Writing Psychology

Research Reports
'
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Writing Psychology
Research Reports
Fourth edition

Peter A. Starreveld editor

Boom
 Foreword

No degree programme in psychology would be complete without some

instruction on academic writing. It is not only students who must pro-
duce pieces of academic writing over the course of their studies (e.g.
when completing a Bachelor's or Master's programme); psychology
graduates, too, are expected to write effectively to communicate devel-
opments in their field.

This book offers practical guidelines for writing academic psychology

texts, and is based on the two writing manuals used during the first
Cover design: Cunera Joosten, Amsterdam
two years of the Bachelor of Psychology programme at the University
Cover photo: Cunera Joosten, Amsterdam
of Amsterdam. These two manuals were produced under the guidance
Layout: Textcetera, The Hague
of Christiaan Hamaker, who inspired, initiated and - until the sum-
mer of 2004 - coordinated the programme's writing units. Under his
© Peter Starreveld & Boom Uitgevers Amsterdam, 2018
direction, Kilian Bennebroek Gravenhorst created a guide to writing
a literature review, which Christiaan Hamaker adapted himself some
Notwithstanding any exceptions under the Copyright Act, no part of this publica-
time later. He also authored the guide to writing empirical research
tion may be reproduced, stored in a digital database or made public in any form or
reports.
manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher, inclu-
Over the years, feedback was incorporated into these manuals from
ding (but not limited to) electronic or mechanical copies, photocopies or recordings.
students and lecturers, to whom I am greatly indebted. The following
lecturers (listed here in alphabetical order) also made substantial con-
To the extent that reprographic copying of this publication is permitted under
tributions: Bianca Boyer, Vittorio Busato, Petra Grijzen, Jessica van
Section 16(h) of the Copyright Act, the applicable statutory remuneration must be
Sluis, Marcia Meerum Terwogt, Sanne Kateman, Katharina Kouwen-
sent to Stichting Reprorecht (the Reprographic Reproduction Rights Foundation)
hoven, Laurens Polder, Mariëlle Slierendrecht, Guido Valk, Jos Ver-
(Postbus 3051, 2130 KB Hoofddorp, www.reprorecht.nl). To include a section (or
brugge, Roeland Voskens, Natascha Weitenberg and Koen Wirtz.
sections) of this publication in an anthology, course reader or other compilation
(Section 16 of the Copyright Act), please contact Stichting PRO (the Foundation
At the request of the book's users, this fourth reprint uses decimal
for Publication and Reproduction Rights, Postbus 3060, 2130 KB Hoofddorp,
points instead of commas (as is common in Dutch) when listing
www.stichting-pro.nl).
numeric data. Chapter 2 has updated the use of the digital object iden-
tifier (DOI), and the section on layout (2.6) has been supplemented
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm
with more information on displaying statistical results. The infor-
or any other means without written permission from the publisher.
mation on literature search engines in Chapter 3 has been updated.
At users' request, Chapter 4 also includes a comprehensive treatment
ISBN 978 90 244 2540 2
of writing an academic summary, including a sample accompanying
ISBN 978 90 244 2541 9 (e-book)
assignment and a completed example (see Section 4.4 and Appen-
NUR 770
dix A). Alterations made to Chapter 6 reflect changing research
attitudes, by including a) a sharper distinction between confirm-
www.boomhogeronderwijs.nl
atory and exploratory studies and their associated analyses, b) the
Writing Psychology Research Reports

recommendation to always include a measure for the effect size when

reporting the results of statistical tests and c) an example of how to Table of Contents
report Bayesian test results. Chapter 6 also includes greater detail on
the necessary preparations before conducting research; in order to
write a coherent, convincing introduction, the writer must first obtain
a thorough overview of the relevant research domain. Lastly, the sam-
ple report in Appendix B has been revised in accordance with the rec- Scientific Reports 9
ommendations in Chapter 6, and Appendix C includes updated DOI 1.1 What is a literature review? 9
references and sample references to digital sources such as blog posts, 1.2 What is an empirical research report? 10
tweets and streaming video. 1.3 The content of this book 10
1.4 Criteria applicable to all reports 11
The purpose of this book
Academic writing is a practical skill - it cannot be learned from a book 2 Academic Writing 13
(not even this one!). 2.1 Structuring an academic text 13
You learn to write scientifically in practice, simply by doing it a lot, by 2.2 Academic style 15
taking a critical look at your own work and by receiving feedback from 2.3 Style and spelling guidelines 16
others. Nevertheless, recommendations can still be given on how to 2.4 References and quotations 21
structure the content of academic texts, the most important of which 2.5 Reference list 24
are given in this book. Practising these instructions and putting the- 2.6 Formatting 28
ory into practice will ultimately result in an effective academic text.
Completing a piece of academic writing can be a very fulfilling experi- 3 How to Write a Literature Review 35
ence. I hope that this book will help you along your way! 3.1 Selecting a topic 35
3.2 Formulating a problem statement and
Peter Starreveld provisional research question 36
June, 2018 3.3 Searching for literature 37
3.4 Overview of search engines 41
3.5 Writing a plan 47

4 Research Descriptions 59
4.1 The structure of a research article 59
4.2 Writing descriptions of scientific research 61
4.3 Steps for writing a research description 65
4.4 Writing a scientific summary 66
4.5 Writing related research descriptions 68
5 Writing a Literature Review 69
5.1 The structure of a literature review 69
5.2 Elements of a literature review 70
5.3 Checklist/evaluation framework 80
Writing Psychology Research Reports

6 Writing a Research Report 85

6.1 Preparation and process 87
6.2 Abstract 88
6.3 Introduction 88
6.4 Method 90
6.5 Results 92
6.6 Discussion 97
6.7 Reference list 101
6.8 Appendices 102
6.9 Checklist/evaluation framework 102
Before conducting any scientific research, it is always essential to
Appendix A Example Scientific Summary 107 develop an understanding of the current state of knowledge in a par-
ticular field. This knowledge is embedded in scientific literature, mak-
Appendix B Example Research Report 111 ing literature study an integral component of scientific endeavours.
The most important sources for a literature study are journal articles
Appendix C APA Reference List Guidelines 121 and books (or book chapters) that either include research reports or
critically examine or review others' research. Anybody conducting sci-
Reference list 135 entific research therefore needs to be able to locate, read, understand
and critically evaluate such publications, in order to compare them
Index 137 and incorporate them into a report. Two important types of academic
reports are literature reviews and empirical research reports. A liter-
About the Author 141 ature review reports the findings of a literature study and describes
the current state of scientific knowledge concerning a specific research
question. An empirical research report, on the other hand, brings new
information to the existing body of scientific knowledge. Both report
types also include an evaluation of the information being presented.

1.1 What is a literature review?

A literature review is an informative text (an exposition) describing
the writer's standpoint regarding a particular question. After studying
the scientific literature available on a particular topic, you will have
reached a certain conclusion. The literature review is an attempt to
convince the reader that this conclusion is correct, by explicitly pro-
viding the evidence for your conclusion in a coherent and persuasive
discussion of the material.
The evidence in this case consists of three aggregated argument types.
The first type comprises facts (i.e. research results) reported by others.
The second type consists of the interpretation of these facts by others
(usually either in the form of a new theory, or by modifying, refining,
or fully or partially proving/disproving an existing theory). The third
type of argument comes from your own evaluation of the scientific
.. Writing Psychology Research Reports
merits of the first two argument types. Your exposition will combine
these three types of arguments in such a way as to create an argumen-
tative structure leading inevitably to your personal conclusion. It will
be scientifically sound if all the available key facts and interpretations
on the subject have been considered and your positioning and evalua-
tion of them is logically correct.
1.2 What is an empirical research report?
An empirical research report is an informative text (an exposition)
presenting new facts pertaining to a particular question. The intro-
duction to this type of report will always include a succinct summary
of information pertinent to the relevant field of research. The three
types of arguments listed in Section 1.1 will apply here too; however,
in this case they must reason coherently and convincingly towards the
conclusion that a key question remains unanswered - a question that
you have investigated by making certain observations. The report will
describe exactly how you did so, and what the results of the investiga-
tion were. Next, you will interpret the results, outline their relevance
to the field of research you described in the introduction and provide a
commentary on the results. The exposition will be scientifically sound
if a) the literature review provides a succinct but thorough summary
of the field of research; b) the research design is sound and the data
obtained has been analysed correctly; and c) the interpretation of the
results is indeed supported by the facts.
1.3 The content of this book
This book examines the various components of both types of reports,
and is therefore a manual for writing both literature reviews and
scientific reports of empirical research. This first chapter sets out a
number of general criteria that apply to written reports. In order to
write an academic text on a particular topic, you must create a cohe-
sive written exposition that combines words into sentences, sentences
into paragraphs, paragraphs into sections and sections into a com-
plete academic text. The rest of this book provides tips and instruc-
tions relating to all of the above levels. Chapter 2 offers a number of
general recommendations for the structure, style and layout of aca-
demic texts. Chapter 3 describes how to choose the topic of a literature
review, how to search for scholarly literature on a particular ques-
tion and how to plan your review. Chapter 4 looks at how to describe
1 Scientific Reports -
empirical research in an effective manner. Descriptions of this kind
form the crux of a literature review, and are also included (albeit more
succinctly) in the introduction and sometimes also in the discussion
sections of empirical research reports. This chapter also provides
instructions on how to create a scientific summary that can be used
as preparation for writing both a literature review and an empirical
research report. Chapter 5 looks at writing the full literature review
itself. In a very condensed form, the literature review is also part of
the introduction to an empirical research report. Chapter 6 outlines
exactly how to create such a research report. Appendix B presents a
sample research report.
1.4 Criteria applicable to all reports
There are some criteria that apply universally to all reports. They are
given here at the very beginning, so that they are not obscured by the
discussion of the other elements. These general criteria are as follows:
Accuracy
The content of the report must be correct. Both literature reviews
and empirical research reports must present information taken
correctly from the articles under review; in an empirical research
report, the experimental results reported must also correspond
accurately with the results obtained. Accuracy also means that
information contradicting your position cannot be omitted.
Clarity
The report must be easy to understand. A literature review must
give the reader (who is not familiar with the original publications)
a clear understanding of what was studied and how, as well as the
researchers' conclusions. The same applies to empirical research
reports, but with the additional requirement that a reader must be
able to reproduce the study being reported on.
Structure
The report must be structured clearly and logically, with the var-
ious sections linked in a cohesive manner. An effective title, a
standardised layout and informative sub-headings are part of an
effective structure.
Language
The report must be written in good English, with correct use of
spelling, grammar and division of paragraphs. The style of the
report must also be objective and impartial, and present as much
information as possible using the fewest words.
.. Writing Psychology Research Reports

References
The report must correctly cite the publications on which it is based,
and include a list of references in the proper format.
Layout
The layout of the report must be in accordance with the rules of the
American Psychological Association (APA).
Originality
You must write the report yourself. Copying or paraphrasing
others' work (or your own prior work) without citing the source
is not permitted.
The science of psychology is based on the knowledge set out in aca-
demic publications. In practice, much of this knowledge is published
in English. Anybody wishing to write for inclusion in an English-
language psychology journal must follow the guidelines as set out by
the American Psychological Association (APA). Most psychologists in
the Netherlands follow the same guidelines in their Dutch publica-
tions (for an example, see the monthly journal of the Dutch Associa-
tion of Psychologists (NIP), De Psycholoog). The APA has compiled a
comprehensive manual for those submitting manuscripts to journals,
called the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association
[APA], 2010). Many of the guidelines in this book are based on this
manual. Reports must also use correct English - extensive advice on
this topic can be found in The elements of style (Strunk & White, 2000)
and Grammatically correct (Stilman, 2010). Wherever these books go
against the Publication Manual, the rules in the Publication Manual
take precedence.
This chapter deals with the following topics (in order): the structure of
an academic text, academic writing style, style guidelines, references
and citations, the list of references and academic text layout.

2.1 Structuring an academic text

First and foremost, an academic text must be structured in an orderly

fashion. Ideas and arguments must follow in logical sequence, and the
various topics must be introduced in a logical order. Academic texts of
some length are therefore made up of several different sections, which
themselves consist of paragraphs. This section discusses these various
components.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
2.1.1 Sections and paragraphs
Sections
A section contains a cohesive unit of information on a particular sub-
topic. For example, almost all academic articles have a section titled
Conclusions or Discussion, in which the authors analyse (and criticise)
the information presented as it relates to the research question, and
make any practical recommendations or recommendations for further
research. The cohesive information in a section almost always covers
a range of aspects, which are outlined in separate paragraphs; some
aspects must even be spread out across multiple paragraphs.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are the building blocks of a piece of writing. Each para-
graph must therefore carry a self-contained message to be expounded
on over the course of the paragraph. There are two ways to structure
a paragraph. The first is to put the main message in the first sentence,
and use the rest of the paragraph for arguments, explanations or fur-
ther details (see Box 2.1). The second option is precisely the opposite:
present the arguments first, and finish with the main message. The key
thing to remember is that a paragraph must only contain one message;
each new idea must have its own paragraph. For more on this subject,
see Section 2.13 of Strunk and White (2000).
Sample paragraph with an effective opening sentence
Misunderstandings still abound regarding the originality of Freud's
ideas. He was not the first to conceptualise a subconscious, for
example - scientists had been writing on this subject for many
centuries before him. Even Plato proposed the tripartite nature
of the soul. Freud's proposition that the human psyche is divided
into three parts (the ego, the superego and the id) is therefore little
more than a reformulation of existing ideas. The same principle
applies to many of Freud's other propositions.
Box 2.1
2 Academic Writing -
2.1.2 Organising a text into sections and paragraphs
A well-organised text lends structure to a report. The section structure
will be dictated by the various sub-topics under discussion. The struc-
ture of a literature review will depend on the topic at hand; empirical
research reports have fixed section headings (see Chapter 6).
The division into paragraphs will depend on the various aspects of the
sub-topic being discussed. A well-written paragraph will contain sev-
eral sentences on a single aspect of the sub-topic. When switching to a
new aspect, start a new paragraph (e.g. when moving from criticism to
a recommendation). Likewise, when presenting two separate practical
recommendations, it is usually best to present them in separate para-
graphs. In a well-written academic paper, the first sentences of all the
paragraphs will often serve to summarise the entire text. In addition
to a clear structure, academic texts should also be written in a specific,
academic style.
2.2 Academic style
It is impossible to communicate an effective sequence of ideas and
arguments without using proper academic language. In non-scientific
texts, it is customary to engage the reader using a variety of stylis-
tic devices, such as unexpected plot twists, withheld information or
ambiguities. While there is nothing wrong with engaging the reader,
such stylistic devices have no place in academic writing. Renkema
(2012, Section 4.1.2) compares the style of a text to a person's attire:
just like clothing says a lot about a person, so too does the style say a
lot about a text. Academic texts have a specific style: they are informa-
tive, explicit, concise and straightforward. The same applies to reports
written for scientific degree programmes.
Informative
The purpose of a literature review is to communicate the content of the
various publications you have consulted, along with your own evalua-
tion of them. As such, it is crucial to correctly describe the content of
the publications. Your own opinion thereof must be clearly segregated
from the presentation of others' work. The purpose of a research report
is to clearly communicate the question, the method, the results and
the conclusions of the study. In both types of reports, the reader must
be presented with enough information to enable an evaluation of the
conclusions.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Explicit
Everything must be formulated explicitly, leaving nothing to the read-
er's imagination. Every step in the argumentation must be written
down. A research report must also describe the method used in such a
way that the study can be replicated by someone else. The reader must
be given all the necessary information to verify whether the conclu-
sions are justified.
Concise
Aim for concise use oflanguage, leaving out all words and phrases that
do not convey any useful information.
For example, rather than:
In the smashed condition, there were 16 participants who thought
they had seen broken glass. In the hit condition, there were only
seven participants who thought they had seen broken glass.
the following would be better:
More participants thought they had seen broken glass in the
smashed condition (16) than in the hit condition (7).
Take care, however, that conciseness does not lead to vagueness or
ambiguity. Trying to say too much in too few words can easily go awry.
Straightforward
Academic writing is clear and matter-of-fact. Keep your text free of
florid language, imagery, hip lingo and slang.
2.3 Style and spelling guidelines
Scientific texts are made up of sentences that read smoothly, and in
which all words are spelled correctly. Thorough editing is therefore
important when writing your own reports. Poor use of language will
probably result in the reader disregarding the report altogether. Good
reference works for correct use of language are The elements of style
by Strunk and White (2000) and Grammatically correct by Stilman
(2010), which clearly explain many aspects of how to use correct
English using many concrete examples.
Academic texts must also comply with many guidelines that are based
on the APA Manual (APA, 2010). This section deals only briefly with
the above, but the pointers below should help avoid frustration among
your supervisors and/or external assessors.
2 Academic Writing -
2.3. l General
The first three general points below apply to texts of any type; the rest
pertain specifically to academic writing.
Spelling
For correct English spelling, please consult the Oxford English Dic-
tionary. Other English dictionaries are also fine, as long as they are
used consistently.
Be careful with your use of compound words in particular. Many
words that might be linked together in someone's native language (e.g.
the Dutch words wachtkamer, controleconditie, validatieonderzoek)
should be written separately in English (waiting room, control con-
dition, validation study). If you are used to link such words together
in your native language, you might feel inclined to link these words
together in English as well, but doing so would be incorrect. Be sure
to get this right.
Always use your word processor's spell checker function. Although it
will not pick up all errors in a text, it will definitely make a difference.
Punctuation
Pay attention to punctuation, such as the correct use of commas, full
stops, colons, semi-colons, etc. Spaces should always come after punc-
tuation marks, not before. Use commas properly. Note the difference
in meaning between:
The children, who did not participate, were cheering.
and:
The children who did not participate were cheering.
(Only in the second sentence were there children who did participate.)
Complex prepositions
Always avoid convoluted use of language, such as unnecessary prepo-
sitional phrases. These expressions usually consist of three words, feel
rather 'forced' and can generally be replaced by a single word. With
regard to can nearly always be replaced by regarding or concerning. By
means of can be expressed by using or through. Chapter 2 in Strunk
and White (2000) provides more such examples, along with a wealth
of useful tips regarding clarity, accuracy, succinctness and appealing
writing.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Paraphrasing
When writing scientific reports, some make the mistake of including
sentences from source publications However, you should always par-
aphrase what you have read in your own words (and always include
a reference to the source).
How much explanation is required?
A student from your own year should be able to read and understand
the report. You can therefore assume that the reader has some elemen-
tary knowledge of psychology. Common terms in general use require
no explanation, such as 'conditioning', 'significant' or 'conscious'.
Specific terms and theories essential to your question do require
explanation, however.
Re-read a report before giving it to someone else, and ask yourself the
following: Will the report enable the reader to understand the study
on its own? Is any necessary information missing? Is all of the infor-
mation in the report necessary? Is anything repeated? Are the various
sections properly linked together? Is the text consistent? Do the argu-
ments employed serve a purpose?
Full sentences, no bullet lists
All scientific reports must consist of fully formed, grammatically cor-
rect sentences. Never use bullet lists, such as:
There were five different versions:
smashed;
collided;
bumped;
hit;
contacted.
Instead:
There were five different versions, which used the words smashed,
collided, bumped, hit and contacted.
A second example of a correct enumeration is given below:
The theory takes into account a) the opinions of others regarding
the decision to be taken, b) the influence of the physical space in
which the decision is taken, c) the influence of individual attitudes
to the topic in question and d) individual views on what constitutes
a good decision.
2 Academic Writing -
2.3.2 Specific guidelines from the APA Manual
In addition to general style guidelines, editors of scientific journals
also apply specific criteria from the APA Manual. This section briefly
discusses some of the key criteria.
Use the active voice
In scientific reports it is often tempting to use what is called the 'pas-
sive voice', which can make the report sound dull and convoluted. The
active voice should therefore be used whenever possible.
In Section 3, a discussion will be included of how short-term
memory is influenced by cannabis, the effects on long-term
memory will be examined and the possible explanations will be
reviewed.
becomes:
Section 3 describes the influence of cannabis on both short and
long-term memory, as well as the possible explanations for these
influences.
The same applies to describing existing research: it is better to say
'As Cherniss (199S) notes .. .' rather than 'As noted by Cherniss (1995) .. .'
Present and past tense
Be sure to monitor your use of the present and past tenses. Most of the
report will be written in the past tense, as the study you are reporting
on has already been completed (either by you or others). The present
tense usually only occurs in parts of the introduction, in section tran-
sitions and during the discussion.
Use of 'I' and 'we'
The first-person singular and plural (J, we) should be avoided as much
as possible. Your own personal criticisms of research, for example, are
not marked by using the word T, but by the absence of any reference
after the criticism itself. Criticism by others should always be accom-
panied by a reference to the source. Scientific reports are generally not
the place to express personal opinions. Write the report in a neutral
form, e.g.:
This study sought to answer the question ... The expected results
were as follows ... The conclusion was ... One might suppose ...
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Only when describing aspects of the study for which you yourself were
responsible should you use Tor 'we', e.g.:
we implemented this mechanism in a connectionist model, in
which ... To our surprise, our results in the second experiment
suggested ...
Use parallel grammatical constructions
Parts of sentences that serve the same purpose should be formulated in
the same way. Although this may seem dull, it does make the text eas-
ier to follow. Writing academically mostly means writing clearly, and
parallel constructions are indispensable in this regard. So, instead of:
The participants saw upper-case letters in the experimental
condition, and were shown lower-case letters in the control
condition.
use:
The participants saw upper-case letters in the experimental
condition and lower-case letters in the control condition.
Also use parallel constructions in corresponding paragraphs.
For example:
Two attribute types are defined: internal attributes and external
attributes. The key aspect of an internal attribute is ...
The key aspect of an external attribute is ...
Do not use synonyms
Decide on specific terminology, and stick with it. Once you have
decided to refer to the difference between men and women as sex,
do not start calling it gender later on.
Effective use of comparisons
Always explicitly name both parts of a comparison. So, replace
'participants in the experimental condition had higher scores' with
'participants in the experimental condition had higher scores than the
participants in the control condition'. Always do this, even if there
are only two conditions.
2 Academic Writing -
2.4 References and quotations
References to other texts or sources of information are very common
stylistic elements specific to academic texts. In a literature review,
almost all of the information presented will have come from other
sources you have studied, and research reports also contain much
information from external sources. In most cases, the information
will be paraphrased, i.e. re-written in your own words. In rare cases,
reports will contain direct quotations. Whatever the case, the reader
must always know exactly where the information under discussion
(not only research results, but also ideas and lines of reasoning) has
come from. This is what the in-text references and the associated ref-
erence list are for. References form the basis of the scientific litera-
ture; they ensure that all claims made by the author can be verified
by others. Nor should we forget the adage 'credit where credit is due';
you should never present other people's ideas as though they were
your own.
Presentation of your own ideas (e.g. in the form of a new line of
reasoning, criticism, conclusion or evaluation) is made clear to the
reader by a lack of any reference. Although the difference may seem
subtle, it is very important. It must be absolutely clear to the reader
when you are speaking your own mind and when you are paraphras-
ing or quoting others directly. Doing the latter without references
is plagiarism.
2.4.1 Referencing sources
In view of the above, a report must therefore indicate all sources of
information as precisely as possible. References are used for this pur-
pose. Appendix C contains an extensive overview of various types of
references, the most important of which are touched on briefly below.
In psychology, in-text references always consist of the name(s) of
the author(s) and the year of publication. This also applies to online
sources: the URL (Internet address) should be given in the list of refer-
ences, not in the running text.
There are two options for in-text references:
Put the author in the running text, and the year of publication in
parentheses:
Rachlin and Green (2008) studied animal behaviour ...
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Put both the name(s) and the year in parentheses:
In a recent study (Rachlin & Green, 2008) on animal behaviour ...
Note: if the names are part of the running text, insert the full word
and between them; if the names are in parentheses, use the & symbol.
In-text references never give authors' first names or initials, unless
two first authors in the literature list have the same surname, which
could cause confusion.
Referencing publications by three or more authors
Publications by three or more authors can be referenced in an abbre-
viated form, by giving the name of the first author followed by et al.
(short for: et alii, which is Latin for and others) and the year. When
referencing publications by three to five authors, list all the names the
first time, and abbreviate subsequent references. Sample first reference:
Janssen, Peters and Lopez (1987) discovered that ...
Subsequent references:
Janssen et al. (1987) reported another noteworthy result.
The second reference to a study within the same paragraph may also
omit the year, provided no ambiguity results. So:
Janssen et al. (1987) discovered ... Janssen et al. also found ...
Publications by six or more authors may always be cited in abbreviated
form (even the first time).
Referencing publications by unspecified or unknown authors
Works whose authors are unknown (which is often the case with pub-
lications by large organisations) are referenced using the initial words
of the entry in the list of references, along with the year of publication.
For example:
In-text reference:
(World Health Organization, 1999)
Entry in reference list:
World Health Organization (1999). Report on the ...
2 Academic Writing -
If there is no author information whatsoever (e.g. as is sometimes the
case with online sources), use the title of the work in both the in-text
reference and the list of references. When included in parentheses, the
title may be shortened to the first word or words. Where no publica-
tion year is known, use n.d. (abbreviated form of 'no date'). Only if
the author's name is explicitly mentioned as Anonymous in the origi-
nal, you may use it as the author when referencing, e.g. (Anonymous,
2006). Do think carefully about how much store you wish to set by
completely anonymous sources.
Referencing publications that you have not read yourself
Only reference sources you have actually read. If you come across a
reference to a publication that you would also like to reference, the
best thing to do is to look it up and read it yourself. If this is genu-
inely impossible, reference the source via the publication that you have
actually read. This will prevent you from taking on interpretations by
others that are potentially debatable or incorrect. For example:
Freud (1900, cited in Ryckman, 1985) assumed that ...
According to Strickland (1989), Rotter sees a lot of similarity
between the concepts locus of control and learned helplessness ...
The above examples show that you have genuinely read Ryckman and
Strickland, but that you have not verified their claims regarding Freud
or Rotter yourself. Note: because you have not used the indirectly
referenced publication as your own source, you may not include it in
the list of references.
2.4.2 Direct quotations
Although you should keep direct quotations to a minimum, they can
sometimes serve to strengthen your arguments. References to direct
quotations must always include a page number. If you have already
referenced the publication leading up to the quotation, simply giving
the page number is enough. Quotations less than forty words in length
can be included in the running text without any special formatting,
other than double quotation marks. Use an ellipsis ( ... ) to indicate any
omissions in the quotation, which must otherwise be taken verbatim
from the source (including any errors in spelling or grammar). If you
Writing Psychology Research Reports
wish to add your own clarifying remarks, do so using square brackets.
An example of a short quotation with comments by the author:
As noted by Rescorla (1987), "The likelihood of making a response
[by pressing the lever] was substantially lowered if its reinforcer
was subsequently devalued" (p. 121).
Quotations of forty words or longer must be made typographically
distinct from the surrounding text through indentation. In these
cases, quotation marks are not used. The page number is given after
the full stop at the end of the quotation. For example:
As noted by Rescorla (1987):
The likelihood of making a response was substantially lowered
if its reinforcer was subsequently devalued. The fact that these
data were collected during extinction, when neither reinforcer
was presented, implies that the animal had previously
associated a particular reinforcer with a particular response.
(p. 121)
If the name of the publication has not been mentioned leading up to
the quotation, the reference should look as follows:
A prominent researcher described the phenomenon thus: "The
likelihood of making a response was substantially lowered if its
reinforcer was subsequently devalued" (Rescorla, 1987, p. 121).
Try to keep direct quotations to a minimum. Your writing will gen-
erally benefit from using your own words, as you can maintain the
same style throughout. Besides, your exposition will ultimately almost
always depend more on the import of the arguments rather than on
their precise formulation in the texts you have studied.
2.5 Reference list
All in-text references must be included in the reference list. The ref-
erence list provides all of the information that someone else will need
to locate the sources. Correct citation of the sources used is precision
work, and it is important to get it right from the get-go. Correct ref-
erencing forms the linchpin of academic writing, and even tiny errors
can make sources impossible to find. Search engines, for example, may
not be able to locate a source if the author's name (or even an initial)
is spelled incorrectly.
2 Academic Writing -
There are two very important considerations when creating a reference
list: the first is how to list each individual entry, and the second is the
order of entries.
2.5.1 The components of a reference list
Reference lists can include various items. The four most common
items are journal articles, books, chapters from edited books (each
written by a different author or group of authors) and references to
online publications. This section gives the rules for citing a journal
article, followed by those for books, chapters from edited books and
online articles. Further examples are given in Appendix C.
Here is a sample entry for a journal article:
Mellers, B. A. (2000). Choice and the relative
pleasure of consequences. Psychological Bulletin,
126, 910-924. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033
-2909.126.6.910
The applicable guidelines are as follows:
Authors' names
Put the author's initials after their surname, with a full stop after
each initial.
Give the surnames and initials of all authors in the same order as
they appear at the top of the article.
Where there are two or more initials, each must be separated by
a space.
If there is more than one author, use an ampersand (&) before the
final author's surname.
If there are more than seven authors, put a comma after the name
of the sixth author, then a space, then an ellipsis ( ... ), then another
space and finally the surname and initials of the final author.
Use commas to separate the authors' names.
Publication date
Put the year of publication in parentheses, followed by a full stop.
Title of the article
Capitalise only the first word in the title/subtitle.
Proper nouns in titles/subtitles must be capitalised.
Capitalise the first word after a colon.
Finish off the title with a full stop.
Writing Psychology Research Reports 2 Academic Writing -

