CCC8013 The Process of Science

Format of Research report

Source (with modification):

https://www.waikato.ac.nz/library/guidance/guides/writescientific-reports.

Title

The Title should be short, specific and descriptive, containing the keywords of the report.

Abstract (Maximum 200 words)

The Abstract is a self-contained synopsis of the report - an informative summary of what you did and what you found out.

The Abstract should include the following:

•     Objectives (as outlined in the Introduction) and scope of the investigation.

•     A brief reference to the Materials and Methods.

•     A summary of the results and conclusions - a brief but thorough statement of the outcome/s of the experiment.

If there is a hypothesis, you may state what it is and whether it was supported or refuted. The following should NOT be included in the Abstract:

•     Literature citations.

•     Formulae and abbreviations, references to tables.

Although the Abstract comes first in a report, it is best to write it last, after you have the results and conclusions.

Introduction

This provides a summary of the analysis to be undertaken. The purpose of the Introduction is to put the reader in the picture and place the research/experiment within a context.

The following maybe included in the Introduction:

•     Background about the analysis to be carried out.

•     A brief review of previous research (relevant literature) to give a background -

paraphrase relevant facts from the scientific literature, citing the sources to support each statement.

•     Reason/s why the research was undertaken.

•     Statement of the research questions.

The Introduction is what and why of the experiment, and should answer the following questions:

•     What was the purpose or objective of the experiment/research?

•     Why was it important in a broader context?

Materials and Methods

The Materials and Methods is a description of the materials and procedures used - what was done and how. Describe the process of preparation of the sample, specifications of the instruments used and techniques employed.

The Method should include such things as sample size, apparatus or equipment used, experimental conditions, concentrations, times, controls etc. Additionally, it should provide a brief explanation of why these techniques are selected and used in the study, highlighting theirrelevance and contribution to addressing the research question or objective.

While the Method does not need to include minute details (e.g. if you followed a set of written instructions, you may not need to write out the full procedure - state briefly what was done and cite the manual), there needs to be enough detail so that someone could repeat the work. Sometimes, we may need to explain why the experiment was conducted in a particular manner.

Do not keep using the word "then" - the reader will understand that the steps were carried out in the order in which they are written.

When describing “what we do”, use past tense and the passive voice.

e.g., All cells were tested in cylindrical fixtures with four-point contacts on a 48-channel

Arbin LBT battery testing cycler.

When describing facts, use present tense.

e.g., The manufacturer’s recommended fast-charging protocol is 3.6C constant current– constant voltage (CC-CV).

e.g., An internal resistance measurement was obtained during charging at 80% SOC by averaging 10 pulses of ±3.6C with a pulse width of 30 or 33ms, where 1C is 1.1A.

[These examples are extracted fromhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-019-0356-8]

Results

This section states what you found.

The following will be included in your Results:

•     Tables and graphs/figures whenever practical.

•     tables and figures will require detail and relevant captions.

•     Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided.

•     Brief statements of the results in the text (without repeating the data in the graphs and tables). When writing about each picture, graph or table, refer to it parenthetically e.g. (Figure 1).

•     If possible give a section of related results and then comment on them rather than presenting many pages of unrelated results and then discussing them at the end. Subheadings can be used to divide this section so that it is easier to understand.

Massive quantities of data or raw data (not refined statistically) can be presented in appendices.

Include only the results from your analysis in this section.

The following should NOT be included in your results:

•     What you expected to find or what you were supposed to have observed.

•     References to other works (published data or statements of theory).

Use the Discussion section of the report for these.

Discussion

State your interpretation of your findings, perhaps comparing or contrasting them with the literature. Reflect on your actual data and observations.

(Optional) Discuss the possible limitation and provide recommendations for further research.

The Discussion must answer the question "What do the results mean?" It is an argument based on the results.

Authors can combine Results and Discussions together if appropriate for the course project.

Conclusion

This is the summing up of your argument or experiment/research, and should relate back to the Introduction.

The Conclusion should only consist of a few sentences, and should reiterate the findings of your experiment/research.

If appropriate, suggest how to improve the procedure, and what additional experiments or research would be helpful.

References

Cite any references that you have used, ensuring that each item in the reference list has an intext citation, and every in-text citation has a full reference in the reference list at the end of your paper.

Ensure that the references are formatted according to the style. required by the journal (or your lecturer/supervisor), and be careful with spelling.

