RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
LESSON 7:
WRITING THE RESEARCH
Students, before we start our topic for the day, I would like to give
you a brief recap from our last class. We had centered our discussion
on the various steps involved in a research process. These were
identified as:
• Problem Definition:It stated that before we actually initiate
the investigation, we should be clear about the problem we
are facing.
• Research Design:As I had also highlighted in the last class,
this provides the blueprint of investigation. It gives you a
broad idea about how to proceed further in getting
information regarding the relevant variables from the units
under consideration
• Data Collection:Once your design is developed you, as a
researcher, would be required to start collecting information
from the units under study. However, bear in mind that
none of the variables should be over or under stated.
• Data Analysis:Your next step would be to process the data.
Here, you would try to investigate how various units
respond to the variable or characteristics under study.
Such data analysis that you may carry out could be:
• Uni-variate
• Bi-variate
• Multi-variate
Interpretation
Literally speaking, interpretation is the ‘so what’ of a research
process. If you carry out a research or an investigation which is not
used in influencing any action anywhere, then it is a sheer waste of
time and resources. Therefore, your research results must be
consistent with the decisions that you have to make.
This is not the end of your task. It is equally important that you
should be able to communicate these findings and
recommendations in an understandable and concise manner to
the decision makers. Your report should clearly highlight that the
recommendation or suggestion is justified.
From this we derive the essence of our discussion today-
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‘Writing the Research Report’
Being asked to write a report can fill people with horror! However,
writing reports correctly is an essential skill that you will need not
only today as a student, but also even tomorrow as a budding
manager.
I am sure you would agree, when I say that report writing is
common to both academic and managerial situations.
In academics, you would be required to prepare reports to facilitate
comprehensive and application oriented learning. Such reports of
yours would be called term papers, project reports, theses and
dissertations depending upon the nature of the report, the time
and effort expected out of you as a student and your curriculum
design.
Further, if you were a researcher, you would put out your initial
findings in a research report, paper or monograph, which would
later be condensed into an article or expanded into a series of
articles or a book
When you join the corporate world tomorrow, you would realize
that report writing there forms the basis for decision-making.
Such reports would be expected to be brief but comprehensive
and clearly reflect your thinking as the manager, the management
committee, or the consulting group that has been given the terms
of reference for fact finding or decision making.
We will start our lesson today with a brief classification of the
various types of reports
Categories of Reports
Can any of you think of various forms a report might take?
No! Never mind. Let me explain it you.
Broadly, any report would fall into one of the following three
major categories:
1. Information Oriented
2. Decision Oriented
3. Research Oriented
As these names suggest, it is the substance and focus of the
content that determines the category. However, a report that you
make may contain characteristics of more than just one category
Information Reports
They are the first step to understanding the existing situation (for
instance-business, economic, technological, labour market or
research scenario) or what has been discussed or decided (minutes
of a meeting). They, you should remember, form the foundation
of subsequent decision reports and research reports.
In describing any person, object, situation or concept, the following
seven questions will help you to convey a comprehensive picture
Subject / Action Reason
Object
Who? Or What? When? Why?
Whom? Where? How?
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 Therefore, you can check the comprehensiveness of an information in implementation. However, all this while, you
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

or descriptive report by iteratively asking: should not lose track of the main objective of what
Who Does What to Whom? the situation should be.
When, Where, How • Your next job is to present the evaluation. Make sure
and WHY? that it is structured by criteria or options depending
upon which structure is easy to understand.
Decision Reports
As you would well be able to make out from the name itself,
decision reports adopt the problem solving approach. Such reports
that you make have to follow the below mentioned steps:
• Identifying the problem:Problem is the beginning and the end
of decision-making. If you start with a wrong problem, a wrong
hypothesis or a wrong assumption, you will only end up solving
a non-existing problem or might even create a new problem.
Therefore you should carefully define the problem, keeping in
mind each of the following elements

• Making a Decision:Your recommendations would, but naturally,

flow out of the evaluation of the options, provided that your
thinking process so far has been logical. Make sure that the
decision is an adequate response to the problem
• What is the situation, and what should it be? • Drawing up an Action Plan:Action steps and their
consequences should be visualized to avoid your being
• What are the symptoms and what are the causes?
caught unaware. Be clear of WHO does WHAT, WHEN,
• What is the central issue and what are the subordinate WHERE and HOW for even the best analysis can go waste
issues? if attention is not paid to the action plan
• What are the decision areas – short medium and long term?
• Constructing the Criteria:In order to achieve your end
objective of bringing the existing situation to what it should
be, you would require yardsticks to evaluate options. Criteria
link the ‘problem definition’ with ‘option generation and
evaluation’. In constructing the criteria, your knowledge of
SWOT analysis could be very useful.

