How to write a

research report

PRM
LECTURE 3
Professor Craig Jackson
Head of Psychology
BCU

Purpose of Psychology
Reports

Reports enable you to

communicate to others:
What was carried out
How it was carried out
Why it was carried out
What was found
What the results actually mean
Reports enable further exploration
of ideas.
Any psychologists who publishes
their research uses the same
APA/BPS report format.
Dissemination of research findings
is the end goal of all research.

Report Rules
Standardised format (quick finding of details)
format guidelines of the American Psychological
Association (APA).
The abstract and conclusions are arguably the
most important sections of the report.
The key aim of a report is replication

Report Structure

Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results

Participants
Design
Apparatus/Materials
Procedure

Discussion & Conclusion

References

Introduction
Rationale (including previous research in the area
and the current hypotheses).
The introduction should contain:
Review of (relevant) background material
including existing theories and key findings.
Outline the exact problem to be researched and
the research hypotheses.
Outline the expected results what do you expect
to find once you have conducted the research?

Introduction Tips
Start broad and become narrower
as you reach your research
hypotheses.
Include 3-6 key pieces of
previous research or theories.
References from peer-reviewed
journals and books are more
credible and provide more
weight to your arguments than
Internet-based sources.

Method
The method should be one of the first sections of the report
that is written-up immediately after the study has
finished.
The method should contain sufficient information for the
reader to understand and replicate the study exactly as you
did it.
The method is split into the following principle sections:
Participants
Design
Apparatus/Materials
Procedure

Method: Design
The design should state the following:
The type of design that was used (independent
measures, repeated measures, mixed or matched
subjects).

The independent variables (IV) and any associated

levels.

The dependent variable (DV) including the level of

measurement e.g. Milliseconds for time or metres
for distance.

Method: Participants
participant and not a subject however the term
subject is still used for experimental design.
Information on participants includes:
Number of participants.
Sampling method (random, opportunistic etc.).
Demographic information (age, gender,
occupation, educational level).
Any other study-specific criteria (e.g.
Intelligence level, visual acuity etc.).

Method: Procedure
The procedure is like the instructions
for baking a cake or making
something from Lego it describes
exactly what was done in the study,
how participants were instructed,
whether standardised instructions
were used (script and de-brief) and
the order in which things were done.
The procedure should be logical,
insightful and contain sufficient
information for the reader to follow.

Introduction to the Results

Report the key findings, but does not say why
Clear and concise summary of the data that was
collected and the results of any statistical tests.
Each statistical test has its own format for reporting
which should be adhered to (more information on
reporting statistical tests will be provided during future
lectures/seminars).
The results section is one of the most (without justice!)
feared sections of the report.

The Results Section

The results section should start with descriptive (summary)
statistics (e.g. Mean, median, range etc.) before reporting
any statistical tests.
A summary table of descriptive statistics can be provided
only display information once and in one format (e.g.
Written or table, table or chart).
Use graphs where meaningful but ensure axis are
consistent, graphs and axis are titled and the graph means
something to the overall report.
Report the statistical tests used in the study.

Discussion
The discussion enables the interpretation and explanation of the
study results.
Results should be related back to research studies discussed in the
introduction.
The discussion outlines any limitations with the current study (e.g.
Extraneous variables) and provides a rationale for future studies.
The discussion should contain ideas for where future work might be
directed.
Ultimately, the discussion states whether the results support the
experimental or null hypothesis.

Discussion: Structure

References
Harvard (or APA) style
At the end of the report
Before the appendices

Successful Report Writing

Start writing early important details about
the study may be forgotten if the write-up is
left to the last minute.
Remember a naive reader should be able to
follow your report and replicate your findings.
Read reading journal articles and past
dissertations will help you with structuring
your report and understanding the required
style.
Reflect reflect upon the comments you
receive on your practical reports and essays
these are provided to help you!

Report Writing: General

Style

Reports should be double-spaced.

Method
Participants
20 male and 20 female
participants from
Birmingham City
University participated in
the current study. No
other demographic
information was
collected.

Each major section (Abstract, Introduction,

Method, Results and Discussion) should start
on a new page with the title of the section in
bold.
Each minor section (e.g. Participants) should
be in italics.
All pages should be numbered.
The last section is the Appendices and includes
raw data, Ethics Approval Form and other
relevant information.

Report Title
Each report should be given a title that is both
concise and provides the reader with an insight to
the investigation being reported.
Titles often include the independent variable (IV)
and dependent variable (DV).
The key aim of the title is to entice the reader into
looking further into the report the title is the first
part of a report a reader will see, therefore it has
to be interesting, concise and descriptive.

Example Report Titles: Timberlake

Experiment
An experiment into how music effects
recall accuracy
Does music aid learning? A study into
the effects of music on learning and
recall
Justin Timberlake is a hindrance to
learning! The negative effect of music on
word encoding
The IV and DV are (implicitly) clear in each of these
titles The first title is the most conventional form of
title writing.

Abstract
The abstract is a self-contained and brief summary of the key points
from the study.
The abstract (like the rest of the report) should be written in the third
person.
The third person avoids the use of I and we instead use It was
decided or The investigator(s) choose to
Although the first section after the title, the abstract should be written
last.
Abstracts should be no more than 150 words.
What should an abstract contain?

Abstract Contents
An abstract should contain the following:
Brief statement of the problem being investigated.
The design used (for experiments only).
Relevant participant details (e.g. 20 males & 20
females).
Stimulus materials used (experiments) and other
important apparatus.
Principal results.
Main conclusions and nature of discussion.
Reference to a key theory or piece of research if
the study is based partly on a replication.

Example Abstract
(Masanobu Takahashi, 2007)
Aim of Study

Design

Collaborative remembering refers to recall by groups rather than by an individual.

Three experiments investigated whether, relative to individual remembering,
collaborative remembering decreased correct recall and false recall using the DeeseRoediger-McDermott paradigm. Participants were first asked to study and recall five
lists of 15 words that were each semantically associated with a critical non-presented
word. Half the participants recalled the words by themselves, while the remaining half
were assigned to pairs and collaboratively recalled the words. In Experiment 1, pairs
produced the same number of false or correct words as individuals who were tested
alone. In Experiment 2, the interpersonal closeness of the groups was also
manipulated: friends and pairs who were not friends were assigned to the
collaborative groups. Both friends and non-friends produced fewer false or correct
words than individuals. Experiment 3, in which the performance of the individuals and
non-friend pairs were compared using a recall test of the same 75 words as the
previous experiments, replicated the results of Experiment 2. These results are
discussed in terms of the retrieval-strategy disruption.

Participant
Details

Key Results

Nature of
Discussion