UNIT 4 RESULT, ANALYSIS AND

DISCUSSION OF THE DATA

Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Definition, Description of Results
4.3 Statistical Presentation
4.3.1 Sufficient Statistics
4.3.2 Statistical Power
4.3.3 Statistical Significance
4.3.4 Effect, Size and Strength of Relationship

4.4 Results
4.5 Tables and Figures
4.6 Discussion
4.7 Table Checklist
4.8 Figure Checklist
4.9 Let Us Sum Up
4.10 Unit End Questions
4.11 Suggested Readings

4.0 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit we discussed about the methodology to be written in the report.
This unit deals with results. This is one of the most important chapters in the report
and is of great value to the researcher and also to the reader. Results are the final
outcome of a research exercise that had taken place with certain objectivity and
scientific rigour. A description of the analysis of the data that had been anlaysed will
be presented here. The method of presentation, the important aspects of presentation
and the interpretation of the results will all be handled in this unit.

4.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you will be able to:
 describe Results and Discussion component in APA format;
 analyse Results in a research report;
 explain the research in terms of the prevailing research;
 write a Research Report with special emphasis on Results and Discussion; and
 explain how to use a checklist.

4.2 DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION OF RESULTS

Results mean in this specific context that the findings that have been obtained from
the analysis of the data that the researcher had collected during conducting the 45
Report Writing research on the topic of the research. Results clearly indicate whether a particular
hypothesis has been validated or rejected and it also provides information of how far
the obtained results are statistically significant.
The Results section summarises the data collected and the statistical treatment of
them. First, briefly state the main results or findings, Then report the data in sufficient
detail to justify the conclusions. Mention all relevant results, including those that run
counter to the hypothesis. Do not include individual scores or raw data, with the
exception, for example, of single-case designs or illustrative samples.

4.3 STATISTICAL PRESENTATION

When reporting inferential statistics (e.g., t tests, F tests, and chi-square), include
information about the obtained magnitude or value of the test, the degrees of freedom,
the probability level, and the direction of the effect. Be sure to include descriptive
statistics (e.g., means or medians); where means are reported.
Always include an associated measure of variability, such as standard deviations,
variances, or mean square errors. Assume that your reader has professional knowledge
of statistics. Basic assumptions, such as rejecting the null hypothesis, should not be
reviewed. If there is a question about the appropriateness of a particular test, however,
be sure to justify the use of that test.

4.3.1 Sufficient Statistics

When reporting inferential statistics, include sufficient information to help the reader
corroborate the analyses conducted.
For parametric tests of location (e.g, single-group, multiple-group, or multiple-factor
tests of means), a set of sufficient statistics consists of cell means, cell sample sizes,
and some measure of variability (such as cell standard deviations or variances).
Alternatively, a set of sufficient statistics consists of cell means, along with the mean
square error and degrees of freedom associated with the effect being tested.
For randomized-block layouts, repeated measures designs, and multivariate analyses
of variance, vectors of cell means and cell sample sizes, along with the pooled within-
cell variance-covariance matrix, constitute a set of sufficient statistics.
For correlation analyses (e.g., multiple regression analysis, factor analysis, and
structural-equations modeling), the sample size and variance-covariance (or correlation)
matrix are needed, accompanied by other information specific to the procedure used
(e.g., variable means, reliabilities, hypothesized structural models, and other
parameters).
For non-parametric analyses (e.g., chi-square analyses of contingency tables, order
statistics), various summaries of the raw data (e.g., the number of case in each
category, the sum of the ranks, and sample sizes in each cell) are sufficient statistics.
For analyses based on very small samples (including single-case investigations), consider
providing the complete data in a table or figure.

