UNIT V REPORT DESIGN, WRITING AND ETHICS IN BUSINESS RESEARCH 9 Research report Different types Contents of report need

eed of executive summary chapterization contents of chapter report writing the role of audience readability comprehension tone final proof report format title of the report ethics in research ethical behaviour of research subjectivity and objectivity in research.

A report is a dreadfully official document that is written to serve the range of purpose in the engineering and business disciplines; sciences and social sciences. Therefore, they need to be clear-cut and accurate. Good report writing call for--- professionalism, profound knowledge of the subject, attentiveness, and outstanding writing proficiency. Types of Report Writing --- (Jun 2007) 1. Research Report Writing 2. Business Report Writing 3. Science Report Writing Research Report Writing--To presents the tangible proof of the conducted research is the major intention of the academic assignment. When writing on research report, we must ponder over clarity, organization, and content. Research reports are all the more same to technical reports, lab reports, formal reports and

scientific papers which comprise a quite consistent format that will facilitate we to put our information noticeably, making it crystal clear. Business Report Writing--In business milieu, Business report writing happens to be an indispensable part of the communication process. Executive summary is written in a non-technical manner. By and large, audience for business reports will consist of upper level manager, for that reason we should take the audience needs in consideration. Go on with the introduction to articulate the problem and determine the scope of the research. To attain the desired results, don't fail to state about the precise quantitative tools. Science Report Writing--Parallel to a business report, science report writing also corresponds with the line of investigation. To report upon an empirical investigation, these reports make use of standard scientific report format, portraying technique, fallout and conclusions. As an assignment in undergraduate papers within the scientific disciplines, it is required frequently. The main objective of the Science report is to boast an aim, the technique which enlightens how the project has been analyzed, the outcomes which presents the findings and the conclusion. This embraces advance research suggestions and our own biased opinion on the topic which has been talked about. When writing a science report, do not fail to remember to use heading and subheadings in order to direct a reader through our work. In the form of tables and graphs, Statistical evidence should be incorporated in appendices. Than refer to it in the body of our scientific report. Reports are a common form of writing because of the inclusion of recommendations which are helpful in implementing the decision. Table 1: Divisions and sections of a report.(Jun 2008)(Dec 2011) Broad Divisions (1) Preliminary material Individual Sections Title of Report Table of Contents (not always required) Abstract/Synopsis Introduction (2) Body of report Literature Review (sometimes included in the Introduction) Methodology Results Discussion Conclusion Recommendations (sometimes included in the Conclusion) (3) Supplementary material References or Bibliography Appendices

Table 2: Content of individual sections Individual Sections Title of Report Table of Contents (not always required) Abstract/Synopsis Introduction Content of Each Section Concise heading indicating what the report is about List of major sections and headings with page numbers Concise summary of main findings Why and what we researched

Literature Review (sometimes included in theOther relevant research in this area Introduction) Methodology Results Discussion Conclusion What we did and how we did it What we found Relevance of our results, how it fits with other research in the area Summary of results/findings

Recommendations (sometimes included in theWhat needs to be done as a result of our findings Conclusion) References or Bibliography Appendices All references used in our report or referred to for background information Any additional material which will add to our report

Explain various steps involved in writhing a report. (Jun 2010) (Dec 2011) STEP 1: ANALYSE THE TASK As with any assignment task, we must first analyse what is expected. This involves careful reading of the assignment task as outlined in our course information book. We may find the following questions useful when analyzing the task: 1. What is the purpose of the report?(Analyzing, persuading or reporting on an investigation) 2. Who is the audience for the report? 3. What is the word limit?(Most times the word limit only includes the body of the report) 4. What is the topic of the report?(The topic may be specified by the lecturer/other times we will have a choice) 5. What is the expected format of the report? STEP 2: DEVELOP A ROUGH PLAN Use the section headings (outlined above) to assist with our rough plan. Write a thesis statement that clarifies the overall purpose of our report. Jot down anything we already know about the topic in the relevant sections.

STEP 3: DO THE RESEARCH Steps 1 and 2 will guide our research for this report. We may need to report on other research on a particular topic or do some research of our own. Keep referring to our analysis and rough plan while we are doing our research to ensure that we remain on track. Give our self plenty of time for this step, as the research phase of our work will usually take the most time of any step in producing our report. Also, ensure we keep correct bibliographic details for all of the material we may later use in our report. STEP 4: DRAFT THE BODY OF OUR REPORT Introduction - The purpose of our report. The thesis statement will be useful here. Background information may include a brief review of the literature already available on the topic so that we are able to place our research in the field. Some brief details of our methods and an outline of the structure of the report. Literature Review - If asked to do a separate literature review, we must carefully structure our findings. It may be useful to do a chronological format where we discuss from the earliest to the latest research, placing our research appropriately in the chronology. Alternately, we could write in a thematic way, outlining the various themes that we discovered in the research regarding the topic. Again, we will need to state where our research fits. Methodology - Here we clearly outline what methodology we used in our research i.e. what we did and how we did it. It must be clearly written so that it would be easy for another researcher to duplicate our research if they wished to. It is usually written in a passive voice (e.g. the participants are asked to fill in the questionnaire attached in Appendix 1) rather than an active voice (e.g. I asked the participants to fill in the questionnaire attached in Appendix 1). clearly reference any material we have used from other sources. Clearly label and number any diagrams, charts, and graphs. Ensure that they are relevant to the research and add substance to the text rather than just duplicating what we have said. We do not include or discuss the results here. Results - This is where we indicate what we found in our research. We give the results of our research, but do not interpret them. Discussion - This is where we discuss the relevance of our results and how our findings fit with other research in the area. It will relate back to our literature review and our introductory thesis statement. Conclusion - This is a summary of the most significant results/findings. We should not include any new material in this section. Sometimes we could indicate some areas where our research has limits or where further research would be useful. Recommendations - This includes suggestions for what needs to be done as a result of our findings. Recommendations are usually listed in order of priority.

STEP 5: DRAFT THE SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL References or Bibliography - This includes all references used in our report or referred to for background information. This must be done using the referencing convention specified by our lecturer/tutor. Appendices - These should add extra information to the report. If we include appendices they must be referred to in the body of the report and must have a clear purpose for being included. Each appendix must be named and numbered. STEP 6: DRAFT THE PRELIMINARY MATERIAL Title of Report - Make sure this is clear and indicates exactly what we are researching. Table of Contents - List all sections, sub headings tables/graphs appendices and give page numbers for each. Abstract/Synopsis - This gives a very brief overview of the report in a condensed form. For more specific details on how to write this, please refer to the Learning Guide Writing an Abstract. STEP 7: POLISH OUR REPORT The final step is checking our report to ensure we have followed all of the guidelines as outlined in our course information. For more detail on how to do this well, please refer to the Learning Guide Editing Our Own Work.