1. Research Writing • Like any writing, • Know audience • Know Story/Message/Subject • Follow Formats for Outlet • Research Style • Objective, Factual • Impersonal • Dense, concise, logical

2. Sections • Abstract – Executive Summary • Introd/Problem statement • Objectives • Lit Review/Background • Methods • Results • Discussion, Implications • References

3. Problem Statement • Introduce topic and key concepts • Show your knowledge of subject • Justify importance of problem • Fit study into larger context, delimit it • Work from broad to narrow • Lead up to objectives

4. Objectives • Concise 1,2,3 listing • State as questions to answer, hypotheses to test • In evaluation study, clarify evaluation criteria

5. Lit Review • Research Report • Link study to past research • Provide further background on subject and methods • Evaluation Study • Further background on program being evaluated • Link with other studies, plans, …

6. Methods • Study population • Sampling Procedures • Defn of concepts/variables • Measurement • Reliability / validity • Data gathering/Field procedures • Analysis plan

7. Results • Objectives provide structure here • Concise, precise, factual • Save discussion, interpretation for next section • Use Tables and Figures effectively

8. Discussion • Add your interpretations of results here • Discuss limitations and generalizability • Implications of results, recommendations, if appropriate • Suggestions for further research

9. Three Audiences/styles • Researchers – research journal style • Technical, methods, statistical tests • Managers – business style • Results and implications • Public – newspaper style • Interesting, no jargon, highlights

10. Reporting Formats • Written Report • Oral Presentation • To an individual or small group

11. Written/Research Problem Objectives Methods Results Discussion Oral/Business Objectives Key Results & Recommendations Justify from study Brief methods Discussion Research vs Business Reports