Results Sadeghi Ramin, MD Nuclear Medicine Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Results This is the easiest part to prepare Use Figures and Tables as much as you can

Structure of result section Descriptive data Describe your patients regarding various baseline variables Age, Gender, etc. You can use Tables to give these information in a compact way If you have several groups which are of importance (case and controls) mention how comparable are these groups regarding the independent variables

Structure of result section Descriptive data If you have a small sample refer to the patients as Number 1 or 2, etc. Baseline characteristics Age, gender, Height, etc Outcome variables Survival, detection rate, FBS, etc For categorical variables use percentage and for continuous variables use mean ±SD Remember to give the exact number of patients instead of percentage alone Mention the dropped out patients and the cause of that

Structure of results section Analytic data Mention if the groups of your study are or are not statistically different regarding your main variables you want to measure (for example survival in case and controls, FBS after a new drug consumption in case and controls, etc).

Structure of results section Analytic data Start with simple univariate analysis an go on to multivariate one If the variables are too many use Tables and figure Tables if you want to give exact values Figures if the exact values are not that important Do not duplicate the tables data in the text Text, tables, and figures should complement each other

Tables Always refer to the information for authors section of the journal Use them for Summarizing the data Instead of text For case series

Tables Title Should be interpretable by its own The reader should not be required to refer to text for understanding the table. Give the unnecessary details (such as dose, abbreviations, etc in the footnote of the table)

Tables Usually the first column has the heading of each row The first row has the heading for each column Identify the groups completely do not use group A, B, etc

Tables Always cite the table in the text Do not use vertical lines Identify statistically significant p-values by * Use enough distance between columns and rows Sometimes percentage can also be used in the tables

Tables No empty cell should be present Use – or some other symbol for these cells and give the reason why they are empty in the footnote Identify the order of footnotes by *,†,‡,§,║,¶ Use the insert symbol command of the word

Types of tables Tables listing some information For example the inclusion and exclusion criteria

Types of tables Tables giving the characteristics of the patients

Types of tables Tables giving comparisons between some groups

Group work Design the table shown on the wall yourself using your computer

Figures Very useful for conveying some notions Very time consuming Refer to the information for authors of the journal

Figure Figure legends Number the figures consequently and always cite them in the text Explain the different parts of the figure (top, bottom, arrows, hollow arrows, etc) You should have informed consent from a patient if you want to use his/her name Cover the eyes or blur them

Types of figures Photos Patients, radiographies, etc. Some radiographies are digital such as nuclear medicine images, CT, MRI, etc Use these digital photos

Types of figures Diagrams To show sampling, patients follow up, pedigree, etc. Can be designed by word or powerpoint

Types of figures Charts Scatter plots Bar charts Box plots Line charts

Scatter plots Used to show the correlation between two variables

Box plots If you want to give mean and confidence intervals of several groups for comparison

Bar charts To give several groups and subgroups for comparison

Some tips Use the horizontal axis for independent and vertical axis for dependent variable Give each axis a name and its unit of measurement Always use your computer to prepare your figures if you could

Permission for reproducing figures and tables Get the permission from the copyright holder This is usually the publisher Sometimes you can e.mail the responsible person in this regard.

Group work Ask for permission to reproduce and image from a publisher