RESEARCH REPORT

PREPARATION AND
PRESENTATION
RESEARCH REPORT

 A research report is:

◦ a written document or oral presentation
based on a written document that
communicates the purpose, scope,
objective(s), hypotheses, methodology,
findings, limitations and finally,
recommendations of a research project
to others.
◦ It is more than a summary of findings;
rather it is a record of the research process.

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Types of Research Report

 Any research report contains:

◦ descriptions on methodology,
◦ results obtained,
◦ and recommendations made.
 Thebasic orientation of a research report
depends on its audience. Before writing
the report
◦ the researcher must know his or her
audience;
◦ he/she may have to make assumptions about
the composition, background and interests
of the target readers.

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 Types of Research
Report

Technical Popular
Report Report
Types of Research Report
Two types of reports:-
◦ Technical Report: suitable for a target
audience of
 researchers, research managers or
other people familiar with and
interested in the technicalities such
as research design, sampling
methods, statistical details etc.,
◦ Popular Report: suitable for:
 a more general audience, interested
mainly in the research findings as it is
non-technical in nature.
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Layout of Research Report
 Preliminary pages
 Title
 Acknowledgement(preface or forward)
 Table of content
 List of tables and illustrations
 Main Text
 Introduction
 Review of literature
 Rationale
 Objectives
 Research methodology
 Statement of findings and recommendations
 Limitations
 End Matter
 Bibliography
 Appendices
REPORT PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION
PROCESS

Problem Definition, Data

Research Design Pre-report
Analysis
and Methodology Writing
Activities

Interpretation of
Research
findings

Report Report
Preparation Writing
Activities
Oral
Presentattion

Post
RESEARCH Reading of the
FOLLOW-UP Report by the Report
client Writing

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Oral Presentation

Generally, an oral presentation

supplements the written report.
The client should be given
adequate time to read the
report.
◦ If necessary, the researcher
should assist the client in
understanding the report,
implementing the findings,
undertaking further research,
and evaluating the research 8
Report Format
 No universally accepted standard format
or style for research writing. Different
researchers may prepare their reports
differently.
◦ The personality, background, expertise, and
responsibility of the researcher and those of
the decision maker for whom the report is
written interact to give each report a unique
character.
◦ Report formats are likely to vary with the
nature of the project itself. However, the
research report closely resembles the steps
of the marketing research process.

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Most research reports include the following elements:

I. Title page XI. Research design

II. Letter of a. Type of research design
b. Information needs
transmittal c. Data collection from secondary
III. Table of contents sources
IV. List of tables d. Data collection from primary sources
e. Scaling techniques
V. List of graphs f. Questionnaire development and
VI. List of appendices pretesting
VII. List of exhibits g. Sampling techniques
VIII. Executive summary h. Field work
a. Major findings XII. Data analysis
b. Conclusions a. Methodology
c. Recommendations b. Plan of data analysis

IX. Introduction XIII. Results

a. Background to the XIV. Limitations and caveats
problem XV. Conclusions and
b. Statement of the recommendations
problem
XVI. Appendix
X. Approach to the
a. Questionnaires and forms
problem b. Statistical output
c. Lists

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The results...

 may be presented in several chapters of

the report.
◦ For example, a researcher conducting a
national survey, may perform the data
analysis in two stages.
 First, he or she may analyze the overall
national sample followed by 28 separate
analysis for each of the states.
 The results may then be presented in 29
chapters [ one overall plus nine state
based] instead of one.

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Report Writing I
 Effective report writing is an art.
 Some basic points to note in writing
a report.
◦ Readers
◦ Adherence to study objectives
◦ well organized, logically structured,
and clearly and lucidly written.
◦ Headings and sub-headings should
be used for different topics and
subtopics respectively..

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Report Writing II
 Objective: Report writing should always be guided by
objectivity.
◦ Should accurately present the methodology, results, and
conclusions of the project, without slanting the findings to
conform to the expectations of management.
 Selectivity: A researcher must use his or her discretion in
deciding what should be included in the report.
 Concise: A report should be concise. Yet brevity should not be
achieved at the expense of completeness.
 Presentation: The report should be professionally done with
quality paper, good typing, and attractive binding.

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Report Writing III

 Visual aids: Key information presented in the text of a

research report should be reinforced with tables,
graphs, pictures, maps, and other visual devices.
 Guidelines for Tables: Statistical tables are a vital part
of the report and deserve special attention.
◦ Every table should have a number and brief but clear title.
◦ Basis or unit of measurement should be clearly stated to
facilitate understanding.
◦ The arrangement of the data item should emphasize the
most important aspect of the data being presented.
◦ If necessary, explanations, comments etc. should be
provided as footnotes.
◦ If the table presents secondary data, the source(s) must be
cited clearly.

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Oral Presentation
 Should be carefully prepared keeping the audience in
mind.
 A good presentation does not mean a lengthy
presentation.
 Carefully selected visual aids such as graphs, tables,
charts, maps etc. help presentation.
◦ However, Too many visual aids, particularly statistical
tables, could often be boring and may not serve any
purpose.
 During oral presentation, people may seek
clarification.
◦ The speaker must be patient and should not show signs of
anger or frustration. He or she should be natural,
establish eye contact with the audience, and interact with
them.
◦ Body language and descriptive gestures are also quite
useful.

