Department of Marketing Management (SMU)

CHAPTER SEVEN
INTERPRETATIONS AND REPORTING OF THE RESEARCH RESULT

After collecting and analyzing the data, the researcher has to accomplish the task of drawing
inferences followed by report writing. Interpretation has to be done carefully so that misleading
conclusion will not be drawn and the whole purpose of doing research will not be violated.

7.1.MEANINGS AND TECHNIQUE OF INTERPRETATION

Interpretation: refers to the task of drawing inferences from the collected facts after analytical or
experimental study.
The task of interpretation has two major aspects:
 The effect to establish continuity in research through the results of a given study with

these of others
 The establishment of explanatory concept

In one sense, interpretation is concerned with relationships within the collected data, partially
overlapping analysis.

Technique of interpretation
There are no existing rules to guide the researcher about how to interpret the data. However, the
following suggested steps could be helpful.
1. Researcher must give reasonable explanation of the relation, which he has found and he
must interpret the lines of relationship in terms of the underlining process and must try to
find out the thread of uniformity that lies under the surface layer of his diversified
findings.
2. Extraneous information, if collected during the study, must be considered while
interpreting the final result of research study, for it may prove to be a key factor in
understanding the problem under consideration
3. It is advisable, before embarking upon final interpretation, to consult some one having
insight in to the study and who is frank and honest and will not hesitate to point out
omissions and errors in logical argumentation. Such a consultation will result in correct
interpretation and, thus, enhance the utility of research result.
4. Researcher must accomplish the task of interpretation only after considering all relevant
factors affecting the problem to avoid false generalization.

Precaution in Interpretation
Researcher must pay attention to the following points for correct interpretation
 At the outset, researcher must invariably satisfy himself that the data are appropriate,
trust worthy, and adequate for drawing inferences. The data reflect good homogeneity
(no extreme) and popular analysis has been done through statistical or any other methods.
 The researcher must remain cautious about the errors that can possibly arise in the process
of interpreting results

Compiled by: Wondwosen T. & Yalwe G……………………Marketing Research 1

 Department of Marketing Management (SMU)
 He should be well equipped with and must know the correct use of statistical measures
for drawing inferences concerning his study.
 Broad generalization must be avoided, because the coverage restricted to a particular time,
a particular area and particular condition. Such restriction, if any, must invariably be
specified and the results must be farmed within their limit.
 The researcher must remember that there should be constant interaction between initial
hypothesis and, empirical observation and theoretical conceptions

7.2. REPORTING THE RESEARCH RESULT

Lay out of the Research Report
 Preliminary section
 The main text
 The lat section/part

1. The preliminary Section

This section contains:
A. The title page- it contains the following information:
 Title of the sturdy
 Name of institution to which the report is will be submitted
 Name of candidate
 Degree for which the report will be submitted
 Date of submission of the report
B. Acknowledgment- this is a section that recognizes individuals and institutions to which
you are indebted for providing credible assistance in due course of your study. Keep this
part as brief and simple as possible.
C. Table of contents: include list of classification of the research report with their
corresponding page numbers for easy references
D. List of Tables and Figures: when you have figures and tables in your report, you need a
separate page for list of tittles to tables and figures along with their corresponding page
numbers
2. The Main Text Section
The main body of the research consists of five chapters namely:
 Introduction -----------------------------------------------------Chapter One
 Review of the related literature-----------------------------Chapter Two
 Presentation, Analysis and interpretation of data-----Chapter Three
 Summary, Conclusions & Recommendations---------- Chapter Four
3. The End part
Acknowledging sources and bibliographical ways using the works of other writer in the course
of your is a normal procedure of research undertaking. In doing so, you are required to give
appropriate acknowledgment that shows what you have borrowed as ideas. To do otherwise is
plagiarism- taking some one idea as your own without acknowledging.
Compiled by: Wondwosen T. & Yalwe G……………………Marketing Research 2
 Department of Marketing Management (SMU)
Plagiarism – is the act of using another person’s ideas in your writing without acknowledging the
source.
Citing Sources
The usual style of acknowledging your source of is keeping brief citation in the text that refers to
an alphabetical list of works that appear at the end of your research.
 Example: “Quality and standard are in fact relative matter, relative to the particular time
and place and particular learners and their circumstances (Coombs, 1985:102). The
citation (Combos, 1985:107) tell you that Coombs is the name of author, 1985 is the year of
publication, 107 is page number from which the indicated information has been derived.
Bibliographical Usage
A bibliography is a list of all the works referred in due course of investigation in alphabetical
order. The basic styles for documenting major sources in a bibliography are the following:

Books: When the name of the author is indicated, basic entries are authors name, title of the
book, and publication information- year of publication, place of publication and publisher.
Example:
Johnson, D. (1994). Research Method in Education Management. London: Long man
Group Uk ltd.
Books with a single author
1. Author’s name: reverse the author’s name and add comma (,) after the last name. For
instance the name of the author in the author in the example above appears on title page
as Dephen Johnson. Omit titles, affiliations and degrees that come before after names such
as Dr., PHD, MA, and Professor.
2. Title of the book:
 State the full title of the book including sub titles
 If the book has sub-title, put a colon (:) directly after the main title.
 Place a period and year of publication before entire title
 Underline or bold the whole title.
  3. Publication Information
 Write the year of publication in bracket, city, of publication and publisher in that order
 Use dot between the year of publication and book title, use colon between the city and
publisher
 If several cities are listed in the book, use only the first.
Example: Kuthari, C.R. (1994). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. Bombey:
Johri-publisher
Books with two Authors
Example: Coomb and Sunder Girma (1994)
Compiled by: Wondwosen T. & Yalwe G……………………Marketing Research 3
 Department of Marketing Management (SMU)
Coomb, P. and S.Girma (1994)…

Citing a book with three or more authors

When a book is written by more than three authors you will come only the first author and
others or et al.
Gorton, R. and Others or Gorton, R. etal (1988). Harvard Book of School Management. Phoenix:
Oryx Press
Journals
The entry for an article in a journal has three major divisions. These are: Author name, title of
the article in quotation marks, and publication information.
Example:
Rosner, B. (1991) “Women in Management.” Harvard Business Review.                    Vol. 69, No. 3
(Pp. 152-165)
News Papers
The citation includes:
 The name of the author and year of publication
 The title of the article in quotation mark
 The name of the news paper underlined
 Page number of the news paper
Example
Abebe Asfaw (Sept, 1994) “Attacking unemployment in Ethiopia” The                         Ethiopia
Herald. (Pp. 3-5)
Unpublished sources
Essential entries are the following:
 The name of the writer
 The title of unpublished work under quotation
 Description about the sources
Example:
Sakala, C. (1993). “Maturity Care Policy in the United States: Toward a more Rational and
Effective Society.” Unpublished Dissertation Boston University

Government Publication
If the information sources are published by government ministries/Agencies, cite as an author
government agency that issued it.
Example:

Compiled by: Wondwosen T. & Yalwe G……………………Marketing Research 4

 Department of Marketing Management (SMU)
 Ministry of Education (1993). Basic Education Statistics. Addis Ababa:
Educational Management and information system

General Points to Note in Bibliography

 When the authors name is not indicated alphabetize the book by its title. Ignore articles (a,
an or the) for the order of alphabetization
 When the same name (a person or an institution) is referred to more than once in your
bibliography, give the name in the first entry only. Then, in place of the names use bars
(______)
 If several works by the same author appear in bibliography, they must be alphabetized
among themselves in bibliography; they must be alphabetized among themselves by title.
 When the same author produces two or more publications in a year alphabetize by
assigning sequential letters (a,b,c,…) next to their year of publications
Example: (1973a, 1973b)
If the bibliography is long (more than 25 entries), references can be grouped according to their
category usually in three parts:
o Books
o Periodicals- Journals
o News Papers and Unpublished Material

N.B

 When the author is an Ethiopian take the name as written on title pages Ethiopian names
cannot be converted.
 When materials in Amharic are used, place on the last line of bibliography page.

Compiled by: Wondwosen T. & Yalwe G……………………Marketing Research 5