The Research Report Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Marketing Research Report Transmits research results, vital recommendations, conclusions, & other imp info to client, who in turn bases his/ her decision making on the contents of the report

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Importance Product represents efforts of marketing research team, & may be the only part of project client will see.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Elements of the Report—Front Matter Pages that precede the first page of the report: title page, letter of authorization (optional), letter/memo of transmittal, table of contents, list of illustrations, & abstract/executive summary.

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Title Page Figure 16.1, pg 411 Title of document Organization/person(s) for whom the report was prepared Organization/person(s) who prepared the report Order of names matter Date of submission

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Front Matter Letter of authorization Letter/memo of transmittal Figure 16.2, pg 413

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Front Matter Table of contents (next slide) List of illustrations Tables Figures

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 16.3, pg 414

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Abstract/Executive Summary “Skeleton” of your report Summary for the busy executive Or preview for in-depth reader

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Body Bulk of report: Introduction Method Results Limitations Conclusions/recommendations

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Introduction May contain a statement of background situation leading to the problem Statement of “problem” Summary description of how was initiated Research objectives or questions In intro or separate section

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Method Describes in detail how you conducted the research Who (or what) subjects were What tools or methods were used

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Results Most important portion of report Findings Survey question Description of results including appropriate statistics Frequency table Graph

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Limitations Factors such as: constraints of time money manpower size of sample representativeness of sample Issues regarding certain questions

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Conclusions & Recommendations: Conclusions = outcomes & decisions you have reached based on results Recommendations = suggestions for how to proceed based on conclusions

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Example of Conclusions

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Example of Recommendations

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Plagiarism Representing work of others as your own Properly citing work of others avoids this problem Adds credibility to report APA style

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. End Matter Reference list contains all of the sources from which info was collected for the report Appendices are supplementary info or comments on ideas provided in the body of the report Eg Focus grp transcripts Eg Survey instrument Eg Observation forms

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Pg 410

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Form & Format Include the following: Headings = Section topics Centered Subheadings = Divide info into segments Flush left

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Style Good paragraph = one main idea Topic sentence states main idea Body of the paragraph gives more info on main idea Transitional sentences Short paragraphs

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Form & Format Visuals: Tables, Figures, Charts, Diagrams, Graphs

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Using Visuals: Tables and Figures Tables, identify exact values Graphs & charts illustrate relationships among items Pie charts Bar charts & line graphs

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Frequencies Table

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Pie Charts Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 20-26

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Bar Chart

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Producing an Accurate and Ethical Visual Exercise caution if you use three-dimensional figures. They may distort the data by multiplying the value by the width and the height. Make sure all parts of the scales are presented. Truncated graphs (having breaks in the scaled values on either axis) are acceptable only if the audience is familiar with the data.