BIS

1

01WI Essential Business Communications Skills

Assignment 4: Analytical Report (100 points)

Objectives

· To utilize the scientific method to objectively research a complex, real-world problem.

· To use the genre of an analytical (lab) report with sections: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion (IMRaD) to:

1. Guide the process of conducting scientific research methods

2. To write a business report that helps answer questions about a problem using a business report format

· To successfully incorporate your understanding of various aspects of business communication, such as writing for various audiences using PACS, developing visuals, and writing a report involving real-world stakeholders.

· To gain a deeper understanding and practical use of various kinds of research methods such as surveys, interviews, and observations as multiple means to gather information in the workplace.

· To learn to incorporate sources in your own writing and enter scholarly discussions through your own local research.

· To write a strong analytical report that reports on findings in an objective, informed manner, where the writer only provides a recommendation in the conclusion, and follows the guidelines provided in chapter 10.

Background

An analytical report is a response to some type of problem; for example, a business has a problem and needs to find out what is causing the problem. Or, your boss asks you to research an issue and report back on it.

A business report typically introduces 1) a problem that prompted the research questions, 2) presents a research methodology based on actual conducted research, 3) presents results of research, 4) discusses those results, and 5) concludes the main findings and makes a practical recommendation as to what needs to be done (see Ch 9-10). You will use the IMRaD structure (i.e., Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion with Recommendations) to report on your research.

Your report topic should allow you to do the following:

1. Find at least 10 scholarly academic sources to gain insight from literature (whether these are academic papers, government documents, etc.)

2. Find primary evidence on your own by using a specific methodology. The methodology is based on your research questions (RQs), and most likely is done through online surveys (Qualitative/Quantitative), or qualitative observations, interviews with subject-matter experts (SMEs) or stakeholders and others with an interest in the problem and its solution, etc. In other words, the interplay between your research and the research of other scholars is paramount as this research will guide you in your thinking as you build upon their work/ideas and adapt them to your local issue or problem.

Once you have defined the problem, you will want to carefully research the literature available on the subject. To do this successfully, be sure to review scholarly academic articles that are 1) recent, credible, unbiased, and scholarly, and 2) speak directly or indirectly to your issue at hand. Because this research will likely be included in the report you provide your reader, use care when deciding where it will be and how it will be used. For example, your introduction could include a few brief citations of relevant statistics or other information that readers will want to know and help them to feel a sense of responsibility and urgency to get moving on the problem resolution. As another example, your results and discussion section could include a much deeper discussion of information related to the issue or problem found in literature, together with your primary data.

Hopefully, your secondary research will support your primary research, and vice-versa. But maybe it won’t, and that may be okay, particularly if your research is taking you in a new direction that hasn’t been explored before.

The key is to start early and keep a steady pace for this assignment. In becoming an expert, you will then be able to ask more pointed and relevant questions in conducting research, such as asking and answering questions of SMEs, designing surveys, etc. Also, clearly formatted RQs will guide you in your research and then, it will smoothly expand into your report.

Assignment Details

How to conduct and cite the research

Your literature review will provide you with a good overview of the approaches that have been used to solve the problem in the past; you can then cite these ideas and sources as references throughout your report. You will need to analyze and synthesize this research into your report by providing paraphrases, summaries of people who researched the topic (use APA formatting for incorporating sources—see example on pg. 261).

Another source for citing information is located at the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue for

how to in-text cite different sources

and for

formatting references in APA

. When considering sources, make sure they are reliable and valid. This means, as you’ve already learned in class:

· Reliability = you must have reliable means of recording data that others see as credible and can replicated to come to the same answers

· Validity = your measurements should be valid in addressing the problem, not just be “data” that does not apply to the issue.

Elements of the report

The following elements should be tightly integrated to form a coherent whole. Remember to use the effective writing principles that you learned in the writing memos and proposals assignments:

1. Use OABC forecasting and top-down processing, i.e., give the main points up front so your reader gets the big picture. This is used for the overall report AND each section, both of which should include an effective forecast of your subject, at least.

2. Define your purpose and give the main points, then explain them in detail. A reader should be able to read your report sections with a clear idea of what each section will be about in the information you provide in the introductory paragraph. Hence, for each section, expect to write a clear subject, purpose, main points, background information, and to forecast the content of the section. This will enable your reader to follow along in an organized and coherent way, with the outcome being increased understanding and retention.

Required sections
– See textbook, pg. 282onwards for more information on the content of these sections and a visual overview (Fig. 10., pg. 278)

Front Matter (not to be included in page count for assignment)

· Title Page. Come up with a title that describes what your topic and research is about—just in those few short words.

· Table of Contents (TOC). You may want to create the headers first (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion, References, Appendix (or Appendices) so you can automatically create the table of contents using Microsoft Word. This will save you time and frustration in the future. Also, number your pages (again, helpful for the TOC)

· Executive Summary. As the term implies, this is a quick summary of the contents of your entire report and is written so a top executive who has less than 5 minutes can learn what your report is all about. It should include information from all the sections of the IMRaD and Conclusions and Recommendations–all in one page.

Main Report. (Note: 5-7 single-spaced pages, (1) blank line between paragraphs, and page numbers)

· Introduction. This should clearly state the problem. Use the six opening moves formula of stating your subject, purpose and main points (findings), give background information, stress importance and forecast the organization of your report. This section should work well as an effective forecast as to what you will cover in the report. Since you do not know this information as you begin writing, come back at the end and add these opening moves to your report. The advantage is that you will then know your findings very clearly. Make sure your introduction clearly defines for the reader the problem, its causes, its effects, and the affected stakeholders in 1-4 short paragraphs (so they fit on 1 page).

· Methods. This is where you will tell your reader the methods you used to conduct your research. First, forecast in this section what you will cover. Do this by using the formula of 1) subject, purpose, and main points. Again, provide a short forecast of the information that follows and then provide your information in concise sentences. Next, share your (3) research questions in a bullet list. Remember that these questions should be written carefully, and could begin with a statement such as: “My research questions are as follows:” then list the questions. Also, remember to use questions such as:
“What/how much?” quantitative questions (“How much time is spent . . .?”)
“How/Why?” qualitative (opinion) questions (“How can CMU optimize….. ?)
Then, tie in how your questions led you to adopt your specific methodology (Qualitative/ Quantitative or Mixed Methods).
In the body of your methods section, take your reader, step-by-step (chronologically) through the process on how you gathered your data. Use a mini-header per step in this section. Your write up of your research steps are to 1) document how you collected your data, and 2) help other researchers replicate your research steps and come reasonably close to the same conclusion as you. In your methods section closing, add a brief mini-header and address any limitations to your study, for example, what your study does not address or any limits you experienced in gathering data.

