[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-253227-105":53,"doc-detail-253227-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":120,"head_meta":122,"extra_data":124,"updated_unix":126},105,"en","how-to-write-a-lab-report-a-quick-guide-to-psychology-lab-report-structure","How to Write a Lab Report - A Quick Guide to Psychology Lab-Report Structure","","A quick guide to writing a psychology lab report based on the structure of scientific journal articles. It explains what to include in each section—title, abstract, introduction, method (design, participants, apparatus and materials, procedure), results, discussion, references, and appendices—while clarifying the four core questions: why, how, what, and so what. It also outlines expected report scope and points to authoritative sources, including journal articles and style guides from BPS and APA.",{"@graph":63,"@context":119},[64,80,102],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":46,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/paper-templates/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/how-to-write-a-lab-report-a-quick-guide-to-psychology-lab-report-structure/253227/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/how-to-write-a-lab-report-a-quick-guide-to-psychology-lab-report-structure/253227.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"\tWilliam","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-14","2026-09-13",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":101},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":103,"mainEntity":104},"FAQPage",[105,111,115],{"name":106,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":108},"What are the main sections of a psychology lab report, and why are they in this order?","Question",{"text":109,"@type":110},"The report typically includes Title, Abstract, Introduction, Method (Design, Participants, Apparatus and Materials, Procedure), Results, Discussion, References, and (sometimes) Appendices. This order mirrors how the report answers why, how, what, and so what.","Answer",{"name":112,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":113},"What should the introduction and abstract focus on?",{"text":114,"@type":110},"The Introduction provides the topic background and justifies why the experiment was done. The Abstract is a brief summary (up to 150 words) describing what was done, the main results, and their theoretical implications.",{"name":116,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What questions should the method, results, and discussion address?",{"text":118,"@type":110},"The Method covers how the experiment was carried out (procedures and apparatus). The Results describe what was found. The Discussion explains what the findings mean, how they relate to previous research, and the conclusions.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":121,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":123,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":125,"site_id":56},253227,1789264746,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":128},{"doc_id":125,"user_id":129,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":9,"category_id":45,"category_name":46,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":101,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":20,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":126,"read_time":47},5909887254083,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","1 A quick guide to writing a psychology lab-report  \n1.1. An overview of the various sections of a report  \nLab-reports are modelled on the scientific journal article. Like them, the report is divided into sections, each of which provides a specific type of information. Here, we provide a short description of what should be contained in each section, followed in each case by a brief illustration from a wholly fictitious and potentially offensive study on national stereotypes. The precise length of each section will vary, depending on the nature of the study (some studies have more complicated procedures than others, for example, and so need a lengthier description in the \"Procedure\" section) . However a reader would expect to find all of these sections in the report, in this particular order:  \n• Title.  \n• Abstract.  \n• Introduction.  \n• Method (sub-divided into the following sections:)  \no Design  \no Participants  \no Apparatus and Materials  \no Procedure  \n• Results  \n• Discussion  \n• References.  \n• Appendices (Not always present) .  \nThese sections answer four basic questions:  \n1. \"Why?\". Why did I do this particular experiment? What did I expect to find out by doing it? This question is dealt with in the Introduction.  \n2. \"How?\". How did I actually carry it out-what procedures and apparatus did I use? This question is covered in the Method section.  \n3. \"What?\". What did I find? What were my results? This information is provided in the results section.  \n4.\"So What?\" What does it all mean? How do my results relate to previous research on the same topic, and what are their theoretical implications? What are my conclusions? These issues are all dealt with in the Discussion section.  \nWhat about all the other bits - the Title, Abstract and References? These have important functions too. The Title enables the reader to get a very quick idea of what the report is about. If they are still interested, they can read the Abstract, which is a summary that provides a brief outline of the main procedures, results and findings of the study. The Reference section allows the reader to obtain further information on the topic of the report, by providing full details of any previous work that the author has referred to. (It also enables the reader to check that the author hasn't misquoted or misrepresented the work of others in the course of citing them!) .  \nThe overall length of the report will vary according to the precise nature of the study that's being described. As a very rough guide, a journal article which describes only a single experiment usually comes out to no more than 20 pages or so of double-spaced manuscript,  \nincluding references, tables and graphs: about 5000 words in all. The Introduction and Discussion account for about half of this total length.  \nWhen in doubt about any aspect of how to write a practical report, there are two ultimate sources of authority. The first and most accessible are journal articles: just go to the library, pick up a journal and see how \"real\" researchers do it. (Although you don't have to make your report as tedious as some of the ones you might find!) Don't worry too much about the technical bits, the scary statistics and so on: just aim to get a feel for the general style in which articles are written. Pretty much any journal will do, as they all use much the same format, but the \"British Journal of Psychology\" or the \"Journal of Experimental Psychology\" spring to mind as good role-models.  \nThe second and definitely the most authoritative source of information are the style guides produced by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the American Psychological Association (APA). These contain detailed information on every aspect of report writing. The APA are currently up to the fifth edition of their \"Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association\". While some of it verges on the pedantic, much of it is sound advice, and there are some excellent tips on how to express y","cbCaiuDVl0X5y6QI","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuDVl0X5y6QI","pdf",93337,"English","# An overview of the various sections of a report\n## Title\n## Abstract\n## Introduction\n## Method (Design, Participants, Apparatus and Materials, Procedure)\n## Results\n## Discussion\n## References\n## Appendices","[{\"question\":\"What are the main sections of a psychology lab report, and why are they in this order?\",\"answer\":\"The report typically includes Title, Abstract, Introduction, Method (Design, Participants, Apparatus and Materials, Procedure), Results, Discussion, References, and (sometimes) Appendices. This order mirrors how the report answers why, how, what, and so what.\"},{\"question\":\"What should the introduction and abstract focus on?\",\"answer\":\"The Introduction provides the topic background and justifies why the experiment was done. The Abstract is a brief summary (up to 150 words) describing what was done, the main results, and their theoretical implications.\"},{\"question\":\"What questions should the method, results, and discussion address?\",\"answer\":\"The Method covers how the experiment was carried out (procedures and apparatus). The Results describe what was found. The Discussion explains what the findings mean, how they relate to previous research, and the conclusions.\"}]","How to Write a Lab Report - A Quick Guide to Psychology Lab-Report Structure | PDF"]