4.3.2 Statistical Power

Take seriously the statistical power consideration associated with your tests of
hypotheses. Such considerations relate to the likelihood of correctly rejecting the
46 tested hypotheses, given a particular alpha level, effect size, and sample size. In that
regard, you should routinely provide evidence that your study has sufficient power Result, Analysis and
Discussion of the Data
to detect effect of substantive interest,
You should be similarly aware of the role played by sample size in cases in which
not rejecting the null hypothesis is desirable (i.e., when you wish to argue that there
are no differences), when testing various assumptions underlying the statistical model
adopted (e.g., normality, homogeneity of variance, and homogeneity of regression),
and in model fitting

4.3.3 Statistical Significance

Two types of probabilities associated with the significance of inferential statistical
tests are reported. One refers to the apriori probability you have selected as an
acceptable level of falsely rejecting a given null hypothesis. This probability, called the
alpha level, is the probability of a Type I error in hypothesis testing. Commonly used
alpha levels are .05 and .01. Before you begin to report specific results, you should
routinely state the particular alpha level you selected for the statistical tests you
conducted:
An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests.
If you do not make a general statement about the alpha level, specify the alpha level
when reporting each result.
The other kind of probability refers to the a posteriori likelihood of obtaining a result
that is as extreme as or more extreme than the actual value of the statistic you
obtained, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. For example, given a true null
hypothesis, the probability of obtaining the particular value of the statistic you computed
might be .008. Many statistical packages now provide these exact values. You can
report this distinct piece of information in addition to specifying whether you rejected
or failed to reject the null by pothesis using the specified alpha level.
With an alpha level of .05, the effect of age was statistically significant, F (1, 123)
= 7.27, p = .008.
Or
The effect of age was not statistically significant, F (1, 123), p = .012.
The second example should be taken up only if you have included a general statement
about the alpha level earlier in your report.
If you do not wish to report the exact probability, you can report the commonly used
probability value that is nearest to it:
With an alpha level of .05, the effect of age was statistically significant, F (1, 123)
= 7.27, p < .01.
Or
The effect of age was not statistically significant, F (1, 123) = 2.45, p > .10.

