REPORT FORMAT

The outcomes of research works are to be conveyed to end-users or recorded for future use. The
research efforts will be useful to the end-users only when they are documented in the form of reports.
So, a standardized format for the report will helps researchers present their contributions and findings
more systematically.

1. Cover page
2. Introductory pages
a. Acknowledgement
b. Abstract
c. Table of contents
d. List of tables
e. List of figures
f. List of variables
3. Text
a. Chapters (With Main and sub sections)
i. Introduction
ii. Literature Review
iii. Objectives and Hypothesis
iv. Research Methodology
v. Data Analysis
vi. Conclusions.
b. Footnotes
c. Conclusions
4. Bibliography
5. Appendices

Cover Page : The cover page gives the title of the research, department / faulty to which the
thesis/report is submitted, degree for which it is submitted, name of the researcher, name of the
supervisor (if applicable), university/organizational emblem, name of the university/organization and
its address, month and year of submission.

Introductory Pages: The introductory pages are vita, acknowledgments, abstract, table of contents,
list of tables, list of figures and list of variables.

Acknowledgements: In the process of carrying out any research, the researcher would have
received help from different persons and organizations. So, all those helps should be
acknowledged under this heading. In an academic research, a sample list of people who are to
be acknowledged is as follows:
• Research supervisor
 • Organizational head
• Colleagues of the department who rendered their valuable suggestions and criticism
during the research period
• The executives in different organizations who provided data and literature for the
research
• The type setting office and personnel.

Abstract: Abstract gives the overview of the research report outlining the title of the research,
objective(s), shortcomings of exiting literatures, need for further research, prooposed measure
of performance and research methods, results of comparison and highlights of inferences and a
brief mention about a case study.

Table of contents: Table of contents is the catalogue of the research report which summarizes
every aspect of the report.

List of Tables: In research reports, the data and results are presented in the form of tables for
quick grasp. Each and every table must be numbered. The numbering should be such that it is
internal to each chapter. For example, if the total number of tables in Chapter 4 is 20, then the
numbering should be from Table 4.1 to Table 4.20.

List of figures: In research reports, the results are presented in the form of figures for better
understanding and comparison. Each and every figure must be numbered. The numbering
should be internal to each chapter. For example, if the total number of figures in Chapter 5 is
30, then the numbering should be from Fig. 5.1 to Fig. 5.30. Figures and charts help infer the
relative comparison of results of a research study. The geographic locations and conceptual
foundations of the research are also presented in the form of figures. Further, the decision
making logic, algorithmic processing logic, etc., are resented in the form of figures to augment
their stepwise presentation.

List of variables: The researcher will be forced to use different variables and abbreviations in
different chapters of the research report to discuss about the models equations and results. They
must be defined under the heading 'List of Variables'

Text: The text of the report should be divided into different sections depending on the type of research.
In the case of survey based research, the different chapters arc as listed below:
a) Introduction
b) Literature Review
c) Objectives and Hypothesis
d) Research Methodology
e) Data Analysis
f) Conclusions.
Introduction: The chapter on introduction should begin with the background of the research
topic and state-of-the-art scenario in brief. The origin and the development of the research
concept along with the most significant contributions in the past must be summarized in this
chapter. At the end of this chapter, the plan of research in the form of a flowchart should be
presented. Further, this chapter should give a lead for literature search.

Literature Review: Literature review is the crucial part of any research. This helps the
researcher avoid reinventing past contributions and results. This focuses on the past literature
in the field of research and its classification under different angles. The critique comparison or
the past literatures will narrow down the research topic and provide a base for selecting a
research topic which will have more pay-off. The outcome of the literature review gives a
direction for feature research.

Objectives and Hypothesis: Based on the direction of the literature review, the researcher
should clearly spell out the objectives of the research and related hypotheses. As mentioned
earlier, hypothesis is an assumption about the population where the truth of the assumption is
not sure. The researcher should list a meaningful number of hypotheses which will be tested
under the chapter 'Data Analysis'

Research Methodology: Research methodology aims to finalize the activities of research

design and data collection procedure which are as listed below:
Selection of research approach
• Design of sampling plan
• Design of experiment
• Design of questionnaire
• Determination of sample size
• Design of sampling frame
• Execution of survey

After designing the questionnaire, the researcher should organize the data collection activity
with the help of interviewers as per the assumed sampling plan and experimental design.
Anyone or a combination of primary data collection methods, namely, observation method,
personal interview, telephone interview and mail survey is to be used in the study.

Data Analysis: The data analysis can be classified into preliminary analysis and hypotheses
testing. This chapter deals with the application of statistical tools for the analysis of data and
making inferences. The second type of analysis is the testing of hypotheses. The different
hypotheses which have been formulated earlier are tested at this stage. This exercise will reveal
certain underlying facts of the research problem which will help the researcher formulate
strategies for the operations of any business system. This chapter will have a major subsection
 on results and discussions. In some cases, this section deals with mathematical models and
regression models in addition to the above items.

Conclusion: The chapter on conclusions summarizes research findings, contribution of the

study, limitations of the study, and scope for the future research.

Bibliography: Each and every research work is based on a set of literatures which forms the
foundation for the research theme. This includes identification of the broader area of research and then
narrowing down the specific research issues which are not yet tried by other researcher. Further, the
literatures are helpful for using appropriate tools of analysis. So, bibliography is an alphabetical
catalogue of different literatures which are used in the research.

Appendices: Each and every chapter of the text in a research report should be crisp so as to enable
the readers to have quick grasp of its content. Appendices help achieve such quick grasp of the content
of each chapter of the report. Appendices are placed at the end of the report.

In a chapter, if there is any material whose absence within that chapter itself does not affect the flow
of reading and grasp of the content, then it can be presented at the end of the report under the heading'
Appendices'. The types of materials which are to be placed under appendices are as listed below:
• The work of any past research which is used in the current report as a module;
• The format of the questionnaire;
• Original data;
• Intermediate tables of any algorithm which are used in the report
• Some micro level charts and figures;
• Long tables;
• Organizational details.

Each of the above items should be referred in the respective chapter(s).