Writing the Results Section

Some Studies with Results Sections Reporting

Common Statistical Tests and Procedures
Study which reports the results of
chi-square tests of hypotheses
Study which reports the results of
factor analysis, logistic regression, and mul
tiple regression analysis
Study which reports the results of
ANOVA tests of main and interaction effects
in an experiment
Study which reports the results of
ANOVA tests in a non-experimental design
Sample Results reporting from Some of our
Previous Analyses, Labs, and Exam
Reporting an ANOVA result for a one-way ANOVA
To test the hypothesis that marital status has a significant impact on
hours spent watching TV, a one-way analysis of variance was
conducted. A significant value of F (4, 1483) of 10.684 was obtained
(p<.001). The effect size (partial eta squared) was .028. Power to
detect the effect was .999. The Levene test for the equality of
variances among the levels of the independent variable (marital status)
found that the variances were significantly different (F = 4.622, p < .
01), suggesting that an alternative post hoc test for pair-wise
differences of means should be used. The mean TV hours watched by
marital status were: widowed, 3.91; separated, 3.00; divorced, 2.96,
never married, 2.91; and married, 2.67. Post-hoc tests of pair-wise
mean differences using the Tamhane T2 statistic indicated that
significant differences in hours spent watching television were obtained
between married and widowed, between widowed and divorced, and
between widowed and never married. Although the significant overall
F and significant post hoc differences indicated that there was a
tendency for marital status to influence number of hours spent
watching TV, the effect size was very small even given statistical power
of .99.
Sample Results reporting from Some of our
Previous Analyses, Labs, and Exam, contd
Reporting the results of a t-test:
The hypothesis was tested that people who own
their own home watch significantly fewer hours
of TV per day than people who do not own their
own home (t (unequal variances) = -3.914, df =
529.171, p <.005). People who owned their
own home watched an average of 2.70 hours of
TV per day, while people who did not own their
own home watched an average of 3.37 hours of
TV per day.
Writing up a Multiple Regression
Reporting the results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis
To test the hypothesis that a countrys level of male literacy is a
function of three variables, the countrys annual increase in population,
percentage of people living in cities, and gross domestic product, a
hierarchichal multiple regression analysis was performed. Tests for
multicollinearity indicated that a very low level of multicollinearity was
present (VIF = 1.54 for people living in cities, 1.15 for annual increase
in population, and 1.663 for gross domestic product). People living in
cities was the first variable entered, followed by annual population
increase and then GDP, according to our theory. Results of the
regression analysis provided partial confirmation for the research
hypothesis. Beta coefficients for the three predictors were people living
in cities, = .493, t = 5.539, p < .001; annual population increase,
= -.517, t = -6.698, p < .001; and gross domestic product, = -.063,
t = -.676, p = .501, n.s. The best fitting model for predicting rate of
male literacy is a linear combination of the countrys annual population
increase and the percentage of people living in cities (R = .762, R2 = .
581, F (2,82) = 56.823, p < .001). Addition of the GDS variable did
not significantly improve prediction (R2 change = .002. F = .457, p = .
501).
Where to Look for Guidance in the
APA Manual
For the best guidance on writing the results section,
consult the APA style manual, pp. 20-27, and the
section on tables and figures, pp. 147-204, which
includes many examples for different types of analyses
On pages 140-144 there are tables about how to refer
to statistical symbols and abbreviations in the text
Generally speaking, when preparing your paper for
publication you italicize these:
N, M, df, p, SS, SE t, F, a, and b, R, R 2, H when referring
to a hypothesis
And you leave these in regular type:
MANOVA, ANOVA, , , or other Greek symbols, and
superscripts and subscripts that dont refer to variables
such as when youre squaring or indicating that X is the
first variable, second variable, etc
General APA Guidelines on Writing
the Results Section
Your main priority in the Results section is to report on the tests
of your hypothesis and tell your reader whether or not you
obtained evidence in support of your research hypotheses, or
failed to do so
Tie your writing closely to the hypotheses. Restate the
hypothesis under discussion near the beginning of the paragraph
and identify the type of test used to assess it. Discuss all the
hypotheses in the order in which you presented them
If there is a great deal of material, for example multiple
dependent variables for which you want to report means, use a
table instead of text. Text is for the statistic used to test the
hypothesis, the df, the p level, power, effect size, etc or for a
report of means if there are only a few variables
Dont report raw scores even in a table, although you may refer
the reader to where they can find it if they are interested and
there are no human subjects issues involved in making it
available
More Guidelines from APA
Generally tables are preferred to figures, and no figures are
preferred to figures that are home-made looking or not
camera ready
Most publishers are not interested in reproducing
photographs and will complain about it unless they are
required for understanding (for example, they constitute the
levels of one of the factors in an ANOVA design)
Be sure to refer to all tables and figures in the text; dont
just stick them in without warning
The usual convention is to leave space for a table and fill
that space with a note to the publisher that says [Table 1
about here] in the spot where you want it to go. Then you
put the tables in order at the end of the document after the
references and appendices
Whenever possible include the items used in your surveys or
questionnaires in an appendix which you mention in the text
of the Results section
More Guidelines from APA
What to report:
One of the first things you report is the reliability of
any measures you have used. Report alpha reliability
or repeated measures correlations. If your alpha falls
below .80 for any measure you should rethink using it
Generally you should report the test statistic, the df,
the probability level, the power, the effect size, the
means if there are not too many, whether or not the
hypothesis was supported, the direction of any effects
or mean differences. Ns, means and standard
deviations can be reported in a table. Some journals
encourage reporting of confidence intervals
And More APA Guidelines
In a factorial design where there are multiple cells, also
report the cell means, sample sizes for the cell, and cell
standard deviations
For an F test, reproduce the ANOVA table in a separate
table (showing the SS for between and within, the mean
squares, F, etc. This would include not only experiments or
factorial designs but also other kinds of statistics whose
significance is tested by F such as R2
Some journals require you to provide the variance-
covariance or correlation matrix when you report on a
multiple regression or correlation analysis. You can get this
output easily from SPSS if needed
Consult the APA manual for further details on specific
analyses
Consult the Results section of papers from your list of
references and see what they reported
What Doesnt Go in the Results
Section
Remember that the Results section is not the place to
speculate about why you got the results you did (you
will do that in the Discussion), nor is it the place to
say why you studied what you did (you should have
done that in the Literature Review/Rationale) or to say
how you did things (you should have done that in the
Method section)
Just tell the reader what you found
Try to avoid saying things like, even though the
results were not significant, men did X more than
women. If it wasnt a significant result, best to not
report or interpret it (although some papers are full of
results that just missed significance)