APA Style Use APA (6th ed.) style – you will be marked down if you do not (see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/) See guide on ELE Citations.

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Presentation transcript:

APA Style Use APA (6th ed.) style – you will be marked down if you do not (see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/) See guide on ELE Citations and referencing: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/ Section headings and subheadings: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/16/ Figures and tables: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/19/ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/20/ Use unbiased language: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/14/

Anatomy of a research report

Abstract Concise, accessible summary of the study, designed to be read by someone who has read nothing of your report Often the only part that will be read by a wider audience Shapes whether they read any further Should allude to all key aspects, including: Rationale, main theoretical issue(s), hypotheses, method, findings and their consistency with hypotheses, implications Should make the reader want to know more!

Abstract Some journals require a more structured abstract – this can be a helpful way of ensuring that you include all the required information

Either format is acceptable for your final report! Abstract Or you can have a more free-form abstract… Either format is acceptable for your final report!

Introduction Provide a rationale for the current study – ‘Why did we do this?’ Introduce readers to the topic Review relevant theory and research Highlight limitations/gaps in current knowledge Outline hypotheses A strong logical structure is ESSENTIAL here

Statement of general topic Introduction General (but relevant)... Statement of general topic Theories and research Rationale / Aim Hypotheses BUT: It is also helpful to briefly state the specific aims of the study early in the Intro, before elaborating later …to specific (in relation to the study)

Introduction General statement of the issue and topic Signposting that norms are going to be important in this paper… Clear statement of the aim of the research

Introduction Defining the key construct and discussing evidence to support its relationship with the behaviour of interest…

Explaining more what the focus of the paper will be… Introduction Explaining more what the focus of the paper will be…

Introduction Building the argument for the research… Discussing relevant literature on the gap you’re planning to address Clear statement of the gap and how your study will address this

Introduction Hypotheses and predictions Be specific, and make predictions close to operationalisations Mentions IVs and DVs Describe nature of differences expected Which group will score higher? Do you predict an interaction? If so, describe what you expect to find. Comprehensive – should state all hypotheses that you test/report

Hypotheses and predictions Hypothesis 1 Hypothesis 2

Introduction The ‘no surprises’ principle: The Introduction should let the reader know what to expect in terms of variables, hypotheses/predictions, and analyses The hypotheses and predictions should follow logically from the main body of the Introduction Try not to introduce any new ideas, concepts, or variables at that stage Relevant variables mentioned in the Method should have been signalled in the Introduction The analytic strategy in the Results section should follow from the logic of the hypotheses Analysis should make sense as a test of those hypotheses Unless properly introduced, analyses can sound opportunistic and may be more difficult to follow

Method Main sections Participants Design Materials Procedure

Participants Target population? How many participated? Demographics Age, gender, nationality, undergraduate students Inclusion/exclusion criteria How were they recruited? Were they encouraged to participate? Self-selected, approached by experimenter, in a lecture Were they compensated?

Design Most useful for studies with direct manipulations Sometimes combined with Participants section Describes the study in conceptual terms Conveys what was manipulated, how many conditions there were, in how many conditions individual participants took part, and what dependent variables were assessed Essential information: How many IVs and how many levels of each? Were these between-participants or within- participants? What were the DVs in conceptual terms?

Procedure Describe testing process from beginning to end Where and how were participants recruited? How was the research explained to them? Did they give their informed consent? What were they required to do in the experiment? Specific instructions? Were they debriefed and thanked for their participation?

Materials Describe how the study design (IVs and DVs) was operationalised Exactly how were IVs manipulated? Content and form of stimuli Clearly identify how conditions differed Exactly what was measured, and how? Clearly identify the concept being measured How many questions for each scale? Response scale format? Example questions? Include questionnaire in appendix? Two rules of thumb: Is there sufficient information for readers to interpret results? Is there sufficient information for readers to replicate the study?

