Deck 19: Presenting Insights and Findings: Written Reports

Question 1

Distinguish between the following:
a.Technical report and management report.
b.Topic outline and sentence outline.

Answer 1

Technical report and management report
The quality of the research reports are defined by the degree of formality and design of the report. Research reports are written either formal or informal format. Formal reports are also called long reports and informal reports are called short reports.
There are two types of long reports, which are technical and management report. Technical report is written for the research audience, who can understand the technical terminology. It is the major source document that consists of all the working papers and original data files. It is detail report of research methodology, sampling design, data gathering techniques, data analysis methods, interpretations, recommendations and references. Management reports are written for the non technical audience. The sections in this report are followed inverted order as the reader need quick grasp to conclusions and recommendations without much reading. If the audience wishes to read further information, it can be seen in findings and appendix. Most management reports use visual displays in the place of content.
The major difference between these two reports is that technical report is complete research report for technical audience and management report is a brief report on critical findings that supports non technical audience to make decisions.
Topic outline and sentence outline
Outline is developed after completing all the data analysis, interpretations and recommendation part of the research study. Outline plays a key role in the overall presentation to capture the audience attention. Outline includes Major topic heading, Major subtopic heading, subtopic etc.
There are two styles of outlines i.e. topic outline and sentence outline. Topic outline style uses one or two words for topic heading assuming that the writer knows the significance of that word. Example: "Findings", "Data analysis", etc. The sentence outline uses more words to express the complete thought related to that topic. Example: "Findings about the employee preferences on work culture", "Analysis test for relationship between employee preference and satisfaction" etc.
The advantage with sentence outline is that it needs less latter work and allows the researcher to make decision on how to express things that they want to present. In topic outline, the researcher knows what points to be associated with the title or heading but it is not clear that how to make it.

Question 2

What should you do about each of these
a.Putting information in a research report concerning the study's limitations.
b.The size and complexity of tables in a research report.
c.The physical presentation of a report.
d.Pace in your writing.

Answer 2

Report writing is one of the crucial steps that often get sidetracked. Reports contain the entire gist, including the results of the research. Reports are made for the clients to understand the study. The top managers evaluate a researcher based on the report and outcome of the study.
a
Limitations are crucial information presented that explains the researcher's reservation regarding the study. Many researchers believe that limitation may undermine the research outcome. Hence, they wish to exclude limitations. But, limitations should provide significant errors or implementation issues that are neglected. Limitations help in providing a balanced view regarding a study.
b
Tables are ways to present data in a presentable way. They help in communicating important figures to the client. They may be general or present a summary. Summary tables usually present a few key data. The table should have labels to present the different categories of rows and columns present. Footnotes may be provided to explain any figure.
c
The physical presentation should have all the report contents planned out.
• It should have an understanding of who will be reading the report. A report aimed for higher management is made concise.
• The report should consider the audience and present the report in a format that is best suited to the reader. Styles could include a technical report, theoretical report, management report etc.
• The technical background of the reader is also taken into consideration. The terms and assumptions by the researcher should be easiliy communicated to the reader.
d
The readability of the report is an important factor that needs to be taken care. The pace of the report related to the frequency with which new information is presented to the reader. The proper pace of technical research should proceed with a logical flow of data that helps the reader to connect the takeaways easily. An improper pace might confuse or bore the reader. Text spacing and figures presented should be also readable.

Question 3

What type of report would you suggest be written in each of the following cases
a. The president of the company has asked for a study of the company's pension plan and its comparisons to the plans of other firms in the industry.
b. You have been asked to write up a marketing experiment, which you recently completed, for submission to the Journal of Marketing Research.
c. Your division manager has asked you to prepare a forecast of promotional budget needs for the division for the next 12 months.
d. The National Institutes of Health has given you a grant to study the relationship between advertising of prescription drugs and subsequent sales of those drugs.

