Overview

A stellar results section of a thesis/scientific paper allows the reader to link the findings to the specific objectives. Also, it aids in the understanding of the scientific research’s answers to questions posed. Eventually, it integrates these contributions into a broader context. However, many early- to mid-career clinical researchers struggle to produce a succinct yet comprehensive result section. As such, focusing on how readers consume information, we present a set of do’s and don’ts to help you structure a good results section that communicates the main idea of your research. These are designed to render your write-up easy to understand and the process of writing more efficient and pleasurable.

The results section of the research paper is where you report the findings of your study based on the data generated by the methodology you applied. This section is the core of the paper and is best written in the past tense.

Characteristics of a good results section

• It should be presented in a concise, factual, and unbiased sequence that will logically reject, or not reject the null hypothesis as possible in reporting your findings.
• Present your result in a manner that informs the reader of the nature (magnitude and direction) of the differences or relationships.
• A short summary of the findings should be presented in view that the discussion section will provide an elaborate evaluation. Furthermore, present results with parenthetic reference to statistical conclusions that support the finding. Parenthetic references may include statistical test employed and level of significance.
• Begin with text and refer individually and sequentially to illustrative, non-textual, elements such as charts, figures, and tables; for clarity, as you proceed.
• Each non-textual element must be titled and numbered in sequence. Label tables at the top, and figures at the bottom.
  • All non-textual elements should be referred to in text, and be sufficiently complete, (e.g. abbreviations clearly defined and legends included) to stand on its own, separate from the text.

• Tables should present summarised data e.g means, medians, standard deviations, rather the raw data
  • Each table and figure should stand-alone, be complete, and informative in itself.

Problems to avoid

• Avoid repeating the aims or the method section at the beginning of the results section
• Avoid providing data that is not critical to answering the research question. A good rule is to always re-read the background section of your paper after your results to ensure that the reader has enough context to understand the results.
• Avoid discussing, attempting to explain your findings, or interpreting your results as this is done in the discussion section. However, variables that have an effect (negative or positive) can be discussed.
• If some of your results fail to support your conclusions, do not ignore them. Discuss this comprehensively in the following section as this will yield a more engaging discussion section.
• Avoid including raw data or intermediate calculations as this can be placed in the appendix and referred to in the text. Generally, present summary-level data.
• Avoid redundancy (repeating the same information more than once). If you feel the need to highlight something, you will have the chance to do that in the discussion section.
• Avoid presenting results that are never discussed
• Avoid reiterating each value in a non-textual element but the key result or trend it conveys.

Also read: How to Write An Introduction Section/Chapter and How to Create a Data Analysis Plan: A Detailed Guide.

Bibliography

1.         Lechtenberg U. Research Guides: Organizing Academic Research Papers: 7. The Results [Internet]. [cited 2020 Mar 26]. Available from: https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185931

2.         Sisson J. Research Guides: Writing a Scientific Paper: RESULTS [Internet]. [cited 2020 Apr 2]. Available from: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/c.php?g=334338&p=2249906

3. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper: https://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html. Accessed April 8, 2020

4. Writing a Scientific Paper: RESULTS ; https://guides.lib.uci.edu/c.php?g=334338&p=2249906. Accessed April 9, 2020