4.3.4 Effect, Size and Strength of Relationship

Neither of the two types of probability values reflects the importance (magnitude) of
an effect of the strength of a relationship because both probability values depend on
sample size. You can estimate the magnitude of the effect or the strength of the
relationship with a number of measures that do not depend on sample size. 47
Report Writing You are encouraged to provide effect-size information, although in most cases such
measures are readily obtainable whenever the test statistics (e.g., t and F) and
sample sizes (or degrees of freedom) are reported. For example, given an F ratio
based on v1 and v2 degrees of freedom, the proportion of variance accounted for
by the associated effect (K2, as the generalisation of r2) can be determined as v1 F/
(v1 F+v2).
Self Assessment Questions
1) Define results . What does it give ? Describe its importance
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2) What is meant by statistical presentation? What is sufficient statistics?
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3) What do you understand by the term statistical power? How do we decide
the power and indicate in our report.
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4) What is meant bystatistical significance at .05 or .01 level? How do we
overcome Type I and Type II errors?
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5) Elucidagte the concept that effectof size contributes to strength of relationship.
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4.4 RESULTS
This section is where you present your data and analyses. The experimenter gives
a description and not an explanation of the findings of the experiment. In order to
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fulfill this requirement, the results section should include descriptive statistics (rather Result, Analysis and
Discussion of the Data
than the raw data) and statistical tests if used.
Include in this the degrees of freedom used, obtained values of inferential statistics
performed, probability level, and direction of effect. Underline letters used as statistical
symbols, such as “N”, “F”, “t”, “SD”, and “p.” (Use underlining, not quotation
marks. Since many Web browsers using underlining to indicate a link, avoid underlining
within web pages.) Make reference to any figures and tables used.
The reference to the table or figure should be close to the relevant material in the
text. Never use a figure or table without referring to it in the text.
Tables are often used when presenting descriptive statistics such as means, standard
deviations and correlations. Pictures, graphs, and drawings are referred to as figures.
You should use as few tables and figures as possible. They should be used as
supplements, not to do the entire job of communication.
The results section of a report should tell readers what statistical procedures you
used and what you found. Findings are easier to understand if you begin with a brief
summary of your principal findings stated in words. Then report the results of your
statistical tests (F or t values, results from post hoc tests, and so on ) and summary
data (for example, and ANOVA summary table or a table that includes means and
standard deviations.
Remember that we usually do not report individual scores unless we have a small N
design. Tell readers what statistical tests you used to evaluate the data, along with
the obtained values of test statistics. Indicate degrees of freedom and significance
levels. Be sure that you have stated all group means included in the important
findings. “Some measure of group variability (typically the standard deviation, SD)
is required whenever you are reporting values of F or t. You should also state the
significance level you selected, typically p < .05.
Here is an example. Suppose a student researcher replicated a prior finding from the
literature that violent music videos can increase people’s acceptance of violent
behaviour. The student conducted an experiment testing the effects of watching either
violent or nonviolent music videos on subjects’ attitudes toward violence. She designed
a questionnaire to measure the attitudes toward violence; the higher the score, the
more accepting an individual was of violent behaviour. A between subject’s t- test
showed that the prediction was confirmed by her experiment. She was was able to
reject the null hypothesis at p < .05.
So one can say that her results section can begin by stating, in words, what the
researcher found:
As predicted, subjects expressed more positive attitudes toward violence after viewing
violent music videos than after viewing nonviolent videos.
Then the researcher could report the results of herthe statistical tests and relevant
summary data as for example, with an alpha level of .05, a t test indicated that
attitude scores were significantly different after violent videos than after non-violent
ones, t (34) = 3.12, p <.01.Subjects shown a violent music video were more
accepting of violence (M= 7.89, SD = 2.10) than were subjects who watched a
nonviolent video (M= 4.20, SD = 1.89).
The estimate of effect size is strongly recommended in the Publication Manual. It is
49
usually reported right after the obtained statistical value and probability level, like this:
Report Writing A t-test indicated that attitude scores were significantly different after violent videos
than after nonviolent ones, t (34) = 3.12, p <.01 (r2 = .22).
There are no hard and fast rules for presenting statistics as long as the presentation
is complete, and the results are clear to the reader.
In a simple two group experiment, the results section would probably not be very
long. But if you have a factorial design, you will have more results to report (main
effects, interactions, post hoc tests, and the like).post hoc test, and the like). If you
have more than one dependent measure, you might want to present the results for
each measure separately. As with the simple experiment, begin by stating, in words,
what you found. The report all the effects produced by your statistical tests and
relevant summary data for each kind of effect.
Typically, we report main effects first, then go on the interaction(s). Finally, give the
results of post hoc tests or other group comparisons if you used them. If the number
of subjects in each group was not equal, report the cell sizes. Be sure that the reader
can understand one effect completely before going on to the next. If you have
presented many statistics, it is helpful to the reader if you summarise the effects in
words at some point.

4.5 TABLES AND FIGURES

To report the data, choose the medium that presents them clearly and economically.
Tables provide exact values and can efficiently illustrate main effects. Figures of
professional quality attract the reader’s eye and best illustrate interactions and general
comparisons, but they are not quite as precise as tables. Figures are more expensive
than tables to reproduce, and both formats are more expensive than text to compose,
so reserve them for your most important data. (Discussing the implications of the
results is not appropriate here.)
Summarising the results and the analysis in tables or figures instead of text may be
helpful; for example, a table may enhance the readability of complex sets of analysis
of variance results. Avoid repeating the same data in several places and using tables
for data that can be easily presented in a few sentences in the text.
When you use tables or figures, be certain to mention all of them in the text, Refer
to all tables as tables and to all graphs, pictures, or drawings as figures. Tables and
figures supplement the text; they cannot do the entire job of communication. Always
tell the reader what to look for in tables and figures, and provide sufficient explanation
to make them readily intelligible.
Sometimes results can be summarised most easily through figures or tables, but these
should be used sparingly (because they take up a lot of valuable journal space). A
figure or table should enhance what you have to say about that data. Avoid reporting
the same statistics or summary data in the text and in a table or graph. If your F
values, means, and SDs are in a table, simply refer the reader to the table at the
appropriate time—for instance, “Results of the statistical tests and group means are
shown in Table 1.”Never duplicate the same information in a table and a figure.
Figures and tables must be referred to within the text and should be an integral part
of the presentation, not ornaments dangling in space. The results section is used only
to present the objective data as they appeared in the experiment. Interpretation of
the results belongs in the next section.