Information on the journal in which the article was In all other cases, the entry finishes with the page numbers.
published
Give the full title of the journal using Title Case (major words and The same general scheme is applied to all other entries. Use the exam-
words of four letters or more are capitalized). ples below as templates for references to books or chapters from an
Write the title in italics. edited book.
Put a comma after the title.
Give the year of publication: the volume number. Referencing a book
Put the volume number in italics. Here, the book title is printed in italics, followed by a full stop. Next,
Place a comma after the volume number. list the place of publication and the publisher's name, separated by a
Only give the issue number for journals whose page numbering is colon.
not continuous across the various issues in a volume; most jour-
nals use continuous numbering, and in these cases an issue num- Robinson, D. N. (1992). Social discourse and moral
ber is not required. judgment. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Give the first and last page numbers of an article, separated by an
en dash ('-', created in Word by pressing Ctr! and the minus key Referencing a chapter from an edited book
together). The abbreviation 'Ed.' or 'Eds.' refers to the editor(s) of the book.
End with a full stop.
O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's
Digital object identifiers gender role journeys: Metaphor for healing,
Most items have what is called a digital object identifier, or DOI. transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib
As of March 2017, the following DOI citation format is recom- (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle
mended (McAdoo, 2017): (pp. 107-123). New York: Springer.
https://doi.org/identifier
Do not place a full stop at the end of the DOI. Older DOI citation Referencing electronic sources
methods are DOI:identifier and http://dx.doi.org/identifier, both Electronic sources are those whose information is taken exclusively
of which also exclude the final full stop. from the Internet. In most cases, these will be journal articles. Those
A DOI makes articles very easy to locate: simply type it into Goog- that have a DOI will use the standard format; if an article has no DOI,
le search or use the DOI resolver at crossref org. The recommended but you did access it online, give the URL of the journal's home page.
way to cite a DOI is a direct URL (i.e. an online link) to the article. These types of references are generally structured as follows:
If an article has no DOI, but you did access it online, give the
URL of the journal's home page (see example below). There is nev- Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year).
er a full stop after a URL; line-break the entry as necessary after Title of the article. Title of the journal, volume
a double-slash (Il) or before any other punctuation marks (e.g, a number, page numbers. Retrieved from http://xxxxx
single slash, full stop or hyphen); never add a hyphen or full stop,
to the end or anywhere else. If the article did not appear in a journal, the entry is structured as
follows:
Sillick, T. J., & Schutte, N. S. (2006). Emotional
intelligence and self-esteem mediate between Author, A. A. (year). Title of the article. Retrieved
perceived early parental love and adult happiness. from http://xxxxx
£-Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48.
Retrieved from: http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index
.php/ejap/index
Writing Psychology Research Reports
2.5.2 Order of entries in the reference list
The entries in a reference list are ordered alphabetically by surname.
Pay close attention to the following rules:
Identical surnames are ordered alphabetically by initial. Eliot,
A. L., & Wallston, J. (1983) therefore precedes Eliot, G. E., &
Ahlers, R. J. (1980).
Short entries come before long entries. Brown, J. R. is therefore
listed above Browning, A. R.
Multiple publications by the same author are listed in order of
publication date. Kim, L. S. (1990) is therefore listed above Kim,
L. s. (1992).
Single author precedes multiple authors. Kaufman, J. R. (1991)
therefore precedes Kaufman, J. R., & Cochran, D. F. (1987).
Co-authored publications with the same principal author are
ordered according to the name of the second author, etc. Kauf-
man, J. R., Jones, K., & Cochran, D. F. (1992) therefore precedes
Kaufman, J. R., & Wong, D. F. (1989).
Publications by the same author in the same year are distinguished
by adding 'a' and 'b' to the year. These letters must also be used in
the in-text references. The words in the title determine the entry
order (grammatical articles are ignored). Kaufman, J. R. (1990a).
The control of ... ; Kaufman, J. R. (1990b). Roles of ...
2.6 Formatting
Any scholarly article submitted to an academic publication must be
formatted according to the guidelines in the APA Manual. This sec-
tion covers some of the more important rules.
Font size, spacing, alignment, breaks
Apply generous left and right margins (the word processor's default
settings are good), select a standard 12-point font (e.g. Times New
Roman) and use double-spacing (except in tables and diagrams).
The text should be left aligned; do not justify the right margin. Do
not manually break words at the end of a line, simply because, if your
report is published in a journal, the words that appear at the end of the
line in your manuscript will most probably appear somewhere else in
the final publication.
2 Academic Writing -
Title page
Make a title page with a centred title (maximum recommended length
is 12 words), and with your name centred below it. Other required
information may also be included on the title page (e.g. your student
ID number, supervisor's name and the word count, if submitting a
report for assessment purposes), and should be positioned in the lower
left corner, left aligned. The header (and the headers of all pages of the
manuscript) should say 'Running head' (left aligned), followed by a
colon and a version of the title that is no longer than 50 characters in
length, in all caps.
Formatting sections and paragraphs
Journal editors format articles according to the rules of the relevant
journal. The authors are (thankfully) not involved in this process: they
submit their text without much formatting, following the standard
template from the APA Manual. This template does allow the text to be
effectively structured, but the layout is hardly spectacular. Although it
will usually not appear as such in a journal, the original manuscript
must be submitted in this form.
The APA guidelines state that new sections are created by inserting
an unnumbered heading. Section headings are formatted as follows:
Bold, Centred Heading in Title Case
Principal words are capitalised, grammatical connectors (e.g. the, and,
in, with, for) are not. If subsections are to be used, a second level of
headings will apply. Subsection headings are formatted as follows:
Bold, Left-aligned Heading in Title Case
These two tiers are often sufficient, but if a third level is required, it
appears as follows:
Bold, indented heading in sentence case, ending with
a full stop.
In this case, the text continues on after the full stop (although it is no
longer bold, of course).
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Research reports (see also Chapter 6 and Appendix B) use this format-
ting as follows. A report on a single study uses the following format:
Method
Participants
The participants were ...
Reports on multiple studies are structured as follows:
Experiment 1
Method
Participants. The participants were ...
Paragraphs are used to give further structure to the various sections
of the report. New paragraphs (except in the abstract) are indicated
by indenting with a tab. Conclude a paragraph with a hard return.
Paragraphs also always contain multiple sentences, so never create a
paragraph consisting of only one sentence.
Numbers
The APA Manual (2010) states that digits should always be used for
numbers larger than nine (except in the abstract, where digits are
always used). So:
Seven men were selected.
But:
A call was issued to 17 students.
The APA Manual lists the following important exceptions to this rule.
Use digits for numbers lower than 10:
for measurements: a dose of 4 mg, lasting 6 seconds, a 4-cm strip;
for items in a series: Experiment 2, Table 4, Figure 7;
in calculations: multiplied by 4, fewer than 8% of the trials, a 1:3
ratio;
for numbers indicating date, time, age, sums of money or scores: at
4 o'clock, on 4 March 2000, the average age was 9 years, a score of
5 on a 7-point scale, each participant received 5 euros,
for statistical information: t(9) = 1.3; F(3, 8) = 3.4.
Never start a sentence with digits; numbers at the start of a sentence
are always expressed in words.
2 Academic Writing -
Variables
All empirical research reports must define the variables used in the
study. The following applies to the definition of variables. Only use
meaningful, complete descriptions in the text. Never use abbreviations
or the codes applied to the statistical processing. If lack of space in a
table (e.g. a correlation matrix) makes abbreviations necessary, define
them in a footnote.
Capitalisation
Variables are sometimes capitalised, and sometimes they are not.
The APA Manual says the following: Variables are generally not capital-
ised, unless they are combined with a multiplication symbol. So:
The gender and age variables
The Gender x Age interaction
A 2 x 2 (Gender x Age) research design
General references to tests are not capitalised. For example:
A vocabulary test
An intelligence test
However, titles of specific tests are capitalised. For example:
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
The Advanced Vocabulary Test
The names of subscales are also capitalised, although the word scale
itself is not capitalised. For example:
The MMPI Depression Scale is a scale with ...
Statistical symbols
Put a space on both sides of all operators (=, <, >, +, -, etc.). Statistical
symbols (e.g. F, p, t, N, M, SD) must always be in italics, except for
Greek letters. Some examples are given below of how to present the
study results and analysis.
In the study (N = 234) there were various ...
The effect of group size was significant, t(28) = 2.26, p = .032, d = 0.82,
the large group produced more ideas than the small group.
M = 8.16; SD= 2.11
x'(S, N = 85) = 7.19, p = .21
11/= .89
Writing Psychology Research Reports
When referring to the number of participants in a subsample, do not
use a capital letter, e.g.:
The group that scored highly on the test (n = 34) was ...
A 95% confidence interval for an average (M) is given as follows:
M = 635.7 ms, 95% Cl [625.6, 645.8]
The percentage symbol is only used in combination with digits; other-
wise, write out the word 'percentage' in full:
The percentage of women was ...
The sample was 55% female ...
Non-statistical subscripts are not given in italics, but statistical sub-
scripts are, e.g.:
but:
Rounding
Report exact p-values: only p-values lower than .001 are reported as
p < .001. Round p-values to two or three decimal places. Other val-
ues are generally rounded to two decimals; if this results in the loss
of important information, choose a different unit of measurement
(e.g. express a distance in millimetres instead of metres).
Figures and tables
Specific formatting rules apply to figures and tables, only some aspects
of which are covered here. Literature reviews virtually never contain
tables or figures; except occasionally in very long reviews. Research
reports almost always contain at least one table. For examples, see the
sample research report given in Appendix B.
Whenever you wish to include figures or tables in a report, they must
be numbered and referred to (at least once) in the running text using
this number, e.g. 'see Figure 2'. You can never expect the reader to
2 Academic Writing -
know why the figure or table has been included. Your text must there-
fore explicitly state what you want the reader to focus on in the table,
e.g.:
The two conditions differed in the preliminary measurement, but
not in the subsequent measurement, as shown in Figure 2.
Figures must be captioned with 'Figure x.' (in italics, where x is the
figure number, followed by a full stop) below the figure. Continue
the caption in normal script with a brief description of the figure.
Any abbreviations used in the figure must be explained in the cap-
tion. For the figure itself, use a sans-serif font (such as Arial, Futura
or Helvetica). If the figure is a graph, both axes must be labelled (see
Appendix B for an example).
When including tables, the running text must also explain what it is
the reader should see in the table, e.g.:
Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations of the reaction
times in the various conditions.
Number the tables and refer to them (at least once) in the text, using
the numbers. The label 'Table x' (non-italic, where x is the table num-
ber, no full stop) must be given above the table, with a brief description
immediately below (but still above the table), formatted as follows:
aligned, in italics, in Title Case. Tables in academic writing always
contain horizontal lines, but never vertical ones. Include a long, hori-
zontal line across the full length of the table (a 'table rule') immedi-
ately below the description of the table.
Then include (in order) the column headings, another table rule, the
data, and then a final table rule.
The first column in a table usually consists of text that is left aligned;
the other columns are centred. Every column in the table must have a
(centred) title. Additional headers (called 'column spanners') can be
included above multiple related columns; in these cases, a horizon-
tal line is placed above the relevant columns to group them together.
One effective use of column spanners is to identify the separate condi-
tions from two different experiments in the same table. Generally, the
numbers to be compared by the reader are listed side-by-side, not top
to bottom. The sample report in Appendix B contains two examples
of tables. These examples also demonstrate that multiple tables in the
same report should be formatted in the same way.
Writing Psychology Research Reports

If a table presents the results of statistical analysis, asterisks can be

used to indicate which statistical results were significant (e.g. any
F-values or correlations). Include a footnote directly beneath the final
table rule to explain the abbreviations used and how significance is
indicated (when using asterisks to indicate a significance level of0.05,
this becomes: *p < .05.).
It must be possible to read and interpret figures and tables inde-
pendently of the text. The brief description above/below the table/fig-
ure must provide enough information to understand it without having
to read the text of the report.
Various steps are necessary before actually writing your literature
Formatting a reference list review. To give you an idea of what is required before producing a final
Use a hanging indent: the first line of the reference is not indented, but version, the key steps are listed below:
the following lines are. Choose a topic.
Formulate a (provisional) problem statement or question.
Final remarks Search for literature on the subject.
Don't let all these rules distract you from the content of your report! Make a selection from the literature you find.
The form is only the means of conveying your message; it does not Scan through the literature.
replace the message itself. The best way to reach other researchers Reformulate your (provisional) problem statement or question if
(your future colleagues) is to produce writing that is consistent and necessary.
persuasive. The proper form will serve this purpose; improper form Study the selected literature thoroughly.
will detract from it. Write a detailed plan for your literature review.

Only after completing the above steps can you actually commence
writing, during which time revisions will always be necessary based
on your own or others' remarks.

For many students, selecting a topic and formulating a good ques-

tion is already quite a task. Sections 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 will deal with this
aspect in greater detail. Section 3.4 describes several popular litera-
ture search engines, and the chapter concludes with tips for writing
a detailed plan for a literature review.

