Mary E. Brown, Ph.D., Professor
Information Science

Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515

Department of Information and Library Science
Fax: 1.203.392-5780 / Phone: 1.203.392-5781
Toll Free: 1-888-500-SCSU, then press 4

Unit VII:
The Research Report

SELECTING EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION:
Statistical and mathematical copy can be presented in the text, in tables, and in figures. The main criteria for deciding among the possible presentation is Which presentation will best allow the reader to comprehend and compare results?

RELATION OF TABLES AND FIGURES TO TEXT
Tables and figures in research articles supplement rather than duplicate the text. In the text you refer to the table or figure and tell the reader what to look for in it and perhaps highlight its contents. However, if you discuss every item of the table or figure in the text, then the table or figure is unnecessary and should be removed. For example, in the text you might read "Table 4. compares the search success of children in grades 2 through 12. In the data we see three distinct segments of increasing success, each segment corresponds with a developmental stage. The overall trend shows decreasing success as the developmental stage increases." The table or figure would then show the details so the reader could follow the data, verifying the author's observations.

DEPENDENCE OF THE TABLE OR FIGURE ON THE TEXT
Tables and figures should be intelligible without reference to the text. Explain all abbreviations (except standard statistical abbreviations).

TABLE AND FIGURE TITLES
Give every table and figure a brief but clear and explanatory title. For example, "Mean Search Success Rates of Students by Grade Level."

WRITING FOR THE READER
When writing the text portion of your article, you need to have a clear vision of your audience or intended reader. If your intended reader is a practitioner [who is not a researcher], you do not want to burden the flowing text with statistics and you do want to present the results using terms and metaphors from the practitioner's experience. For example, "Grouping the students by Piaget's stages of development, Concrete Operational (grades 2-5), Formal Operational (grades 6-8) and Post-Adolescent (grades 11 and up), we see that as the child develops cognitively, search terms become more abstract and more compound and failure increases (see Table 4)."

PRESENTING STATISTICS IN THE TEXT
To include statistics in the text without unduly burdening the lay reader, place the statistics inside parenthesis. The lay reader will soon learn to skip over the numbers in parenthesis while reading the text and the research-knowledgeable reader will incorporate the material in parenthesis into his or her reading. For example, "Our seventh grade students demonstrated twice as many hierarchical moves (M = 6.30) as did our third grade students (M = 3.19)."

PARTS OF THE FINAL PROJECT PAPER

1. TITLE
   The title should summarize the main idea of the paper simply and with style. It should be a concise statement of the main topic and should identify the actual items or issues under investigations and the relationship between them. The title should be fully explanatory when standing alone. Avoid words that serve no useful purpose (such as to indexers). Do not use abbreviations in titles. The recommended length for a title is 12 to 15 words. For example, "Children's naming of subject categories: developmental differences in the invariant properties of category labelling."
2. ABSTRACT
   The abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the paper. A well-written abstract can be the single most important paragraph in the paper. The abstract is read first, may be the only part of a paper that is actually read, and is an important means of access in locating and retrieving an article. A good abstract is accurate, self-contained, concise and specific, non-evaluative, coherent and readable. The abstract should be 100-150 words and should contain the following:
   • the problem under investigation, in one sentence if possible
   • the subjects, specifying pertinent characteristics, such as number, type, age, sex
   • the experimental method, including the data-gathering procedure
   • the findings, including statistical significance levels
   • conclusions and the implications or applications
   For example: "The study addresses the observed problem of a static and low match-success rate between subject-headings and generated search-labels. Specifically, (1) the Òsearch term;Ó (2) characteristics of word(s) used as Òsearch term;Ó and (3) the effect of changes in those characteristics, as new word(s) are placed into the role of Òsearch term,Ó are explored. In a cross-sectional study conducted with students in elementary-, middle-, high-school, and college, four main conclusions were supported: (1) despite the apparent high match-failure, subject-headings concur with frequently named subject-labels; (2) developmental trends in naming of subject-labels are counter-productive to match-success; (3) initial match-failures can be improved by analyzing and altering non-semantic properties of the subject-label; and (4) skill in the categorization of thematic concepts may be improved by simulating the process by which knowledge of dimensions and degree of variability within a concept are acquired."
3. INTRODUCTION
   The introduction presents the specific problem under study and describes the research strategy. The opening paragraph should present the point of the study; how the experimental design relates to the problem; and what are the theoretical implications of the study and how the study relates to previous work in the area. The introduction should develop a background for your study by discussing the related literature, but do not include an exhaustive historical review. The purpose is to place your study within the context of the existing literature. Where there is little current literature addressing your area of study, this should be noted. Generally you will do this by stating where you searched and what you found. For example, "A search of PERIODICAL ABSTRACTS (PABS); ABI INFORM, ERIC, and PSYCINFO databases revealed that little empirical research has been done in the area of evaluation of print publication for tenure and even less has been done on evaluation of electronic publication evaluation for tenure; this verifies Cronin & OverfeltÕs (1995) earlier findings of lack of research in P&T policies regarding electronic publication."
4. METHOD
   The method section describes in detail how the study was conducted. View the method section as a recipe by which the reader could exactly repeat your study. Subsections include Subjects (who participated in the study, how many participants were there, and how were they selected); Instruments (briefly describe the materials used and their function in the study); and Procedure (summarize each step in the execution of the research).
5. RESULTS
   The Results section summarizes the data collected and the statistical treatment of them. First briefly state the main results or finding then report the data in sufficient detail to justify the conclusion.
6. DISCUSSION
   After presenting the results you evaluate and interpret their implications, especially with respect to your original question or goal. In the discussion section you are free to examine, interpret, and qualify the results, as well as to draw inferences from them. Begin the discussion with a clear statement of the support or nonsupport for your original question or goal. You need to include discussion of what your research has contributed to the field, how your study has helped to resolve the original problem, and what conclusions and implications can be drawn from your study.
7. REFERENCES
   The reference citations document statements made about the literature. All citations in the text must appear in the reference list and all references must be cited in the text. See the instructors website for a brief guide to APA style for citations and references.
8. APPENDIX
   A appropriate use of the appendix for your project is to include a copy of all research materials, such as letters to participants, questionnaires, etc.

1. Complete initial draft of report of your pilot/full study and post a copy to the appropriate discussion thread.
2. Identify the paper of a classmate's your would like to critique (see discussion threads); "claim" the paper by Replying to it, stating you will be critiquing it (see Unit VIII).
3. Continue revising draft of final research project paper.