brief restatement of the components of the research paper.
• A conclusion contains insights drawn from the findings, addressing the research questions.

Dos and Don'ts in Writing a Conclusion

• Include a complete summary of findings.
• Highlight key points based on the analyses or results.
• Note important suggestions.
• Share insights from the study.
• Use clear and simple language.
• Avoid introducing new information.
• Describe the study's value.

Strategies for Writing a Conclusion

• Echo the introduction in other sections.
• Challenge readers to apply the study to their lives.
• Emphasize the paper's importance.
• Pose questions for new perspectives.
• Integrate main ideas for a fresh meaning.

Formulating Recommendations

• A recommendation improves the study for future research.
• Recommendations provide insightful comments, aiding study citation and application.

Dos and Don'ts in Writing Recommendations

• Be logical.
• Revisit the introduction (purpose and scope) for relevance.
• Focus on improving the study.

Strategies for Writing Recommendations

• Be brief and only give essential recommendations.
• Be clear and show how implementation is done.

Listing References

• Recognizing others' efforts is vital to research success.
• Listing references better show appreciation than just saying it.
• A Reference is a list of sources referred to within the research including direct quotations.
• A Bibliography is a list of sources read to widen knowledge with only indirect information used.

Referencing in Research - The Why's

• Share experts' work.
• Distinguish the researcher's ideas.
• Respect experts' work.
• Allow source retrieval; add authority and show researcher's understanding.
• Referencing styles are institutionalized.

APA Style Guidelines

• Use hanging indentation.
• Formatting varies by source type.
• Common sources include; book chapter, online source and journals.
• List references or bibliography in alphabetical order.
• Shorten lengthy URLs

Presenting a Written Research Report

• Research systematically investigates natural phenomena or existing conditions to identify facts, get new information, and make conclusions.
• Research Report: A systematic write-up of findings including abstract, background, literature review, justification, objectives, methodology, results, discussion, conclusions, recommendations, and references

Types of Research Report

• Informational: presents details of events or activities without analysis or recommendations.
• Analytical: solves problems through analyzed information, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Persuasive: sells an idea, service, or product with detailed information and a diverse audience.

Other Types of Reports

• Incident, Analytical, Sales, Progress, Feasibility Study, Recommendation, Case Study, Situational, Justification/Recommendation, and Research Studies

Components of a Research Report

• Reports should have a common language to establish a standard format for presenting the research logically.
• Structure includes; abstract, key word list, table of contents, list of figures and tables, acknowledgements, introduction, statement of the problem, hypotheses, why it is important, objectives of the work, scope of the work, literature review, methodology, summary of findings and conclusions.

General Considerations

• Follow standard guidelines to prepare a research paper, style, font, layout and page formats.
• Use inverted pyramid for title page text and center horizontally.
• Margin size is Left: 1.5", Right/Top/Bottom: 1".
• Use numeric data on the top right for page numbers.
• The space should be 2" and using justified margins.
• Use Arial font 12.
• Remember, there are two types of styles in writing references which are; Modern language association or the MLA and the American psychological association or the APA
• Cite or list authors and source info in Modern Language Assoc. and American Psychological Assoc. styles.
• Use APA or Author Date Style which is common in research papers.
• The reference list includes source details and is ordered by surname.
• Double-space, use hanging indents, and italicize titles in the reference list.
• Capitalization in APA style is specific.
• Acknowledge authors to support statements; bibliography lists books, journals and websites in your study.