使用jQuery通过JSON显示数据的最佳方式

i am trying to find the best way to display results on my page via an Ajax call using jQuery, do you think the best way is to pass it as JSON or plain text? I have worked with ajax calls before, but not sure which is preferred over the other and for the JSON version what is the best way to read from a JSON file generated by a PHP page to display my results.i am trying to find the best way to display res