Unit 6: Research writing and presentation

Research writing converts investigation into a permanent, citable record and presentation carries findings to a live audience. This unit treats the two ends of the communication pipeline — the written document and the visual delivery — together with the digital tools that produce both.

I. Orientation: The Communication of Research

Research communication is judged not on effort but on clarity, verifiability and reproducibility. Every format below shares one skeleton and differs only in scale and audience.

• IMRaD backbone: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion — the near-universal logical order that answers why, how, what, and so what.
• Verifiability: every claim is traceable to a cited source or reported datum; unsupported assertion is the cardinal fault.
• Audience calibration: a thesis addresses examiners, a paper addresses peer reviewers, a poster addresses a passing conference delegate — the same data is compressed differently for each.
• Objectivity of tone: passive or neutral third-person phrasing, past tense for completed work, present tense for established facts.
• Structure signals meaning: headings, numbered sections and consistent formatting let readers navigate rather than read linearly.

II. Research Writing — Formats of the Written Record

Written outputs range from a focused primary report to a book-length treatise; the syllabus names three.

A. Research Paper

A research paper reports original primary work, typically for a peer-reviewed journal.

• Title and abstract: the title is a concise noun-phrase; the abstract (150–250 words) is a self-contained miniature of aim, method, key result and conclusion.
• Introduction: narrows from broad context to the specific gap, ending in an explicit objective or hypothesis.
• Methods: written so a competent reader could reproduce the work — instruments, sample size, statistical tests named.
• Results: data presented in figures and tables, described but not interpreted.
• Discussion: interprets results against the literature, states limitations, and avoids overclaiming.
• Length: usually 3,000–6,000 words; governed by the target journal's author guidelines.

B. Review Writing

A review synthesises existing published work rather than generating new data.

• Narrative review: broad, expert overview of a field; flexible structure but risks selection bias.
• Systematic review: follows a pre-registered protocol with explicit search terms, inclusion/exclusion criteria and PRISMA-style flow diagram of screened records.
• Purpose: identifies consensus, contradictions and unexplored gaps to justify future study.
• No Methods/Results of experiments: the "method" is the search and appraisal strategy; the "result" is the synthesis.

C. Thesis Writing

A thesis (or dissertation) is an extended, examined account of a sustained project.

• Scale: chapter-based — typically Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, plus appendices.
• Front matter: title page, declaration, abstract, acknowledgements, table of contents, list of figures and tables.
• Literature review chapter: far fuller than a paper's introduction; demonstrates command of the field.
• Defended, not just published: assessed by a viva/oral examination against originality and rigour criteria.
• Comprehensive referencing: every source consulted appears in a single consolidated bibliography.

III. Computer and Its Role in Research

The computer is now the platform for every research stage, not merely typing.

A. Functions Across the Research Cycle

Computers span discovery, analysis and dissemination.

• Literature search: databases (PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar) and reference managers replace card catalogues.
• Data acquisition and storage: sensors, spreadsheets and databases capture and organise raw data.
• Analysis and computation: statistical packages (SPSS, R), spreadsheets and simulation software perform tests too large for hand calculation.
• Writing and typesetting: word processors and LaTeX produce structured, revisable manuscripts.
• Communication: email, preprint servers and online submission portals move work to reviewers and readers.
• Visualisation: plotting and graphics tools turn numbers into interpretable figures.

IV. Microsoft Word — Preparing the Document

Word is the dominant word processor for producing formatted, referenced manuscripts.

A. Grammar Checking

Word's proofing tools flag mechanical errors as you type.

• Spelling and grammar: red wavy underline marks spelling, blue marks grammar/style; run via Review → Editor or F7.
• Editor score: aggregates spelling, grammar, clarity and conciseness suggestions into a readability metric.
• Language setting: the proofing language (e.g. English UK vs US) must match the target journal to avoid false flags like colour/color.
• Limits: cannot detect factual or logical error, homophone misuse in context, or discipline-specific terminology — human proofreading remains essential.

B. Formatting of Documents

Consistent formatting is achieved through styles rather than manual keystrokes.

