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How To Write a Statistical Analysis Essay

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Statistical analysis is a powerful tool used to draw meaningful insights from data. It can be applied to almost any field and has been used in everything from natural sciences, economics, and sociology to sports analytics and business decisions. Writing a statistical analysis essay requires an understanding of the concepts behind it as well as proficiency with data manipulation techniques.

In this guide, we’ll look at the steps involved in writing a statistical analysis essay. Experts in research paper writing from https://domypaper.me/write-my-research-paper/ give detailed instructions on how to properly conduct a statistical analysis and make valid conclusions.

Overview of statistical analysis essays

A statistical analysis essay is an academic paper that involves analyzing quantitative data and interpreting the results. It is often used in social sciences, economics and business to draw meaningful conclusions from the data. The objective of a statistical analysis essay is to analyze a specific dataset or multiple datasets in order to answer a question or prove or disprove a hypothesis. To achieve this effectively, the information must be analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, regression analysis and correlation analysis.

Researching the subject matter

Before writing your statistical analysis essay it is important to research the subject matter thoroughly so that you have an understanding of what you are dealing with. This can include collecting and organizing any relevant data sets as well as researching different types of statistical techniques available for analyzing them. Furthermore, it is important to become familiar with the terminology associated with statistical analysis such as mean, median and mode.

Structuring your statistical analysis essay

The structure of your essay will depend on the type of data you are analyzing and the research question or hypothesis that you are attempting to answer. Generally speaking, it should include an introduction which introduces the research question or hypothesis; a body section which includes an overview of relevant literature; a description of how the data was collected and analyzed and any conclusions drawn from it; and finally a conclusion which summarizes all findings.

Analyzing data and drawing conclusions from it

After collecting and organizing your data, you must analyze it in order to draw meaningful conclusions from it. This involves using appropriate statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, regression analysis and correlation analysis. It is important to understand the assumptions made when using each technique in order to analyze the data correctly and draw accurate conclusions from it. When choosing a statistical technique for your research, it is important to consult with an expert https://typemyessay.me/service/research-paper-writing-service who can guide you on the most appropriate approach for your study.

Interpreting results and writing a conclusion

Once you have analyzed the data successfully, you must interpret the results carefully in order to answer your research question or prove/disprove your hypothesis. This involves making sure that any conclusions drawn are soundly based on the evidence presented. After interpreting the results, you should write a conclusion which summarizes all of your findings.

Using sources in your analysis

In order to back up your claims and provide support for your arguments, it is important to use credible sources within your analysis. This could include peer-reviewed articles, journals and books which can provide evidence to support your conclusion. It is also important to cite all sources used in order to avoid plagiarism.

Proofreading and finalizing your work

Once you have written your essay it is important to proofread it carefully before submitting it. This involves checking for grammar, spelling and punctuation errors as well as ensuring that the flow of the essay makes sense. Additionally, make sure that any references cited are correct and up-to-date. If you find it hard to complete your research statistical paper, you may want to consider buying a research paper for sale . This service can save you time and money, allowing you to focus on other important tasks.

Tips for writing a successful statistical analysis essay

Here are some tips for writing a successful statistical analysis essay:

• Research your subject matter thoroughly before writing your essay.
• Structure your paper according to the type of data you are analyzing.
• Analyze your data using appropriate statistical techniques.
• Interpret and draw meaningful conclusions from your results.
• Use credible sources to back up any claims or arguments made.
• Proofread and finalize your work before submitting it.

These tips will help ensure that your essay is well researched, structured correctly and contains accurate information. Following these tips will help you write a successful statistical analysis essay which can be used to answer research questions or prove/disprove hypotheses.

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Copyright © 2022 Statistics and Data

There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. —Mark Twain

What this handout is about

The purpose of this handout is to help you use statistics to make your argument as effectively as possible.

Introduction

Numbers are power. Apparently freed of all the squishiness and ambiguity of words, numbers and statistics are powerful pieces of evidence that can effectively strengthen any argument. But statistics are not a panacea. As simple and straightforward as these little numbers promise to be, statistics, if not used carefully, can create more problems than they solve.

Many writers lack a firm grasp of the statistics they are using. The average reader does not know how to properly evaluate and interpret the statistics he or she reads. The main reason behind the poor use of statistics is a lack of understanding about what statistics can and cannot do. Many people think that statistics can speak for themselves. But numbers are as ambiguous as words and need just as much explanation.

