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How to Write the Results/Findings Section in Research

What is the research paper Results section and what does it do?

The Results section of a scientific research paper represents the core findings of a study derived from the methods applied to gather and analyze information. It presents these findings in a logical sequence without bias or interpretation from the author, setting up the reader for later interpretation and evaluation in the Discussion section. A major purpose of the Results section is to break down the data into sentences that show its significance to the research question(s).

The Results section appears third in the section sequence in most scientific papers. It follows the presentation of the Methods and Materials and is presented before the Discussion section —although the Results and Discussion are presented together in many journals. This section answers the basic question “What did you find in your research?”

What is included in the Results section?

The Results section should include the findings of your study and ONLY the findings of your study. The findings include:

• Data presented in tables, charts, graphs, and other figures (may be placed into the text or on separate pages at the end of the manuscript)
• A contextual analysis of this data explaining its meaning in sentence form
• All data that corresponds to the central research question(s)
• All secondary findings (secondary outcomes, subgroup analyses, etc.)

If the scope of the study is broad, or if you studied a variety of variables, or if the methodology used yields a wide range of different results, the author should present only those results that are most relevant to the research question stated in the Introduction section .

As a general rule, any information that does not present the direct findings or outcome of the study should be left out of this section. Unless the journal requests that authors combine the Results and Discussion sections, explanations and interpretations should be omitted from the Results.

How are the results organized?

The best way to organize your Results section is “logically.” One logical and clear method of organizing research results is to provide them alongside the research questions—within each research question, present the type of data that addresses that research question.

Let’s look at an example. Your research question is based on a survey among patients who were treated at a hospital and received postoperative care. Let’s say your first research question is:

“What do hospital patients over age 55 think about postoperative care?”

This can actually be represented as a heading within your Results section, though it might be presented as a statement rather than a question:

Attitudes towards postoperative care in patients over the age of 55

Now present the results that address this specific research question first. In this case, perhaps a table illustrating data from a survey. Likert items can be included in this example. Tables can also present standard deviations, probabilities, correlation matrices, etc.

Following this, present a content analysis, in words, of one end of the spectrum of the survey or data table. In our example case, start with the POSITIVE survey responses regarding postoperative care, using descriptive phrases. For example:

“Sixty-five percent of patients over 55 responded positively to the question “ Are you satisfied with your hospital’s postoperative care ?” (Fig. 2)

Include other results such as subcategory analyses. The amount of textual description used will depend on how much interpretation of tables and figures is necessary and how many examples the reader needs in order to understand the significance of your research findings.

Next, present a content analysis of another part of the spectrum of the same research question, perhaps the NEGATIVE or NEUTRAL responses to the survey. For instance:

  “As Figure 1 shows, 15 out of 60 patients in Group A responded negatively to Question 2.”

After you have assessed the data in one figure and explained it sufficiently, move on to your next research question. For example:

  “How does patient satisfaction correspond to in-hospital improvements made to postoperative care?”

This kind of data may be presented through a figure or set of figures (for instance, a paired T-test table).

Explain the data you present, here in a table, with a concise content analysis:

“The p-value for the comparison between the before and after groups of patients was .03% (Fig. 2), indicating that the greater the dissatisfaction among patients, the more frequent the improvements that were made to postoperative care.”

Let’s examine another example of a Results section from a study on plant tolerance to heavy metal stress . In the Introduction section, the aims of the study are presented as “determining the physiological and morphological responses of Allium cepa L. towards increased cadmium toxicity” and “evaluating its potential to accumulate the metal and its associated environmental consequences.” The Results section presents data showing how these aims are achieved in tables alongside a content analysis, beginning with an overview of the findings:

“Cadmium caused inhibition of root and leave elongation, with increasing effects at higher exposure doses (Fig. 1a-c).”

The figure containing this data is cited in parentheses. Note that this author has combined three graphs into one single figure. Separating the data into separate graphs focusing on specific aspects makes it easier for the reader to assess the findings, and consolidating this information into one figure saves space and makes it easy to locate the most relevant results.

Following this overall summary, the relevant data in the tables is broken down into greater detail in text form in the Results section.

• “Results on the bio-accumulation of cadmium were found to be the highest (17.5 mg kgG1) in the bulb, when the concentration of cadmium in the solution was 1×10G2 M and lowest (0.11 mg kgG1) in the leaves when the concentration was 1×10G3 M.”

Captioning and Referencing Tables and Figures

Tables and figures are central components of your Results section and you need to carefully think about the most effective way to use graphs and tables to present your findings . Therefore, it is crucial to know how to write strong figure captions and to refer to them within the text of the Results section.

The most important advice one can give here as well as throughout the paper is to check the requirements and standards of the journal to which you are submitting your work. Every journal has its own design and layout standards, which you can find in the author instructions on the target journal’s website. Perusing a journal’s published articles will also give you an idea of the proper number, size, and complexity of your figures.

Regardless of which format you use, the figures should be placed in the order they are referenced in the Results section and be as clear and easy to understand as possible. If there are multiple variables being considered (within one or more research questions), it can be a good idea to split these up into separate figures. Subsequently, these can be referenced and analyzed under separate headings and paragraphs in the text.

To create a caption, consider the research question being asked and change it into a phrase. For instance, if one question is “Which color did participants choose?”, the caption might be “Color choice by participant group.” Or in our last research paper example, where the question was “What is the concentration of cadmium in different parts of the onion after 14 days?” the caption reads:

 “Fig. 1(a-c): Mean concentration of Cd determined in (a) bulbs, (b) leaves, and (c) roots of onions after a 14-day period.”

Steps for Composing the Results Section

Because each study is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to designing a strategy for structuring and writing the section of a research paper where findings are presented. The content and layout of this section will be determined by the specific area of research, the design of the study and its particular methodologies, and the guidelines of the target journal and its editors. However, the following steps can be used to compose the results of most scientific research studies and are essential for researchers who are new to preparing a manuscript for publication or who need a reminder of how to construct the Results section.

Step 1 : Consult the guidelines or instructions that the target journal or publisher provides authors and read research papers it has published, especially those with similar topics, methods, or results to your study.

• The guidelines will generally outline specific requirements for the results or findings section, and the published articles will provide sound examples of successful approaches.
• Note length limitations on restrictions on content. For instance, while many journals require the Results and Discussion sections to be separate, others do not—qualitative research papers often include results and interpretations in the same section (“Results and Discussion”).
• Reading the aims and scope in the journal’s “ guide for authors ” section and understanding the interests of its readers will be invaluable in preparing to write the Results section.

Step 2 : Consider your research results in relation to the journal’s requirements and catalogue your results.

• Focus on experimental results and other findings that are especially relevant to your research questions and objectives and include them even if they are unexpected or do not support your ideas and hypotheses.
• Catalogue your findings—use subheadings to streamline and clarify your report. This will help you avoid excessive and peripheral details as you write and also help your reader understand and remember your findings. Create appendices that might interest specialists but prove too long or distracting for other readers.
• Decide how you will structure of your results. You might match the order of the research questions and hypotheses to your results, or you could arrange them according to the order presented in the Methods section. A chronological order or even a hierarchy of importance or meaningful grouping of main themes or categories might prove effective. Consider your audience, evidence, and most importantly, the objectives of your research when choosing a structure for presenting your findings.

Step 3 : Design figures and tables to present and illustrate your data.

• Tables and figures should be numbered according to the order in which they are mentioned in the main text of the paper.
• Information in figures should be relatively self-explanatory (with the aid of captions), and their design should include all definitions and other information necessary for readers to understand the findings without reading all of the text.
• Use tables and figures as a focal point to tell a clear and informative story about your research and avoid repeating information. But remember that while figures clarify and enhance the text, they cannot replace it.

Step 4 : Draft your Results section using the findings and figures you have organized.

• The goal is to communicate this complex information as clearly and precisely as possible; precise and compact phrases and sentences are most effective.
• In the opening paragraph of this section, restate your research questions or aims to focus the reader’s attention to what the results are trying to show. It is also a good idea to summarize key findings at the end of this section to create a logical transition to the interpretation and discussion that follows.
• Try to write in the past tense and the active voice to relay the findings since the research has already been done and the agent is usually clear. This will ensure that your explanations are also clear and logical.
• Make sure that any specialized terminology or abbreviation you have used here has been defined and clarified in the  Introduction section .

Step 5 : Review your draft; edit and revise until it reports results exactly as you would like to have them reported to your readers.

• Double-check the accuracy and consistency of all the data, as well as all of the visual elements included.
• Read your draft aloud to catch language errors (grammar, spelling, and mechanics), awkward phrases, and missing transitions.
• Ensure that your results are presented in the best order to focus on objectives and prepare readers for interpretations, valuations, and recommendations in the Discussion section . Look back over the paper’s Introduction and background while anticipating the Discussion and Conclusion sections to ensure that the presentation of your results is consistent and effective.
• Consider seeking additional guidance on your paper. Find additional readers to look over your Results section and see if it can be improved in any way. Peers, professors, or qualified experts can provide valuable insights.

One excellent option is to use a professional English proofreading and editing service  such as Wordvice, including our paper editing service . With hundreds of qualified editors from dozens of scientific fields, Wordvice has helped thousands of authors revise their manuscripts and get accepted into their target journals. Read more about the  proofreading and editing process  before proceeding with getting academic editing services and manuscript editing services for your manuscript.

As the representation of your study’s data output, the Results section presents the core information in your research paper. By writing with clarity and conciseness and by highlighting and explaining the crucial findings of their study, authors increase the impact and effectiveness of their research manuscripts.

For more articles and videos on writing your research manuscript, visit Wordvice’s Resources page.

Wordvice Resources

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• Which Verb Tenses to Use in a Research Paper
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• How to Write a Research Paper Title
• Useful Phrases for Academic Writing
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• 100+ Verbs That Will Make Your Research Writing Amazing
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The results section is where you report the findings of your study based upon the methodology [or methodologies] you applied to gather information. The results section should state the findings of the research arranged in a logical sequence without bias or interpretation. A section describing results should be particularly detailed if your paper includes data generated from your own research.

Annesley, Thomas M. "Show Your Cards: The Results Section and the Poker Game." Clinical Chemistry 56 (July 2010): 1066-1070.

Importance of a Good Results Section

When formulating the results section, it's important to remember that the results of a study do not prove anything . Findings can only confirm or reject the hypothesis underpinning your study. However, the act of articulating the results helps you to understand the problem from within, to break it into pieces, and to view the research problem from various perspectives.

The page length of this section is set by the amount and types of data to be reported . Be concise. Use non-textual elements appropriately, such as figures and tables, to present findings more effectively. In deciding what data to describe in your results section, you must clearly distinguish information that would normally be included in a research paper from any raw data or other content that could be included as an appendix. In general, raw data that has not been summarized should not be included in the main text of your paper unless requested to do so by your professor.

Avoid providing data that is not critical to answering the research question . The background information you described in the introduction section should provide the reader with any additional context or explanation needed to understand the results. A good strategy is to always re-read the background section of your paper after you have written up your results to ensure that the reader has enough context to understand the results [and, later, how you interpreted the results in the discussion section of your paper that follows].

Bavdekar, Sandeep B. and Sneha Chandak. "Results: Unraveling the Findings." Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 63 (September 2015): 44-46; Brett, Paul. "A Genre Analysis of the Results Section of Sociology Articles." English for Specific Speakers 13 (1994): 47-59; Go to English for Specific Purposes on ScienceDirect;Burton, Neil et al. Doing Your Education Research Project . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2008; Results. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Results Section. San Francisco Edit; "Reporting Findings." In Making Sense of Social Research Malcolm Williams, editor. (London;: SAGE Publications, 2003) pp. 188-207.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Organization and Approach

For most research papers in the social and behavioral sciences, there are two possible ways of organizing the results . Both approaches are appropriate in how you report your findings, but use only one approach.

• Present a synopsis of the results followed by an explanation of key findings . This approach can be used to highlight important findings. For example, you may have noticed an unusual correlation between two variables during the analysis of your findings. It is appropriate to highlight this finding in the results section. However, speculating as to why this correlation exists and offering a hypothesis about what may be happening belongs in the discussion section of your paper.
• Present a result and then explain it, before presenting the next result then explaining it, and so on, then end with an overall synopsis . This is the preferred approach if you have multiple results of equal significance. It is more common in longer papers because it helps the reader to better understand each finding. In this model, it is helpful to provide a brief conclusion that ties each of the findings together and provides a narrative bridge to the discussion section of the your paper.

NOTE:   Just as the literature review should be arranged under conceptual categories rather than systematically describing each source, you should also organize your findings under key themes related to addressing the research problem. This can be done under either format noted above [i.e., a thorough explanation of the key results or a sequential, thematic description and explanation of each finding].

II.  Content

In general, the content of your results section should include the following:

• Introductory context for understanding the results by restating the research problem underpinning your study . This is useful in re-orientating the reader's focus back to the research problem after having read a review of the literature and your explanation of the methods used for gathering and analyzing information.
• Inclusion of non-textual elements, such as, figures, charts, photos, maps, tables, etc. to further illustrate key findings, if appropriate . Rather than relying entirely on descriptive text, consider how your findings can be presented visually. This is a helpful way of condensing a lot of data into one place that can then be referred to in the text. Consider referring to appendices if there is a lot of non-textual elements.
• A systematic description of your results, highlighting for the reader observations that are most relevant to the topic under investigation . Not all results that emerge from the methodology used to gather information may be related to answering the " So What? " question. Do not confuse observations with interpretations; observations in this context refers to highlighting important findings you discovered through a process of reviewing prior literature and gathering data.
• The page length of your results section is guided by the amount and types of data to be reported . However, focus on findings that are important and related to addressing the research problem. It is not uncommon to have unanticipated results that are not relevant to answering the research question. This is not to say that you don't acknowledge tangential findings and, in fact, can be referred to as areas for further research in the conclusion of your paper. However, spending time in the results section describing tangential findings clutters your overall results section and distracts the reader.
• A short paragraph that concludes the results section by synthesizing the key findings of the study . Highlight the most important findings you want readers to remember as they transition into the discussion section. This is particularly important if, for example, there are many results to report, the findings are complicated or unanticipated, or they are impactful or actionable in some way [i.e., able to be pursued in a feasible way applied to practice].

NOTE:   Always use the past tense when referring to your study's findings. Reference to findings should always be described as having already happened because the method used to gather the information has been completed.

III.  Problems to Avoid

When writing the results section, avoid doing the following :

• Discussing or interpreting your results . Save this for the discussion section of your paper, although where appropriate, you should compare or contrast specific results to those found in other studies [e.g., "Similar to the work of Smith [1990], one of the findings of this study is the strong correlation between motivation and academic achievement...."].
• Reporting background information or attempting to explain your findings. This should have been done in your introduction section, but don't panic! Often the results of a study point to the need for additional background information or to explain the topic further, so don't think you did something wrong. Writing up research is rarely a linear process. Always revise your introduction as needed.
• Ignoring negative results . A negative result generally refers to a finding that does not support the underlying assumptions of your study. Do not ignore them. Document these findings and then state in your discussion section why you believe a negative result emerged from your study. Note that negative results, and how you handle them, can give you an opportunity to write a more engaging discussion section, therefore, don't be hesitant to highlight them.
• Including raw data or intermediate calculations . Ask your professor if you need to include any raw data generated by your study, such as transcripts from interviews or data files. If raw data is to be included, place it in an appendix or set of appendices that are referred to in the text.
• Be as factual and concise as possible in reporting your findings . Do not use phrases that are vague or non-specific, such as, "appeared to be greater than other variables..." or "demonstrates promising trends that...." Subjective modifiers should be explained in the discussion section of the paper [i.e., why did one variable appear greater? Or, how does the finding demonstrate a promising trend?].
• Presenting the same data or repeating the same information more than once . If you want to highlight a particular finding, it is appropriate to do so in the results section. However, you should emphasize its significance in relation to addressing the research problem in the discussion section. Do not repeat it in your results section because you can do that in the conclusion of your paper.
• Confusing figures with tables . Be sure to properly label any non-textual elements in your paper. Don't call a chart an illustration or a figure a table. If you are not sure, go here .

Annesley, Thomas M. "Show Your Cards: The Results Section and the Poker Game." Clinical Chemistry 56 (July 2010): 1066-1070; Bavdekar, Sandeep B. and Sneha Chandak. "Results: Unraveling the Findings." Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 63 (September 2015): 44-46; Burton, Neil et al. Doing Your Education Research Project . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2008;  Caprette, David R. Writing Research Papers. Experimental Biosciences Resources. Rice University; Hancock, Dawson R. and Bob Algozzine. Doing Case Study Research: A Practical Guide for Beginning Researchers . 2nd ed. New York: Teachers College Press, 2011; Introduction to Nursing Research: Reporting Research Findings. Nursing Research: Open Access Nursing Research and Review Articles. (January 4, 2012); Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Results Section. San Francisco Edit ; Ng, K. H. and W. C. Peh. "Writing the Results." Singapore Medical Journal 49 (2008): 967-968; Reporting Research Findings. Wilder Research, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Human Services. (February 2009); Results. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Schafer, Mickey S. Writing the Results. Thesis Writing in the Sciences. Course Syllabus. University of Florida.

Writing Tip

Why Don't I Just Combine the Results Section with the Discussion Section?

It's not unusual to find articles in scholarly social science journals where the author(s) have combined a description of the findings with a discussion about their significance and implications. You could do this. However, if you are inexperienced writing research papers, consider creating two distinct sections for each section in your paper as a way to better organize your thoughts and, by extension, your paper. Think of the results section as the place where you report what your study found; think of the discussion section as the place where you interpret the information and answer the "So What?" question. As you become more skilled writing research papers, you can consider melding the results of your study with a discussion of its implications.

Driscoll, Dana Lynn and Aleksandra Kasztalska. Writing the Experimental Report: Methods, Results, and Discussion. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University.

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How To Write The Results/Findings Chapter

For qualitative studies (dissertations & theses).

By: Jenna Crossley (PhD). Expert Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | August 2021

So, you’ve collected and analysed your qualitative data, and it’s time to write up your results chapter. But where do you start? In this post, we’ll guide you through the qualitative results chapter (also called the findings chapter), step by step. 

Overview: Qualitative Results Chapter

• What (exactly) the qualitative results chapter is
• What to include in your results chapter
• How to write up your results chapter
• A few tips and tricks to help you along the way
• Free results chapter template

What exactly is the results chapter?

The results chapter in a dissertation or thesis (or any formal academic research piece) is where you objectively and neutrally present the findings of your qualitative analysis (or analyses if you used multiple qualitative analysis methods ). This chapter can sometimes be combined with the discussion chapter (where you interpret the data and discuss its meaning), depending on your university’s preference.  We’ll treat the two chapters as separate, as that’s the most common approach.

In contrast to a quantitative results chapter that presents numbers and statistics, a qualitative results chapter presents data primarily in the form of words . But this doesn’t mean that a qualitative study can’t have quantitative elements – you could, for example, present the number of times a theme or topic pops up in your data, depending on the analysis method(s) you adopt.

Adding a quantitative element to your study can add some rigour, which strengthens your results by providing more evidence for your claims. This is particularly common when using qualitative content analysis. Keep in mind though that qualitative research aims to achieve depth, richness and identify nuances , so don’t get tunnel vision by focusing on the numbers. They’re just cream on top in a qualitative analysis.

So, to recap, the results chapter is where you objectively present the findings of your analysis, without interpreting them (you’ll save that for the discussion chapter). With that out the way, let’s take a look at what you should include in your results chapter.

What should you include in the results chapter?

As we’ve mentioned, your qualitative results chapter should purely present and describe your results , not interpret them in relation to the existing literature or your research questions . Any speculations or discussion about the implications of your findings should be reserved for your discussion chapter.

In your results chapter, you’ll want to talk about your analysis findings and whether or not they support your hypotheses (if you have any). Naturally, the exact contents of your results chapter will depend on which qualitative analysis method (or methods) you use. For example, if you were to use thematic analysis, you’d detail the themes identified in your analysis, using extracts from the transcripts or text to support your claims.

While you do need to present your analysis findings in some detail, you should avoid dumping large amounts of raw data in this chapter. Instead, focus on presenting the key findings and using a handful of select quotes or text extracts to support each finding . The reams of data and analysis can be relegated to your appendices.

While it’s tempting to include every last detail you found in your qualitative analysis, it is important to make sure that you report only that which is relevant to your research aims, objectives and research questions .  Always keep these three components, as well as your hypotheses (if you have any) front of mind when writing the chapter and use them as a filter to decide what’s relevant and what’s not.

Need a helping hand?

How do I write the results chapter?

Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time to look at how to structure your chapter. Broadly speaking, the results chapter needs to contain three core components – the introduction, the body and the concluding summary. Let’s take a look at each of these.

Section 1: Introduction

The first step is to craft a brief introduction to the chapter. This intro is vital as it provides some context for your findings. In your introduction, you should begin by reiterating your problem statement and research questions and highlight the purpose of your research . Make sure that you spell this out for the reader so that the rest of your chapter is well contextualised.

The next step is to briefly outline the structure of your results chapter. In other words, explain what’s included in the chapter and what the reader can expect. In the results chapter, you want to tell a story that is coherent, flows logically, and is easy to follow , so make sure that you plan your structure out well and convey that structure (at a high level), so that your reader is well oriented.

The introduction section shouldn’t be lengthy. Two or three short paragraphs should be more than adequate. It is merely an introduction and overview, not a summary of the chapter.

Pro Tip – To help you structure your chapter, it can be useful to set up an initial draft with (sub)section headings so that you’re able to easily (re)arrange parts of your chapter. This will also help your reader to follow your results and give your chapter some coherence.  Be sure to use level-based heading styles (e.g. Heading 1, 2, 3 styles) to help the reader differentiate between levels visually. You can find these options in Word (example below).

Section 2: Body

Before we get started on what to include in the body of your chapter, it’s vital to remember that a results section should be completely objective and descriptive, not interpretive . So, be careful not to use words such as, “suggests” or “implies”, as these usually accompany some form of interpretation – that’s reserved for your discussion chapter.

The structure of your body section is very important , so make sure that you plan it out well. When planning out your qualitative results chapter, create sections and subsections so that you can maintain the flow of the story you’re trying to tell. Be sure to systematically and consistently describe each portion of results. Try to adopt a standardised structure for each portion so that you achieve a high level of consistency throughout the chapter.

For qualitative studies, results chapters tend to be structured according to themes , which makes it easier for readers to follow. However, keep in mind that not all results chapters have to be structured in this manner. For example, if you’re conducting a longitudinal study, you may want to structure your chapter chronologically. Similarly, you might structure this chapter based on your theoretical framework . The exact structure of your chapter will depend on the nature of your study , especially your research questions.

