Data Analysis & Interpretation and Report Writing

Statistical Methods for Data Analysis (Only Theory), Meaning of Interpretation, Technique of Interpretation, Significance of Report Writing, Steps, Layout of Research Report, Types of Research Reports, Precautions while writing research reports

1. UNIT 5
Mr.T.SOMASUNDARAM
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT
KRISTU JAYANTI COLLEGE, BANGALORE

2. UNIT 5: ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA AND
RESEARCH REPORTING
StatisticalMethodsforDataAnalysis
(OnlyTheory),Meaning of
Interpretation,Technique of
Interpretation,Significanceof
ReportWriting,Steps,Layoutof
ResearchReport,TypesofResearch
Reports,Precautionswhilewriting
researchreports

3. DataAnalysis:
“DataAnalysisistheprocessofordering,
categorizing,manipulatingandsummarizingdatato
obtainanswerstoresearchquestions”.
Itisusuallythefirststeptakentowardsdata
interpretation.
Interpretationofdataisimportantandsuchneedsto
bedoneproperly.
Researchershaveidentifiedsomedatainterpretation
methodstoaidthisprocess.
DATA ANALYSIS

4. StatisticalMethods:
Themajorstatisticalmethodsfordataanalysis
are–
1.Mean
2.StandardDeviation
3.Regression
4.Hypothesistesting
5.SampleSizedetermination
STATISTICAL METHODS FOR
DATA ANALYSIS

5. 1.Mean:
Thefirstmethodisusedtoperformthestatisticalanalysisis
mean,whichismorecommonlyreferredtoastheaverage.
Tocalculatethemean,youaddupalistofnumbersandthen
dividethatnumberbytheitemsonthelist.
Itallowsfordeterminingtheoveralltrendofadatasetand
alsobenefitfromthesimplisticandquickcalculation.
Thestatisticalmeaniscomingupwiththecentralpointof
thedatathat’sbeingprocessed.Theresultisreferredtoas
themeanofthedataprovided.
Meanisusedinresearch,academics,andsports,etc.
“AnMeanorAveragevalueisasinglevaluewithinthe
rangeofthedatathatisusedtorepresentallthevaluesinthe
series”.
STATISTICAL METHODS FOR
DATA ANALYSIS

6. HowtofindtheMean?
Tofindmeanofyourdata,firstaddthenumbers
togetheranddividethesumbyhowmanynumbers
arewithinthedataset.
(E.g.)Meanof6,18and24wouldbe–
i)Firstaddthegiventhreenumbers6+18+24=48.
ii)Dividethesumofthreenumbersby3=48/3=16
Meanis16
Note:
Whenyourdealingwithlargenumberofdataor
inaccuratedistributionofdata,meandoesn’tgive
mostaccurateresultsinstatisticalanalyticsfora
specificdecision.

7. 2.StandardDeviation(S.D):
Standarddeviationisamethodofstatisticalanalysis
thatmeasuresthespreadofdataaroundthemean.
SDisusedwhenresearcherneedtodeterminethe
dispersionofdatapoints.
•Standarddeviationisextremelyusedinjudgingthe
uniformityandconsistencyoftheobservations.
LessertheS.D.morewillbeuniformity(less
variability)andgreatertheS.D.lessertheuniformity
(morevariability).
“Standarddeviation(SD)isthesquarerootofthe
arithmeticmeanofthesquareddeviationsofvalues
fromtheirarithmeticmean.Itisgenerallydenotedby
symbolσ(readassigma)”.

8. HowtofindtheSD?
Formula:
σ
2
=Σ(x−μ)
2
/n(or)σ=Sq.root[Σ(x−μ)
2
/n]
•σ is standard deviation
•Σ stands for the sum of the data
•x stands for the value of the dataset
•μ stands for the mean of the data
•σ
2
stands for the variance
•n stands for the number of data points in the
population
(E.g.) SD for 6, 18 and 24 is 7.4833

9. 3.Regression:
Regressionistherelationshipbetweenadependentvariable
(thedatayouarelookingtomeasure)andanindependent
variable(thedatausedtopredictthedependentvariable).
Itcanalsobeexplainedbyhowonevariableaffectsanother
orchangesinavariablethattriggerchangesinanother,
basicallycauseandeffect.
Lineusedinregressionanalysisgraphsandchartssignify
whethertherelationshipsbetweenthevariablesarestrongor
weak.
Thisstatisticalanalysisusedtomakepredictions&forecast
trends.
“Regressionanalysisisdefinedasthetechniqueforthe
derivationofanequationbywhichoneofthevariables,the
dependentvariable,maybeestimatefromtheothervariable,
theindependentvariable.”

