What is a Research Report?

A research report is a structured academic report that aims to communicate the empirical findings of an original research project to the scientific community.

Some of your assignments in psychology will require you to write a research report.

Quantitative research reports contain data analysis and statistical test results, which you will not be expected to do in First Year. In First Year, your lecturer will provide you with a topic and data for your Research Report.

A research report includes:

• a description and critical review of the literature surrounding the topic being investigated

• a rationale for the method that was chosen

• a detailed description of that method

• the results of the study

• an analysis and discussion of the results, showing how they link back to the literature.

Dr Richard Tindle from Port Macquarie campus has developed the following Research Report template in Word which you will find extremely useful.

A research report uses a standard structure to accomplish these things. Now let's take a look at the structure of a research report.