Conventions of reporting psychological investigations

Question 1

What are the 8 components of reporting psychological investigations?

Answer 1

1. The title
2. The abstract
3. The introduction
4. The method
5. The results
6. The discussion
7. Appendices
8. References

Question 2

What should the title consist of?

Answer 2

Concise but informative sentence or 2 which lets the reader know what the report is about

Question 3

What should the abstract consist of?

Answer 3

• A brief 150-200 word summary of the report
• Briefly mention references to past research in the area, methods used, findings and conclusions

Question 4

What should the introduction consist of?

Answer 4

• A section that introduces the reader to the background of the study –> it will make reference to past research in the area (methods, findings, conclusions) as well as relevant theories
• The 2nd part explains the ideas behind the research before going on to make a specific hypothesis which fully operationalises the variables

Question 5

What should the method consist of?

Answer 5

• A section that describes how the study was conducted which should have enough information in it to allow the study to be replicated and should relate explicitly which research method is being used (lab experiment, naturalistic observation, etc..)
• The design –> Brief outline of the experimental design used (e.g. independent measures) and any control measures that are employed
• Variables
• Participants –> Describes the key features of the participant sample (age, gender, number) and will include the sampling technique used (random sampling)
• Procedure –> Informs the reader how the study was conducted in a step by step account of how participants were allocated into conditions, instructions, how data was collected, ethics

Question 6

What should the results consist of?

Answer 6

• A section which clearly reports the findings of the study, typically involving reference to how data is analysed
• Descriptive statistics will display measures of central tendency and dispersion in clearly labelled tables, often enhanced with graphs

Question 7

What should the discussion consist of?

Answer 7

• A summary of the results and an explanation of what the findings actually mean
• There will be a reference made to past research in the area and whether the findings of the current investigation are similar or different

Question 8

What should the appendices consist of?

Answer 8

A section where raw data will be given, including examples of any written instructions or methods of gathering data (e.g. questionnaires)

Question 9

What should the references consist of?

Answer 9

• All cited evidence listed alphabetically
• Using Harvard referencing