Final Reports

A final report should be submitted by 31 May in the year following the expedition.

General layout

Chapter titles should be brief but relevant. Please take particular care to be consistent in the formatting of headings for sections and subsections within chapters (ie centring, capitals, bold/italics, underlining, etc).

A numbering system for headings may clarify layout (eg 1: chapter; 1.1: section; 1.1.1: subsection).

Pictures, diagrams, graphs and tables should be placed appropriately in the text and all given a legend (title) and a sequential number through which it should be mentioned the text.

Give both the vernacular name and the Latin binomial of all biological species when they are first mentioned in the text; thereafter employ one or the other consistently. Try to avoid acronyms.

Cover and/or title page

The title should be short, informative, easily remembered, and preferably identical to the original name of the expedition. A line-drawing, painting or photograph may improve presentation. Logos or names of all sponsors should be included if possible or placed on the acknowledgements page.

Summary (abstract)

This should fit on one side of A4 (ie 300-400 words), and state the project's main objectives and achievements. In the case of an expedition to a country where English is not widely used, an additional version of this section in the appropriate language may be included.

Contents

A list of chapter titles, followed in each case by all their component parts with their page numbers. All pages should be numbered, including those containing only tables, figures or images.

Acknowledgements

All sponsors and supporters of the expedition should be thanked for their assistance. Individuals who played a crucial role in the initiation and execution of the project, or in helping to produce the report, should be mentioned by name.

Introduction

This should explain how the expedition came about including brief references to previous work concerned with the topic and/or locality that were central to the expedition. It should also re-state the objectives of the expedition.

Background

Give a detailed review of all relevant information available on the subject(s) of study.

Methods

Describe all the techniques used to obtain the results reported. Sufficient details should be given to allow both the exact replication of the work and some appreciation of the reliability of the results.

Results

Set out the results as clearly as possible making full use of tables, graphs, maps, diagrams and images. Whenever appropriate give the results of named statistical procedures in relevant table or figure legends or in the text. It may be convenient to have separate sections dealing with each objective of the expedition.

Other observations

Present any additional information that is relevant to the main themes of the expedition but does not relate directly to any of the original objectives.

Discussion and recommendations

The conclusions drawn from the results should be reviewed in the light of past work and any likely future eventualities. Whenever possible, assess the reliability of results and the generality of conclusions. Make constructive suggestions about how further work might proceed in the future, mentioning any new techniques or study areas that should be used, with reasons.

References

Full references to all literature cited in the text must be given. In the case of unpublished reports please indicate the organisation for which the report was prepared, and how it may be obtained.

Appendices

A series of appendices should contain any information which, although not essential to an understanding of the main body of the report, would be useful or interesting to a specialist. Appendices may be appropriate for recording such things as:

  • full systematic species lists (perhaps with local names)
  • records of how all personnel spent their working time during the expedition
  • lists of names and addresses referring to people or organisations from whom you obtained help
  • a detailed breakdown of the projected and actual budgets for the project
  • health and medical advice