WRITING A PITCH REPORT
This is the general structure of a pitch report. In business, this is the report upon which your client will make a decision about whether to
hire you or not. In this sense, it is different to an ‘academic’ report. It must retain academic rigour, and IN ADDITION, you must convince the
client that:
• You understand their organisation and sector
• You understand the project aims and objectives
• You have a thorough understanding of research, and that you can produce a detailed research methodology that will produce findings that
will meet their aims and objectives
• You can work with the client to produce detailed, specific, solutions to their business needs.
GENERAL HINTS AND TIPS
Before you start writing your pitch think about your key stakeholders – what do they want from the report?
Reference ALWAYS, using the Harvard System. Use it consistently. If you don’t already know how to do this go to the library website where they
have a fact sheet. Use it. We mark referencing.
If you use appendices, you MUST refer to them in the body of your pitch using the correct labels. For example, Appendix 1: ‘Title’ must be
referred to as Appendix 1: ‘Title’ in your pitch. Appendices can include things like a copy of your questionnaire, a list of potential
participants you might approach, etc. It is NOT the place to add additional information that you couldn’t fit in to the main body of your work.
STRUCTURE OF YOUR REPORT
This is a general structure. You may wish to tailor it, in agreement with your supervisor, to reflect the individual needs of your project.
TITLE
(15 words or less)
INTRODUCTION
Background to the organisation
The issue under investigation. Why it is important?
Aims and objectives
Literature review / background /secondary research / desk research (these all mean more or less the same thing)
What is the context for your study? Review of similar work undertaken elsewhere. How do they relate to your topic? What are their key findings?
Do different sources agree with each other? If not, why not? And which is more convincing, and why?
Ensure you use a good mix of primary and secondary sources. Ensure you use ‘quality’ evidence (i.e. not the top six responses to a Google
search). Google Scholar is a good place to start. Also use the library website. It is a very useful source of information and is available on
the Portal.
METHODOLOGY
There are two reasons for describing your methodology in detail:
1. So your theories can be tested by someone else. Your research should be replicable.
2. So that the client can be sure you have gathered the information in a sensible and transparent manner.
It should have the following sections:
Framework
(e.g. positivistic/interpretivist)
Design
(e.g. cross sectional / longitudinal, quantitative/qualitative)
Participants
(number, age range, gender, any specific characteristics (e.g. all managers), sampling technique.
Materials
(Questionnaires, SurveyMonkey, flipchart and pens, voice recorder etc)
Procedure
Step by step guide to delivering the study and how you might analyse it – like a recipe
WHY CHOOSE US?
Profile of Your Consultancy
Profile of the Members of your Consultancy
REFERENCES
Harvard System throughout – marks will be taken off if this is not done properly.
APPENDICES
IBM Resources – here are some resources to get you started. How many more can you identify?
www.ibm.com/uk-en/
http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Summary?s=IBM:NYQ
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/dced8150-b300-11e5-8358-9a82b43f6b2f.html
IBM YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/IBM
http://www.forbes.com/companies/ibm/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ibm
http://quotes.wsj.com/IBM
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