The purpose of the Fourth Chapter of the thesis is to present the results of the Analysis of the data. The Presentation should be in sufficient detail to enable the reader to judge the adequacy of the analysis.
If you examine the data analysis section of project, you will find that two characteristic styles are used in the presentation. The first Style, which I will refer to as the “hypothesis analysis” style, typically divides the chapter into sections which correspond to the hypotheses. In this manner of presentation, the hypothesis is presented, followed by the summary of the statistics relative to the hypothesis, and concluded with a statement which summarizes whether or not the hypothesis was rejected. In the second style of presentation, which I will refer to as the “analysis by instruments” style, the data are presented in various sections which correspond to the dependent variables (research instruments) used in the design.
With this style of presentation, the data are summarized without reference to the hypotheses, in short straight forward analysis of all significant differences. In the analysis by instruments style, significant differences in the data which are not related to the hypotheses of the study or the objective are presented as well as significant differences relative to the hypotheses. Either style is acceptable but check with your Research Committee Chair for guidance on this section.
Introduction to the Chapter
The introduction to the fourth chapter should be approximately one page in length. The purpose of this section of the chapter is to outline the contents of the chapter for the reader. In short, how will the presentation of the analysis of the data be subdivided into sections for the purpose of presentation? The following is an example of the introduction section.
“This chapter of the project will deal with the presentation of the results. The chapter has been divided into seven sections which correspond to the null-hypotheses of the study.”
Chapter Section Organization
Regardless of whether you elect the “hypothesis analysis” style or the “analysis by research instruments” style of presentation, each section of the Fourth Chapter should follow the same organizational format. The organization should deal with each of the following points
(not necessarily in the order indicated):
Analysis Model:
What statistical procedure was employed to test for significant differences?
Summary Statistics:
Present descriptive statistics which describe the central tendency and variability of the data.
Inferential Statistics:
Present the statistical analysis of the differences between or among the groups.
Summary of Findings:
Present a detailed analysis of the significant findings.