In many ways, this problem is quite similar to that experienced with direct quotes. Too often, quotes are expected to do all the work and are treated as part of the argument, rather than a piece of evidence requiring interpretation (see our handout on how to quote .) But if you leave the interpretation up to the reader, who knows what sort of off-the-wall interpretations may result? The only way to avoid this danger is to supply the interpretation yourself.

But before we start writing statistics, let’s actually read a few.

Reading statistics

As stated before, numbers are powerful. This is one of the reasons why statistics can be such persuasive pieces of evidence. However, this same power can also make numbers and statistics intimidating. That is, we too often accept them as gospel, without ever questioning their veracity or appropriateness. While this may seem like a positive trait when you plug them into your paper and pray for your reader to submit to their power, remember that before we are writers of statistics, we are readers. And to be effective readers means asking the hard questions. Below you will find a useful set of hard questions to ask of the numbers you find.

1. Does your evidence come from reliable sources?

This is an important question not only with statistics, but with any evidence you use in your papers. As we will see in this handout, there are many ways statistics can be played with and misrepresented in order to produce a desired outcome. Therefore, you want to take your statistics from reliable sources (for more information on finding reliable sources, please see our handout on evaluating print sources ). This is not to say that reliable sources are infallible, but only that they are probably less likely to use deceptive practices. With a credible source, you may not need to worry as much about the questions that follow. Still, remember that reading statistics is a bit like being in the middle of a war: trust no one; suspect everyone.

2. What is the data’s background?

Data and statistics do not just fall from heaven fully formed. They are always the product of research. Therefore, to understand the statistics, you should also know where they come from. For example, if the statistics come from a survey or poll, some questions to ask include:

• Who asked the questions in the survey/poll?
• What, exactly, were the questions?
• Who interpreted the data?
• What issue prompted the survey/poll?
• What (policy/procedure) potentially hinges on the results of the poll?
• Who stands to gain from particular interpretations of the data?

All these questions help you orient yourself toward possible biases or weaknesses in the data you are reading. The goal of this exercise is not to find “pure, objective” data but to make any biases explicit, in order to more accurately interpret the evidence.

3. Are all data reported?

In most cases, the answer to this question is easy: no, they aren’t. Therefore, a better way to think about this issue is to ask whether all data have been presented in context. But it is much more complicated when you consider the bigger issue, which is whether the text or source presents enough evidence for you to draw your own conclusion. A reliable source should not exclude data that contradicts or weakens the information presented.

An example can be found on the evening news. If you think about ice storms, which make life so difficult in the winter, you will certainly remember the newscasters warning people to stay off the roads because they are so treacherous. To verify this point, they tell you that the Highway Patrol has already reported 25 accidents during the day. Their intention is to scare you into staying home with this number. While this number sounds high, some studies have found that the number of accidents actually goes down on days with severe weather. Why is that? One possible explanation is that with fewer people on the road, even with the dangerous conditions, the number of accidents will be less than on an “average” day. The critical lesson here is that even when the general interpretation is “accurate,” the data may not actually be evidence for the particular interpretation. This means you have no way to verify if the interpretation is in fact correct.

There is generally a comparison implied in the use of statistics. How can you make a valid comparison without having all the facts? Good question. You may have to look to another source or sources to find all the data you need.

4. Have the data been interpreted correctly?

If the author gives you her statistics, it is always wise to interpret them yourself. That is, while it is useful to read and understand the author’s interpretation, it is merely that—an interpretation. It is not the final word on the matter. Furthermore, sometimes authors (including you, so be careful) can use perfectly good statistics and come up with perfectly bad interpretations. Here are two common mistakes to watch out for:

• Confusing correlation with causation. Just because two things vary together does not mean that one of them is causing the other. It could be nothing more than a coincidence, or both could be caused by a third factor. Such a relationship is called spurious.The classic example is a study that found that the more firefighters sent to put out a fire, the more damage the fire did. Yikes! I thought firefighters were supposed to make things better, not worse! But before we start shutting down fire stations, it might be useful to entertain alternative explanations. This seemingly contradictory finding can be easily explained by pointing to a third factor that causes both: the size of the fire. The lesson here? Correlation does not equal causation. So it is important not only to think about showing that two variables co-vary, but also about the causal mechanism.
• Ignoring the margin of error. When survey results are reported, they frequently include a margin of error. You might see this written as “a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.” What does this mean? The simple story is that surveys are normally generated from samples of a larger population, and thus they are never exact. There is always a confidence interval within which the general population is expected to fall. Thus, if I say that the number of UNC students who find it difficult to use statistics in their writing is 60%, plus or minus 4%, that means, assuming the normal confidence interval of 95%, that with 95% certainty we can say that the actual number is between 56% and 64%.

Why does this matter? Because if after introducing this handout to the students of UNC, a new poll finds that only 56%, plus or minus 3%, are having difficulty with statistics, I could go to the Writing Center director and ask for a raise, since I have made a significant contribution to the writing skills of the students on campus. However, she would no doubt point out that a) this may be a spurious relationship (see above) and b) the actual change is not significant because it falls within the margin of error for the original results. The lesson here? Margins of error matter, so you cannot just compare simple percentages.

Finally, you should keep in mind that the source you are actually looking at may not be the original source of your data. That is, if you find an essay that quotes a number of statistics in support of its argument, often the author of the essay is using someone else’s data. Thus, you need to consider not only your source, but the author’s sources as well.

Writing statistics

As you write with statistics, remember your own experience as a reader of statistics. Don’t forget how frustrated you were when you came across unclear statistics and how thankful you were to read well-presented ones. It is a sign of respect to your reader to be as clear and straightforward as you can be with your numbers. Nobody likes to be played for a fool. Thus, even if you think that changing the numbers just a little bit will help your argument, do not give in to the temptation.

As you begin writing, keep the following in mind. First, your reader will want to know the answers to the same questions that we discussed above. Second, you want to present your statistics in a clear, unambiguous manner. Below you will find a list of some common pitfalls in the world of statistics, along with suggestions for avoiding them.

1. The mistake of the “average” writer

Nobody wants to be average. Moreover, nobody wants to just see the word “average” in a piece of writing. Why? Because nobody knows exactly what it means. There are not one, not two, but three different definitions of “average” in statistics, and when you use the word, your reader has only a 33.3% chance of guessing correctly which one you mean.

For the following definitions, please refer to this set of numbers: 5, 5, 5, 8, 12, 14, 21, 33, 38

• Mean (arithmetic mean) This may be the most average definition of average (whatever that means). This is the weighted average—a total of all numbers included divided by the quantity of numbers represented. Thus the mean of the above set of numbers is 5+5+5+8+12+14+21+33+38, all divided by 9, which equals 15.644444444444 (Wow! That is a lot of numbers after the decimal—what do we do about that? Precision is a good thing, but too much of it is over the top; it does not necessarily make your argument any stronger. Consider the reasonable amount of precision based on your input and round accordingly. In this case, 15.6 should do the trick.)
• Median Depending on whether you have an odd or even set of numbers, the median is either a) the number midway through an odd set of numbers or b) a value halfway between the two middle numbers in an even set. For the above set (an odd set of 9 numbers), the median is 12. (5, 5, 5, 8 < 12 < 14, 21, 33, 38)
• Mode The mode is the number or value that occurs most frequently in a series. If, by some cruel twist of fate, two or more values occur with the same frequency, then you take the mean of the values. For our set, the mode would be 5, since it occurs 3 times, whereas all other numbers occur only once.

As you can see, the numbers can vary considerably, as can their significance. Therefore, the writer should always inform the reader which average he or she is using. Otherwise, confusion will inevitably ensue.

2. Match your facts with your questions

Be sure that your statistics actually apply to the point/argument you are making. If we return to our discussion of averages, depending on the question you are interesting in answering, you should use the proper statistics.

Perhaps an example would help illustrate this point. Your professor hands back the midterm. The grades are distributed as follows:

The professor felt that the test must have been too easy, because the average (median) grade was a 95.

When a colleague asked her about how the midterm grades came out, she answered, knowing that her classes were gaining a reputation for being “too easy,” that the average (mean) grade was an 80.

When your parents ask you how you can justify doing so poorly on the midterm, you answer, “Don’t worry about my 63. It is not as bad as it sounds. The average (mode) grade was a 58.”

I will leave it up to you to decide whether these choices are appropriate. Selecting the appropriate facts or statistics will help your argument immensely. Not only will they actually support your point, but they will not undermine the legitimacy of your position. Think about how your parents will react when they learn from the professor that the average (median) grade was 95! The best way to maintain precision is to specify which of the three forms of “average” you are using.

3. Show the entire picture

Sometimes, you may misrepresent your evidence by accident and misunderstanding. Other times, however, misrepresentation may be slightly less innocent. This can be seen most readily in visual aids. Do not shape and “massage” the representation so that it “best supports” your argument. This can be achieved by presenting charts/graphs in numerous different ways. Either the range can be shortened (to cut out data points which do not fit, e.g., starting a time series too late or ending it too soon), or the scale can be manipulated so that small changes look big and vice versa. Furthermore, do not fiddle with the proportions, either vertically or horizontally. The fact that USA Today seems to get away with these techniques does not make them OK for an academic argument.

Charts A, B, and C all use the same data points, but the stories they seem to be telling are quite different. Chart A shows a mild increase, followed by a slow decline. Chart B, on the other hand, reveals a steep jump, with a sharp drop-off immediately following. Conversely, Chart C seems to demonstrate that there was virtually no change over time. These variations are a product of changing the scale of the chart. One way to alleviate this problem is to supplement the chart by using the actual numbers in your text, in the spirit of full disclosure.

Another point of concern can be seen in Charts D and E. Both use the same data as charts A, B, and C for the years 1985-2000, but additional time points, using two hypothetical sets of data, have been added back to 1965. Given the different trends leading up to 1985, consider how the significance of recent events can change. In Chart D, the downward trend from 1990 to 2000 is going against a long-term upward trend, whereas in Chart E, it is merely the continuation of a larger downward trend after a brief upward turn.

One of the difficulties with visual aids is that there is no hard and fast rule about how much to include and what to exclude. Judgment is always involved. In general, be sure to present your visual aids so that your readers can draw their own conclusions from the facts and verify your assertions. If what you have cut out could affect the reader’s interpretation of your data, then you might consider keeping it.

4. Give bases of all percentages

Because percentages are always derived from a specific base, they are meaningless until associated with a base. So even if I tell you that after this reading this handout, you will be 23% more persuasive as a writer, that is not a very meaningful assertion because you have no idea what it is based on—23% more persuasive than what?

Let’s look at crime rates to see how this works. Suppose we have two cities, Springfield and Shelbyville. In Springfield, the murder rate has gone up 75%, while in Shelbyville, the rate has only increased by 10%. Which city is having a bigger murder problem? Well, that’s obvious, right? It has to be Springfield. After all, 75% is bigger than 10%.

Hold on a second, because this is actually much less clear than it looks. In order to really know which city has a worse problem, we have to look at the actual numbers. If I told you that Springfield had 4 murders last year and 7 this year, and Shelbyville had 30 murders last year and 33 murders this year, would you change your answer? Maybe, since 33 murders are significantly more than 7. One would certainly feel safer in Springfield, right?

Not so fast, because we still do not have all the facts. We have to make the comparison between the two based on equivalent standards. To do that, we have to look at the per capita rate (often given in rates per 100,000 people per year). If Springfield has 700 residents while Shelbyville has 3.3 million, then Springfield has a murder rate of 1,000 per 100,000 people, and Shelbyville’s rate is merely 1 per 100,000. Gadzooks! The residents of Springfield are dropping like flies. I think I’ll stick with nice, safe Shelbyville, thank you very much.

Percentages are really no different from any other form of statistics: they gain their meaning only through their context. Consequently, percentages should be presented in context so that readers can draw their own conclusions as you emphasize facts important to your argument. Remember, if your statistics really do support your point, then you should have no fear of revealing the larger context that frames them.

Important questions to ask (and answer) about statistics

• Is the question being asked relevant?
• Do the data come from reliable sources?
• Margin of error/confidence interval—when is a change really a change?
• Are all data reported, or just the best/worst?
• Are the data presented in context?
• Have the data been interpreted correctly?
• Does the author confuse correlation with causation?

Now that you have learned the lessons of statistics, you have two options. Use this knowledge to manipulate your numbers to your advantage, or use this knowledge to better understand and use statistics to make accurate and fair arguments. The choice is yours. Nine out of ten writers, however, prefer the latter, and the other one later regrets his or her decision.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How To Write a Statistical Research Paper: Tips, Topics, Outline

Working on a research paper can be a bit challenging. Some people even opt for paying online writing companies to do the job for them. While this might seem like a better solution, it can cost you a lot of money. A cheaper option is to search online for the critical parts of your essay. Your data should come from reliable sources for your research paper to be authentic. You will also need to introduce your work to your readers. It should be straightforward and relevant to the topic.  With this in mind, here is a guideline to help you succeed in your research writing. But before that, let’s see what the outline should look like.

The Outline

Table of Contents

How to write a statistical analysis paper is a puzzle many people find difficult to crack. It’s not such a challenging task as you might think, especially if you learn some helpful tips to make the writing process easier. It’s just like working on any other essay. You only need to get the format and structure right and study the process. Here is what the general outline should look like:

• introduction;
• problem statement;
• objectives;
• methodology;
• data examination;
• discussion;
• conclusion and recommendations.

Let us now see some tips that can help you become a better statistical researcher.

• Top 99+ Trending Statistics Research Topics for Students

Tips for Writing Statistics Research Paper

If you are wondering how people write their papers, you are in the right place. We’ll take a look at a few pointers that can help you come up with amazing work.

Choose A Topic

Basically, this is the most important stage of your essay. Whether you want to pay for it or not, you need a simple and accessible topic to write about. Usually, the paid research papers have a well-formed and clear topic. It helps your paper to stand out. Start off by explaining to your audience what your papers are all about. Also, check whether there is enough data to support your idea. The weaker the topic is, the harder your work will be. Is the potential theme within the realm of statistics? Can the question at hand be solved with the help of the available data? These are some of the questions someone should answer first. In the end, the topic you opt for should provide sufficient space for independent information collection and analysis.

Collect Data

This stage relies heavily on the quantity of data sources and the method used to collect them. Keep in mind that you must stick to the chosen methodology throughout your essay. It is also important to explain why you opted for the data collection method used. Plus, be cautious when collecting information. One simple mistake can compromise the entire work. You can source your data from reliable sources like google, read published articles, or experiment with your own findings. However, if your instructor provides certain recommendations, follow them instead. Don’t twist the information to fit your interest to avoid losing originality. And in case no recommendations are given, ask your instructor to provide some.

Write Body Paragraphs

Use the information garnered to create the main body of your essay. After identifying an applicable area of interest, use the data to build your paragraphs. You can start off by making a rough draft of your findings and then use it as a guide for your main essay. The next step is to construe numerical figures and make conclusions. This stage requires your proficiency in interpreting statistics. Integrate your math engagement strategies to break down those figures and pinpoint only the most meaningful parts of them. Also, include some common counterpoints and support the information with specific examples.

Create Your Essay

Now that you have all the appropriate materials at hand, this section will be easy. Simply note down all the information gathered, citing your sources as well. Make sure not to copy and paste directly to avoid plagiarism. Your content should be unique and easy to read, too. We recommend proofreading and polishing your work before making it public. In addition, be on the lookout for any grammatical, spelling, or punctuation mistakes.

This section is a summary of all your findings. Explain the importance of what you are doing. You can also include suggestions for future work. Make sure to restate what you mentioned in the introduction and touch a little bit on the method used to collect and analyze your data. In short, sum up everything you’ve written in your essay.

How to Find Statistical Topics for your Paper

Statistics is a discipline that involves collecting, analyzing, organizing, presenting, and interpreting data. If you are looking for the right topic for your work, here are a few things to consider.

●   Start by finding out what topics have already been worked on and pick the remaining areas.

●   Consider recent developments in your field of study that may inspire a new topic.

●   Think about any specific questions or problems that you have come across on your own that could be explored further.

●   Ask your advisor or mentor for suggestions.

●   Review conference proceedings, journal articles, and other publications.

●   Try using a brainstorming technique. For instance, list out related keywords and combine them in different ways to generate new ideas.

Try out some of these tips. Be sure to find something that will work for you.

Working on a statistics paper can be quite challenging to work on. But with the right information sources, everything becomes easy. This guide will help you reveal the secret of preparing such essays. Also, don’t forget to do more reading to broaden your knowledge. You can find statistics research paper examples and refer to them for ideas. Nonetheless, if you’re still not confident enough, you can always hire a trustworthy writing company to get the job done.

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How to Write a Statistical Report

Last Updated: March 6, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Grace Imson, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Grace Imson is a math teacher with over 40 years of teaching experience. Grace is currently a math instructor at the City College of San Francisco and was previously in the Math Department at Saint Louis University. She has taught math at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels. She has an MA in Education, specializing in Administration and Supervision from Saint Louis University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 399,370 times.

A statistical report informs readers about a particular subject or project. You can write a successful statistical report by formatting your report properly and including all the necessary information your readers need. [1] X Research source

A Beginner’s Guide to Statistical Report Writing

Use other statistical reports as a guide to format your own. Type your report in an easy-to-read font, include all the information that your reader needs, and present your results in a table or graph.

Formatting Your Report

• If you're completing your report for a class, your instructor or professor may be willing to show you some reports submitted by previous students if you ask.
• University libraries also have copies of statistical reports created by students and faculty researchers on file. Ask the research librarian to help you locate one in your field of study.
• You also may be able to find statistical reports online that were created for business or marketing research, as well as those filed for government agencies.
• Be careful following samples exactly, particularly if they were completed for research in another field. Different fields of study have their own conventions regarding how a statistical report should look and what it should contain. For example, a statistical report by a mathematician may look incredibly different than one created by a market researcher for a retail business.

