DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION SECTIONGROUP 5

Discussion

Presenter: Ngọc Cẩm

Definition

This is your opportunity to highlight how your research reflects, differs from and extends current knowledge of the area in which you have chosen to carry out research.

This section is your chance to demonstrate exactly what you know about this topic by interpreting your findings and outlining what they mean.

At the end of your discussion you should have discussed all of the results that you found and provided an explanation for your findings.

Importance of a Good Discussion

• This section is often considered the most important part of a research paper because it most effectively demonstrates your ability as a researcher to think critically about an issue, to develop creative solutions to problems based on the findings, and to formulate a deeper, more profound understanding of the research problem you are studying.

• The discussion section is where you explore the underlying meaning of your research, its possible implications in other areas of study, and the possible improvements that can be made in order to further develop the concerns of your research.

• This is the section where you need to present the importance of your study and how it may be able to contribute to and/or fill existing gaps in the field. If appropriate, the discussion section is also where you state how the findings from your study revealed new gaps in the literature that had not been previously exposed or adequately described.

• This part of the paper is not strictly governed by objective reporting of information but, rather, it is where you can engage in creative thinking about issues through evidence-based interpretation of findings. This is where you infuse your results with meaning.

STRUCTURE AND WRITING STYLE FOR DISCUSSION

Presenter: Ngan Giang

General Rules

Before starting to write a discussion paper you must make sure you fully understand the question you are about to discuss.

Do not be verbose or repetitive. Be concise and make your points clearly. Avoid using jargon.

Follow a logical stream of thought. Use the present verb tense, especially for established

facts; however, refer to specific works and references in the past tense.

If needed, use subheadings to help organize your presentation or to group your interpretations into themes.

The Content

Explanation of results: comment on whether or not the results were expected and present explanations for the results; go into greater depth when explaining findings that were unexpected or especially profound. If appropriate, note any unusual or unanticipated patterns or trends that emerged from your results and explain their meaning.

References to previous research: compare your results with the findings from other studies, or use the studies to support a claim. 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 than being part of the general research you cited to provide context and background information.

Deduction: a claim for how the results can be applied more generally. For example, describing lessons learned, proposing recommendations that can help improve a situation, or recommending best practices.

Hypothesis: a more general claim or possible conclusion arising from the results [which may be proved or disproved in subsequent research].

OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE DISCUSSIONPRESENTER: DINH QUOC MINH DANG

MAIN OBJECTIVES

1. Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings

2. Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important

3. Relate the Findings to Similar Studies

4. Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings

5. Acknowledge the Study’s Limitations

6. Make Suggestions for Further Research

REITERATE THE RESEARCH PROBLEM/STATE THE MAJOR FINDINGS

Briefly reiterate for your readers the research problem or problems you are investigating and the methods you used to investigate them, then move quickly to describe the major findings of the study. You should write a direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results.

EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF THE FINDINGS AND WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT

No one has thought as long and hard about your study as you have. Systematically explain the meaning of the findings and why you believe they are important.

After reading the discussion section, you want the reader to think about the results. You don’t want to force the reader to go through the paper multiple times to figure out what it all means. Begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most important finding first.

RELATE THE FINDINGS TO SIMILAR STUDIES

No study is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to other previously published research.

The discussion section should relate your study findings to those of other studies, particularly if questions raised by previous studies served as the motivation for your study, the findings of other studies support your findings (which strengthens the importance of your study results), and/or they point out how your study differs from other similar studies.

CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

It is important to remember that the purpose of research is to DISCOVER and not to PROVE.

When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations for the study results, rather than just those that fit your prior assumptions or biases.

ACKNOWLEDGE THE STUDY’S LIMITATIONS

It is far better for you to identify and acknowledge your study’s limitations than to have them pointed out by your professor!

Describe the generalizability of your results to other situations, if applicable to the method chosen, then describe in detail problems you encountered in the method(s) you used to gather information. And you should note any unanswered questions or issues your study did not address.

MAKE SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Although your study may offer important insights about the research problem, other questions related to the problem likely remain unanswered.

Moreover, some unanswered questions may have become more focused because of your study. You should make suggestions for further research in the discussion section.

NOTE:

Besides the literature review section, the preponderance of references to sources in your research paper are usually found in the discussion section. A few historical references may be helpful for perspective but most of the references should be relatively recent and included to aid in the interpretation of your results and/or linked to similar studies. If a study that you cited disagrees with your findings, don't ignore it--clearly explain why the study's findings differ from yours

Problems to Avoid

Do not waste entire sentences restating your results.Recommendations for further research can be included in either

the discussion or conclusion of your paper (but do not repeat your recommendations in the both sections)

Do not introduce new results in the discussion. Use of the first person is acceptable, (but too much use of the first

person may actually distract the reader from the main points)

Presenter: Vo Huu Loc

Writing a Conclusion

Writing a conclusion is the final part of the research paper, drawing everything together and tying it into your initial research.

A research paper starts with a broad look at the research and narrows down to the results.

At the beginning, you looked at all of the previous research and boiled it down into a research question.

In the discussion, you assess how the results answer to this question and discuss its relevance to the existing knowledge in the field.

When writing a conclusion, you try to answer a few questions, as succinctly as possible.

Leave some questions that another researcher can expand upon for their research project.

A good research project, whatever the results, will generate leads for others to follow.

What Has Your Research Shown?

This is a very quick synopsis of the results and discussion.Involving summing up the paper and giving a very brief

description of the results, although you should not go into too much detail about this.

Anybody reading the conclusion has read the entire paper, so the conclusion merely acts as an aid to memory.

How has it added to what is known about the subject?

This is where you tie it in to the body of research highlighted in the introduction; during the course of your literature review.

You should then point out the importance of the study and point out how it relates to the field.

You can also point out how your findings can be used by readers, pointing out the benefits. Even if you did not manage to reject the null, there is always a reason for this, and something has been learned.

Presenter: Minh Sang

What were the Shortcomings?

Whilst writing the conclusion, you should highlight any deficiencies in

your methods, explaining how they may have affected your results.

This will allow the next researcher to refine the methodology and

learn from your mistakes, one of the foundations of the

scientific process.

Has your Research left some unanswered questions?

Do your findings open up any suggestions for future research?

For a shorter paper, this is not always essential, but you can

highlight any possible areas of interest and give some ideas for

those following.

Are my results of any use in the real World?

Again, this is not always applicable, but you can suggest any practical uses for your

findings.

For example, if you uncovered a link between diet and the speed at which children

learn, you could suggest a short plan for ensuring that children receive good nutrition.

With writing the conclusion finished, you are almost at the end of your research

project.

All that remains is to perform the proof-reading and formatting, a little bit dull, but a

sign that you are in the final stages.