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10ResearchBusinessProposalsandPlanningBusinessReportsFINAL.pptxStrategic Business Communications
Research, Business Proposals, and Planning for Business Reports
Today we’re going to take a look at how to research and plan for business reports. Why is this essential? In business, people may only ever know you through your business writing, which often comes in the form of business reports. Doing your sound research and presenting your data in a way that meets your objective is a crucial step in being seen as a credible business communicator.
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Analyzing Your Audience for Business Reports
Steps in research-based business reports:
Identify what decision makers want to accomplish.
Spend time with your target audience of decision makers to carefully consider their primary business goals, research objectives, and expectations.
The first step in developing research-based business reports is identifying what decision makers want to accomplish. In many cases, they will commission the reports and have clear goals in mind. In other cases, they do not have clear goals. In all cases, you should spend time with your target audience of decision makers to carefully consider their primary business goals, research objectives, and expectations. During the research and report writing process, consider updating decision makers and involving them in the process. This increases the likelihood that you will develop a report that is useful to them.
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Gathering Information
Secondary research
The analysis of data collected by others with no direction from you or members of your organization
Primary research
The analysis of data that you, people from your organization, or others under your direction have collected
Business research can be broadly categorized as primary and secondary. Primary research refers to the analysis of data that you, people from your organization, or others under your direction (i.e., consultants) have collected. Secondary research refers to the analysis of data collected by others with no direction from you or members of your organization.
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Gathering Information through Primary Research
Survey research is increasingly common because of the ease with which online surveys can be administered.
Survey research generally involves administering written questionnaires.
In this chapter, we focus on one of the most common types of primary research: surveys. Survey research is increasingly common because of the ease with which online surveys can be administered (see Technology Tips: Using Online Survey Software). Generally, survey research involves administering written questionnaires.
Qualtrics is web-based software that allows the user to create surveys and generate reports without having any previous programming knowledge.
Qualtrics enables you to do surveys, feedback and polls using a variety of distribution means. Results can be viewed in reports and can be downloaded.
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Creating Research Objectives
| Less Effective | Determine how satisfied our conference guests are. | This objective is not specific enough. The statement does not lead to a focused approach to research. |
| More Effective | Determine guest satisfaction among conference attendees for key conference amenities and services. | This objective is specific. The statement leads to a focused approach to research. |
| Less Effective | Understand green meetings. | This objective is not specific. It is too broad and lacks context. |
| More Effective | Identify key trends impacting the market demand for green meetings held at hotels. | This objective is specific. It focuses on a context that is relevant to the Prestigio. |
Once you have identified what your audience of decisions makers needs, you should carefully define your research problems. Defining research problems involves stating your research objectives in specific, targeted, and achievable statements.
Let’s compare the effectiveness of some research objectives.
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Analyze Your Data
Learn as much as you can about forecasting and other forms of statistical and quantitative analysis.
Learn as much as you can about spreadsheet, database, and statistical software.
Once you’ve conducted your surveys, your next step is to analyze the data. As you develop your primary research skills, consider the following advice:
Learn as much as you can about forecasting and other forms of statistical and quantitative analysis. Unless you apply good principles of analysis, you can easily get flawed results. Furthermore, unless you are careful, you can allow your preconceived ideas and biases to affect how you interpret the data.
Learn as much as you can about spreadsheet, database, and statistical software. You likely will have a course in spreadsheet software (i.e., Excel). Make the most of this training and continue experimenting with it to feel comfortable analyzing data. Also, develop a basic understanding of databases. Finally, statistical software can help you conduct your analyses far more rapidly and efficiently than spreadsheet software can.
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Analyze Your Data
Rely on others in your analysis.
Stay focused on your business problem and look for the big picture.
As you develop your primary research skills, consider the following advice:
Rely on others in your analysis. You will likely work with colleagues who have quantitative analysis skills in certain disciplines and for certain types of business problems, and you can turn to them for technical help. Also, you can turn to others for analytical help, because when you analyze data in a group, you are less likely to inadvertently misinterpret the data.
Stay focused on your business problem and look for the big picture. Often, company databases or survey data contain so much information that you can easily be overwhelmed by the many ways to use it. As you discipline yourself to focus on your key research problems, you are less likely to get bogged down looking at tangential issues.
