1. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. Department of Business Administration SPRING 2009- 10 Writing the Final Report by Assoc. Prof. Sami Fethi

2. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 2 Writing the Final Report  Purpose and importance of a written presentation  Guidelines  Structure of the report  Oral presentation  Writing for publication

3. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 3 Purpose and importance of a written presentation  Purpose Consider its purpose and to whom it is addressed. Start with executive summary: explains important points of study A preface: explains the course of study and than individual or institutions.  e.g. Writing a master thesis may look different from a report that is presented to a company or manager on a specific issue.  e.g. Writing a report such as an academic paper aims at getting it published. Bottom line is that a report needs to be argumentative and convincing, whether it is to be submitted to a company or as an academic thesis.

4. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 4 Guidelines  Audience  Good communication  Language and flow Using diffucult language and terminology does not really impress the reader.  Form and style Telegraphic style long and complicated senteces Usage of terminology and differences between spoken and written language. Shortage of tables, figures etc...  e.g. Before submitting the report, have someone else read it through.  Headings  e.g. They serve as an outline of a report and should be clear, meanningful and consistent

5. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 5 Structure of the report  Title page  Table of contents  Executive summary  Introduction and problem statement  Theoretical background  Methodology  Findings of empirical study  Conclusions and recommendations  Footnotes  Bibliography or references  Appendix

6. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 6 An Example of a Table of Contents Figure 1 An example of a table of contents

7. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 7 Bibliography or references  The format and structure of the report, also check the rules of your institution  e.g. Footnote: (1) Berry (1989) said that The implication of his study about the subject matter...  e.g. Quotation ‘The implication of his study about....’  e.g. References: oOsterwald-Lenum, M. (1992), `A note with quantiles of the asymptotic distribution of the ML cointegration rank tests statistics`, Oxford Bulletin of Economic and Statistics, 54, 461- 472. oOdedokun, M. (1996b), Financial Indicators: Developing Countries, in Hermes, N. and Lensink, R. (ed.) (1996), Financial Development and Economic Growth: Theory and Experiences from Developing Countries. London: Routledge, 115-137.

8. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 8 Oral presentation  The presentation has to be organized in the same manner as the written report  e.g. Style: main objective and specific research questions  e.g. Speak slowly and clearly  e.g. Explain the concept in a required time  e.g. Should not be too technical or academic in nature

9. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 9 Writing for publication

10. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 10 Writing for publication

11. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 11 Writing for publication

12. Research in business studies Research Methods in Business Studies © 2009/10, Sami Fethi, EMU, All Right Reserved, Pearson Education, 2005, 3. Ed. 12 Writing for publication