10. RegressionFormula:
Y=a+b(x)
Where
•a refers to the y-intercept, the value of y when x = 0
•x is the dependent variable
•y is the independent variable
•b refers to the slope, or rise over run
Note:
Regressionisnotdistinctive,insistthatalthough
outliersonascatterplot(regressionanalysisgraph)
areimportant.

11. 4.HypothesisTesting:
Hypothesistestingisalsoknownas‘TTesting’,
whichisakeytotestingthetwosetsofrandom
variableswithinthedataset.
Thismethodisallabouttestingifacertain
argumentorconclusionistrueforthedataset.
Itallowsforcomparingthedataagainstvarious
hypothesesandassumptions.
Itdeterminessomequantityunderagiven
assumption,whichiscalledasnullhypothesisor
hypothesis0.
Inhypothesistesting,resultsoftestaresignificantto
statisticsifresultsareproofthatcouldn’thappened
byrandomoccurrenceorchance.

12. HypothesisTestingFormula:
Resultofstatisticalhypothesistestneedtobe
interpretedtomakespecificclaim,whichisreferred
toasp–value.
Testingofhypothesistodetermine50%chanceof
beingcorrectis–
H
0:NullHypothesisP=0.5
H
1:AlternateHypothesisP≠0.5

13. 5.SampleSizedetermination:
Whileanalysingdataforstatisticalanalysis,
sometimesdatasetissimpletoolarge,making
difficulttocollectaccuratedataforeachelementof
dataset.
Inthiscase,analysingasamplesizeorsmallersize
ofdata,whichiscalledsamplesizedetermination.
Rightsizeofsampletobeaccuratetodocorrect
analysis.
Todeterminesamplesize,researcherexamine
aspectslikecost,timeorconvenienceofcollecting
data.

14. SomegeneraltipswhendeterminingaSampleSize-
Whenconsideringasmallersamplesize,conducta
census.
Usesamplesizefromastudysimilartoyourown
study,whereresearcherhavetolookatacademic
databasetosearchforasimilarstudy.
Forgenericstudy,theremaybetablethatalready
exists.
Useasamplesizecalculator.
SometimesconsiderSlovin’sformulaand
Cochran’sformula.

15. Simple Formula for Determination of Sample Size:
n=N/[1+N(α)
2
]
Wheren–requiredno.ofsample,N–totalno.of
population.
α–significancelevel(i.e.)0.01,0.05&0.10(99%,
95%&90%)
(E.g.)IfpopulationsizeisN=500,thensamplesizeis
n=500/[1+500(0.05)
2
]=222
Significancelevelisselectedbasedontheaccuracyof
datawhichisrequiredbyresearcher(i.e.)99%
meansresearcherneedsaccurateresult.

16. DataInterpretation:
“Datainterpretationistheprocessofreviewingdata
throughsomepredefinedprocesseswhichwillhelp
assignsomemeaningtothedataandarriveata
relevantconclusion”.
Itinvolvestakingresultofdataanalysis,making
inferencesonrelationsstudiedandusingthemto
conclude.
TherearetwomethodsforDatainterpretation
methods–
1.QualitativeDataInterpretationMethod.
2.QuantitativeDataInterpretationMethod.
DATA INTERPRETATION

17. 1.QualitativeDataInterpretationMethod:
Thismethodisusedtoanalysequalitativedata,
whichisalsoknownascategoricaldata.
Thismethodusestexts,ratherthannumbersor
patternstodescribedata.
Itisgatheredusingvarietyofperson–to–person
techniques.
Therearetwomaintypesofqualitativedata,namely
nominalandordinaldata.
Bothdatatypesareinterpretedusingsamemethod,
butordinaldatainterpretationiseasierthannominal
data.

18. 2.QuantitativeDataInterpretationMethod:
Thismethodisusedtoanalysequantitativedata,which
isalsoknownasnumericaldata.
Thismethodcontainsnumbersandanalysedwithuseof
numbersandnottexts.
Therearetwomaintypesofquantitativedata,namely
discreteandcontinuousdata.
Continuousdatadividedintointervaldataandratiodata.
Theprocessofanalysingquantitativedatainvolves
statisticalmodellingtechniqueslikemean,median&
SD.
Theotherinterpretationprocessesofquantitativedataare
Regressionanalysis,Predictive&Prescriptiveanalysis
andCohortanalysis.