As you work through the body of your chapter, make sure that you use quotes to substantiate every one of your claims . You can present these quotes in italics to differentiate them from your own words. A general rule of thumb is to use at least two pieces of evidence per claim, and these should be linked directly to your data. Also, remember that you need to include all relevant results , not just the ones that support your assumptions or initial leanings.

In addition to including quotes, you can also link your claims to the data by using appendices , which you should reference throughout your text. When you reference, make sure that you include both the name/number of the appendix , as well as the line(s) from which you drew your data.

As referencing styles can vary greatly, be sure to look up the appendix referencing conventions of your university’s prescribed style (e.g. APA , Harvard, etc) and keep this consistent throughout your chapter.

Section 3: Concluding summary

The concluding summary is very important because it summarises your key findings and lays the foundation for the discussion chapter . Keep in mind that some readers may skip directly to this section (from the introduction section), so make sure that it can be read and understood well in isolation.

In this section, you need to remind the reader of the key findings. That is, the results that directly relate to your research questions and that you will build upon in your discussion chapter. Remember, your reader has digested a lot of information in this chapter, so you need to use this section to remind them of the most important takeaways.

Importantly, the concluding summary should not present any new information and should only describe what you’ve already presented in your chapter. Keep it concise – you’re not summarising the whole chapter, just the essentials.

Tips for writing an A-grade results chapter

Now that you’ve got a clear picture of what the qualitative results chapter is all about, here are some quick tips and reminders to help you craft a high-quality chapter:

• Your results chapter should be written in the past tense . You’ve done the work already, so you want to tell the reader what you found , not what you are currently finding .
• Make sure that you review your work multiple times and check that every claim is adequately backed up by evidence . Aim for at least two examples per claim, and make use of an appendix to reference these.
• When writing up your results, make sure that you stick to only what is relevant . Don’t waste time on data that are not relevant to your research objectives and research questions.
• Use headings and subheadings to create an intuitive, easy to follow piece of writing. Make use of Microsoft Word’s “heading styles” and be sure to use them consistently.
• When referring to numerical data, tables and figures can provide a useful visual aid. When using these, make sure that they can be read and understood independent of your body text (i.e. that they can stand-alone). To this end, use clear, concise labels for each of your tables or figures and make use of colours to code indicate differences or hierarchy.
• Similarly, when you’re writing up your chapter, it can be useful to highlight topics and themes in different colours . This can help you to differentiate between your data if you get a bit overwhelmed and will also help you to ensure that your results flow logically and coherently.

If you have any questions, leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to help. If you’d like 1-on-1 help with your results chapter (or any chapter of your dissertation or thesis), check out our private dissertation coaching service here or book a free initial consultation to discuss how we can help you.

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20 Comments

This was extremely helpful. Thanks a lot guys

Hi, thanks for the great research support platform created by the gradcoach team!

I wanted to ask- While “suggests” or “implies” are interpretive terms, what terms could we use for the results chapter? Could you share some examples of descriptive terms?

I think that instead of saying, ‘The data suggested, or The data implied,’ you can say, ‘The Data showed or revealed, or illustrated or outlined’…If interview data, you may say Jane Doe illuminated or elaborated, or Jane Doe described… or Jane Doe expressed or stated.

I found this article very useful. Thank you very much for the outstanding work you are doing.

What if i have 3 different interviewees answering the same interview questions? Should i then present the results in form of the table with the division on the 3 perspectives or rather give a results in form of the text and highlight who said what?

I think this tabular representation of results is a great idea. I am doing it too along with the text. Thanks

That was helpful was struggling to separate the discussion from the findings

this was very useful, Thank you.

Very helpful, I am confident to write my results chapter now.

It is so helpful! It is a good job. Thank you very much!

Very useful, well explained. Many thanks.

Hello, I appreciate the way you provided a supportive comments about qualitative results presenting tips

I loved this! It explains everything needed, and it has helped me better organize my thoughts. What words should I not use while writing my results section, other than subjective ones.

Thanks a lot, it is really helpful

Thank you so much dear, i really appropriate your nice explanations about this.

Thank you so much for this! I was wondering if anyone could help with how to prproperly integrate quotations (Excerpts) from interviews in the finding chapter in a qualitative research. Please GradCoach, address this issue and provide examples.

what if I’m not doing any interviews myself and all the information is coming from case studies that have already done the research.

Very helpful thank you.

This was very helpful as I was wondering how to structure this part of my dissertation, to include the quotes… Thanks for this explanation

This is very helpful, thanks! I am required to write up my results chapters with the discussion in each of them – any tips and tricks for this strategy?

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Understanding the Interpretation of Results in Research

Doing the interpretation of results in research is crucial to obtaining valuable findings. Learn how to achieve a good interpretation here!

Research is a powerful tool for gaining insights into the world around us. Whether in academia, industry, or the public sector, research studies can inform decision-making, drive innovation, and improve our understanding of complex phenomena. However, the value of research lies not only in the data collected but also in the interpretation of results. Properly interpreting research findings is critical to extracting meaningful insights, drawing accurate conclusions, and informing future research directions. 

In this Mind the Graph article, you’ll understand the basic concept of interpretation of results in research. The article will go over the right procedure for checking, cleaning, and editing your data as well as how to organize it effectively to aid interpretation.

What is the interpretation of results in research?

The process of interpreting and making meaning of data produced in a research study is known as research result interpretation. It entails studying the data’s patterns, trends, and correlations in order to develop reliable findings and make meaningful conclusions.  

Interpretation is a crucial step in the research process as it helps researchers to determine the relevance of their results, relate them to existing knowledge, and shape subsequent research goals. A thorough interpretation of results in research may assist guarantee that the findings are legitimate and trustworthy and that they contribute to the development of knowledge in an area of study. 

The interpretation of results in research requires multiple steps, including checking, cleaning, and editing data to ensure its accuracy, and properly organizing it in order to simplify interpretation. To examine data and derive reliable findings, researchers must employ suitable statistical methods. They must additionally consider the larger ramifications of their results and how they apply to everyday scenarios. 

It’s crucial to keep in mind that coming to precise conclusions while generating meaningful inferences is an iterative process that needs thorough investigation. 

The process of checking, cleaning, and editing data

The process of data checking, cleaning, and editing may be separated into three stages: screening, diagnostic, and treatment . Each step has a distinct goal and set of tasks to verify the data’s accuracy and reliability. 

Screening phase

The screening process consists of a first inspection of the data to find any errors or anomalies. Running basic descriptive statistics, reviewing data distributions, and discovering missing values may all be part of this. This phase’s goal is to discover any concerns with the data that need to be investigated further.

Diagnostic phase

The diagnostic phase entails a more extensive review of the data to identify particular concerns that must be addressed. Identifying outliers, investigating relationships between variables, and spotting abnormalities in the data are all examples of this. This phase’s goal is to identify any problems with the data and propose suitable treatment options.

Treatment phase

The treatment phase entails taking action to resolve any difficulties found during the diagnostic phase. This may involve eliminating outliers, filling in missing values, transforming data, and editing data. This phase’s goal is to guarantee that the data is reliable, precise, and in the appropriate format for analysis.

Researchers may guarantee that their data is high-quality and acceptable for analysis by using a structured approach to data checking, cleaning, and editing.

How to organize data display and description?

Organizing data display and description is another critical stage in the process of analyzing study results. The format in which data is presented has a significant influence on how quickly it may be comprehended and interpreted. The following are some best practices for data display and description organization.

Best practices for qualitative data include the following:

• Use quotes and anecdotes: Use quotes and anecdotes from participants to illustrate key themes and patterns in the data.
• Group similar responses: Similar replies should be grouped together to find major themes and patterns in the data.
• Use tables: Tables to arrange and summarize major themes, categories, or subcategories revealed by the data.
• Use figures: Figures, such as charts or graphs, may help you visualize data and spot patterns or trends.
• Provide context: Explain the research project’s topic or hypothesis being examined, as well as any important background information, before presenting the findings.
• Use simple and direct language: To describe the data being given, use clear and succinct language.

Best practices for quantitative data include the following:

• Use relevant charts and graphs: Select the right chart or graph for the data being presented. A bar chart, for example, could be ideal for categorical data, but a scatter plot might be appropriate for continuous data.
• Label the axes and include a legend: Label the axes of the chart or graph and include a legend to explain any symbols or colors used. This makes it easier for readers to comprehend the information offered.
• Provide context: Give context to the data that is being given. This may include a brief summary of the research issue or hypothesis under consideration, as well as any pertinent background information.
• Use clear and succinct language: To describe the data being given, use clear and concise language. Avoid using technical jargon or complex language that readers may find difficult to grasp.
• Highlight significant findings: Highlight noteworthy findings in the provided data. Identifying any trends, patterns, or substantial disparities across groups is one example.
• Create a summary table: Provide a summary table that explains the data being provided. Key data such as means, medians, and standard deviations may be included.

3 Tips for interpretation of results in research

Here are some key tips to keep in mind when interpreting research results:  

• Keep your research question in mind: The most important piece of advice for interpreting the results is to keep your research question in mind. Your interpretation should be centered on addressing your research question, and all of your analysis should be directed in that direction.
• Consider alternate explanations: It’s critical to think about alternative explanations for your results. Ask yourself whether any other circumstances might be impacting your findings, and carefully assess them. This can assist guarantee that your interpretation is based on the evidence and not on assumptions or biases. 
• Contextualize the results: Put the results into perspective by comparing them to past research in the topic at hand. This can assist in identifying trends, patterns, or discrepancies that you may have missed otherwise, as well as providing a foundation for subsequent research. 

By following these three tips, you may assist guarantee that your interpretation of data is correct, useful, and relevant to your research topic and the larger context of your field of research.

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What you need to know about research dissemination

Last updated

5 March 2024

Reviewed by

In this article, we'll tell you what you need to know about research dissemination.

• Understanding research dissemination

Research that never gets shared has limited benefits. Research dissemination involves sharing research findings with the relevant audiences so the research’s impact and utility can reach its full potential.

When done effectively, dissemination gets the research into the hands of those it can most positively impact. This may include:

Politicians

Industry professionals

The general public

What it takes to effectively disseminate research will depend greatly on the audience the research is intended for. When planning for research dissemination, it pays to understand some guiding principles and best practices so the right audience can be targeted in the most effective way.

• Core principles of effective dissemination

Effective dissemination of research findings requires careful planning. Before planning can begin, researchers must think about the core principles of research dissemination and how their research and its goals fit into those constructs.

Research dissemination principles can best be described using the 3 Ps of research dissemination.

This pillar of research dissemination is about clarifying the objective. What is the goal of disseminating the information? Is the research meant to:

Persuade policymakers?

Influence public opinion?

Support strategic business decisions?

Contribute to academic discourse? 

Knowing the purpose of sharing the information makes it easy to accurately target it and align the language used with the target audience.

The process includes the methods that will be used and the steps taken when it comes time to disseminate the findings. This includes the channels by which the information will be shared, the format it will be shared in, and the timing of the dissemination.

By planning out the process and taking the time to understand the process, researchers will be better prepared and more flexible should changes arise.

The target audience is whom the research is aimed at. Because different audiences require different approaches and language styles, identifying the correct audience is a huge factor in the successful dissemination of findings.

By tailoring the research dissemination to the needs and preferences of a specific audience, researchers increase the chances of the information being received, understood, and used.

• Types of research dissemination

There are many options for researchers to get their findings out to the world. The type of desired dissemination plays a big role in choosing the medium and the tone to take when sharing the information.

Some common types include:

Academic dissemination: Sharing research findings in academic journals, which typically involves a peer-review process.

