Guidelines for Writing a Special Study Report

In principle the special study reports are written individually.Sometimes a group of two or more students may pursue a joint study.Joint studies have been done for example in connection with

international excursion projects.

Functions of a research report 

A research report is a means of communication between the researcher and academic and sometimes industrial community.The fundamental goal of all research projects is to contribute to the existing pool of knowledge in their fields.The requirements of objectivity,reliability,and validity characteristic to scientific and technical research stipulate that there are a few elements that must be included in every research report. The aim of these instructions is to discuss these elements and to give recommendations on how

to put them in the report.

These instructions have been prepared with special attention to the Institute of Strategy and International Business.The instructions comprise two sections.The first section discusses the contents of a special study report as well as language and some common mistakes repeated in many reports.The first section of these instructions is quite universal in nature.That is,practically the same practices are applied all around the world.The second section of these instructions gives some examples and hints regarding the layout and outlook of the report.The second section ismore culturally bound in nature,and the examples should be taken as examples only,not as strictguidelines.Some of the elements of special study reports discussed below can either be presented in theform of separate chapters,as in this instruction paper,or they can be injected as elements to otherchapters.This instruction paper discusses each of the elements in a separate chapter for thematter of clarity.In reality,for example,reliability analysis is often omnipresent in the specialstudy report.This means that there should he an element of reliability analysis included in thepresentation of research methodology,in the presentation and analysis of research results,as wellas in the final discussion.In the same manner,it is often recommendable to repeat some of theobjectives in various parts of the report.However,it is always recommendable to present theobjectives of the research also in a separate chapter.The final structuring of the special studyreport depends on the specific topic at hand and is left to the reader of these instructions.Structure of the report

Abstract

An abstract consisting of only a few lines should be attached in the beginning of the special study report.The purpose of the abstract is to give the reader a very quick overview of the contents and

results presented in the special study report.This abstract should contain a description of theresearch problem,the research methods used,and the most important research results and recommended actions.The abstract should he written both in the language of the research and in #p#分頁標題#e# length of the abstract should not exceed the length of this chapter.

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

The very first sentences in the beginning of the report should give the reader a generaldescription of the key ideas of the report and of the subject discussed.The descriptionof the key ideas of the report should be given against a general background of thesubject.In other words,the author of the report should show the world map to thereader before dwelling into the details of some specific city map.The description of thesubject must be so explicit that even a layman with no knowledge of the subject canunderstand it.The description of the subject and the research must be described in present tense.Theintroduction must not describe what has been done.Instead,it should describe what willbe done.

1.2 Research problem

The introductory chapter should also specify the research problem.This specificationshould include the question for which answers will be sought,and the phenomena to bestudied and understood.The description of the research problem must be so explicit that it is easily understood.If the author is not able to describe the research problem in a simpleandstraightforward way,it is very probable that the author does not have a clearunderstanding of the research problem.The better one understands the problem,theeasier it is to explain it to others.In the analysis of the research problem the author should continuously search for theessence of the problem.Finding and defining the essence of the problem is often quiteproblematic.In his diagnosis,the author should strive to distinguish the causes from thesymptoms.For example,if a patient has fever,his actual problem may not be the feveritself,but a viral infection.The fever can ultimately be relieved only through finding acure for the viral infection.

The description of background and research problem should always include anevaluation of the importance of the research problem.In other words,the introductorychapter should give the reader a clear understanding of the value of the research interms of practical and scientificcontributions.How important is the research problemunder study?Why is it important to solve the problem?Often,the chapters 1.1 and 1.2 are combined into one chapter,called"Background".

1.3 Objectives of the research

The objectives of research should be presented in their own paragraph.The order ofimportance between the objectives should be described.What is the main objective ofthe research?What are the partial or secondary objectives of the research?The objectives should be presented in the form of a list,stating the objective number 1,objective number 2,etc.The objectives should be expressed in such a way that thereader can control whether the objectives have been achieved or not.The rest of the whole report should support the achievement of the objectives stated inthe beginning of the report.If necessary,individual objectives can be repeated later inrespective parts of the report.Research as such is not an objective.Research is a means through which the ends can beachieved.The ultimate goal of research in industrial management should always beimproving the status of affairs.For example,the ultimate objective could be improvingthe performance of a certain construct,to design a new construct to solve certainproblem,to improve the profitability of a business.Possible concrete objectives of theresearch can be,for example,o description and analysis of a phenomenon,finding out new informationabout the subject through empirical study,or creating a logical ormathematical model,chart,algorithm,or some other correspondingdescription#p#分頁標題#e#

o developing a new system,method,process,product,or service for fulfilling adefined need more effectively than beforeo outlining the information concerning the subject and presenting a newsynthesis of this information through literature survey,interviews,orcorresponding methods

o presenting and verifying the hypotheses concerning the research subjectthrough laboratory tests

o presenting practical instructions,methods,and recommended actions formore effective solving of problem situations defined separately

o solving the research problem;presenting the alternative solutions;presentingthe validity criteria for the alternative solutions;prioritizing the alternativesolutions;further development of one or several solutions;identifyingalternative concrete solutions and evaluating their universal applicability;presenting risk analysis for alternative solutions and a concrete action planThe objectives set should be compatible with the research problem.If the researchproblem is new,and if only little or no previous research has been carried out on thetopic,it is generally not possible to achieve a very thorough understanding of theproblem in one study.On the other hand,if the problem already has been thoroughlystudied,the objectives of the research should be quite detailed.

