PLANNING THE RESEARCH

A twelve-part research plan

• Obtain or Review Authorization
• Identify the Audience
• Define the problem
• Clarify the Purpose
• Narrow the Scope
• State Delimitations and Limitations
• Plan Data Collection
• Plan Data Analysis
• Estimate Time Schedule
• Estimate Resources Needed
• Plan Presentation of Results
• Seek Approval to Proceed

More details:

Obtain or Review Authorization

When a project requires extensive research, you must be sure that you are authorized to spend time or money on the project.

Identify the Audience

As when preparing a simple report, you must have a clear understanding of your audience, both primary and secondary.

Define the problem

The problem is the central focus of the research. A clear, concise statement of the problem keeps the researcher on target.

Clarify the Purpose

Whereas the problem defines what is to be investigated, the purpose identifies why the research should be conducted.  When the research completed, the purpose guides the formulation of recommendations

Narrow the Scope

Narrow the scope of analysis, you identify the specific factors or elements to be analyzed.  A perfect study would investigate all possible aspects of the research question.

State Delimitations and Limitations

Delimitations are additional boundaries or restrictions that you place on the study.

Limitations are potential shortcomings or inadequacies of the study

Plan data collection

The first step in data collection is to identify potential sources. Research use two kinds of data: Primary and Secondary.  Information that has been collected and published by others is secondary data.  Primary data consist of information that is collected at its origin.

Plan data Analysis

Data analysis is the process by which researchers find meaning in the many facts and figures they have accumulated.  Both quantitative and qualitative analysis procedure are used in business research.

Estimate time schedule

The purpose of a time schedule is twofold.  An effective time schedule includes target dates for completion of various segments of the project as well as projected date for presentation of the result.
Estimate Resources Needed
Research always requires time; in addition, some research requires special equipment or supplies.
Plan Presentation of Results
Research has no value until the results have been communicated. A complete research plan indicates how the findings, conclusions, and recommendations will be presented.
Seek Approval to Proceed
To obtain approval, most researchers write the research plan and present it in a formal document called a research of project proposal.  The proposal may also be presented orally so that managers can ask questions immediately and clarify any ambiguities or request changes before giving their approval.

PLANNING AND DELIVERING AN ORAL REPORT

PLANNING THE PRESENTATION
Effective oral presentations require extensive preparation.  In many ways, preparing an oral report is much like composing a written report.

Analyze Context
Audience
Audience analysis is an attempt to asses the psychological environment for the presentation.  In this analysis you should try to determine who will attend and their motives for attending your presentation, you can expect to give oral reports to four different types of audiences:
Clients and customers.
Colleagues in your organizations.
Fellow professionals at technical conferences.
Purpose
Consider the purpose of your presentation, just as you would in writing a report. Are you attempting to inform your audience, or to both inform and persuade them? 
Physical Environment
The physical environment also influences the outcome of your presentation. An initially receptive can become indifferent or irritable if the physical environment is unsuitable. Knowledge about the physical environment, along with an assessment of the psychological environment, can help you plan your presentation strategies.

Select Delivery Style
Impromptu delivery consists of speaking spontaneously, without previous re-hearsal, with little or no advanced preparation, and without text or notes to assist you. You will seldom use this type of delivery for the major presentation of a report. You may use it, however, for spontaneous interim progress reports on a project.
Although impromptu speeches are spontaneous, following these guides will help you make effective impromptu presentations:

• Anticipate the major topics that may be discussed at a meeting
• Avoid being surprised. Listen attentively
• Be brief

Extemporaneous delivery appears to be spontaneous but involves extensive planning, purposeful rehearsal, and the use of notes during the presentation. With the notes to aid you and the confidence gained during rehearsal, you can establish and maintain eye contact with your audience and move freely about the presentation will be accurate, complete, organized, and easy to follow. The following
suggestions will help you master extemporaneous delivery:

• Plan every aspect of your presentation, including the use of visual aids and how you will handle questions
• Write your speech, including notations for visual aids, etc.
• Rehearse the presentation until it flows smoothly without giving the impression of being memorized.
• become thoroughly familiar with the details that yo want to present
• Prepare alternative explanations

Scripted delivery involves reading a manuscript verbatim. This delivery style is appropriate when you are presenting technical or controversial information and you want to ensure that no errors are made in transmission of that information. to prepare for textual or scripted delivery, follow these guides:

• Prepare the manuscript and verify its accuracy.
• Mark the manuscript with delivery cues (arrows, bold type, underlining) to indicate variations in speed or emphasis.
• Practice reading your manuscript until you can read it fluently Avoid reading too quickly
• Concentrate on precise enunciation.  Rapid reading frequently leads to slurring  or mispronunciation of words.
• Vary your tone or pitch to appropriately emphasize the content of your report as you would in conversation.

Memorized delivery is presentation of a verbatim message learned by rote. An advantage of memorized delivery is that it allows full freedom of movement and permits you to maintain eyes contact with your audience. That delivery style can also promote the audience's in your expertise. A disadvantage, however, is that anxiety may cause you to forget or omit part of the presentation, thereby destroying the coherence of the message and possibly destroying your credibility.
Combination delivery employs a variety of delivery styles in a single presentation. You will find this style suitable for many report presentations. Your analyses of the psychological and the physical environments will also contribute to decisions about how formal or informal your presentation should be.

