CHAPTER 16
THE RESEARCH REPORT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this chapter you will learn:
16-1 To learn the importance of the marketing research report
16-2 To know how to position the report for the audience
16-3 To learn what plagiarism is, why it is a serious problem, and how to properly
reference sources
16-4 To learn the elements that should be included in the marketing research report
16-5 To learn the basic guidelines and principles for writing effective marketing research
reports
16-6 To know how to accurately represent data using visuals, such as figures, tables,
charts, and graphs
16-7 To learn how to make visuals, such as tables and charts, using SPSS
16-9 To examine alternate ways to report findings
16-10 To know methods for disseminating results across the organization, including
dashboards
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The Importance of the Marketing Research Report
• Improving the Efficiency of Report Writing
Know Your Audience
Avoid Plagiarism!
Elements of the Report
• Front Matter
o Title Page
o Letter of Authorization
o Letter/Memo of Transmittal
o Table of Contents
o List of Illustrations
o Abstract/Executive Summary
• Body
o Introduction
o Research Objectives
o Method
o Method or Methodology?
o Results
o Limitations
o Conclusions and Recommendations
• End Matter
Guidelines and Principles for the Written Report
• Headings and Subheadings
• Visuals
• Style
Using Visuals: Tables and Figures
• Tables
• Pie Charts
• Bar Charts
• Line Graphs
• Flow diagrams
Producing an Appropriate Visual
Presenting Your Research Orally
Alternative Ways to Present Findings
• Videos
• Infographics
Disseminating Results Through-out an Organization
• Dashboards
KEY TERMS
Marketing research report Dashboards
Infographics Front matter
Title page Letter of authorization
Letter of transmittal Memo of transmittal
Table of contents List of illustrations
Tables Figures
Abstract/executive summary Body
Introduction Research objectives
Method Methodology
Plagiarism Results
Limitations Conclusions
Recommendations End matter
Appendices Reference list
Endnotes Headings
Subheadings Visuals
Topic sentence Body of the paragraph
Transitional sentence Oral presentation
Tables Top-two box scores
Pie charts Bar charts
Line graphs Flow diagrams
Data visualization
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
1. Although the comments in the chapter about good form, proper format, and
professional appearance of the research report are indisputable, a way to convince
students of these necessities of report preparation is to show them a report that does
not possess these characteristics. If an instructor has had an experience where a
student team or an individual student’s report was especially atrocious, it may be
useful to make overhead transparencies of selected “bad” spots and show them to the
2. As instructors review the various sections of a research report, an effective approach
is to show or give students examples of each one. Use student reports from previous
classes, or use professional reports that have been acquired from consulting, business
contacts, or colleagues.
3. A form of oral presentation that is not emphasized in the chapter, but one that is
nonetheless important is the use of notebook or personal computers to make and
display “slide shows.” With the use of graphics programs, bullet charts, tables, and
visuals can be produced. Special equipment can be used to project the images, in
color, on an overhead screen during the oral presentation. If instructors have this
equipment available, they should consider using it with sample visual aids to illustrate
this presentation mode’s effectiveness to students.
4. If students are to prepare team research project reports for sponsors, there is a concern
about quality control. One way to gain uniformity in team reports is to provide
students with copies of previous reports and to tell them to use these as “templates”
for form, format, flow, and style. Some instructors retain word processor files of
finished reports and provide them to students as “templates” or electronic examples.
After all, this is the way practicing marketing researchers prepare their reports.
5. We have included step-by-step instructions on how to use SPSS for Windows table
creation and editing capabilities as well as step-by-step instructions on how to use the
SPSS chart editor to produce professional quality graphs. If students are familiar with
word processing, spreadsheet, graphics, or other software and can produce
professional quality tables and graphs with these, they have the option of using these
programs. SPSS output is transportable to other software as raw data tables. For
instance a copy-and-paste operation will transport an SPSS table into Excel
(Microsoft Office) as a pivot table.
6. With team projects, students sometimes fail to utilize specialization. That is, the team
members should identify members’ special skills and allocate the work of the project
accordingly. For instance, one team member may be the statistical analysis specialist,
another may be the graphics person, and another may be the report writer. It is also
prudent to have the team identify an “enforcer” or someone who makes sure that the
specialists perform their work on time.
7. The Global Motors integrated case can be used as the basis for a complete report
because is has the problem statement, research objectives, research method, and
dataset. To do so, would be an extension of the Global Motors case at the end of
Chapter 16.
ACTIVE LEARNING EXERCISES
Take a Tour of an Online Marketing Research Report Service
To take a closer look at Burke’s online reporting writing software, Digital Dashboard, go
to www.digitaldashboard.com. Click on “About Digital Dashboard
.” Read about the
features and take a look at the example output pages. (Don’t run the demonstration yet!)
