Section - V: Interpretation and Report Writing

Coverage in this section will be as under: Meaning of Interpretation Importance of Report Writing Lay-out of Research Report. Salient features of good Report Writing Precautions for writing Research Reports Limitations of Research Methods. Presentation of Report.

 1. Meaning of Interpretation: Interpretation means explanation or finding out the meaning (Meaning of data). When data are analyzed, they shows some inferences or conclusions. Explanation on conclusions is interpretation of data. Thus, after analyzing the data whatever conclusions are received are matter of interpretation.

Conclusions from the analysis of data is the result or outcome of Interpretation. Ultimately, the conclusion gives the result of the research or findings of the research. PRECAUTIONS IN INTERPRETATION: Interpretation should be done with utmost care and high degree of skill. Before interpretation, the Researcher should ensure the following points:

 1. Ensure that the data collected are reliable and adequate for drawing inferences (i.e. conclusions). 2. Ensure that sampling error is not there. Reasonable & sufficient size of sample has been taken. 3. Ensure that appropriate statistical methods have been used in analyzing data. (More than one method can be used)

 4. Ensure that the Hypotheses and Methodology are correct. REPORT WRITING: Importance of Report Writing: A) Research work is incomplete till the report has been presented and written. B) The findings of research should be known to others, and it is only possible

 when it is written & shown to others. C) Writing of Report is the last step in research study. D) Writing research report requires a set of skills. This task should be done by the researcher himself with due care. E) Researcher, at the most may take help/assistance and guidance of Experts for the purpose.

 REPORT WRITING: Introduction: The purpose of conducting a research is to come-out with inferences and suggestions i.e. result of research. The out-come( findings) of the research should be well documented in the form of Research Report for implementation and future use.

Types of Report:
The research report can be research-oriented report. The research-orient report can be Survey-based research report. Survey-based Report:- The main body of the report for survey based research contains the following points: (i) Problem definition (ii) Objectives of the research (iii) Research Methodology

(iv) Interpretation of results and suggestions. (v) Conclusions. Guidelines for reviewing Draft Report:The draft of the report should be re-viewed( see & check again) for an appropriate number of times so that the errors are completely avoided.

While reviewing the draft, certain guidelines are to be followed, as under: (a) The text (write up) of the report should be free from ambiguity. (b) The text should convey the intended (purposeful) message. (c) The content of the report should reveal the scope of the research in logical sequence and should be in short and clear.

 (d) The report should be organized in hierarchical form with chapters, main contents, sub-sections within main sections, etc. (e) There should be continuity between chapters and also between sub-sections. (f) The abstract (or overview) at the beginning should reveal the essence of the entire report which gives the overview.

 (g) The chapter on conclusions and suggestions is again enlarged version of the abstract with more detailed elaboration on the conclusions and suggestions. (h) A reading of abstract and conclusions of a report should give the clear picture of the report content to the readers. (i) Avoid using lengthy sentences.

 (j) Each and every Table as well as figure should be numbered and it must be referred in the main text. (k) The presentation of the text should be clear so that every reader is able to understand the content of the report without any difficulty. (l) The report should have appropriate length. Report should be restricted to 50 to 80 pages, (whereas Ph.D. research report may be between 200 to 300 pages.

FORMATE OF REPORT:
1. Cover Page 2. Introduction pages - Acknowledgement - Executive Summary - Abstract & Review of Literature - Table of contents - List of Tables - List of figures Charts & Diagrams

 3. Company Profile 4. Introduction-need of study, Objectives and Hypotheses. 5. Research Methodology -Sample design, sample size, -Tools of Data collection, -Design of Questionnaire, -Execution of Survey.

6. Data Analysis & Interpretation 7. Findings, Recommendation/ suggestions 8. Swot Analysis & Conclusion 9. Annexures 10. Bibliography.

Final Typing of Report:

Typing Instructions: Paper: The quarto-size white thick un-ruled paper is used for the final printing of the report. The printing should be done on one side only. Margins:- The left margin and the right margin of the report should be 1.5 inch and 1 inch, respectively. The top as well as bottom margin should be 1 inch. But

 In the pages starting with a chapter, the top margin should be 3 inch. Indention: (margin to mark new paragraph): The paragraph can be classified into general and indented (Marked). The first line of general paragraph is not indented, whereas in indented paragraph, the first line of the paragraph is indented by 10 spaces from the left margin.

 Spacing between lines:- The entire report should be typed with double spacing except indented paragraphs, tables and footnotes. Triple spacing should be given for the following cases: - Before each paragraph heading - Before and after each centre heading, centre subheading, side heading and indented paragraphs.

ORAL PRESENTATION:
After completion of Research Report, the concept, techniques and results of the research report should be presented to the audience of interested group. (Corporate House & Institution) The presenter should take all necessary steps to make his/her presentation more effective so that the audience receive the essence of the report without any omission.

The presenter should consider the following aspects of communication to make his presentation more effective: 1. Purpose of the presentation should be identified. The purpose may be to inform the audience i.e. Corporate House, Faculty Guide and Institution. 2. The oral presentation should be with minimum number of slides (15 to 25).

 3. The presenter should avoid simply reading the slides without explanation. 4. The presenter should explain all important contents of his research. 5. The audience should be provided with prepresentation handout, if necessary. 6. The beginning of the presentation must be impressive.