• In formal presentation, you delivery carefully structured, controlled message with no immediate verbal feedback from the audience.
• An informal presentation is also a carefully planned, controlled message, but audience verbal feed back is usually permitted during the presentation.

Outline Presentation
A simply yet effective outline structure for an oral report consists of four parts:

Strong Opening of the speech must reach out and grab the listeners' attention.  An effective opening draws the audience into the message by showing its relevance to them.
Meaningful Partition Statement tells the audience what the speech will cover. This statement should create a mental readiness or "set" that will help the listeners follow your presentation. A partition statement should clearly and interestingly identify the topics to be covered so that the audience will eagerly anticipate the message that unfolds.
The body of the presentation must adequately develop the points identified in the partition statement.
Transitional words or phrases help the audience understand a discussion by pointing out he direction of the presentation.  All parts of the presentation should be linked together by simple transitions that demonstrate the organizational pattern you are using.
The Conclusion should clinch the message, that is, it should be what you want the listener to leave the room with. For an informative speech, the conclusion must help the listener remember the main point of the message. For a persuasive speech, the conclusion should stimulate action based on the message. Be sure to link the conclusion to the body of the speech by a meaningful transition.


PREPARING AND USING PRESENTATION AIDS
Presentation aids are any audio or visual tools you use to supplement your spoken message

Selecting Appropriate Presentation Aids

ILLUSTRATING THE REPORT

PURPOSE OF VISUAL AIDS
Although many writers readily think of using visual aids in long reports, such aids can also increase the effectiveness of short reports. You should use visual aids to emphasize, clarify, simplify, reinforce, and summarize information in both simple and complex oral or written reports. Further, visuals may be used to add interest, improve credibility, and increase the coherence of written messages. Further, visuals may be used to add interest, improve credibility, and increase the coherence of written message.
Emphasize
Reports often cover many points, but not all are of equal importance. Visual aids can be used effectively within reports to emphasize specific information. In addition, a visual aid on the report cover can draw the reader's attention to the main point of that report.
Clarify
A second purpose of visual aids is to clarify something that may be difficult to express clearly in words alone.
Simplify
Another purpose for visual aids is to simplify data. Simplification involves breaking a complex whole into its component parts while preserving the essential nature of the hold.
Reinforce
To reinforce to make stronger or more pronounced. Repetition is one form of reinforcement that helps people remember something important; but reinforcement is usually most effective when information is presented in more than one way, rather than through mere repetition.
Summarize
Visual aids can effectively summarize detailed information. A summary covers main points succinctly without providing all details. A good summary presents a reader with essential information and minimized the amount of reading required to obtain that information. If constructed accurately, a single visual aid, such as a table or chart, can summarize several pages of narrative.
Add interest
Visuals are effective tools to create interest and to relieve the tedium of a lengthy narrative. They make a report more attractive. Even in short reports, visual devices such as bullets, square, or pointers can provide interest
Improve Credibility
Visual aids tend to add a sense of credibility that cannot be conveyed through words alone.
Graphics and pictures create a sense of precision. Many readers tend to believe that a writer who uses well-designed, accurate visual aids is a confident, credible information source.
Increase Coherence
Effective reports are coherent-that is, all parts come together in logical relationships.  The report writer may understand the relationships because of extensive exposure to the data but the report will not be effective unless those relationships are also made clear to the readers. Visual aids such as flowcharts, summary tables, or diagrams can show the relationships among different parts of a report.

Criteria for effective Visual aids
To use visual aids effectively in reports, you must be familiar with certain principles of graphics that apply to all visuals. In addition, you should follow guides for identification and placement of visuals in reports and adhere to criteria for ethical representation of information
Principles of graphics

• Simplicity
• Contrast
• Unity
• Balance

Identification and Placement

• Introduce
• Display
• Discuss

Choosing and constructing Visual Aids


Bar charts
A bar chart is a graphic that uses two or more rectangles along with vertical and horizontal axes to represent information.
Pie chart
A pie chart is a circle divided into segments.  Pie charts are also called circle charts or circle graphs.
Line charts
A line chart consists of a vertical axis, a horizontal axis, and one or more plotted lines.  Each axis contains a measurement scale that identifies the factors of comparison
Relationship charts
A relationship chart shows how several non-numeric factors act together.  Two relationship charts that you may find useful in reports are the flow chart and the factor relationship chart
Other visual aids
Three visual aids that are especially effective to add interest to a report are pictures, pictographs, and statistical maps

Ethical Considerations
A final criterion for effective visual aids is that all visuals must be ethical representations of data. Although you may use visuals effectively to emphasize, summarize, etc., you should avoid distortion of data.  Visuals can sometimes have more impact than their accompanying text for three reasons.

• Visual have an emotional impact that words lack.
• Skimmers of items will see visuals even when they do not read the text.
• Readers remember visuals longer.