• Working out a contingency plan:Managers thrive on

optimism in getting things done. Yet, if something can go
wrong, it is likely to go wrong. You should therefore be
ready with parachutes to bail you out. Your contingency plan
must emerge from the action plan you have already prepared.
There is need to think of how to achieve the second best
• Generating and Evaluating the Options: In generating options
objective if the first one is not feasible.
it is your creativity that stands to test.
• Conclusion: A good decision report should not only be
• Sometimes the options may be obvious, but you
structured sequentially but also reflect comprehensively your
should look beyond the obvious.
iterative thinking process as the decision maker.
• Once a set of options has been generated, you should
short-list them and rank them by priority or their
probability of meeting your end objectives.
• As the decision maker, you should then evaluate the
same against the criteria and the possible implications

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
We can split the writing process into stages

Getting
Gettingin
inthe
theMood
Mood Writing
Writingthe
theFirst
FirstDraft
Draft

Revising,
Revising,Revising,
Revising,Revising
Revising Finishing
Finishing

Research Reports
As you would all know, research reports contribute to the growth
of subject literature. They pave the way for new information,
significant hypotheses and innovative and rigorous methods of
research and measurement. Students, while preparing them, you Your proposal should provide information on the following items:
should broadly follow the following pattern: • Descriptive title of your study
• Undertake a Literature Survey to find gaps in knowledge • Your name as the author and your background
• Next, you should clearly identify the nature and scope of • Nature of your Study
study, hypothesis to be tested, and significance and utility of
• Problem to be examined
the study
• Need for the study
• Methodology for collecting data, conducting the experiment,
and analyzing the data is what should follow. • Background information available
• Then, lay out the description and analysis of the experiment • Scope of study
and data • To whom will it be useful
• Try to identify your findings after that • Hypothesis, if any, to be tested
• Come to a conclusion • Data
• Draw up your recommendations • Sources
• Plug in suggestions for further research • Collection procedure
• End your survey with back-up evidence and data • Methodology for analysis
Steps of Report Writing • Equipment and facilities required
• Schedule-target dates for completing
Preparing the Draft
Preparation of reports is time consuming and expensive. Therefore, • Library research
you, while writing your report should ensure that they are very • Primary research
sharply focused in purpose, content and readership. To control • Data analysis
the final outcome of your product – whether it is a research report,
committee/consulting/administrative report or a student report • Outline of the report
– I advise that you precede it with a proposal/draft and its acceptance • First draft
or modification and periodic interim reports and their acceptance • Final draft
or modification by your sponsor. • Likely product or tentative outline
• Bibliography

Reviewing the Draft

To err is human. Therefore after you have prepared your draft
report, it should be thoroughly reviewed and edited before the
final report is submitted. Let us now try to make a checklist that
will help you in reviewing the draft
• Your purpose as the author?
• Reader’s profile?
• Content?
• Language and tone?
• Length?

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 • Appearance? • Take out redundancies
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Author’s Purpose • Use active voice

The lack of clarity and explicitness in the communication process • Use shorter and direct verbs
leads to two major problems You have done quite a good job of this. Can you also give me
• Confusion in determining the mix of content, language and some examples for the above?
tone Hey! That’s nice. You’ve covered most of the tips. I’ll just add a
• Misinterpretation of the message few more to complete the list.
Therefore try to use a simple, easy to read style and presentation • Eliminate weighty expressions
that will help your reader to understand the content easily. • Make concrete adjectives
Reader’s Profile • Use abbreviations which are more familiar than their
Readership may consist of one or more person(s) / group(s). expanded form
You would therefore need to check whether all of them have the
Appearance
same wavelength. If not, common interest areas will need to be
Looks Matter! Don’t you all agree with this?
segregated from the special interest areas. Then you will need to
decide on the types and parts of the report that can satisfy the This therefore also holds true for your report. The novelty of
various reader groups. The major discriminating features of the presentation is as important as the originality of ideas. Both are
readers profile are culture, religion, ideologies, age, education and products of creativity. Presentation attracts readers and content
economic background holds their attention. Hence pay complete attention to both the
product and its packaging.
Content
Please pay attention to the content’s focus, its organization, and
accuracy of facts and logic of arguments. Style is the way you communicate
the content to the audience
• You should clarify the focus right in the first few paragraphs
to attract the reader’s attention and hold it.
• If any material is added or deleted in the text, recheck the
focus to see whether you need to make any changes in the
foundation [Peterson, 1987]
words

