empirical paper

Results
The goal of the results section in an empirical paper is to report the results of the data analysis used to test a
hypothesis. Every statistical test that you report should relate directly to a hypothesis. Begin the results section
by restating each hypothesis, then state whether your results supported it, then give the data and statistics that
allowed you to draw this conclusion.
In reporting the results of statistical tests: report the descriptive statistics, such as means and standard
deviations, as well as the test statistic, degrees of freedom, obtained value of the test, and the probability of the
result occurring by chance (p value). Test statistics will be reported with 3-4 significant figures and p values
should be rounded to two decimal places. All statistical symbols that are not Greek letters should be italicized
(M, SD, N, t, p, etc.). When reporting a significant difference between two conditions, indicate the direction of
this difference, i.e. which condition was more/less/higher/lower than the other condition(s). With correlations,
mention the strength and direction.
Tips/rules:
Mean and Standard Deviation scores are most clearly presented in parentheses:
The sample as a whole was relatively young (M = 19.22, SD = 3.45).
Percentages are also most clearly displayed in parentheses with no decimal places:
Nearly half (49%) of the sample was married.
Chi-Square statistics are reported with degrees of freedom and sample size in parentheses, the Pearson chisquare value (rounded to two decimal places), and the significance level:
The percentage of participants that were married did not differ by gender, χ2
(1, N = 90) = 0.89, p = .35.
T Tests are reported like chi-squares, but only the degrees of freedom are in parentheses. Following that, report
the t statistic (rounded to 3 significant places) and the significance level:
There was a significant effect for gender, t(54) = 5.43, p < .001, with men reporting higher scores of aggression
than women.
ANOVAs (both one-way and two-way) are reported like the t test, but there are two degrees-of-freedom
numbers to report. First report the between-groups degrees of freedom, then report the within-groups degrees of
freedom (separated by a comma). After that report the F statistic (rounded to 3 significant places) and the
significance level:
There was a significant main effect for treatment, F(1, 145) = 5.43, p < .05, and a significant interaction, F(2,
145) = 3.24, p = .04.
Correlations are reported with the degrees of freedom (which is N-2) in parentheses and the significance level:
The two variables were strongly correlated, r(55) = .409, p < .01.