Sections of Psychology Report

ABSTRACT

• Contents: Summarised version of everything included in the report: aim, hypotheses, method, procedure, stats test results, accepted or rejected ho.
• Purpose: To summarise the report and to allow people to decide if they want the whole work or not.
• Comments: Has to be succint

INTRODUCTION

• Contents: Background research on the study.
• Purpose: Provide a background to the research being conducted.
• Comments: Start off with the general area of the research, then narrow it down to the study it is based on. (reverse triangle)

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

• Contents: Aim (study it's based on, general predictions, area of interest), null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis, tails/directions (justified use of tails based on previous research).
• Purpose: To describe the purpose of the research and predict any results.
• Comments: There is no difference between experimental and alternative hypotheses except experimental hypothesis is only used when an experiment is used.

METHOD

• Contents: Design (method, co variables, variables, minimising extraneous variables), participants (age, gender, location, sampling method used), apparatus (list all stimuli), procedure (how it was carried out)
• Purpose: To describe exactly what occurred in the experiment and allow the reader to replicate it.
• Comments: The method should be extremely detailed, including weather, time, date, and every other detail of the investigation.

RESULTS

• Contents: Written description of all the results. Guess of which hypothesis is accepted/rejected. Table of central tendencies and a suitable graph. Finally a justified choice of statistical test and accept/reject null hypothesis based on results.
• Purpose: To present results.
• Comments: Everything should have a title. Calculations should be explain thoroughly and fully included.

DISCUSSION

• Contents: Talk through of the results. Description of anomalies and why they occurred. Results related to study. Accept/reject null hypothesis. Limitations of research and suggestions for improvement, issues with sampling method. Applications and implications - suggestions for further research.
• Purpose: To draw and explain conclusions and evaluate how the research was conducted.
• Comments: Have contradiction to hypothesis in results in case hypothesis is rejected.

REFERENCES

• Contents: Books, webpages.
• Purpose: Show the sources of information.
• Comments: Use Harvard Referencing and date of access on site.

APPENDICIES

• Contents: Organised set of stimulus. Anything used goes (rough work, drafts, raw data)
• Purpose: Include detailed and necessary information that would be distracting in the main body of the report.
• Comments: