In this chapter, we discuss the process of closing your research: writing a final report, presenting your findings and disseminating your thoughts. Conducting research is rarely for just personal pleasure and gain. The research is usually aimed at informing a wider audience (even if that is just your project marker!). The finished product (final report) of research, then, is just as important as the process of generating and analysing your data. Despite how well things may have gone during the research process, a piece of work is usually judged by the standard of the finished product (unless the reader was involved, there is nothing else to go on!). Whether we think it fair or not, the quality of the write-up is paramount. It is therefore essential that you can communicate in a clear and unambiguous manner the rationale for the project, the research process, the research findings and the main theoretical arguments to be drawn from your work. You will need to balance depth and detail with breadth to produce a well-rounded report, and to develop a coherent and consistent plotline that tells the 'story' of your research. Much of what we have to say in this chapter might seem like common sense, but we know from experience that the standard of writing up is extremely variable (even among top students) and often lets a good project down. While you may feel that the process of writing up is self-explanatory, we urge you to read through the hints and guidelines presented in this chapter and to take heed of our advice. Although also of importance, we do not consider English grammar or punctuation. Remember that spelling, grammar and punctuation errors will detract from your ability to communicate. If you feel that your writing ability does need to be improved, we recommend that you invest a little time and seek out appropriate advice. Access to a good dictionary and thesaurus are essential.
Many researchers consider the process of writing an important part of research. In other words, writing should not be viewed as just the finishing-off phase but rather as an important part of your analytical toolkit. Writing helps you to think through and reassess ideas and research undertaken. As such, rather than waiting until the whole research process is completed before starting the process of writing, we suggest that you try to write what you can in rough as each stage of the research is completed. This has two distinct advantages. First, the process of writing helps clarify your thoughts on a particular part of the research. As Wolcott (1990: 21) states, 'writing is thinking'. Second, the early organisation of material on paper will aid the writing of a final report. There is nothing worse than finishing the research and progressing to the process of writing up only to have forgotten why a particular strategy was taken or what particular results indicate. Moreover, any drafts will provide a rough framework to guide the structure of a final report and help overcome the problem of where to start. We recommend that you draft out rough summaries of all aspects of the research, including any thoughts and interpretations, as you progress through the project. This can consist of as little as detailed notes or as much as detailed drafts of sections/chapters. The process of writing begins as soon as you start to think and read about your research topic, even if this is just a series of notes on the back of an envelope. Indeed it is quite common for some project supervisors to insist that a detailed rationale for the research, and appropriate literature review, be completed before any research commences. In this way the research will be properly grounded, the project will be more focused, and a relatively time-consuming part of the research process will be complete.
One of the difficulties many students experience is knowing when to stop their research. If the project has been particularly successful there may be a reluctance to let go. You may be a perfectionist or you may feel that you have only partially completed what you set out to achieve. In many cases, student researchers are unaware that they have succeeded in completing a project - especially since most projects throw up,a whole new set of tempting questions to examine. A typical student concern is whether 'enough' work has been done. It is quite common for students to undervalue any research they have done so far, and assume that more and more work needs to be done. This is more likely to be the case for the postgraduate student who is often not as constrained by time. For many professional researchers, the process of research is continuous. The questions generated in one study form the basis for the next. However, even if they start a new project before the old one is finished, they are always careful to close a project fully - to write a final report of their findings. You must be able to make this break, to produce a final report. One of us recalls the pragmatic advice given to him when a PhD student, which was to spend your allotted number of months doing research, stop and immediately write up: simple! Of course, some people cannot wait until the project is finished and will rush to complete the process of writing up and submitting their work. These projects are invariably poor in quality, achieve low marks or are rejected by publishers. Probably even worse are those who never manage to make the break to produce a final report, whose projects or dissertations never seem to get completely finished. The worst kind of final report is one that never gets written.
There is more to writing a final report to the research project than just reporting the findings. In general, you will be required to reflect upon the whole research process from rationale to data generation and to concluding statements. It is important to remember that:
[A report of a research project] is far more than a passive record of your research and generally involves presenting an argument or point of view. In other words, it must 'say' something and be substantiated with reasoned argument and evidence.
(Barnes, 1995: 100).
The aim of the final report, then, is usually twofold. First, to report upon the research project - what was done, what was found. Second, to use your research findings to develop some conclusions - to explain what your results mean. The report should then be accessible to the reader with your conceptual ideas and empirical data clearly described and explained. In this section we detail the process of writing a final report: reporting the project and developing an explanation.
As Wolcott (1990) explains, writing up a project is informed by both the research process itself and the intended audience. In other words, the sort of study you undertook (e.g., qualitative or quantitative) and the position and competence of the people intended to read the final report should inform how you undertake the process of writing up and the dissemination of your research. We will address issues concerning the 'writing up and presentation of particular types of study later in the chapter. At this point, the most important question you need to ask is 'Who is the intended audience?'; 'Who am I writing for?'. If your research project was part of an undergraduate course then, in general, the intended audience is the project assessor. If your research was part of a postgraduate course then you might be writing several reports aimed at different audiences (e.g., the project marker, academic/non-academic journals, a summary report to your sponsors, a summary report to the people you generated data from). Different audiences require different reports which vary in level of detail and sophistication. Writing for the lay person who has no expertise in your area of study and writing for someone who is an expert in the field you have studied are very different tasks. The level of detail required to satisfy and inform an expert about your knowledge of the subject area might seem impenetrable to a lay person. This does not mean that expert reports should use over-complex language and seek to baffle lay people. Appropriate language should be used when addressing different audiences. Some things are complex and require specialised writing and notation (mathematical equations, for example). Similarly, a report to a lay person in plain English is no less valid than an expert report. The manner in which the report is written aims to explain the research process and findings in more simplified terms. It is a brave or brilliant person who believes that one report will satisfy all audiences.
