Bus (Writing) Comm 2023 Module 3 Test Review

Research Databases

. As a writer of business reports today, you will probably begin your secondary research with electronic resources. Online databases have become the staple of secondary research. Most writers turn to them first because they are fast and easy to use. You can conduct detailed searches without ever leaving your office, home, or dorm room.

Make your questions objective and friendly

Adopt a courteous and respectful attitude. Don't get into a debating match with the interviewee, and don't interrupt. Remember that you are there to listen, not to talk! Use open-ended questions to draw experts out.

Preparing a Work Plan

After analyzing the problem, anticipating the audience, and factoring the problem, you are ready to prepare a work plan.

End graciously

Conclude the interview with a general question, such as Is there anything you would like to add? Express your appreciation, and ask permission to telephone later if you need to verify points.

To use the Web meaningfully, you must scrutinize what you find and check who authored and published it. Here are specific criteria to consider as you examine a site:

Currency, Authority, Content, Accuracy

Begin directly

Identify the report and its purpose

Print sources

print sources are still the most visible part of most libraries. Much information is only available in print.

Oral Presentations: Organization Delivery Seven steps to powerful presentation 1. start with the text 2. select background and font 3. choose images 4. create graphics 5. add special effects 6. create hyperlinks 7. move your presentation online

step 1: tell them what you are going to tell them step 2: tell them step 3: tell them what you already told them 1. Introduction - capture attention, involves audience, identifies speaker, previews main points 2. Body - establish main points. developed cohesive and planned out transitions 3. Conclusion - summarizes main points Delivery: visual aides - multimedia slides - handouts - videos - zoom presentations - flip charts - props

Secondary data

we discuss secondary data first because that is where nearly every research project should begin. Often something has already been written about your topic. Reviewing secondary sources an save time and effort and prevent you from reinventing the wheel. Most secondary material is available either in print or electronically.

Basic Report Functions and Types Indirect Strategy

(Organizational strategy) When the conclusions and recommendations, if requested, appear at the end of the report. Reports usually begin with an introduction or description of the problem, followed by facts and interpretations from the writer. They end with conclusions and recommendations. This strategy is helpful when readers are familiar with problem. This strategy is also useful when readers must be persuaded or when they may be disappointed in or hostile toward the report's findings. The writer is more likely to retain the reader's interest by first explaining, justifying, and analyzing the facts and then making recommendations. This strategy also seems rational to readers because it follows the normal thought process: problem, alternatives (facts), solution.

Figure 11.6 Work Plan Formal Report

1. Statement of Problem 2. Statement of Purpose - defines purpose, scope, limits, and significance of report 3. Research Strategy - describes primary and secondary research 4. Tentative outline - factors problme into manageable chunks 5. Work schedule - estimates time needed to complete report tasks

Business plan - type of proposal to secure funding- For people who are serious about starting a business, the importance of a comprehensive, thoughtful business plan cannot be overemphasized, says the Small Business Administration.

A business plan may be defined as a description of a proposed company that explains how it expects to achieve its marketing, financial, and operational goals. If you are considering becoming an entrepreneur, your business plan is more likely to secure the funds it needs if it is carefully written and includes the following elements.

Letter of Transmittal

A letter of transmittal provides contact information for all principals and explains your reason for writing. If you are seeking venture capital or an angel investor, the transmittal letter may become a pitch letter. In that case you would want to include a simple description of your idea and a clear statement of what's in it for the investor. The letter should include a summary of the market, a brief note about the competition, and an explanation of why your business plan is worthy of investment.

Work Plan

A report that includes a statement of the problem, a statement of the purpose, the research strategy, a tentative outline, and a work schedule.

Mean, Median, Mode

After collecting numerical data and other information, you must tabulate and analyze them. Fortunately, several techniques can help you simplify, summarize, and classify large amounts of data. The most helpful summarizing techniques are tables, statistical concepts (mean, median, and mode), correlations, grids, and decision matrices. Measures of Central Tendency. Tables help you organize data, and the three Ms—mean, median, and mode—help you describe data. These statistical terms are all occasionally used loosely to mean "average." To be safe, though, you should learn to apply these statistical terms precisely.

