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Research Findings – Types Examples and Writing Guide

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Research Findings

Research Findings

Definition:

Research findings refer to the results obtained from a study or investigation conducted through a systematic and scientific approach. These findings are the outcomes of the data analysis, interpretation, and evaluation carried out during the research process.

Types of Research Findings

There are two main types of research findings:

Qualitative Findings

Qualitative research is an exploratory research method used to understand the complexities of human behavior and experiences. Qualitative findings are non-numerical and descriptive data that describe the meaning and interpretation of the data collected. Examples of qualitative findings include quotes from participants, themes that emerge from the data, and descriptions of experiences and phenomena.

Quantitative Findings

Quantitative research is a research method that uses numerical data and statistical analysis to measure and quantify a phenomenon or behavior. Quantitative findings include numerical data such as mean, median, and mode, as well as statistical analyses such as t-tests, ANOVA, and regression analysis. These findings are often presented in tables, graphs, or charts.

Both qualitative and quantitative findings are important in research and can provide different insights into a research question or problem. Combining both types of findings can provide a more comprehensive understanding of a phenomenon and improve the validity and reliability of research results.

Parts of Research Findings

Research findings typically consist of several parts, including:

  • Introduction: This section provides an overview of the research topic and the purpose of the study.
  • Literature Review: This section summarizes previous research studies and findings that are relevant to the current study.
  • Methodology : This section describes the research design, methods, and procedures used in the study, including details on the sample, data collection, and data analysis.
  • Results : This section presents the findings of the study, including statistical analyses and data visualizations.
  • Discussion : This section interprets the results and explains what they mean in relation to the research question(s) and hypotheses. It may also compare and contrast the current findings with previous research studies and explore any implications or limitations of the study.
  • Conclusion : This section provides a summary of the key findings and the main conclusions of the study.
  • Recommendations: This section suggests areas for further research and potential applications or implications of the study’s findings.

How to Write Research Findings

Writing research findings requires careful planning and attention to detail. Here are some general steps to follow when writing research findings:

  • Organize your findings: Before you begin writing, it’s essential to organize your findings logically. Consider creating an outline or a flowchart that outlines the main points you want to make and how they relate to one another.
  • Use clear and concise language : When presenting your findings, be sure to use clear and concise language that is easy to understand. Avoid using jargon or technical terms unless they are necessary to convey your meaning.
  • Use visual aids : Visual aids such as tables, charts, and graphs can be helpful in presenting your findings. Be sure to label and title your visual aids clearly, and make sure they are easy to read.
  • Use headings and subheadings: Using headings and subheadings can help organize your findings and make them easier to read. Make sure your headings and subheadings are clear and descriptive.
  • Interpret your findings : When presenting your findings, it’s important to provide some interpretation of what the results mean. This can include discussing how your findings relate to the existing literature, identifying any limitations of your study, and suggesting areas for future research.
  • Be precise and accurate : When presenting your findings, be sure to use precise and accurate language. Avoid making generalizations or overstatements and be careful not to misrepresent your data.
  • Edit and revise: Once you have written your research findings, be sure to edit and revise them carefully. Check for grammar and spelling errors, make sure your formatting is consistent, and ensure that your writing is clear and concise.

Research Findings Example

Following is a Research Findings Example sample for students:

Title: The Effects of Exercise on Mental Health

Sample : 500 participants, both men and women, between the ages of 18-45.

Methodology : Participants were divided into two groups. The first group engaged in 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five times a week for eight weeks. The second group did not exercise during the study period. Participants in both groups completed a questionnaire that assessed their mental health before and after the study period.

Findings : The group that engaged in regular exercise reported a significant improvement in mental health compared to the control group. Specifically, they reported lower levels of anxiety and depression, improved mood, and increased self-esteem.

Conclusion : Regular exercise can have a positive impact on mental health and may be an effective intervention for individuals experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Applications of Research Findings

Research findings can be applied in various fields to improve processes, products, services, and outcomes. Here are some examples:

  • Healthcare : Research findings in medicine and healthcare can be applied to improve patient outcomes, reduce morbidity and mortality rates, and develop new treatments for various diseases.
  • Education : Research findings in education can be used to develop effective teaching methods, improve learning outcomes, and design new educational programs.
  • Technology : Research findings in technology can be applied to develop new products, improve existing products, and enhance user experiences.
  • Business : Research findings in business can be applied to develop new strategies, improve operations, and increase profitability.
  • Public Policy: Research findings can be used to inform public policy decisions on issues such as environmental protection, social welfare, and economic development.
  • Social Sciences: Research findings in social sciences can be used to improve understanding of human behavior and social phenomena, inform public policy decisions, and develop interventions to address social issues.
  • Agriculture: Research findings in agriculture can be applied to improve crop yields, develop new farming techniques, and enhance food security.
  • Sports : Research findings in sports can be applied to improve athlete performance, reduce injuries, and develop new training programs.

When to use Research Findings

Research findings can be used in a variety of situations, depending on the context and the purpose. Here are some examples of when research findings may be useful:

  • Decision-making : Research findings can be used to inform decisions in various fields, such as business, education, healthcare, and public policy. For example, a business may use market research findings to make decisions about new product development or marketing strategies.
  • Problem-solving : Research findings can be used to solve problems or challenges in various fields, such as healthcare, engineering, and social sciences. For example, medical researchers may use findings from clinical trials to develop new treatments for diseases.
  • Policy development : Research findings can be used to inform the development of policies in various fields, such as environmental protection, social welfare, and economic development. For example, policymakers may use research findings to develop policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Program evaluation: Research findings can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs or interventions in various fields, such as education, healthcare, and social services. For example, educational researchers may use findings from evaluations of educational programs to improve teaching and learning outcomes.
  • Innovation: Research findings can be used to inspire or guide innovation in various fields, such as technology and engineering. For example, engineers may use research findings on materials science to develop new and innovative products.

Purpose of Research Findings

The purpose of research findings is to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of a particular topic or issue. Research findings are the result of a systematic and rigorous investigation of a research question or hypothesis, using appropriate research methods and techniques.

The main purposes of research findings are:

  • To generate new knowledge : Research findings contribute to the body of knowledge on a particular topic, by adding new information, insights, and understanding to the existing knowledge base.
  • To test hypotheses or theories : Research findings can be used to test hypotheses or theories that have been proposed in a particular field or discipline. This helps to determine the validity and reliability of the hypotheses or theories, and to refine or develop new ones.
  • To inform practice: Research findings can be used to inform practice in various fields, such as healthcare, education, and business. By identifying best practices and evidence-based interventions, research findings can help practitioners to make informed decisions and improve outcomes.
  • To identify gaps in knowledge: Research findings can help to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding of a particular topic, which can then be addressed by further research.
  • To contribute to policy development: Research findings can be used to inform policy development in various fields, such as environmental protection, social welfare, and economic development. By providing evidence-based recommendations, research findings can help policymakers to develop effective policies that address societal challenges.

Characteristics of Research Findings

Research findings have several key characteristics that distinguish them from other types of information or knowledge. Here are some of the main characteristics of research findings:

  • Objective : Research findings are based on a systematic and rigorous investigation of a research question or hypothesis, using appropriate research methods and techniques. As such, they are generally considered to be more objective and reliable than other types of information.
  • Empirical : Research findings are based on empirical evidence, which means that they are derived from observations or measurements of the real world. This gives them a high degree of credibility and validity.
  • Generalizable : Research findings are often intended to be generalizable to a larger population or context beyond the specific study. This means that the findings can be applied to other situations or populations with similar characteristics.
  • Transparent : Research findings are typically reported in a transparent manner, with a clear description of the research methods and data analysis techniques used. This allows others to assess the credibility and reliability of the findings.
  • Peer-reviewed: Research findings are often subject to a rigorous peer-review process, in which experts in the field review the research methods, data analysis, and conclusions of the study. This helps to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.
  • Reproducible : Research findings are often designed to be reproducible, meaning that other researchers can replicate the study using the same methods and obtain similar results. This helps to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.

Advantages of Research Findings

Research findings have many advantages, which make them valuable sources of knowledge and information. Here are some of the main advantages of research findings:

  • Evidence-based: Research findings are based on empirical evidence, which means that they are grounded in data and observations from the real world. This makes them a reliable and credible source of information.
  • Inform decision-making: Research findings can be used to inform decision-making in various fields, such as healthcare, education, and business. By identifying best practices and evidence-based interventions, research findings can help practitioners and policymakers to make informed decisions and improve outcomes.
  • Identify gaps in knowledge: Research findings can help to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding of a particular topic, which can then be addressed by further research. This contributes to the ongoing development of knowledge in various fields.
  • Improve outcomes : Research findings can be used to develop and implement evidence-based practices and interventions, which have been shown to improve outcomes in various fields, such as healthcare, education, and social services.
  • Foster innovation: Research findings can inspire or guide innovation in various fields, such as technology and engineering. By providing new information and understanding of a particular topic, research findings can stimulate new ideas and approaches to problem-solving.
  • Enhance credibility: Research findings are generally considered to be more credible and reliable than other types of information, as they are based on rigorous research methods and are subject to peer-review processes.

Limitations of Research Findings

While research findings have many advantages, they also have some limitations. Here are some of the main limitations of research findings:

  • Limited scope: Research findings are typically based on a particular study or set of studies, which may have a limited scope or focus. This means that they may not be applicable to other contexts or populations.
  • Potential for bias : Research findings can be influenced by various sources of bias, such as researcher bias, selection bias, or measurement bias. This can affect the validity and reliability of the findings.
  • Ethical considerations: Research findings can raise ethical considerations, particularly in studies involving human subjects. Researchers must ensure that their studies are conducted in an ethical and responsible manner, with appropriate measures to protect the welfare and privacy of participants.
  • Time and resource constraints : Research studies can be time-consuming and require significant resources, which can limit the number and scope of studies that are conducted. This can lead to gaps in knowledge or a lack of research on certain topics.
  • Complexity: Some research findings can be complex and difficult to interpret, particularly in fields such as science or medicine. This can make it challenging for practitioners and policymakers to apply the findings to their work.
  • Lack of generalizability : While research findings are intended to be generalizable to larger populations or contexts, there may be factors that limit their generalizability. For example, cultural or environmental factors may influence how a particular intervention or treatment works in different populations or contexts.

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How to Write the Results/Findings Section in Research

what is findings in research paper

What is the research paper Results section and what does it do?

The Results section of a scientific research paper represents the core findings of a study derived from the methods applied to gather and analyze information. It presents these findings in a logical sequence without bias or interpretation from the author, setting up the reader for later interpretation and evaluation in the Discussion section. A major purpose of the Results section is to break down the data into sentences that show its significance to the research question(s).

The Results section appears third in the section sequence in most scientific papers. It follows the presentation of the Methods and Materials and is presented before the Discussion section —although the Results and Discussion are presented together in many journals. This section answers the basic question “What did you find in your research?”

What is included in the Results section?

The Results section should include the findings of your study and ONLY the findings of your study. The findings include:

  • Data presented in tables, charts, graphs, and other figures (may be placed into the text or on separate pages at the end of the manuscript)
  • A contextual analysis of this data explaining its meaning in sentence form
  • All data that corresponds to the central research question(s)
  • All secondary findings (secondary outcomes, subgroup analyses, etc.)

If the scope of the study is broad, or if you studied a variety of variables, or if the methodology used yields a wide range of different results, the author should present only those results that are most relevant to the research question stated in the Introduction section .

As a general rule, any information that does not present the direct findings or outcome of the study should be left out of this section. Unless the journal requests that authors combine the Results and Discussion sections, explanations and interpretations should be omitted from the Results.

How are the results organized?

The best way to organize your Results section is “logically.” One logical and clear method of organizing research results is to provide them alongside the research questions—within each research question, present the type of data that addresses that research question.

Let’s look at an example. Your research question is based on a survey among patients who were treated at a hospital and received postoperative care. Let’s say your first research question is:

results section of a research paper, figures

“What do hospital patients over age 55 think about postoperative care?”

This can actually be represented as a heading within your Results section, though it might be presented as a statement rather than a question:

Attitudes towards postoperative care in patients over the age of 55

Now present the results that address this specific research question first. In this case, perhaps a table illustrating data from a survey. Likert items can be included in this example. Tables can also present standard deviations, probabilities, correlation matrices, etc.

Following this, present a content analysis, in words, of one end of the spectrum of the survey or data table. In our example case, start with the POSITIVE survey responses regarding postoperative care, using descriptive phrases. For example:

“Sixty-five percent of patients over 55 responded positively to the question “ Are you satisfied with your hospital’s postoperative care ?” (Fig. 2)

Include other results such as subcategory analyses. The amount of textual description used will depend on how much interpretation of tables and figures is necessary and how many examples the reader needs in order to understand the significance of your research findings.

Next, present a content analysis of another part of the spectrum of the same research question, perhaps the NEGATIVE or NEUTRAL responses to the survey. For instance:

  “As Figure 1 shows, 15 out of 60 patients in Group A responded negatively to Question 2.”

After you have assessed the data in one figure and explained it sufficiently, move on to your next research question. For example:

  “How does patient satisfaction correspond to in-hospital improvements made to postoperative care?”

results section of a research paper, figures

This kind of data may be presented through a figure or set of figures (for instance, a paired T-test table).

Explain the data you present, here in a table, with a concise content analysis:

“The p-value for the comparison between the before and after groups of patients was .03% (Fig. 2), indicating that the greater the dissatisfaction among patients, the more frequent the improvements that were made to postoperative care.”

Let’s examine another example of a Results section from a study on plant tolerance to heavy metal stress . In the Introduction section, the aims of the study are presented as “determining the physiological and morphological responses of Allium cepa L. towards increased cadmium toxicity” and “evaluating its potential to accumulate the metal and its associated environmental consequences.” The Results section presents data showing how these aims are achieved in tables alongside a content analysis, beginning with an overview of the findings:

“Cadmium caused inhibition of root and leave elongation, with increasing effects at higher exposure doses (Fig. 1a-c).”

The figure containing this data is cited in parentheses. Note that this author has combined three graphs into one single figure. Separating the data into separate graphs focusing on specific aspects makes it easier for the reader to assess the findings, and consolidating this information into one figure saves space and makes it easy to locate the most relevant results.

results section of a research paper, figures

Following this overall summary, the relevant data in the tables is broken down into greater detail in text form in the Results section.

  • “Results on the bio-accumulation of cadmium were found to be the highest (17.5 mg kgG1) in the bulb, when the concentration of cadmium in the solution was 1×10G2 M and lowest (0.11 mg kgG1) in the leaves when the concentration was 1×10G3 M.”

Captioning and Referencing Tables and Figures

Tables and figures are central components of your Results section and you need to carefully think about the most effective way to use graphs and tables to present your findings . Therefore, it is crucial to know how to write strong figure captions and to refer to them within the text of the Results section.

The most important advice one can give here as well as throughout the paper is to check the requirements and standards of the journal to which you are submitting your work. Every journal has its own design and layout standards, which you can find in the author instructions on the target journal’s website. Perusing a journal’s published articles will also give you an idea of the proper number, size, and complexity of your figures.

Regardless of which format you use, the figures should be placed in the order they are referenced in the Results section and be as clear and easy to understand as possible. If there are multiple variables being considered (within one or more research questions), it can be a good idea to split these up into separate figures. Subsequently, these can be referenced and analyzed under separate headings and paragraphs in the text.

To create a caption, consider the research question being asked and change it into a phrase. For instance, if one question is “Which color did participants choose?”, the caption might be “Color choice by participant group.” Or in our last research paper example, where the question was “What is the concentration of cadmium in different parts of the onion after 14 days?” the caption reads:

 “Fig. 1(a-c): Mean concentration of Cd determined in (a) bulbs, (b) leaves, and (c) roots of onions after a 14-day period.”

Steps for Composing the Results Section

Because each study is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to designing a strategy for structuring and writing the section of a research paper where findings are presented. The content and layout of this section will be determined by the specific area of research, the design of the study and its particular methodologies, and the guidelines of the target journal and its editors. However, the following steps can be used to compose the results of most scientific research studies and are essential for researchers who are new to preparing a manuscript for publication or who need a reminder of how to construct the Results section.

Step 1 : Consult the guidelines or instructions that the target journal or publisher provides authors and read research papers it has published, especially those with similar topics, methods, or results to your study.

  • The guidelines will generally outline specific requirements for the results or findings section, and the published articles will provide sound examples of successful approaches.
  • Note length limitations on restrictions on content. For instance, while many journals require the Results and Discussion sections to be separate, others do not—qualitative research papers often include results and interpretations in the same section (“Results and Discussion”).
  • Reading the aims and scope in the journal’s “ guide for authors ” section and understanding the interests of its readers will be invaluable in preparing to write the Results section.

Step 2 : Consider your research results in relation to the journal’s requirements and catalogue your results.

  • Focus on experimental results and other findings that are especially relevant to your research questions and objectives and include them even if they are unexpected or do not support your ideas and hypotheses.
  • Catalogue your findings—use subheadings to streamline and clarify your report. This will help you avoid excessive and peripheral details as you write and also help your reader understand and remember your findings. Create appendices that might interest specialists but prove too long or distracting for other readers.
  • Decide how you will structure of your results. You might match the order of the research questions and hypotheses to your results, or you could arrange them according to the order presented in the Methods section. A chronological order or even a hierarchy of importance or meaningful grouping of main themes or categories might prove effective. Consider your audience, evidence, and most importantly, the objectives of your research when choosing a structure for presenting your findings.

Step 3 : Design figures and tables to present and illustrate your data.

  • Tables and figures should be numbered according to the order in which they are mentioned in the main text of the paper.
  • Information in figures should be relatively self-explanatory (with the aid of captions), and their design should include all definitions and other information necessary for readers to understand the findings without reading all of the text.
  • Use tables and figures as a focal point to tell a clear and informative story about your research and avoid repeating information. But remember that while figures clarify and enhance the text, they cannot replace it.

Step 4 : Draft your Results section using the findings and figures you have organized.

  • The goal is to communicate this complex information as clearly and precisely as possible; precise and compact phrases and sentences are most effective.
  • In the opening paragraph of this section, restate your research questions or aims to focus the reader’s attention to what the results are trying to show. It is also a good idea to summarize key findings at the end of this section to create a logical transition to the interpretation and discussion that follows.
  • Try to write in the past tense and the active voice to relay the findings since the research has already been done and the agent is usually clear. This will ensure that your explanations are also clear and logical.
  • Make sure that any specialized terminology or abbreviation you have used here has been defined and clarified in the  Introduction section .

Step 5 : Review your draft; edit and revise until it reports results exactly as you would like to have them reported to your readers.

  • Double-check the accuracy and consistency of all the data, as well as all of the visual elements included.
  • Read your draft aloud to catch language errors (grammar, spelling, and mechanics), awkward phrases, and missing transitions.
  • Ensure that your results are presented in the best order to focus on objectives and prepare readers for interpretations, valuations, and recommendations in the Discussion section . Look back over the paper’s Introduction and background while anticipating the Discussion and Conclusion sections to ensure that the presentation of your results is consistent and effective.
  • Consider seeking additional guidance on your paper. Find additional readers to look over your Results section and see if it can be improved in any way. Peers, professors, or qualified experts can provide valuable insights.

One excellent option is to use a professional English proofreading and editing service  such as Wordvice, including our paper editing service . With hundreds of qualified editors from dozens of scientific fields, Wordvice has helped thousands of authors revise their manuscripts and get accepted into their target journals. Read more about the  proofreading and editing process  before proceeding with getting academic editing services and manuscript editing services for your manuscript.

As the representation of your study’s data output, the Results section presents the core information in your research paper. By writing with clarity and conciseness and by highlighting and explaining the crucial findings of their study, authors increase the impact and effectiveness of their research manuscripts.

For more articles and videos on writing your research manuscript, visit Wordvice’s Resources page.

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How To Write the Findings Section of a Research Paper

Posted by Rene Tetzner | Sep 2, 2021 | Paper Writing Advice | 0 |

How To Write the Findings Section of a Research Paper

How To Write the Findings Section of a Research Paper Each research project is unique, so it is natural for one researcher to make use of somewhat different strategies than another when it comes to designing and writing the section of a research paper dedicated to findings. The academic or scientific discipline of the research, the field of specialisation, the particular author or authors, the targeted journal or other publisher and the editor making the decisions about publication can all have a significant impact. The practical steps outlined below can be effectively applied to writing about the findings of most advanced research, however, and will prove especially helpful for early-career scholars who are preparing a research paper for a first publication.

what is findings in research paper

Step 1 : Consult the guidelines or instructions that the targeted journal (or other publisher) provides for authors and read research papers it has already published, particularly ones similar in topic, methods or results to your own. The guidelines will generally outline specific requirements for the results or findings section, and the published articles will provide sound examples of successful approaches. Watch particularly for length limitations and restrictions on content. Interpretation, for instance, is usually reserved for a later discussion section, though not always – qualitative research papers often combine findings and interpretation. Background information and descriptions of methods, on the other hand, almost always appear in earlier sections of a research paper. In most cases it is appropriate in a findings section to offer basic comparisons between the results of your study and those of other studies, but knowing exactly what the journal wants in the report of research findings is essential. Learning as much as you can about the journal’s aims and scope as well as the interests of its readers is invaluable as well.

what is findings in research paper

Step 2 : Reflect at some length on your research results in relation to the journal’s requirements while planning the findings section of your paper. Choose for particular focus experimental results and other research discoveries that are particularly relevant to your research questions and objectives, and include them even if they are unexpected or do not support your ideas and hypotheses. Streamline and clarify your report, especially if it is long and complex, by using subheadings that will help you avoid excessive and peripheral details as you write and also help your reader understand and remember your findings. Consider appendices for raw data that might interest specialists but prove too long or distracting for other readers. The opening paragraph of a findings section often restates research questions or aims to refocus the reader’s attention, and it is always wise to summarise key findings at the end of the section, providing a smooth intellectual transition to the interpretation and discussion that follows in most research papers. There are many effective ways in which to organise research findings. The structure of your findings section might be determined by your research questions and hypotheses or match the arrangement of your methods section. A chronological order or hierarchy of importance or meaningful grouping of main themes or categories might prove effective. It may be best to present all the relevant findings and then explain them and your analysis of them, or explaining the results of each trial or test immediately after reporting it may render the material clearer and more comprehensible for your readers. Keep your audience, your most important evidence and your research goals in mind.

what is findings in research paper

Step 3 : Design effective visual presentations of your research results to enhance the textual report of your findings. Tables of various styles and figures of all kinds such as graphs, maps and photos are used in reporting research findings, but do check the journal guidelines for instructions on the number of visual aids allowed, any required design elements and the preferred formats for numbering, labelling and placement in the manuscript. As a general rule, tables and figures should be numbered according to first mention in the main text of the paper, and each one should be clearly introduced and explained at least briefly in that text so that readers know what is presented and what they are expected to see in a particular visual element. Tables and figures should also be self-explanatory, however, so their design should include all definitions and other information necessary for a reader to understand the findings you intend to show without returning to your text. If you construct your tables and figures before drafting your findings section, they can serve as focal points to help you tell a clear and informative story about your findings and avoid unnecessary repetition. Some authors will even work on tables and figures before organising the findings section (Step 2), which can be an extremely effective approach, but it is important to remember that the textual report of findings remains primary. Visual aids can clarify and enrich the text, but they cannot take its place.

Step 4 : Write your findings section in a factual and objective manner. The goal is to communicate information – in some cases a great deal of complex information – as clearly, accurately and precisely as possible, so well-constructed sentences that maintain a simple structure will be far more effective than convoluted phrasing and expressions. The active voice is often recommended by publishers and the authors of writing manuals, and the past tense is appropriate because the research has already been done. Make sure your grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct and effective so that you are conveying the meaning you intend. Statements that are vague, imprecise or ambiguous will often confuse and mislead readers, and a verbose style will add little more than padding while wasting valuable words that might be put to far better use in clear and logical explanations. Some specialised terminology may be required when reporting findings, but anything potentially unclear or confusing that has not already been defined earlier in the paper should be clarified for readers, and the same principle applies to unusual or nonstandard abbreviations. Your readers will want to understand what you are reporting about your results, not waste time looking up terms simply to understand what you are saying. A logical approach to organising your findings section (Step 2) will help you tell a logical story about your research results as you explain, highlight, offer analysis and summarise the information necessary for readers to understand the discussion section that follows.

Step 5 : Review the draft of your findings section and edit and revise until it reports your key findings exactly as you would have them presented to your readers. Check for accuracy and consistency in data across the section as a whole and all its visual elements. Read your prose aloud to catch language errors, awkward phrases and abrupt transitions. Ensure that the order in which you have presented results is the best order for focussing readers on your research objectives and preparing them for the interpretations, speculations, recommendations and other elements of the discussion that you are planning. This will involve looking back over the paper’s introductory and background material as well as anticipating the discussion and conclusion sections, and this is precisely the right point in the process for reviewing and reflecting. Your research results have taken considerable time to obtain and analyse, so a little more time to stand back and take in the wider view from the research door you have opened is a wise investment. The opinions of any additional readers you can recruit, whether they are professional mentors and colleagues or family and friends, will often prove invaluable as well.

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How To Write the Findings Section of a Research Paper These five steps will help you write a clear & interesting findings section for a research paper

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How to write the results section of a research paper

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Table of Contents

At its core, a research paper aims to fill a gap in the research on a given topic. As a result, the results section of the paper, which describes the key findings of the study, is often considered the core of the paper. This is the section that gets the most attention from reviewers, peers, students, and any news organization reporting on your findings. Writing a clear, concise, and logical results section is, therefore, one of the most important parts of preparing your manuscript.

Difference between results and discussion

Before delving into how to write the results section, it is important to first understand the difference between the results and discussion sections. The results section needs to detail the findings of the study. The aim of this section is not to draw connections between the different findings or to compare it to previous findings in literature—that is the purview of the discussion section. Unlike the discussion section, which can touch upon the hypothetical, the results section needs to focus on the purely factual. In some cases, it may even be preferable to club these two sections together into a single section. For example, while writing  a review article, it can be worthwhile to club these two sections together, as the main results in this case are the conclusions that can be drawn from the literature.

Structure of the results section

Although the main purpose of the results section in a research paper is to report the findings, it is necessary to present an introduction and repeat the research question. This establishes a connection to the previous section of the paper and creates a smooth flow of information.

Next, the results section needs to communicate the findings of your research in a systematic manner. The section needs to be organized such that the primary research question is addressed first, then the secondary research questions. If the research addresses multiple questions, the results section must individually connect with each of the questions. This ensures clarity and minimizes confusion while reading.

Consider representing your results visually. For example, graphs, tables, and other figures can help illustrate the findings of your paper, especially if there is a large amount of data in the results.

Remember, an appealing results section can help peer reviewers better understand the merits of your research, thereby increasing your chances of publication.

Practical guidance for writing an effective results section for a research paper

  • Always use simple and clear language. Avoid the use of uncertain or out-of-focus expressions.
  • The findings of the study must be expressed in an objective and unbiased manner. While it is acceptable to correlate certain findings in the discussion section, it is best to avoid overinterpreting the results.
  • If the research addresses more than one hypothesis, use sub-sections to describe the results. This prevents confusion and promotes understanding.
  • Ensure that negative results are included in this section, even if they do not support the research hypothesis.
  • Wherever possible, use illustrations like tables, figures, charts, or other visual representations to showcase the results of your research paper. Mention these illustrations in the text, but do not repeat the information that they convey.
  • For statistical data, it is adequate to highlight the tests and explain their results. The initial or raw data should not be mentioned in the results section of a research paper.

The results section of a research paper is usually the most impactful section because it draws the greatest attention. Regardless of the subject of your research paper, a well-written results section is capable of generating interest in your research.

For detailed information and assistance on writing the results of a research paper, refer to Elsevier Author Services.

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How to Write and Publish a Research Paper for a Peer-Reviewed Journal

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  • Volume 36 , pages 909–913, ( 2021 )

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Communicating research findings is an essential step in the research process. Often, peer-reviewed journals are the forum for such communication, yet many researchers are never taught how to write a publishable scientific paper. In this article, we explain the basic structure of a scientific paper and describe the information that should be included in each section. We also identify common pitfalls for each section and recommend strategies to avoid them. Further, we give advice about target journal selection and authorship. In the online resource 1 , we provide an example of a high-quality scientific paper, with annotations identifying the elements we describe in this article.

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Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

Writing a scientific paper is an important component of the research process, yet researchers often receive little formal training in scientific writing. This is especially true in low-resource settings. In this article, we explain why choosing a target journal is important, give advice about authorship, provide a basic structure for writing each section of a scientific paper, and describe common pitfalls and recommendations for each section. In the online resource 1 , we also include an annotated journal article that identifies the key elements and writing approaches that we detail here. Before you begin your research, make sure you have ethical clearance from all relevant ethical review boards.

Select a Target Journal Early in the Writing Process

We recommend that you select a “target journal” early in the writing process; a “target journal” is the journal to which you plan to submit your paper. Each journal has a set of core readers and you should tailor your writing to this readership. For example, if you plan to submit a manuscript about vaping during pregnancy to a pregnancy-focused journal, you will need to explain what vaping is because readers of this journal may not have a background in this topic. However, if you were to submit that same article to a tobacco journal, you would not need to provide as much background information about vaping.

Information about a journal’s core readership can be found on its website, usually in a section called “About this journal” or something similar. For example, the Journal of Cancer Education presents such information on the “Aims and Scope” page of its website, which can be found here: https://www.springer.com/journal/13187/aims-and-scope .

Peer reviewer guidelines from your target journal are an additional resource that can help you tailor your writing to the journal and provide additional advice about crafting an effective article [ 1 ]. These are not always available, but it is worth a quick web search to find out.

Identify Author Roles Early in the Process

Early in the writing process, identify authors, determine the order of authors, and discuss the responsibilities of each author. Standard author responsibilities have been identified by The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) [ 2 ]. To set clear expectations about each team member’s responsibilities and prevent errors in communication, we also suggest outlining more detailed roles, such as who will draft each section of the manuscript, write the abstract, submit the paper electronically, serve as corresponding author, and write the cover letter. It is best to formalize this agreement in writing after discussing it, circulating the document to the author team for approval. We suggest creating a title page on which all authors are listed in the agreed-upon order. It may be necessary to adjust authorship roles and order during the development of the paper. If a new author order is agreed upon, be sure to update the title page in the manuscript draft.

In the case where multiple papers will result from a single study, authors should discuss who will author each paper. Additionally, authors should agree on a deadline for each paper and the lead author should take responsibility for producing an initial draft by this deadline.

Structure of the Introduction Section

The introduction section should be approximately three to five paragraphs in length. Look at examples from your target journal to decide the appropriate length. This section should include the elements shown in Fig.  1 . Begin with a general context, narrowing to the specific focus of the paper. Include five main elements: why your research is important, what is already known about the topic, the “gap” or what is not yet known about the topic, why it is important to learn the new information that your research adds, and the specific research aim(s) that your paper addresses. Your research aim should address the gap you identified. Be sure to add enough background information to enable readers to understand your study. Table 1 provides common introduction section pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them.

figure 1

The main elements of the introduction section of an original research article. Often, the elements overlap

Methods Section

The purpose of the methods section is twofold: to explain how the study was done in enough detail to enable its replication and to provide enough contextual detail to enable readers to understand and interpret the results. In general, the essential elements of a methods section are the following: a description of the setting and participants, the study design and timing, the recruitment and sampling, the data collection process, the dataset, the dependent and independent variables, the covariates, the analytic approach for each research objective, and the ethical approval. The hallmark of an exemplary methods section is the justification of why each method was used. Table 2 provides common methods section pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them.

Results Section

The focus of the results section should be associations, or lack thereof, rather than statistical tests. Two considerations should guide your writing here. First, the results should present answers to each part of the research aim. Second, return to the methods section to ensure that the analysis and variables for each result have been explained.

Begin the results section by describing the number of participants in the final sample and details such as the number who were approached to participate, the proportion who were eligible and who enrolled, and the number of participants who dropped out. The next part of the results should describe the participant characteristics. After that, you may organize your results by the aim or by putting the most exciting results first. Do not forget to report your non-significant associations. These are still findings.

Tables and figures capture the reader’s attention and efficiently communicate your main findings [ 3 ]. Each table and figure should have a clear message and should complement, rather than repeat, the text. Tables and figures should communicate all salient details necessary for a reader to understand the findings without consulting the text. Include information on comparisons and tests, as well as information about the sample and timing of the study in the title, legend, or in a footnote. Note that figures are often more visually interesting than tables, so if it is feasible to make a figure, make a figure. To avoid confusing the reader, either avoid abbreviations in tables and figures, or define them in a footnote. Note that there should not be citations in the results section and you should not interpret results here. Table 3 provides common results section pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them.

Discussion Section

Opposite the introduction section, the discussion should take the form of a right-side-up triangle beginning with interpretation of your results and moving to general implications (Fig.  2 ). This section typically begins with a restatement of the main findings, which can usually be accomplished with a few carefully-crafted sentences.

figure 2

Major elements of the discussion section of an original research article. Often, the elements overlap

Next, interpret the meaning or explain the significance of your results, lifting the reader’s gaze from the study’s specific findings to more general applications. Then, compare these study findings with other research. Are these findings in agreement or disagreement with those from other studies? Does this study impart additional nuance to well-accepted theories? Situate your findings within the broader context of scientific literature, then explain the pathways or mechanisms that might give rise to, or explain, the results.

Journals vary in their approach to strengths and limitations sections: some are embedded paragraphs within the discussion section, while some mandate separate section headings. Keep in mind that every study has strengths and limitations. Candidly reporting yours helps readers to correctly interpret your research findings.

The next element of the discussion is a summary of the potential impacts and applications of the research. Should these results be used to optimally design an intervention? Does the work have implications for clinical protocols or public policy? These considerations will help the reader to further grasp the possible impacts of the presented work.

Finally, the discussion should conclude with specific suggestions for future work. Here, you have an opportunity to illuminate specific gaps in the literature that compel further study. Avoid the phrase “future research is necessary” because the recommendation is too general to be helpful to readers. Instead, provide substantive and specific recommendations for future studies. Table 4 provides common discussion section pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them.

Follow the Journal’s Author Guidelines

After you select a target journal, identify the journal’s author guidelines to guide the formatting of your manuscript and references. Author guidelines will often (but not always) include instructions for titles, cover letters, and other components of a manuscript submission. Read the guidelines carefully. If you do not follow the guidelines, your article will be sent back to you.

Finally, do not submit your paper to more than one journal at a time. Even if this is not explicitly stated in the author guidelines of your target journal, it is considered inappropriate and unprofessional.

Your title should invite readers to continue reading beyond the first page [ 4 , 5 ]. It should be informative and interesting. Consider describing the independent and dependent variables, the population and setting, the study design, the timing, and even the main result in your title. Because the focus of the paper can change as you write and revise, we recommend you wait until you have finished writing your paper before composing the title.

Be sure that the title is useful for potential readers searching for your topic. The keywords you select should complement those in your title to maximize the likelihood that a researcher will find your paper through a database search. Avoid using abbreviations in your title unless they are very well known, such as SNP, because it is more likely that someone will use a complete word rather than an abbreviation as a search term to help readers find your paper.

After you have written a complete draft, use the checklist (Fig. 3 ) below to guide your revisions and editing. Additional resources are available on writing the abstract and citing references [ 5 ]. When you feel that your work is ready, ask a trusted colleague or two to read the work and provide informal feedback. The box below provides a checklist that summarizes the key points offered in this article.

figure 3

Checklist for manuscript quality

Data Availability

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Acknowledgments

Ella August is grateful to the Sustainable Sciences Institute for mentoring her in training researchers on writing and publishing their research.

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Busse, C., August, E. How to Write and Publish a Research Paper for a Peer-Reviewed Journal. J Canc Educ 36 , 909–913 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01751-z

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How to write your first research paper.

Writing a research manuscript is an intimidating process for many novice writers in the sciences. One of the stumbling blocks is the beginning of the process and creating the first draft. This paper presents guidelines on how to initiate the writing process and draft each section of a research manuscript. The paper discusses seven rules that allow the writer to prepare a well-structured and comprehensive manuscript for a publication submission. In addition, the author lists different strategies for successful revision. Each of those strategies represents a step in the revision process and should help the writer improve the quality of the manuscript. The paper could be considered a brief manual for publication.

It is late at night. You have been struggling with your project for a year. You generated an enormous amount of interesting data. Your pipette feels like an extension of your hand, and running western blots has become part of your daily routine, similar to brushing your teeth. Your colleagues think you are ready to write a paper, and your lab mates tease you about your “slow” writing progress. Yet days pass, and you cannot force yourself to sit down to write. You have not written anything for a while (lab reports do not count), and you feel you have lost your stamina. How does the writing process work? How can you fit your writing into a daily schedule packed with experiments? What section should you start with? What distinguishes a good research paper from a bad one? How should you revise your paper? These and many other questions buzz in your head and keep you stressed. As a result, you procrastinate. In this paper, I will discuss the issues related to the writing process of a scientific paper. Specifically, I will focus on the best approaches to start a scientific paper, tips for writing each section, and the best revision strategies.

1. Schedule your writing time in Outlook

Whether you have written 100 papers or you are struggling with your first, starting the process is the most difficult part unless you have a rigid writing schedule. Writing is hard. It is a very difficult process of intense concentration and brain work. As stated in Hayes’ framework for the study of writing: “It is a generative activity requiring motivation, and it is an intellectual activity requiring cognitive processes and memory” [ 1 ]. In his book How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing , Paul Silvia says that for some, “it’s easier to embalm the dead than to write an article about it” [ 2 ]. Just as with any type of hard work, you will not succeed unless you practice regularly. If you have not done physical exercises for a year, only regular workouts can get you into good shape again. The same kind of regular exercises, or I call them “writing sessions,” are required to be a productive author. Choose from 1- to 2-hour blocks in your daily work schedule and consider them as non-cancellable appointments. When figuring out which blocks of time will be set for writing, you should select the time that works best for this type of work. For many people, mornings are more productive. One Yale University graduate student spent a semester writing from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. when her lab was empty. At the end of the semester, she was amazed at how much she accomplished without even interrupting her regular lab hours. In addition, doing the hardest task first thing in the morning contributes to the sense of accomplishment during the rest of the day. This positive feeling spills over into our work and life and has a very positive effect on our overall attitude.

Rule 1: Create regular time blocks for writing as appointments in your calendar and keep these appointments.

2. start with an outline.

Now that you have scheduled time, you need to decide how to start writing. The best strategy is to start with an outline. This will not be an outline that you are used to, with Roman numerals for each section and neat parallel listing of topic sentences and supporting points. This outline will be similar to a template for your paper. Initially, the outline will form a structure for your paper; it will help generate ideas and formulate hypotheses. Following the advice of George M. Whitesides, “. . . start with a blank piece of paper, and write down, in any order, all important ideas that occur to you concerning the paper” [ 3 ]. Use Table 1 as a starting point for your outline. Include your visuals (figures, tables, formulas, equations, and algorithms), and list your findings. These will constitute the first level of your outline, which will eventually expand as you elaborate.

The next stage is to add context and structure. Here you will group all your ideas into sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion/Conclusion ( Table 2 ). This step will help add coherence to your work and sift your ideas.

Now that you have expanded your outline, you are ready for the next step: discussing the ideas for your paper with your colleagues and mentor. Many universities have a writing center where graduate students can schedule individual consultations and receive assistance with their paper drafts. Getting feedback during early stages of your draft can save a lot of time. Talking through ideas allows people to conceptualize and organize thoughts to find their direction without wasting time on unnecessary writing. Outlining is the most effective way of communicating your ideas and exchanging thoughts. Moreover, it is also the best stage to decide to which publication you will submit the paper. Many people come up with three choices and discuss them with their mentors and colleagues. Having a list of journal priorities can help you quickly resubmit your paper if your paper is rejected.

Rule 2: Create a detailed outline and discuss it with your mentor and peers.

3. continue with drafts.

After you get enough feedback and decide on the journal you will submit to, the process of real writing begins. Copy your outline into a separate file and expand on each of the points, adding data and elaborating on the details. When you create the first draft, do not succumb to the temptation of editing. Do not slow down to choose a better word or better phrase; do not halt to improve your sentence structure. Pour your ideas into the paper and leave revision and editing for later. As Paul Silvia explains, “Revising while you generate text is like drinking decaffeinated coffee in the early morning: noble idea, wrong time” [ 2 ].

Many students complain that they are not productive writers because they experience writer’s block. Staring at an empty screen is frustrating, but your screen is not really empty: You have a template of your article, and all you need to do is fill in the blanks. Indeed, writer’s block is a logical fallacy for a scientist ― it is just an excuse to procrastinate. When scientists start writing a research paper, they already have their files with data, lab notes with materials and experimental designs, some visuals, and tables with results. All they need to do is scrutinize these pieces and put them together into a comprehensive paper.

3.1. Starting with Materials and Methods

If you still struggle with starting a paper, then write the Materials and Methods section first. Since you have all your notes, it should not be problematic for you to describe the experimental design and procedures. Your most important goal in this section is to be as explicit as possible by providing enough detail and references. In the end, the purpose of this section is to allow other researchers to evaluate and repeat your work. So do not run into the same problems as the writers of the sentences in (1):

1a. Bacteria were pelleted by centrifugation. 1b. To isolate T cells, lymph nodes were collected.

As you can see, crucial pieces of information are missing: the speed of centrifuging your bacteria, the time, and the temperature in (1a); the source of lymph nodes for collection in (b). The sentences can be improved when information is added, as in (2a) and (2b), respectfully:

2a. Bacteria were pelleted by centrifugation at 3000g for 15 min at 25°C. 2b. To isolate T cells, mediastinal and mesenteric lymph nodes from Balb/c mice were collected at day 7 after immunization with ovabumin.

If your method has previously been published and is well-known, then you should provide only the literature reference, as in (3a). If your method is unpublished, then you need to make sure you provide all essential details, as in (3b).

3a. Stem cells were isolated, according to Johnson [23]. 3b. Stem cells were isolated using biotinylated carbon nanotubes coated with anti-CD34 antibodies.

Furthermore, cohesion and fluency are crucial in this section. One of the malpractices resulting in disrupted fluency is switching from passive voice to active and vice versa within the same paragraph, as shown in (4). This switching misleads and distracts the reader.

4. Behavioral computer-based experiments of Study 1 were programmed by using E-Prime. We took ratings of enjoyment, mood, and arousal as the patients listened to preferred pleasant music and unpreferred music by using Visual Analogue Scales (SI Methods). The preferred and unpreferred status of the music was operationalized along a continuum of pleasantness [ 4 ].

The problem with (4) is that the reader has to switch from the point of view of the experiment (passive voice) to the point of view of the experimenter (active voice). This switch causes confusion about the performer of the actions in the first and the third sentences. To improve the coherence and fluency of the paragraph above, you should be consistent in choosing the point of view: first person “we” or passive voice [ 5 ]. Let’s consider two revised examples in (5).

5a. We programmed behavioral computer-based experiments of Study 1 by using E-Prime. We took ratings of enjoyment, mood, and arousal by using Visual Analogue Scales (SI Methods) as the patients listened to preferred pleasant music and unpreferred music. We operationalized the preferred and unpreferred status of the music along a continuum of pleasantness. 5b. Behavioral computer-based experiments of Study 1 were programmed by using E-Prime. Ratings of enjoyment, mood, and arousal were taken as the patients listened to preferred pleasant music and unpreferred music by using Visual Analogue Scales (SI Methods). The preferred and unpreferred status of the music was operationalized along a continuum of pleasantness.

If you choose the point of view of the experimenter, then you may end up with repetitive “we did this” sentences. For many readers, paragraphs with sentences all beginning with “we” may also sound disruptive. So if you choose active sentences, you need to keep the number of “we” subjects to a minimum and vary the beginnings of the sentences [ 6 ].

Interestingly, recent studies have reported that the Materials and Methods section is the only section in research papers in which passive voice predominantly overrides the use of the active voice [ 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. For example, Martínez shows a significant drop in active voice use in the Methods sections based on the corpus of 1 million words of experimental full text research articles in the biological sciences [ 7 ]. According to the author, the active voice patterned with “we” is used only as a tool to reveal personal responsibility for the procedural decisions in designing and performing experimental work. This means that while all other sections of the research paper use active voice, passive voice is still the most predominant in Materials and Methods sections.

Writing Materials and Methods sections is a meticulous and time consuming task requiring extreme accuracy and clarity. This is why when you complete your draft, you should ask for as much feedback from your colleagues as possible. Numerous readers of this section will help you identify the missing links and improve the technical style of this section.

Rule 3: Be meticulous and accurate in describing the Materials and Methods. Do not change the point of view within one paragraph.

3.2. writing results section.

For many authors, writing the Results section is more intimidating than writing the Materials and Methods section . If people are interested in your paper, they are interested in your results. That is why it is vital to use all your writing skills to objectively present your key findings in an orderly and logical sequence using illustrative materials and text.

Your Results should be organized into different segments or subsections where each one presents the purpose of the experiment, your experimental approach, data including text and visuals (tables, figures, schematics, algorithms, and formulas), and data commentary. For most journals, your data commentary will include a meaningful summary of the data presented in the visuals and an explanation of the most significant findings. This data presentation should not repeat the data in the visuals, but rather highlight the most important points. In the “standard” research paper approach, your Results section should exclude data interpretation, leaving it for the Discussion section. However, interpretations gradually and secretly creep into research papers: “Reducing the data, generalizing from the data, and highlighting scientific cases are all highly interpretive processes. It should be clear by now that we do not let the data speak for themselves in research reports; in summarizing our results, we interpret them for the reader” [ 10 ]. As a result, many journals including the Journal of Experimental Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation use joint Results/Discussion sections, where results are immediately followed by interpretations.

Another important aspect of this section is to create a comprehensive and supported argument or a well-researched case. This means that you should be selective in presenting data and choose only those experimental details that are essential for your reader to understand your findings. You might have conducted an experiment 20 times and collected numerous records, but this does not mean that you should present all those records in your paper. You need to distinguish your results from your data and be able to discard excessive experimental details that could distract and confuse the reader. However, creating a picture or an argument should not be confused with data manipulation or falsification, which is a willful distortion of data and results. If some of your findings contradict your ideas, you have to mention this and find a plausible explanation for the contradiction.

In addition, your text should not include irrelevant and peripheral information, including overview sentences, as in (6).

6. To show our results, we first introduce all components of experimental system and then describe the outcome of infections.

Indeed, wordiness convolutes your sentences and conceals your ideas from readers. One common source of wordiness is unnecessary intensifiers. Adverbial intensifiers such as “clearly,” “essential,” “quite,” “basically,” “rather,” “fairly,” “really,” and “virtually” not only add verbosity to your sentences, but also lower your results’ credibility. They appeal to the reader’s emotions but lower objectivity, as in the common examples in (7):

7a. Table 3 clearly shows that … 7b. It is obvious from figure 4 that …

Another source of wordiness is nominalizations, i.e., nouns derived from verbs and adjectives paired with weak verbs including “be,” “have,” “do,” “make,” “cause,” “provide,” and “get” and constructions such as “there is/are.”

8a. We tested the hypothesis that there is a disruption of membrane asymmetry. 8b. In this paper we provide an argument that stem cells repopulate injured organs.

In the sentences above, the abstract nominalizations “disruption” and “argument” do not contribute to the clarity of the sentences, but rather clutter them with useless vocabulary that distracts from the meaning. To improve your sentences, avoid unnecessary nominalizations and change passive verbs and constructions into active and direct sentences.

9a. We tested the hypothesis that the membrane asymmetry is disrupted. 9b. In this paper we argue that stem cells repopulate injured organs.

Your Results section is the heart of your paper, representing a year or more of your daily research. So lead your reader through your story by writing direct, concise, and clear sentences.

Rule 4: Be clear, concise, and objective in describing your Results.

3.3. now it is time for your introduction.

Now that you are almost half through drafting your research paper, it is time to update your outline. While describing your Methods and Results, many of you diverged from the original outline and re-focused your ideas. So before you move on to create your Introduction, re-read your Methods and Results sections and change your outline to match your research focus. The updated outline will help you review the general picture of your paper, the topic, the main idea, and the purpose, which are all important for writing your introduction.

The best way to structure your introduction is to follow the three-move approach shown in Table 3 .

Adapted from Swales and Feak [ 11 ].

The moves and information from your outline can help to create your Introduction efficiently and without missing steps. These moves are traffic signs that lead the reader through the road of your ideas. Each move plays an important role in your paper and should be presented with deep thought and care. When you establish the territory, you place your research in context and highlight the importance of your research topic. By finding the niche, you outline the scope of your research problem and enter the scientific dialogue. The final move, “occupying the niche,” is where you explain your research in a nutshell and highlight your paper’s significance. The three moves allow your readers to evaluate their interest in your paper and play a significant role in the paper review process, determining your paper reviewers.

Some academic writers assume that the reader “should follow the paper” to find the answers about your methodology and your findings. As a result, many novice writers do not present their experimental approach and the major findings, wrongly believing that the reader will locate the necessary information later while reading the subsequent sections [ 5 ]. However, this “suspense” approach is not appropriate for scientific writing. To interest the reader, scientific authors should be direct and straightforward and present informative one-sentence summaries of the results and the approach.

Another problem is that writers understate the significance of the Introduction. Many new researchers mistakenly think that all their readers understand the importance of the research question and omit this part. However, this assumption is faulty because the purpose of the section is not to evaluate the importance of the research question in general. The goal is to present the importance of your research contribution and your findings. Therefore, you should be explicit and clear in describing the benefit of the paper.

The Introduction should not be long. Indeed, for most journals, this is a very brief section of about 250 to 600 words, but it might be the most difficult section due to its importance.

Rule 5: Interest your reader in the Introduction section by signalling all its elements and stating the novelty of the work.

3.4. discussion of the results.

For many scientists, writing a Discussion section is as scary as starting a paper. Most of the fear comes from the variation in the section. Since every paper has its unique results and findings, the Discussion section differs in its length, shape, and structure. However, some general principles of writing this section still exist. Knowing these rules, or “moves,” can change your attitude about this section and help you create a comprehensive interpretation of your results.

The purpose of the Discussion section is to place your findings in the research context and “to explain the meaning of the findings and why they are important, without appearing arrogant, condescending, or patronizing” [ 11 ]. The structure of the first two moves is almost a mirror reflection of the one in the Introduction. In the Introduction, you zoom in from general to specific and from the background to your research question; in the Discussion section, you zoom out from the summary of your findings to the research context, as shown in Table 4 .

Adapted from Swales and Feak and Hess [ 11 , 12 ].

The biggest challenge for many writers is the opening paragraph of the Discussion section. Following the moves in Table 1 , the best choice is to start with the study’s major findings that provide the answer to the research question in your Introduction. The most common starting phrases are “Our findings demonstrate . . .,” or “In this study, we have shown that . . .,” or “Our results suggest . . .” In some cases, however, reminding the reader about the research question or even providing a brief context and then stating the answer would make more sense. This is important in those cases where the researcher presents a number of findings or where more than one research question was presented. Your summary of the study’s major findings should be followed by your presentation of the importance of these findings. One of the most frequent mistakes of the novice writer is to assume the importance of his findings. Even if the importance is clear to you, it may not be obvious to your reader. Digesting the findings and their importance to your reader is as crucial as stating your research question.

Another useful strategy is to be proactive in the first move by predicting and commenting on the alternative explanations of the results. Addressing potential doubts will save you from painful comments about the wrong interpretation of your results and will present you as a thoughtful and considerate researcher. Moreover, the evaluation of the alternative explanations might help you create a logical step to the next move of the discussion section: the research context.

The goal of the research context move is to show how your findings fit into the general picture of the current research and how you contribute to the existing knowledge on the topic. This is also the place to discuss any discrepancies and unexpected findings that may otherwise distort the general picture of your paper. Moreover, outlining the scope of your research by showing the limitations, weaknesses, and assumptions is essential and adds modesty to your image as a scientist. However, make sure that you do not end your paper with the problems that override your findings. Try to suggest feasible explanations and solutions.

If your submission does not require a separate Conclusion section, then adding another paragraph about the “take-home message” is a must. This should be a general statement reiterating your answer to the research question and adding its scientific implications, practical application, or advice.

Just as in all other sections of your paper, the clear and precise language and concise comprehensive sentences are vital. However, in addition to that, your writing should convey confidence and authority. The easiest way to illustrate your tone is to use the active voice and the first person pronouns. Accompanied by clarity and succinctness, these tools are the best to convince your readers of your point and your ideas.

Rule 6: Present the principles, relationships, and generalizations in a concise and convincing tone.

4. choosing the best working revision strategies.

Now that you have created the first draft, your attitude toward your writing should have improved. Moreover, you should feel more confident that you are able to accomplish your project and submit your paper within a reasonable timeframe. You also have worked out your writing schedule and followed it precisely. Do not stop ― you are only at the midpoint from your destination. Just as the best and most precious diamond is no more than an unattractive stone recognized only by trained professionals, your ideas and your results may go unnoticed if they are not polished and brushed. Despite your attempts to present your ideas in a logical and comprehensive way, first drafts are frequently a mess. Use the advice of Paul Silvia: “Your first drafts should sound like they were hastily translated from Icelandic by a non-native speaker” [ 2 ]. The degree of your success will depend on how you are able to revise and edit your paper.

The revision can be done at the macrostructure and the microstructure levels [ 13 ]. The macrostructure revision includes the revision of the organization, content, and flow. The microstructure level includes individual words, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

The best way to approach the macrostructure revision is through the outline of the ideas in your paper. The last time you updated your outline was before writing the Introduction and the Discussion. Now that you have the beginning and the conclusion, you can take a bird’s-eye view of the whole paper. The outline will allow you to see if the ideas of your paper are coherently structured, if your results are logically built, and if the discussion is linked to the research question in the Introduction. You will be able to see if something is missing in any of the sections or if you need to rearrange your information to make your point.

The next step is to revise each of the sections starting from the beginning. Ideally, you should limit yourself to working on small sections of about five pages at a time [ 14 ]. After these short sections, your eyes get used to your writing and your efficiency in spotting problems decreases. When reading for content and organization, you should control your urge to edit your paper for sentence structure and grammar and focus only on the flow of your ideas and logic of your presentation. Experienced researchers tend to make almost three times the number of changes to meaning than novice writers [ 15 , 16 ]. Revising is a difficult but useful skill, which academic writers obtain with years of practice.

In contrast to the macrostructure revision, which is a linear process and is done usually through a detailed outline and by sections, microstructure revision is a non-linear process. While the goal of the macrostructure revision is to analyze your ideas and their logic, the goal of the microstructure editing is to scrutinize the form of your ideas: your paragraphs, sentences, and words. You do not need and are not recommended to follow the order of the paper to perform this type of revision. You can start from the end or from different sections. You can even revise by reading sentences backward, sentence by sentence and word by word.

One of the microstructure revision strategies frequently used during writing center consultations is to read the paper aloud [ 17 ]. You may read aloud to yourself, to a tape recorder, or to a colleague or friend. When reading and listening to your paper, you are more likely to notice the places where the fluency is disrupted and where you stumble because of a very long and unclear sentence or a wrong connector.

Another revision strategy is to learn your common errors and to do a targeted search for them [ 13 ]. All writers have a set of problems that are specific to them, i.e., their writing idiosyncrasies. Remembering these problems is as important for an academic writer as remembering your friends’ birthdays. Create a list of these idiosyncrasies and run a search for these problems using your word processor. If your problem is demonstrative pronouns without summary words, then search for “this/these/those” in your text and check if you used the word appropriately. If you have a problem with intensifiers, then search for “really” or “very” and delete them from the text. The same targeted search can be done to eliminate wordiness. Searching for “there is/are” or “and” can help you avoid the bulky sentences.

The final strategy is working with a hard copy and a pencil. Print a double space copy with font size 14 and re-read your paper in several steps. Try reading your paper line by line with the rest of the text covered with a piece of paper. When you are forced to see only a small portion of your writing, you are less likely to get distracted and are more likely to notice problems. You will end up spotting more unnecessary words, wrongly worded phrases, or unparallel constructions.

After you apply all these strategies, you are ready to share your writing with your friends, colleagues, and a writing advisor in the writing center. Get as much feedback as you can, especially from non-specialists in your field. Patiently listen to what others say to you ― you are not expected to defend your writing or explain what you wanted to say. You may decide what you want to change and how after you receive the feedback and sort it in your head. Even though some researchers make the revision an endless process and can hardly stop after a 14th draft; having from five to seven drafts of your paper is a norm in the sciences. If you can’t stop revising, then set a deadline for yourself and stick to it. Deadlines always help.

Rule 7: Revise your paper at the macrostructure and the microstructure level using different strategies and techniques. Receive feedback and revise again.

5. it is time to submit.

It is late at night again. You are still in your lab finishing revisions and getting ready to submit your paper. You feel happy ― you have finally finished a year’s worth of work. You will submit your paper tomorrow, and regardless of the outcome, you know that you can do it. If one journal does not take your paper, you will take advantage of the feedback and resubmit again. You will have a publication, and this is the most important achievement.

What is even more important is that you have your scheduled writing time that you are going to keep for your future publications, for reading and taking notes, for writing grants, and for reviewing papers. You are not going to lose stamina this time, and you will become a productive scientist. But for now, let’s celebrate the end of the paper.

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what is findings in research paper

How To Write the Findings Section of a Research Paper

How To Write the Findings Section of a Research Paper Each research project is unique, so it is natural for one researcher to make use of somewhat different strategies than another when it comes to designing and writing the section of a research paper dedicated to findings. The academic or scientific discipline of the research, the field of specialisation, the particular author or authors, the targeted journal or other publisher and the editor making the decisions about publication can all have a significant impact. The practical steps outlined below can be effectively applied to writing about the findings of most advanced research, however, and will prove especially helpful for early-career scholars who are preparing a research paper for a first publication. Step 1 : Consult the guidelines or instructions that the targeted journal (or other publisher) provides for authors and read research papers it has already published, particularly ones similar in topic, methods or results to your own. The guidelines will generally outline specific requirements for the results or findings section, and the published articles will provide sound examples of successful approaches. Watch particularly for length limitations and restrictions on content. Interpretation, for instance, is usually reserved for a later discussion section, though not always – qualitative research papers often combine findings and interpretation. Background information and descriptions of methods, on the other hand, almost always appear in earlier sections of a research paper. In most cases it is appropriate in a findings section to offer basic comparisons between the results of your study and those of other studies, but knowing exactly what the journal wants in the report of research findings is essential. Learning as much as you can about the journal’s aims and scope as well as the interests of its readers is invaluable as well. PhD Thesis Editing Services Step 2 : Reflect at some length on your research results in relation to the journal’s requirements while planning the findings section of your paper. Choose for particular focus experimental results and other research discoveries that are particularly relevant to your research questions and objectives, and include them even if they are unexpected or do not support your ideas and hypotheses. Streamline and clarify your report, especially if it is long and complex, by using subheadings that will help you avoid excessive and peripheral details as you write and also help your reader understand and remember your findings. Consider appendices for raw data that might interest specialists but prove too long or distracting for other readers. The opening paragraph of a findings section often restates research questions or aims to refocus the reader’s attention, and it is always wise to summarise key findings at the end of the section, providing a smooth intellectual transition to the interpretation and discussion that follows in most research papers. There are many effective ways in which to organise research findings. The structure of your findings section might be determined by your research questions and hypotheses or match the arrangement of your methods section. A chronological order or hierarchy of importance or meaningful grouping of main themes or categories might prove effective. It may be best to present all the relevant findings and then explain them and your analysis of them, or explaining the results of each trial or test immediately after reporting it may render the material clearer and more comprehensible for your readers. Keep your audience, your most important evidence and your research goals in mind. Step 3 : Design effective visual presentations of your research results to enhance the textual report of your findings. Tables of various styles and figures of all kinds such as graphs, maps and photos are used in reporting research findings, but do check the journal guidelines for instructions on the number of visual aids allowed, any required design elements and the preferred formats for numbering, labelling and placement in the manuscript. As a general rule, tables and figures should be numbered according to first mention in the main text of the paper, and each one should be clearly introduced and explained at least briefly in that text so that readers know what is presented and what they are expected to see in a particular visual element. Tables and figures should also be self-explanatory, however, so their design should include all definitions and other information necessary for a reader to understand the findings you intend to show without returning to your text. If you construct your tables and figures before drafting your findings section, they can serve as focal points to help you tell a clear and informative story about your findings and avoid unnecessary repetition. Some authors will even work on tables and figures before organising the findings section (Step 2), which can be an extremely effective approach, but it is important to remember that the textual report of findings remains primary. Visual aids can clarify and enrich the text, but they cannot take its place. Step 4 : Write your findings section in a factual and objective manner. The goal is to communicate information – in some cases a great deal of complex information – as clearly, accurately and precisely as possible, so well-constructed sentences that maintain a simple structure will be far more effective than convoluted phrasing and expressions. The active voice is often recommended by publishers and the authors of writing manuals, and the past tense is appropriate because the research has already been done. Make sure your grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct and effective so that you are conveying the meaning you intend. Statements that are vague, imprecise or ambiguous will often confuse and mislead readers, and a verbose style will add little more than padding while wasting valuable words that might be put to far better use in clear and logical explanations. Some specialised terminology may be required when reporting findings, but anything potentially unclear or confusing that has not already been defined earlier in the paper should be clarified for readers, and the same principle applies to unusual or nonstandard abbreviations. Your readers will want to understand what you are reporting about your results, not waste time looking up terms simply to understand what you are saying. A logical approach to organising your findings section (Step 2) will help you tell a logical story about your research results as you explain, highlight, offer analysis and summarise the information necessary for readers to understand the discussion section that follows. PhD Thesis Editing Services Step 5 : Review the draft of your findings section and edit and revise until it reports your key findings exactly as you would have them presented to your readers. Check for accuracy and consistency in data across the section as a whole and all its visual elements. Read your prose aloud to catch language errors, awkward phrases and abrupt transitions. Ensure that the order in which you have presented results is the best order for focussing readers on your research objectives and preparing them for the interpretations, speculations, recommendations and other elements of the discussion that you are planning. This will involve looking back over the paper’s introductory and background material as well as anticipating the discussion and conclusion sections, and this is precisely the right point in the process for reviewing and reflecting. Your research results have taken considerable time to obtain and analyse, so a little more time to stand back and take in the wider view from the research door you have opened is a wise investment. The opinions of any additional readers you can recruit, whether they are professional mentors and colleagues or family and friends, will often prove invaluable as well.

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It provides practical advice on planning, preparing and submitting articles for publication in scholarly journals.

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

  • 8. The Discussion
  • Purpose of Guide
  • Design Flaws to Avoid
  • Independent and Dependent Variables
  • Glossary of Research Terms
  • Reading Research Effectively
  • Narrowing a Topic Idea
  • Broadening a Topic Idea
  • Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
  • Academic Writing Style
  • Choosing a Title
  • Making an Outline
  • Paragraph Development
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  • The C.A.R.S. Model
  • Background Information
  • The Research Problem/Question
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  • Using Non-Textual Elements
  • Limitations of the Study
  • Common Grammar Mistakes
  • Writing Concisely
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  • Footnotes or Endnotes?
  • Further Readings
  • Generative AI and Writing
  • USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
  • Bibliography

The purpose of the discussion section is to interpret and describe the significance of your findings in relation to what was already known about the research problem being investigated and to explain any new understanding or insights that emerged as a result of your research. The discussion will always connect to the introduction by way of the research questions or hypotheses you posed and the literature you reviewed, but the discussion does not simply repeat or rearrange the first parts of your paper; the discussion clearly explains how your study advanced the reader's understanding of the research problem from where you left them at the end of your review of prior research.

Annesley, Thomas M. “The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument.” Clinical Chemistry 56 (November 2010): 1671-1674.

Importance of a Good Discussion

The discussion section is often considered the most important part of your research paper because it:

  • Most effectively demonstrates your ability as a researcher to think critically about an issue, to develop creative solutions to problems based upon a logical synthesis of the findings, and to formulate a deeper, more profound understanding of the research problem under investigation;
  • Presents the underlying meaning of your research, notes possible implications in other areas of study, and explores possible improvements that can be made in order to further develop the concerns of your research;
  • Highlights the importance of your study and how it can contribute to understanding the research problem within the field of study;
  • Presents how the findings from your study revealed and helped fill gaps in the literature that had not been previously exposed or adequately described; and,
  • Engages the reader in thinking critically about issues based on an evidence-based interpretation of findings; it is not governed strictly by objective reporting of information.