19. TechniquesofInterpretation:
Interpretationisanartthatonelearnsthroughpractice
andexperience.Thetechniquesofinterpretationoften
involvesfollowingsteps:
(i)Researchermustgivereasonableexplanationsof
therelationswhichhehasfoundandhemustinterpret
thelinesofrelationshipintermsoftheunderlying
processesandmusttrytofindoutthethreadof
uniformitythatliesunderthesurfacelayerofhis
diversifiedresearchfindings.Infact,thisisthe
techniqueofhowgeneralizationshouldbedoneand
conceptsbeformulated.
(ii)Extraneousinformation,ifcollectedduringthe
study,mustbeconsideredwhileinterpretingthefinal
resultsofresearchstudy,foritmayprovetobeakey
factorinunderstandingtheproblemunder
consideration.

20. TechniquesofInterpretation:
(iii)Itisadvisable,beforeembarkinguponfinal
interpretation,toconsultsomeonehavinginsightinto
thestudyandwhoisfrankandhonestandwillnot
hesitatetopointoutomissionsanderrorsinlogical
argumentation.Suchaconsultationwillresultin
correctinterpretationand,thus,willenhancetheutility
ofresearchresults.
(iv)Researchermustaccomplishthetaskof
interpretationonlyafterconsideringallrelevant
factorsaffectingtheproblemtoavoidfalse
generalization.Hemustbeinnohurrywhile
interpretingresults,forquiteoftentheconclusions,
whichappeartobeallrightatthebeginning,maynotat
allbeaccurate.

21. PrecautionswhilewritingInterpretation:
Researchermustinvariablysatisfyhimselfthat-
•Thedataareappropriate.
•Trustworthy.
•Adequatefordrawinginferences.
•Thedatareflectgoodhomogeneity.
•Properanalysishasbeendonethrough
statisticalmethods.
•Remaincautiousabouttheerrors,whichis
possibleinprocessofinterpretingresults.

22. RESEARCH REPORT
Report:
“Areportisawrittendocumentonaparticular
topic,whichconveysinformationandideasand
mayalsomakerecommendations”.
“Researchreportingistheoralorwritten
presentationofevidenceandthefindingsin
suchawaythatitisreadilyunderstoodand
assessedbythereaderandenableshimtoverify
thevalidityoftheconclusions”.

23. Characteristics(features)ofgoodresearchreport:
Allpointsinreportshouldbecleartoread.
Reportshouldbeconcisewithnecessaryinformation
underproperheadingsandsub-headings.
Allinformationshouldbecorrect&supportedby
evidence.
Allrelevantmaterialshouldbeincluded.
PurposeofResearchReport:
1.Transmissionofknowledge.
2.Presentationoffindings.
3.Examiningthevalidityofthegeneralizations.
4.Inspirationforfurtherresearch.

24. REPORT WRITING
ResearchReportWriting:
“WrittenResearchReportisan
authoritativeone–waycommunication,itimposesaspecial
obligationformaintainingobjectivity”.
Itistheirdegreeofformalityanddesigninproperformat.
SignificanceofReportWriting:
Itismajorcomponentofresearchstudyforresearchtask
remainsincompletetillitispresented.
Itgivesgeneralizationsandfindingsoflittlevalue.
Thepurposeofresearchisnotvaluesuntilitisknownto
others.
Itislastpartofresearchstudy&needsetofskillsfor
writing.
Itneedassistance&guidancefromexperts.
24

25. StepsinWritingReport:
1.LogicalAnalysisofthesubjectmatter:
Itisthedevelopmentofsubjectintwowaysa)logically–
basisofmentalconnectionsandassociationsbetweenone
thingandanotherbymeansofanalysisandb)
chronologically–itisbasedonaconnectionorsequencein
timeoroccurrence.
2.Preparationofthefinaloutline:
Itistheframeworkuponwhichlongwrittenworksare
constructed.
3.Preparationoftheroughdraft:
Itfollowslogicalanalysisofsubjectandpreparationoffinal
outline.
Itincludeaboutwhatresearcherdone,procedureadopted,
methodology,analysis,limitations&suggestionsregarding
theproblem. 25

