RESEARCH REPORT S

RESEARCH REPORT

S. Ly - COMM 3020 - F20

Length: 1200 words (including Executive Summary and Report, excluding References List)   

Scenario

Assume the following fictional context: 

You are employed at a business firm. Your supervisor, Sarah Ly, has learned of a current business development in your area of expertise (e.g. human resources, marketing, accounting, logistics, investment – whichever is your program of study). Your supervisor has asked you to research the current issue and determine how your company should respond. 

Task

Choose a topic from the final page of these instructions, and prepare a Research Report. Your report must be analytical, not just informational. Depending on your topic, you may present your analysis in the form of a recommendation report, feasibility report, or yardstick report. 

• A recommendation report would answer the question “What should our company do in this situation, and why?”
• A yardstick report would answer the question “Which of these different options is best for our company, and why?”
• A feasibility report would answer the question “Would this particular course of action work for our company? Is it feasible/practical?”

Whatever approach you chose, you’ll need to use current, reliable research (not just common sense) to build a convincing case for your position.  

Preparatory Steps (worth an additional 5% each; instructions will be posted later)

• Lab 3 (Week 7) will be a Work Plan for the Research Report. You’ll submit your topic for approval, outline your research methods, and list some preliminary sources in APA style.
• Worksheet 3 (Week 8) will be a short Yardstick Report on the sources you have chosen for your Research Report. You will present a full list of sources in APA style, along with an evaluation of their relevance and quality. 

Related Assignment: Oral Presentation (worth an additional 15%)

You will use the content from your Research Report to create an Oral Presentation. It will include audio and visual elements, and be shared with peers on FOL.

Report Requirements

• If your program requires use of Cover Page and Table of Contents, begin with these. 
• Provide an Executive Summary on its own separate page. 
  • This outline of your report should make sense on its own, even if readers don’t continue to the full report. It should briefly communicate your report’s purpose, scope, findings, and recommendations.
• Use memo report format for the main report.
• Use block format (single-spaced paragraphs separated by blank lines; no indents)
• Use graphic highlighting to make the report visually appealing. 
• Use brief, descriptive headings.
• Organize your discussion into focused paragraphs. 
  • The first paragraph should clearly define the research topic and your position on that topic. Preview your main recommendation (assuming you’re writing a “direct” report with ABC organization). o The body paragraphs should provide detailed reasons for your position as well as substantial supporting research. Each subtopic should be discussed in its own paragraph.  o The concluding paragraph should clearly state how the company should respond to the information you have presented. If you’ve already discussed action steps within the report body, the conclusion can just provide a summary. 
• Demonstrate analytical, critical thinking. Keep the report context in mind: how is the issue relevant to the fictional business – its operations, its future, its success?
• Mention research frequently throughout your report. 
  • Your position must be backed up by research, although you can treat sources critically: i.e. point out any flaws or limitations in their arguments. 
• You must use at least four strong sources to support your analysis and conclusions.
  • E.g. scholarly articles, newspaper and magazine articles, documents created by professional associations, recent case studies, etc. You’ll likely need to read more than four sources to find good ones. 
  • The majority of these should be recent (no earlier than 2012).
• Follow APA guidelines carefully.
  • Use APA -style in-text citations whenever presenting research within your report. Include at least one reference to each of your four sources. You can summarize, paraphrase or quote (recall how citation rules differ for these).

Quotations should be brief: typically, no more than a sentence each. 

• • Include an APA-style References List on its own page at the end of your report.
  • Check the following site for APA guidelines:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/  
• Include at least one relevant graphic. A picture doesn’t count; the graphic must convey information. A graph, table, infographic, or chart could work. Give the graphic a label/title (e.g. Figure 1) and identify its source in an in-text citation. No citation is necessary if you create the graphic yourself. 
• Use appropriate business writing style: be clear, concise, accurate, and professional. 
• Edit carefully to ensure your work is free of spelling and grammar errors. 

Important Notes

• A report that doesn’t include both in-text citations and a References page, all in APA style, will likely receive a failing grade.  
• Plagiarism – presenting the words or ideas of others as if they were your own – is a serious academic offense that carries strong penalties, such as a zero on assignment. See Academic Policy links in Week 2 for details. Avoiding plagiarism is your responsibility!
• All reports will be submitted automatically to Turnitin.com to ensure research material has been handled properly according to APA guidelines.    
• Late projects will be downgraded 10% per day that they are late. Extensions on assignments may only be granted on an individual basis and in consultation with me before the due date with documentation.    

Possible Research Topics (most of these would need to be narrowed down):