I found the research aspect to be the most difficult part of writing the formal report draft. It was difficult for me because I had a hard time choosing the right questions and figuring out how to properly word them. I ended up not using the results of one of my survey questions because I felt the question was too biased. I think it worked out in the end because I still had enough data to write my report. I think my major takeaway from the research aspect of the project is that I should take enough time to properly compose surveys and interview questions. If I were to do something like this in the future, I would ask a colleague to take a look at them before I distribute the survey.
I did not have as much difficulty with organization. I think the order of my report was not difficult to figure out. I feel like the order of my sections was arranged in a logical order. Upon reflection, I think one thing I should have done differently was break my sections into smaller ones. I will break some sections during my revisions.
Writing was also fairly difficult for me. I felt it was difficult to know when to include certain information. For example, I was unsure whether to include a lot of interpretation in the data section or save it for the conclusion. I also think I could have done a better job at using a positive tone. On the other hand, I think I did a good job of interpreting the data in depth and considering different possibilities of what the data could mean.
The peer review process helped me understand what a reader might look for. When I was critiquing my partner’s work, I noticed things my partner did well that I did not do in my report. My partner did a good job of avoiding blocks of text, while my report has multiple large blocks. I also noticed some things I did well, like discussing limitations of my data.