50 Label all of your figures, tables and graphs (graphs should also be labeled as figures)
using a consecutive numbering scheme that starts with the first one of each to appear Result, Analysis and
Discussion of the Data
in the report (i.e. the first table is Table 1, the first figure or graph is Figure 1, the
next table is Table 2 and so on). Then use those labels in your text. .
All of your figures and tables should have detailed, informative titles. Someone
should be able to look at a table or a graph and understand it without looking at any
of the text. (Have a look at how this tends to be done in journal articles).
Self Assessment Questions
1) What are the methods of writing the results in the report? Elucidate.
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2) How do we write the validation of hypothesis by the results?
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3) How do we present statistics in a report?
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4) When do we use tables and figures to represent the data?
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4.6 DISCUSSION
After presenting the results, you are in a position to evaluate and interpret their
implications, especially with respect to your original hypothesis. You are free to
examine, interpret, and qualify the results, as well as to draw inferences from them.
Emphasise any theoretical consequences of the results and the validity of your
conclusions. (When the discussion is relatively brief and straightforward, some authors
prefer to combine it with the previous Results section, yielding and Discussion.)
Open the discussion with a clear statement of the support or nonsupport for your
original hypothesis. Similarities and differences between your results and the work of
others should clarify and confirm your conclusions. Do not, however, simply reformulate 51
Report Writing and repeat points already made; each new statement should contribute to your
position and to the reader’s understanding of the problem. You may remark on
certain shortcomings of the study, but do not dwell on every flaw. Negative results
should be accepted as such without an undue attempt to explain them away.
Avoid polemics, triviality, and weak theoretical comparisons in your discussion.
Speculation is in order only if it is (a) identified as such, (b) related closely and
logically to empirical data or theory, and (c) expressed concisely, Identifying the
practical and theoretical implications of your study, suggesting improvements on your
research, or proposing new research may be appropriate, but keep these comments
brief. In general, be guided by the following questions:
 What have I contributed here?
 How has may study helped to resolve the original problem?
 What conclusions and theoretical implications can I drawn from my study?
The responses to these questions are the core of your contribution and readers have
a right to clear, unambiguous, and direct answer.
Here you shall report the results of your data analyses. However, you should not
discuss, or attempt to interpret them in this section. Sometimes you will come across
research reports that combine the results and discussion section.
Though you might be tempted to do this if you have a large number of results that
need to be discussed, it is better to stick to the standard format.
The first part of the results should say how you calculated the scores for your
participants. This will often be obvious; for example, the score might be the number
of words correctly remembered. Sometimes the method of scoring will be less
obvious, and sometimes it might even be quite complex.
The second part of the results should display descriptive or exploratory statistics.
The third part of the results should display information about any statistical tests that
you carried out.
If you have a number of hypotheses to test, you might prefer to present the descriptive
statistics and the inferential statistics together for each hypothesis. Your results section
would then look like:
Hypothesis A: Inferential statistics, hypothesis A: descriptive statistics.
Hypotheses B, descriptive statistics, Hypothesis B inferential statistics, etc.
It can be difficult to know what level of detail to put in the results section. If what
you are putting into this section will help to answer part of your initial questions or
hypotheses, then you are right to include it.
The Results section should be easy to understand on its own. Make sure that the
reader does not have to keep flicking back and forward to other sections of the
report to understand what you are saying. For instance, students sometimes put into
the Results section abbreviations that were described in the Materials section. Don’t
use abbreviations that the reader may not remember.
You can report results in many different ways: using a text description, a table or a
graph. For example, you could write, “Group 1 (chocolate) had a mean happiness
52 score of 12.3, higher than group 2 (carrots) whose mean happiness score was 4.1”
You could present the same information in a table, or a graph. Generally, you should Result, Analysis and
Discussion of the Data
