Chapter 12 research report preparation and presentation

Most research reports include the following elements:

I. Title page II. Letter of transmittal III. Table of contents IV. List of tables V. List of graphs VI. List of appendices VII. List of exhibits VIII. Executive summary a. Major findings b. Conclusions c. Recommendations IX. Introduction a. Background to the problem b. Statement of the problem X. Approach to the problem

XI. Research design

a. Type of research design b. Information needs c. Data collection from secondary sources d. Data collection from primary sources e. Scaling techniques f. Questionnaire development and pretesting g. Sampling techniques h. Field work

XII. Data analysis a. Methodology b. Plan of data analysis

XIII. Results

XIV. Limitations and caveats

XV. Conclusions and recommendations

XVI. Appendix a. Questionnaires and forms b. Statistical output c. Lists

The results...

• may be presented in several chapters of the report.
• For example, a Malaysian researcher conducting a national survey, may perform the data analysis in two stages.
• First, he or she may analyze the overall national sample followed by nine separate analysis for each of the states.
• The results may then be presented in ten chapters [ one overall plus nine state based] instead of one.

Report Writing I

• Effective report writing is an art.
• Some basic points to note in writing a report.
• Readers: The report should take into account the level of readers' technical sophistication, their interest in the project, ability to understand as well as the circumstances under which they will read the report and how they will use it..
• Adherence to study objectives: A research report must show that the research objectives have been accomplished..
• Easy to follow: The most basic characteristic of a good report is that it is easy to follow.
• It should be well organized, logically structured, and clearly and lucidly written. Headings and sub-headings should be used for different topics and subtopics respectively..