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English 102:40 Intermediate College Writing (Mike Sobiech)

Unit 3 IMRaD Report: Reporting Primary Research (200 Points)

Overview:

You will either (a) conduct a research experiment on something related to our class theme, or you will (b) conduct a poll to see what a targeted group believes concerning a paranormal event/activity, pseudoscientific belief, urban legend, or conspiracy theory. Based on your data, you will prepare a report of at least 1,100 words in length (including a 100-150 word abstract), describing your primary research. This report must be written in IMRaD format, using at least one graph or table for displaying data.

Ethical, Legal, Safe:

Forgive the obviousness of this statement, but your poll or experiment cannot endanger or embarrass anyone involved, nor can it involve any illegal or ethically questionable actions. To ensure this, your poll or your experiment must be approved by me.

Goals:

  • Give you practice writing a scientific/technical report in IMRaD format
  • Give you practice conducting and reporting primary research
  • Give you practice making both verbal and visual arguments with numbers and data

Requirements for a Poll and an Experiment:

  • If someone else is conducting a similar poll, you must use a different group of people.
  • In order to have enough data for your poll, you must survey at least 40 people.
  • Your experiment can repeat an experiment that other researchers have already done

Evaluation Criteria:

Criteria / Goal
Quality of Experiment and Analysis / The writer has implemented an experiment or poll that provides sufficient quality data for a good report. The data is presented in rhetorically effective tables or graphs and is analyzed well in the text. The introduction and discussion sections indicate how this experiment contributes to our understanding of the topic.
Organization/ IMRaD genre / The report follows the IMRaD genre: there is an explicit title; an abstract that includes the major information from each of the sections; an introduction that discusses related research and lists the research questions; a methods section with clear headings; a results section that uses tables/figures to display the data and words to discuss what the main findings mean; and a discussion section that summarizes the main findings, talks about the flaws and shortcomings of the study, and discusses the implications of the research.
Tone, Completeness & Mechanics / The paper was turned in on time and formatted correctly. The tone is formal and scholarly and the style is efficient and clear. The text contains no grammatical errors that interfere with the reader's ability to understand the argument*. Sources are correctly cited and documented.

The IMRaD Genre

The IMRaD genre has 4 main sections (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion), plus an abstract and works cited.

ABSTRACT (150 word maximum):

Abstracts tend to follow a fairly set form that models the structure of the IMRaD report.

  • 1 sentence on importance (or context) of the research question (why it is important)
  • 1-2 sentences on the methods (what was done)
  • 1-2 sentences on the results (what you found)
  • 1 sentence on implications (what changes as a result of your findings)

INTRODUCTION

The introduction of an academic IMRaD essay creates a research space by using four rhetorical moves:

  1. Show why the subject is important
  2. Summarize what is known about the topic
  3. Articulate a gap in the knowledge—something that is not known
  4. Explain how the current research will help fill this gap.

Note that the typical academic introduction takes the general format of a problem/solution structure: there is something missing in our knowledge (i.e. a problem), this problem is important, and the current research is a partial solution to the problem. This can all be done briefly, in one or two paragraphs.

METHODS

Methods sections are usually written in past-tense and employ passive voice to emphasize processes and procedures rather than researchers/actors. This section uses lots of subheadings to help readers find information quickly. These subheadings are moreover usually organized so that they move from who or what was studied to how the study was conducted to how the data was analyzed. A typical progression of headings might be Participants, Data Sources, Procedures, Data Analysis.

RESULTS

The purpose of the results section is to describe what you found. This is the section where your tables and figures will go. The results section needs to strike a balance between objectively describing your data and shaping that data so it tells a “story” that the reader can recognize. In other words, readers should be able to quickly scan your headings and tables and figures and understand what is important and potentially meaningful about your data. The research questions raised in the introduction should foreshadow what is emphasized in the results section.

Tables and Figures are numbered independently. Be sure to include captions for all tables and figures. This caption goes above tables and below figures. You should directly refer to the tables and figures in your text with phrases such as Table one shows that…

A common “pattern” for interpreting data is to include a sentence referring to a table or figure and describing the main trend in this table. The next sentence provides support for this generalization by referring to specific numbers or statistical tests if they are done (I am not expecting you to conduct statistical tests). Next, secondary trends (if any) are described and supported. Then any contradictions or aberrant results are described and explained. The discussion of each main trend is usually wrapped up by a statement that indicates how the data answers your research questions.

A few notes….

  • Avoid using the word significant since this has a particular meaning in math, indicating that your results are statistically significant. So the word significant is only used in conjunction with statistical analyses.
  • Avoid the word proves. Instead use less definite verbs such as suggests, shows, indicates or demonstrates. If your results are not very strong, you can use qualifiers such as may indicate or might suggest. If you are really stuck about how to your interpret your data you might use the phrase this data is challenging to interpret.
  • A common mistake is to include methods information about procedures in the results section. Try to move all of this information into the methods section so that what you did to obtain your data is separate from what you found.

DISCUSSION

The discussion section always begins by summarizing your main findings. Many readers will skip from the abstract to the beginning of the discussion section, so write this section for an audience who has not read the rest of the report. Academic discussion sections have four basic moves.

1. Summarize what is most important in the current study.

2. Acknowledge any problems with the study methods.

3. Explain implications—what has changed in the state of knowledge in the field.

4. Suggest future research that could be done.

WORKS CITED (OPTIONAL)

You do not need to cite any research for this project. A Works Cited page does not count toward the minimum word count.

APPENDICES (OPTIONAL)

You may include a copy of your survey in the appendix. This will not count toward the minimum word count.

PowerPoint Presentation (50 Points)

Create a PowerPoint presentation to accompany your IMRaD.

Evaluation:

  • Aesthetics (How does it look?)
  • Content (Does it complement/supplement your paper’s argument? Does it communicate the major points of your paper?)
  • Organization (Easy and logical to follow?Organize it as an IMRaD)

Due Dates

You must upload both your IMRaD and your PowerPoint on Blackboard by 11:59 AM--one minute shy of high noon--on Tuesday, April 26. NOTHING will be accepted after this deadline.