The first rule of writing for a project assessor is to know the rules and regulations of the institution you are writing for. If the institution requires your final report to adopt a certain presentation style, you must implement this style. When trying to secure the best mark possible, there is little point in losing marks for the incorrect formatting of your text. The discussion throughout this chapter relates mainly to writing for an assessor. The most important thing to remember is that the assessor wants you to demonstrate that you know the subject area, that the project was well thought out using appropriate methods of data generation and analysis, and that you have interpreted the findings appropriately, developing a coherent and consistent argument. Your assessor is not expecting to read a Nobel prize-winning piece of research. He or she is, however, hoping to read a well-written account of a well-planned and thought-out project. Do not worry if your data generation was a disaster. As long as you explain the circumstances and suggest alternative research strategies you should satisfy the assessor.
Academic journals provide a specialised place in which to disseminate your research. They are usually peer-reviewed (two or three people read your manuscript to judge whether it is suitable for publication)
Box 10.1 Writing for an academic journal
and generally read by an expert group of scholars. It is extremely rare to see undergraduate projects published in a peer-reviewed academic journal, and then usually only with the help of the student's supervisor. However, it is now usually expected that coherent sections of postgraduate projects will be submitted for publication in academic journals. When writing for an academic journal there are a number of general rules to follow (see Box 10.1).
Research sponsors generally require a written report detailing the research they have funded or supported. The type and style of the report varies from sponsor to sponsor and you should seek advice as to exactly what they require. The report can vary from a very detailed report of all stages of the research project from rationale to conclusion, to just an executive summary detailing the main findings and conclusions. Whatever the type and style of report your sponsors will expect a professional production which they can distribute to interested parties.
In addition to writing a fully detailed project report you might also need to produce a lay-person report. The agency through whom you have obtained participants might want a report to circulate to any interested parties, or you might want to submit your findings to a generic (non-academic) magazine/newspaper. Occasionally, participants themselves would like to know about the main findings of the project to which they contributed. Writing a lay-person report can be extremely difficult. Research is generally a complex process, and describing the theoretical underpinnings, critically appraising the literature, detailing the methods of data generation and analysis, and explaining the findings without using technical terms, in a lucid manner that is understandable to all, is no easy task. Even if you have been trained to write in a technical manner then writing for a lay person can be difficult. We suggest that when writing for a lay person you should avoid technical language completely. If you are trying to describe a complex procedure or theory, then break down the text into a number of short sentences, each of which details a specific aspect of what you are trying to convey. Use everyday examples to illustrate your descriptions. Before you submit the work get friends or family who are lay people themselves (i.e., they have no real knowledge of the project) to read through your report. If they have to ask you questions of clarification or tell you that something is unclear, then you will need to redraft and refine your text further. Never assume that people wi ll under stand what you mean!
Once the audience has been identified, the process of writing the report can begin in earnest. However, this is rarely a simple, linear task. That is, most researchers will rarely start the writing process by drafting the introduction and progressing through each individual section until reaching the conclusion. Many start with rough sketches, building up drafts of each section these sketches might differ substantially from any drafts written as part of the research process. Only when a clear picture emerges of what is going to be said, and where it is to be said, is each section written up fully. Even then, the writing order of each section might not be progressive. For example, a section on 'methodology' might be written before the 'introduction'. Generally speaking, the process of writing up, like the research itself, is iterative. There is a sequential pattern to the writing, as each section is generally done in turn, but at any stage we can return to previous sections and update our thoughts and ideas, reshaping the text. With the advent of the word-processor writing up in an iterative fashion has become easier. It is now easy to move text around by cutting-andpasting, to rewrite sections and rephrase sentences without the page becoming a jumbled assembly of crossed-out jottings and rewritten passages. However the writing task is undertaken, you must remember that your ultimate aim is a report which communicates in a clear and unambiguous manner, has a good structure, and is presented in a professional manner. You should write using formal English - no slang, no colloquialisms, and no contractions (e.g., I'm, don't, isn't, etc.).
It is often difficult to know where to start. You have done so much work that the process of writing up your thoughts seems daunting. In other cases, you might feel that you have done so little, yet so many words are expected! You might simply lack motivation or are bored with the topic, or think that what you have done is not very good (most researchers have crises of confidence over the quality of their research). It is easy to procrastinate; to find reasons for putting off the process of writing. Regardless of how much you delay this process, you are going to have to start at some point if you are going to complete the research project and meet deadlines. If you are having problems getting started we suggest that you think carefully about what you want to say and why. Draft out a contents page, or play around constructing a chapter structure. Once you have a potential structure, start drafting what seems like the easiest section. This might be a methodology section where you just need to document what you did. Slowly build up a number of sections and then try to link them together. In this way your chapters and ideas will start to take shape. However much you procrastinate, it is important that you start writing. It is unlikely that you will produce a final report at the first attempt, but you will produce a draft from which you can construct a final report. Lofland and Lofland (1995: 205-212) provide some useful advice for getting your final report started and kept on track (see Box 10.2).
Remember that you should never underestimate the time it takes to write up a project. Writing can be extremely time consuming. For example, in many
Box 10.2 Getting the process of writing started and kept on track
Source: Summarised from Lofland and Lofland 1995: 207- 212.
three-year PhDs over one year may be spent writing up the research (we both know people who took a great deal longer!). We suggest that you should allow about 25-33% of your total project time for writing up. If nothing else, this will provide a buffer you can eat into if your research takes a little longer than you expected. Remember that time invested in writing up is time well spent - readers will judge the quality of your research project from your final report.
