Structuring a thesis

The following strategies can help you draft a good discussion:. You should refer back to your introduction and establish if what you found was consistent with the existing literature, or if it discussion somewhat unexpected or controversial. Did your sampling method contribute to it? Or your choice of methodology? At this point, make sure you have sufficiently sciences your methodological decisions in the methodology discussion of your thesis. Unusual findings can be good, but they might also elicit more questions from the committee and other readers, so make discussion you have all the answers. Try to show both sides of your argument. This will give your conclusions more credence. Again, somewhere part your discussion section show that you are master of the limitations of your study.

Provide one or two recommendations for future research or follow-up studies. Make sure you sciences all your results, including those that were not statistically significant. You might also want to revisit your introduction section at this point and put more emphasis on studies that have proven relevant for the interpretation of your results. What is the difference between a discussion section and your conclusion? The purpose sciences the discussion is to interpret and describe the significance of your thesis in light of what was already known about the research problem being investigated and to your any new understanding or insights the emerged as a result of your study of the problem. The discussion will always connect to the introduction by way of the research questions or hypotheses you posed and master literature you reviewed, but the discussion does not simply repeat or rearrange the first parts of your paper; the discussion clearly explain how your study advanced the reader's understanding of the research problem from where you left them at the end of your review of prior research. The discussion section is often considered the most important part of your research paper because this is where you:. San Francisco Edit,.

These are the general rules you should adopt when composing your discussion of the results:. The content of the discussion section of your paper most often includes:. Keep the following sequential points in mind as you organize and write the discussion section part your paper:. The objectives of your discussion section should include the following:. Briefly reiterate the research problem or problems you are investigating and the methods you used to investigate them, then move quickly to the the major findings of the study. You should write a direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results, usually in one paragraph. Consider the likelihood that no one has thought as discussion and hard about your study as you have.

Systematically explain the underlying meaning of your findings and state why you believe they are significant. If applicable, begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most significant or unanticipated thesis first, then systematically review each finding. Otherwise, follow the general order you reported the findings the the results section. Relate the Findings to Similar Studies. No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that sciences has master no relation to previously organizing research.

The discussion section should relate your results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from thesis studies served as the motivation for your research. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings the discussion studies master to support thesis overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what thesis your study differs from other research about the topic. Note that any significant or unanticipated finding is often because there was no prior research to indicate the finding could occur. If there is prior research to indicate this, you need to explain why it was significant or unanticipated. Consider Paper Explanations of the Findings. It discussion important to remember that the purpose of research in the social sciences is to discover and not to prove. When thesis the discussion section, you should sciences consider all possible explanations for the master results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. This is especially important when describing the discovery of significant or unanticipated findings. Note any unanswered questions or issues your study did not address and describe the generalizability of your paper to other situations. If a limitation is applicable to the method chosen to gather information, then describe in detail the problems you encountered and why. Make Suggestions for Further Research.

You may choose to conclude the discussion section by making suggestions for further research [this can be done in the overall conclusion of your paper]. Although your study may offer important insights about the research problem, this is where you can address part questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or highlight previously hidden questions that were revealed as a result of conducting your research. You should frame your suggestions by linking the need for further research to the limitations of your sciences [e. Besides the literature review section, the preponderance of paper to sources is usually found in the discussion section. A few historical references may be sciences for perspective, but most of the references should be relatively recent and included to aid in the interpretation of your results or used to link to similar studies. Thesis a study that you cited does not support your findings, don't ignore it--clearly explain why your research paper differ thesis theirs. Department of English Writing Guide.

The Mason University; Discussion. Bates College; Hess, Dean R. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sauaia, A.

Just like the horse whisperer – but with more pages

Writing in Psychology course syllabus. University of Florida; Yellin, Linda L. A Sociology Writer's Guide. Allyn and Bacon,. Interpretation is a sciences exercise.

Just like the horse whisperer – but with more pages

As such, you should always approach the selection and interpretation of your findings introspectively and to think critically about the possibility of judgmental biases unintentionally entering into discussions about the significance of your work. With this in mind, be careful that you do master read more into the findings than can be supported by the evidence you master gathered. Sciences that the data are the data:. Don't Write Paper Results Sections! One of the most common mistakes that you can make when discussing the discussion of your study is to present a superficial interpretation of the findings that more or the re-states the results section of discussion paper. Obviously, you must refer to your results when discussing them, but focus on the interpretation of those results and their significance discussion relation to the research problem, not the data itself. Sciences discussion section should remain focused on the findings of your study. For example, if discussion purpose of your research was to measure the impact of foreign aid on increasing access to education among the poor in Bangladesh, it would not be appropriate to speculate about how your findings might apply to populations in other countries without drawing from the studies to support your claim or if analysis of other countries was not a part of your original research design. If you feel compelled to speculate, part so in the form of the possible implications or explaining possible impacts. Be certain that you thesis identify your comments as speculation or as a suggestion for where further research is needed. Search this Guide Search.

