RESEARCH FINDINGS
[Report Title: The Question or Topic Studied]
[Author Name(s)], [Team or Organization] · [Month DD, YYYY]
Key findings
Recommendation: [The single most important action the reader should take] |
1. Research question
[State the question the research set out to answer, in one sentence.]
[Explain why the question matters now: the decision it informs, who asked for it, and what was already known.]
Hypotheses
Hypothesis | Outcome |
|---|---|
H1. [What you expected to find, stated so it can be tested] | [Supported / Not supported / Mixed] |
H2. [Hypothesis] | [Outcome] |
H3. [Hypothesis, or delete if the research was exploratory] | [Outcome] |
2. Method
Approach | [Interviews / survey / usability test / data analysis / literature review] |
Participants or sample | [Who, how many, and how they were selected] |
Period | [Month DD] – [Month DD, YYYY] |
Data sources | [Datasets, documents, or instruments used] |
Analysis | [How the data was coded, compared, or tested] |
[Note any deviation from the planned method and why it was made.]
3. Evidence
[Summarize the evidence collected before interpreting it. Keep descriptive results here and conclusions in the next section.]
Source | What was collected | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
[Interviews] | [Transcripts and notes] | [N] | [Recruiting criteria] |
[Survey] | [Responses to N questions] | [N] | [Response rate] |
[Analytics or records] | [Metric or dataset] | [Period] | [Known gaps] |
4. Findings
Finding 1. [State the finding in one sentence.] [Explain what the evidence shows, with the specific numbers, quotes, or observations that support it.] Evidence: [Sources, e.g. 9 of 14 interviews; survey Q7] Confidence: [High / Medium / Low] |
Finding 2. [State the finding in one sentence.] [Explain what the evidence shows, with the specific numbers, quotes, or observations that support it.] Evidence: [Sources, e.g. 9 of 14 interviews; survey Q7] Confidence: [High / Medium / Low] |
Finding 3. [State the finding in one sentence.] [Explain what the evidence shows, with the specific numbers, quotes, or observations that support it.] Evidence: [Sources, e.g. 9 of 14 interviews; survey Q7] Confidence: [High / Medium / Low] |
Finding 4. [State the finding in one sentence.] [Explain what the evidence shows, with the specific numbers, quotes, or observations that support it.] Evidence: [Sources, e.g. 9 of 14 interviews; survey Q7] Confidence: [High / Medium / Low] |
5. Limitations
- [Sample: size, selection method, or groups not represented]
- [Method: what the approach cannot show, e.g. correlation rather than cause]
- [Data: missing, self-reported, or time-limited data]
- [Any conflict of interest or constraint on the research]
6. Implications
[What the findings mean for the decision or question that prompted the research. Separate what is established from what is suggested.]
- [Implication for a product, policy, or process]
- [Implication for a team, customer group, or plan]
7. Recommendations
Recommendation | Based on | Priority | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
[Specific action] | Finding 1 | [High] | [Name or team] |
[Specific action] | Finding 2 | [Medium] | [Name or team] |
[Specific action] | Findings 1, 3 | [Low] | [Name or team] |
8. Further research
[Questions this study raised but did not answer, and the method that could answer them.]
9. Sources
[Author Last Name, First Name]. [Title]. [Publisher or Organization], [Year]. [URL, if any].
[Author Last Name, First Name]. [Title]. [Publisher or Organization], [Year]. [URL, if any].
Appendices: [List attached materials, e.g. interview guide, survey questions, full data tables.]