TCA Lectures What is difference between a research proposal and a research report? What is reference in research report? Read APA Manual 6th edition and enlist the rules of references for research report. BEd

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Answer:

Difference between a research proposal and a research report:

Research proposal and research report are two terms that often confuse many student researchers. A research proposal describes what the researcher intends to do in his research study and is written before the collection and analysis of data. A research report describes the whole research study and is submitted after the competition of the whole research project. Thus, the main difference between research proposal and research report is that a research proposal describes the proposed research and research design whereas a research report describes the completed research, including the findings, conclusion, and recommendations.

What is a Research Proposal

A research proposal is a brief and coherent summary of the proposed research study, which is prepared at the beginning of a research project. The aim of a research proposal is to justify the need for a specific research proposal and present the practical methods and ways to conduct the proposed research. In other words, a research proposal presents the proposed design of the study and justifies the necessity of the specific research. Thus, a research proposal describes what you intend to do and why you intend to do it.

A research proposal generally contains the following segments:

• Introduction/ Context/ Background
• Literature Review
• Research Methods and Methodology
• Research question
• Aims and Objectives
• List of Reference

Each of these segments is indispensable to a research proposal. For example, it’s impossible to write a research proposal without reading related work and writing a literature review. Similarly, it’s not possible to decide a methodology without determining specific research questions. 

What is a Research Report

A research report is a document that is submitted at the end of a research project. This describes the completed research project. It describes the data collection, analysis, and the results as well. Thus, in addition to the sections mentioned above, this also includes sections such as,

• Findings
• Analysis
• Conclusions
• Shortcomings
• Recommendations

A research report is also known as a thesis or dissertation. A research report is not research plan or a proposed design. It describes what was actually done during the research project and what was learned from it. Research reports are usually longer than research proposals since they contain step-by-step processes of the research.

Research Proposal: Research Proposal describes what the researcher intends to do and why he intends to do it.

Research Report: Research report describes what the researcher has done, why he has done it, and the results he has achieved.

Order

Research Proposal: Research proposals are written at the beginning of a research proposal before the research project actually begins.

Research Report: Research reports are completed after the completion of the whole research project.

Content

Research Proposal: Research proposals contain sections such as introduction/background, literature review, research questions, methodology, aims and objective. 

Research Report: Research reports contain sections such as introduction/background, literature review, research questions, methodology, aims and objective, findings, analysis, results, conclusion, recommendations, citation.

Length

Research Proposal: Research proposals are shorter in length.

Research Report: Research reports are longer than research proposals.

APA Manual 6th edition and enlist the rules of references for research report:

• Your references should begin on a new page. Title the new page "References" and center the title text at the top of the page.
• All entries should be in alphabetical order.
• The first line of a reference should be flush with the left margin. Each additional line should be indented (usually accomplished by using the TAB key.)
• While earlier versions of APA format required only one space after each sentence, the new sixth edition of the style manual now recommends two spaces.
• The reference section should be double-spaced.
• All sources cited should appear both in-text and on the reference page. Any reference that appears in the text of your report or article must be cited on the reference page, and any item appearing on your reference page must be also included somewhere in the body of your text.
• Titles of books, journals, magazines, and newspapers should appear in italics.
• The exact format of each individual reference may vary somewhat depending on whether you are referencing an author or authors, a book or journal article, or an electronic source. It pays to spend some time looking at the specific requirements for each type of reference before formatting your source list.

A Few More Helpful Resources

If you are struggling with APA format or are looking for a good way to collect and organize your references as you work on your research, consider using a free APA citation machine. These online tools can help generate an APA style referenced, but always remember to double-check each one for accuracy.

Purchasing your own copy of the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is a great way to learn more about APA format and have a handy resource to check your own work against. Looking at examples of APA format can also be very helpful.

While APA format may seem complex, it will become easier once you familiarize yourself with the rules and format. The overall format may be similar for many papers, but your instructor might have specific requirements that vary depending on whether you are writing an essay or a research paper. In addition to your reference page, your instructor may also require you to maintain and turn in an APA format bibliography.

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