How to Write a Statistical Analysis Report

Statistics are generally meaningless unless they are analyzed and distilled into a report.

You have the statistics. Now you must write a report. But how do you share your findings? Whether you're writing a business report or an article for an academic journal, there are four universal sections required to write a successful statistical analysis report. The key sections are introduction, methods, results and conclusion. Depending on the nature of your report, you may also need an abstract, literature review and appendices.

Instructions

1. Include an abstract for reports longer than a page. Dismaying as it may be, the abstract might be the only part of the report your audience reads. An abstract should summarize your report in 200 words or fewer. You should include the purpose of the report, major findings, statistical methods used and your conclusion.

2. Explain the report's purpose, its importance and why your readers should care in your introduction. You must also describe the statistical approach you applied and your thesis.

3. Skip this step if you're writing a nonacademic statistical analysis report. If you're writing a report for a scholarly journal, however, you typically must include a literature review. A literature review summarizes past research done on your topic and shows other researchers that you're familiar with and knowledgeable about the field.

4. Explain your research design, variables and statistical methods in your methods section. For example, if you conducted a survey, explain what type and how you chose participants. If you conducted an experiment, explain how you structured it. For statistical methods, do not give a theoretical discussion; rather, simply explain how you used a certain statistical method.

5. Analyze your statistics and report your findings in the results section. Pick and illustrate relevant results in your study. Interpret these statistics, explaining how they support or undermine your thesis. If possible, explain how these statistics apply to a broader context.

6. Give a concise overview of what you've stated in the results section in the conclusion. Explain the implications of your statistical analysis, how it fits in with your thesis and if any more research needs to be done.

7. Add appendices to your report if you had to cut some of the more irrelevant data from your results section. Add any charts, graphs or tables that may have been truncated for the results section.

Tips & Warnings

• Always consider your audience when writing statistical analysis reports. You may need to adjust your technical language according to who will be reading your report.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Heriot Watt University: Writing Statistics Project Reports