The Role of the Correct Introduction of the Project Plan - Speech or Presentation Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Project Report Plan Course: Date: Project Report Plan CHAPTER 1 Introduction The introduction of the project plan is essential in terms of communicating the backdrop of the project to be carried out together with its aims and objectives. It requires a lot of accuracy as any form of error may make the report irrelevant. The introduction of the project plan discusses the means used in achieving the goals and objectives of the research. This forms the most important aspect of the project plan and it requires a careful analysis. It is also important to ensure that the report plan contains all the relevant information for the purposes of ensuring that the reader gets a clear picture of what the entire plan is all about. According toKothari, (2006), the introduction part of the report plan will contain the general information of the project and should not be more than ten percent of the entire report plan. The paper thus discusses the fundamental requirements of a report plan for a project report. Background Information The background information will be composed of the research behind the project. This includes the information as to why the research will be conducted and the purpose of the research. The background information is important to the readers as it gives them information about the factors that led to the research and hence the report. The background information is also important to the reader as it differentiate one type pf the research from the others. This is because there are several types of research which may include educational, scientific or business research. It is thus necessary to ensure that the section contains all the information regarding the reasons for carrying out the research. This section should however be precise but clear to the readers (Irny, 2005). If the background information is too wide, then it is important to add some points to the introduction section. This is because wide background information may end up being irrelevant as other information may not be useful for the section. It is also important to mention the stakeholders who are likely provide the necessary support during research work. This gives clear information to the readers regarding the people to be involved during the research. Problem statement The problem statement will be the question that the research attempts to answer. This is important in guiding the researcher to conclusively address the problems that the research is trying to solve. This section is usually precise and it is composed of a few lines. However it should be clear to the reader so as to make it relevant. A problem statement should always be persuasive to the readers. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the readers understand why the problem is of importance and is worth the research (Creswell, 2003). The problem statement will be composed of three main sections. The section includes the ideal part, the reality part and the consequences for the reader part. The ideal part will addresses the goals and objectives that are relevant to the study and are also useful to the readers. The reality part, on the other hand, will be composed of the obstacles that prevent the goals and objects from being achieved. These two parts are usually connected with words such as, however or in spite of. The consequences of the research are mainly the benefits that the research has on the audiences. This parts are usually the most important when composing a problem statement. The problem statement is usually considered as the backbone of the research as it explains the problems that need to be solved and their importance to the intended audiences. Main objective The main objective will explain the overall purpose of carrying out the research. This will be contained in a single sentence. Specific objectives The specific objectives are the particular objectives of the research. These objectives are the distinct points of conducting the research that should be achieved in order to answer the problem statements. The specific objectives are usually listed in numbers using specific words to describe them. During the research all the specific objectives must be achieved for the research to be credible. The objectives may be obvious and are usually guided by the problem statement. When writing the specific objectives, it always differs from one project to another. A scientific research report is usually composed of different specific objectives as compared to the educational and business research report. This section should therefore include all the objectives that directly affects the research and they should be achieved (Berg, 2009). The objectives should be written in an orderly manner starting with the most important objectives that should be achieved. A careful analysis should be done when writing the specific objectives to differentiate them from other objectives. The length of this section will depend on the nature of the project and the objectives that the research aims at achieving. Significance of the objectives This section deals with the state of knowledge present and how they are useful to the project. The section will cover two to three pages explaining how the objectives of the project will be addressed by the available knowledge. Critical examination of the existing knowledge will be analyzed in this section and the contributions of the existing knowledge towards addressing the objectives will also be done. The existing knowledge could be personal at this point or from other sources. It is also important to specify the existing gaps in the research and how they will be filed. It s is also important to explain the significance of the specific objectives in terms of filing the specific gaps in the research (Herrman, 2009). This should be done through a careful analysis of each objective and how they will fill the existing gap. The potential impacts that the research has on public should also be analyzed at this section and its significance should also be stated in this section. This section may also analyze the importance of the objectives specified and the reasons as to why they have been included in the research. It is therefore important to make an analysis of each objective at this point. Scope of the research The scope of the project is about the reasons as to why the project is being undertaken and the level of the research. This section will also address certain goals