PRODUCING THE REPORT

DRAFTING THE REPORT:

There're three stages in drafting a report:
Stage 1: Preliminary
Stage 2: Review
Stage 3: Near final

Each stage has three steps:
Step 1: Write a draft
Step 2: Review your own draft
Step 3: Get a helpful reader review

REVISING AND EDITING THE REPORT

• Revising a report consist of renewing sentences, paragraphs, or entire sections of a report or moving them to different locations. Adding or deleting information may also be part of the revision process
• Editing consists of locating and correcting errors at the paragraph, sentence, and word levels - such as transitions, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, word use, subject-verb agreement, pronoun references, and so on.

COLLABORATIVE WRITING


As documents and the techniques used to produce them become more complex, the degree of collaboration is likely to increase. In reality, collaborative writing often consists of combination of collective and independent work, depending on the stage of the project.

Planning the report - Collective work

• Clarify task - identify audience, purpose, and scope of the project
• Develop preliminary outline
• Identify possible data sources
• Select writing style and format
• Make data-gathering assignments

Collecting and Analyzing data - Independent Work

• Fulfill data-gathering assignment
• Evaluate adequacy of data
• Prepare to present your data and its assessment to the group, or continue working until you have met the assignment.

Evaluating Data - Collective Work

• Evaluate data
• Return to data-gathering stage if data are inadequate

Drafting and Revising - Independent and Collective Work

• Draft your part of the report
• Revise and edit until that section is as good as you can make it
• Review each member's contribution for adequacy and style; provide constructive criticism
• Revise your section of the report, based on suggestions of team members
• Deliver a near-final, corrected version of your section to the group
• Producing Final Document - Collective Work
• Assit in merging parts of the document, placing visuals, ect.
• Review the entire report for accuracy, completeness, and consistency

CHAPTER 2: PLANNING THE REPORT

Q: How to planning a report?
A: There're six steps for planning a report:

• Identify Purpose
• Identify Audience
• Identify context
• Identify content
• Select Medium
• Choose Report Structure

Q: In what way is outline the report?

A: To outlining the report, there're two ways:

• Informal Outlines: An informal outline is a list of topics to be included in the report. It often consists of words, short phrases, or combinations of those elements.
• Formal outlines: A formal outline is a useful communication tool both before and as you write the report. A formal outline employs a structured numbering system to show the various levels into which the report is divided. Phrases or sentences are used to describe the content of each devision and subdivision of the report. Depending largely on the preferences of your report readers, we can use either the traditional outline system or decimal system to number the section.

Q: How to write a collaborating report?

A: To write an effective collaborating report, we should identify five stages of group information:

• Forming: This stage is called the orientation stage. During the stage the group becomes oriented to the task, sets initial goals, and begins to establish ground rules.
• Storming: If the group succesfully navigates the storming phase, it moves into norming. The storming stage is marked by intragroup conflict. The group is typically eager to proceed with the task, but disagreements may arise about goals and procedures. However, the storming stage can be productive if it teaches team members how to deal with the difference.
• Norming: This stage is usually typified by openness to other group members, cooperation, and mutual support. The group becomes more focused on the task, and the member become aware of themselves as a functioning organism with a common goal and group spirit.
• Performing: Having passed through the storming and norming stages, group members should be able to work harmoniously toward achieving their common goal. In the performing stage the group functions as a relatively cohesive work unit.
• Adjourning: The adjourning stage should be seen as an opportunity to appreciate what has been done well, recognize what might have been done more effectively, and acknowledge the behaviors that contributed to successes or failures.

CHAPTER 1: REPORT CHARACTERISTICS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Explain the functions of business reports
2. Classify typical business reports
3. Describe the characteristics of effective reports
4. Identify ethical concerns related to report writing
5. Identify behavior that contributes to effective collaboration

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Q: What are the functions of business reports?

A: The functions of business reports are:

• Organized
• Objective presentation of observations, experiences, or facts
• The decision-making process

Q: How many ways are there in classifying business reports?

A: There're six ways to classify business reports:

• Function
• Frequency
• Subject matter
• Level of formality
• Reader-Wriiter relationship
• Communication medium

Q: What is an effective report?

A: An effective report is understood by the reader as the writer intended, and it influence the reader to act as the writer desired. The writer's objectives are most likely to be achieved if they correspond with the needs and objectives of the reader. As effective report is empathetic, accurate, complete, concise, and clear. Above all, an effective report presents information ethically.

Q: How to identify ethical concerns related to report writing?

A: To identify ethical concerns related to report writing, there're two strategy that will help you through ethical pitfalls while writing are to avoid manipulative language and to be guided by an ethical model as you make writing decision.

Q: What are behaviors that contributes to effective collaboration?

A: Behaviors that contributes to effective collaboration are:

• Have empathy for the other collaborators
• Be considerate of others
• Be loyal to the group without agreeing with everything
• Invite criticism of your contributions and be ready to criticized your own ideas
• Understand that communication often breaks down
• Remember hat most ideas that are not obvious seem strange at first