In general, the structure of a final report of a research project takes the form detailed in Box 10.3. This traditional format provides a strong organisational structure which ensures that all aspects of the research project are reported. The structure plan of a final report is the key to a well-organised and coherent report. In many ways, a final report should be told like a story - there should be a beginning, a middle and an end with a strong, coherent plot-line running throughout, linking all the intervening sections. Linkage is an important aspect of structuring your final report. Sections should be logically ordered and should link to the previous and subsequent sections. It is often useful to number sections using a hierarchical system as this allows the reader to determine how each section relates to others:
We would advise that you do not progress beyond a third or fourth level of numbering (i.e., 1.2.1.3). Although the structure of each chapter or section will be different, it is always advisable to start with an 'Introduction' (e.g., 1.1 above) and end with a 'Summary'. The introduction can be used to introduce the material which will be discussed, and the summary is a useful tool to recapitulate some of the main points made in the chapter/section. Although not numbered, each paragraph can be summarised and included within
Box 10.3 The general format for a research project report/thesis
Source: Adapted from Miller and Taylor 1987.
the structure plan as displayed above. Once a structure plan has been organised to the paragraph level, all that is required is to flesh out each paragraph with text. This is by far the easiest method to write a final report in the form of a report or thesis, although sometimes it is easier simply to start writing at the top left of the page and organise later! The latter approach can take considerably longer to complete, and it is often very hard to scrap a section of text if you later deem it to be irrelevant to your argument. Final reports that are poorly organised are difficult to read, often repetitive and should be avoided. The decision on what to include in a structure plan is not always easy. However, in general, your report should be structured around answering the following questions (outlined by Parsons and Knight, 1995: 112):
Notice how these questions are linked in a logical sequence that, if answered, will provide the story of your research. Remember, your report should start with the general (aims grounded in a wider context), move to the specific (what you did), and then back to the general (placing what you found into the wider context).
You do not have to stick to the structure outlined in Box 10.3. In recent years there has been a discernible difference in the structure and writing style of final reports produced by researchers who adopt different approaches to research. A traditional, academic report of a research -project is often a very staid, conservative affair which adopts a prescriptive approach to writing up. These reports are written in the third person (e.g., It was found ... ) and seek to be objective and neutral. Recently there has been an acknowledgement that research is a social process and that knowledge is rarely neutral or objective. Within approaches which recognise the social production of knowledge there has been a softening of the writing style and report structure. Reports often shift to the first person (e.g., I found that ... ) and there is a recognition that the research process is subjective and 'messy' (note that we are not advocating an 'I did this, then I did that' style of writing). While the final report is still structured and not just a chaotic collection of thoughts and findings, it lacks the formal prescriptive approach of a traditional report. For example, rather than there being formalised, separate literature review and methodology sections, these sections might be merged into a more specific discussion. Some post-modernist writers reject highly structured reports of research altogether and try to find a better way to convey the message they wish to impart.
While we would encourage you to think about writing styles, we must remind you that you are writing for an audience. If you are undertaking a project that is to be assessed by a firm believer in the traditional writing structure then it may be prudent to adopt this structure. If your assessor is more relaxed in their views on how the final report should be structured, then an alternative structure might be acceptable. If in doubt, we would advise that you take the more traditional route. We are aware of undergraduate dissertations that have received widely varying marks from different assessors (e.g., a 3rd from a traditionalist and a 1st from a more liberal assessor). In all cases, the writing style, structure and format were cited as contributory factors for the poor mark by the traditionalist assessor. Similarly, if you are writing for a journal or producing a report for a sponsor, make sure you understand the type of article or report that is required. If they do require a report of your work in a certain style, then it is prudent to supply what is requested.
As noted, writing a final report consists of more than just details about what you did and what you found. You also need to explain your results, to develop an argument as to what your research indicates, to demonstrate what conclusions can be drawn from your study. In other words, you have to link theory with practice. To link theory and practice effectively you need to be able to develop a coherent and sound argument as to why your conclusions are justified. For example, just because your statistical test says there is a positive correlation between two variables does not mean that they are related or tell us how or why they are related, just that there is a statistical association. Given the evidence gathered during your study, and from your reading of the literature, you need to try to deduce what the statistical association means to either construct a theory or verify/falsify a theory.
The rationale for the study and arguments you develop provides the context for the final written report and provides the link between the various sections. Your argument should be the strong, coherent plot-line that links all the sections into a 'story'. Each section or chapter that you write should add support to your argument. However, developing a coherent argument is not always an easy task. Not only do you have to make sense of your own findings but you also need to compare and interweave your interpretations with those of other researchers. In general, this means being able to make a critical comparison between your thoughts and those of other researchers. This does not mean that you set out to rubbish another person's work. Criticism is measured even-handed evaluation, not all-out attack. As such, you need to identify the quality of other researchers' data, the merits and limitations of other people's thoughts in comparison to your own, and why they might have come to different conclusions (e.g., their data were generated under different circumstances). Remember to keep your work on centre stage - it is often easy to shift the focus of your writing to other people's work, leaving your own in the wings. You are developing an argument using other researchers' conclusions for points of reference, not producing a literature review that also refers to your own conclusions. You need to control your sources with some care, moulding them to your purpose, rather than let their format and arguments guide your discussion. In general, the main thrust of your arguments is developed and explained in the discussion section of your final report.
As already noted, a first draft is rarely the final report. The process of writing consists of revising and editing - reworking the text into a suitable format. Revising concerns the content and consists of redrafting sections of text, whereas editing refers to the style and grammatical changes. There are several reasons why you might need to revise a text (see Box 10.4). Revision and editing are aimed at making your report as good as possible. Time invested in redrafting and editing is time well spent. While redrafting is a necessary part of the writing process you should be aware of when to stop. Some people find it difficult to accept that their text is sufficient - they want to continue redrafting in the search for a perfect manuscript. You should be aiming to generate a manuscript that you are happy with but not one that is perfect. A text can always be improved. Therefore, you should stop the process of editing and revising when you are happy that the text will satisfy the audience it is intended for, i.e., it is good enough. There are no general guidelines as to when a text is finished. We suggest that as a general rule, you put down your pen (or turn off your computer) when all the sections have been written, there is a strong structure, and the text reads in a coherent and consistent manner much like a story with a beginning, a middle and an end.