26. 4.RewritingandPolishingoftheroughdraft:
Itrequiresmoretimethanwritingofroughdraft.
Itislikecarefulrevisionandmakinggoodpieceofwriting.
Itchecktheweaknessofreportforlogicaldevelopmentor
presentation.
Itcheckwhetherthematerialisrequiredornot.
Itexhibitdefinitepattern.
Itcheckmechanicsofwriting–grammar,spelling&usage.
5.Preparationofthefinalbibliography:
Itincludeslistofbooksinpertinentway,containsallthose
researchwork.
Itshouldarrangealphabeticallyanddivideintotwoparts.
Itincludesfirstpart(nameofbooksandpamphlets),second
part(namesofmagazineandnewspaperarticles).
26

27. Format:(Forbooks&pamphlets)
Nameofauthor,lastnamefirst.
Title(initalic),place,publisher,dateofpublication,no.
ofvolumes.
(E.g.)Kothari,C.R.,QuantitativeTechniques,NewDelhi,
VikasPublishingHousePvt.Ltd.,1978.
Formagazines&newspaper:
Nameofauthor,lastnamefirst.
Titleofarticleinquotationmarks.
Nameofperiodical(underlined),volumeno.
Dateandpageno.
(E.g.)RobertV.Roosa,“CopingwithShort-term
InternationalMoneyFlows”,TheBanker,London,
September,1971,p.995.
27

28. 6.Writingthefinaldraft:
Itshouldbeinconciseandobjectivestyle,simple
language.
Avoidvagueexpressionslike“itseems”,“theremay
be”.
Avoidabstractterminologyandtechnicaljargon.
Examplesmustbementioned.
Itshouldcreateenthusiasticamongpeopleand
maintaininterest.
Itshouldmentiontheattempttosolveproblemand
contributionofsolutionforaproblem.
28

29. WRITING STYLES
1.Conservativestyle:
Itisbeststructuralelementsforessaywriting.
Itusedtodeliberatedifferentsectionsofanswer.
Spaceisutilizedinparagraph(twoblanklineinbetween).
2.KeyPointstyle:
Useofheadings,underlining,margins,diagrams&tables.
Ituseindentationanddotpoints.
Itincludeenormousamountofinformation.
3.Holisticstyle:
Itaimstoanswerthequestionfromthematicand
integrativeperspective.
Itneedsstrongunderstandingofcourseandtosee
outcomes.
29

30. MECHANICS OF WRITING A RESEARCH
REPORT
1.SizeandPhysicalDesign:
Manuscriptshouldbewrittenonunruledpaper8½”x
11”insize.
Itshouldbewrittenbyhandinblueorblackink.
Margin1or1½inchesatleft&righthandside,1inch
marginontop&bottom.
Itshouldbeneat,typedondouble–spaced.
2.Procedure:
Thevariousstepsinwritingreportasmentionedinthe
partsofaresearch.
3.Layout:
Properlayoutshouldbeadoptedinthereport. 30

31. 4.Treatmentofquotations:
Itshouldbeplacedinquotationmarksanddoublespaced.
Singlespaceatleast½inchtorighttonormaltextmargin.
5.Footnotes:
Itservetwopurposes,i)identificationofmaterialsinreports,
ii)noticeofmaterialsbutforsupplementalvalue.
Itisforcrossreferences,citationofauthorities&sources,
acknowledgement.
Itisplacedatbottomofpageforidentification.
Itshouldnumberedconsecutively,beginningwith1ineach
chapterseparately&no.shouldbeaboveline.
Useasterisk(*)symbolstopreventconfusion.
Itistypedinsinglespace&dividedfromoneanotherby
doublespace.
31

32. 6.DocumentationStyle:
Properstyleshouldbefollowedincompletingthe
documentation.
Someoftheorderfollowedindocumentaryfootnotesare:
i)RegardingSingle–volumereference:
Author’snameinnormalorder(notbeginwithlast
name).
Titleofwork(italics),place&dateofpublication.
Paginationreference(pageno).
(E.g.)JohnGassner,MastersoftheDrama,NewYork:
DoverPublications,Inc.1954,p.315.
ii)Regardingmultivolumedreference:
Author’snameinnormalorder.
Titleofwork(italics),Place&dateofpublication.
No.ofvolume&paginationreferences(pageno).
32

33. iii)Regardingworksarrangedalphabetically:
Thisisforworksarrangedalphabeticallysuchas
encyclopedias&dictionaries.
Nopaginationreferenceisneeded.
(E.g.)“Salamanca”,EncyclopediaBritannica,14
th
Edition.
“MaryWollstonecraftGodwin”,Dictionaryofnational
biography.
iv)Regardingperiodicalsreference:
Nameofauthorinnormalorder,titlewithquotation.
Nameofperiodical(italics),volumeno.,date&pageno.
v)Regardinganthologiesandcollectionsreference:
Itshouldacknowledgedliteraryworknotonlybyauthor
butalsonameofthecollector.
33

