How to Write a Discussion Section for Your Dissertation in a Rock-Solid Way

Get to Know How to Write a Discussion Section

The discussion portion, like the introduction, is a framing section that expands on the significant argument established at the beginning of your dissertation. However, while the introduction begins broadly and narrows down to a specific hypothesis, the discussion begins with the interpretation of the data. It then expands to situate these findings in the broader field. Therefore, review your introduction thoroughly before composing the discussion. In the latter, you will describe how the new study proves the hypothesis and then illustrate how this latest evidence modifies the field’s information.

In this section, you need to develop a deeper understanding of the relevance and significance of your results. This will help you get a grip on how to write a discussion section in your dissertation.

This explanatory part will describe and evaluate your findings to the audiences and demonstrate how it links to the literature review and the research questions you have addressed. According to experts, discussion sections should focus on these four key elements:

• The meaning of your results (interpretations)
• The significance of your findings (implications)
• The restrictions of your study (limitations)
• Your suggestions on the practical actions that should be employed (recommendations)

This portion of the dissertation is the most engaging as it allows the writer to speculate without guessing, rambling, or adding irrelevant ideas to support the data. Instead, it is more like a conversation between the theories and results you and other researchers stated.

To put it another way, for every experimental finding you wish to discuss with the reader, choose and mention relevant results from other publications. These deductions can agree, extend, refine, or contradict your conclusion. This is how the new data you’ve created gets “positioned” in the field: by carefully balancing what’s new against what already exists.

Learn the Importance of a Dissertation Discussion Chapter

Individuals should understand the value of a good dissertation discussion chapter to craft their paper brilliantly. Here are the reasons why it is crucial in the write-up:

• This chapter reveals the underlying meaning of your research, highlights potential applications in other fields of study, and investigates possible enhancements that individuals can do to dig further into details.
• The discussion section also highlights the significance of your work and how it might help grasp the subject of study within your field.
• It exhibits your capacity as a researcher to think critically about a matter, develop innovative solutions to challenges based on a logical integration of the data, and generate a deeper, more comprehensive grasp of the research subject under examination.
• Your discussion section dissertation encourages the readers to critically think about matters based on evidence to explain the findings. Moreover, objective reporting of facts does not rigidly bind it.
• It describes how the results of your analysis discover and help fill the void in literature that was not previously disclosed or effectively articulated.

Now that you have a better understanding of the importance of a discussion section–let’s look at some sample phrases you can use.

Acquire Better Understanding with these Dissertation Discussion Examples (Phrasal Samples)

According to professional writers, the best way to begin this section is to state your research topic and concisely outline your results. Instead of just repeating the data in your document, try for a crisp summary of the overall outcome that clearly answers your main research question. This should be limited to one paragraph. To make sure your work is unique; utilize condensed and solid phrases similar to these phrasal dissertation discussion examples:

• This experiment provides new information about the relationship between…
• The provided data gives a clear understanding of…
• While previous studies on this topic focus on ‘A’, this research demonstrates the importance of ‘B’…
• In light of the hypothesis…
• The findings indicate…

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These phrases will help you give a strong start to your discussion section. Now let’s move onto some content rules you need to keep in mind.

The General Rules: Extracted from the Best Dissertation Section Examples

The first step of learning how to develop a concise yet informative discussion in dissertation is to follow these general rules religiously:

1. Avoid being verbose and repetitive.
2. Use simple language as much as you can. Avoid jargon or any undefined term which may confuse the readers.
3. Follow a logical line of thought. Then, analyze and discuss the relevance of your findings in the same order as you reported them in your results section.
4. Use the present tense for proven facts and past tense for previous investigations.
5. Use subheadings to arrange your discussion or topics.

Make Sure the Discussion Content Includes:

1. Interpretation of Results

Comment on whether or not you/others predicted the outcomes for each set of studies; go into additional depth to describe discoveries that were particularly surprising or profound. If applicable, make a note of any unique patterns or trends in your findings and explain their significance in regard to the study topic.

