The hypothesis and benefits of the study should also be described, although if space is short these could be included in the main text. Methods The setting, study population, selection of subjects for the study and research design should also be included. If space allows, the analytical techniques and statistical tests can also be described sufficiently to allow the reader to assess the rigour of the methods. This is likely to be the longest section. Give the number and type of observations made during the study and summarise the key findings, including details of any statistical test results.
Precision is important.
For example, rather than stating that 'the two groups differed significantly', say by how much they differed and how significant the result was. If necessary, prune the methods and expand the results. This section may be expendable if space is very short. In any case, it should be kept brief. State whether the hypothesis was proven, and highlight the importance of the work.