Introduction
Research results/findings objectively and simply report what a researcher found during the study. Research findings/results in a project are reported based on the data collected. After conducting data analysis in a research project, the first thing a researcher should do is to present his or her results/findings and then make a discussion. In this essay, I will critically discuss the difference between presenting and discussing the results/findings of a research project using an appropriate theory and examples.
Discussion
Presenting study results to a scientific community is a critical part of scientific research. Written papers, poster presentations, and oral presentations are the three central frameworks for presenting research results. Presentation is about how a researcher displays the data when he or she is presenting study findings. For anyone unfamiliar with scientific research to understand the results, they should be given in adequate details on the project (Adams et al., 2014). The author should provide proof in the part of findings /results, for instance, statistical evidence.
Results are presented logically emphasizing the main points and leaving interpretation for the discussion part of the study. In a quantitative research study, a researcher will present a statistical analysis of the data collected. In the qualitative research, the author will present the findings/results of a qualitative analysis of gathered data, for example, thematic analysis, narrative analysis, and grounded theory (Saunders et al., 2019). Presentation of the findings/results must be the foundation for the discussion that will follow. The main objective is to present the results/findings of the analysis connecting these with the research questions/hypotheses and the objectives and aim of the study (O’Gorman, 2015). Qualitative research results/findings are presented using themes or narratives while quantitative research findings/results are presented using charts, tables, and graphs.
On the contrary, discussing results/findings entails interpretation of the study results. In discussing study findings/results, relate the study findings with previous studies. One needs to contextualize his or her research contributions to society or other findings. Discussing results expands on the key findings and explains in detail what they imply. A researcher needs to place new perspectives and questions there and elaborate on the most interesting facts across the subject or field of study (Sekaran and Bougie, 2019). Researchers discuss the results, specifically from the perspective of the literature study, and explain what they imply. This needs to be indicated if the results are consistent or confirmed with additional studies. In instances where the results do not support previous studies’ conclusions, a researcher must devise a reason for the failure of the study. Discussion of findings in a research project needs to go beyond typical presentation and integrate a researcher’s understanding and reasoning of the findings/results (University of Southern California, 2021). The researcher should draw his or her judgments made from the results/findings to conclude the study.
Conclusion
The researcher reports on the findings of his or her data analysis in a research project when presenting findings/results without any further interpretation. Presentation of results/findings should be provided in detail to give anyone unfamiliar with the study and understanding of the results. There is a need to provide evidence in the results, for example, statistical evidence, or thematic evidence. Discussion of findings involves interpretation of his or her study results. This entails results/findings discussion and relates the study results with earlier studies.
Reference List
Adams, J., Khan, H. T., and Raeside, R. (2014). Research methods for business and social science students. SAGE Publications India.
O’Gorman, K. D. (2015). Research methods for business & management: A guide to writing your dissertation (2nd ed.). Goodfellow Publishers.
Saunders, M. N., Thornhill, A., and Lewis, P. (2019). Research methods for business students (2nd ed.). Sage Publishers.
Sekaran, U., and Bougie, R. (2019). Research methods for business: A skill building approach (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
University of Southern California. (2021). Research guides: Organizing your social sciences research paper: 7. The results. Research Guides at University of Southern California. Web.