RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Please refer to the examples on the Research Page. But, here are the basics:

1. Type Results and Dissussion (centered not in bold) at the top of the page.

2. Report any descriptive statistics (e.g., number of subjects, gender, grades, percentages, important means, standard deviations, etc.). Create any appropriate Tables to organize this data. In the body of your paper report means and standard deviations as follows: (M=26.85) (SD=3,15) or (M=26.85; SD=3.15).

3. Report all inferential statistics (e.g., t-tests, F-tests, r, r-squared, p values, etc.).

t-tests should be reproted in the followining format: t(df) = ___, p = ___ Example: t(32)=2.45, p=.03

Correlations should be reported as : r =.65, p =.05. You should also resport r-squared values.

z-tests should be reported as: z = 1.26, p = .04.

Next, each time you report a statistic, EXPLAIN what it means. Example:

The t-test comparing the mean scores of the males (M=17.25) and the females (M=21.34) on test anxiety levels was statistically significant (t(28)=2.22, p=.015). This means that the female particpants scored significantly higher on test anxiety prior to the final exam than did the male participants. OR The correlation between test anxiety and final exam grades was statistically significant (r=.54, p=.04). This means that as text anxiety scores increased, grades on the final exam decreased. Approximately 25% of the variablility in tests scores can be accounted for by test anxiety.

4. Create appropriate tables to organize your data. (Examples can be found on the RESEARCH PAGE). Tables are usually not typed into the body of your paper, but are placed on seperate pages and attached to the back of your Results and Discussion section.

5. Report whether your findings support your original hypothesses. If not, were there any problems that could explain this (e.g., small sample size, uncontrolled variables, etc.). Or, if you found unexpected results, discuss possible alternative hypotheses.

6. Discuss ways your research methodology could have been improved (often related to issues in #5).

7. Finally, discuss at least one idea for future research that is related to your topic.