There are a number of formats for reporting research, such as articles to appear in journals, reports addressed to funding agencies, theses or dissertations as part of the requirements for university degrees, and papers to be presented at conferences. These formats differ from one another mostly in their purposes and the audiences which they address. We will now briefly describe them.
The journal article is a way of reporting research for professional journals or edited collections. The research is reported in a brief, yet informative way, focusing mostly on the main features of the research such as the purpose, review of the literature (often referred to as “background”)，procedures used for carrying out the research accompanied by tables, charts, and graphs, and interpretations of the results (often referred to as discussion).
The content and emphasis of the journal article will vary according to the intended readers (researchers or practitioners) and it is important for the researcher to be aware of the background and interest of the readers of the journal. Articles intended to be read by practitioners will emphasize the practical implications and recommendations of the research, while articles intended to be read by researchers will describe in detail the method used to collect the data, the construction of the data collection procedures, and the techniques used for analyzing the data. It is important for the novice researcher to be aware of the fact that articles submitted to journals go through a process of evaluation by experts who make a judgment and recommend whether they should be published or not.
The thesis or dissertation is a format for reporting research which graduate students write as part of fulfilling the requirements for an advanced academic degree. The student is expected to describe in great detail all the phases of the research so it can be examined and evaluated carefully by the reader. Thus the thesis or dissertation includes the purpose and significance of the study, the rationale, a thorough review of the literature, detailed information as to the research tools and the procedures involved in their development, a description of the process of data analysis and the results, and an interpretation of the results in the form, of conclusions, implications, and recommendations. This detailed description of the process of the research is needed to provide the professors with an indication of the student’s ability to carry out research.
The conference paper is a way of reporting research at conferences and seminars, and at such meeting research papers are usually presented orally. They are similar to the research article since research is reported in a concise, yet informative way, focusing on the most essential elements of the research. Handouts and transparencies can also accompany the presentations. As with the research article, here too, the content and emphasis of the oral report will depend to a large extent on the type of audience present at the meeting and whether they are researchers or practitioners.
1. The best title for this passage could be（ ）.
2. We can distinguish those research reports from each other mainly through（ ）.
3. Which of the following statements is not mentioned in this passage?
4. How can a professor evaluate a student’s capability of implementing the research?
