The result section of a research presents the findings
of the research together with brief comments, especially where statistical
analysis is involved.
Results can be presented in the text, in a table, or
pictorially as a graph, chart, and diagram. Any of these will be appropriate to
give information that the reader or viewer is supposed to be able to assimilate
readily while reading or listening.
Well presented tables and graphs can concisely summarise
information which would be difficult to describe in words alone.
On the other hand, poorly presented tables and graphs
can be confusing or irrelevant.
Tables and graphs should, ideally, be self explanatory.
The reader should be able to understand them without detailed reference to the
text, on the grounds that users may well pick things up from the tables and
graphs without reading the whole text.
Presentation of
Results in Tables
Data presented in tables are arranged in columns and
rows. It is an effective way of presenting small sets of data if well designed.
NOTE:
1.
It is better to use two (2) or more well designed small
tables than one (1) very long table that will be clumsy and difficult to
understand.
2.
All rows and columns must be clearly labeled with units of
measurement where necessary.
3.
All codes, abbreviations and symbols must be foot-noted.
4.
You can use upper case letters in the main heading and
capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the sub-headings OR You
can capitalize only the first letter of the first word of both the main and
sub-heading.
NOTE: AVOID using upper case letters
(capitalize all words) in both the main and sub-headings.
5. Give your table a title; short and meaningful that
would reflect the context of the
table.
6. There should be information on where the data
were collected, the extent of the coverage, the time period represented and the
source if the data are quoted from elsewhere.
For
example:
Table
4.1: Correlation between the Physio-chemical Parameters and Density of the Anopheles
Species Encountered during the Study Period (May-August, 2013)
|
Physio-chemical Parameters
|
Anopheles gambiae
|
Anopheles funestus
|
Anopheles melas
|
|
pH
|
0.982*
|
-0.118
|
0.970*
|
|
BOD (ppm)
|
0.976*
|
-0.090
|
0.977*
|
|
Temperature ('C)
|
-0.733
|
0.871
|
-0.379
|
*Correlation
is significant at P<0.05
Presentation of Results using Charts, Graphs and
Diagrams
A chart, also called a graph, is a graphical
representation of data, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such
as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart".
A chart can represent tabular numeric data, functions or some kinds of
qualitative structure and provides different info.
Results presented in charts have an immediate visual
impact to the reader as it give an "at-a-glance" idea of trends,
quantities and proportions.
There are (2) main types of charts; pie charts and bar
charts.
PIE CHARTS:
This is useful for presenting percentage (%) data,
each "slice" (segment of the pie) represent a certain percentage of
the total pie.
1.
When using pie chart, avoid including too many segments in a
it, as this will make it look clustered and difficult to understand.
2.
Always use a key or legend to explain what each colour or
pattern segment represent.
3.
For example, a pie chart would be an effective way of
presenting percentage prevalence of malaria according to the age of pregnant
women attending Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja Kogi State.
Bar Charts
This is used when making
comparisons between two or more items.
The length of each bars shows the value of the data.
1.
Bar charts give reader a glance of the similarities and differences
between the items being compared.
2.
Their frequency can be compared by comparing the heights of
bars on the chart.
3.
Use legends to explain the data being illustrated. Legends be
used to define which study groups are being illustrated and in what manner.
E.g
Charts, graphs as well as diagrams display simple
results clearly. Bar graphs for example are not generally useful for large
amount of structured information.
Labels: Educative Article
