Lecture 8 Scientific Report Writing Skills July 2024

Scientific Report writing
Communication Skills
Lecture 8
Definition of a report
A statement of the results of an investigation or
any matter on which definite information is
required. These include;
1. Opportunities,
2. Problems and
3. Decision making
Reports are a highly structured form of writing
following universal conventions
Importance of reports
Reports are used for:
• Effective decisions implementation
• Or to provide solutions to problems.
The effective use of a report is influenced by the
sufficiency and the accuracy of the report.
Structure of a report
1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Table of contents
4. Introduction
5. Statement of the problem
6. Objectives
7. Significance of the study
8. Procedure/Methods
9. Findings/Discussion
Structure of a report continues
10. Conclusions
11. Recommendations
12. Reference page
13. Appendices Pages
Contents of a title page
• The topic investigated – It should be
comprehensively stated.
• Academic titles are scientific descriptions: The
words used in your title should clearly relate to
what you want to do.
• The name of the person who requested the
report/lecturer
• The author and the institution or organization
• Supervisor (if applicable)
• The date submitted
Abstract
• The Abstract consists of 150-300 words and is
a concise summary of the study.
• It should generally be an overview of the
study, briefly covering the background,
research significance, methodology, major
findings, and principal conclusion.
Table of contents
• Indicate all report sections with page
numbers
• Report sections to the lefthand side
and page numbers on the right.
• For accuracy and efficiency, it should
be the last section to be completed.
Table of contents
1. Introduction ………………………………………….. 1
2. Statement of the problem ……………………… 2
2.1
2.2
3.
Introductory section
• State the main focus of the investigation
• Explain the problem at a general level
• Explain the problem in a specific context
▪ Your area of investigation
▪ Facts to be backed up by previous
investigations
• Explain the interest of the investigator
Statement of the problem
• This also functions as an introduction to your

proposal. In this section, go into detail about
your topic.
• brief description of the area to be
investigated, INCLUDE HYPOTHESIS
• In this section you provide a rationale or
justification for why the research needs to be
done.
Objectives of the study (research
questions)
• Reducing a research problem to a question
• Clearly state what you want to do to resolve
the problem raised earlier. What do you want
to achieve?
• Objectives can be framed as a list of
hypotheses to be tested/questions to be
answered, or plain statements of intent,
depending on the topic of your research.
Hypothesis
In a research proposal
• Describes the results that the researcher
expects to find.
• It is a prediction about the outcome the
researcher expects
Methodology/Procedure
Designing your research
- Programme to guide researcher to collect,

analyse and interpret findings of the research
- Description of the operations to be
undertaken to elicit data.
- Quasi-experimental designs
- Non-experimental or qualitative research
- Quantitative research
• How did you collect or gather the
information
• Provide an accurate account of how
the investigation was conducted
• Literature review
• Questionnaire
• Interviews
(THE METHODS ARE LIMITED TO SUITE FIRST YEAR
STUDENTS).
Questionnaire
A series of questions are given to the research
participants to answer.
Questions are very clear and straight to the
point.
Indicate when an explanation is needed from
the respondents
Interviews
Students to find out the definition and
the different types of interviews
Research methods
• Quantitative research
• Qualitative research
Research tools :
Interviews
Questionnaires
Observations
Surveys
Qualitative Vs Quantitative methods
• Qualitative methods include focus groups, in-
depth interviews, and reviews of documents
• While
• Quantitative methods include surveys,
structured interviews & observations, and
reviews of records or documents for numeric
information
Qualitative is more in-depth information on a
few cases
On the other hand
• Quantitative is less in-depth but more breadth
of information across a large number of cases
• Qualitative research has unstructured or semi-
structured response options
• Where as
• Quantitative research has fixed response
options
• Qualitative research is text-based where as
quantitative research Number-based
• Qualitative research has no statistical tests
whereas quantitative research statistical tests
are used for analysis
• Qualitative research is less generalizable

while quantitative research is more
generalizable
• Qualitative research is more subjective:
describes a problem or condition from the
point of view of those experiencing it
• Quantitative research is more objective:

provides observed effects (interpreted by
researchers) of a program, on a problem or
condition
Expected results
• What do you expect to find.

References
• Follow the required conventions, be
consistent (i.e. decide on a referencing
method, and use that one throughout. For our
purposes, the CPUT Harvard method of
referencing is to be used.)
• All sources referred to in your text should be
fully cited in your reference list
Stages in report writing
• Clarifying the terms of reference
• Planning the work
• Collecting the relevant information
• Organizing and structuring the
information
• Writing the first draft
• Checking and redrafting

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Scientific Report writing

• This also functions as an introduction to your

Designing your research

- Programme to guide researcher to collect,

• Qualitative research is less generalizable

• Quantitative research is more objective:

• What do you expect to find.

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