The Research Process

This research process is useful in a variety of organizations to support report writing. We borrow the process largely from social science, where the focus is answering a question or gaining insight into human affairs. The general research process is usually as follows:

1. Determine a problem and define a question to answer.
2. Find general background information about your problem/question.
3. Develop a research strategy to address any data, information, or knowledge gaps. These gaps may be referred to as “sub-questions.”
4. Conduct research.
5. Collect, read, evaluate, synthesize, and write what you have learned.
6. Cite the information you have found so that others will be able to follow your research trail.

Data Sources

Various types of data are very useful for business reports, and in business reports, you will quickly come across things like revenue (money earned in a given period, usually a year), turnover (people who left the organization in a given period), and many others.

There are a variety of data available when one is constructing a business report. We may categorize data in the following manner:

• Internal
  • Employee headcount
  • Employee demographics (e.g., gender, ethnicity, education)
  • Financials (e.g., profit)
• External
  • Number of vendors used
  • Number of clients in a company’s book of business
  • Size of the industry (e.g. number of companies, total sales)

Data can also be categorized as qualitative or quantitative.

qualitative vs. quantitative data

• Qualitative data are generally non-numeric and require context, time, or variance to have meaning or utility. (e.g. preferences, reactions)
• Quantitative data are numeric and therefore largely easier to understand. (e.g. temperature, prices, amount of inventory)

Both types of data are useful for business report writing. Usually, a report will feature as much hard, or quantitative data, as possible. Most organizations keep a variety of internal quantitative data.

Qualitative data, such as stories, case studies, or descriptions of processes or events, are also very useful and provide context. A good report will likely have both types of data, and a good report writer will use both types of data to build a picture of information for their readers.

Form 10-K

A common report required of all publicly traded companies is the 10-K. This is an annual report that all public companies in the US have to file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For example, you can take a look at Pinterest’s Form 10-K.

The table of contents on page 2 illustrates common types of data used. For example, the report includes quantitative data like financial statements (Item 8) but also qualitative data such as how the organization handles cybersecurity (Item 1C).