Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. Department of Business Administration SPRING Writing the Final Report by Assoc. Prof. Sami Fethi

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 2 Writing the Final Report  Purpose and importance of a written presentation  Guidelines  Structure of the report  Oral presentation  Writing for publication

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 3 Purpose and importance of a written presentation  Purpose Consider its purpose and to whom it is addressed. Start with executive summary: explains important points of study A preface: explains the course of study and than individual or institutions.  e.g. Writing a master thesis may look different from a report that is presented to a company or manager on a specific issue.  e.g. Writing a report such as an academic paper aims at getting it published. Bottom line is that a report needs to be argumentative and convincing, whether it is to be submitted to a company or as an academic thesis.

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 4 Guidelines  Audience  Good communication  Language and flow Using diffucult language and terminology does not really impress the reader.  Form and style Telegraphic style long and complicated senteces Usage of terminology and differences between spoken and written language. Shortage of tables, figures etc...  e.g. Before submitting the report, have someone else read it through.  Headings  e.g. They serve as an outline of a report and should be clear, meanningful and consistent

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 5 Structure of the report  Title page  Table of contents  Executive summary  Introduction and problem statement  Theoretical background  Methodology  Findings of empirical study  Conclusions and recommendations  Footnotes  Bibliography or references  Appendix

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 6 An Example of a Table of Contents Figure 1 An example of a table of contents

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 7 Bibliography or references  The format and structure of the report, also check the rules of your institution  e.g. Footnote: (1) Berry (1989) said that The implication of his study about the subject matter...  e.g. Quotation ‘The implication of his study about....’  e.g. References: oOsterwald-Lenum, M. (1992), `A note with quantiles of the asymptotic distribution of the ML cointegration rank tests statistics`, Oxford Bulletin of Economic and Statistics, 54, oOdedokun, M. (1996b), Financial Indicators: Developing Countries, in Hermes, N. and Lensink, R. (ed.) (1996), Financial Development and Economic Growth: Theory and Experiences from Developing Countries. London: Routledge,

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 8 Oral presentation  The presentation has to be organized in the same manner as the written report  e.g. Style: main objective and specific research questions  e.g. Speak slowly and clearly  e.g. Explain the concept in a required time  e.g. Should not be too technical or academic in nature

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 9 Writing for publication

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 10 Writing for publication

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 11 Writing for publication

Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 12 Writing for publication