Chapter 2
What Is a Scientific Paper?
A scientific paper is a written and published report describing
original research results.
Types of reports
What are the different types of reports?
There are various types of reports from different point of views:
(a) From the point of view of formalities, there are two types of reports
like formal report and informal report. The reports prepared by the
executives of companies because of their positions are called formal
report. The reports, which does not flow from any Official procedure is
called in normal report.
Types of reports
What are the different types of reports?
There are various types of reports from different point of views:
(b) From the point of view of legal requirements, there are two types of
reports called statutory reports and non-statutory reports. The reports,
which are prepared in accordance with the statutory requirements of
law, are called statutory reports and the reports, which do not have any
legal requirements, are called non-statutory reports.
Types of reports
What are the different types of reports?
There are various types of reports from different point of views:
(c) From the point of view of function, there are three types of reports called
informational reports, analytical and research reports. The reports, which
contain functional information with regard to a specific business activity, are
called informational reports. The reports which contain interpretations,
analysis and comments of the person" preparing are called analytical report.
The report, which states the findings of a research, is called research report.
FORMAL AND INFORMAL REPORTS
▪ A formal report is a report, which is prepared in accordance with the requirements of
a statute or established practices and is submitted to the person having official
status. The reports submitted by the officials of organization, cooperative societies
and local bodies are known as formal reports.
▪ Informal report is like informal communication and does not follow any official
procedure in reporting. This type of reporting disregards the formal structure of the
organization. These reports are short reports, progress reports, staff reports and
justification reports
Types of reports
Technical background report.
▪ This type of technical report provides background on a topic--for example, solar
energy, global warming, CD-ROM technology or a medical problem. For example,
imagine an engineering firm bidding on a portion of the work to build a hemodialysis
clinic. The engineers need to know general knowledge about renal disease and the
technologies used to treat it.
Instructions report.
Students often write backup procedures for the jobs they do at their work. Others
write short user manuals for an appliance, equipment, or program. If there is too
much to write about, they write about some smaller segment
Types of reports
Feasibility, recommendation, and evaluation reports.
Another useful type of report is one that studies a problem or opportunity and then
makes a recommendation.
A feasibility report tells whether a project is "feasible"--that is, whether it is practical
and technologically possible.
A recommendation report compares two or more alternatives and recommends one
(or, if necessary, none).
An evaluation or assessment report studies something in terms of its worth or value .
For example, a college might investigate the feasibility of giving every student an e-mail address
and putting many of the college functions online. The same college might also seek
recommendations on the best hardware and software to use (after the feasibility report had
determined it was a good idea).
Types of reports
Primary research report
Primary research refers to the actual work someone does in a laboratory or in the field--in
other words, experiments and surveys. In this type of report, you not only present your
data and draw conclusions about it, but also explain your methodology, describe the
equipment and facilities you used, and give some background on the problem.
Technical specifications report
you discuss some new product design in terms of its construction, materials,
functions, features, operation, and market potential. True specifications are not much
on writing--the text is dense, fragmented; tables, lists, and graphics replace regular
sentences and paragraphs whenever possible.
Report Style
Requirements of Reports
Regardless of the specific style used to prepare technical reports, four general
requirements must be met to produce good reports: clarity, conciseness, continuity,
and objectivity.
Clarity
The purpose of a technical report is to transmit conclusions and their supporting
evidence. To do this, your report must convey your exact meaning to the reader. The
text must be clear and unambiguous, mathematical symbols must be fully defined,
and the figures and tables must be easily understood. Clarity must be met from the
readers' point of view.
Report Style
Conciseness
Most of your intended readers are busy. Therefore your reports should be concisely
written. Your readers will be interested in your conclusions and the supporting
evidence and will want to get these as quickly as possible. Give enough information to
enable them to understand clearly what you are describing and why you are
describing it.
Continuity
Reports should tell a complete story as logically and interestingly as possible. This
requires continuity between succeeding sentences, paragraphs, and sections and
between the written text and the figures and tables.
Report Style
Objectivity
Technical reports should be objective and show restraint. Be honest with your
readers. They expect you to evaluate the data honestly. Do not try to hide
deficiencies in your research. Tell your readers frankly what your assumptions were,
what your probable errors are. and what you may not understand about the results.
Writing Style
Writing Naturally
An imperative in developing a good writing style is writing naturally. To avoid a stilted
style, write in a way that comes easily, using words and phrases that come naturally
to you.
Guiding the Reader
To achieve clarity and continuity in a report, you must carefully direct your readers'
attention throughout the report. Many successful writers do this by using the three
classic principles of presentation:
(1) Tell readers what you plan to tell them (Introduction).
(2) Then tell them (main text).
(3)Finally tell them what you told them (Summary of Results or Conclusions).
Writing Style
Getting to the Point
Technical reports are not mystery novels; get to the point as directly as possible. Omit
information that does not directly relate to the conclusions. Remember, readers are interested
primarily in conclusions and supporting evidence.
Emphasizing Major Ideas
Because the purpose of technical reports is to transmit ideas, emphasize your major ideas so
that they cannot be missed.
Your major ideas can also be emphasized by briefly stating them at the beginning of each
section and then summarizing them at the end of the section. Emphasis can also be aided by
careful use of headings.
Separating Fact From Opinion
Reports should clearly differentiate between facts and opinions. Carefully alert your readers
when fact ends and opinion begins.