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WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

COURSE CODE : BA 7108UNIT 4: RESEARCH

WRITING

Prepared and presented by,N. Ganesha Pandian,Assistant professor,

Madurai school of management

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RESEARCH WRITING Research writing is defined as compilation of

“critical thinking, source evaluation, organization and composition”.

It involves conducting research, analyzing and organizing the information and communicating it clearly in written form

Research can be summed up in 4 D’s, they are define, develop, discover and deliver

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QUALITIES OF RESEARCH WRITING 1. Dynamic activity2. Must be experienced 3. Engaging 4. Creative task5. Involves passion 6. Timely 7. Focuses on balance

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BENEFITS OF RESEARCH WRITING 1. Comprehension2. Organization3. Researcher’s understanding 4. Technical writing skills 5. Assessment 6. Scholarship

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TYPES OF RESEARCH WRITING Research writing can take several form but has

three main types:1. Thesis – readership comprises supervisor and

other academicians 2. Company report - readership comprises

senior executive 3. Articles for publication – readership comprises

specialist academics and research scholars

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THESIS Thesis is a long report. The report

concerns a problem or series of problems in your area of research and it should describe what was known about it previously, what did towards solving it, what you think about your results and findings, and where or how further progress in the field can be made

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FEATURES OF THESIS 1. A thesis may be written about any subject2. There is a relatively high concentration of

certain writing techniques such as definition, classification, interpretation and etc

3. It is characterized by the use of graphic aids and scientific and technical or specialized vocabulary

4. The emphasis on presentation of information accurately and concisely

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STRUCTURE OF THESIS 1. Preliminaries- Title page - Certificate or approval page - Abstract- Preface or acknowledgement - Table of contents- List of tables - List of figures- List of symbols P.T.O

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2. Text of thesis - Introduction - Body of thesis - Summary and conclusions 3. Notes and reference materials - Notes- Work cited and Bibliography- appendices

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COMPANY REPORT The need for writing a company report

implies sponsorship by a company and a research topic that has relevance to the interests of company, whether or not the empirical research took place within the company

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STRUCTURE OF A COMPANY REPORT The structure of a company report typically

includes the following elements:1. Synopsis (300-400 words)2. Summary of objectives and research methods

(500-600 words)3. Discussion of research findings (600-1000 words)4. Conclusions with recommendations (500-600

words)5. References

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ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION (JOURNALS) A research journal article is oftentimes

called a peer-reviewed article, and it comes from a journal that has peer reviewers check articles before they are published. The purpose of a research journal article is to provide up-to-date information on intellectually relevant topic

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STRUCTURE OF ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION (JOURNALS)

The structure of such article has been outlined below:

1. Introduction 2. Methodology3. Results4. Discussion

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TYPES OF ARTICLE FOR PUBLICATION

1. Peer-reviewed academic journals 2. Ordinary journal

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EVALUATING ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION Steps in evaluating article for

publicationStep 1: Verify the validity of the source

publicationStep 2: Identify the Author’s biasStep 3: Review supplemental informationStep 4: Identify important information

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ASPECTS OF RESEARCH WRTING Developing questionnaire Questionnaire is a data collection instrument. It is a

list of questions to be asked from the respondentsTypes of questions:1. Direct questions2. Overhead questions3. Closed questions4. Rhetorical questions5. Open-ended questions

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ADVANTAGES OF QUESTIONNAIRES1. Economical2. Time – saving 3. Free from bias4. Greater Anonymity5. Respondent’s convenience6. Standardized words

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DISADVANTAGES OF QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Unwillingness of respondent to provide information

2. Inability of respondent to provide information

3. Influence of questioning process

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WRITING ABSTRACT An abstract is a summary of a body of

information. Sometimes, abstracts are in fact called summaries – sometimes, executive summaries or executives abstract

Types of abstract:1. Descriptive abstract 2. Informative abstract

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GOALS OF WRITING ABSTRACT1. Helps readers decide if they should read an entire

article2. Help readers and researchers remember key

findings on a topic3. Helps readers understand a text by acting as a pre-

reading outline of key points4. Index articles for quick recovery and cross-

referencing5. Allow supervisors to review technical work without

becoming bogged down in details

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KEY ISSUES IN PREPARING ABSTRACTS

Concise and accurate statement of main idea

Organization of sub-points Use of details Revising and editing

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DISSERTATION A dissertation also known as term paper, is

defined as a report on an original piece of research. Sometimes it is usually a part of term work required for the university degree.

It does not normally exceed 20,000 words and is presented on the candidate’s work, its development, and its cultural, historical, and theoretical references

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ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF DISSERTATIONA good dissertation should have following features:1. It should be original2. It should demonstrate: extensive, relevant

reading, an understanding of unpinning themes, ability to collect data and evidence systematically

3. Follow academic conventions – be objective, tentative, structured, consistent, clearly and concisely expressed

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STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION1. Title page2. Abstract3. Acknowledgement 4. Contents, and figure and table lists5. Introduction6. Literature review and context of the

studyP.T.O

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7. Chapter describing methods, sources, material and etc.,

8. Results/findings9. Discussion10. Conclusions11. References12. Appendices

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STEPS INVOLVED IN DISSERTATION1. Decide on a possible focus/title and discuss

with supervisor2. Decide research methods3. Draw-up a schedule – include completion dates

for different stages4. Organize practicalities – equipment and access5. Set-up project and collect data6. Sort/ study data

P.T.O

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7. Analyze or interpret data 8. Prepare outline structure for writing-

up9. Write draft10. Edit/check and supervisor and/or

critical friend11. Redraft12. Submit final report

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DATA ANALYSIS Data analysis is a process used to transform,

remodel and revise certain information with a view to reach to a certain conclusion for a given situation or problem.

Data analysis can be done by different methods according to the needs and requirements of different domains like science, business, social science etc.,

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FACTORS AFFECTING DATA ANALYSIS

Meaningfulness of data Measurability of data Transformability of data Benefits of data

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Approaches of data analysis 1. Qualitative analysis 2. Quantitative analysis Tools of Quantitative analysis 3. Frequency polygon4. Histogram

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MODES OF PRESENTING DATA ANALYSIS Charts 1. Organization charts 2. Flow charts Tables3. Dependent tables4. Independent tables5. Phrase tables

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Graphs1. Rectilinear graph2. Multiple line graph3. Surface graph4. Bar graph5. Pie graph6. Semi-log graph 7. Scatter graph8. Box graph

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DOCUMENTATION Documentation by definition is a process

of acknowledging the sources of the citations made in the study. As part of the process in research work, the researcher must give due recognition to authors of publications and other information sources where the theory, the concept, the idea, and the like were borrowed or lifted.

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FORMS OF DOCUMENTATION

1. Bibliography2. Footnotes3. Endnotes4. Author-date format

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1. Footnotes: Footnotes – as the term suggests – are

“notes” placed at the foot of the page2. Endnotes:The endnote format uses superscript

numbers to identify secondary sources in the text and then provides the actual citations in a numbered list entitled “Notes” at the end of the research report