How to write the Results and

Figure Legends
Shu-Hui Juan, Ph.D.

Department of Physiology
Taipei Medical University
Tel: 02-2736-1661 Ext. 3178
E-mail: juansh@tmu.edu.tw

Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers

Second Editiion by Mimi Zeiger
http://www.harrisonsonlin.com
Medicine updated by the authorities you trust
McGraw-Hill Health Professions Division
What information should be included
in an original paper?
• What were our questions?
• How did we do our research?
• What data did we collect?
• What do the data mean?
• What conclusions can we draw from our
research?
Hill AB: The reason for writing.
Br Med J. 1965

• Why did you start?

• What did you do?
• What did you find?
• What does it mean?
"IMRAD" format for thesis writing

• Introduction (I)
• Materials and Methods (M)
• Results (R)
• Analysis (A)
• Discussion or Conclusion (D)
 The Results section
• report only results pertinent to the question
posed in the Introduction.
• Include whether or not they support your
hypothesis.
• Include both experimental and control
results.
 Many authors think of
• The results section as the heart of the
paper, so they try to put the whole paper
into the results section-methods, figure,
legends, table titles, results, data,
comparisons with the literature-in fact,
everything except the Introduction. This
temptation should be resisted. The results
section should be as brief and uncluttered
as possible so that the reader can see the
forest for the trees.
 Studies in which all experiments
are designed in advance
• A study design subsection in Methods.
• Results section simply describes the
results, one topic per paragraph.
• Organized either chronologically or from
most to least important.
(i.e., whether pulmonary hypertension is
progressive in patients with systemic lupus
erythematosus.)
 Studies in which one experiment
determines the next experiment
• Question
• Overview of the experiments
• Results
• Answer to the question
This four-part pattern is a miniature version
of the story line that runs through the
paper.
 Studies in which one experiment
determines the next experiment
• Make the story line clear by providing
stronger continuity in paragraphs.
• Supply the missing information.
• Continuity requires repeating key terms.
• Notice the question of the paper.
Results

• present and illustrate your findings. Make

this section a completely objective report
of the results

• The data must direct the reader toward the

answer to the problem
 Functions
• To state the results of the experiments
described in Materials and Methods.
• To cite figures or tables that present
supporting data.
What should be included in result section?

• your data

A. form:
figure (graph), table, or text

don’t repeat in text what is shown in

figures and tables
What should be included in result section?

B. Content:
1. subjective information
2. control experiments
- observations that are not presented
in a formal figure or table
- baseline of percentage
3. negative results
 How to start writing a result section?

1. open the Results section by presenting the

"big picture" or overview of the experiments.
(Topic sentences can be used to give
overview before you give details)
2. organize the data in logical steps
- the trail you followed in order to
answer your question and reach your
conclusions

- If your logic is sound, the reader will

easily understand why you performed
certain measurements
3. important results first

4. original flow chart = final flow chart?

5. provide a context
such as by describing the question
that was addressed by making a
particular observation.
 Include or exclude?
• identify your major findings
present representative data rather than all of
it

• pay attention to level of detail

• only present enough results to support your

conclusions
Match your materials
and methods section

• That is, if you present temperature

data in the Results section, then the
Materials and Methods section should
say when and how you measured
temperature.
 Save all interpretation
for the discussion

• determined by type of paper and

purpose of manuscript
Precise description
• the blood pressure of Mr. A was higher
than Mr. B

• the blood pressure of Mr. A was higher

than that (the blood pressure) of Mr. B

• the blood pressure was higher in group A

that in group B
• As always, use past tense when you refer
to your results

• In text, refer to each figure as "figure 1,"

"figure 2," etc. ; number your tables as
well (see the reference text for details)

• If you prefer, you may place your figures

and tables appropriately within the text of
your results section.
Tips

• 12 parameters were selected for the

experiment.

• Twelve parameters were selected for

the experiment
• If the response AAA > BBB and the
driving pressure belongs to the
middle load,…

• If the response AAA is greater than

BBB and the driving pressure
belongs to the middle load
• To ensure sheet metal quality as well as
assembly quality, AAA are widely used
in industry production.

• AAA are widely used in industry

production to ensure sheet metal quality
as well as assembly quality.
• In the paper, a ABC111 towing tractor is
used as the vehicle, it components
equivalent physical parameters are obtained
by sensory test.

• In this study, a ABC111 towing tractor is

used as the vehicle, it components
equivalent physical parameters are obtained
by sensory test.
Example 1 Data but No Result

In the 20 control subjects, the mean resting blood pressure

was 85±5 (SD) mmHg. In comparison, in the 30 tennis players,
the mean resting blood pressure was 94±3 mmHg.

