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The Dos and Don’t of Writing a Report

The Dos and Don’t of Writing a Report. Gilles Carbonnier, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6 th October 2011. ARS, Thursday 6 th October 2011. Dos and don’t. The packaging is as important as content itself

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The Dos and Don’t of Writing a Report

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  1. The Dos and Don’t of Writing a Report Gilles Carbonnier, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011 ARS, Thursday 6th October 2011

  2. Dos and don’t The packaging is as important as content itself • Your executive summary is a central part of your report, not an “add-on” • Your report/product must be adapted to your audience • Highlight your key findings and recommendations upfront! ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  3. Dos and don’t • Do calibrate amount of references, bibliography & methodological details to the end-product (e.g don’t invest in a 10-page bibliography for a 2-page report) • Early on, do structure your literature review: e.g. background info, supporting arguments, opposing arguments • Do link arguments, findings and recommendations in a coherent frame. Walk the reader through your text, which is not (yet) an novel ! ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  4. Dos and don’t • Do stick to the ToR. Propose modifications if needed but don’t change your problematic unilaterally • Do differentiate literature-based inputs, evidence-based findings, and your personal personal assumptions and opinions, which must be made explicit • Your conclusion should highlight and summarize the main issues, but not to introduce brand new elements. Don’t underestimate conclusions’ importance ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  5. Dos and don’t • Do proof-read carefully (check grammar and style). Don’t let poor form affect good contents. • No plagiarism… of course! ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  6. Additional advice See Barnett, M. and T. Weiss (eds). 2009. Humanitarianism in question : Politics, Power and Ethics. Cornell University Press. Ch. 11: “Humanitarianism and practitioners : Social science matters” • Be aware: the questions you ask depends on where you sit: donor, NGOs, researchers, private firm, “victim” • In facing ethical dilemmas, make explicit your moral judgments, assumptions and beliefs to avoid morally-laden outputs • Social science research matters, don’t be shy ! ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  7. The semi-directive interview: basic concepts and tools Sergio Bianchi, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011 ARS, Thursday 6th October 2011

  8. What is a semi-directive interview? An exchange of information depending on A relationship between socially positioned individuals ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  9. Informative Interviews vs. Participant Objectivation ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  10. Interview basic checklist (1) Introductory phase: • Present yourself and your research. • Think about small details (negotiate recording and anonymity when applicable, clothing, recorder, etc). Exchange phase: • Build carefully your interview guide drawing on your research path (issue, topic, questions). Pay attention to the wording of questions and probes. • Define clearly what you are looking for in each interview and what are your expectations and adapt the interview guide to them. • Just listen, listen and listen more. ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  11. Interview basic checklist (2) • Mind about the satisfaction of the interviewee. He is making an effort to answer and this deserves a reward. Conclusive phase: • Thank the interviewee for the time and for its effort. Indeed, he did one. • Prepare to answer to interviewees’ questions about the use of the interview materials in your research. • If any document or paper has been mentioned during the interview, be sure to have access to it. ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

  12. Bibliography Beaud, S. (1996), 'L'usage de l'entretien en sciences sociales. Plaidoyer pour l'"entretien ethnographique"' Politix, 35 (9), 226-257. Beaud, S. and Weber, F. (eds.) (2010), Guide de l'enquête de terrain : produire et analyser des données ethnographiques (4e éd. augmentée edn., Grands Repères. Guides, Paris: La Découverte) 333. Bourdieu, P. (2003), 'Participant Objectivation' The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 9 (2), 281-294. Chamboredon, H., et al. (1994), 'S'imposer aux imposant. A propos de quelques obstacles rencontrés par des sociologues débutants dans la pratique et l'usage de l'entretien' Genèses, 16, 114-132. Cohen, S. (ed.), (1999), L'art d'interviewer les dirigeants (Politique d'aujourd'hui, Paris: PUF) VI, 277. Laurens, S. (2007), '"Pourquoi" et "comment" poser les questions qui fâchent? Réflexions sur les dilemmes récurrents que posent les entretien avec des "imposants"' Genèses, 69, 112-127. ARS, General Sessions, Thursday 6th October 2011

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