How To Write Significance of the Study (With Examples)
Whether you’re writing a research paper or thesis, a portion called Significance of the Study ensures your readers understand the impact of your work. Learn how to effectively write this vital part of your research paper or thesis through our detailed steps, guidelines, and examples.
Related: How to Write a Concept Paper for Academic Research
Table of Contents
What is the significance of the study.
The Significance of the Study presents the importance of your research. It allows you to prove the study’s impact on your field of research, the new knowledge it contributes, and the people who will benefit from it.
Related: How To Write Scope and Delimitation of a Research Paper (With Examples)
Where Should I Put the Significance of the Study?
The Significance of the Study is part of the first chapter or the Introduction. It comes after the research’s rationale, problem statement, and hypothesis.
Related: How to Make Conceptual Framework (with Examples and Templates)
Why Should I Include the Significance of the Study?
The purpose of the Significance of the Study is to give you space to explain to your readers how exactly your research will be contributing to the literature of the field you are studying 1 . It’s where you explain why your research is worth conducting and its significance to the community, the people, and various institutions.
How To Write Significance of the Study: 5 Steps
Below are the steps and guidelines for writing your research’s Significance of the Study.
1. Use Your Research Problem as a Starting Point
Your problem statement can provide clues to your research study’s outcome and who will benefit from it 2 .
Ask yourself, “How will the answers to my research problem be beneficial?”. In this manner, you will know how valuable it is to conduct your study.
Let’s say your research problem is “What is the level of effectiveness of the lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) in lowering the blood glucose level of Swiss mice (Mus musculus)?”
Discovering a positive correlation between the use of lemongrass and lower blood glucose level may lead to the following results:
- Increased public understanding of the plant’s medical properties;
- Higher appreciation of the importance of lemongrass by the community;
- Adoption of lemongrass tea as a cheap, readily available, and natural remedy to lower their blood glucose level.
Once you’ve zeroed in on the general benefits of your study, it’s time to break it down into specific beneficiaries.
2. State How Your Research Will Contribute to the Existing Literature in the Field
Think of the things that were not explored by previous studies. Then, write how your research tackles those unexplored areas. Through this, you can convince your readers that you are studying something new and adding value to the field.
3. Explain How Your Research Will Benefit Society
In this part, tell how your research will impact society. Think of how the results of your study will change something in your community.
For example, in the study about using lemongrass tea to lower blood glucose levels, you may indicate that through your research, the community will realize the significance of lemongrass and other herbal plants. As a result, the community will be encouraged to promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants.
4. Mention the Specific Persons or Institutions Who Will Benefit From Your Study
Using the same example above, you may indicate that this research’s results will benefit those seeking an alternative supplement to prevent high blood glucose levels.
5. Indicate How Your Study May Help Future Studies in the Field
You must also specifically indicate how your research will be part of the literature of your field and how it will benefit future researchers. In our example above, you may indicate that through the data and analysis your research will provide, future researchers may explore other capabilities of herbal plants in preventing different diseases.
Tips and Warnings
- Think ahead . By visualizing your study in its complete form, it will be easier for you to connect the dots and identify the beneficiaries of your research.
- Write concisely. Make it straightforward, clear, and easy to understand so that the readers will appreciate the benefits of your research. Avoid making it too long and wordy.
- Go from general to specific . Like an inverted pyramid, you start from above by discussing the general contribution of your study and become more specific as you go along. For instance, if your research is about the effect of remote learning setup on the mental health of college students of a specific university , you may start by discussing the benefits of the research to society, to the educational institution, to the learning facilitators, and finally, to the students.
- Seek help . For example, you may ask your research adviser for insights on how your research may contribute to the existing literature. If you ask the right questions, your research adviser can point you in the right direction.
- Revise, revise, revise. Be ready to apply necessary changes to your research on the fly. Unexpected things require adaptability, whether it’s the respondents or variables involved in your study. There’s always room for improvement, so never assume your work is done until you have reached the finish line.
Significance of the Study Examples
This section presents examples of the Significance of the Study using the steps and guidelines presented above.
Example 1: STEM-Related Research
Research Topic: Level of Effectiveness of the Lemongrass ( Cymbopogon citratus ) Tea in Lowering the Blood Glucose Level of Swiss Mice ( Mus musculus ).
Significance of the Study .
This research will provide new insights into the medicinal benefit of lemongrass ( Cymbopogon citratus ), specifically on its hypoglycemic ability.
Through this research, the community will further realize promoting medicinal plants, especially lemongrass, as a preventive measure against various diseases. People and medical institutions may also consider lemongrass tea as an alternative supplement against hyperglycemia.
Moreover, the analysis presented in this study will convey valuable information for future research exploring the medicinal benefits of lemongrass and other medicinal plants.
Example 2: Business and Management-Related Research
Research Topic: A Comparative Analysis of Traditional and Social Media Marketing of Small Clothing Enterprises.
Significance of the Study:
By comparing the two marketing strategies presented by this research, there will be an expansion on the current understanding of the firms on these marketing strategies in terms of cost, acceptability, and sustainability. This study presents these marketing strategies for small clothing enterprises, giving them insights into which method is more appropriate and valuable for them.
Specifically, this research will benefit start-up clothing enterprises in deciding which marketing strategy they should employ. Long-time clothing enterprises may also consider the result of this research to review their current marketing strategy.
Furthermore, a detailed presentation on the comparison of the marketing strategies involved in this research may serve as a tool for further studies to innovate the current method employed in the clothing Industry.
Example 3: Social Science -Related Research.
Research Topic: Divide Et Impera : An Overview of How the Divide-and-Conquer Strategy Prevailed on Philippine Political History.
Significance of the Study :
Through the comprehensive exploration of this study on Philippine political history, the influence of the Divide et Impera, or political decentralization, on the political discernment across the history of the Philippines will be unraveled, emphasized, and scrutinized. Moreover, this research will elucidate how this principle prevailed until the current political theatre of the Philippines.
In this regard, this study will give awareness to society on how this principle might affect the current political context. Moreover, through the analysis made by this study, political entities and institutions will have a new approach to how to deal with this principle by learning about its influence in the past.
In addition, the overview presented in this research will push for new paradigms, which will be helpful for future discussion of the Divide et Impera principle and may lead to a more in-depth analysis.
Example 4: Humanities-Related Research
Research Topic: Effectiveness of Meditation on Reducing the Anxiety Levels of College Students.
Significance of the Study:
This research will provide new perspectives in approaching anxiety issues of college students through meditation.
Specifically, this research will benefit the following:
Community – this study spreads awareness on recognizing anxiety as a mental health concern and how meditation can be a valuable approach to alleviating it.
Academic Institutions and Administrators – through this research, educational institutions and administrators may promote programs and advocacies regarding meditation to help students deal with their anxiety issues.
Mental health advocates – the result of this research will provide valuable information for the advocates to further their campaign on spreading awareness on dealing with various mental health issues, including anxiety, and how to stop stigmatizing those with mental health disorders.
Parents – this research may convince parents to consider programs involving meditation that may help the students deal with their anxiety issues.
Students will benefit directly from this research as its findings may encourage them to consider meditation to lower anxiety levels.
Future researchers – this study covers information involving meditation as an approach to reducing anxiety levels. Thus, the result of this study can be used for future discussions on the capabilities of meditation in alleviating other mental health concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. what is the difference between the significance of the study and the rationale of the study.
Both aim to justify the conduct of the research. However, the Significance of the Study focuses on the specific benefits of your research in the field, society, and various people and institutions. On the other hand, the Rationale of the Study gives context on why the researcher initiated the conduct of the study.
Let’s take the research about the Effectiveness of Meditation in Reducing Anxiety Levels of College Students as an example. Suppose you are writing about the Significance of the Study. In that case, you must explain how your research will help society, the academic institution, and students deal with anxiety issues through meditation. Meanwhile, for the Rationale of the Study, you may state that due to the prevalence of anxiety attacks among college students, you’ve decided to make it the focal point of your research work.
2. What is the difference between Justification and the Significance of the Study?
In Justification, you express the logical reasoning behind the conduct of the study. On the other hand, the Significance of the Study aims to present to your readers the specific benefits your research will contribute to the field you are studying, community, people, and institutions.
Suppose again that your research is about the Effectiveness of Meditation in Reducing the Anxiety Levels of College Students. Suppose you are writing the Significance of the Study. In that case, you may state that your research will provide new insights and evidence regarding meditation’s ability to reduce college students’ anxiety levels. Meanwhile, you may note in the Justification that studies are saying how people used meditation in dealing with their mental health concerns. You may also indicate how meditation is a feasible approach to managing anxiety using the analysis presented by previous literature.
3. How should I start my research’s Significance of the Study section?
– This research will contribute… – The findings of this research… – This study aims to… – This study will provide… – Through the analysis presented in this study… – This study will benefit…
Moreover, you may start the Significance of the Study by elaborating on the contribution of your research in the field you are studying.
4. What is the difference between the Purpose of the Study and the Significance of the Study?
The Purpose of the Study focuses on why your research was conducted, while the Significance of the Study tells how the results of your research will benefit anyone.
Suppose your research is about the Effectiveness of Lemongrass Tea in Lowering the Blood Glucose Level of Swiss Mice . You may include in your Significance of the Study that the research results will provide new information and analysis on the medical ability of lemongrass to solve hyperglycemia. Meanwhile, you may include in your Purpose of the Study that your research wants to provide a cheaper and natural way to lower blood glucose levels since commercial supplements are expensive.
5. What is the Significance of the Study in Tagalog?
In Filipino research, the Significance of the Study is referred to as Kahalagahan ng Pag-aaral.
- Draft your Significance of the Study. Retrieved 18 April 2021, from http://dissertationedd.usc.edu/draft-your-significance-of-the-study.html
- Regoniel, P. (2015). Two Tips on How to Write the Significance of the Study. Retrieved 18 April 2021, from https://simplyeducate.me/2015/02/09/significance-of-the-study/
Written by Jewel Kyle Fabula
in Career and Education , Juander How
Jewel Kyle Fabula
Jewel Kyle Fabula graduated Cum Laude with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is also a nominee for the 2023 Gerardo Sicat Award for Best Undergraduate Thesis in Economics. He is currently a freelance content writer with writing experience related to technology, artificial intelligence, ergonomic products, and education. Kyle loves cats, mathematics, playing video games, and listening to music.
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How To Write a Significance Statement for Your Research
A significance statement is an essential part of a research paper. It explains the importance and relevance of the study to the academic community and the world at large. To write a compelling significance statement, identify the research problem, explain why it is significant, provide evidence of its importance, and highlight its potential impact on future research, policy, or practice. A well-crafted significance statement should effectively communicate the value of the research to readers and help them understand why it matters.
Updated on May 4, 2023
A significance statement is a clearly stated, non-technical paragraph that explains why your research matters. It’s central in making the public aware of and gaining support for your research.
Write it in jargon-free language that a reader from any field can understand. Well-crafted, easily readable significance statements can improve your chances for citation and impact and make it easier for readers outside your field to find and understand your work.
Read on for more details on what a significance statement is, how it can enhance the impact of your research, and, of course, how to write one.
What is a significance statement in research?
A significance statement answers the question: How will your research advance scientific knowledge and impact society at large (as well as specific populations)?
You might also see it called a “Significance of the study” statement. Some professional organizations in the STEM sciences and social sciences now recommended that journals in their disciplines make such statements a standard feature of each published article. Funding agencies also consider “significance” a key criterion for their awards.
Read some examples of significance statements from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) here .
Depending upon the specific journal or funding agency’s requirements, your statement may be around 100 words and answer these questions:
1. What’s the purpose of this research?
2. What are its key findings?
3. Why do they matter?
4. Who benefits from the research results?
Readers will want to know: “What is interesting or important about this research?” Keep asking yourself that question.
Where to place the significance statement in your manuscript
Most journals ask you to place the significance statement before or after the abstract, so check with each journal’s guide.
This article is focused on the formal significance statement, even though you’ll naturally highlight your project’s significance elsewhere in your manuscript. (In the introduction, you’ll set out your research aims, and in the conclusion, you’ll explain the potential applications of your research and recommend areas for future research. You’re building an overall case for the value of your work.)
Developing the significance statement
The main steps in planning and developing your statement are to assess the gaps to which your study contributes, and then define your work’s implications and impact.
Identify what gaps your study fills and what it contributes
Your literature review was a big part of how you planned your study. To develop your research aims and objectives, you identified gaps or unanswered questions in the preceding research and designed your study to address them.
Go back to that lit review and look at those gaps again. Review your research proposal to refresh your memory. Ask:
- How have my research findings advanced knowledge or provided notable new insights?
- How has my research helped to prove (or disprove) a hypothesis or answer a research question?
- Why are those results important?
Consider your study’s potential impact at two levels:
- What contribution does my research make to my field?
- How does it specifically contribute to knowledge; that is, who will benefit the most from it?
Define the implications and potential impact
As you make notes, keep the reasons in mind for why you are writing this statement. Whom will it impact, and why?
The first audience for your significance statement will be journal reviewers when you submit your article for publishing. Many journals require one for manuscript submissions. Study the author’s guide of your desired journal to see its criteria ( here’s an example ). Peer reviewers who can clearly understand the value of your research will be more likely to recommend publication.
Second, when you apply for funding, your significance statement will help justify why your research deserves a grant from a funding agency . The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), for example, wants to see that a project will “exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved.” Clear, simple language is always valuable because not all reviewers will be specialists in your field.
Third, this concise statement about your study’s importance can affect how potential readers engage with your work. Science journalists and interested readers can promote and spread your work, enhancing your reputation and influence. Help them understand your work.
You’re now ready to express the importance of your research clearly and concisely. Time to start writing.
How to write a significance statement: Key elements
When drafting your statement, focus on both the content and writing style.
- In terms of content, emphasize the importance, timeliness, and relevance of your research results.
- Write the statement in plain, clear language rather than scientific or technical jargon. Your audience will include not just your fellow scientists but also non-specialists like journalists, funding reviewers, and members of the public.
Follow the process we outline below to build a solid, well-crafted, and informative statement.
