Chapter 9—Planning the Report and Managing Data
TRUE/FALSE
1. A business report is defined as an orderly, subjective presentation of information for decision-making
purposes.
2. A business report is an organized presentation of information that is used to make decisions and solve
problems.
3. Product mix is continuously adjusted to respond to changes in technology, legal requirements, the
economy, and social preferences.
4. The two major types of data you will use are secondary and primary data.
5. The first step before collecting data is to define the report’s purpose and analyze the intended audience.
6. Managers need information to make good business decisions.
7. Secondary data may be published or unpublished.
8. Primary data collection includes three kinds of surveys: questionnaires, interviews, and telephone
inquiries.
9. Information on a webpage is considered unpublished secondary data because it is not widely
disseminated through primary sources.
10. Reports travel upward, downward, and laterally within the organization, so reading and writing reports
is a typical part of nearly every manager’s responsibilities.
11. Reviewing secondary data can provide sources for additional information, suggest methods of primary
research, or give clues for questionnaire items.
12. Situational reports are only generated once.
13. Situational reports are challenging because they require the writer to start from “scratch.”
14. If ten percent of all the employees at Target responded to a survey, we could conclude that the
responses represented the views of the remaining employees.
15. Nearly all reporting tasks use secondary data.
16. According to one study, 40% of Internet users don’t know the difference between company-paid
Internet sites and independent Internet sites.
17. Library databases include information already evaluated by scholars and publishers.
18. The Internet is the only source to find credible and current source materials for research reports.
19. Population data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1980 may be valid and relevant to a report you
prepare today.
20. Using the Internet for credible sources is the best way to save time when searching for scholarly
sources.
21. If you use verbs and adverbs as keywords, your search will return a larger number of results than if
you use nouns as your keywords.
22. Using the OR search operator decreases the number of hits.
23. Commercial (.com) websites have up-to-date information to use for research reports and are the most
credible.
24. Readers should be more concerned about the quality of information in a scholarly journal than about
the quality of information on a recently updated website.
25. Websites of federal government institutions are designated by a “.fed” ending.
26. When you conduct a questionnaire, you survey people by telephone, email, mail, or interviews.
27. The point of surveying people is to collect primary data.
28. You may get more valid responses when you interview people face-to-face.
29. Several examples of good, credible sources are: Wikipedia, the Encyclopedia, Newsweek Magazine,
People Magazine, and Time Magazine.
30. Mail questionnaires are most effective when sent to a target audience with similar interests and
backgrounds.
31. The anonymity of a questionnaire increases the validity of some responses.
32. Be sure that all the questions you include in a questionnaire are necessary to help you solve the
problem.
33. The big disadvantage of questionnaires is the low response rate, and those who do respond may not be
representative (typical) of the population.
34. Pilot-test your questionnaire on a broad cross-section of people, and make any needed improvements
as you continue the survey.
35. If you ask about sensitive issues such as age or salary, narrow the categories presented as alternatives
to encourage more specific responses.
36. Free-response items are the easiest questions to tabulate and to be freely interpreted.
37. No questionnaire is complete without directions plus a name and return address.
38. To avoid biasing responses to your questions, arrange the alternatives logically, such as in alphabetical
or chronological order.
39. When the categories for a questionnaire item are mutually exclusive, you are covering every possible
alternative.
40. Write the cover letter that accompanies a questionnaire as a persuasive message.
41. The point of a table summarizing the data gathered for a report is to convey important trends.
42. Although a table has less visual impact than a graph, it is an efficient way to present numerical data
and allow readers to compare figures.
43. Tables typically appear above the text that first refers to them.
44. Your readers should be able to understand each table without having to read the corresponding section
of the report.
45. If you create a table based on primary data, you should include a source note below it.
46. Abbreviations and symbols should not be used in tables.
47. Cross-tabulation is the process of analyzing two or more pieces of data together.
48. When simplifying a table, you should strive to provide more specifics rather than risk reducing
comprehensibility.
49. To simplify a table, you might group together negative responses such as “strongly disagree” and
“disagree” or positive responses such as “strongly agree” and “agree.”
50. When presenting percentages that total 100%, you should avoid rounding numbers down.
51. When arranging data in tables, you will confuse readers if you use a different organizational pattern
than the pattern you used for questions in the questionnaire.
52. Presenting data in charts adds visual appeal and enhances reader comprehension.
53. Use a chart when individual values are more important than the overall picture of what the information
represents.
54. Label all types of charts in your report as figures, and number them consecutively, separately from
tables.
55. Line charts are effective for portraying changes in data over time.
56. When preparing a line chart, begin the horizontal axis with zero, even when the amounts are large.
57. Bar charts are graphs with horizontal or vertical bars representing values.
58. The best use of a bar chart is to compare several variables at a certain point or over a specific time
period.
59. A pie chart is most effective for comparing trends in the overall magnitude or amount of various items.
60. To avoid confusing readers, pie charts should contain no more than four wedges.
61. Wedges in a pie chart are usually arranged clockwise in descending order or in another logical order,
starting at 12 o’clock.
