Marine environment
Research: guidance note on the presentation of research reports

Introduction

1. Marine and Waterways Division (MWD) seek to disseminate reports of the Marine and Land Based Inputs to Sea research programme to a wide audience, part which may have little scientific training. For example Final Reports from MWD are routinely lodged with the National Lending Libraries, (i.e. The British Library, University Libraries of Oxford & Cambridge, National Library of Scotland, Library of Trinity College Dublin and the National Library of Wales). This note offers guidance to research contractors on the presentation of reports to MWD and covers:

• Progress Reports
• Executive Summaries of Final Reports, and
• Final Reports

2. This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Standard Conditions for Research Contracts and attention given to any special conditions attached to individual research contracts.

3. It is possible that particular circumstances may require different reporting arrangements. In these cases the Department's Nominated Officer will agree the necessary arrangements with the contractor before the contract is formally let.

Style of text

4. Authors should present and write their reports in an easily understood manner with scientific jargon explained for the lay reader.

5. The Executive Summary of final reports should be particularly aimed at the informed layperson as this part of the report will have the widest dissemination. Executive Summaries should be agreed with the project's nominated officer before incorporation into the final report.

Progress reports (to be presented on the completion of each Milestone)

6. During each contract the contractor is expected to submit Progress Reports to the Department's Nominated Officer at the completion of each Milestone. Progress Reports are to be submitted, in triplicate, loosely bound so that further copies can easily be made if required. The cover must show clearly to which of the contract's Milestones it refers.

7. Progress Reports should be presented as "stand-alone" outputs from the research. A typical Progress Report should be organised as far as possible according to the format described in Annex 1 - Part (i)

8. Each Report should describe the project's objectives from Schedule 1 of the research contract and highlight progress of the work in relation to any contractual programme, target or timetable. Presentation of progress on different aspects of the programme of work could be assisted by appending bar charts to the report.

9. Interim results or conclusions should be briefly presented and the contractor should describe the work programme to be followed during, and targets defined for the next reporting period.

10. The Progress Report should also highlight any factors likely to affect the satisfactory completion of the work in accordance with timetable and budget.

11. If a project has been arranged with a number of subsidiary milestones it may be impracticable to present a full report at the fulfilment of each milestone. In these circumstances short one page progress reports maybe presented on accomplishment of some milestones and more formal progress reports at key milestones. Reporting structures of this sort should be agreed at the start of the project. If it has not previously been agreed that a short progress report can be submitted then researchers should submit a full progress report.

Executive summaries (to be presented in draft form 8 weeks before the contract's end date)

12. Before incorporation in the final report of a project, the Executive Summary should be agreed with the Department's nominated officer for the contract.

13. An Executive Summary should normally cover no more than one side of A4 and contain no unnecessary jargon. Executive Summaries should briefly describe why the research was needed with reference to the Department's policy requirements, the main objectives of the research, how the work was carried out, and the key results and conclusions.

14. MWD may distribute Executive Summaries to interested parties and/or post them on the Department's Website. If the contractor, in agreement with the Department, decides to publish the Final Report then the Executive Summary should describe where interested parties can obtain copies of the Final Report and its cost.

Final reports (to be presented in draft form 4 weeks before the contract's end date)

15. A typical Final Report should be organised as far as possible according to the format described in Annex 1 - Part (ii).

16. The Final Report for a project is presented to the Department at the end of the contract period. It should be a self-contained overview of the project. It should state why the work was carried out with particular reference to policy requirements. The Report should describe the objectives as defined in the Schedule 1 of the contract, the methods and the major results and conclusions and should state in unequivocal terms the extent to which the objectives were met.

17. The contract Milestones should be listed in a separate section; again it should be stated, in unequivocal terms, the extent to which these have been met.

18. Data should be presented in the main body of the text only where the text offers interpretation of that data in the discussion and conclusions. The text should explain whether or not supporting data can be found in the Appendices. If data generated by the project are not included as appendices they should be archived in an appropriate library/data centre. If data are stored in this way the Final Report should clearly state how the data can be accessed.

19. Tables and Figures should be self-explanatory, capable of standing alone. Easily understood titles and clearly marked keys as necessary. Clarity may be gained by the addition of a brief explanatory note to the table of figures.

20. Published work and/or papers in preparation arising from the research contract should be included as annexes to the Final Report.

21. Throughout the Report there should be a critical assessment of the methods, results and conclusions.

22. In the section on conclusions there should be an assessment of how the findings from the project have contributed to the knowledge/debate in the topic area studied and the possible implications for policy development. This assessment should set the project in perspective in terms of recent and on-going research work.

23. The section on recommendations should outline new areas of research which need to be addressed based on the results of the project with some indication of priority/urgency. Recommendations should be tied, if possible, to policy developments.

Timing of final reports

24. Final Reports should be submitted, in triplicate, in draft, loosely bound form to the Department's Nominated Officer about 3-4 weeks before the contract end date. Draft Executive Summaries should be submitted two months before the end date. Once approved by the Department, the number of copies of the Final Report specified in the contract must be submitted, printed double-sided on recycled paper, in a bound form, as soon as possible. The binding should be sufficiently robust to allow the Final Report to be stored on shelves. In addition the contractor should submit a loose unbound copy of the approved Final report so that further copies can easily be made as required. A copy of the Final Report in electronic format, with the Executive Summary stored as a separate file must also be submitted.

Academic papers arising from Defra funded research

25. Academic Papers arising from the research contract must be cleared with the Department prior to submission for publication in scientific journals or for inclusion in other reports or reviews. The draft manuscript should be submitted to the Department's Nominated Officer for approval, which will not normally be withheld; a nil response after a three-week period can be interpreted as official approval. Publications must bear the appropriate acknowledgements to the Department as stated in the contract.

26. Contact with the Press and other News Media on topics related to Commissioned Research Projects must be cleared with the Department's Nominated Officer before public statements are issued or attributed.

Marine and Waterways Division
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
29th May 2002

Annex 1

Part (i)

Format for Progress Reports

Title Page*
Contents Page
Summary

Detail

Background to the project
Objectives and programme of work
Specific objectives during the reporting period
Difficulties and results during reporting period
Interim conclusions
Plans and targets for the next reporting period

References
Publications
Appendices (to include progress chart)
Annexes

*The Title Page of the Progress Report should bear the Project Title, the Department's Contract Reference number, the Milestone to which the report refers, the contract's start and end dates, and the name and address of the Project Scientist(s) involved.

Part (ii)

Format for Final Reports

Title Page**
Contents Page
List of figures and tables
Forward (including acknowledgements)
Executive Summary

Main Text

Background to the project
Objectives (including details of the extent to which they have been met)
Milestones (including details of the extent to which they have been met)
Methods
Results and observations
Analysis and discussions
Conclusions
Recommendations

References
Publications
Appendices
Annexes

**The Title Page of the Final Report should bear the Project Title, the Department's Contract Reference number, the date of the report, the contract's start and end dates, and the name and address of the Contractor.