GCSE Coursework, Report Writing

							                         GCSE Coursework, Report Writing

                     Writing up a GCSE psychology report

               Essential components for your main practical report.

Title.

It must be; Relevant, concise and to the point.



Abstract (or summary)

Must give clear information on the main aims of the study, methods, results and the
conclusions drawn from the investigation. NOTE: - It may be easier to write the
abstract at the end, when completing the report. Because you will know exactly what
is in it by then.



Introduction

The investigation should introduce the topic and be supported by relevant
psychological background material, (2 or 3 studies) this will lead logically toward the
actual study you are conducting. The main aims must be clearly stated at the end of
the introduction and justifying the direction of the hypothesis. (The introduction is a
bit like an essay, but in the GCSE it is not very detailed.

In experimental reports we also have an: -

Experimental Hypothesis

This needs to be a concise and clear statement that shows what is to be tested.

Eg 'Drinking alcoholic beverages will detrimentally effect driving ability'.



Null Hypothesis

This is a statement of no difference between conditions.

E.g. Drinking alcoholic beverages will have no effect driving ability'

We want to reject the null and accept the experimental hypothesis after completing
the study. In other words, we want to have results which do suggest that yes our
hypothesis is in fact correct (significant), thus enabling us to be able to reject the null
hypothesis which states simply that any results are due merely to chance and nothing
else.
The Method, consists of the following 4 subsections.

1, Design

All factual and structural information about the study, such as: - the experimental and
control conditions, amount of groups /participants involved. The design of the study,
what statistical tests we are using, the Independent Variables, Dependent Variables.

2, Participants

Any relevant details of participants that may have influence over the study or
information that may be needed for replication.

3, Materials

Any details of equipment or materials used must be stated.

4, Procedure

This is a very important section, an exact account of how the study was conducted,
what you did exactly must be reported here, if standardised instructions were used,
they should be mentioned here and a copy of them placed in the appendix.

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Results

What statistical technique was employed and why (because of the type of data
collected, the study, method, etc).

Descriptive statistics are required at GCSE, averages and percentages of group
/condition scores.

Graphs / diagrams if they help show clear results follow the figures in this section.
Graph must have a title and the axes must be clearly labelled.

Results must be presented neatly and easy to read.



Discussion

Explain clearly the outcome of your study in terms of your aim and hypothesis and
results. Discuss the findings in relation to background material mentioned in the
introduction. Mention any limitations (problems) you encountered and how it could
be modified and avoided in future research. Did you find any anomalies, (strange
/odd) results, mention them if you did. What are the implications of your results?
What does your research suggest about the particular issue you were looking at?
Suggest further research that would take the work a step further. Draw an overall
conclusion about the study.



References

Easy to pick up marks here. References should be provided in a standard format, (look
up in the back of a psychology text book to find examples). Space them out, and
clearly state sources for quotes you used and where the studies used can be found.

Style.

Write your report in an objective / scientific style, Look up in the library at previously
published or past students reports.

DO NOT USE "I" or "ME" in the report, e.g. when referring to something you did
you can write it as;

"The researchers (or, experimenters) then asked the participants to etc, etc.".

It is all right to use "we" but try to avoid it if you can.

Write concisely, stick to relevant information, do not waffle on about irrelevant
details.

Use the above format, it is logical, organised and will guide you through the report.

Good luck with your study!