Drafting our formal reports was a surprising process. While the report’s tone and intended audience required some formality, I was surprised at multiple points at how simple creating the report could be. These realizations occurred during my research, writing, and peer reviewing.
Concerning my research, sources providing relevant information can come from unexpected, but still credible places. Instead of more generic study that discussed climate projections and history for Kelowna in a global context, my cited climate projections came from a study about how climate projections could effect Kelowna’s wine industry. Climate change’s effects on Kelowna’s wine industry feel absurdly out of scope for my report on how to manage Mission Creek’s water levels, but the common point was the study’s climate projections, which I was using to draw conclusions relevant to my report.
Perhaps the biggest learning from this is to not dismiss a possible source because it does not cover the exact same questions you do. As an undergraduate, a source covering a very similar topic can be ideal, as it gives your claims authority and shows your knowledge of the literature. But as you create more original research beyond your undergraduate, you will draw from unexpected places by necessity, so it was interesting to a taste of that for this project.
I had a similar unexpected experience drafting my report, especially when I was discussing my survey data. Before I started, I thought this section would be a laborious and taxing process. It may have been if I had more expertise in data analysis, but I found describing the data surprisingly straightforward and slightly entertaining. I did not need to make highly technical assessments like what the standard deviation or Z-score was. It was effective enough to describe the data and make small remarks like “75% answered this way, overwhelming more than the previous answer.” Giving that context, I then only had to interpret my reported findings in my interpretation section. From this, I would say that a data section of a report is not as scary as I thought it was, and can be more relaxed In the future when preparing for it.
Lastly, reviewing my peer’s work made me realize how simple our proposals for the report could be. While I am investigating a semi-complex topic, involving climate projections, construction costs and public perception, my colleague was examining how feasible it would be for an ice cream shop to add dairy-free ice cream to their offerings. I realized I tend to be highly ambitious in what I want to cover, so what I should keep in mind in the future is to consider how long the report can be, and match my topic accordingly.