Functional Talking Headings

Although we refer to this section as the body, it does not carry that heading. Instead, it contains clear headings that explain each major section. Headings may be functional or talking. Functional heads (such as Results of the Survey, Analysis of Findings, or Discussion) help readers identify the purpose of the section but do not reveal what is in it. Such headings are useful for routine reports or for sensitive topics that may upset readers. Talking heads (for example, Findings Reveal Revenue and Employment Benefits) are more informative and interesting, but they do not help readers see the organization of the report. The model report in Figure 13.5 uses combination headings; as the name suggests, they combine functional heads for organizational sections (Introduction, Conclusions and Recommendations) with talking heads that reveal the content. The headings divide the body into smaller parts.

Conducting Primary Research

Although you will start nearly every business report assignment by sifting through secondary sources, you will probably need primary data to give a complete picture. Business reports that solve specific current problems typically rely on primary, firsthand data. If, for example, management wants to discover the cause of increased employee turnover in its Seattle office, it must investigate conditions in Seattle by collecting recent information. Providing answers to business problems often means generating primary data through surveys, interviews, observation, or experimentation.

Analyzing Data to Arrive at Conclusions

Any set of data can produce a variety of meaningful conclusions. Always bear in mind, though, that the audience for a report wants to know how these data relate to the problem being studied. What do the findings mean in terms of solving the original report problem?

A good report provides practical recommendations that are agreeable to the audience. In the Marriott survey, for example, the consulting company knew that the company wanted to help employees cope with conflicts between family and work obligations.

As a result, the report's conclusions and recommendations focused on ways to resolve the conflict. If Marriott's goal had been merely to save money by reducing employee absenteeism, the recommendations would have been quite different.

To elicit the most useful data, try these techniques: Locate an expert.

Ask managers and individuals who are considered to be most knowledgeable in their areas. Check membership lists of professional organizations, and consult articles about the topic. Most people enjoy being experts or at least recommending them. You could also crowdsource your question in social media; that is, you could pose the query to your network to get input from your contacts.

Mean

Average, or arithmetic average Means are very useful to indicate central tendencies of figures, but they have one major flaw: extremes at either end cause distortion.

Mission Statement A business plan mission statement explains the purpose of your business and why it will succeed.

Because potential investors will be looking for this mission statement, consider highlighting it with a paragraph heading (Mission Statement) or use bolding or italics. Some consultants say that you should be able to write your mission statement in eight or fewer words. Others think that one or two short paragraphs might be more realistic. Many Fortune 500 companies have created mission statements that are both inspirational and concrete. For example, Starbucks states its mission simply but graphically: "To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time." As illustrated in Figure 13.3, mission statements should be simple, concise, memorable, and unique.

Book marking favorites

Bookmarking favorites is an option within browsers to enable you to record and store the URLs of important sources. The key to using this option is creating folders with relevant names and choosing concise and descriptive names for bookmarks.

Books

Books provide excellent historical, in-depth data. Like most contemporary sources, books can be location through online listings.

When necessary, summarize the report

Briefly review the main points and discuss what action will follow.

Business Reports - Functions

Business Reports range from informal bulleted lists and half-page trip reports to formal 200-page financial forecasts. Reports may be internal or external documents. Their findings may be presented orally in front of a group or electronically on a computer screen.

Maintain a professional attitude

Call before the interview to confirm the arrangements, and then arrive on time. Be prepared to take notes if your recorder fails (and remember to ask permission beforehand if you want to record). Use your body language to convey respect.

Use questions that produce quantifiable answers

Check-off, multiple-choice, yes-no, and scale (or rank-order) questions, illustrated in Figure 11.11, provide quantifiable data that are easily tabulated. Responses to open-ended questions (What should the bookstore do about plastic bags?) reveal interesting, but difficult-to-quantify perceptions. To obtain workable data, give interviewees a list of possible responses, as shown in items 5 through 8 of Figure 11.11. For scale and multiple-choice questions, try to present all the possible answer choices. To be safe, add an Other or Don't know category in case the choices seem insufficient to the respondent. Many surveys use scale questions because they capture degrees of feelings. Typical scale headings are Agree strongly, Agree somewhat, Neutral, Disagree somewhat, and Disagree strongly.

Cloud storage and emailing

Cloud storage and e-mailing documents, URLs, or messages to yourself are also useful strategies. Many databases and online magazines permit you to e-mail information and sometimes the entire article to your account. A cloud storage account such as Dropbox or iCloud lets you access your files from any electronic device.