• You typically want to have 1-inch margins around all sides of your report. Be careful when adding visual elements such as charts and graphs to your report, and make sure they don't bleed over the margins or your report may not print properly and will look sloppy.
• You may want to have a 1.5-inch margin on the left-hand side of the page if you anticipate putting your study into a folder or binder, so all the words can be read comfortably when the pages are turned.
• Don't double-space your report unless you're writing it for a class assignment and the instructor or professor specifically tells you to do so.
• Use headers to add the page number to every page. You may also want to add your last name or the title of the study along with the page number.

• Citation methods typically are included in style manuals, which not only detail how you should cite your references but also have rules on acceptable punctuation and abbreviations, headings, and the general formatting of your report.
• For example, if you're writing a statistical report based on a psychological study, you typically must use the style manual published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
• Your citation method is all the more important if you anticipate your statistical report will be published in a particular trade or professional journal.

• If you're creating your statistical report for a class, a cover sheet may be required. Check with your instructor or professor or look on your assignment sheet to find out whether a cover sheet is required and what should be included on it.
• For longer statistical reports, you may also want to include a table of contents. You won't be able to format this until after you've finished the report, but it will list each section of your report and the page on which that section starts.

• If you decide to create section headings, they should be bold-faced and set off in such a way that they stand out from the rest of the text. For example, you may want to center bold-faced headings and use a slightly larger font size.
• Make sure a section heading doesn't fall at the bottom of the page. You should have at least a few lines of text, if not a full paragraph, below each section heading before the page break.

• Check the margins around visual elements and make sure the text lines up and is not too close to the visual element. You want it to be clear where the text ends and the words associated with the visual element (such as the axis labels for a graph) begin.
• Visual elements can cause your text to shift, so you'll need to double-check your section headings after your report is complete and make sure none of them are at the bottom of a page.
• Where possible, you also want to change your page breaks to eliminate situations in which the last line of a page is the first line of a paragraph, or the first line of a page is the last line of a paragraph. These are difficult to read.

Creating Your Content

• Avoid overly scientific or statistical language in your abstract as much as possible. Your abstract should be understandable to a larger audience than those who will be reading the entire report.
• It can help to think of your abstract as an elevator pitch. If you were in an elevator with someone and they asked you what your project was about, your abstract is what you would say to that person to describe your project.
• Even though your abstract appears first in your report, it's often easier to write it last, after you've completed the entire report.

• Aim for clear and concise language to set the tone for your report. Put your project in layperson's terms rather than using overly statistical language, regardless of the target audience of your report.
• If your report is based on a series of scientific experiments or data drawn from polls or demographic data, state your hypothesis or expectations going into the project.
• If other work has been done in the field regarding the same subject or similar questions, it's also appropriate to include a brief review of that work after your introduction. Explain why your work is different or what you hope to add to the existing body of work through your research.

• Include a description of any particular methods you used to track results, particularly if your experiments or studies were longer-term or observational in nature.
• If you had to make any adjustments during the development of the project, identify those adjustments and explain what required you to make them.
• List any software, resources, or other materials you used in the course of your research. If you used any textbook material, a reference is sufficient – there's no need to summarize that material in your report.

• Start with your main results, then include subsidiary results or interesting facts or trends you discovered.
• Generally you want to stay away from reporting results that have nothing to do with your original expectations or hypotheses. However, if you discovered something startling and unexpected through your research, you may want to at least mention it.
• This typically will be the longest section of your report, with the most detailed statistics. It also will be the driest and most difficult section for your readers to get through, especially if they are not statisticians.
• Small graphs or charts often show your results more clearly than you can write them in text.

• When you get to this section of your report, leave the heavy, statistical language behind. This section should be easy for anyone to understand, even if they skipped over your results section.
• If any additional research or study is necessary to further explore your hypotheses or answer questions that arose in the context of your project, describe that as well.

• It is often the case that you see things in hindsight that would have made data-gathering easier or more efficient. This is the place to discuss those. Since the scientific method is designed so that others can repeat your study, you want to pass on to future researchers your insights.
• Any speculation you have, or additional questions that came to mind over the course of your study, also are appropriate here. Just make sure you keep it to a minimum – you don't want your personal opinions and speculation to overtake the project itself.