Policy-oriented dissemination: Creating documents that summarize research findings in a way that's understandable to policymakers.

Public dissemination: Using television and other media outlets to communicate research findings to the public.

Educational dissemination: Developing curricula for education settings that incorporate research findings.

Digital and online dissemination: Using digital platforms to present research findings to a global audience.

Strategic business presentation: Creating a presentation for a business group to use research insights to shape business strategy

• Major components of information dissemination

While the three Ps provide a convenient overview of what needs to be considered when planning research dissemination, they are not a complete picture.

Here’s a more comprehensive list of what goes into the dissemination of research results:

Audience analysis : Identifying the target audience and researching their needs, preferences, and knowledge level so content can be tailored to them.

Content development: Creating the content in a way that accurately reflects the findings and presents them in a way that is relevant to the target audience.

Channel selection: Choosing the channel or channels through which the research will be disseminated and ensuring they align with the preferences and needs of the target audience.

Timing and scheduling: Evaluating factors such as current events, publication schedules, and project milestones to develop a timeline for the dissemination of the findings.

Resource allocation: With the basics mapped out, financial, human, and technological resources can be set aside for the project to facilitate the dissemination process.

Impact assessment and feedback: During the dissemination, methods should be in place to measure how successful the strategy has been in disseminating the information.

Ethical considerations and compliance: Research findings often include sensitive or confidential information. Any legal and ethical guidelines should be followed.

• Crafting a dissemination blueprint

With the three Ps providing a foundation and the components outlined above giving structure to the dissemination, researchers can then dive deeper into the important steps in crafting an impactful and informative presentation.

Let’s take a look at the core steps.

1. Identify your audience

To identify the right audience for research dissemination, researchers must gather as much detail as possible about the different target audience segments.

By gathering detailed information about the preferences, personalities, and information-consumption habits of the target audience, researchers can craft messages that resonate effectively.

As a simple example, academic findings might be highly detailed for scholarly journals and simplified for the general public. Further refinements can be made based on the cultural, educational, and professional background of the target audience.

2. Create the content

Creating compelling content is at the heart of effective research dissemination. Researchers must distill complex findings into a format that's engaging and easy to understand. In addition to the format of the presentation and the language used, content includes the visual or interactive elements that will make up the supporting materials.

Depending on the target audience, this may include complex technical jargon and charts or a more narrative approach with approachable infographics. For non-specialist audiences, the challenge is to provide the required information in a way that's engaging for the layperson.

3. Take a strategic approach to dissemination

There's no single best solution for all research dissemination needs. What’s more, technology and how target audiences interact with it is constantly changing. Developing a strategic approach to sharing research findings requires exploring the various methods and channels that align with the audience's preferences.

Each channel has a unique reach and impact, and a particular set of best practices to get the most out of it. Researchers looking to have the biggest impact should carefully weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of the channels they've decided upon and craft a strategy that best uses that knowledge.

4. Manage the timeline and resources

Time constraints are an inevitable part of research dissemination. Deadlines for publications can be months apart, conferences may only happen once a year, etc. Any avenue used to disseminate the research must be carefully planned around to avoid missed opportunities.

In addition to properly planning and allocating time, there are other resources to consider. The appropriate number of people must be assigned to work on the project, and they must be given adequate financial and technological resources. To best manage these resources, regular reviews and adjustments should be made.

• Tailoring communication of research findings

We’ve already mentioned the importance of tailoring a message to a specific audience. Here are some examples of how to reach some of the most common target audiences of research dissemination.

Making formal presentations

Content should always be professional, well-structured, and supported by data and visuals when making formal presentations. The depth of information provided should match the expertise of the audience, explaining key findings and implications in a way they'll understand. To be persuasive, a clear narrative and confident delivery are required.

Communication with stakeholders

Stakeholders often don't have the same level of expertise that more direct peers do. The content should strike a balance between providing technical accuracy and being accessible enough for everyone. Time should be taken to understand the interests and concerns of the stakeholders and align the message accordingly.

Engaging with the public

Members of the public will have the lowest level of expertise. Not everyone in the public will have a technical enough background to understand the finer points of your message. Try to minimize confusion by using relatable examples and avoiding any jargon. Visual aids are important, as they can help the audience to better understand a topic.

• 10 commandments for impactful research dissemination

In addition to the details above, there are a few tips that researchers can keep in mind to boost the effectiveness of dissemination:

Master the three Ps to ensure clarity, focus, and coherence in your presentation.

Establish and maintain a public profile for all the researchers involved.

When possible, encourage active participation and feedback from the audience.

Use real-time platforms to enable communication and feedback from viewers.

Leverage open-access platforms to reach as many people as possible.

Make use of visual aids and infographics to share information effectively.

Take into account the cultural diversity of your audience.

Rather than considering only one dissemination medium, consider the best tool for a particular job, given the audience and research to be delivered.

Continually assess and refine your dissemination strategies as you gain more experience.

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• v.317(7150); 1998 Jul 4

Looking forward

Making better use of research findings, andrew haines.

a Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, Royal Free and University College London Schools of Medicine, London NW3 2PF, b Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London Medical School

Anna Donald

There is increasing interest in implementing research findings in practice both because of a growing awareness of the gap between clinical practice and the findings of research and also because of the need to show that public investment in research results in benefits for patients. Improved understanding of the reasons for the uptake of research findings requires insights from a range of disciplines. In order to promote the uptake of research findings it is necessary to identify potential barriers to implementation and to develop strategies to overcome them. Specific interventions that can be used to promote change in practice include using clinical guidelines and computerised decision support systems, developing educational programmes, communicating research findings to patients, and developing strategies for organisational change.

Interest in how best to promote the uptake of research findings has been fuelled by a number of factors including the well documented disparities between clinical practice and research evidence of effective interventions. Examples include interventions in the management of cardiac failure, secondary prevention of heart disease, 1 atrial fibrillation, 2 menorrhagia, 3 and pregnancy and childbirth. 4 In the United Kingdom the advent of the NHS research and development programme has led to greater involvement of NHS personnel in setting priorities 5 and to the establishment of a programme to evaluate different methods of promoting the implementation of research findings. 6 The concept of pay back on research 7 has also been developed, resulting in a framework that can be used to assess the benefits arising from research.

Relying on the passive diffusion of information to keep health professionals’ knowledge up to date is doomed to failure in a global environment in which about 2 million articles on medical issues are published annually. 8 There is also growing awareness that conventional continuing education activities, such as conferences and courses, which focus largely on the passive acquisition of knowledge have little impact on the behaviour of health professionals. 9 The circulation of guidelines without an implementation strategy is also unlikely to result in changes in practice. 10

Summary points

• Reasons for failing to get research findings into practice are many and include the lack of appropriate information at the point of decision making and social, organisational, and institutional barriers to change
• All people within an organisation who will have to implement the change or who can influence change should be involved in developing strategies for change
• Better links between clinical audit, continuing education, and research and development need to be developed
• Evidence of the effectiveness of specific interventions to promote change is still incomplete, but a combination of interventions will probably be needed
• The pressure for more effective and efficient implementation of research findings is likely to grow

Health professionals need to plan for rapid changes in knowledge, something that is likely to persist throughout our professional lifetimes and which encompasses not only diagnostic techniques, drug treatment, behavioural interventions, and surgical procedures but also ways of delivering and organising health services and developing health policy. Many health professionals already feel overburdened, and therefore a radical change in approach is required so that they can manage change rather than feel like its victims. A number of steps are necessary in order to support this process.

Keeping abreast of new knowledge

Health professionals need timely, valid, and relevant information to be available at the point of decision making. Despite extensive investment in information technology by the NHS the rapid delivery of such information is not widely available. Relatively simple prompting and reminder systems can improve clinicians’ performance 11 ; the price of useful databases such as Best Evidence (which comprises Evidence-Based Medicine and the American College of Physicians Journal Club on CD ROM) and The Cochrane Library is little more than the cost of subscribing to a journal. There are an increasing number of journals, such as Evidence-Based Medicine, that review important papers rigorously and present the results in a way that busy clinicians can rapidly absorb. The NHS reviews and dissemination centre in York compiles systematic reviews that are relevant to clinicians and policymakers. Nevertheless, many clinicians still do not receive such information, 12 and more needs to be done to provide a wider range of high quality information that is usable in practice settings.

Librarians’ roles are changing rapidly; in North America, for example, some librarians are involved in clinical practice through programmes such as literature attached to the chart (LATCH). 13 In these programmes, hospital librarians participate in ward rounds and actively support clinical decision making at the bedside. Requests for information are documented in the notes, and articles are subsequently delivered to the ward. Similar programmes could be introduced elsewhere after appropriate evaluation, but information support is also needed in primary care settings. In the United Kingdom many health professionals, such as nurses, may not be permitted to use their hospital library since they are not formally affiliated with the (medical) body that funds them.

Implementing knowledge

Research findings can influence decisions at many levels—in caring for individual patients, in developing practice guidelines, in commissioning health care, in developing prevention and health promotion strategies, in developing policy, in designing educational programmes, and in performing clinical audit—but only if clinicians know how to translate knowledge into action. The acquisition of database searching and critical appraisal skills should give health professionals greater confidence in finding and assessing the quality of publications, but this does not necessarily help in applying new knowledge to day to day problems. 14 Much attention has been paid to the use of best evidence during consultations with individual patients—that is, using evidence based medicine derived largely from epidemiological methods. 15 , 16 However, organisational change is often also necessary to implement clinical change. Even a step as simple as ensuring that all patients with a history of myocardial infarction are offered aspirin requires that a number of smaller steps are taken including identifying patients, contacting them, explaining the rationale, checking for contraindications, and prescribing aspirin or advising patients to buy it over the counter. Furthermore, health professionals have their own experiences, beliefs, and perceptions about appropriate practice; attempts to change practice which ignore these factors are unlikely to succeed. Awareness of these pitfalls has led to greater emphasis on understanding social, behavioural, and organisational factors which may act as barriers to change. 17

A wide spectrum of approaches for promoting implementation has been used. These approaches are underpinned by a number of theoretical perspectives on behavioural change such as cognitive theories which focus on rational information seeking and decision making; management theories which emphasise organisational conditions needed to improve care; learning theories which lead to behavioural approaches involving, for example, audit and feedback and reminder systems; and social influence theories which focus on understanding and using the social environment to promote and reinforce change. 18

Clearly these approaches are not mutually exclusive. For example, the transmission of information from research to single practitioners or small groups of health professionals through educational outreach has a strong educational component but might also include aspects of social influence interventions 19 in pointing out the use of a particular treatment by local colleagues. The marketing strategies used by the pharmaceutical industry depend on segmentation of the target audience into groups that are likely to share characteristics so that a message can be tailored to that group. 20 Similar techniques might be adapted for non-commercial use within the NHS. The evidence for the effectiveness of different approaches and interventions is still incomplete and will be reviewed in a subsequent article in the series. 21 In many cases a combination of approaches will be more effective than a single intervention. 22 No single theoretical perspective has been adequately validated to guide the choice of implementation strategies.