choose the method that takes up the least space – but conveys the information
clearly. In this example, the text description is acceptable – anyone reading it has all
of the information needed– the graph and the table give no new information, and do
not enhance our understanding in any way. Choosing the method of presenting the
information is, however, a complex issue.
It can be difficult to know how to report statistical tests in text. As a rule, you need
to report the test statistic, either the N, or the df (depending on the test) and whether
the result is significant. There are two ways of doing this, and either would be
appropriate. The first way, is just to list the test statistic, the df and the probability:
& choi;2 = 1.3, df=1, p>0.05. The second way is to put the df (or less commonly
the N) in brackets after the test statistic t(88) = 2.4, p < 0.05.
If you use a statistical package, it will probably provide you with an exact p value,
rather than just saying p<0.05, it will say p=0.023. Arguments rage in methodological
circles about how this should be reported. One side of the argument says that you
should simply report whether the result is significant at the 0.05 level, or not. So, if
the statistics package says that p=0.0045, you should write p < 0.05. The other side
of the argument says that you should write the exact value that is given for p, so if
the statistics package says p=0.0045, you write p=0.0045. A sort of compromise
is to use cut-off values of 0.05, 0.01 and 0.001. So if the statistics package says
that p=0.0045, you should write p < 0.01. Whilst many journal articles still use this
technique, it is usually frowned upon in methodological circles. I don’t know which
of these your lecturers will prefer you to use – the best thing for you to do is to find
out, and use the same one.
If a statistics package says that p=0.000, it doesn’t mean it. It has rounded the value
to 3 decimal places, and it means that p < 0.0005.
Don’t give excessive numbers of decimals. One decimal more than the accuracy of
your measure is usually enough. If you measured how many digits people could
recall, writing that the mean was 7.1 is fine. Writing that the mean was 7.132384 is
far more accuracy than your measure warrants.
In this section, you state your conclusions on the basis of your analyses. The conclusions
should be related to the questions raised in your introduction section. How is this
study, and these results, relevant to the field? You should open the discussion section
with a statement of support or nonsupport for your original hypothesis. You may
want to point out differences or similarities between other points of view and your
own. You may remark on certain shortcomings of the study, but avoid dwelling on
flaws. In general, this section allows you relatively free rein to examine, interpret, and
qualify your results. The overall purpose of the discussion section is to evaluate you
experiment and interpret the results. As you learned in the previous chapter, the
discussion should tie things together for readers. In the introduction you reviewed the
literature and showed readers how you arrived at your hypothesis and predictions.
In the method section, you described the details of what you did. In the results
section, you presented what you need to explain what you have accomplished: How
do your findings fit in with the original problem stated in the introduction? Was your
hypothesis supported? How do the findings fit in with prior research in the area? Are
they consistent? If not, can any discrepancies be reconciled? The discussion section
is also the place to talk about what you think your results mean: What are the
implications of the research? Can you generalise from the findings? Does further
research suggest itself? 53
Report Writing Begin the discussion section with a clear summary sentence or two restating your
results (in words only). And explain whether the hypothesis was supported or not,
for example:
The results of the current experiment supported the hypothesis that exposure to
violent music videos would produce greater acceptance of violent behaviour. Subjects
who watched music videos containing violence expressed significantly more positive
attitudes toward violence than did subjects who watched music videos without any
violence.
Then, go on the explain how your findings fit into what is already known about your
topic, Explain how your findings are consistent (or inconsistent) with the most important
findings from past studies that you talked about in your introduction section.
These results are consistent with the results of a number of other experiments reported
in the literature. For example {citation} also showed that……In addition, [citation]
found similar effects when subjects…..
In contrast, if your results are not in agreement with findings reported by other
researchers try to explain why you believe you findings differed from theirs:
The present findings, however, are inconsistent with those reported by [citation].
The present study demonstrated that…….; whereas [citation] found that ….. The
most likely explanation for the inconsistency is that [citation] used a different procedure
for….Their procedure could have resulted in…..