34. vi)Regardingsecond–handquotationsreference:
Originalauthor&title,quotedorcitedin.
Secondauthorwork.
(E.g.)J.F.Jones,LifeinPloynesia,p.16,quotedinHistory
ofthePacificOceanarea,byR.B.Abel,p.191.
vii)Caseofmultipleauthorship:
Documentationshouldmentionwiththefirstauthor
nameandmultipleauthorshipindicatedby“etal.”or
“andothers”.
Singlepagereferredasp.,morethanonepagereferred
aspp.
Romannumericalisusedtoindicatetheno.ofvolume.
Onlyforpageno.199andfollowingpageshouldbe
representedby‘199f’.
34

35. 7.PunctuationandAbbreviationsinfootnotes:
Author’snamefollowedbycomma.
Titleofbookwithwords,“A”,“An”shouldbe
omitted.
Placeofpublicationisstatedinabbreviatedform(i.e.)
Lond.forLondon,N.Y.forNewYork,N.D.forNew
Delhi.
Nameofthepublisheralongwithcopyrightanddate
enclosedinbrackets[c1978].
Alltheentryisfollowedbyacomma.
Thevolumeandpagereferencesseparatedbya
comma.
SomeoftheEnglishandLatinabbreviationsare
oftenusedinbibliographiesandfootnotestoeliminate
tediousrepetition.
35

36. Listofcommonabbreviationsusedinreport-writing:
36

37. 37

38. 8.UseofStatistics,ChartsandGraphs:
Itcontributesgreatdealofclarification&simplificationof
researchresults.
Itispresentedinformoftables,charts,bars&line-graphs.
Itshouldbeneat&attractive.
9.TheFinalDraft:
Revising&rewritingshouldbedonebeforefinaldraft.
Sentencesareclear,grammaticallycorrect,variouspointsfit
together.
10.Bibliography:
Itshouldbeprepared&appendedtoresearch.
11.PreparationoftheIndex:
Itispreparedbothassubjectindex&authorindex.
Itgivesnameofsubjecttopicsorconceptsalongwithpage
no.
Itshouldbearrangedalphabetically.
38

39. WRITING REPORT CONSIDERATIONS
1.Prewritingconcerns:
Beforewriting,itshouldask–
*Whatisthepurpose?*Whowillreadreport?
*Whatarecircumstancesandlimitationsforwriting?
*Doyouneedstatistics?*Howwillreportbeused?
2.TheOutline:
Aftercompletinganalysis,statisticaltests,ithadto
developoutline.
(i.e.)I.MajorTopicHeading
A.MajorSubtopicheading
1.Subtopic
a.Minorsubtopicandgoeson…..
39

40. *TopicOutline–akeywordortwoareused.
-thewriterknowsitssignificance&representedby
wordorphrase.
*SentenceOutline–itexpressessentialthoughts
associatedwithspecifictopic.
-itshouldimprovethereadability&dealswithtwo
majorcomponentsi)whattosay&ii)howtosayit.
3.TheBibliography:
Itisguidelinesforsection,alphabeticalarrangement
&annotation.
Itincludesendnotes&referencesinthebook.
ItfollowsPublicationManualofAmerican
PsychologicalAssociation(APA),Manualfor
ThesesandDissertations.
40

41. 4.WritingtheDraft:
Eachwriterusesdifferentmechanismsforgetting
thoughtsintowrittenform.
Ittranslatetheirproseintoword-processedformat.
Useadvancedcomputerpackagesforspellingerrors,
avoidingconfusionofcommonwords,grammar,
punctuation,transportedletters,styleproblem&
readabilitylevel.
5.Readability:
Ittopicismoreinterest,thenitcanobtainhigh
readership.
Itcanbemeasuredthroughreadabilityindex.
(i.e.)FleschReadingEasescoreismeasuredbetween0&
100.Ifitislower,thenthematerialishardertoread.If
itishigher,thenitiseasilyread&understandable.
41

42. 6.Comprehensibility:
Researchwritingisdesignedtoconveyinformation.
Chooserightwordstoconveyaccurately,clearly&
efficiently.
Words&sentencesshouldbeorganized&edited.
*Pace–itistherateatwhichtheprintedpage
presentsinformationtothereader.
Someofthemethodstoadjustpaceofwritingare–
•Useamplewhitespace,widemargins.
•Breaklargeunitsoftextintosmallerunits.
•Relievedifficulttextwithvisualaids.
•Useexactwordsfortheknownconcepts.
•Repeatandsummarizecritical&difficultideas.
42

