WRITING AN ACTION

RESEARCH REPORT

TOP IC 14
T S L3 13 3
CONTENT
1. Context/ background of the study
2. Literature review
3. Focus / aspect of the practice to improve
4. The action plan
5. Implementation of the action plan
6. Data collection methods
7. Data analysis and interpretation
8. Reflections and implications Plan for further action
9. Citation of references : APA style
10. Other tips
WRITING A REPORT
1. -purpose is to describe your research clearly and accurately
2. - It has a generic text structure (format is given to you)
3. Research reports focus on generic participants, eg. children in
general, not Sam the child (unless you are studying only one
child in which case you can provide a pseudonym).
4. -use the technical language that you have learnt (Jargon) eg.
sample, data, triangulation, correlation, research design,
theinstrument was administered, the study was carried out or
implemented, shows a trend towards, monitored, observed, the
intervention comprised, pre / post observation, response,
respondents, subjects (people) etc.
5. -use descriptive language but remain factualavoid
emotional statements like, I was thrilled to see, It was
absolutely marvelous.. My brilliant intervention etc.
(Lowe, 2007)
REVIEW: ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL
GUIDELINES

1.0 INTRODUCTION
General description of the background of the study
supported with literature.
Identify an issue in your TESL classroom which you
would like to look into.
Investigate the issue to determine its cause(s)
(interview teachers/pupils, examining pupils output)
Identify an aspect of the issue you would like to
address.
Reflect on the aspect you have identified in relation to
your classroom experience.
 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

2.0 RESEARCH FOCUS / FOCUS OF INVESTIGATION

Write a problem statement.
(integrating some review of literature to explain and
clarify the issue)
Focus of investigation and opportunity for
improvement
 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

3.0 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH

QUESTIONS
3.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
3.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

4.0 RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

Provide a description of participant and justification for
your selection
(number, gender, year/class, academic performance)
 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

5.0 RECOMMENDED INTERVENTION

State an intervention you would like to implement
Support your recommendation with appropriate
literature
Provide a step by step discussion of your intervention
using the AR model of your choice.
 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

6.0 METHODOLOGY
6.1 DATA COLLECTION
Provide a description and justification of data
collection methods you plan to use
Explain how you would incorporate the relevant
research ethics

6.2 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Provide a description and justification of data analysis
methods you will employ.
 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

7.0 TIMELINE
Provide a timeline of your AR schedule and budget if
there is any.

8.0 REFERENCES
9.0 APPENDICES
WRITING AN ACTION RESEARCH REPORT
1. INTRODUCTION : CONTEXT / BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The contents your research report will include the following items:
1. Cover page (title information, name, date).
2. Table of contents (list the items with appropriate page numbers).
3. Abstract
4. Introduction: Reflection of your teaching experience
. Clearly describe the purpose of the study and its significance. ----
---provide a brief description of your *site (the context of your
study)
. Clearly describe the chosen setting (classroom, school, etc.).
Include all pertinent information available.
. Your teaching experience and reevaluation of your teaching
experience

*Do not use actual name of school or address

INTRODUCTION : CONTEXT

Discuss factors that initially prompted you to ask this

question. How did the idea originate? Your interpretation
of your assumptions, values beliefs and your reflections
about your teaching and learning experience
(reconnaissance, literature review)
Describe how answering the question might improve your
practice.
Recommended action you will take based on your
preliminary findings. Who is responsible? Timeline?
Resources and materials (if relevant)?
CONDUCTING A LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Identify and make a list of key words to guide your

literature search (your variables / constructs)
2. Locate primary and secondary sources pertaining to your
topic
3. Evaluate sources for quality and match (your search)
4. Abstract your sources (write down briefly the gist of it)
5. Analyse and organise your resources (you can use a
literature review matrix)
6. Write the literature review- in terms of relevance to your
study
(Mills, 2013)
LITERATURE REVIEW MATRIX

Authors Year Variables Considered in the Study

AR Data Language Songs in
Models Collection Games ELS
Methods
Cox 2014 / /
Creswell 2014 / /
Mills 2013 / /
Russel 2009 / /

(Mills, 2013)
LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Interpret data from your reconnaissance stage & imagine

a solution
2. Identify the main aspects of your research questions.
3. Discuss the main theories that allow you to discuss your
project.
4. Define the basic terminology and concepts related to the
issues that you want to discuss (eg. Your variables /
constructs etc.)
5. Include a brief summary of the state of the art literature
concerning your area of interest; present the literature
for each part of your discussion to convince your
audience / readers of what you believe or plan to
demonstrate.
WHERE CAN YOU INCLUDE YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW?

