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Title of Lab Report
Student Name
AB1234: Name of Subject
Lecturer’s/Tutor’s Name
29 February 2020
Student papers must have the page
number on the top right hand corner of
the header
The title should be 4 lines down from the top,
in bold, centralized and use title caps
All papers must have double line spacing
(unless your lecturer states otherwise), from
title page to References to Appendices
This is the date of submission
Your subject code and name of the subject
as in your subject outline
Use the same font throughout the whole paper
Recommended fonts are:
• San serif fonts: Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode
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• Serif fonts:
Times New Roman 12, Georgia 11
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Abstract
The abstract is usually between 150 to 250 words. Refer to your subject outline for the
specific word requirement. It provides an overview of the research study so readers can
decide if they wish to read further. It is also a concise but comprehensive summary of the
most important details of the research study. Details should include essential perspectives of
the literature review, the problem being studied and/or research questions, the hypotheses, the
method used (design, sample, sample size), the findings/results of the study (effect size,
confidence level, statistical significance), the implications of the study, and the applications
of the findings. It is formatted as you see here, double-line spacing as with the rest of the lab
report (unless otherwise advised in the subject outline). There should be a line for keywords
below the abstract, which are important points of research study used as search points for
research databases and other researches.
Keywords: three to five words, research topic, population, method, applications of the
findings
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Title of Lab Report
Your introduction is in this paragraph. No need to write the first level heading
“Introduction” unless, in your subject outline, your lecturer specifically requires it. This
introduction presents the specific problem under investigation and should have a description
of the research strategy. Specifically it explains why the problem is important in the context
of the field of study.
The second and subsequent paragraphs contain the literature review for the specific
areas of interest related to the problem under investigation. This is a suggested beginning for
the literature review. The purpose of this literature review is to examine the changes that have
taken place in the referencing style of the APA since its beginning in 1929 (APA Style,
2020). The literature review should delve into related research studies and theoretical
frameworks from the research literature and has to be comprehensive, especially for
psychology lab reports.
The individual paragraphs of the literature review explain how the current study
relates to previous work in different areas of interest. Each paragraph discuss the links to
theory and the impact of previous research studies on different aspects of the current study.
State your first study (Gold et al., 2013) for your literature review discussion and
point out the main issues. Explain the main ideas in this study, the methodology, results and
conclusion. Evaluate its importance and relevance to your broad area of inquiry. You can
state the next study, Gaultney (2010) is relevant for these reasons. Then move onto the next
paragraph or sub-area.
All articles or books reviewed which will be discussed in the Discussion section must
be covered in this section. Ensure you cover all relevant areas in your literature review
(Curcio et al., 2006; Kousaie & Phillips, 2102; Trockel et al., 2000).
Title of the paper: Bold, Centralised,
Title caps
Indent first line of every paragraph 0.5”
In-text citation for three or more authors
In-text citation for one author
Organisation of in-text citations for multiple studies
In-text citations for two authors
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All paragraphs must be indented 0.5” or 1.25cm from the left. Remember to cite your
sources in the correct APA style based on the 7
th
edition of the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (APA; America Psychological Association, 2020).
Ensure that you have the relevant reference for the citation in your References list at the end
of the paper (APA, 2020).
The final paragraph in this section is a road map of the lab report. It contains the
primary (and/or secondary) hypotheses and objectives of the study, how the hypotheses and
research design relate to each other, and the theoretical and practical implications of this
study.
Method
Participants
These are the people who participated in your study. State their age, sex, ethnic
group, and give percentages for comparison. For example, 60% identified themselves as
female, 38% as male, and 2% as transsexuals, between the ages of 23 and 26 years (M = 25,
SD = 2.1).
For aquaculture lab reports, this first subsection would be titled “Sample Collection”
and explain the details of how and where samples were collected, transported, stored and
maintained for the experiment. Include field collection permits where relevant.
Research Design
Describe the specific design of your study; include variables, definitions and
justifications. Be specific so that other researchers can replicate and validate your study.
Second level heading, title caps, left aligned and bold font
Second level heading, title caps, left aligned and bold font
First level heading, title caps, centralised and bold font
In-text citation for group authors with acronym, first mention
Subsequent mention of same in-text citation
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Measures
Describe the specific instruments you used in your study to collect data, e.g., tests
and/or questionnaires. When describing the measures, do discuss the reliability of the
measures used.
For aquaculture lab reports, this subsection would contain the specific names of the
specific instruments used to collect data for the study. Describe the specific instruments used,
for example, tests, genetic sequencing, and others measures. When describing the measures,
also discuss the reliability of the measures used. Describe in detail the procedures taken to
ensure the tests or other scientific measures for data collection are accurately and correctly
administered. The following subsection (Procedures) would not exist in an aquaculture lab
report.
Procedure
Here you detail how the sample size was determined and selected. Describe the
settings and locations in which the data was collected, any reward for participation, as well as
ethics approval for the study.
Statistical Analysis
Here you detail the specific statistical methods applied to the data for analysis of
results. It is the same for aquaculture lab reports.
Results
This is the section where you describe the analyses of the results of your research
study. You can include tables and your graphs from your analyses in this section. It is a good
idea to organise the analyses based on your study indicators.
