Student research project. Writing a research report

Transcription

1 Student research project Writing a research report

2 Number: Title: Student Research Project This publication is copyright New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), however it may contain material from other sources which is not owned by DET. We would like to acknowledge the following people and organisations whose material has been used: Extracts from Science Syllabus Stages 4-5 Board of Studies, NSW 2003 Microsoft Excel Screenshots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation Unit Overview pp iii-vi Graphing Data pp COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Copyright Regulations 1969 WARNING This material has been reproduced and communicated to you on behalf of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (Centre for Learning Innovation) pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act). The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the Act. CLI Project Team acknowledgement: Writers: Editor: Illustrator: Jane West and Rhonda Caddy Julie Haeusler Quan Pham All reasonable efforts have been made to obtain copyright permissions. All claims will be settled in good faith. Published by Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI) 51 Wentworth Rd Strathfield NSW 2135 Copyright of this material is reserved to the Crown in the right of the State of New South Wales. Reproduction or transmittal in whole, or in part, other than in accordance with provisions of the Copyright Act, is prohibited without the written authority of the Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI). State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training 2005.

3 Contents Writing a research report Introduction... 3 Writing the report... 5 The style of a scientific report...5 Describing your method... 9 Steps...9 Equipment...10 Experimental design...11 Describing your results Ending your research report Conclusion...15 References...16 Appendix...17 Evaluating your report How did you go?...19 Experimental report scaffold Writing a research report 1

4 2 Student research project

5 Introduction Now is the time to write your experimental report. To help you with the format there is a scaffold supplied. This sets out what is expected in each step of the report. You may choose to use this format or if you feel confident, write your own report. You should: show in your logbook that you have drafted a report about your research project. your report should include the following sections title aim hypothesis method results conclusion references appendix, if needed evaluate your progress towards completing your project and research report. Writing a research report 3

6 4 Student research project

7 Writing the report Have you thought about the best way to publish the report about your research project? It needs to be written in the style of a scientific report. The style of a scientific report Scientific reporting is different from other forms of writing. A scientific report contains technical terms and sentences are often packed with information. Even before you do an experiment you usually write about it in past tense as though it has already been finished. A scientific report about the experiment reads as if someone did the research yesterday. In the past, scientific reports were also always written using the passive voice. This made the writing very impersonal. For example, using this format, you would write 20 g of soil was weighed and placed in a glass jar instead of I weighed 20 g of soil and put it in a jar. Scientists chose this impersonal style of language to reflect the objectivity of science. Objectivity means that it is based on facts and evidence, not on feelings and interpretations. Nowadays, many scientists have realised that formal language makes reports more difficult to understand and may restrict the spread of knowledge and understanding of natural phenomena. More and more research is being published in everyday language. This means that vital information about our world is available to us all. Writing a research report 5

8 The format of a scientific report There are several acceptable ways to write scientific reports, each scientific publication sets its own format. For your report, use the format supplied in the following scaffold. Your research report should consist of the following sections: title aim hypothesis method results conclusion references. It may also have an appendix. In this lesson, you will learn more about each of these sections of a scientific report. You will also draft each section for your own report. So by the end of this part, you will be making good progress towards producing your own scientific report for publishing! Writing a title The title of a research project should give the reader an idea of what the experiment is about. It can include the independent and dependent variables. For example: Investigation on the effect of daylength on flowering in tomato plants. Writing a title Rewrite the following title to make it a better project title. An investigation of the numbers of native and introduced fish species found in NSW rivers in the 1970s compared with the numbers of these fish found now. Change in the numbers of native and introduced fish in NSW rivers since Student research project

9 Your turn Draft a title for your own project in your logbook. When you are satisfied with your title turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson and fill in the Title. Aim The aim is a simple statement that tells the reader what you are setting out to do. It often starts out with a simple statement starting with "To". Do not use the first person "I". A simple way to write the aim is identify the independent and dependent variables and then put the aim in the following format: To determine the effect of (insert the independent variable) on (insert the dependent variable). For example: To determine the effect of daylength on flowering in tomatoes. and not I grew some plants and then I used different daylengths to see when flowering occurred. Your turn Draft an aim for your own project in your logbook. Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson and write the aim of your experiment. Writing a research report 7

10 Hypothesis The hypothesis is a statement to explain observations in an experiment. The experiment should be designed so that it tests the hypothesis. The hypothesis is not proved during an experiment, rather the experiment either supports the hypothesis or doesn't support the hypothesis. If further experiments do not support the hypothesis then a new hypothesis must be written to take into account observations from experiments. For example: A daylength greater than thirteen hours promotes flowering in tomatoes. Your turn What is the hypothesis for your project? Edit your hypothesis in your logbook and check that it contains a prediction that can be tested. Check that what you are aiming to do is a test of the prediction in the hypothesis. Complete the hypothesis section of the report scaffold. 8 Student research project

