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This is the first paragraph in which a new ideas is mentioned.

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Authors often group the most important figures and statistics together in one paragraph.

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Use charts and tables to organize the data before writing the report.

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A data report is a technical document that details whatever data you have collected and shows how it was analyzed. While a data report can be a complex document, it's organization doesn't have to be. If you ever wrote a lab report in high school, you already know how to write a data report. It's usually divided into four sections: an introduction, a body, a conclusion and an appendix. All you need is a spreadsheet program and a word processor to write a professional data report.

Preparation

1. Identify your audience and keep them in mind while writing the report. A data report should be reader-friendly for those who will only skim through the data, looking for relevant facts to back up the conclusions, as well as those who are more technically minded and will be reading all of the data to ensure it supports your conclusions.

2. Gather all of the data you used for the report and write down your analysis of it. It's not wise to begin writing your report until after you have analyzed the data and identified your results.

3. Organize your data in one or more spreadsheets as needed. All of your data should be included in the report, even the data that wasn't analyzed. If you used secondary data, such as data gathered from other reports, keep this separate from your own data.

4. Determine whether or not you can highlight important data in charts. Most spreadsheet programs like Excel can generate charts automatically once you have organized the data as needed. Well-chosen charts help demonstrate your conclusions.

Writing the Report

1. Write an Introduction section. This usually contains three sections. First summarize the purpose of the report and the data being analyzed. Include any background information explaining why the report was requested. Then summarize the questions posed in the analysis of the data and the conclusions formed from the analysis. Finally, briefly outline what is contained in the rest of the report.

2. Create four sections in the body of the report: Data, Methods, Analysis and Results. In some situations it may be preferable to combine the Methods section with the Analysis section. If your report contains more than one set of data with independent analysis, repeat these four sections as often as needed.

3. Write a description of the most important data used for analysis in the Data section. Copy the spreadsheets containing your data and paste these after your written description. In Microsoft Office, simply highlight the cells, copy them, and then paste them into the Word document.

4. Write down the methods you used to gather the data and analysis in the Methods section.

5. Write down your analysis of the data in the Analysis section. Include in this section what was analyzed and the conclusions you made from the analysis. Insert any charts you created from the data in this section.

6. Create a Conclusions section. Restate the questions you raised in the Introduction, as well as the most relevant results from the analysis. If your report contains more than one set of data or analysis, this is the place to compare the different results as needed. Include any questions or recommendations for additional data as needed.

7. Include a last Appendix or Appendices section, if needed. If you have hundreds of pages of data, it may be preferable to put it in the appendix rather than in the Data section of the report. Insert any secondary data mentioned in the report in the Appendix, including a reference indicating where the data came from.

About the Author

A published author and professional speaker, David Weedmark has advised businesses and governments on technology, media and marketing for more than 20 years. He has taught computer science at Algonquin College, has started three successful businesses, and has written hundreds of articles for newspapers and magazines throughout Canada and the United States.

Photo Credits

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A data report is a technical document that details whatever data you have collected and shows how it was analyzed. While a data report can be a complex document, it's organization doesn't have to be. If you ever wrote a lab report in high school, you already know how to write a data report.

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These paragraphs give real, true information rather than opinion, argument, or speculation. Authors often establish the facts of a situation before presenting opinion, argument, or speculation.

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A well-balanced text presents more than one side of an issue. Even if the author is biased they will often present opposing arguments to make the text appear neutral.

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These paragraphs group together all the arguments on one side of an issue.

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These paragraphs present examples and other information to support arguments or to give context to the topic.