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OUTLINING A TECHNICAL RESEARCH REPORT
Before research begins, write an outline. This will guide your research, and will form the basis of the introduction to your paper. The outline doesn’t have to be very tidy, but it should include the following:
TOPIC: The Use of Flash in Website Development.
PURPOSE:
State why you are writing this paper, and for whom. For example, you might state the purpose as follows:
“The purpose of this report is to assess the value of Flash in enhancing website content.”
LIMITS OF THE REPORT:
To direct your research and reporting to a focal point that has meaning to the audience, it is usually necessary to create certain limits beyond which the report will not be concerned.
For example:
“This report deals with the experience of four Vancouver web developers in using Flash.”
METHODOLOGY:
Identify the sources you will use in finding out information about the topic. These may include books, periodicals, interviews, Web text, or questionnaires you devise.
FINDINGS:
You won’t know your findings when you outline, but you may have questions you hope to answer: How many people viewing a Flash Website return to it? Do they buy goods or services? Do competitors who don’t use Flash report higher or lower sales? Etc.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
These will also depend on your findings: It may be that Flash is absolutely critical to certain kinds of site, or has no measurable effect on site visitors. Your recommendations will follow logically from your findings.
After research is complete, you will add a THESIS STATEMENT to this outline, which will complete the Introduction to your final paper.
DRAFTING A RESEARCH REPORT
Once your research is complete, draft the report.
INTRODUCTION: TELL US WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO TELL US. In your outline, you decided on purpose, limits and methodology. Include these in your introduction. (Methodology often gets a section of its own.)
Your introduction needs one more thing: A THESIS.You won’t write a thesis statement, however, until after you have drafted your conclusions. So leave a space for it.
BODY OF THE REPORT: TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW. What did you learn? Do you trust what you’ve learned?
Organize your work and use headings to indicate the categories you’ve used to think about the topic.
CONCLUSION: Tell us what we should do about what you’ve told us: invest in learning Flash, find some other application, get out of e- biz altogether.
CREATE A THESIS STATEMENT: Based on your conclusions, can you state what the main argument of your paper is? You may need to re-organize some of your data when you write the final report, to make the strongest possible argument.
THE THESIS STATEMENT FITS INTO THE END OF YOUR INTRODUCTION. Go back to the Introduction and insert it.
ENDNOTES: (SOURCES, WORKS CITED.): You will save time if you create a list of Works Cited when you begin research.
ABSTRACT: In not more than 10% of the total report length (and maybe much less), you will explain your purpose, methodology, findings and recommendations. This will go on a separate page at the front of the report.
Vocabulary for Reports
Here are some words that may help you write a report.
1.In the Introduction, you need a statement of purpose. Here are some words that may help:
The purpose of this report is to . . .
account forsummarize
describerecount
explorepresent
investigatecharacterize
set forth
outline
describe the life and work of
2.Your thesis statement should be focused enough to give you ample guidelines for constructing an argument:
For example:
Success in selling books online depends largely on the way customers can navigate on the bookseller’s Website.
3.Body of the report, or your findings:
If your purpose is tothen
account for somethingexplain it
describe somethingdo that
argue for a pointgive evidence
investigategive facts
summarizeprecis the facts
narratetell the story
characterizetell about and
categorize, with
judgement
set forthpresent, in order
provegive evidence and show why it
matters