Language use for analysing data

In analysing data, you need to interpret and evaluate your results. This usually involves summarising, comparing (and/or contrasting) and evaluating each of your key findings. It is important to show how your findings relate to your literature review and/or the research questions you wish to answer.

Here are some examples of the language used for analysing data.

When analysing data, it is important to point out key trends and findings. To make this clear to your reader, you can use signposting phrases that indicate why the findings are important and how they contribute to your argument.
The sentences below give examples of different signposting words and phrases (the text in bold) that can be used to indicate why findings are important to your reader.
- The results suggest that minority groups use social media to develop their sense of belonging to a community.
- The findings of this study allow for a conclusion that cows’ higher milk yields were associated with a positive relationship between farmers and their cows.
- The analysis demonstrates a strong correlation between the time an individual spends running and their body fat.
- This paper concludes by arguing that it is more cost efficient to build new railways with modern technologies for regional areas, rather than investing in innovating the current old rail systems.
- This aspect of the data suggests that tourists often share more photos of people posing than photos of surroundings.
- Overall, our results demonstrate two things. First, students’ immersion in another culture can boost their confidence to step out of their comfort zone. Second, students’ exposure to real life situations in their study abroad sojourn can enhance their empathy and open-mindedness.
- The key findings that emerge from this research are the importance of students’ direct connections with host communities and increased knowledge about the country in shaping their employability and career orientations.
Identifying the similarities and differences between the findings of different sources, as well as your own findings is an effective way of demonstrating your critical thinking skills.
The sentences below give examples of different words and phrases you can use (the text in bold) to demonstrate similarity or difference.
Comparing similar ideas:
- Our results support previous findings (Stevenson, 2019).
- The experiment’s values are not dissimilar from Hayden’s (2015) findings which report further tailoring plans to a client’s age care preferences after the initial care planning process.
- This finding is well in line with Kearn’s (2018) study and confirms our previous results (Tran & Do, 2020) that mentoring can help students navigate their future careers.
- These values in the control group concurred favourably/satisfactorily/well with Deardorff’s (2009) findings and further strengthened the concept/framework of enhancing intercultural competences for student’s study mobility.
- Overall, these findings are in accordance with results reported by Coulson (2020).
- A similar conclusion to Sato (2020)’s study was reached, that the no-damage approach to discipline could improve children’s behaviour.
- The results directly confirm previous findings (Kelly, 2015; Kiraly, 2017).
- These basic findings are consistent with existing research (Yorkie, 2000), showing that those students who choose to study in a less culturally similar country are likely to articulate a career direction related to their host community.
Contrasting different ideas:
- Our findings appeared to contradict previous results, with much lower values in the experimental group than those reported by Makar (2020).
- These results disproved earlier findings in the literature (Lendner, 2015; Yamaguchi & Matsuo, 2019).
- In disagreement with/in contrast to existing findings (Kasugai, 2009), we found that changes in long bones during development differ between the two groups.
- Despite this slight discordance/disagreement with the findings of Matveev (2014), Yamazaki (2015), and Thomas (2018), it could nevertheless/would be justified to argue that the effects of yoga on sleep are similar to those of sleeping pills.
- This research has not confirmed the existing study. The findings showed no significant difference between X and Y.
- These findings prove some non-alignment with the patterns reported in the literature.
Explicitly stating how your study contributes to the existing body of academic literature is helpful for clearly stating the significance of your findings.
The sentences below give examples of different words and phrases you can use (the text in bold) to demonstrate contributions to the literature.
- This study contributes to the literature by providing a cutting-edge solution for plant nutrients in tropical climates.
- This study strengthens the growing existing body of scholarly work on student virtual mobility in higher education.
- Our study has created a blueprint for a new way of designing small-spaced apartments.
- This study has contributed to the literature by devising a new method/procedure to graft plants.
- These findings made a compelling contribution to the literature by providing the evidence base for the impacts of different weather features on the quality of honey from bees.
- Our experimental values enhance the existing literature on the new approach to measure aluminium density.
To complete your analysis of the data you have examined, it is appropriate to identify limitations and gaps in the existing research and suggest how they might be addressed in future research.
The sentences below give examples of different words and phrases you can use (the text in bold) to identify gaps and limitations and provide recommendations for future research.
- Further research needs to consider/investigate whether social media use could have any impact on acculturation processes.
- Future experimental studies/investigations are necessary to validate the conclusions of this research.
- As also recommended above, future study should be implemented in these areas: effects of minorities’ willingness to adapt and minorities’ relationship with the host society on acculturation processes.
- Future studies should aim to replicate these results on a larger scale to determine if there is any correlation between interactions with cows and cows’ milk yield.
- This research has raised many interesting directions for further investigation.
- Future research should be devoted to the enhancement of the learning experience through the Students as Partners model.
- Future experiments in this area are recommended to apply and test the function of this tool kit.
- This assumption is encouraging and should be investigated on a wider scope.

Check your understanding View

After you have written about your data, think and reflect on the sections that are descriptive, analytical and interpretive. What do you notice? What are the aims of the sections? Do you need more analysis than just description? If so, you will need to edit your writing to address this in your next draft.

Bertenshaw, C. & Rowlinson, B. (2009). Exploring stock managers’ perceptions of the human-animal relationship on dairy farms and an association with milk production. Anthrozoös, 22(1), 59–69. https://doi.org/10.2752/175303708X390473
Bhattacharya, K. (2017). Fundamentals of qualitative research: A practical guide. New York: Routledge.
Konijn, E., Sluimer, N., & Mitas, O. (2016). Click to share: Patterns in tourist photography and sharing. The International Journal of Tourism Research, 18(6), 525–535. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2069
Porter, M. L., Wildenschild, D., Grant, G., Gerhard, J. (2010). Measurement and prediction of the relationship between capillary pressure, saturation, and interfacial area in a NAPL‐water‐glass bead system. Water Resource Research, 46(W08512), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR007786
Wallwork, A. (2011). English for writing research papers. New York: Springer.
Wetcher-Hendricks, D. (2011). Analyzing quantitative data: An introduction for social researchers. John Wiley & Sons Incorporated.

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Language use for analysing data

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