structure of a report

• what is the format for references- in journal articles

  Authors name(s), date, title of article, journal title, volume (issue number), page numbers.
• what is the structure of all published studies

  1. abstract
  2. introduction
  3. method
  4. results
  5. discussion
  6. referencing
• what is included in the abstract of a published report

  this is a summary of a study including:

  aims

  hypotheses

  method(procedure)

  results

  conclusion

  it is usually 150-200 words and it allows the reader to get a picture of the study
• what is included in the introduction of a published report

  this is a review of the previous research and it is a chance for the researcher to say why they have decided to investigate what they are investigating

  it is organised as a 'funnel'- the broad ideas are put first, followed by more specific ideas
• what is included in the method of a published report

  this is a detailed description of what the researcher did and it will include:

  design

  sample

  apparatus/ materials used

  procedure- the step-by-step for how the study was conducted

  ethics-significant ethical issues and how they were dealt with
• what is included in the results of a published report

  details are given about what the researcher found including:

  detailed statistics (tables and graphs showing frequencies and measures of central tendency and dispersion)

  inferential statistics( i.e statistical tests)
• what is included in the discussion of a published report

  the purpose of this section is to interpret the results of the study. It will include:

  explanation of the results

  relationship to previous research

  consideration of methodology

  implications for psychological theory and possible real-world applications

  suggestions for further research
• what is included in the referencing of a published report

  this is a complete list of all the articles and books that the researcher has used and mentioned in their report
• what is the reference format for journal articles

  Authors name(s), date . title of article, (journal title, volume)- must be italics, (issue number-if relevant), page numbers
• what is the reference formal for books

  Authors name(s), date , title of book, place of publication, publisher
• what is peer review

  it is a process after research that has been conducted to assess the validity of the research before it is published- publishers use peers who are not involved in the research
• what are the four options that peer reviewers normally recommend

  1.accept the work unconditionally

  2. accept is so long as the researcher improves it in certain ways

  3. reject it, but suggest revisions and a resubmission

  4. reject it outright
• what is a single--blind procedure

  a type of research design in which a participant is not aware of the research aims
• what is a double-blind procedure

  neither the participant nor the researcher conducting the study are aware of the research aims or other important details of the study
• what is an advantage of a single-blind procedure

  unbiased review because the reviewer is anonymous
• what is a disadvantage of a single-blind procedure

  potential for unethical practise- the review might delay the review process so that they can publish similar research first; or the review is undeservedly harsh
• what is an advantage of a double-blind procedure

  more unbiased review because researcher's gender, ethnicity, age and name won't be known
• what is a disadvantage of a double-blind procedure

  researcher might be identifiable from the topic and writing style
• what is an open-peer review

  where the researcher and reviewer are known to each other
• what is an advantage of an open-peer review

  reduces risk of plagiarism and encourages open, honest discussions
• what is a disadvantage of an open peer-review

  deserved criticism might be watered down due to no politeness on fear of criticism from famous researchers
• why is peer review important

  it is a way of making a judgement about validity, originality , quality and importance of the research before publication

  they also judge the significance in a wider context

  they assess whether methods and designs used are appropriate

  once it is published it is well-respected

  it helps to maintain high standards of the subject
• what are some problems with peer review

  many amendments may need to be made to the original report which can take time and is costly

  peer reviewing is criticised for not publishing null findings which leads to a publication bias- this could skew later meta-analyses that only reports positive findings

  the peer reviews might be biases in their judgement

  due to the anonymity, researchers may choose not to publlish some reports