Box 10.4 Reasons for revising a text
Source: Adapted from Blaxter et al. 1996: 210- 211.
You should always write a final report with any word or length limit (number of pages) firmly in mind. Often, final reports will have word limits attached whether they be student projects, academic articles or sponsor reports. If you exceed any such limit, it will be at your peril. Most universities will penalise excessive length in a thesis or dissertation. In the process of planning and writing your report you should aim to write to the word limit. It is harder to condense and edit down text if you have overshot your limit, especially if you have to literally throw away text which you have written with great labour and care.
The easiest way to write to the correct length is to assign a set number of words or pages to each section, and then to stick to your plan. If you are finding it difficult to stick to your limits, edit the text, taking out all the minor points to leave just the most important, or recalculate the number of words per section, reducing the length of other sections. If at the end of the writing process you are still way over the length limit then you will have to edit your text further.
One problem that we regularly encounter from students is the attitude that 'I generated these data and analysed them and I'm not going to waste them even though they are not relevant to my arguments'. Students often feel that they have to include everything that they did. This is not the case. Project assessors and other readers want a report written like a good story. Most good stories do not go off on wild tangents or include information which has no relevance to the plot. You should therefore remove any repetition and unnecessary text. Although it is hard to specify any rules for determining whether material is relevant, if you are in doubt ask yourself the questions: 'Is this sentence/paragraph/section important to the development of my argument?', and ' What would be lost if I left it out?'.
Probably the most difficult type of editing is the reduction of the length of a completed manuscript. Imagine that you have finished the manuscript, that you are happy with the contents and structure, but in spite of the advice above, you have written double the word limit. How do you reduce the length of the final report? This is a difficult task - when you first look at the text every sentence seems important. Again, you need to decide what are the major points and remove all ancillary text. Remember, if you can sum marise the whole project in just a 200-300 word abstract you can reduce the length of the manuscript and leave the reader with a clear idea of what you did, what you found, and your conclusions. Blaxter et al. (1996: 212) provide some useful tips for reducing the length of your manuscript (see Box 10.5).
Alternatively, you may be having trouble reaching your length limit. This can be an equally difficult problem. How do you expand your writing without the text becoming verbose and unclear? Usually if the research project has been a success, there should be enough material to reach any word limit. If so, the report is often short because the author has left out material that they feel is obvious or unnecessary, particularly if they assume that the reader has some knowledge of the topic. This might be a fair point if their supervisor is an expert in the subject. However, the purpose of the report is to demonstrate to your assessor that you understand the problem, your analysis, and the results. In other words, your understanding needs to be spelled out as clearly as possible, even if the reader is an expert. One way to extend your final report, then, is to extend your description
Box 10.5 Reducing the length of the text
of the methodology, mindful of the points we have raised about relevance above. A more detailed description of some of the methods and procedures you used will clarify your analysis to the reader. It may also reveal that you do not really understand the details of what you did, but the onus is on you to ensure that you do! If the report is still not long enough then do not worry. If the project is sound and you achieved what you set out to do then you will still obtain the mark you deserve. Bigger does not mean better and repetition only serves to frustrate the reader. Most assessors will prefer a short, succinct, tightly written piece of work where there is no spurious material, to a long rambling epic! In the main, word limits are the maximum length of a final report, not the minimum. We suggest that as long as you manage to write about two-thirds of the length limit, you will not be penalised.
Finding a title for your final report might seem like an easy task. However, finding an appropriate and informative title can be difficult. You need to decide upon a title that conveys immediately the precise concerns detailed in your final report. This is particularly the case when you are writing for an audience beyond your immediate project assessor, where people often judge whether to read an article on the basis of its title. Moreover, with the increase in library search software, if keywords are missing from the title then your article might not be found. You can either utilise just one main title (e.g., Conducting Research in Human Geography) or attach a subtitle (e.g., Conducting Research in Human Geography: Theory, Methodology and Practice). The general rules for composing a title are:
The abstract is a 200-300 word summary (synopsis) of your research project. It seeks to boil down everything you have done, found and concluded to just a few sentences - no easy task! In the abstract you are trying to convey the essential essence of your research. It should clearly and unambiguously tell the potential reader exactly what to expect if they read the rest of the report. It should not just detail the results and conclusions but answer the questions (O'Connor, 1991: 70):
The abstract should be written in non-technical language and be understandable to a lay reader. Re member that the abstract gives the reader their first impression of the research. Time taken to express what you want to say in a clear, succinct manner is time well spent. One way to try to construct an abstract is to summarise each section of the report into just one sentence. In this way you say a little about the whole project. However, there must be a flow and linkage, with the abstract giving a strong sense of purpose. Refer to Box 10.6 for an example abstract. You should also browse through a selection of academic journals relevant to your subject area for more varied examples.
The introduction is literally what it says - it introduces the study, sets the scene, and provides the reader with an insight into what will follow. The introduction should provide a strong rationale for the research, detail and justify the approach used, and set out the main arguments developed throughout the thesis. This should start off in general terms and progress to the specific. For example, the first paragraphs should outline the rationale for study and overall aims. Here, the broad context of the study should be described. The following paragraphs should become more specific, detailing the exact aims and placing the study into a theoretical framework. Kidder (1981) provides the following advice for writing a good introduction:
Below is an abstract for a project entitled 'Issues of safety in spatial decision making'.
Form: Introducing statement, problem, aim, methodology, findings, conclusions.
