parts of an empirical report
The different sections of a report of an empirical study relate to the different steps of the scientific method.
The Introduction sets the research in context (it provides the "big picture"), provides a review of related research, and develops the hypotheses for the research. The Method section is a description of how the research was conducted, including who the participants were, the design of the study, what the participants did, and what measures were used. The Results section describes the outcomes of the measures of the study. The Discussion section contains the interpretations and implications of the study. Some reports may offer a description of more than one study; in this case, there are usually separate method and results sections for each study, followed by a General Discussion that ties all the research together.
A report of an empirical study typically also includes an Abstract that provides a very brief summary of the research and a References section that contains information about all the articles and books that were cited in the report.