1.4 Scope of the research

The entire universe cannot be included in the research.Therefore,the author shoulddefine the scope of his research.The limitations given must be sensible and justified.Noitems or entities essential for the research problem may be left out without goodjustifications.The effect of the limitations presented to the general applicability of theresearch results must be evaluated.Common limitations for defining the scope of theresearch are for instance

o the country of origin of the firms studied

o industries or industry segments

o firm characteristics such as size,age,function in the industry value chain

o characteristics of the phenomenon under study such as manufacturing jointventures versus marketing joint ventures,or informal alliances versuscontract based alliances

For example,if the author is focusing on joint ventures between companies from twospecific countries,the effect of this fact should be taken into account when defining thescope of the research.Should the scope he defined to cover the two countries only?Isthe scope limited to manufacturing joint ventures,or does the study include other typesof joint ventures,such as R&D joint ventures?Is the analysis limited to joint venturesbetween small and medium sized companies,or is the analysis limited to joint venturesbetween large companies only?Is the scope limited to cover only certain aspects of jointventures,such as problems in the initiation phase?Each relevant limitation should beexplicitly explained to the reader.The report should conform to the scope of the research.No elements outside the scopeof the research should be discussed in the report.

1.5 Research methods

The introduction must always include a description of the research methods used and ananalysis of the limitations posed by the methods.The research methods listed in thefollowing list are not mutually exclusive.Instead,they complement each other.The listis not complete#p#分頁標題#e#

o case analyses;analyses of individual cases or comparisons between two orseveral cases

o constructing and testing computer models

o constructing and testing logical and mathematical models,quantifying thephenomenon to be researched

o doing laboratory tests;mainly applied in industrial psychology and inergonomy studies

o interview research

o with open-ended or closed-ended questions

o with or without questionnaire

o literature study

o observing the phenomenon to be researched in actual circumstances

o outlining and verifying the hypothesis

o statistical analysis,graphic presentation of the results

o understanding the phenomenon to be researched through analogy model

The research methods should be compatible with the objectives set for the research andwith the research problem.In industrial management,the most common researchmethods applied are literature studies,case studies based on interviews,observations,and financial analyses,and survey-type studies using either open-ended or closed-endedquestionnaires.Construction and use of mathematical or computer models is not ascommon,even though this method is applied on certain types of research problems.Laboratory tests are used only in some specific fields,such as industrial psychology andergonomy.

1.6 Structure of the study

The general structure of the study should be outlined briefly at the end of theintroduction chapter.The logic of the following chapters should be discussed tofacilitate the reader to comprehend the structure.Often,a figure can help to clarify theflow of argumentation.

2 Literature study(not required in a special study)

The first chapter directly regarding the research topic should be dedicated to thedescription of the existing knowledge concerning the research subject.In the beginningof the research the author should always describe what is already known about thesubject.This way,the author will be able to elaborate on the point where otherresearchers have arrived.In special studies,literature reviews usually play only asecondary role,directing and supporting the compilation and analysis of empirical data.

The literature study should always strive to reach the origins of the information.Theauthor should always try to find the source presenting the research result to be used asreference or the entity cited for the first time.The citing of the information sources requires a critical aspect.The reliability of theinformation should be evaluated.The reliability of the information is affected by,forexample,the limitations of the earlier research work to be cited,and the applicability ofthe earlier research results.The author should pay special attention to the way the information is presented.Eachcontext should show whether the data in question is

o based on literary source–source must he given in a reference

o based on interview–source must he given in a reference

o research result based on self-collected empirical data#p#分頁標題#e#

o deduction of the author

o assumption of the author

o guess of the author

Only generally known and fully verified matters may be presented without reference or

grounds.If such matter is verified in literature,a reference concerning such matter must

be given.

3 Presenting the Research Results and or Alternative Solutions

After in-depth discussion on the previous knowledge concerning the research problem,the focus of the study shifts to the problem at hand.The author should try to collect and analyze information concerning the researchproblem using means that are compatible with the type of the problem.The informationcan he presented,for example,in the form of

o case analysis of a company or an organization using tools and frameworks

developed for that purposeo market analysis based on,for example,interview research,mailed surveys,industry statistics,observation of the buying behavior of customers,etc

o industry analysis using frameworks and tools developed for that purpose

After in-depth analysis of the information concerning the research problem,the researchresults and conclusions are presented.The research results can be presented,forexample,in chronological order,in order of importance,or in order of internal logic ofthe subject.If the objective of the research has been to solve a practical problem,thealternative solutions and possible alternative hypotheses are presented.If empirical datahas been collected in the research, research results and conclusions based on themare presented.

4 Concrete recommendations

The research report should always present concrete recommendations based on theresearch done.These recommendations can be recommended actions for the companymanagement or for other interest groups interested in the research subject.The eventual recommended actions or alternative solutions should be given in order ofimportance and or priority.Which of the recommended actions or alternative solutionsshould be executed immediately,which ones later?Which of the recommended actionsor alternative solutions are essential to execute,which ones are not?If possible,also thecost of'the recommended actions and alternative solutions should be given.The ways toevaluate the cost of the recommended actions and alternative solutions should also hepresented.

Often it is valuable to present the recommended actions as a concrete action plan.Whomust do what,how much will it cost,what are the risks,can these risks be avoided,whatis the probability of success,etc.

5 Strengths and weaknesses of the study

The research must always include the reliability analysis of data sources and dataretrieved,of research methods,and of most important research results andrecommended actions.How reliable are the sources of data,research methods used,andresearch results obtained?Do the research results include a systematic or random error,and what is the effect of this error?What is the general applicability of the researchresults?What are the most important assumptions made during the research,and what istheir effect?The effect of the limitations stated in the beginning of the research on thegeneral applicability of the research results should be evaluated andstated.#p#分頁標題#e#

Special care should be given in evaluating the effect of eventual unconscious variables.Have all essential variables and parameters affecting the research information beenidentified?The researcher may have omitted a variable with more effect on thephenomenon studied than the sum total effect of the variables included in the research.Disturbances?Deviation?Do the research results indicate only statistic noise,or do theyshow signals of statistical significance?

6 Summary and discussion

At the end of the research report the author should present a summary on the following:

the research problem,the most important basic assumptions,research methods,and theresearch results or recommended actions.The summary must not contain new researchresults,which have not been mentioned earlier in the report.In the summary,a general discussion of the results obtained should be presented.Theaim of this discussion is to interpret the results against the general theoreticalbackground.The discussion should link the research to the existing body of knowledgeon the specific topic at hand.In the summary and discussion,recommendations concerning further study of theresearch topic should also be presented.The author should tell what was learned,whatwas new,and what topics or aspects of the research problem merit further study.Sometimes it is advisable to include recommendations concerning further study in the

chapter in which practical recommendations for action are presented.Layout of the report The layout of the report must be polished and flawless.Theauthor may adapt various standards for the layout of the report.However,regardless ofwhat standard is adopted,it is important to use the same standard throughout thereport.Language of the report The language of the report must he impeccable.The reportshould be given to read by others in order to eliminate such logical and language errorswhich may have escaped the attention of the author of the report.

o The author should try to present his points clearly.The text should getstraight to the point and avoid erring on unnecessary details and irrelevantside-issues.

o The structure of the report should be clear and easy to recognize.The readerof the report is likely to be very busy.The report should be constructed insuch a way that the essentials of thereport are easily found and quickly read.

o If the report contains special merits,such as essentially new ideas,frameworks,or results of laboratory measurements,the author should statethese merits so clearly that they will not escape the attention of the reader.

o Special attention should be paid to the exactness of the language used.Thesentences should be clear and fairly short.Complicated sentences should beavoided.Long sentences containing over 20 words make the text moredifficult to read.They also decrease the clarity of the text.Only one itemshould be discussed in one sentence.

o Attention should be paid also to the style of the language used.Colloquialexpressions should be avoided.The style of the language should beconsistent throughout the report.#p#分頁標題#e#

o In general abbreviations should not be used,as they make the text moredifficult to read.Also the use of underlining,exclamation points,boldtypeface,and other corresponding highlights should be avoided.Thenumber of highlights used is often inversely proportional to the quality of the text.

The text should he illustrated with figures whenever possible.Length of the special study report For a three-credit unit study,the length of thereport should be around 30 to 40 tidily typed pages,not including the appendices.Thelength of the report should not significantly exceed 40 pages.For four and five creditunit studies,please contact the instructor. o the page margins should be wide enough;especially the left margin of thepage should be wide enough to allow for possible binding;normally,a goodwidth for left margin in binded reports is 4 centimeters the line spacing should be loose enough;normally,line spacing of 1.5 linesor even up to 2 lines is recommendedo the font character should be large enough;the size of the font character usein this paper is not recommendable for research reports;an example ofrecommendable font size is given below"When a large enough font is used,the text becomeseasier to read.Too small a font causes strain tothe eyes of the reader and is tiring to read.In a similar way,the line spacing should be wide enoughto allow the reader to make notes between thelines.In addition,a wide line spacing makes thetext easier to read."

o the use of parentheses should normally he avoided;comments and notesshould be written in separate sentences;unless the comments and notes areof importance they should be omitted underlining, points,parenthesis,and other highlightshould normally be avoided;the amount of these is often inverselyproportional to the level of education of the author and to the quality of the text should be written in as clear and exact a manner as possible;unnecessary words should be avoided;normally such words do not increasethe information contents of the text;especially in documents,sentencesshould be as short as possible and the language should be clear and concise boldfacing,exclamationthetheEnglish.