Research Reporting

1.  Reports: Theory and Practice

The student will

1. examine the genre of reports
2. examine the  rhetorical situation in this specialized writing task
3. develop awareness of the stages of client-centred report production:
   
   
   • initial contact
   • proposals
   • progress reports
   • client-centred outlines
   • reader-based reports
     
     
4.  develop awareness of the sub-textual level of report production:
   
   • social and cultural context (organizational culture)
   • inter-personal protocols
   • rhetorical strategies

2.  Time Management

The student will:

1. develop an action plan
2. structure activities to satisfy short and long term priorities
3. establish a system for organizing workload
4. meet production deadlines

3. Research Process   

The student will:

clearly establish audience, purpose, context

1. clearly establish audience, purpose, context 
2. identify major, minor, and irrelevant issues (scope)
3. determine appropriate data base
4. analyze appropriateness of data sources
5. develop surveys, questionnaires, interview questions
6. practise interviewing skills
7. utilize appropriate secondary data sources:
   
   • reference texts,
   • libraries,
   • grey literature,
   • market research
8. manage information in an ethical manner
9. produce applicable related documents as necessary:
   
   • letters,
   • memos,
   • short reports
10. produce an organizational culture analysis (essay)

4. Document Production

The student will:

1. collect and organize source material in terms of issues
2. prepare a client-centred report outline
3. produce a proposal
4. produce a progress report
5. produce a coherent, reader-based report which fulfills its purpose
6. produce an accompanying abstract (executive summary)
7. make use of coherence and persuasive strategies as required
8. revise the report for appropriateness of tone, structure, and content in relation to audience and purpose. 

5. Discourse Theory and Grammar: exercises from Vande Kopple.