Get started
Some suggested opening lines to help you get started might be:
- The implications of this study are…
- Building upon previous contributions, our study moves the field forward because…
- Our study furthers previous understanding about…
Alternatively, you may start with a statement about the phenomenon you’re studying, leading to the problem statement.
Include these components
Next, draft some sentences that include the following elements. A good example, which we’ll use here, is a significance statement by Rogers et al. (2022) published in the Journal of Climate .
1. Briefly situate your research study in its larger context . Start by introducing the topic, leading to a problem statement. Here’s an example:
‘Heatwaves pose a major threat to human health, ecosystems, and human systems.”
2. State the research problem.
“Simultaneous heatwaves affecting multiple regions can exacerbate such threats. For example, multiple food-producing regions simultaneously undergoing heat-related crop damage could drive global food shortages.”
3. Tell what your study does to address it.
“We assess recent changes in the occurrence of simultaneous large heatwaves.”
4. Provide brief but powerful evidence to support the claims your statement is making , Use quantifiable terms rather than vague ones (e.g., instead of “This phenomenon is happening now more than ever,” see below how Rogers et al. (2022) explained it). This evidence intensifies and illustrates the problem more vividly:
“Such simultaneous heatwaves are 7 times more likely now than 40 years ago. They are also hotter and affect a larger area. Their increasing occurrence is mainly driven by warming baseline temperatures due to global heating, but changes in weather patterns contribute to disproportionate increases over parts of Europe, the eastern United States, and Asia.
5. Relate your study’s impact to the broader context , starting with its general significance to society—then, when possible, move to the particular as you name specific applications of your research findings. (Our example lacks this second level of application.)
“Better understanding the drivers of weather pattern changes is therefore important for understanding future concurrent heatwave characteristics and their impacts.”
Refine your English
Don’t understate or overstate your findings – just make clear what your study contributes. When you have all the elements in place, review your draft to simplify and polish your language. Even better, get an expert AJE edit . Be sure to use “plain” language rather than academic jargon.
- Avoid acronyms, scientific jargon, and technical terms
- Use active verbs in your sentence structure rather than passive voice (e.g., instead of “It was found that...”, use “We found...”)
- Make sentence structures short, easy to understand – readable
- Try to address only one idea in each sentence and keep sentences within 25 words (15 words is even better)
- Eliminate nonessential words and phrases (“fluff” and wordiness)
Enhance your significance statement’s impact
Always take time to review your draft multiple times. Make sure that you:
- Keep your language focused
- Provide evidence to support your claims
- Relate the significance to the broader research context in your field
After revising your significance statement, request feedback from a reading mentor about how to make it even clearer. If you’re not a native English speaker, seek help from a native-English-speaking colleague or use an editing service like AJE to make sure your work is at a native level.
Understanding the significance of your study
Your readers may have much less interest than you do in the specific details of your research methods and measures. Many readers will scan your article to learn how your findings might apply to them and their own research.
Different types of significance
Your findings may have different types of significance, relevant to different populations or fields of study for different reasons. You can emphasize your work’s statistical, clinical, or practical significance. Editors or reviewers in the social sciences might also evaluate your work’s social or political significance.
Statistical significance means that the results are unlikely to have occurred randomly. Instead, it implies a true cause-and-effect relationship.
Clinical significance means that your findings are applicable for treating patients and improving quality of life.
Practical significance is when your research outcomes are meaningful to society at large, in the “real world.” Practical significance is usually measured by the study’s effect size . Similarly, evaluators may attribute social or political significance to research that addresses “real and immediate” social problems.
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What is the Significance of a Study? Examples and Guide
If you’re reading this post you’re probably wondering: what is the significance of a study?
No matter where you’re at with a piece of research, it is a good idea to think about the potential significance of your work. And sometimes you’ll have to explicitly write a statement of significance in your papers, it addition to it forming part of your thesis.
In this post I’ll cover what the significance of a study is, how to measure it, how to describe it with examples and add in some of my own experiences having now worked in research for over nine years.
If you’re reading this because you’re writing up your first paper, welcome! You may also like my how-to guide for all aspects of writing your first research paper .
Looking for guidance on writing the statement of significance for a paper or thesis? Click here to skip straight to that section.
What is the Significance of a Study?
For research papers, theses or dissertations it’s common to explicitly write a section describing the significance of the study. We’ll come onto what to include in that section in just a moment.
However the significance of a study can actually refer to several different things.
Working our way from the most technical to the broadest, depending on the context, the significance of a study may refer to:
- Within your study: Statistical significance. Can we trust the findings?
- Wider research field: Research significance. How does your study progress the field?
- Commercial / economic significance: Could there be business opportunities for your findings?
- Societal significance: What impact could your study have on the wider society.
- And probably other domain-specific significance!
We’ll shortly cover each of them in turn, including how they’re measured and some examples for each type of study significance.
But first, let’s touch on why you should consider the significance of your research at an early stage.
