Formatting APS Journal Articles :: Main Text
The Discussion section is an extended summary of the study and reveals how the results relate to the relevant scientific field. The authors restate their purpose in conducting the study and highlight their most important findings. These are then compared with other studies or beliefs of the scientific community as a whole. Many times the authors state why their findings were different from other landmark studies and any potential limitations to their findings. Finally, the authors state why research into the field must continue and/or any other experiments they are planning to conduct. In terms of formatting, this section is very light. It is not unusual for there to be no headers in the Discussion at all, and all that you have to do is make sure that the paragraphs have been coded with the «p» code.
The Discussion header is a level 1 header.
Sometimes the author has a specific header entitled Conclusions or Summary. If there are no other headers at all in the Discussion section, then remove it and start the next paragraph with the words "In conclusion" or "In summary." In all other cases, keep the header and format it according to standard header style.
Perspectives present an analysis of recent research developments, directions, or new approaches and may provide a forum to examine differing theoretical viewpoints. They contain relevant supporting data and citations but do not primarily discuss the author's own work.
Always retain the Perspectives header. This is a level 2 header regardless of any other level of header in the Discussion section.