How to Write
An Experimental Report
PSY 101L
LECTURE 3
Prof. A.K.M. Rezaul Karim, Ph.D.
Department of History & Philosophy
North South University
Purpose of Psychology Reports
Reports enable you to
communicate to others:
What was carried out
How it was carried out
Why it was carried out
What was found
What the results actually mean
Reports enable further exploration
of ideas.
Any psychologist who publishes
his/her experiment/research uses
the same APA/BPS report format.
Dissemination of experimental/
research findings is the end goal
of all experiments/researches.
Report Rules
Standardised format (quick finding of details)
format guidelines of the American
Psychological Association (APA).
The abstract and conclusions are arguably
the most important sections of the report.
The key aim of a report is replication
Report Structure
Title page
Abstract
Introduction: State your research question, review the
literature, formulate your hypotheses
Method: Describe how you explored the question in
sufficient detail to permit replication.
Results: Describe your findings and test your
hypotheses using statistics.
Discussion: Analyze your results and put them back
into the context of your question.
Conclusion
References
Appendices
Introduction Section
Introduction
Rationale (including previous research in the area
and the current hypotheses).
The introduction should contain:
Review of (relevant) background material
including existing theories and key findings.
Outline the exact problem to be researched and
the research hypotheses.
Outline the expected results – what do you
expect to find once you have conducted the
research?
Introduction ‘Tips’
Start broad and become
narrower as you reach your
research hypotheses.
Include 3-6 key pieces of
previous research or
theories.
References from peer-
reviewed journals and books
are more credible and
provide more ‘weight’ to
your arguments than
Internet-based sources.
Method Section
Method
The method should be ‘written-up’ immediately
after the study has finished.
The method should contain sufficient information for
the reader to understand and replicate the study
exactly as you did it.
The method is split into the following principal sections:
Design
Participants
Apparatus/Materials
Procedure
Data Analysis
Method: Design
The design should state the following:
The type of design that was used
(independent measures, repeated measures,
mixed or matched subjects).
The independent variables (IV) and any
associated levels.
The dependent variable (DV) including the
level of measurement, e.g., milliseconds for
time or metres for distance.
Method: Participants
Information on participants Example
includes:
Number of participants Method
Sampling method (random, Participants
opportunistic etc.)
Demographic information
20 male and 20 female
participants from North
(age, gender, occupation, South University
educational level) participated in the
Any other study-specific current study. No other
demographic
criteria (e.g. intelligence information was
level, visual acuity etc.) collected.
Method: Materials
Describe the materials used and their function in
enough detail so others can replicate
For example: in describing word lists, include the
number of words, approximate length of words,
were they in capital or lowercase letters, etc.
A copy of the materials can be included in an
appendix at the end of the paper; you would refer
your reader to that appendix.
If used any psychological test/scale describe its
development, subtests, number of items, validity,
reliability, scoring and norms (if any).
Methodology: Procedure
The procedure is like the instructions
for baking a cake or making
something from Lego.
Describe the (standard) instructions
given to participants
The procedure should be logical, and
contain sufficient information for the
reader to follow.
Methodology: Procedure
Tell the reader how the data were collected
Show clearly the order in which things were
done
Note who collected the data
State clearly all processes or activities
participants engaged in
Tell what happened in the study
Note where all the activities took place
May include other important details
Method Example
Method
Participants
Sixty university students (30 males and 30 females) participated
in this study for extra course credit in a Psychology 100 course at
North South University....
Materials
Three word lists were created, each of which consisted of 20
words. See Appendix for a complete list of the words used in this
experiment. All words were written in lowercase letters. The length of
each word ranged from 5 to 8 letters...
Procedure
Participants were tested individually in the presence of the
experimenter...
Results Section
Results
Report the key findings, but does not tell why
The results section should start with descriptive (Clear
and concise summary) statistics (e.g. mean, median,
range etc.) before reporting any statistical tests.
A summary table of descriptive statistics can be
provided – only display information once and in one
format (e.g. written or table or chart).
Use graphs where meaningful, and ensure that graphs
and axes are titled. Graph means something to the
overall report.
Report the statistical tests used in the study.
Result Example
Results
The mean number of words was 25.6 and the mean.
See Figure 1 for a summary of descriptive statistics.
These data were analyzed using a t-test and the results
were statistically significant, t(30) = 4.99, p = .002,
suggesting that younger participants were able to recall
more words than older participants.
Discussion Section
Discussion
First, state what you discovered during your
experiment.
Do not repeat results but interpret them and
state whether your hypotheses were
confirmed.
Tell whether your findings are consistent with
prior studies and theories highlighted in the
introduction.
Discuss the merits and limitations of the study
and provide ideas for future research.
End with a conclusion.
Discussion: Structure
References
APA or BPS style
At the end of the report
Before the appendices
APA-formatted References
All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference
list should be indented 0.5 inch from the left margin. This is
called hanging indentation.
Journal articles
Roy, A. (1982). Suicide in chronic schizophrenia. British J
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 141, 171-177.
