Sections of a scientific report - A-level Flashcards
abstract definition
key details of the research report
introduction definition
look at past research topics (theories and/or studies) on a similar topic. included the aims and hypothesis of current investigations
method definition
description of what researchers did, including design, sampe, apparatus/materials, procedure and ethics
results definition
description of what the researchers found, including descriptive and inferential statistics
discussion definition
a consideration of what the results of a research study tell is in terms of psychogical theory
references definition
list of sources that are referred to or quoted in the article
what are the 6 sections of a scientific report
1-abstract
2-introduction
3-method
4-results
5-discussion
6-referencing
where is the abstract in a scientific report
first section
how long is the abstract
short summary about 150-200 words
what is the abstract in a scientific report
short summary (150-200 words) containing 3 major elements of the aims and hypotheses, method/procedure, results and conclusions. when researching a particular topic, psychologists will often read lots of abstracts in order to identify those studies worthy of further examination
what are the 3 major elements of an abstract
-aims and hypotheses
-method and procedure
-results and conclusions
what is the introduction of a scientific report
-literature review of the general area of research detailing relevant theories, concepts and studies related to the study
-research review should follow a logical progression- beginning broadly and gradually becoming more specific until the aims and hypothesis are present
what subsections is the method of a scientific report divided into
-design
-sample
-apparatus
-procedure
-ethics
what should the subsections of the method of a scientific report include
sufficient detail so that other researchers are able to precisely replicate the study
what does the subsection of design of a method in a scientific report include
design is clearly stated (eg independent groups) and justification of choice is given
what does the subsection of sample of method in a scientific report include
information related to the people involved in the study, such as numbers and biological and demographic information (as long as anonymity is not compromised), sampling technique and target population
what does the subsection of apparatus of method in a scientific report include
detail any assessment instruments used and other relevant materials
what does the subsection of procedure of method in a scientific report include
list of everything that happened in the investigation from beginning to end. includes verbatim record of everything that was said to participants briefing, standardised instructions and debriefing
what does the subsection of ethics of method in a scientific report include
an explanation of how these were addressed within the study
what does the results section of a scientific report include
-summary of key findings from the report
-feature descriptive statistics
-inferential statistics including reference to choice of stats test, calculated and critical values and level of significance of outcome
-any raw data collected as calculations
-if qualitative methods have been used , results are likely to involve analysis of themes and categories
what is descriptive statistics
tables, graphs and charts, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion –> analyse data to help describe, show or summarise in meaningful ways
what are inferential statistics
include reference to choice of stats test, calculated and critical values and level of significance of outcome –> ways of analysing using statistical tests that allow the researcher to make conclusions about whether a hypothesis was supported by the results
what are the elements in the discussion scientific report
researcher will summarise results in verbal, rather than statistical form. these should be discussed in the context of the evidence presented in the introduction and research may be considered relevant
how does the researcher discuss limitations in a scientific report
discuss the limitations of the present investigation and this may include some suggestions of how these limitations might be addressed in a future study