43. 7.Tone:
Reviewthewritingtoensurethetoneisappropriate.
Reportpreparedforreaderconveyssincerity,
warmthandinvolvementofpartofauthor.
Removenegativephrasing&rewritepositively.
8.FinalProof:
Itishelpfultodraftthereportbeforedoingfinal
editing.
Writingflowissmoothlyornot.
Itisapparenttoreader,findings&suggestions
adequatelymeettheproblemandresearchobjectives.
Tables&graphsdisplaytheproperinformationin
easy-to-readformat.
43

44. DOs AND DON’Ts OF REPORT
WRITING
1.Fontsizeisnottoosmallortoolarge.(11or12is
good).
2.Acknowledgementisnotbeaseparatepage,itis
altogetherfor1
st
and2
nd
page.
3.Paragraphsshouldnotbetoolarge.
4.Figures,equationsshouldtakenfromsome
references.
5.FigurenoshouldnementionedlikeFig.4orFig.
1.2(similarlytosection,equationalso).
6.Citereference(i.e.)“Thresholdvoltageisastrong
functionofimplantdose[1].”
44

45. 7.Followstandardformatwhilewritingreferences.
(IEEE,APAformat).
8.Don’ttypereferencesentirelyincapitalletters.
9.Orderofreferencesmustbecitedonebyone.
10.Eachfigureclosetothepartoftextwhereitisreferred.
11.Figuresviewedtogetherwithcaption.
12.Purposeoffigureistostatewhatitispresentedin
figure.
13.Resizeaplotorfiguretomakegoodappearancein
report.
14.Itneedbriefintroductionsandstartsections,sub
sections.
15.Shortreportisacceptable,ifitcoversallthework.
45

46. 16.Don’tmakeone-lineparagraphs.
17.Addspaceafterfullstop,comma,colon,etc.
18.Don’tuseinformallanguage,don’tuse“&”.
19.Write‘and’instead,don’twrite“there’re”for“thereare”.
20.Ituse“list”optionwhichgivesclarityofreport.
21.Don’tusebulletsinreport,theyareacceptablein
presentationnotinformalreport.
22.Checkgrammarandpunctuationarecorrect.
23.Dospellcheckbeforetakingaprintoutofreport.
24.Alwayswriteinsimplelanguageinordertomaythe
reader’sinterest.
25.Reportmusthaveflowofworkasperthereportformat.
26.Plagiarismisveryseriousoffense.(copyofothermaterialis
notallowed).
46

47. STRUCTURE OF A REPORT
IMR&DFramework:
47

48. WhatdoIputinthebeginningpart?
48

49. WhatdoIputinthemiddlepart?
WhatdoIputintheendpart?
49

50. WhatdoIputintheendpart?
50

51. 51

52. Report parts
Prefatory parts
Main body of
the report
Appended parts
ELEMENTS (COMPONENTS) OF A
REPORT
52

53. Prefatory parts
Title page
Letter of
transmittal
Letter of
authorization
Table of contents
Objectives
Results
Conclusions
Recommendations
Summary
53

54. Main body of the report
Introduction
Methodology
Area 1
Area 2
Final area
Results
Limitations
Conclusions and
recommendations
54

55. Appended parts
Data collection
forms
Detailed
calculations
General tables
Bibliography
55

56. CONTENTS (LAYOUT) OF RESEARCH
REPORT
Layoutofthereportshouldcomprise–
A)PreliminaryPages
B)Maintext
C)Endmatter.
A)PreliminaryPages:
Thereportshouldcarryatitleanddate,followedby
acknowledgementsinformof‘Preface’of
‘Foreword’.
Itshouldhavetableofcontentsfollowedbylistsof
tablesandillustrations.
Itshouldlocaterequiredinformationinthereport.
56

57. B)Maintext:
Itisthecompleteoutlineofresearchreportalongwith
alldetails.
Itconsiststitleasfirstpageofmaintextandfollows
otherdetails.
Ithavefollowingsections–
i)Introduction:
Itistointroduceresearchprojectstoreaders.
Itshouldcontainclearobjectives,researchbackground.
Briefsummary,hypothesisofstudy.
Themethodologyadopted(i.e.)Howstudycarriedout?
Whatbasicdesign?,Experimentalmanipulations?
Scopeofstudy,statisticalanalysisadopted&
limitationsofstudy.
57

