Everything In Its Place

Megan Hazelman

Problem:

When the author knows his/her material very well, information might

be written or presented in a way that does not logically flow according to the

accepted order of research projects (i.e. Background, Purpose, Methods,

Results, Discussion, Conclusion).

Forces:

-- Research is more easily understood by a variety of people if it’s

explained in a predictable and accepted order.

-- Because the author knows the topic inside and out, they may skip from

section to section (i.e. talk about the Results in the Methods section)

without realizing it.

-- It might seem more logical to the author for him/her to go in a

unique order.

-- An author might feel that they are so knowledgeable that they can

stand up and talk about the research with no prepared order in mind.

Solution:

Present or write all information in a logical order that is

accepted in your discipline. Keep all information pertaining to a certain

section in that section only.

Consequences:

It might require several drafts, therefore taking a longer time to

produce.

Several other people should read the paper/presentation, and that is

difficult to coordinate.

It would be helpful, but time consuming, to give a practice

presentation to a varied audience before the actual presentation.

Rationale:

This works because it helps people from different backgrounds stay on the same page when coming into contact with a person’s research. Even if the audience does not understand the finer points of the discipline they have an idea of what happened during the project and in what order it happened. Having an accepted order for reporting findings helps the researcher stay focused and clear in their writings or presentations.

Known Uses:

Scholarly Journals in Sciences and Social Sciences, presenters in

the UNCA symposia, students in laboratory classes at UNCA.

Megan A. Hazelman

University of North Carolina - Asheville

email: mahazelm@bulldog.unca.edu

home: 828.252.6919