The literature reviewed can be included in several parts of

your research report. It gives credibility to your discussion.
For eg.
Introduction
Research focus
Methodology
Data analysis method
Findings
Suggestion for further research

Note: use your discretion to include your literature

review where it is relevant.
2. RESEARCH FOCUS / ASPECT OF THE PRACTICE TO IMPROVE

1. Problem statement
2. Issue of concern- relates to researchers

experience and students needs (your constructs)

3. Issue justified in terms of:
*use whichever is
workability relevantdiscuss as
a wholedont
significance discuss them under
practicality separate
control headings..these are
pointers /tips for
collaboration you
relevance to the school
RESEARCH FOCUS

4. Purpose statement
. The *purpose statement is a statement that states the overall
direction / focus for the study
. Used in all research types
. Found in the Statement of the Problem section
. Usually begins with The purpose of this study is

*Dont confuse problem statement with purpose statement ..not sure?

Look them up in Creswell. Lazy ones refer to Topic 4 - Mdm. Tan Lee Wahs slides. The
The absolutely indolent slothy ones can just ask Dinishry.
RESEARCH FOCUS

5. Research questions
Research Questions are questions in quantitative and
qualitative research that narrow the purpose statement to
specific questions that the researcher seeks to answer.
Situate the question in the context.
How does the question relate to the context?
What is it about the context that relates to the question?
Describe all pertinent actors: Who were they? Why were
they important?
3. PARTICIPANTS

Description of the participants

number
gender
class
academic performance
other unique aspects related to the issue of concern
4. THE ACTION PLAN AND IMPLEMENTATION (methodology)

Methodology and work plan Write out in detail the method

and the work plan you put forward and justify it .

IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION
detailed / step by step explanation of steps / activities
supported with justification, rationale within the scope of
your action plan.
THE ACTION PLAN

DATA COLLECTION
description of data gathering methods
justification of use of methods

What sort of data did you collect?

How did you collect the data?
Describe the methods used (include questionnaires,
interviews, etc. in appendix). Address why they are
appropriate (justify).
Describe resources needed. - Present a timeline for
collecting data.
5. DATA ANALYSIS METHODS

description of research instruments & justifications

description of data analysis methods addressing the key
aspects of the problem & justification.
Describe analysis procedures.
Discuss why these procedures are appropriate.
7. FINDINGS

Discussion on findings based on research questions.

What happened? What did you find? Describe in detail.

You can use narrative, quotes from the data sources,
samples of student work, tables, and/or charts to display
your data and provide evidence for your findings.
You should relate these findings back to your research
questions.
Modifications / Re-Analysis.
Discuss possible alternatives, if appropriate (other
possible interpretations)
FINDINGS

Conclusions Outcomes
What were the outcomes of your study? Discuss your own
interpretation of what happened and why.
What successes or difficulties did you have in carrying out
this action research? Address what you have learned from
this study.

Implications
Summarize the question studied and the major issues
involved. Address the twists and turns experienced between
original identified question and results that were produced.
8.0 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Suggestions based on evaluation of action taken

Identify the limitations of the study.

Discuss implications for other teachers practice and
educational policies.
Describe recommendations for your future study
CITATION OF REFERENCES : APA STYLE
References / Works cited list (any source of information
and ideas other than the authors must be referenced in
the Action Research Report.
References must conform to current APA publication
standards. (for information on APA Style - visit
www.apastyle.org)
Appendices (any *ancillary materials should be included
in the Action Research Project in appendices).
* providing necessary support to the primary activities or operation of an organization,
institution, industry, or system.
EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM

1. Copying and pasting text from online encyclopedias

2. Copying and pasting text from any web site

3. Using photographs, video or audio without permission or acknowledgement

4. Using another students or your parents work and claiming it as your own even with
permission

5. Using your own work without properly citing it!

6. Quoting a source without using quotation marks-even if you do cite it

7. Citing sources you didnt use

8. Getting a research paper, story, poem, or article off the Internet

9. Turning in the same paper for more than one class without the permission of both teachers
(this is called self-plagiarism)
AVOID PLAGIARISM BY

Use your own words and ideas

Always give credit to the source where you have

received your information

If you use someones exact words - put them in

quotes and give credit using in-text citations.
Include the source in your references
WHAT IS A CITATION?

References and citations in text are the formal methods

of acknowledging the use of a creators work.

An In-Text Citation?
Direct citations and quotations are acknowledged in the
body of a research assignment.(Right in the sentence or
paragraph)
Purpose?
1.Whether paraphrasing or quoting an author directly, the source
must be credited.
2.In text citations refer the reader to a References page. The
reader then knows where the information came from.
WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REFERENCE LIST
AND BIBLIOGRAPHY?

What is a reference list?