Any sources of confounding or problems with the experiment that might influence the
interpretation of the data need to be reported. But be reasonable; it is not necessary
to mention things that are probably irrelevant. Whether or not all subjects had
breakfast probably is not critical, especially if you assigned them to conditions at
random. However, if half the experimental subjects walked out on the experiment
before it was over because they were faint from hunger, your readers should know
that, as well as how that could have affected the data.
Do not get caught up in offering excuses for why your results were not significant.
Rethink both your procedures and your hypothesis if necessary. Apologies for small
samples often lead to this common error; “If more subjects had been tested, the
results probably would have been significant.” Avoid being tempted to make something
out of nonsignificant findings, even if they go in the direction you predicted. A trend
in the right direction does not guarantee a significant outcome with a large sample.
Very small samples are unreliable; the trend could easily reverse itself if you had a
larger sample! Running the experiment with more subjects is the only way to validate
your hunch.
If you believe your study suggests a new theoretical model or has practical, real-
world implications, you may say so here, but be humble about it. The results of a
single study are rarely earth shattering. If another study would clarify the findings, you
can propose your idea for future research.
Keep in mind that when readers finish the discussion section, they should have a
sense of closure. They should know where you were going and why. They should
know how you got there, what you found, and where it firs in the context of what
was already known about the problem.
The discussion section is where you are freed a little from the strict rules about what
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you should put in your practical report, and you are finally allowed to get a little
creative. Whilst this is a good thing in some ways, it also means that you have to Result, Analysis and
Discussion of the Data
think a lot more about what to put in this section.
The discussion section can be very difficult to write, and if you leave it to the last
minute, you can find that you lack the necessary inspiration and end up with a rather
poor (or even non-existent) discussion section.
The discussion falls into three sections:
 What did the study find?
 What do the findings mean?
 What are the implications?
The first section involves a description of your findings – an outline of what was
found, this is a summary of the results section, putting an emphasis on answering the
questions posed in the introduction. The second section should be a discussion of the
possible interpretation of these data, including any flaws in the experimental design
or execution that may limit the usefulness of the data.
In the third section of the discussion you should: (i) to assess the implications of your
study – particularly with regard to any issues that you outlined in your introduction,
and (ii) what questions has your research left unanswered, and what new questions
has it suggested to you.
In this section, you elaborate upon the argument you began in your introduction.
What this means is that a good discussion depends on having a good introduction.
This section should include very little new material or literature.
Do not feel afraid to point out issues that have arisen in your research. No one, ever,
has carried out a perfect experiment. Lecturers ask you to carry out practical work
so that you learn, so don’t be afraid to show that you have learnt from the experience.
Sometimes students are afraid to point out possible flaws in their study because they
think that lecturers will think that they carried out the research badly, and will therefore
give them a lower grade. You can be reassured by two thoughts. First, if there are
flaws in your study, your lecturer will notice them whether you point them out or not
(they have probably read hundreds of practical reports in the past). Second, your
lecturers will be happy to see that you have learned from the experience of carrying
out the research.
Self Assessment Questions
1) What is the purpose of discussion chapter? What questions to ask to make
the discussion chapter worthwhile?
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2) What is the standard format nfor putting up the results through statistics?
Explain.
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Report Writing
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3) What are the do’s and don’ts to follow while presenting the results?
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4) How will you relate the questions raised in the introduction with the results?
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5) What is meant by sense of closure ? How will you ensure this in the report?
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6) What are the three sections into which the discussion falls?
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4.7 TABLE CHECKLIST: A BRIEF GUIDE TO

