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CHCPOL403B: Undertake research activities

Report the findings of the research

Contents

Report complete and accurate details of the research methodology, information and analysis in an accessible and useable style and format 3

Reporting on the findings 3

Writing research reports 4

The structure of your report 4

The analytical report 6

Complete and write up the report 7

Provide opportunities for validation of research findings 11

Validation of the research findings11

Report research results and make them available to all relevant stakeholders 12

References 14

2 Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPOL403B: Reader LO 10324 © NSW DET 2010

Report complete and accurate details of the research methodology, information and analysis in an accessible and useable style and format

Reporting on the findingsYou may have to make various decisions about how text and tables will be presented. This may involve decisions as to what will be included and what will be dropped as superfluous or redundant. What you should include in the report is all the information needed to make well-informed decisions in relation to the research hypothesis. The text should be cross-referenced to tables, charts and graphs so that the reader can read them in conjunction with one another.

Readers should be able to link recommendations with the facts found in the text. They should never be left wondering why a particular recommendation has been made. In some cases it may be advisable to support the argument given in the text with other sources. For example:

• appendices—documents, reports, tables, etc, found at the end of a report

• footnotes and endnotes—added comments providing further information to readers wanting more information

• bibliographies—books and articles relevant to a fuller understanding of the subject matter.

In this final topic you will learn how to write up the results of your research and to present your research to make the information accessible and useful.

Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPOL403B: Reader LO 10324 3© NSW DET 2010

Your report needs to clearly link recommendations with facts

Writing research reportsOnce you have gathered all your data in your research project, you will need to collate and organise your findings and write up a report. Crockett, 1990, outlines some important considerations when writing a research report:

In presenting the data some form of written report or paper is essential. Such a report is more likely to be a success if it conveys a number of specific messages rather than a broad spectrum of generalised information. The report should follow a logical progression, give precise statements on the conclusions, which have been reached and, if appropriate, make recommendations for future action. It should clearly distinguish between verifiable facts and opinion and interpretation. Careful consideration should be given to language and grammar as well as the design and layout (for example graphs and tables may add to the quality of the report). A preponderance of graphs, diagrams and charts however may be just as confusing as many pages of text so it is important to strike a balance. A careful study of other reports may be helpful in planning the design.

Activity 1

The structure of your reportA short report may consist only of:

• purpose• introduction• discussion• conclusion


• recommendations.

In addition to the above, longer reports may also contain:

• front matter such as cover page, table of contents, list of tables, graphs and figures

• definitions and terminology• scope• method and technique used• statement of the issue• findings• end matter such as bibliography, appendices, index.

In some cases a reader may want to be led through all the facts before reading a discussion, conclusions and then recommendations. If a reader is an expert in a field they may only want to see the recommendations and do not need convincing. Here are two different orders and an explanation of why they were chosen.

Indirect order• introduction• findings• discussion and analysis• conclusion• recommendations

In the indirect order you save the conclusion and recommendations until last because the receiver:

• might resist your conclusions because they either contain bad news or are contrary to the receiver’s opinion

• will not understand your conclusions until he or she reads the rest of the report.


Direct order arrangement Choice 1 Choice 2introduction recommendations

recommendations introduction

conclusions findings

findings discussion and analysis

discussion and analysis conclusion

In these structures you present your recommendations early in the report. Reasons for this may be:

• that the report contains good news for the receiver and you want to focus the reader’s attention

• the receiver has enough background to understand the recommendations without having to necessarily read the rest of the report

• the report may be easier to read because the recommendations provide a framework around which to interpret the detailed information in the body.

The analytical reportHow do you present information that is analytical as opposed to numerical? There is a sample analytical report in the appendix to this learning topic.

So far we have written only what is called the body of the report. Now we need to add other parts to our report, before and after the body.

What comes before the body is called the front matter or prelims. It identifies the report and gives the reader a means of gaining access to the information.

What comes after the body is called the end matter. It provides extra information that the reader may want to know.

For a complete look at the format of an analytical report, see the Appendix to this learning topic.

Front matter• Title page: title of the report, your name as writer and the date• Table of contents: list of the major headings in the report, with page

numbers (if longer than about 15 pages)


• Table of illustrations: list of all illustrations by number caption and page number

• Summary: sets out the main information of the report in short form, say 100 words or less. It includes the statement of your problem, the statement of your solution, and your recommendations.