Steps in promoting the uptake of research findings

• Determine that there is an appreciable gap between research findings and practice
• Define the appropriate message (for example, the information to be used)
• Decide which processes need to be altered
• Involve the key players (for example those people who will implement change or who are in a position to influence change)
• Identify the barriers to change and decide how to overcome them
• Decide on specific interventions to promote change (for example the use of guidelines or educational programmes)
• Identify levers for change—that is, existing mechanisms which can be used to promote change (for example, financial incentives to attend educational programmes or placing appropriate questions in professional examinations)
• Determine whether practice has changed in the way desired; use clinical audit to monitor change

The study of the diffusion of innovations—how new ideas are transmitted through social networks—has been influential in illustrating that those who adopt new ideas early tend to differ in a number of ways from those who adopt the ideas later. For example, those who adopt new ideas early tend to have more extensive social and professional networks. 23 Much of the medical literature has a bias towards innovation and the underlying assumption is that innovations are bound to be beneficial. However, in health care the challenge is to promote the uptake of innovations that have been shown to be effective, to delay the spread of those that have not yet been shown to be effective, and to prevent the uptake of ineffective innovations. 24

Although different people can promote the uptake of research findings—including policymakers, commissioning authorities, educators, and provider managers—it is largely clinicians and their patients who will implement findings. A number of steps need to be taken in order to get research findings into practice (box previous page). The characteristics of the message should also be considered; they may influence the degree to which the message is incorporated into practice (box above).

Important characteristics of the message

• Generalisability (settings in which the intervention is relevant)
• Applicability (the patients to whom the intervention is relevant)
• Format and presentation (for example, will there be written or computerised guidelines, will absolute and relative risk reductions be presented)

Other characteristics

• Source of the message (for example, professional organisation, Department of Health)
• Channels of communication (how the message will be disseminated)
• Target audiences (the recipients)
• Timing of the initial launch and frequency of updating
• Mechanism for updating the message

The choice of key players—those people in the organisation who will have to implement change or who can influence change—will depend on the processes to be changed; in primary care, for example, nurses and administrative staff should be involved in many cases, in addition to general practitioners, since their cooperation will be essential for organisational change to be effective. If the innovation involves the acquisition of specific skills, such as training in certain procedures, then those who organise postgraduate and continuing education are also key players.

The identification of barriers to change and the development of strategies to overcome them are likely to be of fundamental importance in promoting the uptake of research findings. Some examples of barriers to the application of research findings to patients are given in the box on the next page. A future article will propose a conceptual framework for analysing and overcoming barriers. 25 Since some of the strongest resistance to change may be related to the experiences and beliefs of health professionals, the early involvement of key players is essential in identifying and, when necessary, overcoming such impediments to change. Barriers need to be reviewed during the process of implementation as their nature may change over time.

Interventions to promote change must be tailored to the problem, audience, and the resources available. Educational outreach, for example, may be particularly appropriate for updating primary care practitioners in the management of specific conditions because they tend to work alone or in small groups. Guidelines based on research evidence may be developed and endorsed by national professional organisations and adapted for local use as part of clinical audit and educational programmes.

Linking research with practice

There need to be closer links between research and practice, so that research is relevant to practitioners’ needs and so that practitioners are willing to participate in research. While there is evidence that some researchers can promote their own work, 26 in general researchers have not been systematically involved in the implementation of their own findings and may not be well equipped to do this. In the United Kingdom, the NHS research and development programme is seeking views about priorities for research through a broad consultation process. 5 Better methods of involving those who are most likely to use the results of research are needed to ensure that research questions are framed appropriately and tested in relevant contexts using interventions that can be replicated in everyday practice. For example, there is little point conducting trials of a new intervention in hospital practice if virtually all of the treatments for a particular disorder are carried out in primary care settings. Contextual relevance is particularly important in studies of the organisation and delivery of services, 27 such as stroke units, hospital at home schemes, and schemes for improving hospital discharge procedures to reduce readmissions among elderly patients. If unaccounted for, differences in skill mix and management structures between innovative services and most providers can make it difficult for providers to have a clear view of how they should best implement findings in their own units.

Interaction between purchasers and providers

—In the NHS, purchasers as well as providers should be involved in applying research findings to practice. Purchasers can help create an environment conducive to change, for example, by ensuring that health professionals have access to information, that libraries are financially supported, and that continuing education and audit programmes are configured to work together to promote effective practice. Purchasers could also ensure that the organisation and delivery of services takes into account the best available research evidence. However, it is clear that the degree of influence exerted by purchasers on the practice of providers is limited, 28 and that priority must be given to helping providers develop the capacity to understand and use research findings.

Making implementation an integral part of training

—For many health professionals, involvement in implementation may be far more relevant to their careers and to the development of the NHS than undertaking laboratory research, yet pressures to undertake research remain strong. Greater encouragement should be given to clinicians to spend time learning to use and implement research findings effectively.

Potential barriers to change

Environmental

In the practice

• Limitations of time
• Limitations of the organisation of the practice (for example, a lack of disease registers or mechanisms to monitor repeat prescribing)

In education

• Inappropriate continuing education and failure to connect with programmes to promote better quality of care
• Lack of incentives to participate in effective educational activities

In health care

• Lack of financial resources
• Lack of defined practice populations
• Health policies which promote ineffective or unproved activities
• Failure to provide practitioners with access to appropriate information
• Influence of the media on patients in creating demands or beliefs
• Impact of disadvantage on patients’ access to care

Factors associated with the practitioner

• Obsolete knowledge
• Influence of opinion leaders (such as health professionals whose views influence their peers)
• Beliefs and attitudes (for example, a previous adverse experience of innovation)

Factors associated with the patient

• Demands for care
• Perceptions or cultural beliefs about appropriate care

Factors which in some circumstances might be perceived as barriers to change can also be levers for change. For example, patients may influence practitioners’ behaviour towards clinically effective practice by requesting interventions that have been proved to be effective. Practitioners might be influenced positively by opinion leaders.

Learning to evaluate and use research findings in daily practice is an important and lifelong part of professional development. This requires not only changes in educational programmes, but also a realignment of institutions so that management structures can support changes in knowledge and the implementation of changes in procedures.

There are major structural difficulties that need to be overcome in the NHS. For example, better coordination at national, regional, and local levels is required between the education and training of health professionals, clinical audit, and research and development. This type of coordination should be a priority for the proposed national institute for clinical excellence in the United Kingdom. 29

It has been suggested that financial considerations, rather than the potential for gaining useful knowledge, affect general practitioners’ choice of continuing education courses. 30 One of the aims of continuing education should be to ensure that practitioners stay up to date with research findings of major importance for patient care and change their practice accordingly. Continuing education activities need to take into account evidence about the ineffectiveness of many traditional approaches. To develop a more integrated approach to promoting the uptake of research findings, health systems need to have coordinated mechanisms that can manage the continuing evolution of medical knowledge.

The advent of research based information that is available to patients 31 and the increasing accessibility of information of variable quality through the internet and other sources suggests that doctors have the potential to act as information brokers and interpreters for patients. Doctors could also work together with user groups representing patients or their carers, a number of which have demonstrated an interest in and commitment to providing quality research based information to their members. 32 The pace of change in knowledge is unlikely to slow. As health systems around the world struggle to reconcile change with limited resources and rising expectations, pressure to implement research findings more effectively and efficiently is bound to grow.

Funding: None.

Conflict of interest: None.

The articles in this series are adapted from Coping with Loss , edited by Colin Murray Parkes and Andrew Markus, which will be published in July.

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Methodology

Research Methods | Definitions, Types, Examples

Research methods are specific procedures for collecting and analyzing data. Developing your research methods is an integral part of your research design . When planning your methods, there are two key decisions you will make.

First, decide how you will collect data . Your methods depend on what type of data you need to answer your research question :

• Qualitative vs. quantitative : Will your data take the form of words or numbers?
• Primary vs. secondary : Will you collect original data yourself, or will you use data that has already been collected by someone else?
• Descriptive vs. experimental : Will you take measurements of something as it is, or will you perform an experiment?

Second, decide how you will analyze the data .

• For quantitative data, you can use statistical analysis methods to test relationships between variables.
• For qualitative data, you can use methods such as thematic analysis to interpret patterns and meanings in the data.

Table of contents

Methods for collecting data, examples of data collection methods, methods for analyzing data, examples of data analysis methods, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research methods.

Data is the information that you collect for the purposes of answering your research question . The type of data you need depends on the aims of your research.

Qualitative vs. quantitative data

Your choice of qualitative or quantitative data collection depends on the type of knowledge you want to develop.

For questions about ideas, experiences and meanings, or to study something that can’t be described numerically, collect qualitative data .

If you want to develop a more mechanistic understanding of a topic, or your research involves hypothesis testing , collect quantitative data .

You can also take a mixed methods approach , where you use both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Primary vs. secondary research

Primary research is any original data that you collect yourself for the purposes of answering your research question (e.g. through surveys , observations and experiments ). Secondary research is data that has already been collected by other researchers (e.g. in a government census or previous scientific studies).

If you are exploring a novel research question, you’ll probably need to collect primary data . But if you want to synthesize existing knowledge, analyze historical trends, or identify patterns on a large scale, secondary data might be a better choice.

Descriptive vs. experimental data

In descriptive research , you collect data about your study subject without intervening. The validity of your research will depend on your sampling method .

In experimental research , you systematically intervene in a process and measure the outcome. The validity of your research will depend on your experimental design .

To conduct an experiment, you need to be able to vary your independent variable , precisely measure your dependent variable, and control for confounding variables . If it’s practically and ethically possible, this method is the best choice for answering questions about cause and effect.

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Your data analysis methods will depend on the type of data you collect and how you prepare it for analysis.

Data can often be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. For example, survey responses could be analyzed qualitatively by studying the meanings of responses or quantitatively by studying the frequencies of responses.

Qualitative analysis methods

Qualitative analysis is used to understand words, ideas, and experiences. You can use it to interpret data that was collected:

• From open-ended surveys and interviews , literature reviews , case studies , ethnographies , and other sources that use text rather than numbers.
• Using non-probability sampling methods .

Qualitative analysis tends to be quite flexible and relies on the researcher’s judgement, so you have to reflect carefully on your choices and assumptions and be careful to avoid research bias .

Quantitative analysis methods

Quantitative analysis uses numbers and statistics to understand frequencies, averages and correlations (in descriptive studies) or cause-and-effect relationships (in experiments).

You can use quantitative analysis to interpret data that was collected either:

• During an experiment .
• Using probability sampling methods .

Because the data is collected and analyzed in a statistically valid way, the results of quantitative analysis can be easily standardized and shared among researchers.

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If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Chi square test of independence
• Statistical power
• Descriptive statistics
• Degrees of freedom
• Pearson correlation
• Null hypothesis
• Double-blind study
• Case-control study
• Research ethics
• Data collection
• Hypothesis testing
• Structured interviews

Research bias

• Hawthorne effect
• Unconscious bias
• Recall bias
• Halo effect
• Self-serving bias
• Information bias

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

In mixed methods research , you use both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods to answer your research question .

A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population . Sampling means selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in your research. For example, if you are researching the opinions of students in your university, you could survey a sample of 100 students.

In statistics, sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population.

The research methods you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question .

• If you want to measure something or test a hypothesis , use quantitative methods . If you want to explore ideas, thoughts and meanings, use qualitative methods .
• If you want to analyze a large amount of readily-available data, use secondary data. If you want data specific to your purposes with control over how it is generated, collect primary data.
• If you want to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables , use experimental methods. If you want to understand the characteristics of a research subject, use descriptive methods.

Methodology refers to the overarching strategy and rationale of your research project . It involves studying the methods used in your field and the theories or principles behind them, in order to develop an approach that matches your objectives.

Methods are the specific tools and procedures you use to collect and analyze data (for example, experiments, surveys , and statistical tests ).

In shorter scientific papers, where the aim is to report the findings of a specific study, you might simply describe what you did in a methods section .

In a longer or more complex research project, such as a thesis or dissertation , you will probably include a methodology section , where you explain your approach to answering the research questions and cite relevant sources to support your choice of methods.

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Research Findings – Objectives , Importance and Techniques

Published 16 October, 2023

Findings are basically the key outcome of the investigation. It is basically a key fact which you can discover during an investigation. Research findings are facts and phrases, observations, and experimental data resulting from research.

It’s important to note here that “finding” does not always mean “factual information” because conductive research relies on results and implications rather than measurable facts.

For example, A researcher is conducting research for measuring the extent up to which globalization impacts the business activities of firms. The findings of the research reveal that there has been a great increase in the profitability of companies after globalization. An important fact which researcher has discovered is that it is globalization which has enabled firms to expand their business operations at the international level.

Objectives of finding section in the research paper

• The main objective of the finding section in a research paper is to display or showcase the outcome in a logical manner by utilizing, tables, graphs, and charts.
• The objective of research findings is to provide a holistic view of the latest research findings in related areas.
• Research findings also aim at providing novel concepts and innovative findings that can be utilized for further research, development of new products or services, implementation of better business strategies, etc.

For example, an academic paper on “the use of product life cycle theory with reference to various product categories” will not only discuss different dimensions of the product life cycle but would also present a detailed case study analysis on how the concept was applied using several contemporary case studies from diverse industries.

Importance of findings in the research paper

The finding section in the research paper has great importance as

• It is the section in a research paper or dissertation that will help you in developing an in-depth understanding of the research problems .
• This is the section where the theories where you can accept or reject theories.
• The findings section helps you in demonstrating the significance of the problem on which you are performing research.
• It is through analysis of the finding section you can easily address the correlational research between the different types of variables in the study.

How to Write Research Findings?

Every research project is unique, so it is very much important for the researcher to utilize different strategies for writing different sections of the research paper. 5 steps that you need to follow for writing the research findings section are:

Step 1: Review the guidelines or instructions of the instructor

It is an initial step, where you should review the guidelines.  By reading the guidelines you will be able to address the different requirements for presenting the results. While reviewing the guidelines you should also keep in mind the restrictions related to the interpretations. In the reseal findings sections, you can also make a comparison between your research results with the outcome of the investigation which other researchers have performed.

Step 2: Focus on the results of the experiment and other findings

At this step, you should choose specific focus experimental results and other research discoveries which are relevant to research questions and objectives. You utilizing subheadings can avoid excessive and peripheral details.  Students can present raw data in appendices of a research paper. You should provide a summary of key findings after completion of the section. Before making the decision related to the structure of the findings section, you need to consider the hypothesis in research and research questions . You should match the format of the findings chapter with that of the research methods sections.

Step 3: Design effective visual presentations

Designing effective visual presentations of research results will help you in improving textual reports of findings. Students can use tables of different styles and unique figures such as maps, graphs, photos which are mainly used by researchers for presenting research findings. But it is very much essential for you to review the journal guidelines. As this is the tactics which will help you in analyzing the requirement of labeling and specific type of formatting. You should number tables, figures, and placement in the manuscript. You should provide a clear and detailed explanation of the data in tables and charts.  Tables and figures should also be self-explanatory

Step 4: Write findings section

You should write the findings sections in a factual and objective manner. While writing the research findings section you should keep in mind its aim. The main aim of the specific section is to communicate information. While writing a findings chapter, it is very much important for you to construct sentences by using a simple structure. You should use an active voice for writing research-finding chapters.  It is very much crucial for you to maintain your concentration on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Students can utilize a special type of terminology for presenting the findings of the study. You can use thematic analysis in research for presenting the findings. In the thematic analysis technique, you need to design themes on the basis of the answers of respondents.

You should use a logical approach for organizing the findings section in a research paper.  it is very much necessary to highlight the main point and provide summary information which is important for readers in order to develop an understanding of the research discussion section.

Step 5: Review draft of findings section

After writing the findings, you should revise and review them. It is the review technique that will enable you to check accuracy and consistency in information. You can read the content aloud. It s the strategy which will help you in addressing the mistakes.  Ensure that the order in which you have presented results is the best order for focusing readers on your research objectives and preparing them for the interpretations, speculations. Students can also provide recommendations in the discussion chapter. They in order to provide good suggestions need to review back such as introduction, background material.

Read Also: Research Paper Conclusion Tips

Techniques of summarizing important findings

There are a few techniques that you can apply for writing your findings section in a systematic manner. Firstly, you should summarize the key findings. For example, you should start your finding a section like this:

• The outcome of research reveals that ……
• The investigation represents the correlation among….
• While writing the finding section in a research paper, you do not include information that is not important.
• You should provide a synopsis of outcomes along with a detailed description of the findings. It is considered to be an effective approach that can be applied to highlighting the key finding.
• You should use graphs, tables, and charts for presenting the finding
• While writing the findings section you need to highlight the negative outcomes. Students also need to provide proper justification and explanation for the same.

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power cut —

Researchers upend ai status quo by eliminating matrix multiplication in llms, running ai models without floating point matrix math could mean far less power consumption..

Benj Edwards - Jun 25, 2024 10:27 pm UTC

Researchers claim to have developed a new way to run AI language models more efficiently by eliminating matrix multiplication from the process. This fundamentally redesigns neural network operations that are currently accelerated by GPU chips. The findings, detailed in a recent preprint paper from researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz, UC Davis, LuxiTech, and Soochow University, could have deep implications for the environmental impact and operational costs of AI systems.

Further Reading

Matrix multiplication (often abbreviated to "MatMul") is at the center of most neural network computational tasks today, and GPUs are particularly good at executing the math quickly because they can perform large numbers of multiplication operations in parallel. That ability momentarily made Nvidia the most valuable company in the world last week; the company currently holds an estimated 98 percent market share for data center GPUs, which are commonly used to power AI systems like ChatGPT and Google Gemini .

In the new paper, titled "Scalable MatMul-free Language Modeling," the researchers describe creating a custom 2.7 billion parameter model without using MatMul that features similar performance to conventional large language models (LLMs). They also demonstrate running a 1.3 billion parameter model at 23.8 tokens per second on a GPU that was accelerated by a custom-programmed FPGA chip that uses about 13 watts of power (not counting the GPU's power draw). The implication is that a more efficient FPGA "paves the way for the development of more efficient and hardware-friendly architectures," they write.

The technique has not yet been peer-reviewed, but the researchers—Rui-Jie Zhu, Yu Zhang, Ethan Sifferman, Tyler Sheaves, Yiqiao Wang, Dustin Richmond, Peng Zhou, and Jason Eshraghian—claim that their work challenges the prevailing paradigm that matrix multiplication operations are indispensable for building high-performing language models. They argue that their approach could make large language models more accessible, efficient, and sustainable, particularly for deployment on resource-constrained hardware like smartphones.

Doing away with matrix math

In the paper, the researchers mention BitNet (the so-called "1-bit" transformer technique that made the rounds as a preprint in October) as an important precursor to their work. According to the authors, BitNet demonstrated the viability of using binary and ternary weights in language models, successfully scaling up to 3 billion parameters while maintaining competitive performance.

However, they note that BitNet still relied on matrix multiplications in its self-attention mechanism. Limitations of BitNet served as a motivation for the current study, pushing them to develop a completely "MatMul-free" architecture that could maintain performance while eliminating matrix multiplications even in the attention mechanism.

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Bond Market Views of the Fed

This paper uses high frequency data to detect shifts in financial markets' perception of the Federal Reserve stance on inflation. We construct daily revisions to expectations of future nominal interest rates and inflation that are priced into nominal and inflation-protected bonds, and find that the relation between these two variables-positive and stable for over twenty years-has weakened substantially over the 2020-2022 period. In the context of canonical monetary reaction functions considered in the literature, these results are indicative of a monetary authority that places less weight on inflation stabilization. We augment a standard New Keynesian model with regime shifts in the monetary policy rule, calibrate it to match our findings, and use it as a laboratory to understand the drivers of U.S. inflation post 2020. We find that the shift in the monetary policy stance accounts for half of the observed increase in inflation.

The views and opinions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Central Bank, its staff, or the National Bureau of Economic Research. We thank Davide De Bortoli, Luca Fornaro, Jordi Gali, Rohan Kekre, Juanpa Nicolini, Jon Steinsson and seminar participants at Stanford, Duke, University of Pennsylvania, the Federal Reserve Banks of Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Saint Louis for very useful comments. Tomas Tapak and Javier Tasso provided excellent research assistance. All errors are our own. Luigi Bocola thanks the National Science Foundation for generous funding.

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• Published: 24 June 2024

Bound star clusters observed in a lensed galaxy 460 Myr after the Big Bang

• Angela Adamo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8192-8091 1 ,
• Larry D. Bradley 2   na1 ,
• Eros Vanzella   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5228-9326 3   na1 ,
• Adélaïde Claeyssens 1 ,
• Brian Welch 4 , 5 ,
• Jose M. Diego   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9065-3926 6 ,
• Guillaume Mahler 7 , 8 , 9 ,
• Masamune Oguri   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3484-399X 10 , 11 ,
• Keren Sharon   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7559-0864 12 ,
• Abdurro’uf 2 , 13 ,
• Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao 2 , 13 ,
• Xinfeng Xu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9217-7051 14 , 15 ,
• Matteo Messa   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1427-2456 3 ,
• Augusto E. Lassen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3575-8316 1 , 16 ,
• Erik Zackrisson 17 , 18 ,
• Gabriel Brammer   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2680-005X 19 , 20 ,
• Dan Coe   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7410-7669 2 , 13 , 21 ,
• Vasily Kokorev   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5588-9156 22 ,
• Massimo Ricotti 4 ,
• Adi Zitrin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0350-4488 23 ,
• Seiji Fujimoto   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7201-5066 24 ,
• Akio K. Inoue   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7779-8677 25 , 26 ,
• Tom Resseguier   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0007-0522-7326 13 ,
• Jane R. Rigby   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7627-6551 5 ,
• Yolanda Jiménez-Teja 27 , 28 ,
• Rogier A. Windhorst 29 ,
• Takuya Hashimoto 30 , 31 &
• Yoichi Tamura   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4807-8117 32  

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• Early universe
• Galaxies and clusters

The Cosmic Gems arc is among the brightest and highly magnified galaxies observed at redshift z ∼ 10.2 1 . However, it is an intrinsically UV faint galaxy, in the range of those now thought to drive the reionization of the universe 2–4 . Hitherto the smallest features resolved in a galaxy at a comparable redshift are between a few hundreds and a few tens of parsecs 5,6 . Here we report JWST observations of the Cosmic Gems. The light of the galaxy is resolved into five star clusters located in a region smaller than 70 parsec. They exhibit minimal dust attenuation and low metallicity, ages younger than 50 Myr and intrinsic masses of ∼ 10 6 M ⊙ . Their lensing-corrected sizes are approximately 1 pc, resulting in stellar surface densities near 10 5 M ⊙ /pc 2 , three orders of magnitude higher than typical young star clusters in the local universe 7 . Despite the uncertainties inherent to the lensing model, they are consistent with being gravitationally bound stellar systems, i.e., proto-globular clusters (proto-GCs). We conclude that star cluster formation and feedback likely contributed to 3 shape the properties of galaxies during the epoch of reionization.

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A highly magnified star at redshift 6.2

Spectroscopic confirmation of a mature galaxy cluster at a redshift of 2

Normal, dust-obscured galaxies in the epoch of reionization

Author information.

These authors contributed equally: Larry D. Bradley, Eros Vanzella

Authors and Affiliations

Astronomy Department, Stockholm University & Oskar Klein Centre, Roslagstullsbacken 21, Stockholm, Sweden

Angela Adamo, Adélaïde Claeyssens & Augusto E. Lassen

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, USA

Larry D. Bradley,  Abdurro’uf, Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao & Dan Coe

Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, INAF, via Gobetti 93/3, Bologna, Italy

Eros Vanzella & Matteo Messa

Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, 4296 Stadium Drive, College Park, USA

Brian Welch & Massimo Ricotti

Astrophysics Science Division, Code 660, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD, USA

Brian Welch & Jane R. Rigby

Instituto de Física de Cantabria, (CSIC-UC), Avda. Los Castros s/n., Santander, Spain

Jose M. Diego

STAR Institute,Quartier Agora - Allée du six Août, 19c, Liège, Belgium

Guillaume Mahler

Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Durham University, South Road, Durham, UK

Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, UK

Center for Frontier Science, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan

Masamune Oguri

Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan

Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1085 S. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Keren Sharon

Center for Astrophysical Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St., Baltimore, MD, USA

Abdurro’uf, Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao, Dan Coe & Tom Resseguier

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, USA

Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Northwestern University, 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL, USA

Instituto de Física, Departamento de Astronomia, Universe Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Avenida Bento Gonçalves, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Augusto E. Lassen

Observational Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, Uppsala, Sweden

Erik Zackrisson

Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Linneanum, Thunbergsvägen 2, Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Copenhagen, Denmark

Gabriel Brammer

Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 128, Copenhagen, Denmark

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) for the European Space Agency (ESA), STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Landleven 12, Groningen, Netherlands

Vasily Kokorev

Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Be’er-Sheva, Israel

Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

Seiji Fujimoto

Department of Physics, School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Akio K. Inoue

Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, (CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n., Granada, Spain

Yolanda Jiménez-Teja

Observatório Nacional, (MCTI), Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

Rogier A. Windhorst

Division of Physics, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

Takuya Hashimoto

Tomonaga Center for the History of the Universe (TCHoU), University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo, Chikusa, Nagoya, Japan

Yoichi Tamura

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Adamo, A., Bradley, L.D., Vanzella, E. et al. Bound star clusters observed in a lensed galaxy 460 Myr after the Big Bang. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07703-7

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How Does Bird Flu Spread in Cows? Experiment Yields Some ‘Good News.’

Scientists say that findings from a small experiment lend hope the outbreak among dairy cattle can potentially be contained.

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By Carl Zimmer

Ever since scientists discovered influenza infecting American cows earlier this year , they have been puzzling over how it spreads from one animal to another. An experiment carried out in Kansas and Germany has shed some light on the mystery.

Scientists failed to find evidence that the virus can spread as a respiratory infection. Juergen Richt, a virologist at Kansas State University who helped lead the research, said that the results suggested that the virus is mainly infectious via contaminated milking machines.

In an interview, Dr. Richt said that the results offered hope that the outbreak could be halted before the virus evolved into a form that could spread readily between humans.

“I think this is good news that we can most likely control it easier than people thought,” Dr. Richt said. “Hopefully we can now kick this thing in the behind and knock it out.”

The findings have yet to be posted online or published in a peer-reviewed science journal.

Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Emory University who is researching the virus on dairy farms and was not involved in the new study, cautioned that breaking the transmission chain would require serious changes to how farmers milk their cows.

“It’s really great that these results are coming out,” she said. “But this is a real logistical problem.”

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• Research into trans medicine has been manipulated

Court documents offer a window into how this happens

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I N APRIL HILARY CASS , a British paediatrician, published her review of gender-identity services for children and young people, commissioned by NHS England. It cast doubt on the evidence base for youth gender medicine. This prompted the World Professional Association for Transgender Health ( WPATH ), the leading professional organisation for the doctors and practitioners who provide services to trans people, to release a blistering rejoinder. WPATH said that its own guidelines were sturdier, in part because they were “based on far more systematic reviews”.

Systematic reviews should evaluate the evidence for a given medical question in a careful, rigorous manner. Such efforts are particularly important at the moment, given the feverish state of the American debate on youth gender medicine, which is soon to culminate in a Supreme Court case challenging a ban in Tennessee. The case turns, in part, on questions of evidence and expert authority.

Court documents recently released as part of the discovery process in a case involving youth gender medicine in Alabama reveal that WPATH ’s claim was built on shaky foundations. The documents show that the organisation’s leaders interfered with the production of systematic reviews that it had commissioned from the Johns Hopkins University Evidence-Based Practice Centre ( EPC ) in 2018.

From early on in the contract negotiations, WPATH expressed a desire to control the results of the Hopkins team’s work. In December 2017, for example, Donna Kelly, an executive director at WPATH , told Karen Robinson, the EPC ’s director, that the WPATH board felt the EPC researchers “cannot publish their findings independently”. A couple of weeks later, Ms Kelly emphasised that, “the [ WPATH ] board wants it to be clear that the data cannot be used without WPATH approval”.

Ms Robinson saw this as an attempt to exert undue influence over what was supposed to be an independent process. John Ioannidis of Stanford University, who co-authored guidelines for systematic reviews, says that if sponsors interfere or are allowed to veto results, this can lead to either biased summaries or suppression of unfavourable evidence. Ms Robinson sought to avoid such an outcome. “In general, my understanding is that the university will not sign off on a contract that allows a sponsor to stop an academic publication,” she wrote to Ms Kelly.

Months later, with the issue still apparently unresolved, Ms Robinson adopted a sterner tone. She noted in an email in March 2018 that, “Hopkins as an academic institution, and I as a faculty member therein, will not sign something that limits academic freedom in this manner,” nor “language that goes against current standards in systematic reviews and in guideline development”.

Not to reason XY

Eventually WPATH relented, and in May 2018 Ms Robinson signed a contract granting WPATH power to review and offer feedback on her team’s work, but not to meddle in any substantive way. After wpath leaders saw two manuscripts submitted for review in July 2020, however, the parties’ disagreements flared up again. In August the WPATH executive committee wrote to Ms Robinson that WPATH had “many concerns” about these papers, and that it was implementing a new policy in which WPATH would have authority to influence the EPC team’s output—including the power to nip papers in the bud on the basis of their conclusions.

Ms Robinson protested that the new policy did not reflect the contract she had signed and violated basic principles of unfettered scientific inquiry she had emphasised repeatedly in her dealings with WPATH . The Hopkins team published only one paper after WPATH implemented its new policy: a 2021 meta-analysis on the effects of hormone therapy on transgender people. Among the recently released court documents is a WPATH checklist confirming that an individual from WPATH was involved “in the design, drafting of the article and final approval of [that] article”. (The article itself explicitly claims the opposite.) Now, more than six years after signing the agreement, the EPC team does not appear to have published anything else, despite having provided WPATH with the material for six systematic reviews, according to the documents.

No one at WPATH or Johns Hopkins has responded to multiple inquiries, so there are still gaps in this timeline. But an email in October 2020 from WPATH figures, including its incoming president at the time, Walter Bouman, to the working group on guidelines, made clear what sort of science WPATH did (and did not) want published. Research must be “thoroughly scrutinised and reviewed to ensure that publication does not negatively affect the provision of transgender health care in the broadest sense,” it stated. Mr Bouman and one other coauthor of that email have been named to a World Health Organisation advisory board tasked with developing best practices for transgender medicine.

Another document recently unsealed shows that Rachel Levine, a transwoman who is assistant secretary for health, succeeded in pressing wpath to remove minimum ages for the treatment of children from its 2022 standards of care. Dr Levine’s office has not commented. Questions remain unanswered, but none of this helps WPATH ’s claim to be an organisation that bases its recommendations on science. ■

Stay on top of American politics with  The US in brief , our daily newsletter with fast analysis of the most important electoral stories, and  Checks and Balance , a weekly note from our Lexington columnist that examines the state of American democracy and the issues that matter to voters.

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Marking their own homework”

United States June 29th 2024

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NATO Seen Favorably in Member States; Confidence in Zelenskyy Down in Europe, U.S.

Views of russia and putin remain broadly negative, table of contents.

• Views of NATO have changed in several countries
• Confidence in Zelenskyy varies across Europe – and has declined in some places
• Little consensus on support for Ukraine
• Views of Russia, Putin have warmed in some places
• Country spotlight: Turkey
• Country spotlight: Poland
• Country spotlight: Sweden
• Importance of NATO membership
• Views of aid to Ukraine
• Favorability of Russia
• Confidence in Putin
• Acknowledgments
• About Pew Research Center’s Spring 2024 Global Attitudes Survey
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology
• Appendix A: Views of NATO, Russia and Putin over time
• Appendix B: Political categorization
• Classifying parties as populist
• Classifying parties as left, right or center

This Pew Research Center analysis focuses on public opinion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The study includes publics in 35 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and sub-Saharan Africa.

For non-U.S. data, this analysis draws on nationally representative surveys of 40,566 adults conducted from Jan. 5 to May 21, 2024. All surveys were conducted over the phone with adults in Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Surveys were conducted face to face in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, Hungary, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia and Turkey. In Australia, we used a mixed-mode probability-based online panel.

In the United States, we surveyed 3,600 U.S. adults from April 1 to April 7, 2024. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Throughout the report, we analyze respondents’ attitudes based on where they place themselves on an ideological scale. We asked about political ideology using several slightly different scales and categorized people as being on the ideological left, center or right.

• In most countries, we asked people to place themselves on a scale ranging from “Extreme left” to “Extreme right.” The question was asked this way in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
• In Australia, the scale ranged from “Left” to “Right”.
• In Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, ideology was measured on a scale from “Extremely progressive” to “Extremely conservative.”
• Ideology was not asked about in Ghana, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka or Tunisia. 

To compare educational groups across countries, we standardize education levels based on the UN’s International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED).

To compare views of those who support the governing party or parties with those who do not, we grouped respondents based on their answers to a question asking them which political party, if any, they identified with in their country. For more, including country specific classifications, read our Political Categorization Appendix .

Prior to 2024, combined totals were based on rounded topline figures. For all reports beginning in 2024, totals are based on unrounded topline figures, so combined totals might be different than in previous years. Refer to the 2024 topline to see our new rounding procedures applied to past years’ data.

Here are the questions used for the report , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

Ahead of a July 2024 summit marking the 75th anniversary of NATO’s founding, the trans-Atlantic alliance continues to be seen largely favorably in select member nations. A median of 63% of adults across 13 member countries surveyed have a positive opinion of NATO, while 33% have a negative opinion.

More than two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ratings for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are mixed in a broader set of 35 NATO and non-NATO countries we surveyed. A median of 40% of adults across these countries have confidence in Zelenskyy to do the right thing regarding world affairs, while 46% do not. Majorities in just seven countries have confidence in his ability to navigate international affairs. And confidence in him has dropped significantly across several countries in Europe and North America.

Global views of Russia and its leader, President Vladimir Putin, have remained very negative since the conflict began in 2022, though opinions have warmed slightly in several countries since we last surveyed there.

For this report, we surveyed 44,166 adults in 35 countries from Jan. 5 to May 21, 2024. In addition to this overview, the report includes chapters on:

• Views of NATO
• Confidence in Zelenskyy and support for Ukraine
• Views of Russia and Putin

Read some of the report’s key findings below.

