The fourth chapter represents the focal point of the research report. Previous chapters of
the report have laid the groundwork for the project. Those chapters provided an explanation of
the purpose behind the research, an outline of the research questions and hypotheses explored,
and a description of how the project fits within the overall body of research related to the subject
under consideration. This chapter moves on to a presentation of the findings produced by the
original quantitative analysis conducted as a part of this research project. The presentation of
findings is probably the most routine and easy to write as long as the research design has been
constructed properly and the data has been collected carefully. These findings are then used to
provide the foundation for the conclusions and implications outlined in the final chapter.
The chapter should begin with two or three introductory paragraphs. Make the transition
from chapter three and provide a very brief review of the overall research design. It is not
necessary to list all of the secondary questions and hypotheses at the beginning of the chapter, but
the introductory section of the chapter should focus the reader's attention on the primary research
question and hypothesis. Discuss the main objectives of the project and a describe the
The bulk of the chapter will consist of the presentation of findings for the secondary
questions and hypotheses set forth in Chapter 3. This presentation of findings will vary based on
the specific research design and statistical methodology employed, but should be a very
systematic process in all cases. A description of this process involving a regression oriented
research design and a research design centering on the use of difference tests is included in this
manual. Most students will employ one of these general approaches and others should be able to
Students employing a research design drawing on the testing of regression models should
begin this section of the chapter by presenting the overall regression model and briefly describing
the manner in which the model was tested. The results of the quantitative should then be
presented in clear and well defined table.1 These results should then be used to address each of
the substantive hypotheses developed in Chapter 3. Use the information from the table to
evaluate each null hypothesis and draw statistical conclusions. Go beyond merely accepting or
rejecting the null and draw initial statistical conclusions based on the outcome of the regression.
Describe the nature of the relationship between the variables included in the model in this portion
of the chapter. Do not extend this discussion to the point of drawing overall conclusions about
the broad research question driving the research process or the implications of these findings.
Those tasks should be saved for the final chapter of the report. Some form of organization
should be employed when discussing the variables in the model. Try to group them by subject
area or some other mechanism to give this portion of the chapter greater internal unity and flow.
Those who develop a research agenda involving the use of difference tests will present
their findings in a slightly different manner. They will present the findings of each statistical test
separately, drawing the necessary statistical conclusions before proceeding to the next area of
consideration. Each step in this process should begin with a statement of the research question.
State the null hypotheses to be subjected to quantitative testing. Identify the variables used for the
tests and explain how they have been defined (i.e. “Partisanship was defined as ...”, or “An event
1
Instructions for table creation and a few examples are attached to the end of the chapter.
was classified as a militarized dispute if ...” No actual data will be provided in the chapter, so it
is important that the testing procedures that were employed are made very clear to the reader in
this chapter. The results of the statistical test employed should be presented next. Present the
outcome of the statistical test in narrative form and use a table to summarize and reinforce what
is included in the text of the paragraph. Students are free to construct tables as desired, but they
must be clear and precise and conform to the general guidelines for table construction provided at
The discussion of each research question and hypothesis should end with an explanation
of the conclusions drawn based on the outcome of the statistical test employed. State the
statistical conclusions drawn at both the 95% and 99% levels of confidence (Was the null
hypothesis accepted or rejected at each of these levels?). This discussion should also include
preliminary research conclusions. Explain how the research question under examination should
be answered based on the outcome of the statistical test that has been conducted.
The process is repeated at least seven times until all of the findings produced by testing of
each of the secondary hypotheses have been presented. Effort should be made to avoid
employing exactly the same terminology or an extremely formulaic approach in the discussion of
each question and hypothesis, but some redundancy will be inevitable in this chapter given the
nature of its requirements. Work hard to ensure that the presentation of each set of findings
paints a clear picture of the results produced by the quantitative analysis. Finish the chapter with
a brief conclusion outlining what has been done and a transition to the next chapter which will
focus on the overall conclusions and implications of the findings that have been presented.
The final part of this chapter in the research manual includes a few tools that may prove
useful. The first of these tools is a short outline of the chapter. Guidelines for table construction
are also provided along with a few examples of acceptable tables. Finally, a sample page from
Hypothesis
Samples n Mean SD t Probability
.01
.05
11,000 500
Men 25
1.23 .092146 Accept Accept
12,250 400
W omen 40
Data Source: Statistical Abstracts of the United States, (2000), p. 873.
Coefficients
Variable Coefficient T Sig.
Race 1.82 4.6 .000
Education .26 5.38 .000
Income -.21 1.12 .235
Constant 1.22 6.62 .000
Data Source: The National Election Studies 2002 NATIONAL ELECTION STUDY dataset
[Variable] SAT scores are general educational outcomes which could be influenced by many
variables. [Discussion] One of those variables may be the percent of high school students
enrolled in private schools. If states have a higher percentage of students enrolled in private
schools and those private schools provide a better education, then higher mean SAT scores may
be logical outcomes. Of course this assumption is based on the contention that these standard
tests are valid and reliable measures of academic success. It should be noted that the validity of
SAT tests has been challenged, especially by minority groups. [Research Question] The
research question is: Are SAT scores higher in states with higher percentages of students enrolled
in private schools? [Null Hypothesis] The null hypothesis for SAT scores is that there is no
statistically significant difference between the mean SAT scores for states with higher private
school enrollments and the mean SAT scores for states with lower private school enrollments.
Table 4.11
SAT Scores for States With Higher and Lower Private School Enrollments
[Stat Conclusion] The null hypothesis was accepted at both the 95% and 99% confidence levels. There is
no statistically significant difference between the mean SAT scores for states with higher private school
enrollments and the mean SAT scores for states with lower private school enrollments. [Research
Conclusion] The mean SAT scores are the same for both samples. SAT scores are not higher in states