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Research reports come in a full range of formats. From short and precise to long and detailed, there’s a report for that. In this post, we’ll outline the pros and cons of three formats to help you choose the one that will best suit your business needs.
Data reports are cheap, fast, and easy
Historically, the research industry has done a great job of producing reports with reams of data. Today, these types of reports are supported by automated systems that produce a nicely colored chart for every single question in a questionnaire. Supplemental charts might also be built manually using data pulled from tabulations. With charts in place, titles or headlines are easily prepared by converting the largest or smallest number in each chart to a phrase.
You know you’re working with a data report when the headlines read like these:
- 75% of shoppers seek out discounts
- 55% of people prefer package B
- 80% of people indicated child-care is a key issue
Data reports are fast and relatively cheap to create. Launch a survey, request the automated charts, and choose an interesting number to become the title on each slide. These reports require little thinking and creativity and, as such, nearly anyone can prepare them regardless of their skill or experience.
Despite their tendency to be quite long, these types of reports answer limited questions. And though automation means that they’re far less expensive, they are the least helpful and are rarely used again. To improve data visualization and streamline reporting, consider integrating dashboards using modern admin panel themes, a quick solution that provides interactive and user-friendly insights into your findings.
Insight reports take time, money, and care
In recent years, our industry has realized that data reports offer little value to research buyers. “What” without the “how, why, and when” doesn’t lead to repeatable business decisions that can be generalized for long-term value across products and audiences. Consequently, many report providers have turned their efforts from data reports to insight reports.
Insight reports require researchers to simultaneously consider multiple pieces of data and derive an understanding that isn’t inherently obvious in the data. It requires understanding the external, environmental context in which the research took place, and how this connects to the business problem at hand.
Insight reports are more expensive and take more time to create because they require more skill and experience to create. Rather than focusing on the largest or smallest number in a chart, researchers instead seek out the unexpected, nonsensical, out of place numbers which are most important. Turning those numbers into insight requires digging into external data – cultural, historical, geographical, political, technological, economic.
Headlines in an insights might look like this:
- Because of the sudden cost of living increase, 50% more shoppers are value seekers
- Despite being less accessible, people preferred Format B because their favorite celebrity was recently seen using it
- The need for child-care declined to 80% due to higher unemployment rates
Although insight reports take more time and money to create, they create value beyond the cost of data collection. They offer insights and understanding that can be used not only for the business problems at hand, but also for other challenges still to come with similar products, categories, or audiences. In the end, these more valuable insights lead to long-term loyalty between the researcher buyer and provider.
Action reports are expensive but they generate ROI
The most valuable reports are action reports. These reports go beyond data points and contextual insights to offer actionable recommendations that identify long-term solutions for specific and generalized business problems. If you were to map out the questions and slides in these types of reports, you wouldn’t find a chart for every question and the slides wouldn’t be ‘in order.’ Rather, you would find that each slide title contributes to an overall coherent story complete with an introduction, key issues, and final conclusions.
Here are some examples of action statements in a report
- With the increased cost of living creating more value seekers, switching to lower quality paper and using less ink on each printing will help decrease prices by 8%
- Despite lower ratings for Format A, it should be adopted with a marketing plan that demonstrates these 3 accessibility use cases
- Though demand for child-care has decreased, we must increase child-care openings to support job-seeking opportunities
Unlike lengthy and less expensive data reports, action reports are usually short and much more expensive mainly because they are vastly more difficult to create. Action reports depend on a true partnership between the research buyer and provider, a partnership wherein the provider has been privy to the confidential workings and challenges experienced by the research buyer. A true partnership leads to reports that offer long-term value and increasing ROI.
Key Takeaways
The choice between data reports, insight reports, and action reports ultimately boils down to your specific business needs. While data reports offer a quick and cost-effective solution, their limited insights may provide no actionable recommendations. Insight reports, on the other hand, dive deeper into the data, uncovering valuable patterns and trends. And, at their best, action reports truly deliver by providing not only insights but also concrete recommendations to drive business growth. The key to success lies in choosing the type of report that aligns with your strategic goals and provides the actionable insights you need to make informed decisions. If you’d like to understand more about research processes, connect with one of our survey experts. We always love chatting about the best ways to uncover valid and reliable insights!