Always provide a title page and summary. Provide a table of contents if you have written a long and complex report, and a table of illustrations if you have included any pictorial material.

End matter• Glossary: a list of any technical or unfamiliar terms with a short

definition• References: acknowledges the specific use of source material• Bibliography: list of all the source material you used to prepare the

report• Appendices: raw data or additional material of use to the reader, but

not needed in the body of the report. You should also put in an appendix any large material such as maps.

Provide any of these only if they are needed. None of them is essential.

Complete and write up the reportWhen you have analysed data gathered in a research project, you will need to write it up in a clear, detailed and accessible report. Some important considerations when writing a research report are:

• keep the writing clear and concise, using plain English rather than jargon whenever possible

• follow a logical progression and use clear headings and a contents page in the report so the reader can easily dip into the sections that interest them

• clearly distinguish between verifiable facts and your own opinions and interpretations in the report

• try to strike a balance between illustrative material (such as graphs, diagrams, photos and charts) and text in your presentation of the report

• make recommendations for future action.


The report formatThere are of course many different ways to format and present the research findings. Below is an example of a basic and simple format used in many research reports for you to follow as a guide. This format is better suited to some research projects than others. Discuss alternative reporting formats with your teacher if you feel this will not suit your project.

The headings in this type of format are as follows:

Title or cover pageA snappy title that conveys the essence of the report and that raises the interest of the reader is best. Make sure it contains the key words other researchers might need to find your results when they are searching, eg ‘Talking Butterflies: Research with young children” engages the attention with the first section but contains the key words for a web-based or library search where your research is to be shared.

ContentsClearly signpost the headings and page numbers in the report for the busy reader.

SummaryThe summary is a brief synopsis (usually half to one page in length) of the whole report. It gives an overview of the problem or question, research methods used and the main findings. The summary is written last but appears on the first page of the report. The summary is important because many people will only read this bit. This section is sometimes called the Abstract when research is published in journals.

Activity 2a

Activity 2d

Background The background is a brief introduction and statement of the problem. It should give the rationale (or reason) for why the research was undertaken.

Literature reviewThe literature review summarises what other researchers have found and written about previously on this related topics. The findings from the literature review


should be summarised, discussed and properly referenced. Clear connections should be made between the literature review and the research you have done.

MethodologyThe methodology section should describe:

• the research methods used and reasons for the method or mix of methods used

• the size and type of sample selected• the method/s of data collection• how and why each of these approaches were selected.

ResultsThis section reports on the response rate and the main responses or findings of the research. The results should be grouped according to topics—the questions should form a good guide to this. You can report your results in words, graphs, tables, photographs, other graphic representations or with a mix of reporting approaches. Keep your report-reading audience in mind when you decide how to report. It should make sense to them and be interesting.

Discussion and conclusionsThe discussion should comment and expand on the research findings (see Results section). Quotations from the literature review can be used to back up the comments. Any conflict in the data should be discussed, as well as any comments on how the results confirm or differ from previous research discussed in the literature review. Where you think your methodology could have been better or it may have affected the outcome, eg in how you chose the sample, state it here before your critics pick it up! The discussion should finish with conclusions and refer back to the original statement in the Background.

RecommendationsRecommendations are actions or changes you believe should result from your research findings. Recommendations are best made in statement form. They should be brief action statements and should flow logically from the findings. You may want to use bullet points or number them and state who has responsibility for each of them.

ReferencesAll references used in compiling the report should be listed in alphabetical order with full bibliographical details


Activity 3

Attachments Attachments should include one example of any questionnaires or research tools used, your introductory letter and any other material you have developed for the research project. Label them in order, eg Attachment 1, 2, etc, and make sure they are on the Contents page.

Resources for research report writingMany of the universities have advice on their websites about research report writing which you may find useful if you are not confident with written reports. For example, the following website gives tips for clear report writing.

Quoting, citing sources, and referencing—University of New South Wales: http://writingworkshop.edtec.unsw.edu.au/quote.html

Writing and style guides on the World Wide Web—University of Adelaide: http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/hum/english/E_style.html

My Research—Charles Darwin University: http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/myresearch/index.html

Writing skills—Curtin University of Technology: http://startup.curtin.edu.au/study/literature.html

Writing a literature review—RMIT: http://aps.eu.rmit.edu.au/lsu/resources/projects/lit_review/index.html

Harvard style—referencing online sources—University of Southern Queensland: http://www.usq.edu.au/library/infoabout/ref_guides/harvardonline.htm

Guides to referencing and citing—Griffith University: http://www.griffith.edu.au/ins/copyright/content_citation.html


http://www.griffith.edu.au/ins/copyright/content_citation.html

http://www.usq.edu.au/library/infoabout/ref_guides/harvardonline.htm

http://aps.eu.rmit.edu.au/lsu/resources/projects/lit_review/index.html

http://startup.curtin.edu.au/study/literature.html

http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/myresearch/index.html

http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/hum/english/E_style.html

http://writingworkshop.edtec.unsw.edu.au/quote.html

Provide opportunities for validation of research findings

Validation of the research findingsAsking for feedback about your findings at all stages of the research project will help to validate your findings. You will be very aware of the responses of all who have been involved in the project if you have taken a participatory approach to your research design.

It is often a good idea to provide a draft version of your report to a few key people who can give feedback before the final report is published or disseminated. Wadsworth (1997) points out that doing this has the following advantages:

• You have the opportunity to check that what you thought people said was what they really did intend to say. This is the opportunity for them to say ‘that’s not what I meant’.

• You can sound out your hunches and theories. This is the time to get support for your conclusions or for people to say ‘that’s not what it means’.

• You can get united understanding of and support for the research results.

Where your results differ significantly from the outcomes you might have predicted from you literature review, it is worthwhile discussing this with another researcher in the area, eg through TAFE or university. This will help you justify your findings by incorporating their suggestions.

It can be very threatening to send out your draft to others for comment and even the most experienced researchers will feel a pang of anxiety at this point. It is important to send it out with an open attitude to the feedback and a willingness to discuss feedback further with others. Through this important part of the process the research itself will be validated and enriched. Try and move past the anxiety it might generate though!


Report research results and make them available to all relevant stakeholders

At the dissemination or sharing phase of your research report you need to seriously think about who you want to know about your findings, why you want them to know and what the best way is to let them know.

The stakeholders and participants will no doubt be interested in your findings. You will need to report your findings in a number of different ways to suit your audience.

For example, if children have been participants in your research, you can provide a shortened, chatty and plain-English version of your report with pictures or illustrations that can be read and shown to them, explaining your main findings. If you have had participants from a non-English-speaking background you can have the main findings and recommendations translated into their first language. Some participants and stakeholders will prefer a verbal presentation of your findings, perhaps at a meeting. Verbal presentations are effective when they are accompanied by visual aides, such as photos, charts, graphs, posters and video clips that illustrate aspects of the research project and findings.

Hopefully you will feel that your research will contribute positively to the needs of the group you have researched. People will have contributed their time and thoughts to your project and you have an ethical responsibility to report back on your findings.

This could take a variety of forms, such as:

• presentation to the management committee or staff of the service where your research was conducted

• presentation to the parents or carers of the research participants• an open community presentation and discussion of future action, eg

through a public meeting• presentation to the participants themselves with discussion as to the

action they would next like to see on the issues• a report on your research within a relevant industry journal or

newsletter, with contact details for people can find out more. This will


disseminate your finding more widely to your industry stakeholders who may be grappling with similar issues.

When dealing with children, youth, minority groups and those disempowered within society, the differences in power between the participants and the researcher become most obvious at the reporting stage. It is the researcher who generally interprets the data unless the research is fully participatory. The researcher’s interpretation therefore takes the dominant voice in the discussion of the outcomes, often at the risk of misinterpreting what has been shared.

You can overcome this by working with research participants so they are involved as far as they are willing with the presentation of the research. At a recent conference around the needs of children in out-of-home care, a group of young people involved in a research project told their stories to the researchers as part of the presentation. While some found this a very difficult process, the impact of the research on the audience was increased significantly and the satisfaction of the young people in successfully completing the research cycle was obvious. The young people also presented and spoke to the recommendations, using their own stories to illustrate the urgency of the needs. They demonstrated a significant understanding of the research and its need, and a strong commitment to lobbying politicians and bureaucrats to meet the identified needs.

You may not be able to include your participants this fully, but where you can the impact of the research is stronger on the audience, ensuring they are more open and sympathetic to the recommendations.

Activity 5

We have looked at formal written report formats, strategies you can use to validate your report findings with participants and stakeholders, and considerations when deciding how to disseminate your findings.

Finally, if you have to physically give a presentation to an audience, remember:


ReferencesWadsworth Y (1997) Do It Yourself Social Research (2nd edn), Alle


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