Structure of a Psychology Report Flashcards
What are the seven key features of a psychology report?
What is the order that these key features appear in a psychology report?
1) The title
2)The abstract
3) The introduction
4) The method
5) The results
6) The discussion
7) The references
What is the title?
A clear introduction of the focus of the study
What does the title have to make references to?
The title has to reference the main variable under investigation
What is the abstract?
An overview of the study, that aims to summarise the main details of the study
What should the abstract include? (6 key pts)
The abstract should include a summary of the aim of the research, hypotheses (both null+alternative), participants, methods used, results and the conclusion which was drawn
What is the introduction?
The introduction presents audience with previous research of the same/similar topic areas
What must be clearly stated in the introduction?
In the introduction, the aim of the research must be clearly stated along with the alternative and null hypothesis
What is the method?
The method reports the independent and dependent variables, description of sampling technique used and sample
What does the method refer to?
The method has to refer to ethical guidelines, describe experimental designs used and produce in depth details
What also needs to be included with the method?
In the method, a consent letter should be included
What are the results of a psychological report?
The results of a psychological report are the findings
How are the results of psychological reports shown?
Results are shown in a table of summaries, there is a report of measures of central tendency/dispersion
How are the results illustrated?
Results are illustrated through appropriate graphs and inferential statistics are added
What does the discussion section of a psychology report involve?
The discussion discusses the findings by comparing them to research referenced in the introduction, evaluates whether there is agreement or not. Also explains what hypothesis is accepted or rejected
What does the discussion identify?
Identifies any strengths/limitations and offers suggestions to improve the study
What is involved in the references section of the report?
All research cited in the report must be listed alphabetically
What does the discussion end with?
The discussion concludes with usefulness/implications of the study
How would you write a reference for a book as it would appear in the reference section?
You would firstly write the surname of the author, then the date the book was published, followed by the title of the book, publishing house name and lastly the place the book was published
An 1980, a book about social cognition was published in New York. The book was written by Robert L.
Selman from Harvard University. The title was ‘The growth of interpersonal understanding: developmental and clinical analyses’. The book was published by Academic Press. A researcher needs to modify the above information to include Selman’s book in the references section of a scientific report.
Write the full reference for this book as it should appear in the reference section of the researcher’s report. [2 marks]
Answer:
Selman, R. L. (1980) The growth of interpersonal understanding: developmental and clinical analysis. New York. Academic Press.