Note the features “In the Customer’s Words,” “Individual Reports,” and “Data
Collection Status Report.” When you have read all the features, it is time to take the tour,
noted at the bottom of the screen. (The program will run automatically—just give it a few
seconds.) Watch for features such as the data filter, executive summary, trends over time,
comparing the results of significant subgroups, the ability to filter to examine any
subgroup results desired, the ability to search for verbatim comments, the ability to
conduct statistical testing using the report software, and the ability to create your own
charts and titles and transfer data to spreadsheets. Can you see how such tools can make
the reporting process more efficient and the report more usable for clients?
This exercise is a demonstration of a report preparation program available to Burke, Inc.
clients and subscribers. There are no questions for students to answer, but reviewing the
web site and watching the demonstration may generate some discussion of the various
capabilities of the Digital Dashboard.
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the relative importance of the marketing research report to other stages in
the marketing research process.
The point in the chapter is repeated here. The marketing research report is the product
2. What is the derivation of the word plagiarism?
3. What are the components of the marketing research report?
Review question. This question requires students to itemize the various components
of a marketing research report.
4. When should you write a memo? When should you write a letter?
Use a letter of transmittal to release or deliver the document to an organization for
5. Should you use “method” or “methodology” to describe how the research was
conducted? Why?
6. Distinguish among results, conclusions, and recommendations.
The results section is the major portion of the report. It logically presents the findings
7. When should you acknowledge you have a limitation/s in your report?
8. When should you use a subheading?
9. What are the components of a readable, logical paragraph?
10. What are some elements of good style in report writing?
11. What are the key features of a table?
12. What visual would be the best at displaying the relative changes in spending between
four promotion mix variables over time?
Line charts are particularly useful for illustrating relative size or static comparisons.
13. What kind of visual would you create if you wanted to use images of people to
illustrate the differences in employment levels among three industries?
14. What measures should you take to avoid misrepresenting information through
visuals?
A marketing researcher should always follow the doctrine of “full–disclosure.” This
15. Go online and search for examples of marketing research reports. Chances are good
that you will be able to find several reports of various kinds. Examine the reports.
What commonalities do they have in terms of the sections that the authors have
created? Look at the sections carefully. What types of issues were addressed in the
introduction section and the method section? How did the authors organize all of the
information reported in the results section? How are recommendations different than
conclusions?
16. Describe what may be in the future for report writing, based on the example provided
by Gongos Research.
In the future, multi-project research summaries will be created, collecting numerous
17. Investigate infographics on the website http://www.teradata.com or
http://dailyinfographic.com. How can infographics enhance the presentation of
marketing research results?
18. List two ways that the use of dashboards such as Tableua change the reporting of
marketing research results.
The use of dashboards is an important development in the reporting of marketing
can result when data are copied. In addition, the data used in a presentation will
always be the latest data, with no need to update slides.
CASE SOLUTIONS
Case 16.1 Auto Concepts: Report Writing
Case Objective
This case requires students to identify features of report writing.
Answers to Case Questions.
1. What should Cory consider doing with the information in this case before he
actually begins to write the report? Name some specific issues Cory should
address.
2. Should Cory include the standard “Conclusions and Recommendations” section
of the report? Why or why not?
3. What tools can Cory use to be sure he is properly citing the secondary sources
using in the marketing research report?
Case 16.2 Auto Concepts: Making a PowerPoint Presentation
Case Objective
This case study requires students to think about and to use SPSS to construct presentation
quality tables and graphs. The Advanced Automobile Concepts survey dataset is to be
used.
Answers to Case Questions
Students should follow the instructions in Chapter 16 in order to create professional
quality tables and graphs.
1. Using a word processing program, write several of the statements you think would be
appropriate to present to the client in an oral presentation.
The audience will be interested in the key findings, so here is a quick summary.
• The hybrid model market segments have distinct media profiles that may be used
for effective promotion campaigns
2. Import the statements you prepared in question 1 into PowerPoint using copy and
paste. Experiment with different color text and font sizes and styles.
Students should follow the guidelines in the chapter for proper presentation format.
3. For each statement, using SPSS, run several frequency distributions. Using
tablelooks, select an output format you like. Copy and paste your tables into
PowerPoint.
4. Using SPSS, make a bar chart of the answers to the variable “I am worried about
global warming.” Experiment with the different options of bar charts available to you
in SPSS. Select a bar chart and import that chart into PowerPoint using copy and
paste. Experiment with making edits on your slide.
Again, students should use the guidelines and instructions in the chapter to