Qualitative Research Report

Introduction: The introduction section of a qualitative research report identifies the phenomenon to be investigated and the type of qualitative study to be conducted. Also, this section includes the study purpose, the study question or aims, and the significance of the study. Because qualitative research is based on assumptions and philosophies, they are included in this section to provide a basis for the methods, results, and discussion sections. Some qualitative studies include the literature review in the introduction section or as a separate section, while others include a literature review in the discussion section.

Methods: As the researcher serves as the primary data collection instrument and is responsible for the data analysis which depends solely on the researcher’s reasoning, the researcher’s credentials are included in this section. This section also includes the setting and population included in the study. Moreover, the role of the researcher is described including the entry to the setting, selection of the study subjects or sample, and the ethical considerations presented to the subjects. Finally, the data collection process is described. This includes all of the data collection tools the researcher used and the dynamic way the researcher collected the data including the time consumed, how the data was recorded, and the amount of data collected.

Results: In this section the data collected, in the form of tapes, notes, observations and other materials from interviews, etc., is transformed into meaningful categories or common themes by the researcher. The data analysis procedures used and the process of implementing them is detailed in this section. Results, which include patterns and theories derived from life experiences, historical events, etc., are presented in a way that clarifies the phenomenon being studied.

Discussion: This section includes conclusions, derived from the findings, that answer each research question and link the findings with existing theoretical and empirical literature. Moreover, this section includes implications of the study and recommendations based on the study’s findings.

Citation is the way of giving credit to authors’ original work when you decide to use it in your own research. Citation is crucial to the respect of authors’ copyrights. Typically, a citation can include the author's name, date, location of the publisher, journal title, or DOI (Digital Object Identifier). There are two parts to referencing: in-text citation and reference list. There are a plethora of citation styles that are established, each of which has its own format and uses. The major citation styles are APA, MLA, Chicago, and Vancouver.

 This style is usually used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences.

 The APA referencing style is an "author-date" style, so the citation in the text consists of the author(s)’ surnames and the year of publication given wholly or partly in round brackets.

 No distinction is made between books, journal articles, internet documents or other formats. In the reference list: the author(s) full names, publication year, title, edition (if applicable), and publisher are written in this order.

 The references are then arranged alphabetically by the author.

Examples

In-text:

Author Surname(s), Year of Publication,

Page(s)

(Cervone & Pervin, 2017, pp. 13-16)

In the reference list:

Author(s). (Year of Publication).

Title: Subtitle

 This style is used mainly in Humanities.

(Edition.). Publisher.

Cervone, D., & Pervin, L.A. (2017). Personaity: Theory and Research (13th ed.). Wiley.

 The aim of the MLA style is to be brief and to provide only as much detail as is necessary to identify the work cited and the location of the information in that work.

 The flow of the text should not be interrupted. In in-text citations, the author(s)’ surnames and the pages of the cited work are written between brackets.

 In the reference list, the author(s)’ full names, title of the work, edition (if applicable), publisher, and publication year are written in this order.

 No distinction is made between books, journal articles, internet documents or other formats.

 Reference lists in MLA are arranged alphabetically by the author.

Examples

In-text:

Author Surname(s)

(Burns

Page(s)

In the reference list:

Author(s).

Year of Publication

Burns, Lynette Shiredan, and Benjamin J Mattews. Understanding Journalism. 3rd ed. Sage, 2018.

Title.

Chicago

Edition. Publisher,

 This style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts.

 Chicago style is an "author-date" style, so the citation in the text consists of the author(s) name and year of publication given wholly or partly in round brackets.

 In in-text citation the author(s) surnames and the year of publication are written.

 You can include page numbers, chapter or section numbers, preceded by a comma, if you need to be specific.

 In the reference list, the Author(s)’ full names, publication year, title of work, edition (if applicable), and place of publication and publisher should be written in this order.

 Reference lists in Chicago are arranged alphabetically by the primary author's surname.

Examples

In-text:

Author Surname(s)

(Tuten

In the reference list:

Page(s)

Year of Publication,

 This style is used mainly by the Health Sciences. Vancouver Style uses a notational method of referencing when referring to a source of information within the text of a document.

 In in-text citations, a number between brackets is used to refer to the reference.

 This number correlates to the reference list at the end that is arranged in the order of citation in the text, the first reference cited is labeled number 1 and so on.

 In the reference list, the number of the reference, the author(s)’ full names, title of the work, edition (if applicable), and place and place, publisher, and publication year are written in this order.

In-text:

(Reference Number).

…provides an overview of the principles of immune response (1).

In the reference list:

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