Wikipedia and other Encyclopedias

College-level research requires you to use general encyclopedia information only as a starting point for more in-depth research. That means you will not cite Wikipedia, Ask.com, general encyclopedias, search engines, or similar reference works in your writing. Their information is too fluid and too general. However, these information-packed sites often provide their own references (bibliographies) that you can employ in your research. Locate the original sources of information rather than the condensed reference articles. Both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA) favor the use of original source material.

Preparing Report Recommendations

Conclusions explain what the problem is, whereas recommendations tell how to solve it. Typically, business readers prefer specific, practical recommendations. They want to know exactly how to implement the suggestions. The specificity of your recommendations depends on your authorization. What are you commissioned to do, and what does the reader expect? In the planning stages of your report project, you anticipate what the reader wants in the report. Your intuition and your knowledge of the audience indicate how far you should develop your recommendations.

Arrange the subtopics logically

Consider organizing by time, component, importance, criteria, or convention.

Copying and pasting

Copying and pasting information you find on the Web into MS Word is an easy way to save and store it. Copy and paste the URL into the file as well, and record the URL in your working bibliography. If you invest in Adobe's PDF Converter, you can save most files in the portable document format simply by choosing the Print command and selecting Adobe PDF in the Printer window of the Print menu. The URL, access date, and time stamp will be automatically saved on the document. You can keep your PDF documents as electronic files or print out paper copies later

Creating winning mission statement

Definition: a mission statement describes the reason an organization program exists Goals: easily understood free of complex words and buzz words concise, memorable, and simple unique in distinguishing a business or program

Digital Format

Digital media allow writers to produce and distribute reports in electronic form, not in hard copy. With Adobe Acrobat any report can be converted into a PDF document that retains its format and generally cannot be changed. Also, increasingly, reports are not static; instead they can be presented with some animation or can be converted to video. Today's communicators use not only Microsoft's Powerpoint or Apple's Keynote to create electronic presentations but also more dynamic ands engaging cloud-based software solutions such as Prezi and SlideRocket presented in chapter 14.

Accuracy

Do the facts that are presented seem reliable? Do you find errors in spelling, grammar, or usage? Do you see any evidence of bias? Are references provided? Errors and missing references should alert you that the data may be questionable.

Mode

Figure occurring most frequently The mode is simply the value that occurs most frequently. In our list $47,000 (for education, sociology, and the humanities) represents the mode because it occurs three times. The mode has the advantage of being easily determined—just a quick glance at a list of arranged values reveals it. Although researchers use mode infrequently, knowing the mode is useful in some situations; for example, if we wish to determine a group's preferences. To remember the meaning of mode, think about fashion: the most frequent response, the mode, is the most fashionable.

Figure 12.5 Understanding findings, conclusions, and recommendations

Finding: Managers perceive family matters to be inappropriate issues to discuss at work Conclusion: Managers are neither willing not trained to discuss family matters that may cause employees to miss work Recommendation: Provide managers with training in recognizing and working with personal and family matters that affect work

A work plan gives a complete picture of a project. Because the usefulness and quality of any report rest primarily on its data, you will want to develop a clear research strategy, which includes allocating plenty of time to locate sources of information.

For firsthand information you might interview people, prepare a survey, or even conduct a scientific experiment. For secondhand information, you will probably search electronic materials on the internet and printed materials such as books and magazines. your work plan describes how you expect to generate or collect data. Because data collection is a major part of writing, the next section of this chapter treats the topic more fully.

Manuscript Format

For longer, more formal reports, use the manuscript format. These reports are usually printed on plain paper instead of letterhead stationary or memo forms. They begin with a title followed by using the manuscript format in Chapter 13.

Memo and E-mail Formats

For short informal reports that stay within organizations, the memo format is appropriate. Memo reports begin within essential background info, using standard headings: Date, To, From, and Subject (which may be all caps or lowercase). Like letter reports, memo reports differ from regular memos in length, use of headings, and deliberate organization. Today, memo reports are rarely distributed in hard copy; rather they are attached to e-mails or, if short, contained in the body of e-mails.

Forms and Templates

Formerly, office workers used preprinted forms for repetitive data, such as monthly sales reports, performance appraisals, merchandise inventories, and personnel and financial reports. Today, such forms are available digitally. Employees can customize the templates and forms and print them out or distribute them electronically. Standardized headings on these forms save time for the writer. Forms make similar information easy to locate and ensure that all necessary information is provided.

