Writing Up Research: Experimental Research Report Writing for Students of English

Although microcomputers are now common in classrooms throughout the United States, it is not clear what their most effective role is in the teaching-learning process. This study compared the effects of microcomputer-assisted instruction and traditional lecture-discussion on the performance of graduate students enrolled in an agricultural education course. Students in the control group performed significantly better on a written test than either of the two treatment groups. Students having previous experience with computers did not perform significantly better than FIGURE 1.1 Typical sections of the experimental research report. The Experimental Research Report-An Example To help you understand the basic format of the experimental research report, we present here a report originally published in a profeSSional journal. The report describes a study carried out in the field of agricultural education. The study evaluates the effectiveness of using microcomputers to teach economic principles to university students in a graduate course. Sociology Engineering Business Biology Psychology Language Management Chemistry Animal Science Education Economics Agronomy All these kinds of studies share some common characteristics. First, they are :lesigned around a research question. As a possible answer to the research ques·on, the researcher formulates a hypothesis and then designs the study in such a ay as to reject or support the hypothesis. Also, such studies are usually quantiatiue-that is, they deal with numerical data obtained in carrying out the study. hese data are usually treated with one or more statistical tests to determine how eriously the results should be taken. The reports written to describe these different kinds of studies also have uch in common. Normally, a report includes descriptions of the purpose, ethod, and results of the study. Complete results are usually presented in tables nd graphs. Such a report contains references to other published works in the arne area of study. A bibliography (a list of references) listing these works, along ith all the information needed to find them in a library, is always included at the nd of the report. Finally, a brief summary or an abstract covering the most imortant information in the report is usually attached. The organizational format for all experimental research reports is basically the same, regardless of the field of study in which the author is working. Some of the research fields treated in this book are listed here. The following diagram illustrates the major sections of a typical experimental ~esearch report in the order in which they are usually presented. The diagram ~Iso shows the chapters in this book that deal with each of the sections.