3.1 Selecting a topic

This section looks at the first step in writing a literature review: choos-
ing a topic. Some students can easily come up with a list of topics they
would like to write a literature review on, while others have more
trouble. Some suggestions are given below to help you get started on
making a choice.
A good way to start is to browse through the books you have already
studied up to now - this will at least give you an idea of where your
Writing Psychology Research Reports
interest lies. If you are particularly interested in social psychology, you
may want to consider choosing a topic from that field. As a follow-up
step, you could look through a social psychology handbook. The added
advantage of this approach is that you can already gain an idea of the
research that has been conducted on a particular topic by looking
through the list of references in the handbook.
A second strategy is to select a topic that interests you, but which you
have not yet delved into. Psychology covers a broad range of topics,
and writing a literature review can enable you to learn more about a
topic that is not in the limelight of modern psychology. The risk is that
you may not find any or sufficient suitable literature. Section 3.3 talks
about what to do in this situation.
Lastly, talking to your fellow students or a lecturer can also help
you choose a topic. The lecturers have all written multiple literature
reviews and can tell you about how they came to choose their topics.
Perhaps the most important thing is that you find the topic interesting,
engaging and/or challenging, so you feel motivated to work on writing
the review (and hopefully enjoy it!).
3.2 Formulating a problem statement and
provisional research question
A problem statement can be viewed as an initial indication of the ques-
tion you aim to answer, and gives a broad, general idea of how you
intend to approach the topic. For example: if you choose to write a lit-
erature review on attribution, your problem statement could focus on
the question of how certain types of attributes (e.g. internal or exter-
nal) originate. A problem statement like this must then be further
honed into a provisional question - this is a necessary step to allow
you to search for literature in a targeted fashion. Your question will
usually require adjustment, sometimes even to a significant extent,
once you have located a few articles.
In most cases, you can formulate your provisional research question in
one of two ways. In experimental research, the question will take the
form of: 'What is the influence ofX on Y?' In correlative research, this
becomes: 'Is there a relationship between X and Y?' In experimental
research, Y represents an aspect of human behaviour (e.g. extrover-
sion, independence, memory performance, reaction speed, depression
or a type of attribution). X represents the possible variables that deter-
mine (or are related to) this behaviour, and can include environmen-
tal variables (such as others' behaviour) and aspects of the individual
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
themselves (such as intelligence or a person's tendency to seek the
cause for events within themselves or in the outside world). One pos-
sible example of a question is: 'Are the types of attribution made by a
person influenced by their ability to exert control over their environ-
ment?' In correlational research, X and Y are generally both aspects of
human behaviour (such as reaction speed and memory performance)
or personal characteristics (such as intelligence and extroversion).
One possible example of a question here is: 'Does a person's social sta-
tus correlate to their attribution style?' Box 3.1 gives several additional
examples of provisional questions.
A major advantage to formulating a question this way is that you
already have at least two terms you can use to search for literature.
The following section looks at selecting search terms and searching
for literature.
Examples of a provisional research question
On the topic of Parent-child relationships, one potential question
could be: 'Does parenting style influence children's personality
development?' A very specific question might be: 'How does an
authoritarian approach to child-rearing influence the development
of extroversion in children?' This latter question assumes that the
personality characteristic is determined by the environment.
On the topic of Memory development, potential questions might be:
'What are the short and long-term effects of targeted training on
short-term memory development?' (environmental determinant),
or: 'What is the relationship between general intelligence and
long-term memory development?' (intra personal determinant).
Box 3.1
3.3 Searching for literature
Scientific literature consists primarily of journal articles, chapters in
edited books or even entire books dedicated to a certain subject. There
are various ways to find suitable literature.
Working from a suitable starting publication
A good way to start is to look in textbooks to see whether your cho-
sen question is covered anywhere. If so, the book will almost always
Writing Psychology Research Reports
include references to articles or books (or book chapters). The full ref-
erences can be found in the reference list in the back of the textbook.
If they look promising, you can find the publications in question by
searching through digital databases, either by using several words
from the title or by searching directly using the authors' names. Once
you have found what you are looking for, you can use this as the basis
for the rest of your search (see 'You find too little literature' under
Section 3.3.1).
Using search terms
If you have no publication to use as a starting point, one option is to
search a range of digital databases. PsycINFO is the best place to start:
it is a major database including all articles, books and book chap-
ters from the psychology research literature that are of any impor-
tance. Base your search terms on your question and enter them into
a search engine (OvidSP) that specialises in searching databases such
as PsycINFO. Based on the titles you find and the accompanying
abstracts, you can then evaluate whether these publications are suita-
ble for inclusion in your literature review. This process is described in
more detail in Section 3.4, along with how to use the Web of Science
and PiCarta search systems.
3.3. 7 Overview of the search process
An effective literature search process is a very active one. It does not
simply involve passively entering search terms and seeing what turns
up - effective searching is driven by what you find during the search
process itself. The search process effectively allows you to start writ-
ing your detailed plan (see Section 3.5). Taking careful note of titles
and abstracts will quickly give you an idea of the different variables
at play in your research question. You will encounter a wide range of
research methods, groups of participants and theoretical perspectives,
for example. This information will help you to structure your litera-
ture review (e.g. by including separate sections on research regarding
children and regarding adults). These ideas for structuring your liter-
ature overview can be actively applied during the search process, by
formulating your search terms so as to effectively cover the relevant
sub-areas. This will quickly reveal whether your structural concept is
tenable, or whether you should discard it. The latter may be the case if
there is too little literature available in a certain specialist field.
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
Search terms
Searching digital databases for publications on your topic requires
search terms. For your initial foray, use the principal words from your
research question. Always use English search terms, as both the data-
bases you will be searching and the psychology literature are nearly all
in English. Examples of suitable search terms are personality develop-
ment, extraversion, short-term memory or intelligence. When formu-
lating search terms, it is helpful to make use of the thesaurus function
(if the search engine has one). The thesaurus contains a hierarchical
system of key words that describe every publication.
Search terms can be combined with Boolean operators, such as AND,
OR and NOT. A search using AND will only produce results that
include both search terms; OR will give publications that include
at least one of the search terms. Use NOT to exclude certain terms;
publications that contain these terms will not be shown.
The initial foray
After typing your terms into the search engine, you usually initiate the
search by pressing a button labelled Search. The first relevant informa-
tion you find will usually be titles (along with the author's name, the
name of the journal/publisher and the year of publication). Titles pro-
vide little information on the content of a publication, but enough to
make an initial assessment. If the title seems relevant to your literature
review, the abstract (a brief summary) is usually only a mouse-click
away. Reading the abstract will give you a much better idea of whether
the publication is useful for your literature review. Your final task is to
locate the full text of the publication. For recent articles, this usually
only requires a few mouse clicks. If you wish to include an article in
your literature review, you must always have access to the full text.
More searching
An effective combination of search terms will probably furnish one
or more titles that are relevant to your question. You may find exactly
the right amount; however, this is unlikely. There are multiple possible
scenarios at this point.
You find too many suitable results. In this case, you must narrow
down and refine your search. There are various ways to do so:
Add more terms to your search; this will limit the number of
results to the publications suitable for your specific question.
Continue searching based on a publication that you find par-
ticularly interesting. In this case, proceed as described below
(as though you have too few results, but at least one that is
extremely suitable for your question).
Writing Psychology Research Reports
You find too little literature.
First of all, you can try using different search terms. If the term
speaking produces no results, the terms language production,
formulation, articulation, sentence production or word genera-
tion might do better. Be creative, as most authors do the same!
If possible, also use the search engine's thesaurus to find suita-
ble search terms.
If you have found at least one publication that seems suita-
ble for your question, use the terms listed therein (or related
terms) as new search terms.
Some search engines (e.g. Web of Science, see Section 3.4.2)
can also use a certain publication as the starting point for
searching backwards or forwards in time. Search backwards
in time by closely examining the publication's reference list; it
is very likely that it will contain relevant articles on the same
topic. Search forwards in time by retrieving all articles that
appeared later and contain a reference to the original article.
This will be very likely to produce relevant results.
Terms used in the articles found in this manner can also serve
as inspiration for new search terms.
Lastly, many search engines allow you to search for articles
that resemble the starting publication.
You find no publications whatsoever that are relevant to your ques-
tion. In this scenario, you must broaden the scope of your question
and conduct a new search accordingly.
3.3.2 Evaluating the results
When evaluating the suitability of an article, book or book chapter,
start by establishing whether the content relates to your problem state-
ment or provisional question. To do so, look at the title and subtitle
(if there is one), then read the summary (or abstract) that is often also
included in many databases. A quick way to tell whether an article is
useful is to read the abstract to identify the dependent and independ-
ent variables and their operationalisation, and potentially also the
theoretical framework and the types of participants. This will allow
you to see at a glance whether the article in question is relevant to
your question and the rest of the literature you found.
Evaluating the suitability of a book (or part thereof) is somewhat
similar. As with articles, you can most likely look at the title and/or
author(s) to see whether the work is suitable or not, and scanning of
the table of contents will give you a general overview of the contents
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
of the book. This is usually enough to get a good idea of how the book
is structured. Books often include a summary or a first chapter giving
a brief outline of the chapters to follow. This is a good basis for decid-
ing whether it is suitable, and seeing which chapters/sections might
be useful. The reference lists in such books are also a good source of
additional information and/or further useful sources.
Lastly, the impact factors of articles can give an idea of how important
the article is. In scientific practice, articles are only useful if they are
read by many others and incorporated into their research. This last
aspect can be measured in the form of impact factors, which are higher
the more other researchers reference articles published in the jour-
nal. Nearly all psychology and other journals have an impact factor.
The scientific journals Nature and Science are widely read, for exam-
ple, and their impact factor is high (around 40). Journals such as the
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools have a low impact
factor (around 0.1). Impact factors are recalculated each year, and can
be accessed at all university libraries. They can also be found within
online university environments by searching the Internet for InCites
Journal Citation Reports.
3.4 Overview of search engines
All universities provide access to a wide range of digital databases, all
of which contain information on millions of scientific publications.
The information on a single publication is called a record. Each record
consists of several elements, called fields. For example, there are fields
for the name(s) of the author(s), for the title, for the publisher, for
keywords, for the publication year, occasionally for the abstract and
the list of references, etc.
This section discusses the various search options as follows:
searching for journal articles and chapters from edited books in
PsycINFO;
searching by reference in Web of Science;
searching in Google Scholar;
searching for books in PiCarta.
Nowadays, more and more search results can be viewed straight away
online; if not, the search engine will provide the necessary informa-
tion to find a printed copy. Bringing up entire publications online does
require searching from a university computer, however. It is some-
times also possible from other locations, but external computers must
have a VPN connection to the university network. Ask the library for
more information.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
3.4. 7 Searching for publications in PsyclNFO
To find journal articles and chapters from edited books on your topic,
PsycINFO is generally the best place to start. It contains records and
articles from around 1500 academic psychology journals, along with
chapters from edited books. All important publications in the world
of psychology are contained in it. Only in special cases can it also
be worthwhile searching elsewhere (e.g. medical databases, such as
MEDLINE or PubMed). PsycINFO provides an abstract for all refer-
enced articles, enabling you to evaluate straight away whether an arti-
cle is relevant to your question. PsycINFO can be accessed from the
online library of any university in the Netherlands.
Opening PsycINFO will take you to Ovid - this is the search engine,
and PsycINFO is the collection of databases that can be searched using
Ovid.
Searching with the thesaurus
All PsycINFO records include a 'keywords' field. In PsycINFO, they
are called subject headings. All keywords used are part of a hierar-
chical system of keywords - the thesaurus - which you can apply to
your search. By searching with the words in the thesaurus, you can
take advantage of the work by many librarians who have allocated key-
words to each publication. Publications found in this way will never
contain your keyword by chance, but will be of genuine relevance.
Search for effective keywords in the thesaurus as follows: click the
Search option under the Search Tools tab, then click Thesaurus (to the
left of the search field). Type in your search term and click Search. If
your word does not appear in the thesaurus, you will be presented with
the thesaurus entries that are alphabetically close to where your word
would be. If your keyword is in the thesaurus, you will see an overview
of more general, more specific and/or related words in the thesaurus.
Clicking on one of these words will take you to another part of the
thesaurus. You can also see straight away how many publications are
associated with each keyword.
Starting with the term 'behaviour', you can click through to the
related term 'behaviour therapy', then to the more specific term
'systematic desensitization therapy' then to the related term
'relaxation therapy' and then to 'muscle relaxation'.
Continue in this fashion until you find a keyword that describes your
topic, then find publications in PsycINFO containing the keyword in
one of the subject headings as follows: check the box beside the term
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
and click Continue (at the top of the screen). A list of titles will then
appear, which you can browse through. If one of the results looks
interesting, view the abstract by clicking the Abstract button. Reading
the abstract will allow you to assess whether the publication will be
useful for your literature review.
Saving suitable results
If you think a result might be useful, mark it by checking the box
beside it. There are buttons immediately above and below the list that
allow you to show the checked records (Keep selected), print them,
e-mail them (to yourself) or save them in a file (Export).
Searching with different keywords
(If necessary, first click Search at the top of the Ovid screen, e.g. if you
have been using the thesaurus).
If you cannot use the thesaurus (or if you do not want to), you can also
simply enter different search terms. Click in the Search panel under
the Basic Search tab and type your search terms into the empty field.
You can even just enter your research question (in English) into the
field. Then click Search, and a list of results will appear on the screen.
Combining search terms
If your question combines two or more concepts, you will usually be
looking for a combination of two or more search terms. There are var-
ious ways to do this. In Basic Search, the search terms can be entered
in the same field; in Advanced Search, they must be separated by the
word and. If you have already done several searches and you wish to
combine the results, you do not need to enter the search terms again.
Instead, the collected results can be combined by selecting the relevant
searches in the Search History panel (at the top) and then clicking the
And button. Note: Basic Search results are filtered for relevance using
an algorithm created by the software provider. If you want to view
all of the records containing a certain search term, use the Advanced
Search, as these results are not filtered.
Refining searches
There are more options available in PsycINFO for refining searches
even further:
If you are looking for a certain publication, or all publications by
a certain author, use the Find Citation tab.
Searches can be limited (e.g. to publications from certain years, to
participants from certain populations, etc.) under the Advanced
Search tab, by clicking Limits and Additional Limits.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Limit searches to certain fields (such as the title) under the Search
Fields tab.
Search Fields can also be used to find out what happened to the ide-
as in the article after it was published. To search for publications
that refer to a single publication that you have already identified,
enter the full title of the publication into the search field and select
cv: Cited Reference Title. Then click Search and the search results
will appear at the bottom of the screen. The Filter by option will
appear left of the results; if you click it, and then click Subjects, the
relevant publications will be sorted by keyword (subject headings).
Search by author. This is worthwhile if you have found a use-
ful publication and want to find more publications by the same
author; do so via the Advanced Search, by selecting the Author
option. Enter the author's surname and click Search; this will take
you to a screen where you can select the correct author. Then click
Search for Selected Terms (right above the tabs).
Search different spellings of the same term under Advanced Search
by using 'or' instead of 'and', or use what is called a wild card:
behavio",
Explore these and other options yourself in PsycINFO. More infor-
mation on PsycINFO is available under the 'help' button at the top
of the Ovid screen.
3.4.2 Searching in Web of Science
One of Web of Science's main features is that all the information in it is
interconnected, much like the threads in a spider's web. Once you have
found an article that is central to your topic, Web of Science provides
an easy way to ascertain the background to the ideas presented, and
the path they took after publication.
Just like PsycINFO, Web of Science uses search terms to find various
types of literature, with the added advantage that it includes more
journals than PsycINFO. Especially in fringe areas (e.g. where psy-
chology meets biology/medicine), Web of Science can produce many
more results than PsycINFO. Web of Science is both a database and a
search engine. The search function uses the reference lists of articles
in the database.
General searches
Enter your search terms in the field in the opening screen. You can also
specify where you want Web of Science to search. The default setting
is Topic, but this can be altered (e.g. to Author or Publication Name).
3 How to Write a Literature Review 11111
Other fields can also be added and combined with the results from the
first field by using the operators AND, OR and NOT. Clicking Search
will bring up a list of articles that match your search terms. Use Refine
Results (on the left) to limit the results. Of course, you can also change
your search terms. If an article seems interesting, you can read more
about it by clicking its title. This will bring up a screen containing
information such as the abstract and all sources to which the article
refers. If it looks usable, you can add it to a list by selecting it and click-
ing Add to Marked List, just above the description of the search results.
The list of articles created in this manner can be viewed by opening
the Marked List tab (top right), where it can also be emailed (e.g. to
yourself), printed or saved in various file formats.
Searching for related articles
To find out about the background to the ideas in a specific article, or
to find out how the ideas spread after publication, use the right-hand
column in the article's information window.
To find out the history of the ideas discussed in the article, search
backward in time for all publications referenced by it. To do so, click
on the number above the words Cited References. To see how the ideas
put forward in the article were used after its publication, search for-
ward in time for all articles (published later) that include the given
article as a reference by clicking the number above Times Cited.
Lastly, Web of Knowledge can also provide a list of articles that cite
the same publications as your starting article. This can furnish a list of
other researchers who have published work on the same subject (but
who may not have referenced each other). This is a quick way to gain an
overview of your topic. Web of Science can also search for related arti-
cles if you click below Cited References on View Related Records. This
will show a list of all Web of Science articles that have at least one ref-
erence in common with your starting article. Thankfully, the articles
containing the most reference overlap are shown at the top of the list.
3.4.3 Searching with Google Scholar
Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.nl/ or https://scholar.google
.com/) is a search engine for scientific literature, based on the well-
known Google Search. It is a very intuitive system. The standard open-
ing screen accepts not only content terms, but also other terms, such
as authors' names or journal titles. In addition to the standard search
field, there is also an Advanced search option in the top left. Clicking it
will display more options for refining your search, such as specifying
Writing Psychology Research Reports
whether search terms must appear in a certain publication, or exclud-
ing results that contain certain terms.
After clicking Search, a list of search results (titles) will appear, show-
ing the authors underneath. These results are ordered by relevance,
according to the Google algorithm. Clicking on a title will take you
to the abstract, if available, or sometimes even the entire publication.
If you have searched via the university network, a direct link to the
relevant publication may appear beside the title.
A number of links are given below the title description: To find out
how the ideas put forward in the article were used after publication,
click the Cited by link. There are also links to related articles (useful
for getting a quick overview on a certain topic) and to all versions of
the publication that Google Scholar found online.
One drawback of working with Google Scholar is the difficulty in
conducting a systematic search - you will never know, for example,
whether you have found everything that is available, or how the results
are ordered/prioritised. You will also see a lot of irrelevant results, as
Google Scholar searches the entire Internet, not just scientific data-
bases. One major advantage of Google Scholar is that you can use your
knowledge of the Internet to get started straight away.
3.4.4 Searching for books: PiCarta
PiCarta is the best place to start searching for books on your topic.
Among other things, it is the combined catalogue of books in many
Dutch libraries, including all university libraries. It also includes
a large collection of journal article entries, but it is better to use
PsycINFO for journal articles, as it includes the abstracts, which
PiCarta does not, nor does PiCarta specialise in psychology. In addi-
tion to journal articles, PiCarta also includes audio-visual materials,
websites and other resources.
Searching for books in PiCarta
The first line of the PiCarta search screen includes tabs for each of
the various search options. The second has drop-down menus that
allow you to fine-tune how the search engine works. Search terms
are entered on the third line. If you have more than one search term,
use the left-hand drop-down menu in the second line to set whether
the terms should be combined using [en} ('and', which will give fewer
results) or [of] ('or', giving more results). More options are available at
the top of the Pi Carta search screen under Geavanceerd (Advanced).
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
Once you have entered your search terms, click zoeken (search) and
a numbered list of entries will appear. The symbol to the left of the
number will tell you whether it is a book, a journal article, a video,
a website or something else. To view more information, click on the
entry title. Doing so will bring up a full bibliographic reference.
Keywords
The books in PiCarta can easily be found using either Dutch or Eng-
lish search terms - using English will generally produce more results
than using Dutch. Search by keyword as follows: in the middle drop-
down menu (in the second line), select trefwoord (keyword), enter your
term and click zoeken (search).
Searching for a specific book
Search for a specific book (e.g. an edited book you have found in
PsycINFO) by putting the whole title in double quotation marks
and selecting the titelwoorden (title words) option from the centre
drop-down menu in the second line of Pi Carta.
3.5 Writing a plan
Once your literature search is complete (or nearly complete), you can
start to draft the structure of your literature review. Writing a plan
is a very important step in this process. Writing a good plan is a lot
of work, and most people underestimate the time required. This is
because nearly all beginning writers find it hard to get an overview of
and keep track of a relatively large number of publications.
A well-written text always has a narrative that runs throughout.
Writing a good plan fixes this narrative in place, and is therefore an
important step in writing a literature review. Read below on how to
write a plan, and to see what it might look like once finished.
3.5.1 How to write a plan?
A literature review will always consist of an introduction, a body and a
conclusion (Chapter 5 looks at this in greater detail). Before you start,
you must therefore decide on what to put in your introduction and the
remaining sections, and what the overall answer to your (provisional)
question is. A well-conceived plan is of great help when writing your
literature review. The more solid your plan is, the less trouble you will
have in writing your literature review.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Before you start
Before writing your plan, you must thoroughly study the literature
you have found. Your perspective on the literature will determine how
you structure the review, and you cannot form a perspective without
having read the literature. To this end, determine for each publication
which section of the research being reported on is relevant to your
research question. In articles that describe multiple studies, only one
will be truly relevant in most cases (and the others were only per-
formed either to exclude different interpretations of the results, or to
add further detail that you do not need).
Write a brief summary of the research question that is relevant to you,
along with the method, the results and their interpretation by the
authors.
Then, to all of these elements, add your own evaluation. Assess the
relevance of the authors' research question to your own. Some authors
state their research question explicitly; in other cases, you may need to
read between the lines to some extent to discern what it was they were
investigating. Once you have identified the authors' research question,
you can assess how important it is to your own. Also look at whether
the study was conducted properly (e.g. look at their operationalisa-
tien, and whether the research design was sound). Check whether the
analyses are correct, whether the authors' interpretation of the results
was impartial, and whether the results could be interpreted differently.
Evaluations of this kind are not easy, and require you to think scien-
tifically about what you have read. They are also challenging because
they allow you to put all your knowledge about psychology, methodol-
ogy and statistics into practice. More importantly, evaluations of this
kind are absolutely necessary in order to take the next step: planning
your review.
Planning your review
Only once you have thoroughly studied all the publications can you
start thinking about how to structure your literature review. This is
the most difficult part of the entire writing process, in which you must
combine all of your analyses and evaluations of the various publica-
tions, and find a narrative that ties them all together.
It is often easiest to start with the end. Ask yourself what the answer
is to your research question, based on your analysis of the literature.
Next, think about how you arrived at this conclusion. At this point,
there are generally four possible scenarios.
The first is that the answer to your research question can more or less
be determined directly through the analysis of your publications. If so,
scrutinise precisely how you arrived at your answer - in most cases,
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
the answer will follow from a logical series of steps, each of which
can be seen as the answer to a 'sub-question'. This will allow you to
divide your review into sections, each of which answers a particular
sub-question. The progressive unravelling of the research question
into sub-questions thus forms the narrative.
A second possibility is that the answer to the question is not clear-cut.
In this case, given the results of your analysis of the literature, you can
seek to explain why there is no unequivocal answer. To do so, analyse
which aspects are integral to answering your research question. Does a
certain theory work well for adults, but not for children, for example? If
this seems to be the case, two sections in the main body could discuss
the effects of the therapy on adults and children. The best result will
be achieved by constructing an over-arching hypothesis that is sup-
ported by all of the literature you have found. You may be able to state
what the difference is between adults and children that accounts for
the difference in therapy effectiveness - this is an important insight,
and could form the narrative that runs through your literature review.
A third possibility is that the research question cannot be answered
because the various studies contradict each other. The obvious strat-
egy here is to group studies with similar results together into sections.
Here too, however, it is your job to try to formulate an over-arching
hypothesis. Why do the results contradict each other? If you can
show, for example, that the variation can be attributed to differences
in research methods or operationalisation, this offers a nice narrative
for your review.
Lastly, you might find that your question and selected literature are
not such a good match after all. You may discover that you are missing
crucial information that is necessary to answer your research ques-
tion. In this case, you can go in search of new literature to fill the gap.
You may also discover that you cannot answer your original research
question at all - no need to panic, since you can always simply adjust
your research question afterwards. As long as there is a narrative that
ties all of your publications together, you can always rework it into a
new research question. There are various places to look to find a nar-
rative: for example, you can compare the various studies' theoretical
perspectives, operationalisations, research designs, analyses, results
or the way the results were interpreted. The theoretical narratives are
usually the ones that readers find most interesting.
Writing Psychology Research Reports 3 How to Write a Literature Review -

3.5.2 What will the plan look like? I Elements to be included

Title The title of the literature review
Ultimately, your review will be an exposition, providing a well-consid-
Introduction Introduction to the problem area
ered response to the research question. As you may have guessed from
Description of the problem area, including:
the description of the 'narrative' process above, there are three types relevant theories;
of arguments that your exposition may employ. The first two types prior research;
can be taken directly from the studies under review. Both the results an explanation of concepts/terminology.

themselves and the authors' interpretation thereof can be used as Justification of the study question (i.e. relevance)
arguments. The third type comes from your own scientific evaluation within the problem area:
study question;
of the first two types of arguments. The final literature review must justification of the strategy chosen to answer the
combine all of these arguments into a coherent, convincing whole. question, leading into the structure of the literature
Your plan must contain the entire argumentative structure of the final review.
literature review, and indicate how the structure works both within Body (section by section; Section title (sub-topic)
and between sections. As shown in the example, a plan will begin with the number of sections
Introductory paragraph that includes the sub-topic
a working title for the literature review. Next comes an introduction will depend on the num-
ber of sub-topics) Description of the first study, stating:
outlining both the topics to be discussed in the following sections and
why you are including/describing it;
the question being investigated. Each section in the main body must what the researchers did and what the results were;
indicate the sub-topic under discussion (often aided by a sub-ques- your evaluation of the study (what the results mean
tion), what information you are presenting as an argument, which for your exposition);
howt his study relates to the rest of your exposition.
articles the information was taken from and the section conclusion you
draw based on this information. You can also indicate exactly how Description of second (and possibly third, fourth, etc.)
these sections are linked (transitions). In your conclusion, state what study

the answer to the main question will be, supported by the various sec- Section conclusion:
tion conclusions. You should also include any points of criticism you substantiated answer to the sub-question;
link back to the theory;
wish to address, and the associated consequences for the conclusion transition to next section.
(in the form of concrete suggestions and recommendations for further
Conclusion and discussion Answer to the main question:
study). Note: before writing your plan, you should do a lot of work; use supported using section conclusions.
the order as described in Section 3.5.1.
Points for discussion:
See below for a checklist of the plan structure; Box 3.2 contains a sam- interpretation of the given answer (linking back to
ple plan for a review on the subject of violent computer games and theory);
aggression. It is recommended to read through the example, to get an evaluation of the given answer;
idea of what your own plan might look like. recommended further research.

