31 Results
31.1 Key Insights
The Results section draws a path between the Introduction’s central question and its answer in the Discussion. Both data and results must be presented. A result refers to the interpretation of the data collected, not to the data itself. The results tell the reader how the data support your answer to the central question.
31.2 Structure
Each major result is presented in a self-contained sub-section. Each sub-section address a series of questions in the reader’s mind:
- Why was this done?
- How was it done?
- What are the data?
- What is the result (i.e. what does the data mean)?
Each sub-section should begin with an informative topic sentence, announcing the arrival of new material. Each sub-section can be concluded with a statement either summarizing the results or providing a transition leading into the next sub-section.
31.3 Writing Check-list
The following check-list should help you to structure your Results section.
31.3.1 Question
- Why is this experiment necessary?
- We first sought to determine if yfg can suppress expression of …
- What will be specifically addressed in this set of experiments?
- To investigate …, we …
31.3.2 Experiments
- What experiments were performed to answer the question?
- To address this question, we … \
- This technique has the unique advantage of being both … and also …
- What is the justification for using this technique?
- What is the specific advantage of this technique?
- Technique X also allowed us to study … \
- We used X SNP array because it provides the best … \
- To maximize protein detection, we used … \
- Rather than using the commonly used protocol X, we chose to use Y because …
- Why was another easier or more obvious technique not performed?
- Which factors might bias the result?
- Why was this control used?
- What was measured?
- In how many individuals/samples?
31.3.3 Results
- What new information was discovered?
- What are the important descriptive/summary statistics?
- yfg-/- mice exhibit on average 50% less …, indicating …
- Which figure/table summarizes the data?
31.3.4 Concluding Statement
- What is implied by the results?
- What is the answer to the question?
- These results suggest that … increases …
- Although consistent with …, our findings challenge …
- What is the next step?
31.4 Details
31.4.1 Sub-section Heading
Think of these as mini-titles for each main result. If the target journal allows the use of sub-section headings, make these clear statements, similar to the concluding statement of the sub-section. This aids the reader in understanding how the story is progressing. A description of the types of experiments done does not provide enough information to the reader. Consistency in style, instead of a mixture of statements and descriptions, is also useful.
31.4.2 Statistics
Include information on statistical tests (name, p-value, etc.) and descriptive statistics (mean, range, standard deviation, etc.), but always remember to frame them in the context of the results. Don’t simply state numbers, show what they mean.
31.4.3 Transition Between Sub-sections
Always keep the flow of the story in mind. The opening sentence links back — either to the Introduction or the previous result - then presents the question. The closing sentence summarizes the results and links ahead to the Discussion and the next result.
31.4.4 Tie-in with Figures and Tables
The results must speak for themselves. Minimize the number of times that the reader must look from the text to the Tables and Figures and back again. Tables and Figures are essential in illustrating and validating your results, but the text must contain enough detail so that the reader can understand the result without visual aid.
```{exercise, name = “Structure of a Results Section”}
The following example is adapted from a study surveying copy number variations (CNVs) in the malarial parasite P.falciparum.
The question posed by each sub-section and the purpose of each sentence are provided.
Question posed in sub-section 1: What is the genomic distribution of CNVs in P. falciparum?
Sub-section 1: CNV genes are non-randomly distributed throughout the P. falciparum
To obtain an overview of CNVs in P. falciparum, we hybridized genomic DNA from 16 in vitro cultured isolates to the PFSANGER microarray. (Question and Experiment)
In total, 186 genes showed hybridisation signals consistent with deletion or amplification in one or more isolate (Fig. 1). (Result)
In each isolate, between 11 and 37 genes showed evidence of deletion or amplification (Fig. S1). (Result)
These putative CNV genes were observed on all 14 chromosomes, though the pattern of variation was non-random (Fig. 1A). (Result)
There was an excess of CNV genes towards chromosomal ends, with 113 (60.8%) CNV genes within previously defined chromosome sub-telomere regions (n = 625) {[}31,32{]}, and 73 (39.3%) at more internal chromosomal loci (n = 4683, Fig. 1A,B). (Result)
Hence, 18.1% of genes in the sub-telomeres are observed as CNV compared with 1.6% in internal regions. (Result)
Overall, there was a highly significant skew toward sub-telomeric location for CNV genes compared with non-CNV genes (p < 0.0001, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; Fig. 1B, Table 1). (Conclusion)
Question posed in sub-section 2: What is the profile of recurrent and rare CNV abundance?
Sub-section 2: CNV genes are mostly rare and non-consecutive
In addition to location bias, we quantified the frequency bias by measuring how many isolates contained the same CNV. (Question and Experiment)
Approximately half of the total of putative CNVs (99/186, 53%) were detected in only a single isolate (Figure 2A). (Result)
A slight bias in these rare CNV genes was noted, amplifications (n = 58) being more frequent than deletions (n = 41) compared with 27 amplifications and 34 deletions detected in 2 or more isolates (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.055). (Result)
Common CNVs, detected in 2 or more isolates, represent a substantial level of genetic variation, affecting 0.7% of the coding sequence of the genome. (Conclusion)
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