Researchers have many goals when going about their work. Typically, they are trying to answer a critical question and bring new perspectives on a topic to their field of study. For their research to make waves in their field, researchers need to analyze and explain the significance of their results.
One of the critical places where researchers discuss the results of their research is in their abstract. An abstract is defined as a concise summary of a research paper. Featuring the results of the research in the abstract tells readers about the most important outcomes of the study. Knowing this information is useful because it can be time-consuming to read through all articles on a topic when readers are collecting information for their own research. Knowing the results of a study right away tells readers whether or not the paper will be useful to read for their research.
Abstract, Introduction, Methods, and Discussion
Researchers generally structure their research papers into the following sections.
Abstract
An abstract is a short summary of a research paper that goes at the beginning. In an abstract, researchers briefly discuss all the sections of their paper, including the results. Knowing this information is useful because when readers are collecting information for their own research, it can be time-consuming to read through all articles on the topic. Just from the abstract, the reader can tell if a paper will be relevant or not.
Introduction
The introduction to a research paper consists of the first few paragraphs. In the introduction, the researcher discusses the context of the research as well as why it is important to conduct.
Methods
The methods section is where the researcher explains their chosen research methodology, which is the method for conducting research. This can involve quantitative or qualitative methods or a mix of both. It is important to explain the chosen research methodology so readers understand how researchers got their results.
Discussion
The results and discussion section is where the researcher presents the data that they found through executing their research methodology and then analyzes the implications of that data.
Results and Discussion
In the results and discussion section of a research paper, the author provides the reader with an overview of what they found through their research process. To understand how to discuss the results of research in an abstract, writers first have to understand what is meant by results. Results provide their reader with an objective description of the data. Often, writers will choose to include a visual to depict the results, such as a bar chart or a pie chart. This allows readers to visualize the results easily.
Fig. 1 - Researchers often display results in visuals like this one.
After describing what the results of the research were, the writer will move on to the discussion of the results. The discussion section is where the writer evaluates the findings. For example, perhaps the results of their project drastically varied depending on participants' gender identity. The researcher should discuss the implications of this detail and if this is a significant finding.
The results of research are findings that come from executing the research methodology.
Results Summary
The results and discussion section of a research paper typically consists of several paragraphs. When writers discuss results in an abstract, however, they condense the important points of the results and discussion section into just a few sentences. An abstract is typically about three hundred words at maximum. This means that the writer will have to describe the main points of the paper in a few meaningful words. To do this, the writer will summarize the results.
Fig. 2 - When summarizing a text, writers highlight the main points.
When a writer summarizes something, they provide a brief overview of the information. They focus on the main points; thus, the summary is shorter than the original text. When researchers summarize their results in an abstract, they discuss the most important takeaways from the results. They will typically not discuss specific statistics or nuances in the findings. Instead, they will reflect on what the most critical results are, and this information will help a reader decide whether to read further into the study.
Using a highlighter or a pen to identify the main points of the results section can help researchers identify the main points to discuss in the abstract.
To summarize is to briefly describe something’s main points.
Abstract Structure
Writers organize their abstracts similar to the way they organize their research papers. They introduce the topic by mentioning some background information and what the topic is. Then they mention their research question and the method they chose to find the answer to this question, such as qualitative interviews or quantitative data collection. Next, the author mentions the results of the research project. Finally, the author might briefly mention the implications of the research.
In the following sample abstract, the writer briefly summarizes all sections of the research, including the introduction, research methodology, and the results and discussion. Note how the author discusses only the main point of the results section so that the reader knows what the researcher found but has to read on to know specific details.
Fig. 3 - This informative abstract demonstrates how writers briefly mention all parts of their research in an abstract.
The above abstract is called an informative abstract. It is the most common type of abstract that researchers use. Most abstracts feature the results of research. However, there are some types of short abstracts in which writers do not have to mention the results. For instance, sometimes writers write a descriptive abstract, which is about one hundred words, compared to the average two-hundred to three-hundred word informative abstract. In descriptive abstracts, writers typically only mention the focus of the study and do not go into depth about the results and the conclusions. Writers should always review the guidelines of the type of abstract they select before choosing how to discuss results.
Results in Research Briefings
Researchers also discuss the results of their research in a paper called a research briefing. A research briefing is also a summary of a research paper. However, a research briefing is different from an abstract because it is longer. In research briefings, writers go into more detail about the significance and context of their research in their field rather than focusing on the technical methods. For instance, researchers trying to inform policy in their field often use research briefings.
Research briefings are typically organized into the following sections:
Background and Context
In the first section of a research briefing, the writer should introduce the reader to the context of the research. Where were they conducting research, and why?
Summary of Research Objectives
After the writer contextualizes the research, they should summarize the main goals of their research. What were they trying to address through this project?
Research briefings also often include graphics like charts or images, such as the population impacted by the research. These visuals help non-academic audiences understand what the research is about.
Summary of Research
In this section, the researcher should provide a brief overview of the project, similar to an abstract but with more of a focus on the results and their implications for policy and practices.
In a research briefing, writers typically address a non-academic audience. This means that unlike in an abstract, researchers need to avoid technical language that only academics would be familiar with.
Recommendations
In a research briefing, a writer needs to include a section in which they outline clear recommendations based on the results. For instance, imagine a researcher finds that a certain population is stressed. They might recommend increased access to mental health resources for that population.
Results - Key Takeaways
- The results of research are the findings that come from executing the research methodology.
- Researchers should mention their results in an informative abstract, the results and discussion of their paper, and in research briefings.
- An abstract is a concise summary of a research paper.
- A research briefing is a longer summary of a research paper focusing on implications for policy and practice.
- Researchers should summarize the most important points of their results to discuss results in an abstract.
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