ABSTRACT
It is at this point that many practitioner-researchers have to confront a dilemma that may have quietly dogged them throughout all the previous stages of the enquiry. Some employers are willing to sponsor the research activities of staff because they believe that the outcomes of the research will generally benefit practice. We would not wish to quarrel with this premise. But problems do seem to arise when the outcome is perceived as a report which can inform local policy. It is highly unlikely that the research dissertation will be able to double as an internal or public report. Matters of confidentiality and the demands of the format and style of a research dissertation usually necessitate the preparation of separate presentations: one a dissertation, the other a report. With that distinction in mind we shall concentrate in this chapter on writing a dissertation, but shall briefly examine other ways of reporting research-based information.
