Research ("Data Collection")
Information ("secondary sources") for this report must come from relevant, reliable, current sources (reports prepared by companies, academicst government agencies, and private organizations). In keeping with research guidelines, anticipate biases and be able to account for them. Thus, read informed opinions of different experts in the field who publish in professional journals, as well as comments and responses of community leaders published in national and international news sources. You may want to locate information printed in newsletters of organizations, public agencies, or community action groups. You must also collect information first hand ("primary sources") by interviewing someone, distributing a survey, conducting a mini poll, or via an email posting. These two types of information - primary and secondary - will need to be summarized, paraphrased, quoted, analyzed, and interpreted within your report. Locate relevant information from a minimum of 4 different and reputable secondary sources, including professional journals, dissertation abstracts, conference proceedings, online databases, international news sources, or textbooks. Collect relevant information from a minimum of 1 primary source.
BASIC FORMAT FOR REPORTS:
(Completed report should be approximately 16 pages: the BODY of the report should comprise approximately 8 of those total pages; the remaining pages are made up of the indicated front matter and end matter.)
Letter of Transmittal (page 272). As indicated, this is an actual business letter. It is written to the readers of your Report, as a way to introduce yourself and your subject matter. It should include a BRIEF summary of your Report's content. It should also include the appropriate heading and closing material. It should be no longer than 1 page.
Cover or Title Page (page 272, and sample -- page 276).
3 Descriptive Abstract/Executive Summary (page 272-273, and sample -- page 276). As shown in the sample, this is a brief summary of the main content of your report. It should be no longer than 1 page. *It contains basically the same summary material included in your letter of transmittal -just written in 'stand-alone' format (rather than letter format).
4. Table of Contents (page 272, and sample - page 276).
5. Body (pages 269-271, and sample - pages 277-281).
6. Conclusions (page 271, and sample -- page 281). 7 Recommendations. (These are usually incorporated into the conclusion.)