D. Results

The Results section is a logically organized presentation of your observational and numeric data. This is an opportunity to emphasize points or trends that you will be focusing on in your discussion. In many cases the organization and subheadings of this section should be consistent with those of the Methods and Materials section. There are usually two parts to this section:

1. Text
2. Tables & figures

The key purpose of the text in the results section is to point out and emphasize trends/ patterns in your data. These patterns are often illustrated in figures or tables. However, each figure and table needs accompanying text to point out the obvious—or sometimes the not so obvious. Briefly describe, but do not but do not make conclusions about your data here—save that for the discussion section. (Interpretation of the data belongs in the Discussion section.) Point out trends and note differences or similarities between treatment groups. Just don’t go into a lengthy explanation about what the data mean. Refer your reader to “Table 1” or “Figure 1” as you explicitly identify relationships, patterns, or general trends that you see in the data. Remember that relationships that are obvious to you may not be obvious to someone who has not carried out the experiment. Never write a sentence that just tells the reader where the data are. Point out to your reader the general trends in the data, then refer to the figure or table parenthetically.

The Results section should not be controversial since you are merely reporting findings, not saying what you think they mean. Avoid judging your data as "good" or "bad." Data are facts and facts simply are what they are. Remember: you are not graded on your results you are graded on how you handle them.Always report what you saw, not what you think you should have seen. Again, DO NOT interpret your data in this section. Leave interpretation for the discussion.

When using the term “significant” in your results section recognize that it has a specific statistical connotation in science that reads- statistically significant. Therefore, do not use the term “significant” when explaining differences you observe unless you found true statistical differences. Note that the example below shows the results of a statistical test, a T-test, following a claim that chloroplast speed was significantly slower.

Tables are organized lists of numbers, ideas, or other data. Figures are graphs, charts, diagrams, or photos. Tables and figures are key elements of a scientific paper. First, they offer a concise way to present a large amount of information. Second, they carry the bulk of the experimental evidence needed to support your conclusions. Third, they offer the reader a chance to assess your data and determine whether or not your conclusions are valid. Finally, the values in them can be used by other scientists who wish to build on your work. Usually, summarized (e.g., averages and measures of variation) rather than raw data are included in a paper. Always make it clear whether you are presenting actual data or averages. (In some cases we will ask you to include raw data as an appendix.) Please refer to the section 11 on production of figures using Excel.

Each table or figure should be referred to in the text of your paper at least once. If you have nothing to note about a particular table or figure, leave it out. Identify and number tables or figures according to the order they appear in the text (Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). This way the reader will know exactly what data you are discussing.

Tables and figures should be neat, logically organized, and informative. If properly prepared they can stand independently of the paper. Always remember that readers are not familiar with your data. A table or figure that seems self-explanatory to you may not seem so to a reader.

Here are some rules for presentation graphs and tables:

• Present your final data in table or graphical form. The choice of table or figure should be based on the type of data you have. If you are trying to show trends or simple comparisons it may be best to use a figure. If you have long lists or many comparisons to be made across groups a table may be more appropriate. [DO NOT present the same data in both table and graphic form.]
• The most common way to present graphical data is either an XY scatterplot for continuous data or a bar chart for categorical data.
• Keep it simple! The amount of time it takes a reader to interpret a figure is inversely proportional to how well those data are presented. Do not over use transformations or ratios if they are unnecessary for accuracy and clarity of your results.
• Clearly label all axes or columns including units (e.g. Time (min.), Concentration (mM), Mass (mg)). Provide a key for any symbols used.
• Table and figures should always have a legend (description) that fully describes them (so that they can stand alone). Avoid using the term vs.
• POOR LEGEND: Enzyme activity vs. salt
• BETTER: Dependence of alkaline phosphatase activity on the concentration of NaCl. The substrate for the reactions was ATP at a concentration of 2 mM.
• It is not necessary to create titles for figures or tables. A simple legend numbering each table and figure consecutively is sufficient. Do not use titles like “Chart 1” that are automatically generated by Excel.
• For graphs that present an average value as a single point or bar, include error bars and state what they represent. Usually, this will be 1 standard deviation (SD) or 1 standard error (SE) on either side of the mean. For tables presenting means, include some measure of variation (SD or SE).
• State the number of samples used to calculate an average. If you measured the height of 12 purple cone flower plants and reported an average height of 0.82m, indicate the number of samples used to generate that statistic as n=12.
• Do not connect the points on a line graph unless you really mean to say that the values in between the points shown should follow the line drawn. Trend lines have very limited predictive value or validity when connecting 3 points or less.

Look at these examples