50+ Sample Research Project Report

What Is a Research Project Report?

A research project report is a well-written document that contains recorded data from researchers after data analysis procedures. The information comes from conducting organized research studies through research surveys and other qualitative methods. The research project report outlines all methodologies, data, and findings from the scientific investigation. It is an essential piece of document that details an account of the research method, serving as an accurate and objective source of information. The report handles various information regarding different subjects, with the focus of communicating specific details in a particular topic to a vast target audience. Research project reports are the most ideal and most effective communication tools in a business. It contains a clear objective and conclusion, useful for relaying information. The research project report is a reliable document that contains a summary of the research process, precisely highlighting the findings, recommendations, and other necessary information from the study. Writing a well-structured research project report helps the audience to identify the most critical and vital parts of the research.

According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics under the National Science Foundation, the science and engineering report publications continue to grow at a rate of 4 percent a year from 2008 to 2018, with outputs rising from 1.8 million to 2.6 million reports. China and the US were the largest producers of research reports, with a share of 21 and 17 percent of total publications for 2018.

Components of a Research Project Report

Guarantee that the researcher complies with the regulations that the institution or the instructor sets through the course outlines and guidelines when writing the research project report. The research project report consists of three main parts, including the preliminary material, body of the report, and supplementary material. Below is a list of components of a research project report that a researcher must be familiar with, together with their definitions.

Title and title page: The title must be a reflection of the content and emphasize the project of the report. The title must be concise and include essential keywords to support the research. The title page must contain the name of the author or researcher, followed by the field of the study or affiliation. It must also reflect the submission date and the possible origin of the research report. The research can also attach an acknowledgment page and a table of contents as a preface.Abstract or summary: The abstract provides a brief overview of the terms in the report, describing the research topic, scope of the study, principal findings, and conclusions. It must be interesting enough to capture the essential components of the report. The section varies in length and rarely reaches a 200-word count.Introduction: Every research project report has its research goals and objectives that the researcher seeks to accomplish. The introduction section allows the researcher to cover all the possible answers to reach the goal and build a study that can strive to propose a solution in great detail. The researcher can also indicate the problem statement in the introduction. It must include the processes the researcher proposes to use, along with a research structure outline. The introduction also holds literature reviews in the field of research that supports the study.Methodology: The methodology section, otherwise known as experimental details or theoretical analysis, is the most vital part of a research project report. The section describes what the researcher has done for the research. It is similar to a research log that details research procedures, techniques, instruments, special precautions, among others. It must contain specific information that future researchers can repeat the process and arrive at similar results. If the researcher creates a theoretical report, the section must include sufficient mathematical and theoretical analysis and information to gain relevant derivations to ensure accurate result checking. Computer domains that the researchers used must be present in this section, while new programs are in an outline form. If the methodology section becomes lengthy and overly detailed, it can be at the very last section of the report or as part of the research appendix to not block the concepts of the research. The placement of the methodology section depends on its length and the discretion of the writer.Results: This section of the research report incorporates a summary of relevant data, findings, and observations. Data charts, tables equations, and figures are visual representations that the researcher can use to present the results clearly and concisely. The process schemes that show research sequences can be within the section.Discussion: This part of the research project report contains the research analysis and the interpretation of the results. The discussion of the results contains extreme detail and a comparative analysis of reports that exist in a similar field. It also contains information about any abnormalities in the research with a clear explanation of how the study correlates and applies in real-world situations.Conclusion: A separate section of the research project report details the possible conclusions stemming from the results and discussion of the study. Directions for future research are also within this section. If the research report is lengthy, the benefit of writing a conclusion is to summarize the main features of the study, including the objectives, results, and conclusions. It also identifies possible limitations of the research and recommendation for future studies.References: All the literature and study references that the researcher uses must reflect in the reference list. The researcher collates and cites these documents at the end of the report through standardized formats or journals. It is critical for the researcher to stick to one structure in writing the references. All the references in the research project report must match up against the original literature.

How To Write a Research Project Report

Writing a research report looks difficult the first time. However, with the help of advisers and mentors, constructing the document will be much more manageable. Always ask help from advisers if you feel like you are unsure about formats and structure. Look back on the research guidelines and instructions that the institution designates at the start of conducting the research project report. Below are helpful steps to guide you through creating a comprehensive document.

  • 1. Perform a Task Analysis Before Research

    Similar to any assignment task and activity, the first step is to analyze what you need to accomplish. It involves different factors, including reading about the assignment from the outline of the coursebook. Ask yourself different questions to help you solve the research problems as a researcher. It must tackle the purpose of creating the report, whether to analyze, persuade, or report an investigation. You must also determine the target audience and possible word limitations. The researcher must also analyze the research topic they will use, whether assigned by the research adviser or selected by the researcher. Lastly, identify the possible expectations by the end of the research.

  • 2. Develop a Rough Research Plan

    Utilize section headings to help you create a rough outline and plan for your research report. You can also write a thesis statement to help clarify the overall purpose and define the context to end up with a concise and comprehensive report. Write down all the things that you know about each section and place them next to the relevant partitions. This process helps the researcher not to miss any significant information about the study.

  • 3. Conduct the Research Plan

    After accomplishing the first two steps of the research project report that serves as a guide, the next step is to report on other research studies about a particular subject and start your research. Refer to the task analysis and rough plan while researching to guarantee that you are always on the right track. Allow yourself plenty of time to accomplish this step. This stage of the research is where researchers spend most of their effort and time to produce the necessary information for the research project report. It is also noteworthy to accurately track bibliographical material later on for the report.

  • 4. Draft the Body of the Report

    Write down the introduction that states the purpose of creating the research report, together with the research statement. Include a literature review that structures the findings you have on the topic in chronological order. Indicate the methodology that contains a clear description of the research procedures so that other researchers that refer to the study can duplicate the result. The results section must indicate all the outputs from the research. The discussion section is where you can discuss the relevance of the results you have and their significance to the field of research. Lastly, write down the conclusions and recommendations you have from the research outcomes, including future research and limitations of the study.

  • 5. Draft Supplementary and Preliminary Materials

    Create the supplementary and preliminary materials. The supplementary materials include references and appendices. The reference section must indicate all the references in the research project, while the appendices provide extra information to the report with each data or document numbered and named. The preliminary materials include the title page, table of contents, and abstract.

  • 6. Polish and Proofread the Research Report

    The final step of writing the research project report is to guarantee that the researcher follows all the rules and regulations as stated in the course outline. Before publishing the report, conduct another thorough read to authenticate all the information and check for grammatical and spelling errors. A good technique is to ask someone to read through the document and check for understanding.

FAQs

What are the five parts of a research paper?

A research paper in APA style format focusing on experimental research has 5 main parts. It includes the introduction, review of literature, methodology, results, and discussion.

What are the types of research report?

The types of research reports include journal articles, technical research reports, monographs and books, professional meetings, seminars, symposiums, and workshops.

What makes a good research report?

A good research report follows the principles of selectiveness, cost-effectiveness, comprehensiveness, objectivity, accuracy, clarity, simplicity, and reliability.

Research project reports are essential to delivering outputs, discussions, conclusions, and recommendations from a research study. The document must contain all vital information to make the study valid and repeatable for future research. Through a research project report, new discoveries and viable solutions are available for the field of study. Research requires thorough planning, applying the most efficient procedures to arrive at the most accurate results. Download the research project report samples available in the article to start writing a comprehensive document of your discovery.