Writing Your Report

1. Writing Your Report Qualitative Research Methods

2. Writing Your Report The Audience Know your audience & think about what they would want/need to know - Audience conjuring Tailor your writing to them - what to include - what to emphasize - complexity

3. Writing Your Report Setting a Focus Focus: states a purpose and then fulfills that promise - Should only be sentence or two = the critical sentence i.e., The purpose of this study is to. . . .

4. Writing Your Report Setting a Focus Often determined by audience Keep in mind the original purpose of the study Level/amount of information derived from data analysis

5. Writing Your Report Outlines Include major points to be covered Helps determine: - if you have enough information - the order of discussion points - possible number of pages devoted to each section

6. Writing Your Report Outlines Sets stage for first/rough draft Helps break the writing task into manageable units

7. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports No standard format! All reports include: - nature of the problem investigated - the way the investigation was conducted - the findings

8. Writing Your Report Features of a Good Report Shows the importance of the topics/issues being studied Contributes to existing research and/or theoretical debates Exhibits clarity at all stages Displays methodological rigour

9. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports The Title 1. Try to make it catch the reader’s attention & inform them about the main focus of the study

10. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports The Introduction Should include: 1. Why you chose the topic - the so what factor 2. Why this topic is of interest to you 3. The research approach or academic discipline used 4. The research questions

11. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports The Literature Review Purposes 1. To stimulate theoretical sensitivity & sampling 2. To provide secondary sources 3. To stimulate questions during data gathering and analysis 4. To be used as supplementary validation

12. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports The Literature Review The focus is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions Act as a guide to your topic/area of study Depth & breadth are needed

13. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports The Literature Review Types/Approaches to 1. Chronological - publication date - theme/trend 2. Thematic 3. Methodological

14. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports The Literature Review Additional information 1. Current situations 2. History 3. Methods or standards of how you chose the sources

15. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports The Literature Review When writing 1. Use evidence - i.e. multiple sources 2. Be selective 3. Use quotes sparingly 4. Summarize & synthesize

16. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports The Literature Review When writing 5. Use your own voice/style 6. Be careful when paraphrasing 7. Know that revisions will most likely be necessary

17. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Methodology: Typical sections 1. Participants 2. Design: quantitative or qualitative & specific method used and why not others

18. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Methodology: Typical sections 3. Procedures/steps: explain what you and your participants will do 4. Materials: Describe the materials, measures, equipment, or stimuli used - testing instruments, technical equipments, books, images, or other materials used 5. Results: briefly describe how results are analyzed and presented

19. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Methodology: Tips for writing 1. Always write the method section in the past tense 2. Provide enough detail that another researcher could replicate your experiment, but focus on brevity 3. Remember to use proper formatting 4. Proofread your paper for typos, grammar problems, and spelling errors

20. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Results/Discussion/Data: Most critical part of the paper First decide how you want to present and/or organize your argument

21. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Results/Discussion/Data: Criteria: 1. Significance of the data set and its social or cultural place 2. Sufficiency of the data, and coverage of the analysis 3. Transparency and repeatability of the analysis

22. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Results/Discussion/Data: Ask yourself: 1. What are the key concepts in the study? 2. How do my findings shed light on these concepts and the topics studied? 3. What has become of my original research question(s) and the literature regarding it?

23. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Results/Discussion/Data: Suggested content: 1. The relationship between the work done, the original research question(s) and the previous work done (a.k.a. the literature) 2. Limitations and what you would have done differently

24. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Results/Discussion/Data: Suggested content: 3. Any implications for policy and practice 4. Further research needed

25. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Results/Discussion/Data: Tips 1. In general avoid using subheadings 2. Make one point at a time 3. If your results are inconclusive, then admit it 4. Use transitional statements from point to point

26. Writing Your Report Components of Qualitative Reports Results/Discussion/Data: Tips 5. Write clearly 6. Do not make grandiose claims 7. Convince the reader - The reader not only needs to know why you interpreted the data the way you did, but must believe it!

27. Writing Your Report Writer’s Block Barriers to Writing: Angst over being able to organize thoughts/materials Angst over getting it “right” Think there’s only one right way to write something (preordained structure)

28. Writing Your Report Dealing with Writer’s Block Writing is a craft that requires endless practice Write as you go Try to visualize your audience & ask yourself is the sentence make sense to them

29. Writing Your Report Dealing with Writer’s Block 4. Revisit your materials/data Set deadlines Shift to a different medium Momentum is key – keep writing!