· Results and Discussion. Again, use the opening formula that forecasts what is to come in the form of main findings (subject, purpose, main points, and forecast of structure) up front. Then go into detail for each of the elements that you just introduced.
Organize this section based on RQ1, RQ2, and RQ3 as section headers and the supporting primary and secondary data that helps to answer each RQ. Include at least 4 visuals in the report related to your research, where at least one visual was created by you as a result of your research.
The results and discussion can be presented either in one or two sections. If you opt for one section, you will need to present each result, and then discuss the implications of each result in relation to your research questions and the problem you are addressing in your research. You will need to proceed this way until all results have been presented and discussed.
The alternative approach (two sections: one for results; the other for discussion) is based on presenting
selected data
in your results. This could be a review of literature, and then your empirical research findings), and finally, discussing the implications of each these findings separately in the discussion section. You will need to assess which of these works best for you. For each result, forecast why it is important and include the implications of each, for example: socially, economically, ecologically, ethically, etc. Doing it this way will help ensure your recommendations are worthy of serious consideration.

· Conclusion. In your conclusion, make an obvious transition (e.g., “In summary . . .” or “To conclude . . .” etc.) and present the main findings of what you found as patterns in the data of your study. Present your main findings in a short and concise format.

· Recommendations. This section is among the more important sections of your report, so it’s important that your recommendations are based on the evidence you have provided earlier. State them on the research you have discovered and apply to fixing the problem. They should logically follow your research findings presented in earlier sections and conclude with what they mean and why your solution(s) are feasible. This should be done in a matter-of-fact and straightforward manner. Reemphasize the importance of the study, your look to the future, and conclude with a note of thanks to the reader and offer contact information.

Back Matter (Note: do not include this in the page count, but DO use page numbers for this section)

· References. Your analytical report should use and refer to at least 10 scholarly, reputable sources that you have actually cited in your paper in your references section using APA formatting (e.g. those that you have consulted with are not to be listed). If you have only consulted with a source, but did not use information, ideas, or words from the source, then you should not put it in your references.

· Appendix/Appendices. Generally, if you have gathered a large amount of data but only cite the results, include the raw data you have (excel spreadsheets, tables, survey results, etc.) and is too long in a separate appendix. Example: Appendix A: survey data, Appendix B: interview transcripts, etc. An appendix simply allows your reader to take a closer look at your gathered data if they want to, whereas in your report you should only feature what is most salient about the data as you have interpreted it.

*****See ASSIGNMENT NOTES and GRADING CRITERIA on next page*****

ASSIGNMENT NOTES

1. Pay close attention to the information in the textbook, Ch. 10. For a good example of a business analytical report, see pages 450-458.

2. A Note of Warning: If you plagiarize, I have no choice but to give you an “F” for the assignment, with dire consequences for your passing the course. Any ideas, words, data, or anything else that you use from a different source needs to be properly documented using APA formatting. Presenting third party source material as your own words while attributing the source also constitutes plagiarism, as it should be indicated how you use the source –paraphrase or quote and always attribute source properly.

GRADING CRITERIA

25

25

25

Elements of Report Problem Definition/Scope/	Visual Rhetoric and Research Quality	Research Methods/Results/ Discussion / Conclusion with Recommendation	APA & Grammar
Does your report contain all of the elements described above in the required sections of the report? (i.e. Does it use IMRaD effectively, feature front, report, and back matter as described). Uses effective forecasting and top-down processing with a clear subject, purpose and main point for each section? Is your report rhetorically effective in introducing the problem? Does it present a full overview of the problem, its causes and effects, and does it approach the problem in comprehensive and persuasive ways (is the scope /angle accurate, not too narrow).	Visual rhetoric is used to great effect. At least 4 data visualizations are used to represent data effectively as a story, are placed in the text, and referred to in-text and labeled below with a description (i.e. Figure 1: [description]). Visuals are placed functionally. Report writer uses headers and chunking of text to create a visually well-organized and accessible rapport that is easy to read. Is your research accurate, valid, and reliable and showing your credibility as an informed writer and researcher? Researcher incorporates at least 10 academic sources. Writer is well-researched, informed, and objective in reporting on the problem/issue without inserting their opinion?	Research questions are clearly defined and methods section is tied to research questions that are qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. Follows RQs and takes reader through process of gathering data step-by-step chronology. Results and Discussion are in-depth and incorporate literature and empirical data and answer RQs at an academic level. The researcher presents results objectively and waits to make a recommendation in the conclusion. Conclusion presents patterns that are logical based on data gathered. Data gathered is from literature and primary research conducted by the writer. Recommendation take into account various patterns in the report and based on this, the researcher makes realistic recommendation(s) for stakeholders of the problem/ issue.	Use of APA conforms to standards as defined in book and OWL-Purdue (no errors in documenting sources in-text or your references). Correct use of paraphrase, summary, in-text quotes according to APA standards. APA formatting adhered to in References. No grammatical errors that detract from the professionalism of your report (typos, misspellings, possessives, run-ons, etc. etc.). Please consult last page in book (SPELL – Structure, Punctuation, Errors, Language) to learn about some of these common errors and how to avoid them. Also, visit the University Writing Center if you need to have someone help you explain these to you (or come talk to me).
			25

1

CBA Writing Rubric

BIS 101 Reporting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performance Dimensions

N/A

Not Met

Met

Exceeds

Comments

Organization (OABC)

Opening gets attention, provides context, and introduces topic; agenda previews content; body discusses content in smooth flow; closing summarizes and concludes

Paragraphs limited to discussing one topic per paragraph ; transitions and flow between paragraphs is smooth

Content

The content of the document is relevant; information meaningful

The document is developed with adequate support (through reference to research, inclusion of examples, demonstrating critical thinking)

The content is accurate and appropriate for genre (e.g., memo, report), with insightful analysis

Style

The writing is clear and concise; wordiness avoided

Overused, trite phrases, clichés, and slang are avoided

The style is appropriate to the intended audience and purpose

Proofreading

The grammar and spelling are correct (proofread)

Punctuation—comma usage, capitalization, etc.—used correctly

Format (headings, art, typography, & spacing)

Visual appearance is professional and appropriate for type of written document; information is reader friendly

Good use of font , margins , spacing , headings , and visuals

Citations (if applicable)

Sources are appropriately referenced and cited (using APA, Chicago, MLA)

The document is original work with no plagiarism

How technology can help improve the nutrition of
college students

Prepared for

Dr. Verhulsdonck

Prepared by

xxxxxxx

November 8, 2018

Table of Contents
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1

Methods ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2

Results and Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………4

Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..11

Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13

Appendix-A …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..14

Executive Summary
College students have poor nutritional habits that can be detrimental if continued into adulthood.
The purpose of this study was to find out how technology can be used to educate and improve
the health habits of Central Michigan University students. The purpose of research was as
follows:

1. To understand what habits contribute to poor nutrition
2. Find ways that technology can be used to educate college student about

dietary nutrition

3. Find out how technology could make it easier for college students to track and improve

dietary nutrition

Data for research was found by conducting a survey, researching library articles, and the use of
educational databases. Qualitative analysis was conducted in order to come up with solutions and
recommendations.

