The discussion section is the last part of a research paper, in which an author describes, analyzes, and interprets their findings, explaining their significance and connecting everything back to the research questions by focussing on the results and outcomes of your study. It usually follows the chapters on methodology and results and comes prior to the final chapter or conclusion. The discussion section also answers the question regarding the meaning, importance, and relevance of your results in the light of the literature that was already explored and discusses the new insights about the research problem that you have obtained from the findings of your research.
Constituents of the discussion chapter
At the beginning of each discussion, remember to recap the introduction and review the literature in detail, but don’t just repeat it; rather, use the discussion to explain how your study has moved the reader’s understanding of the research problem forward by expanding on your outcomes in the results or findings section and how it has helped shape the understanding of the research problem. The discussion comprises a list of essential ingredients which are to be effectively included to write the perfect discussion section for your research paper.
The discussion section includes
- The most important findings of your research which is a summary of the major findings and a recap of your research problem and link research findings with the research questions
- The significance of these findings where you will have to provide your interpretations and identify the patterns, principles, and relationships shown by each major findings and place them in proper perspective in relation to your collected data and place these findings in context by analyzing your literature review to understand and evaluate how your results from the study aligns with the earlier research you have reviewed.
- When detailing your findings and its relationship to existing literature, you have to highlight any unexpected results and clearly explain them to help the reader understand why such findings might have been produced and is it relevant to the research problem directing the scope of research, if yes, explain the significance.
- When explaining the implications of your research, connect it to the existing literature and explain how your findings are relevant to the body of knowledge and what are the new insights that your research has uncovered which has been previously overlooked or unfounded and how this contribution is beneficial to the discipline of study.
- Researchers often use this section to underline the limitations of their research and also the strengths. The primary reason is that a researcher who acknowledges justifiable limitations improves the credibility of the work and shows that the avenue was not left unexplored or unknown but was intentionally omitted. Avoid using an apologetic tone; however, be honest and self-critical as it shows that you are critically aware of what your study can and cannot do. The researcher should also make clear that despite the explained limitations, why the study would be a valid research on solving the stated problem.
- Towards the end of the discussion section provide a brief understanding of potential avenues within the research study that can be further explored by future researcher studies and can also elaborate on how this investigate study can be carried out. The ideas for future research should be concise and targeted at maybe one or two issues because it will not be appealing to uncover multiple plot holes in your research as it may affect the validity of your findings
- The researcher can also provide an understanding of his or her ideas of practical implementation of their research work and explain why you believe the findings and conclusions of your study are important.
Why is it important
Apart from the various constituents of the discussion section described above which adds to the quality of your research work, the discussion section is considered an integral part of your research as it assess you as a researcher because it directly demonstrates your ability to think critically, interpret and verify data and develop solutions to address problems that have directed the course of your research. This section helps the readers understand your researcher in detail and covers the most important part of how your researcher adds to the body of knowledge and how successful it has been in exploring the problem you have identified from the research gap that has existed. The discussion section provides you the opportunity to explore your research in depth by addressing the implications of your study. It provides the readers and researchers in your field with a critical overview of how your research can be further improved and provides a trajectory for future research.
This section highlights the importance of your research and how it has contributed to exploring the research gap you have identified in the beginning of your research. While stating this contribution, the researchers should be careful as to not reiterate everything they have already elaborated in the research findings but only state how your findings have analyzed the gaps in research that existing literature failed to address. The other major prominence it has over its relatively similar sections in the data analysis section is that it is not a platform to merely present data but rather provide evidence-based interpretations of the findings that have been uncovered thus providing a meaning to what your research has explored.
What should I avoid?
The discussion chapter holds a great deal of importance in your research paper and the researcher should be aware of common mistakes and possible pitfalls that can be avoided while framing this section
- Rewriting the results section: You should be careful when framing the section of your discussion and avoid rewriting your analysis and findings, the focus should be on interpretations instead of merely summarizing the findings , in case you do need to refer to a finding that will be discussed in the section, use “bridge sentences” that relate the result to the interpretation.
- How to use bridge sentences: Example- “In investigating the availability of freshwater in the households of sector A, the findings suggest that at least 3/4th of houses…” – and continue with explaining the finding from there
- Include new arguments or evidence not previously discussed. The researcher should not bring in any new information that has not already been collected, confirmed and analyzed in the earlier sections of the research chapters.
- Drawing boundaries: the researcher should be able to deduct from the information available and derive explanations backed up by results which have been evidenced in your research paper and should stay within the confines of your subject discipline in all aspects of the discussion.
- Guide the narrative flow with a precise structure, clearly demarcate between the discussion and conclusion section. Researchers often write limitations section after the discussion in the conclusion, clearly structure the sequence prior to formulating the chapter.
- If presenting limitations and/or strengths in the discussion section itself, the researcher should be aware to not fundamentally corrupt the validity of the research and always be sure to back your research methodology and credibility of data and its analyzes.
- In the same way, a researcher should also not be hesitant to be honest and clear in stating the true nature of the limitations that the study has faced, avenues it has not explored – intentionally or because it did not have the resources to do so. Uncover potential bias, threats to internal or external validity and such issues that could affect the study design without coating it.
- When presenting the discussion, the researcher should also present the findings that have not been helpful or results that are unfavorable and present only those that support your research questions. The researcher should also be careful in identifying the importance of the study so as to not make grand statements of your research study’s capabilities to solve issues that are not necessarily in the realm of your research.