that the research should achieve. The objectives and the goals of the research should be stated clearly to give information to the readers as to why the research is important and the goals that the research seeks to address. Personal contributions towards the project will also be featured in this section in order to give more meaning. The personal contribution is an important aspect as it shows the commitment towards the project. This is also important to the readers as they may judge the report depending on the personal contributions. The scope of the project may also be written in the introduction section depending on the nature of the project. It also differs from one project to another due to the nature of the specific objectives (Patton, 2002). The scope of a scientific project differs from that of other projects as the scientific projects are based on evidence. It is therefore important to write a clear and precise scope of the project for the readers to understand the goals and objectives of the project. CHAPTER 2 Literature review This section will be composed of what other sources or literature says about the research topic. This part is important in the research for the purpose of making comparisons in the research. The researcher may consult several external sources in this section. The most acceptable sources include books, journals or internet sources. However the internet sources should be credible enough with reliable information. This is because some of the sources found in the internet do not have credible information which can be proved. The books and journals should also be credible enough for it to give relevant information. However, the use of the external sources depends on the nature and requirements of the project. Some of the projects may require books while others may not require the use of the internet sources. The literature review should be realistic enough for the readers to clearly understand what the professionals think about the topic. This is also important in terms of setting the datum for the project. However during this procedure, the researcher should not copy directly the works of the other professionals as it will interfere with the quality of the research (Silverman, 2011). Whenever a researcher uses the works of the other professionals or experts, it is important to ensure that sources are clearly indicated. All the external sources used during the research will be clearly referenced so as to make the research credible. It is also important for the writer to ensure that different sources are used during the literature review. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the information obtained regarding the concepts is accurate. The accuracy of the information obtained depends on the number of sources consulted by the researcher. The points should always be clearly explained so as to make the research report easy to understand. When writing the literature review it is important to note that the use of works by other professionals without proper referencing is a crime. This may lead to prosecution and hence the failure of the research project. The literature review can also contain the views of the writer in relation to the works of the professionals. It is also important to ensure that the materials used are up to date. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the latest information in the area is used for the research. Old materials may be irrelevant as changes may have occurred over a period of time. Materials that are more than a decade old may not be useful in most research (Dellinger, 2007). The critical review of the current knowledge will be an important concept of the literature review. This is because the knowledge in certain field will always change from time to time. In the information technology sector, the knowledge changes from time to time. It is therefore important to ensure that the research in the information technology is conducted by the use of updated materials. It is also important to note that this section will be composed of secondary sources of materials. Adding new information personally may not be necessary at this point. The use of academic sources when writing a literature review is very important. This is because most of the academic sources are credible and trusted and hence improving the quality of the information. However it is important for the report to use the literature that is only related to the research being conducted. The comparison between the studies is important when analyzing the literature review. The strengths and weaknesses between the materials used will also be analyzed when writing the literature review. It is important for the literature review to be more analytical as opposed to being descriptive. This is important in ensuring that a proper analysis of the literature is done (Green, 2006). CHAPTER 3 Methodology The methodology section will be composed of the methods that will used to carry out the research. The methods of carrying out research may include the use of questionnaires, interviews or collection of data from the literature review. A suitable method will be used for the purpose of obtaining accurate data and hence a credible report. However the methodology used may be affected by various factors which may influence the results. This section should thus contain all the information regarding the data collection for the purpose of ensuring that the reader understand the concepts used. Some of the data collection methods that have been analyzed in this section include the use of interviews, literature review and questionnaires. Data collection methods Interviews Interviews are very important methods of data collection when carrying out a research. The interview will involve the researcher and the interviewee who is the respondent. It is important to obtain the information from the people who are being researched. This will ensures that the information used during the research is accurate enough. The use of interviews during the data collection may be done through several methods. The method used depends on the nature of the project and also the availability of the resources to conduct the interview. For the purpose of data collection, three main forms of interviews are used. This includes the semi structured, the standardized and the unstandardized methods. The semi structured method of conducting an interview mainly involves the use of question while carrying out the interview. However, when using this method of data collection, new questions may be