Formal Report Draft
During this unit, we conducted the background research necessary to write the draft of our formal report. We did so following guidelines that were planned and written out in the previous unit.
The research was straightforward, I opted to only use surveys, rather than interviews. The surveys captured the questions posed in the scope of my report and provided both the quantitative and qualitative information needed for me to reach my conclusions. Interviews are difficult to conduct, especially this late in the term, and even more-so for professors. My surveys were directed towards research professors, and so I am very grateful to have gotten their input. Although I would have preferred to also have been able to conduct at least one interview, the scope of the questions answered in the survey is roughly parallel to those which would have been asked in the interview. I am also glad I took the time to carefully devise questions that would lend themselves to being useful both for the generation of graphs, as well as recommendations. The questions I asked were answered thoughtfully and went a long way towards helping me reach my conclusion.
The process of drafting my report was easier than expected. I spent a lot of time generating a rough outline of what the ‘flow’ of my discussion should look like. I spent some time looking at examples in the book, as well as the information provided, and made a general abstract template that could be applied to any topic. After having done so, the process was greatly simplified, as all I needed to do thus was fill in the blanks and personalize the template. I had planned on including results of the student surveys as well, but given the nature of the problem, reasoned that the professor surveys would be a more valid source of information.
Peer Review
I conducted my peer review in the standard manner, by breaking down my peer’s review by headings, and provided feedback for each, as well as how each section individually, as well as how each section flowed into the next.
Although the topic differed, my peer marvellously followed the standardized format; I found it easy to follow along, despite being unfamiliar with the topic. In my formal report, I will seek to do the same, and look towards how I can improve the clarity of my report; describing the problem in simple terms, discussing the results, and my recommendations. My peer also included a section that discussed the ‘effects of the recommendations’. Although outside the scope of the outline, I may consider doing the same. It allows the author to make an even stronger case for such recommendations, assuming the reader agrees the problem outlined exists, the author can provide further evidence for their recommendations being a solution.