RESEARCH METHODS Lecture 44

REPORT WRITING

Every report is custom-made, yet some conventions of format. Many companies and universities also have in-house, suggested report formats or writing guides that researchers should be aware of.

Report Format: The general plan of organization for the parts of a written or oral research report.

Tailoring the format to the project -- 2 reasons: To obtain the proper level of formality. To decrease the complexity of the report. We shall look at the most formal type i.e. a report for a large project done within an organization or one done by a research agency for a client company. Usually bound with a permanent cover. May be hundreds of pages.

The makeup of the report – the report parts: Prefatory parts. Main body. Appended parts.

Prefatory parts Title fly page. Title page. Letter of transmittal Letter of authorization. Table of contents Executive summary (Synopsis): - Objectives - Results - Conclusions - Recommendations

Main body Introduction: -- Background -- Objectives Methodology. Results  can be divided into different areas. Limitations. Conclusions and recommendations References. Acknowledgements.

Appended parts Data collection forms (questionnaires, check list, interview guide, other forms). Detailed calculations. General tables. Other support material. Bibliography, if needed.

Title fly page: Only the title appears on this page For the most formal reports, a title fly page precedes the title page.

Title Page: Title of the report. Give a brief but complete indication of the project purpose. The name/s of the person/s for whom the report was prepared. Titles and addresses to be given. The name/s of person/s who prepared it. Titles and addresses to be included. Date of release or presentation.

Letter of Transmittal: Included in relatively formal and very formal reports. Purpose to release or deliver the report. Serves to establish some rapport between the reader and the writer. The transmittal should not dive into report findings except in the broadest terms.

Virtual University, Lahore December 15, Mr. K. M. Khalil Vice President for Marketing, …….. Subject: Report on Study of Customer Satisfaction Dear Mr. Khalil: Here is a report on the study of customer satisfaction. The report was prepared according to your authorization letter dated April 15, ……… We are grateful to you for your cooperation in this important study. Sincerely

Letter of Authorization: This is the letter to the researcher approving the project, detailing who has responsibility for the project and indicating what resources are available. Researcher would not write this letter. Reference to this letter has already been made in letter of transmittal. Sufficient. Only in some cases exact copy of the original may be reproduced.

Table of Contents: Essential to any report. List the divisions and subdivisions of the report with page references. It is based on the final outline of the report. Should include the divisions and first level subdivisions. For short reports, only main divisions may be included. If report includes many figures and/or tables, list of these should immediately follow the table of contents.

Summary: Vital part of the report. Most managers always read a report’s summary. The only chance the writer may have to make an impact on the management. Summary tells: -Why the research project was conducted? -What aspects of the problem considered? -What the outcome was? -What should be done?

Furthermore: Summary should be written after the report completion. It is the essence of the report. 2-3 pages. Properly condensed. Should be self sufficient. Often only summary is circulated. 1. Objectives stated, inclusive of background and purpose. 2. Major results are presented. Key results regarding each purpose. 3. Conclusions based on results. Interpretations. 4. Recommendations for action based on the conclusions. In many cases managers may not like recommendations in summary.

Main Body: Constitutes the bulk of the report. It includes: Introduction, methodology, results, and limitations of the study. It finishes with conclusions and recommendations based on results. Let us look at each:

Introduction: Explain why the project was undertaken and what is it aimed to discover. Based on the information provided in TOR. It is the: Background: Explain why the project was worth doing. What objectives? What research question to be answered? At the end of the study see that each objective has been addressed.

For thesis Review of literature (not looking for pieces of summaries) Theoretical framework and derivation of hypothesis (es) Hypothesis (es) or research questions. Operationalization of the variables

Methodology: Technical procedures must be explained. Supplement the material in this section with more details in the appendix. This part should address six topics: 1. Research design. Purpose of study  exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory. Why specific design suited to the study? 2. Data collection methods. Primary or secondary data used. How primary data were collected – survey, experiment, observation. Multiple techniques used – triangulation.

Methodology –contd. 3. Sample design: What was the target pop? Sampling frame. Type of sample. Selection process. 4. Instrument of data collection: What instrument and why? Copy in appendix. 5. Fieldwork/Data collection: how many, type of field workers used? Training/supervision How was quality control assured? 6. Analysis: How was analysis carried – score index applied, statistics used