Research Methodology

Assignment

Report Preparation
Report: A report can be defined as a written or oral presentation based on a
written document that communicates the purpose, scope, objectives, hypothesis, methodology, findings, limitations and finally, recommendations of a research project to others. It is the last step of marketing research process. It is more than a summary of findings in fact it is a record of research process.

Importance:
It is a tangible product of the research effort and leaves documentary evidence. Management decisions are guided by the report and the presentation. If the project is carefully conducted but inadequate attention is paid to the report writing part, the value of the project will greatly diminish. Involvement of many users of the research findings will be limited to the written report. They will evaluate the quality of the project based on the quality of the report. Managements decision to undertake research in future will be influenced by the perceived usefulness of the report.

Types of research reports:

Types of Reports

Technical reports

Popular Reports

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Technical Reports: In the technical reports the main emphasis is on:

(i) (ii) (iii) The methods employed Assumptions made in the course of the study The detailed presentation of the findings including their limitations and supporting data.

A general outline of the technical report can be as follows: Summary of results: a brief review of the main findings Nature of the study: description of the general objectives, formulation of the problem in general terms, the working hypothesis, etc. Methods employed: specific methods used in the study and their limitations Data: discussion of data collected their sources, characteristics and limitations. Analysis: the analysis of data and presentation of the findings with supporting data in the form of tables and charts. Conclusions: detailed summary of the findings and polcy implications drawn from the results be explained. Bibliography: bibliography of various sources consulted be prepared and attached. Technical appendices: appendices be given for all technical matters Index: it must be prepared and be given invariably in the report at the end.

Popular Reports:

The popular reports are the one that gives emphasis on simplicity and attractiveness. The simplification can be sought through clear writing, minimization of technical, particularly mathematical, details and liberal use of charts and diagrams. Attractive layout with large print, many subheadings has to be used. A general format for popular report can be as follows: The findings and their implications: emphasis must be given on the findings of most practical interest and on their implications. Recommendations for action: these are made on the basis of findings of the study.
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 Objectives of the study: a general review of how problem arise is presented along with specific objectives of the project Methods employed: a brief and non-technical description of the method and techniques used. Results: it constitutes the main body of the report wherein the results of the study are presented in clear and non-technical terms. Technical appendices: more detailed information on method used, forms etc. is presented in the form of appendices.

Layout of research report:

divided into three main parts: Preliminary pages Main text End matter

The layout of the research report can be

Most research report includes the following elements: i) Title page ii) Letter of transmittal iii) Letter of authorization iv) Table of contents v) List of tables vi) List of graphs vii) List of appendices viii) List of exhibits ix) Executive summary Major findings Conclusions Recommendations x) Problem definition Background to the problem Statement of the problem xi) Approach to the problem xii) Research design Type of research design Information needs Data collection from secondary sources
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Data collection from primary sources Scaling techniques Questionnaire development and pretesting Sampling techniques Fieldwork

xiii) Data analysis Methodology Plan of data analysis xiv) Results xv) Limitations and caveats xvi) Conclusions and recommendations xvii) Exhibits/ Appendix Questionnaires and forms Statistical output Lists Its not mandatory that all should be present in a paper but these are the basic elements that may present in a research report.

Description of important points:

1) Title page: The title should include the independent variable and dependent variable The manuscript page header consists of the first couple of main words of the title The running head: a short descriptive title should include no more than 50 characters (including spaces and punctuation) does not have to be the same as the page header Use plain type face Use client language in title Not researcher's language For example:

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 Practices Followed in Selecting Long-Distance Carriers is a better title than Long-Distance Carrier Service Study Customers Reactions to an Expanded Financial/Insurance Relationship will be preferred over Relationship Study in Insurance Sector 2) Letter of Transmittal: A formal letter that delivers the report to the client and summarizes the researchers overall experience with the project, without mentioning the findings The letter should also identify the need for further action on the part of the client 3) Letter of Authorization: It is a letter from the client to the researcher authorizing the researcher to proceed with the project and specifies its scope and terms and condition of contract. 4) Table of Contents: It helps the reader locate information in the research report. It should list all the sections of the report that follow; each heading should read exactly as it appears in the text and should identify the number of the pages on which it appears. 5) List of illustrations: If the report contains tables and/ or figures, include in the tables of contents a list of illustrations with page numbers on which they appear. It may include: List of graphs List of figures List of tables etc. 6) Executive Summary: It is an extremely important portion of the report. It often is the only portion that executives read. One should state concisely the problem, approach, research design Devote some sentences to describe major results, conclusions and recommendations Executive summary strictly should be of one page and should be written after the rest of the report has been completed
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 Describe What has been done? Why has been done? What is found? How much resources spent? But dont describe how the project has been done. 7) Problem Definition: In this we should state the background of the problem Highlight discussions with the decision makers and industry experts It discusses the secondary data analysis If any qualitative research conducted it must be included here. Factors that are considered must be included. It should have clear statements of : Management decision problem Marketing research problem 8) Methodology: The report should describe the methodology used in studying the problem. If a sample survey has been done, the report should indicate the type of sample design used, its size and the procedure used to draw the sample, the number of research workers employed in the field work, etc. If the report is to be written for the people not familiar with the statistical concepts, the researcher should explain the methodology in very simple language. 9) Results: The results section is the most important portion of our repots. This section should logically present the findings of our research and be organized around our objectives of the report. These should be presented in a narrative form and accompanied by the tables, charts, figures etc. 10) Limitations and caveats: The report should also point out the main limitations of the research report therein. This will be helpful to the reader who can form his own opinion as to how far the results are reliable. It will also be useful to researchers who subsequently undertake a study on the same or a related theme. However the limitations must not be written in a form that it decrease the interest and confidence of the reader on the reliability of the report 11) Summary and conclusions: This section contains a summary of the report as well as the main conclusions. The latter part is based on the
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findings given earlier. To facilitate the reader, the conclusions reported in this section should give references to pages, paragraphs or tables in the findings sections. 12) Recommendations: It may not be necessary for all reports to contain recommendations. However, when a study has been commissioned by management which expects that the researcher will recommend certain measures, it is necessary that these be made in clear language. 13) Appendices, Bibliography and Index: This is the last section of the report. An appendix gives supplementary information which supports the body of the report but which cannot be given within it. If it is given in the main report, it may distort the focus on the main theme and confuse the reader. Research reports also contains bibliography, showing the title of the books/ reports used in their preparation, names of authors, publishers, the year of publication and, if possible, the page numbers. Finally, an index showing the various topics and relevant page numbers in the reports should also be given. It should be prepared on an alphabetical basis.

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