大学英语精读课文第6册Word格式文档下载.docx
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RESEARCHREPORTSFORBUSINESSANDTHECNICALWRITING
WayneLosano
Asurprisingamountofone'
stimeasastudentandprofessionalisspentreportingtheresultsofone'
sresearchprojectsforpresentationtoteachers,managers,andclients.Indeed,withoutbasicresearchskillsandtheabilitytopresentresearchresultsclearlyandcompletely,anindividualwillencountermanyobstaclesinschoolandonthejob.Theneedforsomeresearch-writingabilityisfeltnearlyequallybycollegestudentsinallfields,engineeringandscienceaswellasbusinessandthehumanities.Graduatestudyoftenmakesgreatdemandsonthestudent'
sresearch-writingskills,andmostprofessionscontinuethedemand;
education,advertisingandmarketing,economicsandaccounting,scienceandengineering,psychology,anthropology,thearts,andagriculturemayallrequireregularreportingofresearchdata.
ELEMENTSOFTHERESEARCHPAPER
Thestandardresearchreport,regardlessofthefieldortheintendedreader,containsfourmajorsections.Thesesectionsmaybebrokendownintoavarietyofsubsections,andtheymaybearrangedinavarietyofways,buttheyregularlymakeupthecoreofthereport.
ProblemSection.Thefirstrequiredsectionofaresearchreportisthestatementoftheproblemwithwhichtheresearchprojectisconcerned.Thissectionrequiresaprecisestatementoftheunderlyingquestionwhichtheresearcherhassetouttoanswer.Inthissamesectionthereshouldbeanexplanationofthesignificance--social,economic,medical,psychological,educational,etc.--ofthequestion;
inotherwords,whytheinvestigationwasworthconducting.Thus,ifwesetout,forexample,toanswerthequestion"
WhatistheeffectofregularconsumptionoffastfoodsonthehealthoftheAmericanteenager?
"
wemustexplainthatthequestionisthoughttohavesignificantrelevancetothehealthofthissegmentofthepopulationandmightleadtosomesortofregulationsonsuchfoods.
Afrequentsubsectionofthisproblemsectionisareviewofpastresearchonthetopicbeinginvestigated.Thiswouldconsistofsummariesofthecontributionsofpreviousresearchertothequestionunderconsiderationwithsomeassessmentofthevalueofthesecontributions.Thissubsectionhasrhetoricalusefulnessinthatitenhancesthecredibilityoftheresearcherbyindicatingthatthedatapresentedisbasedonathoroughknowledgeofwhathasbeendoneinthefieldand,possibly,growsoutofsomeinvestigativetradition.
ProceduresSection.Thesecondmajorsectionoftheresearchreportdetails,withasmuchdataaspossible,exactlyhowthestudywascarriedout.Thissectionincludesdescriptionofanynecessaryequipment,howthesubjectswereselectedifsubjectswereused,whatstatisticaltechniquewasusedtoevaluatethesignificanceofthefindings,howmanyobservationsweremadeandwhen,etc.Aninvestigationoftherelativeeffectivenessofvariousswim-strokeswouldhavetodetailthenumberofswimmerstested,thenatureofthetestsconducted,theexperienceoftheswimmers,theweatherconditionsatthetimeofthetest,andanyotherfactorsthatcontributedtotheoverallexperiment.Thegoaloftheproceduressectionistoallowthereadertoduplicatetheexperimentifsuchweredesiredtoconfirm,orrefute,yourfindings.
ResultsSection.Thethird,andperhapsmostimportant,sectionoftheresearchreportisthepresentationoftheresultsobtainedfromtheinvestigation.Thebasicruleinthissectionistogivealldatarelevanttotheresearchquestioninitiallyasked.Although,ofcourse,one'
snaturaltendencymightbetosuppressanyfindingswhichdonotinsomewaysupportone'
shypothesis,suchdishonestyisantitheticaltogoodresearchreportinginanyfield.Iftheexperimentsundertakenfailtoproveanything,ifthedatawasinadequateorcontrarytoexpectations,thereportshouldbehonestlywrittenandascompleteaspossible,justasitwouldbeifthehypothesisweretotallyprovenbytheresearch.
DiscussionSection.Thefinalrequiredsectionofaresearchreportisadiscussionoftheresultsobtainedandastatementofanyconclusionswhichmaybedrawnfromthoseresults.Ofprimaryinterestinbusinessandtechnicalresearchreportsisthevalidityoftheresultsasthebasesforcompanydecisions:
Willourplannedconstructionprojectmeetfederalenvironmentalguidelinesandbeapprovedforbuilding?
Willthisnewprogramattractskilledpersonneltoourcompany?
Willthisnewoilrecoverytechniquebefinanciallyfeasible?