62. Charts are easier to comprehend and interpret when they are presented in a three-dimensional format.
63. You should reinforce key points in your report by presenting the information in both tables and charts.
64. Before you begin interpreting data, be sure the information is relevant, complete, and accurate.
65. When analyzing data, first look at each piece alone, then look at each in combination with other data,
and finally synthesize all your findings.
66. When you synthesize data, you look at how the tables and charts explain or deviate from the trends
you are interpreting.
67. Pace your analysis of the data in your report to avoid overwhelming your reader with too many facts
and figures presented too quickly.
68. You should discuss the overall finding(s) in your report before discussing cross-tabulation data and
pointing out questions raised by the data.
69. Researchers have an ethical obligation to truthfully disclose all data when respondents ask.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
70. Which of the following statements about reports is not correct?
a.
The report must provide the information that managers need to make sound decisions or
solve problems.
b.
The information contained in the report must be based on factual data.
c.
Subjective statements such as conclusions and recommendations must be ethical.
d.
The data must be presented objectively so decision makers can rely on the report when
making decisions that affect the organization’s well-being.
e.
As long as all the information is included, a disorganized report will not prevent the reader
from locating needed data.
71. A business report must be
a.
well supported.
b.
changed.
c.
developed.
d.
located.
72. Before a writer collects data, they must
a.
define the report purpose.
b.
interpret the data.
c.
solve the problem.
d.
consider ethical dimensions.
73. Which of the following do not generally yield primary data?
a.
surveys
b.
observations
c.
interviews
d.
diaries
e.
experiments
74. Which of the following is not a source of secondary data?
a.
interviews concerning the problem at hand
b.
company records of personnel data
c.
books, brochures, pamphlets, and technical reports
d.
Internet resources
e.
scholarly journals and business magazines
75. When you rely on primary data, you have more control over all of the following except
a.
accuracy.
b.
completeness.
c.
factoring.
d.
relevance.
e.
objectivity.
76. Which statement about primary and secondary data collection is correct?
a.
It is important to start your data collection by designing primary data-collection
instruments.
b.
Most reports do not include secondary data.
c.
Studying secondary data can provide the researcher with sources for additional
information.
d.
After collecting primary data, you will discover ways of collecting secondary research.
e.
Rediscovering existing information is preferable to spending time collecting secondary
data.
77. You should not use secondary data if
a.
the researcher had a vested interest in the study’s outcome.
b.
appropriate procedures were used to collect the data.
c.
the data reflects a high number of responses.
d.
the data is old but remains accurate and relevant.
e.
it is confirmed by several independent sources.
78. If you conduct a search using the keyword communicate, the results will include citations for
a.
the word communication.
b.
the word communicators.
c.
the word communicate.
d.
the word communicating.
e.
the root commun.
79. Which of the following statements about information on the Internet is not accurate?
a.
Web-based sources are dynamic and therefore credible.
b.
No central group is responsible for checking the accuracy of posted information.
c.
Users need to scrutinize Web-based data more carefully than published, peer-reviewed
data.
d.
Anyone can put nearly any type of information on a website.
e.
The quality of information on the Internet can vary widely.
80. Users should be especially careful to evaluate the information on ____ for accuracy, fairness, and
coverage.
a.
government websites
b.
advocacy websites and personal home pages
c.
peer-reviewed journal pages
d.
Boolean websites
e.
educational institutions’ websites
81. To get valid and reliable data from your audience your language must be
a.
clear and concise.
b.
in English.
c.
well-developed.
d.
decision-based.
82. You should evaluate the objectivity of Internet resources because:
a.
not all site sponsors have the same motivation in presenting information.
b.
content that is current should have appropriate citations with hyperlinks.
c.
all statistical data should be clearly labeled and in a form that is easy to read.
d.
you need to know whether the material is copyrighted or can be copied into your
document.
e.
you don’t want grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors.
83. When considering the quality of a Web-based information source, you should:
a.
steer clear of commercial pages operated with a profit motive in mind.
b.
check newsgroups for background about the pages you have consulted.
c.
avoid using sites that include material protected by copyright.
d.
use pages that have abundant hyperlinks to outside sources protected by copyright.
e.
check for phone numbers or addresses to verify the legitimacy of the site sponsor.
84. What is one way you can determine the authority of an Internet resource?
a.
Check whether the sponsor recently updated the page.
b.
Check for the name of the copyright holder.
c.
Check for well-supported arguments on both sides.
d.
Check for links to multiple sites.
e.
Check for typographical errors.
85. Which of the following do you not have to consider when evaluating the quality of Internet resources?
a.
the date the content was written or revised
b.
sources for factual information on a page
c.
the sponsorship of the website
d.
the name, address, and telephone number for verification
e.
the number of links to related newsgroups and listservs
86. The most frequently used method of collecting data for business research is the
a.
questionnaire.
b.
interview.
c.
experiment.
d.
observation.
e.
online database search.