Engineering Management

STEP 3 – Final Report Content

LENGTH- The minimum length of the report is 15 pages. This count excludes the Title Page, Table of Contents, Bibliography, and Appendices.

WRITING STYLE AND FORMAT- DO NOT write in the first person. Never use “I”, “We” or “The author”. (If you must mention something about yourself do it in a preface). No one-sentence paragraphs. Reports must be double-spaced using a 12-point font. Reports must be spell checked and proofread prior to submission.

COVER PAGE- Include report title and your name

TABLE OF CONTENTS- Include page number for each title below and each Appendix with a title.

INTRODUCTION and PURPOSE OF THE STUDY- This is the issue/problem/project you are studying or the subject under investigation i.e. the reason for this investigation.

METHODOLOGY or DESIGN- This section will tell the reader precisely how you gather the information, conducted the experiment, surveyed the subjects, etc. It will describe the population, the method and rationale for selecting the subjects and all the information necessary to determine exactly how you conducted your study or developed your model or library research. This section is supposed to be written in the past tense.

LIBRARY RESEARCH- This section will review previously published research on the topic of your investigation. This section should be completed before you begin your study. The purpose of this experiment is two-fold. The first reason for conducting library research is to determine what other individuals have found in similar investigations. This will aid you in conducting a better study by informing you of how similar research has been conducted so you can avoid or anticipate problems that other researchers have encountered. At least 60 % of the references must be dated 1995 to present. No more than five of the sources may be from world wide web pages or other internet sources.

Note: Copies of articles used in research must be available for review by advisors upon request of advisors.

FINDINGS- The purpose of this section of the report is to present the results or findings of your study/investigation. It will include your analysis /synthesis of the data/information you have gathered, tables, charts, graphs, etc. (Lengthy tables or charts should be placed in an appendix. At the end of this section you will have a summary – a brief recapitulation of your findings.

CONCLUSIONS- On the basis of your understanding of the topic and results of your study, what do you conclude? What is your opinion; what decisions have you reached concerning this problem and this firm? This section should refer to both the library research and findings. This section is for your input, but remember not to use “I”, “We” or “The author”. (The reader knows whose conclusions are presented.)

RECOMMENDATIONS- What are your recommendations to improve this situation and what is the basis for your recommendation? You should also include in this section your recommendations for future research.

LIMITATIONS- The purpose of this section is to inform the reader of the limitations of methodology, applicability, generalizability, etc. of your study. It is not a “limitation of your time available” but rather the mistakes you may have made, the questions you now know you should have asked, the validity of the data, the generalizability of your findings.

BIBLIOGRAPHY- Depending on the type of project, a minimum of 25 to 50 unique sources are to appear in the bibliography. List sources in alphabetical order by author. Sources cited should be complete with year, volume number, and page numbers. For book references include the name of the publisher and the year the book was published. (See Turbian, Part V, 6 for examples.)

APPENDIX- This should include forms, models, material designed for the firm, complex tables or tabulated data; copies of all letters, questionnaires and other forms used in the study; all of the actual surveys and letters; and any miscellaneous material not covered above.

EVALUATION AND GRADING- Acceptability of final research reports and grading of written work will be based on the professional judgment of the advisors and will include: the degree of difficulty of the study, the complexity of the issue/project, the quality of the analysis, the quality of the recommendations and the strength of their rationale, the format of the report (adherence to specifications such as style and citations), and the quality of the writing (English usage, grammar, the number of rewrites required, extent to which the advisors must edit the report).

WARNING
Cheating, Plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited by Ohio Law and university regulations. Any such incidents will be immediately reported to the Office of University Legal Services for disposition. Cheating needs no explanation. Plagiarism is the failure to footnote (endnote, on written reports) the source of any of the following: direct quotations, the opinions or the ideas of another person, specific facts or details, dates, or statistical information. When in doubt note the source.