How to Write an Effective Research Report

Identify a Current Problem in Your Field

Identify the field you would ultimately like to work in, and do some internet research to identify a current problem in that field. You will write a research report that recommends solutions to this problem · The main sections and structure of your report will be the following: 1. An executive summary 2. An Introduction section o Remember to use direct structure! As close to the beginning of the Introduction as possible, identify the main point of your report as a whole, and give some indication of the kinds of recommendations you will ultimately make 3. The body of the report o Break this up using headings and sub-headings! 4. A Conclusion section o Summarize the main reasoning in the report 5. A Recommendations section o Make specific recommendations for what a person/business/organization facing this problem should do to solve it 6. An APA References page · Additionally, your report must meet the following criteria: 1. At least 1 graphic that is formatted well and properly integrated into the report (refer to our Week 5 content for how to use graphics well) o You can have more than 1 graphic, but all of them have to be formatted well and properly integrated 2. At least 4 research sources, all of which pass the CRAAP Test for your topic o We’ll discuss the CRAAP Test in Week 10 o You can have more than 4 sources, but all of them have to pass the CRAAP Test · Your report must use APA citation style · WARNING: If your report is missing in-text parenthetical citations, or an APA References page, or both in-text parenthetical citations and an APA References page, your report will automatically fail. This is because missing either or both of these elements means that your report isn’t actually a research report—you need to both consult and use sources (the APA References lists of the sources you consulted, and each of these sources should have at least one in-text parenthetical citation in the body of the report, to show you actually used it in your argument)