reporting psychological investigations

• scientific report


  the format psychologists use to write up their research for publication
• abstract


  a section of the psychological report that summarises all the key details including the aim, hypothesis, method, results and conclusion. Usually about 150-200 words long and is read to know whether the research study is worth further examination
• introduction


  includes information of past research on a similar topic where relevant theories, studies and concepts are mentioned.
• method


  a description of what the researchers exactly did when they undertook the study. this includes the design, sample collected, materials used, procedure, ethics etc. there should be sufficient detail so the investigation can be replicated precisely by others.
• results


  all the findings from the study, presented with inferential and descriptive statistics or thematic analysis.
• discussion


  where the researcher considers what the findings exactly mean for us and for psychological theories.
• referencing


  a list of all the sources that were quoted or referred to in the report.