CHAPTER 15 Lecture The iReportWriting Assistant that is described at the beginning of the chapter has the following features The Writing Process PowerPoints that describe pre writing writing and revising Templates for title page letter of authorization letter of transmittal table of contents list of illustrations and research objectives Headings and Subheadings descriptions Online Grammar Help in the form of the Purdue Online Writing Lab OWL which has grammar help and many writing resources including Flash movies Grammar Quizzes links to online tests Citations Sites links for general as well as electronic citations Marketing Research Report example Plagiarism definition with several links to useful sites The marketing research report is the product that represents the efforts of the marketing research team and it may be the only part of the project that the client will see If the report is poorly written riddled with grammatical errors sloppy or inferior in any way the quality of the research including its analysis and information becomes suspect and its credibility is reduced If on the other hand all aspects of the report are done well the report will not only communicate properly but it will also serve to build credibility The components of the marketing research report are identified in Table 15 1 on page 349 and each one is described in the chapter Front Matter o Title Page Figure 15 1 on page 350 o Letter of Authorization o Letter Memo of Transmittal o Table of Contents Figure 15 2 on page 351 o List of Illustrations o Abstract Executive Summary Body o Introduction o Methodology o Results o Limitations o Conclusions and Recommendations End Matter The letter of authorization is the marketing research firm s certification to do the project It includes the name and title of the persons authorizing the research to be performed and it may also include a general description of the nature of the research project completion date terms of payment and any special conditions of the research project requested by the client or research user If you allude to the conditions of your authorization in the letter memo of transmittal the letter of authorization is not necessary in the report However if your reader may not know the conditions of authorization inclusion of this document is helpful Use a letter of transmittal to release or deliver the document to an organization for which you are not a regular employee Use a memo of transmittal to deliver the document within your own organization The letter memo of transmittal describes the general nature of the research in a sentence or two and identifies the individual who is releasing the report The primary purpose of the letter memo of transmittal is to orient the reader to the report and to build a positive image of the report Tables are words or numbers that are arranged in rows and columns Figures are graphs charts maps pictures and so on The abstract or executive summary is a skeleton of your report It serves as a summary for the busy executive or a preview for the in depth reader It is important because it may be the only part of the report read by some managers The body is the bulk of the report It contains an introduction to the report an explanation of your methodology a discussion of your results a statement of limitations and a list of conclusions and recommendations Research objectives may be listed either as a separate section or within the introduction section The method describes in as much detail as necessary how you conducted the research including a description of the sample plan and sample size determination the method of gathering data and how the data are analyzed The findings section is the most important and most detailed portion of the report This section should be organized around the research objectives for the study Normally the findings are presented by tables charts figures and other appropriate visuals that are accompanied by short narrative descriptions Conclusions are the deductions and inferences that have come about based on the research findings Recommendations are suggestions for how to proceed based on the conclusions In a long report your reader needs signals and sign posts that serve as a road map Headings and subheadings perform this function Headings indicate the topic of each section All information under a specific heading should relate to that heading and subheadings should divide that information into segments A new heading should introduce a change of topic Headings indicate the topic of each section All information under a specific heading should relate to that heading and subheadings should divide that information into segments Tables allow the reader to compare numerical data Effective table guidelines are as follows Use no or only one decimal place 12 or 12 2 unless more are called for by convention 12 23 Place items you want the reader to compare in the same column not the same row If you have many rows darken alternate entries or double space after every five entries to assist the reader to accurately line up items Total columns and rows when appropriate 100 Some guidelines for pie charts are Have a limited number of segments four to eight at most Place labels outside the pie slices to enhance readability for small slices Include an understandable legend Some guidelines for bar charts are Put bars in logical order or arrangement Label both axes Ensure that bars are visually distinct Use major and minor gridlines sparingly Place labels near or in bars subject to readability Ethical visuals To ensure that you have objectively and ethically prepared your visuals you should do the following Double and triple check all labels numbers and visual shapes A faulty or misleading visual discredits your report and work Exercise caution if you use three dimensional figures They may distort the data by multiplying the value by the width and the height Make sure all parts of the scales are presented Truncated graphs having breaks in the scaled values on either axis are acceptable only if the audience is familiar with the data