Preparing a plan encourages you to evaluate your resources, set priorities, outline a course of action, and establish a schedule.

Having a plan keeps you on track and provides management a mens of measuring your progress.

Recommendations

If possible, make each recommendation a command. Note in Figure 12.4 that each recommendation begins with a verb. This structure sounds forceful and confident and helps the reader comprehend the information quickly. Avoid hedging words such as maybe and perhaps; they reduce the strength of recommendations.

Offer concluding thought

If relevant, express appreciation or describe your willingness to provide further information.

Provide a preview

If the report is over a page long, give the reader a brief overview of its organization.

Consider Incentives

If the survey is long, persuasive techniques may be necessary. Response rates can be increased by offering money (such as a $1 bill), coupons, gift certificates, books, or other gifts.

Why survey is necessary

In a cover letter or an opening paragraph, describe the need for the survey. Suggest how someone or something other than you will benefit. If appropriate, offer to send recipients a copy of the findings.

Staying on top of research data

In collecting search results, you can easily lose track of websites and articles you quoted. To document Web data that may change, as well as to manage all your other sources, you need a specific plan for saving the information. At the very least, you will want to create a working bibliography or list of references in which you record the URL of each electronic source. These techniques can help you stay in control of your data:

Product or service description

In jargon-free language, explain what you are providing, how it will benefit customers, and why it is better than existing products or services. For start-ups, explain why the business will be profitable. Investors aren't always looking for a unique product or service. Instead, they are searching for a concept whose growth potential distinguishes it from others competing for funds.

Business Reports - planning process

In many organizations, reports still take form of paper documents such as traditional memos and letters. Other reports, such as tax reports and profit-and-loss statements, present primarily numerical data. Many reports today are delivered and presented digitally - for instance, as e-mail messages, PDF (portable document format) files, or slide decks. These files can then be emailed, distributed on the company intranet, or posted not eh internet.

The business researcher who sees a correlation needs to ask why and how the two variables are related. In this way, apparent correlations stimulate investigation and present possible solutions to be explored.

In reporting correlations, you should avoid suggesting that a cause-and-effect relationship exists when none can be proved. Only sophisticated research methods can statistically prove correlations. Instead, present a correlation as a possible relationship (The data suggest that beginning salaries are related to years of education). Cautious statements followed by explanations gain you credibility and allow readers to make their own decisions.

Experienced writers may combine recommendations and conclusions.

In short reports writers may omit conclusions and move straight to recommendations. An important point about recommendations is that they include practical suggestions for solving the report problem. Furthermore, they are always the result of prior logical analysis.

Correlations

In tabulating and analyzing data, you may see relationships among two or more variables that help explain the findings. If your data for graduates' starting salaries also included years of education, you would doubtless notice that graduates with more years of education received higher salaries. A correlation may exist between years of education and starting salary.

Factoring for organization - breaking into subtopics by time, importance, component, criteria

In the planning stages, a report writer must also break the major investigative problem into subproblems. This process, sometimes called factoring, identifies issues to be investigated or possible solutions to the main problem.

Documentation

In writing business reports, you will often build on the ideas and words of others. In Western culture, whenever you "borrow" the ideas of others, you must give credit to your information sources. This is called documentation.

Formal Reports - parts Components of Informal and Formal Reports

Informal Business Reports: Introduction Body Conclusions Recommendations (if requested) Formal Business Reports: Cover Title Page Letter or Transmittal Table of contents List of figures Executive Summary Body Conclusions Recommendations (if requested) Appendix References

Writing Informational Reports

Introduction Begin Directly Provide a preview Supply background data selectively Divide the topic Body Arrange the subtopics logically Use clear headings Determine degree of formality Enhance readability with graphic highlighting Summary/concluding remarks When necessary, summarize the report Offer a concluding thought

Content

Is the purpose of the page to entertain, inform, convince, or sell? How would you classify this page (e.g., news, personal, advocacy, reference)? Who is the intended audience, based on content, tone, and style? Can you judge the overall value of the content compared with the other resources on this topic?