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Communicate with Charts and Tables
After conducting survey research or other forms of business research, you typically have many statistics and figures that you could include in reports to decision makers.
Be careful:
Don’t overload your audience members with data.
Remember to focus on your main message.
After conducting survey research or other forms of business research, you typically have many statistics and figures that you could include in reports to decision makers. However, presenting this information effectively is challenging.
Be careful:
Overloading your audience members with data is a sure way to guarantee they’ll forget almost everything you say.” Although most managers communicate with numbers with the intention of persuading and inspiring, they most often end up confusing or boring their audience.
Don’t forget to focus on your main message, which is typically nonnumerical.
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Designing Effective Charts
Line charts
Useful for depicting events and trends over time
Pie charts
Useful for illustrating the pieces within a whole
Bar charts
Useful to compare amounts or quantities
Charts can effectively convey complex numerical information in a simple, appealing format. While dozens of chart options are available, this section focuses on the three types used primarily within the workplace: line charts, pie charts, and bar charts.
Generally, line charts are useful for depicting events and trends over time. For example, stock prices over time would make the most sense when presented in the form of a line chart.
Pie charts are useful for illustrating the pieces within a whole. Market share would be best illustrated with a pie chart.
Bar charts are useful to compare amounts or quantities. The bar chart, with its many forms, is the most versatile of these charts since it can be used to compare many types of data.
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Create Effective Charts
As you create charts, focus on the following criteria:
Title descriptiveness
Focal points
Information sufficiency
Ease of processing
Takeaway message
As you create charts, focus on the following criteria: (a) title descriptiveness, (b) focal points, (c) information sufficiency, (d) ease of processing, and, most important, (e) the takeaway message.
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Create Effective Charts
Focal points
Should support one main idea
Can be visually generated in many interesting ways
Title descriptiveness
Explain the primary point of the chart
Be short enough for the reader to process quickly
Information sufficiency
Contain enough information for the reader to quickly and reasonably understand the ideas that are being displayed.
Most readers look first at the chart’s title to grasp its message. Thus, the title should explain the primary point of the chart. However, it must be short enough for the reader to process quickly (generally less than ten words). In some cases you may add a subtitle if the short title is not sufficient.
A chart should draw the reader’s attention to the most-critical relationships and ideas. Much like unified paragraphs (Chapter 6), in which all sentences focus on one main idea, each of the chart’s focal points should support one main idea. The focal points can be visually generated in many interesting ways—for example, font choices (bold, italics), color, size, and callout boxes.
Just how much information should you include in your charts? Charts should contain enough information for the reader to quickly and reasonably understand the ideas that are being displayed. Clear labels and legends should demonstrate what is being measured and in what units. In some cases, readers will expect to know data values at each point within the chart.
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Create Effective Charts
Ease of processing
By selecting only the necessary information and placing labels and data at appropriate places, you enable your reader to process the information quickly and efficiently.
Takeaway message
Essence of your chart
How the information, title, focal points, and other formatting combine to convey a lasting message
Another basic purpose of a chart is to convey complicated information as quickly as possible. The more information you provide, the more difficult it may be for some readers to process the chart quickly. By selecting only the necessary information and placing labels and data at appropriate places, you enable your reader to process the information quickly and efficiently. Ideally, your reader should grasp the key ideas within 10 to 15 seconds.
An effective chart leaves a lasting impression about your key point. Will your readers remember your intended main message in two hours? If not, your chart had little impact. The takeaway is the essence of your chart—how the information, title, focal points, and other formatting combine to convey a lasting message.
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Evaluate Data Quality
Reliability
Relates to how dependable the data is—how current and representative
Relevance
Relates to how well the data applies to your specific business problem
Adaptability
Relates to how well the research can be altered or revised to meet your specific business problem
As you collect secondary research, carefully evaluate it in terms of data quality. Concern yourself with the following issues:
Reliability relates to how dependable the data is—how current and representative.
Relevance of the data relates to how well they apply to your specific business problem.
Adaptability relates to how well the research can be altered or revised to meet your specific business problem.
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Evaluate Data Quality
Expertise
Relates to the skill and background of the researchers to address your business problem
Biases
Tendencies to see issues from particular perspectives
As you collect secondary research, carefully evaluate it in terms of data quality. Concern yourself with the following issues:
Expertise relates to the skill and background of the researchers to address your business problem.
