How to Write the Discussion Section of a Literature Review
How to Write a Discussion Department | Checklist and Examples
The discussion affiliate is where y'all delve into the significant, importance and relevance of your results. It should focus on explaining and evaluating what you found, showing how it relates to your literature review and research questions, and making an argument in back up of your overall conclusion. There are many different ways to write this section, simply you can focus your discussion around four fundamental elements:
- Interpretations: what do the results mean?
- Implications: why practice the results matter?
- Limitations: what tin't the results tell us?
- Recommendations: what practical actions or scientific studies should follow?
There is frequently overlap between the give-and-take and conclusion, and in some dissertations these ii sections are included in a single chapter. Occasionally, the results and discussion will be combined into 1 affiliate. If you're unsure of the best structure for your enquiry, look at sample dissertations in your field or consult your supervisor.
Summarize your key findings
Offset this chapter by reiterating your enquiry trouble and concisely summarizing your major findings. Don't just repeat all the data you have already reported – aim for a clear argument of the overall result that direct answers your main research question. This should be no more 1 paragraph.
Examples
- The results signal that…
- The study demonstrates a correlation between…
- This analysis supports the theory that…
- The data suggests that…
Requite your interpretations
The meaning of the results might seem obvious to you, just it's important to spell out their significance for the reader and show exactly how they respond your enquiry questions.
The course of your interpretations will depend on the type of research, but some typical approaches to interpreting the data include:
- Identifying correlations, patterns and relationships amidst the data
- Discussing whether the results met your expectations or supported your hypotheses
- Contextualizing your findings within previous research and theory
- Explaining unexpected results and evaluating their significance
- Considering possible alternative explanations and making an argument for your position
You tin organize your discussion effectually key themes, hypotheses or enquiry questions, following the same structure every bit your results department. Yous tin can also brainstorm by highlighting the about significant or unexpected results.
Examples
- In line with the hypothesis…
- Contrary to the hypothesized association…
- The results contradict the claims of Smith (2007) that…
- The results might advise that X. However, based on the findings of like studies, a more plausible caption is Y.
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Discuss the implications
As well as giving your ain interpretations, make sure to relate your results back to the scholarly work that you surveyed in the literature review. The discussion should show how your findings fit with existing knowledge, what new insights they contribute, and what consequences they have for theory or practice. Ask yourself these questions:
- Practice your results agree with previous inquiry? If so, what do they add to information technology?
- Are your findings very different from other studies? If then, why might this exist?
- Do the results back up or challenge existing theories?
- Are at that place whatsoever applied implications?
Your overall aim is to testify the reader exactly what your enquiry has contributed and why they should care.
Examples
- These results build on existing evidence of…
- The results do not fit with the theory that…
- The experiment provides a new insight into the human relationship between…
- These results should exist taken into account when considering how to…
- The information contributes a clearer understanding of…
- While previous research has focused onX, these results demonstrate that Y.
Acknowledge the limitations
Fifty-fifty the best inquiry has some limitations, and acknowledging these is important to demonstrate your credibility. Limitations aren't about listing your errors, just near providing an accurate picture of what can and cannot be concluded from your study.
Limitations might exist due to your overall research design, specific methodological choices, or unanticipated obstacles that emerged during the research process. You should but mention limitations that are direct relevant to your enquiry objectives, and evaluate how much impact they had on achieving the aims of the research.
For example, if your sample size was pocket-size or limited to a specific group of people, note that this limits its generalizability. If you lot encountered bug when gathering or analyzing information, explicate how these influenced the results. If at that place are potential confounding variables that you were unable to control, acknowledge the outcome these may have had.
Later on noting the limitations, you tin reiterate why the results are still valid for the purpose of answering your research questions.
Examples
- The generalizability of the results is limited by…
- The reliability of this data is impacted past…
- Due to the lack of data on X, the results cannot ostend…
- The methodological choices were constrained by…
- Information technology is beyond the scope of this study to…
State your recommendations
Based on the discussion of your results, y'all can brand recommendations for applied implementation or further inquiry. Sometimes the recommendations are saved for the determination.
Suggestions for further research can atomic number 82 directly from the limitations. Don't just state that more than studies should be done – give concrete ideas for how future work can build on areas that your ain research was unable to address.
- Further enquiry is needed to establish…
- Futurity studies should accept into account…
What to leave out of the word
There are a few common mistakes to avoid when writing the discussion section of your dissertation.
- Don't introduce new results– you lot should only discuss the information that you take already reported in the results chapter.
- Don't make inflated claims– avert overinterpretation and speculation that isn't supported by your data.
- Don't undermine your research – the word of limitations should aim to strengthen your brownie, non emphasize weaknesses or failures.
Checklist
Frequently asked questions near the discussion
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