58. ii)Statementoffindingsandrecommendations:
Itshouldcontainstatementoffindingsand
recommendations,whichcanbeeasilyunderstood.
iii)Results:
Detailedpresentationoffindingsofstudywithdatain
formoftablesandcharts.
Itshouldcontainstatisticalsummariesandreductionsof
data.
Relevantresultsshouldplaceinreportandpresentedin
logicalsequence.
iv)Implicationsoftheresults:
Statetheimplicationsthatflowfromresultsofstudy.
Itisnecessarytofinishthereportwithshortconclusions
withsummaries.
58

59. Implicationshasthreemainaspects–
a)statementofinferencesdrawnfrompresentstudy
maybeexpectedtoapplyinsimilarsituations.
b)conditionsofpresentstudymaylimitthe
generalizationsofinferences.
c)relevantquestionswhichareunansweredcanbe
raisedalongwithsuggestions.
v)Summary:
Toconcludetheresearchreportwithbriefsummary,
researchproblem,methodology,majorfindingsand
majorconclusionsdrawnfromresearchresults.
C)EndMatter:
Appendices,questionnaire,sampleinformation,
mathematicalderivations,bibliography,Indexshould
begivenattheendofthereport.
59

60. CHAPTERIZATION OF RESEARCH
REPORT PARTS
CoverSheet:
•Fulltitleofthereport.
•Nameoftheresearcher.
•Nameoftheunitofwhichprojectisapart.
•Nameoftheinstitution.
•Date/year.
Titlepage:
•Fulltitleandyourname.
Acknowledgement:
•Thanksgivingtothepeoplehelpedyou.
Contents:chaptertitleandsubheadings.
60

61. Listoftables:
•Headingsinreportshouldgivenpagenumbers.
•Eachchapterbeginonnewpage.
•Subdividethesectionsandsub-sections(i.e.)1,2,3,
(3.1,3.2),etc.
AbstractorSummaryorExecutivesummary:
•Overviewofwholereport.
•Whatyousetouttodo,focusonliteraturereview,
methodologybasedonobjectives,summaryoffindings
andanalysisoffindings.
Body:
AimsandPurposesorAims&Objectives:
•Whydidyoudothiswork?Whatproblemidentified?
•Mentionspecificresearch.
61Mr.T.Somasundaram

62. ReviewofLiterature:
•Ithelptoputyourresearchinbackgroundcontextandits
importance.
•Itincludearticles&booksrelevanttotopic.
Methodology:
•Itdealswithmethods&principlesusedinresearch,sample
size.
•Methodsusedforresearch,methodofdatacollection,
measurementused,samplingtechniques.
ResultsorFindings:
•Whatdidyoufindouttheresearch?
•Presentationofresultswithcalculations,tables,graphsand
chartsorfigures.
AnalysisandDiscussion:
•Interpretyourresults,comparewithotherresearchdoneinthis
area.
•Accuracyofmeasurementisdiscussed.
62

63. Conclusions:
•Summarizebrieflythemainconclusionthatdiscussedon
‘results’.
•Don’tgiveconclusionswithoutevidence.
Recommendations:
•Suggestionsforactionorfurtherresearch.
•Giverecommendations,ifnecessary.
Appendix:
•Itincludeblankcopyofquestionnaireinappendix.
•Itincludedatacalculations,drawings,plans,etc.
•Balancesheet(ifresearchareaisfinance).
References:
•Listofallsourcesreferredforthereport.
•MentioninAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA)
formatisrecognizedinternationally.
63

64. TYPES OF REPORTS
*Researchreportmaydifferinlengthandform.
(E.g.)businessfirmspreferreportsinformofletters.
TypesofReports:
1.TechnicalReport:Itisusedwheneverafullwritten
reportofthestudyisrequiredwhetherforrecord-
keepingorforpublicdissemination.
Itemphasisonthreethings–
i)methodsemployed.
ii)assumptionsmadeinthecourseofstudy.
iii)detailedpresentationoffindingsincludingtheir
limitationsandsupportingdata.

