Select a topic. There are many sources for ideas in wastewater management. International organizations, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the World Wildlife Fund, have many documents containing topics related to wastewater and wastewater management. Some topics include wastewater treatment, trends and waste reduction.
Create a thesis, or a specific statement regarding some aspect of your topic. A thesis statement is basically a concise statement of what a paper is going to say. If your paper is argumentative, your thesis statement should use words like "should" or "must" If your paper is descriptive, your thesis statements should use phrases that convey objective findings.
Collect data. If your research topic deals with specific waste sites for which there is no recent water quality data available, you must collect samples yourself. Samples of wastewater should be contained in airtight jars and people responsible with collecting it should wear protective gear, including lab goggles and gloves.
Find research sources. Although you may be able to collect first-hand data yourself, you will need to explain the significance of this data in terms of theory. Thus, research papers from journals on wastewater management should be referred to extensively in your paper. Use search tools such as Academic Search Premier and JSTOR (the online archive of multi-discipline journal articles) to find these papers.
Analyse data and research sources. Findings from your samples (e.g. pH levels, salt levels, ion charges) should be entered into tables constructed with a spreadsheet program. This data should then be interpreted in terms of whatever guidelines you found in your academic research. The Integrated Journal of International Waste Management and the Open Waste Management Journal contain articles that can help you to interpret your data using up-to-date models.
Draw charts. You should present your information in an easy-to-understand way, so that whoever reads your report will be able to quickly understand your data. The tables you used to store your data should be redrawn into various statistical charts, such as time-series charts, pie charts and graphs, which can be made with programs such as Microsoft Excel and SmartDraw.
Write the content of the report. The content of the report should explain the data present in your tables and graphs. Include an abstract (summary), introduction, content sections and a conclusion.