Model: The aim of this project was to . . . This is important because. . . This follows from earlier research on this topic in that . . . The research was carried out by . . . It was observed/found that . . . This suggests . . . It is therefore concluded that . . . (Parsons and Knight, 1995: 121).
Example: Researchers of spatial decision making seek to understand how we decide where to go in the geographical environment and how to get there. Studies to date have mainly examined the effects of spatial layout upon spatial decision making. Other potential influencing factors such as safety and travel cost have largely been ignored. The aim of this study was to examine spatial decision making by comparing the influence of spatial variables such as distance, time and street layout with personal factors. Particular attention was paid to the influence of safety. One hundred residents of Swords, Dublin, estimated the relative importance of spatial and personal variables when choosing a route. Estimates were reported using a series of rating scales. Analysis revealed that personal factors were deemed to be more important in choosing a route than spatial variables. Safety was found to be of paramount concern. These findings indicate that research into the processes which underlie spatial decision making have neglected the role of personal factors, and issues of safety in particular. Given this concern, a new conceptual model of spatial decision making is presented. It is concluded that safety is the dominant, influencing factor in spatial decision making.
Tips:
In general, the literature review is a discussion of what other researchers have found and concluded on the topic you are researching. Primarily, it provides the context in which your study is situated. Secondly, it demonstrates that you know of and understand other research on the same topic. Usually the review is a critical appraisal of all the main theories and findings relevant to your topic. A critical appraisal literally means to compare assessments, identifying the main merits of a position and the main criticisms that can be levelled at an interpretation. It should provide a detailed and balanced picture of the various thoughts relating to a particular topic. The literature review should not be a sterile report of the writings of others, which seems divorced from the rest of the final report. It must be linked to the rationale for the study and provide an external context in which your study is grounded. In other words, it justifies your project - it should be obvious why you have chosen a particular issue to study once someone has read your literature review. Your thoughts relating to this literature should be interwoven within the text. This should not take the form of 'I think that this . . .'; rather your thoughts should be in the third person. In the following example, the second sentence (which we have italicised for emphasis) represents the writer's thoughts on another researcher's claim:
Invented (1997) argues that the spatial decisions people make are based solely on issues of distance and spatial layout. While there is truth in his assertion, it would seem intuitive that other factors such as safety also influence the spatial decision-making process.
In the literature review, you should present only the results or substantive findings from other writers. The findings of your research are presented, compared and contrasted with other researchers' work in subsequent sections on results and discussion. Remember, you are not seeking to incorporate everything that has ever been written on the topic in your literature review, but just the points that are relevant to your study.
The methodology section details the methods and procedures used, as well as the rationale behind the choice of methodology. Sufficient detail should be included to allow another researcher to replicate your study, if they so desired. You should include:
There are two ways to present the methodology. The first is to use a very prescriptive, scientific report detailing information in specific subsections. For example, section headings might be Approach adopted; Hypotheses tested; Description of study area; Sample population; Sampling procedure; Method of data generation; Method of data analysis. The second is just to present all the information in the form of a general methodological discussion. Studies that are more positivistic or quasi-scientific in nature usually employ the more prescriptive approach. Others are more relaxed in their presentation style. This section might also contain a section relating to the social relations of the research (how you were accepted, problems encountered, etc.). Remember that the quality of your data and the validity of your conclusions are judged from how your data were generated. Careful and accurate description of your methodology will engender confidence in your work, and allow the reader to assess in full the validity of your results and conclusions.
The results section details the main findings of the research and provides a summary explanation. It should include all the relevant results from the data analysis with an explanation as to what they mean. If you have tested hypotheses, it is here that you detail whether they can be accepted or rejected and interpret the significance of the outcomes. Whether to include a results section is a matter of choice. It is quite common to see the results of data analysis in a. discussion section. If you are using a scientific approach, we recommend that you keep the results and discussion sections separate. The results section is a more objective statement of what was found, the discussion section being a subjective interpretation of what the results mean. In the results section, you should (O'Connor, 1991: 64-65):
If you are reporting the results of statistical analysis, you will need to:
Where your write-up is the result of several years' research (for example, towards a PhD), then you may find that your results section will have to be broken down into separate chapters. This is particularly so if you are using a variety of different methodologies to analyse your data.
In the discussion section you seek to describe what your results mean, developing a logical argument (see the section on Developing your argument) based on the evidence of your results. In essence, the discussion section acts as a bridge between your results and conclusions in the context of the questions raised in the introduction, and literature surveyed in the literature review. The discussion turns your evidence (findings) into an argument which supports and illustrates your conclusions regarding these questions. In general, this will require you to compare and contrast your findings with those from other studies which were surveyed in the literature review. This will help to place your findings in a broader context and illustrate their importance. You should be careful to avoid the temptation to repeat earlier description from your results section, and distinguish between discussion based upon analysis and unsupported speculation. In addition, you should identify any potential errors in the work with suggestions concerning design improvements.
The conclusion is a summary statement of the main findings of the research and the conclusions that have been drawn from their interpretation. In essence, it is a summary of the problems and aims set at the start of the project, in the light of the results of your analysis and subsequent discussion, i.e., X was the problem, Y was the aim, Z is the answer. Within the conclusion, any shortcomings of the research are usually acknowledged, and an agenda for future research identified. When writing the conclusion, rather than just restate what you did and why, concentrate upon describing the main findings and their significance, and expound the main conclusions which can be drawn from the research. Your concluding statements should not be too long. Try to keep the conclusion concise and avoid unnecessary repetition of material stated in previous chapters/sections.
As a companion to the section above, we include some advice below on the more practical elements of writing a report. There are a variety of texts available which give advice on questions of style and format (e.g., Parsons and Knight, 1995; Miller and Taylor, 1987); however, beyond the basics, many details are determined by the guidelines and regulations supplied from the Faculty of Graduate Studies or the department of the university in which you are registered. In this light, the details given here can be used in the absence of any information, or as a general guide. The most important practical consideration, if you are writing your report yourself, is to keep copies of the text in a secure location, preferably in a separate building from your office (e.g., at home), and make regular backups as you progress through the writing process.
