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Research Mannual Final

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 NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY

METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH AND STUDIES

DIRECTORATE

METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH PROPOSAL, MANUAL AND

WRITING GUIDELINE

FIRST EDITION

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

JUNE, 2019
 Meteorological Research Proposal, Manual and Writing Guideline

Lead Author: Yosef Tesfaye

Members:

Yosef Tesfaye
Aklile Asefa
Bahiru Maregn
Tofikk Redi
Abate Getachew
Chaka Natae
Gezahegn Bekele
Eliyas Fiseha
Fitsum Bekele

Submitted to Research and Studies Directorate

First Edition: June, 2019
Copyright © MRSD_NMA of Ethiopia

All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the National Meteorological Agency.

National Meteorological Agency

P. o. box 1090, Tel +251115512299, email: [email protected]
Fax: 251-11-5587910
June 2019
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ii
 FOREWORD

National Meteorological Agency

It is my pleasure to write a foreword for this new guideline for meteorological experts at NMA of
Ethiopia. There is a real need for this first edition guideline. NMA became a major and
comprehensive agency in Ethiopia with many researches and studies, meteorological technicians’
trainings and PGD program. This new guideline reflects the agencies growth and research
diversity. The guideline brings uniformity and standardization across the agency for formatting
and styling of research proposals, manual and final research writing.

Under the direction given by the agency, a team was formed to conduct this writing activity in
November 2018. Ato Yosef Tesfaye team leader, Ato Abate Getachew, W/ro Aklile Asefa, Ato
Bahiru Maregn, Ato Tofik Redi, Ato Chaka Natae, Ato Gezahegn Bekele, Ato Eliyas Fiseha and
Ato Fitsum Bekele members worked on writing the guideline during a month period. The staff
experts criticized and suggested new ideas for the draft.

I take this opportunity to thank all members for their honest and dedicated work in the
preparation of this new guideline.

I am confident that this guideline will provide the necessary direction and guidance in writing
proposals, manual, technical guide and writing at NMA of Ethiopia.

Regards,

Fetene Teshome (Director General)

iii
 PREFACE

For the agency to be successful in research and training manual for the future, it must have clear
guidelines for doing research and writing activities for experts and trainer. This guideline helps
to write research proposals, manual and writing. Rather than considering a number of different
formats for the varied intellectual disciplines, now we have a single format to carry out
meteorological disciplines. In this guideline all the necessary formats, styles and how cover and
last page looks like are included.

The team made an effort to recognize the variety of meteorological disciplines. With the benefit
of the internet, we now have a global library at our finger tips as the resources along with our fine
academy libraries. Further, experts are strongly encouraged to use this opportunities and enhance
current research status.

It is our sincere hope that meteorological experts will carry this guideline and hold in your arms.
This guideline will help researcher in preparation of admirable and intellectual research
proposals, manual and writing at NMA of Ethiopia.

Members of Guideline on Meteorological

Research Proposal, Manual and Writing Guideline

iv
 PURPOSE OF WRITING GUIDELINE

The purpose of this research proposal, manual and writing guideline is three fold. Firstly, it has
been written to help emerging researchers establish a research profile at the NMA. Secondly, it
provides a repository for information, especially for new meteorologist, on the various forms and
procedures required when undertaking a research, project, technical manual and guideline.
Thirdly, it aims to be a general reference document for all administration and compliance aspects
of research undertaken at the Agency (NMA). This research proposal, manual and writing
guideline will be an active document and will be updated as new procedures are put in place. As
such, we hope it will be a very useful tool for common understanding and guide.

v
 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

MRSD Meteorological Research and Studies Directorate

NMA National Meteorological Agency

PGD Post Graduate Diploma

SOP Standard Operational Procedure

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................ iii
PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................... iv
PURPOSE OF WRITING GUIDELINE ....................................................................................... v
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ..................................................................................... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. vi
CHAPTER 1. STYLE AND FORMATTING ............................................................................... 1
1.1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Margins ......................................................................................................... 1
1.3. Font ............................................................................................................... 1
1.4. Headings and Subheadings ........................................................................... 1
1.5. Paragraph Format and Line Spacing ............................................................. 3
1.6. Page Numbering and Set up .......................................................................... 3
1.7. Tables and Figures ........................................................................................ 4
1.8. Additional Style and Formatting Concerns................................................... 5
CHAPTER2. RESEARCH PROPOSAL WRITING ..................................................................... 6
2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 6
2.2. Elements of the Research Proposal ............................................................... 6
2.2.1. Cover Page ........................................................................................... 6
2.2.2. Acknowledgements .............................................................................. 9
2.2.3. Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................... 9
2.2.4. Table of Contents ................................................................................. 9
2.2.5. List of Tables and List of Figures ..................................................... 10

vi
 2.2.6. Abstract or Summary.......................................................................... 11
2.2.7. Introduction ........................................................................................ 11
2.2.8. Literature Review ............................................................................... 12
2.2.9. Materials and Methods ....................................................................... 13
2.2.10. Work Plan for Major Activities ........................................................ 14
2.2.11. Requests Budget Breakdown............................................................ 15
2.2.12. References ........................................................................................ 16
2.2.13. Appendix (s) ..................................................................................... 18
2.2.14. Letter of Agreement Sheet ............................................................... 18
CHAPTER 3 OPERATIONALS MANUAL, GUIDELINE AND SOP WRITING ................... 18
3.1. Definition: .................................................................................................... 18
3.2. Seven Steps to Follow SOP .......................................................................... 20
CHAPTER4. RESEARCH WRITING ........................................................................................ 22
4.1. Cover Page and Title Page ........................................................................... 22
4.2. Research Letter of Agreement ...................................................................... 22
4.3. Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... 23
4.4. Acronyms and Abbreviations ....................................................................... 23
4.5. Table of Contents ......................................................................................... 23
4.6. List of Tables and Figures ............................................................................ 23
4.7. List of Appendix ........................................................................................... 23
4.8. Abstract ........................................................................................................ 23
4.9. Description of the Research ......................................................................... 24
4.9.1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 24
4.9.2. Literature Review ................................................................................. 24
4.9.3. Materials and Methods ......................................................................... 24
4.9.4. Results and Discussion......................................................................... 25
4.9.5. Conclusion and Recommendation ....................................................... 26
4.9.6. References ............................................................................................ 26
4.9.7. Appendix .............................................................................................. 27
4.10. Submission Instructions .............................................................................. 27
CHAPTER5. GUIDELINES FOR EDITORS OF SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENT......................... 27
5.1. Responsibility of Editors of Meteorological Research and Manual ............. 28
5.2. Edit the Research and Manual Manuscript ................................................... 29
CHAPTER6 APPENDIX............................................................................................................. 35

vii
 CHAPTER 1. STYLE AND FORMATTING

1.1. Introduction

The following guideline serves as an institutional guide for the proper development of research
papers, manuals and other similar projects for meteorological experts or instructors of National
Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia. NMA technical writing requires consistency in style and
format in Meteorological Research Proposal, Manual and Writing Guideline. Definite rules are
followed consistently throughout these documents.

1.2. Margins

A margin of 1.0 inch on the left-hand is for binding. A margin of 0.98 inch each on the right, top
and bottom of the page is required. The same margins should be applied to all pages including
those of the figures and tables.

