Chapter 12 research report preparation and presentation

Report Writing II

• Objective: Report writing should always be guided by objectivity.
• Should accurately present the methodology, results, and conclusions of the project, without slanting the findings to conform to the expectations of management.
• Selectivity: A researcher must use his or her discretion in deciding what should be included in the report.
• Concise: A report should be concise. Yet brevity should not be achieved at the expense of completeness.
• Presentation: The report should be professionally done with quality paper, good typing, and attractive binding.

Report Writing III

• Visual aids: Key information presented in the text of a research report should be reinforced with tables, graphs, pictures, maps, and other visual devices.
• Guidelines for Tables: Statistical tables are a vital part of the report and deserve special attention.
• Every table should have a number and brief but clear title.
• Basis or unit of measurement should be clearly stated to facilitate understanding.
• The arrangement of the data item should emphasize the most important aspect of the data being presented.
• If necessary, explanations, comments etc. should be provided as footnotes.
• If the table presents secondary data, the source(s) must be cited clearly.

Oral Presentation

• Should be carefully prepared keeping the audience in mind.
• A good presentation does not mean a lengthy presentation.
• Carefully selected visual aids such as graphs, tables, charts, maps etc. help presentation.
• However, Too many visual aids, particularly statistical tables, could often be boring and may not serve any purpose.
• During oral presentation, people may seek clarification.
• The speaker must be patient and should not show signs of anger or frustration. He or she should be natural, establish eye contact with the audience, and interact with them.
• Body language and descriptive gestures are also quite useful.