Results Section/Paper

What is a Results Section/Paper?

Purpose

To report the results of your research based on the methodologies you applied; to break down data into sentences and diagrams that show significance to your research questions.

Structure

  1. An introduction of the research problem in your study.
  2. Report on data collection, recruitment, and participants.
  3. Summary of key findings in a logical order that follows your methodology section.
  4. Report of important secondary findings.
  5. Figures, charts, tables, maps, and other non-textual elements that help present your findings.

Approach

  1. Consider how your results fit into your overall narrative and report the most important results first.
  2. Present a set of results followed by a brief explanation before moving on to another set of results and explanation, and so on and so forth.
  3. State your findings without bias or interpretation. Your results do not prove anything. They confirm or reject the hypothesis or research problem you are proposing.
  4. Arrange your findings in a logical sequence. Be factual and concise.
  5. Write in past tense.
  6. Present large data collections and exact values in tables and graphs.
  7. Use figures to display trends and relationships found in the results.

Things to Remember

  • Do not interpret your results. Save this for the discussion section of your paper. You may, however, compare your results to the results of similar studies.
  • Do not provide additional background information. Avoid providing unnecessary information that may have been stated in other sections of your paper.
  • Do not repeat the same data or information found in other sections of your paper. You may remind your reader of the conceptual hypothesis or question you are answering, but refrain from word-for-word repetitions.
  • Do not ignore negative results. Be honest and unbiased in communicating your findings. You can discuss why negative results emerged in the discussion section of your paper.
  • Label non-textual elements such as tables and figures appropriately. Each figure should contain a heading and be chronologically numbered (e.g., Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2).
  • Proofread. Look for grammar and punctuation errors as well as conveyance of textual and non-textual (tables, graphs, figures, etc.) diagrams for conciseness and clarity.

Sources

Organizing Academic Research Papers: 7. The Results. Research Guides. (n.d.). https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185931.

Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.). Experimental Reports 2 // Purdue Writing Lab. Purdue Writing Lab Results Section. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_the_social_sciences/writing_in_psychology_experimental_report_writing/experimental_reports_2.html.

Sacred Heart University. (n.d.). Organizing Academic Research Papers: 7. The Results. Research Guides. https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185931.

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Compiled By

Jessica Allee

Writing Studio Consultant

2021