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Scientific writing–Bio 881 T- PNU 5th+ 6th lec. How to write a Scientific Report How to write a Research Proposal How to write a Scientific Report Structure of the report • You must carefully read your course information details to ensure that you comply with what the lecturer/tutor stipulates...

Scientific writing–Bio 881 T- PNU 5th+ 6th lec. How to write a Scientific Report How to write a Research Proposal How to write a Scientific Report Structure of the report • You must carefully read your course information details to ensure that you comply with what the lecturer/tutor stipulates. • A report is typically made up of three main divisions: • (1) preliminary material. • (2) body. • (3) supplementary material. Each of the sections contains a different kind of content. Refer to the tables below: Divisions and sections of a report Content of individual sections Steps for writing a scientific report STEP 1: • Analyze the Task As with any assignment task, you must first analyze what is expected of you. This involves careful reading of the assignment task as outlined in your course information book. • You may find the following questions useful when analyzing the task:  What is the purpose of the report? (It could be analyzing, persuading or reporting on an investigation.) Who is the audience for the report? What is the word limit? (Many times the word limit only includes the body of the report.) What is the topic of the report? (The topic may be specified by the writer). What is the expected format of the report? Steps for writing a scientific report….. STEP 2: • Develop a Rough Plan Use the section headings (outlined above) to assist with your rough plan. Write a statement that clarifies the overall purpose of your report. Write down anything you already know about the topic in the relevant sections. STEP 3: • Do the Research Steps 1 and 2 will guide your research for this report. • You may need to report on other research on a particular topic or do some research of your own. • Keep referring to your analysis and rough plan while you are doing your research to ensure that you remain on track. • Give yourself plenty of time for this step, as the research phase of your work will usually take the most time of any step in producing your report. Also, ensure you keep correct bibliographic details for all of the material you may later use in your report. Steps for writing a scientific report….. STEP 4: Draft the Body of Your Report • • • Introduction - The purpose of your report. Background information may include a brief review of the literature already available on the topic so that you are able to ‘place’ your research in the field. Some brief details of your methods and an outline of the structure of the report.  Literature Review - It may be useful to do a condensed brief format where you discuss from the earliest to the latest research. Again, you will need to state where your research fits. Literature review could be merged with introduction of separated from it but in both cases the literature review of the report is briefer compared to the literature review of the thesis. Steps for writing a scientific report….. STEP 4: Draft the Body of Your Report • • • Methodology - Here you clearly outline what methodology you used in your research i.e. what you did and how you did it. It must be clearly written so that it would be easy for another researcher to duplicate your research if they wished to. It is usually written in a 'passive' voice rather than an 'active' voice.  Clearly reference any material you have used from other sources. Clearly label and number any diagrams, charts, and graphs. Ensure that they are relevant to the research and add substance to the text rather than just duplicating what you have said. You do not include or discuss the results here. Steps for writing a scientific report….. • • • •  Results - This is where you indicate what you found in your research. You give the results of your research, but do not interpret them.  Discussion - This is where you discuss the relevance of your results and how your findings fit with other research in the area. It will relate back to your literature review and your introductory statement. Conclusion - This is a summary of the most significant results/findings. You should not include any new material in this section. Sometimes you could indicate some areas where your research has limits or where further research would be useful.  Recommendations - This includes suggestions for what needs to be done as a result of your findings. Recommendations are usually listed in order of priority. Steps for writing a scientific report….. • STEP 5 Draft the Supplementary Material •  References or Bibliography - This includes all references used in your • report or referred to for background information. This must be done using the referencing convention specified by your lecturer/tutor.  Appendices - These should add extra information to the report. If you include appendices they must be referred to in the body of the report and must have a clear purpose for being included. Each appendix must be named and numbered. STEP 6 • Draft the Preliminary Material • Title of Report - Make sure this is clear and indicates exactly what you are • • researching.  Table of Contents - List all sections, sub headings tables/graphs appendices and give page numbers for each.  Abstract/Synopsis - This gives a very brief overview of the report in a condensed form. STEP 7 • Polish Your Report • The final step is checking your report to ensure you have followed all of the guidelines as outlined in your course information. How to write Research Proposal Research proposal A research proposal is a formal plan that outlines your objectives for a research project. They are common in every academic field and, especially in academia, often lead to grants (money!) that allow one to conduct research. So writing a solid proposal is important. The main characteristics that all proposals share WHY DO I NEED A RESEARCH PROPOSAL? WHY DO I NEED A RESEARCH PROPOSAL? Main sections of a Research Proposal Proposals are usually 8-12 pages in length with the following sections: Title page Introduction Approval form Abstract & keywords List of contents Gant chart Review of literature Objectives Overall methodology References Tabulated Budget TITLE Concise Descriptive Specific Introduction Provide the necessary background for your research problem Begin with a general statement of the problem area Focus on a specific research problem Be followed by the rationale or justification for the proposed study Review of literature The review of the related literature describes and analyzes the published studies that are directly related to, and/or have some relevance to, the topic and research questions at hand. Related literature should be integrated with, and weaved into, the material in this section and not be simply cataloged. The review could conclude with a brief summary of the literature and its implications. Methodology The research methodology is the most important section of the research proposal. Includes a description of the research sample (subjects), data collection method, measurement instruments, and data analysis procedures. Gantt chart t References The references section, or bibliography, lists all the sources, alphabetically by authors' last names, that were directly used in writing the report. Every source cited in the paper must be included in the references, and every entry listed in the references must appear in the paper. Style manuals, such as the APA (American Psychological Association- edition..) manual, will give you the correct procedure for all in-text and reference citations. This form is usually different for books, journal articles, and magazine articles. It is recommended that you use the APA style. It is important that whatever form is used be followed consistently. A good research proposal will help you: • Define and formulate your research question; • Narrow down the study to a manageable form within the prescribed time limits; • Structure the development of your writing; avoid wasting time in the literature search and data collection stages of the project. References ‫ دليل إعداد خطة البحث « ر‬. ‫جامعة األمية نورة‬ ‫ عمادة‬.»‫مقيح الرسالة‬ ‫ر‬ .‫ وكالة الجامعة للدراسات العليا و البحث العلم‬, ‫الدراسات العليا‬ .‫الرياض‬ Nelleke Bak. 2015. Research Proposal Guide. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275040624_ Research_Proposal_Guide Web of courses (2013):Core II: Research Proposal https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/984277/pages/coreii-research-proposal Illinois State University. http://my.ilstu.edu/~mhemmas/LDR%20280/Contents_of _a_Research_Report.htm .