Broader context
Plan outline Reference list Complete and in alphabetical order
Use the following outline to write a plan. The elements in the right-
hand column are what you need to include, and all information
sources must be cited.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Sample Plan
Title
The Effects of Playing Violent Computer Games on both Behaviour
and Attitudes in Young People
Introduction
Introduction and social relevance
Massacre at Columbine High School in the United States (Littleton,
Colorado, 20 April 1999). The teenagers involved were avid players
of Doom, a violent computer game.
A potential correlation between violent computer games and
violent behaviour or attitudes among young people could affect
whether they should be allowed to play them.
Description of problem area
Prior research. Violent computer games are a relatively new
phenomenon, and no particularly intensive research has been
conducted on it to date. This is not true of violent television
programmes and their effects, however, which have been
researched (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski & Eron, 2003).
This study showed a positive correlation between exposure to
television violence at a young age and aggressive behaviour
as adults.
Theory. According to observation theory (Bandura, 1969), humans
can learn behaviours simply by observing them. This may explain
the effects of watching TV on behaviour. The effect of computer
games could be even stronger, as people not only observe the
behaviour, but also carry it out (in a virtual environment). What is
more, violent games also reward the violent behaviour (operant
conditioning, Gray, 2011).
It is therefore possible that the pathway from playing violent
games to exhibiting violent behaviour runs via attitudes
to violence. According to the theory of planned behaviour
(Ajzen, 1991), attitudes toward certain behaviour can give rise
to that behaviour. The more positive the attitude, the more
violence might be expected.
It is also an established fact that men are more aggressive than
women, for which there are evolutionary explanations (Gray, 2011).
The correlation could therefore be stronger in men than in women.
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
The ideas below will be explained as they are introduced: Violent
computer games, aggressive behaviour, observation learning,
operant conditioning, attitude, evolutionary explanation,
proximate explanations (on mechanisms) and ultimate
explanations (on why the mechanism exists). The studies refer to
both 'computer games' and 'video games'. In this literature review,
the term 'computer games' is used to refer to both.
Research justification
The theory shows that there might well be a correlation between
playing violent computer games and aggressive behaviour.
Question
Does playing violent computer games give rise to aggressive
behaviour and aggressive attitudes in young people?
Structure (with explanatory notes)
Sub-question 1: does a correlation exist? A correlation has been
demonstrated, and so the second sub-question concerns the
mechanism (proximate explanation): does the change in behaviour
run via a change in attitude regarding the use of violence?
A change in these attitudes has also been demonstrated, and could
be responsible for the change in behaviour. The fact that men are
more aggressive than women on average (which can be accounted
for by an ultimate explanation) leads to the third sub-question: is
the correlation stronger in men than in women? This also proves to
be true. The above is followed by a discussion of the results.
Section 1:
The Effect of Violent Computer Games on Behaviour
Introduction
Is there a correlation between playing violent computer games and
aggressive behaviour?
First study
Why raise this study? To demonstrate that a correlation exists.
What are the details? Silvern and Williamson (1987) used several
questionnaires to survey 12-to-14-year-olds on their 'habits'
regarding playing violent computer games and their behaviour.
A correlation was found between playing violent computer games
and aggressive behaviour.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
What does this mean? The results seem to indicate that playing
violent computer games leads to aggressive behaviour, but the
study could not establish any causal relationship. It could be that
people who are naturally more aggressive simply enjoy playing
violent computer games. It is also possible that an entirely separate,
third variable produces the correlation, such as built-up frustrations
due to social isolation.
Where to from here?These questions can be answered by studies
using an experimental design.
Second study
Why raise this study? To introduce an indication that the correlation
is causal.
What are the details?Colwell and Payne (2000) had a group of very
young children (aged four to six) watch a violent cartoon and play
a violent computer game. Their behaviour during play was scored
for aggressiveness before and after exposure to the violent stimuli.
The researchers found that aggressive behaviour during play was
higher than the baseline following exposure.
What does this mean? This study points strongly to a causal
relationship; however, there was no control group to establish
whether the manipulation genuinely caused the rise in aggression.
The children might just as well be more aggressive after watching
a non-violent cartoon and playing a non-violent computer game,
e.g. because of a need to release some physical energy after sitting
still for so long.
Where to from here? An experimental study with a control group
is needed.
Third and fourth studies
Why raise these studies? To demonstrate that the correlation is
causal.
What are the details? Anderson and Dill (2000) and Bartholow and
Anderson (2002) conducted studies on young adults aged 18- 23.
The participants were divided randomly into two groups, and played
either a violent or a non-violent computer game.
Afterwards, the participants were given a competitive task to
complete, and aggressive behaviour was observed. The results
showed that playing a violent computer game led to more
aggressive behaviour.
What does this mean?The correlation has been demonstrated in two
studies involving young adults; it would now appear to be causal.
Where to from here? Draw section conclusions.
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
Section conclusion
Prior research has shown not only a correlation between playing
violent computer games and aggressive behaviour, but also that
there is a causal relationship. Just like violent TV programmes,
violent computer games have been shown to elicit aggressive
behaviour. This relationship has been shown among both young
adults and children aged 4- 14, and can be explained by the
observational learning theory.
Transition
Now that a causal relationship between violent computer games
and aggressive behaviour has been established, the question of
how this relationship is established remains. One possibility is
that playing violent computer games influences young people's
attitudes to violence, in a positive sense. It is assumed that
attitudes can produce certain behaviours (Ajzen, 1991); a change
in attitude could therefore lead to a change in behaviour.
The next section looks at the influence of violent computer games
on attitudes.
Sections 2 and 3
The structure of these sections is analogous to those preceding,
therefore they are not shown in this example.
Conclusions and discussion
Response to the question
Supported using section conclusions. It would seem that playing
violent computer games does indeed lead to violent behaviour
in young people. The causal relation has been demonstrated in
young adults aged 18 - 23, and there are strong indications that it
also exists for younger children.
After playing violent computer games, young males also display
more aggression than young females.
Discussion
Interpretation (including links to theory). The established causal
relationship between violent computer games and aggressive
behaviour can be explained by Bandura's (1969) observational
learning theory and operant conditioning (plus generalisation).
The behavioural change could be facilitated by changing
attitudes. There is evidence that playing violent computer games
leads to the development of a more positive attitude towards
W ritin g Psych o lo g y Re search Re p o rts
vio lent behavio ur in yo un g peo p le. The ro le of these attitud es in
exp lain ing behavio ur can be un d erstoo d thro ug h Ajzen's (19 91)
theory of planned behaviour.
The observed difference between boys and girls in the size of
the effect is commensurate with an evolutionary explanation of
behaviour.
Evaluation. Although this literature review has presented evidence
in favour of the proposition that playing violent computer games
leads to more aggressive behaviour, the associated measurements
were always taken immediately after playing the computer games.
It is not known whether the effect is long-lasting.
Furthermore, the number of studies incorporated into this
literature review is limited, necessitating a cautious interpretation
of the results.
The research under discussion has shown that attitudes towards
the use of violence are influenced by playing violent computer
games. While changed attitudes could be the cause of altered
behaviour, it is equally possible that changed attitudes are the
consequence.
Although there is an evolutionary explanation for the difference in
effect size between girls and boys, a cultural explanation cannot
be excluded - perhaps the correlations in girls and boys are of
different strengths because they have been raised differently.
Lastly, it is not precisely clear exactly what constitutes a 'violent
computer game'. This is clear in extreme cases, but what about,
for example, a violent Tom & Jerry game?
Further research. Nowadays, there are games on the market that
are much more realistic, and have a higher degree of interactivity.
Further studies might reveal that the effects of playing these
games are even stronger.
Broader context
Because playing violent computer games seems to lead to
more aggressive behaviour in the short term, schools might
want to think about potentially banning or monitoring their
use. The same applies to parents, and potentially also to
the government.
3 How to Write a Literature Review -
Reference list
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational
Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. https://doi
.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91 )90020-T
Anderson, C.A., & Dill, K. E. (2000). Video games and aggressive
thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 772-790.
https://doi .org/10.1037/0022-3514. 78.4. 772
Bandura, A. (1969). Principles of behavior modification. New York, NY:
Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Bartholow, 8. D., & Anderson, C.A. (2002). Effects of violent
video games on aggressive behavior: Potential sex differences.
Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 283-290.
https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1502
Bushman, 8. J., & Anderson, C.A. (2002). Violent video games and
hostile expectations: A test of the general aggression model.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1679-1686.
https://doi.org/10.1177/014616702237649
Colwell, J., & Payne, J. (2000). Negative correlates of computer
game play in adolescents. British Journal of Psychology, 91,
295-310. https://doi.org/10.1348/000712600161844
Funk, J. 8., Buchman, D.D., Jenks, J., & Bechtoldt, H. (2003). Playing
violent video games, desensitization, and moral evaluation
in children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24,
413-436. https://doi.org/10.1016/50193-3973(03)00073-X
Gray, P (2011). Psychology (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Huesmann, L. R., Moise-Titus, J., Podolski, C. L., & Eron, L. D. (2003).
Longitudinal relations between children's exposure to TV
violence and their aggressive and violent behavior in young
adulthood: 1977-1992. Developmental Psychology, 39, 201-221.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.2.201
Silvern, 5. 8., & Williamson, P. A. (1987). The effects of video game
play on young children's aggression, fantasy, and prosocial
behavior. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 8,
453-462. https://doi.org/10.1016/0193-3973(87)90033-5
Box 3.2
Scientists who have collected empirical data usually report on their
research in the form of articles or chapters in books. Reports of this
type are the primary sources for writing both a literature review and
the introduction of a research report. It is therefore extremely impor-
tant to learn how to effectively describe research reported by others.
Th is section will focus on research descriptions, and address the fol-
lowing points: the structure of a research article (empirical research
report); the context and the content of a research description, a possi-
ble approach to writing a research description and practical advice for
writing multiple related descriptions.

4.1 The structure of a research article

Sample research article

Refer to the following article when reading this section:

Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J.C. (1974). Reconstruction of automobile
destruction: An example of the interaction between language
and memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13,
585-589. https://doi.org/10.1016/50022-5371 (74)80011-3

Box4.1

Most articles in scientific journals are reports of one or more empiri-

cal studies. Articles of this type always focus on a key research ques-
tion, which the researchers seek to answer by conducting empirical
research. In the sample article (Loftus & Palmer, 1974; see Box 4.1),
the authors wish to examine whether the formulation of a question
regarding an event affects the memory of the event.
- Writing Psychology Research Reports
The first section of a research article outlines the question under
investigation, the theories on the topic and what is already known
from prior research. This is followed by a description of the research
undertaken: first the research design, and then the results. Lastly, the
researcher will link the results back to the original research question:
what answer can be given, based on the results?
Research articles have a fixed structure that is directly related to the
content, and always include at least four sections: the introduction,
method, results and discussion.
The introduction starts by outlining the problem area and works
towards the research question under investigation. A summary of
the existing theories and prior research is given.
The methods section explains the research design: who participat-
ed, what they did, the materials used, the measurements taken, the
procedure of the research and how the results were scored.
The results section describes the outcome of the research. In exper-
imental designs, this is usually the average scores (or percentag-
es, as in the Loftus & Palmer article) attained by the participants
under the various conditions. In correlational research, the cor-
relations between the measurements of the various variables are
given. The results section also includes data on the statistical tests
performed, showing how the differences between the averages
obtained under certain conditions (or the identified correlations)
were statistically analysed, and whether the differences are signif-
icant.
The discussion starts by answering the research question based
on the results. Other topics may also be raised, such as alternative
explanations of the results, criticism of the research and sugges-
tions for future research.
Structure of the sample article
The structure of the article by Loftus and Palmer (1974) is slightly
more complicated than the structure described in this section, as it
reports on two closely-related experiments. The discussion section
of the first experiment serves as an introduction to the second
experiment. There is no separate discussion of the results of the
second experiment, only a general combined discussion of the
results from both experiments.
Box 4.2
4 Research Descriptions -
One characteristic aspect of research articles is the tightly interwoven
character of the various sections. The research design outlined under
the methods section is directly related to the research question(s) pre-
sented in the introduction. The results section presents the results of
the research described in the methods section. The discussion brings
together the research question presented in the introduction and the
research results from the results section.
The fixed structure (but see box 4.2) enables readers to arrive at an
assessment of the reported research fairly quickly, as it is clear from
the outset where certain information can be found. There is therefore
no need to read an entire research article to get an idea of the value
of the publication. Reading the end of the introduction and the start
of the discussion is often enough to form a first impression, as this is
where the authors describe what they did, what the results were and
how they interpreted them. Of course, you must still read the entire
article to decide whether their interpretation is justified.
4.2 Writing descriptions of scientific research
Your research descriptions will always include information from
scientific publications. Because such publications are very informa-
tion-dense, it is impossible to include all of it. To describe the research,
you should therefore include only the information from the article that
is necessary in order to answer your own question. This section offers
some helpful advice on how to separate the information, and draws
a distinction between the context of a research description and the
description itself. The context is often something you must construct
yourself; other times, you can take it from others' work. The research
description will always be taken from other sources.
The introductory context
Research descriptions always form part of the exposition in a literature
review. Before describing a certain study, you must always explain why
you are doing so, usually by briefly mentioning the question that the
study sought to answer. This question will in many cases correspond
to the question formulated by the authors in the introduction to the
article, although it might also be your own question (or sub-question).
The research description
The actual description of the research will include the method and
results of the study in question, directly linked to one another in run-
ning text (no sub-headings).
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Begin with a brief description of the methods applied, including who
the participants were, what activities they were asked to perform,
what the experimental conditions were and how their behaviour was
measured. The connection between the introductory context and the
research must be explicit. The reader should receive enough informa-
tion about the method in order to understand how the research can
help answer the research question from the introductory context. The
method description must also prepare the reader for the presentation
of the results in the research description so it should only describe the
measurements and the conditions mentioned in the results. The most
important thing here is to be consistent - there is no point in saying
that the participants completed a questionnaire and then leaving out
the results.
Next, describe the results. Only give those that are directly related
to your own question, and only give the results of the measurements
described in the research method. Check whether you have reported
results for all of the conditions and measurements mentioned in the
method description. To give the reader an idea of the size of an effect,
it can be useful to quantify some of the results (averages, percentages,
correlation coefficients). Never give the reported statistical testing
results, however (F-values, t-values, p-values, etc.). There is no point
in listing the results of measurements that are not described under
the methods.
Transitional context
Once your research description is complete, you must integrate it into
the rest of your narrative. This usually takes the form of an evaluation,
such as: 'This study showed that .. .' or 'However, these results could
not be reproduced by.. .' The important thing is to continue with your
exposition by incorporating the research description somehow. A lit-
erature review involves more than just regurgitating research results!
Clear references
Another important thing to keep in mind is that you should always
clearly differentiate between what the authors of a publication have
said and your own ideas. The description of the research itself will be
taken directly from the authors of the relevant publication. You may
do the same with the context, although this is not mandatory. This dis-
tinction is important, and is made apparent through the careful use of
references. The sample research descriptions (see Section 4.2.1) show
how to do so for two different contexts. In the first example, both the
introduction and the integration show that the ideas under discussion
are not those of the author of the literature review, but of Loftus and
4 Research Descriptions -
Palmer (1974). In the second, both the introductory and transitional
contexts are the author's own ideas. Of course, the description of the
research itself will always originate from others, so be sure to correctly
reference the relevant publication at least once in the running text
(see Section 2.4).
4.2.1 Example research descriptions
Box 4.3 contains four finished examples of research descriptions,
based on the article given in Box 4.1:
The elements of a study that you describe will depend entirely on your
purpose, and the flow of your argument will determine the context
for each description. Box 4.3 includes two brief examples of contexts.
The level of detail in your description will also depend entirely on
your exposition. For each of the contexts given in Box 4.3, one brief
and one extended research description is given. If you write a liter-
ature review, you usually reserve detailed descriptions for the most
important studies in your exposition, and keep descriptions brief for
the studies mentioned in the introduction. Brief descriptions are also
suitable for research reports of studies you have conducted yourself
(see Chapter 6).
Sample research descriptions in context
Context 1
Introductory context
Loftus and Palmer (1974) investigated how the formulation of
a question can influence the answers given by participants.
Extended description [no new paragraph!]
In their experiment, 45 students watched 7 videos of cars colliding.
The participants were assigned randomly to five equal-sized
groups. After each video, all members of each group were asked
to estimate the speed with which the cars collided. The precise
formulation of the question differed between groups. For example,
one group (the contacted group) was asked: 'About how fast were
the cars going when they contacted each other?', while another
group (the smashed group) was asked 'About how fast were
the cars going when they smashed into each other?' The three
remaining groups were asked about the speed using the words
hit, bumped and collided. The results showed that the precise
r
111111 W,i<log Psychology Research Reports
formulation greatly influenced the answers: participants from
the contacted group gave far lower estimates of the car's speed
than those from the smashed group (32 and 41 mph, respectively).
The estimates from the hit, bumped and collided groups were
between these two values (34, 38 and 39 mph respectively).
Or: brief description [no new paragraph!]
They played videos of car crashes to people. The results showed
that people who were asked how fast the cars 'smashed' into each
other gave much higher answers than those who were asked how
fast the cars were going when they 'contacted' each other.
Transitional context [new paragraph]
This study showed that the formulation of a question can greatly
influence the given answers. Loftus and Palmer (1974) gave two
possible explanations for this effect: one potential mechanism at
play could be ...
Context 2
Introductory context
When observing moving cars, people have great difficulty
estimating their speed. This was demonstrated in a study by
Loftus and Palmer (1974).
Extended description [no new paragraph!]
In the study, 45 students watched 7 videos of cars colliding. After
each video, the participants estimated the speed the cars were
travelling at when they hit each other. The aim of the study was
to investigate whether the formulation of the question affected
the estimations given of the speed. This proved to be the case,
however they also made another striking observation. In four of
the videos used, the cars' precise collision speed was known, as
the footage had been created especially for use in an awareness
campaign. Two of the collisions were at 40 mph, the other two
were at 30 and 20 mph. The average estimates by the participants
for these videos were 40, 36, 36 and 38 mph, respectively, revealing
that people were very bad at estimating the cars' true speed.
Or: brief description [no new paragraph!]
The participants were shown videos of car collisions, and in each
case were asked to estimate the speed the cars were travelling
at when they collided. The precise speed of the cars in some of
4 Research Descriptions -
the videos was known, and the results showed little correlation
between the actual speeds and the estimates.
Transitional context [new paragraph]
Not only are people bad at estimating the driving speed of cars,
they also have great trouble with ...
Box 4.3
4.3 Steps for writing a research description
Useful steps when writing a research description are as follows:
Study the relevant part of your plan (see Chapter 3). When pre-
paring your plan, you will have written a short summary of the
study you are about to describe. This summary will contain the
research question that is relevant to you, along with the method,
the results and their interpretation by the authors, along with your
evaluation of the above. Study this brief summary. If necessary,
read the article again as many times as necessary until you have a
full understanding of the study in question.
Write the introductory context. Do this by neatly reworking the
relevant section of your plan (see Chapter 3) into a text that reads
well.
Now write the actual description of the research, this time based
on your brief summary, not on the article. This will ensure that
the description is coherent and can be understood by an outsider.
Look up any necessary details in the article while writing, and fol-
low the structure outlined in Section 4.2.
Integrate the description into the whole by writing a transitional
context. This content will also be taken from your plan (see Chap-
ter 3).
Write at least two drafts. Do a rough draft first, concentrating only
on the content: what information should be introduced where?
Devote little (or no) attention to the formulation at this stage. For
your second (and third, and fourth) draft, flesh out the rough draft
into a final version, concentrating on flowing sentences, correct
language, smooth transitions and cohesion between the internal
sections of the research description, and the surrounding context.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
4.4 Writing a scientific summary
Many scientific articles summarise the results of multiple experi-
ments. The easiest way to practise writing extended research descrip-
tions with an introductory context and a transitional context is to
write summaries of such articles. The reported experiments are always
closely interconnected, making it relatively easy to write the introduc-
tory and transitional contexts.
When summarising an article in full, simply adopt the same struc-
ture as the article itself. Describe research questions, methods, results
and conclusions in direct sequence, as one continuous narrative with-
out sub-headings. Take the information from the article itself. One
required element in the summary that is not or only rarely taken from
the article is the very first sentence of the introduction, which refers
to the broader context of the research. The same context should be
used at the end of the summary, in a concluding sentence/paragraph.
These introductory and concluding sentences serve to contextualise
the study within a broader framework, see box 4.4.
Contextualisation
Appendix A offers a sample summary of an article by Loftus
and Palmer (1974). It shows how the opening sentence and
final paragraph place their research within a broader context -
a context that was not taken directly from the article itself.
Box 4.4
After describing the overall context for the research, give an intro-
ductory context, an extended research description and a transitional
context for each experiment. This should be followed by the key con-
clusions formulated by the author in the discussion section of the arti-
cle. The most essential element here is to indicate how the research
question was answered. This will conclude your research description.
Here, too, your summary must be selective. Ordinarily, discussions
are comprehensive analyses offering insightful interpretations, how-
ever a summary need only contain the arguments that pertain directly
to the research question. Conclude the summary with a sentence or
paragraph outlining the broader (possibly social) relevance of the con-
clusions.
4 Research Descriptions ..
Lastly, create a list of the references used in the summary, including at
the very least a reference to the article you have summarised. Be sure
to cite your references correctly (see Chapter 2 and Appendix C).
4.4.1 Steps for writing a summary
Useful steps when writing a summary are as follows:
Re-read the article as many times as necessary until you have a full
understanding of the study in question.
Outline the structure of each experiment, giving at least a brief
description of the participants, the dependent and independent
variables, how they were operationalised, the presupposed causal/
other relationships between them, the procedure applied and the
results obtained.
Then put the article aside and write the summary using your out-
line - this will ensure that the summary is coherent and can be
understood by an outsider. Look up any necessary details in the
article while writing,
Write at least two drafts. Do a rough draft first, concentrating only
on the content: what information should be introduced where?
Devote little (or no) attention to the formulation at this stage. For
your second (and third, and fourth) draft, flesh out the rough draft
into a final version, concentrating on flowing sentences, correct
language, smooth transitions and cohesion between the sections
of the summary.
An assignment to practice scientific summary writing is presented in
box 4.5.
Assignment scientific summary
The summary given in Appendix A was based on the following
assignment:
Summarise the article by Loftus and Palmer (1974) in no more
than 550 words (not counting the reference list). At the end, give
your own evaluation of the article - this is not to be included as
part of the summary, and must be given separately. Use academic
language, and give arguments for why you agree or disagree with
parts of the article. Your personal evaluation will not count towards
the word limit.
Box 4.5
Writing Psychology Research Reports

4.5 Writing related research descriptions

Literature reviews often discuss multiple studies that employ essen-

tially the same research design. When describing multiple studies on
the reliability of eyewitness accounts, for example, it is advisable to
provide one detailed description of the method used in such experi-
ments. This allows for much shorter research descriptions when dis-
cussing the various studies, so that you can concentrate immediately
on the key aspect of the study in question.

A literature review provides an indication of the state of psychological

(or other) research regarding a specific question. Psychology graduates
must be able to summarise and report on this knowledge in a sound
and clear manner. The best way to convince other scientists and col-
leagues is to present a clear, consistent and correctly structured set of
arguments.
Chapter 2 contains information on the proper style of a scientific lit-
erature review. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 cover aspects of the content
of the review. This chapter unites form and content, and outlines the
steps for actually writing a full literature review. A detailed descrip-
tion of the structure and separate elements will be given first, and the
chapter will conclude with a checklist that will enable you to check for
yourself whether you have followed the steps correctly.

