WRITING THE RESULTS & DISCUSSION

FC 501-Advanced Research
Master in Management
SOUTHERN LEYTE STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE STUDIES
Sogod, Southern Leyte, Philippines
RESULTS Section in Research
Report: Its Function
• always begins with text, reporting the key
results and referring to your figures and
tables as you proceed
 Style of Writing RESULTS

• concise and objective

• passive voice will likely dominate here, but
use the active voice as much as possible
• use the past tense
• avoid repetitive paragraph structures
• do not interpret the data here
Things to consider as you write
Results section
1. What are the "results"?
“The answer to the questions asked in a
particular study is the KEY RESULT”
2. Differences, directionality, and
magnitude
“Report your results so as to provide as much
information as possible to the reader about the
nature of differences or relationships”
Things to consider as you write Results section cont’d.

3. Organize the results section based

on the sequence of Table and Figures
you'll include
Tables and Figures are assigned numbers separately
and in the sequence that you will refer to them from
the text.
Each Table or Figure must include a brief description
of the results being presented and other necessary
information in a heading or title.
 – Table headings or titles go above the Table;
tables are read from top to bottom.
– Figure l headings or titles go below the figure;
figures are usually viewed from bottom to top.

When referring to a Figure from the text,

"Figure" is abbreviated as Fig.,e.g., Fig. 1.
Table is never abbreviated, e.g., Table 1.
FIGURES
 Graph
 Chart
 Photograph
 Maps
 Drawing
Things to consider as you write Results section cont’d.

4. The body of the Results section is a

text-based presentation of the key
findings which includes references to
each of the Tables and Figures
major function of the text is to provide clarifying
information
Things to consider as you write Results section cont’d.

5. Statistical test summaries

already discussed in FC 502
DON’Ts in WRITING RESULTS
• Do not reiterate each value from a Figure or
Table - only the key result or trends that each
conveys.
• Do not present the same data in both a
Table and Figure - this is considered
redundant and a waste of space and energy.
Decide which format best shows the result
and go with it.
• Do not report raw data values when they can
be summarized as means, percents, etc.
 DISCUSSION SECTION
 HEART of the paper
 Highlight the most significant result
Function: to interpret results in light
of what was already known about
the subject of investigation
o Explain our new understanding of
the problem after taking the results
into consideration
 DISCUSSION SECTION
 Discussion will always connect to
the original questions/hypotheses
you posed

Contains your most original thought

and ideas
 STYLE
Use the active voice whenever possible

Passive
It has been shown by Cruz that organic
matter improves the soil structure.
Active (simpler, shorter, clearer and more direct)
Cruz showed that organic matter
improves soil structure.
 STYLE
Consistency in tenses
Past tense
is used to report observations of the study
“The addition of ubi enhanced the flavor of the
cheese”.
Present tense
is used for the truths and references to
stable conditions which are generally
applicable to true up to present times
“Full cream milk is rich in calcium and fat”.
 PRACTICAL ADVICE?

Be confessional – state the limitation of

the study
Use simple language and direct expression –
use simple words that can be easily
understood by the readers
Write for reader and write clearly…
 On SCIENTIFIC WRITING

“ State your facts as simply as

possible, even boldly. No one
wants flowers of eloquence or
literary ornaments in a research
article”. R. B. Mckerrow
 Activity 8

• Write and discuss the results of your

data analyzed in Activity 7.