The Written Report: Purpose and Format

Major Sections
Looking at a Journal Article
Preparing Your Manuscript: Procedural Details
Making Revisions
 What is in a research report?

Research reports are a major part of the

research process.
They are divided into several important sections:
Introduction, Method, Results, and
Discussion.
Each report also includes an Abstract and list of
References.

Introduction
 What is the purpose of a research report?

The primary purpose is communication of

research findings.
It is written in scientific writing style made to
be informative and factual, not entertaining.
It must be concise due to limited space, and
unbiased words are chosen for precision.

The Written Report: Purpose and Format

 What NOT to do in a research report?

Do not show bias of any kind.

Use generally accepted ethnicity terms.
Use ambiguous gender references unless your
research needs otherwise.
Do not use the contraction s/he or he/she.
Instead, use the plural they whenever possible.

The Written Report: Purpose and Format

 What NOT to do in a research report?

Make sure that your writing will not be offensive

to any group in any way.

The Written Report: Purpose and Format

 How do I format a research report?

Psychological reports are expected to follow APA

formatting.
Current standard: Sixth edition of the
Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (2010).

The Written Report: Purpose and Format

 How do I format a research report?

It is necessary to follow common formatting rules

due to the large amount of data published today.

The use of common formatting facilitates reading

and understanding.

The Written Report: Purpose and Format

 What is the Title?

A good title gives readers a description of what

the report is about.
Include both the independent and dependent
variables and their relationship in the title.
Be specific.
Be concise: 12 words or fewer.

Major Sections
 What is the Abstract?

The Abstract is a summary of the report and is

usually between 150 and 250 words and
includes a concise synopsis of the experiment.
It should contain a statement of the problem
studied, participants involved, the method, the
results, and the major conclusions.

Major Sections
 What is the Abstract?

Results should include significance levels

and effect sizes.

Major Sections
 What is the Abstract?

It is usually written after the report is finished

It must be written in such a way to encourage
readers to read the whole article
The Abstract is the most frequently read
portion of any article, so spend time making it
right!

Major Sections
 What is the Introduction?

The Introduction sets the stage for the research

that follows. It should include:
*(clarity to research gap)
your hypothesis statement(s)
evidence as to why your research is
important and also how you came to your
hypothesis

Major Sections
 What is the Introduction?

a literature review, including citations to

background experiments from which you
obtained ideas

Major Sections
 What is the Method?

The Method tells how you performed the

experiment and describes your participants,
procedure, and materials.
A good Method offers sufficient detail to allow the
reader to reasonably replicate your work.

Major Sections
 What is included in the Method?

The Method usually includes several major

subsections:

Participants all information regarding

participants in the study (age, sex, number, etc.)

Measures describes the measures used in

data collection and any instruments used

Major Sections
 What is included in the Method?

Design optional section including the exact

design layout for your research (i.e. none-
experimental; descriptive; or quantitative).

Major Sections
 What is the Results section?

The Results section describes the statistical

procedures* you used to evaluate data and all
obtained statistical values: df, significance levels.
Include all group means, measures of
variability, estimated effect sizes, and
confidence intervals.

Major Sections
 What is the Results section?

Sometimes results can easily be summarized

in tables (if so, take advantage).

As always, be concise while still reporting all

necessary data.

Major Sections
 What is the Discussion?

The Discussion evaluates the experiment,

interprets the results, and brings the project full
circle:
explain and qualify your findings
reexamine your initial hypotheses
identify possible confounds and problems
suggest future ideas and possible studies

Major Sections
 What is the References section?

The References section lists all resources

mentioned in your manuscript.
This section enables readers to do their own
background research and qualify what you have
done.
APA guidelines for references are very specific.

Major Sections
 What is the General Orientation of a Journal Article?

*Journal articles are written for informed

audiences and are strictly limited in length (by
convention guidelines).
You must understand all the basics that the
article addresses or you will be easily left behind.
Read and analyze as you go, as this is important
for a full understanding of any published article.