Conclusions

1. Poor nutrition come from a lack of nutritional knowledge. What came from the
analysis of research was that college students that had poor nutritional knowledge
displayed bad nutritional habits. Bad nutritional habits included not regulate meal
schedules lack of nutritional knowledge, and not eat the proper food groups needed.
These findings helped to establish how nutritional education could be implicated using
technology.

2. The best use of technology for nutritional information is web-based. Web-based
nutritional information is the best way to teach college students how to maintain a proper
diet because it can provide a multitude of information in and easy and accessible way.

3. Technology could improve nutrition by implementing changes to the dining services
website. Technological advances such as apps, point to purchase marketing, and nutrition
labels could be added in order to promote better nutrition for students.

Recommendation

1. web-based nutrition should be used to educate college students about nutrition.
Web-based nutritional information would provide resources from health educators that
could help improve the nutrition of college students. This recommendation would be
relatively inexpensive and would be accessible for all Central Michigan University
Students.

2. Point to Purchase marketing could be used to influence college students to eat
healthier. This marketing strategy is already implemented by Central Michigan
University; However, this method could be used to tag items that are high in sodium, low
in grain, or so on.

3. Application partnered with dining services. Having an application partnered with
dining services would make nutritional information more accessible and easier to
maintain meal planning.

1

Introduction
Having a well-balanced diet is managing a meal plan with a wide variety of food groups that
provide the nutrients to maintain good health, a sense of well-being, and energy the body needs
to function properly. However, when nutrition is not balanced properly, it can lead to terrible
habits that could destroy the health of young adults in later years of life. In numerous colleges
and universities, it has become predominantly common for students to have problems
maintaining a healthy diet. Thus, college students have problems maintaining a good nutrition.
The purpose of this analytical report is to find technological ways to help students to have better
nutrition. The main points of my report are what is dietary nutrition, how technology can help to
educate college students, and what technology can do to improve nutrition information provided
by dining services.

The Central Michigan University dining services provides great information about the variety of
food options, dining schedules, allergy information, and menus of all available locations.
However, none of this information provides an explanation on what options can help to provide
good nutrition. Therefore, students do not have the tools necessary to make informed decisions
based on dietary nutrition. This is important because many Central Michigan University students
struggle to maintain a healthy nutrition and would benefit greatly from proper dietary nutrition.
Thus, technology would be successful at targeting college students because it provides relatively
fast information that can be easily accessed at any time. In this analytical report, the organization
includes methods of obtaining information, the results and discussion from acquired information,
the conclusion based on the results and discussion, the recommendations based on research,
references for where information was found, and an appendix for first-hand survey data.

Problem

The problem is finding technological solutions to fix poor nutrition habits of Central Michigan
University students.

Cause and Effect

The cause of having poor nutritional habits is that college students do not have enough time to
plan meals, lack nutritional knowledge, do not choose healthier options for food, and choosing
unhealthy meal options instead. The effects of having a poor nutrition are lack of energy, weight
gain, increased stress, risk of illness, and high blood pressure.

Stakeholders

The stakeholders of poor nutrition are college students because they are the ones that are affected
by poor nutritional habits. However, professors are also stakeholders of this problem because
students that have poor nutrition habits may not perform as well as students who have healthy
nutritional habits.

2

Methods
This section provides information about the methods to obtain data about how technology can
help college students to maintain better nutrition. The purpose is to show the process of how all
information was obtained chronologically. the organization of the methods section will first state
the research questions, and then will state the steps taken to make this analytical report.

My research questions are as follows,

1. What are the dietary nutritional habits of college students?
2. How could technology help Central Michigan University student’s education based on a

healthy dietary nutrition?
3. What could Central Michigan University do better in terms of their technological

nutritional information provided through dining services?

These research questions led me to find scholarly data from the Central Michigan University
library, databases, and primary data from a self-created survey. All the research questions are
qualitative, which means that the questions are open ending and up to interpretation. These
research questions helped to structure the methodology of the research collected because the
questions were created to build on each other. Knowledge about nutritional habits of college
students can help to find education that can teach students how to prevent these behaviors. By
implementing nutrition education for students, college dining plans can provide tools for students
that can help them track nutrition facts and personalized information.

Step 1

The first stage of my research was to find library resources that could be helpful for research.
Finding information was tricky because the Central Michigan University Library has four floors.
However, carefully examining each floor, I found the information that I was looking for.
Although it was harder the search for relevant information, finding library resources was
informative to my research. However, none of the resources found at the library provided
relevant information for my topic. This is because the information was either outdated or was not
precise enough to be used in my report. Despite these setbacks, looking for library resources
helped me to understand the topic of my report in more depth.

Step 2

The second stage of my research was to find scholarly information from creditable sources.
These sources would help to make informed decisions about how technology can help college
students make better decisions about their nutrition. Most of my data was found from scholarly
databases that were provided by Central Michigan University. In finding this data, the first
question that needed to be addressed was what made for proper dietary nutrition? Understanding
what proper nutrition is was important to this report because it provided the general information
needed to continue research. Also, it was important to find out how technological education
could help to improve nutrition. This could be in the form of applications or websites.

3

Additionally, it was also important to find out what makes technology the most effective when
conveying dining plan information. This is imperative because the nutritional information
provided by using websites and applications should be easy for college students to use and
should have the information that is relevant to readers. Some information was also found on
Google Scholar using key words such as nutrition, health problems, web-based nutrition
information, and point to purchase marketing. All this secondary data helped to conclude on
what credible scholars suggested based on research and informative studies.

Step 3

In the next step, a survey was made to understand the opinions of Central Michigan University
Students. The service used to conduct the survey was called SurveyMonkey, which provided
many options for questions to ask research participants. This was helpful in the pursuit of
answers because it provided me with the tools to conduct a survey at little to no cost. This data
was then recorded and analyzed to see if the survey matched what research was found from
secondary sources. Each result was then categorized by which research question it was used to
answer. This was helpful when organizing the data because it made it easier to understand which
data correlated with what research I was looking to examine.

Step 4

By analyzing the data found in the primary survey, I made an excel worksheet to organize the
results. The results reported in this report show what data I found based on the research questions
asked. The survey had a small sample size of fifteen participants. All the participants were
Central Michigan University students at various points in their education. The survey was also
conducted as a convenience survey.

Step 5

This step focused on relating all the data back to the research question asked, by doing so, the
problem and best solutions based on that problem would become clearer.

Step 6

The last step was to summarize all the data collected into an analysis report. This process can be
tedious but must be done in order to best relate the information found.

Limitations

With this report, there are limitations in the data because not all Central Michigan University
students were surveyed when collecting the data. Also, whether students will use the technology
to help balance nutrition is up to debate. Even if the resources and information are provided to
students, they may not be influenced to use what is provided. This is because research is focused
on whether technological advancements can help to improve nutritional information. So,
whether students use the information provided would have to be a different study. Limitations

4

based on the survey conducted as a primary resource were that the sample size was relatively
small. Also, the survey was done out of convenience rather than asking random Central
Michigan University students. A random survey with more participants would have provided
more data which would have given a clearer answer to all questions asked.

