Business Communications- Chapter 9

suggestions for developing an effective questionaire

1. arrange the items in a logical sequence 2. create an appealing, easy to comprehend design 3. use short items that ask for a single answer to one idea 4. design questions that are easy to answer and to tabulate

when you feel that the tedious work required to document sources fairly and accurately is not worth the time invested, remind yourself of the following reasons for documentation

1. citations give credit where it is due- to the one who created the material 2. documentation protects writers against plagiarism charges 3. documentation supports your statements 4. documentation can aid future researchers pursuing similar material

general suggestions for preparing accurate documentation

1. decide which authoritative style manual to follow for preparing in text parenthetical citations or footnotes and the bib 2. be consistent

after you have located relevant sources, the following technique for taking notes is effective;

1. read an article fast and put it aside 2. from memory, list main and supporting points 3. review the article to see whether all significant points have been included

the steps to find a solution

1. recognize and define the problem. 2. select a method of solution 3.collect and organize the data and document the sources 4. arrive at an answer

what are the four main characteristics of a simple report/illustration?

1. reports typically travel upward in an organization because they usually are requested by a higher authority. 2. reports are logically organized: deductive and inductive 3. reports are objective 4. reports are generally prepared for a limited audience

common errors at the data gathering stage

1. using samples which are too small 2. using samples which are not representative 3. using poorly constructed data gathering instruments 4. using information from biased sources 5. failing to gather enough information to cover all the important aspects of a problem 6. gathering too much info

formal report

a carefully structured report that is logically organized and objective, contains a lot of detail, and is written in a style that tends to eliminate such elements as personal pronouns.

search engine

a cataloged because database of websites that allows you to search specific topics

hit

a located website that contains the word or words specified in the search.

the procedures or steps a writer takes in preparing a report are often recorded as

a part of the written report

simple reporting task consists of

a question being posed and an answer being given (along with the supporting information) to satisfy the reporting requirement.

a problem is the basis for

a report

external report

a report prepared for distribution outside an organization

vertical report

a report that can be upward or downward directed

informational report

a report that carries objective information from one area of an organization to another.

periodic report

a report that is issued on regularly scheduled dates/

analytical report

a report that presents suggested solutions to problems.

functional report

a report that serves a specified purpose within a company

lateral report

a report that travels between units on the same organizational level.

internal report

a report that travels within an organization, such as a production or sales report.

responses to surveys only represent

a small 5 of thet otal mailings

hypothesis

a statement to be proved or disproved through research

sampling

a survey technique that eliminates the need for questioning 100% of the population

proposal

a written description of how one organization can meet the needs of another.

the database provider might charge a subscription fee or document delivery fee to

access articles

to attribute information to another source, develop complete,

accurate information and a reference page according to a recognized referencing method

source notes

acknowledge the contributions of others. they might refer readers to sources of questions, paraphrased portions of someone else;s words or ideas

a report

an orderly, objective message used to convey information from one organizational area to another or from one organization to another to assist in decision making or problem solving

reliability results from

asking a large enough sample of people so that the researcher is reasonably confident that the results would be the same even if more people were asked to respond

a final step in questionaire design is to test the instrument by

asking others to complete and critique the questionaire.

because knowledge is constantly expanding, the researcher knows that new information is

available

major categories of printed sources

books, periodicals, and government documents. books.

books are typically cataloged in libraries by

call number

as a report becomes longer, a report takes on more

characteristics of formal reports

the following tips will help your internet search more productive

choose your search engine or database appropriately. structure searches from broad to specific. use quotation marks when literal topics are related. look for web pages that have collections of links to other related topics. be adaptable to the various access format requirements

steps in the procedures section are typically listed in

chronological order so that the reader has an overall understanding of the timetable that existed for the project.

direct quotation

citing the exact words from a source

when beginning to collect secondary data, beware of

collecting too much info that you will hardly know where to begin your analysis

intext parenthetical citations

contains abbreviated information within parentheses, directs the reader to a list of sources at the end of a report. contains all publication info on every source cited. it is arranged alphabetically

primary research

data collected for the first time, usually for a specific purpose

boundaries chosen by the researchers to make the project more manageable

delimitations; they might include the sources and methods chosen for research

a wide assortment of reference books is typically available for use within libraries; these include

dictionaries, encyclopedias, yearbooks, and almanacs; some of these volumes contain general info on a wide array of topics, whereas others are designed for a specific field of study

you can use two kinds of note taking

direct quotation or paraphrase

a good researcher defines the population as

distinctly as possible and uses a sampling technique to ensure that the sample is representative

a crucial part of ethical, honest research is

documenting or referencing sources fairly and accurately

a list of footnotes can be included in an

endnotes page at the end of the document in the order they appeared

researchers should attempt to state the problem clearly and precisely in order to

ensure they are on the right track

the scope of the report helps to

establish boundaries in which the report will be researched and prepared

What are the types of reports?

formal and informal, short or long, informational or analytical, vertical or lateral, internal or external, periodic, and functional

to safeguard your reputation against plagirism, be certain to

give credit when credit is due. specifically, provide a citation for each direct quote or passage from someone else's work that you stated in your own words

referencing methods

intent parenthetical citations, footnotes, and endnotes

unless you know why something is wanted, you might have difficulty

knowing what is wanted.

researchers normally cannot survey everyone, particualry if the population is

large and the research budget is limited

boundaries imposed outside the control of the researchers are called

limitations; they might include the assignment of the topic, the allotted budget, and time required in order to complete the report.

magazines

might be published weekly, monthly, bimonthly, or in some other interval. typically written for a general readership, providing expanded coverage in an easy to read format

the null hypothesis

no relationship or difference will be found in the factors being studied.

recognized methods for obtaining original information are

observational studies, experimental research , and normative studies

traditional card catalogs in libraries have been replaced by

online catalogs, which allow the user to locate desired books by author, title, subject, or keyword

for surveys of major importance, researchers typically conduct a

pilot study, disseminating the questionnaire to a small group of the population involved. this process allows them to correct problems in clarity and design

footnote citation method

placing citations at the bottom of the page on which they are cited is the footnote citation

an important first step to document sources of information is to

pledge that you will not present someones else's ideas as your own. then develop a systematic checklist for avoiding plagiraism

research studies often have both a

problem statement and a statement of purposes.

secondary research

provides information that has already been reported by others. Researchers save time and effort by not duplicating research that has already been undertaken

you can quickly evaluate the relevance of references by

reading each articles title and abstract to determine the appropriatness to your topic.

a topic search will produce a listing of

references and article abstracts

longitudinal studies

reports that study the same factors in different time frames

most governmental and nonprofit agencies issue

requests for proposals, or RFPs.

normative survey research

research to determine the status of something at a specific time. includes questionaries, opinion surveys, and check lists

electronic databases have full text retrieval capability, meaning that you can

retrieve the entire article for reviewing and printing. other databases offer some articles in full text, with citations or abstracts provided for others

the research methods you use to collect necessary information can be

secondary, primary, or both

two major types of citations are used to document a report:

source notes and explanatory notes

because the hypothesis tends to be stated in a way that favors one possibility or is prejudiced toward a particular answer, many researchers prefer to

state the hypothesis in the null form

observational studies

studies in which the researcher observes and statistically analyzes certain phenomena in order to assist in establishing new principles or discoveries

paraphrase method

summarizing information in your own words without changing the author's intended meaning

surveys can help verify

the accuracy of existing norms

validity

the degree to which the data measure what the researcher intends to measure

statement of purpose

the goal of the study; includes the aims of objectives the research hopes to accomplish

these types of databases are not accessible by a search engine and are often described as

the hidden internet. many librarys provide access to these databases

in many ways, the purpose of a study is determined by

the intended use of its results

reliability

the level of consistency of stability over time or over independant samples

the procedures section of a report records

the major steps taken in the research, and possibly, the reasons for their inclusion.

problem statement

the particular problem that is to be solved by the research

plagirism

the presentation of someone else's ideas or words as your own

an observation might lead one to believe that a key factor in determining success was

the quality of communication, as defined by equal participation

journal articles share

the results of research studies and provide data that support their findings.

businesses issue calls for bids that present

the specifications for major purchases of goods and certain services.

procedures (or methodology)

the steps a writer takes in preparing a report; often recorded as a part of the written report.

experimental research

the study of two samples that have exactly the same components before a variable is added to one of the samples

the way in which the survey instrument is designed and written has much to do with

the validity and reliability of results, the response rate, and the quality of the information received

explanatory notes

to commit on a source or to provide information that does not fit easily in the text 2. to support a statistical table 3. to refer the reader to another section of the report

secondary research can be gathered by means of

traditional printed sources or by using electronic tools

periodic reports are generally directed

upward and serve management control purposes

the upward flow of reports provides management with data that someone might use to make a decision. the purpose is to

use the data to solve a problem

informal report

usually a short message written in natural or personal language.

newspapers

usually published daily are a good initial source for investigation because they give condensed converage of timely topics.

periodicals, referred to as serials by librarians, include

various types of publications that are released on a periodic basis. newspapers, magazines, and journals

before developing items for a questionaire or opinion survey, a researcher should

visualize the ways in which responses will be compiled and included in a final report

journals

written for more specialized audiences, are peer reviewed, and are more research oriented and more credible.

limiting the problems is

zeroing in on the problem