Results content: Which best characterizes the Results section?

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The main idea here is that the Results section communicates what was observed through the data analysis, not what the study means or its limitations. In practice, results include both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics summarize the data and participant characteristics (for example, averages, ranges, frequencies), giving a clear picture of what the data look like. Inferential statistics report the outcomes of hypothesis tests, showing whether observed differences or relationships are likely to be real rather than due to random chance (for example, p-values, confidence intervals, effect sizes). Because the Results section needs to present the actual findings of the analyses, it typically includes both types of information. The study’s limitations, on the other hand, belong in the Discussion (or a dedicated Limitations section), not in the Results.