Lecture Business and administrative communication: Chapter 15 - Kitty O. Locker, Donna S. Kienzler

Chapter 15
Researching Proposals
and Reports

Copyright © 2015 McGraw­Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw­Hill Education.


Steps in Report Writing
1. Define the problem
2. Gather necessary data
3. Analyze the data
4. Organize the information
5. Write the report

15­2


Formal vs. Informal Reports


Formal reports contain formal elements:
Title page
 Transmittal
 Table of contents
 List of illustrations




Informal reports may be memos, letters,
e-mail, sales figures, etc.

15­3


Report Classifications


Information reports collect data for reader





Analytical reports interpret data but do not recommend
action






Sales reports
Quarterly reports

Annual reports
Audit reports
Make-good or pay-back reports

Recommendation reports recommend action or a solution





Feasibility reports
Justification reports
Problem-solving reports
15­4


Report Classifications, continued…


Some reports combine information,
analytical, and recommendation types






Accident reports
Credit reports
Progress reports
Trip reports
Closure reports

15­5


Defining Report Topics



Real problem





Important enough to be worth solving
Narrow but challenging

Real audience


Able to do recommended actions

15­6


Defining Report Topics, continued…


Data, evidence, and facts





Convey severity of problem
Prove that recommendation will solve

problem
Available to writer
Comprehensible to writer

15­7


Purpose Statement


Makes three things clear




Organizational problem or conflict
Specific technical questions that must be
answered to solve problem
Rhetorical purpose the report is designed to
achieve


Explain - Recommend – Request - Propose

15­8


Research Types 
 Primary research gathers new data
 Surveys

 Interviews
 Observations

 Secondary research retrieves information
that someone else gathered
 Library research
 Online searches
15­9


Criteria for Evaluating Web 
Sources


Authors





What person or organization sponsors site?
What credentials does author have?

Objectivity




Does site give evidence to support claims?
Does it give both sides of issues?

Is the tone professional?

15­10


Criteria for Evaluating Web Sources, 
continued…
 Information
 How complete is information?
 What is it based on?

 Currency
 How current is the information?

 Audience
 Who is the intended audience?

15­11


Surveys, Questionnaires, and 
Interviews
Survey—questions large groups of
people, called respondents or subjects
 Questionnaire—written list of questions
that people fill out
 Interview—a structured conversation
with someone who will be able to give
useful information


15­12


Questions to Consider about 
Surveys
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Who did the survey and who paid for it?
How many people were surveyed and
how were they chosen?
How was the survey conducted?
What was the response rate?
What questions were asked?

15­13


Characteristics of Good Survey 
Questions






Ask only one thing
Are phrased neutrally
Are asked in an order that does not
influence answers
Avoid making assumptions about the
respondent
Mean the same thing to different people
15­14


Question Types
 Closed questions—limited
number of possible responses
 Open questions—unlimited
responses possible
 Branching questions—direct
subjects to different parts of
questionnaire based on
answers to earlier questions
15­15


Question Types, continued...
Multiple choice—make the answer
categories mutually exclusive and
exhaustive
 Probes—follow up original question to
get at specifics of a topic
 Mirror questions—paraphrase content
of last answer



15­16


Sample Types 
Convenience sample—set of subjects
who are easy to get
 Judgment sample—group of people
whose views seem useful
 Random sample—each person in group
has equal chance of being chosen


15­17


Using Technology in Research
Online networks
 Web-based surveys
 Data mining
 Analytics


15­18


Citation and Documentation
 Citation—attributing an idea or
fact to its source in report body

 Documentation—listing
bibliographic information
readers would need to locate
original sources

15­19