Assignment 4
Empirical Research Report

Points: 250

Description
For this assignment, you will choose a topic and write a 6-8 page research report about it. You will have developed a work plan (your proposal) to research your report topic. In this assignment you will demonstrate your ability to follow the necessary steps for research: define a research question, develop a research methodology, gather information using that methodology, and analyze the information. You will then demonstrate your ability to write a report based on that research. Your report will follow the general analytical report genre—Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusions and/or recommendations—the IMRaD structure.

We will discuss research questions and methodologies in class. You will need to find a research question and method of research that involve empirical observations. These kinds of observations include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• Public Observations
• Textual Analysis
• Quasi-Experiments
• Interviews

Note that if you decide to do an interview, your interview needs to function as a primary source. In other words, interviewing a professor as an expert in the field is not appropriate. However, interviewing local farmers on their own practices is appropriate.

Format
Length: 6-8 pages, single-spaced. 12 point font. (NOT including the front matter, bibliography, or appendix.)The body of the report should include two visuals such as a table, chart, or graph to illustrate findings. Each visual may take up no more than 3 inches of page height.

Research Sources
Identify and use at least 7 sources, your sources should represent the following categories:
• Triangulation (Refer to Chapter 14).
o At least one electronic source.
o At least one print source.
o At least one empirical source
• The B.E.A.M. schema (covered in class)
o At least one Background source.
o At least one Exhibition Source.
o At least one Argument source.
o At least one Methods source.
Note that each source will fall into one triangulation and one B.E.A.M category.
Your sources must be cited according to APA or MLA style. (See Appendix C in your text for citation guides.)
Report examples can be found in Chapter 10.

The report should contain the following elements:

Front Matter
• These are elements that appear before the main report. These do not count towards your 6-8 pages.
o Letter or memo of transmittal (see pages 90 and 93)
o Title page
o Abstract or Executive summary
o Table of Contents
Introduction and Body
• In this section, state the topic, the purpose, the importance of the topic, background information, and your overall conclusion. Forecast the remainder of the report.
• In this section, describe how you conducted your research. Specifics such as interview questions or survey questions and results should be provided in Appendices and referred to in the text of this section.
• Summarize the major findings of your study. Raw data can be provided in Appendices and referred to in the text of this section. Along with the Discussion section, this should be one of the largest sections of your report. You should use effective tables, charts, graphs, or other visuals to share results.
• Discuss the results, explaining what these results demonstrate and how they relate to your research question(s). Discussion can highlight strengths or weaknesses of your findings, insights, explanations, or connections. Explain how you have answered your research question and/or addressed the problem/topic of your report. Along with the Results section, this section should be one of the largest sections of your report.
Conclusion and Recommendations(can be combined or separate sections).
• Restate the main points of your report, stress the importance of the study, explain the significance of the facts, and state your recommendations. Recommendations should be be drawn from a reasonable analysis of your results.

Back Matter(elements that appear after the main report).
These pages do not count towards your 6-8 pages. Back matter may include a number of items such as:
o Works Cited or References page listing of any sources you used, including names of persons interviewed, electronic sources, and print sources with proper citations.
o Appendices:
 List of interview or survey questions (if applicable)
 Any other documents relevant to the report
 Glossary of terms (if applicable)

Finally, be sure to consider the use of the following in your report:
• Style (consider issues of audience and vocabulary, as well as mechanical and grammatical correctness, as you have been practicing throughout the course)
• Two visuals such as tables, charts, and graphs that illustrate your findings. Each visual may take up no more than 3 inches of page height.

Assessment Criteria
I will consider the following criteria when grading your research reports.
• Adherence to Generic Conventions
• Thoroughness
• Organization
• Style and Tone
• Mechanics and Grammar

IMPORTANT NOTE: This report must be written from research that you conduct in the course of this class. You may not recycle research from other classes or from other projects (for example, SOURCE projects). Doing so will be considering self-plagiarism and will result in failing the class.