Report contents guide

What a market research report should show.

Understand the scope, trace the evidence, and see how the analysis supports a decision before you buy.

Review the report contents

A clear analytical chain

From market boundary to decision.

Use these 12 elements to assess how a report defines the question, tests the evidence, and explains what follows.

01 / Define

Frame and size the market

  1. 01

    Decision scope

    The business decision, audience, geography, period, unit of analysis, inclusions, and exclusions.

  2. 02

    Executive answer

    A concise conclusion that states what the evidence supports, what remains uncertain, and what should happen next.

  3. 03

    Claim and source ledger

    A traceable record of each material claim, source, retrieval date, calculation, assumption, and limitation.

  4. 04

    Market sizing model

    Definitions, equations, units, base period, forecast period, inputs, scenario ranges, and sensitivity drivers.

02 / Compare

Compare the market

  1. 05

    Segmentation

    Distinct customer, product, channel, use-case, geographic, or price segments with an explicit classification method.

  2. 06

    Commercial economics, where included

    Pricing assumptions, cost drivers, margins, and delivery or channel economics, with the available evidence and limitations.

  3. 07

    Competitive landscape

    Relevant companies, category boundaries, comparison criteria, evidence dates, and gaps that prevent a fair comparison.

  4. 08

    Buyer evidence

    Documented needs, pain points, procurement criteria, objections, adoption barriers, and evidence quality.

03 / Decide

Interpret and act

  1. 09

    Scenarios and risks

    What would change the conclusion, leading indicators to monitor, downside cases, and decision triggers.

  2. 10

    Strategic options, where included

    Market-entry choices, capability requirements, investment conditions, and the evidence needed to choose between alternatives.

  3. 11

    Methodology and limitations

    Research methods, source classes, validation steps, unresolved conflicts, confidence, and known blind spots.

  4. 12

    Review and delivery

    Named review responsibility, version date, revision history, available files, and the licensed use of the research.

Before you choose

Make the evidence inspectable.

Check the reasoning behind the headline, then confirm the material you need to judge the report's fit.

Questions to ask

  1. 01

    Can you reproduce the logic behind every material market number?

  2. 02

    Does the report define the market before presenting a forecast?

  3. 03

    Are sources linked or named precisely enough to verify them?

  4. 04

    Are estimates separated from observed facts and management assumptions?

  5. 05

    Does the competitive set follow stated inclusion criteria?

  6. 06

    Are limitations and contradictory evidence visible, not buried?

  7. 07

    Does the report explain which decision each section supports?

Continue reading

Explore how definitions, reachable segments, and source dates affect market-size conclusions.

How to read TAM, SAM, and SOMInterpret scope, definitions, and reachable-market assumptions.Why market-size numbers can misleadCheck category boundaries, source dates, units, and assumptions.

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