ARBA MINCH UNIVERSITY, SAWLA

CAMPUS
College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial
Technology
Department of Automotive Engineering
Research Methods
[AEng5241]
By: Mulugeta Demissie
 Chapter One
Fundamental Principles of
Technical Writing
Technical writing:- is any written form
of writing or drafting technical
communication used in a variety of
technical and occupational fields.
Technical writing is performed by
a technical writer and is the
process of writing and sharing
information in a professional
setting.
it is used to convey information
to another person or party in the
most clear and effective manner
possible
it is one of the main tasks to
analyze the information and
present it in a format that is easy
to read and understand.
A good technical writer needs
strong writing and
communication skills.
 This is the conventional
format for reporting the
results of your research,
investigations, and
design projects.
Key features of reports
Reports:
• are designed for quick and easy
communication of information
• are designed for selective reading
• use sections with numbered
headings and subheadings
• use figures and diagrams to convey
data.
Basic structure of a report
A report usually has these
components:
 Title page: This page gives:
• the title of the report
• the authors' names and ID numbers
• the course name and number, the
department, and university
• the date of submission.
 The title of the report
should indicate exactly what
the report is about. The
reader should know not
only the general topic, but
also the aspect of the topic
contained in the report.
Abstract or Executive Summary
The abstract or executive
summary provides a summary
of the report’s essential
information is usually about
150 to 250 words in length and
is usually presented on a
separate page.
The abstract / executive summary should
summaries:
• the background to the problem
• the purpose of the report
• the goal of the work reported on / the
scientific or commercial objective
• brief details of the approach, procedure
and/or methods
• important results and/or findings
• Conclusion(s)
• Recommendations
Summary:
• the summary (sometimes
referred to as the executive
summary) provides a brief
overview of the substance of
the report; usually no more
than half a page.
• It is not an introduction to the
topic.
• The summary should outline all the
key features of your report,
including the topic, what you did
and how you did it, and the main
outcomes of your work.
• A busy manager who might not
have time to read the full report
should be able to get the gist of
the whole report by reading the
summary.
The summary:
• states the topic of the report
• outlines your approach to the task
if applicable
• gives the most important findings
of your research or investigation,
or the key aspects of your design
• states the main outcomes or
conclusions.
The summary does NOT:
• provide general background
information
• explain why you are doing the
research, investigation or
design
• refer to later diagrams or
references.
Table of Contents:
• The contents page sets out the
sections and subsections of the
report and their corresponding
page numbers.
• It should clearly show the
structural relationship between
the sections and subsections.
•A reader looking for
specific information
should be able to locate
the appropriate section
easily from the table of
contents.
 Introduction:
• The introduction provides the
background information needed
for the rest of your report to be
understood.
• It is usually half to three-
quarters of a page in length.
• The purpose of the introduction is
to set the context for your report,
• provide sufficient background
information for the reader to be
able to follow the information
presented, and
• inform the reader about how that
information will be presented.
The introduction includes:
• the background to the topic of
your report to set your work in
its broad context
• a clear statement of the
purpose of the report, usually
to present the results of your
research, investigation, or
design
• a clear statement of the aims of
the project
• technical background necessary
to understand the report; e.g.
theory or assumptions
• a brief outline of the structure
of the report if appropriate (this
would not be necessary in a
short report)
The body of the report:
• presents the information from
your research, both real world
and theoretical, or your design
• organizes information logically
under appropriate headings
• conveys information in the
most effective way for
communication:
• uses figures and tables
• can use bulleted or
numbered lists
• can use formatting to break
up large slabs of text
 Conclusions:
• The conclusions section provides
an effective ending to your
report.
• The content should relate directly
to the aims of the project as
stated in the introduction, and
sum up the essential features of
your work.
This section:
• states whether you have achieved
your aims
• gives a brief summary of the key
findings or information in your
report
• highlights the major outcomes of
your investigation and their
significance.
 This section also may include:
• reference to original aim(s) and
objective(s) of report,
• application(s) of results,
• limitations and advantages of
the findings,
• objective opinion, evaluation or
judgment of the evidence
 The conclusion must arise from the
evidence discussed in the body of
the report. It should not, therefore,
subjectively tell the reader what to
do.
 The main conclusion may be stated
first and then any other conclusions
in decreasing order of importance.
