Stocking Stuffers: A Report Writing Tip

The last of the stocking stuffers before we all take off. Of course, with WFH for many, you probably are taking off already. 

 One of the biggest challenges as a researcher is creating a compelling narrative in a report. The special for researchers is not always finding the narrative. More often than not, it’s leaving out a bunch of data that doesn’t fit in the narrative. Most researchers have this compulsion to find every bit of data interesting, even the irrelevant stuff. 

So, to help the compulsive data monger in me let go of less important data I use a little mental trick when writing a report. I create all the charts first.

 I make sure every question gets its own chart. Then, I stick all those charts in the appendix. 

Now my mind knows that all the data is included in the report and I feel far more free to edit and trim and craft a compelling narrative that will always include only a portion of the data collected and analyzed.

It’s that easy.

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I have been involved in the market research field, as a corporate-side research manager, a bulletin board platform co-founder, and then a research agency owner for over 35 years now. I have learned a thing or two about doing research better. My intent with these articles is to share practical and thought provoking ideas to elevate your research game, whether you are the person conducting the research or the person using it to make better decisions. (Or if you wear both hats!) 

Twitter: @TripleScoopPMR