Answer 3

Research reports are written either formal or informal format. Formal reports are also called long reports, which is divided further into two types i.e. technical and management report. The informal reports are called short reports.
a.
Management reports are written for the non-technical audience. The sections in this report are followed inverted order as the reader need quick grasp to conclusions and recommendations without much reading. If the audience wishes to read further information, it can be seen in findings and appendix. Most management reports use visual displays in the place of content.
In this case, company president is interested in the benchmarking study of company's pension plan. As the company president cannot spend much time on reviewing detailed report; it is suggested to write a management report with executive summary at the beginning of the report followed with detailed information. It becomes easy to grasp the information for decision making. If president is interested to go deeper into the report then the attached detailed information will be helpful.
b.
Technical report is written for the research audience, who can understand the technical terminology. It is the major source document that consists of all the working papers and original data files. It is detail report of research methodology, sampling design, data gathering techniques, data analysis methods, interpretations, recommendations and references.
In this case, this report is submission to publish to Journal of Marketing Research. It means this report is considered as source document for research audiences. Therefore, technical report is suggested as it provides detailed presentation on research methodology of this study along with all findings and conclusions.
c.
Management reports are written for the non-technical audience. The sections in this report are followed inverted order as the reader need quick grasp to conclusions and recommendations without much reading. If the audience wishes to read further information, it can be seen in findings and appendix. Most management reports use visual displays in the place of content.
In this case, division manager needs a forecast report on promotional budget for next 12 months. Here, it is necessary to understand the level of division manager to decide the correct report format. In general considering the division managers busy schedules, it is suggested to consider management report. The report must follow summary that highlights the recommendations and conclusions of the study. Also, the detailed report can be attached to it in case if the manager has time to go through the detailed study.
d.
Management reports are written for the non-technical audience. The sections in this report are followed inverted order as the reader need quick grasp to conclusions and recommendations without much reading. If the audience wishes to read further information, it can be seen in findings and appendix. Most management reports use visual displays in the place of content.
In this case, national institute of health is interested to find the relationship between advertising of presubscription drugs and its sales. Here, this study major focus is statistical analysis findings and it is not required to follow detailed research methodology. Therefore, it is suggested to provide management report with analysis findings and conclusions.

Question 4

There are a number of graphic presentation forms. Which would you recommend to show each of the following Why
a. A comparison of changes in average annual per capita income for the United States and Japan from 1995-2010.
b. The percentage composition of average family expenditure patterns, by the major types of expenditures, for families whose heads are under age 35 compared with families whose heads are 55 or older.
c. A comparison of changes in charitable giving between December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2010.

Question 5

Use Exhibit 20-2 and plan the structure of your course project or a research study you have read about in one of the Snapshots in this text.

Question 6

Choose any case containing data from text website and prepare a findings page, similar to the one in Exhibit 20-3.

Question 7

Executives at Warner Brothers believe that Ellen DeGeneres is the heir apparent to Oprah Winfrey in daytime TV. In a recent research report, the findings revealed that The Ellen DeGeneres Show was, for the first time, on par with The Oprah Winfrey Show in viewers' minds. Implementing the findings, Warner Brothers announced that NBC's 10 owned-and-operated stations would keep broadcasting DeGeneres's show through 2014. The written report revealed that DeGeneres's hour long show is upbeat and inspirational-traits that appeal to daytime's female audience; she is seen as relaxed and relatable; and she is more likable than Winfrey, according to the Q Scores Company. Even though the DeGeneres show lags behind the Winfrey show in the treasured Nielsen ratings, on emotional issues DeGeneres was in a virtual tie with Winfrey.
a. What other questions should the report address
b. How would you advise the networks to "franchise" DeGeneres based on your study's results

Question 8

The Index of Small Business Optimism declined 3 points in June 2012, falling to 91.4 and losing gains achieved earlier in the year, according to the NFIB Research Foundation report. Labor market indicators and spending plans for inventories and capital equipment drove about 40 percent of the decline. Small-business owners reluctance to expand remained historically high due to political uncertainty. The report's Optimism Index contains questions on employment, capital outlays, inventories, the economy in general, sales, credit, expansion, and earnings. What other factors affect small-business confidence and how would you integrate them into the report