Why Care About the Significance of a Study?
No matter what is motivating you to carry out your research, it is sensible to think about the potential significance of your work. In the broadest sense this asks, how does the study contribute to the world?
After all, for many people research is only worth doing if it will result in some expected significance. For the vast majority of us our studies won’t be significant enough to reach the evening news, but most studies will help to enhance knowledge in a particular field and when research has at least some significance it makes for a far more fulfilling longterm pursuit.
Furthermore, a lot of us are carrying out research funded by the public. It therefore makes sense to keep an eye on what benefits the work could bring to the wider community.
Often in research you’ll come to a crossroads where you must decide which path of research to pursue. Thinking about the potential benefits of a strand of research can be useful for deciding how to spend your time, money and resources.
It’s worth noting though, that not all research activities have to work towards obvious significance. This is especially true while you’re a PhD student, where you’re figuring out what you enjoy and may simply be looking for an opportunity to learn a new skill.
However, if you’re trying to decide between two potential projects, it can be useful to weigh up the potential significance of each.
Let’s now dive into the different types of significance, starting with research significance.
Research Significance
What is the research significance of a study.
Unless someone specifies which type of significance they’re referring to, it is fair to assume that they want to know about the research significance of your study.
Research significance describes how your work has contributed to the field, how it could inform future studies and progress research.
Where should I write about my study’s significance in my thesis?
Typically you should write about your study’s significance in the Introduction and Conclusions sections of your thesis.
It’s important to mention it in the Introduction so that the relevance of your work and the potential impact and benefits it could have on the field are immediately apparent. Explaining why your work matters will help to engage readers (and examiners!) early on.
It’s also a good idea to detail the study’s significance in your Conclusions section. This adds weight to your findings and helps explain what your study contributes to the field.
On occasion you may also choose to include a brief description in your Abstract.
What is expected when submitting an article to a journal
It is common for journals to request a statement of significance, although this can sometimes be called other things such as:
- Impact statement
- Significance statement
- Advances in knowledge section
Here is one such example of what is expected:
Impact Statement: An Impact Statement is required for all submissions. Your impact statement will be evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief, Global Editors, and appropriate Associate Editor. For your manuscript to receive full review, the editors must be convinced that it is an important advance in for the field. The Impact Statement is not a restating of the abstract. It should address the following: Why is the work submitted important to the field? How does the work submitted advance the field? What new information does this work impart to the field? How does this new information impact the field? Experimental Biology and Medicine journal, author guidelines
Typically the impact statement will be shorter than the Abstract, around 150 words.
Defining the study’s significance is helpful not just for the impact statement (if the journal asks for one) but also for building a more compelling argument throughout your submission. For instance, usually you’ll start the Discussion section of a paper by highlighting the research significance of your work. You’ll also include a short description in your Abstract too.
How to describe the research significance of a study, with examples
Whether you’re writing a thesis or a journal article, the approach to writing about the significance of a study are broadly the same.
I’d therefore suggest using the questions above as a starting point to base your statements on.
- Why is the work submitted important to the field?
- How does the work submitted advance the field?
- What new information does this work impart to the field?
- How does this new information impact the field?
Answer those questions and you’ll have a much clearer idea of the research significance of your work.
When describing it, try to clearly state what is novel about your study’s contribution to the literature. Then go on to discuss what impact it could have on progressing the field along with recommendations for future work.
Potential sentence starters
If you’re not sure where to start, why not set a 10 minute timer and have a go at trying to finish a few of the following sentences. Not sure on what to put? Have a chat to your supervisor or lab mates and they may be able to suggest some ideas.
- This study is important to the field because…
- These findings advance the field by…
- Our results highlight the importance of…
- Our discoveries impact the field by…
Now you’ve had a go let’s have a look at some real life examples.
Statement of significance examples
A statement of significance / impact:
Impact Statement This review highlights the historical development of the concept of “ideal protein” that began in the 1950s and 1980s for poultry and swine diets, respectively, and the major conceptual deficiencies of the long-standing concept of “ideal protein” in animal nutrition based on recent advances in amino acid (AA) metabolism and functions. Nutritionists should move beyond the “ideal protein” concept to consider optimum ratios and amounts of all proteinogenic AAs in animal foods and, in the case of carnivores, also taurine. This will help formulate effective low-protein diets for livestock, poultry, and fish, while sustaining global animal production. Because they are not only species of agricultural importance, but also useful models to study the biology and diseases of humans as well as companion (e.g. dogs and cats), zoo, and extinct animals in the world, our work applies to a more general readership than the nutritionists and producers of farm animals. Wu G, Li P. The “ideal protein” concept is not ideal in animal nutrition. Experimental Biology and Medicine . 2022;247(13):1191-1201. doi: 10.1177/15353702221082658
And the same type of section but this time called “Advances in knowledge”:
Advances in knowledge: According to the MY-RADs criteria, size measurements of focal lesions in MRI are now of relevance for response assessment in patients with monoclonal plasma cell disorders. Size changes of 1 or 2 mm are frequently observed due to uncertainty of the measurement only, while the actual focal lesion has not undergone any biological change. Size changes of at least 6 mm or more in T 1 weighted or T 2 weighted short tau inversion recovery sequences occur in only 5% or less of cases when the focal lesion has not undergone any biological change. Wennmann M, Grözinger M, Weru V, et al. Test-retest, inter- and intra-rater reproducibility of size measurements of focal bone marrow lesions in MRI in patients with multiple myeloma [published online ahead of print, 2023 Apr 12]. Br J Radiol . 2023;20220745. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20220745
Other examples of research significance
Moving beyond the formal statement of significance, here is how you can describe research significance more broadly within your paper.
Describing research impact in an Abstract of a paper:
Three-dimensional visualisation and quantification of the chondrocyte population within articular cartilage can be achieved across a field of view of several millimetres using laboratory-based micro-CT. The ability to map chondrocytes in 3D opens possibilities for research in fields from skeletal development through to medical device design and treatment of cartilage degeneration. Conclusions section of the abstract in my first paper .
In the Discussion section of a paper:
We report for the utility of a standard laboratory micro-CT scanner to visualise and quantify features of the chondrocyte population within intact articular cartilage in 3D. This study represents a complimentary addition to the growing body of evidence supporting the non-destructive imaging of the constituents of articular cartilage. This offers researchers the opportunity to image chondrocyte distributions in 3D without specialised synchrotron equipment, enabling investigations such as chondrocyte morphology across grades of cartilage damage, 3D strain mapping techniques such as digital volume correlation to evaluate mechanical properties in situ , and models for 3D finite element analysis in silico simulations. This enables an objective quantification of chondrocyte distribution and morphology in three dimensions allowing greater insight for investigations into studies of cartilage development, degeneration and repair. One such application of our method, is as a means to provide a 3D pattern in the cartilage which, when combined with digital volume correlation, could determine 3D strain gradient measurements enabling potential treatment and repair of cartilage degeneration. Moreover, the method proposed here will allow evaluation of cartilage implanted with tissue engineered scaffolds designed to promote chondral repair, providing valuable insight into the induced regenerative process. The Discussion section of the paper is laced with references to research significance.
How is longer term research significance measured?
Looking beyond writing impact statements within papers, sometimes you’ll want to quantify the long term research significance of your work. For instance when applying for jobs.
The most obvious measure of a study’s long term research significance is the number of citations it receives from future publications. The thinking is that a study which receives more citations will have had more research impact, and therefore significance , than a study which received less citations. Citations can give a broad indication of how useful the work is to other researchers but citations aren’t really a good measure of significance.
Bear in mind that us researchers can be lazy folks and sometimes are simply looking to cite the first paper which backs up one of our claims. You can find studies which receive a lot of citations simply for packaging up the obvious in a form which can be easily found and referenced, for instance by having a catchy or optimised title.
Likewise, research activity varies wildly between fields. Therefore a certain study may have had a big impact on a particular field but receive a modest number of citations, simply because not many other researchers are working in the field.
Nevertheless, citations are a standard measure of significance and for better or worse it remains impressive for someone to be the first author of a publication receiving lots of citations.
Other measures for the research significance of a study include:
- Accolades: best paper awards at conferences, thesis awards, “most downloaded” titles for articles, press coverage.
- How much follow-on research the study creates. For instance, part of my PhD involved a novel material initially developed by another PhD student in the lab. That PhD student’s research had unlocked lots of potential new studies and now lots of people in the group were using the same material and developing it for different applications. The initial study may not receive a high number of citations yet long term it generated a lot of research activity.
That covers research significance, but you’ll often want to consider other types of significance for your study and we’ll cover those next.
Statistical Significance
What is the statistical significance of a study.
Often as part of a study you’ll carry out statistical tests and then state the statistical significance of your findings: think p-values eg <0.05. It is useful to describe the outcome of these tests within your report or paper, to give a measure of statistical significance.
Effectively you are trying to show whether the performance of your innovation is actually better than a control or baseline and not just chance. Statistical significance deserves a whole other post so I won’t go into a huge amount of depth here.
Things that make publication in The BMJ impossible or unlikely Internal validity/robustness of the study • It had insufficient statistical power, making interpretation difficult; • Lack of statistical power; The British Medical Journal’s guide for authors
Calculating statistical significance isn’t always necessary (or valid) for a study, such as if you have a very small number of samples, but it is a very common requirement for scientific articles.
Writing a journal article? Check the journal’s guide for authors to see what they expect. Generally if you have approximately five or more samples or replicates it makes sense to start thinking about statistical tests. Speak to your supervisor and lab mates for advice, and look at other published articles in your field.