Results and discussion
The purpose of this section is to provide the results from scholarly data collected and from
primary data found in the survey results. The purpose was to state what results were found based
on the research questions presented. The main point is to assess the results in terms of research
questions, and how that will affect my recommendation. The results will answer the research
questions in order with the headers provided for each question. Under each research heading
there will be placeholders for primary source and secondary sources. The general flow will
provide the results for each research question and support results with discussion on why the
results are important for the research question.

RQ1

To know why college students have poor nutrition, it is important to understand what factors
contribute to this question. The purpose of this research question is to examine the habits that
contribute to the dietary nutrition of college students. The main points of this research question
were to understand what habits that are practiced by college students based on nutrition, and how
nutrition knowledge can affect dietary habits.

Primary data

In a survey titled Can Technology improve Central Michigan University Nutrition, respondents
were given a question that asked about the reasons why college students have poor nutrition. The
option given for this question were lack of time, cost, limited healthy options, more convenient
unhealthy options, lack of nutritional knowledge, or none of the above. The results of this
question are stated below.

5

Figure 1 shows the percentage of how the fifteen respondents chose based on a collection of
options that were predetermined. Note that respondents were able to choose more than one
option.

Students were also asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement that college
students have poor nutrition. From the fifteen responders surveyed, ten percent neither agreed or
disagreed with the statement, forty percent agreed with the statement, and fifty percent strongly
agreed with this statement. The responses to this part of the survey state that college students
have bad habits that contribute to unhealthy dietary nutrition, and that most students agree that
college students have poor nutrition. Lastly, when asked whether poor nutrition had negative
effects on college students, eighty percent of respondent strongly agreed with this statement and
twenty percent generally agreed. These results are crucial to research question one because the
answers demonstrate that Central Michigan University students do have problems maintaining a
healthy nutrition. More research can now be conducted because poor nutrition has been defined
to be a problem for college students based on survey responses.

Secondary data

The meal routine of young adults most correlates with negative and positive dietary behaviors.
These behaviors may seem insignificant daily, but overtime, these habits can contribute to
healthy or unhealthy habits. A research survey was conducted on the negative and positive
behaviors that contribute to meal planning. The research was conducted in the Twin Cities
metropolitan area of Minnesota in the spring of 2010. The study found that positive attitudes
included eating at home and meal regularity; while negative behaviors were associated with
eating on the run, using media while eating, and purchasing meals and beverages on campus
(Laska, Hearst, Lust, Lytle, & Story, 2015). The study also examined what types of foods are
associated with negative and positive meal routines. What researchers found was that negative
meal planning had meals that included fast food and sugary beverages; while positive meal
planning included fruits and vegetables (Laska et. al., 2015). These habits can contribute to long

0%

10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%

100%

Lack of Time Cost Limited
Healthy
Options

More
Convenient
Unhealthy

options

Lack of
knowledge on

nutrition

None of the
above

what are some reasons why college students
have poor nutrition?

6

term health problems for young adults as they age. By becoming knowledgeable on the habits
that are associated with unhealthy and healthy meal planning, research can be conducted on how
to combat and find a solution to poor nutrition.

The diet of college students can be best represented as a spectrum of results. However, what is
known is that the average college student has trouble maintaining a healthy diet that contains all
the food groups. Having a diet that contains all the food groups is essential for a healthy nutrition
because different food groups provide a variety of nutritional benefits. In a study done by the US
Department of Health and Human Services of Pittsburgh, three hundred and two students were
surveyed on their body mass index and the average serving portion of each food group daily. The
results found that eight-percent of college students were found to be overweight based on body
mass index measures. Also, when looking at the results of daily servings of each food group
daily, on average, students were not getting the required amount needed for dietary nutrition
(Haberman & Luffey, 1998). The chart below summarizes the data collected by the survey about
the average number of servings consumed of each food group daily compared to the
recommended amount.

food group Recommended number
of servings

Students who reported less than the minimum
number of servings

Grain 6-11 serving 80.30%
Fruits and
vegetables

5-9 servings 81.70%

Dairy 3(less than age 25) 83.30%
Dairy 2 more or equal to age 25 44.30%
Meat, Fish and
Beans

2-3 servings 35.50%

Figure 2 shows information from two hundred and ninety-eight Pittsburgh students based on
daily serving portions of all food groups (Haberman & Luffey, 1998).

What can be concluded from this data is that numerous college students are not getting enough
serving portions of each food group. In fact, students in categories like grains, fruit and
vegetables, and dairy are report having below minimum serving portions at a percent of eighty-
percent or higher. These results are troublesome because it concludes that college students are
inadequate when it comes to planning meals that offer all the food groups. This is important
when looking at the research question because having proper meal planning can lead to better
nutritional habits. With education and resources, college students would have a better
understanding on how to have better nutritional habits.

When looking at dietary habits of college students, it is also important to look at nutritional
knowledge. Nutritional knowledge is an important factor to dietary habits because the amount of
knowledge an individual has can improve their diet. When making informative nutritional
choices on the food eaten daily, having knowledge on what is healthy and unhealthy can lead to
better decisions. The research published by the American Dietetic Association looked to answer
how informed college students were based on what food groups they ate. The study found that

7

students who ate more than the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables had the best
knowledge on nutrition guidelines. However, the results also showed that college students that
ate more than the recommended amount of protein had the lowest knowledge of nutrition
guidelines (Kolodinsky, Harvey-Berino, Berlin, Johnson, & Reynolds, 2007). Despite this survey
having a small sample size of one hundred and ninety-three participants, the research suggests
that students who made the healthier decision to eat more fruits and vegetables were more
knowledgeable compared to college students that ate more protein. The research therefore
correlates making healthy decisions with having better nutritional knowledge. Consequently, the
research proposes that if students were provided the tools to better their nutritional education, it
would help students to make more informed decisions based on nutritional guidelines.

RQ2

Technology is a tool that makes daily activities easier. In this research question, the purpose was
to find out whether technology could help educate Central Michigan University students in order
to maintain a healthy nutrition. The main point of this research question was to find
technological advancements that are already available that could be implemented to help college
students have better dietary nutrition education.

Primary data

When conducting the survey titled Can Technology improve Central Michigan University
Nutrition, respondents were asked a series of questions that determined whether nutritional
information was beneficial for college students. The first question asked whether web-based
nutrition would be helpful for college students. The results of this question were that one-
hundred percent of respondents agreed that web-based nutrition would be helpful. The second
question that was asked was what Central Michigan University could do better in terms of the
nutritional information offered for students. The response was to have a one credit education
class, flyers and brochures, planned events, online courses, and nutrition awareness. The last
question asked about nutritional education was what information is already available for college
students. The results of this question were the dining website, food pantry, little to no
information, and I am not so sure. From all these questions, research concludes that there is a
need for nutritional education. Nutrition education could be implicated in a multitude of ways.
However, what is known is that any form of nutritional education could help students. This is
important to research question two because technological tools could be used to provide
nutritional information to students. This is because there is a need for nutritional information
because little to no resources are available for college students.

