Writing a Research Report following Implementation of the Research Proposal

              During the course EDUC 501 Educational Research, students write a proposal for a piece of action research that could be carried out in their classroom, school, or district.  Following the completion of the research class, students implement research and submit the results as part of the final graduation requirements for your master’s degree.  The proposal, thus, is modified into a research report.

 

The proposal and report both consist of three major sections—an introduction, the methodology, and a discussion—plus a reference list.  The exact headings and format are up to the individual student but the format must be clear and logical.  The following chart describes the transformation of the proposal into the report.

 

Research Proposal

Research Report

Title Page—This page includes:

  • Title of the proposal with the words “A Research Proposal” following the title
  • The author’s name
  • The name of the class
  • The semester and year during which the proposal was written
  • A header with the page number on each page

Title Page—This page includes:

  • The title of the report with the words “A Research Report” following the title
  • The author’s name
  • The institution’s name (Morningside College)
  • The semester and year of graduation, for example:  May 2008
  • A header with the page number on each page

Table of Contents—This page includes all major headings and sub-headings with corresponding page numbers.  All headings and sub-headings must match in the Table of Contents and in the text of the proposal.

Table of Contents—Revise this page to reflect any additional or different headings or sub-headings.

Introduction—This section sets the stage for the proposal itself.  It gives the reader the background needed to understand the proposal.  Why is the researcher doing this research and why is it done in the way proposed?  The introduction includes:

  • A statement of the problem that is the focus of the study.  This includes the context of the problem (make the problem personal): Who is involved?  Where does this occur?  Why is this a problem?
  • Review of related literature.  This is not an exhaustive search of everything related to your proposal.  Rather it is a select description of the information that has helped you focus your thinking and methodology. This section gives background to your methodology.  What have people done in this area or what are authorities saying about this area?  What has worked or not worked?  Will you use methodology based on someone else’s work?  You may not have found any research that is exactly like what you are going to do and that is fine, good in fact, because you will build your proposal based on what you have read in the literature.  The literature review is not meant to “answer” your question, rather it is meant to shape it. This section will contain citations (references to other people’s work). 
  • Hypothesis and variables.  This should flow from the statement of the problem and the review of appropriate literature.  The hypothesis may be stated in directional or null form.  You will need to operationalize the variables from your hypothesis so that the reader knows what you will be examining.

Introduction—This section will be nearly the same as that of the proposal.  The only changes that might occur include:

  • A revision of the details included in the context of the problem.  For example, you may report proficiency levels from a different school year or your class attendance might be different.  Make this information pertinent to the situation under which the research took place.
  • The hypothesis and variables section will likely be written in past tense; because the research has already taken place, and you are describing the process and results.

Methodology—This is the “how I will do it” section.  It needs to contain enough detail so that the reader knows what will happen. 

  • Subjects—Who are they? How many are there?  How were they selected?  Do they have any “special” characteristics?
  • Setting—Where will this research take place?  What kind of classroom or school or district is it? 
  • Treatment—What will you do and to whom?  How will treatments vary if there are multiple treatments?  What materials will be used if there are differing treatments?  If specialized methods are used, describe them briefly.  It is not necessary to include a blow by blow account of every day’s activities.  How long will the treatment last?
  •  Data collection/analysis—What tools will you use?  You need to be specific in identifying these tools.  For example, identify what reading comprehension test or what math achievement test you will use.  If you are designing a survey or other tool, include it in the appendix.  Describe how you will analyze the data.  Will you use mean scores, will you do a correlation, will you analyze trend lines, or what?

Methodology—This section will change somewhat from the proposal format. If you changed the methodology from that of the proposal, be sure to make those changes in the report.  You do not need to tell why you made the changes.

  • Describe the specific subjects selected, the setting under which the treatment took place, and the treatment itself.  You want to describe this in enough detail so the reader will get a good picture of what was happening throughout the research. 
  • Describe the data collection tools utilized, the type of data that was obtained, and the methods of analyzing the data in such a way that a reader of the report could replicate them.
  • Describe the outcomes of data analysis.  This might appear as (1) figures or tables that describe the findings in graphic form or (2) verbal descriptions that highlight the major results.  If you calculate differences in mean scores or correlation coefficients, include them here.   Make sure the results are related to your original hypothesis and variables.  This section was not included in the proposal because you do not have results until you implement the research.  
  • This entire section will be written in the past tense as well, because the research has been completed.

Discussion—Since this is a proposal, you cannot discuss actual results, but you can include the following:

  • What do you expect to learn?  What will you do as a result?  What will you do if the results are contrary to what you think (hope) will happen?
  • What are potential threats to the validity of this proposal?  What might you do to control them (and you may not be able to control some of the threats)?

 

Discussion—In this section you will do three important things:

  • Interpret and explain important results. 
  • Draw conclusions that state the solution to your original problem.  You will indicate whether or not your hypothesis was supported.  Under what limitations should the reader understand your conclusions?  These limitations are the threats that may have actually occurred during the research.
  • Make recommendations for the use of these results.  What will you do as a result of this research?  What do you recommend for others?  What further research might you or others conduct?
  • This section may be written in a combination of past, present, and future tenses.

References—This helps the reader go to your sources for more information.

  • Use APA style
  • Include all of the citations that are found in your proposal and no more.

References—This section stays the same.  If you have added or deleted sources as you revised your proposal and report, add or delete them from the reference list.

Appendices—Include data collection tools that you have designed for the proposal.

Appendices—Provide data collection tools and additional information about participants, data collection processes, or other procedures that clarify the Methodology section.