Preparation of Report:

Introduction
Presentation of research finding in the form of report is necessary part of the research
process. The main purpose of report is to convey to the interested individuals, the
empiricists or the theoreticians the whole result of the study in sufficient details, so that
new findings or new methods of analysis can be incorporated into the general store of
knowledge available in the area. Any research inquiry begins with an idea and ends with
a report. A report is a detailed description of what has been done and how it has been
done with respect to a particular area or topic of research.

A report conveys information and sometimes recommendation from a researcher who has
investigated a topic in detail. It is a final product or outcome of he research work. It is a
concise, clear communication of the important findings of the research work. It conveys
information to the evaluators/beneficiaries about the entire activities the researcher had
undertaken during the research process. It is only a truly effective way in which a
researcher can communicate with the readers about the important findings of his work
and the new knowledge he has generated.

Reports communicate information which has been complied as a result of research and
analysis of data and of issues. Reports cover a wide range of topics, but usually focus on
transmitting information with a clear purpose, to a specific audience. Good reports are
documents that are accurate, objective and complete. They should be also well-written,
clearly structured and expressed in a way that holds the reader’s attention and meets their
expectations. The true value of the research may be assessed through a report since the
written report may be the “only tangible product of hundreds of hours of work.

While writing the research report, it is very essential to keep in mind the level of
knowledge of the reader. A report written for expert evaluators or scientist or specialist
institution must be more rigorous and more detailed than what is written for the general
readers. There may be various types of research reports e.g. thesis, monograph, journal
article and so on. Because of the spatial limitations and selectivity, a journal article
cannot discuss every aspect of the research in details as in a thesis. A report writer is to
ensure that the layman, the social scientists and the target group are not only satisfied but
also tempted to read the report. The researcher satisfy him/herself that the report has not
been burdened with tedious technical terms and that the scope of the study had been
amply clarified and justified by its coverage so as to draw conclusion.

Types of Report:
The type of research and report are not limited however in business situation, there are
various types of reports such as formal or informal, written or oral, internal or external,
short or long, technical or popular, analytical or informational etc. The length and form of
research report is largely dictated by the problems at hand. For instance, business firms
prefer reports in the letterform, comprising one or two pages in length. Banks, insurance,
financial institutions keep short balance sheet type of tabulation for their annual reports to
their customers and shareholder. Similarly mathematician prefers to write the results in
symbols and formulae. Literatures usually write long reports presenting the critical
analysis of some writer or period. Clinical psychologist and social pathologist frequently
find it necessary to make use of the case history form. Also the news items in the daily
papers, book reviews, etc. are also forms of report writing.

The reports prepared by governmental bureau, special commission and similar other
organizations are very comprehensive reports on the issues involved.

But for thesis assignment purpose, the reports are categorized into descriptive and
analytical form.

The two major classification of research reports are discussed as below

1. Descriptive Vs Analytical Report:
Descriptive Report:
Descriptive report simply describes the facts or opinions gathered by the researcher. The
presentation of facts in an organized way must be helpful in properly understanding the
real situation. Descriptive report indicates the nature of the problem on hand and also
indicates the ways to resolve them.

Analytical Report:
Analytical report, in addition to the presentations of facts and statistics, interpret
these information in relation to the problem under consideration. That’s why,
analytical report goes one step further than descriptive reports. It follows the processes of
scientific investigation and reporting. It focuses on single or limited area of the problem.
It also recommends the action to be taken to improve the situation.

2. Technical Vs Popular Report:

Technical Report:
A technical report is prepared for technical purpose. It communicates technical
information. Due to high degree of technicality, only technicians can understand it easily.
If focuses of more on technical specification. The technical report emphasizes on the
methods employed, assumption made in the course of study, the detailed presentation of
the findings including their limitations and supporting data. Though technical report is
characterized by high degree of technicality, simple presentation and readily availability
of the finding remains an important consideration as such the liberal use of charts and
diagrams is considered desirable

In technical report more emphasis is given to methodological part of the study/survey and
the detailed presentation of the findings including their limitation and supporting data

Popular Report:
A popular report is designed for general purpose. It is prepared in such a way so that
general people can easily understand it. A popular report gives emphasis on simplicity
and attractiveness. The simplicity can be enhanced though clear writing, minimization of
technical details and liberal use of charts and diagrams. Attractive layout along with large
print, many sub-headings etc. are other important characteristics features of the popular
report. It gives emphasis on practical aspects and policy implications from operational
point of view. It avoids the technical details of all sorts to the extent possible.