MANUSCRIPT TABLES IN APA STYLE
 All tables included in a paper should be necessary for understanding the data.
 Tables should be simple, clean, and free of elaborate detail.
 Always double-check to make sure the data are correct.
 All tables should be mentioned in the text.
 Tables are included within a paper after any appendices and before any figures.
 Each table should be typed on a separate page.
 All tables are double-spaced.
 Table pages, just as every other page in a manuscript, should have the short title
56 and page number in the upper right-hand corner.
 All table labels should be numbered consecutively (Table 1, Table 2, etc.). Result, Analysis and
Discussion of the Data
 The data are listed in an orderly fashion with the decimal points falling in a
straight vertical line.
 All tables include a caption which is located directly below the table label and
is capitalised just as a title would be, underlined, and is not followed by a
period.

4.8 FIGURE CHECKLIST: A BRIEF GUIDE TO

MANUSCRIPT GRAPHS IN APA STYLE
 All figures included in a paper should be necessary for understanding the results.
 Figures should be simple, clean, and free of elaborate detail.
 Always double-check to see if data have been plotted correctly.
 All figures should be mentioned in the text (see Figure 1).
 Figures are included within a paper after any appendices and tables.
 Each figure should be typed on a separate page.
 Figure pages, just as every other page in a manuscript, should have the short
title and page number in the upper right-hand corner (unless a photograph).
 All figure labels are numbered consecutively (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.).
 The length of the vertical (Y) axis should be approximately 2/3 the length of the
horizontal (X) axis.
 The dependent variable is plotted on the Y-axis, and the independent variable
is plotted on the X-axis.
 Clearly label each axis with respect to what was measured, quantity measured,
and units in which the quality was measured.
 Choose the appropriate scale units (length of intervals) so that the figure will not
distort actual data points.
 Make sure that the scale points on each axis have equal intervals.
 All figures are followed by a caption, which is written below each figure and
ended with a period.
 Figure labels beginning each caption are underlined and followed by a period.
For example: Figure 6. Reaction time in seconds as a function of the intensity
of the stimulus.
 Completed figures as they should appear in a written manuscript can be seen
in the publication manual itself.
General Guidelines of Results and Discussion
1) Do not purposely start a new page for this section. Simply center the
word results and continue typing on the very next double-spaced line (i.e., do
not insert any extra blank lines here).