Appendix (optional)

The appendix is a section that is placed at the end of the report and may contain material such as tables, figures, maps, photographs, raw data, computer programs, musical examples, interview questions, sample questionnaires, CDs, and many other types of material. Not all theses need to have appendices. However, when there are materials which are too technical or too detailed to be included in the main text and would help some readers to understand the topic more thoroughly, the author can accommodate them in an appendix section. However, it must be stressed that the main text itself should be self-sufficient and readers should be able to follow the arguments without frequent use of the appendices. An appendix is considered a chapter equivalent, and Each appendix item should have a format title to indicate the content, as Figure and Table in main text.

Example Research Report

Source:https://researchmethod.net/research-report/

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Academic Performance among High School Students NAME SURNAME (Student Number)

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the relationship between social media use and academic performance among high school students. The study utilized a quantitative research design, which involved a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 200 high school students. The findings indicate that there is a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance, suggesting that excessive social media use can lead to poor academic performance among high school students. The results of this study have important implications for educators, parents, and policymakers, as they highlight the need for strategies that can help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities.

Introduction

Social media has become an integral part of the lives of high school students. With the widespread use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, students can connect with friends, share photos and videos, and engage in discussions on arange of topics. While social media offers many benefits, concerns have been raised about its impact on academic performance. Many studies have found a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance among high school students (Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Paul, Baker, & Cochran, 2012).

Given the growing importance of social media in the lives of high school students, it is important to investigate its impact on academic performance. This study aims to address this gap by examining the relationship between social media use and academic performance among high school students.

Materials and Methods

The study utilized a quantitative research design, which involved a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 200 high school students. The questionnaire was developed based on previous studies and was designed to measure the frequency and duration of social media use, as well as academic performance.

The participants were selected using a convenience sampling technique, and the survey questionnaire was distributed in the classroom during regular school hours. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.

Results

The findings indicate that the majority of high school students use social media platforms on a daily basis, with Facebook being the most popular platform. The results also show a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance, suggesting that excessive social media use can lead to poor academic performance among high school students.

Discussion

The results of this study have important implications for educators, parents, and policymakers. The negative correlation between social media use and academic performance suggests that strategies should be put in place to help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities. For example, educators could incorporate social media into their teaching strategies to engage students and enhance learning. Parents could limit their children’s social media use and encourage them to prioritize their academic responsibilities.  Policymakers could develop guidelines and policies to regulate social media use among high school students.

Conclusion

In conclusion,this study provides evidence of the negative impact of social media on academic performance among high school students. The findings highlight the need for strategies that can help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities. Further research is needed to explore the specific mechanisms by which social media use affects academic performance and to develop effective strategies for addressing this issue.

References

Kirschner, P. A., & Karpinski, A. C. (2010). Facebook® and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1237-1245.

Paul, J. A., Baker, H. M., & Cochran, J. D. (2012). Effect of online social networking on student academic performance. Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology, 8(1), 1-19.

Pantic, I. (2014). Online social networking and mental health. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(10), 652-657.

Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it:   Media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948-958.

Hints to students:

1.   You can follow the format (and format only) of the example to prepare your own report.

2.   The topic of your report should be: what can we do to promote one of the SDGs.

    The provided example is related to SDG 04: Quality Education.

    The focus of the provided example should be shifted to what can we do.

3.   You can choose to do something in real life or propose a doable idea.

4.   You need to provide some evidence to show that the thing you do or the idea you propose is likely to have a positive impact on one of the SDGs. The evidence may come from (but is not limited to) questionnaires, literature surveys, scientific experiments, theoretical analysis, etc. For example:

    You may design questionnaires to check if adding the number of recycle bins (this is something that you propose do to) can help to reduce the plastic waste on our campus (SDG 15: Life on land).

    You may carryout literature surveys to check if asking students between the ages of 20~25 to do one hour of physical exercise per day (this is something that you propose to do) can extend their life (SDG 03: Good health and well-being).

    You may do experiments to check if the poster in front of the dining hall pointing out that beef production has higher carbon emission compared with chicken (you can really carry out this experiment, design and spread your poster to our students) can have an influence on students ’ choice on what to eat (SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production).

    You may collect some data and do some theoretical calculations to check if we replace conventional vehicles with electric vehicles (this is something you propose to do), under what conditions will it really protect our environment (SDG 07: Affordable and clean energy).