title: African Primary Care Research: writing a research report.
abstract: Presenting a research report is an important way of demonstrating one's ability to conduct research and is a requirement of most research-based degrees. Although known by various names across academic institutions, the structure required is mostly very similar, being based on the Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion format of scientific articles.This article offers some guidance on the process of writing, aimed at helping readers to start and to continue their writing; and to assist them in presenting a report that is received positively by their readers, including examiners. It also details the typical components of the research report, providing some guidelines for each, as well as the pitfalls to avoid.This article is part of a series on African Primary Care Research that aims to build capacity for research particularly at a Master's level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand. Ian.Couper@wits.ac.za.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Couper
authors.forename: Bob
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mash
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011642:Publications / Q000592:standards; D014956:Writing / Q000592:standards