 7. The presenter should maintain eye contact with the audience. 8. The presenter should take continuous effort to involve the audience. 9. The presenter should avoid distracting the audience. 10. The presenter should attend to the query session after the completion of presentation.

 11. The researcher or presenter should give presentation in the Corporate house as well as in the institution to which he belong. 12. The presenter should continuously sense the response of the audience through their facial expression and symbolic actions and tune the presentation accordingly.

Steps in Writing a Research Report: (a) Logical Analysis of the subject-matter. (Supportive matter) (b) Preparation of the final out-line (frame-work of chapter) all points to be covered. (c) Preparation of Rough-Draft of report. - Procedure adopted for collecting material. (Primary & Secondary data) -Limitations faced. (Time & Budget)

-Techniques of Analysis adopted. -Broad findings & generalizations -Various suggestions regarding problem concerned. (d) Re-writing and Polishing of the rough draft. -Do careful revision of the report - Check the weaknesses, if any - Check the mechanics of writing i.e. Grammar, spelling and usage etc.

 (e) Preparation of the final Bibliography. -To be appended -List of Books, Periodicals referred. -Arrange bibliography alphabetically. For Books: - Name of the Author, last name first. - Title, underlined to indicate italics. - Place, Publisher and Date (year)

- Number of Volumes. For Magazines/Journals: -Name of the Author, last name first. - Title of Article, in quotation marks ( ) - Name of periodical/Journal, (in Italics) - The Volume or volume and Number. - The date of the issue (month and year) - The Pagination (Page numbers)

 (f) Writing the Final Draft of Report. It should be in simple language. LAY-OUT OF THE RESEARCH REPORT: Lay-out means what the research report should contain. General lay-out of a Research Report can have three parts:

(A) Preliminary Pages. (Head) (B) The Main Text, and (Body) (C) The End matter. (Tail) (A) Preliminary Pages: -A Title and date (year) - Acknowledgements in the form of Preface or Forward - Table of Contents (Chapterization)

 - List of Tables and illustrations. This is done for a Reader to locate easily the required information in the report. (B) Main Text (Body)- (i) Objectives of Research: Summary of other Research, Hypotheses of Study, Definitions of major concepts or terms, Methodology adopted, Basic sample design, Questionnaire, sample used and limitations etc.

 (ii) Statement of findings and Recommendations: in summarized form. (iii) Results : Findings of the study in the shape of Tables, and Charts, several chapters can be there. (iv) Implications of the Results: Mention again the results of your research precisely and clearly.

What present study reveals -mention it. Conclusions drawn. Suggestions or new questions drawn/observed/raised in research. (v) Summary: Conclude the research report with brief summary, about Problem, methodology, major findings, major conclusions drawn from the research.

 (C) END- MATTER: Appendices (enclosures) should be enlisted: - Questionnaires, - Sample information, - Mathematical Derivations, - Bibliography of Sources, and - Index.( words or terms & page No.)

 PRECAUTIONS FOR WRITING REPORT:. A Research report communicates the Research findings to the readers of the report. Therefore, a good research report does this task efficiently and effectively. Thus, a Research Report must be prepared with some precautions.

 Precautions are as under : 1. Length of Report:Report should be long enough to cover the subject but should be short enough to maintain interest. 2. Interesting for Readers: Report should not be dull, it should be interesting to readers.

 3. Simple Language: Report should convey the matter in a simple way. It should be in simple language. Avoid using expressions such as it seems, there may be and the like. 4. Main findings: Report must provide ready availability of the findings. For this purpose, the Statistical Tables, Charts, Graphs may be

 Used. Findings must be available in main report in addition to the Summary of important findings. 5. Layout:- Layout of the report should be in accordance with the objective of the research problem. 6. Grammatically correct:- The Report should be free from Grammatical mistakes. Use of quotations, footnotes,

 Documentation, proper punctuation and use of abbreviations should be used in correct way. 7. Reflect original work:- Research report should show original work and be an attempt to solve the problem. 8. Appendices:- All appendices should be enlisted in respect of all the Technical data.

 9. Bibliography: Bibliography of sources consulted is a must for a good report and must be given. 10. Index:Index must be prepared and appended at the end of the report. 11. Appearance: Report must be attractive in appearance, neat & clean typed/printed.

 12. Introductory part: Objective of the study, the nature of the problem, the methods employed and the analysis techniques adopted must all be clearly stated in the beginning of the report in the form of Introduction. Report writing is an art which is learnt by practice and experience. +++++

PRESENTATION OF REPORT

After the Tabulation and Analysis work is completed, the next step is usually a presentation of the major findings to the sponsor of the study. This includes a presentation of all the major Tabulations (frequency tables) and CrossTabulations in percentage terms. It may also include a Summary of major findings, and some recommendations.

A formal report usually follows the presentation. This should normally contain the following:Title page 1. Executive Summary. 2. Table of contents 3. Introduction 4. Research objectives

5. Research Methodology - Sample design -Field work plan and dates - Analysis/expected outcome plan - Questionnaire copy (as annexure) 6. Analysis - Simple Tabulation - Cross Tabulation

7. Findings of the Research 8. Limitations of the Research 9. Recommendations for action 10. Suggestions, if any 11. Bibliography/List of references