Secondary data

Technology is an instrument that has become apart of daily living. Technology provides college
students with the tools to access limitless information and is essential for future job success.
Thus, the use of technology could also provide nutrition information that could be crucial for
maintaining a healthy dietary nutrition. One statement found on multiple scholarly reports was
that web-based nutrition showed positive results in college student’s dietary nutrition. One
research report studied the feasibility of implementing a website that would provide nutrition

8

facts, eating healthy based on college life, and weight management (Cousineau, Franko,
Ciccazzo, Goldstein, Rosenthal, 2004). The results concluded that “students found the web-based
format to be informative, appropriate in tone and language, graphically appealing, and easy to
navigate”( Cousineau et. al., 2004). What can be inferred from this study is that college students
web-based nutrition could be implemented to students if the information provided was
informative and presented in a graphically pleasing format. Another research study published by
the Journal of American College Health found similar results concluding that nutrition
information that catered to the realities of college life combined with the information of health
educators provided the most effective implication of web-based nutrition (Cousineau, Goldstein,
Franko, 2006). Below is a diagram that best represents how concept mapping was used to create
a web-based nutrition website that best represented both college students and health educators.

Figure 3 shows that health educators and college students both had identical ideas about what a
web-based nutrition website should include.

Based on the research presented by this survey, it is concluded that web-based nutrition should
include the information provided by nutrition educators and should provide relevant information
that support the daily lives of college students. The last study about the benefits of web-based
nutrition was a study about promoting dairy intake with online nutritional information. This
study was conducted because the dairy intake of many college students is lower than the
recommended amount. In the study, researchers found that web-based nutrition can positively
influence behavioral patterns of college students. This is supported by the data showing that
dairy consumption increased by two tablespoons (Poddar, Hosig, Anderson-Bill, Nickols-
Richardson, Duncan, 2010). This research suggests that behavioral patterns can be changed in a
positive way based with web-based education. What can be concurred from web-based education
is that improvement in nutritional information can make an impact the dietary nutrition of
college students because in all research reports the level of nutrition improved better knowledge
on nutrition.

Health Educators

-Healthy eating on a budget
-Healthy meal planning

-Students personalization features
-basic nutrition facts

-Expert nutrition infomation
-Body image and weight concerns

College Students

-Healthy eating on a budget
-Healthy meal planning

-student personlized features
-Basic nutrition facts

-Body image and weight concern
-Expert nutrition information

9

RQ3

This question looks to understand what Central Michigan University provides to students in
terms of nutrition and find ways that technology could improve these programs. This is
important because to change the nutrition of Central Michigan University students, change needs
to be made. The main point of this research question is to find out what programs could be
implemented based on what Central Michigan University currently offers.

Primary data

When conducting the survey titled Can Technology improve Central Michigan University
Nutrition, respondents were asked a of question about whether an application could be helpful
for tracking nutrition. The answer to this question was that one hundred percent of respondents
agreed that this would be helpful. This question supports that technology such as applications
can be helpful for students to find to track information. Thus, technology such as applications
can help students to track nutrition facts and personal nutrition information.

Secondary data

Point and purchase is a marketing technique that influences the purchasing decisions of buyers.
The trick is to provide customers with a need for a product once they are in store. However, This
strategy could also serve to influence students purchasing decisions based on nutritional value. In
a study done by Marjorie Freedman and Rachel Conners (2011), point and purchase marketing
was used to get college students to buy products based on how each nutritious each food item
was. The categories chosen for this study were cereal, soup, crackers, and bread. A handful of
healthy items were chosen from each category based at random and tagged to indicating the item
had nutritional value. The results of the study indicated that sales for all tagged items except
bread increased about four percent (Freedman & Conner, 2011). This research supports the
notion that tagging nutritious food based on set criteria can influence the purchasing habits of
college students. Point and purchase marketing could be used at all Central Michigan University
dining areas to encourage nutritious meal choices. Point and purchase marketing could best be
implemented on Central Michigan University dining services website where all nutrition facts
are located. Items that have beneficial nutrition value could be marked with a flag or highlighted
so college students would be more influenced to purchase those foods. Influencing students to
buy healthy foods would influence students to make better dietary decisions. Some of these
features are already implicated on the website, however, implication of these tags could be
advanced further by including tags such as low in saturated fat, high in sodium, rich in protein,
and so on. These labels would provide more information to consumers that influences them to
make better health decisions.

Apps are application that can be downloaded on mobile devices. Apps can be relatively helpful
because they can provide information about a variety of topics. Health and fitness app provide a
service that can easily track an maintain performance in both areas. A study published by the
American Journal of Health Education examined how health and fitness app changed college
students’ behaviors. The study went of what college student already used to track health and
fitness, then found out what factors made these apps the most effective. The study concluded that

10

apps were most effective at changing college students’ behaviors when the application was free
to use, easy to use, visual and auditory cues, goal settings, varied methods of use ( Gowin,
Cheney, Gwin, & Wann, 2015). The implication of this research suggest that applications can
encourage students to make better health decisions if used effectively. An application could be
used with Central Michigan University dining services to support healthy dietary decisions.
Students could use the app to track nutrition information based on items chosen for each meal.
The app also could include visual and auditory cues when college students were not maintaining
a healthy or unhealthy nutrition. This tool could be effective for students who are looking track
daily meals or dietary nutrition over time. The second study that focused on application use was
focused on the how students choose a health app. The research looked to find what apps was to
establish the purpose of each type of health app used and how college students choose a health
app. based on the results of fifty participants, fifty four percent used calorie and daily activity
counter and eight percent used apps that provided health information (Choi & Stvilia, 2014). .
The below line graph that represents the college students that use each app type.

Figure 4 shows how many college students based on a sample size of fifty use different types of
health and wellness apps. Note that some students may use more than one type of app. (Choi &
Stvilia, 2014).

The research also showed that students chose apps based on high rating, free to use, design, top
listed result, credibility, easy to navigate, diverse functionalities, and in-depth information (Choi
& Stvilia, 2014). These factors should be considered when making an app that correlates with
dining services provided by Central Michigan University. This information is important when
implementing an app for nutrition tracking because all these features would make the
information more informative and helpful for college students. Also, when combined with dining
services, nutrition tracker apps could help students have healthier meal plans.

27

21

8

4

4

2

2

0 5 10 15 20 25 3

0

CALORIE AND DAILY ACTIVITY COUNTERS

RUNNING TRACKERS

EXERCISE/WORKOUT TRACKERS

HEALTH INFORMATION DATABASES

SLEEP PATTERN TRACKERS

WOMEN’S HEALTH

MICELLANEOUS

App Types Used by College Students

11

Nutrition labels can be used to determine the nutrition value of an item of food based on
numerical criteria. Nutrition labels are already implemented on the Central Michigan University
dining website. However, not all dining areas listed on the website have nutrition labels. This is
problematic because students would benefit more from having nutrition labels listed for all
available dining options. In a study published by the Journal of American College Health,
research concluded that listing labels in dining areas influenced college students to have healthier
purchasing habits (Koldinsky, Green, Michahelles, & Harvey-Berino, 2008). This research
supports the use of nutritional labels to influence positive purchasing behaviors. If all the dining
options listed on the dining website included nutrition labels, students would have the
information needed to make better nutritional decisions. Additionally, this data suggests that
posting nutrition labels at dining areas also brings about healthy meal planning. This is mainly
because students will see the nutrition facts of the food as they are choosing their meal.

