1 Introduction to Results and Discussion Sections

Part of conducting effective research is learning to communicate scientific findings in a clear and concise manner. In this activity you will, learn how to best to communicate scientifically, and apply the principles learned to your own writing. You will also complete exercises to sharpen your understanding of the required conventions in scientific writing.

The Results and Discussion sections of a formal lab report are considered to be the two most important sections of the report. They are where the researcher presents the experimental data from the study (Results) and then interprets the experimental data (Discussion). In Figure 1 below you can see what is included in each section.

Figure 1

A comparison of the components of a Results vs Discussion section of a formal lab report