65. OutlineofaTechnicalReport:
a)Summaryofresults–briefreviewofmainfindingsin2
or3pages.
b)Natureofthestudy–descriptionofobjectivesofstudy,
formulationofproblem,workinghypothesis,typeof
analysis,datarequired,etc.
c)Methodsemployed–methodsusedinstudyandits
limitations.(E.g.)sampledesign,samplesize,selection,
etc.
d)Data–discussionofdatacollected,theirsources,
limitations.
e)Analysisofdata&presentationoffindings–data
analysis&itspresentationofstudywithsupportingdata
informoftablesandcharts.
f)Conclusions–detailedsummaryoffindings&results.
65

66. g)Bibliography–varioussourcesshouldbeprepared&
attached.
i)Technicalappendices–appendicesgivenfortechnical
mattersrelatingtoquestionnaires,mathematical
derivations,etc.
j)Index–itmustbeprepared&giveninreportatend.
2.Popular(General)Report:Itisusediftheresearch
resultshavepolicyimplication.(E.g.)“BestB-Schools
surveyinBusinessMagazines”.
•Thisreportemphasisonsimplicityandattractiveness.
•Ithasattractivelayout,manysubheadings,etc.
•Itemphasisonpracticalaspects.
OutlineofaPopularReport:
a)Findings&theirimplications–emphasisonfindings
ofpracticalinterestandimplicationofthesefindings.
66

67. b)Recommendationsforaction–itisbasedon
findingsofthestudy.
c)Objectiveofthestudy–generalreviewofhow
problemispresentedalongwithobjectivesofstudy.
d)Methodsemployed–brief&nontechnical
descriptionofmethods&techniquesused.
e)Results–itisthemainbodyofreport&itmustbe
presentedincleartermswithliberalusesuchas
charts,diagrams.
f)Technicalappendices–moredetailedinformation
aboutmethodused.
3.PracticalReports:Areportconveysaninformation
andrecommendationsfromaresearcherwhohas
investigatedatopicindetail.
67

68. 4.AcademicReports:Areportwrittenforanacademic
coursecanbethoughtofasasimulation.
-itdealswiththeoreticalideasandserveacademicand
practicalpurposes.
EssentialsofaGoodReport:
1.Style–itiseasytoreadandunderstand,sentenceare
goodandlanguageusedissimple&avoidjargon.
2.Layout–goodlayoutshouldbetheir,sections,
paragraphs,headingsandsubheadings,letteringand
bulletpoints.
3.Accuracy–everythingtheresearcherwritesisaccurate.
Ifmislead,thenitwilldestroyyourwork.
4.Clarity–usesimplelanguagetoexpressyourpointof
view.
5.Revision–reportshouldbereadonetime,check
spellingandgrammaticalerrors.
68

69. 6.Readability–attractiveappearance,nontechnical
subjectmatter,clear&directstyle,shortsentences,short
&familiarwords.
7.Reinforcement–itgetsthemessageacross&usedto
geteffectinallcircumstances.
(E.g.)duringpresentations–tellwhatareyougoingtosay.
-Thensayit.
-Thentellthemwhatyousaid.
8.Feedbackmeeting–itisusefultocirculatecopiesof
reporttofeedbackmeeting,whichinclude
recommendationsforchangeinconclusion.
-doesthereporthaveimpact?
-doesintroductionencourage?
-haveobjectivesbeenmet?haveconclusionclearly
stated?
69

70. PRECAUTIONS FOR WRITING
RESEARCH REPORT
1.Lengthofthereportshouldbelongenoughtocoverthe
subjectbutshortenoughtomaintaininterest.
2.Itshouldn’tbedull,itshouldbesustainreader’sinterest.
3.Abstractterminology&technicaljargonshouldbe
avoided&conveymatterassimplyaspossible.(avoid
‘theremaybe’,‘itseems’).
4.Itmustprovideavailabilityoffindingswhichmake
readersinterestedinacquiringknowledge.
5.Layoutofreportshouldbewellthoughtout&
appropriate.
6.Itshouldfreefromgrammaticalmistakesandstrictly
accordancewithquotations,footnotes,punctuations&
useofabbreviations.
70

71. 7.Itmustpresentlogicalanalysisofsubjectmatter.
8.Itshouldshoworiginality&necessarilyanattemptto
solveintellectualproblem.
9.Itmuststatepolicyimplicationsrelatingtoproblemand
kindsofresearchneedsinparticularfield.
10.Appendicesshouldbeenlistedinthereport.
11.Bibliographyofsourcesismustforgoodreport.
12.Indexisessentialpartofagoodreportandpreparedand
attachedattheend.
13.Itmustbeattractive,neatandclean,typedorprinted.
14.Calculatedconfidencelimitsmustbementionedinthe
report.
15.Objectivity,nature,methodsandanalysisadoptedmust
bestatedclearlyinthereport.
71

72. 72

73. 73