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McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 12
Reporting the Information
12-2
Written Report Elements
• Introduction• Executive Summary • Response Summary Questionnaire• Project Overview
• Body Content• Narrative Description of Results• Tabular Listings of Numeric Data• Graphic Portrayal of Relationships
• Conclusion• Summary of Main Findings• Recommendations to Client
• Technical Appendix
12-3
Report Introduction: Executive Summary
• Limit it to one or two pages
• Use bullets or very brief paragraphs
• Use headings to identify sections
• Strive to excite interest in findings
12-4
Report Introduction: Project Overview
• Highlight main information needs
• Outline sampling and data collection
• Briefly describe response outcomes
12-5
Report Introduction:Response Summary
• Use a blank questionnaire
• Strip out superfluous content
• Insert percentages or averages
12-6
Narrative Body Text:Organization
• Divide body content into sections
• Use headings to identify sections
• Describe the purpose of each section
• List most important information first
• Text references should precede tables
12-7
Narrative Body Text:Narrative Style
• Use short, simple, direct sentences
• Too little is better than too much
• It’s better to be terse than rambling
• Avoid technical jargon or buzz-words
• Use nouns and limit use of pronouns
• Strive to write as you would speak
12-8
Composing Report Tables
• Number or letter them consecutively
• Do not use Roman numerals
• The title should say what’s in the body
• Label all rows, columns, and sections clearly
• Use conventional, standard formats
• Use space and position to show relationships
• List similar data in rows, columns, or sections
12-9
Composing Report Tables
• Leave ample “white space”—avoid crowding
• Indicate statistical significance with footnotes
• Use vertical, not horizontal pages if possible
• Make each one as self-explanatory as you can
• Be sure they’re clean, simple, and uncluttered
• Test them on someone to see if they’re clear
• Include them after text reference, not before
12-10
Creating Charts and Graphs
• Number or letter all types of figures consecutively
• Create and use a standard format for similar figures
• Titles should indicate what bars or lines represent
• Use major and minor grid lines to show values
• Use tic labels on the major grid lines to show values
• Add value labels if quantities aren’t shown by locations
• Indicate significance with superscripts and footnotes
12-11
Creating Charts and Graphs
• Size figures to fit on vertical, not horizontal pages
• Make each figure as self-explanatory as possible
• Make figures clean, simple with ample white space
• Include depth, shadow, or color only if it won’t detract
• Have someone examine them to be sure they’re clear
• Include figures after the text reference if possible
12-12
Bar, Line and Area Charts
Plain
Split
Line & Area
Stacked
12-13
Column and Pie Charts
Plain Pie
Column
Split
Stacked
12-14
CarTrainBusTaxiOther
230170103
3011
42.3%31.2%18.9%
5.5%2.0%
Vehicle Freq. Pct. 19%
6%2%
31%
42%Other
Taxi
Bus
Train
Car
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Car Train Bus Taxi Other
42%
31%
19%
6%2%
50%0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Other
Taxi
Bus
Train
Car
2%
6%
19%
31%
42%
Categorical Data Description
12-15
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Item 5
Item 4
Item 3
Item 2
Item 1
Point 4Point 3Point 2Point 1
Graphing Scale Distributions
• Segments show proportion of respondents at each scale point.
Point 5
12-16
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Scale
Poin
t
Mean
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1Mode
Scale
Poin
t
4.7
4.4
4.3
3.5
3.3
2.7
2.5
1.9
1.4
1.2
Plotting Five-Point Scale Averages
12-17
Center-Oriented Comparative Scale Plot
MeanRatings
Weight
Color
Texture
Shape
Size
The SameInferior Superior
-2.6
-1.3
0.8
1.4
2.2
12-18
35%
19%
37%
9%
Cash
Check
Credit
Debit
Fixed Sum Scale Pie Chart
12-19
0% 25% 50%Percent of Each Sex
Cash
Check
Credit Card
Bank Debit MenWomen
Breakdown Split Bar Chart
12-20
Plotting Numeric Distributions
Coefficient Value
1.0Minimum
25.0Maximum
7265.0Sum
24.0Range
13.2Mean
13.0Median
4.8Std. Dev.
23.1Variance
551.0Count
0
10
20
30
40
50
5 10 15 20 25Days Per Month Symptoms Were Reported
Distribution of Response
MedianNum
ber
of
Resp
ond
ents
12-21
Sex Coffee Cola Soda Tea TotalMen 34% 55% 7% 4% 100%Women 58% 24% 7% 11% 100%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Men
Women
Coffee
Cola
Soda
Tea
Row Percentage Cross-TabReport Format
• Beverage Preferences by Men and by Women
12-22
Sex Coffee Tea Cola SodaMen 37% 27% 70% 50%Women 63% 73% 30% 50%Both 100% 100% 100% 100%
Column Percentage Cross-Tab Report Format
• Proportions of Men and Women Who Prefer Each Beverage
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Coffee Tea Cola Soda
Women Men
12-23
Std. Err.SymbolItem Prob.Value
Mean Diff. .0000.0480.48D
Correlation .000R 0.95Determination .0000.3720.90R2
Slope .0000.0260.79B
Intercept .0000.0971.58A
Variable NumberStd. Err.Std. Dev.Mean
Pre-Test 1000.1441.443.45Post-Test 1000.1191.194.30
Combined 2000.0981.393.88
Regression of Post-Test on Pre-Test Ratings
12-24
Seven-Point Scale Ratings
0
10
20
30
40
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Nu
mb
er
of
Resp
on
den
ts
Pre-Test, Post-Test Data Distribution Plots
Post-TestPre-Test
12-25
Variable X
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Vari
ab
le Y
y = 0.789x + 1. 795
Pre-Test and Post-TestRegression Scatterplot
r = 0.903 P < .001
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
End of Chapter 12