5.1 The structure of a literature review

The overall structure of a literature review can be compared to an

hourglass. Begin with a broad introduction, gradually zeroing in on
a specific question (this is the top part of the hourglass). Next, discuss
the relevant literature (the narrow centre of the hourglass). Lastly, draw
and evaluate conclusions and generalise their application to a broader
field, or make recommendations for practice or further research (the
bottom of the hourglass).
Although literature reviews do consist of multiple sections, they must
all form part of a cohesive whole. This cohesion can be derived from
the plan (see Chapter 3), which outlined the over-arching narrative for
your review. The plan will have clearly established how each included
study relates to the general question; how the studies all relate to each
other; which aspects the various sets of results agree on; and where
they contradict each other. The plan will also have clearly stated the
answer that can be given based on the results of the studies under dis-
cussion.
I Writing Psychology Research Reports
When writing the actual review, clear cohesion can be created in all
kinds of ways. At the topmost level, this occurs in the introduction
to your review, where the general line of argument is first established.
This statement serves the same purpose as a table of contents - it ori-
ents the reader to the overall structure of a report. The various sections
are constructed in the same way: well-chosen section headings and
sub-headings give a clear indication of what information to expect,
and the introductory/transitional sentences do the rest. Section 5.2.5
explains how the various sections can be linked together.
The core of a review consists of an introduction, the review itself and
a conclusion. The full report adds a title page, a table of contents, a
brief summary and a bibliography.
A compete literature review consists of the following elements:
a title page;
a table of contents;
a brief summary;
an introduction;
a main body, in which you review the actual literature;
conclusions and accompanying discussion;
a bibliography (or list of references).
Section 5.2 addresses these elements in greater detail.
5.2 Elements of a literature review
5.2.1 Title page
Make sure to choose a good title, as it is the part of the literature
review that is read most often. A good title will be clear and explicit,
attention-grabbing and tell the reader exactly what to expect. A title
such as:
The Morning After
is therefore no good. This title may be intriguing, but it is neither
explicit nor does it say anything about the content of the review.
A better title would be:
Short-term Effects of Alcohol Abuse on Memory
5 Writing a Literature Review ..
A main title and subtitle can be used to create more appeal:
Memory Loss after Excessive Drinking:
The Short-term Effects of Alcohol Abuse on Memory
The author's name is centred on the page below the title. The title page
also contains all other information requested by your institution, see
box 5.1.
Title page of a literature review written as an assessment
task
The title page must conclude with relevant information that is not
related to the content, i.e. the institution where you are studying,
your student ID number, your supervisor's name, the unit of study
and the word count.
Box 5.1
5.2.2 Table of Contents
The table of contents offers an overview of the various components of
the text and gives the reader an overview of how the content is struc-
tured in the review. To fulfil this second purpose, it is crucial to select
section headings that provide useful information on how the report is
structured (see Section 5.2.5).
Align the section headings neatly below one another, and indent any
sub-section headings. Put the page numbers after the titles, usually
aligned on the right and without any dotted lines. A table of contents
is useful for literature reviews written for assessment purposes, how-
ever they are not necessary in articles submitted for publication in
a journal.
5.2.3 Brief summary
The table of contents is followed by a brief summary (or abstract)
of the review. This is an oft-read component, and therefore merits
some attention, just like the title. An abstract must be no more than
120 words long. The topic is stated first in a single sentence, followed
by a clear and explicit description of how the report is structured and
Writing Psychology Research Reports
what the key findings and conclusions were. Finish with a statement
about the implications of your conclusions. The abstract must make
sense to readers without reading the report. Note: an abstract of a
scientific paper is not the same as a research description of an empiri-
cal study (described in Chapter 4). An abstract is always independent,
while a research description is always part of a larger work.
5.2.4 Introductory section
The purpose of the opening section is to introduce the problem state-
ment and clarify what the report is about. The introduction cor-
responds to the upper half of the hourglass model. The title of the
introduction is usually the same as (or derived from) the report title
(calling the opening section Introduction adds no relevant informa-
tion that the reader does not already have, as all reports start with
an introduction). According to the APA guidelines, a scientific arti-
cle should always start by repeating the title, with the opening text
directly below.
The opening section always contains an introduction to the topic, e.g.
by using a concrete example or anecdote. The aim of the introduc-
tion is to entice the reader to study the remainder of the text. Start
broadly, and narrow down the topic bit by bit. If necessary, provide an
explanation of some key concepts (see Section 2.3.1) and describe prior
research. Ultimately, you must formulate a specific research question,
along with a justification for why you are investigating this question in
particular. An example:
Ever since Freud, psychologists have come to accept the notion
that early experiences have a major influence on personality
development in humans. A child's experience of family life is,
without a doubt, the most influential in this respect. It is a generally
accepted theory that the way a child is treated by other family
members - and by the parents in particular - is instrumental in
forming their adult personality.
This review looks at the influence of child-rearing behaviour
by parents on the development of an individual's personality.
Because personality is such a broad field, this review will focus on
a single aspect - locus of control - as this is the central concept in
the theory by Rotter (1984). Much research has been conducted
on this topic. It is supposed that locus of control significantly
influences a person's quality of life, and the research investigates
how parenting style affects the emergence of locus of control in
children.
5 Writing a Literature Review ..
The above example provides a clear justification for choosing a particu-
lar question by referring to a certain theory (by Rotter, in this case).
What is missing is an explanation of the specific concept, i.e. locus of
control. This concept is so specific that one cannot expect all readers
to be familiar with it. The author also writes that much research has
been conducted on the theory, but does not go into any further detail.
A brief discussion of prior research would have been appropriate here,
providing a background to the question at hand, which will then carry
more weight when it is introduced afterwards.
As is the case in a research description, your specific question is the
key element in a literature review. For every section of a report, you
must be able to justify why that section is important to answering your
specific question. A specific question will usually be about the link
between two or more variables, e.g. how one variable (the independent
variable) affects another (the dependent variable). The question from
the example above illustrates one such case. Questions of this type
generally take the form of: 'How does X affect Y?' Alternatively, the
question might concern the relationship between two variables, with-
out attempting to establish causality (correlational research). Such
questions can be formulated thus: 'Is there a link between .. .' or 'How
are X and Y related?' The text of the introduction will generally not
pose the question directly. It is better to include the question in the
running text. Some examples: 'This literature review will focus on the
question of how X affects .. .' or: 'The relationship between ... and ... is
unclear; this literature review seeks to provide some answers.'
The introductory section concludes with a summary of how the content
is structured. This part of the introduction informs the reader of the
structure to come, and why this structure has been chosen. The main
body will usually cover several sub-topics, and you must give reasons
for why each separate sub-topic is included and how it plays a role in
answering the question. For example:
The concept of locus of control will first be discussed in light of
Rotter's Social Learning Theory. Furthermore, a brief explanation
will be given of how a person's locus of control can influence their
behaviour. This is followed by an overview of the research into the
influence of upbringing on the development of locus of control.
Specifically, the review will examine whether recent research
supports Ryckman's (1985) conclusion that a warm, supportive,
non-authoritarian and consistent parenting style fosters an internal
locus of control.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Be sure to limit the structural description of the report to relevant
information. There is little point, for example, in stating that the final
section contains a conclusion offering an answer to the question. Such
a conclusion is a fixed element of all literature reviews, and this com-
ment is therefore superfluous.
Following the hourglass model, the upper part is now complete, and
we are ready to move on to the more substantial, narrow main body.
5.2.5 Main body (detailed information)
The main body is the largest section of the review, it corresponds to the
narrow middle section of the hourglass. It presents all of the detailed
information. The body discusses a selection of the descriptions and
evaluations of the various studies you have examined. However, the
body is not a chronological or alphabetical summary of the results of
the various studies. Instead, you must use the structure outlined in
your plan (see Chapter 3.5), which will ultimately lead to answers to
the specific research question given in the introduction. The structure
you choose for the main body must demonstrate that you truly under-
stand the material covered.
A well-structured review will present the sub-topics in a logical
sequence. Each sub-topic will generally have its own subsection,
although studies on similar topics should be covered in the same sec-
tion. In such sections, group the studies together that reach the same
conclusion, and contrast them against any other studies that draw
different conclusions. Use linking sentences to create a clear line of
argument, and to mark off the various subsections. These linking (or
transitional) sentences are extremely important, and will be covered
in more detail at the end of this section.
Each section deals with a certain sub-topic of the research question,
and must only include information relevant to providing an answer to
your question. Each section must also describe all studies that are rel-
evant to that particular sub-topic. Do not give each article its own sub-
section - as the integration of information from the various sources is
precisely what is important (see Chapter 3). The most important thing
in writing an effective research description is to properly select the
information you wish to convey, and then to carefully consider what
information is not necessary (see Chapter 4). For example, if you are
using an article that outlines three experiments, but only the first one
is relevant to your question, only talk about the first experiment and
leave the other two aside.
5 Writing a Literature Review ..
Each section will have roughly the same structure as the entire report,
and will consist of the following parts:
a title;
an introduction;
research descriptions;
section conclusions.
These components will be identifiable in all well-written papers. The
last three do not need to be explicitly separated from each other by
sub-headings or similar - the transitions between paragraphs will
make things sufficiently clear to the reader. Each of the parts listed
above will be covered briefly below.
Title (section heading)
Well-chosen section titles make the structure of a text explicit, and
should make it very clear to the reader what the section is about.
Section titles also appear in the table of contents, where they serve a
similar purpose.
An example of an incorrect section title that says nothing about the
content is: The Experiment by Martin and Kuiper (1993). An exam-
ple of a title that does inform the reader would be: Physical Stress
Responses and Humour.
Introduction
Each section begins with an introductory paragraph, which explains
why the sub-topic is important in answering the question and also
serves as the link between the various sections. Formulating a
sub-question (which covers part of the main question) gives a sec-
tion its own purpose and informs the reader of the material covered
therein. Introductions to long sections may conclude with a brief
description of how the section is structured.
Research descriptions in context
Each section in the main body includes the part of your exposition
that relates to the specific sub-question dealt with in that section. You
must argue for why you discuss each particular study, and how the
results contribute to your answer to the sub-question. The ultimate
line of reasoning will include the three types of arguments mentioned
in Chapter 3.5.2. Your empirical arguments will take the form of
research descriptions of the studies under discussion (see Chapter 4).
You may also include arguments consisting of the interpretation of the
studies by others, or those derived from your own evaluation of the
first two types. Combining these three types of arguments positions
Writing Psychology Research Reports
the research descriptions within the context of your analysis. Take the
context from your plan (see Chapter 3.5) and provide structure using
linking words.
Linking words
Linking words are used to convey how the various arguments are
interrelated. They are sometimes also called 'signal words', because
they make it clear to the reader how arguments should be combined
together. For example, arguments that lead to the same conclusion
can be grouped together using words such as: and, also, just like, in
addition or firstly, secondly, thirdly. If they indicate cause and effect,
use words such as given that, because, due to, since, therefore, hence
or which means. To qualify a statement, use if, unless, provided that
or although. Introduce contrasts with expressions such as however,
unlike, whereas, while or but. Announce conclusions using words such
as hence, we can therefore conclude or in conclusion.
Section conclusions
Finish off a section with a section conclusion that provides a well
thought-out response to the sub-question. Do so by summarising the
key results and conclusions at a theoretical level, giving possible expla-
nations for (potentially contradictory) results and describing your
final conclusion based on the information you have discussed. This
part can also include general criticism of the studies discussed, e.g. by
providing alternative explanations for the observed results. The crit-
icism may be your own or have been offered by others; whatever the
case, be sure to always indicate whose criticism it is. Critical remarks
by others should always be accompanied by a reference to the source.
Your own criticism is marked not by using the word T (which should
be avoided if possible), but by the absence of any reference. Be sure
to maintain a clear distinction between descriptions of research and
criticism of research.
Your section conclusions should therefore provide an explicit and
comprehensive answer to the sub-question being addressed. Once this
is done, transition into your next section. The following is an example
of a concluding paragraph:
From the studies described above, we can infer that locus
of control influences many aspects of human behaviour. In
general, behaviour associated with an internal orientation is
seen as more positive than behaviour associated with external
orientation, although there are some exceptions. Because locus
of control influences behaviour so greatly, another important
5 Writing a Literature Review ..
question relates to how the orientation develops, and whether
parenting styles influence the emergence of an internal or external
orientation. These questions are examined in the next section.
The example below shows how a study that was just discussed can
be related back to the main question (on the emergence of aggressive
behaviour, in this case) and how two studies can be compared (reveal-
ing a contradiction, followed by an explanation).
Although the methodology of the study by Johnson and
Johnson (1992) is not entirely exempt from criticism (as discussed
above), the results do seem to indicate that social context directly
influences levels of aggressive behaviour. This conclusion is at odds
with that of Lopez and Strickland (1989), who surmised that the
agents' personalities are actually more influential than the social
context. This contradiction could be explained by the fact that
there are various types of aggressive behaviour, each with their
own determinants. This possibility is examined in greater detail in
the section below.
Section conclusions may sometimes incorporate those of previous sec-
tions, in order to integrate the various sub-questions. No hard-and-
fast rules can be given, as the possibilities will depend entirely on the
literature under discussion.
Linking sentences and transitions
A well-structured review will draw together the various sections of the
text with the aid of linking sentences, both within and between sec-
tions. If one section discusses multiple studies, for example, they must
eventually be brought together somehow. This approach integrates the
content of the information being presented, shaping the review into
a cohesive whole.
In general, the various sections of a text can be integrated by using
linking sentences along with linking words and conjunctions (how-
ever, by contrast, also, therefore, in addition.just like, moreover, unlike).
The link between two studies could be created as shown below (the
'above study' in the first sentence integrates the content from the pre-
vious paragraph):
According to Anderson (1973), the above study did not
show conclusively that the association between response and
reinforcement is instrumental in producing the response. His
reasoning was as follows: both the response and the reinforcement
Writing Psychology Research Reports
occur after the presentation of a stimulus. The possibility can
therefore not be excluded that the association between stimulus
and reinforcement is more important than the association between
response and reinforcement. To investigate this possibility, he
designed an experiment in which laboratory animals were ...
Such links must also be content-based, however, and not merely tex-
tual. The above example achieves this by bringing up Anderson's
criticism of prior research. Your or others' criticism and conclusions
often provide useful material for transitioning between parts of the
text. There is therefore no need to reserve criticism for the end of the
text (the conclusion/discussion section), especially where detailed crit-
icism is concerned. This can often also be put to good use immediately
following the description of the research itself.
Examples of conclusion-based transitions are given below. After dis-
cussing the relevant information from the Brown and McNeal study
(1966), some material transitions might be:
Contrary to the results reported by Brown and McNeal (1966),
Meyer and Bock (1992) did report the influence of ... [description of
Meyer & Bock study].
These contradictory results could be explained by ...
or
Like Brown and McNeal (1966), Meyer and Bock (1992) observed
the influence of. .. Their research methodology was more robust,
however, and their procedure made use of ...
In these examples, the terms contrary to and like take care of the tex-
tual transitions. However, this is not enough by itself. In the first case,
a possible cause for the divergence in the study results must also be
given. Mentioning this explicitly in the text integrates the actual con-
tent of the studies. In the second example, if Meyer and Bock had done
precisely the same thing as Brown and McNeal, the end of the descrip-
tion would have been complete by adding the following in parentheses:
(see also Meyer & Bock, 1992). The extra information on the procedure
adds substance to the transition, creating genuine integration.
The proper integration of information will produce a well-structured
text. It is harder than the above examples might lead one to believe,
however, and is one of many academic skills that can typically only be
learned through extensive practice.
5 Writing a Literature Review
5.2.6 Conclusions and discussion
Your literature review will finish with a section called Conclusions
and discussion. Unlike a title such as Introduction, this title does tell
the reader about the content, since it is not always immediately clear
exactly when the final section of a report begins.
Here, the first order of business is to answer the specific question
stated in the introduction, to the extent that this is possible based on
the available information. Next, provide support for this conclusion
by repeating the section conclusions. Do not simply copy and paste
them one after the other into this section, but be sure to produce a
smooth-flowing text that makes sense. Here, too, effective linking
words/sentences are necessary. A sample opening to a brief conclusion
might be:
The studies discussed above reveal that humour can indeed
help in dealing with stress. Humour has been shown not to be
a coping mechanism in and of itself, but rather a combination
of two other mechanisms, namely cognitive reappraisal and
distraction. People who use humour to cope with stress are less
likely to perceive potentially stressful situations as threatening.
Instead, they view them as challenges, which mitigates the
negative emotions experienced. Making jokes, hearing humorous
remarks and watching funny videos are also ways to seek
distraction, which people welcome in times of stress.
After answering the question and summarising the section conclu-
sions, the main conclusion must be discussed. This discussion is an
explicit evaluation of your own conclusions that examines possible
critical or other remarks concerning the conclusions themselves, the
studies discussed or the topic in general. This may involve general crit-
icism of the way the researchers approached the overall question at
hand, or highlighting aspects of the question that received too little
attention. Lastly, you may offer alternative perspectives to the research
presented.
This section must also look at aspects of the question that remain
unanswered, as well as accompanying recommendations for further
research. Be sure to make them sufficiently concrete; do not leave them
vague and nebulous (e.g. 'further research is necessary'). If the ques-
tion and conclusions permit, this is also the right place for concrete
practical recommendations. Lastly, give an indication of any broader
significance the research may have for the theory or practice (social
relevance) in the problem area outlined in the introduction. Because
Writing Psychology Research Reports 5 Writing a Literature Review ..

of the broad, general ending, this section of the report corresponds Checklist/assessment framework
to the bottom part of the hourglass model. Do not let it peter out into General Do the title page, table of contents and abstract give a
nothing, however: finish strongly, with a firm take-home message for good overall idea of the content?
readers. Use the following questions as a guide.

Title page
Does the title convey the content of the report?
5.2.7 Reference list Is the title in English?
Does the title page contain your name and any
other necessary information (student ID number,
All scientific reports must finish with a list of references to the sources group number, supervisor's name and word count)?
used. Proper referencing is an absolute must, for four reasons. Firstly,
it is one of the pillars of science: it makes lines of reasoning verifia- Table of contents
Does the table of contents clearly reflect the struc-
ble, makes advances in knowledge explicit and enables meta-analysis.
ture of your exposition?
Secondly, 'credit where credit is due' is applicable in the world of sci- Does it correspond to how the text is divided into
ence as well. Thirdly, it fends off any accusations of plagiarism. Lastly, sections?
the effectiveness of search engines is dependent on correct referenc-
Abstract
ing. All of the above reasons make proper referencing (and reference Does the abstract make sense independently of the
listing) incredibly important in reports. Psychologists almost always report?
use the guidelines prescribed by the APA (see Section 2.5 and Appen- Does it state the question?
Does it provide a clear answer to the question?
dix C). Is it within the 120-word limit?

Introduction Is the introduction to the sections that follow com-

plete and clear?
5.3 Checklist/evaluation framework Is the topic introduced from a broad context?
Are the key concepts defined/described?
Actually writing a literature review takes much longer than this chap- Are the results of prior research clearly stated?
Is the study question clearly formulated?
ter might suggest. This is because the initial version is still a long way Is it clear why you are addressing this question in
from the final product, and you will need to revise the text multiple particular (justification)?
times. During this process, it can be useful to set it aside for a few Do the various sub-questions (if applicable) bear a
days and then read it aloud. If you stumble at any point, this proba- clear relationship to the main question and to each
other?
bly means there is a problem with the sentence structure. Also, try to Is there an overall indication of the structure of the
read it as though you are an interested fellow student. Can you follow report?
your own line of reasoning? Are all concepts clearly explained? Do
you notice any places where you have difficulty with the reasoning?
Are the transitions effective? Are you convinced of the claims being
made? You will see that you will always need to revise your text several
times. Do not show it to anyone else until you are fully satisfied with
it yourself.
Use the checklist below to check whether your review meets the
requirements set by the instructions given in this book. The checklist
covers the entire literature review.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Checklist/assessment framework
Main body/sections Is each section a self-contained unit that attempts to
find an answer to the question (or a sub-question)?
Introduction
Does the title convey the section content?
Are there transitions between the sections, and are
they substantiated?
Does each section start by stating the relevance to
the main question and the previous section?
Is it clear which sub-question is being addressed?
Section body
Does each research description give the reader a
thorough understanding of the study?
Are the important elements listed (research ques-
tion, method, results, the researchers' conclusion)?
Is there any critical analysis of the study?
Is the research integrated with other information?
Is it clear how the studies relate to one another?
Are the transitions between the research descrip-
tions substantiated?
Are concepts explained properly and consistently,
and in greater detail where necessary?
Are unnecessary tangents avoided, and is infor-
mation selected that is relevant to answering the
question?
Are links established between various research
results, both within and between sections?
Does each section show logical consistency, both as
a whole and in parts?
Is there an effective division into paragraphs that
reflects the steps in the exposition?
Section conclusion
Does each section include a clear conclusion?
Have the key research results been incorporated?
Does the conclusion follow logically from the
previously-discussed material?
Does the section conclusion clearly relate back to
the research question?
Are links established between the sets of research
results and/or the study conclusions, giving rise to
an original perspective?
Are explanations given for any contradictory
research results?
5 Writing a Literature Review ..
Checklist/assessment framework
Conclusion Does the conclusion of the report clearly state the
findings of the literature review?
Is there a clear answer to the question formulated in
the introduction to the report?
Have the conclusions from the previous sections
been incorporated into the main conclusion?
Is the conclusion free of any new information that
has not already been presented?
Are links established between section conclusions,
leading to an original perspective?
Discussion Are any aspects of the conclusion called into
question?
Are these questions addressed concretely?
Are there any general criticisms raised regarding
the research or the topic under discussion?
Are any alternative perspectives discussed
(if applicable)?
Is clarification given for anything that is unclear?
Are concrete recommendations given for further
research?
Is there clear relevance (e.g. the scientific/social
implications of the conclusions)?
Is there a broad ending and conclusion to the
report?
References and reference Do the in-text references meet APA guidelines?
list Is the reference list in accordance with the APA
guidelines?
Is every in-text reference included in the reference
list?
Are all list entries referred to in the text?
Structure Does the report form a cohesive whole, and is the
narrative clearly structured for the reader?
Do the sections form cohesive steps that progress
logically from question to answer?
Do the sections transition effectively?
Is information that is assumed to be known in a later
section actually given in a previous section?
Can the conclusions of the various sections be
unified?
Does the structure of the report match the outline
given in the introduction?
Writing Psychology Research Reports
Checklist/assessment framework
Language use Is the report written in correct and clear English?
Is the report free of grammatical and spelling errors?
Are the formulations unambiguous?
Is the language clear and comprehensible?
Is the text written in your own words?
Are neutral formulations used (avoiding 'I', 'in my
opinion', 'you/we', etc.)?
Is cited research discussed in the past tense?
Is the usage of tense and singulars/plurals
consistent?
Layout and presentation Does the report look carefully prepared?
Is it double-spaced with font size 12?
Have headings been formatted correctly to clearly
indicate the structure of the exposition?
Is the presentation of the report correct and in
accordance with the given instructions?
Has the prescribed word count been observed?
A literature review takes the form of an hourglass (see Section 5.1).
The introduction presents a specific question, the main body discusses
the literature that furnishes the arguments for your line of reason-
ing and the concluding section presents the answer to your specific
question. A research report also takes the form of an hourglass. Here,
however, the introduction presents a research question, and the main
body explains how the research was conducted and what results were
observed. The concluding section interprets the results, providing
the crucial arguments in the reasoning that leads to answering the
research question.
Both report types therefore have the same overall structure; in a
research report, however, the main body is written according to spe-
cific rules. A research report will always have at least four sections: an
introductory section and sections describing the method used to con-
duct the research, the results obtained and a discussion. All of these
sections may also be further broken down into subsections. Just like in
a literature review, there will always be a brief summary at the begin-
ning (the abstract) and a list of references at the end. When reporting
on multiple experiments, the method and results sections are repeated
for each experiment.
All sections of a research report are also closely interwoven. The
introduction outlines a problem area and the context of the research
question within it. The introduction clarifies why the research is
being conducted and the methods section explains how the research
was conducted. This is followed by the results section, which clearly
describes the outcome of the research. Lastly, the discussion seeks to
answer the research question based on the results obtained. The dis-
cussion accounts for the implications of the results for the problem
area outlined in the introduction, completing the circle.
 I
I 86 Writing Psychology Research Reports
Research methodology
Recent years have seen increased attention to thorough research
methods (e.g. see the Center for Open Science website, https://cos.io).
Nowadays, for example, a strong distinction is often drawn between
confirmatory research and the associated confirmatory analyses
on the one hand and exploratory research and the associated
exploratory analyses on the other. The difference between these
types of research is that in confirmatory research, the researchers
have a) formulated clear ideas in advance regarding the results and
b) have decided on exactly which methods and analyses will be used
to test these ideas. This is not the case in exploratory research. This
distinction also has consequences for how the research is reported.
Before carrying out confirmatory research, the researchers often
start by writing an introduction and a comprehensive methods
section that specifies not only the sample population, materials and
procedures to be used, but also every step in the analysis process
(contrary to the guidelines in Section 2.3.2, a methods section
written like this will be in the future tense). Based on this exposition,
a journal (e.g. Cortex) may decide that the paper will be published
- regardless of the results - provided it is carried out precisely as
described. This process is known as pre-registration; when published
in Cortex, articles of this type are identified as a Registered report.
Box 6.1
This section will discuss the various elements of a research report, with
a brief summary of the most important aspects of each element pre-
sented in a box. Most of the examples in this section are taken from
the fictitious article included as Appendix B to this book. Appendix B
contains a text already drawn up by the non-existent editors of a non-
existent journal. The copy submitted to the journal was double-spaced,
and included the footnotes, abstract and reference list on separate
pages.
Lastly, the sample text in Appendix B concerns a specific type of exper-
imental research - other conventions may apply to your own report.
Before writing your own research report, it is therefore advisable to
investigate how articles are structured in your specific field of research
(you will discuss these articles in your introduction). Articles from the
relevant field are the best source of information on how to structure
your report, especially when it comes to the 'methods' section. Sensible
beginning writers will examine the results of more experienced writers
l
before embarking on their own endeavours.
6 Writing a Research Report ..
6.1 Preparation and process
There are various stages to empirical research. It usually starts with
a general interest in a particular research area. In order to conduct
useful research, however, you will first need to acquire a thorough
understanding of the existing knowledge on the subject. All research-
ers therefore start by studying the literature, to establish the current
state of research.
During this process (see Chapter 3 for information on searching for
literature), it is important to become aware of the most important
empirical findings that have been made, and of how theories are pre-
dominantly formed within the field. A good understanding of how the
empirical findings are linked to theory development is essential. For
each study, you must also evaluate whether the research conducted
by the authors was designed, performed, analysed and interpreted
correctly.
To avoid getting lost in a sea of information when conducting reviews
like this, it is useful to write a summary of each article you read (as
described in box 4.5). This will produce a manageable overview of the
material in all the studies you have read and your evaluation thereof.
The overview will subsequently enable you to make generic evalua-
tions of some (or even all) of the studies grouped together. A generic
evaluation of this type looks at whether the proposed theory or theo-
ries truly explain all of the empirical data, or only part of it. Usually,
the latter case applies, but you cannot be certain until you have read
plenty of studies in the field.
Only once the above process is complete can you consider which ques-
tion is currently the most pressing in the field given the current state
of research, and formulate and justify your own research question.
In making this justification, you must determine what information
can be selected and what can be ignored from all the studies you have
examined. Next, you must integrate all of the relevant information
using your specific and generic evaluations, and combine it into an
initial argumentation plan that works cohesively and convincingly
towards your specific research question. This plan will be comparable
to the plan for a literature review (see Section 3.5).
Only now can you write your introduction (analogous to the upper
part of the hourglass) and start detailing your research design. Once
this is complete, write your methods section. Once the research has
been conducted and the results have been analysed, you can add the
results section and discussion.
The best way to construct the list of references is to add each refer-
ence to the list as soon as it is included in your report. The abstract
 Writing Psychology Research Reports
I 88
should be written last. Although it is the first item discussed below,
the abstract is the proverbial 'icing on the cake', and is only added once
everything else is finished.
6.2 Abstract
The abstract outlines the essence of the study and helps the reader to
decide whether to continue reading or not. The maximum length is
120 words.
Use one or two sentences to describe each section of the report (intro-
duction, method, results, discussion). Dive straight into the subject
and avoid long sentences. Do not go into excessive theoretical detail,
and describe the method using only the population (type and number
of participants), measurement instruments and the procedure. Report
only the most important results from the study and briefly outline
their significance. Write the abstract in the past tense.
The Abstract
The abstract is an extremely concise description of:
the research question;
the method (participants, instruments, procedure);
the results;
the conclusions.
Box 6.2
6.3 Introduction
The purpose of the introduction is to offer a coherent and convinc-
ing argument for why your study is important. Because it will be read
by your fellow researchers, the introduction must also convince the
reader that you know what you are talking about - which is only pos-
sible, of course, if you actually do. This is why the first stage in the
research process described above is so important: to plan an effective
introduction, knowledge of the current state of research in the field is
essential.
When fleshing out your plan, first think of an appealing title for your
report. The title of the report is repeated as the heading of the intro-
duction (the title of the introduction is not the word Introduction, as
6 Writing a Research Report ..
the reader will be aware that the article starts with an introduction).
Section 4.2.1 gives some tips on choosing a good title.
Introductions usually begin by defining the problem area, followed by
a description of the research question covered by your report. The ini-
tial phrases will introduce the problem area:
People with untreatable psychological or other conditions often
seek relief in alternative medicine. One such alternative treatment
offered is magnotherapy.
Next, formulate your research question. For example:
This study investigates the efficacy of a specific type of
magnotherapy ...
The research question is followed by a brief overview of the relevant
literature, demonstrating both your knowledge of the field and the rel-
evance of your question. As part of this overview, discuss relevant the-
ories and prior research on the question at hand. An important point
is that the research descriptions in a research report should be much
more concise and succinct than those in a literature review.
The introduction must expressly combine the results of various stud-
ies, preferably using the available theories within the field of research.
This process (which requires much thought) is called 'integration'. The
discussion of prior research and the relevant theories in a research
report will also often include explicit criticism, as motivation for the
research being reported on. This critical discussion (also known as
the 'evaluation of the available knowledge') can also be used to clar-
ify which question (or questions) thus far remain unanswered, or why
your study will increase the available knowledge in the field. This is
how you justify your research.
The description of prior research and theory will lead the reader to
your research question and to a brief description of your hypotheses.
For example:
The above would seem to disprove the efficacy of magnotherapy
in and of itself. Nevertheless, wearing a pivoted magnet could have
a beneficial effect on people's mental well-being, perhaps due to a
belief in its effectiveness.
The example shows that the word hypothesis need not be explicitly
stated; hypotheses can be included as part of the running text.
Writing Psychology Research Reports
At the end of the introduction, discuss the design of your own study
and what results you expect. While these expectations can be for-
mulated as explicit predictions, this is certainly not always the case.
In the sample article, the author juxtaposes two theories and states
exactly what the expected results are (see Appendix B). Studies in
which the author firmly establishes the expectations and the manner
in which they will be tested in advance are called 'confirmatory stud-
ies'. Research is often more exploratory in nature, however, and the
researchers have no rigid expectations. In this case, the possible out-
comes must be evident in the research design. Both types of research
- confirmatory and exploratory - can also co-exist in a single study,
and the report in Appendix Bis one such example.
The Introduction
The introduction will include:
an outline of the problem area and the research question;
a justification of the research question;
theory (or theories) and other research relevant to the problem;
any criticism of prior theory and research;
the hypotheses in the running text, or a description of the
explorations;
a brief description of the research design;
the expected/possible outcomes.
Box 6.3
6.4 Method
The methods section describes the sample population, the materials
used and the procedure in enough detail so as to allow the results to be
properly interpreted, and to enable other researchers to replicate the
experiment. None of the detail should be superfluous, however (see
Section 2.2).
The methods section must be divided into subsections, usually par-
ticipants, materials and procedure (see Appendix B). The rest of this
section will deal with how to write these three subsections, as they are
nearly always included. In practice, some articles will structure the
methods section slightly differently, usually because the exposition
requires a somewhat different route, or because the subsections would
6 Writing a Research Report
otherwise lack clarity. In complicated research especially, adding extra
subsections can be useful to give readers fast access to certain infor-
mation. These might have headings such as research plan, equipment,
research design or analyses.
6.4. l Participants
The subsection on participants will describe at least how many partic-
ipants were involved, the population they belonged to (e.g. first-year
psychology students), whether they were rewarded and, if so, how. If
applicable, this is also the place to describe which participant char-
acteristics (e.g. native language) were used to construct the research
conditions or groups. The characteristics of the various groups may
also be compared here, e.g. if you are assuming that the groups being
studied conform to certain variables at the outset (such as IQ score).
Other relevant information can also be included, such as the ratio
of men to women, the average age of the participants, how they were
recruited for the study and so on. Not all details are required in this
section, only those that are important in order to interpret the results,
which will depend entirely on the research you have carried out.
6.4.2 Materials
The subsection on materials describes all of the resources used in
the course of the study. These may include questionnaires measur-
ing the participants' characteristics; texts that they read; the stimuli
presented; tests used to measure participants' performance; questions
asked during interviews, etc. Give details, such as how the materi-
als were created, the number of items in questionnaires or tests, the
equipment used to present the stimuli, how the answers were scored
and the minimum/maximum possible scores. In the case of independ-
ent variables, it must always be clear how the levels are defined. The
different conditions in an experimental procedure must therefore be
described exactly. When describing dependent variables, it is custom-
ary to include sample items, e.g. an item from the questionnaire used.
If an existing measurement instrument is used in the study, give some
basic details and refer to information published on the instrument
elsewhere.
 Writing Psychology Research Reports
I 92
6.4.3 Procedure
The procedure section describes how the research was conducted: the
instructions given to the participants, the tasks they carried out, the
order in which they did so, how much time it took, etc. If applicable,
this is also where the different treatment conditions are described,
assuming this has not already been done in the 'materials' section. If
randomisation has been applied (e.g. participants to groups or stimuli
to positions in a list), if the influence of sequences has been neutralised
(counterbalancing) or if certain stimuli have been grouped (blocked)
together, this is the place to explain exactly how you have done this.
In experiments where participants must respond repeatedly to pre-
sented stimuli, it is often useful to give an example of the presentation
of a full stimulus and of how the associated response is recorded. Be
detailed enough to allow another researcher to reproduce the exper-
iment exactly, but do not include any irrelevant details (e.g. the exact
dimensions of the laboratory space).
The Methods Section
The methods section gives a detailed description of the study,
including at least the following information:
participants (type, number, reward);
materials (dependent and independent variables);
procedure (how the study was conducted).
Box 6.4
6.5 Results
The results section presents the research results and the statistical pro-
cessing performed on them, without discussing their implications in
too much detail. The suggested sequence as indicated below is one way
to present the data, however this is not fixed for all reports. Choose
the order most suitable for your study. However, you should always
begin with the results that are potentially relevant to answering your
research question (such as the spread of participants across groups,
manipulation checks and the reliability of measurement instruments).
The results section usually does not include any subsections, but this
will depend on the scope of the study.
6 Writing a Research Report -
6.5.1 Data processing
The results section usually starts by stating exactly what operations
were performed to produce the data for the analyses. Here you report
the possible dropout of participants (e.g. because they failed to fol-
low the instructions correctly) so that it is clear which participants'
data contributed to the final results. You also report any loss of par-
ticipant data, and the reasons why (e.g. incorrectly completed ques-
tionnaires). Also state whether you have removed any outliers (e.g. in
studies measuring reaction times), and the criteria used to do so (see
also Appendix B). You may also describe how you dealt with any miss-
ing information, or with errors made by the participants.
6.5.2 Manipulation checks and background information
The next item for discussion, if applicable, is whether or not the exper-
imental manipulations were successful. For example, if an exit inter-
view was held to check whether the manipulation was successful, the
interview data can be included here.
Next, if necessary, present some descriptive statistics, such as the reli-
ability of the tests used (if these were known before the experiment,
they will have been included in the methods section) or the factor
structure of the tests. If the experimental design conditions differed
only in the order in which the participants performed the tasks (coun-
terbalancing), any order effects can also be listed here. If this is not
the case, state that the results of equivalent conditions were grouped
together in the ensuing analysis.
6.5.3 Research results and analyses results
Now comes the core of the results section, the data that answers the
research questions. Depending on the type of research (experimental
or correlative), this data will often consist of the means and standard
deviations of the dependent variable(s), or the correlations (or the data
based thereon) that have been identified.
The research results and the analysis results must be clearly distinct
from one another. The research results are the average scores and
standard deviations of the dependent variable(s) or the correlations
between variables. The statistical analyses will provide the analysis
results, e.g. the values of various analysis variables (F, z, t, etc.) and the
associated p-values.
I
I
94 Writing Psychology Research Reports
Research results
The research results are nearly always presented in one or more tables
or figures. As a rule of thumb, if there are three or fewer sets of results,
present them in the running text. A table is usually required for 3 -
20 result sets. For greater quantities, a figure can be useful. The most
important element is the effectiveness of the presentation. For exam-
ple, a figure is very useful for showing how various results are related
(see Figure 1 in Appendix B).
In experimental research, tables are normally used to present the
mean scores of the dependent variable(s) under the various experi-
mental conditions. For each mean in the table, include the associated
standard deviation (see Tables 1 and 2 in Appendix B). To increase the
effectiveness of the presentation, an 'Effect' column has been included
in Tables 1 and 2 of Appendix B. This may or may not be necessary in
your case, depending on your specific situation.
In correlational research, the correlations are presented in table form.
The results of a factor analysis (the example below shows a principal
component analysis) could be presented as follows:
A total of three principal components with a value higher than 1
were extracted, representing 45% of the shared variance.
Next, the report will usually include a rotated components matrix. Put
the items (variables) in the lines and add the component values on the
bottom line. The columns are the components with factor loadings,
and the last column includes the item (variable) communalities. The
factor loadings are given to two decimal places, and the table must
include any minus signs. It must be possible to read and interpret
tables independently. The title and notes accompanying the table must
include enough information so that the data can be understood with-
out the surrounding text (see Section 2.6 for detailed instructions on
tables and figures).
Analyses results
For each of the key analysis results, the text must include six items:
the analysis method used, the value of the test statistic, the associated
p-value, an indication of the effect size (e.g. Cohen's d) or a confidence
interval, and a verbal description of the research result. You must also
indicate whether the result was commensurate with your hypotheses
or predictions. When describing significant results, your description
must clearly indicate the polarity of the difference (plus or minus).
6 Writing a Research Report •1
An example:
An independent samples t-test showed that, on average, women
scored higher on the word-completion task than men, t(22) = 4.38,
p < .001, d =1.80. This result supports the notion that ...
An example from Appendix B:
An analysis of variance (A NOVA) was performed on the AMWT
scores with one between-participants variable condition
(magnetisation vs. placebo) and one within-participants variable
treatment (before vs. after). As predicted, the effect of treatment
was significant, F(l, 408) = 1037.1, p < .001, ri/ = .72, the mental
well-being was higher post-treatment than pre-treatment.
The effect of condition was not significant, F(l, 408) = 0.073, p = .79,
ri/ < .001, it did not matter whether participants had actually
undergone magnotherapy or not. Lastly, the Treatment x Condition
interaction was not significant, F(l, 408) = 0.53, p = .47, n,' = .001.
Table 1 shows that the effect of treatment was comparable for
both conditions.
In a variance analysis of two or more factors, you must first interpret
the significant interactions. If there are significant interactions, the
main effects may be meaningless.
For example (see Appendix B):
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on these averages
with one between-participants variable belief (believers vs. non-
believers) and one within-participants variable treatment (before
vs. after). The effect of belief was significant, F(l, 109) = 11.97,
p = .001, n,' = .099. The effect of treatment was also significant,
F(l, 109) = 0.53, p = .001, ri/ = .89. However, the key finding was that
the two variables (belief and treatment) showed an interaction,
F(l, 109) = 961.8, p < .001, ri/ = .898. Inspection ofTable 2 shows
that this interaction can be fully explained by the fact that the
treatment only showed a positive result for the believers, and not
for the non-believers.
The effect of belief (averaged across pre and post-treatment measure-
ments) and of treatment (averaged across believers and non-believ-
ers) was significant, and described as such. The main effects were not
interpreted, however, nor are they relevant: only the interaction is of
interest, as believers demonstrate healing effects while non-believers
do not.
 I
I 96 Writing Psychology Research Reports
I
In large-scale analysis of variance, it is preferable to include the results
of analysis in a table so as not to affect the readability of the text. In
such cases, refer to the table. The key results must still be discussed in
the text, but you can leave out the statistical information.
There are also alternatives to traditional null hypothesis testing. When
conducting Bayesian analysis on the data (see https://jasp-stats.org),
report the Bayes factor and what it means. For example:
A Bayesian version of the independent samples t-test was
conducted. The Bayes factor BF,0 = 0.0129 gave strong evidence
for the null hypothesis. In more precise terms, the factor
indicated that the probability of the data under the null hypothesis
was l/BF10 = 77.7 times greater than under the alternative
hypothesis.
6.5.1 Other information
State the exact p-values (see Section 2.6). Only if the SPSS output gives
a p-value of .000 is this reported as p < .001. Note that you should
report one-way p-values when conducting one-way tests, and two-way
p-values for two-way tests. Of course, the testing information must
also be described for results that contradict the research predictions
made.
For example:
Contrary to expectations, an independent t-test showed no
difference between the average scores on the sorting task and the
naming task, t(ll) = 0.48, p = .64, d = 0.13.
Incidentally, a non-significant research result does not prove the null
hypothesis. It only means the null hypothesis cannot be rejected.
Only use the form 'p <' (see Section 2.6) in the notes accompanying
a table, e.g. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. A table of analysis results
will then use asterisks to indicate the significance levels.
In addition to research and test results, the statistical power of a
research design is sometimes given. In the sample report, it appears in
the footnote to the results paragraph.
6 Writing a Research Report .. I
Distinction between confirmatory (planned) analyses and
exploratory analyses
Although both confirmatory and exploratory research (see box 6.1) is
valuable, it is important to maintain a clear distinction between them
when writing reports. If both research types appear in the same study,
one way to highlight the difference is to group all analyses for one type
under a heading (see Section 2.6) that specifies the type in question.
State the question intended to be answered by exploratory analyses at
the end of the results section, along with the relevant results. Only dis-
cuss exploratory research results that are relevant to the overall report
(i.e. only those that you will return to later in the discussion). This
point is illustrated in the sample report in Appendix B.
Results
The results section must contain information on:
any excluded participants/data;
data pre-processing;
any manipulation checks, or checks on data or instruments
used;
the research results;
the analysis results;
any exploratory analyses.
Box 6.5
6.6 Discussion
The discussion is the final section in your report. You will already have
formulated the research question in the introduction and described
the methods and results of the study itself in the corresponding sec-
tions. The discussion resumes the line of reasoning from the intro-
duction and adds new arguments in the form of interpretation of the
research results. Refer clearly back to the research question discussed
in the introduction, without making an explicit reference to the intro-
duction itself. The last order of business is to conclude your report.
There is no fixed template to be followed in the discussion section -
you are free to interpret, evaluate, generalise or even limit the appli-
cability of your research results as you see fit. Even so, discussions
usually display a general structure, which is detailed further in the
rest of this section. Essentially, it boils down to the following: first of
r '
I
98 Writing Psychology Research Reports
all, summarise the research results within the context of the hypothe-
sis presented in the introduction. Discuss the most important findings
first, and then any potential contradictions. Follow up with a discus-
sion of what the research means for the theory. Raise any alternative
explanations for the observed results and discuss the limitations of the
research. Go into any results that were unexpected. List the practical
implications of the study and outline the logical next steps or more
general ideas for future research in the field. Conclude with a final
paragraph in which you attempt to convey a clear message.
6.6. l Brief overview of key results
The discussion section will start with one or more sentences summa-
rising the key research results as they relate to the hypothesis (i.e. not
as they relate to the predictions, as this would repeat the results sec-
tion). Rather than giving figures, use words to clearly state whether the
research results support the hypotheses or not.
Any contradictions in the study can also be discussed. If the results of
two experiments are at odds, for example, offer some possible explana-
tions. This part of the discussion paves the way for the interpretation
of the results.
6.6.2 Referring back to the research question
Next, discuss the theoretical significance of the results. If you are
convinced that you have valuable results, this will of course have
implications for the theory (or theories) discussed in the introduction.
Do the results have any bearing on the theories discussed in the intro-
duction? Does the study confirm one or more theories? Were others'
research results replicated, or do the results contradict those of previ-
ous studies? Why might this be? Do the results give cause to adjust the
theory? How could the new theory be tested, and what recommenda-
tions for further research could be made?
It is perfectly alright to use the discussion to try to convince the reader
that your conclusions are correct. The style may be persuasive, how-
ever the basis must still be provided by sound, convincing arguments.
One way to convince the reader is to present some obvious alternative
interpretations. Could the observed effect be the result of factors other
than the independent variables suggested by the theory (e.g. unin-
tended experimenter effects)? Discussions are most effective when
possible alternative explanations are introduced and subsequently
6 Writing a Research Report alll:I
rejected based on well-founded arguments. This anticipates any poten-
tial objections that the reader may have to the research or the con-
clusions, increasing the likelihood that they will accept your findings.
Discussing the main or alternative explanations for the results can
also give cause to perform additional analyses of the available research
materials; the results of such analyses may be presented in the discus-
sion, although this is rare.
Sometimes, the researcher may not find the results (or some aspect of
them) entirely convincing, e.g. because the study ran into problems or
unexpected setbacks. The tasks may have been too easy or too difficult,
instructions may have been misunderstood, statistical power or relia-
bility of measurements may have been too low, recruitment or alloca-
tion of participants may have been ineffective, etc. In such cases, the
theoretical impact of the results may be limited (or lacking entirely).
One option here is to discuss your doubts regarding the theoretical
value of the results by offering alternative explanations. Do this in
cases when a hypothesis was not confirmed, or if it was confirmed,
but not in a manner that you find convincing. An example of the first
instance:
This study found no support for ... although this could have been
caused by ...
And the second:
Although the study did seem to support... it turned out that...
The results must therefore be interpreted cautiously.
Furthermore, not all deviations from the methodological standard
will render your results useless, so only discuss facets that genuinely
hinder their effective interpretation. The key objective in this situation
is to make recommendations for future research that would solve the
problems encountered. This will help future researchers.
The discussion may also include any interesting aspects that came up
during the study, but which are ancillary to the immediate research
question at hand. Was the observed effect particularly large or small,
unexpectedly absent or present, etc.? Why was this the case? These
aspects should be limited to those relevant to the reader, however, and
the relevance must be explained. The sample article (see Appendix B)
offers an example, in the discussion of the size of the observed placebo
effect.
Lastly, any limitations to the study should also be discussed. Look-
ing back, was the research design optimal? How could it be improved?
'
'
100 Writing Psychology Research Reports
What variables were not included in the design, and why might they be
important? Was your manipulation the most convincing? What other
manipulations could be considered? The sample article does this as
follows (see Appendix B):
Future research might examine other variants of the therapy,
however, or include a population with a lower level of mental well-
being ... Lastly, future research could look at whether the observed
positive effects of the therapy on mental health are long-term
or whether they disappear quickly, offering a more complete
understanding of the induced placebo effect.
6 Writing a Research Report 111111
6.7 Reference list
Draw up a reference list, following the instructions in the Publica-
tion Manual by the American Psychological Association (APA, 2010).
A literature list for a research report is the same as for a literature
review (see Section 2.5 and Appendix C).
For the sake of convenience, some common entry types are given
below: a journal article, a book, a chapter from an edited book and a
source referenced via another source. Pay close attention to full stops
and commas, capitalisation in the title, italics and the spaces between
the author's initials.