Favorable views of NATO are up significantly in Turkey since our last survey there in 2019. And Hungarians have also grown more favorable toward the alliance in the past year. However, in a handful of places – including Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States – positive views of NATO have ticked down slightly since 2023. (For more on views of NATO over time, read Appendix A .)

In Hungary, Poland and Turkey, we asked respondents whether NATO membership is important for their country’s security. More than eight-in-ten adults in Hungary and Poland say it is important, and roughly six-in-ten share this belief in Turkey.

In Europe, confidence in the Ukrainian president varies significantly by country. Eight-in-ten adults in Sweden have confidence in Zelenskyy; a roughly equal share in Hungary do not.

Confidence in Zelenskyy has decreased significantly in many countries since 2023. The drop is largest in Poland, where confidence in him has dropped 22 percentage points since last year.

Publics in four countries – the U.S., Turkey, Hungary and Poland – differ widely on whether their country is providing enough support to Ukraine.

Roughly a quarter of Americans (24%) now say the U.S. is not providing enough aid to Ukraine, up from 18% in November 2023, when we last asked this question. Still, more Americans (31%) think the U.S. is providing too much aid, and 25% believe it’s giving the right amount .

A majority of Hungarians (61%) and a plurality of Turks (46%) say their country is giving about the right amount of aid to Ukraine. Poles are more divided: While 45% say their country is giving the right amount of support, a nearly identical share (44%) say it is providing too much.

Related: Growing Partisan Divisions Over NATO and Ukraine

Views of Russia and Putin remain largely negative across 35 countries polled: A median of 65% have an unfavorable view of Russia and 73% lack confidence in the Russian leader to do the right thing regarding world affairs.

But in a handful of countries, opinions of Russian and Putin have warmed since we last surveyed there. Argentines, for example, have grown 11 percentage points more favorable toward Russia and 9 points more confident in Putin over the past year. (For more on views of Russia and Putin over time, read Appendix A .)

In several European countries, people who have a favorable view of a right-wing populist party in their country see Russia and Putin more positively than do people with unfavorable views of those parties. While ratings for Russia and Putin among some right-wing populists dropped sharply in 2022 and 2023 (our 2022 fieldwork largely took place during the early weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) favorability and confidence are creeping back up in a few countries.

In Germany, for example, about a quarter (26%) of supporters of Alternative for Germany (AfD) had confidence in Putin in 2023. Now, 45% do, an increase of 19 points and close to preinvasion levels of confidence. The same pattern appears elsewhere, too. (For more information on how we categorize populist party support, read Appendix C .)

Favorable views of NATO historically have been much lower in Turkey than in other NATO members states, according to our previous surveys . Before this year, no more than a quarter of adults in Turkey had a positive view of the long-standing treaty organization, which Turkey joined in 1952 .

However, the share of Turks with a positive view of NATO has nearly doubled since 2019, when we last surveyed in the country. Today, 42% have a favorable opinion of the alliance, up from 21% in 2019. Fewer Turks now hold unfavorable opinions or have no opinion of it. A majority (61%) also say membership in NATO is very or somewhat important to their country’s security. Still, favorability of NATO in is lower in Turkey than in many of the other member states we polled.

Turks are quite negative toward Russia and Putin: More than six-in-ten express an unfavorable view of Russia or have no confidence in its leader. Those on the ideological left are more likely than those on the right to have a negative opinion of Russia and to lack confidence in Putin. And those who have a favorable opinion of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are about twice as likely to express a positive view of Russia as those who have an unfavorable view of Erdoğan.

Turks’ views of Zelenskyy are similar to their views of Putin. Only 31% of Turks have confidence the Ukrainian president, while 60% have no confidence. A plurality (46%) say their country is providing about the right amount of support to Ukraine, while 20% say it is not providing enough support and 16% it is providing too much; another 18% did not answer.

Poles stand out among the publics we surveyed for their very positive opinions of NATO and very negative views of Russia and Putin.

Roughly nine-in-ten adults in Poland have a favorable view of NATO, the highest share among the member states polled. And 88% consider their country’s membership in NATO important to national security, including a 55% majority who say it is very important.

Poles are nearly united in their negative sentiments toward Russia and its leader: 97% have an unfavorable view of Russia and 98% have no confidence in Putin on the world stage.

However, they are more divided on Ukraine’s leader: 48% are confident in Zelenskyy to do the right thing regarding world affairs, while 40% have no confidence in him. During the fieldwork period for this survey, a farmer-led blockade in Poland over the low price of imported grain from neighboring Ukraine caused friction between the two countries.

NATO is popular in Sweden, which formally became a member of the alliance in March 2024, just before our fieldwork for this survey began there. About seven-in-ten Swedes have a positive view of NATO, while 22% have a negative opinion.

The share of Swedes with a positive view of NATO is down slightly from 80% in 2022. That year, our fieldwork in Sweden began the same day as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and Swedes grew increasingly positive about NATO as our fieldwork went on.

People in Sweden express strongly unfavorable views of Russia and Putin, though they rank just below Poland in the strength of these sentiments. And 80% of Swedes have confidence in Zelenskyy, the highest share across all 35 surveyed countries.

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Research Paper Conclusion – Writing Guide and Examples

Table of Contents

Research Paper Conclusion

Definition:

A research paper conclusion is the final section of a research paper that summarizes the key findings, significance, and implications of the research. It is the writer’s opportunity to synthesize the information presented in the paper, draw conclusions, and make recommendations for future research or actions.

The conclusion should provide a clear and concise summary of the research paper, reiterating the research question or problem, the main results, and the significance of the findings. It should also discuss the limitations of the study and suggest areas for further research.

Parts of Research Paper Conclusion

The parts of a research paper conclusion typically include:

Restatement of the Thesis

The conclusion should begin by restating the thesis statement from the introduction in a different way. This helps to remind the reader of the main argument or purpose of the research.

Summary of Key Findings

The conclusion should summarize the main findings of the research, highlighting the most important results and conclusions. This section should be brief and to the point.

Implications and Significance

In this section, the researcher should explain the implications and significance of the research findings. This may include discussing the potential impact on the field or industry, highlighting new insights or knowledge gained, or pointing out areas for future research.

Limitations and Recommendations

It is important to acknowledge any limitations or weaknesses of the research and to make recommendations for how these could be addressed in future studies. This shows that the researcher is aware of the potential limitations of their work and is committed to improving the quality of research in their field.

Concluding Statement

The conclusion should end with a strong concluding statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. This could be a call to action, a recommendation for further research, or a final thought on the topic.

How to Write Research Paper Conclusion

Here are some steps you can follow to write an effective research paper conclusion:

• Restate the research problem or question: Begin by restating the research problem or question that you aimed to answer in your research. This will remind the reader of the purpose of your study.
• Summarize the main points: Summarize the key findings and results of your research. This can be done by highlighting the most important aspects of your research and the evidence that supports them.
• Discuss the implications: Discuss the implications of your findings for the research area and any potential applications of your research. You should also mention any limitations of your research that may affect the interpretation of your findings.
• Provide a conclusion : Provide a concise conclusion that summarizes the main points of your paper and emphasizes the significance of your research. This should be a strong and clear statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
• Offer suggestions for future research: Lastly, offer suggestions for future research that could build on your findings and contribute to further advancements in the field.

Remember that the conclusion should be brief and to the point, while still effectively summarizing the key findings and implications of your research.

Example of Research Paper Conclusion

Here’s an example of a research paper conclusion:

Conclusion :

In conclusion, our study aimed to investigate the relationship between social media use and mental health among college students. Our findings suggest that there is a significant association between social media use and increased levels of anxiety and depression among college students. This highlights the need for increased awareness and education about the potential negative effects of social media use on mental health, particularly among college students.

Despite the limitations of our study, such as the small sample size and self-reported data, our findings have important implications for future research and practice. Future studies should aim to replicate our findings in larger, more diverse samples, and investigate the potential mechanisms underlying the association between social media use and mental health. In addition, interventions should be developed to promote healthy social media use among college students, such as mindfulness-based approaches and social media detox programs.

Overall, our study contributes to the growing body of research on the impact of social media on mental health, and highlights the importance of addressing this issue in the context of higher education. By raising awareness and promoting healthy social media use among college students, we can help to reduce the negative impact of social media on mental health and improve the well-being of young adults.

Purpose of Research Paper Conclusion

The purpose of a research paper conclusion is to provide a summary and synthesis of the key findings, significance, and implications of the research presented in the paper. The conclusion serves as the final opportunity for the writer to convey their message and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

The conclusion should restate the research problem or question, summarize the main results of the research, and explain their significance. It should also acknowledge the limitations of the study and suggest areas for future research or action.

Overall, the purpose of the conclusion is to provide a sense of closure to the research paper and to emphasize the importance of the research and its potential impact. It should leave the reader with a clear understanding of the main findings and why they matter. The conclusion serves as the writer’s opportunity to showcase their contribution to the field and to inspire further research and action.

When to Write Research Paper Conclusion

The conclusion of a research paper should be written after the body of the paper has been completed. It should not be written until the writer has thoroughly analyzed and interpreted their findings and has written a complete and cohesive discussion of the research.

Before writing the conclusion, the writer should review their research paper and consider the key points that they want to convey to the reader. They should also review the research question, hypotheses, and methodology to ensure that they have addressed all of the necessary components of the research.

Once the writer has a clear understanding of the main findings and their significance, they can begin writing the conclusion. The conclusion should be written in a clear and concise manner, and should reiterate the main points of the research while also providing insights and recommendations for future research or action.

Characteristics of Research Paper Conclusion

The characteristics of a research paper conclusion include:

• Clear and concise: The conclusion should be written in a clear and concise manner, summarizing the key findings and their significance.
• Comprehensive: The conclusion should address all of the main points of the research paper, including the research question or problem, the methodology, the main results, and their implications.
• Future-oriented : The conclusion should provide insights and recommendations for future research or action, based on the findings of the research.
• Impressive : The conclusion should leave a lasting impression on the reader, emphasizing the importance of the research and its potential impact.
• Objective : The conclusion should be based on the evidence presented in the research paper, and should avoid personal biases or opinions.
• Unique : The conclusion should be unique to the research paper and should not simply repeat information from the introduction or body of the paper.

Advantages of Research Paper Conclusion

The advantages of a research paper conclusion include:

• Summarizing the key findings : The conclusion provides a summary of the main findings of the research, making it easier for the reader to understand the key points of the study.
• Emphasizing the significance of the research: The conclusion emphasizes the importance of the research and its potential impact, making it more likely that readers will take the research seriously and consider its implications.
• Providing recommendations for future research or action : The conclusion suggests practical recommendations for future research or action, based on the findings of the study.
• Providing closure to the research paper : The conclusion provides a sense of closure to the research paper, tying together the different sections of the paper and leaving a lasting impression on the reader.
• Demonstrating the writer’s contribution to the field : The conclusion provides the writer with an opportunity to showcase their contribution to the field and to inspire further research and action.

Limitations of Research Paper Conclusion

While the conclusion of a research paper has many advantages, it also has some limitations that should be considered, including:

• I nability to address all aspects of the research: Due to the limited space available in the conclusion, it may not be possible to address all aspects of the research in detail.
• Subjectivity : While the conclusion should be objective, it may be influenced by the writer’s personal biases or opinions.
• Lack of new information: The conclusion should not introduce new information that has not been discussed in the body of the research paper.
• Lack of generalizability: The conclusions drawn from the research may not be applicable to other contexts or populations, limiting the generalizability of the study.
• Misinterpretation by the reader: The reader may misinterpret the conclusions drawn from the research, leading to a misunderstanding of the findings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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