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Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM-1
Chapter 13
Reading and Writing the Quantitative Research Report
Activity: Developing Drafts of the Written Quantitative Report
Before students start to write a quantitative research report, have them draft a list of working titles
(ideally, four or five) for their study and then select the one that best represents the study. Next, ask
them to develop a table of contents (including each major heading and subheading, with a brief
Activity: Developing Poster Presentations
Teachers most often use writing assignments as the method for students to report the results of their
research. Lowry (1992) suggested, however, that poster sessions—much like those we experience at
conventions—help students organize and focus their written reports. If you assign individual or team
research projects, you might even ask students to display their posters in a classroom or conference room
where other students and faculty members can review them.
Activity: Dissecting Journal Articles
Ask students to read one quantitative research article. In class, divide the students into small groups to
generate a list of questions they would like to ask the authors about a particular section of the article
Activity: Evaluating Writing
The American Educational Research Association argues that research writing should be judged on two
criteria. The first is the degree to which claims are warranted. That is “adequate evidence should be
provided to justify the results and conclusions” (p. 33). The second criterion is transparency. Research
“reporting should make explicit the logic of inquiry and activities that led from the development of the
initial interest, topic, problem or research question; through the definition, collection, and analysis of data
or empirical evidence; to the articulated outcomes of the study” (p. 33).
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM-2
Worksheet—Reading Quantitative Research Reports
Read any quantitative research article. Use the article to answer the questions on this worksheet. Attach a
copy of the article to the completed worksheet.
APA citation for the article:
1. Write the problem statement here.
3. Is the author’s description of the research participants adequate? If not, what questions would you ask
the author about them?
4. What procedural details would require more description for you to replicate the study?
5. In what way could the author better describe the results?
6. Are there alternative interpretations of the data that the author ignores or dismisses? If so, describe
7. How well does the title reflect the study and its findings? Write an alternative title here.
Additional Resource
I love, love, love, this website. Thank you Learning and Teaching Center at Carleton College!
http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/carl_ltc/quantitative_writing/index.html
Web Resources
For a list of Internet resources, visit https://www.joannkeyton.com/research-methods