Conclusion
To conclude the results and discussion, dietary habits that provide negative effects include eating
junk food, none regulating meals, not eating the recommended serving portions, and lack of
nutritional knowledge. Positive dietary habits included eating fruits and vegetables, food
regulation, eating the recommended serving portions, and informed nutritional knowledge. Also,.
When looking at what technology could do to improve college student’s education on nutrition,
many secondary resources found that web-based nutrition was most effective.. Lastly, when
examining how technology could be used to improve nutritional information, point of purchase
marketing was effective at influencing buyers’ decisions. Additionally, apps were also found to
be an effect tool that could be combined with the dining services website.

Recommendations
Based on the research collected, one recommendation would be to implement education for
college students that would be web-based nutrition. Web-based nutrition would be an effective
solution for providing nutritional information for Central Michigan University students because
it is relatively inexpensive. Also, the information would be easily accessible to college students
because of the use of the world wide web. My second recommendation would to use point to
purchase marketing on the Central Michigan University dining website. This would also be an
effective solution to influence students to improve their nutrition because it would provide
information that would identify which food items served in dining halls provide the best
nutritional information. another reason why this solution is feasible is because the implication of
point to purchase marketing is relatively inexpensive and easy to configure. Some labels are
already used to assess nutrition information. however, flags that indicated labels like high in
sodium, low in saturated fat, high in protein, and so on would provide more information for
college students using dining services. The last recommendation is to provide a dining service
app that students can use. This would be helpful for students because information on the app
could help provide calorie trackers for food consumed and daily food tracking. The app would be

12

easy to implicate because it would be relatively inexpensive and would work on all cellular
devices. The benefit of using an app in corporation with dining service would be that information
providing on the dining service website would be more accessible for college students.

The importance of this study was to find informative technological ways that students could get
educated on nutrition and how technology could be used to provide more nutritional information
about dining services. Nutrition is an important topic for college students because countless
students have terrible nutritional habits. These habits may seem unimportant in the moment, but
excessive bad nutritional habits can lead to life-long behaviors. In the future, Central Michigan
University should consider providing nutritional information to college students because it could
provide life long benefits. In conclusion, I would like to thank you for reading my analytical
report. To contact me either call xxx-xxx-xxxx or email me at x@cmich.edu

13

References

Choi, W., & Stvilia, B. (2014). How do college students choose mobile health/wellness
applications?. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and
Technology, 51(1), 1-4.

Cousineau, T. M., Franko, D. L., Ciccazzo, M., Goldstein, M., & Rosenthal, E. (2006). Web-
based nutrition education for college students: Is it feasible?. Evaluation and Program
Planning, 29(1), 23-33.

Cousineau, T. M., Goldstein, M., & Franko, D. L. (2004). A collaborative approach to nutrition
education for college students. Journal of American College Health, 53(2), 79-84.

Freedman, M. R., & Connors, R. (2011). Point-of-purchase nutrition information influences
food-purchasing behaviors of college students: a pilot study. Journal of the American
Dietetic Association, 111(5), S42-S46.

Gowin, M., Cheney, M., Gwin, S., & Franklin Wann, T. (2015). Health and fitness app use in
college students: a qualitative study. American Journal of Health Education, 46(4), 223-
230

Haberman, S., & Luffey, D. (1998). Weighing in college students’ diet and exercise behaviors.
Journal of American College Health, 46(4), 189-191.

Kolodinsky, J., Green, J., Michahelles, M., & Harvey-Berino, J. R. (2008). The use of nutritional
labels by college students in a food-court setting. Journal of American College Health,
57(3), 297-302.

Kolodinsky, J., Harvey-Berino, J. R., Berlin, L., Johnson, R. K., & Reynolds, T. W. (2007).
Knowledge of current dietary guidelines and food choice by college students: better
eaters have higher knowledge of dietary guidance. Journal of the american Dietetic
Association, 107(8), 1409-1413.

Laska, M. N., Hearst, M. O., Lust, K., Lytle, L. A., & Story, M. (2015). How we eat what we eat:
identifying meal routines and practices most strongly associated with healthy and
unhealthy dietary factors among young adults. Public health nutrition, 18(12), 2135-2145.

Poddar, K. H., Hosig, K. W., Anderson, E. S., Nickols-Richardson, S. M., & Duncan, S. E.
(2010). Web-based nutrition education intervention improves self-efficacy and self-
regulation related to increased dairy intake in college students. Journal of the American
Dietetic Association, 110(11), 1723-1727.

14

Appendix A-Survey Data Analytics

0%

20%
40%
60%

80%

100%

Yes No

Re
su

lt
Pe

rc
en

ta
ge

Answers

Do You Agree to Participate in this survey?

0%
20%
40%
60%

80%
100%

Yes Nore
sp

on
se

p
er

ce
nt

ag
e

Answers

Are You A Central Michigan University
Student?

0

5

10

15

female male

N
um

er
ic

al
R

ep
on

se
s

Answers

What is your Gender?

15

What could CMU do better in terms of the nutritional information offered for students?
Response Number of people who responded this way
One credit nutrition education class 5
Flyers and brochures 3
Online course 4
Scheduled events 2
Nutrition awareness 1

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Strongly

Disagree

Disagree

Neither Agree or Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Would you agree that college students have poor
nutrition?

0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%

100%
Lack of Time Cost Limited
Healthy
Options
More
Convenient
Unhealthy
options
Lack of
knowledge on
nutrition
None of the
above

what are some reasons why college students
have poor nutrition?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Strongly Disagree

Neither Agree or Disagree
Strongly Agree

Do you think that poor nutrition can have
negative effects on students?

16

What information is offered by Central Michigan University about student nutrition?
Dining website 6
Food pantry 2
Little to no information 3
I am not sure 4

0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

Yes no

Do you think that having web-based nutritional
information available for students would be

helpful?

0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Yes no

Would it be helpful for Central Michigan
University students to have an application that

helps them track their nutrition?

Writing Business Reports

10
Professional Writing and Speaking
Baker, Baker, and Robles

Chapter 10 Structure
Writing Business Reports
Definition of Business Reports
Report Writing Process
Business Report Categories
Review and Revision of Reports

Business Messages vs. Reports

Research and Report Processes

(Continued on next slide)

Research and Report Processes

(Continued from previous slide)

Planning the Report
Business Report Structure
Introduction
Research Methods
Findings
Conclusions
Recommendations
Scientific & Academic Report Structure
(IMRAD)
Introduction
Methods
Results and
Discussion

Team Writing
All Write All. The entire team composes together. Consistent style, but can be tedious, frustrating, and inefficient.
Each Writes Part. Team members divide and delegate the writing and share in giving feedback. Time efficient and equitable workloads, but inconsistent writing style. Works well for long reports.
One Writes All. One person writes the entire report. Team gives feedback. Unfair workload but consistent style. Works well for short reports.

