Results - Vocabulary 137 3.4.2 Vocabulary for the Results section 1. REVISITING THE RESEARCH AIM/EXISTING RESEARCH as discussed previously, as mentioned earlier/before, as outlined in the introduction, as reported, in order to..., we examined... it is important to reiterate that... it is known from the literature that... it was predicted that... our aim/purpose/intention was to... since/because..., we investigated... the aforementioned theory/aim/prediction etc. to investigate..., we needed to... we reasoned/predicted that... Here are some examples of how these are used: • Since the angular alignment is critical, the effect of an error in orientation was investigated experimentally. • We reasoned that an interaction in one network between proteins that are far apart in the other network may be a technology-specific artifact. • In earlier studies attempts were made to establish degradation rate constants by undertaking ozonation experiments. • The main purpose of this work was to test algorithm performance. • As mentioned previously, the aim of the tests was to construct a continuous crack propagation history. • In this work, we sought to establish a methodology for the synthesis of a benzoxazine skeleton. • It was suggested in the Introduction that the effective stress paths may be used to define local bounding surfaces. 138 Science Research Writing GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RESULTS generally speaking, in general, in most/all cases, in the main, in this section, we compare/evaluate/present... it is apparent that in all/most/the majority of cases, it is evident from the results that... on the whole the overall response was... the results are divided into two parts as follows: using the method described above, we obtained... Here are some examples of how these are used: • It is apparent that both films exhibit typical mesoporous structures. • It is evident that these results are in good agreement with their FE counterparts. • In general, coefficients for months close to the mean flowering data were negative. • Our confidence scores have an overall strong concordance with previous predictions • On the whole, the strains and deflections recorded from the FE model follow similar patterns to those recorded from the vacuum rig tests. • Levels of weight loss were similar in all cases. INVITATION TO VIEW RESULTS (data not shown) Figure 1: contains (Fig. 1) corresponds (to) (see also Fig. 1) demonstrates (see Fig. 1) displays (see Figs. 1-3) gives according to Fig. 1 illustrates as can be seen from/in* Fig.l lists Results - Vocabulary 139 as detailed in Fig. 1 plots as evident from/in the figure presents as illustrated by Fig. 1 provides as indicated in. Fig. 1 reports as listed in Fig. 1 represents as shown in Fig.l reveals as we can see from/in Fig.l... shows can be found in Fig. 1 summarises can be identified from/in Fig.l can be observed in Fig. 1 can be seen from/in Figure 1 comparing Figs. 1 and 4 shows that... data in Fig. 1 suggest that... displayed in Fig. 1 evidence for this is in Fig. 1 from Fig. 1 it can be seen that... inspection of Fig. 1 indicates... is/are given in Fig. 1 is/are represented (etc.) in is/are visible in Fig. 1 in Fig. 1 we compare/present etc.... results are given in Fig.l we observe from Fig. 1 that... *from means can be deduced/concluded from' the figure/table whereas in means that it actually appears in the figure/table Here are some examples of how these are used: • The stress data in Fig. 18 indicate a more reasonable relationship. • Figure 3 illustrates the findings of the spatial time activity modelling. • The overall volume changes are reported in Fig. 6(d). • Similar results were found after loading GzmA into the cells (data not shown). • Typical cyclic voltammograms can be seen in Fig. 1. • Comparing Figs. 1 and 4 shows that volumetric strains developed after pore pressure had dissipated. 140 Science Research Writing • The rate constants shown in Table 1 demonstrate that the reactivity is much greater at neutral pH. • The results are summarised in Table 4. SPECIFIC/KEY RESULTS IN DETAIL When you look at your target articles, you will notice that it is harder to find examples of the language used to provide an objective description of the results than it is to find examples of the language used to provide a subjective description of the results, and that when it does occur, objective language is likely to be modified by a subjective 'add-on. For example, a phrase like slightly lower or much lower is found more often than lower on its own. This is because, as mentioned earlier, an objective description of the results does not tell readers anything they don't already know from looking at the figure. If you are having difficulty seeing the difference between objective and subjective language, remember that describing one level or quantity as being higher than another is an objective truth; to describe a level or quantity as high is a subjective evaluation. (i) Objective descriptions accelerate(d) is/are/was/were constant match(ed) all is/are/was/were different none change (d) is/are/was/were equal occur(red) decline(d) is/are/was/were found peak(ed) decrease(d) is/are/was/were higher precede(d) delay(ed) is/are/was/were highest produce(d) drop(ped) is/are/was/were identical reduce(d) exist(ed) is/are/was/were lower remain(ed) constant expand(ed) is/are/was/were present remained the same fall/fell is/are/was/were seen rise/rose find/found is/are/was/were unaffected sole/ly increase(d) is/are/was/were unchanged vary/varied is/are/was/were uniform Numerical representations of percentages, levels, locations, amounts etc., i.e. a 2% increase are, of course, also 'objective'. Results - Vocabulary 141 Here are some examples of how these are used: • There was a lower proportion of large particles present at lower pH. • As can be seen in Fig. 8, there were different horizontal and vertical directional pseudofimctions. • As can be seen, in the second trial the level of switching among uninformed travellers was unchanged. • This kind of delamination did not occur anywhere else. • The CTOA dropped from its initial high value to a constant angle of 4°. • It eventually levelled off at a terminal velocity of 300 m/s. (ii) Subjective descriptions abundant(ly) imperceptible(ibly) remarkable(ably) acceptable(ably) important(ly) resembling adequate (ly) in particular, satisfactory almost in principle scarce(ly) appreciable(ably) inadequate serious(ly) appropriate(ly) interesting(ly), severe(ly) brief/(ly) it appears that sharp (ly) clear(ly) large(ly) significant(ly) comparable (ably) likelihood similar considerable(ably) low simple(ply) consistent(ly) main(ly) smooth (ly) distinct(ly) marked(ly) somewhat dominant(ly) measurable(ably) steep(ly) dramatic(ally) mild(ly) striking(ly) drastic(ally) minimal(ly) strong(ly) equivalent more or less substantial(ly) essential (ly) most(ly) sudden(ly) excellent negligible (ibly) sufficient(ly) excessive(ly) noticeable(ably) suitable(ably) exceptional(ly) obvious(ly) surprising(ly) extensive(ly) only tendency extreme(ly) overwhelming(ly) the majority of fair(ly) poor(ly) too + adjective few unexpected(ly) 142 Science Research Writing general(ly) powerful(ly) unusual(ly) good quick(ly) valuable high(ly) radical(ly) very immense(ly) rapid(ly) virtual(ly) PLUS all the rest of the language from the frequency and quantity lists (Sections 3.2.2 and 3.2.3). Here are some examples of how these are used (including examples from the frequency and quantity lists): • In the majority of cases, SEM analysis revealed a considerably higher percentage of fine material. • As can be seen, the higher injection rate gave satisfactory results from all three methods. • Similar behaviour was observed in all cases, with no sudden changes. • It can be seen in Fig. 5 that the Kalman filter gives an excellent estimate of the heat released. • The effect on the relative performance was dramatic. • A striking illustration of this can be seen in Fig. 5. • Comparing Figs. 4 and 5, it is obvious that a significant improvement was obtained in the majority of cases. • It can be observed from Fig. 5 that the patterns are essentially the same in both cases. • Figure 1 shows a fairly consistent material. • It can be observed from Fig. 2 that there was only a very small enhancement when H202 was present. COMPARISONS WITH OTHER RESULTS If you are referring to other research, make sure that the location of the reference citation or number is accurate or other researchers may end up 'owning' your work. Remember that the right place for a research reference is not necessarily at the end of a sentence. Results - Vocabulary 143 as anticipated is/are better than as expected, is/are in good agreement as predicted by... is/are identical (to) as reported by... is/are not dissimilar (to) compare well with is/are parallel (to) concur is/are similar (to) confirm is/are unlike consistent with match contrary to prove corroborate refute correlate reinforce disprove support inconsistent with validate in line with verify Many of these can be modified to match the level of certainty you want to express by adding expression such as: It seems that It appears that It is likely that (See Section 3.2.4 for more of these.) Here are some examples of how these are used: • It is evident that the SFS results obtained here are in exceptionally good agreement with existing FE results. • Distributions are almost identical in both cases. • Our concordance scores strongly confirm previous predictions. • We see that the numerical model tends to give predictions that are parallel to the experimental data from corresponding tests. • These results demonstrate that improved correlation with the experimental results was achieved using the new mesh. • This is consistent with results obtained in [ 1 ]. 144 Science Research Writing • The results are qualitatively similar to those of earlier simulation studies. • These trends are in line with the previously discussed structure of the of the ferrihydrite aggregates. PROBLEMS WITH RESULTS Remember that research is not necessarily invalidated by inappropriate results, provided they are presented in a conventional, professional way. The vocabulary below will help you to achieve this. minimise the problem/focus on suggest reasons for the problem good results may/could/might have been (a) preliminary attempt or despite this, was/were: however, immaterial beyond the scope of this study incomplete caused by infinitesimal difficult to (simulate) insignificant due to less than ideal hard to (control) less than perfect inevitable (a) minor deficit/limitation it should be noted that... negligible not attempted nevertheless not examined not always reliable not explored in this study not always accurate not investigated not ideal not the focus of this paper not identical not within the scope of this study not completely clear possible source(s) of error not perfect unavoidable not precise unexpected not significant unfortunately of no consequence unpredictable of no/little significance unworkable only unavailable reasonable results were obtained Results - Vocabulary 145 room for improvement offer a solution slightly (disappointing) further work is planned (a) slight mismatch/limitation future work should... * somewhat (problematic) future work will.. .* (a) technicality in future, care should be taken unimportant in future, it is advised that... * Remember that the phrase future work should is used to suggest a direction for the research community, whereas future work will tells readers that this is your next project. Here are some examples of how these are used: • The correlation between the two methods was somewhat less in the case of a central concentrated point load. • It should, however, be noted that in FE methods, the degree of mesh refinement may affect the results. • Nevertheless, this effect is only local. • Full experimental data was only obtained at one location. • Reasonable results were obtained in the first case, and good results in the second. • It is difficult to simulate the behaviour of the joints realistically. • Although this was not obtained experimentally, it can be assumed to exist. • Future work should therefore include numerical diffusion effects in the calculation of permeability. • This type of control saturation is fairly common and therefore of no significance. Here is an interesting table. It is supposed to