2. Link to Previous Research

Use other research to compare your findings or back up a point. You can either cite sources at the beginning of your discussion in dissertation , or mention them when you’re comparing results.

3. Deduction

Explain how others can apply the findings of your study. For example, you can provide problem-solving recommendations, highlight industry best practices, or report the lessons you gleaned from your research process.

4. The Study Hypothesis

A generic conclusion based on your results. Your dissertation can present this as a new research question that arose when carrying out the study.

Structure Your Discussion Section Brilliantly

The writing experts from one of the most reliable and trusted dissertation writing service in UK compiled these tips to assist young students develop challenging projects easily.

To craft a top-quality discussion chapter, keep these points in mind:

1. Consider this section as a funnel—create your discussion flow from general to specific topics. So, first connect your results to existing research, then to theory, and finally to your practical implementation.
2. Use the same writing style you used in the introduction.
3. Start with a summary of the study problem and sequentially answer all the research questions in the introduction.
4. Put related research into perspective in this order: declare the solution, then the relevant results, and then cite sources. Finally, if necessary, direct the reader to a diagram or table to help them with data interpretation.
5. Address unexpected results (if any). Begin with a description of the finding, followed by a brief analysis of why you feel it emerged and, if applicable, its potential relevance in connection to the entire study.
6. Use an honest and analytical tone to mention the limitations and flaws of your study. Then describe their relevance to your data interpretation process and impact on your findings.
7. Conclude the discussion part with a clear overview of the results, regardless of their statistical significance. Follow up with a short explanation of the results’ contribution to general research on the topic, and why you feel it is meaningful. You can also include relevant suggestions for further research on the subject.

Why We Write the Discussion Section

• Restate briefly the research topic or problems you are examining. Along with the methods you employed to explore them, before moving on to the summary of your results. In one paragraph, create a straightforward, declarative, and short announcement of the study results.
• Nobody has given your research as much attention as you have. Explain the underlying meaning of your results and why you feel they are noteworthy in a systematic manner. You want the reader to think critically about the results and why they are relevant after reading the discussion section. You don’t want the reader to have to read the article several times to figure out what it all means.
• If appropriate, start this section by reiterating what you feel to be your most noteworthy or unexpected discovery, then go through each finding one by one. Otherwise, follow the general sequence in which you presented the data in the results section.
• It is far preferable for you to recognize and acknowledge the limits of your research than for your lecturer to do so. Make a note of any unsolved concerns or difficulties that your study could not address. Next, discuss the generalizability of your findings to other contexts. If a limitation applies to the approach used to obtain information, then describe the issues you faced and why.
• You may choose to end the discussion section by providing recommendations for more study [rather than making recommendations at the end of your report]. Your study will provide vital insights into the research topic. It will allow you to address other unsolved concerns regarding the problem along with highlighting hidden difficulties.

Things to Avoid in this Part of Study

1. Don’t waste time repeating your results. Use “bridge sentences” to connect the result to the interpretation. For example, “In the instance of deciding available housing to single women with children in rural parts of Texas, the findings show that access to good schools is critical…,” and then go on to describe this finding and its ramifications further.
2. As previously stated, writer can provide ideas for more research in either the discussion or conclusion of the article, but should not duplicate them in both parts. Consider the general narrative flow of your article to identify where this information should be included. If your findings create a lot of new questions or concerns, consider offering research recommendations in the discussion
3. In the discussion area, do not present any fresh findings. Be mindful of confusing the repetition of a single result for an interpretation, as this may lead to reader confusion. The explanation of findings [results section] and interpretation of importance [discussion section] should be separate sections of your article. If you opt to integrate the findings and discussion sections into a single narrative, you must be explicit about how you convey the facts obtained and your own interpretation of each discovery.
4. It is normally permissible to use the first person pronoun. Using first-person singular pronouns to accentuate a point or demonstrate a contrary conclusion can assist. However, keep in mind that using the first person excessively might actually distract the reader from the key themes.