How to Write an Effective Research REport

Research Memorandum

ETS RM¨C12-05

How to Write an Effective Research Report

Samuel A. Livingston

March 2012

How to Write an Effective Research Report

Samuel A. Livingston

ETS, Princeton, New Jersey

March 2012

As part of its nonprofit mission, ETS conducts and disseminates the results of research to advance

quality and equity in education and assessment for the benefit of ETS¡¯s constituents and the field.

To obtain a PDF or a print copy of a report, please visit:



Technical Review Editor: James Carlson

Technical Reviewers: Brent Bridgeman and Michael Zieky

Copyright ? 2012 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved.

ETS, the ETS logo, and LISTENING. LEARNING.

LEADING. are registered trademarks of Educational Testing

Service (ETS).

Abstract

This guide for writers of research reports consists of practical suggestions for writing a report

that is clear, concise, readable, and understandable. It includes suggestions for terminology and

notation and for writing each section of the report¡ªintroduction, method, results, and

discussion. Much of the guide consists of suggestions for presenting statistical information. An

appendix compares several common types of graphs.

Key words: writing, technical writing, research reports, graphs

i

Acknowledgment

I thank Ruth Greenwood for her helpful suggestions on an earlier draft of this guide.

ii

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download