11 Describing your method This section will help you write the method for your research report. Your method is what you did in the investigation. You will communicate what you did, how you did it and the equipment you used. This section is one of the most detailed of your report. It must contain enough information to enable another researcher to reproduce your study. You may need to describe, in detail, the following things: your experimental design, such as variables and controls, and how many readings you took the methods you used to make observations and measurements the equipment and instruments you used any other materials you used. For example, did you collect any samples of plants, soil and so on? Give details about any samples, such as the size, and where and when you collected them. the methods you used to analyse the information. The method often includes labelled diagrams rather than long descriptions or lists of equipment. Diagrams may show the way equipment is set up, unfamiliar research methods and equipment used, organisms used, maps of unfamiliar places, habitat locations or anything else that is easier to describe and understand from a drawing. Start off by outlining the steps that you took when setting up your experiment. Steps This section lists the steps you took when conducting your investigation. For example: 1 Set up 20 identical pots of tomato plants. 2 Each pot had 5 tomato plants. 3 Give equal amounts of water to each tray (1L). 4 Each pot was the same temperature (24 C). Writing a research report 9

12 5 Four pots were placed in each of 5 conditions of daylength. 6 Each condition gave the same temperature but different amounts of day and night ratio for a period of 20 days. The ratio went from 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 hours of daylight. This was achieved by artificial lighting. 7 The experiment ran for 20 days. Flowering was recorded. 9 Record the results and draw a graph. 10 Repeat the experiment once more. Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson and write the steps of your experiment. Include a diagram if necessary. Equipment Include a full list of the equipment required using the correct scientific names, e.g. test tube, beaker. Include any safety equipment required, e.g. goggles, lab. coat, fume cupboard. Be specific about the equipment, 10 cm pots, 250 ml beaker. For example: soil artificial lights 500 ml pots with 250 g of soil with 10 tomatoes growing gloves covered shoes laboratory coat. Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson and write the equipment for your experiment. 10 Student research project

13 Experimental design Replication The experiment must be designed so that the method can be reproduced by other people and give the same result. Therefore, several replicates should be taken during the experiment. For example: Each pot had 10 tomato plants so these were replicates for the treatment. Repetition The experiment must be repeated several times. This increases the reliability of the experiment by reducing the chance of errors or an unusual result. For example: The entire experiment was repeated. Risk assessment Assess the dangers that may be involved in the experiment and describe how you are going to overcome them. For example: Soil may contain harmful micro-organisms. To overcome this risk gloves were worn at all times. When working with heavy containers there is a risk that they might fall. To overcome this risk covered shoes were worn. Dependent variable Identify the dependent variable in your experiment. This is what you are measuring in your experiment. When drawing a graph the dependent variable usually goes on the Y-axis. It can be thought of as the responding variable, it responds to the experimental changes you make. For example: The dependent variable was flowering. Writing a research report 11

14 Independent variable Identify the independent variable in your experiment. The independent variable is the variable that you are manipulating to cause a change in the dependent variable. It is usually placed on the X axis (horizontal) of a graph. For example: The independent variable was the daylength. Control A control may be included as a comparison so that the experimental effect can be attributed to a change in variables. For example: One group of tomatoes was kept at a 12:12 day to night ratio. Variables All variables other than the dependent and independent variables must be kept the same so that any effect can be attributed to the change in the independent variable affecting the dependent variable. For example: Temperature, amount of water and humidity levels were all kept the same. The soil and containers were the same. The amount of time for flowering was also kept the same. Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson and write the experimental design of your experiment. 12 Student research project

15 Describing your results This section will help you to provide the results of your investigation for your research report. What did you find out by conducting your research project? This is the question that should be answered in the Results section. Describe your results so that they are concise and easy to understand. Your results should include the following information: a summary of what you found out recorded data (for example, in tables, graphs, diagrams, photographs) that support your analysis. The way results are described depends on the type of results. Report what happened. Choose ways to clearly present and organise the information such as tables, graphs and diagrams. Programs such as databases and spreadsheets are useful for presenting results. Your turn You need to look at the data you gathered in your investigation and decide the best method of presentation. Any evidence you have found must be clearly and concisely presented so make sure that tables, graphs and diagrams are clearly titled and labelled. And, don t make them too small. They should be large enough to illustrate your research findings at a glance. Go to the exercises section and write your results into the experimental report scaffold. Do not discuss what the results mean or why you got these particular results in this section. Writing a research report 13

