Quantitative and Evaluative Research Methodologies
From WikEd
How to Write Quantitative Research Reports
You can determine the best way to organize a research report by considering your purpose and by identifying your audience. Your readers would expect you to present the following:
- an abstract
- a statement of the research question, hypothesis, or problem
- a review of literature
- a review of materials used and methods followed
- a results section
- a discussion section
- a notes and bibliography section.
In addition to these basic categories, a lengthy study might include:
- a table of contents
- a table of figures
- appendixes
Because these sections are inherently logical in descriptions of research, even essays in the humanities and fine arts are likely to use some of these sections to report research findings. Few would dispute that it makes sense to first describe a problem, explain how it was studied, and then report results and implications. Because of different philosophical underpinnings, however, academic disciplines differ in how they organize documents.
The methods section that appears in the body of a report is likely to be relegated to an appendix in a humanist's report or omitted altogether. Some instructors in the humanities expect authors to begin the essay where the scientist ends – that is, with the results section. Argumentative essays and speculative reports are more likely to foreground the importance of a researcher's results and minimize or even exclude discussions of methods. To create diversity and promote reader interest, some authors will use more engaging headings than "results" or "discussion," yet the underlying meaning remains the same.
Because the best way to organize a research report is determined by your audience and prevailing conventions, no absolute rules can be offered. Claims that there is only one way to structure research writing are about as valid as claims that snake oil cures cancer. No one structure can account for diverse audiences and purposes. Instead, you can determine the best way to organize your work by listening to the emerging logic of your prose. Then, when you revise, consider the conventions for structuring ideas that exist for the audience, purpose, and context that you are addressing.