asked to the interviewee as the interview goes on. This means that the method is flexible enough and the interviewer is able to collect more information that may be necessary and may have come up during the interview. However, the interviewer may prepare some questions in advance regarding the topic of the interview. The information obtained from the interviewee will be written down or recorded depending on the needs of the researcher (Hart, 2001). The standardized method of carrying out an interview is more formal than the other methods. When collecting data using this method, the questions are fixed and require specific answers only. The interviewee only has to answer the questions in a specific way. The questions will be read to the interviewee as they appear in the question paper and the questions must be answered in a specific way. This method of data collection is useful when carrying out a research in the statistical field. The main aim of using this format for carrying out a research is for the purpose of ensuring that all the interviewees are asked the same questions and the nature of answering the questions remains the same. The interviewees are usually targeted from a specific field of interest during the interview. This is for the purpose of avoiding inaccurate information that may compromise the quality f the research. The information obtained is recorded for the purpose of carrying out an analysis using the statistical methods. In this section of the research report, it is important to ensure that the questions and answers used during the interview are well stated. All the activities that were carried out during the interview will be featured in this section (Hart, 2008). The unstandardized interview on the other hand will be done through the use of a free conversation. The interviewer and the interviewee engage freely in a conversation while the interviewer collects the data. This method also involves the use of unstructured questions for the purpose of collecting the data. When using this method, the interviewer is fully in control of the process and asks the questions depending on the knowledge of the interviewee. This method does not contain any form of or fixed structure to be used during the interview. This method may however lead to errors as the interviewee may answer the questions depending on the needs of the interviewer. On the other hand, the interviewer may influence the outcome of the process by asking biased questions. This method of collecting data is quite popular with most researchers. During the writing of the report it is also important that the raw data be written in this section. This section should not contain any analysis as it is done in a different section. All the people involved in the interview should be mentioned in this section including the roles that they played during the interview. Any other relevant issues regarding the interview should also be mentioned at this section (Gillham, 2008). Literature review In this section, all the literature that was used for the purpose of collecting data will be mentioned. It is also important to note that the use of materials such as journals and newspapers forms an important pat of data collection during a research. However it is important to ensure that all the sources are mentioned at the reference section of the research paper. In this part, intexting will be done so as to make the reader aware of the source of the materials used during the research. This is important for the purpose of maintaining the credibility of the research. The use of literature review is also important in terms of obtaining information that is recent and relevant to the study. This section depends with the research and might not feature in some of the research reports. In research reports where the literature materials were not used to collect data, this section may not be necessary. However, it is important to use other materials to collect data during the research in order to strengthen the information collected from other sources. A clear description of the results obtained will also be analyzed in this section in preparation for the analysis. The length of this section will depend on the number of sources used during the collection of the data (Silverman, 2011). Questionnaires In this section the questionnaires used during the data collection will be noted and discussed. Questionnaires play an important role in the research in terms of obtaining data. The questionnaires are usually composed of set of questions which the respondents have to answer. These questions are specifically designed for certain audiences who play an important part in the research. It is always important to note that the questionnaires are usually designed to fit the requirements of the research as well as the correspondents. This section is thus very important in the data collection and should be included in the research report. The length of this section will depend on the number of questions in the questionnaires as well as the number of respondents. It is also important to note the rate of response to the questionnaires in this section. This may include the number of people who responded to the questionnaires and the total number of people who were issued with the questionnaires. It is important to note the number of people who participated in the answering of the questionnaire so as to enhance the credibility of the research. It is however important to ensure that the number of people who participate in the questionnaire is high for the purpose of obtaining more views regarding the research (Mellenbergh, 2008). It is also important to include the methods used to reach the respondents in this section. This is because the there are various methods of reaching the respondents. The research questionnaires may be circulated through the use of hand delivery, postage or circulation via email. The use of email is much cheaper and faster as compared to the other methods. The methods used for circulating the research questionnaires will determine the number of people who can be reached. This affects the general outcome of the research. It is also important to note the problems or any other challenges that were encountered during the research when circulating the research questionnaires. This is important as some of the challenges may have effects on the outcome of the research. It is also important to ensure that the credibility of the research is not affected by the methods used during the circulation of the questionnaires. This section