Research Report

Research Report Criteria and Guidelines

You must use the formal report format illustrated on pages 439-452 of your textbook. Paragraphs must be single-spaced, with double-spacing between paragraphs, between bullet points, and between headings or subheadings and text.

The body of your report must be no less than eight and no more than ten pages.

You must use a minimum of six credible sources, at least two of which must be scholarly articles. The websites of the two companies you are comparing will count as no more than two sources, even though you may use and cite information from different areas of the websites. In other words, you cannot cite two different articles or pages from the website of one of your companies and count the two citations as two of your required sources—you must cite the two articles or pages separately, but the company website as a whole will count as one source.

You must cite your references within your report and in your “Works Cited” in MLA style. You will find a link under Research Report in your course menu that will take you to the Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide. Use this guide if you have questions about how to cite a particular source.

A dictionary, encyclopedia, or your textbook must be included in “Works Cited” if quoted from, but none of these will count as a source.

You must include the following parts:

o Title Page o Table of Contents o List of Illustrations o Executive Summary o Body (divided into sections)

 Introduction (including purpose, scope, assumptions, and limitations)  Main Headings  Conclusions and Recommendation

o Works Cited

You must type your research report using a serif typeface, such as Times New Roman or Georgia. Font size must not exceed 12 for normal text or 14 for headings. Margins must be one inch on every side.

Tables, charts, images, or other visuals must be appropriately sized and relevant—not included simply to take up space.

Your report will be submitted through a Turnitin assignment link. If your originality report shows more than 20% similarity, only extreme scrutiny will prevent a serious grade reduction. An originality report showing more than 25% similarity will result in an automatic grade of zero and may result in other disciplinary action. You may make multiple submissions to the Turnitin assignment link through the due date, but be aware that it may take 24 hours or more before you receive an originality report on re-submissions. No late reports will be accepted.

Completion of the research report is required for course credit; failure to submit a research report will result in a grade of F for the course.