Chapter 12

1. Chapter 12 Reporting the Information

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

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

4. Report Introduction: Project Overview • Highlight main information needs • Outline sampling and data collection • Briefly describe response outcomes

5. Report Introduction:Response Summary • Use a blank questionnaire • Strip out superfluous content • Insert percentages or averages

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

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

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

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

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

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. Plain Split Stacked Line & Area Bar, Line and Area Charts

13. Column Split Stacked Plain Pie Column and Pie Charts

14. 19% Car 31% 6% Train Vehicle Pct. 2% Freq. Bus Car 230 42.3% Taxi 170 31.2% Train Other 42% Bus 103 18.9% 42% Car 30 5.5% Taxi 50% 31% Train Other 11 2.0% 40% 19% Bus 30% 42% 6% Taxi 20% 2% Other 31% 10% 0% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 19% 6% 2% Car Train Bus Taxi Other Categorical Data Description

15. Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 75% 0% 25% 50% 100% Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 Point 4 Point 5 Graphing Scale Distributions • Segments show proportion of respondents at each scale point.

16. 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 1.2 Mode 5 5 1.4 6 6 1.9 7 7 2.5 8 8 Scale Point 2.7 9 9 Scale Point 3.3 10 10 3.5 4.3 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 4.4 Mean 4.7 Plotting Five-Point Scale Averages

17. Inferior The Same Superior 2.2 Size 1.4 Shape 0.8 Texture -1.3 Color -2.6 Weight Center-Oriented Comparative Scale Plot Mean Ratings

18. Fixed Sum Scale Pie Chart

19. Bank Debit Men Credit Card Women Check Cash 0% 25% 50% Breakdown Split Bar Chart Percent of Each Sex

20. Coefficient Value 50 Minimum 1.0 40 Maximum 25.0 Sum 7265.0 30 Range 24.0 Mean 13.2 20 Median 13.0 Median Std. Dev. 4.8 10 Variance 23.1 Count 551.0 0 5 10 15 20 25 Days Per Month Symptoms Were Reported Plotting Numeric Distributions Distribution of Response Number of Respondents

21. Coffee Cola Soda Tea Row Percentage Cross-TabReport Format • Beverage Preferences by Men and by Women Sex Coffee Cola Soda Tea Total Men 34% 55% 7% 4% 100% Women 58% 24% 7% 11% 100% Women Men 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

22. Column Percentage Cross-Tab Report Format • Proportions of Men and Women Who Prefer Each Beverage Sex Coffee Tea Cola Soda Men 37% 27% 70% 50% Women 63% 73% 30% 50% Both 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 80% 60% Women Men 40% 20% 0% Coffee Tea Cola Soda

23. Variable Mean Std. Dev. Std. Err. Number Pre-Test 3.45 1.44 0.144 100 Post-Test 4.30 1.19 0.119 100 Combined 3.88 1.39 0.098 200 Item Symbol Std. Err. Prob. Value Mean Diff. D 0.48 0.048 .000 R 0.95 .000 Correlation 2 Determination R 0.90 0.372 .000 Slope B 0.79 0.026 .000 Intercept A 1.58 0.097 .000 Regression of Post-Test on Pre-Test Ratings

24. 40 Pre-Test Post-Test 30 20 Number of Respondents 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Seven-Point Scale Ratings Pre-Test, Post-Test Data Distribution Plots

25. 8 7 6 5 Variable Y 4 3 2 1 0 2 4 1 3 5 6 7 Variable X Pre-Test and Post-TestRegression Scatterplot y = 0.789x + 1. 795 r = 0.903 P < .001