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Report Writing
2) Look carefully at the results. That is, take a good hard look at all those
numbers you collect. Think of different ways to summarise them (describe),
as well as to make sense of them (analyse). You might find my Psychological
Statistics Site helpful. This section will be easier to write if you make any
tables and/or figures you intend to use first.
3) Briefly state the main findings in words. That is, first give a general description,
then go into the details.
4) When presenting the results of statistical tests, give descriptive statistics before
the corresponding inferential statistics. In other words, give means and/or
percentages (perhaps referring to a table or figure), before talking about the
results of any statistical tests you performed.
5) When presenting means, it is reasonable to use one additional digit of accuracy
than what is contained in the raw data. In other words, if the raw data
consisted of whole numbers, then the means should contain one decimal
place.
6) When presenting nominal or ordinal data, give the percents rather than
frequencies (since percents are independent of the sample size).
7) The general format for presenting an inferential statistic is: Statistic(df) =
value, probability = value. Note that exact p values are preferred. Also, if
the computer output says the probability is .0000, then report it as .001.
8) When possible, include some statistical estimate of effect size.
9) When actually presenting the results, try to emphasise the meaning of the
statistics. That is, clearly describe what it is you are testing and what significance
means for the variables involved.
10) See some examples of the correct way to present the results of several
common statistical tests.
11) Do not discuss the implications of the results in this section.
12) Do not talk about the meaning of the alpha level or the null hypothesis, and
what chance factors have to do with it. Since you are writing for the scientific
community, you can assume the reader will have a working knowledge of
statistics.
13) If you are presenting a lot of material here, you may wish to employ subheadings
(as is done in the methods section). These subheadings should have meaning
and relevance to the data and should help to organise your presentation of
it. In other words, they should not be organised by the type of analysis
employed. Since this is not expected by the reader, it is a good idea to
precede the subheadings with a paragraph informing the reader of the logical
organisation of this section.
14) In cases where the reader would expect something to be significant and it is
not, you should address the issue.
15) Do not provide raw data unless, for some reason, you require a single
subject approach. whether you point them out or not (they have probably
read hundreds of practical reports in the past). Second, you lecturers will be
happy to see that you have learned from the experience of carrying out the
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research.
 Result, Analysis and
16) Do not purposely start a new page for this section. Simply center the Discussion of the Data
word Discussion and continue typing on the very next double-spaced line
(i.e., do not insert any extra blank lines here).
17) The purpose of this section is to evaluate and interpret the results, especially
with respect to the original research question.
18) Start off with a brief, non-technical summary of the results. In other words,
tell the reader about the main findings without using statistical terminology.
19) Then go on to discuss the implications of the results. In other words, whatever
was found needs to be discussed.
20) It is also important to discuss how the results relate to the literature you cited
in the introduction. In other words, emphasise any theoretical consequences
of the results.
21) You might (or might not) also mention any limitations of the study and any
suggestions for future research in this section.
22) Finally, you need an ending paragraph in which you make a final summary
statement of the conclusions you have drawn. You are also encouraged, when
appropriate, to comment on the importance and relevance of your findings.
How are your findings related to the big picture?
Thus, this section should contain an absolute minimum of three paragraphs: the non-
technical summary, discussion of the results and their implications, and the concluding
paragraph.
Be careful with the word “prove”. Since statistical tests are based on probability and
can be in error, they do not really prove anything.
You can only use wording that implies causality if you actually manipulated the
independent variable (i.e., performed an experiment). For example, suppose you
manipulated whether subjects received a drug (while employing appropriate control
procedures, etc.) and found a significant difference in memory performance (with the
drug users performing more poorly than nonusers). In this case, you would be able
to conclude that the drug caused the difference in memory ability; it impaired it. As
another example, suppose that you compared drug use (as determined from the
results of a survey) with memory ability and found a correlation (greater use went
along with poorer memory performance). Since correlation doesn’t say much about
causality, we could only conclude that there is a relationship between drug use and
memory ability.

4.9 LET US SUM UP

This section of the main body is the results whose purpose is to provide sufficient
information about how the conclusion was reached. The heart of this section is the
presentation of data relevant to test the hypotheses. All relevant data are presented
including those that don’t support the hypotheses. Tables and figures are commonly
employed for supplementing textual material. A table consists of several numbers that
summarise the major findings of the experiment. A figure is a graph, photograph,
chart of like materials, which are relevant particularly for certain kinds of data like
showing the progress of learning or maturation over a designated period. Data in the
text and in tables or figures should not be redundant, rather, they should be
59
Report Writing complementary. Results of the statistical analyses carried should be provided. However,
they should not be interpreted and discussed in this section.
The final section of the main body report is discussion. The major function of this
section is to interpret the results of the study and to relate those results to other
studies. The implications of the study including the hypotheses, supported or not
supported, are discussed. If the findings are contrary to the hypotheses, some new
explanation is required so that a new hypothesis may be advanced. New hypotheses
may also be advanced about any uncommon deviation in the results. Sometimes
faulty hypotheses can be modified to make them consistent with the results obtained.
Negative results should also be discussed. Such results occur when a hypothesis
predicts something but the results don’t support that prediction. A brief speculation
about why they occurred, is sufficient. A brief discussion of the limitations of the
present study and proposals for future research is appropriately discussed here. Here
the researcher finally includes conclusions that reflect whether the original problem is
better resolved as a result of the investigation.

4.10 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) What is the significance of Results in Research Report writing?
2) Discuss the relevance of Discussion and Analysis of Results in Research Report
What are the strict APA guidelines for writing Discussion and Analysis of Results?
3) Carve out a befitting Research Report Results and Discuss with the help of an
example.

4.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Sixth Edition,
2009). American Psychological Association. Washington, DC.
Singh, AK. (2009). Test Measurements and Research Methods in Behavioural
Sciences (Fifth Edition). Bharti Bhawan Publishers & Distributors.

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