Need of Guideline to write IGNOU MAPC Report
The following set of recommendations provides fundamental information for constructing and preparing IGNOU MAPC Report for psychology students. This will be a helpful resource for you during your stay here. Every time you prepare an IGNOU MAPC report, you should refer to this guideline.
Writing IGNOU MAPC Report is an important aspect of any psychology practical curriculum. This is because psychologists (and, more broadly, most scientists) adopt a standard framework for reporting their research, which makes certain characteristics of the study obvious. There are two primary motivations for doing so:
(1) Ease of communication: When a study is written in a standard manner, it is easier to find the information you need.
(2) The structure makes it obvious what information is crucial for scientific communication. This data must be presented in great detail. Many jobs now demand technical report writing abilities, which include the capacity to explain oneself clearly, directly, and concisely, the capacity to summarise and present facts, and the capacity to establish hypotheses and draw logical judgments. You will gain an important and transferrable skill by learning to write an IGNOU MAPC Report.
This guideline will walk you through the format and style of an IGNOU MA Psychology report. Because most journal articles follow a similar pattern, learning to produce such reports will help you better understand what you’re reading. Consider the forms used and why they were chosen whenever you read a journal article. Not every article is flawless, so if you come across a piece that you don’t understand, consider why it’s unclear. It’s possible that the authors aren’t being as clear as they could be; if that’s the case, how may the section be improved?
Purpose of IGNOU MAPC Report
The Purpose of IGNOU MAPC Report is to explain to others the most important aspects of a piece of research:
- Why did you do it,
- How did you do it,
- What did you discover, and
- What do you believe it means?
Report readers will occasionally demand answers to very specific queries (e.g., who were the participants, and what were the mean scores for the two groups?). They don’t want to read the entire IGNOU MA Psychology project to discover this information As a result, it’s critical to use a standard format (with appropriate headings) that helps the reader to quickly find the information he or she needs without having to read the entire project.
Detailed Format of IGNOU MAPC Report
The most important thing to remember when drafting an IGNOU MA Psychology synopsis is to keep the reader in mind. In journals, papers are written for readers who are familiar with the broader context of a topic but are unfamiliar with this particular study. People are more likely to read the title first, then the abstract, and then the content of the report if their interest is piqued. The following format is similar to that used in most published articles. If you’re confused about the proper format or style, any APA (American Psychological Association) or British Psychological Society journal (e.g., British Journal of Psychology) is a fine place to start. The specific format and information necessary will vary depending on the study’s nature, but most research should adhere to this framework pretty closely. The usage of sections with distinct headings is especially crucial (and sub-sections in the method section). You will receive significant marking penalties if you do not use these areas correctly. The numbers next to each heading are supplied to help organise these notes; they should not be included in the report.
1. The Title
The study should be described in a single line in the title. The independent and dependent variables are frequently mentioned in the title. Thus, The effect of sleep loss on gerbil exploratory behaviour, as well as Exploratory behaviour in sleep-deprived gerbils, would be appropriate titles. It would not be a good title to keep gerbils awake. Avoid titles with catchy newspaper headlines (Gerbil insomnia); a formal report is not designed to be a journalism exercise. Remember that your reader will only see the title of the report at first, and will want to know if it is related to his or her research interests. Your IGNOU MAPC Project title should be a succinct yet accurate representation of the report’s content.
Don’t use terms like “an investigation into…” or “an experiment to determine…” to begin a title.
Such sentences are not only repetitive and add nothing to the material, but they also indicate shoddy thinking.
Title: is not a good way to start a title. Because of its location, the reader will recognise it as the title.
2. Abstract
The abstract is a one-paragraph summary of the entire IGNOU MAPC Project. It should include a summary of the reason and technique, as well as findings and discussion parts. Here, avoid fine details like numbers and statistical test names. Aim for an abstract that is between 100 and 120 words long. The abstract is the second thing a reader sees, and it may be the only thing they perceive (see the Psychological Abstracts in the library). As a result, it should be a thorough but succinct summary of the entire report, allowing readers to determine whether or not they want to read any further. A good rule of thumb is to write four concise lines that explain: (1) why you did it, (2) what you did, (3) what you discovered, and (4) what you concluded. After you’ve finished writing the rest of the report, write the abstract. It may be difficult for you to compose a brief abstract in one sitting. It could be easier to start with a long version and then cut it down later.
3. Introduction (Why you did it.)
The rationale for the study you’re discussing should be presented in the introduction. This means that after reading the introduction, the reader should be able to guess what your IGNOU MAPC Report will entail. At the same time, your introduction should explain why you conducted this research to someone who isn’t an expert. As a result, the introduction will begin with a general backdrop and advance to the study’s specific rationale and objectives. This will usually include a review of previous work in the field as well as an explanation of the theoretical or practical motivations for conducting the research. A sensible content sequence for an introduction might look like this:
Describe and identify the topic you want to research, and if necessary, explain why it’s fascinating and/or vital.
Describe past work done by others (and possibly yourself) that informs the issue you’re looking into.
Explain why your prior work isn’t enough. It could have methodological flaws, or there could be plenty of room to expand earlier work, or it may be the first time it’s been duplicated, or you may be comparing the adequacy of alternative hypotheses. (If the prior work is complete, free of flaws, and has been duplicated numerous times, or if the best hypothesis is known, there is no need for more research.) Explaining why past work was insufficient should naturally lead to the study you conducted. You don’t have to go into great depth here, but it should be evident how the latest study tackles unresolved theoretical difficulties, solves past studies’ inadequacies, and/or adds to our current knowledge.
