How to Write a Psychology Report

Learn how to write a psychology report using APA style. Includes the most common structure required for writing student psychological reports.

A psychology report, or research paper, is a written document outlining the results of a psychological experiment. In order to write a good psychology report, the basic rules of APA style and structure should always be used.

Choose an experimental topic and decide what you will be testing. Read extensively, and search for appropriate articles from credible journals. Formulate one or more hypotheses to test. Complete your experiment, collect your data, and ensure you use the appropriate statistical tests. Structure your written report using the APA style, as detailed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Follow the below guidelines when writing up your psychology report, and increase your chance of receiving a good grade.

Formulate The Hypothesis For Your Psychological Report

Your experiment should test one or more hypotheses. Your hypothesis should be a concise statement describing the predicted relationship between the variables you are measuring in your experiment. The dependent variable is the measured variable, and the independent variable/s are the manipulated variables. Your professor may provide a set hypothesis for you to test, or may ask you to set your own.

Collect and Analyse Your Data

Before you can commence writing your report, you will need to conduct your experiment and collect the data. Once you have collected the data, ensure you use an appropriate statistical package to analyse the data. Ensure you use the correct statistical test when analysing your data. If in doubt always consult your professor for advice. This is critical, as your report will not be credible if the results of your data analysis are incorrect.

How to Structure Your Psychology Report

The structure of your psychology report should be broken down into eight sections: title, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references, and appendices.

1. Title

The title is the first thing your professor will read and is your first opportunity to impress. Attempt to write an original and interesting title, whilst summarising the main point of your report including the variables you are testing. The title should be 15 words or less, and appear on your cover sheet. It should be on page 3 of the report, centred at the top of the page, in boldfaced title font.

2. Abstract

The abstract is a concise summary of your report and should be less than 125 words. Be sure to include your research question, method, type of participants, results and conclusion. The abstract should be on the second page, after your cover sheet. It should have a centred, boldfaced title "Abstract"; and the paragraph should be un-indented.

3. Introduction

The introduction begins on page 3 of the report, directly beneath your title. It should contain less than 25% of the total words of your report. Be sure to introduce the general topic and issues leading to your hypotheses, in a logical manner. State your hypotheses clearly at the end of this paragraph.

4. Method

The method must include the minimum amount of information required for another researcher to replicate your experiment. This section should be begin with a centred boldfaced heading "Method". It should be subdivided into the appropriate subsections. The most common subsections are Participants, Apparatus, Materials, Stimuli, Procedure and Design.

5. Results

This section should have a centred boldfaced heading "Results". Begin with describing which variables were analysed. Provide a summary statement of the important results that were found. Follow this with a summary of the statistics and the results of any inferential tests used, as this will defend your summary statement.

The results section should include details of the numerical statistics including the correct special symbols. A picture speaks a thousand words, so use tables and figures to help summarise the statistical information. Be sure to always express any units of measurement as per the International System of Units (SI).

6. Discussion

This section should have a centred, boldface heading "Discussion". It should contain approximately 35% of the total words of your report. Here you review your findings and show how they are related to the existing literature on the topic. Attempt to be original, creative and cleverly link your findings to relevant research articles sourced from credible journals. Be sure to restate your results, include any limitations of your experiment, as well as any confounding variables. State the theoretical importance of the research, and lead into a concluding paragraph in a logical manner.

7. References

Your reference list should be on a new page with the centred boldfaced heading "References". List your references according to the APA Style.

8. Appendices

It is rare to have appendices in a published article, however they are commonly used in student reports. This is because your professor will often want to see your raw data and copies of any questionnaires or consent forms. This section should begin on a new page with the centred boldfaced heading "Appendices". Attach each appendix labelling them as "Appendix A" and so forth. Only include appendices if you have referred to them in your text.

What Your Marker Is Looking For

Usually in a psychology report you will be assessed on the following:

• how logically and clearly your introduction leads into your hypotheses from the existing research/literature
• how concisely and fully you describe the method used, so that another researcher could duplicate the experiment
• whether you provide a precise and clear description of your results
• whether you wrote a clear discussion, including limitations and implications of your results
• showed evidence of extensive reading and research on the topic
• used the correct style for report writing, and clear expression (including grammar, spelling and punctuation)
• adherence to the word limit

The above guidelines are appropriate for most psychology reports, however sometimes a professor will set certain alternative requirements for an assignment. If you are unsure what approach is required for your assignment, be sure to check with your professor.