Araştırma raporu yenilik ölçütünü inceleyeceği yerde biçime baktı.

In araştırma raporu, the -u is not the accusative ending. It is the normal ending of an indefinite noun compound in Turkish.

So:

• araştırma = research
• rapor-u = report + compound marker

Together, araştırma raporu means research report.

This same pattern appears in many noun+noun combinations:

• öğrenci kimliği = student ID
• yaz tatili = summer vacation
• şehir merkezi = city center

So raporu here is just part of the noun phrase araştırma raporu, even though that whole phrase is the subject.

Yenilik ölçütünü breaks down like this:

• yenilik = innovation
• ölçüt-ü = criterion + compound marker
• ölçüt-ü-nü = criterion + compound marker + accusative

So the full phrase means the innovation criterion as a specific direct object.

The -nü at the end is the accusative marker, and the n is a buffer consonant that appears before case endings after a possessive/compound ending.

So:

• yenilik ölçütü = innovation criterion
• yenilik ölçütünü = the innovation criterion (as the object)

Because Turkish often expresses ideas like research report or innovation criterion with a noun + noun structure.

The pattern is:

• first noun modifies the second noun
• second noun takes the compound/3rd-person possessive ending

So:

• araştırma raporu = research report
• yenilik ölçütü = innovation criterion

This is very common in Turkish and often corresponds to English noun-noun compounds.

Even though the ending looks like possession, in many cases it is simply the normal way Turkish forms this kind of compound.

Here inceleyeceği yerde means something like:

• instead of examining
• rather than examining
• when it should have examined

It is an idiomatic structure. Literally, yerde comes from yer meaning place, so the expression originally looks like in the place where it would examine, but in modern usage it often means instead of doing X.

So:

• yenilik ölçütünü inceleyeceği yerde
  = instead of examining the innovation criterion

This structure often carries a sense of criticism or contrast: the report focused on the wrong thing.

It contains the element -ecek/-acak, which is also used for the future tense, but here it is not acting as the main verb of the sentence.

It is part of a subordinate/participial form:

• incele-yeceğ-i

Very roughly, this means that it will/would examine, but inside the pattern -eceği yerde, the whole expression becomes idiomatic and means instead of examining or when it should have examined.

So although it looks future-like, you should understand the whole chunk inceleyeceği yerde as one structure, not as a simple future tense verb.

Because the verb bakmak takes the dative case, not the accusative.

So:

• biçim = form, shape, style
• biçim-e = to the form / at the form

In Turkish, bakmak works like look at rather than just look + direct object.

Examples:

• Ona baktı. = He/She looked at him/her.
• Tabloya baktı. = He/She looked at the painting.
• Biçime baktı. = It looked at the form / focused on form.

So biçime is exactly what we expect after bakmak.

Not necessarily. In this sentence, baktı is probably more figurative.

Depending on context, bakmak can mean:

• to look at
• to examine
• to consider
• to pay attention to
• to focus on

So biçime baktı likely means something like:

• it focused on form
• it paid attention to form
• it considered the form

This is probably not about literal eyesight, but about what the report emphasized.

Turkish normally puts verbs later in the sentence, and subordinate clause material usually comes before the verb it belongs to.

So in this sentence:

• yenilik ölçütünü comes before inceleyeceği
• biçime comes before baktı

A rough structural view is:

• Araştırma raporu = subject
• yenilik ölçütünü inceleyeceği yerde = instead of examining the innovation criterion
• biçime baktı = looked at/focused on form

This is very natural Turkish word order. English tends to place these parts differently, but in Turkish the objects and complements usually appear before the verbal forms they go with.

Yes. This pattern often suggests that the action in the second part is somehow the wrong, less appropriate, or surprising one.

So the sentence does not just neutrally say:

• it examined form rather than the innovation criterion

It also hints at:

• it should have examined the innovation criterion
• but it ended up focusing on form instead

So there is often a slight tone of criticism, disappointment, or contrast in -eceği yerde.

Yes. A sentence with yerine would also be possible:

• Araştırma raporu yenilik ölçütünü incelemek yerine biçime baktı.

That also means Instead of examining the innovation criterion, the research report looked at form.

The version with inceleyeceği yerde can feel a bit more pointed or critical, almost like when it should have examined... The -mek yerine version is often a bit more straightforward and neutral.

So both are possible, but -eceği yerde adds a stronger contrastive nuance.