HTML Preview Research Paper And Report Outline4 page number 1.
Environment, Behaviour & Society Research Group
RESEARCH PAPERS AND REPORTS
FOR HONS, MPHIL, PHD & POST-DOC STUDENTS
The below has been prepared to help all research students with the writing and organising of research
papers and reports including dissertations and theses. The first four pages, to the end of Methods,
are also relevant for research proposals.
What is a research paper or report, including a thesis report?
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• Form of professional documentation and communication
• Designed so readers can extract information readily and easily
• Describes research work in sufficient detail for it to be verified (and maybe repeated or at least
built off) by others
• Interprets/draws conclusions from data
• Places research questions and conclusions in context of related research work in the field
Language and style:
• Use objective language
• Avoid words/phrases with a meaning that could be misunderstood
• Avoid bias in language
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– scholarly writing should be free of implied or irrelevant evaluation of
a group or individuals being studied
• Ensure simplicity and clarity – ensure it is easy to follow your thinking
• Contemporary science and scholarship use the active voice as much as possible
• Use the past tense for things already done, eg, research methods, tests applied, etc.; use the
present tense for things that live on, eg, the findings and conclusions drawn
• Present information in a logical order for the reader
• The quality of your written communication will influence your reader’s understanding
• Follow a standard style guide – EBS and most of the social/environmental sciences worldwide
use the APA Publication Manual
• For dissertations and theses being submitted in Australia, use Australian spelling and
punctuation throughout; for manuscripts being submitted to a journal, follow the journal’s
guidelines
Research terminology:
• Use appropriate research terminology
• Define terms when first used; do not give list of definitions
• Write terms in full before using acronyms
A scholarly research paper, report or thesis has:
• An informative summary (the abstract)
• Subdivisions with headings and subheadings (two levels are quite sufficient)
• Main points made obvious
• All factual statements supported by references to peer-reviewed research or by data from this
study
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Parts of the first four subsections have been used by permission of Dr Meloni Muir, “Practical Report Writing”,
School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney.
2
See the APA Publications Manual (5
th
edition), section 2.12, pp 61-76 for an excellent set of guidelines for
avoiding unintentional bias in language.