NOTE: Sometimes the
conclusion and
recommendation can be
presented together in one
section but they should be
presented in separately
labeled subsections.
Recommendations
• If required, recommendations
should emerge from the
conclusions of the report.
• Recommendations tell the reader
what to do: what decision to make,
what course of action to take, what
alternative solution is superior or
what further work needs to be
undertaken.
• Although subjective, that is the
recommendations arise from
your opinion and judgments,
the recommendation section
should never contain any new
evidence and should arise from
the information presented in
the body and conclusion
sections
Recommendations should be
feasible and appropriate to the
problem; for example, their cost
should be realistic to the budget
and they should be ethical.
Recommendations are written for
action so they should be as concrete
and specific as possible; they should
read as a list of things the client
should do.
 The recommendations section
provides your opinion on the course
of action to be taken, you should
not, therefore, hedge your bets by
recommending all possible actions.
 Sometimes it may be the case that
you recommend that no action be
taken as this, in your opinion, is the
best course of action to take
References:
 The two parts to referencing
are:
 citations in the text of the
report
 a list of references in the
final section
• A citation shows that information
comes from another source.
• The reference list gives the details
of these sources.
• You need to use in-text citations
and provide details in the
references section when:
you incorporate information from
other sources;
e.g.:
• factual material
• graphs and tables of data
• pictures and diagrams
• you quote word-for-word from
another work (when you do
this the page number must be
given in the in-text citation)
Appendices:
 These contain material that is too detailed
to include in the main report, such as raw
data or detailed drawings.
 The conventions for appendices are as
follows:
• each appendix must be given a number (or
letter) and title;
• each appendix must be referred to by
number (or letter) at the relevant point in
the text.
Writing in Engineering
• These resources are intended to help you
develop skills to improve your writing in
Engineering subjects.
• Whether you are studying Chemical, Civil,
Electrical, Materials, or Mechanical
Engineering, the ability to write clearly and
persuasively is important in both your
studies and your future career as an
engineer.
• Take a look at the module on writing
technical reports and lab reports in
Engineering.
 Other resources that Engineering
students could find helpful are listed
under Writing for Science. These
include: the lab report, the Science
poster and Visuals to accompany
oral presentations.
Writing in Science
 It is important for you to develop your skills in oral and
written communication in Science for three main
reasons:
1. The audience for scientific writing today is made up
of both scientists and non-scientists.
2. Employers expect graduates to be able to
communicate effectively with both professional and
non-professional audiences on science-related matters.
3. Scientific work is a cooperative venture in which
current work depends on the previous work of others in
the scientific community, and it is vital that the work
which goes into research and writing is honestly and
properly acknowledged.
Dishonest behaviors such as:
cheating, collusion and
plagiarism are serious
breaches of acceptable
behavior, and severe
penalties.
Plagiarism
• Plagiarism is the presentation of
another person's work, ideas, or
creations as your own, without
acknowledging where those ideas came
from.
• In other words - you take credit for
someone else's work.
 In academic writing, this is the same as
cheating on an exam.
What is plagiarism?
Specifically, plagiarism is:
• copying phrases and passages word-
for-word without quotation marks
and without a reference to the
author; this includes but is not
limited to books, journals, reports,
theses, websites, conference papers
and course notes
• paraphrasing an author's work and
presenting it without a reference; this
includes but is not limited to sentences,
paragraphs, ideas and themes
• copying any part of another students'
work
• submitting items of assessment that are
written in conjunction with other
students (without prior permission of
the relevant staff member)
• submitting a piece of work has
already been submitted for
assessment in another course
• presenting other people's designs
and images as your own work
• submitting work as your own that
someone else has done for you.
 If you have used someone else's
work without acknowledging your
source, you have plagiarized.
How to avoid plagiarism?
Plagiarism can sometimes be the result
of poor note taking, or paraphrasing
without properly citing the reference.
You can avoid plagiarism by:
• citing your references
• referencing correctly
• recording direct quotes and
paraphrases correctly when note
taking.
Quotes
• When you use the exact words,
ideas or images of another person,
you are quoting the author.
• If you do not use quotation marks
around the original author's direct
words and cite the reference, you
are plagiarizing.
Paraphrasing
• Paraphrasing is when you take
someone else's concepts and put
them into your own words without
changing the original meaning.

• Even though you are not using the