1.3. Font

Times New Roman font is required throughout the documents. There should be no difference in
the type of font used throughout the Meteorological Research Proposal, Manual and Research
Writing Guideline. The cover page of the research proposals, manual, guide and final research
writing is presented in 16 point font size and upper case. The documents will also have an
additional title page where 14 point font size shall be used. The text in the cover page and title
page in the Meteorological Research Proposal, Manual and Writing Guideline will be in bold
face font. The first level headings in document will be in 14 point font size; the second level
headings in document will be in 14 point font size in sentence case and the rest heading under
second level heading is in sentence case 12 point font size. Away from this variation in font size,
all of the description in the all documents is in 12 point font size.

1.4. Headings and Subheadings

Each headings of the initial sections; such as approval sheet, acknowledgement abbreviations and
acronyms, table of contents, list of tables, list of figures, list of appendix and the chapters of the
 2

description should be written in bold upper case letters and be centered. The chapter headings of
the description must be numbered with Arabic numerals starting from 1 for the Introduction and
ending with Appendix. The Arabic numerals shall be followed by a period, a space and the
heading of the chapter. Note that the titles of the initial sections are not numbered before
Introduction. The subheadings are numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in an outline
numbering system. Example:

In general 1.1., 1.2., etc. for subheadings of Chapter 1; 2.1., 2.2., etc. for Chapter 2; similarly, the
outline numbering system will be used for lower level headings 2.1.1., 2.1.2., etc. for
subheadings. Second level headings are written in bold title case letters. The first letter of each
major word of the headings is written in upper case letters. All remaining lower level headings
are written in sentence case, unless required by grammatical or nomenclature rules. Example:
Background, Statement of the Problem, etc. Furthermore, Second level headings and lower level
headings should be level left and length of the subheading not more than forth level and more
than sub title 2.1.1.1. An extra line should separate the headings from the description.
 3

1.5. Paragraph Format and Line Spacing

Additional 1.5 line spacing is kept between paragraphs above and below all headings,
subheadings and captions. All paragraphs should be in block paragraph format. The line spacing
for all of the text is 1.5 although single (1.0) line spacing is to be applied to captions of tables and
figures. Example for paragraph 1.5line spacing:

Example: Single line spacing for captions of the table and hanging by 0.5.

1.6. Page Numbering and Set up

The initial section, each chapter of the description, the references and the appendix must start on
a new page. Except to the latter may be for the Table of Contents, Acronyms and Abbreviations
and the List of Tables and List of Figures each component of the initial section should be short
and not exceed one page. Except for the cover page, every page of the research proposals,
manual, guide and final research writing is assigned a page number. The use of two different
types of page numbering is recommended. Small Roman numerals such as ii, iii, etc. are used for
the initial section from title page to the page preceding the Introduction. However, a page number
should not appear on the cover page and the following page will be numbered with ii. Arabic
numerals such as 1, 2, 3, etc. are used from the first page of the Introduction to the last page of
 4

the Appendix. All page numbers are at the top right of the page without any characters (periods
or dashes).

1.7. Tables and Figures

Meteorological experts should not use tables and figures for the same data discussed in the
description. Tables and figures should be single line spaced and borders are required all the
column and row of the table. Tables and figures should be understandably placed in the
description of the Meteorological Research Proposal, Manual and Writing Guideline writing and
should be as close as possible to the results description where those tables and figures are first
cited.

The headings within the Tables and Figures can be bolded; but font size of the text in table is
optional. Tables and figures are consistent in format throughout the document and the numerical
values cited in the description should match those in the tables. All tables and figures should
have a clear and short caption. Table notes may be used to describe the contents of the caption or
column headings cross-referenced using super-scripted numbers. Empty space between the
tables and figures and the description should auto and 1.5line spaces. Tables and figures should
be clearly presented and self-explanatory; so the reader should be able to understand them
without reading the narrative of the results.

Example: for Table and Figure

No Station Name Elevation Longitude in Latitude in *Distance from

in meters Deg. Dec. Deg. Dec. Center

1 Addis Ababa 2330 38.75 9.08 Center

2 Arbaminch 1220 37.53 5.96 505

3 Asossa 1600 34.5 10 633

*Reference: Ethiopia Road Authority and ArcGIS 10.3.

 5

1.8. Additional Style and Formatting Concerns

Where required, scientific names in any part of the research proposals, manual, guide and final
research writing should be written in italic font with the genus name starting with a capital letter
(e.g. Kiremt, Bega, Belg…). The species nickname will appear in a small letter. Similarly, no
English language terminology such as words, nouns, or pronouns shall be italicized (e.g. Teff…)
Moreover, all measurements should be given in metric or Standard International (SI) units and
only the Ethiopian Birr (ETB) shall be used for budget currency discussions. Complicated, long
or uncooperative sentences and the use of personal pronouns such as I, you and we should be
avoided. The structure of a sentence is important in research proposals, manual, guide and final
research writing. For example, do not begin a sentence by Study, And etc. In addition, never start
a sentence with numerals and with an abbreviation such as scientific name.
 6

CHAPTER2. RESEARCH PROPOSAL WRITING

2.1. Introduction

The length of a proposal often varies somewhat depending on the area of the proposed work and
the topic itself. In general, a proposal is normally between 20 and 30 pages, single column,
spacing using and font size including figures, tables and references must be as described above.
Moreover, the plan and preparation of a research proposal is required of all meteorological
experts in all core processes at NMA of Ethiopia. The vital success of a works depends upon the
preparation of research proposal. The following sections pronounce the format that climate
experts at NMA should follow when writing their research proposals.

2.2. Elements of the Research Proposal

The research proposal submitted by a Meteorological experts for research is expected to have the
subsequent sections although there can be some limited difference based on the research
discipline and the study in question. Each of these sections should start on a new page and all
section titles should be capitalized. Note that any one must be follow the General structure of
research proposal from 2.2.1 to 2.2.14.

2.2.1. Cover Page

The cover page would be instructive and consist of the title of the research proposal, the name of
the experts and the names of agency and submitted to directorate (Research and Studies
Directorate). The month and year followed by the address and location are the last items on the
cover page. Title case letters are recommended in the style of writing as indicated in the styles
and formatting part of this guideline. Words such as “Abbreviations” or "The Study of" or "An
Investigation on" are not essential. The title should accurately reflect the main subject of the
proposed study. In addition, the styles and formatting of the title page; that is next to the cover
page is capitalize each word and contents as shown in the following example.
 7

Example: Cover page of the Research Document:

Example: Cover page for manual and guideline

 8

Example: Title page for Research Document

Example: Title page for Manual and Guideline

 9

2.2.2. Acknowledgements

In this section recognizes the persons or organizations or others the experts is thankful to for
guidance or assistance received and those to whom the researcher extends cheers for support in
the preparation of the research proposal or manual. Ethical considerations are critical to the
completion of research. Examples of ethical issues include known benefits and risks of
participant involvement in the research, exact description of the information to be delivered to
the subjects of the study, discuss the procedures for informed consent by the study participants
where applicable.

2.2.3. Abbreviations and Acronyms

In Abbreviations and Acronyms section researchers list in alphabetical order the abbreviations or
acronyms followed by their text body should be defined in full. Standard (S.I.) units do not need
to be listed. Abbreviations and symbols (i.e. and etc.) should not be italicized.

