An Alternative Approach to Presenting Research Findings

Most market research reports will use charts and/or tables to convey information to readers. While these may be suitable in most cases, there are alternatives that can be as powerful. In cases where a large amount of information is required to convey several points, choosing to use a graph can pose a challenge. Too much information on a graph can be confusing and cumbersome for the reader. Presenting data using words to highlight key characteristics provides a quick and easy way to convey key findings.

This can be illustrated using the content readership data in the NADbank Study.

Such a table could be put together to profile content readership. The table provides a quick summary of the key demographic groups who are most likely readers of specific newspaper content. For example, readers of finance/business are most likely to be male, married, 35+, and have a household income greater than $100,000.

Regardless of the complexity of the data, there are three basic steps to consider when presenting research findings:

1. Know your audience
2. Select the appropriate medium (e.g. print, speech, pictures, etc.)
3. Select the most appropriate format to meet the needs of your audience

Related Articles:

• NADbank to test telephone questionnaire options
• NADbank 2009 Mail-Back Questionnaire Revisions