Findings and analysis

You will report your results in a logical order, with tables and figures that carry the detail and text that tells the reader what to notice.

Do this first

Lay out your tables and figures in the order that answers your research questions, then write one sentence under each saying the main thing a reader should see. That sequence of sentences is the skeleton of your results section.

Steps

0 of 6 steps done

Order results by question
Organise the section around your research questions or hypotheses, in the order you raised them, not the order you ran the analyses. Start with descriptive results that orient the reader (sample characteristics, overall patterns), then move to the main tests or themes.
Report first, interpret later
In the results, state what you found: the direction, size and precision of effects, or the themes and how widely they appeared. Save explanation, comparison with other studies and implications for the discussion, unless your field or journal uses a combined results and discussion section.
Let tables and figures carry the detail
Use a table when readers need exact values and a figure when they need to see a pattern, trend or comparison. Each should make sense on its own, with a clear title, labelled axes and units, defined abbreviations, and a note on sample size and statistics.
Tell readers what to notice
Do not repeat every number from a table in the text. Write a sentence that states the finding and points to the evidence: “Participation fell sharply after 2015 (Figure 2).” Refer to every table and figure in the text, in numbered order.
Report statistics completely
Give effect sizes with confidence intervals or standard errors, not only p values, and report non-significant results that bear on your questions. Follow your style guide for formatting; APA, for example, italicises most statistical symbols.
Present qualitative findings as claims
Name each theme as a claim, explain it, then use short, well-chosen excerpts as evidence, with participant identifiers. Indicate how common a pattern was without false precision, and include cases that do not fit.

Templates

Results paragraph

[Research question or hypothesis, briefly]. [Main finding in plain words] ([statistic, effect size and 95% CI, or how widely the theme appeared]; Table [n]). [Secondary finding or exception]. [Result that did not support expectations, if any.] [Transition to the next question.]

Table or figure caption

Figure [n]. [What the figure shows]: [variable] by [variable] for [sample], [years or conditions].
Note. [Meaning of symbols and error bars, for example 95% confidence intervals.] [Abbreviations.] [Data source.] n = [number].

Qualitative theme

Theme [n]: [Theme stated as a claim]
[Two or three sentences explaining the theme, including how widely it appeared.]
As one [participant role] put it, “[short excerpt]” ([identifier]). [What this excerpt shows.]
[Variation or contrasting case.] [Link to the next theme.]

Check your draft

0 of 8 done

Does the order of my results follow the order of my research questions?
Does each paragraph begin with the finding rather than a table number or the name of a test?
Is every table and figure referred to in the text, in order?
Can each table and figure be understood without reading the text?
Have I reported effect sizes and uncertainty, not only significance?
Have I included results that did not support my expectations?
Have I kept explanation and comparison with the literature for the discussion, unless my format combines them?
Is every quotation or excerpt followed by analysis rather than left to speak for itself?

In your field

Results are usually a separate section built around figures, with text that walks the reader through them, and journals set strict rules on units, figure resolution and statistical reporting. Some fields and short-format journals combine results and discussion.

Common mistakes

Narrating every number in a table instead of telling the reader what the table shows.
Reporting p values alone, with no effect sizes or measure of uncertainty.
Using default chart settings, unlabelled axes or colours that cannot be told apart in greyscale or by colour-blind readers.
Leaving out results that did not support the hypothesis.
Stringing quotations together without analysis, so the reader has to do the interpreting.

Go further

Academic Phrasebank (University of Manchester): Reporting resultsPhrases for referring to tables and figures, highlighting important results, reporting proportions and introducing qualitative excerpts.
UNC Writing Center: Figures and ChartsWhen to use a table or a figure, how to design each one, and how to write captions.
Ten Simple Rules for Better Figures (Rougier, Droettboom and Bourne, PLOS Computational Biology)A free article on designing figures: identifying the message, writing captions, using colour well and avoiding distortion.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by Edward R. TufteThe classic book on clear, honest data graphics and on removing clutter that hides the data.