REPORT WRITING IN ENGLISH summary by Truong Thanh

1. Introduction

1.1. Argumentative Paper

1.1.1. focused on conveying information and making clear points

1.1.2. Forming an opinion via research

1.1.3. Building an evidence-based argument

1.1.4. At university level, this is the most common used

1.2. Step 1 - Hook

1.2.1. Introduce your topic

1.2.1.1. Argumentative paper hook ***Ex:*** *Are cows responsible for climate change? *

1.2.1.2. Empirical paper hook ***Ex:*** *The rise of social media has been accompanied by a sharp increase in the prevalence of body image issues among women and girls. *

1.3. Step 2 - Information

1.3.1. Describe the background

1.3.1.1. Argumentative paper: Background information

1.3.1.2. Empirical paper: Describing previous research

1.3.2. Establish your research problem

1.3.2.1. Argumentative paper: Emphasize importance

1.3.2.2. Empirical paper: Relate to the literature

1.4. Step 3 - Thesis Statement

1.4.1. Specify your objective(s)

1.4.1.1. Argumentative paper: Thesis statement

1.4.1.2. Empirical paper: Research question and hypothesis

1.4.2. Map out your paper

1.4.2.1. This paper will first discuss several examples of survey-based research into adolescent social media use, then will go on to …

1.4.2.2. This paper first discusses several examples of survey-based research into adolescent social media use, then goes on to …

2. Literature review

2.1. Purpose

2.1.1. Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context

2.1.2. Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research

2.1.3. Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists

2.1.4. Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

2.1.5. Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

2.2. Step 1 – Search for relevant literature

2.2.1. Make a list of keywords

2.2.2. Search for relevant sources

2.2.2.1. Your university’s library catalogue

2.2.2.2. Google Scholar

2.2.2.3. JSTOR

2.2.2.4. EBSCO

2.2.2.5. Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)

2.2.2.6. Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)

2.2.2.7. EconLit (economics)

2.2.2.8. Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

2.3. Step 2 – Evaluate and select sources

2.3.1. Ask yourself

2.3.1.1. What question or problem is the author addressing?

2.3.1.2. What are the key concepts and how are they defined?

2.3.1.3. What are the key theories, models, and methods?

2.3.1.4. Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?

2.3.1.5. What are the results and conclusions of the study?

2.3.1.6. How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?

2.3.1.7. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

2.3.2. Use credible sources

2.3.3. Read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research

2.3.4. Remember to take notes and cite your sources

2.4. Step 3 – Identify themes, debates, and gaps

2.4.1. **Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results):** do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?

2.4.2. **Themes:** what questions or concepts recur across the literature?

2.4.3. **Debates, conflicts and contradictions:** where do sources disagree?

2.4.4. **Pivotal publications:** are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?

2.4.5. **Gaps:** what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

2.5. Step 4 – Outline your literature review’s structure

2.5.1. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies

2.5.1.1. Chronological

2.5.1.2. Thematic

2.5.1.3. Methodological

2.5.1.4. Theoretical

2.5.1.5. 💡**Tip:** Check out examples of literature reviews for each types https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/literature-review/#examples

2.6. Step 5 – Write your literature review

3. Methods

3.1. Research Method/Design

3.1.1. Categories

3.1.1.1. Qualitative Research

3.1.1.1.1. useful in the exploration of how or why things have occurred, interpreting events, and describing actions.

3.1.1.2. Quantitative Research

3.1.1.2.1. useful for finding out how many, how much, how often, or to what extent.

3.1.1.3. Mixed Research

3.1.1.3.1. integrates both Qualitative and Quantitative Research.

3.1.2. Provide those followings:

3.1.2.1. The **purpose** of your study?

3.1.2.2. **What** research method do you choose for the study?

3.1.2.3. **Why** do you choose this method?

3.2. Participants

3.2.1. Must include

3.2.1.1. **Who**'s involved? (Samples) **Why** do you choose them?

3.2.1.2. The **number** of participants?

3.2.1.3. The **tasks/requirements** for the participants?

3.3. Research Instruments

3.3.1. Use the combination of these:

3.3.1.1. Research objective

3.3.1.2. Nature of data

3.3.1.3. Statistical significance

3.3.1.4. Sample size

3.3.1.5. Timing

3.3.2. There's too many instruments. Which should I use?

3.3.2.1. For Quantitative Researches

3.3.2.1.1. Experiment

3.3.2.1.2. Survey

3.3.2.2. For Qualitative Researches

3.3.2.2.1. Interview/Focus group

3.3.2.3. Either

3.3.2.3.1. Observation

3.3.2.3.2. Literature review

3.3.2.3.3. Case study

3.3.3. Provide those followings:

3.3.3.1. **What** research instruments

3.3.3.2. **Why** the research instruments

3.3.3.3. **Describe** the instrument

3.3.4. Notes:

3.3.4.1. The ending pages of the journal that you're writing should have some questionnaire list if you're using Questionnaire/Survey instrument for your survey/research

3.4. Data Collection

3.4.1. Describe the process of collecting data:

3.4.1.1. How many and what **Steps** are there

3.4.1.2. **Tools** used: Google Forms, in person interview, survey experiment, etc.

3.4.1.3. **Rules** of collecting, etc.

3.5. Data Analysis

3.5.1. Provide those followings:

3.5.1.1. What **tools used to analyze**: Excel, Looker, Rapid Miner, Chartio, Metabase, Redash, or Microsoft Power BI.

3.5.1.2. Process of **analyzing data**

3.6. Proposed Research Timeline

3.6.1. Steps to create a project timeline:

3.6.1.1. Understand the scope of your project

3.6.1.2. Split the project into milstones

3.6.1.3. Estimate the time of each task

3.6.1.4. Assign tasks to your team

3.6.1.5. Choose your project timeline software

3.6.1.6. Plot each task on your timeline

3.6.2. Present the timeline in

3.6.2.1. Texts

3.6.2.2. Tables

3.6.2.3. Charts

3.6.2.4. Graphs

4. References

4.1. What is a reference?

4.1.1. The reference in the thesis is the main source of support that demonstrates the validity of your claims including:

4.1.1.1. Write as a bibliography list

4.1.1.2. Citations are not just the author's last name; they are also the title, publication date and page numbers

4.1.1.3. It is applicant in books, magazines, website, and all forms of academic writing

4.2. Why using the reference?

4.2.1. Help you to avoid plagiarism

4.2.2. Show your understanding of the topic

4.2.3. Give supporting evidence for your ideas, arguments and opinions

4.2.4. Allow others to identify the sources you have used

4.3. Purpose

4.3.1. Enable the reader to locate the sources used

4.3.2. Help support the arguments and provide credibility to the work

4.3.3. To enable readers more fully understand the cited author's work.

4.3.4. Acknowledge the source of an argument or idea to avoid plagiarism

4.4. Tips on writing references

4.4.1. General Tips

4.4.1.1. Keep it short. Do not list more than is necessary.

4.4.1.2. Keep them relevant to your learning style.

4.4.1.3. Should focus on recent articles, and articles older than five years should not be included except for important purposes.

4.4.1.4. References should be listed in alphabetical order of author’s surname and give sufficient and accurate publication details

4.4.1.5. Use a combination of books, magazines, articles, websites, and more.

4.4.2. Tips in categories

4.4.2.1. References are articles

4.4.2.2. References are books

4.4.2.3. References cited from internet sources, online newspapers

4.5. How do you cite resources?

4.5.1. Use APA Style (in RWiE, we usually use APA 7th type of citation) (watch more imgur.com/a/qKmb9Sa)

4.5.2. Use Harvard style