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A few important points:

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• The results section is also sometimes called the “analysis” or “findings” section.
• The exact shape and contents will differ depending on whether your study is qualitative or quantitative. We’ll indicate what’s relevant to each methodological approach.
• Generally, the results section and discussion section are presented separately. If your university expects you to combine them, please review the discussion template as well.

Opening Section

This section applies to both qualitative and quantitative studies.

The purpose of this section is to remind the reader of the golden thread underpinning your dissertation or thesis, as well as the basics of the methodology you employed in your study. To achieve this, you should aim to write a paragraph or two that incorporates the following:

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• A sentence reminding the reader of your specific research problem
• A sentence or two repeating your research aims, objectives, and questions
• A sentence reminding the reader of the methodology you used (overview only)
• A sentence indicating the purpose of this chapter (i.e., to present the results)
• A sentence outlining the layout of the chapter (we’ll cover this below) </aside>

Keep this section concise – don’t waffle on.

From this section onwards, the structure of your results chapter will depend on whether your study adopted a qualitative or quantitative approach. We’ll cover each of these separately.

Body Section - Qualitative Studies

From here, you’ll move into the body section of your methodology chapter, where you’ll outline your methodological approach in detail.

For qualitative studies, results chapters tend to be structured according to themes, which makes it easier for readers to follow. However, keep in mind that not all results chapters have to be structured in this manner. For example, you might structure the data by research questions or by using a theoretical framework. However, this outline adopts a thematic structure as it is the most common.

In practical terms, the heading structure will usually look something like the following:

• Theme 1 (Replace “Theme 1” with the actual name of the theme)
  • Sub-theme 1 (if applicable)
  • Sub-theme 2 (if applicable)
• Theme 2 (Replace “Theme 2” with the actual name of the theme)
  • Sub-theme 1 (if applicable)
  • Sub-theme 2 (if applicable)
• Etc. (expand to as many themes as needed)

Here’s what you’ll need to cover in each of these: