Duke University

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

ECE 110L: Fundamentals of ECE

Huettel, Ybarra, Coonley

Writing an Effective Analysis and Discussion Section

Analysis and Discussion is the fourth section of a formal laboratory report, following the
Abstract, Introduction, and Experimental Procedure and Results. This section is arguably the
most essential section of a laboratory report. The Analysis and Discussion section is where
thoughtful consideration and critical refection on the experiments and simulations you have
done is presented. This should go beyond simply answering the questions posed in the
laboratory manual (although this is necessary). Comment on what you learned in performing
the experiment, both through what went right and, perhaps more importantly, what went
wrong. Full credit will only be given to Analysis and Discussion sections that demonstrate
independent thought and evidence of a critical evaluation of the experiment and its
results.

A careful and thorough analysis of all parts of the laboratory should be included here. In some
laboratory exercises you will be required to perform theoretical calculations. This section is
where you are to present those equations and their solutions, as appropriate. Often, you will
need to make use of experimental data from the previous section to support the calculations
presented here.

You are also to compare theoretical, experimental, and simulation results as appropriate in
this section. Most measurements will contain some error (difference between theoretical and
measured values). Always calculate percent error and then describe possible or known sources
of the error. Often, a table is the best way to present this data.

An effective Analysis and Discussion section addresses the following1:

1. What do your observations mean?

 Summarize the most important findings at the beginning.

2. What conclusions can you draw?

For each major result:
 Describe the patterns, principles, relationships your results show.
 Explain how your results relate to expectations and to literature cited in the
Introduction. Do they agree, contradict, or are they exceptions to the rule?
 Explain (plausibly) any agreements, contradictions, or exceptions.
 Describe what additional research/experimentation might resolve
contradictions or explain exceptions.

3. How do your results fit into a broader context?

 Suggest the theoretical implications of your results.

© 02.19.2013 Huettel, Ybarra, Coonley

  Suggest practical applications of your results.
 Extend your findings to other situations.
 Give the bigger picture: Do your findings help one understand a broader
topic?

You might also consider the following tips1:

 Move from specific to general: Your findings  literature, theory, practice.

 Don’t ignore or bury the major issue. Did the study achieve the goal (resolve the
problem, answer the question, support the hypothesis) presented in the Introduction?
 Make explanations complete.
o Give evidence for each conclusion.
o Discuss possible reasons for expected and unexpected results.
 Avoid the following:
o Don’t overgeneralize.
o Don’t ignore deviations in your data.
o Avoid speculation that cannot be tested in the foreseeable future.

1
This material was adapted from the University of Wisconsin – Madison Writing Center and is available in its
original form at: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/SciRep_Intro.html

© 02.19.2013 Huettel, Ybarra, Coonley