CCC8013 The Process of Science

Format of Research report

Source (with modification):

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

Cover Page

Use the “Template for Written Assignments” document as your cover page and declare the use of GAI

Title

The Title should be short, specific, and descriptive, containing the keywords ofthe 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 ofthe experiment.

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

You  should  choose  any   SDG-related  topics  (http://sdgs.un.org/goals)  and  specify  the background of the proposed SDG topics. This section 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 may be 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.

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. 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 their relevance 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 the 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 ofthe 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 limitations 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. You should suggest and provide practical recommendations for promoting the proposed  SDG at both individual and community levels. Include specific,  actionable suggestions for daily life based on your findings to encourage meaningful engagement and inspire others to contribute effectively.

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

Conclusion

This is the summing up of your argument or experiment/research  and should relate 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 in- text 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 that are too technical or too detailed to be included in the main text and would help some readers 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 a Figure and Table in the main text.

Example Research Report (Short Version)

Title: The Impact of Education on Food Choice among University Students

NAME SURNAME (Student Number)

Abstract

The food industry contributes to about 33% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. This study aims to investigate the relationship between proper education and food choice among university students. The study utilized a quantitative research design, which involved a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 50 students. The findings indicate that there is a positive  correlation between education and food choice, and we propose to use a  “joint education method” to help university students reduce their food carbon footprint. This work highlights the role of education in promoting sustainable development.

Introduction

Global warming is an important climate issue and may lead to severe consequences such as XX, XX, and XXX [1-3]. The food industry is one of the biggest sectors that contributes 33% of the global greenhouse emissions. From the global warming point of view, a good lunch should have a carbon footprint lower than 0.5kg CO2, while the average carbon footprint now is about XX kg in Hong Kong [4]. Reducing food-related carbon emissions has drawn much research attention.

One of the most straightforward approaches to reducing food-related carbon footprint is to choose low- carbon diets. According to Ref [5], by replacing beef with chicken, the average carbon footprint of a meal can be reduced by XX%. Based on Ref [6], choosing local, in-season vegetables can further reduce the carbon footprint by XX%. However, there is a gap between this knowledge and actions. For instance, Zhang et al. [7] studied the data of YYY and found that the elderly living in ZZ tend to choose cheaper meals rather than low-carbon meals. Tommy et al. [8] reveal that high-school students tend to choose what they believe is delicious, and the carbon footprint is usually not considered. Wang et al. [9] found that people coming from the northeast of China tend to choose food that has more salt. Steven et al. [10] summarized the food advertisements in four mainstream social media and found that XX% of them promoted healthier food, followed by XX% promoting delicious food, and XX% promoting cheap food. The percentage of advertisements promoting low-carbon food is lower than XX%.

Based on the above discussions, choosing a low-carbon diet is a straightforward way to reduce the food- related carbon footprint, but the people’s choice can be influenced by not only external factors such as price, taste, and health, but also the consumer’s gender, age, income, and location. In this study, we aim to study whether education on a low-carbon diet can influence students’ food choices. Questionnaires collected from a sample of 50 students at Lingnan University are used in this study. Results indicate that students tend to choose an environmentally friendly diet after learning about the related knowledge. From a broader point of view, this work highlights the importance of education in promoting sustainable development.

Materials and Methods

The study utilized a quantitative research design, which involved a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 50 LU  students. The questionnaire was developed based on previous studies and was designed to measure the student’s food choices, as well as their knowledge of low-carbon diets. Details of the questionnaire are given in the Appendix.

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 and Discussion

The relationship between low-carbon food knowledge and the willingness to choose a low-carbon diet is shown in Figure 1. A strong correlation can be observed between the knowledge of low-carbon diets and the willingness to choose low-carbon diets, indicating that proper education on food-carbon footprint can improve the choice of food among university students. The student’s willingness to choose a low-carbon footprint ranges from 0.45 to 7.80. However, according to Figure 2, we did not find a significant difference in the willingness to reduce food carbon footprint among genders.

Figure 1. Relationship between the knowledge of low-carbon diet and the willingness to choose low-carbon diet.

Figure 2. Willingness to reduce food carbon footprint among male and female students.

We further compared the influencing factors of food choice among students. The fifty students are categorized into two groups: in group A, the willingness score is higher than the knowledge score (represented by the dots higher than the line in Figure 1), and in group B, the willingness score is lower than the knowledge score  (represented by the dots lower than the line in Figure 1). The results are shown in Figure 3. Students in group Atend to put more weight on the food’s carbon footprint when choosing their diet, compared with that of group B. However, it is also interesting to find that the dominating factor of the food choice in group A is the health, while that in group B is the taste. From the general public point of view, vegetables are considered healthier [11], while meat is, from a general point of view, believed more delicious  [12]. Vegetables usually have a lower carbon footprint compared with meat [13], which is the cause of the high willingness for Group A to reduce their food carbon footprint. The influence of the price on food choice is similar among different groups.

Figure 3. Influencing factors of food choice among different groups of students.

Based on the above results, we here propose to promote healthy food together with a low- carbon diet in our classroom. Compared with just talking about the carbon footprint of each food type, this new joint-education method may stand a better chance to help our students reduce their food-carbon footprint, as people tend to pay more attention to issues that exhibit more direct influence on their lives [14]. Such teaching activities can help to promote SDG13: Climate Actions, together with SDG03: Good Health and Well-Being.

This research has the following limitations: (1) the upper limit of education’s impact on food choice is not determined, and the factors such as price and taste are not decoupled; (2): this work wants to highlight the impact the education, but the difference between our liberal-art students and the science/engineering students in other universities are not compared.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence of the positive impact of education on food choices among university students. We find that the students more willing to reduce their carbon footprint put more weight on health factors when choosing their diet, revealing the possibility of using joint education to reduce the  food-related  carbon  footprint  among university  students.  From  a broader point of view, this work highlights the role of education in promoting  sustainable development.

Appendix

[You can put your questionnaire here.]

References

[1] Hughes, L. (2000). Biological consequences of global warming: is the signal already apparent?. Trends in ecology & evolution, 15(2), 56-61.

[2] xx

[3] xx

[4] xx

[5] xx

[6] xx

[7] xx

[8] xx

[9] xx

[10] xx

[11] Dias, J. S. (2012). Nutritional quality and health benefits of vegetables: A review. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 3(10), 1354-1374.

[12] Dashdorj, D., Amna, T., & Hwang, I. (2015). Influence of specific taste-active components on meat flavor as affected by intrinsic and extrinsic factors: An overview. European Food Research and Technology, 241, 157-171.

[13] Ritchie, H. (2020). Less meat is nearly always better than sustainable meat, to reduce your carbon footprint. Our world in data.

[14]  Gifford,  R.,  &  Nilsson,  A.  (2014).  Personal  and  social  factors  that  influence  pro - environmental concern and behaviour: A review. International journal of psychology, 49(3), 141-157.

Hints to students:

1.   You can follow the format 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.

    We can use the “joint education method” to help students reduce their food-related carbon footprint.

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:

    In the example, we show that “joint education” is likely to be useful by revealing the relationship between healthy food and low carbon vegetables, and further used Ref

[14] to support our analysis.

    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 carry out 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).