A journal article
6.6.3 Broader implications of the results and conclusion
Spetch, M. L., & Wilkie, D. M. (1983). Subjective
One way to offer a broader perspective on the research question at shortening: A model of pigeons' memory for event
the end of the discussion is to point out the theoretical significance duration. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
of the study. Do not exaggerate, however. Usually, some attention is Animal Behavior Processes, 9, 14-30. https://
devoted to the generalisability of the research results, or the external doi.org/10.1037/0097-7403.9.l.14
validity. For laboratory studies, the question can be addressed of how
representative the study is of the world external to the laboratory. Be A book
aware that this question is by no means always relevant. Researchers
are often interested in general principles, which is why they turned to De Groot, A. M. B. (2011). Language and cognition in
the laboratory in the first place - it is the only way to exert control on bilinguals and multilinguals: An introduction.
other variables. New York-Hove: Psychology Press.
Lastly, this is a good place to discuss the practical significance of the
results, and to make recommendations. This may or may not be appro- A chapter in an edited book
priate, depending on the research question. After this, wind up your
discussion. Finish on a strong note, such as a concise summary of the Hartley, J. T., Harker, J. 0., & Walsh, D. A. (1980).
question and the most important conclusion. Contemporary issues and new directions in adult
development of learning and memory. In L. W.
Poon (Ed.), Aging in the 1980s: Psychological
The Discussion Section issues (pp. 239-252). Washington, D.C.: American
Psychological Association.
The discussion section contains:
an extremely succinct recap of the key results; A source that you have not consulted directly, but which was
an answer to the research question; referenced in another source
a discussion of the theoretical impact of the results in relation For example: a reference in the running text to Freud (1916) who was
to the literature from the introduction, alternative explanations cited in Ryckman (1985). Only include the Ryckman source in the
for the results obtained, research limitations, generalisability literature list.
and any concrete suggestions for further research;
a take-home message.

Box 6.6
 Writing Psychology Research Reports 6 Writing a Research Report ..Il

6.8 Appendices Checklist/assessment framework

Method participants:
Appendices include all information that is necessary to make the - number, population, reward, allocation
research report complete, but which is too bulky to include in the text to groups (if applicable) and any other
information relevant to the rest of the report
directly (e.g. a full copy of the stimulus materials). Appendices are not (gender, age, etc.);
usually part of APA articles. materials;
independent variables, manipulation:
- number of conditions;
- description of the stimuli administered to
6.9 Checklist/evaluation framework the participants;
- clear description of the differences between
Use the framework below to check whether your report meets the conditions;
independent variables, measurement:
requirements set by the instructions covered in this book. The frame- - description of the measurement
work covers a full empirical research report. instruments;
(The order in which the points are given is important, but the discus- - answer options/scale and scoring;
- scoring range: minimum and maximum
sion section can be a little freer. The full report follows the hourglass
scores, and their meaning;
model.) - sample test item;
procedure:
- description of the entire participant process,
Checklist/assessment framework
such as instructions, tasks, order of stimuli
Title page title that conveys the content of the report; (fixed/random), design, spatial aspects,
title in English; duration/temporal aspects, debriefing;
your name and any other necessary infor- - original headings may be added in the case
mation (student ID number, group number, of complex research (e.g. research design).
supervisor's name and word count). first include the results that may influence
Results
Abstract The abstract makes sense to readers without the remainder of the research results (only if
reading the report. applicable);
The question is stated. participants:
The method and results are given. - eliminated participants: number and reason;
The answer to the question is given. - biographical details (that were not given in
The word count is below 120. the method because they were not collect-
ed in advance);
Introduction theoretical framework: indication of the data:
research field; - removal of outliers (number and reason);
general research question; design verification:
justification of the research by discussing - manipulation checks;
other relevant research, relevant theories - standardisation checks;
and criticism thereof; - exit interviews;
explanation of concepts (as necessary); quality of new measurement instruments:
hypotheses or a description of the explorations; - reliability, validity: factor analyses,
brief description of one's own research; correlations with other operationalisations
expectations or possible outcomes. or criteria;
research results:
- tabulated N, means, SDs;
- tables: referenced in-text, numbered,
informative title, abbreviations and symbols
defined, and (if asterisks(*) are used to
represent significance) note the significance
levels (alpha) in a footnote and indicate
which scores differ from each other. NB: spell
'Table' with a capital letter in the running

l
text;
 ,
I
104 Writing Psychology Research Reports
Checklist/assessment framework
test results:
- usually presented in running text (only
use a table for large numbers of results).
(For each test listed, the accompanying
research data must be included in the table.
Test results must be given for all forecast
results, significant or not.);
- test used and significance level;
- explanation of effect: which groups differ
from each other, on which tasks (variables)
and in which direction;
- test results: test statistic (degrees of
freedom)= value, exceedance probability
(p-value) in the following format: test statis-
tic (df1, df2) = value, p = value;
- effect sizes or confidence intervals
- link back to predictions, whether or not this
effect was foreseen;
- exploratory analyses: description and justifi-
cation; only provide significant test results.
Discussion summary of the (main) results in theoretical
terms;
confirmed hypotheses, rejected hypotheses;
Before interpreting the results, make a critical
methodological analysis, taking the following
into consideration:
- independent variables:
- suitability of operationalisation;
- success/strength of manipulation.
- dependent variables:
- suitability of operationalisation;
- validity and reliability of measurement
instruments;
- effect size.
- standardisation:
- participants, experimenter, space, time, task.
- experimental design:
- applicability of answers to the research
question;
- statistical power (given N, effect size).
- theory:
- need for modification/extension.
- generalisability:
- context;
- population.
l
Checklist/assessment framework
References and reference list
Language use
Layout and presentation
6 Writing a Research Report .. Il
interpretation of the results as they relate to
the research question from the introduction;
theoretical significance;
alternative explanations for the results:
- should either be rejected or recommen-
dations should be given for how to improve
the research design;
discussion of unexpected results;
limitations of the study;
concrete suggestions for further research;
broader significance;
what this study means for developments in
the problem area; potentially give concrete
suggestions for further research;
usefulness and practical applicability of
research results;
conclusion;
final conclusion: link back to the research ques-
tion from the introduction.
Do the in-text references meet APA guidelines?
Is the reference list in accordance with the APA
format?
Is every in-text reference included in the refer-
ence list?
Are all list entries referred to in the text?
Is the report written in correct and clear
English?
Are the formulations unambiguous?
Is the language clear and comprehensible?
Is the text written in your own words?
Are neutral formulations used (avoiding 'I',
'in my opinion', 'you/we', etc.)?
Is cited research discussed in the past tense?
Is your own research discussed in the past
tense?
Is the usage of tense and singulars/plurals
consistent?
Is the report free of grammatical and spelling
errors?
Is the report in line with APA standards?
Does the report look carefully prepared?
Is it double-spaced with font size 12?
Have headings been formatted correctly to
clearly indicate the structure of the exposition?
Is the presentation of the report correct and in
accordance with the given instructions?
Has the prescribed word count been observed?
 Il
Appendix A
Example Scientific Summary

Suggestive Questions and Eyewitness Accounts

Author's name

Student ID card number:

Supervisor:
Word count: 518

l
 .. Writing Psychology Research Reports
Suggestive Questions and Eyewitness Accounts
The justice system has a special interest in whether suggestive
questions can influence the accounts given by eyewitnesses.
Psychologists have attempted to answer this question using
controlled experimental research. One such study was conducted
by Loftus and Palmer (1974), who investigated the accuracy with
which we can recall complex events. In particular, their investigation
looked at whether the formulation of a question about a complex
event influenced the answer to the question or even the mnemonic
representation of the event.
They reported two experiments: in the first, they had
45 participants watch short videos of automobile collisions. After
each video, the test subjects were asked to estimate how fast the
cars were moving at the time of the collision. The participants were
divided into five groups and members of each group were asked the
question in a different way, using a different word to describe how
the cars 'crashed': smashed, collided, bumped, hit or contacted. The
formulation of the question had a significant impact on the speed
estimates. The words smashed, collided and bumped produced average
estimates of 40.8, 39.3 and 38.1 mph respectively, while the average
for hit was 34.0, and for contacted only 31.8 mph.
Loftus and Palmer (1974) concluded that the manner in which
a question is asked can influence the participants' perceptions.
They gave two possible interpretations for this. Firstly, it could be
that the formulation of the question affected the answer given by the
participants, but not necessarily what they truly think. Alternatively,
the question might influence the participants' entire memory of the
event.
This latter possibility was investigated in a second experiment.
The same collision video was shown to 150 participants, 50 of
whom were then asked the speed question using the word smashed,
50 of whom using the word hit and 50 of whom were not asked a
question at all. One week later, the participants completed a 10-item
questionnaire about the video. One question asked whether they
remembered seeing broken glass, even though this was not the case
in the video. Of the participants in the smashed condition, 16 stated
that they remembered seeing broken glass, compared to seven in the
hit condition and six in the control condition. The difference between
the smashed and hit conditions persisted even when individuals were
compared who had given the same speed estimates.
l
Appendix A Example Scientific Summary .. I
From these results, Loftus and Palmer (1974) concluded that the
form of the question influences not only the responses given by the
participants, but has a broader effect on how the memory of the event
is stored. They surmised that the participants used the formulation
of the question as a kind of 'label' that they subsequently 'stuck' onto
the event. The memory of the event is then brought in line with the
label, and is potentially altered in the process.
In any case, it is clear from this research that the memories
and reports of eyewitnesses can be influenced by the formulation of
questions regarding the events. This is important to remember for
everybody working with eyewitness accounts, in areas such as the
justice system.
Reference list
Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J.C. (1974). Reconstruction of automobile
destruction: An example of the interaction between language
and memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13,
585-589. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/s0022-537 l (74)80011-3
Personal evaluation
These experiments are examples of well-designed research.
The participants were assigned to the conditions randomly, and the
treatments they received were all identical apart from the verbs used
in the questions.
Loftus and Palmer (1974) offer a particular explanation for their
results, i.e. that the memory of an event is composed of two types
of information: information from the perception of the event and
information received afterwards. They claim that, after some time,
it becomes impossible to tell these two apart. This is a post-research
explanation, and is therefore somewhat speculative, requiring
investigation by a future study.
 I
Appendix B
Example Research Report

Journal of Unreal Research, 2006, Volume 3, 1-7.

Magnotherapy and Alleviating Psychological Symptoms:

A Pure Placebo Effect

F. Alsvanouds'
University of Harderwijk

Abstract

This study tested the effectiveness of magnotherapy among

a group of 450 students. Half of the students received
genuine magnotherapy, the other half were given a placebo.
The treatment was successful and both groups showed
improved mental well-being. However, because both groups
showed exactly the same level of improvement, the effect
of the magnotherapy could be fully accounted for by the
placebo effect. In addition, the effects of the magnotherapy
only presented among the participants who believed in the
effectiveness of the treatment. The findings showed that
the results of magnotherapy can be attributed in full to the
individual's belief in its effectiveness, and the treatment itself
has no added effect.
People with untreatable psychological or other conditions
often seek relief in alternative medicine. One such alternative
treatment is magnotherapy.

F. Alsvanouds, Experimental Psychology, University of Harderwijk,

Harderwijk, the Netherlands.
This study was sponsored by a grant from the Netherlands Research
Simulation Organisation (NRSO Grant 878-989-788). My thanks goes to
drs. S. Klinkenberg for the SPSS scripts used to generate the research data.
Correspondence on this article may be sent to f.alsvanouds@uvh.nl
r
11111 .. w,;;;og Psychology Research Report s
According to the Magnetic Field Research Medical Center
(2006), magnotherapy effectively treats a variety of psychological
conditions and symptoms such as nervousness, anxiety, depression,
forgetfulness and low self-esteem. Although the magnet
manufacturers claim otherwise (Santanera, 2005), there is no known
solid scientific evidence proving the effectiveness of magnotherapy
in alleviating these types of psychological presentations. This study
investigated the effectiveness of a specific form of magnotherapy
using a randomised, placebo-controlled design. Establishing
effectiveness is important, as the treatment - if effective - could offer
a less expensive alternative to conventional psychotherapies.
Evidence for the effectiveness of magnotherapy consists
mainly of written testimonials from clients who claim to have
experienced improvements under the treatment (Magnetic Field
Research Medical Center, 2006). However, improvement among a
group of magnotherapy patients is not conclusive evidence about its
effectiveness. It is entirely possible that the benefit perceived by these
patients was due to their belief in the effectiveness of the treatment,
and that the magnotherapy itself was ineffective. This phenomenon
is called the placebo effect, and has been well researched in medicine
and other areas (e.g., Beecher, 1955; Evans, 1974).
A good reason to assume that the effects of magnotherapy
can, in fact, be attributed to clients' expectations and not to the
effectiveness of the treatment itself can be derived from the supposed
mechanism underlying the therapy's effectiveness. According to
the Magnetic Field Research Medical Center (2006), magnotherapy
can compensate for an excess or lack of positive or negative energy
by positioning the negative or positive pole of a magnet close to the
body. In Santanera's magnotherapy (2005), the correct magnetic
pole is automatically selected by the motion of the body, as the
magnet he developed (the Biostabil 2000) was suspended in a pivoted
mechanism.
The explanation of how the device works proves to contain
a misunderstanding regarding magnetism on the one hand and
electrical current on the other. Although it is true that magnets can
be attracted or repelled by other magnets, this fact has no bearing
on the potential effectiveness of magnotherapy. The reason for this
is that the human body is not magnetic; if it were, any object made
of iron would stick to it. Nor is the human body ever subject to
an electrical charge, with the single exception of static electricity
(e.g. when, after putting on or taking off a synthetic item of clothing,
Appendix B Example Research Report
a small electric discharge results from touching an electrostatically
neutral object, such as a metal door handle). In their day-to-day lives,
however, humans do not carry electric charge, as they are constantly
in contact with the earth, which is neutral by definition. Given that
humans are neither magnetic nor electrically charged, there is no
objective means whatsoever to determine which side of a magnet
should be used in this type of therapy, let alone suppose that a
magnet could compensate for 'excess energy'. The above would seem
to disprove the efficacy of magnotherapy in and of itself.
Nevertheless, wearing a pivoted magnet could have a beneficial
effect on people's mental well-being, perhaps due to a belief in its
effectiveness. In a study by Alsvanouds (2004), for example, an
experimenter dressed as a doctor told participants that wearing a
magnetic pendant could have a beneficial effect on mental well-being.
They were asked to wear the pendant for a week and to report on
their mental well-being before and after doing so. In reality, however,
the pendant they were given was not magnetic. Nevertheless, the
study showed that wearing a non-magnetic pendant for a week still
had a beneficial effect on mental well-being.
The present study looked at (a) whether the effectiveness
of magnotherapy could be established, and (b) whether this
effectiveness did not depend merely on the participants' expectations.
In the study, a group of participants actually underwent
magnotherapy for a week, while another group was treated with
a placebo. Based on the available knowledge on magnetism, the
expectation was that magnetisation would not have any beneficial
effect on mental well-being. However, based on research in which
a positive effect on mental well-being was observed from wearing
a placebo pendant (Alsvanouds, 2004), a treatment effect was still
anticipated, albeit under the supposition that the effect in both
groups could be ascribed exclusively to the participants' expectations.
In such a case, the beneficial effects would be of the same magnitude
for both groups.
Lastly, the study examined whether the participants' beliefs
regarding the effectiveness of the magnotherapy influenced the
effectiveness of the treatment. For this reason, the participants were
asked about their confidence in the treatment. It was hypothesised
that the individuals who believed in magnotherapy would
demonstrate beneficial effects, while those who did not believe
would not.
r
111111111 W""'' Psychology Research Reports
Method
Participants
Four hundred and fifty first-year psychology students from
the University of Harderwijk took part in the study. Half of the
participants were randomly assigned to the magnetisation treatment
group, and the other half to the placebo group. They received €25 for
their participation.
Materials
The magnotherapy was administered via a neck chain to
which a magnetic pendant was attached. For the purposes of this
study, 225 such pendants were purchased from the retail market
(brand name Biostabil 2000). The pendant contains a strong magnet
(1200 Gauss) attached to a neck chain via a pivot mechanism. For the
treatment in the control condition, the tech lab at the University of
Harderwijk Faculty of Natural Sciences manufactured 225 replicas
of the neck chain and pendant. Aside from being non-magnetic, the
replicas were indistinguishable from the genuine product.
Mental well-being was measured using the Amsterdam Mental
Well-being Test (AMWT) developed by Tulp, Rozendaal and Veren
(2001). The test includes 20 items that can be answered using a
7-point Likert scale ranging from O (never) to 6 (every day). Sample
questions include: 'I feel unsettled', 'I feel dejected', 'I am somewhat
afraid'. Following correction, the maximum possible score on the
AMWT is 120, which corresponds to an extremely high level of
mental well-being. The minimum possible score on the AMWT is 0,
which corresponds to extremely poor mental well-being.
Belief in the effectiveness of magnetisation therapy was
measured by asking the following question: 'Do you believe that
magnotherapy is an effective treatment?' The possible responses were
yes, no and maybe.
Procedure
During the Bachelor of Psychology orientation week, all first-
year students were divided into two groups by randomly choosing
two students at a time and assigning the first to the magnetisation
condition and the second to the placebo condition. Participants
in the magnetisation condition received the Biostabil 2000, and
participants in the placebo condition were given the non-magnetic
reproduction. Participants in both conditions were told that they
were participating in a study into the influence of magnetism
Appendix B Example Research Report -
on mental well-being. They were also told that the pendant was
magnetic, and that magnetism could have a positive effect on
mental well-being. For both groups, the experimenter was an adult
female who introduced herself as a doctor, wearing a white coat
and a stethoscope. The participants were asked to wear the pendant
constantly for one week, except during sleep. The participants
completed the AMWT shortly before receiving their pendant, and
did so again one week afterwards. On this second occasion, they were
also asked whether they had actually worn the pendant as instructed,
and about their belief in the effectiveness of magnotherapy. Lastly,
they were informed of the true purpose of the study, and were given
the opportunity to ask any questions.
Results
Of the 450 participants, 20 reported that they had not worn the
pendant every day (9 from the magnetic condition and 11 from the
placebo condition). The data from these participants were excluded
from further processing.
Another 26 participants failed to complete the AMWT either
accurately or in full, 13 of whom were from the magnetic condition
and 7 of whom were from the placebo condition (6 participants
completed the AMWT incorrectly both before and after the
treatment). The data from these participants was also excluded from
further processing.
The remaining data (from 204 participants from the magnetic
condition and 206 participants from the placebo condition) was used
for analysis. The means and associated standard deviations of the
AMWT results before and after treatment were calculated for each
condition, see Table 1.
Table 1
Average Scores on Mental Well-Being and Standard Deviations
(in Parentheses) Before and After Treatment in the Magnotherapy
and Placebo Conditions
Condition Before After Treatment effect
Magnetisation 79.3 (10.0) 85.9 (10.8) 6.6
Placebo 79.7 (9.5) 86.0 (10.0) 6.3
Note: Treatment effect= score after - score before.
 1111111 Wmmg Psychology Rese a,ch Repoc<s
I Confirmatory analyses
An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the
AMWT scores, with one between-participants variable condition
(magnetisation vs. placebo) and one within-participants variable
treatment (before vs. after). As predicted, the effect of treatment was
significant, F(l, 408) = 1037.1, p < .001, 11/ = .72, the mental well-
being was higher post-treatment than pre-treatment. The effect of
condition was not significant, F(l, 408) = 0.073, p = .79, 11/ < .001,
it did not matter whether participants had actually undergone
magnotherapy or not. Lastly, the Treatment x Condition interaction
was not significant, F(l, 408) = 0.53, p = .47, 11/ = .001. Table 1 shows
that the effect of treatment was comparable for both conditions.
Next, the participants were divided into two groups according
to their response to the question of whether they believed in the
effectiveness of magnotherapy. Participants who answered no were
allocated to the 'non-believers' group (n = 50), participants who
answered yes were allocated to the 'believers' group (n = 61). Each
group's average AMWT score and associated standard deviation was
calculated both before and after treatment, see Table 2.
Table 2
Average Scores on Mental Well-Being and Standard Deviations
(in Parentheses) of Believers and Non-believers Before and After
Treatment
Grouping Before After Treatment effect
Believers 80.1 (9.4) 93.6 (9.8) 13.5
Non-believers 80.5(10.5) 80.2 (10.2) -0.3
Note: Treatment effect = score after - score before.
An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the
AMWT scores with one between-participants variable belief
(believers vs. non-believers) and one within-participants variable
treatment (before vs after). The effect of treatment was significant,
F(l, 109) = 880.0, p = .001, 11/ = .89. The effect of belief was also
significant, F(l, 109) = 11.97, p = .OOI, 11/ = .099. However, the key
finding was that the two variables (belief and treatment) showed
an interaction, F(l, 109) = 961.8, p < .001, 11/ = .898. Inspection of
Table 2 shows that this interaction can be fully explained by the
fact that the treatment showed a positive result for the believers, but
not for the non-believers. A planned dependent t-test showed that
the negative treatment effect on the non-believers group was not
l
Appendix B Example Research Report -
significant, t(49) = -0.79, p = .435, d = O.ll, there was no statistical
difference between the average scores before and after treatment. 2
This result is in line with the prediction that no treatment effect
would appear among those who did not believe in its effectiveness.
Exploratory analyses
A large number of participants answered maybe regarding
their belief in the effectiveness of magnotherapy. These participants
were allocated to the 'maybe' group (n = 299). In order to compare
the treatment effect of this group to that of the other two groups,
a treatment-effect score was calculated for all members of the three
groups (believers, non-believers, and maybes). Based on these
scores, the average treatment effect for each of the three groups was
calculated. These average scores are presented in Figure 1.
Bonferroni-corrected independent t-tests showed that the
average treatment effects were different in each group. The average
treatment effect for non-believers was smaller than for believers,
t(109) = -31.01, p < .OOI, d = 5.83, and smaller than for the maybes
t(55.79) = -16.48, p < .001, d = 2.87 (the degrees of freedom in
the latter test have been adjusted, because Levene's test revealed
differences in variance between groups, F = 13.7, p < .OOI). The
average treatment effect for believers was greater than for the maybes,
t(358) = 29.54, p < .OOI, d = 3.94. Figure 1 shows that the degree to
which participants believed in the effectiveness of the treatment
seems to have been the key determinant for the size of the treatment
effect.
2 A post-hoc power analysis carried out using G*Power (see http://www
.gpower.hhu.de) showed that the probability of this design detecting a
treatment effect of 1.5 points was greater than 95%. A treatment effect of
this size corresponds to a Cohen's dof around 0.5.
111111 w,;,;,g Psychology Re search Reports Appendix B Example Research Report -

