Abstract
The ‘Results’ section of a scientific paper transparently presents the study’s key findings based on the analysis process. As one of the most important parts of a research paper, the results section summarizes and presents findings in the context of the research questions or the ideas being tested. The purpose of the results section is to give readers a clear, brief, and organized report of the study’s findings without opinion or extra comments. 1 Do not include extra information or data that does not fit the purpose of the study in the results section. Do not discuss why you found the results or what the study findings mean. Any evaluation or opinion should be discussed in the Discussion section. While there are no strict guidelines for writing a results section, it is important to check the Manuscript Submission Guidelines for the specific subheadings particular journals require to be included in the results section. Several guidelines are available, including CONSORT for clinical trials, COREQ for qualitative research, and PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Reporting research results differs depending on whether the research design is quantitative or qualitative. However, the results section of all studies begins by presenting the findings in order of importance, beginning with sample characteristics (an overview of the final sample) or sociodemographic data (e.g., age, ethnicity, education level, socioeconomic status, and other relevant characteristics related to the main outcomes).
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research uses descriptive data such as language, themes, ideas, and trends that reflect human experiences. Results are centered around key themes or topics that emerge from the analysis of data. Key themes are supported by incorporating limited verbatim participant quotations to provide an illustration that well represents the reported themes. It is important to identify the specific qualitative approach used (e.g., qualitative descriptive [QD], grounded theory, phenomenology) and associated methods. For example, writing up the results of a qualitative descriptive (QD) study requires a straightforward description of participants’ experiences, organized around central themes or categories. 2 The QD methodology provides a rich database that is comprehensive and low inference. The notion of low inference refers to the researcher staying as close to the data as possible with little interpretation.2 -4
Qualitative content or thematic analyses are the qualitative techniques of choice in QD studies. As with all qualitative approaches an inductive approach to analyzing QD data is used, in which ideas and themes emerge from the data. 5 Qualitative content analysis is a more practical approach that focuses on the recurrence of descriptions of experiences at a surface level. 6 Thematic analysis focuses on reporting richer, more detailed descriptive patterns.
Quantitative Research
The results section represents the main findings of a study without interpretation or discussion. Study findings are presented in a logical sequence that organizes data by answering research questions and testing hypotheses. Quantitative research uses numerical data to communicate study findings, including descriptive statistics and statistical tests (e.g., t-tests, analysis of variance, regression, and chi-square tests).
Quantitative data may be presented in the text of the research report or in tables, charts, graphs, or figures. Be sure to label each table, chart, graph, or figure clearly with a short, descriptive title. Ensure figures and tables are numbered sequentially and referenced in the research report. To improve clarity, readability, and information retrieval, 1 the results section may be broken down into subheadings. For example, subheadings may be labeled something like “Sample Characteristics”, “Descriptive Statistics of Key Study Variables,” “Psychometric Properties of the Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale (SEAMS),” or “Changes in Clinical Outcomes.” Finally, check the Manuscript Submission Guidelines to learn how to report statistics and present data in tables and figures.
