MGT 3213 – 07

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Generally requested by a higher authority and often travel upward in an organization Logically organized and objective Generally prepared for a limited audience Reports are... © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Formal vs. informal Short vs. long Informational vs. analytical Vertical vs. lateral Internal vs. external Periodic (scheduled) Functional © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

5 1. Recognize and define the problem 2. Select a method of solution (Primary or Secondary) 3. Collect and analyze data 4. Arrive at an answer These steps are completed BEFORE the report is written.

What What Why Why When When Where Where Who Who © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Primary research — relies on and obtains information from pertinent individuals or observations Secondary research — provides information that other experts have already © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Customer surveys Market research Operational research Historical research Performance observation Product development Financial reports Employee surveys Newspapers Magazines Journals Abstracts Almanacs/fact books Books Government documents Online sources Primary Sources Secondary Sources © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Gives credit where credit is due (highly ethical conduct) Protects writers against charges of plagiarism Supports statements and thus increases credibility Aids researchers in pursuing similar research

Establish a point of for further research Avoid needless of costly research effort areas of needed research Make a real to the body of knowledge © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Choose your search engine or database appropriately Structure searches from broad to specific – use Boolean logic Use quotation marks for literal topics Ex: “red sports car” Look for pages that have links to other sites 4

Resources are not always accurate and reliable. Certain uses of site information may constitute copyright violation. Resources are not always complete in terms of information or updating. Electronic periodicals are not always subjected to same rigor as printed periodicals. © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Observational Studies Experimental Research Normative Survey Research © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Read an article rapidly Put the article aside List the main and supporting points from memory Review the article to verify significant points 5 Two types of note-taking:

Gives credit where credit is due (highly ethical conduct) Protects writers against charges of plagiarism Supports statements and thus increases credibility Aids researchers in pursuing similar research © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Arrange items in a logical sequence Ask for facts that can be recalled readily Write clear, specific questions 5

Create an appealing format that is easy-to-answer and tabulate Do not force respondents to choose an answer that does not apply to them Pilot test the questionnaire and revise based on feedback © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Eliminates need to question 100 percent of population Uses random group from population to represent entire population

Validity Reliability

Findings – What do the numbers say? Conclusions – What do they mean? Recommendation – What are you going to do? © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.20

Samples that are too small Samples that are not representative Poorly constructed data-gathering instruments Information that comes from biased sources Too little information Too much information that is not relevant

Conforming results to prediction or desire Hoping for spectacular results Comparing when commonality is absent Assuming a cause-and-effect relationship when one does not exist Failing to consider important factors Basing conclusions on lack of evidence Assuming constancy of behavior