Psychological Reports

• What is the primary purpose of a psychology report?

  To inform psychologists about a study
• What information should a psychology report convey to other psychologists?

  Why, how, findings, and implications of study
• Why is a predictable format important for psychology reports?

  To efficiently gather information
• Where can you typically find a psychology research article?

  Using researcher name and year in Google
• What are the standard sections typically found in a psychology research article?

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Method
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References
• When is the abstract usually written in the report writing process?

  Last
• What is the abstract's purpose in a research paper?

  A summary of the entire paper
• What key elements are included in an abstract?

  Aim, hypothesis, method, participants, results, conclusions
• Why is the abstract important during the planning stage of a study?

  It speeds up the research stage
• What is the purpose of the introduction section in a psychology report?

  To provide background theory and research
• How does the abstract help researchers manage their time efficiently?

  Identifying relevant versus irrelevant papers
• What element does the introduction section usually end with?

  A hypothesis
• Why is replication important in scientific research?

  To repeat the study and verify results
• What is the primary purpose of the method section in a psychology report?

  A how-to guide for replication
• What are the key sections typically included in the method section?

  • Design
  • Participants
  • Materials
  • Procedure
• What details about the research design should be included in the method section?

  Research method, design, levels, variables, controls
• What participant characteristics are relevant to include in the method section?

  Number, age range, educational level
• What types of materials should be listed in the method section?

  Equipment, questionnaires, pictures, word lists
• What is the purpose of including standardized procedures in the method section?

  To reduce extraneous variables
• Why might a researcher justify their choices in the method section?

  To explain methodological decisions
• What is the primary purpose of the results section in a psychology report?

  An objective summary of data
• What types of data are typically included in the results section?

  Tables, graphs, descriptive statistics, test calculations
• What role do graphs play in the results section?

  Help the reader interpret data
• What is the purpose of the discussion section in a psychology report?

  To interpret the meaning of data
• What key elements are discussed in the discussion section?

  Hypothesis, implications, weaknesses, future research
• Why do researchers criticize the weaknesses of their own study in the discussion section?

  To identify potential extraneous variables
• What is the primary purpose of the references section in a psychology report?

  To credit other researchers' ideas
• What is plagiarism?

  Claiming other people's ideas as your own
• How does the referencing section aid other researchers?

  Helps track sources and find studies
• What referencing format do psychologists typically use?

  Harvard referencing format
• What information is included when first mentioning a researcher's ideas in the text?

  Author's surname, date, and page number
• What is the correct order of information in a reference list entry?

  Surname, initials, date, article/book, location, publisher
• What does DOI stand for in the context of referencing?

  Digital Object Identifier
• How can a DOI be helpful when creating a reference section?

  It spits out a formatted reference
• How can a researcher efficiently find related studies for an essay?

  Check the reference section