Chapter 1 Mulugeta

Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle
School of Civil Engineering

Technical Report Writing and Research Methods
(CEng3192)
By :-Mulugeta T. (MSc.)
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Chapter one
Introduction to scientific writing
Contents :
 Introduction to research and scientific method
 Scientific writing types
 Elements of scientific report
 Research methods
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Introduction to research and
scientific methods
 Science is an intellectual activity carried on
by humans that is designed to discover
information about the natural world and to
discover the ways in which this information
can be organized into meaningful patterns.
 Research refers to
 The investigation or experimentation aimed at the
discovery and interpretation of facts.
 Revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of
new facts or practical application of such revised
theories or laws.
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Cont.…
- Scientific method refers to the principles and
procedures for the
 Systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the
recognition and formulation of a problem
 The collection of data through observation and
experiment and
 The formulation and testing of hypothesis
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Scientific Writing Types
 Scientific writing is a technical form of writing that
is designed to communicate scientific information
to other scientists.
 Depending on the specific scientific type—a
journal article, a scientific poster, or a research
proposal, for example—some aspects of the
writing may change, such as its purpose, audience,
or organization. Many aspects of scientific writing,
however, vary little across these writing types.
5
Cont.….
 Generally there are three kinds of scientific
writings. These include
Theses or Dissertations,
 Books or Book Reviews, and
 Scientific Paper writings.
 Scientific writings are written based on two major
components and possibly using three
combinations. That is; they are based on research
or literature reviews or both.
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Elements of scientific report
 Scientific reports are typically used by researchers
to present the findings of their investigations that
they have undertaken to the wider scientific
community.
 It is difficult to be prescriptive and state exactly
how to structure a report because some variation
exists between different report types.
 Overall, the structure of a scientific report is
similar to a structure of academic articles, which
include the following parts:
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Elements of scientific report
Element Purpose
Title To sum up your work in a single phrase or sentence. It needs to be
clear, specific and brief; its meaning should be obvious to most readers.
Abstract/ To summaries the entire report for quick reading. It should include your
summary reasons for doing the work, your methods, your findings, and your
conclusions. It needs to be both interesting and easy to read
Introduction To state the research problem, establish your hypothesis, provide
justification and state the methods, results and conclusions.
Materials and Provide an extensive protocol for your experiment which can be
methods repeated by others.
Results and To present your data in a manner that is easy to read and interpret and
Discussion To discuss the relationships between your results and how they relate to
your initial objectives and hypotheses.
References To acknowledge sources in order to avoid plagiarism and strengthen
your arguments with support from the existing literature.
Acknowledgement To thank those who were directly involved in your work.
Appendixes To present additional data that is too extensive to be included within
the main body of the text.
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Research Methods
Research is the way of
• critical investigation for examining the various
aspects of the hypotheses or problems under
consideration;
• understanding and formulating guiding principles
to govern the research procedure; and
• developing and / or testing theories for the
enhancement of the existing situation, state or
process.
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Cont..
 Research can either be a theory based (deductive –
hypotheses based) or a problem initiated for theory
contribution (inductive) or a mixed approach to
research.
 Philosophy of science is commonly related to the
Ontological, Epistemological and Methodological
assumptions along with subjective and / or
objective dimensions or perspectives.
 The Theory of Society however bases largely on
reflections related to a regulated radical change or
dimensions to research at different times, in
different schools or perspectives or paradigm.
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Cont..
Ontology
Epistemology
Frame of reference
Concept Methods
Problems
Fig 1: Conceptual framework for analyzing methodological
supposition 11
Research types
 Following these basic ontological assumptions and
epistemological instances, researches are
classified in to eight types based on three points
of views where the research method and its
reference framework are established.
 These are classified on the bases of
 Objective
 Application and
 Information required
 However, these classified research types are not
entirely and mutually exclusive.
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Cont..
Research
Types
Application Objectives Information

Sought
Basic
Descriptive
Exploratory Quantitative
Applied Explanatory
Correlational Qualitative
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Assignment 1
 Write a concept note (Synopsis) by selecting of
one research title.
 The synopsis has to include
 Research title
 Background ( 1 paragraph)
 Methodology ( 1 paragraph)
 Expected outcomes ( 1 paragraph)
 Maximum page – 1 page
Submission date: 29/03/2019

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Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle

School of Civil Engineering

 Scientific writing types

 Elements of scientific report

Application Objectives Information

Submission date: 29/03/2019

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