Research - Q1 - Lesson 1
Research - Q1 - Lesson 1
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Lesson
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1 Writing an IMRaD Report
“IMRaD” format refers to a paper that is structured by four main sections: Introduction,
Methods, Results, and Discussion. This format is often used for lab reports as well as for reporting
any planned, systematic research in the social sciences, natural sciences, or engineering and
computer sciences.
In this section, you present your findings. Typically, the Results section contains only the
findings, not any explanation of or commentary on the findings (see below). Results sections are
usually written in the past tense. Make sure all tables and figures are labeled and numbered
separately. Captions go above tables and beneath figures.
In this section, you summarize your main findings, comment on those findings (see below),
and connect them to other research. You also discuss limitations of your study, and use these
limitations as reasons to suggest additional, future research.
The abstract for the report comes at the beginning of the paper, but you should write it after
you have drafted the full report. The abstract provides a very short overview of the entire paper,
including a sentence or two about the report’s purpose and importance, a sentence or two about
your methods, a few sentences that present the main findings, and a sentence or two about the
implications of your findings.
In the Results section, you simply report your findings. In the Discussion section, you
comment on them.
The Abstract does not provide a clear statement of the main findings.
The Introduction does not communicate clearly why the research is important.
The Methods section is not detailed enough or is disorganized.
The Results section provides comments and explanations instead of simply reporting
results.