Example for Abbreviations and Acronyms

2.2.4. Table of Contents

All of the headings and entries in the table of contents should correspond exactly in wording, font
and case with the headings or entries as they appear in the text of the proposal.
 10

Example for Table of contents:

Do not use title and page at the top of the page in the table of contents. Also, there should be
dotted lines connecting headings and respective pages. Level of Subheadings should exceed
optional. A table of contents is shown in the example that illustrates the capitalization,
indentation, line spacing between the headings and the numbering of sections.

2.2.5. List of Tables and List of Figures

The sample list of tables and figures from a proposal presented in section1.7 above of this guideline
explains how the list shall be prepared in the research proposal and manual.
 11

Example for List of Tables

Example for List of Figures

2.2.6. Abstract or Summary

An abstract or summary that, in one or two paragraphs, provides a concise summary of the work you are
proposing include statement of the problem that you are trying to solve and how you expect to solve it,
background of the research proposal topic, objectives of the study and the methods to be used in the
research project. This is one of the most challenging parts of the proposal to write since you must provide
some detail without the reader having yet been given the background knowledge. It should be concise and
less than one page in length. The summary should be presented in one single block paragraph in 1.5 line
spacing without subtitles or any divisions and in italic form. In the body of abstract and summary
abbreviation and acronym is not encouraged.

2.2.7. Introduction

The introduction is the first chapter that is numbered for a research proposal and manual. It
provides relevant background information on the research, should be as brief as possible and it
should not exceed five pages in length. In the introduction you need to say why you are doing the
proposed work and what its significance is. It is in the introduction that you typically also define
and explain most of the necessary terms and acronyms. You also need to provide a quick sketch
 12

of your proposed solution and briefly explain how it differs from other work. Be sure to build
from more general concepts to more specific ones so that the reader will understand everything.
You should be able to have someone else read just your introduction and be able to then tell you
what you are proposing to do and why it is interesting. That is, the introduction should be
understandable by itself without the rest of the proposal. It includes brief background and clear
statement of the problem, significance of problem and general research objectives. Objectives
that specify the goals of the research, research information to be gathered, research questions to
be answered or research hypotheses developed and to be tested. In general introduction must
include background, statement of the problem, significance of the study, objectives of the study
(general objective and specific objectives), scope and outcomes of the research. In addition to
these introduction is explain about the gap and the materials to solve the objective. A concise
these that, in one to four sentences, describe specifically what the significance, problem,
objectives, scope and an outcome is that you intend to solve. All are statement can be technical in
nature. Present a clear statement of your research problem in this section. Formulate your
research questions bearing in mind a clear response to the “so-what?” question. This should be
followed by a crisp and cogent statement of your research hypothesis posed in the form of a
falsifiable proposition.

2.2.8. Literature Review

The literature review is chapter two and should be a critical analysis of relevant existing
knowledge on the proposed research topic. It includes the strengths, the limitations and gaps of
previous studies. The literature review should be relevant with recent citations on the topic.
Citations within the past five years are ideal and generally considered current. Citations ten years
and older should be used sparingly and only when necessary. Serious attention must be given to
avoid any possible consideration of plagiarism. This is done by the meteorological experts
carefully referencing each and every document used. A literature review is a presentation which
briefly summaries the essential contents of one or several monographs or scientific articles. In a
literature review, the writer is expected to point out the author’s key arguments and also present
the results of her analysis in a concise form. It is important to note that a series of direct
quotations from the literature under inspection does not as such constitute a literature review.
When working on a literature review, one should always keep in mind its function. The purpose
 13

of a literature review is to analyze the essential characteristics of a particular text. This means
that the writer should pay attention to the structure and the central themes of the text as well as to
the arguments presented by its author. In this sense, a literature review could be thought of as a
‘full figure photograph’ of the text. If a literature review is part of a larger research report, which
analyses several sources, the purpose of the review should be assessed in this context; in such a
case, it would be sensible to select relevant parts of the texts for detailed examination. This
procedure could be thought of as a ‘passport photograph,’ for only a relevant part of the source is
analyzed. Reports of this kind constitute an essential part of scientific inquiry; the skill in
preparing such reports will develop through practice. The aim of a literature review is to recount
the arguments and thoughts presented in the text as accurately as possible. A literature review
must treat the author of the text respectfully and impartially, even if the writer of the review does
not agree with the views presented in the text. The writer should not underestimate the value of
the text and dismiss the text only because it does not reflect the personal views. The author of the
review must clearly point out when the arguments and interpretations presented are her own (for
example, by stating, “It is, however, my opinion that…”).

2.2.9. Materials and Methods

Chapter three may also be titled “Materials and methods” in meteorological disciplines for which
this usage is common and appropriate. It describes precisely what will be done and how it will be
done, what data will be recorded, the proposed tools or software or model to be used in data
collection and the methods of analyzing the data. In this the researcher should give clear,
specific, appropriate and credible procedures that will be followed to attain the proposed
objectives of the study. The research methods should be appropriate to the statement of the
problem, the objectives and the logistics of implementation should be viewed parallel to the
choice of the research methodology. The researchers should consider affordability, time issues,
feasibility of the study and availability of equipment and supplies. Further, they should also
address the methods of data collection, data quality control and methods of data analysis.

Materials and methods section should include:

a. Definition of terms and variables (optional)

b. Description of the study area with geographic location in standard form.
 14

c. Study period when data will be collected

d. Data collection. This includes questionnaires use of observation, focus group discussions, in
depth interviews, laboratory analyses and similar methods. The description should outline the
data to be collected in the study, the methods of measurement and the units of measurement.
e. Climate of the study area and Soil classification of the study area (optional)
f. Data analysis. The experts should decide how the data generated will be analyzed. Also,
explanations of the data analytical methods, techniques, tools and statistical tests that will be
used should be provided. Software planned for use in statistical analysis may also be
mentioned. Data quality control and homogeneity test; here required description of how the
data collection instruments will be checked and the reliability and validity of model used in
the research should be provided.

2.2.10. Work Plan for Major Activities

This section focuses on the planning of time for the implementation of the research project. The
experts allocate time frames for the completion of various activities of the proposed research and
manual. The plan of activities can be presented in the form of a table. Only major activities for
accomplishing the research and corresponding time frames should be included in the table.

Example of plan of activities:

Activities Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Introduction

Literature Review

Data collection and Analysis

First Report Writing

Visiting selected AWS and CWS

Awareness work shop at Branch offices

Final Report Writing

Research Submission
 15

2.2.11. Requests Budget Breakdown

The budget chapter should include both a narrative discussion and rationale for requested funds,
followed by a related set of tables. This involves first discussing and then listing, in a series of
separate tables, the necessary and required personnel, per diem days required to conduct research,
transportation costs, supervision, equipment, stationery, expendable research supplies and
materials and any associated services for the project. Budget source must indicate at the bottom
of table. The budget source may be from Meteorological Research and Studies Directorate or
from others Governmental and Non-Governmental institutions/Organizations. Every budget item
must be justified if funds are to be expected to support the research. Item costs should be
reasonable and reflect a fair and current market price. The budget should be prepared in
accordance with National Meteorological Agency policies. The budget chapter will then have the
budget source shall be indicated.

