user's guide	writing the report	worked examples	additional resources	FOPs
	Psychology Laboratory Report Writing

< Abstract | Method >

3: Introduction

The Introduction begins on page 3 of the report. By convention, the Introduction does not have a heading. The purpose of the Introduction is to outline the problem to which the research was addressed and the theoretical perspective and approach taken.

The Introduction provides the reader with a review of the relevant literature. The literature review is, however, not simply a summary of all that you have read. Rather, it is carefully constructed. It sometimes helps to think of the structure of the Introduction rather like a funnel. It starts broadly, beginning with the broad context of the problem, and becomes more focused on the specific issue or issues within the relevant literature. Furthermore, and most importantly, it should lead naturally to the statement of the research aims and hypotheses that end the Introduction. It is not simply a summary of all that you have read because, having read a well-written Introduction, the reader should be able to answer the following questions:

• Before the research was undertaken (that is to be outlined in the report), What exactly was known already concerning the problem?
• On the basis of what evidence?
• What was not known about the problem?
• Why is that? It might be, for example, that there was something rather puzzling in the existing literature, perhaps because of an inconsistency in findings, or perhaps researchers had omitted or neglected an important issue.
• What exactly needed to be done in order to seek to shed further light on the problem? Also, how did it need to be done?

To the extent that the Introduction clearly addresses these questions, it provides the rationale for the research, for its theoretical framework, and for the approach taken. Having read an Introduction that has been carefully written with these goals in mind, the reader should be persuaded that the research was needed and that the way it was undertaken was the appropriate one.

So, the following points are intended as a useful guide for writing a psychology laboratory report Introduction:

• Start by outlining the general topic, broadly identifying the context in which the research problem is best understood;
• Critically review the existing literature relevant to the research problem, being sure to provide sufficient detail about past research, and especially the methodology used, where relevant. That is, be sure to tell the reader what was known already and the evidence on which that knowledge existed, what was not known (prior to your research), why the knowledge was not available, and what exactly was needed to provide that understanding;
• Consider carefully whether the most logical organization of the summary of previous research (for example, sometimes the relevant research is best covered chronologically, as when the goal is to highlight the developments in the field, and other times it is better to organize the research in terms of approach, as in the case where it is important to alert the reader to the differences in methodology, their strengths and weaknesses, and the conclusions that they yield);
• Outline the aims of the research. Be sure that the Introduction reviews the literature relevant to each of the research aims, making it clear to the reader how the aims of the research came from the critical review of existing work in the field, and where the aims were derived from;
• Outline the predictions (what you expected to find, or expected in the results of the research, simply stating where differences or associations were predicted) or hypotheses (which identify not only expectations concerning differences or associations, but also, and importantly, the direction(s) of those differences or associations) that were tested. Be sure that they derive clearly and explicitly from the critical review of the literature.
• Where there are multiple hypotheses it is often a useful strategy to introduce the rationale and theoretical background for each, one at a time. The end of the Introduction then reiterates all hypotheses that were tested.

Note: You will notice that different journals in psychology have different preferences concerning this end section of the Introduction. Many journals expect hypotheses (that is, the specific tests and the direction of expected effects). Some, however, accept (and perhaps even prefer) predictions. In both cases, it is important to recognize that the hypotheses (or predictions) that are stated at the end of the Introduction become rather like anchor points for the rest of the scientific communication or laboratory report. They recur in the Method, and specifically, when outlining the Design and analyses. They are also revisited in the Results section, and often provide the structure around which the results are presented. The confirmation or rejection of the research hypotheses is also mentioned in the Discussion (although it is important to avoid sounding simply like a repetition of the Results).

• Example of an introduction (1st year student)

< Abstract | Method >

Last updated August 30, 2004 | Site credits and information Site contacts - content: Prof. Gail Huon School of Psychology, construction: Belinda Allen EDTeC © The University of New South Wales 2004