The report Process:

The report process starts with the collection of data. The collected data are then passed
through different stages of compression to reach a final outcome in the form of research
reports. The report process generally consists of following five steps:

Step 1: Information Gathering: Firstly, information is collected from different souse. The
key ways of collecting data are through literature survey, field survey, data banks/reports
and observation.

Step 2: Condensation: The second step is condensation. The collected date will be in raw
form. They will be on questionnaire, data collection forms, note card, cue notes etc. The
data are edited, coded and classified applying appropriate method of processing.

Step 3: Combination: The appropriate presentation/combination instruments such as

charts, tables, graphs, diagrams, pictures etc are used to combine or present the
condensed data. This step basically requires data presenting in a summarized form and
therefore establishing linkages among different variables.

Step 4: Assimilation: The combined data presented in charts, tables, graphs, etc. cannot
convey clearly unless they are assimilated. This step, therefore, makes an analysis and
interpretation of data and then writing of report. This step is very important in the process
as it highlights the key finding of the study.

Step 5: Finished Product: The final step in the report process is the preparation of report.
The report is considered a major component of research study. The true value of the
research may be assessed through a report since the written report may be the only
tangible product of hundreds of hours of work. The report, therefore, should be well-
written, clearly structured and expressed in a way that holds the reader’s attention and
meets their expectations.

Procedure for Writing a Research Report:

Written reports themselves are of different types and their planning, drafting, and
documentation vary with the types, purposes, and readers. The report for the intelligent
laymen is intended very largely to disseminate the broad facts, findings and
recommendation. It must be lucid, simple and yet dignified in summary form along with
a full technical report.

There is not explicit rule for research report writing. The researcher as the research report
writer should plan and organize the report writing in the process of completion of
research workings in a detailed outline. The common procedures are illustrated
subsequently.
1. Preparation of Outline: One the basis of collected facts/data, an outline of
reporting prior to actually starting of the writing report is drawn. This will help the
researcher in arranging ideas in a comprehensive way to identify the points related to one
other.

2. Planning of time: A researcher has to plan about the entire process of the
inquiry. To meet the required time schedule, it is always better for the researcher to plan
the available time accordingly. Time planning may save the researcher form these
inconveniences and last minute to rush. It is also better to keep margin of time. If any
unforeseen problems cause a delay, the researcher can prepare the report within the
stipulated time.

3. Arrangement of Data: Data whether collected from the primary data sources
or the secondary data sources must be processed in such a way that they are meaningful
to the readers. Data should also be tabulated and statistically treated. The statistical
treatment of data would involve calculating and estimating percent changes, ratios, mean,
variance, correlation and casual relationship.

4. Drafting report: Three steps are involved in drafting a report irrespective of the
nature of audience. In each case the first, second and final drafts writing may have to be
done quite a few time but each of these reports are having their own distinguishing
feature

a. First Draft:
A first draft may be written a number of times and still it continues to remain
merely a working draft. There are three stages in writing the first draft, namely, to
weave the material together for making clear connection, to assure the
investigator him/herself of a satisfactory organization and fullness of the facts,
and to avoid blank paper fright that may be present in every first research. While
preparing the first draft one should adopt the following steps:
1. Shuffle the notes under each sub-topic, and put them in sequence
2. Expand the notes and outlines into manuscript and read own notes to draw
out their full significance.

b. Second Draft:
After a lapse of some time from the completion of first draft, make revision for
writing second draft concentrating largely on form of language.
The researcher should give the first draft, a lucid and clear shape so that it can be
readable. Finally, at the second draft stage, critical evaluation will have to be
made of all that has been written facts, findings, conclusions and
recommendations. At the end of the second draft state and even all though the
writing of the draft, the researcher may do well to ask him/herself and answer a
few question
• Does the title cover the scope of the subject?
• Is the initial hypothesis tested empirically?
 • Is the initial hypothesis begin and conclusion conclude?
• Are the opening sentences, paragraph, section etc attractive?
• Finally, “is the researcher, as his/her own critic, satisfied with the report?

c. Third Draft:
The final stage in drafting is the preparation of final report. It concentrates simply
on documentation and polish to make the research weighty, authoritative,
convincing and attractive. A good research paper depends not only upon the
amount of reading or notes taken or upon the form of presentation but also upon
the accurate and through investigation.

