Dundalk IT MALT Programme

1. Dundalk ITMALT Programme Seminar on Academic Writing for Research Reports Professor Tony Fell University of Bradford, UK <A.F.Fell@Bradford.ac.uk>

2. Writing Skills • IUA – Communication skills for Research Students • The nature of a Research Report / Thesis • Key issues in writing • Style • Etiquette • Report / Thesis Outlines. • Report / Thesis Planner • Structure • References • Submission

3. Writing SkillsIUA Graduate Skills Statement 2012 • Communication skills • Demonstrate effective writing and publishing skills • Effectively use and decide on appropriate forms and levels of communication • Communicate and explain research to diverse audiences, including both specialist and non-specialist • Teach and support the learning of undergraduate students when involved in teaching and demonstrating

4. Writing SkillsThe nature of a Research Report / Thesis? A Research Report or Thesis gives a detailed account of a defined area of research with – • sufficient background information on what was known earlier, to orientate the general, interested reader • a clear statement of the ‘research question’ or problem and the related aims and objectives • a clear, logical exposition of the stages you have gone through in order to address the research question – creating new techniques, solutions and results on the way

5. Writing SkillsThe nature of a Research Report / Thesis? A Research Report or Thesis will also – • present your own critical analysis of the originality and significance of the data presented, in relation to what was known or assumed beforehand • focus on your proposals for further developments in the field • (for a Thesis) be presented in a traditional format as a permanent record for access by all researchers, anywhere • (for a Thesis) be published in full or in part as an independent publication under your name after peer review

6. Writing Skills • A good Literature Review should: • Be selective • Not be simply a list or summary of publications • Have a balance of primary and secondary sources • Put published work into perspective, relevant to the Research Question • Evaluate and give a critical interpretation of published work, with appropriate reference to the Research Question

7. Writing Skills Ransom’s Rules for Scientific Writing* • If it can be interpreted in more than one way, it’s wrong • Know your audience; know your subject; know your purpose • If you can’t think of a reason to put a comma in, leave it out • Keep your writing clear, concise and correct • If it works, do it. * Nora Ransom (Kansas State University) in M. Davis et al., Scientific Papers & Presentations, Academic Press, 2012

8. Writing SkillsApproaches to Completion • The optimum situation is: • Write sections more or less continuously as your research programme moves forward • Integrate sections to compile the first draft of your Thesis • Track progress systematically • Use a Conference, Seminar or Poster paper as the basis for part of the Report / Thesis • This important milestone gives independent peer support & validates your Thesis

9. Writing Skills Key issues

10. Writing Skills • Key issues in writing a Report / Thesis: • Who is going to read it? • Should it be perfect? • How should you write it – writing styles? • Issues of style and syntax • Academic (“Oxford”) English versus the Personal style of writing • How should you plan and structure it? • How can you finish in time? • Key things to know about good referencing • Strategies for survival – the pitfalls to avoid?

11. Writing Skills Readership – Who are you writing for? • Researchers in your general area – but not necessarily specialists – intelligent, same general background, not knowing all the literature in your particular topic – ‘the intelligent, informed reader’ • Someone who may use your thesis/dissertation as a reference work for their own research interests • The Examiners, who do have specialist knowledge in the area and will enjoy reviewing your work • The next generation of Research Students in your area

12. Writing Skills Who else are you writing for? • Yourself – for your own satisfaction in expressing a deep interest in a topic, in a way that is informative and interesting Suggestion • It can be helpful for an independent person to read sections of your Thesis (eg a friend) to comment on the style, informativeness etc – this can be really useful for the Introduction, Conclusions, and also the Abstract

13. Writing Skills • Should your Report / Thesis be perfect? • If only ... but remember that readers, including the Examiners, r e a l l y don’t expect perfection either in style or content. • The typos, mislabelled graphs, missing references will leap off the page at you – just as soon as you’ve submitted your precious tome for examination

14. Writing Skills • Should your Report / Thesis be perfect? • It’s really helpful to compile a list of typos, etc • This is then tabled for the Examiners at the Viva • It’s worth remembering that: • Most Masters and PhD Theses are approved in some form after the examination (70 to 80%)

15. Writing SkillsStyles How should you write a Report / Thesis? • With care … and with sufficient detail to describe the important stages of your research – usually more detail than is required (or permissible) for a published paper • Imagine someone tried to repeat exactly what you did – to find where precisely you located a key historical reference or fact; or in what language? – or to adopt special methodology / equipment you used or developed for critical experiments

16. Writing SkillsStyles Common sense about writing styles • Choose the appropriate style and use it consistently: • Write in a uniform, grammatical, fairly formal style – clarity is of the essence, so if the syntax (structure) is becoming complex, consider cutting back to shorter, simpler sentences