Example for Table of Requests Budget Breakdown:

Description/ Purpose No of Per day Total Remark

Persons and Payment(ETB) Cost(ETB)

Days

Awareness work shop for AWS 5*10person 100.00 5000.00 Adama, Awasa, Jimma,
vs CWS at six branch offices for Combolcha
10 data experts

Per dim payment for two experts 2*30 days 208.00 12480.00 To visit status of selected
Visiting selected AWS and Stations
Conventional Station

Per dim payment for driver 1*30 165.00 4950.00

Transportation fuel 1105km 16.50per liter 18232.50

Contact Advisors Twice per year xxx xxxx Within the Research period

Total 40662.50(Forty Thousand Six Hundred Sixty Two50/100 Birr)

Budget Source: Meteorological Research and Studies Directorate.

 16

2.2.12. References

This must be provided in the usual scholarly fashion. It helps to convince your reader that your
proposal is worth pursuing if you can identify literature in field and demonstrate that you
understand it. It makes a very strong impact if you can identify where there is search gap in the
literature that your proposal hopes to fill. In text references should be provided carefully follow
the style shown in example of this guideline which provides many examples. References chapter
must include all works cited in research proposal. All citations appearing in the text body of the
proposal must be included in the references chapter and vice versa. While, the references not
needed to cite in text body of the manual or guideline. But all citations appearing included in the
references chapter used to write the documents. The list should use the hanging indent method
where all lines after the first one are indented 0.5 inch. The list should be in alphabetical order by
the last names of the first authors (A, B, C...).

Format for reference:

Example for Citation on text body:

Climate data is.........variability..........extremes (Agnihotri and Panda, 2014). Furthermore,

.................vegetation. Thus, one ................available (Bautista and Delgado, 2010). Though,
African .................. and management. (Anita et al., 2014).

Example for Reference:

Journal Articles:

Kebede Yemane. 2008. Cigarette smoking and khat chewing among university instructors in
Ethiopia. East African Medical Journal 16:9-17.

Agnihotri Mars and Panda John. 2014. Comparison of rainfall from automatic and ordinary rain
gauges in Karnatka. Sciences Journal, 65:4, 575-584.
 17

Anita Anna, Neil Mark and Maxm Kitim. 2010. Evaluation of five satellite products for
estimation of rainfall over Uganda. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 53:6, 1137-1150.

Bautista Fule and Delgado Cheers. 2009. Calibration of the equations of Hargreaves and
Thornthwaite to estimate the PET in semi-arid and sub-humid tropical climates for
regional applications. Atmosfera, Mexico, 331-348.

Books:

Dyckman, Thomson and Pfeiffer Grimes. 2010. Financial Accounting, 3rd Edition. Boston, MA,
USA: Cambridge Business Press.

Chapter in Edited Book:

Abu Elteen, Kinio Hamber and Hamad Milias. 2007. Determination of the virulence factors of
Candida albicans and related yeast species. Medical Mycology: Cellular and Molecular
Techniques. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 69-91

Paper in Conference Proceedings:

Tessema Megenasa. 2008. Keynote Address. Proceedings of the 14th Annual Conference of the
Plant Protection Society of Ethiopia, 19-22 December 2006. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:
Plant Protection Society of Ethiopia. pp. 11- 19

MSc. Theses and PhD Dissertations

Eyob Shenkut. 2010. Mathematics Anxiety of 9th and 10th Grade students: The Case of Three
Selected Schools in Dire Dewa. Thesis, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Technical Reports:

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2011. Technical Report on Food Insecurity in
US Households with Children: Prevalence, Severity and Household Characteristics.
Washington, DC: USDA.

Non- Periodical Web Document:

World Health Organization (WHO). 2002. Adolescent-friendly health services: an agenda for
change. (http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-health) Accessed on June 1, 2010.
 18

2.2.13. Appendix (s)

If there is any appendix, it will appear as the last chapter of the research proposal. It includes
information such as drafts of questionnaires in English and other languages, participant informed
consent forms, observation check lists, pictures and specifications of the equipment to be used in
the research, mathematical formulae, a detailed description of the sample selection procedures
and tables.

2.2.14. Letter of Agreement Sheet

The Letter of agreement sheet is the last page of a research proposal and the agreement page will
be used to get formal responsibility and authorization of the proposal. Example for letter of
agreement sheet can refers on chapter 6 appendix in this guideline.

CHAPTER 3 OPERATIONALS MANUAL, GUIDELINE AND SOP

WRITING

The operational or technical manual, guideline and SOP are the documentation by which an
organization provides guidance for members and experts to perform their functions correctly and
reasonably efficiently. It documents the approved standard procedures for performing operations
safely to produce goods and provide services.

3.1. Definition:

What is Operations/ Technical Manual?

The Operational manual is usually either a physical document (book, booklet, etc.) or an online
resource. This Operational Manual contains the operational policies, directives, procedures and
other instructions to meteorological experts that apply to operations. The Manual is organized
according to instrument, country engagement, development policy and advisory services and
analytics including compensate advisory services. Thus, compliance with the operations manual
will generally be considered as activity approved by the persons legally responsible for the
agency. The operational manual must contains the relevant procedures from cover page to
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appendix page on this Meteorological Research Proposal, Manual and Research Writing
Guideline.

What is Operational/ Technical Guideline?

A guideline is a statement by which to determine a course of action. A guideline aims to

streamline particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice. Guidelines may be
issued by and used by any organization to make the actions of its employees or divisions more
predictable, and presumably of higher quality. A guideline is similar to a rule. A guideline is
something that can be used to help you plan your actions or to form an opinion about something.
The difficulty in writing an Operational Guideline, like any technical document, is to know
where to start. Here’s a suggested approach:

 Who: define who will read the Operational Guide, for example, is it observer, climate
experts or users?
 What: identify the most important tasks you need to write to help experts. How do you
find out?
 Where: identify where it will be used. Will it be used online, printed out or read on a
mobile device and computer.
 When: is this document used in an emergency? Or is it used in less pressurized settings?
How does this affect the content and the way it’s structured? When is it due for
completion?
 How: create a list of who will help you write the document, provide answers, review it,
and then sign off.
 Others: you’ll also need things like style guides and other supporting documents.

What is Standard Operational Procedure (SOP)?

It is a set of written instructions that document a routine or repetitive activity followed by an

organization. The development and use of SOP is an integral part of a successful quality system
as it provides individuals with the information to perform a job properly, and facilitates
consistency in the quality and integrity of a product or end-result. SOPs describe both technical
and fundamental programmatic operational elements of an organization that would be managed
 20

under a work plan. Purpose of SOP details the regularly recurring work processes that are to be
conducted or followed within an organization. They document the way activities are to be
performed to facilitate consistent conformance to technical and quality system requirements and
to support data quality. SOPs should be written in brief, step-by-step, easy-to-read format. The
information presented should be unambiguous and not overly complicated. The active voice and
present verb tense should be used. The document should not be wordy, redundant, or overly
lengthy. Keep it simple and short and information should be conveyed clearly and explicitly to
remove any doubt as to what is required. Also, use a flow chart to illustrate the process being
described. All generalized format of SOP is discussed in this guideline and follow the same
format guide from the cover page to the last chapter. In addition, mainly follow the style guide
used Meteorological Research Proposal, Manual and Writing Guideline by MRSD. Example:
font size, type, margins and etc.

3.2. Seven Steps to Follow SOP

The following are seven steps to follow when building a standard operating procedure manual. A
standard operating procedures manual is a written document that lists the instructions, step-by-
step, on how to complete a job task or how to handle a specific situation when it arises in the
workplace.