What do you think the outcome of your study will be, based on the prior findings and your ideas, and why? Finish this part with your research hypothesis (what you expect to happen based on your theoretical position and/or past study constraints). Describe the goals of your study and what you intend to achieve if you are conducting more exploratory research and are genuinely unsure about the conclusion. This final section of the introduction is crucial to comprehending both the study and the report. If this section is well-defined, discussing and evaluating the results will be lot easier. Make sure your theories are connected to the main body of the essay. Your theories should not be listed or bulleted.
4. Methodology (How you did it.)
The technique section is not a standalone section; rather, it is made up of the five or so subsections listed below. You describe the essentials of how you got your data in the technique section. This part should include enough information for the reader to be able to replicate the experiment, but it should be free of any extraneous details. If you’re researching the impact of word kinds on the capacity to remember lists of such words, for example, the qualities of the words that make up the lists are crucial. Unless you were particularly examining the effects of seating arrangements on memory, you would not be asked to explain in detail how participants were sat at a desk. Regrettably, the details that are significant and irrelevant differ from study to study. When in doubt, check a journal paper related to your field to see whether details have been included. Only one of the subheadings below should be used for all text in the technique section. If the contents are minor, the equipment or materials sections may not be required; however, additional sub-parts will always be required.
5. Results (What you found.)
Begin this part by explaining how you handled your data. This implies you should explain how you arrived at the scores you did by combining all of the responses given by each participant. For example, if each participant has completed 40 questions and you’re looking at the total % of correct answers rather than (or in addition to) the performance on each individual question, you should specify that. If you eliminated some data, you should explain why (i.e., provide the “exclusion criterion”).
Following the discussion of the data treatment, use descriptive statistics to create a clear, short summary of the data. In a simple experiment, this will usually take the form of include the means and standard deviations for each condition in the words following the data treatment. The descriptive statistics are often provided in a table in a more sophisticated study (with numerous dependent measures or three or more conditions). It is sometimes preferable to use a graph rather than a table or text to present descriptive data. This is common, for example, when you wish to show a trend across conditions or when you have a complex pattern of findings (e.g., an interaction between two variables).
All tables and figures should be clearly numbered and have a caption that describes the important variables, conditions, and measurement units. Also, double-check that the axes are properly labelled. Furthermore, if you include a graph or table, you should refer to it in the IGNOU MAPC Report’s text. To put it another way, your reader should be aware of when to refer to the figure or table.
For some studies, reporting means and standard deviations may not be the best option; instead, other descriptive statistics may be more relevant. Percentages are useful when analysing count or frequency statistics. Correlation coefficients are usually the finest descriptive statistics for analysing relationships. Measures of effect size are commonly used, and they can be presented alongside other descriptive statistics or when the statistical tests are provided.
In the findings section, never insert tables of raw (i.e., unsummarized) data; instead, present summarised data (means/medians and standard deviations). Raw data for first and second-year laboratory reports should be preserved but not submitted. The raw data for PS300 Final-year Research Projects is not included in the report and must be submitted separately.
Never copy and paste a statistical package’s output into your report. Always consider whatever information is relevant and beneficial, then convey it in the most effective manner possible without repetition.
Use the same descriptive labels for the conditions in your results section as you did in your method section. This will be beneficial to your reader.
Inferential statistics (statistical tests that assist you decide what to conclude about the data) are frequently followed by descriptive statistics. It should be obvious whose test(s) you utilised and on what data they were conducted. A test statistic (e.g., the t-value) should be presented alongside the p-value for most statistical tests (e.g., a t-test). Other information is frequently required (e.g., the degrees of freedom). You’ll need to figure out what information to report for each test.
6. Discussion (What you think it means.)
This is the area where you interpret the study’s findings and analyse their significance. It is critical that your discussion links to the topics highlighted in the introduction, as this gave the rationale for performing the study, and the findings should provide more information on these topics.
The arguments in this section should be linked to the issues and research hypotheses mentioned in the introduction section.
Specifically:
(1) How do your findings compare to the study questions and/or forecasts you made?
(2) How do your findings relate to similar published findings?
(3) What implications does this have for future research?
Starting with a clear statement of what your study discovered is a smart approach. You will frequently need to remind the reader of the study’s major objective in order for the results to make sense in this context. Then, in connection to the hypotheses or research topics that your study addresses, remark on your findings. Indicate which of your predictions are supported by your findings, as well as any unexpected outcomes. Consider the possible explanations for these findings in the next two sections of the debate.
7. References
When describing IGNOU MA Psychology Report, the Department has a referencing guide that must be followed. It is reproduced in the Undergraduate Handbook and can be found in the Psychology on-line resources.
8. Appendices
The Appendix section is the report’s final, optional component (or Appendices). You should not only utilise it as a bucket to store items you wanted to say but couldn’t fit into the main report; you should include all material that would have been intrusive or destructive to the report’s “flow.” As a result, raw data, statistical formulae and computations, extensive protocols, examples of stimuli and details of stimulus preparation, and so on are frequently included in the Appendices.
Instead of lumping everything together in one appendix, have a distinct appendix for each sort of material. An appendix is rarely required for first- and second-year reports.
Link to Download IGNOU MAPC Report & IGNOU MAPC Synopsis
Now you can simply download some IGNOU MAPC Report pdf and & IGNOU MAPC Synopsis pdf by clicking on the link below:
