Reporting Psychological investigations

Question 1

what are the sections of a scientific report (for scientific studies such as experiments)?

Answer 1

Abstract, introduction, method, discussion, references, appendices

Question 2

How should reports be written?

Answer 2

in the past tense and third person

Question 3

What is written last but presented first?

Answer 3

Abstract

Question 4

What is written last but presented first?

Answer 4

Abstract

Question 5

What is the abstract and what is its purpose?

Answer 5

-concise summary (about 150 words) which appears after the title of a report
-Its purpose is to inform the reader whether they should read the rest of the report

Question 6

What is the abstract the last section to be written?

Answer 6

abstract can only be written after the whole investigation has taken place

Question 7

What has does the abstract include?

Answer 7

A sentence on-
• Aim and hypotheses.
• Method: variables, participants and procedure.
• Results: inferential statistical test, outcome of hypothesis testing, level of significance.
• Conclusion.

Question 8

What does the introduction provide?

Answer 8

background information about theories and studies relevant to the investigation as a well as the research aims and hypotheses.

Question 9

What is the purpose of the the introduction?

Answer 9

to show how the context of the study flows from the general research area of the background research to the more specific research aims and ultimately the hypotheses

Question 10

what does the introduction section include?

Answer 10

• Background research
• Aims
• Hypotheses

Question 11

What is the purpose of the method section?

Answer 11

to enable other psychologists to accurately replicate the procedure of the study to check the reliability of the findings

Question 12

What subsections does the method include?

Answer 12

-Design
-Participants
-Materials
-Procedure

Question 13

What does the design section include?

Answer 13

the research method that was used, experimental design, variables, control of variables and the ethical issues considered

Question 14

What does the participants subsection describe?

Answer 14

the characteristics of the participants used, the number used and how the sample was obtained from the target population

Question 15

What does the materials subsection do?

Answer 15

details the resources and apparatus needed to carry out the research (e.g. software, consent forms, questionnaires).

Question 16

What is the procedure subsection?

Answer 16

a step-by-step account/ of what happens for a participant when they enter the research study including the standardised instructions.

Question 17

what is the main purpose of the method?

Answer 17

to allow replication to check for reliability

Question 18

What is the purpose of the results section?

Answer 18

to analyse the data using descriptive and inferential statistics

Question 19

What are the two parts of the results section?

Answer 19

Descriptive statistics and Inferential Statistics

Question 20

How do descriptive statistics analyse data (results)?

Answer 20

-summary table of the data is presented usually with an accurately selected measure of central tendency and a measure of dispersion
• A relevant graphical representation is used (scatter graph, bar chart, histogram).

Question 21

What is created once descriptive statistics are used to analyse data?

Answer 21

-A subsection called Treatment of results -this is where inferential statistics are used to analyse the data

Question 22

how do inferential statistics analyse data?

Answer 22

-A statistical test is chosen and reasons why this test is chosen are provided.
-The test statistic is reported including the level of significance and whether the null hypotheses has been accepted or rejected.

Question 23

When are the raw data and statistical calculations included (results)?

Answer 23

in the appendix at the end of the report.

Question 24

What is the purpose of the discussion section?

Answer 24

to explain the findings of the study and within the context of the background research

Question 25

what is also discussed in the discussion?

Answer 25

Potential improvements and the wider importance of the study

Question 26

What are the four subsections of discussion?

Answer 26

-Interpretation of results
-Background research
-Limitations and Improvements
-Application and Implications

Question 27

What happens the subsection interpretation of results?

Answer 27

The results are interpreted purely in words and related to the aims and hypotheses, any unconventional findings and possible errors are explained.

Question 28

What happens the subsection background research?

Answer 28

Results are related back to the previous research identified in the introduction section.

Question 29

What happens the subsection limitations and improvements?

Answer 29

Limitations are identified and suggestions for how to improve these are explained.

Question 30

What happens the subsection applications and implications?

Answer 30

Applications (practical use)
and implications (wider importance) of the research are explained and suggestions for a further study are made.

Question 31

What must the references section include?

Answer 31

-a list of authors (in alphabetical order by surname) whose work has been linked to in the study.
-source of each authors’ work such as text books, journal articles and websites

Question 32

What is the purpose of a references section?

Answer 32

avoid plagiarism, where another author’s work is copied without giving them credit

Question 33

What must references be made in?

Answer 33

conventional style appropriate to the source:

Question 34

What is the book reference format?

Answer 34

Authors). (year). Book title. Publication location: Publisher.

Question 35

What is the format for a journal article reference?

Answer 35

Author(s). (year). Article title. Journal title, volume (issue number), page numbers.

Question 36

What is the format for a webpage (with no specific author/article) reference?

Answer 36

Webpage title. (n.d). Retrieved (year, month, day) from (URL).

Question 37

Where do the appendices appear and what are they labelled with?

Answer 37

appear at the end of the report and are each labelled with roman numerals.

Question 38

What do appendices include?

Answer 38

the materials used, such as: consent form, debrief, standardised instructions, raw data and statistical calculations

Question 39

What is the purpose of appendices?

Answer 39

to enable the study to be accurately replicated