16 14 Student research project

17 Ending your research report In this lesson, you will draft the last sections of your report. This should be fairly easy because you have kept notes in your logbook about the resources you have used and your thoughts throughout your research. The last four sections for your scientific report are: conclusion references appendix. Conclusion A conclusion is like an answer to your aim. It includes a summary of your results and discussion. If your research supports your hypothesis, then your hypothesis and conclusion will agree with each other. If the research does not support the hypothesis, then the hypothesis and conclusion will not agree. Did your research support or not support your hypothesis? If it supported your hypothesis then you should be able to see a match between your hypothesis and your conclusion. (If your research did not support the hypothesis then you should write your conclusion so that it is obvious that the hypothesis, and conclusion do not match.) Does your conclusion support (or not) this hypothesis? The conclusion section of a scientific report contains your ideas about what the results mean. Interpret your results in this section. You should include the following information: a description of the trends that emerged in the data evidence that will support your interpretation a description of the limitations of your research project suggestions for further research. Writing a research report 15

18 Your discussion should analyse your results and suit the purpose of your investigation. Your turn Plan a discussion of your results. Use the points below to help you organise your thoughts. Describe the trends in your data. What does it show? What is some evidence to support this interpretation of the data? What were the limitations of your research? For example, would you have obtained a better answer to your problem if you had had more time, more equipment, had studied more variables and so on. Suggest some further research that could be performed in the topic area of your research. For example, it could be another problem that you discovered while you were doing your research. Look through your logbook to check that you have analysed all the information you collected. Complete the conclusion section of the report scaffold. References At the end of any research report, there should be a list of all the references you consulted and used information from during your research project. (Don t list resources that you looked at but didn t use.) It should be easy for you to put your reference list together because you have been writing the information about each resource you used into your logbook. Use a standard reference system. For books: Smith JM. Tomatoes that changed the world, New York: Macmillan, For journals and magazines: Jones A. How to get your tomatoes flowering. Education Monographs, ,6: Student research project

19 For pamphlets: Australian Photonics, The how, what and why of optical fibres. Australian Photonics. Sydney. For websites: Learning Materials Production 2005, NSW Department of education and training, Sydney, viewed 20 March 2005, < For people: Fred Bloggs, nurseryman Do not include personal details such as an address or telephone number, to protect the person s privacy. However, it may be useful to include workplace details. Remember, this section is used by people interested in what you ve been researching. People refer to it to search for related books, articles and so on, to extend their own research. For this reason, it must be detailed and accurate. It should include at least five references. Complete the reference section of the report scaffold. Appendix An appendix is an attachment that contains materials to support your report. These are materials that you refer to in your report. They may include tables of information, survey questionnaires, raw data, relevant photographs, letters and articles. Each separate type of attachment is included as a separate appendix. It is also a good place for a logbook. Not all reports will have an appendix. You will need to decide if you need an appendix or not. Complete the appendix section of the report scaffold if necessary. Writing a research report 17

20 18 Student research project

21 Evaluating your report This section will help you to: solve any problems remaining in your research project evaluate and present your research report. Here are some suggestions of things you could do to improve your work. You could look for more resources, for example, by going to the library. Remember to record appropriate information in your logbook about the resources, for your reference list. Read over all the parts of your report and complete and fix them. How did you go? It is a good idea to evaluate your report before you hand it in. How will you know whether your research report is good? There is a marking scheme on the next page. You may like to refer to it as you prepare and publish your report. Circle the mark beside each question that you think best suits your project/report. Writing a research report 19

22 No A bit Yes Difficulty (10 marks) Was your project difficult or complex? Did you do your best in your research and report? Have you produced an excellent report? Language (10 marks) Have you used report text type for your report? Have you written clearly? Have you written concisely? Have you written in grammatical sentences? Have you spelled most words correctly? Parts of the report (50 marks) Is your title a good one for the project? Is your hypothesis testable? Can you make predictions from your hypothesis? Have you stated a clear aim? Have you identified the dependent variable? Have you identified the independent variable? Have you controlled all other variables? Have you done a risk assessment? Have you identified all the necessary equipment? Have you clearly described what you did? Do your results clearly state what you found out? Do tables, graphs and so on have clear headings? Are diagrams and graphs neat and labelled? Does your conclusion match your aim? Does your conclusion and the hypothesis match? Have you used a recognised reference system? Is your report neat and well presented? Total mark for research report = / Student research project

23 Experimental report scaffold Name Teacher Title Writing a research report 21

24 Aim: Hypothesis: Method: Steps 22 Student research project

25 Equipment Writing a research report 23

26 Experimental design Replication Repetition Risk assessment Dependent variable Independent variable 24 Student research project

27 Control Controlled variables Analysis Writing a research report 25

28 Results: 26 Student research project

29 Conclusion: Suggest improvements for future experiments. References: Writing a research report 27

30 Appendix: 28 Student research project