• For example, if you compared your study to a similar study conducted in another city the year before yours, you would want to include a citation to that report in your references.
• Cite your references using the appropriate citation method for your discipline or field of study.
• Avoid citing any references that you did not mention in your report. For example, you may have done some background reading in preparation for your project. However, if you didn't end up directly citing any of those sources in your report, there's no need to list them in your references.

• Avoid trade "terms of art" or industry jargon if your report will be read mainly by people outside your particular industry.
• Make sure the terms of art and statistical terms that you do use in your report are used correctly. For example, you shouldn't use the word "average" in a statistical report because people often use that word to refer to different measures. Instead, use "mean," "median," or "mode" – whichever is correct.

Presenting Your Data

• This is particularly important if you're submitting your report for publication in a trade journal. If the pages are different sizes than the paper you print your report on, your visual elements won't line up the same way in the journal as they do in your manuscript.
• This also can be a factor if your report will be published online, since different display sizes can cause visual elements to display differently.
• The easiest way to label your visual elements is "Figure," followed by a number. Then you simply number each element sequentially in the order in which they appear in your report.
• Your title describes the information presented by the visual element. For example, if you've created a bar graph that shows the test scores of students on the chemistry class final, you might title it "Chemistry Final Test Scores, Fall 2016."

• Make sure each visual element is large enough in size that your readers can see everything they need to see without squinting. If you have to shrink down a graph to the point that readers can't make out the labels, it won't be very helpful to them.
• Create your visual elements using a format that you can easily import into your word-processing file. Importing using some graphics formats can distort the image or result in extremely low resolution.

• For example, if you have hundreds of samples, your x axis will be cluttered if you display each sample individually as a bar. However, you can move the measure on the y axis to the x axis, and use the y axis to measure the frequency.
• When your data include percentages, only go out to fractions of a percentage if your research demands it. If the smallest difference between your subjects is two percentage points, there's no need to display more than the whole percentage. However, if the difference between your subjects comes down to hundredths of a percent, you would need to display percentages to two decimal places so the graph would show the difference.
• For example, if your report includes a bar graph of the distribution of test scores for a chemistry class, and those scores are 97.56, 97.52, 97.46, and 97.61, your x axis would be each of the students and your y axis would start at 97 and go up to 98. This would highlight the differences in the students' scores.

• Be careful that your appendix does not overwhelm your report. You don't necessarily want to include every data sheet or other document you created over the course of your project.
• Rather, you only want to include documents that reasonably expand and lead to a further understanding of your report.
• For example, when describing your methods you state that a survey was conducted of students in a chemistry class to determine how they studied for the final exam. You might include a copy of the questions the students were asked in an appendix. However, you wouldn't necessarily need to include a copy of each student's answers to those questions.

Statistical Report Outline

Community Q&A

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• ↑ https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/iotdm/11.3?topic=SSMLQ4_11.3.0/com.ibm.nex.optimd.dg.doc/11arcperf/oparcuse-r-statistical_reports.html
• ↑ https://www.examples.com/business/report/statistics-report.html
• ↑ https://collaboratory.ucr.edu/sites/g/files/rcwecm2761/files/2019-04/Final_Report_dan.pdf
• ↑ https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/49386/what-is-the-recommended-font-to-use-for-a-statistical-table-in-an-academic-journ
• ↑ https://psychology.ucsd.edu/undergraduate-program/undergraduate-resources/academic-writing-resources/writing-research-papers/citing-references.html
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl3JOCmuil4

About This Article

Start your statistical report with an introduction explaining the purpose of your research. Then, dive into your research methods, how you collected data, and the experiments you conducted. Present you results with any necessary charts and graphs, but do not discuss or analyze the numbers -- in a statistical report, all analysis should happen in the conclusion. Once you’ve finished writing your report, draft a 200 word abstract and create a cover sheet with your name, the date, and the report title. Don’t forget to cite the appropriate references when necessary! For more formatting help, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• MLA format for academic papers and essays

MLA Format | Complete Guidelines & Free Template

Published on December 11, 2019 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on March 5, 2024 by Jack Caulfield.

The MLA Handbook provides guidelines for creating MLA citations and formatting academic papers. This quick guide will help you set up your MLA format paper in no time.

Start by applying these MLA format guidelines to your document:

• Times New Roman 12
• 1″ page margins
• Double line spacing
• ½” indent for new paragraphs
• Title case capitalization for headings

For accurate citations, you can use our free MLA Citation Generator .

Download Word template Open Google Docs template

(To use the Google Docs template, copy the file to your Drive by clicking on ‘file’ > ‘Make a copy’)

Table of contents

How to set up mla format in google docs, header and title, running head, works cited page, creating mla style citations, headings and subheadings, tables and figures, frequently asked questions about mla format.

