Report Preparation and Presentation

Importance of the Report

1. They are the tangible products of the research

effort.
2. Management decisions are guided by the report
and the presentation.
3. The involvement of many marketing managers in
the project is limited to the written report and the
oral presentation.
4. Management's decision to undertake research in
the future or to use the particular research
supplier again will be influenced by the perceived
usefulness of the report and the presentation.
The Report Preparation and
Presentation Process
Problem Definition, Approach,
Research Design, and
Fieldwork
Data Analysis

Interpretations, Conclusions,
and Recommendations

Report Preparation

Oral Presentation

Reading of the Report by the

Client
Research Follow-Up
 Report Parts

Main Body
Prefatory Parts Appended Parts
of the Report
Report
Format
I. Title page
II. Executive summary
a. Major findings
b. Conclusions
c. Recommendations
III. Table of contents
IV. List of tables
V. List of graphs
VI. List of appendices
VII. List of exhibits
 Written Reporting

• Know the Audience and Write Report

Accordingly
• Formats Can Vary According to
Situation From Formal to Informal
• Follow Established Rules
"I have a spelling checker
It came with my PC;
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I cannot sea.
I've run this poem threw it,
I'm sure your pleased too no,
Its letter perfect in it's weigh,
My checker tolled me sew."
-Janet Minor
 Prefatory Parts

Title Page Summary

Objectives

Methods and
Results

Conclusions

Table of Contents Recommendations

Report
Format
X. Problem definition
a. Background to the problem- LR
b. Statement of the problem
XI. Approach to the problem
XII. Research design
a. Type of research design
b. Data collection from secondary
sources
c. Data collection from primary sources
d. Scaling techniques
e. Questionnaire development and
pretesting
f. Sampling techniques
g. Fieldwork
Report
Format
XIII. Data analysis
a. Methodology
b. Plan of data analysis
XIV. Results
XV. Limitations
XVI. Conclusions and
recommendations
XVII. References
XVIII. Exhibits (Appendices)
a. Questionnaires and forms
b. Statistical output
c. Lists
Report
Writing
• Readers. A report should be written for a specific reader
or readers: the marketing managers who will use the
results.
• Easy to follow. The report should be easy to follow. It
should be structured logically and written clearly.
• Presentable and professional appearance. The looks
of a report are important.
• Objective. Objectivity is a virtue that should guide
report writing. The rule is, "Tell it like it is."
• Reinforce text with tables and graphs. It is
important to reinforce key information in the text with
tables, graphs, pictures, maps, and other visual devices.
• Terse. A report should be terse and concise. Yet, brevity
should not be achieved at the expense of completeness.
Cover
• Directly on the cover of your report,
give the project title, date the report
was prepared, name of by whom
prepared, supervising professor.
Executive Summary

• On a single page, briefly summarize

the major findings of your study, in
point form.
Table of Contents
• A listing of contents of the report
along with the page numbers
Introduction

• The introduction provides background information

which the reader needs, in order to appreciate the
discussion in the body of the report. Mention should
be made of your topic and the problem that are
confronted with. It should give the background of the
problem (for example, how and when it came into
existence), the importance of the problem, the
various dimensions of the problem, and whether any
previous research was done which is pertinent to the
specific project being reported. Unfamiliar terms or
terms that are used in a specific way in the report
should be defined here. Any history that would be
pertinent to the problem should be mentioned (for
example, history of business, industry, etc.)
Explaining the Topic
• Literature review
– Explains the variables considered.
– Importance of these variables
– Linkage of the variables
Statement of Research
Objectives
• Begin the research report with a
statement of your objectives and/or
research hypotheses. These should
be stated as clearly as possible. If
possible, list them one by one.
Indicate which objectives are the
primary objectives and which are
secondary
Research Methodology
• Discuss your sampling and field procedures and any other
pertinent methodological information. Include discussion
of your secondary data search here. Following are
some of the questions which should be answered here:

• What type of research design was used?