Annesley Thomas M. “The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument.” Clinical Chemistry 56 (November 2010): 1671-1674; Bitchener, John and Helen Basturkmen. “Perceptions of the Difficulties of Postgraduate L2 Thesis Students Writing the Discussion Section.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 5 (January 2006): 4-18; Kretchmer, Paul. Fourteen Steps to Writing an Effective Discussion Section. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  General Rules

These are the general rules you should adopt when composing your discussion of the results :

  • Do not be verbose or repetitive; be concise and make your points clearly
  • Avoid the use of jargon or undefined technical language
  • Follow a logical stream of thought; in general, interpret and discuss the significance of your findings in the same sequence you described them in your results section [a notable exception is to begin by highlighting an unexpected result or a finding that can grab the reader's attention]
  • Use the present verb tense, especially for established facts; however, refer to specific works or prior studies in the past tense
  • If needed, use subheadings to help organize your discussion or to categorize your interpretations into themes

II.  The Content

The content of the discussion section of your paper most often includes :

  • Explanation of results : Comment on whether or not the results were expected for each set of findings; go into greater depth to explain findings that were unexpected or especially profound. If appropriate, note any unusual or unanticipated patterns or trends that emerged from your results and explain their meaning in relation to the research problem.
  • References to previous research : Either compare your results with the findings from other studies or use the studies to support a claim. This can include re-visiting key sources already cited in your literature review section, or, save them to cite later in the discussion section if they are more important to compare with your results instead of being a part of the general literature review of prior research used to provide context and background information. Note that you can make this decision to highlight specific studies after you have begun writing the discussion section.
  • Deduction : A claim for how the results can be applied more generally. For example, describing lessons learned, proposing recommendations that can help improve a situation, or highlighting best practices.
  • Hypothesis : A more general claim or possible conclusion arising from the results [which may be proved or disproved in subsequent research]. This can be framed as new research questions that emerged as a consequence of your analysis.

III.  Organization and Structure

Keep the following sequential points in mind as you organize and write the discussion section of your paper:

  • Think of your discussion as an inverted pyramid. Organize the discussion from the general to the specific, linking your findings to the literature, then to theory, then to practice [if appropriate].
  • Use the same key terms, narrative style, and verb tense [present] that you used when describing the research problem in your introduction.
  • Begin by briefly re-stating the research problem you were investigating and answer all of the research questions underpinning the problem that you posed in the introduction.
  • Describe the patterns, principles, and relationships shown by each major findings and place them in proper perspective. The sequence of this information is important; first state the answer, then the relevant results, then cite the work of others. If appropriate, refer the reader to a figure or table to help enhance the interpretation of the data [either within the text or as an appendix].
  • Regardless of where it's mentioned, a good discussion section includes analysis of any unexpected findings. This part of the discussion should begin with a description of the unanticipated finding, followed by a brief interpretation as to why you believe it appeared and, if necessary, its possible significance in relation to the overall study. If more than one unexpected finding emerged during the study, describe each of them in the order they appeared as you gathered or analyzed the data. As noted, the exception to discussing findings in the same order you described them in the results section would be to begin by highlighting the implications of a particularly unexpected or significant finding that emerged from the study, followed by a discussion of the remaining findings.
  • Before concluding the discussion, identify potential limitations and weaknesses if you do not plan to do so in the conclusion of the paper. Comment on their relative importance in relation to your overall interpretation of the results and, if necessary, note how they may affect the validity of your findings. Avoid using an apologetic tone; however, be honest and self-critical [e.g., in retrospect, had you included a particular question in a survey instrument, additional data could have been revealed].
  • The discussion section should end with a concise summary of the principal implications of the findings regardless of their significance. Give a brief explanation about why you believe the findings and conclusions of your study are important and how they support broader knowledge or understanding of the research problem. This can be followed by any recommendations for further research. However, do not offer recommendations which could have been easily addressed within the study. This would demonstrate to the reader that you have inadequately examined and interpreted the data.

IV.  Overall Objectives

The objectives of your discussion section should include the following: I.  Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings

Briefly reiterate the research problem or problems you are investigating and the methods you used to investigate them, then move quickly to describe the major findings of the study. You should write a direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results, usually in one paragraph.

II.  Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important

No one has thought as long and hard about your study as you have. Systematically explain the underlying meaning of your findings and state why you believe they are significant. After reading the discussion section, you want the reader to think critically about the results and why they are important. You don’t want to force the reader to go through the paper multiple times to figure out what it all means. If applicable, begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most significant or unanticipated finding first, then systematically review each finding. Otherwise, follow the general order you reported the findings presented in the results section.

III.  Relate the Findings to Similar Studies

No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for your research. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps to support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your study differs from other research about the topic. Note that any significant or unanticipated finding is often because there was no prior research to indicate the finding could occur. If there is prior research to indicate this, you need to explain why it was significant or unanticipated. IV.  Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings

It is important to remember that the purpose of research in the social sciences is to discover and not to prove . When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations for the study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. This is especially important when describing the discovery of significant or unanticipated findings.

V.  Acknowledge the Study’s Limitations

It is far better for you to identify and acknowledge your study’s limitations than to have them pointed out by your professor! Note any unanswered questions or issues your study could not address and describe the generalizability of your results to other situations. If a limitation is applicable to the method chosen to gather information, then describe in detail the problems you encountered and why. VI.  Make Suggestions for Further Research

You may choose to conclude the discussion section by making suggestions for further research [as opposed to offering suggestions in the conclusion of your paper]. Although your study can offer important insights about the research problem, this is where you can address other questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or highlight hidden issues that were revealed as a result of conducting your research. You should frame your suggestions by linking the need for further research to the limitations of your study [e.g., in future studies, the survey instrument should include more questions that ask..."] or linking to critical issues revealed from the data that were not considered initially in your research.

NOTE: Besides the literature review section, the preponderance of references to sources is usually found in the discussion section . A few historical references may be helpful for perspective, but most of the references should be relatively recent and included to aid in the interpretation of your results, to support the significance of a finding, and/or to place a finding within a particular context. If a study that you cited does not support your findings, don't ignore it--clearly explain why your research findings differ from theirs.

V.  Problems to Avoid

  • Do not waste time restating your results . Should you need to remind the reader of a finding to be discussed, use "bridge sentences" that relate the result to the interpretation. An example would be: “In the case of determining available housing to single women with children in rural areas of Texas, the findings suggest that access to good schools is important...," then move on to further explaining this finding and its implications.
  • As noted, recommendations for further research can be included in either the discussion or conclusion of your paper, but do not repeat your recommendations in the both sections. Think about the overall narrative flow of your paper to determine where best to locate this information. However, if your findings raise a lot of new questions or issues, consider including suggestions for further research in the discussion section.
  • Do not introduce new results in the discussion section. Be wary of mistaking the reiteration of a specific finding for an interpretation because it may confuse the reader. The description of findings [results section] and the interpretation of their significance [discussion section] should be distinct parts of your paper. If you choose to combine the results section and the discussion section into a single narrative, you must be clear in how you report the information discovered and your own interpretation of each finding. This approach is not recommended if you lack experience writing college-level research papers.
  • Use of the first person pronoun is generally acceptable. Using first person singular pronouns can help emphasize a point or illustrate a contrasting finding. However, keep in mind that too much use of the first person can actually distract the reader from the main points [i.e., I know you're telling me this--just tell me!].

Analyzing vs. Summarizing. Department of English Writing Guide. George Mason University; Discussion. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Hess, Dean R. "How to Write an Effective Discussion." Respiratory Care 49 (October 2004); Kretchmer, Paul. Fourteen Steps to Writing to Writing an Effective Discussion Section. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sauaia, A. et al. "The Anatomy of an Article: The Discussion Section: "How Does the Article I Read Today Change What I Will Recommend to my Patients Tomorrow?” The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 74 (June 2013): 1599-1602; Research Limitations & Future Research . Lund Research Ltd., 2012; Summary: Using it Wisely. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Schafer, Mickey S. Writing the Discussion. Writing in Psychology course syllabus. University of Florida; Yellin, Linda L. A Sociology Writer's Guide . Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2009.

Writing Tip

Don’t Over-Interpret the Results!

Interpretation is a subjective exercise. As such, you should always approach the selection and interpretation of your findings introspectively and to think critically about the possibility of judgmental biases unintentionally entering into discussions about the significance of your work. With this in mind, be careful that you do not read more into the findings than can be supported by the evidence you have gathered. Remember that the data are the data: nothing more, nothing less.

MacCoun, Robert J. "Biases in the Interpretation and Use of Research Results." Annual Review of Psychology 49 (February 1998): 259-287.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Write Two Results Sections!

One of the most common mistakes that you can make when discussing the results of your study is to present a superficial interpretation of the findings that more or less re-states the results section of your paper. Obviously, you must refer to your results when discussing them, but focus on the interpretation of those results and their significance in relation to the research problem, not the data itself.

Azar, Beth. "Discussing Your Findings."  American Psychological Association gradPSYCH Magazine (January 2006).

Yet Another Writing Tip

Avoid Unwarranted Speculation!

The discussion section should remain focused on the findings of your study. For example, if the purpose of your research was to measure the impact of foreign aid on increasing access to education among disadvantaged children in Bangladesh, it would not be appropriate to speculate about how your findings might apply to populations in other countries without drawing from existing studies to support your claim or if analysis of other countries was not a part of your original research design. If you feel compelled to speculate, do so in the form of describing possible implications or explaining possible impacts. Be certain that you clearly identify your comments as speculation or as a suggestion for where further research is needed. Sometimes your professor will encourage you to expand your discussion of the results in this way, while others don’t care what your opinion is beyond your effort to interpret the data in relation to the research problem.

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How To Write A Research Summary

Deeptanshu D

It’s a common perception that writing a research summary is a quick and easy task. After all, how hard can jotting down 300 words be? But when you consider the weight those 300 words carry, writing a research summary as a part of your dissertation, essay or compelling draft for your paper instantly becomes daunting task.

A research summary requires you to synthesize a complex research paper into an informative, self-explanatory snapshot. It needs to portray what your article contains. Thus, writing it often comes at the end of the task list.

Regardless of when you’re planning to write, it is no less of a challenge, particularly if you’re doing it for the first time. This blog will take you through everything you need to know about research summary so that you have an easier time with it.

How to write a research summary

What is a Research Summary?

A research summary is the part of your research paper that describes its findings to the audience in a brief yet concise manner. A well-curated research summary represents you and your knowledge about the information written in the research paper.

While writing a quality research summary, you need to discover and identify the significant points in the research and condense it in a more straightforward form. A research summary is like a doorway that provides access to the structure of a research paper's sections.

Since the purpose of a summary is to give an overview of the topic, methodology, and conclusions employed in a paper, it requires an objective approach. No analysis or criticism.

Research summary or Abstract. What’s the Difference?

They’re both brief, concise, and give an overview of an aspect of the research paper. So, it’s easy to understand why many new researchers get the two confused. However, a research summary and abstract are two very different things with individual purpose. To start with, a research summary is written at the end while the abstract comes at the beginning of a research paper.

A research summary captures the essence of the paper at the end of your document. It focuses on your topic, methods, and findings. More like a TL;DR, if you will. An abstract, on the other hand, is a description of what your research paper is about. It tells your reader what your topic or hypothesis is, and sets a context around why you have embarked on your research.

Getting Started with a Research Summary

Before you start writing, you need to get insights into your research’s content, style, and organization. There are three fundamental areas of a research summary that you should focus on.

  • While deciding the contents of your research summary, you must include a section on its importance as a whole, the techniques, and the tools that were used to formulate the conclusion. Additionally, there needs to be a short but thorough explanation of how the findings of the research paper have a significance.
  • To keep the summary well-organized, try to cover the various sections of the research paper in separate paragraphs. Besides, how the idea of particular factual research came up first must be explained in a separate paragraph.
  • As a general practice worldwide, research summaries are restricted to 300-400 words. However, if you have chosen a lengthy research paper, try not to exceed the word limit of 10% of the entire research paper.

How to Structure Your Research Summary

The research summary is nothing but a concise form of the entire research paper. Therefore, the structure of a summary stays the same as the paper. So, include all the section titles and write a little about them. The structural elements that a research summary must consist of are:

It represents the topic of the research. Try to phrase it so that it includes the key findings or conclusion of the task.

The abstract gives a context of the research paper. Unlike the abstract at the beginning of a paper, the abstract here, should be very short since you’ll be working with a limited word count.

Introduction

This is the most crucial section of a research summary as it helps readers get familiarized with the topic. You should include the definition of your topic, the current state of the investigation, and practical relevance in this part. Additionally, you should present the problem statement, investigative measures, and any hypothesis in this section.

Methodology

This section provides details about the methodology and the methods adopted to conduct the study. You should write a brief description of the surveys, sampling, type of experiments, statistical analysis, and the rationality behind choosing those particular methods.

Create a list of evidence obtained from the various experiments with a primary analysis, conclusions, and interpretations made upon that. In the paper research paper, you will find the results section as the most detailed and lengthy part. Therefore, you must pick up the key elements and wisely decide which elements are worth including and which are worth skipping.

This is where you present the interpretation of results in the context of their application. Discussion usually covers results, inferences, and theoretical models explaining the obtained values, key strengths, and limitations. All of these are vital elements that you must include in the summary.

Most research papers merge conclusion with discussions. However, depending upon the instructions, you may have to prepare this as a separate section in your research summary. Usually, conclusion revisits the hypothesis and provides the details about the validation or denial about the arguments made in the research paper, based upon how convincing the results were obtained.

The structure of a research summary closely resembles the anatomy of a scholarly article . Additionally, you should keep your research and references limited to authentic and  scholarly sources only.

Tips for Writing a Research Summary

The core concept behind undertaking a research summary is to present a simple and clear understanding of your research paper to the reader. The biggest hurdle while doing that is the number of words you have at your disposal. So, follow the steps below to write a research summary that sticks.

1. Read the parent paper thoroughly

You should go through the research paper thoroughly multiple times to ensure that you have a complete understanding of its contents. A 3-stage reading process helps.

a. Scan: In the first read, go through it to get an understanding of its basic concept and methodologies.

b. Read: For the second step, read the article attentively by going through each section, highlighting the key elements, and subsequently listing the topics that you will include in your research summary.

c. Skim: Flip through the article a few more times to study the interpretation of various experimental results, statistical analysis, and application in different contexts.

Sincerely go through different headings and subheadings as it will allow you to understand the underlying concept of each section. You can try reading the introduction and conclusion simultaneously to understand the motive of the task and how obtained results stay fit to the expected outcome.

2. Identify the key elements in different sections

While exploring different sections of an article, you can try finding answers to simple what, why, and how. Below are a few pointers to give you an idea:

  • What is the research question and how is it addressed?
  • Is there a hypothesis in the introductory part?
  • What type of methods are being adopted?
  • What is the sample size for data collection and how is it being analyzed?
  • What are the most vital findings?
  • Do the results support the hypothesis?

Discussion/Conclusion

  • What is the final solution to the problem statement?
  • What is the explanation for the obtained results?
  • What is the drawn inference?
  • What are the various limitations of the study?

3. Prepare the first draft

Now that you’ve listed the key points that the paper tries to demonstrate, you can start writing the summary following the standard structure of a research summary. Just make sure you’re not writing statements from the parent research paper verbatim.

Instead, try writing down each section in your own words. This will not only help in avoiding plagiarism but will also show your complete understanding of the subject. Alternatively, you can use a summarizing tool (AI-based summary generators) to shorten the content or summarize the content without disrupting the actual meaning of the article.

SciSpace Copilot is one such helpful feature! You can easily upload your research paper and ask Copilot to summarize it. You will get an AI-generated, condensed research summary. SciSpace Copilot also enables you to highlight text, clip math and tables, and ask any question relevant to the research paper; it will give you instant answers with deeper context of the article..

4. Include visuals

One of the best ways to summarize and consolidate a research paper is to provide visuals like graphs, charts, pie diagrams, etc.. Visuals make getting across the facts, the past trends, and the probabilistic figures around a concept much more engaging.

5. Double check for plagiarism

It can be very tempting to copy-paste a few statements or the entire paragraphs depending upon the clarity of those sections. But it’s best to stay away from the practice. Even paraphrasing should be done with utmost care and attention.

Also: QuillBot vs SciSpace: Choose the best AI-paraphrasing tool

6. Religiously follow the word count limit

You need to have strict control while writing different sections of a research summary. In many cases, it has been observed that the research summary and the parent research paper become the same length. If that happens, it can lead to discrediting of your efforts and research summary itself. Whatever the standard word limit has been imposed, you must observe that carefully.

7. Proofread your research summary multiple times

The process of writing the research summary can be exhausting and tiring. However, you shouldn’t allow this to become a reason to skip checking your academic writing several times for mistakes like misspellings, grammar, wordiness, and formatting issues. Proofread and edit until you think your research summary can stand out from the others, provided it is drafted perfectly on both technicality and comprehension parameters. You can also seek assistance from editing and proofreading services , and other free tools that help you keep these annoying grammatical errors at bay.

8. Watch while you write

Keep a keen observation of your writing style. You should use the words very precisely, and in any situation, it should not represent your personal opinions on the topic. You should write the entire research summary in utmost impersonal, precise, factually correct, and evidence-based writing.

9. Ask a friend/colleague to help

Once you are done with the final copy of your research summary, you must ask a friend or colleague to read it. You must test whether your friend or colleague could grasp everything without referring to the parent paper. This will help you in ensuring the clarity of the article.

Once you become familiar with the research paper summary concept and understand how to apply the tips discussed above in your current task, summarizing a research summary won’t be that challenging. While traversing the different stages of your academic career, you will face different scenarios where you may have to create several research summaries.

In such cases, you just need to look for answers to simple questions like “Why this study is necessary,” “what were the methods,” “who were the participants,” “what conclusions were drawn from the research,” and “how it is relevant to the wider world.” Once you find out the answers to these questions, you can easily create a good research summary following the standard structure and a precise writing style.

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  • Published: 07 February 2024

Psychedelics and sexual functioning: a mixed-methods study

  • Tommaso Barba   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2565-4628 1   na1 ,
  • Hannes Kettner 1 , 2   na1 ,
  • Caterina Radu 1 ,
  • Joseph M. Peill 1 ,
  • Leor Roseman 1 ,
  • David J. Nutt 1 ,
  • David Erritzoe   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7022-6211 1 ,
  • Robin Carhart-Harris 1 , 2   na2 &
  • Bruna Giribaldi 1   na2  

Scientific Reports volume  14 , Article number:  2181 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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  • Clinical pharmacology
  • Human behaviour

Do psychedelics affect sexual functioning postacutely? Anecdotal and qualitative evidence suggests they do, but this has never been formally tested. While sexual functioning and satisfaction are generally regarded as an important aspect of human wellbeing, sexual dysfunction is a common symptom of mental health disorders. It is also a common side effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a first line treatment for depression. The aim of the present paper was to investigate the post-acute effects of psychedelics on self-reported sexual functioning, combining data from two independent studies, one large and naturalistic and the other a smaller but controlled clinical trial. Naturalistic use of psychedelics was associated with improvements in several facets of sexual functioning and satisfaction, including improved pleasure and communication during sex, satisfaction with one’s partner and physical appearance. Convergent results were found in a controlled trial of psilocybin therapy versus an SSRI, escitalopram, for depression. In this trial, patients treated with psilocybin reported positive changes in sexual functioning after treatment, while patients treated with escitalopram did not. Despite focusing on different populations and settings, this is the first research study to quantitively investigate the effects of psychedelics on sexual functioning. Results imply a potential positive effect on post-acute sexual functioning and highlight the need for more research on this.

Introduction

Between the 1950s and the 70 s, psychedelic substances such as LSD were studied in clinical settings for the treatment of mood disorders and alcohol dependence in particular 1 . In the 1960s, psychedelics became associated with the ‘hippy’ subculture, whose anti-war and sexually liberal values were encapsulated by the playful slogan “Make Love Not War” 2 . Scientific research with psychedelics was abruptly stunted by the 1971 United Nations Controlled Substances Act 1 , but it has been revived in recent decades, with several trials supporting the promise of psychedelic-therapy as a mental health intervention 3 . Psychedelics and therapeutic support are believed to act synergistically on the patient, leading to therapeutic experiences like emotional catharsis, ego dissolution, and psychological insights 4 . One area of particular promise has been psilocybin-therapy for anxiety and depressive symptoms 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 . In one notable study, psilocybin-therapy was found to be at least as effective as a 6-week course of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), escitalopram, at reducing depressive symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD). Moreover, the psychedelic intervention performed significantly better than the SSRI on secondary outcomes measuring well-being, general functioning and anhedonia 7 .

Major depressive disorder is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. It is characterised by episodes of extreme low mood, motivation, ability to feel pleasure (anhedonia), and cognitive ability 9 . Despite sexual dysfunction (SD) not being classified as a core symptom of MDD in the DSM-5 criteria, it frequently presents itself in MDD cases, reported most frequently as decreased libido, arousal difficulties and absent or delayed orgasms in both women and men 10 . SD is also a common side effect of SSRIs, reported by 40% to 65% of individuals treated with those drugs 11 , 12 . Highly selective SSRIs like fluoxetine, escitalopram, and citalopram are especially associated with SD 13 , impairing sexual function in both depressed subjects 13 and healthy individuals dosed with these drugs 14 , 15 , 16 —likely due to downstream effects on serotoninergic and dopaminergic functioning 17 . SD is therefore a risk factor for treatment adherence and resulting relapse or recurrence of a depressive episode 10 , 11 .