17. Writing SkillsStyles Common sense about writing styles • The personal style versus the impersonal style • This is often a question of personal taste or convention: • The personal style: I … , my … , we … , our … , etc. • or the impersonal ‘Oxford style’: The Author noted that … These observations were recorded in earlier research reports on … Note: in some areas of Social Science, Management etc, when referring to a third person, the use of alternating gender is common: he … / she … & him… / her …

18. Writing Skills Styles Common sense about writing styles • Use paragraphs to signpost a coherent group of related statements – they should not be too long. . • Keep sentences at a reasonable length – this helps avoid over-complicated statements and ensures your writing is clear and readable • Use the direct form rather than the impersonal form: • Based on these data, it would seem that … Þ These data would indicate that …

19. Writing Skills Styles More common sense about writing styles • Consistent use of tense • Decide on what tense to use for writing (present, past, etc) and be consistent – if in doubt, read it out or read it to a friend • If you use the past tense, you will need the ‘past in the past’ : e.g. The device had malfunctioned before this work was started.

20. Writing Skills Styles Even more common sense about writing styles • Things to avoid: • Undefined abbreviations – make a list defining all abbreviations and repeat the definition (at least once) in the text • Any form of slang • Jargon – if unavoidable, define it • Incomplete comparisons: e.g. These data were better. • ‘Over the top’ superlatives: e.g. We consider these highly impressive results to have very significant global implications.

21. Writing SkillsEtiquette • Punctuation issues: • The colon is often used for: • Introducing a list of items • Separating a general statement from a more specific one • The comma is often used: • For separating items in a list • For qualifying or defining a preceding word or phrase: The SPSS method, which is now well established, is widely used for the analysis of data in the Social Sciences. • Where a natural break occurs in mid-sentence: These data seem rather dubious, although they come from a highly reliable source.

22. Writing Skills Etiquette • More about punctuation: • The semi-colon is often used for • Separating items within a list • Separating two closely related statements • The hyphen is often used: • To separate parts of a sentence or to introduce a qualifying statement – as for example here • To link adjective and noun in a single phrase e.g. long-term therapy • To link two adjectives: e.g.red-hot, dark-blue • To link adjective and participle: e.g. easy-going

23. Writing Skills Etiquette • Even more about punctuation: • The apostrophe is used: • To indicate possession e.g. the system’s features (=1) and the systems’ features (>1) • For elision or shortening: e.g. It’s clear that (It is …) / That’s … / NB Exceptionally: “its” is possessive (without an apostrophe) They noted its significance … (They noted the significance of it …)

24. Writing Skills Etiquette • Note: one datum point is … • and several data points (or data) are … • Good referencing is an essential feature of a successful Report / Thesis • It’s the hallmark of true professionalism • Unfortunately plagiarism is currently one of the big issues in Postgraduate research • Increasing reliance by Examiners on “Turnitin” and similar monitors of plagiarism

25. Writing SkillsPlanning Planning a Report / PhD Thesis • Develop an outline time-plan for your writing-up programme • Remember that all plans are there to be changed – flexibility is key • Complete one section at a time – in many areas it’s not essential to write sections sequentially • Ask for feedback on drafts from your Supervisor, a colleague or a friend • You might consider using a simplified Gantt Chart, for example – well known to be flexible

26. Writing Skills Gantt Chart approach to Planning a Report / Thesis

27. Writing Skills Report / Thesis Outlines

28. Writing Skills Report / Thesis Outlines • A Report / Thesis Outline starts with the following sections, typically: • Title page • Abstract (written later in the process) • Acknowledgements • Lists of Contents – Tables – Figures – • List of Appendices • List of Abbreviations • List of presentations made/publications submitted • The Chapters or Sections that follow depend on the research area – cf. ‘Science’ versus ‘Humanities’

29. Writing Skills Report / Thesis Outlines[See printed copy] • Typical outline plan for Report / Thesis in Science, IT, Engineering – Part 1 • Title, Abstract, List of Contents etc • Introduction • Literature Review • Clear statement of Research Question (Project) • Aims & Objectives • Theoretical background • Materials • Research Methods • Validation of Methods [ Continued ]

30. Writing Skills Report / Thesis Outlines[See printed copy] • Typical outline plan for Report / Thesis in Science, IT, Engineering – Part 2 • Ethical issues (if any) • Results & Discussion • Conclusions & Suggestions for further work • References (Harvard or numerical system) • Appendices

31. Writing Skills Report / Thesis Outlines[See printed copy] • Typical outline plan for Report / Thesis in Humanities Liberal Arts, Media etc – Part 1 • Title, Abstract, List of Contents etc • Introduction • Clear statement of Research Question and related issues • Literature Review • Framework and rationale for Exhibition, Display, Performance (for Practice-based Doctorates) [ Continued ]