The header in MLA format is left-aligned on the first page of your paper. It includes

• Your full name
• Your instructor’s or supervisor’s name
• The course name or number
• The due date of the assignment

After the MLA header, press ENTER once and type your paper title. Center the title and don’t forget to apply title-case capitalization. Read our article on writing strong titles that are informative, striking and appropriate.

For a paper with multiple authors, it’s better to use a separate title page instead.

At the top of every page, including the first page, you need to include your last name and the page number. This is called the “running head.” Follow these steps to set up the MLA running head in your Word or Google Docs document:

• Double-click at the top of a page
• Type your last name
• Insert automatic page numbering
• Align the content to the right

The running head should look like this:

The Works Cited list is included on a separate page at the end of your paper. You list all the sources you referenced in your paper in alphabetical order. Don’t include sources that weren’t cited in the paper, except potentially in an MLA annotated bibliography assignment.

Place the title “Works Cited” in the center at the top of the page. After the title, press ENTER once and insert your MLA references.

If a reference entry is longer than one line, each line after the first should be indented ½ inch (called a hanging indent ). All entries are double spaced, just like the rest of the text.

Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

Prefer to cite your sources manually? Use the interactive example below to see what the Works Cited entry and MLA in-text citation look like for different source types.

Headings and subheadings are not mandatory, but they can help you organize and structure your paper, especially in longer assignments.

MLA has only a few formatting requirements for headings. They should

• Be written in title case
• Be left-aligned
• Not end in a period

We recommend keeping the font and size the same as the body text and applying title case capitalization. In general, boldface indicates greater prominence, while italics are appropriate for subordinate headings.

Chapter Title

Section Heading

Tip: Both Google Docs and Microsoft Word allow you to create heading levels that help you to keep your headings consistent.

Tables and other illustrations (referred to as “figures”) should be placed as close to the relevant part of text as possible. MLA also provides guidelines for presenting them.

MLA format for tables

Tables are labeled and numbered, along with a descriptive title. The label and title are placed above the table on separate lines; the label and number appear in bold.

A caption providing information about the source appears below the table; you don’t need one if the table is your own work.

Below this, any explanatory notes appear, marked on the relevant part of the table with a superscript letter. The first line of each note is indented; your word processor should apply this formatting automatically.

Just like in the rest of the paper, the text is double spaced and you should use title case capitalization for the title (but not for the caption or notes).

MLA format for figures

Figures (any image included in your paper that isn’t a table) are also labeled and numbered, but here, this is integrated into the caption below the image. The caption in this case is also centered.

The label “Figure” is abbreviated to “Fig.” and followed by the figure number and a period. The rest of the caption gives either full source information, or (as in the example here) just basic descriptive information about the image (author, title, publication year).

Source information in table and figure captions

If the caption of your table or figure includes full source information and that source is not otherwise cited in the text, you don’t need to include it in your Works Cited list.

Give full source information in a caption in the same format as you would in the Works Cited list, but without inverting the author name (i.e. John Smith, not Smith, John).

MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman , since it’s easy to read and installed on every computer. Other standard fonts such as Arial or Georgia are also acceptable. If in doubt, check with your supervisor which font you should be using.

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Set 1 inch page margins
• Apply double line spacing
• Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
• Center the paper’s title
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch
• Use title case capitalization for headings
• Cite your sources with MLA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a Works Cited page at the end

The fastest and most accurate way to create MLA citations is by using Scribbr’s MLA Citation Generator .

Search by book title, page URL, or journal DOI to automatically generate flawless citations, or cite manually using the simple citation forms.

The MLA Handbook is currently in its 9th edition , published in 2021.

This quick guide to MLA style  explains the latest guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers according to MLA.

Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper . A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:

• Your instructor requires one, or
• Your paper is a group project

In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2024, March 05). MLA Format | Complete Guidelines & Free Template. Scribbr. Retrieved April 4, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/formatting/

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APA Sample Paper

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Note: The APA Publication Manual, 7 th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student  and  professional  papers (i.e., papers written for credit in a course and papers intended for scholarly publication). These differences mostly extend to the title page and running head. Crucially, citation practices do not differ between the two styles of paper.

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Note: For accessibility purposes, we have used "Track Changes" to make comments along the margins of these samples. Those authored by [AF] denote explanations of formatting and [AWC] denote directions for writing and citing in APA 7. 

APA 7 Student Paper:

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