Sexual dysfunction has also been found to be associated with lower well-being in healthy populations from both cross-sectional and longitudinal research 18 , 19 , 20 , which is unsurprising considering that SD is known to considerably affect quality of life, self-esteem and relationship quality 21 . Converging research indeed shows that sexual satisfaction is an important part of psychological well-being, linked to subjectively related happiness 20 , 22 , 23 , meaning in life 24 and relationship satisfaction 19 , 25 , 26 , 27 . Consequently, lower rates of depression are reported among men and women who report to be sexually satisfied 28 . Finally, several studies have cited numerous physical health benefits of sexual activity, including, but not limited to, stronger immune system function, lower blood pressure and decreased risk of prostate cancer 29 . Sexual satisfaction thus appears to be important for a satisfying and meaningful life, both in healthy subjects, and individuals with depression.

To date, some qualitative evidence indicates that psychedelic-use may have beneficial effects on the expression and acceptance of sexual feelings and behaviours 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 . However, to our knowledge, no contemporary quantitative studies have assessed the impact of psychedelic-use on sexual functioning and wellbeing. Nevertheless. previous research suggests that psychedelics are capable of fostering mindfulness capacities 36 , 37 , enduring feelings of emotional empathy and connectedness towards others 38 , 39 , 40 , positive attitudes towards one’s body and lifestyle 41 , 42 , as well as increased curiosity and openness towards new experiences 43 , 44 , all of which might impact on experiences of and attitudes towards sex.

By drawing on data collected from subjects consuming psychedelic substance in naturalistic settings like attending psychedelic ceremonies, we sought to assess the impact of psychedelic-use on several facets of sexual functioning and satisfaction. We further tested the same research question in a trial of psilocybin versus 6 weeks of the SSRI escitalopram in MDD patients. The term “sexual functioning” is widely used in the sexuality literature 45 and here is defined according to the domains of experienced pleasure, sexual satisfaction, arousal, communication of sexual desires, importance of sex, and body image. We further included two self-constructed questions conceived with the aim of investigating whether psychedelic use could change people’s perceptions of sexual intercourse beyond functioning, within the domains of increased interest in sexual exploration (below defined as "sexual openness") and spirituality. Finally, we explored possible differences in these effects between male and females in Supplementary Materials. This research question is worthwhile investigating for both clinical and basic-science implications. Clinically speaking, the propensity of SSRIs to induce sexual dysfunction can affect treatment adherence and potentially lead to a relapse or recurrence of depressive episodes. With Psilocybin-assisted therapy emerging as a promising alternative, having shown favourable results in phase 1, 2a, and 2b trials, it’s important to thoroughly assess its side effects. This can provide valuable data for patients when choosing treatment options. From a basic science viewpoint, this paper strengthens the foundation built upon qualitative findings that suggest a beneficial influence of psychedelics on sexual wellbeing. Previous research has unveiled a positive correlation between mindfulness skills, intimacy/connectedness, and sexual satisfaction 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 . Considering the demonstrated capacity of psychedelics to enhance mindfulness and connectedness, it becomes particularly compelling to explore their potential impact on sexual functioning.

Participants

Across the combined survey samples, a total of N = 261 participants were included in the analyses who completed baseline, 4-week and 6-month endpoint assessments. A total of 1463 participants completed baseline, 718 completed key endpoint at 4-weeks and 322 completed FU at 6 months. 61 participants completed FU but did not complete either BL or Key endpoint, therefore obtaining 322–61 = 261 participants in the present analysis. 43% of those were females and 55.6% were males sex-wise. Participants were mostly from the United States (43.8%), working full-time (63.4%) and white (90.7%). A more detailed picture of participants’ demographics can be found in Table 1 .

We used an intention-to-treat analysis for coherence with the main publication from this clinical trial 7 . 30 patients were randomised to the psilocybin group and 29 to the escitalopram group; constituting the entire sample from Ref. 7 . Of the 59 patients enrolled, 23 (39%) were on psychiatric medication, which they stopped at least 2 weeks before starting the trial; four (7%) had to discontinue psychotherapy (see 7 for stopping criteria). In the escitalopram group, four participants stopped taking their escitalopram capsules before the end of the trial because of adverse effects attributed to the drug. In the psilocybin group, one participant smoked cannabis regularly during the trial and three participants missed the second psilocybin dosing day because of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions (2 in the psilocybin arm and 1 in the escitalopram arm). The mean age was 41 years, 20 (34%) participants were women, and 52 (85%) participants were White. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients. Sixteen patients reported having no partner either at baseline of follow-up on questions on pleasure, communication and satisfaction and thus were not included in the analyses of these questions. The remaining items and retrospective changes in sexual functioning were assessed in all 59 patients. For more information on participant recruitment and demographics, see 7 .

Changes in sexual functioning and perceptions

Friedman rank tests (Table 2 ) showed statistically significant differences in the survey samples across time for all variables apart from “importance of sex” (χ 2 (2) = 1.9, p = 0.40), with the most significant changes seen for the following items: seeing sex as spiritual or sacred experience (χ 2 (2) = 35.6, p < 0.0001), satisfaction with one’s own appearance (χ 2 (2) = 30.5, p < 0.0001), satisfaction with one’s own partner (χ 2 (2) = 22.2, p < 0.0001) and experience of pleasure (χ 2 (2) = 20.9, p < 0.0001). Follow-up pairwise Wilcoxon signed-rank tests between baseline, 4-week, and 6-month endpoints showed that both 4-week and 6-month scores were elevated when compared with baseline, which was again the case for each item other than importance (Fig.  1 ). A detailed summary of the results can be found in Table 2 .

figure 1

Single item analyses assessing changes in sexual functioning and satisfaction after naturalistic psychedelic use in a sample of N = 261 completers at 4 weeks and 6-month follow-up. ‘n.s’ indicates that the difference between baseline and follow-up scores is non-significant (P > 0.05). ***The difference between baseline and follow-up scores is significant, with a P < 0.0001. **The difference between baseline and follow-up scores is significant, with a P < 0.001. *The difference between baseline and follow-up scores is significant, with a P < 0.01. Error bars represent SE(M). Y-axis dimensions are scaled flexibly for better visibility of results.

Correlations with changes in well-being (study 1)

Significant Bonferroni-corrected spearman rank correlations between items of the BISF-W and the Flourishing Scale were detected for the following items: sexual communication with partner (rho = 0.25, p = 0.001), satisfaction with one’s own appearance (rho = 0.24, p = 0.0001), openness to try new things in one’s sex life (“sexual openness”) (rho = 0.22, p < 0.001), and sex as spiritual (rho = 0.17, p < 0.01), but not satisfaction with one’s partner (rho = 0.11, p = 0.16), or pleasure (rho = 0.15, p = 0.06).

Across all items, except for perceived importance of sex, subjects in the psilocybin condition were more likely to experience a greater extent of positive change, indicated by the positive beta estimates (Table 3 ). Results of within-group post-hoc tests based on estimated marginal means derived from cumulative link models are reported in Table 3 . Among the items that showed a significant interaction, post-hoc contrasts revealed psilocybin-specific improvements for the items ‘Partner satisfaction’, ‘Communication’, and ‘Sex as spiritual’. ‘Appearance satisfaction’ improved significantly in both the psilocybin and escitalopram condition, while there was a non-significant trend for perceived importance of sexuality increasing following escitalopram treatment (Fig.  2 ). Additionally, a significant pre-post test contrast was found in the psilocybin group for the experience of pleasure during sexual activity, despite absence of an interaction, with a change on the latent construct of 1.3 points (ΔEMM = 1.30, z = 3.10, p = 0.0019), equivalent to patients feeling pleasure 1.3 × 25% = 32.5% more frequently during sexual experiences than before treatment with psilocybin.

figure 2

Single item analyses assessing changes in sexual functioning and satisfaction before (BL) and after (FFU) treatment with psilocybin or escitalopram in Study 2. P values indicate univariate significance in each study arm. Error bars represent SE(M). Y-axis dimensions are scaled flexibly for better visibility of results.

Significant differences between Escitalopram and Psilocybin’s effects on sexual functioning were identified using retrospective BISF-W item 13, which was divided into changes in sexual interest, arousal, activity, satisfaction, and anxiety. Mann Whitney-U tests showed that patients receiving psilocybin were significantly more likely than those who received escitalopram to report higher, rather than lower levels of interest (p = 0.0002), arousal (p = 0.0004), activity (p = 0.0007), and satisfaction (p = 0.0006). In each case, mean values reported by patients receiving psilocybin reflected a ‘higher level’ at 4 weeks compared with baseline, while those in the escitalopram group on average reported a ‘lower level’ compared with baseline (Fig.  3 ). This pattern was reversed for sexual anxiety, which was increased in those receiving escitalopram, and reduced in those receiving psilocybin, although this difference only reached significance before correction for multiple comparisons (p = 0.028; Table 4 ).

figure 3

Percentage of participants who retrospectively rated decreases or increases in sexual interest, arousal, activity, satisfaction, and anxiety (reversed) after treatment with psilocybin or escitalopram at the 6 weeks follow-up of Study 2. “Increase” indicates that participants retrospectively reported an increase in the associated dimension at the end of the study compared to the beginning of it. “Decrease” indicates that participants retrospectively reported a decrease in the associated dimension at the end of the study compared to the beginning of it.

Regarding sexual dysfunction (PRSexDQ-SALSEX), at the 6-week post-treatment endpoint, in the escitalopram condition 8 patients were classified as “severe”, 6 as “moderate”, 3 as “mild” and 12 as “none”. At the same endpoint, in the psilocybin condition, 1 patient classified as “severe”, 3 as “moderate” and 26 as “none” (Fig.  4 ). A Mann Whitney U test (U = 255.5, p = 0.001, MD = 0.98) showed that patients in the escitalopram condition were significantly more likely to have higher levels of SD severity (M = 1.3, SD = 1.3) than patients in the psilocybin condition (M = 0.3, SD = 0.8). A previous study report on this trial only reported median values when calculating PRSexDQ-SALSEX scores, but the present paper has reported the number cases pertaining to each category, which exposed the robustly significant difference between the two conditions.

figure 4

Percentage of participants who reported different degrees of sexual dysfunction after treatment with escitalopram or psilocybin at the primary endpoint of Study 2. Sexual dysfunction includes loss of libido, delayed or lack of orgasm or ejaculation, erectile dysfunction in men/vaginal lubrication dysfunction in women and patient’s tolerance of it.

Correlation with changes in depressive symptoms (study 2)

Collapsing the psilocybin and escitalopram groups into one, retrospectively rated changes in several aspects of sexual functioning were correlated with before-vs-after changes in depressive symptoms. Spearman rank correlations identified the strongest correlations for changes in depression and changes in both sexual arousal (Spearman’s rho = 0.38, p < 0.01) and sexual interest (Spearman’s rho = 0.36, p < 0.01), such that bigger changes in depression resulted in higher improvements in sexual arousal/interest. Correlations between changes in depressive symptoms and sexual satisfaction did not survive multiple comparison correction (Spearman’s rho = 0.31, p = 0.03) and correlations with changes in sexual activity (Spearman’s rho = 0.23, p = 0.09) and sexual anxiety change (Spearman’s rho = 0.22, p = 0.13) also did not reach significance.

The current study sought to examine the impact of psychedelic use on sexual functioning and satisfaction across two distinct studies and populations: one group used psychedelics for recreational and well-being purposes, while the other consisted of depressed patients. One study adopted a naturalistic observational survey approach, while the other was a controlled clinical trial. Notably, both studies and populations reported enhanced sexual functioning and satisfaction following psychedelic use.

Participants in the former study showed significant improvements in their communication with their partners, increased frequency of experiencing pleasure during sex, as well as increased satisfaction with their partners and their own physical appearance following the psychedelic experience. They also appeared to be more open to trying new things in their sex life and were more likely to perceive sex as a spiritual or sacred experience post-use. These changes were significant both 4 weeks and 6 months after the experience. However, this cohort did not report experiencing changes in the overall importance attributed to sex. Exploratory analyses aimed at investigating possible differences in these effects between males and females found no evidence of such differences, except for partner satisfaction at 6-months where we found a return of partner satisfaction levels back to baseline in female but not male participants (Supplementary Materials). Several of these changes significantly correlated with post-psychedelic changes in well-being, consistent with previous research indicating a positive association between sexual functioning and general psychological well-being 20 , 22 , 23 . Given the inherent limitations of survey studies, such as the lack of a control condition, the inclusion of individuals already particularly interested in psychedelics and the lack of control of the circumstances of psychedelic exposure, we aimed to replicate these results in controlled settings, despite focusing on a different population. Consistent with the effects reported in the naturalistic study, individuals with depression treated with psilocybin-therapy in a controlled trial setting showed improvements from baseline to post-treatment in communicating with their partners, experiencing greater sexual pleasure during sex, being more satisfied with their partner and their own appearance, and being more likely to perceive sex as a spiritual experience. Conversely, in the same trial, patients treated with a 6-week course of the SSRI escitalopram, and the same amount of therapy, only reported increased satisfaction with their appearance and no positive changes in any other domain. Furthermore, patients treated with psilocybin were more likely to report increased sexual interest, activity, arousal, and satisfaction at the 6-week endpoint than patients treated with escitalopram, who on average, reported a worsening in the same domains. Similarly, anxiety linked to sexual activity decreased for patients in the psilocybin condition and increased for those treated with escitalopram. Across both groups, changes in sexual arousal and interest were moderately correlated with changes in depressive symptoms, while changes in the other domains appeared to be somewhat independent from changes in depression. With regard to sexual dysfunction, patients treated with escitalopram were more likely to retrospectively report higher levels of sexual dysfunction after treatment compared with the individuals treated with psilocybin. These observations are consistent with recent findings from the same trial that explicit symptoms of depression related to SD (i.e., Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-17 Libido 50 , Beck Depression Inventory-Reduced Sexual Interest 51 ), as well as amotivation, anhedonia and energy levels were among the most differentially responsive to psilocybin versus escitalopram 52 . The results constitute the first empirical evidence that psychedelics might exert beneficial effects on sexual functioning and sexual wellbeing after acute use of the drug itself, consistent with previous qualitative reports indicating such an effect 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 . Future research to replicate and further investigate these findings is thus highly encouraged.

While we previously found that both escitalopram and psilocybin were equally effective in reducing depressive symptoms when assessed with the primary outcome of the study 7 , differences in their impact on sexual functioning and dysfunction could be explained by their differing mechanism of action in treating MDD (see 7 , 53 for full discussion). It is generally thought that the pharmacological mechanisms for SSRIs-induced sexual dysfunction are intrinsically linked with their hypothesised antidepressant mechanism. By selectively inhibiting serotonin reuptake in the central nervous system (CNS), SSRIs elevate synaptic serotonin concentrations consequently increasing post-synaptic serotonin activity 11 . Generally, an increase in serotoninergic functioning appears to negatively impact on sexual functioning—perhaps as a consequence of a negative downstream effect on the production of dopamine, testosterone, acetylcholine and nitric oxide which are crucial for libido, sexual arousal and achieving orgasm in both men and women 10 . Additionally, it is also plausible that the emotional blunting sometimes induced by SSRIs might also be linked with diminished sexual functioning 54 , 55 . Accordingly, as previously reported in the main publication from this trial, the percentage of patients reporting emotional blunting (assessed with the Laukes Emotional Intensity Scale) and a self-constructed “Post-Treatment Changes Scale” (PTCS) at the 6-week endpoint was higher in individuals treated with escitalopram compared with psilocybin 7 . While some research suggest that the prevalence of SSRI sexual side effects may be overestimated due to a priori deterioration of sexual functioning in MDD 10 several RCTs indicate that escitalopram 14 and other SSRIs 15 , 16 do indeed induce SD—including in healthy individuals. Such results support the view that SSRIs have a detrimental effect on sexual function beyond their impact on depression. This is clinically concerning as sexual functioning bears relevance to two core facets of depression, namely anhedonia and amotivation 56 . The occurrence of SD as a side effect of SSRIs can lead to a dilemma for both patients and clinicians. On one hand, these treatments are necessary for managing depressive symptoms, but on the other hand, they can exacerbate SD, thereby further impacting the patient’s quality of life and potentially affecting treatment adherence. Moreover, SD can contribute to the persistence or worsening of depressive symptoms, creating a vicious cycle that is difficult to break 10 . Despite the high prevalence and significant impact of SD, it is often underassessed and undertreated in mental health care settings. This oversight may be due to a variety of factors, including lack of awareness among clinicians, discomfort discussing sexual issues, or the assumption that SD is an inevitable consequence of depression or its treatment 57 . While most cases of SD associated with SSRI use tend to resolve shortly after discontinuing the medication, a minority of patients may experience enduring dysfunction, referred to as post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD 58 ). PSSD is characterized by persistent symptoms such as genital anesthesia, erectile dysfunction, and pleasureless orgasm. The underlying causes of PSSD remain largely unknown, however it is acknowledged as a rare side effect associated with SSRI use 58 . Psilocybin also exerts its acute effects by acting on the serotoninergic system, but via direct agonism at serotonin 2A receptors (5-HT2AR 3 ). Despite limited research on the effects of 5-HT2AR agonists on sexual activity, animal studies have indicated that 5-HT2AR agonism contributes to the inhibition of sexual activity in male rats 59 , 60 while having a positive effect in females 61 . Antidepressant drugs that possess 5-HT2AR antagonist activity, such as mirtazapine and nefazodone, generally have a positive effect on SD 62 . Therefore, some have proposed that activity at 5-HT2A receptors has suppressing effects on sexual functioning in humans 10 . Nevertheless, anecdotal reports of increased sexual pleasure and intense sexual feelings under psychedelics 32 , 33 , 63 contradict this. Clearly, more research is needed to understand the acute effects of psilocybin and other psychedelics on sexual functioning. However, it is important to note that our present study assess post-acute effects of psychedelic-use or psychedelic-therapy on sexual functioning and not acute effects; thus, our results should not be confused with ‘drug-sex’ or ‘chem-sex’. As such, the acute (e.g., pharmacological) effects of psilocybin on sexual functioning is not be centrally relevant here; rather, our focus has been on longer-term changes post psychedelic-use or psilocybin-therapy.

Despite not being able to directly test these hypotheses, we speculate that the results obtained from both studies might be explained by the capacity of classic psychedelics (and relatedly psilocybin-assisted therapy) to foster long-term improvements in mindfulness capacities and connectedness with significant others 37 , 64 , consequently impacting sexual satisfaction. Qualitative and quantitative research shows that psychedelic-use can foster non-judgement and non-reactivity 37 , 64 , an ability to articulate momentary experience 36 , 65 and an openness to new experiences 43 , 44 , 66 . Furthermore, psychedelics appear to promote durable feelings of connection towards self and others 63 , 67 , increased willingness to accept and let go of one’s emotions, and decreased ruminative thinking 68 . In tandem, work by Keinplatz et al. 69 identified eight major components that contribute to an optimal sexual experience: being present, connection, deep sexual and erotic intimacy, extraordinary communication, interpersonal risk-taking and exploration, authenticity, vulnerability, and transcendence. Subsequent research evidenced the importance of maintaining a mindful 70 , 71 and open 72 state of mind for attaining a satisfactory sexual performance. Moreover, it has been shown that increasing trait mindfulness in both women and men improved SD, including arousal/interest disorders 46 , 47 , 73 , 74 , 75 . Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental studies also indicate that experiencing emotional connection and intimacy with one’s partner can maintain sexual desire and activity in relationships of longer duration 48 , 49 , 76 and that a type of sexual activity understood as shared and mutual by both partners can be conductive of a better couple’s mental health 28 . Additionally, evidence from neuroimaging research 77 previously found that female Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder’ (HSDD) was linked with higher levels of activity in brain regions involved in self-referential functions, such as the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. It was suggested that HSDD might be the result of excessive cognitive activity directed toward oneself—i.e., self-consciousness, rather than naturally attending to sensory aspects of the sexual experience. Disruption of cortical activity in brain regions involved in self-referential processing has been found to be a somewhat consistent marker of the action of psychedelics 78 . By combining the results from these fields of research, it thus appears plausible that psychedelic-use, or more cautiously, psychedelic-therapy, could have a positive effect on traits associated with more embodied and satisfactory sexual experiences, freer from cognitive interferences, aversions, anxieties and demands. Additionally, we speculate that an effect of psilocybin therapy on attachment styles might have also contributed to the observed results, despite this was not directly investigated. Depression has been previously demonstrated to be linked with attachment insecurity 79 and anxious and avoidant attachment styles have been both shown to be linked with decreased sexual satisfaction in the general population 80 , 81 . Psilocybin-therapy has been shown to improve attachment insecurity 3 months post-intervention 82 . Thus, the formation of a more secure attachment could have also contributed to improving sexual satisfaction. Future research should investigate this matter.

Interestingly, it was also found that participants reported perceiving sex as a more spiritual or sacred experience after psychedelic use. The rationale behind investigating this research question stems from our prior discovery that psychedelic use can amplify spiritual beliefs and attitudes towards life 83 . We are thus wanted to explore whether this increased spirituality translates into the domain of sexual experiences. While an allegiance to a religious belief system has been found to be associated with fewer life partners and lower rates of premarital and extramarital sex 84 , the link with spirituality, typically involves a ‘self-transcendent’ perspective, is less clear. Previous research indicates that ascribing spiritual or transcendent qualities to sexual intercourse is linked with increased sexual satisfaction 69 , 85 . However, conflicting research indicated that perceiving sex as more spiritual is not inherently positive, as spirituality has been found to be positively associated with a higher frequency of sex without a condom in women, suggesting that it might be a factor for risky sexual behaviour 84 . Additionally, participants from the survey sample appeared to be more willing to try new things in their sexual life, an effect that might be explained by increased openness to experience after psychedelic use 43 , 44 , 66 . More research investigating the links between sexual attitudes and behaviours, spirituality and psychedelic use is needed to better understand the complex relationships between these factors.