A reference list at the end of a paper provides the full
information necessary to identify and retrieve each
source. It cites works that specifically support a particular
article.
References should be alphabetically listed by authors
last name at the end of the paper or presentation.

A bibliography?
A bibliography cites works for background or for further
reading.
PUNCTUATION

1.Quotation marks enclose quotations of less than 40

words and are included in the sentence or text, then the
citation.
2.Quotations of more than 40 words are indented five
spaces from the left margin and are double-spaced in a
free-standing block (example later). They are also known
as a Block Quotation.
3.Just before the long quotation starts, type a colon:
then indent your long quotation (block quotation). (then
your citation after the period)
4.Brackets ( ) enclose information about the source of
the quotation (this is the citation) . Eg. (Cox, 2014,
p.435)
QUOTATION EXAMPLES

1. less than 40 words:

He confirms our suspicions. Because N-Gen
children are born with technology, they assimilate
it. Adults must accommodate a different and
much more difficult learning process_ (Tapscott,
1998, p. 40). (Punctuation is only after in-text citation.)
QUOTATION EXAMPLES

2. more than forty words (Block Quotation):

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

(2010) explains how to avoid plagiarism:

Quotation marks should be used to indicate the
exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase
another author (i.e., summarize a passage or
rearrange the order of a sentence and change
some of the words), you need to credit the source
of the text.. (p.15) (Punctuation at end of quote,
before the citation.)
CITATION EG.1

He states, anything takes on a new meaning when

we think of it as a monument (Boorstin, 1987, p.
215) and adds that monuments can be both man-
made and natural.
Note punctuation

What makes this sentence elegant

or unique?
The sentence has both a direct quotation and a
paraphrase!
CITATION EG. 2

Johnston and Cutchins (1988) state that life is

hard for animal babies of all kinds, but for young
reptiles, surviving their first year is especially
difficult (p. 36).
To put two authors in the brackets, you must use
the ampersand & symbol.
(Johnston & Cutchins, 1988, p. 36)
For more than 3 authors, you may use the Latin
phrase et al which means and the rest
(Abrams, et al, 2010, p. 345)
PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS
Personal communications include e-mail letters,
telephone conversations, interviews, etc.
They are mentioned in the body of a paper only, as they
are not locatable.
They are cited (see below), but NEVER included in your
reference list, because a reader cannot refer to or locate
them later.
Author Martine Bates (personal communication, January
25, 2011) is excited about Marwens latest adventures
and hopes her readers are too.
CITING ELECTRONIC SOURCES (INTERNET, ONLINE COMMUNITIES,
ETC)

For electronic sources that do not provide page

numbers:
Use the paragraph number, if available, preceded
by the paragraph symbol or the abbreviation
para.
If neither paragraph nor page numbers are visible,
cite the heading and the number of the paragraph
following it to direct the reader to the location of
the material (APA, 2010, Section 7.11).

(Myers, 2008, 5)
(Beutler, 2000, Conclusion section, para.
1)
(APA Style, 2005, para. 3)
CITING INTERNET SOURCES OR SOURCES WITH NO AUTHOR

Many times, you will encounter and need to cite a resource

that does not have an author. It might be a Corporation. We
are used to doing citations using the authors last name.
However, this is not always possible.
REFERENCE LISTING of resources that do not have authors:
No Author
Sports nutrition: Nutrition science & the Olympics.
(2008). Retrieved from
http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/nutrition/default
COPORATE AUTHOR

Centre for Systems Science at Simon Fraser University. (2009).

Great Canadian scientists. Retrieved from
http://fas.sfu.ca/css/gcs/main.html
Romeo and Juliet [CD-ROM]. (1997). New York: Columbia.

**Use the first few words of the title or corporate author if no

authors name is given

Examples:
Many people feel that eating healthy foods can help your
performance playing sports: It is a proven fact that eating a
nutritious meal prior to a game will increase performance (Sports
Nutrition, 1998).
WHY USE APA?

Why use the American Psychological Association

(APA) format regarding references?
It is very widely recognized and an authoritative
source for references and citations in research
work. APA is frequently used in local universities. It
is not the only form.
What other forms are there?
Quite a few, actually.
MLA, Turabian, Chicago, ISO 690, GOST, Harvard-
Anglia, IEEE, SIST02

Use what the instructor asks!