Biases are tendencies to see issues from particular perspectives. The possibility of biases does not necessarily imply that secondary research is unreliable; however, when using such research, view the data cautiously and keep in mind the ultimate objectives of the researchers.
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Strengths and Limitations of Data Quality for Primary and Secondary Research Sources
| Reliability | Relevance | Adaptability | Expert-based | Bias | |
| Primary research | High | High | High | Medium–High | Goals and preexisting notions of the researcher |
| White papers | Low–High | Medium–High | Low | Medium–High | Organizational mission and objectives |
| Industry publications | Medium–High | Medium–High | Low | Medium–High | Mission of the publication/editing team |
| Business publications | Medium–High | Low–Medium | Low | Low–High | Mission of the publication/editing team |
Some secondary research reports cost thousands of dollars to purchase, whereas others are free. You have a variety of options to choose from with secondary research, including white papers, industry publications, business periodicals, scholarly journals, external blogs, and business books. Each of these types of secondary data has benefits and drawbacks. Thus, you will inevitably face trade-offs as you select secondary data.
Pause this slide and review strengths and limitations of primary and secondary research sources.
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Strengths and Limitations of Data Quality for Primary and Secondary Research Sources
| Reliability | Relevance | Adaptability | Expert-Based | Bias | |
| Scholarly journals | High | Low | Low | High | Theoretical significance |
| External blogs, wikis, and other websites | Low–High | Medium–High | Low | Low–High | Writers’ career objectives |
| Business books | Medium–High | Low–High | Low | Medium–High | The latest, greatest idea mentality; easy fixes |
Here are additional primary and secondary research sources and their associated strengths and limitations.
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Conduct Library Research
Aside from a significant collection of books across a wide range of disciplines and topics, your library likely contains a wealth of digital resources.
You likely also have access to thousands of company and industry reports and scholarly journals.
Most university libraries have rich stores of information on business. Aside from a significant collection of books across a wide range of disciplines and topics, your library likely contains a wealth of digital resources. You likely also have access to thousands of company and industry reports (each of which cost hundreds and thousands of dollars to consumers); articles from hundreds of business periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, and many others; industry-specific periodicals and reports; scholarly journals; and many, many more avenues for research.
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Document Your Research
Decision makers expect excellent documentation of your information because this helps them evaluate the credibility of your report.
As you collect secondary research, keeping track of the information sources is critical. Decision makers expect excellent documentation of your information because this helps them evaluate the credibility of your report. Since they often make high-stakes decisions based on reports, they expect to know exactly what the basis is for facts, conclusions, and recommendations you present.
That’s where the use of in-text citations and a list of References becomes crucial.
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Use Online Information for Business Research
Always evaluate data quality.
Do more than just “Google it.”
Go to reputable business and industry websites and conduct searches.
Find online discussions and forums about your selected topic.
Search beyond text-based information.
Be persistent.
You will also likely use Internet searches outside your library system to find relevant information on your topic. As you do so, keep in mind the following strategies:
Always evaluate data quality. The range in quality on the web is immense. Make sure you’re not using sources that are uninformed or inaccurate.
Do more than just “Google it.” You can employ many strategies for online research, including the following:
Go to reputable business and industry websites and conduct searches.
Find online discussions and forums about your selected topic.
Search beyond text-based information.
Be persistent. In the age of the Internet, many of us are accustomed to quick answers. Getting solid business information, however, rarely involves quick answers. Try as many approaches as you can to find the data you need.
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Apply the FAIR Test to Your Research Data and Charts
As you collect, analyze, and present data to others, ensure that you provide all the relevant facts, even if they don’t fit into convenient conclusions.
Grant access to your data.
Remember the impacts of your data on others and present it with respect.
As you collect, analyze, and present data to others, ensure that you provide all the relevant facts, even if they don’t fit into convenient conclusions. Grant access to your data. Your full disclosure of data to colleagues, clients, and others in your business dealings will pay long-term dividends in terms of credibility. Also, remember the impacts of your data on others and present it with respect.
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Strategic Business Communications
Research, Business Proposals, and Planning for Business Reports
Sometimes the only way people know you in the workplace is through your business writing, which often comes in the form of business reports. It’s essential that you have a plan to define your research objective, gather research through surveys or seek and reference reputable secondary sources, and present you data in an ethical manner. Your credibility, an often your job, rests on this.
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