Prepare for the interview

Learn about the individual you are interviewing, and make sure you can pronounce the interviewee's name. Research the background and terminology of the topic. Let's say you are interviewing a corporate communication expert about producing an in-house newsletter. You ought to be familiar with terms such as font and software such as PagePlus and InDesign. In addition, be prepared by making a list of questions that pinpoint your focus on the topic. Ask the interviewee if you may record the talk. Familiarize yourself with the recording device beforehand.

Table of contents and Company description

List the page numbers and topics included in your plan. Identify the form of your business (proprietorship, partnership, or corporation) and its type (merchandising, manufacturing, or service). For existing companies, describe the company's founding, growth, sales, and profit.

Periodicals

Magazines, pamphlets, and journals are called periodicals because of their recurrent, or periodic, publication. Journals are compilations of scholarly articles. Articles in journals and other periodicals are extremely useful because they are concise, limited in scope, and current and can supplement information in books. Current publications are digitalized and available in full text.

Enhance readability with graphic highlighting

Make liberal use of bullets, numbered and lettered lists, headings, underlined items, and white space.

How digital reports are presented depends on their purpose.

Many slide presentations today are not intended for verbal delivery. Rather, these slide desks may feature more text than traditional slides but are also heavy on meaningful graphics. As stand-alone reports, slide decks are often posted online or e-mailed to busy executives who can read quickly and comprehend content faster in this format than in traditional formal reports.

Select the survey population carefully

Many surveys question a small group of people (a sample) and project the findings to a larger population. Let's say that a survey of your class reveals that the majority prefer , the Vietnamese beef and rice noodle soup. Can you then say that all students on your campus (or in the nation) prefer pho? To be able to generalize from a survey, you need to make the sample large enough. In addition, you need to determine whether the sample represents the larger population. For important surveys you will want to learn sampling techniques. As for pho, in a Sodexo survey the soup ranked among the top three comfort foods favored by American college students.

Median

Middle point in continuum The median represents the midpoint in a group of figures arranged from lowest to highest (or vice versa). The median is useful when extreme figures may warp the mean.

Credibility of Web Sources

Most Web users tend to assume that any information turned up by a search engine has somehow been evaluated as part of a valid selection process. Wrong! Unlike library-based research, information at many sites has not undergone the editing or scrutiny of scholarly publication procedures. The information we read in journals and most reputable magazines is reviewed, authenticated, and evaluated. Information on the Web is much less reliable than data from traditional sources. Wikis, blogs, and discussion forum entries illustrate this problem. They change constantly and may disappear fast, so that your source can't be verified. Many don't provide any references or reveal sources that are either obscure or suspect. Academic researchers prefer lasting, scholarly sources.

Online catalogs

Most libraries have computerized their card catalogs. Allows users to learn whether a book is located in the library or if it is unavailable. Hel you trace and borrow items from other area libraries if your college doesn't own them .

A work plan is useful because it outlines the issues to be investigated.

Notice that considerable; thought and discussion and even preliminary research are necessary to be able to develop a useful work plan.

Make it easy for respondents to return the survey

Researchers often provide prepaid self-addressed envelopes or business-reply envelopes. Low-cost Web survey software such as SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang help users develop simple, template-driven questions and allow survey takers to follow a link to take the survey.

Figure 11.11 Preparing a survey

Prewriting: Analyze, Anticipate, Adapt Drafting: Research, Organize, Draft Revising: Edit, Proofread, Evaluate 1. explain needs for survey 2. use groupings that do not overlap 3. Use scale questions to channel responses into quantified alternatives, a supposed to open-ended questions 4. allows respondent to add an answer in case options provided seem insufficient 5. Tells how to return survey form

Primary/Secondary Research

Primary data result from firsthand experience and observation. Secondary data comes from reading what others have experienced or observed and written down.

Printing pages

Printing pages is a handy way to gather and store information. Doing so enables you to have copies of important data that you can annotate or highlight. Make sure the URL prints with the document (usually on the bottom of the page). If not, write it on the page.

Limit the number of questions

Resist the temptation to ask for too much. Request only information you will use. Don't, for example, include demographic questions (income, gender, age, and so forth) unless the information is necessary to evaluate responses.

Moving From Findings to Recommendations

Recommendations evolve from the interpretation of the findings and conclusions. Consider the examples from the Marriott survey summarized in Figure 12.5.

