7 May 2008

Good Topic, Great Result, Lousy Report

I was reading about the research findings analysing the coverage and tendency of media during the recent General Election in Malaysia (here's the report). Research was carried out by a 4-member team from a public university.

Personally, I felt the topic was an interesting one and therefore went to search for the entire research report. The data collected was even more astonishing, with plenty of exciting trends and observation to write about. Those who are inclined with data analysis will certainly be glad to see such findings.

However, to my biggest surprise, the 49-page report only has a half-page acknowledgement and a one-page summary. The entire report was filled with tables, graphs and charts, with no report or text to explain the findings or trends.

This is one of the biggest letdowns I did not expect coming from a team of researchers in a university. Perhaps secondary school students could have done a similar report, perhaps with better graphics or presentation.

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