WritingtheResearchReport.ppt.ppt

Writing the Research Report The purpose of the written report is to present the results of your research, but more importantly to provide a persuasive argument to readers of what you have found. Components of an Empirical Research Paper in Economics Title Abstract Table of Contents Introduction and Literature Survey Theoretical Analysis Empirical Testing Conclusions References Introduction The purpose of the introduction to the research report is to provide the rationale for the research. This rationale should address four issues: What is the nature of the issue or problem the research investigates? Why is this worthy of investigation? Introduction What have previous researchers discovered about this issue or problem? What does your research attempt to prove? The Written Literature Review A literature review is a summary of the major studies that have been published on a research topic. Literature review is usually included as part of the introduction in research papers. The Written Literature Review The literature review should accomplish three goals: It should identify the major findings on a topic up to the present; It should point out the principal deficiencies of these studies or provide a sense of what is lacking in the literature; and It should conclude by leading into your research question, by explaining how your research proposes to contribute to the literature or address some short-coming of a previous study. The Most Frequently Asked Question! Students frequently ask how many sources should be included in the literature survey. What do you think the answer should be? The Answer It depends on how many major studies have been completed on the topic. If you only report one or two sources, readers may suspect that you have not put enough effort into searching the literature. You don’t want to miss a major study, since at best it will make you look careless and at worst it may weaken the rationale for your research. What a Literature Survey is NOT A l