Book
Struck, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (1979). The elements of style
(3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
Web page, no author, no date
GVU’s 8th WWW user suvey. (n.d.) Retrieved September 19,
2001, from http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/survey-1997-10/
Report Writing: Tips
Start writing early – important details
about the experiment/study may be forgotten
if the write-up is left to the last minute.
Remember – a naive reader should be able
to follow your report and replicate your
findings.
Read – reading journal articles and past
dissertations will help you with structuring
your report and understanding the required
style.
Reflect – reflect upon the comments you
receive on your practical reports and essays –
these are provided to help you!
Report Writing: General Style
Reports should be double-spaced.
Each major section (Abstract, Introduction,
Method, Results and Discussion) should start on a
new page with the title of the section in bold.
Each minor section (e.g. Participants) should be
in italics.
All pages should be numbered.
The last section is the Appendices and includes
raw data, Ethics Approval Form and other relevant
information.
Report Title
Each report should be given a title that is both
concise and provides the reader with an insight to
the investigation being reported.
The title often includes the independent variable
(IV) and dependent variable (DV).
The key aim of the title is to entice the reader into
looking further into the report – the title is the
first part of a report a reader will see, therefore it
has to be interesting, concise and descriptive.
Example Report Titles
1. Configurational asymmetry in vernier offset detection
2. The effect of music on learning and recall
3. The effect of music on word encoding
4. The right way to kiss: directionality bias in head-turning
during kissing
Abstract
This may be the only part of your paper that most people
read, so make it count!
The abstract is a self-contained and brief summary of the
key points from the study.
The abstract (like the rest of the report) should be written
in the ‘third’ person.
The third person avoids the use of ‘I’ and ‘we’ – instead
use ‘It was decided’ or ‘The investigator(s) choose to’
Although the first section after the title, the abstract should
be written last.
Abstract should be no more than 150 words.
Abstract Contents
What should an abstract contain?
An abstract should contain the following:
Brief statement of the problem being investigated
The design used (for experiments only)
Relevant participant details (e.g. 20 males & 20
females)
Stimulus materials used (experiments) and other
important apparatus
Major findings
Main conclusions and nature of discussion
Reference to a key theory or piece of research if the
study is based partly on a replication
Example Abstract
(Karim, Proulx, de Sousa, Karmaker,
Rahman, F. Karim, & Nigar, 2017)
Humans have a bias for turning to the right in a number of
settings. Here we document a bias in head-turning to the right
in adult humans, as tested in the act of kissing. We investigated
head-turning bias in both kiss initiators and kiss recipients for lip
kissing, and took into consideration differences due to sex and
handedness, in 48 Bangladeshi heterosexual married couples.
We report a significant male bias in the initiation of kissing and
a significant bias in head-turning to the right in both kiss
initiators and kiss recipients, with a tendency among kiss
recipients to match their partners’ head-turning direction. These
interesting outcomes are explained by the influences of societal
learning or cultural norms and the potential neurophysiological
underpinnings which together offer novel insights about the
mechanisms underlying behavioral laterality in humans.
Tables
Tables go first – always use APA format.
Tables contain numbers or words.
Tables have titles that go at the top.
APA-formatted Table
Table 19.2
Hewlett-Packard Sales: 1996-2000
Year Net Revenue (Billions of Dollars)
1996 31.6
1997 35.5
1998 39.4
1999 42.4
2000 48.8
Source: The 2000 Annual Report, Hewlett-Packard Company
Figures
Figures are pictures and typically present
graphs of data, sample stimuli, equipment
setup, diagrams of experiment flow, flowcharts
of cognitive processes or diagrams of
theoretical models.
Figures have captions that go at the bottom.
APA-formatted Figure
Figure 1. Average number of words recalled as a function of age.
APA-formatted Figure
Other 3%
IT Services
14%
Imaging and
Printing
Computing Systems 41%
Systems 42%
Figure 2 Pie Chart of Total Hewlett Packard Sales
Language
Past Tense – The report should be written in past
tense as it describes what happened.
3rd Person
No contractions don’t, can’t, it’s – do not, cannot, it
is
Clear and Simple Language
Fact based – never bring in your opinion unless
specifically told to!!
Avoid Non-emotive adjectives like: tragic, amazing
etc.
Language
Do not copy what you read. You will read
articles that are difficult to understand – these
are not ‘good’ articles
Your marker needs to understand your writing
Your knowledge needs to come across. This is
easier to achieve with clear and simple
language – not big fancy words
Information & LINKS
Publication manual of the APA
American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association. - 5th ed. - Washington (D.C.) : APA
439 p. : ill. ISBN 1-55798-790-4
VUB library: Centrale Bibliotheek: 159.9 B APA 2001
Essentials
http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.cfm?doc_id=796
Summary of Publication Manual
http://www.wooster.edu/psychology/apa-crib.html
General information
http://www.apastyle.org
Q&A
http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/apa_index.htm
Examples for references
http://www.crk.umn.edu/library/links/apa5th.htm
http://www.lib.usm.edu/~instruct/guides/apa.html