Limitations

The findings of the present study should be considered in the context of its limitations.

Analyses in this study were conducted based on individual items of the BISF-W 86 , a previously validated measure. Given our mixed-gender sample, we chose items relevant to both sexes, focusing on domains like pleasure, communication, partner satisfaction, sex importance, and body image satisfaction. To reduce participant burden amidst multiple measures, we didn’t use the full scale. While we employed suitable statistical methods for ordinal data, future studies should use comprehensive, validated scales. We also introduced unvalidated items on viewing sex as a spiritual experience and sexual openness, without defining terms like “spiritual” and “new things”. For these reasons, caution is advised before interpreting these specific results.

Additionally, there are several distinct features and limitations to the observational study design employed in our investigation. Study 1 lacks of experimental control, potential biases towards psychedelic drugs due to opportunity sampling, demographic and other biases related to sampling and attrition issues, and reliance on subjective reporting of drug dosages. Importantly, without experimental control, we cannot establish causality or control for potential confounding factors. On the other hand, Study 2, based on RCT data, provides evidence with the experimental control that Study 1 lacks. RCTs, including ours, offer controlled settings to evaluate specific interventions, often seen as valuable in the research community for treatment evaluation. However, it is important to note that Study 1 and Study 2 cater to different contexts and realities. Study 1 assesses community-dwelling individuals, most of whom are presumably healthy and use psychedelics for recreational and wellbeing related purposes. In contrast, Study 2 evaluates the effects of psilocybin on depressed patients in a clinical setting. While the studies address different questions and settings, by presenting both observational and RCT data, our intention was to provide a broader perspective on the effects of psychedelics on sexual functioning and wellbeing. These two distinct study designs offer complementary insights into the topic, each from a different vantage point. While this approach possesses inherent limitations, our aim was to provide readers with a richer understanding by juxtaposing these two different perspectives, despite focusing on different populations and settings. Being this the first quantitative investigation on the effects of psychedelics on sexual functioning/wellbeing, we strongly encourage further research on the topic in order to overcome the current limitations.

Furthermore, future research on the effects of psychedelics on sexual functioning should consider including dyadic assessments, i.e., where the partner of the primary participant is involved, and questions that pertain to the social and cultural context of use, e.g., whether the substance was taken together with one’s partner. Relatedly, we do not know if participants engaged in sexual activities in while using psychedelics in Study 1, which could have implications for how they perceive its impact on their sexuality. However, it’s important to note that most participants in Study 1 consumed psychedelics in ceremonial settings, where sexual intercourse is strongly discouraged or even prohibited, even between romantic partners 87 . Partners are typically asked to maintain distance during these ceremonies. Nevertheless, we cannot exclude the possibility that some participants from Ref. 88 , consuming psychedelics in personal settings, engaged in such activities.

Study participants from the survey study sample and the RCT were predominantly white, sexually straight, employed and well-educated, limiting generalizability. Similar demographic data have been found in other psychedelic research studies 89 . Such consistency may imply that these demographics are reflective of the broader psychedelic-using population; however, they are not necessarily reflective of broader populations per se. Recent research has indicated that ethnoracial background moderates the health impact of psychedelic-use 90 . It is important therefore that future studies test the replicability of the present findings in more sociodemographically diverse samples. Moreover, both treatment groups benefited from extensive psychological support, with an approach inspired by the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model 91 . Given that this model emphasizes enhancing acceptance and minimizing the suppression of challenging emotions, it might be possible that the therapeutic support acted synergistically with psilocybin to promote positive effects on sexual wellbeing. Future research should better investigate this matter, especially considering the link between sexual shame and sexual dysfunction.

The present results pertaining to escitalopram’s effects on sexual functioning cannot be generalised to other existing antidepressants, as existing research indicates that there are approved antidepressant medications on the market that do not induce SD at such high rates as SSRIs 14 . These medications have been previously advised for patients suffering from SSRI-induced SD. A further limitation of study 2 might be related to the confounding factor of antidepressant withdrawal, as the observed improvements in sexual function in the psilocybin arm could be attributed to the suspension of all antidepressants in the weeks preceding the administration of psilocybin. While only 11 out of 30 patients from the psilocybin group discontinued antidepressant medications before starting the study 7 , this could have impacted the results.

Lastly, there have been reports of sexually abusive behaviour in the context of psychedelic ceremonies and therapy 87 , 92 . While these dynamics are not unique to psychedelic therapies 93 , the addition of powerful mind-altering compounds in the equation requires the employment of additional caution, prevention and mitigation strategies. Relatedly, the use of psychedelic or empathogenic compounds in romantic contexts might also create complex relationship dynamics such as promoting feelings of attachment to an ordinarily undesired or abusive partner, sexual activities done under drug influence that are later regretted, or wrongly perceiving another individual as romantically or sexually interested or engaged—an issue that extends to other psychoactive drugs such as alcohol. As policies around psychedelic use evolve, it’s imperative to define clear ethical standards and professional guidelines to prevent abuse and ensure accountability. Educating individuals about potential risks and encouraging vigilance can further reduce harm and foster a safer environment for all involved.

Conclusions

The present study contributes some first preliminary evidence that both the naturalistic and controlled therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs might foster an improvement in several facets of sexual functioning and satisfaction, including experienced pleasure, sexual satisfaction, communication of sexual desires and body image. Moreover, the present study specifically highlights that psilocybin therapy for MDD might be linked with improvements in sexual functioning. On the other hand, escitalopram—a commonly used SSRI—seemed to negatively impact sexual functioning, despite both treatments inducing similar reductions in depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the need for further research utilizing more comprehensive and validated measures to fully understand the effects of psychedelics on sexual functioning. However, the preliminary results do suggest that psychedelics may be a useful tool for disorders that impact sexual functioning.

The present study combined datasets from two large prospective online survey studies investigating the impact of psychedelics consumed in personal and ceremonial settings in the real world. All studies collected data using the bespoke online software platform www.psychedelicsurvey.com and the online platform Alchemer. The first cohort survey study 88 recruited participants who were already planning to consume psychedelics in the near future, outside of a research or organised ceremonial setting. The second dataset comes from a survey study targeted towards individuals planning to attend an organised ‘ceremony’ entailing the consumption of a classic psychedelic substance (psilocybin/magic mushrooms/truffles, ayahuasca, DMT, San Pedro, LSD/1P‐LSD), e.g., in a psychedelic retreat or other form of guided psychedelic experience 38 . Both studies received a favourable opinion from the Imperial College Research Ethics Committee and were sponsored by the Imperial Joint Research and Compliance Office, and all participants were 18+ years old, recruited online and provided informed consent. In all three survey studies, participants were prompted to select the date of their future psychedelic experience, and questionnaires were automatically sent to them 1 week before the experience (baseline), and 4 weeks and 6 months after the experience. All methods were carried out by respecting/adhering to relevant guidelines and regulations. An overview of study 1 timepoints can be found in Fig.  5 . Extensive information about the design of these two prospective online surveys can be found in Refs. 38 , 88 . CONSORT diagram for Study 1 can be found in Supplementary Materials.

figure 5

Overview of Study 1 with the included items assessing sexual functioning and perceptions of sex at the relevant timepoints.

It comprises data derived from a phase II double-blind randomised controlled clinical trial (RCT) comparing psilocybin-therapy versus escitalopram treatment for major depression 7 . Participants had a diagnosis of moderate-severe MDD (> 17 on Hamilton-Depression [HAM-D-17 50 ] scale at screening), were between 18 to 65 years old and were recruited through trial networks, social media, and other sources (see 7 for demographic information). Participants were randomised to one of two arms: either receiving two doses of an active dose of psilocybin (25 mg) alongside 6 weeks of daily placebo (“psilocybin arm”), or two doses of a ‘control’ dose of psilocybin (1 mg) and daily escitalopram (10 mg for 3 weeks, then 20 mg for 3 weeks, “escitalopram arm”). During the active treatment period, each participant worked with two experienced therapists or psychiatrists administering an adapted form of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 91 . On dosing days, the therapists accompanied them from the moment they ingested the drug until the day’s end. Before and after dosing days, participants underwent psychological preparation and integration, respectively. Taking into account screening, preparation, dosing, and integration, participants in each condition received approximately 20 h of in-person therapeutic support during the trial, as well as up to six further integration calls over Skype or by telephone. Licenses and approvals were obtained from the Home Office (Schedule 1), UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Brent Research Ethics Committee (REC), the Health Research Authority (HRA) and Imperial College London (ICL) GDPR and the sponsors ICL Joint Research Compliance Office. Proprietary psilocybin was provided by COMPASS Pathways as ‘COMP360’ (Compass Pathways’ investigational, proprietary, synthetic, psilocybin formulation) and escitalopram by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Pharmacy. An overview of study 2 timepoints can be found in Fig.  6 , see 7 for further details on the study protocol and the main results of the trial. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03429075, registered on February 12, 2018; EudraCT: 2017-000219-18. CONSORT diagram for Study 2 can be found in Supplementary Materials.

figure 6

Overview of the DB-RCT trial procedure (Study 2). Numbers indicate days from baseline (day 0) to the 6-week trial primary end-point (day 42). The listed measures are only the ones included in the present study.

Sexual functioning and satisfaction

Consistent measures were used in Study 1 and 2. In Study 1, measures were employed at baseline (one week prior to the experience), 4 weeks, and 6 months after naturalistic psychedelic-use. In Study 2, measures were administered at baseline (1 week before dosing day 1) and at the 6-weeks follow-up, the RCT’s primary endpoint. Outcome measures were items extracted from the Brief Index of Sexual Functioning for Women (BISF-W), a standardized self-report measure of overall sexual function in women 86 . As the questionnaire was designed to be specifically used with women and our sample constituted of both men and women, we only used items that could be generalised to both sexes and we focused on the domains of experienced pleasure, communication, satisfaction of one’s partner, importance of sex, and satisfaction with one’s body image. We also did not use the full scale to limit the burden on participants, as a variety of other measures were also included. The questions and the response options were as follows: During the past month, have you felt pleasure from any forms of sexual experience? (0) I have not had a partner, (1) Have not felt any pleasure, (2) Seldom, less than 25% of the time, (3) Sometimes, about 50% of the time, (4) Usually, about 75% of the time, (5) Always felt pleasure. During the past month, how frequently have you been able to communicate your sexual desires or preferences to your partner/s?: (0) I have not had a partner/s, (1) I have been unable to communicate my desires or preferences, (2) Seldom, less than 25% of the time, (3) Sometimes, about 50% of the time, (4) usually, about 75% of the time, (5) I was always able to communicate my desires or my preferences. Overall, how satisfied have you been with your sexual relationship with your partner/s? (0) I have not had a partner/s, (1) Very satisfied, (2) Somewhat satisfied, (3) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, (4) Somewhat dissatisfied, (5) Very dissatisfied. Overall, how important is sexual activity in your life? (0) Not at all important, (1) Somewhat unimportant, (2) Neither important nor unimportant, (3) Somewhat important, (4) Very important. How satisfied you are with the overall appearance of your body? (0) Very satisfied, (1) Somewhat satisfied, (2) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, (3) Somewhat dissatisfied, (4) Very dissatisfied. If participants responded they did not have a partner in a question (response option 0), the answer was not included in the analysis for that specific item.

Additionally, we constructed two items to investigate whether psychedelics would be associated with a change in people’s (1) openness to sexual exploration and (2) perception of sex as a ‘spiritual experience’, where the latter term was not explicitly defined for the respondent. We conceived these 2 items after a review of the existing anecdotal reports of the effects of psychedelics on one’s sexual life 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 and the cultural association between psychedelic-use, liberal sexual attitudes and behaviours and spiritual ideologies 2 . The items read as follows: “I am very open to trying out new things in my sex life” and “I see sex as a spiritual or sacred experience” and could be answered on a 7-point Likert scale.

Finally, exclusively in the 6 weeks follow-up of Study 2, we added item 13 from the BISF-W. This asks participants to retrospectively rate the level of change in any of the following areas of sexual functioning in the previous 6 weeks: (1) sexual interest, (2) sexual arousal, (3) sexual activity, (4) sexual satisfaction, (5) sexual anxiety. The response options were: (1) not applicable, (2) no change, (3) increase, (4) decrease.

Sexual dysfunction

To assess the appearance of sexual dysfunction after drug treatment in Study 2 we used the Psychotropic-Related Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire (PRSexDQ-SALSEX 94 ). The scales include 7 items assessing SD. The first is a screening item that assesses if the patient experienced any sort of SD during treatment. The second item assesses whether the patient has spontaneously reported any SD to his or her physician. The next items (items 3–7) assess five dimensions of SD according to severity or frequency: loss of libido (0 = nil, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe), delayed orgasm or ejaculation (0 = nil, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe), lack of orgasm or ejaculation (0 = never, 1 = occasionally, 2 = often, 3 = always), erectile dysfunction in men/vaginal lubrication dysfunction in women (0 = never, 1 = occasionally, 2 = often, 3 = always), and patient's tolerance of the SD (0 = no sexual dysfunction, 1 = good, 2 = fair, 3 = poor). Only items 3 through 7 account for the total score of the PRSexDQ-SALSEX. Sexual dysfunction is scored as mild = 1–5 (with no item > 1); moderate = 6–10 (OR any item = 2, with no item = 3) or severe = 11–15 (OR any item = 3). As the scale is designed for retrospective use, it was only collected at the 6-weeks follow-up of the trial.

The Flourishing Scale 95 is a brief 8-item summary measure of the respondent’s self-perceived success in important areas such as relationships, self-esteem, purpose, and optimism. The scale provides a single psychological well-being score. The scores range from 8 to 56. A high score represents a person with many psychological resources and strengths.

Depressive symptoms were assessed with the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report 96 . The total score establishes the severity of depression, ranging from ‘absent’ (0–5) to ‘mild’ (6–10), ‘moderate’ (11–15), ‘severe’ (16–20) and ‘very severe’ (21–27).

Statistical analyses

Changes on the individual items of the adapted BISF-W from baseline to 4 weeks and 6 months after the psychedelic experience were assessed via non-parametric Friedman rank sum tests due to the ordinal nature of the response items. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests between baseline, 4-week, and 6-month endpoints were used as follow-up tests. Additionally, spearman correlations between changes on individual items of the BISF-W and changes in flourishing (FS) from baseline to the 4-week endpoint are reported in order to investigate if changes in sexual functioning correlated with changes in wellbeing. Finally, cumulative links models were fitted in order to investigate differences between male and female participants on any of the sexuality-related items (Supplementary Material 1 ).

Due to the limited sample size and structure of the Likert-item based data, cumulative link models for ordinal regression were performed to compare changes in BISF-W items between the psilocybin and escitalopram arms of the RCT 97 . Cumulative link models are structurally related to mixed linear models, in that they allow fitting random intercepts and slopes on ordinal, instead of continuous data. For the present sample, models with random intercept only were found to produce the best fit indices, based on Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC). Symmetric threshold parameters were chosen for items rated from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree, while equidistant thresholds were used for items rated using equally spaced numerically defined proportions (e.g., None of the time, 25% of the time, 50% of the time, etc.). Post-hoc within-group contrasts were calculated based on estimated marginal means for all items. Rosenthal correlation coefficients (R) were added as effect size (EF) estimates in Table 3 . They are calculated by dividing the z value by the sqrt of the sample size 98 . These coefficients are commonly used in the case of ordinal variables and a value of 0.00 < 0.20 indicates a very low ES, 0.20 < 0.40 low ES, 0.40 < 0.60 moderate ES, 0.60 < 0.80 strong ES, 0.80 < 1.00 very strong ES. Scores on the BISF-W item 13, which was only included at the endpoint, were compared between the groups via Mann Whitney U tests, where rank-biserial correlation coefficients (r) ≥ 0.3 was defined as a small, r ≤ 0.5 medium and r > 0.5 as a large effect. Ordinal scores from the PRSexDQ-SALSEX, which was also only included at the endpoint, were also compared using a Mann Whitney U test in order to investigate differences in the severity of sexual dysfunction between the two groups.

Due to the small sample size, Bonferroni-corrected spearman correlations between longitudinal changes in depressive symptoms (QIDS-SR-16) and SF were calculated based only on the retrospective BISF-W item 13 investigating retrospective changes in sexual interest, arousal, activity, satisfaction, and anxiety in order avoid inflation of the number of tests. These correlations investigated if changes in depression correlated with changes in sexual functioning.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [TB], upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

TB would like to thank Dr Zhana Vrangalova for the intellectual input and useful feedback on this work.

We would like to thank the Alexander Mosley Charitable Trust for funding the psilocybin vs escitalopram clinical trial. We would also like to acknowledge the funders of the Center for Psychedelic Research for providing supplementary funding for staff involved in the trial.

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Tommaso Barba and Hannes Kettner.

These authors jointly supervised this work: Robin Carhart-Harris and Bruna Giribaldi.

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Medicine, Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK

Tommaso Barba, Hannes Kettner, Caterina Radu, Joseph M. Peill, Leor Roseman, David J. Nutt, David Erritzoe, Robin Carhart-Harris & Bruna Giribaldi

Psychedelics Division, Neuroscape, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States

Hannes Kettner & Robin Carhart-Harris

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Contributions

B.T.—formulating the research questions, conducting the data analysis, visualizing the results, interpreting the results, reviewing the literature, writing the paper. H.K.—formulating the research questions, planning and conducting the data analysis, visualizing the results, interpreting the results, reviewing the literature, writing the paper. C.R.—Writing the paper, help with literature search and figure design. J.M.P.—Providing valuable feedback and responsible of data administration of both studies. L.R.—designing and data collection in study 1 and providing feedback. D.N.—Principal Investigator of study 2 and providing feedback. D.E.—designing study 1 and 2 and providing feedback. R.C.-H.—Designing study 1 and 2, supervision of research questions, data analysis, interpretation, and writing. B.G.—Formulating the research questions, supervision of data analysis, interpretation, writing and trial coordination of study 2.

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Correspondence to Tommaso Barba .

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Competing interests.

Dr. Carhart-Harris reports receiving consulting fees from Mindstate and Beckley Psytech. Dr. Erritzoe reports receiving consulting fees from Field Trip and Mydecine. Dr. Nutt, reports receiving consulting fees from Awakn, H. Lundbeck, and Psyched Wellness, advisory board fees from COMPASS Pathways, and lecture fees from Takeda Medical Research Foundation and owning stock in Alcarelle.Tommaso Barba reports receiving consulting fees from LivingAdamo. None of the aforementioned organizations were involved in the design, execution, interpretation, or communication of findings from present study. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Barba, T., Kettner, H., Radu, C. et al. Psychedelics and sexual functioning: a mixed-methods study. Sci Rep 14 , 2181 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-49817-4

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Applying AI to Rebuild Middle Class Jobs

While the utopian vision of the current Information Age was that computerization would flatten economic hierarchies by democratizing information, the opposite has occurred. Information, it turns out, is merely an input into a more consequential economic function, decision-making, which is the province of elite experts. The unique opportunity that AI offers to the labor market is to extend the relevance, reach, and value of human expertise. Because of AI’s capacity to weave information and rules with acquired experience to support decision-making, it can be applied to enable a larger set of workers possessing complementary knowledge to perform some of the higher-stakes decision-making tasks that are currently arrogated to elite experts, e.g., medical care to doctors, document production to lawyers, software coding to computer engineers, and undergraduate education to professors. My thesis is not a forecast but an argument about what is possible: AI, if used well, can assist with restoring the middle-skill, middle-class heart of the US labor market that has been hollowed out by automation and globalization.

This article was drafted for NOEMA Magazine and will appear as “How AI Could Help Rebuild The Middle Class.” It draws on collaborative work with Daron Acemoglu, Caroline Chin, Joe Hazell, Simon Johnson, Pascual Restrepo, Anna Salomons, and Bryan Seegmiller, as well as my solo work. I also thank my co-panelists on the National Academy of Science and Engineering’s panel “Automation and the U.S. Workforce: An Update,” Erik Brynjolfsson, John Haltiwanger, Lawrence Katz, Tom Mitchell, Michael Strain, and Laura Tyson, who influenced my thinking on this subject. I am grateful to Tami Abdollah, Gavin Alcott, Sherry Autor, Lauren Fahey, Amy Finkelstein, Kathleen Miles, Anna Salomons, and Marika Tatsutani for comments that improved the article. I acknowledge support from Google, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the NOMIS Foundation, and the Smith Richardson Foundation. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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  • We attribute the PAPERWALL campaign to Shenzhen Haimaiyunxiang Media Co., Ltd., aka Haimai, a PR firm in China based on digital infrastructure linkages between the firm’s official website and the network.
  • While the campaign’s websites enjoyed negligible exposure to date, there is a heightened risk of inadvertent amplification by the local media and target audiences, as a result of the quick multiplication of these websites and their adaptiveness to local languages and content.
  • These findings confirm the increasingly important role private firms play in the realm of digital influence operations and the propensity of the Chinese government to make use of them.

Why Exposing this Type of Campaign Matters

Beijing is increasing its aggressive activities in the spheres of influence operations (IOs), both online and offline . In the online realm, relevant to the findings in this report, Chinese IOs are shifting their tactics and increasing their volume of activity. For example, in November 2023 Meta – owner of the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – announced the removal of five networks engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” (i.e. influence operations) and targeting foreign audiences. Meta noted it as a marked increase in IO activity by China , stating that “for comparison, between 2017 and November 2020, we took down two CIB networks from China, and both mainly focused on the Asia-Pacific region. This represents the most notable change in the threat landscape, when compared with the 2020 [US] election cycle.”