In the final report of a research project you should include a list of contents. This is to allow the reader to easily find information that may be of use. Generally, the list of contents consists of a standard set of components:
although strictly (as in Box 10.3) the list of contents refers to the chapter headings/subheadings. All chapter headings and subheadings should be listed, indented on the left side of the page, along with the page numbers on which they can be found on the right. Lists of tables and figures should also include page numbers and be recorded on separate sheets. Lists of abbreviations and mathematical symbols should be used only if their inclusion will aid understanding and increase clarity. The amount of time required to compile a list of contents should not be underestimated. Ideally, each component list should be compiled as the report is written, to save time and guard against the loss of information.
Your final report should be typed or word-processed. The presentation should be both consistent and appropriate, and conform to any thesis submission regulations in terms of line spacing, size and type of font used, and margin width. Each page should be neatly laid out, with chapter and section headings clearly distinguishable from the rest of the text. In this book we have chosen a standard form and size of headings. For example, from earlier in this chapter:
Writing-up and dissemination
The text should be divided into easily distinguishable paragraphs. All pages should be numbered. The contents pages and any preliminary pages are usually numbered using Roman numerals (i.e., i, ii, iii, iv etc.), with the numbering reverting to Arabic numerals starting from ' 1 ' at the beginning of Chapter 1. If your report is divided into chapters, start each chapter on a new page. A header may be placed at the top of each page, which may be used to indicate the chapter and/or page number. Throughout the process of writing the text, remember that presentation is important. A poorly presented report suggests a poorly conducted research project; consequently you should make every effort to ensure your text looks professionally produced.
Beyond simple mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, etc., you should include all statistical formulae, ideally as numbered equations centred within the text. You should be careful to use the full form of mathematical expressions, employ standard mathematical symbols, and fully define all variables. For example, to calculate a mean:
The correct use of the equation on the left - which uses more standard symbols - would be followed by a definition of the terms Xi, N and x̄. Although, strictly speaking, new terms will need to be defined only on their first appearance in the text, subsequent inclusions may increase the clarity of a complicated equation. As with all components of the written report, sympathy for the reader, who might not be familiar with standard notation, is essential. It may be helpful to provide a list of symbols in the Contents page, particularly if you employ a great variety of symbols. Similarly if you have used a standard statistical test upon your data, you should adopt a standardised style of reporting the results. There are several conventions used to report the results of hypothesis tests (cf Chapter 5). For example, if we had used a two-sample t-test to explore whether males and females differed in their ability to estimate distances, we might report the results: 'using a two-sample t-test (t = 0.52, p = 0.61) it was found that no significant difference existed between men's and women's ability to estimate distances' (remember that p < 0.05 means that a result is significant at the 95% level).
Tables, diagrams and maps can be extremely useful summary devices for conveying information or illustrating a point. However, they should be used only when relevant and must be referred to in the text. We have both marked student projects containing tables that are never referred to or explained and have been included only to demonstrate that they have been constructed, or to pad out the report. This misuse of summary devices detracts from the final report and serves only to frustrate the reader. You should use a table or diagram only when communication by textual means is ineffective or inefficient, and then there is no need for the information displayed to be replicated in a textual form as well. Remember, summary devices play a supportive role, helping you to illustrate the main points raised in the text. Where possible, you should produce any maps or diagrams using a computer. There are a variety of appropriate computer software packages, such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, with which you can construct high-quality illustrations. Other spreadsheet (e.g., Excel), graphing (e.g., Cricketgraph) and mapping (e.g., Map-Viewer) software can be used to ensure professional results. If you do not have access to such software, it is possible to use traditional cartographic techniques, using drawing pens and/or Letraset/Letratone (or similar) products, but the effective use of such materials requires some prior familiarity and training. Try to be consistent in presentation style. If you wish to reproduce someone else's table/diagram/map, where possible (and time permitting), rather than just photocopying and pasting it in, you should redraw it so that it conforms to your presentation style. The widespread availability of flatbed scanners enables existing material to be scanned into a computer and modified accordingly. For the purposes of an undergraduate or postgraduate project, you will not need to obtain copyright permission to reproduce a table, figure, plate, map or section of text of up to 200 words. For journal articles or a final report available to the general public, permission will have to be obtained from the copyright holder (usually the publisher).
Place your summary devices at appropriate points in the text. Space permitting, this is usually within the body of the text. If there is insufficient space at this point then the map or table can be placed at the top of the next page or the end of the following section. Do not place all your summary devices at the end of the relevant chapter or at the end of the report as this is inconvenient for the reader.
Not only do you have to decide whether a summary device would be the best way to illustrate a point but also what type of device is most appropriate. In many cases, this will be a commonsense decision. For example, a map is the most appropriate way to detail the location of a study area, and a schematic diagram is the most appropriate way to detail the relationships in a conceptual framework (see Figure 2.2). However, data can be presented to the reader in a number of different ways. For example, the same data could be presented within a table, as a bar chart, as a pie chart, or as a map displaying proportional circles (see Figure 10.1 ). In these cases, you need to decide which method of communication is most effective. As a general rule, graphic displays are more effective than tables. Whichever method of communication you choose you must ensure that your summary device is presented correctly (see Box 10.7).
Figure 10.1 Displaying the same data using different methods: (a) table; (b) pie chart; (c) map made up of proportional circles; (d) bar chart.
Box 10.7 Presenting summary devices
Tables
Graphs
Illustrations
Maps
Figure 10.2 displays examples of a draft and a final map of the same area.
Remember: You should list all figures, tables and maps in the contents pages at the beginning of the report.