• Keep in mind that you may loose credibility if you fail to Illustration wordswords
wordswordswords
wordswordswordswords
check for the accuracy of the facts, for a reader can easily test wordswordswords
wordswordswords

internal consistency of the report by comparing information wordswordswords

wordswordswords

across pages and sections Structure Language

• Not all the data that is required to make the report may be
available. Sometimes you may need to make assumptions to
fill the gaps
• What is good in one situation may not hold for another.
Therefore please list and arrange the elements and the actors
of a situation to understand its dynamics
Language and Tone
Since the purpose of communication is to make the reader
understand the message, use vocabulary and sentence structure
which the reader understands. Abstract phrases are difficult to
comprehend while concrete phrases are easy to understand. Finally,
the tone of the language also matters. It can make the reader
receive, ignore or reject the message.
Length
This is a matter that needs to be judged by you as the author
keeping in mind the purpose, subject and the reader’s interest.
Usually, shorter the content, the more attractive it is to the reader.
However it should not be so brief as to miss the essential points
and linkages in the flow of arguments and force the reader to ask
for more information.
Let us now try to work on a few tips to save words.
Can you Think of any?
• Cut out repetitions, unless they are needed to sharpen the
message
style
Proof Reading
If you or another person proofreading your report is good, he
should have the accuracy to pin point all the mistakes, clarity in
giving instructions to the printer and speed for meeting the printer’s
deadline.
• Make sure that you indicate correction marks at two places
• Within the line where the correction is to be carried out
• In the margin against the corresponding line giving the
instruction
• Please, never give instructions at the place of correction
• You should mark the proof preferably with a red ball point
• To catch as many errors as possible read it over and over
again
• One last point. Always remember that proofs are meant to
be corrected not edited
Final Printing
Phew! At last your job is almost over. Once you have thoroughly
proof read your report, you should:
• Return it to the printer according to the agreed schedule

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• Also return the manuscript along with Rai Business School

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• Upon printing, your final document is ready for reference New Delhi Campus
Format of a Report: ………………………………………………………………………………………………
No matter which category your report falls into, when you make • Introductory Pages:Every time you open any book
one, make sure that it contains each of the following parts introduction is the first thing that you will come across.
• A cover and title page While writing such pages for your report, number them in
lower case Roman Numerals (i, ii, iii…). Use Arabic
• Introductory Pages
Numerals (1, 2, 3…) from the first page of the introduction,
• Foreword Make sure that your introductory pages contain:
• Preface • Foreword:This is not numbered but counted among the
• Acknowledgement introductory pages. It would be written by someone other
• Table of Contents than you, usually an authority on the subject or the sponsor
of the research or the book. At the end of the foreword,
• List of tables and illustrations
your name as the writer would appear on the right side. On
• Summary the left come address, place of writing and date, which are
• Text put in italics.
• Headings • Preface:It has to be written by you to indicate how the
• Quotations subject was chosen, its importance and need and the focus
of the book’s/research paper’s content, purpose and
• Footnotes
audience. Your name will appear at the end of the preface on
• Exhibits the right side. On the left would be your address, place of
• Reference Section writing and date, which you should put in italics.
• Appendices • Acknowledgement:As a courtesy, you should give due credit
• Bibliography to anyone else whose efforts were instrumental in your
writing the report. Such recognition will form the
• Glossary (if required)
acknowledgement. If it is short, I suggest that you treat it as
We will now discuss each of these at length a part of the preface, if not you may put it in a separate
• Cover and the title page section. At the end of the acknowledgement obviously only
I am sure you would all know what details this page needs to your name would appear on the right side and in italics.
contain. However, let’s try to list them down again • Table of Contents:The content sheet of your report would
• Title of the subject or project act as both a summary and a guide to the various segments
• Presented to whom
of your report. You should ensure that it covers all the
essential parts of the book/report and yet is brief enough to
• On what date be clear and attractive. It should list out the sections/
• For what purpose chapters/main heads and give their corresponding page
• Written by whom numbers along with. Have a look at the sample that I have
prepared below for better understanding
If there is any restriction on the circulation of the report that you
have made, you should indicate it on the top right corner of the
Foreword v.
cover and title page
Preface vii
Sample
Acknowledgement ix
For official use only SECTION A 1
Working capital requirements 1. Chapter Title 3
Of A. Center Head 10
Xyz private limited i. Center Side 17
Presented to Head
SECTION B 25
Managing director
SECTION C 30
Xyz private limited Summary and 32
On Conclusions
November 26, 2003 APPENDICES 37
By a. Questionnaire 39
Ms. ABC b. Interview 45
BIBLIOGRAPHY 51
And
GLOSSARY 55
Ms. DEF

