Unless you are an unquestioned authority on your subject matter, your opinions will only carry as much weight as the evidence that you can gather. The more evidence you can collect before writing, the easier your writing will be.

Evidence consists of the facts and information you gather in three ways:

• Careful observation
• Interview
• Research (in your company library or archives, surveys, statistical review, etc.)

In order to make sure that your report is not biased, don't focus only on evidence that will support your argument. You need to objectively present the positive and negative results in order for people to see the integrity in your data and the report.

To give formal reports credibility and authority, researchers generally rely on a certain amount of secondary data, obtained in print or electronically. What suggestions do you have for conducting effective research? Where do you look for information?