Step 1. Create an outline of all of the standard operating procedures you want to include. Since a
manual is a group of specific standard operating procedures, make a list of each task you need to
cover in the manual. The outline will acts as your guide to ensure you do not leave any of the
tasks out as you start to write the manual.

Step 2. Write an introduction that speaks directly to the experts who will use the manual. Include
a brief description of what the manual includes, what readers can expect to gain by using the
manual and the best way to use the manual.

Step 3. List the first task. To complete an entire manual, you need to start with one task at a time:
begin with the first standard operating procedure on your outline. Outline the steps involved in
completing the task, then go back and write out the details for each step. Make sure each step is
clear and concise, but provide enough detail that anyone can follow the instructions.
 21

Step 4. Give the standard operating procedure to someone else to read. Have an expert or
someone you know read through and follows the instructions. They can provide valuable
feedback if there are steps they could not complete or did not understand.

Step 5. Refine the standard operating procedure based on the feedback. You may need to rewrite,
edit or add to the instructions, usually a combination of all three.

Step 6. Write the next standard operating procedure, repeating Steps 3 to 5 for each.

Step 7. Compile all of the standard operating procedures into a binder or bound manual or
electronic manual. Include a cover sheet with the name of the manual, a table of contents, the
introduction and the standard operating procedures in the order of the table of contents.

In general, operational manual, guideline and SOP are include the following 11 points in the document
accordingly.

1. Cover Page: It is the first page of the documents and includes name of agency, directorate,
the title and date. Cover page is the only page of a document for which a page number is not
assigned.
2. Title Page: It is the second page of a document and it includes title, name of directorate
submitted to, address of the agency and date.
3. Foreword: A foreword is most often written by someone other than the author. A foreword is
a (usually short) piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece
of literature.
4. Preface: A foreword is often several pages of kind words that answer the question, “Why the
reader should read this book?” It usually comes before the preface. A preface, on the other
hand, is a brief introduction that answers the question, “How this book did come about?” It is
placed before the main body of the book.
5. Purpose: A broad overview of why the operations manual exists and what it aims to
accomplish. Describe relevant background information.
6. Scope: Scope who is supposed to follow the operations manual and what it covers. Identify
the intended audience and activities where the operations manual may be relevant.
 22

7. Prerequisites: Outline information required before proceeding with the listed procedure; for
example, worksheets, documents, reports, etc.
8. Roles and Responsibilities: Identify the personnel that have a primary role in the operations
manual and describe how their responsibilities relate to this operations manual. If necessary,
include contact information.
9. Procedure: Provide the steps required to perform this procedure (who, what, when, where,
why, how). Include a process flowchart.
10. Definitions: Identify and define frequently used terms or acronyms. Provide additional
and/or relevant information needed to understand this operations manual.
11. References: List resources that may be useful when performing the procedure; for example,
Admin policies, Municipal Code, government standards and other operations manuals and
guideline.

CHAPTER4. RESEARCH WRITING

4.1. Cover Page and Title Page

The cover and title page is the first page and second page of a research or scientific manual. They
include the title of the research or manual it is the same as the cover and title page of proposal.
Cover page is the only page of a document for which a page number is not assigned. Please refer
to the example of cover and title page for the proposal and delete the word “proposal” from and
use for final research. In addition, the title page is the second page of a research and It includes
the title of the directorate is presented. The names of the members of the advisor of the research
are provided in the title page.

4.2. Research Letter of Agreement

Letter of agreement sheet, prepared based on the template provided in the chapter 6 appendix of
this guideline is placed in last page. However, the final letter of agreement sheet page will be
incorporated into the expert research after accordingly signed by the advisor and Research and
Study Directorate, which is after the open evaluation.
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4.3. Acknowledgements

The Acknowledgements page recognizes the persons and organizations the expert is obligated to
for direction and support received, and those to whom he or she is thankful for special aid.

4.4. Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronyms and abbreviations are listed in alphabetical order of the terms when written in full
form. Other than S.I. units, each abbreviation and acronym should be defined in full when it is
first used and followed by its abbreviation or acronym in parenthesis. Standard units such as g,
kg, m, and km should not be listed. Internationally known abbreviation such as; i.e. and etc. are
not italicized. A sample is provided in the 2.2.3 above.

4.5. Table of Contents

The headings and entries in the table of contents should correspond exactly in wording, fonts,
and cases with the headings or entries as they appear in the text of the research. Also, there
should be dotted lines connecting headings and respective page numbers as shown in 2.2.4
above. If the table of contents is more than one page, the title followed in parenthesis with the
word “Continued” must appear.

4.6. List of Tables and Figures

A list of tables and figures are explained in 1.7 and 2.2.5 section of proposal above.

4.7. List of Appendix

An alternative way of listing appendices, meteorological experts may refer to the description
under the “appendix” section at 2.2.13 of this guideline.

4.8. Abstract
The word abstract is written in capital letters and is centered and it should be one single block
paragraph; use information in section 2.2.6 above. The abstract should not be divided into
sections or paragraphs. The abstract should summarize the background of the study, methods
used, data analysis methods, results obtained, conclusions drawn and recommendations.
 24

4.9. Description of the Research

The research and manual are divided into chapters. These chapters include the introduction,
literature review, materials and methods, results and discussion; finally, it includes conclusions
and recommendations, references and appendix. The results and discussion be placed in one
attached chapters.

4.9.1. Introduction

This chapter includes the background information on the subject, a statement of the problem,
significance of the study, the need for the study and objectives of the study.

4.9.2. Literature Review

The literature review chapter should be a critical analysis of the existing knowledge on the
research and manual topic. The literature review should be relevant with recent citations on the
topic. Reference section of this guideline provides the information required to present the
citations correctly in the research and manual and follow the information in section 2.2.8 above.

4.9.3. Materials and Methods

It presents the sources of data and the methods and procedures of data collection and analysis.
Using the past tense, a concise description of the conditions under which the investigation was
carried out and the materials, procedures, techniques, experimental design and the treatments and
inputs used should be provided in this chapter. It can be divided into subheadings depending on
the nature of the study. This chapter should also include the study area and time period, the
source and study, sampling methods used, data collection methods, study variables, quality
control methods, data processing and analysis procedures and limitations of the study. A more
detailed description of this is found in chapter 2 (Research Proposal) in section 2.2.9 of this
guideline above.
 25

4.9.4. Results and Discussion

This part of the narrative presents the results and analyses and interprets them. Researcher may
also choose to present the results and discussion in attached in the chapter. With the results,
experts present their findings without interpretation in narrative and also in the form of tables and
figures. Presenting the same data both in tables and in figures should be avoided. However, when
data are presented in the form of a figure, the raw data may be shown in the appendix. The
narrative for each table and figure should focus on observations that are most relevant.
Researcher should write the results narrative in a way that is not highly redundant with the
information in the tables and figures.