Thus,thediscussionsectionoftheresearchreportmustevaluatetheresearchresultsfully:
weretheyvalidlyobtained,aretheycompleteorlimited,aretheyapplicableoverawiderangeofcircumstances?
Thediscussionsectionshouldalsopointoutwhatquestionremainunansweredandperhapssuggestdirectionsforfurtherresearch.
STYLEOFRESEARCHREPORTS
Researchreportsareconsideredformalprofessionalcommunication.Assuch,thereislittleemphasisonalivelystyle,although,ofcourse,thereisnoobjectiontowritingthatispleasingandinteresting.Theprimarygoalsofprofessionalcommunicationareaccuracy,clarity,andcompleteness.Theroughdraftofanyresearchreportshouldbeeditedtoensurethatalldataiscorrectlypresented,thatallequipmentislisted,thatallresultsareproperlydetailed.Asanaidtothereader,headingsindicatingatleastthemajorsectionofthereportshouldbeused,andalldatashouldbepresentedundertheproperheadings.Inadditiontotheirfunctionofsuggestingtothereaderthecontentsofeachsection,headingsenhancetheformalappearanceandprofessionalqualityofthereport,increasetosomedegreethewriter'
scredibilitybyreflectingalogicalandmethodicalapproachtothereportingprocess,andeliminatetheneedforwordytransitionaldevicesbetweensections.
Researchdatashouldbepresentedinawaythatplacesproperemphasisonmajoraspectoftheproject.Fordifferentreadersdifferentaspectswilltakeondifferentdegreesofimportance,andsomeconsiderationshouldbegiventostructuringresearchreportsdifferentlyfordifferentaudiences.Management,forexample,willbemostconcernedwiththeresultsofaresearchproject,andthustheresultssectionshouldbeemphasized,probablybypresentingitimmediatelyaftertheproblemsectionandbeforetheproceduressection.Otherresearcherswouldbemostinterestedintheproceduressection,andthisshouldbehighlightedinwritingupresearchprojectsforpublicationinprofessionaljournalsorforpresentationatprofessionalconferences.Fornon-technicalreadersandfederalagencies,theimplicationsoftheresultsmightbethemostimportantconsideration,andemphasisshouldbeplacedonthediscussionofthereportforthisreadership.
Foradditionalclarityandemphasis,majorresultsshouldbepresentedinavisualformat--tables,charts,graphs,diagrams--aswellasinaverbalone.
Beyondcheckingthereportforclarityandaccuracyinthepresentationoftechnicaldata,theauthorofaresearchreportshouldreviewforbasicgrammaticalandmechanicalaccuracy.Shortsentencesarepreferabletolonginthepresentationofcomplexinformation.Listingsshouldbeusedtobreakuplongpassagesofproseandtoemphasizeinformation.Theresearchwritershouldtrytousethesimplestpossiblelanguagewithoutsacrificingtheprofessionalqualityofthereport.Althoughspecializedtermscanbeused,pretentiousjargonshouldbeavoided.Afinishedresearchreportshouldbereadableandusefuldocumentpreparedwiththereaderinmind.
CONCLUSION
Althoughwestrugglewithresearchreportsinhighschool,dreadthemincollege,andareoftenburdenedbytheminourprofessionallive,learningtolivecomfortablywiththemisarelativelyeasytask.Apositiveattitude(i.e.onethatseemtheoralorwrittenpresentationofresearchresultsasofequalimportancetothedata-gatheringprocess);
anorderlyapproachwhichincludesprewriting(i.e.,beforeanyactualresearchisdone,theresearchershouldtrytogetdownonpaperasmuchaboutthesubjectunderinvestigationaspossible)andaformalresearchreportstructureastheframeworkfortheinvestigation;
andareasonableapproachtotheactualwritingprocessincludingeditingforaccuracyandclarity,willhelponetoproduceeffectiveresearchreportsefficiently.
UNIT2.THEBEGINNINGOFACARREER
Thereissomethingfascinatingaboutreadingotherpeople'
smailifyouareallowedto.HereisyourchancetoreadthelettersofAmericanwriterSylviaPlath,whichshewrotehometohermotherfromahotelwhereshehadasummerjobasawaitress.Atthetime,shewasacollegestudentandwasstillatthestartofherwritingcareer.Throughtheletterwelearnofherchangingthoughtsandmoodsconcerning,boysandwriting.
THEBEGINNINGOFACARREER
SylviaPlath
TheBelmontHotel,capeCod
June11,1952
DearMother,
Youramazingtelegram[telegramannouncing$500Mademoiselleprizefor"
SundayattheMintons,"
whichIforwarded]camejustasIwasscrubbingtablesintheshadyinteriorofTheBelmontdiningroom.IwassoexcitedthatIscreamedandactuallythrewmyarmsaroundtheheadwaitresswhonodoubtthinksIamrather