A thorough examination of a results section

As Swales (1990) states, the results section should summarize the data with text, tables, and/or figures. Researchers do not present the raw data they collected but they use text to state the results of their study. Results sections should be logically ordered and they may refer the reader to a table or figure where they can see the data. In this respect, Beckett, et al. (2008) research article seems to fulfill these requirements; it presents different types of figures and tables, to support the text in describing the results of the research.
Since the article’s results section is isolated from the discussion section, it does not include any kind of interpretation of the results; it has only descriptive purposes. And, to accomplish this description, the authors use tables and figures to present information which would be very difficult for the audience to comprehend in text format, as this information relates to the results of statistical analysis or pertinent quantitative data.
Tables and figures in Beckett, et al. (2008) research article have been properly numbered: table 1, table 2, figure 1, and figure 2. Additionally, tables are titled accurately, for instance: “Main Fatal and Nonfatal End Points in the Intention-to-Treat Population” (see table 2), and figures’ legends are also properly presented; for instance: “Entry, Randomization, and Follow-up of Patients in the Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial. Of the 461 patients …” (see figure 1, p.5).
Furthermore, a very important issue when using tables or figures is that the information presented in them should not be exactly what was explained in the text (Pintos & Crimi, 2010); otherwise information would be repeated, creating a sense of distrust in the audience. The research article exemplifies this: “A total of 4761 patients entered the placebo run-in phase. Of these, 3845 were randomly assigned to one of the two study groups. The reasons for non-randomization are listed in figure 1” (Beckett, et al. 2008, Results, para.1). Additionally, past tenses and cautious language has been used in this section. For instance, “The benefits of treatment began to be apparent within the first year” (Beckett, et al. 2008, Results, para.6).


Reference

Beckett, N. S., Peters, R., Astrid, E. F., Staessen, J.A., Liu, L., Dumitrascu, D., et al. Treatment of hypertension in patients 80 years of age or older. The New England Journal of Medicine 358 (18). Retrieved from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=5754

Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y., (2010) Unit 3: The research article: results, discussions, and conclusions. Universidad CAECE: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Swales, J.M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. (Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.