For PhD students: how to write progress reports on research

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... The content of a report must depend on its purpose. For most fields of study, the content of early reports probably ought to be such as to review progress to date and to identify a plan of action for the next phase of the work. Reviewing progress is not merely a matter of cataloguing what tasks one has done, although this will come into it. Rather, it should make a case that what one has done has been thoughtful, directed and competent.

Students should probably include the following in the report, presented where possible as a substantiated argument rather than as a straight description:

How one has defined or developed the research question(s), topic(s) or theme(s) etc., with which the report is concerned – possibly with reference to the original research proposal.
How one is developing the research methodology, stressing how it is appropriate.
How one expects to ensure that appropriate data will be collected which is convincing for its purpose.
How the literature is being used.
How any constraints are being handled.
How subjectivity, where relevant, is being handled.
Progress to date.
Problems or potential problems to be flagged up.
General reflections. These should be relevant, not just padding, and the nature of what is required is likely to vary considerably from one discipline to another.
A plan for the next phase of the work.

Interim reports should build on previous ones and, where appropriate, refer to them. Thus there should be no need for repetition of previously reported material that remains unchanged.

With a formal report such as that to a funding agency, certain headings or sections may be obligatory. They can seem bureaucratic or irrelevant, and if so, they may be there to provide the institution or funding agency with data for other purposes. So it is probably a good idea to start the report by drafting brief notes along the lines indicated by the above bullet points first, and then, in negotiation with supervisors, to edit these together to fit under the required headings. If the headings seem particularly bureaucratic or irrelevant, the help of supervisors will be essential for handling them.

Sections in the chapter on progress reports for research

The importance of reports during the research programme

Developing the content of a report

Structuring the report

Using basic word processing features to aid structuring

Constructing the introductory paragraph as an orientation to the report

Constructing the final paragraph for effective closure of the report

Citing literature

Adding figures and tables

Adding appendices

Developing an academic writing style

Making the writing process more effective and efficient

Capitalizing on all the features of word processing software

Using reports to get feedback and advice

Towards writing the thesis

Citing literature is made a great deal easier with bibliographic management software. However, there is much more to citing literature than using helpful software tools. Literature should be used to substantiate and carry forward an argument. It should never be a catalogue of everything you could find that might seem remotely relevant. However, where seminal works in the general area are not directly relevant, it would be unwise to omit them. Try instead to find a way of bringing them in, possibly in terms of what they do not do, thus making a case for work that you will be doing or have done or that still needs to be done by someone at some future time.

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HOW TO: Write progress reports for research

Developing the content of a progress report

Citing literature in a report or thesis chapter