Seeding ad hominem attacks on Beijing’s critics can result in particularly harmful consequences for the targeted individuals, especially when, as in PAPERWALL’s case, it happens within much larger amounts of ostensibly benign news or promotional content that lends credibility to and expands the reach of the attacks. The consequences to these individuals can include, but are not limited to, their delegitimization in the country that hosts them; the loss of professional opportunities; and even verbal or physical harassment and intimidation by communities sympathetic to the Chinese government’s agenda.

This report adds yet more evidence, to what has been reported by other researchers, of the increasingly important role played by private firms in the management of digital IOs on behalf of the Chinese government. For example, an October 2023 blog post by the RAND corporation summarized recent public findings on this issue, and advocated for the disruption of the disinformation-for-hire industry through the use of sanctions or other available legal and policy means.

It should be noted that disinformation-for-hire companies, driven by revenue, not ideology, tend not to be discerning about the motivations of their clients. As major recent press investigations have shown , both their origin and their client base can truly be global. Exposing this actor type, and its tactics, can help understand how governments seek plausible deniability through the hiring of corporate proxies. It can also refocus research on the latter, increasing deterrence by exposing their actions.

On October 25, 2023, the Italian newspaper Il Foglio published an article , summarized in English here , that exposed a small network of six websites posing as news outlets for Italian audiences that did not correspond to any real newsrooms in Italy. Il Foglio’s investigation confirmed that the websites were not registered as news outlets in the national registry, as legally required for any information organization operating within the country.

The identified domains used a specific naming convention: the name of an Italian city in the local spelling (i.e. “Roma”, or “Milano”), followed by mundane terms (for example, “moda”, meaning fashion; “money”; or “journal”). The websites hosted on those domains were all similar in structure, layout, and content, with generic political, crime, and entertainment articles interspersed with a relatively high amount of news related to China, or even directly derived from Chinese news organizations.

Il Foglio claimed that the network was being operated from China, and possibly by the Chinese government, based on content analysis and on the six domains resolving to an unspecified IP address owned by Tencent Computer Systems Inc., a major Chinese corporation. The Italian newspaper also hinted at the possible existence of a broader set of websites linked to the six presented, without publicly disclosing further information.

On November 13, 2023, the South Korean National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) , a governmental agency, also published a report exposing eighteen Korean-language websites posing as local news outlets. The report attributed these sites to a Chinese PR firm called Haimai , based on the firm itself advertising the opportunity for its clients to publish press releases on these same sites. These websites presented strong similarities with the six Italian-language ones exposed by Il Foglio, from their technical structure to the modus operandi utilized.

We set out to research the whole network, with the objective of discovering additional websites, their tactics, targeting, and impact; and of verifying the attribution of the activity to its operators.

An Extensive Network of Websites

The initial set.

Based on DNS infrastructure overlaps, we were able to expand the network identified by Il Foglio to an initial total of 74 domains . The majority of the domains could be identified through a relatively small set of three IP addresses they resolved to.

The number of domains hosted on these IP addresses is relatively low: they featured a total of less than 100 domain resolutions, while theoretically, each could have hosted thousands of domains. This could indicate that the IPs are only linked to one operator, rather than multiple clients of the provider.

We started from the following six domains, identified in the original news article:

Table 1: List of 6 domains hosting Italian-language websites as identified by Il Foglio

Based on Passive DNS resolution data made available by RiskIQ , we found that the above domains resolved, during the last two years, to at least one of the following three IP addresses:

Table 2: List of IP addresses to which the 6 domains resolved since 2021

We found other domains that had pointed to at least one of those three IP addresses since April 2018, obtaining the following list of 74 domains:

We verified that — with only four exceptions, highlighted in table 3 — the domains hosted websites posing as news outlets in several countries. The four highlighted exceptions resolved to one or more of the three examined IP addresses before or after the rest of the network was present on them, making their affiliation to PAPERWALL questionable. Additionally, many of them appeared to utilize the naming convention identified for the Italian-language domains (city name, followed by a generic term).

The Broader Network

By replicating the same process on the websites highlighted in the NCSC report, we were able to identify additional domains, and confirm them as fully matching the PAPERWALL signature features.

These include:

The websites’ structure

All of them were built on WordPress, and utilized a ( highly popular ) page builder plugin – WPBakery – for their setup.

The domains’ infrastructure

As spotted by Il Foglio, the current hosting infrastructure for the six Italian-language domains linked back to Tencent, a Chinese-based company. In fact, the relevant service being utilized is Tencent Cloud; and we could verify that all the currently active domains were being hosted on a Tencent Cloud IP address.

  • It is important however to note that this is something that any private customer can request, provided that certain requirements given by the host provider are satisfied.
  • We confirmed in the Tencent Cloud service documentation that the requirements imposed by the company are minimal: the identity of the individual or company subscribing to the service, a mobile phone number (to be verified through a security code sent via SMS), and a credit or debit card.
  • This effectively means that any private or corporate subscriber operating the network of websites could have pointed their domains to a Tencent IP address by subscribing to their Cloud service.

The WordPress users

We analyzed the usernames utilized to post content on the PAPERWALL websites through a technique called user enumeration . This technique revealed that the whole network shared a small number of content author names, visible in the table below.

Table 4: WordPress usernames identified as used on the PAPERWALL websites

The content

All of the identified websites had almost identical homepage menus, typically including (translated in the target language): Politics, Economy, Culture, Current Affairs, and Sport. The actual content being posted was a mix of scraped and reposted content from local media in the targeted country; press releases; and occasional Chinese state media articles, or anonymous disinformation content. The content could typically be observed as being simultaneously cross-posted across several of the websites at once. We analyze the content in more detail later in this report .

Examples of a commercial press release related to a company called Great Wall Motor being posted to six different PAPERWALL websites within the span of six days (25 to 31 October 2023). Note: we did not find any evidence that GWM was aware of its content being promoted as part of a deceptive coordinated campaign.

As of December 21, 2023, we were able to identify a total of 123 domains , almost all of which are hosting websites posing as news outlets. A full list of these domains is available in the Appendix .

Target Audiences

Based on the language utilized, as well as on the sourcing of the local news content reposted by PAPERWALL websites – an aspect that we will also describe in more detail later in this report – we observed the network as mimicking local news outlets in 30 different countries , as shown in the map below. A full list of the target countries, with the number of websites addressing each, is available in the Appendix .

The PAPERWALL target audiences, showing the distribution of websites per each country targeted

To appear as legitimate local news outlets, PAPERWALL websites typically utilized local references as part of their names. For example, “Eiffel” or “Provence” for French-language websites; “Viking” for the Norwegian one; or city names, commonly used for Italian and Spanish websites.

Headers of napolimoney[.]com (Italy), eiffelpost[.]com (France), and sevillatimes[.]com (Spain) shown as examples of the nomenclature pattern used by PAPERWALL

Meanwhile, in April 2020, the domain wdpp[.]org (presumably abbreviated for “World Development Press”) was registered. The website located on a Tencent IP address, which is also linked to updatenews[.]info and 16 other PAPERWALL domains, will be critical to our attribution .

In July 2020, we saw the first group registrations. That month, nine domains were registered, with each hosting a website aimed at Japanese audiences. One of them, fujiyamatimes[.]com , has a footer linking it to “Updatenews” .

Footer on fujiyamatimes[.]com, showing the line “Support: FUJIYAMA TIMES by Updatenews.”

The Content

Breakdown of the content categories found on the PAPERWALL network of websites

Political Content: Targeted Attacks and Disinformation

Hidden within much larger amounts of generic content, a smaller portion published by the PAPERWALL network is of a political nature. The following sections break down content types and main features.

Targeted Attacks

A common type of politically-themed content includes ad hominem attacks , usually kept in English irrespective of the target audience, on figures perceived by Beijing as hostile. For example, an article titled “Yan Limeng is a complete rumor maker” could be found on every active PAPERWALL website as of December 2023. This article contains a direct attack on Li-Meng Yan , a Chinese virologist who alleges that the COVID-19 virus originated from a Chinese government laboratory. While her theories have been widely dismissed by the global scientific community, the attacks on her by PAPERWALL were unsubstantiated, aimed at her personal and professional reputation, and completely anonymous.

Examples of an article attacking Li-Meng Yan, as published by the PAPERWALL websites nlpress[.]org (Netherlands), sevillatimes[.]com (Spain), and milanomodaweekly[.]com (Italy).

This article echoes others that circulated outside of the PAPERWALL network on websites that cannot be confirmed as part of the same network, as well as on blogging platforms. For example:

  • “ The Perelman School Of Medicine Should Expel Yan Limeng ”, published on 16 October 2023 by theinscribermag[.]com. A review of the other articles posted by the same author, “Dawn Wells”, reveals more targeted attacks on political figures, for example the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen .
  • “ Reject Yan Limeng for Perelman Medical College ”, published on prlog[.]org, a distinct but equally anonymous press release publishing platform, on 6 March 2022.
  • “ This is Yan Limeng was hired as a Perelman School ” (sic), published on 21 June 2023 on medium.com, an open blogging platform.
  • “ #汉奸闫丽梦#闫丽梦Maintain campus cleanliness Reject Yan Limon for Perelman Medical College ”, published on 14 December 2023, also on medium.com.

This suggests that PAPERWALL is used as an amplifier for campaigns targeting specific individuals and anonymously employing an array of additional online platforms to maximize their attacks.

Conspiracy Theories

A second type of politically themed content present within the PAPERWALL network of websites is conspiracy theories, typically aimed at the image of the United States, or its allies. Claims could include, for example, allegations of the US conducting biological experiments on the local population in South-East Asian countries.

On the left is an example of conspiracy theory from euleader[.]org. The article was published in an anonymous form directly on the PAPERWALL website, with the feature image hosted on a website called timesnewswire[.]com which we will further analyze in the following section. The image was taken from the cover of a book titled “Biological Weapons: Using Nature to Kill” by Anna Collins.

Chinese State Media

A final category of political content disseminated by PAPERWALL often takes the form of verbatim reposts of content from Chinese state media, such as CGTN or the Global Times. Also, in this case, the content usually remains untranslated from English. An example of this scenario is shown in figure 10.

Example of CGTN (Chinese state media) article reposted, verbatim, by the PAPERWALL website italiafinanziarie[.]com on December 13, 2023

Scraping of Local Mainstream Media

One of the most evident tactics PAPERWALL employs to disguise its websites as local news outlets is to regularly republish content, verbatim, from legitimate online sources in the target country. Below is an example extracted from the French-language website eiffelpost[.]com :

Article posted on eiffelpost[.]com (a confirmed PAPERWALL website), left, and the original published by the real French newspaper Le Parisien, right

Commercial Content

Press releases.

Mixed with the copy/pasted news content, the PAPERWALL websites typically publish press releases of a commercial nature. These press releases are often posted either in an explicit “Press Release” section or directly on the homepage. A peculiarity of the press release content is that it is usually not translated in the target language, but remains in the original one – which, for the most part, is English.

Dec 15, 2023 screenshot from the homepage of the PAPERWALL website italiafinanziarIe[.]com, showing a press release (in English), mixed with Italian-language legitimate news content (lifted, in this example, from the local news website https://www.rete8.it).

Cryptocurrencies

A substantial portion of the press release content is specifically dedicated to cryptocurrency topics. This is consistent with the sourcing of press releases from Times Newswire – which we will analyze in the next section – where cryptocurrency topics are among the most common.

Snapshot of the Press Release (“Comunicato Stampa” in Italian) section of italiafinanziarie[.]com, showing five distinct cryptocurrency-related press releases, all in English. Again, the Italian language is reserved for the legitimate news content extracted from real local media

Content Sourcing

In order to better understand the nature and proportion of the sourcing of content by PAPERWALL, we utilized the backlinks analysis platform provided by AHREFS . Backlinks are links created when one website links to another .

  • We extracted all the domains that PAPERWALL backlinked to – therefore including those hosting content published by PAPERWALL – as of November 30, 2023.
  • We sorted them by the amount of total backlinking PAPERWALL domains, in descending order.
  • We then manually reviewed and categorized the backlinked domains. The top 25 ones are visible in figure 15.

Our elaboration of the backlinks data obtained through the AHREFS platform, showing the top 25 domains that PAPERWALL websites backlinked to as of November 30, 2023. CGTN and Global Times, both Chinese state media, appear in the list respectively with 95 and 86 backlinking domains each

The results show:

  • A top layer of social media domains, which is unsurprising – individual press releases will typically contain links to the client company’s social media profiles;
  • A set of cryptocurrency websites , which – once reviewed individually – are confirmed as the subject of multiple press releases each. Also, two non-crypto private corporations , likely benefiting from the paid press release services that PAPERWALL appears to host;
  • Two Chinese state media websites (CGTN and Global Times), backlinked to by almost 100 domains each;
  • Finally, but crucially, approximately 100 domains backlinked to Times Newswire , a supposed newswire service.

Times Newswire

Links to paperwall.

The consistent connection between PAPERWALL and Times Newswire is one of the most peculiar traits of the campaign. While there is certainly no definitive playbook on how online influence operations are conducted, it is uncommon for a network of coordinated websites to regularly draw content from a single publicly available but equally covert source. For example, as seen in other known disinformation campaigns , a typical tactic would be to create copycat domains, mimicking real news sources without revealing where the content was first published. This characteristic makes it possible to analyze the distribution and type of the content and renders the source website a central component of the campaign.

As of November 30, 2023, the alleged newswire service was backlinked to by 98 distinct PAPERWALL domains, out of the total 123. We assess that the vast majority of the backlinks in question consist of content directly hosted on the Times Newswire website , and reposted by the PAPERWALL network , as seen in a previous example .

Times Newswire is a known entity in the context of influence operations: it was first reported about in 2023 by Mandiant, a Google-owned cybersecurity company. Mandiant observed Times Newswire’s hosted content disseminated through a network of subdomains for legitimate US-based news outlets in the context of an influence campaign that the company dubbed as HaiEnergy.

Mandiant had attributed HaiEnergy to a Chinese PR firm called Haixun , previously identified in their original 2022 report ; however, in their 2023 report the cybersecurity firm stated: “we currently lack technical evidence to suggest an underlying connection between Haixun and […] Times Newswire, […] and thus currently view them as distinct entities.” In fact, timesnewswire[.]com is – like the PAPERWALL websites – a fully anonymous asset.

It should be noted that – unlike the PAPERWALL websites – timesnewswire[.]com offers a “Submit Post” button, hinting at the possibility for registered users to publish content directly to the website. However, once clicked, the button leads to a login page, with no registration module being displayed. The registration of users therefore appears not to happen through the website, and is probably controlled and individually approved by the website’s operators separately.

Similarly to what was stated by Mandiant for the HaiEnergy campaign, we cannot currently attribute Times Newswire to the same operators as PAPERWALL. There are however at least two significant similarities between the newswire and the PAPERWALL network:

The hosting IP address is also a Tencent one, and on the same AS number (132203) as the PAPERWALL domains. An Autonomous System (AS) number is a collection of IP addresses “ under the control of one or more network operators on behalf of a single administrative entity or domain .”

Times Newswire also uses a simple WordPress template as its main structure. Additionally, it utilizes the same page builder plugin ( WPBakery ) used by PAPERWALL.

Being central to at least two distinct operations – PAPERWALL and HaiEnergy – Times Newswire could however be an independent asset, simultaneously exploited by multiple influence operations.

Ephemerality

We were able to identify examples of politically-themed articles that were routinely deleted from Times Newswire. For example, we observed ad hominem attack posts on figures in direct conflict with Beijing’s positions that were later removed from the website.

  • One of these figures was Li Hongzhi , founder and leader of the religious movement Falun Gong, that has been banned and persecuted in mainland China since 1999 .
  • While a Google search on the articles mentioning Li Hongzhi currently only returns two articles, a similar search through the Times Newswire content archived by the Wayback Machine showed a total of eight pieces.
  • All articles are anonymous opinion pieces expressing extremely harsh views on Li and the religious movement he leads.

This behavior suggests that ephemeral seeding is the intention for most content of that type which is deleted from the source website (Times Newswire) at an unspecified time after its initial publication. As noted in previous research , ephemeral disinformation is designed to elude detection. With the evidence disappearing from the source websites not long after having been published, investigators may be unable to make the necessary connections to detect an influence operation or correctly identify the reach and depth of the operation. At the same time, the seeded message could be picked up and amplified by mainstream or social media, making the narrative stay even if the original source had been removed.

In the case of PAPERWALL however, as we discuss in more detail in the Conclusions section, we currently have no evidence that this has ever happened.

Headlines of two now-deleted Times Newswire articles (1, 2) attacking Li Hongzhi, founder and leader of the religious movement Falun Gong

As a final note on the operational tactics utilized by Times Newswire and, as a consequence, by PAPERWALL, we note that the articles targeting Li Hongzhi, as well as others of a political nature that we could observe, were all categorized as “press releases” on the website, similarly to the thousands of actual promotional posts it published. It is however highly unusual for press releases to include content of this kind. We judge this as another tactic designed to make the political narratives hard to detect without diminishing their potential impact.

Attribution: Haimai

We attribute PAPERWALL to a PR firm based in China, Shenzhen Haimaiyunxiang Media Co., Ltd., or “Haimai.”

Haimai was first exposed by the Korean NCSC in their investigation on 18 Korean-focused PAPERWALL websites as being responsible for operating them. However, based on the evidence presented in the NCSC report , that assessment appeared to be primarily based on Haimai itself advertising the paid placement of promotional articles on Times Newswire, and as a consequence, on the PAPERWALL network of websites.

We do not consider this criterion as sufficient for a conclusive attribution. In fact, during our research we could identify at least three other PR and marketing companies advertising the sale of promotional packages to be placed directly on PAPERWALL websites. They include:

  • A South Korean firm named Excelsior Partners , which on Kmong (a Korean service marketplace, hosting the advertisement of specialized services by freelancers, or agencies) advertised the sale of language-specific promotional packages. Each of the packages exclusively listed PAPERWALL domains as the “major local media” on which paid editorial content could be placed.
  • A second Korean company called AN&ON , which advertised country-specific promotional packages on its own website in a similar way to Excelsior Partners. The domains listed were, also in this case, PAPERWALL ones.
  • A Chinese company, called Coin Blog , also known as BIBK , equally selling paid editorial content placement on several confirmed PAPERWALL domains.

However, we could identify digital infrastructure linkages between Haimai and PAPERWALL . Specifically, the two earliest registered PAPERWALL domains, updatenews[.]info and wdpp[.]org, hosted a Google AdSense ID linking them to Haimai’s official website, hmedium[.]com, and to a second website directly related to it. AdSense IDs are unique identifiers for a website operator’s AdSense account .

This is therefore an incriminating finding, proving that both PAPERWALL domains had been set up by the same operators as the Haimai assets.

A review of the source code for updatenews[.]info and wdpp[.]org revealed the presence on both websites of the Google AdSense ID ca-pub-5378976189690174 .

Figure 17: Excerpts of source code from updatenews[.]info (top) and wdpp[.]org (bottom), both displaying the AdSense ID ca-pub-5378976189690174.

Conclusions

PAPERWALL is a large, and fast growing , network of anonymous websites posing as local news outlets while pushing both commercial and political content aligned with Beijing’s views to a variety of European, Asian, and Latin American audiences.

The campaign is an example of a sprawling influence operation serving both financial and political interests, and in alignment with Beijing’s political agenda . By observing the minimal traffic towards the network’s websites that is measurable through open source tools 2 , and the lack of visible mainstream media coverage (including on news aggregators, such as for example Google News) or social media amplification, we can assess the impact of the campaign as negligible so far .

This assessment, however, as well as the large amount of seemingly benign commercial content wrapping the aggressively political one within the PAPERWALL network, should not be taken to indicate that such a campaign is harmless. Seeding pieces of disinformation and targeted attacks within much larger quantities of irrelevant or even unpopular content is a known modus operandi in the context of influence operations , which can eventually pay enormous dividends once one of those fragments is eventually picked up and legitimized by mainstream press or political figures .

Finally, the role and prominence of private firms in creating and managing influence operations is hardly news . However, since the early days of research in this space, the disinformation-for-hire industry has boomed , leading to findings and disruptions in countries around the world (for a few examples, in Myanmar , Brazil , the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia ). China – previously exposed for having resorted to this proxy category in large influence operations, including the cited HaiEnergy – is now increasingly benefiting from this operating model, which maintains a thin veil of plausible deniability, while ensuring a broad dissemination of the political messaging. It is safe to assume that PAPERWALL will not be the last example of a partnership between private sector and government in the context of Chinese influence operations.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Jakub Dałek for his research support. Thanks to John Scott-Railton, Emma Lyon, Pellaeon Lin, Siena Anstis, and Céline Bauwens for their peer review and assistance. We would like to thank Melissa Chan for helpful recommendations. Research for this project was supervised by Ron Deibert.

Confirmed Domains

Targeted countries, high-confidence host ip addresses, paperwall domains.