How the IV was manipulated Materials How the IV was manipulated

Materials Number of items/scale At least 1 example item How the DVs were measured At least 1 example item Details of response scale Source of scale (if applicable) Reliability of scale (if applicable)

Results Three main aspects Report analyses and findings for manipulation checks Report analyses and findings for main DVs Tables and/or Figures (graphs) to illustrate findings Tables and Figures are usually presented alongside the analyses in each case

Results Manipulation check(s) In experimental studies, we need to know whether our manipulations are valid Did we manipulate what we sought to manipulate? If manipulations are not valid, then we may need to change the way we look at the data If analyses of the manipulation checks do not show that the manipulation was successful, then indicate that subsequent findings need to be interpreted with caution Should also be addressed in the Discussion! Removing individual participants who ‘fail’ the check before the main analyses is not good practice Although you can report follow-up analyses in which they are removed

Results – Manipulation check What analysis was done & the result F reported to 2 decimal places; p reported to 3 decimal places Interpret the direction of significant effects

Results Main analyses Clearly describe the analysis that was done Report the most important/relevant analyses first For every effect (main effects and interactions), indicate whether they were significant or not… …report appropriate inferential statistics (e.g., t; F ) and p values… …and appropriate descriptive statistics (M & SD) to allow the effect to be interpreted (e.g., which condition was higher?) For more complex patterns (e.g., interactions), a graph can help to communicate the findings.

Results – Main Analyses Report the statistic What analysis was done F reported to 2 decimal places; p reported to 3 decimal places Exact p value reported (not p<.05), except when p<.001. Interpret the direction of significant effects All stats notations in italics

Results Tables and Figures Both can be used to illustrate relatively complex patterns E.g., a table of correlations amongst DVs; a table summarising means and standard deviations in different conditions; a graph illustrating the pattern of an interaction between 2 (or more) IVs Rule of thumb: Helpful when comparing three or more numbers/values Should be: Included in the text at the most relevant point Numbered consecutively (Table 1, Table 2; Figure 1, Figure 2 etc.) Accompanied by meaningful captions Explicitly referred to in the text – describe the pattern(s) illustrated in the tables/figures.

Tables Table label positioned above the table Label the table; table name in italics Note that only a few borders are used

Figures Intentions to conserve energy Figure caption is positioned below the figure Label the figure (in italics)

Discussion Several important aspects: Restate the study aims and describe the main findings… …and interpret in terms of hypotheses (consistent or not?) Discuss unexpected findings (non-significant, or opposite to predictions) Interpret findings in terms of theory Support or not? If not, what does this mean for the theory? Identifies theoretically relevant and interesting limitations and directions for future research Future research suggestions can include replication with methodological improvements, or extensions with new IVs and DVs – but be as concrete and specific as possible!

Restate the aim of the research Discussion Restate the aim of the research

Discussion Summarise the overall pattern of results – and you should state whether the results are consistent with your hypotheses or not!

Discussion Discuss unexpected findings… Interpret in relation to theory & past research

Discuss implications – both for theory and practice – of your research Discussion Discuss implications – both for theory and practice – of your research But don’t be grandiose and go beyond your data…especially if you have null results!

Discussion Try to mention 1 or 2 strengths of your research Highlight 1 or 2 key limitations of your research – and what these mean for your conclusions Pair limitations with suggestions for future research

Discussion What’s your take home message(s)? Make your final sentence interesting (cf. “More research is needed…”)

Discussion Introduction Discussion 1. Hypotheses 2 .Relate to THEORY 3a. Limitations 3b. Future directions 4. Conclusion & take-home message

Title Should tell the reader what the report is about (!) Strike a balance between being… Precise, concise, accurate, informative …and being Exciting, attention-grabbing, witty, broadly appealing Smith, J. R., Louis, W. R., & Abraham, C. (in press). When and how does normative feedback reduce intentions to drink irresponsibly? An experimental investigation. Addiction Research & Theory.

General Tips A personal preference for the order in which to write sections: Method Results Introduction (though can be planned and roughly drafted earlier) Discussion Abstract Title