Results, Discussion, and Abstract
C344
Results and Discussion
• New evidence and persuasion!
• In many fields, the two sections are split
• In organic chemistry, often integrated in same
section
• Your responsibility—maintain the difference in
your mind and writing
– Results are NOT THE SAME AS conclusions
Results
• Results are raw data
• Objectivity: in principle, any experimentalist
should get the same results under the same
conditions
• But results are not as objective as they seem
– Explain!
Results and Objectivity
• Results depend on choice of experiments
done and NOT DONE
• Reported results are already interpretive
– Reduction of data: averages, summaries
– Generalization: organizing data to show trends
– Tables and Figures
– Trendlines, statistics
• Visuals: 26% of paper surface area
“Summarizing, reducing, and generalizing from
the data are all highly interpretive processes. It
should be clear by now that researchers do not
let the data speak for themselves; in
summarizing their results, they also interpret
them for the reader.”
Writing in the Sciences, p 109.
Use of Visuals
• Tables: when exact values are necessary, no
trends
• Figures: communicate trends/relationships at
a glance
– Line graphs: chronological trends
– Bar graphs: groupings of magnitude comparison
• Organic structures
– Figures
– Schemes
Visual/Text Relationship
• Tables and Figures must be independent of
text
– Able to be read by reader on their own
• At same time, must be interdependent
– Text must refer to each figure explicitly
– Should be located close to reference
• Figure should stand alone, but your job in the
text is to point out what the reader should
notice
Specifics for Visuals
• Find details in ACS Style guide
– Figures: Chapter 15
– Tables: Chapter 16
– Structures: Chapter 17
• Specifics from J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78. 46424648.
– Tables: Extended title on top
– Figures: Significant caption below
– Scheme: Title on top
Tables
Figures
Schemes
Discussion
• Mirrors introduction—inverse funnel
– Summarize specific trends
– Generalize trends to fit within field
• How do results extend previous research? Do
these results contradict or challenge previous
hypotheses? Are theories refined/limited by
these data?
• Anticipate the challenges from other scientists to
head off opposition and show knowledge of field
Explicit Conclusions
• Do not leave interpretation to reader
• Draw your conclusions!
• But, scientist must have sense of limitations
• Don’t overreach the results!
• Wording is important. Fill in the blank:
“Results of this study ______ that significant
genetic divergence has occurred among
geographically separated groups of racoons.”
Tentative Writing
• Verbs: suggest, indicate, show, demonstrate
– Separate conclusions from the facts themselves
• Adverbs: possibly, probably, very likely,
necessarily, certainly, presumably, in all
probability, hypothetically, maybe, as far as we
can determine
• Auxiliary verbs: may, might, would could,
should, must, can, shall
Abstract
• Descriptive abstract: what does the paper talk
about? (DON’T DO THIS!)
• Informative abstract: Summarizes content of
the abstract
– Introduction
– Methods
– Results
– Conclusions
What is missing from this Abstract?
The purpose of this report is to determine the
effect of treating H. pelori infection on the
recurrence of gastric and duodenal ulcer
disease. Results of a clinical study of recent
ulcer patients under two treatments are
reported.
Example Abstract
Tetrazoles are potent anion binders. We report here a new family of tetrazole–
pyrrole–amide hosts that arise when a tetrazole is incorporated as a new
binding element alongside the well-known amidopyrrole anion-binding scaffold.
In addition to reporting three new, modular synthetic routes that can be used to
access these structures, we also report that the new hosts are highly potent
binders of chloride. Along the way, we carried out studies of a pyrrole ester
control compound that, surprisingly, bound anions almost as strongly as did the
amide analogues. This led us to investigate further the relative importance of
the amide NH in halide binding. We report that, despite the regular appearance
of this close amide NH---Cl contact in calculated and experimental X-ray
structures, the amide NH in this family of anion hosts does not hydrogen bond
strongly to chloride in solution.