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 • List of Tables and Illustrations:After your table of contents,
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
you should give a list that mentions the details and page
numbers of the various tables and illustrations that you may
have used to support your report. Each list should start on a
separate page. You should number the tables and
illustrations continuously in a serial order throughout the
book/report. Usually keep them in Arabic Numerals or
Decimal Form
• Summary:The executive summary that you would write in
the initial pages is usually of great help to a busy reader.
The summary should highlight the following essential
information:
• What is the study about?
• What is the extent and limitation of the coverage?
• What is the significance and need for the study?
• What is the kind of data used?
• What research methodology has been used?
• What are the findings and conclusions?
• What are the incidental findings, if any?
• How can the conclusions be used and by whom?
• What are the recommendations and the suggested action
plan?
• Text:The subject matter of the text of your report should be
divided into the following
• Headings:
This I am sure is very simple for you to understand. You all
would have been using this classification right from your secondary
school days. Just as a refresher, I am mentioning the classifications
once again
• Center head,
• Center sub-head,
• Side head,
• Paragraph head.
Which combination of headings you would use would depend
on the number of classifications or divisions that the chapters of
your report have.
• Quotations There may be times when you feel that you need
to reproduce a portion of the work of another author to
add value to your own report. This is what I mean by
Quotation. Quotation Marks must necessarily used for
• A directly quoted passage or word
• A word or phrase to be emphasized
• Titles of articles
While quoting, be very careful that all quotations should correspond
exactly to the original in word, spelling and punctuation. You may
allow quotations up to three typewritten lines to run into the text.
Direct quotations over this limit have to be set in indented
paragraphs.
• Footnotes:When you insert quotations, it is important that
you indicate the source of the reference. This is what you
may do using the footnotes. Also, there may be times when
you might want to provide an explanation that is not
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42
important enough to be included in the text. Again, the
footnote would be of use to you for this.
Please ensure that explanatory footnotes are put at the bottom of
the page and are linked to the text with a footnote number. But
you must incorporate source references within the text and
supplement them with a bibliographical note at the end of the
chapter or book or report.
Footnotes would help the reader to check the accuracy of the
interpretation of the source by going to the source if they want to.
They are also a form of your acknowledgement of the indebtedness
to the source. They help the reader distinguish between your
contribution as the author of the report and the work of others.
• Exhibits:Writing just theory about any subject matter would
never be sufficient. You will need to supplement it with
exhibits for better and faster understanding by the reader. I
am sure you would all agree that such pictorial
representations also help in ensuring longer retention period.
They may take the form of either a table or an illustration.
• Table:Before you introduce a table make sure that it is
referred to in the text. It is meant only to expand, clarify or
give visual explanation, rather than stand by itself. The text
should highlight the table’s focus and conclusions
Sample
Table 10 Mean Information Test scores of Employees receiving
Communication through Different Media (From Dalhe, 11, p.245)
Medium No. of Mean
Employees Test
Score*
Combined 102 7.7
Oral and
Written
Oral Only 94 6.17
Written Only 109 4.91
Bulletin 115 3.72
Board
Grapevine 108 3.56
Only
• All differences are significant at the 5% level or better except
that between the last two means in the column
• Illustrations: They cover charts graphs, diagrams and
maps. Most of the instructions that I have listed out
for tables hold good for illustrations
• Reference Section:This section will follow the text. First
write out the appendices section, then the bibliography and
finally the glossary. Students, please ensure that a divider
page on which only the words Appendices, Bibliography Or
Glossary appear in all capital letters separates each section.
• Appendices: They will help you, as the author of the report,
to authenticate the thesis and help your reader to check the
data. Let us now try to list out the material that you would
usually put in the appendices
• Original data
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 • Long tables
• Long quotations
• Supportive legal decisions, laws, documents
• Illustrative material
• Extensive Computations
• Questionnaires and Letters
• Schedules or forms that you might have used in
collecting data
• Case studies
• Transcripts of interviews
Bibliographies:
It would follow the appendices and make sure that it is listed as a
major section in your table of contents. It should contain the
source of every reference cited in the footnote and any other relevant
work that you had consulted. This would give the reader an idea
of the literature available on the subject and that has influenced or
aided your study. If you try to look up the bibliographical section
of any book or report, you would see that the following
information is given for each reference:
• Name of the Author
• Title of his work
• Place of publication
• Name of the Publisher
• Date of publication
• Number of pages
Glossary:
Finally we come to a short dictionary giving definitions and
examples of terms and phrases, which are technical, used by you
in a special connotation, unfamiliar to the reader, or foreign to the
language in which the book is written. I hope you know that even
this is listed as a major section in the table of content
I hope you enjoyed today’s session. It was something very general
and away from the usual theory. However it was necessary to
formally list down the steps of report writing because as we
mentioned, these reports are very critical in decision-making-
whether in academics (for performance review), research (as base
for further reference) or an organization (to decide the future course
of action)
Before we call it a day lets just look back to recapitulate all
that we covered in the class today.
In this lesson we have discussed the steps involved in preparation
of a proposal for a report. I explained you three categories of
reports namely-information reports, decision reports and research
reports. The steps involved in writing reports were also highlighted.
I am summarizing the same with the following flow chart
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Eureka!
Proof reading and
submission
Final draft
Teachers feedback
Review
Glimpsing the process
Report writing
Action plan
How? When? Why?
1. Strategic thinking
Writing the report What? Why? Who?
Gathering information
Planning the report
Analysinginformation
Put something on paper
We further divided a report into various parts – Title Page,
Introductory Pages, Text and reference Section. I hope you all have
understood each of these heads. We concluded the unit by
explaining that before you submit your final report, it should be