Looking at a Journal Article

 Title, Names & Affiliations, and Abstract

Title gives you a good idea of the purpose of

the article and where it is headed.
Names & Affiliations the authors and their
agency through which research was conducted.
Abstract Quick summary of everything. Great
way to check to make sure the paper covers
what you are interested in.

Looking at a Journal Article

 Author Notes and Introduction

Author Notes includes contact information for

the author and notes special research
circumstances.
The Introduction states:
1) The problem area studied
2) Pertinent facts about the problem area
3) How these facts relate to the hypothesis

Looking at a Journal Article

 Running Head

The Running Head is an abbreviated title printed

above the pages of the article to identify it.
It is often used when an article is published in a
journal with many articles.

Looking at a Journal Article

 Method

The Method specifies how the experiment was

carried out and includes these subsections:
1. Participants
2. Measures
3. Manipulations
4. Design

Looking at a Journal Article

 Results

The Results section reports statistical analyses

that were used to test the hypothesis.

Before analysis is reported authors use a

subsection called manipulation checks to verify
factors in the experiment.

Looking at a Journal Article

 Results

Be sure to carefully evaluate the methods used

to obtain and measure data to ensure correct
analysis.

Report findings carefully following APA

publication guidelines.

Looking at a Journal Article

 Discussion

The Discussion summarizes major findings and

shows the studys practical implications.
Include a subsection for Study Limitations and
Future Research.
This is where the project comes full circle and
the initial hypothesis is addressed.

Looking at a Journal Article

 References

The References section only includes the

resources mentioned in the manuscript.
When writing the References section, follow APA
format exactly and compose in hanging style.
Be sure to follow the style conventions for the
different sources you may have used.

Looking at a Journal Article

 How do I get published?

Currently, most journal submissions are online.

Your job is to put together a draft that could
easily be turned into the published form.
Follow formatting guidelines exactly (double-
spaced, 12-point font, margins, etc. by
convention guidelines).

Preparing Your Manuscript: Procedural Details

 What does a publishable piece look like?

The first page (a.k.a. title page):

Title
Your name and Affiliation
(all centered in the top half of the page)
Authors are listed in order of contribution.

Preparing Your Manuscript: Procedural Details

 What does a publishable piece look like?

You will also need to prepare your running head

on this page and start a numbering system.

Author notes will also be included on this page.

Preparing Your Manuscript: Procedural Details

 What does a publishable piece look like?

The second page is the Abstract.

The word Abstract is the heading for this page
and that abstract itself should be printed in block
form.
The third page begins the body of your article
and should start with the title.
The Introduction is the only heading that is
implied and not specifically typed.
Preparing Your Manuscript: Procedural Details
 What does a publishable piece look like?

Each new section is introduced by typing a

boldfaced, centered heading (e.g., Method).

Do not skip to a new page for each of the

remaining sections (except for References).
Follow APA guidelines for all tables and charts
and continue in this manner until the references
section.
Preparing Your Manuscript: Procedural Details
 What does a publishable piece look like?

Only one other piece of information may be

included in your report if needed: appendices.

An appendix is useful only if extra information is

necessary to explain your article, but including it
in the body merely jumbles what you have.
Adding an appendix can clean up this mess in
the body while still including the information at
the end.
Preparing Your Manuscript: Procedural Details
 Why are revisions necessary?

Articles are often edited during the review

process.
Be clear and grammatically correct and ask
yourself:
Can the reader follow?
Can you make it clearer?
If so, then revise the report. It may take several
revisions to produce a useable report keep at
it!

Making Revisions
 Why are revisions necessary?

Work on polishing and refining as well as

catching small errors.
Any small error greatly discredits any research
done.
Know your grammar and special rules, and look
them up when in doubt.

Making Revisions
 Why are revisions necessary?

Finally, always keep to the point this is about

scientific research, not personal stories or
popular knowledge.

Keep on task make your article great!

Making Revisions