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- How to read a psychology study: aim, method, results, conclusion
How to read a psychology study: aim, method, results, conclusion
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Every key study you learn follows the same pattern, just like a KS3 science write-up. Learn the pattern once and every study becomes easier to remember.
The four parts
Method (procedure): who took part (the sample or participants) and what they did.
Results (findings): what happened, often with numbers.
Conclusion: what the results tell us about behaviour.
Results versus conclusions
A conclusion explains what this means: 'short-term memory does not last long without rehearsal'.
In the exam, a conclusion that only repeats the numbers does not earn full marks.
Judging a study
Generalise: can the results be applied to other people? A small or narrow sample is hard to generalise from.
Reliable: would we get the same results if we did it again? A standardised procedure helps.
Valid: does it measure what it claims to, and does it match real life (ecological validity)?
Ethical: were participants protected, told the truth and free to leave?
A researcher wants to know whether music affects homework. Thirty pupils do a puzzle with music and without it, and score more without music. Write a conclusion.
- The result is that scores were higher without music.
- A conclusion says what this means about behaviour.
Answer: Music may distract people and reduce performance on puzzles.
Every study has an aim, a method (sample and procedure), results and a conclusion. Results are what was measured; conclusions say what it means. Studies are judged on whether they generalise, and whether they are reliable, valid and ethical.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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