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. 4642-4648.– 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.