• Styles: applying Heading 1/2/3 and Normal rather than manually bolding text lets one change propagate document-wide and auto-builds the table of contents.
• Page layout: margins, line spacing (often 1.5 or double for submission), and justified or left-aligned text set under Layout.
• Sections and breaks: section breaks allow differing headers, page numbering or orientation within one file.
• Automated elements: References → Table of Contents and Insert → Caption generate and renumber contents, figures and tables automatically.
• Track Changes: Review → Track Changes records edits for collaborative revision and reviewer response.

C. Incorporating References

Word can manage citations internally so numbering and formatting stay consistent.

• References tab: Insert Citation stores each source in a Manage Sources master list.
• Style dropdown: selecting APA, MLA, Chicago or IEEE reformats every in-text citation instantly.
• Bibliography command: generates and updates the reference list from cited sources only.
• External managers: plug-ins such as Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote add "cite-while-you-write" toolbars with larger libraries and shared collections.

V. Reference Styles

A reference style is a fixed convention for citing sources so readers can locate them and authors avoid plagiarism.

A. The Two Structural Families

Styles divide by how the in-text pointer is formed.

1. Author–date (parenthetical): the citation gives author surname and year in text, e.g. (Smith, 2020); the reference list is alphabetical. Used by APA and Harvard, common in social and life sciences.
2. Numeric: a bracketed or superscript number, e.g. [1] or ¹, points to a numbered list in citation order. Used by IEEE and Vancouver, common in engineering and medicine.

B. Common Styles Compared

Each discipline favours a style; the elements are the same, the order and punctuation differ.

• APA (American Psychological Association): author–date; reference format Author, A. A. (Year). Title. Journal, Volume(Issue), pages.
• MLA (Modern Language Association): author–page in text (Smith 45); "Works Cited" list; dominant in humanities.
• Chicago: offers both a notes-bibliography (footnotes) system and an author–date system.
• IEEE: numeric brackets; author initials precede surname; used in electronics and computing.
• Vancouver: numeric; standard for biomedical journals.
• DOI/URL: modern styles require a DOI for electronic sources to ensure permanent linkage.

VI. Microsoft PowerPoint — Visual Delivery

PowerPoint builds the visual artefacts that accompany spoken presentation of research.

A. Slides for Seminar/Talk

Slides support the speaker; they are not the script.

• One idea per slide: a single message with a descriptive title sentence rather than a topic label.
• Minimal text: the 6×6 guideline — roughly six bullet lines, six words each; the speaker supplies detail aloud.
• Legibility: sans-serif font at 24 pt or larger, high contrast between text and background.
• Visual over verbal: replace paragraphs with charts, diagrams and images; import figures directly from analysis software.
• Structure: title, outline, method, results, conclusion, acknowledgements — mirroring the talk's arc.
• Delivery aids: Presenter View shows notes and timer while the audience sees only slides.

B. Creation of Posters

A poster is a single large static page read by delegates standing at a conference board.

• Canvas setup: set Design → Slide Size → Custom to the required dimensions (commonly A0, 841 × 1189 mm) before adding content.
• Column flow: content reads top-to-bottom in columns — title bar, introduction, methods, results, conclusion.
• Visual dominance: large figures and short captions carry the message; body text ≥ 24 pt, title ≥ 72 pt readable from ~1.5 m.
• Self-sufficiency: must communicate without a speaker present, since authors are absent for much of a session.
• Whitespace and hierarchy: generous spacing and a limited colour palette prevent clutter.

VII. Graphical Abstract

A graphical abstract is a single concise image that summarises a paper's central finding at a glance.

A. Purpose and Construction

It is an increasingly required visual gateway to the full text.

• Function: lets readers grasp the take-home message instantly and improves discoverability in search results and social media.
• Content: shows the workflow or key result — inputs, process arrow, outcome — not the whole study.
• Design rules: minimal text and labels, no unexplained abbreviations, and a clear left-to-right or top-to-bottom reading direction.
• Specifications: journals set a fixed size and resolution (often around 1200 × 1200 px minimum) and a preferred format such as TIFF or high-resolution PNG.
• Distinction from figures: unlike a data figure it need not present raw results; it is a conceptual, self-contained summary designed to stand alone beside the abstract.