Figure 10.2 (a) Draft map; (b) final map.
Box 10.8 An example of using qualitative sample data
It is clear from the analysis of the interview transcripts that spatial confusion is of paramount concern. As illustrated by the following interview extract, get ting lost or disorientated is a panic-inducing situation that all of our respondents feared:
RES B: I don't like it [being lost]. I hate being 'out of control'. It is not a good feeling. It can be an anxious feeling. It's also quite a confidence downer. All of a sudden you are not where you think you are and you fee l a bit stupid. You think any other adult could manage this and maybe you can't so you feel inadequate in some way.
As discussed in Chapter 8, qualitative data can be summarised using tables. However, it is more common for researchers who have used a qualitative approach to use sample sections from their data to illustrate their arguments. Here, sample data is interwoven into the text to illustrate typical (or atypical) responses. As with tables, diagrams and maps, sample qualitative data should be used judiciously. Do not fall into the trap of allowing your text to become a series of linked sets of data with little substantive discussion of their meaning. Sample data should only be used as supportive evidence. As such, your discussion should dominate the data, not the other way around. Dyck (1995) provides a good example of using data from interview transcripts to illustrate her arguments. When using sample data you should indicate to the reader the source of the statement while protecting the respondents' anonymity. We always use a standardised coding system. Our respondents become RES A, RES B, RES C, etc. or M1 (male 1), M2, ..., F1 (female 1), F2, ... A summary table to accompany these codes reveals more details about the individuals and the place and context of data gen eration. Through this coding system, all sample data can be placed in context. To indicate the use of illus trative sample data we suggest that you indent the text and use a different font/size. An example of using sample data is illustrated in Box 10.8.
All the material which has been derived from other sources must be referenced within the text and fully recorded in the bibliography. Failure to reference material is plagiarism (using somebody else's work as your own). Plagiarism is taken very seriously in academia and in many universities it can lead to failure and disqualification. There are various different ways to acknowledge the ideas of others within the text. These are often referred to as styles of documentation (Miller and Taylor, 1987: 115). The rules and form of documentation vary from discipline to discipline, and between universities; however, four general forms are usually used (Miller and Taylor, 1987):
There are also a variety of style manuals produced which describe the specifics of documentation for different areas of academic study. For example, Miller and Taylor (1987) list The Chicago Manual of Style and The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, and note that these form the basis of many US university thesis format requirements. The style of documentation we have chosen for referencing is similar to the author-date citation above, and is commonly referred to as the Harvard system which gives as a minimum both a name and a year reference in the text (see Box 10.9) and a list of full references at the end of the text. By referring to this reference list the reader can then track down that article themselves. In some cases you might decide that a fellow researcher has made a pertinent statement that you wish to quote in full. If the quote is short it is generally retained in the main text. However, if the quote is longer or has particular relevance it may be separated from the text and indented to distinguish from the rest of the text. When using a quote it is standard also to provide the page number from which the quote was taken. Box 10.9 provides sample illustrations of referencing the text and using quotes.
A reference list contains the full citations for the references and quotes referred to in the text. In contrast a
Box 10.9 Referencing and quoting
Referencing is used to acknowledge the use of other people's ideas or to refer the reader to a similar study. Text can be referenced in different ways but the text always includes the author name(s) and the date of publication. For example:
Made-up (1997) concluded that safety is a key concern in spatial decision making.
Safety is of particular concern in spatial decision making (Made-up, 1997).
For a second author also include their name (e.g., Made-up and Invented, 1997). Where there are more than two authors, use et al. as an abbreviation (e.g., Made-up et al., 1997). If the same idea or point has been made or illustrated in different sources use mul tiple references (e.g., Invented, 1995; Made-up, 1997). Order references either alphabetically or by year, but be consistent. If the same author published more than two articles in the same year and you want to refer ence both, indicate the difference (e.g., Made-up, 1997a; Made-up, 1997b).
Quoting consists of reproducing a statement from another person's report. As well as reproducing the statement, the author name(s), date, and page number(s) must be supplied. Short quotes might appear in the text. For example:
It seems intuitive that 'safety is paramount' (Made-up, 1997: 1), yet there are other factors which strongly influence spatial decision making.
Alternatively a whole passage might be reproduced (notice the indenting and different size font). For example:
As Made-up (1997: 1) argues:
Safety is of paramount importance in spatial decision making. Regardless of context and familiarity, all the adult participants in this study listed safety as their number one priority when selecting a route between destinations.
Quotes do not have to appear in full. For example, the middle of the previous quote could be omitted:
Safety is of paramount importance . . . when selecting a route between destinations.
(Made-up, 1997: 1)
bibliography is list of all references relevant to your research topic. There are many different systems for presenting a reference list which are variants on a theme. All contain the same information - the author, date of publication, paper title, publication title and, in the case of a book, the place of publication, or for a journal article the volume number and page numbers. Find out which system you need to use and then implement it consistently. Use all the correct syntax (full stops, commas, colons, abbreviations, etc.) and font style (e.g., italics or bold). Include all author names, even if you used et al. in the text. The list should be presented alphabetically using the author's surname. Every university and publisher we know insists upon a properly constructed reference list. Box 10.10 illustrates example reference list entries using a variant on the Harvard system.
An appendix contains material that the writer feels will supplement the final report in some useful way. A final report can have several appendices, each relating to a separate part of the study. For example, this book has three appendices. One contains lookup tables for different statistical tests, the second contains annotated and categorised data used when explaining qualitative data analysis relevant to Chapter 8, and the third contains the addresses of software suppliers. In general, appendices in student projects contain a copy of the method to generate data (e.g., the questionnaire used) and summary data (e.g., question returns). We suggest that where possible you should avoid the use of appendices. Where used they should contain useful information that does not sit well in the actual text. Appendices should not be used as an overspill section when the length limit in the final report has been reached, and they should not contain reams of example data.
