Sections of a scientific report

Question 1

What are the different sections of a scientific report?

Answer 1

Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References

Question 2

What is the purpose of the abstract?

Answer 2

What is the purpose of the abstract?
* Short summary (150-200 words) that includes all of the major elements of the report
* I.e. aims, hypotheses, method/procedure, results and conclusions
* May be read by others to see if the investigation is worth reading further i.e. in full

Question 3

When is the abstract written?

Answer 3

When you are sure of the conclusions you will reach

Question 4

What should be included in the abstract?

Answer 4

The aims, hypotheses, method/procedure, results and conclusions

Question 5

What is the purpose of the introduction?

Answer 5

• Literature review of area i.e. past research – theories and studies related to the current study

Question 6

What should the introduction end with?

Answer 6

The aims and hypotheses

Question 7

What should the method be?

Answer 7

Detailed enough to allow replication

Question 8

Name each section of the methods section

Answer 8

Design (experimental design and why they have been done also includes variables)
Sample/Participants
Apparatus/materials (e.g. equipment, questionnaires word lists etc.)
Procedure (What happened in the study from beginning to end- will include reference to things like standardised instructions and debriefing)
Ethics (how they were addressed in the study)

Question 9

What is included in the results section?

Answer 9

• Should summarise the key findings may include :-
• Descriptive statistics - e.g. tables, graphs, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion
• Inferential statistics e.g. choice of test, calculated and critical values, level of significance and outcome e.g. which hypothesis accepted and which rejected
• Raw data goes into an appendix
• Qualitative results/findings will include analysis of themes

Question 10

Describe the 5 sections of the discussion section

Answer 10

• Results summarised in verbal form
• Discussed in context of research from the introduction and any other relevant research
• Should discuss the limitations i.e. problems – could be with design, procedure sample etc.
• Should suggest how these could be modified in a future study
• Should consider the wider implications e.g. real-world applications of the research and what contribution the research has made to the field

Question 11

What are the references?

Answer 11

• This is where the full details of any source material is found e.g. journals articles, books etc.
• They are written differently depending on what type of source they are

Question 12

Give an example of reference in a journal article

Answer 12

• Author surname, initial(s). Date.Title of article, Journal title, edition. (in italics/underlined) Page numbers. E.g.:-
• Gupta,S (1991) Effects of time of day and personality on intelligence test scores. Personality and individual differences, 12(11). 1227-1231

Question 13

Give an example of reference in a book

Answer 13

• Author, surnames and initials, date, title of book (in italics/underlined), place of publication, publisher. E.g. :-
• Flanagan,C and Berry, D (2016). A level Psychology. Cheltenham: Illuminate Publishing.