5. Presentation:
Presentation of each step and section should be in sequential order. Charts, sections,
tables, etc should be labeled adequately. The system of presentation should be simple and
logical. The report must be a coherent whole; it must be tightly woven fabric of facts and
ideas of sections, subsections, paragraphs and sentences.

The report is to be written in the third person. The introduction, data analysis and
findings are to be in the past tense, conclusion in the present tense and recommendations
in the future tense. The pronouns such as I, my, mine, or, we, us, and me should be
eliminated from the report. If required to refer to the researcher, “the writer’ or ‘the
investigator’ should be used.

Standard Format of a Research Report:

While undertaking a research study and writing a research report, the researcher must
follow acceptable format of report writing. The report format followed internationally is
acronymic as IMRaD. I, M, R, and D stands for introduction, methods, results and
discussion respectively. The IMRaD is preceded by, among other, a title page and an
abstract and followed by conclusions and recommendations.

The main element of a report format are presented and

discussed below:

Tile page
Acknowledgement
Table of contents
List of tables
List of figures
Abstract/Executive Summary

Chapter I: Introduction
Background of the problem
Statement of the Problem
Objectives of the study
Research questions
 Limitation of the study

Chapter II: Review of Literature

Theoretical review of literature
Empirical review of literature

Chapter III: Methodology

Research design
Data sources and collection
Data analysis

Chapter IV: Findings

Results
Discussion

Chapter V: Conclusion and Recommendation

Appendices
Bibliography

Title Page:
It should contain the full title of the report, the name of the researcher, designation and
institution he/she belongs. The cover sheet should also include the date. The title should
encapsulate essential key words reflecting the central theme of the research project. It
should be clear and accurate in order to catch the readers’ attention.

Acknowledgement:
It involves thanking the people who helped the researcher

Table of contents:
It contains headings and subheadings used in the report with their page numbers.
Remember that each new chapter should begin on a new page. Use a consistent system in
dividing the report into parts. The simplest may be to use chapters for each major part
and subdivide these into sections and subsections. 1, 2, 3, etc can be used as the numbers
for each chapter. The sections for chapter 3 (for example) would be 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and so
on. For a further subdivision of subsection you can use 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, and so on.

List of tables and figure

It contains the list of tables and figures used in the text with their page numbers. Be
careful in numbering tables and figures

Abstract (Executive Summary)

This is the overview of the whole report. It should let the reader see, in advance, what is
in it. This includes what the researcher set out to do, how reviewing literature focused
and narrowed the research, the relation of the methodology chosen to the aims, a
summary of findings and the researcher’s analysis of the finding. The abstract hence
summarized the research report. It should include a brief summary of the research
problem, methods, principal findings and recommendations. It should be written last to
reflect accurately the content of the report. Its lengths depend on the length of the report.
For a relatively small size of report, it should be around 200 words. A good summary
allows some readers to avoid reading the whole report. Information should be given in
such a way that the reader does not surprise when he reads the whole report.

The executive summary is targeted at the top management. The top management people
usually do not have time to read the report in detail, therefore, the executive summary
needs to be brief but should present complete picture. The executive summary should
briefly describe (1) background and purpose of the study, (2)
research process followed and (3) the major findings including
policy implication and recommendations.

Chapter I: Introduction:
The introductory part of the report should include the statement of the problem,
objectives of the study, research questions and limitations of the study. It should outline
the broad problems/issues to be investigated and provide background and rational for the
study.

Chapter II: Literature Review

This has two parts: (a) theoretical literature review and (b) empirical literature review.
Both theoretical and empirical literature review should be done by summarizing,
paraphrasing and quoting the works of others. Plagiarism should be strictly avoided.

A. Theoretical literature review:

In its simplest form, a literature review is a list of relevant books and other sources, each
followed by a description and comment on its relevance. It demonstrates that the
researcher have read and analyzed literature relevant to the topic. The theoretical
literature review should cover the discussion on available theories pertaining
relationships of variables planned to be studied. The available theories on the topics
should be used as guidepost for empirical analysis.

B. Empirical Literature Review:

Empirical literature review should contain the past relevant studies done on the subject.
This describes previous research works on the subject. Empirical literature review helps
researcher define the gap between what others have done and what the researcher intends
to do. This establishes a need for additional research. This also helps to identify the
difference in approaches. The review of literature will identify relations, contradiction,
gaps and inconsistencies between previous investigations and the current one, and
suggest the next step. Every citation should have direct relevance to the study.

