Table Of ContentA Student Guide to
Writing Research
Reports, Papers,
Theses and
Dissertations
This useful guide for students combines all the guidance, advice and key tips
needed to write successful research reports, theses or dissertations, exploring, in
detail, each of the elements involved in writing an academic paper.
The book will guide you through all the key sections of a report including
the introduction, literature review, method, results, discussion and more.
Each chapter contains instructions and advice aimed at three different levels of
report writing e xperience – ‘ The basics’ covers the basic purpose and structure
of each section as well as the most common mistakes, ‘ Refinements’ helps you
to develop your report writing skills beyond the basics, adding polish and depth,
and ‘ Advanced’ offers advice and insight into the most complex issues in report
writing. In addition to the guidance, there are examples to show you the prin-
ciples of report writing in action and exercises which allow you to test your
understanding as you learn.
An essential reference for any student writing an academic paper, A Student Guide
to Writing Research Reports, Papers, Theses and Dissertations is the ideal resource to
be used as part of your independent study or when working with a supervisor.
Cathal Ó Siochrú is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Education Studies at
Liverpool Hope University, UK.
A Student Guide
to Writing
Research
Reports, Papers,
Theses and
Dissertations
Cathal Ó Siochrú
Cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Cathal Ó Siochrú
The right of Cathal Ó Siochrú to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library C ataloguing-i n-P ublication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978- 0-3 67-6 2103-2 ( hbk)
ISBN: 9 78-0 -3 67-6 2104- 9 ( pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 10796-5 (e bk)
DOI: 10.4324/ 9781003107965
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
To Jules, without whom none of this would have been possible.
Contents
Foreword ix
Author biography xi
1 Overview 1
2 The introduction 13
3 The literature review 37
4 The method 63
5 The results 89
6 The discussion 117
7 Abstracts, references and appendices 145
8 Desk- based research 169
9 Academic writing 197
Index 221
Foreword
Just another book on how to do research? Well, no: this is the book that we
have needed for a long time. The book that guides you to success in the job
that is done by practically every student in further and higher education, every
researcher, everyone carrying out an investigation: writing that final report. It’s
the e nd- product of all your work and it’s the way you tell the world about it.
So many of those books on research methods include, if we’re lucky, a chapter
near the end on writing up research, almost as an a fter- t hought. But writing the
report is surely the most important part of your investigation. It’s probably the
longest piece of writing you’ll do, it’s complicated and it’s a highly specialised
form of writing. Getting it wrong is easy and good guidance can be hard to find!
I’ve taught in higher education for many years and helped students with hun-
dreds of dissertations, special studies and reports; so I should be good at it, but
there are always difficult questions. For example, many of my students were
writing library studies on early years learning theories and they’d ask, “ What
do I write in the methods bit? Do I just say I’ve been reading books and journal
articles?” I remember that question most of all because it was a repeated one, and
I never felt I really answered it properly.
This book gives explicit guidance in producing the ideal final report for research
in all forms and in all subjects. Like all good teachers, Cathal has carefully judged
the way ideas and materials are presented and explained to make sense to the
reader. Each chapter offers three levels of access: for the undergraduate beginner
through to the experienced researcher and tutor, so all can read selectively. He
also helps you to check and reflect on what you have learned, so the exercises
at the end of each chapter give a thorough testing of your understanding. The
structure of the report is explained chapter by chapter on each of its different
sections, but I would draw your attention to C hapter 9 on ‘ Academic Writing’.
This is often left unexplained, but is a skill which many students find new and
challenging. The chapter will help you explicitly to take up the style and type of
writing you need to convince your reader that you are a serious academic. You
may also want to check out C hapter 8, which talks about how to write a report
on a library study or non- e mpirical research, offering guidance on many aspects,
including that tricky methods section.
