Definitely the most challenging unit yet, unit three primarily involved one of the largest projects of the course, the formal report.  This report was easier to plan and design thanks to the progress report, outlining all aspects of the report to be researched and the data collected.  However, data collection drastically changed the report draft from what was outlined in my progress report.

Research and Data Collection for the Formal Report

I found question formulation for data collection involving surveys and interviews simple, however, I realized my questions were overly abundant, somewhat repetitive and sometimes ambiguous.  This made it difficult for those who participated in the survey to understand how to interpret and answer the questions accordingly.  On the other hand, it ensured that the results were sincere, as if questions deemed repetitive were answered differently, the reader may not have been reading the survey properly, or may have misunderstood the question.  This was an important lesson that I will apply in future surveys, where I hope to maintain question repetition to ensure participants are reading the questions, without the ambiguity that I mistakenly introduced.  In addition, I learned to use Qualtrics, a terrific survey software alternative to Google Forms, my usual but much less secure platform.

Being on the giving end of the interview was also a new experience for me.  In addition to the repetitive questions as stated above, I found that the interviews gave unexpected and copious amounts of new information due to the interviewees’ passion for the subject matter. Summarizing and incorporating this content into the paper proved to be a challenging procedure, although it allowed me to understand how to best utilize spoken interview answers in a written report.  I also hope to further provide support through interview answers in the final draft, as I find it engages readers than more traditional secondary and primary sources.

Drafting the Formal Report

After data collection, I found that the answers to my questions would hardly provide the content that I was brainstorming in the purpose of the progress report (for example, why hand hygiene compliance was low in visitors and patients in a hospital setting).  Thus, I realized that a large portion of the report would involve speculation and secondary resources for support.  Since I wanted my report to focus on primary research in order to be novel to the target audience (who were experienced in the field and its literature), I modified my purpose tremendously.  In the first draft, this has yet to be seen in the “Scope of the Inquiry” section, although it is evident in the body of the report.  This allowed me to understand that in the future, I should formulate questions to guide my reasoning, as opposed to questions based on broad data collection such as “what methodologies can increase hand hygiene compliance?”.  Alternatively, I found that once the data is collected, the questions I initially planned to answer may be unanswerable, opening up other avenues of insight instead.  In summary, I learned that the progress report was not set in stone, with extensive modification in the final draft from the original plan.

In learning the “You Attitude”, I came to the conclusion that I had been subconsciously using such a style of writing without explicitly knowing.  It was logical that imperative verbs and negative tone had little place in a persuasive yet unbiased paper such as a progress report, where the goal is to ensure the reader understands the problem, it’s implications, and potential solutions.  However, there was still plenty of room for improvement, as I find it difficult to think from the reader’s perspective.  This style of writing seems useful no matter the circumstance, and I plan to continue to improve upon it both in the future and in my final draft of the report.

The word count of 2500-3500 words proved to be a restriction as opposed to a difficult target, ensuring that my writing was both concise and integral.  I believe that I still have potential revisions to make in this regard, as I find that there is more to incorporate into my final draft despite the word count approaching the limit.  At the same time, I believe I have come a long way throughout this course, as conciseness has always been a difficulty of mine, and I hope that in revising for my final draft, I can improve my clarity further.

Peer Reviewing a Formal Report

The peer review process of the formal report was no small task, and I had to wait eagerly for my partner to produce their best report draft before writing both the review and this reflection.  In waiting, I continually reviewed my own paper and its potential faults, as well as those of other peers in the hope of understanding how the report could be flexibly applied depending on the problem at hand.  Utilizing my accumulated skills from this course and my understanding from other reviews and formal report drafts, I crafted a review, which although lengthy, should ensure that my team member has a terrific final draft.  I am excited to receive the review of my formal report, as my peer is a master at conciseness.  They undoubtedly will ensure that I can cut down my own draft appropriately, allowing for a final draft that is informative and to the point.  Overall, I am thankful for the reviews this semester, providing opportunities to receive feedback from a peer not as deeply involved in the paper, yet still knowledgeable on the format, who will not lose track of the bigger picture.

Please find my formal report draft attached below.

Enclosure: ENGL 301 Formal Report – DRAFT