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MPH Dissertation
Session 3
Writing the Results Chapter

Before we start:

• Synthesizing and being critical in your literature review-

https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/being-critical/
(There are language sections, for example on identifying weakness in a paper, general
criticism and commenting on research)

• Check that your fully aware of your referencing style (e.g. no footnotes in Harvard)
https://www.citethemrightonline.com/

• Always refer back to the dissertation supervisor and the dissertation guidelines for
clarity

Last Time
Methods chapter

• By reading your methods, anyone should be able to replicate your study.

• Describe how you conducted your study with rationale for that method.

• Basic structure might include: Study design / data source / data analysis

• Provide as much detail as possible for procedure and materials.

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Task 1
In breakout rooms, describe your study to a classmate, thinking about the following
headings:

• Study design
• Materials/procedure
• Data analysis
Describe it in as clear and simple language as possible – your classmate should be able to
replicate your study based on your description.

Today
Results chapter

Dissertation/Thesis

Title page
Contents
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
Appendices
Reflective summary
Bibliography

Results - The results should tell a story and tables and figures should be used to clarify and
provide detail. This section should not contain discussion of the results.
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- Presentation and organisation of results

- Displaying data
- Describing data
- Language points

◦ Decide what to include - not all your data needs to appear in your Results
chapter.
◦ You are reporting results, not analysing them YET.

Begin with a clear introduction paragraph

“This chapter presents the results of the data analysis, including the quantitative survey
results and answers to the open-ended qualitative questions. Demographics are described
and key findings highlighted.”

Organisation of results
- Think about how your results connect to your study aims or research questions,
literature review and later discussion. Remember they’re part of the story.

- You need to decide on the relevant data to include in the chapter. You don’t need to
report everything.

Depending on the topic and method, the results often include tables or diagrams displaying
data:
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TABLE 1. Cancer charity websites analysed in this study

Charity (country) URL
Breast cancer (n=8)
Breast Cancer Care (UK) www.breastcancercare.org.uk
Breast Cancer Now (UK) www.breastcancernow.org
Breast Cancer Haven (UK) www.breastcancerhaven.org.uk
Against Breast Cancer (UK) www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk
Breast Cancer Support (UK) www.breastcancersupport.org.uk
Susan G. Komen (USA) ww5.komen.org
National Breast Cancer Foundation (USA) www.nationalbreastcancer.org
Breastcancer.org (USA) www.breastcancer.org
General cancer (n=8)
Cancer Research UK (UK) www.cancerresearchuk.org
Macmillan Cancer Support (UK) www.macmillan.org.uk
Yorkshire Cancer Research (UK) www.yorkshirecancerresearch.org.uk
Cancer Council (Australia) www.cancer.org.au
World Cancer Research Fund (International) www.wcrf.org
Share Cancer Support (USA) www.sharecancersupport.org
Canadian Cancer Society (Canada) www.cancer.ca
American Cancer Society (USA) www.cancer.org
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Figure 1: suicide and drug death by age demographic

Remember:
• Write a caption (above for a Table, below for a Figure) with a number.
• You must refer to each table/figure in your text – place it as close as possible.
• Avoid copy/pasting diagrams – make your own.
• Choose the clearest way of displaying data (line graph, pie chart, word cloud…)

Describing results
Results are often a series of short paragraphs describing and highlighting data, perhaps with
brief comments on their significance.

ELEMENT 1: Introduces then locates the figure(s) where the results can be found
ELEMENT 2: Highlights the most important findings (patterns, trend, outlier)
ELEMENT 3: Brief comment on the results – caveats, limitations, significance
(optional)
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Example 1

Websites Included in the Analysis

Sixteen cancer websites met the criteria for inclusion in the current study. These websites are
presented in table 1. Analysis of the raw data for each website is provided in Appendix B. For
confidentiality reasons and to respect any potential commercial sensitivities the data for each
website has been anonymised.

Websites Included in the Analysis

Sixteen cancer websites met the criteria for inclusion in the current study. These websites are
presented in table 1. Analysis of the raw data for each website is provided in Appendix B. For
confidentiality reasons and to respect any potential commercial sensitivities the data for each
website has been anonymised.

Introduces data, shows where it can be found.

Comment on data
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Example 2

Drug deaths were concentrated in the 30-49 age group, accounting for 70% of the
total. Among them, the 30-39 age group has the largest number, and 25 people
account for 32.1%. The age distribution of the suicide group is relatively scattered,
with 77.2 percent of the population ages between 20 and 59. In the suicide group, 6
people were over 70 years old, accounting for 4.2% of the total. There were no more
than 70 years in the drug death group( Table 2, Figure 1).

Drug deaths were concentrated in the 30-49 age group, accounting for 70% of the
total. Among them, the 30-39 age group has the largest number, and 25 people
account for 32.1%. The age distribution of the suicide group is relatively scattered,
with 77.2 percent of the population ages between 20 and 59. In the suicide group, 6
people were over 70 years old, accounting for 4.2% of the total. There were no more
than 70 years in the drug death group( Table 2, Figure 1).

Introducing data/shows where it can be found

Highlighting significant features
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Language points

Obesity

As table 2 highlights, of the 16 websites included in this study, 14 provided

information on diet and caloric factors with 10 including information that was regarded as
more than minimal (≥ 2 sentences). Diet and caloric factors were, therefore, the category
which was covered the most widely across the websites. Nine websites included information
on weight gain with 7 websites providing more than minimal information on this topic. Half
of the 16 websites included information on weight loss with all 8 providing more than
minimal information in this area. Twelve websites provided information on weight
management with 10 websites providing information that was more than minimal. Six of the
websites differentiated between pre and postmenopausal breast cancer when providing
information on obesity. Out of these 6 websites, 3 provided more than minimal information.
Differentiating between pre and postmenopausal breast cancer in relation to obesity was the
category that was covered by the least websites.

Present tense verbs / Hedging verbs to refer to data (Highlights / Suggests / Implies / Shows)

Past tense passive generally used

Be consistent in how you write numbers – (Up to nine use words, greater than this use
numerals)

Questions

1) Based on what we have discussed so far, what do you think about the
formatting of this chapter?
Title and sub-headings larger font / Irregular spacing / typos / Inconsistency in writing
numbers / percent or %
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2) Look at paragraph 1 in this chapter. Has the student described the data and
commented on how it is significant?
Several sentences are unclear / Attempt has been made to describe all the data rather
than key patterns/trends

3) Look at paragraph 2, under figure 1. Has the student identified significant

aspects of the data?

Again, student seems to attempt to give overview rather than pointing to salient points

4) How does the pie chart relate to the data in Table 3?

Repeats the information / Is not referred to in text

5) Is there anything you would change about the student’s choice of language?

Hanging then self is the main cause of death in the area of Tayside in 2018, and 43
of the 66 people chose to hang themselves. The second is the overdose, which
accounts for 22.7 percent of the total number of people. The number of people who
committed suicide in other ways was from drowning (5, 7.6%) to height (2 people).
The minimum number of people on the track was only one (Table 3, Figure3).
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Supervisor feedback on results chapter:

6. Data analysis, interpretation, presentation of results, statistical analysis

Comprehensive data analyses have been conducted and the results presented clearly in tables
and figures and referred to in the text.

But dissertation had severe shortcomings in the discussion section as

it failed to mention many of the results reported.

Summary
• Results are a key part of your dissertation story – in the discussion chapter you must
link your aims, literature review and results together.

• Report results needed for this – describe their key patterns, trends or significance.