Business Research and

Report Writing
WAC

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duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Report Types and Characteristics

Formal Reports
Informal Reports

Ch 10 - 2

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Informal Reports
letter or memo format
minimal use of headings and visual aids
personal pronouns and contractions (first person)
length from a few paragraphs to a few pages.
content primarily for internal audiences

Ch 10 - 3

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duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Ch 10 - 4

Formal Reports
A standard format organised into separate sections
Front and back matter (sections) along with the body of the

report

A greater number of headings (including subheadings) and visual

aids

Third person pronouns and no contractions or slang

Length from 3 pages to several hundred
Content designed for internal and/or external audiences.

Producing a report
KINLAND REPORT
Report on investigation into the use
of motivation and incentive
schemes

RESEARCH
Primary: Interviews with staff &
committees
Secondary: Related products &
management texts

FINDINGS
STAFF QUESTIONNAIRE

Salary increments
Promotions
Staff training

CONCLUSIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS

Current schemes work well

Morale is high
Quality Assurance Training would
help

Introduce Quality Assurance

Training
Maintain other schemes
Source: Access Series, Tata McGraw-Hill

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Ch 10 - 7

Types of Informal Reports

Progress informs readers of the status of a project
Periodic provides managers with updated information at

regular intervals
Technical conveys specialized information

Progress Report

Periodic Report

Technical Report

5 Steps in Conducting Research

1. Plan
2. Gather information
3. Analyze the information
4. Determine the solution(s).
5. Write the report

1. Plan the research

Stating the problem
Determine the best advertising medium for your product
Design a new procedure for processing online orders
How can we improve employee morale?
Should we purchase hybrid vehicles for our delivery fleet?
Setting the boundaries
Scope
Time Schedule
Budget

Keep a time schedule

Decisions taken during planning stage

3. Analyzing your audience
4. Deciding on Research Procedures

Who is your audience?

What do my readers know and

Written vs. Graphic

Background Knowledge

Delivery Style
Topic
Acceptance/Tolerance

think about the topic?

What background, definitions
and other information do they
need?
What questions or objections
might they raise about the
issue/s?
Is my audience internal,
external or both?
Is it for readers up, across or
down the hierarchy of the
organisation and/or people from
outside?

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Ch 10 - 17

2. Gather Information
Primary sources of information
Produce data and information not previously published
Are available from company records or are gathered
through:

Surveys
Focus groups
Observations
Experiments
Personal interviews

Secondary sources of information

Are published materials often available through libraries
Can be located through traditional or computerized searches

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Primary sources of information

Advantages

Disadvantages

* The data will be

relevant to local
situation

* May take more time

* Facts may be more upto-date than previous

research

* May cost more

Ch 10 - 18

Secondary sources of information

Timeliness
Relevance
Approach
Outlet
Author

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duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Ch 10 - 20

3. Analyze the Information

Compare and contrast various parts of the information.
Interpret facts and figures by explaining their meaning and

their significance.

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duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

4. Determine Solution(s)
Conclusion an inference drawn from the facts
Recommendation the solution based upon your

conclusions

Ch 10 - 21

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duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Formal Written Reports

Preliminary section
Body
Supplementary section

Ch 10 - 22

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Preliminary Section
Title page
Letter or memo of transmittal
Table of contents
List of illustrations
Executive summary

Ch 10 - 23

Title Page
Title of the report
Writers name, job title and department
Date of submission

The name of the company receiving the report when its

an external client.

Letter or Memo of Transmittal

Introduces the report to the reader
Should be concise and may be subjective (comments)
May refer readers to parts of the report of spl interest
Any item worthy of discussion
Ends with a statement expressing appreciation for the

opportunity to participate in the project.

Usually has a conversational tone.

Table of Contents; List of Illustrations

Dont use for a report fewer than 5 pages.
Section heads should be listed exactly as they appear in

body

Executive Summary
Not an introduction to the report, but a condensed report
Senior management might read just the summary
Summary follows the order of the report (direct or indirect)
Best to keep the summary to one page.

Executive Summary
Include the following:
why (purpose)
what (scope or breadth of the investigation)
how (methodology)
what you found out (major findings with key statistics)
so what (analysis, conclusions and recommendations)
It should be a half to one page (around 5% - no more than

10%) of the overall length and on a separate page.

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Body
Introduction
Procedures
Findings
Analysis
Conclusions
Recommendations

Ch 10 - 30

Use direct approach when readers will be pleased.

Use indirect approach when readers are skeptical

Introduction
Provides adequate background concerning the study
Includes
A problem statement
Purpose of Study
Scope of Research
Literature on Topic
Unfamiliar terms

Procedures/Methodology
Describes the steps taken in conducting the study
Allows readers to determine whether all aspects of the

problem were investigated adequately

Findings / Results
Presented in a factual and objective manner
Present all findings positive and negative.

Analysis/Discussion
Discusses the findings
Includes writers interpretation of the qualitative or

quantitative assessment of the findings

Compares results of the study with findings of other
studies

Conclusion
A conclusion is a statement of reasoning made by a

researcher after a thorough investigation.

No new data should be presented in this section.
Adjectives are useful in a conclusion as a way of

condensing your main points:

This report therefore clearly highlights that the advertising

campaign was very successful, due to its inclusive and farreaching impact with key target audiences such as X and Y.

Recommendations
They must be both relevant and feasible covering:
What needs to be done
Who needs to do it
How, when (in what order if appropriate) and where it

needs to be done
Use consistent sentence structure

Headings
Keep headings short, relevant and consistent.

Sample Headings (Noun and noun groups Structural Headings)

Introduction
Background to the issue
Service changes
Productivity improvements
Future developments
Conclusions
Recommendations

Sample Headings (more complex noun groups & clauses Informative

Headings)

Why did ABC merge with XYZ?

The main issues related to ABC/XYZ merger

implementation
What can be done to improve any merger problems?
Should ABC consider any other mergers?
Specific recommendations for action

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Supplementary Section
Glossary
Appendix
Bibliography OR
Reference List

Ch 10 - 42

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Ch 10 - 43

Supplementary Section
Glossary
Alphabetic list of terms used in the report with a brief definition of each
Used only when there are many unfamiliar terms in the report

Appendix
Contains related information excluded from the body of the report
Appendix A: Printout of Daily Sales
Appendix B: Sample Follow Up Letter

Bibliography OR
Alphabetic list of all references used as sources of information in the

study, including those that do not appear in footnotes or text citations

Reference List
Includes only those sources cited in the text of the report

Reference Styles
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological

Association (APA)
Chicago Manual of Style

 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Mechanics of Formal Reports

Cover or title page
Margins
Spacing
Headings
Source citations
Page numbers

Ch 10 - 45

References
Course Textbook
Sample Business Reports. University of Sydney.

Retrieved from http://sydney.edu.au/business/__

data/assets/pdf_file/0008/90359/Txt_business_reports.pdf
Fischer, A. & Northey, M. (1993). Impact: A guide to
Business Communication. Pearson.