The results part should be an objective report of their findings. The researcher interpretation of
the results should then be made in the discussion part. This chapter is divided into subheadings
sequenced similar to the major subheadings of the materials and methods chapter. However,
subheadings of the materials and methods chapter should not be copied verbatim as subheadings
for the results but should be modified to reflect the findings of the study. Each subheading may
then be further divided into various levels of subheadings. In summary, the researcher need to
clearly present their results and focus on answering the research questions described in the
introduction chapter. In the discussion, the researcher interprets their results. The discussion is
used to highlight the importance of the study and describe the limitations of the study and
implications for future research. If experts choose to write the results and discussion as one
chapter, they should follow the description of major findings with appropriate interpretation and
discussion. Results and discussion are conceptually different. In the discussion, interpreting and
synthesizing the research results should be conducted. If the results differ from earlier published
reports, explain why that may have happened. If the results agree with the researcher
expectations, then describe the reports and interpretations to support them. The discussion should
focus on the major findings which call for interpretation. Besides these, the discussion should not
include any findings that have not been described in the results.
 26

4.9.5. Conclusion and Recommendation

This part of the description is the fifth chapter of the research and provides a brief explanation of
the objectives, materials and methods, and the major findings of the study. It presents the more
important findings of the research. It draws conclusion and then gives recommendation on such
issues as policy implications and other relevant alarms based on the results obtained from the
research. The chapter does not exceed four pages and citations of previous studies and references
to tables or figures in the narrative or the appendix should be avoided. Where required,
references to numerical values and probability levels can be made. This chapter can be divided
into conclusion, and recommendation. The conclusions should be presented in a descriptive
sentence format; however, recommendation bulleting and numbering are appropriate.
Recommendation resulting from the research findings are an important aspect of the research;
also, should be relevant to the research and only derive from the research findings. Note that, this
chapter is invalid for manual and guideline preparation, because the structure of the research and
the others are different.

4.9.6. References

This chapter embraces all works cited in the research, manual and guideline and it should be
applicable and current. All references showing in the references chapter of the documents must
have been cited in the description. This chapter should include a complete list of on line searches,
journal articles, books, national and national governmental and non-governmental reports. If
possible, these publications and reports have been published within the last five years and no
more than ten years old. All in-text citations and the reference list in the references chapter
should follow in detail the style shown in section 2.2.12 of this guideline. This must be provided
in the usual educated fashion. It helps to convince your reader that your proposal is worth
pursuing if you can identify literature in the field and demonstrate that you understand it. It
makes a very strong impact if you can identify where there is a research gap in the literature that
your proposal hopes to fill. This is your contribution to the educated conversation. In text
references should be provided for all sections of the proposal and final with the exception of the
research plan and timetable.
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4.9.7. Appendix

The appendix is the last chapter of research, manual and guideline. It will include questionnaires
used in the research, focus group discussion guidelines, maps as appropriate, observation check
lists, mathematical formulae, supplementary illustrative material and any other materials related
to conducting and completing the research. Analysis of variance tables also usually appear in the
appendix chapter. It is usual to label appendices as appendix table and appendix figure which can
then be conveniently listed in the initial sections of the documents as list of tables in the appendix
and list of figures in the appendix, respectively.

4.10. Submission Instructions

Research documents and letters should be submitted to Meteorological Research and Studies
directorate. Submission of a research document to the NMA will be taken to mean that it
represents original work not previously published that is not being considered elsewhere for
publication. Research paper publication and, if accepted for publication, it will not be published
elsewhere in the same form and any language. The submission should not been previously
published, nor is it under consideration in another journal. All submissions should be in DOCX
word format and PDF Papers are limited to 40 pages, including figures, tables and reference by
soft copy and hard copy. Authors are encouraged and should read and accept the Meteorological
Research Proposal, Manual and Writing Guideline.

CHAPTER5. GUIDELINES FOR EDITORS OF SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENT

Editors are in a unique position to indirectly foster responsible conduct of research through
Meteorological Research Proposal, Manual and Research Writing Guideline. To achieve the
maximum effect within the research community, ideally all editors should follow to universal
standards and good practices. While there are important differences between different fields and
not all areas covered are relevant to each research community, there are important common
editorial guideline and principles that editors should follow to ensure the integrity of the research
record. These guidelines are a starting point and are aimed at paper editors in particular. The
purpose of scientific editing is to determine if the research paper written about in the paper
sought information that either was previously not known or not completely understood; that the
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research was properly designed, accurately conducted, and accurately recorded; and that the
results were correctly interpreted and presented completely and accurately. The manuscript
should follow the NMA research guideline and refer to the Meteorological Research Proposal,
Manual and Research Writing Guideline for information about specific parts of a manuscript,
statistics, mathematics, tables, and figures.

5.1. Responsibility of Editors of Meteorological Research and Manual

Editors have to take responsibility for research, manual and guideline content for everything they
publish and should have procedures in place to ensure the quality of the material they publish and
maintain the integrity of the published record. Furthermore, an important part of the
responsibility to make fair and unbiased decisions is the upholding of the principle of editorial
independence and honesty. Editors are in a powerful position by making decisions on
publications, which makes it very important that this process is as fair and unbiased as possible,
and is in accordance with the academic vision of the particular journal. All editorial processes
should be made clear in the information for authors. In particular, it should be stated what is
expected of authors, which types of papers are published, and how papers are handled by the
journal. All editors should be fully familiar with the journal policies, vision, and scope. The
studious editions make clear what they promise and keep their promises; so reliability is
established by accuracy, adequacy, appropriateness, consistency and explicitness. In addition,
accuracy with respect to texts, adequacy and appropriateness with respect to documenting
editorial principles and practice, consistency and explicitness with respect to methods. The
following are the responsibility of editors of meteorological research and manual manuscript.

1. An editor should give unbiased consideration to all manuscripts offered for publication,
judging each on its merits without regard to race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin,
citizenship, or political philosophy of the author and an editor should process manuscripts
punctually.
2. The editor has complete responsibility and authority to accept a submitted paper for
publication or to reject it. The editor may confer with associate editors or reviewers for an
evaluation to use in making this decision.
3. An editor should respect the intellectual independence of authors.
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4. Editorial responsibility and authority for any manuscript authored by an editor and
submitted to the editor’s journal should be delegated to some other qualified person, such
as another editor or an associate editor of that journal. Editors should avoid situations of
real or perceived conflicts of interest. If an editor chooses to participate in an ongoing
scientific debate within his journal, the editor should arrange for some other qualified
person to take editorial responsibility.
5. Editors should avoid situations of real or perceived conflicts of interest. Such conflicts
include, but are not limited to, handling papers from present and former students, from
colleagues with whom the editor has recently collaborated, and from those in the same
institution.
6. Unpublished information, arguments, or interpretations disclosed in a submitted
manuscript should not be used in an editor’s own research except with the consent of the
author.
7. If an editor is presented with convincing evidence that the main substance or conclusions
of a paper published in an editor’s journal are erroneous, the editor should facilitate
publication of an appropriate paper pointing out the error and, if possible, correcting it.
8. Editors are accountable and should take responsibility for everything they publish
9. Editors should make fair and unbiased decisions independent from commercial
consideration and ensure a fair and appropriate peer review process
10. Editors should adopt editorial policies that encourage maximum transparency and
complete, honest reporting
11. Editors should guard the integrity of the published record by issuing corrections and
retractions when needed and pursuing suspected or alleged research and publication
misconduct

5.2. Edit the Research and Manual Manuscript

Generally speaking, a good research paper, manual and guideline are well structured and written
in high quality meteorological (climate) language. The text body should ideally be brief and
clear. You could start by checking your paper for sentence structure, paragraph structure,
grammar and language, punctuation, spelling errors and formatting and references. There are
doubtless others that are equally effective, and some of these will be faster, but the approach that
 30

will suggest is one that is thorough and defensible. First, make sure that you are an expert in the
subject and aware of the recent literature on the topic you have in mind. Consider working with
co-authors so that together your expertise in the area is broad and deep. Next, read all the other
review papers that have been published on related topics, or similar topics in related fields, over
the previous two to three decades, to make sure that you understand what has been already done
and to make sure that there is a gap in the existing reviews. Then it is time to work out what
question you will be trying to answer with your review. Some examples of checklist for detailed
Comments to edit the research and manual paper that can be answered by review papers include:

1. Duplication: does the manuscript unnecessarily repeat already published work?

2. Objectives: is the statement of objectives adequate and appropriate?
3. Review of literature: is due credit given to relevant contributions? Is the author’s
contribution placed in its proper perspective in relation to the state of knowledge? Is the
number of references adequate, too small, or excessive? Is there enough evidence in the
existing literature to decide which of two competing conceptual models or theories is
most likely to be correct? Is there enough evidence in the literature to justify a commonly
held belief or assumption in this field?
4. Methods: are the methods appropriate? Have suitable measurements been performed?
Have the methods been presented in sufficient detail to allow a competent scientist-reader
to repeat the work? If not, are the sources cited where sufficient detail is available?
5. Calculations: randomly select a few instances and verify the calculations made by the
author.
6. Effectiveness of data presentation: would data presented in tables be better presented in
figures, or vice versa?
7. Tables and Figures. Are tables and figures understandable and complete apart from the
text? Are they scientifically accurate? Are figure parts labeled sufficiently? Are they
identified with the manuscript number?
8. Table Row and Column Headings: is the interpretation clear, unequivocal, andin SI unit?
If the paper includes tables or figures, what do they add to the paper? Do they aid
understanding or are they superfluous?
9. Table and Figure Captions: do the captions accurately and completely state the content, or
could they be improved?
 31

10. Conjecture: does the author clearly distinguish between fact and conjecture? Is the
amount of conjecture excessive, or too little? As long as they are properly identified,
speculation and extrapolation are encouraged.
11. Appropriate Units: is SI used throughout? (At their discretion, authors may also use other
units as well as the SI, usually parenthetically in text, tables, and figures.)
12. What is the main question addressed by the research? Is it relevant and interesting?
13. How original is the topic? What does it add to the subject area compared with other
published material?
14. Is the paper well written? Is the text clear and easy to read?
15. Are the conclusions consistent with the evidence and arguments presented? Do they
address the main question posed? Conclusions: are they adequate and supported by the
data?
16. If the author is disagreeing significantly with the current academic consensus, do they
have a substantial case? If not, what would be required to make their case credible?

Major Flaws in Information: If methodology is less of an issue, it's often a good idea to look at
the data tables, figures or images first. Especially in science research, it's all about the
information gathered. If there are critical flaws in this, it's very likely the manuscript will need to
be rejected. Such issues include insufficient data, statistically non-significant variations, unclear
data tables, contradictory data that either are not self-consistent or disagree with the conclusions
and confirmatory data that adds little, if anything, to current understanding - unless strong
arguments for such repetition are made. In general, to edit the document the editor considers the
following step by step.

A well written introduction: sets out the argument, summarizes recent research related to the
topic and highlights gaps in current understanding or conflicts in current knowledge. In addition,
establishes the originality of the research aims by demonstrating the need for investigations in the
topic area, also gives a clear idea of the target readership, why the research was carried out and
the novelty and topicality of the manuscript. Originality and topicality can only be established in
the light of recent authoritative research. For example, it's impossible to argue that there is a
conflict in current understanding by referencing articles that are 10 years old. Authors may make
the case that a topic hasn't been investigated in several years and that new research is required.
 32

This point is only valid if researchers can point to recent developments in data gathering
techniques or to research in indirectly related fields that suggest the topic needs revisiting.
Clearly, authors can only do this by referencing recent literature. Obviously, where older research
is seminal or where aspects of the methodology rely upon it, then it is perfectly appropriate for
authors to cite some older papers. It’s common for the introduction to end by stating the research
aims. By this point you should already have a good impression of them - if the explicit aims
come as a surprise, then the introduction needs improvement.

Replicable Research: this makes sufficient use of control experiments, repeated analysis,
repeated experiments and sampling. These are used to make sure observed trends are not due to
chance and that the same experiment could be repeated by other researchers and result in the
same outcome. Statistical analyses will not be sound if methods are not replicable. Where
research is not replicable, the paper should be recommended for rejection.

Repeatable Methods: these give enough detail so that other researchers are able to carry out the
same research. For example, equipment used or sampling methods should all be described in
detail so that others could follow the same steps. Where methods are not detailed enough, it's
usual to ask for the methods section to be revised.

Robust Research: This has enough data points to make sure the data are reliable. If there are
insufficient data, it might be appropriate to recommend revision. You should also consider
whether there is any in built bias not nullified by the control experiments.

Best Practice: During these checks you should keep in mind best practice are standard
guidelines were followed, the health and safety of all participants in the study was not
compromised and ethical standards were maintained. If the research fails to reach relevant best
practice standards, it's usual to recommend rejection. What's more, you don't then need to read
any further.

Results and Discussion section should tell a coherent story that is, what happened? What was
discovered or confirmed? Certain patterns of good reporting need to be followed by the author
are they should start by describing in simple terms what the data show, they should make
reference to statistical analyses, such as significance or goodness of fit, once described, they
 33

should evaluate the trends observed and explain the significance of the results to wider
understanding. This can only be done by referencing published research and the outcome should
be a critical analysis of the data collected. Discussion should always, at some point, gather all the
information together into a single whole. Authors should describe and discuss the overall story
formed. If there are gaps or inconsistencies in the story, they should address these and suggest
ways future research might confirm the findings or take the research forward. Furthermore, a
conclusion is usually no more than a few paragraphs and may be presented as part of the results
and discussion, or in a separate section. The conclusions should reflect upon the aims whether
they were achieved or not and, just like the aims, should not be surprising. If the conclusions are
not evidence-based, it's appropriate to ask for them to be re-written.

If you find yourself looking at a piece of information from which you cannot discern a story, then
you should ask for improvements in presentation. This could be an issue with titles, labels,
statistical notation or image quality. Where information is clear, you should check that:

 The results seem reasonable, in case there is an error in data gathering

 The trends you can see support the paper's discussion and conclusions
 There are sufficient data. For example, in studies carried out over time are there sufficient
data points to support the trends described by the author?

You should also check whether images have been edited or manipulated to emphasize the story
they tell. This may be appropriate but only if authors report on how the image has been edited
(e.g. by highlighting certain parts of an image). Where you feel that an image has been edited or
manipulated without explanation, you should highlight this in a confidential comment to the
editor in your report. Editor will need to check referencing for accuracy and adequacy.

Accuracy: Where a cited article is central to the author's argument, you should check the
accuracy and format of the reference and bear in mind different subject areas may use citations
differently. Otherwise, it's the editor’s role to exhaustively check the reference section for
accuracy and format.

Adequacy: You should consider if the referencing is adequate: Are important parts of the
argument poorly supported? Are there published studies that show similar or dissimilar trends
 34

that should be discussed? If a manuscript only uses half the citations typical in its field, this may
be an indicator that referencing should be improved, but don't be guided solely by quantity and
references should be relevant, recent and readily retrievable.

Plagiarism: By now you will have a deep understanding of the paper's content and you may have
some concerns about plagiarism.

