Final report - Checklist
Title page
Ø Choose an interesting and catchy title for your report.
Ø The name of your industry partner should be part of the title or subtitle.
Ø Indicate the nature of problem you investigated.
Ø If you do not wish to disclose the name of your industry partner, you can just write 'company X'.
Executive summary
Ø Keep it short and simple (ideally not more than 2 pages - well formatted)
Ø Summarise the background of the research
Ø Summarise the research approach
Ø Summarise the findings (dot points is fine, but write full sentences)
Ø Summarise the implications/recommendations (dot points is fine, but write full sentences)
Table of contents
Introduction and research problem (around 5-10% of your total word count)
Ø Introduction to topic
Ø Overview of the industry partner
Ø What real problem does your research seek to resolve?
Ø Why is this problem such a big issue for your industry partner? Why is it important that you research it? Convince us that your project is important and that it will help your industry partner
Ø State the overall research aim based on this problem
Ø Outline the structure of the report (for the audience/reader)
Theoretical background- Literature review(around 25-30% of your total word count)
Ø Clearly identify the factors investigated in the project
Ø Discuss what others have found in this research space and individual factors
Ø Link your literature review back to your problem space and use this as a foundation to formulate your research questions.
Methodology (around 5-10% of your total word count)
Ø Only provide an overview of YOUR research design
Ø Inform and justify the nature of your research approach (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods)
Ø Describe and justify your sample (who, how did you find them, sampling method and technique used)
Ø Describe how data was collected (in-person/online/..) and which research tools (e.g. interviews, surveys, etc.) were used
Ø Inform how data was analysed (e.g. themes analysis, frequency distribution, mean-score, etc.)
Ø Explain how the research plan addressed all ethical concerns
Findings (around 10-15% of your total word count)
Ø Present sample characteristics (e.g. age, gender, income...)
Ø Clearly differentiate between quantitative and qualitative findings
Ø Use figures, graphs, tables to visualise findings.Add numbers and titles for all visuals. Be creative in presenting the findings!
Discussion (around 20-25% of your total word count)
Ø If you are using a mixed method, triangulate quantitative and qualitative findings
Ø Compare findings with the literature reviewed earlier
Ø Clearly state the answers to research questions you found from the findings presented above
Recommendations (around 10-15% of your total word count)
Ø Clearly list and discuss the recommendations specific to the research problem
Ø Make sure all recommendations are based on findings of your research project
Ø Can also include any suggestions you have for the industry partner in regards to implementing your recommendations
Limitations and Conclusion (around 5-10% of your total word count)
Ø Inform the readers and management of any limitations that they should be aware of if they are to implement your recommendations
Ø Provide a brief summary of the project including major findings, recommendations and potential outcomes if recommendations are implemented by the management
Footnotes (as required - avoid if at all possible)
List of References
Appendix (as required)