Revision A Result Stated

The mean resting blood pressure was higher in the 30

tennis players than in the 20 control subjects
[94±3 (SD) vs. 85±5 mmHg, P<0.02].

Revision B Result and General Idea of the Magnitude

The mean resting blood pressure was 10% higher in the 30

tennis players than in the 20 control subjects
[94±3(SD) vs. 85±5 mmHg, P<0.02].
A figure legend used as a topic sentence
(Undersirable)
A summary of renal function data is presented in Fig. 2.
Continuous positive airway pressure (7.5 cm H2O) in
newborn goats decreased urine flow, sodium excretion,
and the glomerular filtration rate.

Revision
Continuous positive airway pressure (7.5 cm H2O) in
newborn goats decreased urine flow, sodium excretion,
and the glomerular filtration rate.
(A result is a more powerful topic sentence than is a figure
legend or a table title)
• Method as a topic sentence (undesirable)
In three of the cats in the second series, the
inhibitory effect of 1 ug isoproterenol was
examined when baseline tension was induced
exclusively by either cholinergic
neurotransmission, exogenous acetylcholine, or
exogenous 5-hydroxytryptamine.
Injection of 1 ug isoproterenol evoked a
differential inhibitory response, relaxation
being greater when tension was induced by
cholinergic neurotransmission or exogenous
5-hydroxytryptamine than by exogenous
acetylcholine (Fig. 5).
• Method as a topic sentence (undesirable)
• We administrered propranolol during
normal ventilation. This beta-blocker
decreased phospholipid (Fig. 1).
• Propranolol administered during normal
ventilation decreased phospholipid (Fig. 1).
• After administration of propranolol during
normal ventilation, phospholipid decreased
(Fig. 1).
• When propranolol was administered
during normal ventilation, phospholipid
decreased (Fig. 1).
 Verb tense
Results of hypothesis-testing studies
are reported in past tense, because
they are discrete events that occurred
in the past.
Examples are “Pulmonary artery constriction
was reduced” and “imidazole inhibited
the increase in pulmonary arterial pressure
induced by lipid infusion.”
 Verb tense
Results of descriptive studies are reported in
present tense, because the description
continues to be true.
Examples are “In most tissues, the leptin
receptor mRNA appears as a single band
slightly larger than 5 kb” and “Type III and
IV receptor genes have extra introns in the
extracellular domain.”
 Comparisons
• When comparing results, use “than, ” not
“compared with.”
• Avoid ambiguous statements such as “X
was increased compared with Y.”
• Instead write “X was greater than Y.” “X
increased more than Y.”
 Precise Word Choice
• Ability versus Actuality
Ability: We could not demonstrate high
affinity, low-capacity DHE binding sites in
heart particulates prepared from three
adult sheep.
Actuality: There were no high-affinity….

• Note the difference between ”did not

increase’ and “failed to increase.”
 Precise Word Choice
• Quantify qualitative terms such as
“markedly.” (citing a figure or a table or by
reporting the data) (save it for Discussion)
• Use “significant” and “significantly” for
statistical significance.
 Statistical Details for comparisons
• Blood flow was redistributed more toward
the right ventricle than toward the left
ventricle [26.3 ± 2.9 (SD) vs. 19.5 ± 1.5%
in 6 lambs, P<0.01].
• “(SD)” and n Omitted
• The sample size is not written “n = 6.’
(unclear). Is it 6 lambs? Six experiments in
one lamb? Six experiments in 4 lambs?
 Emphasize the results by
• Omitting data from the text.
• Condensing the results to avoid unnecessary repetition.
• Omitting figure legends and table titles and instead citing
figures and tables in parentheses after a sentence that
states a result.
• Subordinating methods by making methods the subject
of the sentence or by putting them in a transition phrase
or clause.
• Subordinating control results by describing control
results along with or after the experimental results
whenever possible, not before experimental results.
• Putting important results first.
• Using topic sentences to give overview.
 Length
• Keep the Results section brief and
uncluttered so that the reader can see the
forest for the trees.
 Adenovirus-mediated heme oxygenase-1 gene
transfer inhibits the development of atherosclerosis
in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Circulation.
2001 Sep 25;104(13):1519-25.
Figure legends

• make these as clear as possible,

ensuring that there are no aspects of
the figure which are not explained either
in the legend or the figure itself.
Descriptive titles
• and should include a legend explaining
any symbols, abbreviations, or special
methods used.

1.Figure 1 shows that the activity decreased

after five minutes.

2.The activity decreased after five minutes

(fig. 1).