A) Writing the introduction
The first step will be to meet with your research director to discuss
the content of the Introduction. This should be very explicit to the specific research you will be doing. Much of your time before writing must be spent in reading appropriate papers that are the background to the work you will be doing. Your research director can help you identify these papers. As you spend additional time working on the project, you should continue to read appropriate papers from the literature that will help you understand your work better. You should take responsibility for learning from your research director, or someone else whom is designated, the papers that are most appropriate for you to read in the future. Additionally you should acquire skills in conducting literature searches on your own for relevant papers in the most current literature as they appear by checking the most appropriate journals on a regular basis. You should ask your research director to also identify papers that include the methods you will be using in your study. The Introduction should begin by introducing the reader to the pertinent literature. A common mistake is introducing authors and their areas of study in general terms without mentioning their major findings.
The table below offers guidelines for effective introduction section in scientific reports.
| Questions to address: | How to address them: |
| 1. What is the problem? | a) Reviewrelevant research to provide rationale. (What conflict or unanswered question, untested population, untried method in existing research does your experiment address? What findings of others are you challenging or extending?) |
| b) Summarizerelevant research to provide context, key terms, and concepts so your reader can understand the experiment. | |
| 2. Why is it important? | c) Briefly describe your experiment: hypothesis(es), research, question(s); general experimental design or method; justification of method if alternatives exist. |
| 3. What solution (or step toward a solution) do you propose? | d) Describethe problem investigated. |
B) Writing the methods
The main purpose of the Materials and Methods section is to provide enough detail for a competent worker to repeat your study and reproduce
the results. The scientific method requires that your results be reproducible, and you must provide a basis for repetition of the study by others. Often in field-based studies, there is a need to describe the study area in greater detail than is possible in the Introduction. Usually authors will describe the study region in general terms in the Introduction and then describe the study site and climate in detail in the Materials and Methods section. The sub-headings "Study Site", "General Methods" and "Analysis" may be useful, in that order.
Equipment and materials available off the shelf should be described exactly and sources of materials should be given if there is variation in quality among supplies. Modifications to equipment or equipment constructed specifically for the study should be carefully described in detail. The method used to prepare reagents, fixatives, and stains should be stated exactly, though often reference to standard recipes in other works will suffice.
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The usual order of presentation of methods is chronological, however related methods may need to be described together and strict chronological order cannot always be followed. If your methods are new (unpublished), you must provide all of the detail required to repeat the methods. However, if a method has been previously published in a standard journal, only the name of the method and a literature reference need be given.
Be precise in describing measurements and include errors of measurement. Ordinary statistical methods should be used without comment; advanced or unusual methods may require a literature citation.
Show your materials and methods section to a colleague. Ask if they would have difficulty in repeating your study.
The table below offers guidelines for effective methods sections in scientific reports.