be funny, but as you can see, it reflects a set of shared assumptions and a kind of 'code' used in the research community. WHEN YOU WRITE THIS... DO YOU MEAN THIS? It has long been known that... I cant remember the reference This is of great theoretical and practical importance This is interesting to me 146 Science Research Writing It has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions The experiments didn't work out High purity/very high purity/ extremely high purity Composition unknown Three of the samples were chosen for detailed study The results of the others didn't make sense, so we ignored them Typical results are shown Only the best results are shown Although some detail has been lost in reproduction, it appears to be clear from the original micrograph that... It is impossible to tell much from the original micrograph Agreement with the predicted curve was: perfect excellent good reasonably good satisfactory fair not perfect as good as can be expected Agreement with the predicted curve was: good fair poor very poor awful really awful imaginary non-existent These results will be reported at a later date I might get round to this sometime if I don't change careers It is suggested that... It is believed that... It seems that... I think that... Results - Vocabulary 147 It is clear that much additional work is required before a complete understanding can be reached I don't understand it Unfortunately, a quantitative theory to account for these effects has not yet been formulated Neither does anyone else Correct within an order of magnitude Wrong It is hoped that this work will stimulate further research This paper isn't very good, but neither is anyone else's It is obvious .. .but impossible to prove POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS OF RESULTS At some stage (usually late) in the Results, it is appropriate to provide a general explanation or interpretation of what your results might mean. This is often the pivotal point in a paper, and signals the move towards the Discussion/Conclusion. Choose your verb tense carefully. You can use the Present Simple or the Past Simple. Because the Present Simple is the tense used to express permanent truths and facts, using the Present Simple will give your sentence the status of a fact. Using the Present Simple therefore 'unlocks' your interpretation from your research and enhances its truth-value (We found that x occurs, which indicate/suggests that y causes z), If you are less confident, use the Past Simple (We found that x occurred, which indicated/ suggested thaty caused z). Notice how many words from the list of vocabulary used to describe causal relationships are found here (see Section 3.2.4). 148 Science Research Writing apparently it is logical that could* be due to it is thought/believed that could* be explained by it seems that could* account for it seems plausible (etc.) that could* be attributed to likely could* be interpreted as may/might could* be seen as means that evidently perhaps imply/implies that possibly/possibility indicate/indicating that potentially in some circumstances presumably is owing to probably is/are associated with provide compelling evidence is/are likely seem to is/are linked to suggest(ing) that is/are related to support the idea that it appears that tend to it could* be concluded that... tendency it could* be inferred that unlikely it could* be speculated that there is evidence for it could* be assumed that we could* infer that it is conceivable that we have confidence that it is evident that would seem to suggest/indicate *could can be replaced by may or might or sometimes can; there is a grammar section on these modal verbs in the next unit. Here are some examples of how these are used: • This suggests that silicon is intrinsically involved in the precipitation mechanism. • These curves indicate that the effective breadth is a minimum at the point of application of the load. • Empirically, it seems that alignment is most sensitive to rotation in depth. • Only the autumn crocus produced a positive response, suggesting that other species would flower earlier under climate warming. Results - Writing a Results Section 149 • It could be inferred therefore that these may have reacted with ozone to form organic acids, such as formic acid. • This indicates that no significant crystalline transformations occurred during sintering. • It is therefore speculated that at pH 7.5 a major part of the reaction was via hydroxyl radical attack. • It is apparent that this type of controller may be more sensitive to plant/model mismatch than was assumed in simulation studies. • The results seem to indicate that this causes the behaviour to become extremely volatile. • It is evident that the \|/ at midspan increases with the increasing r. In your native language you intuitively choose words and phrases which reflect exactly the appropriate strength of your claim and the level of risk you want to take in stating it. You need to be able to do this in English, both in this section and in the Discussion/Conclusion. The sentence We found that sunbathing causes cancer expresses a very strong claim, but you can communicate a weaker form of it in many different ways. Here are some examples: We found that sunbathing is related to the onset of cancer. We found that sunbathing was related to the onset of cancer. We found that sunbathing may have been related to the onset of cancer. We found evidence to suggest that sunbathing may have been related to the onset of cancer. We found evidence to suggest that in some cases/in many cases, sunbathing may have been related to the onset of cancer. We found evidence to suggest that in some cases, excessive sunbathing may have been related to the onset of certain types of cancer. It is thought that excessive sunbathing may sometimes be considered as contributing to the onset of certain types of cancer. 3.5 Writing a Results Section In the next task, you will bring together and use all the information in this unit. You will write a Results section according to the model, using the grammar and vocabulary you have learned, so make sure that you have the model (Section 3.3.3) and the vocabulary (Section 3.4) in front of you.