Writing Skills for Research Reports in Psychology

Developing Skills for Psychologists/Neuroscientists 1 - Writing Skills - Research Reports

• The course focuses on developing writing skills for psychologists and neuroscientists, specifically for research reports.
• The lecture materials cover the basic structure and sections of a report, as well as the qualities of scientific writing.
• Scientific writing in reports and essays should be concise, objective, and precise.
• A scientific report aims to describe an experiment, communicate results, and adhere to scientific conventions.
• A clear title is crucial, capturing the topic, aim, and research question within informative and concise words.
• The abstract should stand on its own, containing key aspects of the literature review and the research problem. It must also include the hypothesis/hypotheses, methods, study design, participant sample size, results, and implications.
• The introduction needs a clear opening paragraph. The background, rationale, and hypotheses should be clearly presented and linked to existing research. A concise literature review is required, summarising existing knowledge and highlighting important conclusions.
• The method section must comprehensively describe the study's conduct, specifying participants, materials, procedure, and ethical considerations. The procedure should be described in chronological order and with sufficient detail for replication by others.
• The results section presents the findings of the data analysis in a clear and unbiased way, restating the hypotheses operationally and summarising them. Tables and figures should support the results.
• The discussion interprets the results. This section compares the findings with prior research and theoretical models, offering reasonable explanations for unexpected findings. Discussion of limitations, future research areas, and implications are part of this section.
• The method and results sections are crucial to scientific writing, as they focus on research design, the collection of data, its analysis, and reporting the results.
• Scientific writing needs to be objective, accurate, clear, and the writer needs to know their audience. Jargon should be used appropriately and the style follows established guidelines, including correct verb tense (past tense for the method), active vs. passive voice, self-reference, unbiased language, parallel forms, and enumeration.

Report Assessments

• The course covers assessments from LC (Level) to LH (Level).
• Assessments include RMA, RMB Report 1 & 2 as well as a cognitive psychology related aspect.
• Other similar assessments are RMC and RMD, and a LH project.
• Developing report writing skills has practical value.

Report Marking Criteria

• Report marking considers elements such as the title and abstract, results, introduction, methodology, and overall comments.

Structure of Research Reports

• A research report typically follows a structure with the introduction, method, results, and discussion sections. Ideally, introduction and discussion will lead into each other.

Introduction

• A concise literature review should be included.
• It should introduce the research problem/question, scope of previous research, and relevant statistics/quotations/examples, leading into the research rationale and study's hypothesis.

Method

• The method section provides a detailed description of how the research was conducted, encompassing the participants, materials used, procedure, and ethical considerations.

Results

• Findings of the data analysis are presented. The reporting is clear, concise, and impartial, supported by appropriate tables and figures.

Discussion

• The discussion section interprets results, comparing findings with existing research, theory, and logical explanations. This section should emphasize implications of the findings and suggest directions for future research.

This quiz focuses on developing writing skills essential for psychologists and neuroscientists, specifically in creating research reports. It covers the structure, quality, and conventions of scientific writing, including important components like the title, abstract, introduction, and results. Mastering these skills will enhance your ability to communicate research effectively.