thoroughly reviewed and edited.
Write-Up
So now that you’ve completed the research project, what do you
do? In fact, this final stage-writing up your research-may be one
of the most difficult. Developing a good, effective and concise
report is an art form in itself. And, in many research projects you
will need to write multiple reports that present the results at
different levels of detail for different audiences. There are several
general considerations to keep in mind when generating a report:
The Audience
Who is going to read the report? Reports will differ considerably
depending on whether the audience will want or require technical
detail, whether they are looking for a summary of results, or
whether they are about to examine your research in a Ph.D. exam.I
believe that every research project has at least one major “story” in
it.
The Story
Sometimes the story centers on a specific research finding.
Sometimes it is based on a methodological problem or challenge.
When you write your report, you should attempt to tell the “story”
to your reader. Even in very formal journal articles where you will
be required to be concise and detailed at the same time, a good
“storyline” can help make an otherwise very dull report interesting
to the reader.
The hardest part of telling the story in your research is finding the
story in the first place. Usually when you come to writing up your
research you have been steeped in the details for weeks or months
(and sometimes even for years). You’ve been worrying about
sampling response, struggling with operational zing your
measures, dealing with the details of design, and wrestling with
the data analysis. You’re a bit like the ostrich that has its head in
the sand. To find the story in your research, you have to pull your
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 head out of the sand and look at the big picture. You have to try
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
to view your research from your audience’s perspective. You may
have to let go of some of the details that you obsessed so much
about and leave them out of the write up or bury them in technical
appendices or tables
Formatting Considerations
Are you writing a research report that you will submit for
publication in a journal? If so, you should be aware that every
journal requires articles that you follow specific formatting
guidelines. Thinking of writing a book. Again, every publisher
will require specific formatting. Writing a term paper? Most faculties
will require that you follow specific guidelines. Doing your thesis
or dissertation? Every university I know of has very strict policies
about formatting and style. There are legendary stories that
circulate among graduate students about the dissertation that was
rejected because the page margins were a quarter inch off or the
figures weren’t labeled correctly.
To illustrate what a set of research report specifications might
include, I present in this section general guidelines for the
formatting of a research write-up for a class term paper. These
guidelines are very similar to the types of specifications you might
be required to follow for a journal article. However, you need to
check the specific formatting guidelines for the report you are
writing -the ones presented here are likely to differ in some ways
from any other guidelines that may be required in other contexts.
I’ve also included a sample research paper write-up that illustrates
these guidelines. This sample paper is for a “make-believe” research
project.But it illustrates how a final research report might look
using the guidelines given here.
Key Elements
Introduction
Statement of the Problem
The general problem area is stated clearly and unambiguously.
The importance and significance of the problem area is discussed.
Statement of Causal Relationship
The cause-effect relationship to be studied is stated clearly and is
sensibly related to the problem area.
Statement of Constructs
Each key construct in the research/evaluation project is explained
(minimally, both the cause and effect). The explanations are readily
understandable (i.e., jargon-free) to an intelligent reader.
Literature Citations and Review
The literature cited is from reputable and appropriate sources
(e.g., professional journals, books and not Time, Newsweek, etc.)
and you have a minimum of five references. The literature is
condensed in an intelligent fashion with only the most relevant
information included. Citations are in the correct format (see APA
format sheets).
Statement of Hypothesis
The hypothesis (or hypotheses) is clearly stated and is specific
about what is predicted. The relationship of the hypothesis to
both the problem statement and literature review is readily
understood from reading the text.
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Methods
Sample Section
Sampling Procedure Specifications
The procedure for selecting units (e.g., subjects, records) for the
study is described and is appropriate. The author state which
sampling method is used and why. The population and sampling
frame are described. In an evaluation, the program participants are
frequently self-selected (i.e., volunteers) and, if so, should be
described as such.
Sample Description
The sample is described accurately and is appropriate. Problems in
contacting and measuring the sample are anticipated.
External Validity Considerations
Generalizability from the sample to the sampling frame and
population is considered.
Measurement Section
Measures
Each outcome measurement construct is described briefly (a
minimum of two outcome constructs is required). For each
construct, the measure or measures are described briefly and an
appropriate citation and reference is included (unless you created
the measure). You describe briefly the measure you constructed
and provide the entire measure in an Appendix. The measures,
which are used, are relevant to the hypotheses of the study and are
included in those hypotheses. Wherever possible, multiple
measures of the same construct are used.
Construction of Measures
For questionnaires, tests and interviews: questions are clearly
worded, specific, appropriate for the population, and follow in a
logical fashion. The standards for good questions are followed.
For archival data: original data collection procedures are adequately
described and indices (i.e., combinations of individual measures)
are constructed correctly. For scales, you must describe briefly which
scaling procedure you used and how you implemented it. For
qualitative measures, the procedures for collecting the measures
are described in detail.
Reliability and Validity
You must address both the reliability and validity of all of your
measures. For reliability, you must specify what estimation
procedure(s) you used. For validity, you must explain how you
assessed construct validity. Wherever possible, you should
minimally address both convergent and discriminate validity. The
procedures, which are used to examine reliability and validity, are
appropriate for the measures.
Design and Procedures Section
Design
The design is clearly presented in both notational and text form.
The design is appropriate for the problem and addresses the
hypothesis.
Internal Validity
Threats to internal validity and how they are addressed by the
design are discussed. Any threats to internal validity, which are not
well controlled, are also considered.
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Description of Procedures Questions are ordered according to social usefulness or importance:

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An overview of how the study will be conducted is included. The those which people are most likely to see as useful come first and
sequence of events is described and is appropriate to the design. those least useful come last. Group questions those are similar in
Sufficient information is included so that a reader could replicate content. Establish a flow of responding from one question to
the essential features of the study. the next. Questions in any topic area that are most likely to be
objectionable to respondents should be positioned after the less
Results
objectionable ones. Demographic questions are usually placed at
Statement of Results the beginning or at the end.
The results are stated concisely and are plausible for the research The first question is the most important. The first question should
described. be clearly related to the survey topic and should be easy to answer.
Tables The first question should convey a sense of neutrality. The first
The table(s) is correctly formatted and accurately and concisely question should be clearly applicable and interesting to everyone.
presents part of the analysis. Formatting the Pages
Figures Use lower case letters for questions, upper case for answers. Identify
The figure(s) is clearly designed and accurately describes a relevant answer categories on left with numbers this allow pre-coding of
aspect of the results. responses. Establish a vertical flow. The purpose of vertical flow
is to prevent inadvertent omissions, something that occurs often
Conclusions, Abstract and Reference when respondents are required to move back and forth across a
Sections page with their answers. Vertical flow also prevents the common
Implications of the Study error of checking the space on the wrong side of the answers
Assuming the expected results are obtained, the implications of when answer categories are placed beside one another. Also, vertical
these results are discussed. The author mentions briefly any flow enhances feelings of accomplishment.
remaining problems, which are anticipated in the study. The need to provide clear directions is extremely important. Use
Abstract the same marking procedure throughout the survey. Directions
The Abstract is 125 words or less and presents a concise picture of for answering are always distinguished from the questions by
putting them in parentheses.
the proposed research. Major constructs and hypotheses are
included. The Abstract is the first section of the paper. See the Items in a Series
format sheet for more details. Repeat the scale for each item. Ask one question at a time. The
References respondent should only be asked to do one thing at a time. The
All citations are included in the correct format and are appropriate problem of asking two questions is that each request interferes
for the study described. with the other.

