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PH403: Results Section

PH403: Results Section. Janet Tate Acknowledgements http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~martins/sen_sem/thesis_org.html http://online.physics.uiuc.edu/courses/phys499/. The results section.

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PH403: Results Section

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  1. PH403: Results Section Janet Tate Acknowledgements http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~martins/sen_sem/thesis_org.html http://online.physics.uiuc.edu/courses/phys499/

  2. The results section • The results are actual statements of observations, including statistics, tables and graphs. Indicate information on range of variation. • Present results in an orderly and logical sequence, with text, tables, and figures. • Lay out the case as for a jury. Present sufficient detail so that others can draw their own inferences and construct their own explanations. • Important negative results must be reported. Reporting negative results is good science and how you handle them can be the basis of a great discussion section. • Do not interpret results - save that for the discussion.   

  3. Execution • Break up the results section into logical segments by using subheadings. • Introduce each table orfigureIN THE TEXT before you show it. • Key results should be stated in clear sentences at the beginning of paragraphs.  Good: “X is strongly correlated with Y, and a fit to the power-law function X=Yp yields p = 2.1.” Poor: “There is a significant relationship between X and Y.” • Describe the nature of the findings; do not just tell the reader whether or not they are significant.  • Use S.I. units (m, s, kg, W, etc.) throughout.

  4. Getting Started • A VERY complete outline helps. Start by listing the significant results you found in chronological order. • Typically, there are no “bad” results. For example, you might have many results that were taken early, before you knew the ropes. This is a thesis, so if these results will help the next student, put them in an appendix. • Appendices streamline this section! Also negative results must be included. • Be thoughtful and creative in the presentation – decide what to put in tables, what in figures, and design figures and tables carefully. • Now you can move from the outline to write this section.

  5. Which is more appropriate? • The duration of exposure to running water had a pronounced effect on cumulative seed germination percentages (Fig. 2). Seeds exposed to the 2‐day treatment had the highest cumulative germination (84%), 1.25 times that of the 12‐h or 5‐day groups and 4 times that of controls. • The results of the germination experiment (Fig. 2) suggest that the optimal time for running‐water treatment is 2 days. This group showed the highest cumulative germination (84%), with longer (5 d) or shorter (12 h)exposures producing smaller gains in germination when compared to the control group.

  6. Figures tell the story • Figures help immensely. • Good captions are informative, but do not contain new info that is not in the text.

  7. Clear table formats • Tables should be short and few. If you need to list many results in table form, put them in an appendix. • Good formatting is essential – keep simple!

  8. Time is short … • Have a clear plan – May 17 is 45 days away

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