The Scientific Paper:  Results

"Nitrogen fertilizer significantly increased soy bean total biomass (p=0.05) regardless of the presence or absence of Rhizobium (Table 1)."

The sentence above is well written because: (i) the result of adding nitrogen is stated concisely, (ii) the word significantly is accompanied by the statistical probability level (p=0.05), (iii) the scientific name Rhizobium is italicized, and (iv) the reader is referred to a table where the data to support the statement can be found.  Note that the measurement (total biomass, in this case) is mentioned.  You must explicitly state the measure you are using.

Do not include the same data in both a table and a figure. It is best to present the data in a table unless there is visual information that can be gained by using a figure. For example, a figure is useful for reporting a regression analysis (line graph), or comparing the several treatment levels (bar graph with error bars). Each table and figure has several lines of text in the legend (or caption) that explain the information that is being presented; this is, they are made to stand alone. A table's legend appears above it, while the legend for a figure appears below the figure.  See examples: a table and a figure.

If your table includes the results of a statistical analysis, be sure to provide the information necessary for the reader to properly evaluate the analysis (probability levels, degrees of freedom, sample size, etc.).

Additional tips on the Results section:

• Number tables and figures separately beginning with 1 (i.e. Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, etc.).
• Do not attempt to evaluate the results in this section. Report only what you found; hold all discussion of the significance of the results for the Discussion section.
• It is not necessary to describe every step of your statistical analyses. Scientists understand all about null hypotheses, rejection rules, and so forth and do not need to be reminded of them. Just say something like, "Honeybees did not use the flowers in proportion to their availability (X² = 7.9, p<0.05, d.f.= 4, chi-square test)." Likewise, cite tables and figures without describing in detail how the data were manipulated. Explanations of this sort should appear in a legend or caption written on the same page as the figure or table.
• You must refer in the text to each figure or table you include in your paper.
• Tables generally should report summary-level data, such as means ± standard deviations, rather than all your raw data.  A long list of all your individual observations will mean much less than a few concise, easy-to-read tables or figures that bring out the main findings of your study.  
• Only use a figure (graph) when the data lend themselves to a good visual representation.  Avoid using figures that show too many variables or trends at once, because they can be hard to understand.

See examples of Results sections.

The Scientific Paper