1. APA Style
Use APA (6th ed.) style – you will be marked down if you do not (see
See guide on ELE
Citations and referencing:
Section headings and subheadings:
Figures and tables:
Use unbiased language:

2. Anatomy of a research report

3. 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!

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

5. 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!

6. 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

7. 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)

8. 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

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

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

11. 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

12. 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

13. Hypotheses and predictions
Hypothesis 1
Hypothesis 2

14. 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

15. Method
Main sections
Participants
Design
Materials
Procedure

16. 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?

17. 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?

18. 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?

19. 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?

20. How the IV was manipulated
Materials
How the IV was manipulated

21. 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)

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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.

26. 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

27. 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.

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

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

30. 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!

31. Restate the aim of the research
Discussion
Restate the aim of the research

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

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

34. 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!

35. 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

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

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

38. 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.

39. 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