Investigative Report Outline

Aims

This stage is a full account of what you were trying to find out and why it was important. If a project proposal was written, then any subsequent changes should be noted and briefly explained.

Literature Review

Here you discuss the ideas which are relevant to your project. This should show that you understand the background issues and theories relating to the project.

Methodology

This should be a description of the methods used and will include any alterations that became necessary during the conduct of the investigation. Your choice of method should be drawn from or build upon the literature review.  

An Account of Your Conduct of Your Investigation

Here you should describe the context in which the conduct of the work was carried out and give a concise account of investigation what was done. Explain how you addressed any critical issues. It may be written as   a first-person narrative or more formally.

Findings

In this stage give the results of the investigation. How do these relate to issues in the literature? Present examples from the evidence collected to illustrate the points being made.

Evaluation

Here you need to consider the outcome of the project in relation to the initial aims and questions. Are there ways in which it could be changed and improved if carried out again? What kinds of further investigation could be made to follow up the results or extend the work started?

References

A list of all sources of material quoted or drawn upon in the project.

Appendices

Additional data or analysis that supports your aims and findings.

Source: Coffin, Caroline, et al. Teaching Academic Writing. London: Routledge, 2003. Print.