Identified Concern: If you find or already knew of a very similar paper, this may be because the
author over looked it in their own literature search. Or it may be because it is very recent or
published in a journal slightly outside their usual field. You may feel you can advise the author
how to emphasize the novel aspects of their own study, so as to better differentiate it from similar
research. If so, you may ask the author to discuss their aims and results, or modify their
conclusions, in light of the similar article. Of course, the research similarities may be so great
that they render the work unoriginal and you have no choice but to recommend rejection.

Suspected Concern: If you suspect plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, but cannot recall or
locate exactly what is being plagiarized, notify the editor of your suspicion and ask for guidance.
Editors are not out to police every paper, but when plagiarism is discovered during peer review it
can be properly addressed ahead of publication. If plagiarism is discovered only after publication,
the consequences are worse for both authors and readers, because a retraction may be necessary.
 35

CHAPTER6 APPENDIX

ብሔራዊ የሚቲዎሮሎጂ ኤጀንሲ

የሚቲዎሮሎጂ ተዛማጅ ሳይንስ ጥናትና ምርምር ዳይሬክቶሬት

የጥናትና ምርምር ፕሮፖዛል አቅርበው ተቀባይነት ባገኙ የኤጀንሲው ተመራማሪዎችና

በሚቲዎሮሎጂና ተዛማጅ ሳይንስ ጥናትና ምርምር ዳይሬክቶሬት መካከል የሚፈረም የስምምነት ሰነድ
( Let t er of Agreem ent ) ለሚቲዎሮሎጂ ሳይንስ እድገት ብሎም ለሀገሪቱ የማህበራዊና ኢኮኖሚያዊ
እንቅስቃሴዎች አስተዋፅዎና ውጤታማ የሚያደርግ፣ የኢትዮጵያን የአየር ሁኔታና ጠባይ በሚገባ
ለማወቅና ኤጀንሲው የሚሰጠውን የሚቲዎሮሎጂ አገልግሎት በጥራትና በብዛት ዘርፍ ተኮር የሆነ
ችግር ፈች ጥናትና ምርምር በጋራምና በተናጠል ለማካሄድ እንዲቻል በመሠረታዊ የሥራ ሂደት
ለውጥ ትግበራና በውጤት ተኮር ሥርአት ግንባታ ሂደት ባለሙያዎች በጥናትና ምርምር ዘርፍ
ለመሳተፍ እና ለደረጃ መሰላል እድገት የሚያስችላቸውን ኤጀንሲው ሁኔታዎች ያመቻቸት፡፡
በመሆኑም ለኤጀንሲው ባለሙያዎች በተካሄደው የጥናትና ምርምር ጥሪ ( Call for Research
Proposal) መሰረት አቶ/ ወሮ/ ወ/ ሪት……..…………………..……ባቀረቡት የጥናትና ምርምር
ፕሮፖዛል”..................................................................…………………………………
………………………………………………………በሚል ርእስ የብሔራዊ ሚቲዎሮሎጂ ኤጀንሲው
አገልግት ለማሻሻል የሚያስችል ችግር ፈች ምርምር ሆኖ ተገኝቷል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ከዚህ ቀደም
ተዘጋጅቶ ለአገልግሎት ስራ ላይ የዋለውን የጥናት ምርምር ውጤት ወቅታዊ ( Updat e) በማድረግ
በማገዝ በኩል ያለው አስተዋፅኦ ከፍተኛ ሆኖ በመገኘቱ የጥናትና ምርምሩን ሂደት ለማስጀመር
የሚያስችል የስምምነት ውል አስፈላጊ በመሆኑ ከዚህ በታች በተገለጹት ግዴታዎች አማካይነት
ከኤጀንሲው ባለሙያ ጋር የስምምነት ሰነድ (Let t er of Agreem ent ) ይፈረማል፡፡

ስለሆነም፤

1. የተመራማሪዎች ግዴታዎች

 ከዚህ የስምምነት ሰነድ ጋር በተያያዘው እቅድ መሠረት ወርሃዊ ሪፖርት ማቅረብ

 ጥናትና ምርምሩ የደረሰበትን ውጤት በየስድስት ወሩ በሴሚናር መልክ ማቅረብ

 ለአበል ለትራንስፖርት ለማቴርያሎች ግዥ ወዘተ ለዋሉ ወጭዎች አስፈላጊውን የሂሳብ

ማመሳከሪያ ሰነድ ማቅረብ

 ተመራማሪው ፕሮፖዛል ካቀረበና ከጸደቀ በኃላ በገዛ ፍቃዱ እርእስ፣ የጥናቱን አላማ እና
Dat a and Met hods መቀየር አይቻልም

 ተመራማሪው ባቀረበው ፕሮፖዛል መሰረት የጥናት ምርምር ውጤት በጸደቀው የጊዜ ሰሌዳ
መሰረት ለሚቲዎሮሎጂ ጥናትና ምርምር ዳይሬክቶሬት ባያቀርብ ለዚህ የወጣውን ውጪ
በሙሉ ለኤጀንሲው ተመላሽ ያደርጋል

2. የተመራማሪው ዳይሬክቶሬት ወይም አገልግሎት ማእከል ግዴታዎች

 ተመራማሪው ሪፖርቱን ለሚቲዎሮሎጂና ተዛማጅ የሳይንስ ዘርፎች ዳይሬክቶሬት በወቅቱ

መላኩን ማረጋገጥና የስራ ክትትል ማድረግ
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3. የሚቲዎሮሎጂ ጥናትና ምርምር ዳይሬክቶሬት ግዴታዎች

 በሚቀርቡት ወርሀዊ ሪፖርቶች ላይ ክትትል ማድረግና አስፈላጊውን

ግብረ መልስ ማዘጋጀትና ለሞያተኛው ሳይንሳዊ ምክርና ሞያዊ እገዛ
መስጠት፣

 ተመራማሪዎች የስድስት ወር ጥናታዊ ሪፖርቶች በሚያቀርቡበት ጊዜ

አስፈላጊውን ቅድመ ዝግጅት ማከናወን፣ ለምርምሩ የተፈቀደው በጀት
በትክክል ሥራ ላይ መዋሉን ማረጋገጥ፣

 ለተመራማሪዎች ሞያተኛ አማካሪዎች መመደብ

 የጥናትና ምርምሩን ማጠቃለያ ሪፖርት ተዘጋጅቶ እንዲቀርብ ማድረግ

የተመራማሪው ስም ፊርማ ቀን

______________ ___________ __________

የተመራማሪው ዳይሬክቶሬት ኃላፊ ፊርማ ቀን

______________ ___________ ___________

አማካሪ ሞያተኛ ፊርማ ቀን

______________ ___________ ___________

የሚቲዎሮሎጂ ተዛማጅ ሳይንሶች ጥናትና ምርምር ዳይሬክቶሬት ኃላፊ

ስም ___________ ፊርማ __________ ቀን _________

ማሳሰቢያ፡-

ይህ ስምምነት ከጸደቀው ጥናት ምርምር ፕሮፖዛል ጋር ተያይዞ በሶስት

ቅጆዎች ተዘጋጅቶ በተመራማሪዎቹ ዳይሬክቶሬት ወይም አገልግሎት
ማዕከላት እንዲሁም በጥናትና ምርምር ዳይሬክቶሬት ለክትትል
በሚያመች መንገድ ተዘጋጅቶ ይቀመጣል፡፡

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