Team Writing
Select an effective team.
Establish meeting times and deadlines.
Create an outline.
Assign tasks.
Clarify writing standards for style and design.
Establish a system for review and revision.
Give positive reinforcement.

Long Report Sections

Long Report Section Samples
Background
Purpose
Agenda
Two years ago, Western Bakeries, Inc., acquired Tony’s Bakeries, a Northern California firm consisting of three bakeries located in Sacramento, Redding, and Chico. Since that time, Tony’s Bakeries has been declining in profitability. The decline two years ago was 5.2
percent; last year the decline was an additional 7.6 percent.
We conducted a study to identify the reasons for the loss in profitability and to recommend appropriate solutions.
The following report sections explain the research methods, findings, conclusions, and recommendations resulting from this research.

Long Report Section Samples
Definition of terms
Research methods
■ 301 Redirect: A permanent redirect from the company’s old website to its new website.
■ Bounce rate: The percentage of visitors who visit your site and then leave, or bounce, rather than continue to view other pages at that site.
We analyzed Tony’s fundamental business operations, policies, and procedures to identify points of inefficiency, waste, or mismanagement. We also interviewed all store managers and employees to learn what they think is going well and what could be improved. Finally, we observed customers during their shopping and analyzed all website customer ratings and reviews.

Long Report Section Samples
Findings (what?)
Conclusions (so what?)
Recommendations (now what?)
Customers rate Tony’s product quality at 3.4/5.0.
Customer-service problems are causing a decline in customer patronage at Tony’s.
Provide ongoing customer-service training for Tony’s employees, give employees rewards for good customer service, implement job enrichment, and give small tokens of customer appreciation, such as one free donut for every dozen purchased.

Long Report Example

Short Reports
May have limited data and scope and involve less-important matter
Usually written in first person
Flexible formatting expectations, often sent as emails or memos attached to emails
Usually no table of contents or other front matter
May have attachments or appendixes
Begin with introduction, including background, statement of problem, recommendations, and agenda
Give recommendations
Write the body of the information, with needed graphics
Give conclusions and recommendations
Description
Structure

Sample short report opening, agenda, and beginning of body
Short Report

Sample short report closing, including a decision matrix, conclusions, and recommendations
Short Report

Slide Report Advantages
Slide information is more reader-friendly than hard-copy information.
Slides can be easily copied and shared with others.
Slide reports can contain hyperlinks for easy navigation throughout the report.
Slide reports are usually more visually appealing than traditional reports, with more variety in typography and greater use of business graphics.

4
Slide Report Sample

Progress reports
Performance reports
Informational reports
Analytical reports
Business Report Categories

Progress reports update managers on the progress and status of projects.
Business Report Categories

Performance reports indicate to what degree an organization or group is measuring up to prescribed standards.
Business Report Categories

Informational reports explain and clarify information needed by management for awareness and decision making.
Business Report Categories

Analytical reports are one-time documents that
seek to solve problems, explore business opportunities, or make informed decisions.
Business Report Categories

For decision-making reports
Structure Options for Evaluation Text

DOCS Review
Design
Report format and HATS (Headings, Art, Typography, Spacing)
Organization
Approach, OABC, and information structure
Content
5 C’s (clear, complete, correct, considerate, and convincing) and CLOUD for paragraphs (cohesion, length, organization, unity, and development)
Style
SPELL check (structure, punctuation, errors, language, and length)

Remember
Writing Business Reports
Definition of Business Reports
Report Writing Process
Business Report Categories
Review and Revision of Reports

Conducting Business Research

9
Professional Writing and Speaking
Baker, Baker, and Robles

Chapter 9 Structure
Conducting Business Research
Secondary Research
Primary Research

Two Business Research Categories

Four Publication Categories
Popular Magazines
Trade Journals
Scholarly Journals
Newspapers

Contain research-based articles
reviewed by author’s unbiased professional peers. Time-consuming, painstaking review process. Content is highly reliable but has little information on current topics.
Cover a wide array of current topics published for general audiences. Writing is intended to be informative and
interesting. Only occasional scholarly content.
Targeted at specific industries or professions. Not scholarly in nature, but many are recognized as authoritative within their industry or profession.
Published for general audiences; the most current of all publications, covering news, editorial opinions, and other information of interest to the public. Occasional scholarly content.

Evaluating Website Information
Reliability
Authority
Currency
Purpose
Credible website content should (a) be current, (b) be written by subject-matter experts, (c) meet all the standards of rigorous, unbiased research, and (d) not be profit motivated.

Basketball
Basketball OR volleyball
Basketball AND women’s AND injuries
Basketball AND college NOT professional
Boolean Operators

Use Boolean operators for searches

Copyrights—What You Need to Know
Q: Why is documentation required?
A: To comply with copyright law, give credit to the people who created the original work, and tell people how to find the original source.
Q: What’s the difference between a patent, trademark, and copyright?
A: A patent protects an invention; a trademark protects a name, symbol, or design; and a copyright protects writing, software, music, art, and movies
Be aware that even if a formal copyright has not been granted by the United States copyright office, the textual expression is automatically protected by copyright.
Q: What is plagiarism?
A: Plagiarism is copying someone else’s text verbatim, paraphrasing someone else’s work, or blending other people’s content with yours without giving credit.

When to Document

Comparing Documentation Styles
APA (American Psychological Association)
MLA (Modern Language Association)
Chicago (University of Chicago Press)
Jansen, F. & Janssen, D. (2011). Explanations first: A case for presenting explanations before the decision in Dutch bad-news messages. Journal of Business and Technical Communication 25(1), 36-67.
Jansen, Frank, and Daniel Janssen. “Explanations First: A Case for Presenting Explanations before the Decision in Dutch Bad-News Messages.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication 25.1 (2011): 36-67. Business Source Premier. Web. 8 Sept. 2012.
Jansen, Frank, and Daniel Janssen. 2011. “Explanations First: A Case for Presenting Explanations before the Decision in Dutch Bad-News Messages.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication 25: 36-67. Accessed September 8, 2012. http://jbt.sagepub.com/content/25/1/36.
IEEE (University of Chicago Press)
[3] F. Hansen and D. Janssen, “Explanations first: A case for presenting explanations before the decision in Dutch bad-news messages,” J. Bus. Tech. Commun., vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 36–67, 2011. http://jbt.sagepub.com/content/25/1/36.

