Investigation is the action of searching and examining a subject or problem. Whether it is a criminal matter, workplace issue, or something else, an investigation involves a search for the truth to determine cause and effect and to make recommendations. Investigation is used in legal, corporate, and regulatory contexts and often requires interviewing, data collection, and other formal and informal analysis.
A key goal of an investigation is to prevent future incidents by learning what happened, why it happened, and how to avoid similar problems. A well-written investigative report serves this purpose by documenting what happened, suggesting actions to take, and providing decision makers with valuable data for future action.
For example, if an employee is found to have engaged in unsafe or unlawful conduct, the investigation report provides valuable information for human resources or security teams to help protect the organization. In turn, this can improve organizational safety and compliance with laws and regulations.
For an investigation to be effective, it must be thorough and accurate. That means that reports should be clear and comprehensive with little to no jargon or specialized language. The report should also be organized in a way that anybody internally or externally can read the whole report without having to reference other materials. In addition, the report should document findings objectively and accurately while also providing decision makers with enough data to decide on further action. Lastly, it should be free of grammatical errors and other mistakes that may give a negative impression or mislead readers.