It won’t surprise you to discover that the results section of your dissertation is quite important. It’s here, after all, that you present the fruits of your investigatory labours. Consequently, it should be clear, concise and detailed.
Luckily, there are a few simple tips you can follow when writing up your results to ensure clarity and quality. And don’t forget, having your work proofread is another great way of ensuring your academic writing is up to scratch.
1. Results? Or Results and Discussion?
Different institutions and disciplines use different systems for presenting results. In the hard sciences, for example, it is common to have separate results and discussion sections, while in the social sciences these are sometimes combined.
Check with your supervisor about the best approach for your work.
2. Statistical Analysis
As well as raw data, your results section will usually include some kind of analysis. When working with quantitative approaches, this may involve using statistical analysis software. Make sure that all analytical techniques employed are clearly explained in your methodology section.
3. Tables, Charts and Graphs
The best way to present results succinctly is with auspicious use of tables, charts and graphs. Consider which of these will be most appropriate for your data, and make so to label all tables and charts clearly.
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4. Contextualise!
Generally, your results section will focus on the data collected, with in-depth interpretation saved for the discussion section.
However, you should still offer a descriptive summary of your findings and an introductory paragraph setting out how you’re going to present your findings.
5. Use Your Appendices
The human appendix is famously useless, but the appendices in your dissertation can be very valuable. When writing your results section, for example, you can use the appendices for your complete dataset.
This gives you more freedom to focus on the most relevant findings in your write up, while still allowing you reader to access the data if required.
We hope these hints will prove useful for those of you writing up your dissertations at the moment. And if you’d like anyone to give your academic writing a vital proofread, we have editors ready to help.