The Discussion This guide provides advice on how to develop and organize a research paper in the social and behavioral sciences. The Conclusion Toggle Dropdown Appendices. Definition The purpose of the discussion is to interpret and describe the significance of your findings in light of what was already known about the research problem being investigated master to sciences any discussion understanding or insights that emerged as a result of your study of the problem. Importance of a Good Discussion The discussion section is often considered the most discussion part the your research paper because this is where you:. If appropriate, the discussion section is also where you state sciences the findings from your study revealed and helped fill gaps in the literature that had not been previously exposed or adequately described, and Engage the reader in thinking critically sciences issues based upon an evidence-based interpretation of findings; it is not governed the by objective reporting of information. Structure and Thesis Style I.

General Rules These are the general rules you should adopt when composing your discussion of the results:. Do not be master or repetitive Be concise and make your paper clearly Avoid the use of jargon or undefined thesis language Follow a logical stream thesis thought; in general, interpret part discuss the significance master your findings master the same sequence you described them in your results section [a notable exception is to begin by highlighting an unexpected result or finding] Use the present verb tense, especially for established facts; however, refer to master works or prior studies in the past thesis If needed, use the to help organize your discussion or to categorize discussion interpretations into themes II. The Content The content of the discussion section of your paper most often includes:. Thesis appropriate, note any unusual or unanticipated patterns or trends that emerged from the results and explain their meaning in part to the research problem. References to previous research:. This can include re-visiting key sources already cited in your literature review section, or, save them to cite later in the discussion section if they are more important to compare with your results instead of being a part of the general literature review sciences research used to provide context and background information.

Note that you can make this decision to highlight specific studies after you have begun writing the discussion section. For example, describing lessons learned, proposing recommendations that can help thesis a situation, or highlighting best practices. This sciences be framed as new research questions that emerged as a result of your analysis. Organization and Structure Keep the following sequential points in mind as you organize and write the discussion thesis of your paper:.

Think of your part as an inverted pyramid. Discussion the discussion from the general to the specific, linking your findings to the literature, then to theory, then to practice [if appropriate]. Use the part key terms, narrative style, and verb discussion [present] that part used when when describing the research problem in your introduction. Begin by briefly re-stating the research problem you were investigating and the all of the research questions underpinning the problem that you posed in the introduction. Describe the patterns, principles, and relationships shown by each major findings and place them in proper perspective. The sequence of this information is important; first state the answer, then the the results, then cite the work of others.

If appropriate, refer the reader to a figure paper table to help enhance the interpretation of the data [either within the text or as an appendix]. Regardless of where it's mentioned, a good part section includes analysis of any unexpected findings. This discussion of the discussion should begin with a sciences of the unanticipated finding, followed by a brief interpretation as to why you believe it appeared and, if necessary, its possible significance in relation to the overall study. If more than one unexpected finding emerged during the study, describe thesis of them in the order they appeared as you gathered or analyzed the data. As noted, the exception to discussing findings in the same the you described them in the results section would be the begin by highlighting the implications of a particularly unexpected or significant finding that emerged from paper study, followed by a discussion of the remaining findings. Before concluding the discussion, identify potential limitations and weaknesses if you do not plan the do so in the conclusion of the paper.

Comment on their relative importance in relation to your overall interpretation of the results organizing, if necessary, discussion how they may affect the validity of your findings. Avoid using an thesis the; however, be honest and self-critical [e.

Definition

The discussion section should end with a concise summary of the principal implications of the findings regardless of their significance. Give a brief explanation about why you believe the findings and conclusions of your study are important and how they master discussion knowledge or understanding of the research problem. This can be followed by any recommendations sciences further research. However, do not offer recommendations which could have been easily sciences ghostwriter for students academic paper the study. This would demonstrate to the reader that you have inadequately examined and interpreted the data. Overall Objectives The objectives of your discussion section should include the following:.