Stylistic Elements Use words for Answer Choices

Professional Writing
First person and sex-stereotyped forms are avoided. Material is
presented in an unbiased and unemotional (e.g., no “feelings”
about things), but not necessarily uninteresting, fashion.
Parallel Construction
Tense is kept parallel within and between sentences (as appropriate).
Sentence Structure
Sentence structure and punctuation are correct. Incomplete and
run-on sentences are avoided.
Spelling and Word Usage
Spelling and use of words are appropriate. Words are capitalized
and abbreviated correctly.
Show a connection between items and answers. Use multiple
column technique to conserve space. Show how to skip screening
questions. Make questions fit each page. Use transitions for
continuity - for example, when a new line of questioning starts,
when a new page starts or to break up the monotony of a long
series of questions on a single topic. Transitions must also fit the
situation. It is also useful to distinguish between major and minor
transitions.
Designing the Covers
The front cover receives the greatest attention and contains:
• A study title,
• A graphic illustration,
• Any needed directions and

General Style • The name and address of the study sponsor.

The document is neatly produced and reads well. The format for
the document has been correctly followed.
The Formatting
Booklet format and Printing Procedures
Print the survey booklet on 81/2 x 11 paper. Place no questions
on the front or back pages. The survey pages should be printed
using a high quality laser printer on white or off-white paper.
Ordering the Questions
The title should sound interesting. Subtitles are often useful. Use
graphic illustrations. The return address does not include the name
of the researcher. The goal is to have the respondent view the
researcher as an intermediary between the respondent and the
accomplishment the back cover should consist of an invitation to
make additional comments, a thank you and plenty of white
space.

