1. Research Report Writing
By Rama Krishna Kompella

2. The Marketing Research Report
• Marketing research report: a factual message
that transmits research
– results,
– vital recommendations,
– conclusions, and
– other important information
– To aid in decision making on the content of the
report

3. Objectives of Marketing Research
Reports
• To effectively communicate findings of the
marketing research project
• To provide interpretations of the findings in
the form of sound and logical
recommendations
• To illustrate credibility of the research project
• To serve as a future reference document for
strategic or tactical decisions

4. Topics to Include
Research objectives
Research questions
Literature review
Research methods
Findings
Interpretation and summary
Conclusion and recommendations

5. Enhancing Credibility
Professionally
Accuracy Believable
organized

6. Levels of Readers
• Readers who will read only the executive
summary
• Readers who will read the summary and the
findings
• Readers who will read the entire report and
appendix

7. Preparation Hints
• Make an outline of all major points–support with
details in their proper position
• Use short, concise sentences and paragraphs
• Say exactly what you intend to say–do not leave the
reader “grasping” for more information
• Select working that is consistent with the
background and knowledge of the reader
• Rewrite and rewrite–this will force you to remove
clutter and critically evaluate the document for
errors

8. Components of the
Methods and Procedures Section
• The research design used (exploratory,
descriptive and/or causal)
• Types of secondary data included in the
study
• Data collection procedures and
administration
• Sampling and sampling processes

9. A Simple Readable
Results of Frequencies

10. A Simple Bar Chart

11. A Pie Chart

12. A Bar Chart Displaying Multiple
Thematically Related Means

13. Bar Chart
Portraying a Crosstab

14. Correlations of Item Ratings

15. Displaying Regression Findings

16. Illustration of Conclusions

17. Illustration of Recommendations

18. Common Problems in Preparing
Report
• Lack of data interpretation
• Unnecessary use of multivariate statistics
• Emphasis on packaging instead of quality
• Lack of relevance
• Placing too much emphasis on a few statistics

19. Guidelines for
Preparing Visual Presentation
• Begin with a slide showing 1) title of
presentation, 2) speaker’s name, 3) client
identity, 4) research firm
• Include slides that explain research objectives,
question, methods, and sample description
• Highlight the research findings
• Conclude with recommendations, conclusions,
and research implications

20. Organizing the Written Report
• Abstract/executive summary: skeleton of
your report
• Body: bulk of the report, including
introduction, explanation of method,
discussion of results, statement of
limitations, and a list of recommendations
and conclusions

21. Organizing the Written Report
• Method describes in detail how the
research was conducted, who (or what)
the subjects were, and what methods
were used to achieve the objectives
• Methodology refers to the science of
determining appropriate methods to
conduct research.
• Method refers to the tools used in a
scientific investigation.
• Use method, not methodology!

22. Organizing the Written Report
• Results present the findings of the
research.
• Limitations may focus on, but not limited
to, time, money, personnel, and size of
population.

23. Organizing the Written Report
• Conclusions are the outcomes and
decisions you have reached based on your
research results.
• Recommendations are suggestions for
how to proceed based on the conclusions.
• The end matter contains information that
the reader may need to refer to for further
reading but that is not essential to
reporting the data.

24. Following Guidelines and
Principles for the Written Report
• Headings indicate the topic of each section.
• Subheadings should divide that information
into segments.
• Visuals are tables, figures, charts, diagrams,
graphs, and other graphic aids.

25. A Tip to Make You a Better
Writer…Use Subheadings!
• TITLE
• FIRST-LEVEL HEADING
• Second-Level Heading
• Third-Level Heading
• Fourth-Level Heading.
• Fifth-Level Heading – part of the sentence

26. Style
• Stylistic devices can make the difference in
whether or not your reader gets the message
as you intended it.
– Examples:
• A good paragraph has one main idea…
• Capitalize on white space.

27. Plagiarism
• Plagiarism refers to presenting the work of
others as your own and is a serious offense.
– If you are in doubt, document!

28. Format for Marketing Research
Reports
• Title page • Research methods and
• Table of contents procedures
• Executive summary • Data analysis and
– Research objectives findings
– Statement of method • Conclusions and
– Key findings recommendations
– Conclusion/ • Limitations
recommendations • Appendices
• Introduction

29. Questions?