Theoretical Research

Thomas W. Edgar, David O. Manz, in Research Methods for Cyber Security, 2017

Proofs and Theorems
A theoretical research paper’s results are the proofs and theorems generated. You should not
document every proof; only highlight significant or interesting proofs as theorems. If it is
necessary to build up a theorem then you need to specify any necessary lemmata. Often the
contribution is the development and explanation of the theory. However, sometimes a theory
can be exercised to produce or highlight results that are worth sharing with the wider
audience. Often this is in the form of a model or simulation; see Chapter 8, Using Simulation
for Research, for further details.
In the results section of your paper, explain what you found after you performed your
analysis. Creating tables to show results is an efficient and effective method. You can also
show pictures of interesting results, that is if a data anomaly occurred or to display the
distributions of the data samples. Regardless of whether or not you are generating datasets,
you should make sure and explain the impact, implications, and reach of the theoretical
research. Are there any limitations of scope, impact, applicability, and so on.