32. Writing Skills Report / Thesis Outlines[See printed copy] • Typical outline plan for Report / Thesis in Humanities, Liberal Arts, Media etc – Part 2 • Research Methods • Justification for selection of methods • Sources of information, informants, samples • Basis of selection for respondents (eg to Questionnaire) • Ethical issues (if any) • Results & Discussion • Conclusions & Suggestions for further work • Bibliography & References • Harvard or numerical system • Appendices

33. Writing Skills Report / Thesis Planner

34. Writing Skills Research Report Planner • The Report / Thesis Planner can be developed as follows: • To each Chapter Heading add 2 Sub-headings • The Headings and Sub-headings are inserted into the Report / Thesis Planner” • This simple Project Planning device can be formed using MS Word or Excel • It helps keep track of writing progress – • At the same time it informs Supervisors /colleagues about progress

35. Generic Research Report Planner – 1

36. Generic Research Report Planner – 2

37. Writing Skills Research Report Planner • The Report / Thesis Planner: • Is a very flexible system • Gives an immediate overview of the writing • Empowers the author • Helps monitor progress and identify missing sections – helps check progress • Shortens writing up time by ca 10 – 20%. • Monitors word count . • The Planner gives strong encouragement and confidence as writing progresses to completion • Helps timely completion

38. Writing Skills Structure & References

39. Writing Skills Research Report Structure Structure of typical Research Report or Thesis • The Outline Plan forms the basic structural template for your Report / Thesis • NB Sections / Subsections / Appendices • Max number of subsections for readability is 3 • eg 1.0 – 1.1 – 1.1.1 – 1.1.1(a) • Note: If you find that there are too many subsections, a powerful solution is to simply raise the first subsection to Chapter level. • The structure evolves progressively as the writing approaches completion

40. Writing Skills References • General issues • Computer-based records / traditional systems • Harvard system versus Numerical system • Section references vs Cumulative Reference List • Reference layout – style – page-to-page? • With or without titles?

41. Writing Skills References • General issues • Footnotes? • Back-up files daily – keep 2 updated copies • in d i f f e r e n t places! • Ratio of Introductory material to the rest – balance (ca. 1:3) • Impersonal vs personal style – check best practice in research area

42. Writing Skills References • Tracking the references • Ethical issues & IPR • Citing the competition! • Duplication – non-citation – total accuracy • Reference to own publications • Citing the Internet – give URL and date accessed • Citing Personal Communications: • A.B. Contact, Personal communication, February 2012 – or: • J.G. Friend (Email, 13 February, 2012) [using reference style adopted]

43. Writing Skills References • Tracking the References (cont’d) • Citing Unpublished Work: • M.Y. Self (Unpublished data September, 2012) orM.Y. Self (Unpublished observations, May, 2012) • Avoid: M.Y. Self (in preparation) • Citing submitted but so far not accepted work: • P.G. Slave and D.R. Supervisor, submitted for publication to X.Y.Z., 12 June, 2012 • Citing accepted but so far notpublished work: • P.G. Slave and D.R. Supervisor, accepted for publication by X.Y.Z., 1 December, 2012

44. Writing Skills References • Avoiding the pitfalls • Proper acknowledgement of sources • Verbal – casual – printed but unpublished – published • Purple patches • IPR – 2-way street • Ethics of authorship • Mutual recognition – academic generosity • Consequences . . .

45. Writing Skills References • Avoiding the pitfalls (cont’d) • Proper acknowledgement of graphics • Figures – written permission from publishers for each figure/diagram essential • Must add to the figure legend: “Reproduced from X.Y. Zymbal, Arch. Data 100, 1 –20 (2008) by kind permission of the Publishers” • A useful work-around is to change some details in the figure itself and add to the legend: • “Adapted from X.Y. Zymbal, Arch. Data 100, 1-20 (2008)”

46. Writing Skills • Good Practice • Appendix out wherever appropriate (or use DVD or CD-ROM): • Sections of supplementary data • Parenthetical results • Reference materials • Protocols • Computer programmes • Any text / data that distracts from the flow of the main theme / development • Cite the Appendices in strict sequential order and list them with the Contents

47. Writing Skills • Good Practice • Add a List of Abbreviations • really useful • always appreciated • Include a list of your own presentations & publications (if any), however modest • Writer’s block • Universal – including the famous • Change to doing another section – or some other activity

48. Writing Skills Submission • Find a friend to read your Abstract / Summary • Find another friend to read your Conclusions for clarity • Check final version of Report / Thesis with your Supervisor(s) or colleagues • NB Make plenty of time in your planning schedule to allow them to give their best shot

49. Writing Skills Submission • Check: • all pages run sequentially • all Figures and Tables are listed in the Contents • all Appendices are listed in order of citation • There’s no duplication of references • Any printed materials (eg short publications, reference materials) are put securely into the end pocket • Submit …

50. Writing Skills Developing an Abstract