• Why was this type of design used?
• What data collection methods were used? (Primary, secondary;
survey, observation).
• What data collection devices were used? (telephone, personal
interviewing)
• Why were these devices appropriate for this project?
• How was the population defined? What were its geographic,
demographic, or other bounds?
• What sampling units were employed? Were they business
organizations or business executives?
• Were they dwelling units, households, or individuals within a
household? Were they students or non students?
• Was a probability or non probability sampling plan employed?
Why? How was the sample actually selected? How large a sample
was selected? Why was this size sample chosen?
• How was a list of sampling units generated? Why was this method
used?
• Were any difficulties experienced in contacting designated sample
elements? How these difficulties were overcome and were bias
introduced in the process? How was the fieldwork done?
• Was any pre-testing of the questionnaire done?
Findings

• The fancier hypothesis testing is the cream but do not forget the
milk!! Charts, tables and graphs can say more than paragraphs
and prose. Make sure your findings are understandable to a
general audience.

• Absolutely no statistical or research jargon should appear

in this section. There must be no statistics in this section,
only in the appendices.

• Introduce and report the results of your analysis of the data

(including findings from secondary data sources). Categorize your
findings under the subheadings of your research objectives and/or
hypotheses.
• Provide an interpretation for the results of whatever analysis you
do. Omit any information that is interesting but irrelevant in terms
of the specific research objectives and/or hypotheses.
• Tables and figures should be used liberally when presenting the
results.
• While the exhibits in the appendix are complex,
detailed, and apply to a number of problems, the
exhibits in this findings section should be simple
summaries of this information, directed to the
specific research objective and/or hypotheses
being discussed.

• You should have a “Key Findings” and “Other

Findings” sections
Guidelines for Tables
• Title and number. Every table should have a number (1a) and
title (1b).
• Arrangement of data items. The arrangement of data items in
a table should emphasize the most significant aspect of the data.
• Basis of measurement. The basis or unit of measurement
should be clearly stated (3a).
• Leaders, rulings, spaces. Leaders, dots or hyphens used to
lead the eye horizontally, impart uniformity and improve
readability (4a). Instead of ruling the table horizontally or
vertically, white spaces (4b) are used to set off data items.
Skipping lines after different sections of the data can also assist
the eye. Horizontal rules (4c) are often used after the headings.
• Explanations and comments: Headings, stubs, and
footnotes. Designations placed over the vertical columns are
called headings (5a). Designations placed in the left-hand
column are called stubs (5b). Information that cannot be
incorporated in the table should be explained by footnotes (5c).
• Sources of the data. If the data contained in the table are
secondary, the source of data should be cited (6a).
 Auto Sales
1a

3a 5a

4c
TABLE X.1
1b
Automotive Sales -
4a 4b
Unit Sales 2a
MFG 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
5b GM 4,953,000 4,898,517 4,858,705 4,756,403 4,707,416
Ford 4,933,000 4,661,685 4,146,000 3,811,000 3,623,000
Chrysler 2,470,000 2,196,000 2,277,000 2,129,000 2,287,000
Honda 1,656,981 1,787,882 1,780,133 1,982,000 2,103,000
Toyota 1,158,860 1,207,639 1,346,000 1,558,000 1,575,000
Nissan 744,000 695,640 726,000 856,000 1,013,000
Other* 1,901,158 1,752,637 1,966,162 1,907,597 1,991,584
Total 17,817,000 17,200,000 17,100,000 17,000,000 17,300,000
6a 5c

* - includes all other producers

Source: Company Websites
Guidelines for
Graphs
Round or Pie Charts
• In a pie chart, the area of each section,
as a percentage of the total area of the
circle, reflects the percentage associated
with the value of a specific variable.

• A pie chart is not useful for displaying

relationships over time or relationships
among several variables.

• As a general guideline, a pie chart should

not require more than seven sections.
Pie Chart of 2018 Auto
Sales
Guidelines for Graphs
Line Charts
• A line chart connects a series of data
points using continuous lines.

• This is an attractive way of illustrating

trends and changes over time.

• Several series can be compared on the

same chart, and forecasts, interpolations,
and extrapolations can be shown.
Line Chart of Total Auto Sales
Fig. X.2
Guidelines for
Graphs
Line Charts
• A stratum chart is a set of line charts in
which the data are successively
aggregated over the series.

• Areas between the line charts display the

magnitudes of the relevant variables.
Stratum Chart of Total Auto Sales
Fig. X.4
Guidelines for Graphs
Histograms and Bar
Charts
• A bar chart displays data in various bars
that may be positioned horizontally or
vertically.

