Subject: Collaborative Research Project Assignment Prompt
Assignment Overview
For the collaborative research project assignment, you and two of your classmates will define a problem on campus or in the Davis community that needs to be addressed.
To address this problem, you will conduct primary and secondary research and write a recommendation report in which you describe and interpret your findings, draw
conclusions from your analysis of findings, and make recommendations. You will tailor your report to meet the information needs of a specific decision maker, and your
goal in writing this report is to try to persuade that decision maker—your target reader—to accept your conclusions and act on your recommendations.
Research Requirements
For the formal report, you must conduct at least one interview with an appropriate individual and use at least one other method of primary research, such as
observation or document analysis. You must also draw on at least four secondary sources (others’ published work). At least two of your secondary sources must not be
published on the Web (see Web vs. Print Resources on page three of this prompt). Not meeting these research requirements will result in a lower final-report grade.
Forms of secondary research might include
• Web and media sources
• Government documents and reference materials
• Other documents (maps, pamphlets, special dictionaries)
• Business documents (annual reports, brochures, etc.)
• Professional publications and peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Consumer Reports, Psychology Today, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, American Behavior Scientist)
Report Content
Your report will include most of the essential components of a formal report, as outlined in the formal reports entry in The Business Writer’s Handbook. A report is
“formal” because it has parts that follow specific forms. Thus, your report will likely contain the following parts:
1. Cover Memo or Letter—If you are addressing your report to an external audience, write a letter. If you are addressing your report to an internal audience, write a
memo.
2. Title Page
3. Table of Contents
4. Executive Summary
5. Introduction (the following components are typically addressed)
a. Definition of Problem
b. Helpful Background Information
c. Report Purpose and Significance
d. Overview of Objectives and Methods of Inquiry (briefly address the “what” and “how” of your research)
e. Benefits (briefly highlight how the report benefits the target audience)
f. Limitations of Research Conducted (if any)
g. Report Scope (what it covers and what it does not)
h. Organization (how the report is organized)