  • We are redacting this domain name as it appeared on one of the shared DNS IP addresses only two months after a PAPERWALL domain was last seen on it, and it seems to belong to a legitimate business with no obvious connections to the network. ↩︎
  • We utilized hypestat.com , a web platform (and browser extension) measuring daily and monthly traffic to websites. The vast majority of the PAPERWALL domains did not even appear in the platform’s database, indicating that their traffic was most likely negligible. Some, such as the generic, English language ones (for example, wdpp[.]org or euleader[.]org) showed an average of about 50 daily visitors. ↩︎

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  • Threat intelligence
  • Microsoft Copilot for Security
  • Threat actors

Staying ahead of threat actors in the age of AI

  • By Microsoft Threat Intelligence
  • AI and machine learning
  • Attacker techniques, tools, and infrastructure
  • Social engineering / phishing
  • Forest Blizzard (STRONTIUM)
  • MITRE ATT&CK
  • Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

Over the last year, the speed, scale, and sophistication of attacks has increased alongside the rapid development and adoption of AI. Defenders are only beginning to recognize and apply the power of generative AI to shift the cybersecurity balance in their favor and keep ahead of adversaries. At the same time, it is also important for us to understand how AI can be potentially misused in the hands of threat actors. In collaboration with OpenAI, today we are publishing research on emerging threats in the age of AI, focusing on identified activity associated with known threat actors, including prompt-injections, attempted misuse of large language models (LLM), and fraud. Our analysis of the current use of LLM technology by threat actors revealed behaviors consistent with attackers using AI as another productivity tool on the offensive landscape. You can read OpenAI’s blog on the research here . Microsoft and OpenAI have not yet observed particularly novel or unique AI-enabled attack or abuse techniques resulting from threat actors’ usage of AI. However, Microsoft and our partners continue to study this landscape closely.

The objective of Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, including the release of this research, is to ensure the safe and responsible use of AI technologies like ChatGPT, upholding the highest standards of ethical application to protect the community from potential misuse. As part of this commitment, we have taken measures to disrupt assets and accounts associated with threat actors, improve the protection of OpenAI LLM technology and users from attack or abuse, and shape the guardrails and safety mechanisms around our models. In addition, we are also deeply committed to using generative AI to disrupt threat actors and leverage the power of new tools, including Microsoft Copilot for Security , to elevate defenders everywhere.

A principled approach to detecting and blocking threat actors

The progress of technology creates a demand for strong cybersecurity and safety measures. For example, the White House’s Executive Order on AI requires rigorous safety testing and government supervision for AI systems that have major impacts on national and economic security or public health and safety. Our actions enhancing the safeguards of our AI models and partnering with our ecosystem on the safe creation, implementation, and use of these models align with the Executive Order’s request for comprehensive AI safety and security standards.

In line with Microsoft’s leadership across AI and cybersecurity, today we are announcing principles shaping Microsoft’s policy and actions mitigating the risks associated with the use of our AI tools and APIs by nation-state advanced persistent threats (APTs), advanced persistent manipulators (APMs), and cybercriminal syndicates we track.

These principles include:   

  • Identification and action against malicious threat actors’ use: Upon detection of the use of any Microsoft AI application programming interfaces (APIs), services, or systems by an identified malicious threat actor, including nation-state APT or APM, or the cybercrime syndicates we track, Microsoft will take appropriate action to disrupt their activities, such as disabling the accounts used, terminating services, or limiting access to resources.           
  • Notification to other AI service providers: When we detect a threat actor’s use of another service provider’s AI, AI APIs, services, and/or systems, Microsoft will promptly notify the service provider and share relevant data. This enables the service provider to independently verify our findings and take action in accordance with their own policies.
  • Collaboration with other stakeholders: Microsoft will collaborate with other stakeholders to regularly exchange information about detected threat actors’ use of AI. This collaboration aims to promote collective, consistent, and effective responses to ecosystem-wide risks.
  • Transparency: As part of our ongoing efforts to advance responsible use of AI, Microsoft will inform the public and stakeholders about actions taken under these threat actor principles, including the nature and extent of threat actors’ use of AI detected within our systems and the measures taken against them, as appropriate.

Microsoft remains committed to responsible AI innovation, prioritizing the safety and integrity of our technologies with respect for human rights and ethical standards. These principles announced today build on Microsoft’s Responsible AI practices , our voluntary commitments to advance responsible AI innovation and the Azure OpenAI Code of Conduct . We are following these principles as part of our broader commitments to strengthening international law and norms and to advance the goals of the Bletchley Declaration endorsed by 29 countries.

Microsoft and OpenAI’s complementary defenses protect AI platforms

Because Microsoft and OpenAI’s partnership extends to security, the companies can take action when known and emerging threat actors surface. Microsoft Threat Intelligence tracks more than 300 unique threat actors, including 160 nation-state actors, 50 ransomware groups, and many others. These adversaries employ various digital identities and attack infrastructures. Microsoft’s experts and automated systems continually analyze and correlate these attributes, uncovering attackers’ efforts to evade detection or expand their capabilities by leveraging new technologies. Consistent with preventing threat actors’ actions across our technologies and working closely with partners, Microsoft continues to study threat actors’ use of AI and LLMs, partner with OpenAI to monitor attack activity, and apply what we learn to continually improve defenses. This blog provides an overview of observed activities collected from known threat actor infrastructure as identified by Microsoft Threat Intelligence, then shared with OpenAI to identify potential malicious use or abuse of their platform and protect our mutual customers from future threats or harm.

Recognizing the rapid growth of AI and emergent use of LLMs in cyber operations, we continue to work with MITRE to integrate these LLM-themed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) into the MITRE ATT&CK® framework or MITRE ATLAS™ (Adversarial Threat Landscape for Artificial-Intelligence Systems) knowledgebase. This strategic expansion reflects a commitment to not only track and neutralize threats, but also to pioneer the development of countermeasures in the evolving landscape of AI-powered cyber operations. A full list of the LLM-themed TTPs, which include those we identified during our investigations, is summarized in the appendix.

Summary of Microsoft and OpenAI’s findings and threat intelligence

The threat ecosystem over the last several years has revealed a consistent theme of threat actors following trends in technology in parallel with their defender counterparts. Threat actors, like defenders, are looking at AI, including LLMs, to enhance their productivity and take advantage of accessible platforms that could advance their objectives and attack techniques. Cybercrime groups, nation-state threat actors, and other adversaries are exploring and testing different AI technologies as they emerge, in an attempt to understand potential value to their operations and the security controls they may need to circumvent. On the defender side, hardening these same security controls from attacks and implementing equally sophisticated monitoring that anticipates and blocks malicious activity is vital.

While different threat actors’ motives and complexity vary, they have common tasks to perform in the course of targeting and attacks. These include reconnaissance, such as learning about potential victims’ industries, locations, and relationships; help with coding, including improving things like software scripts and malware development; and assistance with learning and using native languages. Language support is a natural feature of LLMs and is attractive for threat actors with continuous focus on social engineering and other techniques relying on false, deceptive communications tailored to their targets’ jobs, professional networks, and other relationships.

Importantly, our research with OpenAI has not identified significant attacks employing the LLMs we monitor closely. At the same time, we feel this is important research to publish to expose early-stage, incremental moves that we observe well-known threat actors attempting, and share information on how we are blocking and countering them with the defender community.

While attackers will remain interested in AI and probe technologies’ current capabilities and security controls, it’s important to keep these risks in context. As always, hygiene practices such as multifactor authentication (MFA ) and Zero Trust defenses are essential because attackers may use AI-based tools to improve their existing cyberattacks that rely on social engineering and finding unsecured devices and accounts.

The threat actors profiled below are a sample of observed activity we believe best represents the TTPs the industry will need to better track using MITRE ATT&CK® framework or MITRE ATLAS™ knowledgebase updates.

Forest Blizzard 

Forest Blizzard (STRONTIUM) is a Russian military intelligence actor linked to GRU Unit 26165, who has targeted victims of both tactical and strategic interest to the Russian government. Their activities span across a variety of sectors including defense, transportation/logistics, government, energy, non-governmental organizations (NGO), and information technology. Forest Blizzard has been extremely active in targeting organizations in and related to Russia’s war in Ukraine throughout the duration of the conflict, and Microsoft assesses that Forest Blizzard operations play a significant supporting role to Russia’s foreign policy and military objectives both in Ukraine and in the broader international community. Forest Blizzard overlaps with the threat actor tracked by other researchers as APT28 and Fancy Bear.

Forest Blizzard’s use of LLMs has involved research into various satellite and radar technologies that may pertain to conventional military operations in Ukraine, as well as generic research aimed at supporting their cyber operations. Based on these observations, we map and classify these TTPs using the following descriptions:

  • LLM-informed reconnaissance: Interacting with LLMs to understand satellite communication protocols, radar imaging technologies, and specific technical parameters. These queries suggest an attempt to acquire in-depth knowledge of satellite capabilities.
  • LLM-enhanced scripting techniques: Seeking assistance in basic scripting tasks, including file manipulation, data selection, regular expressions, and multiprocessing, to potentially automate or optimize technical operations.

Similar to Salmon Typhoon’s LLM interactions, Microsoft observed engagement from Forest Blizzard that were representative of an adversary exploring the use cases of a new technology. As with other adversaries, all accounts and assets associated with Forest Blizzard have been disabled.

Emerald Sleet

Emerald Sleet (THALLIUM) is a North Korean threat actor that has remained highly active throughout 2023. Their recent operations relied on spear-phishing emails to compromise and gather intelligence from prominent individuals with expertise on North Korea. Microsoft observed Emerald Sleet impersonating reputable academic institutions and NGOs to lure victims into replying with expert insights and commentary about foreign policies related to North Korea. Emerald Sleet overlaps with threat actors tracked by other researchers as Kimsuky and Velvet Chollima.

Emerald Sleet’s use of LLMs has been in support of this activity and involved research into think tanks and experts on North Korea, as well as the generation of content likely to be used in spear-phishing campaigns. Emerald Sleet also interacted with LLMs to understand publicly known vulnerabilities, to troubleshoot technical issues, and for assistance with using various web technologies. Based on these observations, we map and classify these TTPs using the following descriptions:

  • LLM-assisted vulnerability research: Interacting with LLMs to better understand publicly reported vulnerabilities, such as the CVE-2022-30190 Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) vulnerability (known as “Follina”).
  • LLM-enhanced scripting techniques : Using LLMs for basic scripting tasks such as programmatically identifying certain user events on a system and seeking assistance with troubleshooting and understanding various web technologies.
  • LLM-supported social engineering: Using LLMs for assistance with the drafting and generation of content that would likely be for use in spear-phishing campaigns against individuals with regional expertise.
  • LLM-informed reconnaissance: Interacting with LLMs to identify think tanks, government organizations, or experts on North Korea that have a focus on defense issues or North Korea’s nuclear weapon’s program.

All accounts and assets associated with Emerald Sleet have been disabled.

Crimson Sandstorm

Crimson Sandstorm (CURIUM) is an Iranian threat actor assessed to be connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Active since at least 2017, Crimson Sandstorm has targeted multiple sectors, including defense, maritime shipping, transportation, healthcare, and technology. These operations have frequently relied on watering hole attacks and social engineering to deliver custom .NET malware. Prior research also identified custom Crimson Sandstorm malware using email-based command-and-control (C2) channels. Crimson Sandstorm overlaps with the threat actor tracked by other researchers as Tortoiseshell, Imperial Kitten, and Yellow Liderc.

The use of LLMs by Crimson Sandstorm has reflected the broader behaviors that the security community has observed from this threat actor. Interactions have involved requests for support around social engineering, assistance in troubleshooting errors, .NET development, and ways in which an attacker might evade detection when on a compromised machine. Based on these observations, we map and classify these TTPs using the following descriptions:

  • LLM-supported social engineering: Interacting with LLMs to generate various phishing emails, including one pretending to come from an international development agency and another attempting to lure prominent feminists to an attacker-built website on feminism. 
  • LLM-enhanced scripting techniques : Using LLMs to generate code snippets that appear intended to support app and web development, interactions with remote servers, web scraping, executing tasks when users sign in, and sending information from a system via email.
  • LLM-enhanced anomaly detection evasion: Attempting to use LLMs for assistance in developing code to evade detection, to learn how to disable antivirus via registry or Windows policies, and to delete files in a directory after an application has been closed.

All accounts and assets associated with Crimson Sandstorm have been disabled.

Charcoal Typhoon

Charcoal Typhoon (CHROMIUM) is a Chinese state-affiliated threat actor with a broad operational scope. They are known for targeting sectors that include government, higher education, communications infrastructure, oil & gas, and information technology. Their activities have predominantly focused on entities within Taiwan, Thailand, Mongolia, Malaysia, France, and Nepal, with observed interests extending to institutions and individuals globally who oppose China’s policies. Charcoal Typhoon overlaps with the threat actor tracked by other researchers as Aquatic Panda, ControlX, RedHotel, and BRONZE UNIVERSITY.

In recent operations, Charcoal Typhoon has been observed interacting with LLMs in ways that suggest a limited exploration of how LLMs can augment their technical operations. This has consisted of using LLMs to support tooling development, scripting, understanding various commodity cybersecurity tools, and for generating content that could be used to social engineer targets. Based on these observations, we map and classify these TTPs using the following descriptions:

  • LLM-informed reconnaissance : Engaging LLMs to research and understand specific technologies, platforms, and vulnerabilities, indicative of preliminary information-gathering stages.
  • LLM-enhanced scripting techniques : Utilizing LLMs to generate and refine scripts, potentially to streamline and automate complex cyber tasks and operations.
  • LLM-supported social engineering : Leveraging LLMs for assistance with translations and communication, likely to establish connections or manipulate targets.
  • LLM-refined operational command techniques : Utilizing LLMs for advanced commands, deeper system access, and control representative of post-compromise behavior.

All associated accounts and assets of Charcoal Typhoon have been disabled, reaffirming our commitment to safeguarding against the misuse of AI technologies.

Salmon Typhoon

Salmon Typhoon (SODIUM) is a sophisticated Chinese state-affiliated threat actor with a history of targeting US defense contractors, government agencies, and entities within the cryptographic technology sector. This threat actor has demonstrated its capabilities through the deployment of malware, such as Win32/Wkysol, to maintain remote access to compromised systems. With over a decade of operations marked by intermittent periods of dormancy and resurgence, Salmon Typhoon has recently shown renewed activity. Salmon Typhoon overlaps with the threat actor tracked by other researchers as APT4 and Maverick Panda.

Notably, Salmon Typhoon’s interactions with LLMs throughout 2023 appear exploratory and suggest that this threat actor is evaluating the effectiveness of LLMs in sourcing information on potentially sensitive topics, high profile individuals, regional geopolitics, US influence, and internal affairs. This tentative engagement with LLMs could reflect both a broadening of their intelligence-gathering toolkit and an experimental phase in assessing the capabilities of emerging technologies.

Based on these observations, we map and classify these TTPs using the following descriptions:

  • LLM-informed reconnaissance: Engaging LLMs for queries on a diverse array of subjects, such as global intelligence agencies, domestic concerns, notable individuals, cybersecurity matters, topics of strategic interest, and various threat actors. These interactions mirror the use of a search engine for public domain research.
  • LLM-enhanced scripting techniques: Using LLMs to identify and resolve coding errors. Requests for support in developing code with potential malicious intent were observed by Microsoft, and it was noted that the model adhered to established ethical guidelines, declining to provide such assistance.
  • LLM-refined operational command techniques: Demonstrating an interest in specific file types and concealment tactics within operating systems, indicative of an effort to refine operational command execution.
  • LLM-aided technical translation and explanation: Leveraging LLMs for the translation of computing terms and technical papers.

Salmon Typhoon’s engagement with LLMs aligns with patterns observed by Microsoft, reflecting traditional behaviors in a new technological arena. In response, all accounts and assets associated with Salmon Typhoon have been disabled.

In closing, AI technologies will continue to evolve and be studied by various threat actors. Microsoft will continue to track threat actors and malicious activity misusing LLMs, and work with OpenAI and other partners to share intelligence, improve protections for customers and aid the broader security community.

Appendix: LLM-themed TTPs

Using insights from our analysis above, as well as other potential misuse of AI, we’re sharing the below list of LLM-themed TTPs that we map and classify to the MITRE ATT&CK® framework or MITRE ATLAS™ knowledgebase to equip the community with a common taxonomy to collectively track malicious use of LLMs and create countermeasures against:

  • LLM-informed reconnaissance: Employing LLMs to gather actionable intelligence on technologies and potential vulnerabilities.
  • LLM-enhanced scripting techniques: Utilizing LLMs to generate or refine scripts that could be used in cyberattacks, or for basic scripting tasks such as programmatically identifying certain user events on a system and assistance with troubleshooting and understanding various web technologies.
  • LLM-aided development : Utilizing LLMs in the development lifecycle of tools and programs, including those with malicious intent, such as malware.
  • LLM-assisted vulnerability research : Using LLMs to understand and identify potential vulnerabilities in software and systems, which could be targeted for exploitation.
  • LLM-optimized payload crafting : Using LLMs to assist in creating and refining payloads for deployment in cyberattacks.
  • LLM-enhanced anomaly detection evasion : Leveraging LLMs to develop methods that help malicious activities blend in with normal behavior or traffic to evade detection systems.
  • LLM-directed security feature bypass : Using LLMs to find ways to circumvent security features, such as two-factor authentication, CAPTCHA, or other access controls.
  • LLM-advised resource development : Using LLMs in tool development, tool modifications, and strategic operational planning.

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  • How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples

How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples

Published on August 21, 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 18, 2023.

Discussion section flow chart

The discussion section is where you delve into the meaning, importance, and relevance of your results .

It should focus on explaining and evaluating what you found, showing how it relates to your literature review and paper or dissertation topic , and making an argument in support of your overall conclusion. It should not be a second results section.

There are different ways to write this section, but you can focus your writing around these key elements:

  • Summary : A brief recap of your key results
  • Interpretations: What do your results mean?
  • Implications: Why do your results matter?
  • Limitations: What can’t your results tell us?
  • Recommendations: Avenues for further studies or analyses

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Table of contents

What not to include in your discussion section, step 1: summarize your key findings, step 2: give your interpretations, step 3: discuss the implications, step 4: acknowledge the limitations, step 5: share your recommendations, discussion section example, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about discussion sections.

There are a few common mistakes to avoid when writing the discussion section of your paper.

  • Don’t introduce new results: You should only discuss the data that you have already reported in your results section .
  • Don’t make inflated claims: Avoid overinterpretation and speculation that isn’t directly supported by your data.
  • Don’t undermine your research: The discussion of limitations should aim to strengthen your credibility, not emphasize weaknesses or failures.

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Start this section by reiterating your research problem and concisely summarizing your major findings. To speed up the process you can use a summarizer to quickly get an overview of all important findings. Don’t just repeat all the data you have already reported—aim for a clear statement of the overall result that directly answers your main research question . This should be no more than one paragraph.

Many students struggle with the differences between a discussion section and a results section . The crux of the matter is that your results sections should present your results, and your discussion section should subjectively evaluate them. Try not to blend elements of these two sections, in order to keep your paper sharp.

  • The results indicate that…
  • The study demonstrates a correlation between…
  • This analysis supports the theory that…
  • The data suggest that…

The meaning of your results may seem obvious to you, but it’s important to spell out their significance for your reader, showing exactly how they answer your research question.

The form of your interpretations will depend on the type of research, but some typical approaches to interpreting the data include:

  • Identifying correlations , patterns, and relationships among the data
  • Discussing whether the results met your expectations or supported your hypotheses
  • Contextualizing your findings within previous research and theory
  • Explaining unexpected results and evaluating their significance
  • Considering possible alternative explanations and making an argument for your position

You can organize your discussion around key themes, hypotheses, or research questions, following the same structure as your results section. Alternatively, you can also begin by highlighting the most significant or unexpected results.

  • In line with the hypothesis…
  • Contrary to the hypothesized association…
  • The results contradict the claims of Smith (2022) that…
  • The results might suggest that x . However, based on the findings of similar studies, a more plausible explanation is y .

As well as giving your own interpretations, make sure to relate your results back to the scholarly work that you surveyed in the literature review . The discussion should show how your findings fit with existing knowledge, what new insights they contribute, and what consequences they have for theory or practice.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Do your results support or challenge existing theories? If they support existing theories, what new information do they contribute? If they challenge existing theories, why do you think that is?
  • Are there any practical implications?

Your overall aim is to show the reader exactly what your research has contributed, and why they should care.

  • These results build on existing evidence of…
  • The results do not fit with the theory that…
  • The experiment provides a new insight into the relationship between…
  • These results should be taken into account when considering how to…
  • The data contribute a clearer understanding of…
  • While previous research has focused on  x , these results demonstrate that y .

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what is findings in research paper

Even the best research has its limitations. Acknowledging these is important to demonstrate your credibility. Limitations aren’t about listing your errors, but about providing an accurate picture of what can and cannot be concluded from your study.

Limitations might be due to your overall research design, specific methodological choices , or unanticipated obstacles that emerged during your research process.

Here are a few common possibilities:

  • If your sample size was small or limited to a specific group of people, explain how generalizability is limited.
  • If you encountered problems when gathering or analyzing data, explain how these influenced the results.
  • If there are potential confounding variables that you were unable to control, acknowledge the effect these may have had.

After noting the limitations, you can reiterate why the results are nonetheless valid for the purpose of answering your research question.

  • The generalizability of the results is limited by…
  • The reliability of these data is impacted by…
  • Due to the lack of data on x , the results cannot confirm…
  • The methodological choices were constrained by…
  • It is beyond the scope of this study to…

Based on the discussion of your results, you can make recommendations for practical implementation or further research. Sometimes, the recommendations are saved for the conclusion .

Suggestions for further research can lead directly from the limitations. Don’t just state that more studies should be done—give concrete ideas for how future work can build on areas that your own research was unable to address.

  • Further research is needed to establish…
  • Future studies should take into account…
  • Avenues for future research include…

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In the discussion , you explore the meaning and relevance of your research results , explaining how they fit with existing research and theory. Discuss:

  • Your  interpretations : what do the results tell us?
  • The  implications : why do the results matter?
  • The  limitation s : what can’t the results tell us?

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.

The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.

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McCombes, S. (2023, July 18). How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved February 15, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/discussion/

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