Given that the proposed explanation for the mechanism

14 (Magnetic Field Research Medical Center, 2006) relies on a
I misunderstanding of the difference between electric current and
magnetism, the therapy's lack of effectiveness (except as a placebo)
12
comes as no surprise. The fact that a strong treatment effect was
nevertheless observed may initially seem strange. In the present
10 study, the pendants were handed out by a person clearly identifiable
...
u
as a doctor, who had just discussed the possibility that magnotherapy
could help to relieve forms of psychological distress. The authority
8
~<Il
...
C
of a doctor has been shown to amplify a placebo effect (Doctors et
al., 1994), which was also probably the case here. The strength of the
<Il I
...E 6
observed placebo effect therefore cannot be taken as an indication
"'<Il of the size of the placebo effect outside the laboratory, as individuals
i=
4 who purchase magnets outside the laboratory do so without any
contact with a doctor, which would likely result in a less pronounced
2 placebo effect from the therapy.
Given that this study only investigated one form of
T magnotherapy, the possibility remains that magnetisation could still
0 have beneficial health effects. It might be possible to identify these
1 effects if the therapy were carried out differently, e.g. by increasing
-2 the treatment duration, or using stronger/weaker magnets. Another
No Yes Maybe potential objection could be that the therapy does have an effect
Belief in effectiveness beyond that of a placebo, but only in individuals who score much
lower on mental well-being than the participants in the present study.
Figure 1. Average treatment effects (the demonstrated increase in These objections would seem to be of!ittle relevance, however,
mental well-being, expressed in AMWT scores) in the three groups, until a proper mechanism for the effectiveness of magnotherapy
and the associated 95% confidence intervals. can be established. Additionally, the present study used a form of
No= non-believers, Yes= believers, Maybe= maybes. magnotherapy that claims to be effective, making it reasonable
to presuppose some level of effectiveness. Future research might
Discussion examine other variants of the therapy, however, or be conducted
This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of among populations with lower mental well-being. The present
magnotherapy. A clear effect was observed, in that participants research design could be re-used in either case. Lastly, further studies
who wore a magnetic pendant for a week reported improved mental might establish whether the positive treatment effects observed in
well-being. However, it is also beyond doubt that the results were this study are long-lasting or disappear quickly, offering a more
entirely attributable to the participants' expectations, as those who complete understanding of the induced placebo effect.
wore a non-magnetic pendant reported equally large benefits as those For now, our conclusion is that this study was unable to
whose pendant was magnetic. The benefits are therefore a classic identify any effect of magnotherapy beyond that of a placebo effect.
example of the placebo effect. Moreover, no treatment effect was Psychotherapists, psychiatrists and other health professionals
observed among the participants who did not believe in the therapy's should therefore be hesitant to recommend magnotherapy, and
effectiveness, and the strength of the effect among those who stated health insurers should consider excluding magnotherapy from their
that they 'maybe' believed in the effectiveness was in between that of policies.
the believers and the non-believers. These results offer strong support
for the theory that the placebo effect of the treatment was entirely due
to the participants' belief in the effectiveness of magnotherapy.
, .. w ,;,;,g Psychology Research Reports
R efe ren ces
Alsvanouds, F. (2004). The beneficial effect of wearing a non-magnetic
pendant. Journal of Unreal Research, 1, 11-17.
Beecher, H. K. (1955). The powerful placebo. Journal of the Ameri-
can Medical Association, 159, 1602-1606. https://doi.org/10.1001
/jama.1955.02960340022006
Doctors, E., Surf, L. M., Milder, H.J. K., Lu, M., Tjang, R., & Foresight,
J. (1994). The doctor as an authorative figure. In H. K. Saunders
(Ed.), Factors contributing to the placebo effect (pp. 234-245).
Washington, DC.: Psychiatric press.
Evans, F. J. (1974). The power of a sugar pill. Psychology Today, 7, 32.
Magnetic Field Research Medical Center. (2006). The human body:
One big power plant. Consulted 22 August 2006 at http://biostabil
. net/
Santanera, B. (2005). The only way to show you the truth. Con-
sulted 22 August 2006 at http://biostabil.net/downloads
/nieuwsbericht_03-05.pdf
Tulp, G. J., Rozendaal, K. A., & Veren, G. (2005). Amsterdam Mental
Well-being Test Administration Manual. Amsterdam: Test press.
Appendix C
APA Reference List Guidelines
This Appendix is based on the sixth edition of the Publication Man-
ual by the American Psychological Association (2010) and the APA
Style Guide to Electronic References (2012). It gives examples of how
to include the most common types of references, both in the running
text and in the reference list. All in-text references must be included in
the reference list, and vice versa .
In-text citations
The most common (and neutral) way of citing sources is to include
the reference information in parentheses. If there are two authors, use
the ampersand(&) symbol between them: (Glaser & Glaser, 1989). For
three to five authors, all names are separated by a comma and the last
two by a comma and an ampersand: (La Heij, Starreveld, & Steehou-
wer, 1993). References in the running text use the word 'and' instead of
an ampersand, and only put the publication year in parentheses, e.g.:
Glaser and Glaser (1989) presented a model of...
When directly quoting the authors, the reference in parentheses must
also include a page number, e.g. (Fredrikson, 1998, p. 26). When refer-
ring to multiple studies simultaneously, use the same order as in the
reference list (see Section 2.5) and separate the entries by semi-colons,
e.g. (Balda, 1980; Kami!, 1988). Lastly, if you come across a reference
to a publication that you would also like to cite, the best thing to do is
to look it up and read it yourself. If this is not possible, reference the
source via the publication that you have actually read, e.g.:
Freud (1900, cited in Ryckman, 1985) assumed that ...
Only include the Ryckman source in the literature list.
Reference list entries
In-text references are worked out in greater detail in the reference list.
The basic idea is that a reader (and a computer) should be able to locate
a source using the information given in the reference list. For this rea-
son, sources must be listed very precisely.
-- Wci<iog Psychology Research Reports Appendix C APA Reference List Guidelines -

Nowadays, many publications have what is called a 'digital object In-text citations
identifier', or DOI. If your source has one, it must also be given in the
reference list. A publication will often list its own DOI; if it does not, Mellers (2000)
you must look up yourself whether one exists, e.g. by searching for (Mellers, 2000)
the publication in PsychINFO. Click on the title of a publication (or
click Complete Reference, to the right of the title) to bring up a range Two authors, page numbering per issue
of details about the publication, including the DOI. Another option is Reference list entries
to search Crossref (https://www.crossref.org), under the 'Search Meta-
data' tab. Klimoski, R., & Palmer, S. (1993). The ADA and the
As of March 2017, the recommendation has been to include DOis in hiring process in organizations. Consulting
the reference list as links (https://doi.org/identifier). Some websites Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 45(2),
and articles may still use the older forms (DOI:identifier or http:// 10-36. https://doi.org/10.1037/1061-4087.45.2.10
dx.doi.org/identifier). These can be converted to the new format; the
identifier itself will remain the same. Do not place full stops after a Some journals number each issue individually, i.e. every issue
DOI or break them with a hyphen; any breaks must occur before a starts on page 1. In such cases, add the issue number (no italics) in
punctuation item, such as a slash or a hyphen (but after a double slash). parentheses after the volume number.

Examples are given below of in-text citations and reference-list entries In-text citations
for (a) journal articles, (b) books/book chapters, (c) dictionaries and
encyclopaedias, (d) newspaper articles and (e) electronic sources. Klimoski and Palmer (2000)
(Klimoski & Palmer, 2000)
A Journal articles
Sample references to journal articles ('journals' are academic, Three to five authors
peer-reviewed periodicals aimed primarily at the scientific commu-
nity) Reference list entries

One author, page numbering per volume Borman, W. C., Hanson, M. A., Oppler, S. H., Pulakos,
Reference list entries E. D., & White, L. A. (1993). Role of early
supervisory experience in supervisor performance.
Mellers, B. A. (2000). Choice and the relative Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 443-449.
pleasure of consequences. Psychological Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.3.443
12~ 910-924. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033
-2909.126.6.910 In-text, first citation:

Most journals use continuous page numbering throughout a vol- Borman, Hanson, Oppler, Pulakos, and White (1993)
ume (if the first issue finishes on p. 212, the second will begin on (Borman, Hanson, Oppler, Pulakos, & White, 1993)
p. 213).
If necessary, line breaks may be inserted into DO Is before a slash In-text, second and subsequent citations:
(/), a hyphen(-) or a full stop (but after a double slash); do not add
another full stop after the DOI. Borman et al. (1993)
(Borman et al., 1993)
r
-- Wmiog Psychology Research Reports Appendix C APA Reference List Guidelines -

Six or seven authors In-text citations

Reference list entries
Zuckerman and Kieffer (in press)
Kern is, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., (Zuckerman & Kieffer, in press)
Harlow, T., & Bach, J. S. (1993). There's more to
self-esteem than whether it is high or low: The Sample references to magazine articles (magazines also include
importance of stability of self-esteem. Journal of advertisements, and target a more general audience)
Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1190-1204.
https: //doi. org/10 .1037/0022-3514. 65. 6 .1190 Magazine articles
Reference list entries
List all authors.
Kandel, E. R., & Squire, L. R. (2000, November 10).
In-text, always: Neuroscience: Breaking down scientific barriers to
the study of brain and mind. Science, 290, 1113-
Kernis et al. (1993) 1120. https://doi.org/10.1126 /science.290.5494.1113
(Kern is et al., 1993)
In addition to the volume number, these entries must also include
Eight or more authors the month (and the day, if it is a weekly magazine).
Reference list entries
In-text citations
Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein,
J., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L., Griffin, W. A. Kandel and Squire (2000)
(2000). An experimental evaluation of theory- (Kandel & Squire, 2000)
based mother and mother-child programs for
children of divorce. Journal of Consulting B Books and book chapters
and Clinical Psychology, 68(5), 843-856.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.5.843 Sample references to complete books

List the first six authors, then a comma followed by an ellipsis ( ... ), Book, third edition, Jr. in the name
then the last author. Reference list entries

In-text, always: Mitchell, T. R., & Larson, J. R., Jr. (1987). People in
organizations: An introduction to organizational
Wolchik et al. (2000) behavior (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
(Wolchik et al., 2000)
If you have consulted the online edition of a book and it has a DOI,
In press list the DOI instead of the publisher and city of publication.
Reference list entries If you have consulted the online edition of a book and it has no
DOI, list the relevant URL instead of the publisher and city of
Zuckerman, M., & Kieffer, S. C. (in press). Race publication.
differences in face-ism: Does facial prominence
imply dominance? Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology.
-- w,1<109 Psychology Research Reports Appendix C APA Reference List Guidelines -

In-text citations If you have used the online edition, give the DOI instead of the
publisher.
Mitchell and Larson (1987)
(Mitchell & Larson, 1987) American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic
and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th
Book, author is an institute, published by same institute ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Reference list entries
Some sections of the manual have their own DOI
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1991). Estimated
resident population by age and sex in statistical American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Anxiety
local areas, New South Wales, June 1990 Disorders Appendix I. In Diagnostic and
(No. 3209.1). Canberra, Australian Capital statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Territory: Author. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
.dsm05
If the author and publisher are identical, use the word Author as
the publisher's name. In-text, first citation:

In-text citations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

(5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association,
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1991) 2013)
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1991)
In-text, second and subsequent citations:
Book, revised edition
Reference list entries DSM-5 (2013)

Rosenthal, R. (1987). Meta-analytic procedures Master's thesis

for social research (Rev. ed.). Newbury Park, Reference list entries
CA: Sage.
Gerritsen, A. (2011). De invloed van een tweede taal
In-text citations op benoemen in de moedertaal [The influence of a
second language on naming in the native language]
Rosenthal (1987) (unpublished Master's thesis). University of
(Rosenthal, 1987) Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders In-text citations

Reference list entries
Gerritsen (2011)
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic (Gerritsen, 2011)
and statistical manual of mental disorders
(5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
1
, . w,"ieg Psychology Research Reports Appendix C APA Reference List Guidelines -

Sample reference to an article or chapter in an edited book In-text citations

Article or chapter in an edited book, two editors Geerts and Heestermans (1984)
Reference list entries (Geerts & Heestermans, 1984)

Bjork, R. A. (1989). Retrieval inhibition as an References to encyclopaedia entries

adaptive mechanism in human memory. In H. L. Reference list entries
Roediger III & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), Varieties of
memory & consciousness (pp. 309-330). Hillsdale, Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new
NJ: Erlbaum. encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508).
Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
Editors' initials come before their surname. If there is only one
editor, use (Ed.). If no author is known, start the reference with the title of the
encyclopaedia entry and the publication date.
In-text citations
In-text citations
Bjork (1989)
(Bjork, 1989) Bergmann (1993)
(Bergmann, 1993)
C References to dictionaries or encyclopaedias
D References to newspaper articles
Dictionary, no author or editor
Reference list entries Newspaper articles with an author, multiple pages
Reference list entries
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed.).
(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects
economic, social status. The Washington Post,
In-text references should use several words from the title, or the full pp. Al, A4.
title if it is short:
If the article was published on multiple page ranges, give the
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (1993) ranges separated by a comma; if all the pages are consecutive, list
(Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 1993) them as follows: (pp. Al-A4).

Dutch dictionary references In-text citations

Reference list entries
Schwartz (1993)
Geerts, G., & Heestermans, H. (Eds.). (1984). Van Dale (Schwartz, 1993)
Groot woordenboek der Nederlandse taal [Van Dale
Comprehensive Dictionary of the Dutch Language]
(11th revised edition, Vols. 1-3). Utrecht/Antwerp:
Van Dale Lexicografie.
1
_. W<i,iog Psychology Researr h Re pons Appendix C APA Reference List Guidelines -

Newspaper articles without author Because Wikipedia content can change at any time, you must
Reference list entries reference the date on which you consulted the article.

New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from In-text citations
heart failure. (1993, 15 July). The Washington
Post, p. Al2. ("Willem Albert Wagenaar", n.d.)

Alphabetise based on the first principal word in the title (ignore References to online encyclopaedia entries
words like 'a' and 'the'). Reference list entries

In-text citations Heuristic. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster's online

dictionary (11th ed.). Retrieved from http://
("New drug", 1993) www.rn-w.com/dictionary/heuristic

E Referencing electronic sources The title of the entry moves to where the author's name usually is.

Independent Internet document, no author, no publication date, In-text citations

fixed content
Reference list entries (Heuristic, n.d.)

GVU's 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.). Retrieved from Newspaper articles (electronic versions)
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/use_surveys Reference list entries
/survey-1997-10/
Brod~ J. E. (2007, December 11). Mental reserves keep
If no author is known, start the reference with the title of the brain agile. The New York Times. Retrieved from
document. If no publication date is known, use the abbreviated http://www. nytirnes. corn
form of'no date' (n.d.).
Give the URL of the newspaper's home page if it is possible to
In-text citations search for the article there. This will avoid Internet links that do
not work.
GVU's 8th WWW User Survey (n.d.)
(GVU's 8th WWW User Survey, n.d.) In-text citations

Independent Internet document, no author, no publication date, Brody (2007)

variable content (Brody, 2007)
Reference list entries
An entire website
Willem Albert Wagenaar. (n .d.). In Wikipedia When citing an entire website, it is sufficient to give the URL in the
Retrieved 14 April, 2018 from http://nl.wikipedia running text.
.org/wiki/Willern_Albert_Wagenaar
In-text citations

(https://jasp-stats.org)
Writing Psychology Research Reports

Specific Internet media

Use the following format when referencing specific information online:
In-text citations

Geurts (2018)
Appendix C APA Reference List Guidelines

-
Author, A. B. (year, day month). Title of the document (Geurts, 2018)
you are referencing [Document type]. Retrieved from
http: //xxxxx Streaming video (e.g. YouTube)
Reference list entries
If necessary, URLs can be line-broken before a slash(/), a hyphen(-)
or a full stop (but after a double slash). PBS (2010, 7 January). The human spark I So human,
so chimp I Chimps vs. kids I PBS [Video file].
Examples of three types of Internet sources are given below. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=RK8rKKp-vPO
Blog post
Reference list entries Write the titles of movies or YouTube video's in italics.

Dean, J. (2018, 2 April). A brilliant sign that In-text citations

your IQ is high [Blog post]. Retrieved from
https://www.spring.org.uk/2018/04/sign-iq-high.php PBS (2010)
(PBS, 2010)
In-text citations
F What if information is missing?
Dean (2018) Sometimes, not all information on the author, the date, the title or
(Dean, 2018) the source is available. There is an APA style blog (Lee, 2012) with
instructions on what to do in such cases. The blog website (http://blog
Tweet /apastyle.org/apastyle/) also contains a wealth of additional informa-
Reference list entries tion on the APA style.

Geurts, H. (2018, 16 February). Waarom ik enthousiast

werd en word van wetenschap. Belangrijkste
is t kunnen blijven leren & de ontmoetingen
met andere enthousiastelingen. Zie column bij
@DeJongeAkademie [What got (and gets) me excited
about science. The key is the ability to keep
learning and meeting other enthusiasts.
See column at @DeJongeAkademie]
https://dejongeakademie.nl/nl/columns/drijfveren
/de-drijfveren-van-hilde-geurts
[Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com
/dutcharc/status/964501458875019266
,,
I
Reference list

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of

the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). WA, Washing-
ton, D.C.: Author.
American Psychological Association. (2012). APA style guide to elec-
tronic references. WA, Washington, D.C.: Author.
Bennebroek Gravenhorst, K. M., & Hamaker, C. (2001). Handleiding
bij de VRT-onderdelen [Guide to the components of processing
and reporting on texts]. University of Amsterdam: Faculty of
Psychology.
Hamaker, C. (2004). Verslaggeving van psychologisch onderzoek
[Writing Psychology Research Reports]. University of Amster-
dam: Faculty of Psychology.
Lee (2012, 17 May). Missing pieces: How to write an APA style refer-
ence even without all the information [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/05/missing-pieces.html
Renkema, J. (2012). Schrijfwijzer [Style Guide] (5th ed.). Amsterdam:
Boom.
Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.).
New York: Pearson.
Soudijn, K. S. (1991). Scripties Schrijven in de Sociale Wetenschappen
[Writing Theses in the Social Sciences]. Houten: Bohn Stafleu Van
Loghum.
Stilman, A. (2010). Grammatically correct: The essential guide to spell-
ing, style, usage, grammar, and punctuation (2nd ed.), Cincinnati,
OH: Writer's Digest Books.
11
Index

A B

abstract background information 93

literature review 9, 70 book references 27
research report 15, 85, 111 APA guidelines 121
accuracy 11 reference list 25
active voice 19 boolean operators 39
additional analyses 99 breaks 28
alignment 28 brief summary 71
alternative interpretation 48, 98
American Psychological Associ- C
ation (APA) 13
capitalisation 31
ampersand symbol 22
checklist 80, 102
analysis in literature review 80
confirmatory (planned) 97
in research report 102
exploratory 97
clarity 11
analysis results 93, 94
collection, referencing 27
anonymous sources 23
commas 17
APA guidelines
comparisons 20
dictionary references 128
complex prepositions 17
encyclopaedia entries 129
conciseness 16
in-text references 125
conclusion 14, 79
journal references 122
conducting research 92
newspaper article references
confirmatory (planned) analysis
129
97
referencing electronic sources
context
130 transition 62
APA Manual 19, 30
criticism 76
appendices, research report 102
arguments 9, 50 D
structure 50
authorship data processing 93
in reference list 25 dependent variable 91
running text 21 detailed information 74
author's name 25 dictionary references
APA guidelines 128
,1111 w,;,;og Psychology Research Reports Index 1111
digital object identifier (DOI) H literature review 9, 70 example 52
5,26 complete 70 outline 50
direct quotations 23 hanging indent 34 conclusion 79 plan outline 50
discussion 14, 60, 79 hard return 30 discussion 79 present tense 19
research report 97 hourglass model 69, 72 introductory section 72 problem statement literature
hypothesis 89 main body 74 overview 36
E provisional research question provisional research question
36 literature overview 36
edited collection, referencing reference list 80 PsycINFO 42
APA guidelines 101 impact factors 41
structure 69 publication date in reference
electronic sources indentation 24
summary 71 list 25
APA guidelines 130 hanging 34
table of contents 71 punctuation 17
electronic sources, referencing independent variable 91
title page 70
indirect reference 23
27 topic 35 Q
empirical research 10 information
literature review topic 35
encyclopaedia entries detailed 74 question 9, 36
literature search process 38
APA guidelines 129 integration of 78 quotation 21
informativeness 15 verbatim 23
enumerations 18 M
et al. 22 integration of information 78
introduction 60, 72 main body 74 R
evaluating literature 40
evaluation 48 literature review 63 manipulation check 93
record 41
evaluation framework 80 research report 88 methods section 60
reference 21
in literature review 80 introductory
indirect 23
context 61 N
in research report 102 reference list 24
exceedance probabilities 93 paragraph 75
narrative 47, 48 reference list 24, 80
explanation 18 section 72
newspaper articles APA guidelines 121
explicit 16 APA guidelines 129 entries 28
J
numbers 30 formatting 34
F journal articles research report 101
APA guidelines 122 0 references 12
factor analysis 94
field 41 reference list 25 referencing 21, 62
originality 12
figures 32 justification of research question research article
OvidSP 38, 42
figures; 94 72 structure 59
first impression 61 p research description 61
L steps 65
font size 28
paragraph 14, 29 research description(s) 59, 61
formatting 28 language 11
parallel constructions 20 examples 63
reference list 34 layout 12
full sentences 18 paraphrasing 21 in context 75
linking sentences 77
participant observation 91 related 68
linking words 76
G past tense 19 research materials 91
literature
PiCarta 46 research methodology 86
Google Scholar 45 evaluation 40
plagiarism 21 research process 92
searching 37
plan 47 research question 48, 59
,1111 W"Uog Psychology Research Repor ts

research report 15, 85 T

example 111 About the Author
method 90 tables 32, 94
procedure 92 test 31
research report method 90 theoretical significance
research report procedure 92 research 100
research results 92, 93 results 98 Peter Starreveld studied psychology at the University of Amsterdam
results section 60 thesaurus function 39 from 1985-1991, completing his final project on research on bilin-
rounding 32 searching with 42 gualism within the Psychonomics programme group. He went on to
title 25 complete his PhD research at Leiden University, after which he was
s title case 26, 29, 33 employed as an assistant professor at VU University Amsterdam
title page 29, 70 (among other appointments). His research interests are in the fields
scale 31 transitional context 62 of memory, language and visual attention. He was appointed associ-
search engine 41 transitions 77 ate professor at the University of Amsterdam in 2005, where he now
search terms 38, 39 translations 18 teaches the course in Introductory Psychology and Cognition and is
section 14, 29
content coordinator for practical academic skills training.
conclusions 76 u
heading 29
structure 75 unknown authors 22
title 75
V
section cohesion 69
significant results 34 variable 31
source 21 dependent 91
spacing 28 independent 91
specific research question 73
spelling 16, 17 w
starting publication 37
statistical symbols 31 Web of Science 44
straightforward 16 we-form 19
structure 11, 13
literature review 38
research article 59
text 15
style 15, 16
style guide 16
sub-question 49
subscales 31
subsection 29
suitable literature 40
summary
scientific 66
synonyms 20
Writing academic texts is an important skill for students ,
of psychology and educational theory, whether in the
course of their studies or thereafter, when they are active
practitioners.

Writing Psychology Research Reports teaches students

how to comply with currently prevailing standards when
writing reports of literature studies or experimental
research. Step by step it takes the reader through every
aspect of writing up a literature study or composing a
research report. It deals with every angle, from choice of
subject to setting out their own or other people's research
results and applying APA citation norms: The many tips
and tools make it a useful reference work for professional
practitioners.

Peter A. Starreveld is associate professor Psychology

at University'of Amsterdam and manager content of the
general part of the bachelor study Psychology.

English translation of the successful publication

Verslaglegging van psychologisch onderzoek (fourth
edition),

11 1111
9 789024 425402