Second level heading, title caps, left aligned and bold font
Second level heading, title caps, left aligned and bold font
Second level heading, title caps, left aligned and bold font
First level heading, title caps, centralised and bold font
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Study Indicator 1
Present the analyses and discussion in relation to the appropriate research question(s).
Present important statistical results can be found in a table. Number your tables from 1 to N,
based on the order they appear in your paper. Even if you only have one table, still label it
Table 1. Ensure you refer to important details in the table when referring to it in your text.
For example, Table 1 shows the results of the baseline characteristics of college students and
their sleep patterns.
Table 1
Sociodemographic Characteristics of Participants - Baseline
Baseline characteristics
No naps
Naps
Total
n
%
n
%
n
%
Gender
Female
46
63
27
37
73
60.8
Male
39
82
8
17
47
39.2
Marital status
Single
41
75
14
25
55
45.8
Married/partnered
13
71
5
29
18
15.0
Divorced/widowed
14
68
6
32
20
16.7
Other
11
42
16
58
27
22.5
Children
17
63
10
37
27
22.5
Note: N = 120 (n = 60 for each condition). Details of participants that are important for the
analysis should be included here. Do not repeat details already in your text above.
Link these baseline characteristics to those used in your literature review studies, if
relevant (Kousaie & Phillips, 2102; Trockel et al., 2000). Evaluate the implications for your
first research question.
Second level heading, title caps, left aligned and bold font
Table number, title caps, left aligned and bold font
Table heading, letter caps, left aligned and in italics
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Study Indicator 2
Present the analyses and discussion in relation to the appropriate research question(s).
If you need to include a graph, embed it as a figure. Number your figures from 1 to N, based
on the order they appear in your paper. Even if you only have one figure, still label it Figure
1. Ensure you refer to important details in the figure when referring to it in your text. For
example, Figure 1 shows the correlation between frequency of naps taken by college students
during two semesters and their academic results.
Figure 1
Association Between Naps Taken and Academic Results
Note: This is a fictitious scatter plot. Each dot represents nothing. Describe the details of the
scatter plot here in these notes.
Complete the analysis here. Cite any of the studies covered in your literature review
that correspond with this analysis (Curcio et al., 2006; Gaultney, 2010) and evaluate the
Y-axis details
X-axis details
Figure number, title caps, left aligned and bold
Figure heading, letter caps, left aligned and in italics
Second level heading, title caps, left aligned and bold font
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implications for your second research question. When you have finished the analyses and
presentation of results, move to the next section, the discussion.
APA 7
th
(APA, 2020) has very specific instructions on how to set up tables and
graphs: Refer to the specific page at this link (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-
guidelines/tables-figures).
Discussion
In this section, you discuss the evaluations and implications of the analyses from the
above section. Discuss relating the analyses to the literature review readings such as Kousaie
and Phillips (2102) and Gold et al, (2013), citing where relevant. This is a very important part
of your paper as this is where you showcase your critical thinking abilities.
This is the section where you remind readers of the hypotheses in your study, evaluate
and interpret the implications of the findings, drawing inferences and conclusions for each
hypothesis investigated in the study. This is also where you emphasise theoretical and/or
practical consequences of the finding.
For the critical analysis, you can have sub-sections here for limitations and future
directions, ending with your concluding paragraph(s).
Limitations and Future Directions
Discuss the limitations of your research study, and the implications these have on
your analyses and evaluations.
Consider the future directions that other researchers can embark on in their research
studies in the light of what you have found out in your analyses and evaluations. Possible
new directions or ideas arising from your study can be postulated here.
Second level heading, title caps, left aligned and bold font
First level heading, title caps, centralised and bold
Alternative in-text citation for two authors
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Conclusion
The conclusion is where you summarise, in a few succinct sentences, the main issues
and your final evaluations from your research study. You do not introduce any new ideas in a
conclusion.
First level heading, title caps, centralised and bold
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References
American Psychological Association (2020). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (7
th
ed.). American Psychological Association.
https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition
APA Style. (2020). About APA style. https://apastyle.apa.org/about-apa-style
Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic
performance. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10, 323-337.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2005.11.001
Gold, B. T., Kim, C., Johnson, N. F., Kryscio, R. J., & Smith, C. D. (2013). Lifelong
bilingualism maintains neural efficiency for cognitive control in aging. The Journal of
Neuroscience, 33(2), 387-396. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3837-12.2013
Gaultney, J. F. (2010). The prevalence of sleep disorders in college students: Impact on
academic performance. Journal of American College Health, 59(2), 91-97.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2010.483708
Kousaie, S. & Phillips, N. A. (2102). Ageing and bilingualism: Absence of a“bilingual
advantage” in Stroop interference in a nonimmigrant sample. The Quarterly Journal
of Experimental Psychology, 65(2), 356-369.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2011.604788
Trockel, M. T., Barnes, M. D., & Egget, T. L. (2000). Health-related variables and academic
performance among first-year college students: Implications for sleep and other
behaviors. Journal of American College Health, 49(3), 125-131.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480009596294
First level heading, title caps, centralised and bold
Reference for two or more authors up to 19.
Indent second
and subsequent
lines for each
reference