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 Why do a Pilot-test?
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The pilot-test is useful for demonstrating instrument reliability,
the practicality of procedures, the availability of volunteers, and
the variability of observed events as a basis for power tests,
participants’ capabilities or the investigators skills. The pilot test is
a good way to determine the necessary sample size needed for
experimental designs. From the findings of the pilot test, the
researcher can estimate the expected group means differences as
well as the error variance. Even a modest pilot test conducted
informally can reveal flaws in the research design or methodology
beforehand.
Any surveys that have not been used in the past or have been
modified in any way should always be pilot-tested. Any procedures
that require complex instructions should be pilot-tested. Any
methodology requiring time estimates should be pilot-tested.
Pilot testing allows you to answer the following questions:
• Is each of the questions valid?
• Are all the words understood?
• Do all respondents interpret questions similarly?
• Does each close response question have an answer that
applies to each respondent?
• Does the questionnaire create positive impression, one that
motivates people to answer it?
• Are questions answered correctly?
• Does any aspect of the questionnaire suggest bias on the
part of the researcher?
Selecting the Pilot Test Sample
The sample for the pilot test should be as close as possible to the
actual sample that will be drawn for the main project. When this is
not possible, then you should try to get a sample with similar
characteristics. Depending upon the availability of people, you
may need to save as many participants for the main survey as you
can which case, you don’t want to include them in a pilot test.
Some researchers often will do a pilot test on a subset of their
sample and then include them as part of the main sample. That is
like mixing apples and oranges. If you make any change whatsoever
to your study as a consequence of the pilot-test, then the
participants in the pilot-test will have experienced something
different from those in the main study. Additionally, one of the
purposes of doing a pilot test is to debrief the participants after
the study by asking questions about the methods, instruments,
and procedures.
Information to be Collected
The pilot test should be run exactly as if it were the actual study.
The exception here is that you will be collecting data on how long
procedures take, what actions facilitate or inhibit the operation of
the study, whether instructions are understood and if the data
you obtain is in the form expected.
It may be necessary to have more than one pilot test especially in
the situation where instructional materials or methods have been
developed. In the case of instructional materials or methods, you
would do a formative evaluation of the materials and methods.
Unlike a pilot test where the researcher may not interact with
participants, you would be asking questions of the participants as
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46
they read, watch, or listen to the instruction and when they are
quizzed on what they have learned.
Participant Debriefing
If your study involves questionnaires or interviews with people,
you should have a debriefing session at the completion of the
pilot test. Ask the participants if they understood all of the
instructions, if they had any particular problem with any of the
questions asked, if they understood the intent of the study, and
if they had any recommendations how to improve the study.
Activities
Role Playing
1. You are the research director for a major bank. You are to
recruit a junior analyst who would be responsible for
collecting and analyzing secondary data (data already collected
by other agencies that are relevant to your operations). With
a fellow student playing the role of an applicant for this
position, conduct the interview. Does this applicant have the
necessary background and skills? Reverse the roles and repeat
the exercise.
2. You are a project director working for a major research
supplier. You have just received a telephone call from an
irate respondent who believes that an interviewer has
violated her privacy by calling at an inconvenient time. The
respondents express several ethical concerns. Ask a fellow
student to play the role of this respondent. Address the
respondent’s concerns and pacify her.
Presentations
You have recently read a book and your friends want you to make
a brief presentation about it. How would you go about preparing
and handling of audio visual materials?
Fieldwork
1. Using your local newspaper and national newspapers such as
USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, or the New York Times,
compile a list of career opportunities in marketing research.
2. Interview someone who works for a marketing research
supplier. What is this person’s opinion about career
opportunities in marketing research? Write a report of your
interview.
3. Interview someone who works in the marketing research
department of a major corporation. What is this person’s
opinion about career opportunities available in marketing
research? Write a report of your interview.
4. Take a report of some organization and check whether the
problem solving approach or descriptive approach has been
used. If you were to rewrite the report , what will be your
outline and what stages would you do to improve the
report.
Group Discussion
As a small group of four or five, discuss the following issues.
1. What type of institutional structure is best for a marketing
research department in a large business firm?
2. What is the ideal educational background for someone
seeking a career in marketing research? Is it possible to
acquire such a background?
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3. Can ethical standards be enforced in marketing research? If

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
so, how?
Self Assessment Exercises
1. Take a report of any organization and check whether the
problem solving or descriptive approach has been used. If
you were to rewrite the report, what will be your contents
outline and what steps would you follow to improve the
report.
2. Describe an incident that has recently occurred and check
whether your description answers all the conditions indicated
under descriptive reporting
3. Prepare a sample title / cover page
4. Pick up a report that you have recently prepared. Examine
whether the introductory pages contain all the sections
indicated in this unit. If not, put these sections if they are
necessary for the report
5. Examine the appendices to any report. Are all of them
essential for understanding the theme of the report? Can
they be pruned?
6. Edit a report using the copy reading and proof reading
symbols
References and Further Readings
• Gallagher, J. William, “Report Writing for Management”,
Addison-Wesley
• Golen, P. Stevan, “Report Writing for Business and
Industry”, Business Communication Service
• Sharma R.C. and Krisna Mohan, “Business Correspondence
and Report Writing”, Tata McGraw-Hill Book Company
• Course Design MS 95, Unit IV – “Report Writing and
Presentation”, IGNOU
• Wright, C., “Report Writing”, Witherby & Co. England
• Kepner H. Charles and Benjamin B. Tregoe, “The Rational
Manager”, McGraw-Hill Book Company
• Abrams Mark, Social Surveys and Social Action, London:
William Heinemann Ltd., 1951.
• Anderson, R. and Zelditch Morris Jr. A Basic Course in
Statistics with Sociological Application. New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston INC., 1975.
• Best John, Research in Education, New Delhi Prentice Hall
of India Pvt. Ltd., 1963.
• Blalock Jr. Herbet, M. and Blalock Ann. B. Methodology in
Social Research New York: McGraw Hill Book Company,
1968
• Borg Walter, R. Educational Research, An Introduction, New
York: David Mckay Company, 1976.
Notes

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