The final product of research might not be just a written report. You may also have to make an oral presentation about your project details and conclusions to others. Perhaps more than anything else, the thought of talking in front of an audience causes con siderable anxiety. In such a situation, we are all nervous and apprehensive to some degree, particularly if the audience is comprised of our peer group. Fear of potential embarrassment is entirely natural! Few people have the natural confidence and oratory skill to captivate an audience, and very often those who do, have put in a lot of work and practice to do so.
Box 10.10 Constructing a reference list
An article:
Form: Author surname, Initial. (date). Paper title. Jour nal title, Volume (issue number): pages.
Example: Made-up, A. (1997). Issues of safety in spatial decision making. Geography Journal, 1(1): 1-10.
A book:
Form: Author surname, Initial. (date). Book title. Publisher, Where published.
Example: Made-up, A. (1997). Issues of Safety in Spatial Decision Making. Fake Publisher, London.
A chapter in an edited book:
Form: Author surname, Initial. (date). Chapter title. In, Editor's name and initial (Ed(s)) Book title. Publisher, Where published. Page numbers.
Example: Made-up, A. (1997). Issues of safety in spatial decision making. In, Invented, A. (Ed.) Spatial Decisions, Spatial Choices. Fake Publisher, London. pp. 21 - 30.
A paper on the Web:
Form: Author surname, Initial. (date). Paper title. Journal title (if appropriate), Web address.
Example: Made-up, A. (1997). Issues of safety in spatial decision making. Wonderful Web Journal, 1(1) <http://www.fakeuniversity.edu/>.
If the source has not been published:
Form: Author surname, Initial. (date). Title. Unpublished, Where written.
Example: Made-up, A. (1997). Issues of safety in spatial decision making. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
If the source is not dated:
Write 'n.d.' in date parentheses
If the source has been submitted and accepted for publication but not yet been published:
Write 'In Press' in date parentheses.
Reference order:
References should be ordered alphabetically by author. If there is more than one reference to the same author, order by year, e.g., Made-up (1992) comes before Madeup (1994). If an author has written a paper with someone else, list after the single entries, e.g., Made-up (1994) comes before Made-up and Invented (1992). If an author has written several joint papers, list alphabetically by second author, e.g., Made-up and Fake (1994) comes before Made-up and Invented (1992).
Presenting data orally is a task that many researchers have to undertake. This is especially true for postgraduate students who will often have to present their work at department seminars and are also encouraged to speak at regional, national and international conferences. Presenting a talk to other people is a skill which can be learnt and develops with experience. Box 10.11 provides some general guidelines. For further advice see O'Connor (1991). You should be aware that away from academia, a large proportion of skilled jobs require employees to present the findings of a small project or the thinking of a working group, so these skills are particularly useful.
Once you have produced a final draft before submitting your work we suggest you run through the following guidelines (see Box 10.12). These guidelines are designed to add those finishing touches so that silly errors or poor presentation do not detract from what you have written. Once you have checked the manuscript thoroughly, make the required number of copies plus two extra copies. These two extra copies are your insurance against the manuscript being mislaid or defaced. You can now submit the work confident that you have done your best.
You may feel that once you have submitted your final report it is time to put your feet up. In many ways you are right. However, the final report still needs to be assessed and the assessment dealt with. In many student projects, the assessment and mark is often final. There is, however, often an oral defence/viva which must be negotiated, and a right to appeal. A viva is where you discuss your project with an external examiner. If you strongly disagree with a mark you can appeal to the institution to reassess the mark awarded. This path should only be taken if you feel especially aggrieved. In the vast majority of cases, the original mark is ratified and in some the marks are even lowered!
If you have submitted your work elsewhere you may need to make alterations and resubmit the work in the light of suggestions and criticism. This is very common when articles are submitted to refereed journals. While criticism may at first seem difficult to swallow, you should try to look at it in a positive light. Instead of rejecting the criticism outright, sit
The main rule for presenting a talk is to prepare thoroughly.
Talk content:
Talk design:
Talk rehearsal:
On the day:
back and reflect upon what the assessor or critic has said and try to understand why such criticism has been made. In the main, criticism is usually constructive it is aimed at improving the final report. Try to use criticism positively either to make alterations to the final report or to help shape future projects. In general, those making any criticisms do so from experience, and often draw upon an expert knowledge of the field. This of course does not automatically make them right, but their views should be respected.
After reading this chapter you should:
In this chapter, we have explored the process of writing up your research into a coherent report and disseminating the work. Time and effort invested in writing up is well spent because it is often the case that a project is judged by others on the basis of reading the final report. Every effort then should be made to produce a report that is well written, coherently structured, balanced, and professionally presented. Central to your final report must be an argument that seeks to explain the rationale for the study and findings. This will provide the strong, coherent plot-line that links all the sections into a 'story'. The process of writing should not be viewed as merely part of the finishing-off phase, but rather as an important part of the research process. As such, we suggest that the process of writing up commences when you start the project. It is also important to remember that you are writing for an audience, to whom your report should be targeted. In the next, and final, chapter we offer some final words to conclude this book.
Barnes, R. (1995) Successful study for degrees, 2nd edition. Routledge, London.
Lofland, J. and Lofland, L.H. (1995) Analysing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis. Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
Miller, J.I. and Taylor, B.J. (1987) The Thesis Writers Handbook. Alcove Publishing Company, West Linn, Oregon.
O'Connor, M. (1991) Writing Successfully in Science. Chapman and Hall, London.
Parsons, T. and Knight, PG. (1995) How to Do Your Dissertation in Geography and Related Disciplines. Chapman and Hall, London.
Robson, C. (1993) Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner-Researchers. Blackwell, Oxford.
Wolcott, H. (1990) Writing Up Qualitative Research. Sage, London.
