A Guide to Report Writing

When a Statistician is asked to analyse some data or carry out some research, he/she usually presents
his/her findings in the format of a statistical report. The aim of the report is to answer questions of
interest to researchers or to explore a data set to determine relationships that exist within it. The
structure of these reports does vary a little, however the structure that is presented below, would be
generally acceptable:

Abstract

The abstract is what typically begins a report. It should include a brief summary relating to the research,
the research question, a statement of particular methods used and a brief summary of the results. There
is no need to supply an abstract for STAT150 reports.

Introduction

The Introduction should give a background relating to the question of interest. The research question
should be clearly stated as well as an explanation as to why it is of interest. The Data set used and the
source of the data should be described as much as possible. References to other relevant studies could
be cited, although, for purposes of STAT150, this will not be a requirement.

Methods

The Methods section should explain how the research was carried out in order to answer the research
question(s). The Methods section of a STAT150 report should include details of:

variables that were collected

the methods used to analyse the data including the name of the package that was used to
analyse the data. The reader should be satisfied that the correct methods were undertaken in
order to answer the research question(s).

Results of Analysis

The results should include outcomes of particular analyses pertaining to the research question(s). If a
test statistic has been utilised then its value and the corresponding p-value should be quoted. The

extent to which the assumptions of the model or test have been satisfied should be stated and verified
where possible. If there are any discrepancies in the data, for example, outliers, then details of how
these were dealt with should be included. Relevant numerical and graphical summaries should be
included here also. The graphs should be relevant and informative. Graphical and numerical summaries
should be followed by a brief comment summarising the main features of the graph/numerical
summary.

Conclusions and Further Discussion

The conclusion should include answers to the research question(s) mentioned in the Introduction and
any explanation or defence of these answers. It may include explanations of any results or unexpected
findings going beyond the scope of the research question.
The conclusions typically also discuss the limitations of the methods, or any other weaknesses could be
included. Suggestions for further study should follow. This will not be necessary for STAT150.

References

Every reference in the text must be included in this section as well as any books or articles you have
read that have assisted you in carrying out the research. So if you have developed research questions by
finding information on the web then you should cite those resources.
References to journal articles follow this format:
Author, A.N. (2015). A review of methods for STAT150. The ABC Journal of everything, 34(4), pp123-150.
References to books should follow this format:
Author, A.N. (2015). A book on of methods for STAT150. Publisher, City, State.
References to web pages should follow this format:
Last, F.M. (Year, Month, Date Published). Article title. Retrieved from URL.