CONTENTS OF RESEARCH REPORT/ARTICLE

1. Title

• Title of the study: brief, unique, and interesting

• Authors: major contributor first

• Contacts: address, affiliation, email, and so on

2. Abstract

• Abstract summarizes the whole paper

• Most frequently read by people

• Abstract should stand alone

• 200 words or so

3. Introduction

• Explain why your topic is interesting

• Summarize what other researchers have done about the topic or relevant topics

• Make a statement of problem (It was the purpose of the study to examine the relationship between PCSA of calf and the jump performance)

• Introduction does not have to be too technical and does not have to involve too field-specific jargons.

• Mention your hypothesis (e.g. The increased step length will increase the magnitude of vertical ground reaction force)

4. Methods

• Methods present all the details of the study methodology

• Subject

• Equipment

• Experimental design

• Statistics

5. Results

• Results present the results of the study in a form which conveys their meaning

• Consider the best way of presentation

• Figures: figures should be self-explanatory with the corresponding caption; units, axes, and legends

• Tables: tables should be self-explanatory with the corresponding caption; units

• Word descriptions

6. Conclusion and Discussion

• Summarize the findings and implications of the work

• Do not present specific results which should be mentioned in Results

• Present what can be concluded from the results

• Discussion puts into context the results of the study

• Highlight the key findings

• Show the interaction with other research

• Implication of findings

• Possible future research arising

• Accept or reject hypotheses

7. References

• References is a list of all the work referred to within the main body of the text

• All referenced work should be listed

• Different journals specify different formats

• The reference format for a journal article is usually different from one for a book

TIPS ON WRITING STYLE

• Write in the past tense: You write the report after you do the experiment, therefore you should write like the work has been done

• Write in the third person: It is not a very good idea to use I or We as a subject in a sentence.

• Beware of strong statements: The fact that you found something through the study does not necessarily mean that you are right.