APPENDICES

An appendix (one item) OR appendices (more than one item)

is information that is NOT ESSENTIAL to explain your
findings in the essay or report that you have written.
However, this information may support your analysis and
validate your conclusions. Some of the items may have been
written by yourself or printed/photocopied from elsewhere.
WHEN TO USE APPENDICES

The body of the text must be complete without the appendices, and it
must contain all information including tables, diagrams and results
necessary to answer the question or support the thesis. Therefore,
you will need to know that:
Appendices are used when the incorporation of material in the
body of the work would make it poorly structured or too long and
detailed.
Appendices may be used for helpful, supporting or essential
material that would otherwise clutter, break up or be distracting to
the text.
Other peoples work in the appendix will be referred to (e.g. see
Appendix 3), not quoted (e.g. using short or long quotes) from the
appendix.
Appendices must be referred to in the body of the text, for example,
details of the questionnaire are given in Appendix B (on page 23).
Appendices are not included in the word count.
EXAMPLES OF ITEMS IN APPENDICES

Appendices may include some of the following:

supporting evidence (e.g. raw data that is referred to in the text)
contributory facts, specialised data (raw data appear in the
appendix, but summarised data appear in the body of the text.)
sample calculations (referred to in the text)
technical figures, graphs, tables, statistics (referred to in the text)
detailed description of research instruments (referred to in the
text)
EXAMPLES OF ITEMS IN APPENDICES

maps, charts, photographs, drawings (referred to in the

text)
letters, copies of emails (referred to in the text)
questionnaires/surveys (questionnaire/survey results
appear in the body of the text)
transcripts of interviews (summarised in the text)
specification or data sheets (summarised in the text)
OTHER TIPS.
THE TITLE

You can use a subtitle to clarify what the report is about.

Surface Accumulation Layer Transistor (SALTran): A New Bipolar
Transistor for Enhanced Current Gain and Reduced Hot-carrier
Degradation

Use a reasonably catchy title

Does the title of your manuscript, seen in isolation, give a full yet
concise and specific indication of the work reported?
Would someone interested in the exact topic of your paper,
reading this title, be inclined to read the abstract?
ORGANISATION

The key to your report is not brilliance or even

inspiration, but organization.

Use of headings and subheadings

Use of outline
THE PARAGRAPH

Unity: The entire paragraph should concern itself with a

single focus. If it begins with a certain point of discussion, it
should not end with another or wander within different ideas.
Coherence: Create logical or verbal bridges in your
paragraphs to be coherent. For example, key words or
synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences.
A Topic Sentence: Put your topic sentence near the
beginning of the paragraph.
Adequate Development: It usually takes more than 1,2,or 3
sentences to have a fully developed paragraph.
Do not use future tense in Ch. 1 verbs as you did with the
proposal. Use past tense in data gathering section.
EFFECTIVE TRANSITIONS
Does your report have a nice flow (continuity, or
progression)?
Use a lead-in sentence to introduce discussion of a new
concept .
The end of a paragraph can set up a clear connection to the
next paragraph.
One way to create a transition is to repeat a key word or
phrase from the preceding paragraph.
Use these transitional words to link complementary ideas :
again, in addition, at the same time, in the same way, by the same
token, similarly, likewise, hence, as a result, furthermore, moreover,
secondly.
To link conflicting ideas, use these words: in reality, in truth, on
the other hand, on the contrary, nonetheless, however, in contrast.
THE CONCLUSION

Propose a course of action, possible approaches or solutions to

the issue raised.
Challenge the reader: Address ideas from a fresh perspective in
order to encourage the reader to continue thinking about the topic .
Looking to the future: Raise questions for future study.
Describing the limitations of your study.
Save a provocative or exciting insight or quotation for the
conclusion.
Echoing the introduction: Include something from the introduction
(e.g. a detail, image, scenario, or example) to bring the report full
cycle.
Alcala, U. o. (2016, January 18). MASTER IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN
LANGUAGE :Guidelines for Writing an Action Research Project . Retrieved from
University of Alcala: http://www3.uah.es/master_tefl_alcala/pdf/guidelines.pdf.
Cohen, L.,Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2007). Research Methods in Education (6th
ed.). London: Routledge.
Creswell, J. (2014). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating
Quantitative and Qualitative Research (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
England, U. o. (2016, January 18). Aademic Skills Office: Writing Essays, Reviews
and Reports. Retrieved from Teaching and Learning Support (TaLS) Fact Sheets:
https://www.une.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/12772/WE_Appendices.pdf
Kumar, M. J. (2013). Making Your Research Paper Discoverable: Title Plays the
Winning Trick. IETE Technical Review, Vol.30 (5), pp.361-363.
Lowe, M. (2007). Beginning Research. London: Routledge.
McGowan. (2011). Avoiding Plagiarism Modified APA Style of Referencing.
Retrieved from Calagary Board of Education:
schools.cbe.ab.ca/b806/library/Plagiarism.ppt
Mills, G. (2013). Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (5th ed.).
Boston: Pearson.