How to write a research report

1. PRM LECTURE 3 Professor Craig Jackson Head of Psychology BCU How to write a research report

2. 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.

3. 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

4. Report Structure Abstract Introduction Participants Design Apparatus/Materials Procedure Method Results Discussion & Conclusion References

5. 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?

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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.).

10. 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.

11. Introduction to the Results Report the key findings, but does not saywhy 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. Discussion: Structure

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

16. 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!

17. Report Writing: General Style Method Participants 20 male and 20 female participants from Birmingham City University participated in the current study. No other demographic information was collected. • Reports should be double-spaced. • 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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?

21. 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.

22. 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 Deese-Roediger-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 Nature of Discussion Key Results