How to Write the Results of a Scientific Paper

1. CONTENT OF THE RESULTS

So now we come to the core of the paper, the data. This part of the paper is called the results section.

Contrary to popular belief, you shouldn’t start the results section by describ­ing methods that you inadvertently omitted from the materials and methods section.

There are usually two ingredients of the results section. First, you should give some kind of overall description of the experiments, providing the big pic­ture without repeating the experimental details previously provided in materi­als and methods. Second, you should present the data. Your results should be presented in the past tense. (See “Tense in Scientific Writing” in Chapter 30.)

Of course, it isn’t quite that easy. How do you present the data? A simple transfer of data from laboratory notebook to manuscript will hardly do.

Most importantly, in the manuscript you should present representative data rather than endlessly repetitive data. The fact that you could perform the same experiment 100 times without significant divergence in results might be of con­siderable interest to your major professor, but editors, not to mention readers, prefer a little bit of predigestion. Aaronson (1977, p. 10) said it another way: “The compulsion to include everything, leaving nothing out, does not prove that one has unlimited information; it proves that one lacks discrimination.” Exactly the same concept, and it is an important one, was stated almost a century earlier by John Wesley Powell, a geologist who served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1888. In Powell’s words: “The fool collects facts; the wise man selects them.”

2. HOW TO HANDLE NUMBERS

If one or only a few determinations are to be presented, they should be treated descriptively in the text. Repetitive determinations should be given in tables or graphs.

Any determinations, repetitive or otherwise, should be meaningful. Suppose that, in a particular group of experiments, a number of variables were tested (one at a time, of course). Those variables that affect the reaction become deter­minations or data and, if extensive, are tabulated or graphed. Those variables that do not seem to affect the reaction need not be tabulated or presented; how­ever, it is often important to define even the negative aspects of your experi­ments. It is often good insurance to state what you did not find under the conditions of your experiments. Someone else very likely may find different results under different conditions.

If statistics are used to describe the results, they should be meaningful statistics. Erwin Neter, who was editor in chief of Infection and Immunity, told a classic story to emphasize this point. He referred to a paper that reputedly read: “33 1/3% of the mice used in this experiment were cured by the test drug; 33 1/3% of the test population were unaffected by the drug and remained in a moribund condition; the third mouse got away.”

3. STRIVE FOR CLARITY

The results should be short and sweet, without verbiage. Mitchell (1968) quoted Einstein as having said, “If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.” Although the results section is the most important part, it is often the shortest, particularly if it is preceded by a well-written materials and methods section and followed by a well-written discussion.

The results need to be clearly and simply stated because it is the results that constitute the new knowledge that you are contributing to the world. The earlier parts of the paper (introduction, materials and methods) are designed to tell why and how you got the results; the later part of the paper (discussion) is designed to tell what they mean. Obviously, therefore, the whole paper must stand or fall on the basis of the results. Thus, the results must be presented with crys­tal clarity.

4. AVOID REDUNDANCY

Do not be guilty of redundancy in the results. The most common fault is the repetition in words of what is already apparent to the reader from examining the figures and tables. Even worse is the actual presentation, in the text, of all or many of the data shown in the tables or figures. This grave sin is committed so frequently that it is commented on at length, with examples, in the chapters on how to prepare tables and illustrations (Chapters 16 and 17).

Do not be verbose in citing figures and tables. Do not say, “It is clearly shown in Table 1 that nocillin inhibited the growth of N. gonorrhoeae.” Say, “Nocillin inhibited the growth of N. gonorrhoeae (Table 1).” The latter format has multiple benefits. Because it is briefer, it helps authors comply with journals’ word limits. It also is more readable. It also directs attention to what is most important: the findings, not the table or figure.

Some writers go too far in avoiding verbiage, however. Such writers often fail to provide clear antecedents for pronouns, especially “it.” Here is an item from a medical manuscript: “The left leg became numb at times and she walked it off. . . . On her second day, the knee was better, and on the third day it had completely disappeared.” The antecedent for both “its” is presumably “the numbness,” but the wording in both instances seems a result of dumbness.

5. A SUPPLEMENT ON SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL ONLINE

Increasingly, journals are electronically posting material supplementary to papers being published. Although sometimes this material regards methods, most commonly it provides information about the results. For example, addi­tional data may be posted, or additional tables and figures may be provided online. Whether authors may submit such supplementary material, and if so how, varies among journals. Also, norms regarding what supplementary mate­rials to provide online vary among research fields. If you think that providing supplementary material for online posting would be desirable, consult the instructions to authors of your target journal. If possible, also see what papers analogous to yours have done in this regard. Keep in mind, too, that the journal editor may ask you to place some of your material in an online supplement.

Source: Gastel Barbara, Day Robert A. (2016), How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, Greenwood; 8th edition.

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