Sections of a scientific report

Question 1

What are the sections of a scientific report?

Answer 1

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Method
• Results
• Discussion
• Refrencing

Question 2

What is an abstract?

Answer 2

• The first section in a journal article that is a short summary that is 150 - 200 words in length
• This includes all the major elements: the aims and hypotheses, method/procedure, results and conclusions

Question 3

What is an introduction?

Answer 3

• A literature review of the general area of research detailing relevant theories, concepts and studies that are related to the current study
• The research review should follow a logical progression - beginning broadly and gradually and becoming more specific until the aims and hypotheses are presented

Question 4

What is the method?

Answer 4

• The method is split into several subsections, the methods should include sufficient detail so that other researchers are able to precisely replicate the study if they wish

Question 5

What are the method sections of the method?

Answer 5

• Design = the design is clearly stated, this is independent groups, naturalistic observation and the reasons/justification for the choice
• Sample = information related to the people involved in the study: how many there were, biographical/demographic information, the sampling method and the target population
• Apparatus/materials = the details of any assessment instruments used and other relevant materials
• Procedure = A list of everything that happened in the investigation from beginning to end. This includes a verbatim record of everything that was said to participants: briefing, standardised instructions and debriefing
• Ethics = An explanation of how these were addressed within the study

Question 6

What is the results section?

Answer 6

• The results section should summarise the key findings from the investigation. This is likely to feature descriptive statistics such as tables, graphs and charts, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion
• Inferential statistics should include reference to the choice of statistical test, calculated and critical values and the level of significance and the final outcome, for example which hypothesis was rejected.
• Any raw data that was collected and any calculations appear in the appendix rather than the main body of the report
• if the researcher has used qualitative methods of research, the findings are likely to involve analysis of themes and/or categories

Question 7

What is the discussion section of a report?

Answer 7

• There are several elements in the discussion section
• The researcher will summarise the results/findings in verbal, rather than statistical form.
• These results should be in the context of the evidence in the introduction and the other research that may be considered relevant
• The researcher should discuss the limitations of the present investigation and this may include some suggestions of how these limitations might be addressed in a future study
• Finally, the wider implications of the research should be considered. This includes real- world applications of what has been discovered and what contribution the investigation has made to the existing knowledge - base within the field

Question 8

What is the referencing section?

Answer 8

• Referencing should include full details of any source cited in the report
• The referencing style should follow different references depending on the reports they wrote

Question 9

What is the format for journals?

Answer 9

• authors,date,article title,journal name (in italics), Volume (issue), page numbers

Question 10

What is the format for book references?

Answer 10

authors,date,title of the book (italics),place of publication,publisher

Question 11

What is the format for web references?

Answer 11

• web references should provide source, date, title, weblink and date accessed.