Writing is/should be an integral part of research, not a separate activity…focus research on getting the information needed for the paper, rather than on wandering randomly in intellectual phase space. Writing a Scientific Paper, George M Whitesides
Research begins with a question and ends with communication. Communication can happen in the lab, in informal conversation, in progress reports to the Principal Investigator, in blog posts, and in conference presentations, but to really get credit for your work, communication ends with a written report, submitted for publication.
Consider for a moment what you expect when you sit down to read a piece of research. What do you want to know? Most readers answer with “What happened?” and “Why should I care?” These are the two main questions that any research report has to answer. Historically, scientists themselves created a standardized format through which to answer these questions → this is the “research report”, and while each discipline has a somewhat different take on how to write one, all research writing has conventionalized forms for communicating results to readers. Why the italics? Three concepts nestled in those words are particularly important for research writers to grasp from the outset: “conventionalized”, “communication” and “readers”. The research report, whatever its disciplinary form, is not the research itself — it’s not literally what you, the researcher-scientist-scholar did and thought throughout the process. Instead, it is a representation of the work and ideas for consumption by a reader. It is an act of communication.
Method and Machinations
Research reports come in two flavors: quantitative and qualitative. They are distinguished principally by the methodology used to collect data and the type of analysis used to assess the research. These methodological (and to some extent, philosophical) differences are reflected in the way the research report gets written.
In quantitative studies, the research question is tested using methods that will produce numerical results. In other words, the research design (method) counts stuff. Outcomes (results) are presented statistically, employing tables and figures, and also in sentences such as “Seventy-six percent of Group Y do not believe in Concept X.” Readers are very familiar with this kind of research because it is so strongly associated with the scientific method. Quantitative research reports are written using primarily functional subheadings in the classic IMRD form: “Introduction/Methods/Results/Discussion”.
Qualitative research poses research questions that are best answered by words: data is generated by purposeful observation, open-ended questions, and critical analysis. Results are not typically numerical, but represented through text using categories and explanation. Qualitative research is often employed at the beginning of a new area of study – we have to observe and learn what something is before we can ask measurable questions or plan well-directed experimentation. Qualitative research reports employ both functional headings (especially Introduction and Discussion) as well as topical headings which organize the results of the research.
The relative value of each kind of research is sometimes hotly debated. Here is our official stance on this debate:
“For many of us…, this kind of polarized debate has become less than productive. And, it obscures the fact that qualitative and quantitative data are intimately related to each other. All quantitative data is based upon qualitative judgments; and all qualitative data can be described and manipulated numerically.
William Trochim, Research Methods Knowledge Base, Types of Data
In fact, Trochim’s Research Methods Knowledge Base is one of the best web-based resources for understanding research.
Contents
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Writing Quantitative Research Reports
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Writing Qualitative Research Reports |