Chapter III: Methodology:

Methodology deals with the methods and principles used in the research. In the
methodology chapter, the researcher should explain the methods he/she used for the
research and why he thought they were the appropriate ones. The methodological part of
the report includes the method used for the research, data collection, data analysis
techniques, sampling method, sample size, the research design, statistical procedure, and
also places visited. This should also justify the methods used for the study and the
limitation of the methods. This section should also include where else this method has
been used.
Chapter IV: (Findings)
Results
This section is the core of the research report. This part should include the presentation of
results with facts and figures (tables, graphs and figures). In this section, relevant data,
observations, and findings are summarized. It also includes the tabulation of the data,
equations, charts and figures. Data should be presented in a statistically meaningful way.

Discussion:
This part of the report is also an equally important. In this part, the results should be
analyzed and interpreted. The results should be discussed in the light of the available
theories and past studies done on the subject. Reasons should be sought for any
discrepancy between the result and the available theories on the subject. Of course,
findings should be related to the objectives. It also includes implications of the findings.

Chapter V: Summary and Recommendation

The main conclusions should be drawn from the results of the study. Recommendation
for future research work should be suitably expressed. Based on the findings, plan of
action should be recommended. This section should not introduce new information.

Appendix:
It contains pertinent materials i.e. any data, calculations, questionnaire and any other
things, which are not important enough to be introduced in the body of the report but may
be of value to some readers.

Bibliography:
It is the list of source/reference materials used while conducting the research. Care should
be taken while listing the source of reference. If the source is a book, it should include:
the name of the author, the copyright year, and the full title of the book, the edition, the
publisher’s location and name. For example, Ghauri, P. (2002), Research Methods in
Business Studies, second edition, Harlow, Prentice hall
If the source is an article, it should include: the name of the author, the copyright year,
and the title of the publication, volume number and pages indicating the position of the
article.

If the source is an information network, it should include: the name of the author or
publishing organization if the author’s name is missing, year, title of the article, the URL
address, date when published or updated.
Precaution for writing research Report
Research report is a channel of communicating the research findings to the reader of the
report. A good report must be prepared efficiently and effectively. The general propose of
a research report is not to convince the readers but to let them know what has been done,
why it was done, what results were obtained etc. thus, the research report aim at telling
the reader the problems investigated, the methods adopted, the results found and
conclusion reached. The research report should be written in a clear and unambiguous
language. So that, the readers can also judges the adequacy and the validity of the
research. For attaining objectivity personal pronouns such as I, you, we, my, our etc.
should be avoided and as their substitute expression like “investigator”, “researcher” etc.
should be used. While preparing a report one should keep the following precaution in
view:

• The length of report should be long enough to cover the subject and short enough
to maintain interest. In fact, report writing should not be a mean to learning more
and more about less and less.
• The report should be written in an objective style in simple language, avoiding
expression such as ‘it seems’, ‘there may be’ and the like.
• The layout of the report should be well thought out and must be appropriate in
accordance with the objective of the research problem.
• Objective of the study, the nature of the problem, the methods employed, and the
analysis techniques adopted must be clearly stated in the beginning of the report
in the form of introduction.
• In addition to the summary of important findings, charts, graphs, and statistical
tables may be used for various results.

Some helpful Tips:

1. Follow the study problems and objective:
The report should be prepared in context of the study problems and objectives.
This is the reason for the active information of the researcher to be involved
during the problem formulation stage. If the researcher is not well acquainted with
the problem, or if the problem is handled down to him by the client, he will have
difficulty writing the report in the context of the problem. In such a situation he
will be reporting all the findings which make the report unnecessarily long and
uninteresting.

2. Be selective in reporting:
In order to make report interesting as well as useful, the researcher should be
selective in choosing what to write in the report and what are to be excluded.
Minor issues and observations not relevant to the study problems and objectives
can be excluded from the report.

3. Be objective:
Objectivity is the most desired quality in the report. Objectivity can be achieved
by following the scientific research process. The report writer should be free of
emotions to make subjective judgment on certain information. He should be bold
 and unbiased in reporting certain findings which may be unpalatable to certain
business executives.

4. Have purposeful organization of the report:

A good report is well organized in several chapters. It should be written in shorter
paragraphs, in uniform format and style, in short sentences with minimum use of
technical words and jargons and free of grammatical errors.