Theme: The choice of a scientific theme. Quoting and Paraphrasing

9. What information should the author give about the procedures?

The information the author provides regarding procedures is extremely important in terms of the study’s replicability. After reading this information, the reader should have a clear under-standing of how the study was conducted and be able to replicate it if she or he wished to. In this section, the author should explain exactly how the materials and equipment were used, exactly what the subjects were asked to do or what was done to them, and exactly what the environmental conditions were when the study was being conducted. Anything that occurred during the study that might turn out to be an internal or external extraneous variable should be reported.

10. What information should the author give about the analyses?

Analysis of the data generated in a study is a step-by-step process. The author should explain how the data were organized and what steps were taken in analyzing them.

11. What information does a well-written results section provide?

The results section of a study should contain a clearly expressed summary of the data and of the results of the analyses. The data are often summarized in tables, graphs, or diagrams; the results are summarized in a commentary on those data. If, for example, the results of a series of proficiency tests given to two groups were being compared, then in a table, the author would provide information on the number of subjects in each group, the time of each test, the groups’ average scores, and the difference between their average scores. In the commentary, the author would summarize her analysis of those data.

12. What information does a well-written discussion section provide?

In a well-written discussion section, the author returns to her purpose for doing the study and the research questions she sought to answer and/or the hypotheses she wanted to test and discusses what she has learned from the study. The author may speculate about the reasons the results turned out as they did, what they may imply, or how her study may relate to other studies, but if she does so, she must make it clear that she is speculating. It is also common for an author may discuss further questions that her research has generated.