Results then Experiment

Reading the Results

The results section explains what the authors found when they analyzed their data. It can be quite technical, reporting the results in detailed statistical language. Tables and figures are frequently included.

Here are a couple of suggestions for deciphering results:

• Often, there are charts / graphs along with some narrative
• If you are a visual learner, the charts might make sense to you. If charts are difficult, look over the narrative and then return to the charts — that may help.
• Look for words like "important" or "significant" and circle them, and make special note of these phrases as these usually are signals from the author of an important result.

 

Reading the Experiment (Methods)

This section is generally pretty dense.

Reading the methods section will help you understand how the study or experiment was conducted. It is necessary for other researchers to understand the methods used so that they can replicate the study.

The methods section can also be difficult to read due to technical language used, equations, and density of the section. Try circling words, acronyms, and terms you are unfamiliar with and look them up, as they may be important to fully understand the article and may be necessary for future research.

In our example article, the term "random forest model" is circled because it is unknown, and can be looked up later.

Click NEXT to put everything together.