Primary research examples

Red Bull, Monster Engergy, Rockstar and other top energy drink brands may be forced by the government to produce primary data based on ingredients and marketing claims in an investigation of energy drink health risks.

Informational Reports

Reports that present data without analysis or recommendations are primarily informational. For such reports, writers collect and organize facts, but they do not analyze the facts for readers. A trip report describing an employee's visit to a trade show, for example, presents information. Weekly bulleted status reports distributed by e-mail to a team record the activities of each group member and are shared with supervisors. Other reports that present information without analysis involve routine operations, compliance with regulations, and company policies and procedures.

Analytical Reports

Reports that provide data or findings, analysis, and conclusions are analytical. If requested, writers also supply recommendations. Analytical reports may intend to persuade readers to act or change their beliefs. For Example, if you say you work for a company that is considering a specific building for a women-only gym, and you are asked to study the location of stability. You may have to write a feasibly report, an analysis of alternatives, and a recommendation that attempts to persuade readers to accept that site.

Business Reports - Purpose

Routine reports keep managers informed about completed tasks, projects, and work in progress. Reports helps us understand and study systematically the challenges we encounter in business before we can outline the steps towards solving them.

Saving sources

Saving sources to a local drive or USB flash drive has advantages, including being able to open the document in a browser even if you don't have access to the Internet. More important, saving sources to disk or memory stick preserves information that may not be available later. Using either the File and Save As or the File and Save Page As menu command in your browser, you will be able to store the information permanently. Save images and other kinds of media by either right-clicking or command-clicking on the item, and selecting Save Picture As or Save Image As.

Solicited/Unsolicited proposals

Solicited proposals: An external proposal written in response to a request for proposals (RFP) Unsolicited proposals: An external proposal that has been written without being requested by the intended audience

Observation and Experimentation

Some kinds of primary data can be obtained only through firsthand observation and investigation. If you determine that you need observational data, then you need to plan carefully. Most important is deciding what or whom you are observing and how often those observations are necessary. For example, if you want to learn more about an organization's telephone customer service, you probably need to conduct an observation (along with interviews and perhaps even surveys). You will want to answer questions such as How long does a typical caller wait before a customer-service rep answers the call? and Is the service consistent? Recording 60-minute periods at various times throughout a week will give you a better picture than just observing for an hour on a Friday before a holiday.

Interviews

Some of the best report information, particularly on topics about which little has been written, comes from individuals. These individuals are usually experts or veterans in their fields. Consider both in-house and outside experts for business reports. Tapping these sources will call for in-person, telephone, or online interviews. To elicit the most useful data, try these techniques:

Range

Span between the highest and lowest values Mean, median, and mode figures are especially helpful when the range of values is also known. Knowing the range enables readers to put mean and median figures into perspective. This knowledge also prompts researchers to wonder why such a range exists, thus stimulating hunches and further investigation to solve problems.

A good work plan includes:

Statement of the problem (based on key background/contextual information) Statement of the purpose including scope with limitations and significance Research strategy including a description of potential sources and methods of collecting data Tentative outline that factors the problem into manageable chunks Work schedule

Divide the topic

Strive to group the facts or findings into three to five roughly equal segments that do not overlap.

Use clear headings

Supply functional or talking headings (at least one per page) that describe each important section.

Surveys

Surveys collect data from groups of people. Before developing new products, for example, companies often survey consumers to learn their needs. The advantages of surveys are that they gather data economically and efficiently. Snail-mailed or e-mailed surveys reach big groups nearby or at great distances. Moreover, people responding to mailed or e-mailed surveys have time to consider their answers, thus improving the accuracy of the data.

Watch your time

Tell interviewees in advance how much time you expect to need for the interview. Don't overstay your appointment. If your subject rambles, gently try to draw him or her back to the topic; otherwise, you may run out of time before asking all your questions.

Typical Report Formats

The format of a report depends on its length, topic, audience, and purpose. After considering these elements, you will probably choose from among the following formats: Letter, Memo & E-mail, Manuscript

Conclusions/Recommendations - what's the difference?

The sections devoted to conclusions and recommendations are the most widely read portions of a report. Knowledgeable readers go straight to the conclusions to see what the report writer thinks the data mean. Because conclusions summarize and explain the findings, they represent the heart of a report.

