Research report: design rules

Upon completion of R&D, a progress report must be submitted. The form of the report on research is determined by the Interstate standard GOST 7.32 – 2001. It defines the requirements for the structure of the report and the rules for its design.

A single clearance procedure was introduced to increase efficiency in terms of information exchange. To this end, the processing of reports in information systems is constantly being improved. The standard contains all the basic information for the correct design of the report. These points are paid attention to, and they are guided by the Customer and the Contractor. The absence of some mandatory elements of the report can seriously delay its acceptance.

Special attention should be paid to the changes made to GOST 7.32 – 2001 (edition 2006), according to which the last paragraph from Section 1 was removed from the previous edition: “The standard does not apply to reports on R&D in the humanities.”

R&D report. GOST

A research report is a formal document that describes the status of a problem, the nature of the work done, and the results obtained. The final report is compiled on the results of the work as a whole and may include interim reports. This should be reflected in the terms of reference and the calendar plan for the implementation of research. The structure of the R&D report should include the following sections:

1. Title page;
2. List of performers;
3. Abstract;
4. Content;
5. Introduction;
6. Main body;
7. Conclusion;
8. List of sources used.

In addition to the listed structural elements that are mandatory for all reports, there are also optional elements that are included in the report at the discretion of the work contractor.

These include: definitions, designations and abbreviations, applications.

Title page

The title page is not only the first page of the report, but also a source of information that serves to find the document. The title page, as well as the list of performers, should be drawn up in accordance with the rules that are described in detail in the article “How to design the title page of a research report” .

Summary

This section contains the following information: the scope of the report, the number of tables, illustrations, applications, sources used. At the end of the text, keywords are listed, the number of which can be from five to fifteen.

The abstract should reflect the object of study, the purpose and methodology of the work, the results of the work carried out, the scope and recommendations for implementation.

Content

The content includes the title of all sections, subsections, a conclusion and a list of sources. If the R&D report has a volume of no more than 10 pages of text, then the content can be omitted. In addition, it is allowed to combine “Definitions, symbols and abbreviations” in one section.

Introduction

The “Introduction” provides an overview of the current state of the problem under study and the rationale for the need for research work, shows the relevance and novelty of the topic.

Main

The “body” contains the following subsections:

1. Selection and justification of research areas, description of the general research methodology.
2. Characteristics of theoretical and experimental studies, methods of research and calculations.
3. Generalization and evaluation of the results of the research, determination of further areas of work and their technical and economic efficiency, comparison of these results with similar results of domestic and foreign studies. Negative results should also be indicated if they lead to the need to stop further work in this direction.

Conclusion

The conclusion contains the main results and conclusions of the work done both in general and its individual stages, an assessment of the results obtained and their comparison with the best domestic and foreign samples, recommendations for their implementation.

List of used sources

The list of sources used is given at the end of the text and is drawn up in accordance with the general rules for the design of a bibliographic list for printed works (GOST 7.1).

Applications

This section includes materials of completed work, which for some reason cannot be included in the main text of the report.

What’s included in apps?

• intermediate proofs, formulas, calculations, numerical data tables;
• description of instruments and equipment used in research, test reports, conclusions of metrological examination;
• new methodologies developed through empirical research;
• copies of technical specifications for research, work programs;
• documentation on the implementation of the results of R&D.

All attachments must have links in the body of the report. Applications are arranged in the same order in which links to them are given in the main text.

General requirements for the Rules for preparing a research report

The text of the report with illustrations and tables should be printed on sheets of A-4 format

(GOST-9327). In the case of a large number of illustrations and tables, the use of the A-3 format is allowed. The font is only black (bold font is not allowed), the point size is at least 12, the spacing is 1.5. Margin sizes in mm: left – 30, right – 10, top and bottom – 20.

Page numbering is continuous throughout the text of the report. The page number in Arabic numerals is placed in the center of the bottom sheet. The title page is included in the general page numbering, but the number is not put down on it. Separate sheets with tables and illustrations are included in the general numbering.

Sections of the report are numbered and denoted by Arabic numerals. Subsections have their own serial numbering within a section and consist of a section number and a subsection number separated by a dot.

The numbering of all pages of the report and appendices must be continuous.

All illustrations, which include drawings, diagrams, graphs, diagrams, photographs, and the like, should be placed immediately after the text in which they are mentioned for the first time. Each illustration must be referenced in the text of the report, and all of them are drawn up in full accordance with the requirements of the Unified System for Design Documentation (ESKD). The illustrations have a single continuous numbering, except for those illustrations that are given in the Appendices. If illustrations are separately numbered within a section, then they are numbered in the same way as in the Annexes: in Arabic numerals with the addition of the section or application designation before the number.

Formulas and equations are allocated in a separate line, and explanations of the meanings of symbols are given under the formula in the same sequence as in the formula itself. Formulas are numbered in Arabic numerals in parentheses with a single numbering throughout the report at the end of the line. It is allowed to write formulas by hand in black ink.

References to sources used in the text are indicated under their serial numbers in the bibliographic list. The reference number is put in square brackets and is indicated in the order they are given in the text of the report, regardless of the division into sections. The list of sources used is placed at the end of the report, and the sources themselves are arranged in the order they are mentioned in the text.

In this article, the goal was to suggest to the reader which sections of the State Standard should be paid special attention to when writing certain sections of the research report. However, it is necessary to read and refer to the text of the State Standard according to the original source. The official text of GOST 7.32 – 2001 is available on the website: standard.gost.ru.

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