Research Reports in the Educational Field

A deep analysis  on Writing Research Reports (RP) in the Educational Field and its implications.

Research Articles (RAs) are papers written by an investigator whose intention is to illustrate findings of scientific research with supporting data. Moreover, writing Research Reports (RP) in the Educational Field implies understanding the dos and don’ts of the academia.  Writers aiming at producing RAs should be aware of these important issues and be familiar with a set of linguistic tools and strategies in order to make their papers worth reading.

When doing research in the Educational Field the writer might be pursued by different objectives. Among many other goals, the writer’s objectives can be to produce new information and theories or to enquiry about problems experts may encounter when putting their knowledge into practice within the classroom.  It is likely that the researcher does not find a solution to the studied problem but s/he may pave the way for following studies.

When deciding to carry out an investigation and once the researcher has problematized the topic of study, reviewed the available literature for the topic, and set objectives for the study, it is of utmost importance to consider the type of research to be done. Extremely noteworthy is for the researcher to know the differences between research type and research design. In writing reports this issue is an important aspect to take into consideration when delving into research studies.

As regards RAs sections, RAs are generally divided into different sections, namely Title, Abstracts, Acknowledgments, Introduction, Literature Review and Appendixes. The Introduction is likely to be one of the most important parts in the paper because it is the key to attract readers’ attention. Swales (1990) and Swales and Feak (1994) assert that the process of writing introductions is a hard and time- consuming task. Thus, it is probable that the writer completes the introduction after producing the rest of the paper. Writing an appropriate introduction can be a recursive process that starts at one point of the research process and then is finished when the whole research work is done.

Swales and Feak (1994) have created the Create a Research Space Model (C.A.R.S.) which describes the general organizational patterns as regards how writers present their introductions. They suggest three moves in RAs’ Introductions; in move 1 the writer establishes a research territory by reviewing previous research and outlining the importance of the study; in move 2 the author establishes a niche by indicating the gap that has been found in the area; and in move 3 the writer occupies the niche by outlining the purposes of the current study and how the probable research findings will contribute to the field of study.

After carrying out a research, the experience is complete when the results are shared with the discourse community the writers belong to. Sharing an investigation in the Educational Field may take different formats but the traditional medium to communicate findings in formal settings is following the American Psychological Association’s (APA) (2007) manual. The manual establishes some basic rules as regards manuscript format, type face, font, running heads, margins, spacing and citing requirements. Thus, APA manual is an essential guide to follow when producing an academic paper. 

Overall, writing a RA can be an opportunity to become a member of a broader scholar community, to develop as a professional and also to grow as a critical thinker. To produce and academic paper implies planning, research, formality, writing techniques and appropriate language use. However, writing a research paper  is likely to be an advantageous possibility to make your words heard in academic settings. 

References

American Psychological  Association  (2007).  Concise rules of APA style. Washington, DC: British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

Swales,  J. M.  (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. (Cambridge Applied Liguistics Series). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Swales,  J. M.,  & Feak, C.B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. Ann Harbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.