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Precautions in Preparing the Research
Report
Length of the report
Sustain reader's interest
Abstract terminology and technical jargon should be
avoided
Report must provide a ready availability of the findings
Free from grammatical mistakes
Report must present logical analysis of the subject
matter
It shows the originality
Appendices should be enlisted in respect of all the
technical data in the report.
Mechanics of writing research report
Size and physical design
Procedure
Layout
Treatment of quotations
Footnotes
Documentation style
Bibliography

Appendix / Annexure
If the student uses any table/graph/ Figure, then it is to
be numbered and source of information from which it is
collected, is to be mentioned under each.
HOW TO WRITE BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:
Author (S) e.g. If Author name is Stephen Robbins, then
it will be written as Robbins Stephen.
Title, Place of Publication, Publisher, Date (year) of
publication, Number of pages referred from “------- to
-------“.
Magazine & Journals/ Newspaper
Author(S), Title, Volume Number, Serial Number, Date
of issue, Page number
Internet:
Name of the site, Article Name, Name of the Author,
date of the site visited.

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ANNEXURE/ APPENDICES
Original data
Long Tables
Questionnaires & Letters
Schedules or forms used in collecting data
Internet Printout
Industry Printout

Typing Instructions:
Paper A4 Size
Margins Left = 1.5 inch, Right = 1 inch
Spacing within a sentence: Double
Between words: 1 space
After a colon: 2 spaces
After a semi colon: 2 spaces
After a comma: 1 space
After a full stop: 2 spaces

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 Plagiarism
"Plagiarism is possible with any work performed in any medium and in
any scholarly discipline...
Plagiarism involves the intentional or negligent use, by paraphrase or
direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another
person without full and clear acknowledgment in all such scholarly
work as essays, examinations, oral/written reports, homework
assignments, laboratory reports, computer programs, music scores,
choreography, graphic depictions, and visual presentations.

Plagiarism also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared

by another person or agency engaged in selling of term papers or other
academic materials.”
 Plagiarism: Types
Direct Plagiarism:
Direct plagiarism is the word-for-word
transcription of a section of someone else’s
work, without attribution and without quotation
marks. The deliberate plagiarism of someone
else's work is unethical, academically
dishonest, and grounds for disciplinary actions,
including expulsion.
Direct Plagiarism: Example
 Plagiarism: Types
Mosaic Plagiarism:
Mosaic plagiarism occurs when a writer reuses
a mix of word, phrases, and ideas from a source
without indicating which words and ideas have
been borrowed and/or without properly citing
the source.
Mosaic Plagiarism: Example
 Plagiarism: Types
Self Plagiarism
Self-plagiarism occurs when a student submits his or her
own previous work, or mixes parts of previous works,
without permission from all professors involved. For
example, it would be unacceptable to incorporate part of a
term paper you wrote in high school into a paper assigned
in a college course. Self-plagiarism also applies to
submitting the same piece of work for assignments in
different classes without previous permission from both
professors.
 Plagiarism: Types
Accidental Plagiarism
Accidental plagiarism occurs when a person
neglects to cite their sources, or misquotes their
sources, or unintentionally paraphrases a source
by using similar words, groups of words, and/or
sentence structure without attribution. Lack of
intent does not absolve the student of
responsibility for plagiarism.
 Most people do not deliberately commit plagiarism. Usually, it results
from:
Procrastination
It is important to set aside adequate time to complete your assignment.
When using sources, you should get in the habit of citing them in full
as you write. Filling in page numbers, making footnotes, or making a
works cited page or bibliography after you have finished writing often
leads to inadvertent miscitations or omissions.

Incomplete Understanding of Original Material

Avoid using any source with which you are not completely
comfortable. As a general rule, if you cannot restate the main idea of a
passage in your own words without referring to the original source,
then you should not use this source for your own work.
Citation Errors
Common errors that lead to accidental plagiarism include using words
or passages from the original source without using quotation marks
and/or without citing the source; using different citation formats
within the same assignment; or using a citation format incorrectly.

Poor Note-Taking
Inexperienced students often forget to put quotation marks around
notes taken directly from text, or find that their notes are disorganized.
As a result, they cannot tell which notes came from which source
when they are in the stages of writing up their assignment.
 Reasons to avoid Plagiarism
Its Stealing from Another
It is unethical to plagiarize because someone else has worked hard and should receive
credit.
You wouldn’t want someone else to steal your work!
[Plagiarism is] “taking property owned by someone else and by not citing the source, the
person is stealing and everyone understands what it means to steal.”
It Hurts You
“Your most important investment is yourself, so if you plagiarize, you are cheating
yourself.”
“You don’t learn anything when you plagiarize.”
“It is unethical to steal the work of others. We all know the difference between right and
wrong.”
“Plagiarism prevents you from establishing your own ideas and opinions on a topic.”
“You can’t expect to cheat and plagiarize forever because you’ll get caught the
consequences will be bad.”