Scientific Report

6 Key excerpts on "Scientific Report"

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  eBook - ePub

  A Student's Guide to Studying Psychology

  • Thomas M. Heffernan(Author)
  • 2005(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  6 Empirical research report writing

  This chapter provides guidelines on empirical research report writing. A completed practical report can be found in Example 6.2. The final section provides brief guidelines on presenting your research at a conference. A research article can be found in Example 6.2 .

  For most psychology degrees you will be required to run experiments or studies throughout the first two years of the degree and, in your third year, to design your own experiment. Having conducted an experiment (or a non-experimental study) and analysed the data from it, the researcher is normally required to write a report on what the experiment was about; what the procedure was for carrying it out; what was found in the experiment; and a full explanation as to why the things occurred as they did during the experiment. Within the field of psychology, there are clear rules that have been developed for writing empirical reports. Such rules relate mainly to the particular format the empirical report should take, and should be adhered to by the report writer. Following a standard format for empirical report writing makes it easier for other researchers to comprehend the large numbers of research articles they are likely to access during the course of their work. It also allows report writers to get their ideas, procedures, and results across to others.

  Academic written reports differ from essays, or other forms of narratives, in that the report must: (a) convey sufficient detail for the research to be replicated; (b) state clearly what the research was about and what was found in the study, so that it can be judged on its scientific merits. A third aspect to remember about written reports is that they may not be read in the same way as, say, an essay. The reader might well switch from one section of the report to another, in a non-linear fashion. Think of the time saved by reading through a series of abstracts before deciding which reports are most relevant to the topic under study. This is why academic written reports should follow a standard format.

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  eBook - ePub

  The Student's Guide to Studying Psychology

  • Thomas M Heffernan(Author)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  6 Empirical research report writing

  DOI: 10.4324/9781315849430-6

  This chapter provides guidelines on empirical research report writing. A completed practical report can be found in Example 6.1. The chapter also provides guidelines for writing your undergraduate psychology project. The final section provides brief guidelines on presenting your research at a conference.

  For most psychology degrees you will be required to run experiments or studies throughout the first two years of the degree and, in your third year, to design your own experiment. Having conducted an experiment (or a non-experimental study) and analysed the data from it, the researcher is normally required to write a report on what the experiment was about; what the procedure was for carrying it out; what was found in the experiment; and a full explanation as to why the things occurred as they did during the experiment. Within the field of psychology, there are clear rules that have been developed for writing empirical reports. Such rules relate mainly to the particular format the empirical report should take, and should be adhered to by the report writer. Following a standard format for empirical report writing makes it easier for other researchers to comprehend the large numbers of research articles they are likely to access during the course of their work. It also allows report writers to get their ideas, procedures, and results across to others.

  Academic written reports differ from essays, or other forms of narratives, in that the report must: (a) convey sufficient detail for the research to be replicated; (b) state clearly what the research was about and what was found in the study, so that it can be judged on its scientific merits. A third aspect to remember about written reports is that they may not be read in the same way as, say, an essay. The reader might well switch from one section of the report to another, in a non-linear fashion. Think of the time saved by reading through a series of abstracts before deciding which reports are most relevant to the topic under study. This is why academic written reports should follow a standard format.

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  Handbook of Psychological Assessment

  • Gary Groth-Marnat, A. Jordan Wright(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 15 The Psychological Report

  The psychological report is one of the most important end products of assessment. It represents the clinician's efforts to integrate the assessment data into a functional whole so that the information can help the client improve his or her life, helping to solve problems and make decisions. Even the best tests are useless unless the data from them are explained in a manner that is relevant and clear and that meets the needs of the client and referral source. Doing this requires clinicians to give not merely test results, but also to interact with their data in a way that makes the conclusions useful in answering the referral questions and making recommendations.

  An evaluation can be written in many different ways. The manner of presentation depends on the purpose for which the report is intended as well as on the individual style and orientation of the practitioner. The format provided in this chapter is merely a suggested outline that follows common and traditional guidelines. It includes methods for elaborating on essential areas, such as the referral question, behavioral observations, relevant history, impressions (interpretations), and recommendations. This format is especially appropriate for clinical evaluations that are problem-oriented and that offer specific prescriptions for change. Additional alternatives for organizing the report are to use a letter format, give only the summary and recommendations, focus on a specific problem, summarize the results test by test (though this is discouraged, as discussed later in this chapter), write directly to the client, or provide client descriptions around a particular theory of personality. The sample evaluations vary somewhat from the suggested format, although they usually still include the essential categories of information that are discussed in this chapter.

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  Laboratory Psychology

  A Beginner's Guide

  • Julia Nunn(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  Finally, and again this is something of personal benefit, writing reports provides you with the opportunity to practise and improve, through feedback, your written communication skills. And although the practice may seem very specific to psychology, and not all of you will move on to do psychological research, the skills of conceptual analysis, organisation, and clear presentation of information will stand you in good stead whatever you go on to do in life. So the fourth function of report writing is that it provides a forum for learning a variety of skills.

  SUMMARY Reasons for writing reports.

  • Communication of findings.
  • Provision of potential for replication, checking, and modification.
  • Clarification of ideas, increasing understanding.
  • Promoting wider reading.
  • Learning scientific written communication skills.

  Format of the report

  Your report will have to be written in a certain format, with specific sections, each with its own heading, describing different elements of the experiment. This format reflects scientific convention in reporting psychological research in journals (see Chapter 9 ), and the sooner you accept it and come to differentiate which elements of the experiment go into which section, the easier you’ll make life for yourself.

  The content of each section is discussed in some detail later in this chapter, but first let’s take a look at the overall organisation of a report. Although there may be minor variations across different courses, the basic format is as follows:

  Title. This should identify what the study is about in a single sentence.

  Abstract. An outline summary of the experiment. A short paragraph summarising everything about the experiment—what was investigated, why, and how; the results, and interpretations of findings.

  Introduction. The reason for conducting the study. Outline of the background to the experiment; description of relevant past research; a statement of the rationale and aim(s); a statement about the expected outcome (experimental hypothesis).

  Method.

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  Writing for Academic Success

  • Gail Craswell, Megan Poore(Authors)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)
• Determine the importance/significance of your results by situating these in the context of other scholars’ findings. In the discussion section always work from your findings to others’ findings.
• Deduce the degree of generality of particular results, whether or not these might apply beyond the particular experiments or tests carried out by you.
• Discuss biases (for example, in the methodology) that may have skewed your results. Determine the status of the hypothesis(es) in light of the results obtained compared to those of other studies.
• Formulate new or modified hypotheses from claims regarding the general applicability of particular results or because results show a need for these.
• Relate your findings to the theory from which your predictions were derived.
• Make recommendations for future research, perhaps by identifying gaps, difficulties and ways of clarifying or extending the present research.
  In the process of discussing your findings you can draw attention to your final conclusions, although you may wish to present these in a separate concluding section.

Formal reports

A formal research report is often long and comprehensive. As the structure can be influenced by disciplinary preferences, be advised by your lecturer/supervisor as to specific requirements.

Two prominent structures

If you are a science student, your formal report could embody the structural divisions detailed under ‘Experimental or technical reports’ above. The formal report can also be similar to a mini-thesis in its general structure, in that it often conforms to the structural division of parts shown in Figure 9.3