Quote
Paraphrase
Summarize
Exact words, sentences, or phrases from others’ unique material.
Substitute your own words for words used in others’ unique material.
Condense a larger amount of material into its main points.
“While M.B.A. students’ quantitative skills are prized by employers, their writing and presentation skills have been a perennial complaint. Employers and writing coaches say business-school graduates tend to ramble, use pretentious vocabulary or pen too-casual emails.”
M.B.A. students’ quantitative skills are valued by employers, but the employers say the students’ writing and presentation skills are lacking—they ramble, use flowery vocabulary, and write overly informal emails.
Employers compliment M.B.A. students on their quantitative skills but complain about their writing and speaking skills.
Three Ways to Include the Work of Others

Five Methods of Primary Research

Research Standards
Validity
Reliability
Research must measure what it purports to measure.
Research must be repeatable with consistent results.

Sampling Types
Random
Stratified Random
Systematic Random
1,000
Draw 100 randomly.
1,000
Draw 100 randomly, making sure the sample has the same predetermined attribute percentages as the total population (e.g., age, income, education).
Population
Sample Size = 100
1,000
Draw a 1-10 number randomly, such as 7. Then from a numbered list, draw the 7th, 17th, 27th, 37th, etc. names up to 1,000.
Sampling Type

Sampling Types and Examples
Either/Or
Restricted multiple choice
Unrestricted multiple choice
Ranking
Rating
Open
Select one of two options.
Select only one.
Check all that apply.
Rank options high to low.
Rate all options on a scale.
Answer in your own words.

Questionnaire Design Guidelines
Provide a clear title and clear instructions.
Ensure anonymity and confidentiality wherever possible.
Make sure each question helps achieve the objectives of the questionnaire.
Keep the questionnaire short and simple.
Organize the questions, grouping related questions into the same section.
Make questions as easy to answer as possible

Analyze the Data
Standardize your data
Understand the context of your data
Understand your data types
Calculate descriptive statistics
Visualize your data
Explore differences and similarities
Explore relationships
Explore themes
Analyze content

Visualize the Data
Text can be visually represented as word clouds—more frequent words are represented in larger font size.

Visualize the Data
Visuals can reveal trends and patterns in your data that statistics alone cannot.

Chapter 9 Structure
Conducting Business Research
Secondary Research
Primary Research

.MsftOfcThm_Text1_Stroke {
stroke:#000000;
}

BIS 101WI Essential Business Communications Skills

Assignment #4, Business Analytical Report Peer Review

Peer Reviewer Instructions:
Before starting, download a copy of this document and save it to your hard drive. Provide your input on the downloaded version (be sure to include student names, below), save it, and then upload the completed peer review to Discussion Board #4 by the due date.

Name of Student
: Mohammed
Name of Reviewer
: Kyle

WHAT TO DO

· STEP 1: Review the business analytical report carefully with an attitude to look for ways the author can improve his/her report.

· STEP 2: Provide meaningful suggestions for improvement.

Reminder: This is an important part of the business communications process—peers will frequently review others’ work in business, so please take this activity seriously and provide solid and helpful improvement input. Be specific in your reviews and provide examples and reasons why you suggest a certain improvement, etc.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Highlight the Y or N appropriately when answering the questions below:

Format

Y or N Is the report written in a reader-centered (top-down processing) way by making the report structure transparent through strong use of topic sentences, transitions, forecasting throughout, and the opening moves of subject, purpose, main points etc. formula for each section except for the conclusion, recommendations? Y

Introduction/Problem Definition/Scope

Y or N Does the introduction present a full overview of the problem and does it approach the problem in comprehensive ways (is the scope /angle accurate, not too narrow or wide)? Y

Y or N If anybody reads it, can they think up alternate issues or angle and different causes and effects? Y

Y or N Does the introduction contain six opening moves as described in the assignment? (Moves 1-6: including subject, purpose of proposal, main point, importance, background info, and forecast organization of document) Y

Elements of Report

Y or N Does the writer use the scientific reporting structure of Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, conclusion with recommendations effectively? Y

Y or N Does the report feature front matter such as title page, table of contents, executive summary, as well as back matter, appendices, and references, as described in assignment? Y

Visual and Textual Rhetoric

Y or N Overall, is visual organization used effectively for the report, look neat? Y

Y or N Are visuals used to tell a simple story, do they represent data effectively, and are they referred to in-text and labeled with a description (i.e., Figure 1: Water conservation flow chart)? Y/N

Y or N Overall, is visual organization used effectively for the report, look neat? Y

Y or N Are the following used: section headers, chunking of text, effective use of HATS headings, art, typography, spacing (visual design principles) to create a visually well-organized and visually accessible rapport that is easy to read? Y

Research Methods/Results/ Discussion/Recommendation/ Cost, Ethics

Y or N Does the methodology section outline 2-3 clear Research Questions that the report proceeds to answer? Y

Y or N Are Research questions clearly defined and methods are tied to research questions as qualitative, quantitative or both (mixed methods)? Y

Y or N Are Results and Discussion presented in-depth and does the author incorporate scholarly journals and primary data and discuss them at an academic level? Y

Conclusion

Y or N Does the methodology section outline 2-3 clear Research Questions that the report proceeds to answer? Y

Y or N In the conclusion section, are conclusions reasonable and logically follow from data gathered and discussed in results and discussion section? Y

Recommendations

Y or N Are recommendations feasible and logical based on data gathered and logically follows from results, rather than being a “wish list” of the author? Y

Y or N Does the author remain objective throughout the report, and avoid giving recommendations elsewhere in the report or inserting their opinions EXCEPT for the recommendations, and is this informed? Y

APA/Grammar

Y or N Use of APA conforms to standards as defined by Online Writing Lab at Purdue (no errors in documenting sources in-text or your references)? N

Y or N Is there correct use of paraphrase, summary (99 percent), in-text quotes (1%) according to APA standards with a indicating of how the source is used together and with a source attribution either in-text or in parenthesis (last name, year, page)? N

ANALYTICAL REPORT SECTIONS.
Provide feedback for each section as requested.

1. Introduction. Share ideas in the introduction that seem under-researched or in need of further thinking:
Does a good job.

2. Problem/Needs statement. What problem/issue, in your own words, is the author of the proposal addressing? What is their angle to the topic – i.e. what outcome are they seeking?
Lack of communication. They are seeking a solution for better communication.

3. Methods. Does the methods section present research questions, explain whether these create a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods approach, and take the reader through the actual process of gathering data step-by-step and describe limitations to the study as if it were a scientific study? Is their method valid to measuring what they intend to measure?
It has 3 research questions. They create a qualitative approach because they are open ended. The method is valid.

4. Results and Discussion. Does the author show they have done extensive research/thinking about the problem or issue and do they accurately discuss the various contexts of their research in this/these section(s) in-depth?
He proves he has done good research on his issue.

5. Conclusion. Does the author extract 4-6 patterns that have logically arisen from their results section in a clear manner?
Yes

6. Possible Recommendations. Do the recommendations sound feasible/realistic and are they based on patterns observed? Can you think of other recommendations that the author could/should consider given your understanding of the problem or issue?
I recommend bolding your headings and going into a little more detail.

OVERALL

Give 5 concrete tips that will help the author create the best report possible. Give feedback.

a. Bold your headings

b. Under your diagrams give an explanation

c. Go into more detail

d. Add an appendix

e. Provide a link for your sources

f. Check some of your grammar