will be conclusive enough on all the matters dealing with the research questionnaires to enable the readers know exactly how the process was conducted. In some instances, the research questionnaires should only be discussed in this section and the response of the people issued with the questionnaires. The research questionnaires may however be included in a different section of the report which is the appendix (Drever et al, 2004). Analysis This section is the most important part of the research report. This is because the section tries to solve the research problem using the data collected during the research. It is thus important to ensure that the method of the analysis used is credible enough to analyze the information collected. The data collected will be carefully explained and discussed in this section so as to ensure hat it answers the research questions. There are various methods of analyzing the data collected using the various methods. The choice of an analysis method will depend on the nature of the data collected. It is thus the responsibility of the researcher to use the best method that solves the research problem. Various tools are used during the analysis of the data and it depends on the nature of the collected data. The researcher should also choose the method of analysis depending on the nature of the information at hand. However it is also important to note that the use of computes for carrying out analysis of data is increasingly becoming common. Thos should be mentioned in this section incase it was put into use. The most common methods of analysis are however the qualitative and quantitative analysis of data (Oppenheim, 2000). The qualitative data analysis method will involve making an observation before a conclusion is made. It is thus important to mention at this section the observations that have been made and how they contribute to the conclusion reached. The use of computers will be applicable when using the qualitative analysis method. This is however restricted to complex data which require a lot of interpretations. The computer programs used to analyze the data will also be mention in this section. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the reader understands how the data was analyzed and the computer program or software used. When using this method of data analysis, it is always important to classify the data into various groups. The criteria used for grouping the data should be mentioned in this section so as to provide a clear understanding of the data analysis method. This method may also involve the use of diagrams and flow charts to analyze the data. A clear interpretation of the diagrams and flow charts should be provided in this section so as to guide the reader into understanding the concepts being used. It is thus important to include all the qualitative data analysis procedures used for the purpose of improving the report and making it clear to understand (Adèr, 2008). Incase a quantitative research method was used, then the analysis will differ from the qualitative methods of analysis. The quantitative data analysis is usually complex as it involves a lot of mathematics. It is thus important for the researcher to state the statistical method used for the analysis. The formulas used to calculate the data will be stated in this section. It is also important to interpret the formulas in this section so as to provide a clear understanding to the readers. In some instances, the computers may also be used during the analysis. This is very common and it is important to state how the programs used have manipulated the data. It is also important to mention all the procedures used in the data analysis and how the conclusions are arrived at. This interpretation is very important during the analysis. The methods used to interpret the data will also be mentioned in this section. It is also important to state all the calculations that were done during the analysis and how the calculations contribute to the analysis and interpretation. Incase of any degree of error, it is important to mention it at this section and state how the errors were dealt with. The data analysis is therefore the most significant part of the research report and it determines whether the data collected solves the research problem or not (Mellenbergh, 2008). CHAPTER 5 Presentation of the report and findings This section deals with presenting the findings in relation to the study. It is important to ensure that this section is well laid out for the purpose of ensuring that the findings are well understood by the audience. This will be done by presenting the results in a form that the audience will clearly understand. The details should be well explained for the purpose of increasing the credibility of the results. The limitations and the weaknesses of the findings will be clearly explained so as to determine whether the research problem was solved. It is also important to compare the findings with known theories of the previous research in order to effectively communicate the points. The comparison is very important for the purpose of ensuring that the research solves the problem. Expected results should also be used in the comparison of the results. The expected results will also be mentioned as they form the basis of the findings. It also determines whether the results were above or blow average in terms of solving the problem. Any technical terms that were used during the research should be explained in this section. This is for the purpose of making the readers understand any terms that they may not be familiar with. The possibility of any faults in the research should also be discussed in this section. This is for the purpose of making the results and findings more credible. Faults could also be as a result of natural caused and should be explained at this point (Bucknam et al, 2011). CHAPTER 6 Conclusion The conclusion will be composed of the ideas facts that have been discussed in the in the project plan. This will contain the summary of the main points identified. This section does not require any referencing as the main points are usually referenced in the body of the research report. The points should also be clear and precise and no new ideas that were not discussed in the main body will be introduced in this section. The issues here are mainly based on the observation made. This part of the report plan is written in a single paragraph but the length depends on the length of the entire report plan. 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