• The histogram is a vertical bar chart and in

which the height of the bars represents the
relative or cumulative frequency of
occurrence of a specific variable.
Histogram of 2018 Auto Sales
Figure X.6
Summary and
Conclusions
• Make some final conclusions about the results of your
analysis.
• Relate your conclusions/findings to the objectives/research
questions you listed at the beginning of the report. A step-
by-step development of the conclusions should be given.
There should be a conclusion for each study objective or
problem. The conclusions should be stated in greater detail
than in the executive summary. Readers should be able to
read the objectives, turn to the conclusion section, and find
specific conclusions relative to each objective. If the study
does not provide evidence sufficient to draw a conclusion
about a problem, this should be explicitly stated.

Note: Recommendations are not included in this section. This

is only a summary of the analyses of your major research
questions
Recommendations
• This section includes
recommendations as to what action,
if any, the firm should take. It can
also be used to suggest future areas
of research. It should be clearly
demonstrated how each
recommendation follows from the
information presented earlier in the
report.
Reading the Research
Report
• Interpretation and Conclusions – The
interpretation of the basic results should be
differentiated from the results per se. Any
conclusions or recommendations made without a
specification of the underlying assumptions or
limitations should be treated cautiously by the reader.
• Generalizability – It is the responsibility of the
researcher to provide evidence regarding the
reliability, validity, and generalizability of the findings.

• Disclosure – The reader should carefully examine

whether the spirit in which the report was written
indicates an honest and complete disclosure of the
research procedures and results.
Methodological
Limitations
• Discuss the limitations of the data in terms of your objectives (for
example, indicate any crucial variables you found were missing
from the data). Also possibly suggest some modifications for the
study and questionnaire which you would recommend for a future
study. Sources of non-sampling error and the suspected direction of
their biases might be discussed. Readers should also be informed
specifically as to how far the results can be generalized. Research
design limitations could be discussed. For example, if the study is
exploratory and designed to find new hypotheses, readers should
be warned not to conclude that the results are an accurate
measure of the phenomenon studied. If particular questions in a
survey seem to have confused respondents, the readers should be
warned to use particular care in interpreting the results of these
questions.
• If many not-at-homes or refusals were encountered in the fieldwork
and substitutions were made, readers should be cautioned as to
the effect this could have on the results. In general, include
anything which might qualify your findings, conclusions, and/or
recommendations. In describing any limitations of the study, how
much the limitations might affect the results and in what direction
should also be indicated.
References
• APA
• Harvard
• Vancouver
• Chicago
Journal Paper
• Gupta, P., & Goyal, P. (2018). Gen Y Attributes—
Antecedents to Teaching Pedagogy. Vision, 22(1),
78-87.
• Gupta, P. and Goyal, P., 2018. Gen Y Attributes—
Antecedents to Teaching Pedagogy. Vision, 22(1),
pp.78-87.
• Gupta P, Goyal P. Gen Y Attributes—Antecedents to
Teaching Pedagogy. Vision. 2018 Mar;22(1):78-87.
• Gupta, Poornima, and Preeti Goyal. "Gen Y
Attributes—Antecedents to Teaching
Pedagogy." Vision 22, no. 1 (2018): 78-87.
Book
• Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2003).
Business research methods (ed.). Thomson/South-Western,
Cincinnati, OH.
• Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C. and Griffin, M., 2003.
Business research methods (ed.). Thomson/South-Western,
Cincinnati, OH.
• Zikmund WG, Babin BJ, Carr JC, Griffin M. Business research
methods (ed.). Thomson/South-Western, Cincinnati, OH.
2003.
• Zikmund, William G., Barry J. Babin, Jon C. Carr, and Mitch
Griffin. "Business research methods (ed.)." Thomson/South-
Western, Cincinnati, OH (2003).
• From a website
• Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M.,
Soderland, L., &
• Brizee, A. (2010, May 5). General format. Retrieved from
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ last
accessed on 01/01/10
• From a newspaper
• Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug
industry. The
• New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
•
Appendices
• Questionnaire if used
• Statistical tables
• Other information relevant to the
report but not in the main report
• Explanation of terms