As you begin collecting primary data to answer your research questions, you will be completing two separate research reports. Research Report #2 asks you to choose between working with people, places, or things to help answer your research questions. For this project, you can choose to use one of the following methods: survey (of at least 30 people and including at least 8-10 open and closed-ended questions), interview (of 2 people), focus group (with 3+ participants), observation, or archival research. You only have to choose the 1 method you feel is most appropriate for your community of study and research questions.
Report Format and Required Sections
Format: Your report should be approximately 2-3 pages in length and use APA or MLA format. The report should include:
A background section that:
- Presents your research question (in general)
- Summarizes your specific research questions for this report (what you wanted to find out from analyzing your corpus of study)
- States your hypotheses (what you thought you’d find at the outset of conducting research)
- Describes your community of study and introduces the method you chose and what you hoped to learn
Note: Your background section should be revised from what you wrote in report #1. You should use the feedback on report #1 to strengthen and clarify the Background section (updating #4 to include the methods for Report #2).
A methods section that details:
- Your methodology (values that inform your approach to data, see Try This 15-18)
- A rationale for the method you decided to use
- Steps you took to conduct your research
- **Include your survey or interview questions as an appendix to the project
A results section that includes:
- Detailed description of your participants, site of study, or archive
- Include figures, tables, or images as appropriate
- Thematically-organized findings based on your chosen method of analysis
A conclusion section that:
- Includes secondary research (at least 2 sources) to put your work in conversation with what others are saying in the field (Note: These sources can come from your lit review, though I encourage you to keep finding additional sources)
- Tells readers what your primary research results reveal about your topic, how it answers your research question(s), and why it is meaningful.
- Mentions any researcher or participant biases, research design flaws, oversights/missed opportunities, and/or directions for future research.
An appendix section that includes your complete survey results, transcribed interviews, observation or archival research images or site notes