How is statistical significance measured?
Statistical significance is quantified using p-values . Depending on your study design you’ll choose different statistical tests to compute the p-value.
A p-value of 0.05 is a common threshold value. The 0.05 means that there is a 1/20 chance that the difference in performance you’re reporting is just down to random chance.
- p-values above 0.05 mean that the result isn’t statistically significant enough to be trusted: it is too likely that the effect you’re showing is just luck.
- p-values less than or equal to 0.05 mean that the result is statistically significant. In other words: unlikely to just be chance, which is usually considered a good outcome.
Low p-values (eg p = 0.001) mean that it is highly unlikely to be random chance (1/1000 in the case of p = 0.001), therefore more statistically significant.
It is important to clarify that, although low p-values mean that your findings are statistically significant, it doesn’t automatically mean that the result is scientifically important. More on that in the next section on research significance.
How to describe the statistical significance of your study, with examples
In the first paper from my PhD I ran some statistical tests to see if different staining techniques (basically dyes) increased how well you could see cells in cow tissue using micro-CT scanning (a 3D imaging technique).
In your methods section you should mention the statistical tests you conducted and then in the results you will have statements such as:
Between mediums for the two scan protocols C/N [contrast to noise ratio] was greater for EtOH than the PBS in both scanning methods (both p < 0.0001) with mean differences of 1.243 (95% CI [confidence interval] 0.709 to 1.778) for absorption contrast and 6.231 (95% CI 5.772 to 6.690) for propagation contrast. … Two repeat propagation scans were taken of samples from the PTA-stained groups. No difference in mean C/N was found with either medium: PBS had a mean difference of 0.058 ( p = 0.852, 95% CI -0.560 to 0.676), EtOH had a mean difference of 1.183 ( p = 0.112, 95% CI 0.281 to 2.648). From the Results section of my first paper, available here . Square brackets added for this post to aid clarity.
From this text the reader can infer from the first paragraph that there was a statistically significant difference in using EtOH compared to PBS (really small p-value of <0.0001). However, from the second paragraph, the difference between two repeat scans was statistically insignificant for both PBS (p = 0.852) and EtOH (p = 0.112).
By conducting these statistical tests you have then earned your right to make bold statements, such as these from the discussion section:
Propagation phase-contrast increases the contrast of individual chondrocytes [cartilage cells] compared to using absorption contrast. From the Discussion section from the same paper.
Without statistical tests you have no evidence that your results are not just down to random chance.
Beyond describing the statistical significance of a study in the main body text of your work, you can also show it in your figures.
In figures such as bar charts you’ll often see asterisks to represent statistical significance, and “n.s.” to show differences between groups which are not statistically significant. Here is one such figure, with some subplots, from the same paper:
In this example an asterisk (*) between two bars represents p < 0.05. Two asterisks (**) represents p < 0.001 and three asterisks (***) represents p < 0.0001. This should always be stated in the caption of your figure since the values that each asterisk refers to can vary.
Now that we know if a study is showing statistically and research significance, let’s zoom out a little and consider the potential for commercial significance.
Commercial and Industrial Significance
What are commercial and industrial significance.
Moving beyond significance in relation to academia, your research may also have commercial or economic significance.
Simply put:
- Commercial significance: could the research be commercialised as a product or service? Perhaps the underlying technology described in your study could be licensed to a company or you could even start your own business using it.
- Industrial significance: more widely than just providing a product which could be sold, does your research provide insights which may affect a whole industry? Such as: revealing insights or issues with current practices, performance gains you don’t want to commercialise (e.g. solar power efficiency), providing suggested frameworks or improvements which could be employed industry-wide.
I’ve grouped these two together because there can certainly be overlap. For instance, perhaps your new technology could be commercialised whilst providing wider improvements for the whole industry.
Commercial and industrial significance are not relevant to most studies, so only write about it if you and your supervisor can think of reasonable routes to your work having an impact in these ways.
How are commercial and industrial significance measured?
Unlike statistical and research significances, the measures of commercial and industrial significance can be much more broad.
Here are some potential measures of significance:
Commercial significance:
- How much value does your technology bring to potential customers or users?
- How big is the potential market and how much revenue could the product potentially generate?
- Is the intellectual property protectable? i.e. patentable, or if not could the novelty be protected with trade secrets: if so publish your method with caution!
- If commercialised, could the product bring employment to a geographical area?
Industrial significance:
What impact could it have on the industry? For instance if you’re revealing an issue with something, such as unintended negative consequences of a drug , what does that mean for the industry and the public? This could be:
- Reduced overhead costs
- Better safety
- Faster production methods
- Improved scaleability
How to describe the commercial and industrial significance of a study, with examples
Commercial significance.
If your technology could be commercially viable, and you’ve got an interest in commercialising it yourself, it is likely that you and your university may not want to immediately publish the study in a journal.
You’ll probably want to consider routes to exploiting the technology and your university may have a “technology transfer” team to help researchers navigate the various options.
However, if instead of publishing a paper you’re submitting a thesis or dissertation then it can be useful to highlight the commercial significance of your work. In this instance you could include statements of commercial significance such as:
The measurement technology described in this study provides state of the art performance and could enable the development of low cost devices for aerospace applications. An example of commercial significance I invented for this post
Industrial significance
First, think about the industrial sectors who could benefit from the developments described in your study.
For example if you’re working to improve battery efficiency it is easy to think of how it could lead to performance gains for certain industries, like personal electronics or electric vehicles. In these instances you can describe the industrial significance relatively easily, based off your findings.
For example:
By utilising abundant materials in the described battery fabrication process we provide a framework for battery manufacturers to reduce dependence on rare earth components. Again, an invented example
For other technologies there may well be industrial applications but they are less immediately obvious and applicable. In these scenarios the best you can do is to simply reframe your research significance statement in terms of potential commercial applications in a broad way.
As a reminder: not all studies should address industrial significance, so don’t try to invent applications just for the sake of it!
Societal Significance
What is the societal significance of a study.
The most broad category of significance is the societal impact which could stem from it.
If you’re working in an applied field it may be quite easy to see a route for your research to impact society. For others, the route to societal significance may be less immediate or clear.
Studies can help with big issues facing society such as:
- Medical applications : vaccines, surgical implants, drugs, improving patient safety. For instance this medical device and drug combination I worked on which has a very direct route to societal significance.
- Political significance : Your research may provide insights which could contribute towards potential changes in policy or better understanding of issues facing society.
- Public health : for instance COVID-19 transmission and related decisions.
- Climate change : mitigation such as more efficient solar panels and lower cost battery solutions, and studying required adaptation efforts and technologies. Also, better understanding around related societal issues, for instance this study on the effects of temperature on hate speech.
How is societal significance measured?
Societal significance at a high level can be quantified by the size of its potential societal effect. Just like a lab risk assessment, you can think of it in terms of probability (or how many people it could help) and impact magnitude.
Societal impact = How many people it could help x the magnitude of the impact
Think about how widely applicable the findings are: for instance does it affect only certain people? Then think about the potential size of the impact: what kind of difference could it make to those people?
Between these two metrics you can get a pretty good overview of the potential societal significance of your research study.
How to describe the societal significance of a study, with examples
Quite often the broad societal significance of your study is what you’re setting the scene for in your Introduction. In addition to describing the existing literature, it is common to for the study’s motivation to touch on its wider impact for society.
For those of us working in healthcare research it is usually pretty easy to see a path towards societal significance.
Our CLOUT model has state-of-the-art performance in mortality prediction, surpassing other competitive NN models and a logistic regression model … Our results show that the risk factors identified by the CLOUT model agree with physicians’ assessment, suggesting that CLOUT could be used in real-world clinicalsettings. Our results strongly support that CLOUT may be a useful tool to generate clinical prediction models, especially among hospitalized and critically ill patient populations. Learning Latent Space Representations to Predict Patient Outcomes: Model Development and Validation
In other domains the societal significance may either take longer or be more indirect, meaning that it can be more difficult to describe the societal impact.
Even so, here are some examples I’ve found from studies in non-healthcare domains:
We examined food waste as an initial investigation and test of this methodology, and there is clear potential for the examination of not only other policy texts related to food waste (e.g., liability protection, tax incentives, etc.; Broad Leib et al., 2020) but related to sustainable fishing (Worm et al., 2006) and energy use (Hawken, 2017). These other areas are of obvious relevance to climate change… AI-Based Text Analysis for Evaluating Food Waste Policies
The continued development of state-of-the art NLP tools tailored to climate policy will allow climate researchers and policy makers to extract meaningful information from this growing body of text, to monitor trends over time and administrative units, and to identify potential policy improvements. BERT Classification of Paris Agreement Climate Action Plans
Top Tips For Identifying & Writing About the Significance of Your Study
- Writing a thesis? Describe the significance of your study in the Introduction and the Conclusion .
- Submitting a paper? Read the journal’s guidelines. If you’re writing a statement of significance for a journal, make sure you read any guidance they give for what they’re expecting.
- Take a step back from your research and consider your study’s main contributions.
- Read previously published studies in your field . Use this for inspiration and ideas on how to describe the significance of your own study
- Discuss the study with your supervisor and potential co-authors or collaborators and brainstorm potential types of significance for it.
Now you’ve finished reading up on the significance of a study you may also like my how-to guide for all aspects of writing your first research paper .
Writing an academic journal paper
I hope that you’ve learned something useful from this article about the significance of a study. If you have any more research-related questions let me know, I’m here to help.
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