Avoid leading or ambiguous questions

The wording of a question can dramatically affect responses to it. When respondents were asked, "Are we spending too much, too little, or about the right amount on assistance to the poor?" 13 percent responded Too much. When the same respondents were asked, "Are we spending too much, too little, or about the right amount on welfare?" 44 percent responded Too much. Because words have different meanings for different people, you must strive to use objective language and pilot test your questions with typical respondents. Ask neutral questions (Do CEOs earn too much, too little, or about the right amount?). Also, avoid queries that really ask two or more things (Should the salaries of CEOs be reduced or regulated by government legislation?). Instead, break them into separate questions (Should the salaries of CEOs be reduced by government legislation? Should the salaries of CEOs be regulated by government legislation?).

Secondary Research

These same sets of data become secondary after they have been published and, lets say, a newspaper reporter uses them in an article about energy drinks. Secondary data are easier and cheaper to gather than primary data, which mint involve interviewing large groups and sending out questionnaires.

The purpose of documentation As a careful writer, you should take pains to document report data properly for the following reasons:

To strengthen your argument. Including good data from reputable sources will convince readers of your credibility and the logic of your reasoning. To protect yourself against charges of plagiarism. Acknowledging your sources keeps you honest. Plagiarism, which is unethical and in some cases illegal, is the act of using others' ideas without proper documentation. To instruct the reader. Citing references enables readers to pursue a topic further and make use of the information themselves. To save time. The world of business moves so quickly that words and ideas must often be borrowed—which is very acceptable when you give credit to your sources.

Conduct a pilot study

Try the questionnaire with a small group so that you can remedy any problems. In the survey shown in Figure 11.11, students generally favored cloth bags and were willing to pay for them. Male students opposed purchasing cloth bags. By adding a gender category, researchers could verify this finding. The pilot study also revealed the need to ensure an appropriate representation of male and female students in the survey.

Indexes

University libraries today offer online access to The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, an index now offered by EBSCO, a major provider of online databases. Contemporary business writers rely almost totally on electronic indexes and research databases to locate references, abstracts, and full-text articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers, such as The New York Times.

Determine degree of formality

Use an informal, conversational writing style unless the audience expects a more formal tone.

Letter Format

Use for short informal reports (usually eight or fewer pages) addressed outside an organization. Prepared on office stationary, a letter report contains a date, inside address, salutation, and complimentary close. Although they may carry information similar to that found in correspondence, letter reports usually are longer and show more careful organization that most letters. They also include headings.

Card catalogs

Very few libraries still maintain card catalogs with all books indexed on 3-by-5 cards alphabetically by author, title, and subject

Currency

What is the date of the Web page? Is some of the information obviously out-of-date? If the information is time sensitive and the site has not been updated recently, the site is probably not reliable.

Supply background data selectively

When readers are unfamiliar with the topic, briefly fill in the necessary details.

Basic Report Functions and Types Direct Strategy:

When the purpose for writing is presented close to the beginning of a report, the organizational strategy is direct. Informational reports open with an introduction, which is followed by the facts and a summary.

Authority

Who publishes or sponsors this Web page? What makes the presenter an authority? Is information about the author or creator available? Is a contact address available for the presenter? Learn to be skeptical about data and assertions from individuals and organizations whose credentials are not verifiable.

Although a work plan outline guides the investigation, it does not determine the content or order of the final report.

You may, for example, study five possible solutions to a problem. If two prove to be useless, your reports may discuss only three winners. Moreover, you will organize the report to accomplish your goal and satisfy the audience. A busy executive who is familiar with a topic may prefer to read the conclusions and recommendations before a discussion of the findings.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary, which is written last, highlights the main points of your business plan and should not exceed two pages. It should conclude by introducing the parts of the plan and asking for financial backing. Some business plans combine the mission statement and executive summary.

A Database

is a collection of information stored digitally so that it is accessible by computer or mobile electronic devices and searchable. Databases provide bibliographic information (titles of documents and brief abstracts) and full-text documents. Various databases contain a rich array of magazine, newspaper, and journal articles, as well as newsletters, business reports, company profiles, government data, reviews, and directories. The five databases most useful to business writers are ABI/INFORM Complete (ProQuest), Business Source Premier (EBSCO), JSTOR Business, Factiva (Dow Jones), and LexisNexis Academic. Figure 11.8 shows the ABI/INFORM Complete search menu.