how to write a good discussion in dissertation

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How to Write a Dissertation Discussion

Date published September 16 2020 by Evie Tyler

It’s been months (or maybe a year). You haven’t lived your life without worrying about your dissertation. Eating, sleeping, doing groceries, even while going on dates, the only thing on your mind was your dissertation.

Now that you’re getting to the end of (F-I-N-A-L-L-Y), you can start planning your vacations. But hey, remember it’s not complete yet. You still have to work on the discussion chapter. If you want to finish it as soon as possible, let me give you guidance about how you can write the final chapter of your dissertation easily and quickly.

First of all,

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Table of Contents

What is a dissertation discussion.

The discussion chapter is very important and crucial for your dissertation. This is the chapter in which you dive deep into the importance, meaning, and relevance of the outcomes of your dissertation.

In the dissertation chapter, you have to evaluate and explain the results and outcomes of your dissertation and research. But it’s not that simple. There is a lot to it that we are shortly going to learn. You have to relate the outcomes or results of your dissertation with the conclusions in the discussions chapter.

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Are Discussion and Conclusion the Same?

A lot of students get confused between the discussion and conclusion.

The last chapter of a dissertation is called “Interpretations & Recommendations”. Discussion and conclusion are two sections of the final chapter. Although you’re going to learn everything about how you can write a perfect discussion section. You can check out this dissertation outline writing guide for detailed information.

Although discussions or conclusions are in the same chapter. The discussion section is where you evaluate your result(s) or outcomes while the conclusion section is where you conclude your whole dissertation.

The Recipe to Craft a Perfect Dissertation Discussion

There are multiple ways to structure and finish the discussion chapter but let me tell you the best way to structure your dissertation discussion. You have to keep these four key pointers in your mind to make your discussion section flawless:

• Interpretations: Discussing what do the result(s) or the outcome(s) mean.
• Implications: Stating why the result(s) matter.
• Limitations: Acknowledging what the results can’t tell us and why.
• Recommendations: Further evaluating the results to discuss what could be done to make the research more useful and better for future studies and practices.

These key factors are not very hard to cover but may take a lot of time. If you want to take a shortcut, you can always head towards some top-notch dissertation help any time you want and get your problems solved easily.

If you want to do it all by yourself then it’s not a problem either. Stay with me and learn how you can do it easily.

Let’s Write the Best Dissertation Discussion!

Stick here and find the best formula to write an irresistible dissertation discussion section.

1. Summarize the Major Outcomes:

It has been said more than once that first impressions can decide everything. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first chapter or the final chapter. You have to write the best intro to every chapter. If the intro is great then the reader would be curious and attentive while reading the rest of your dissertation.

The beginning of your final chapter should state your research problem in the simplest but the most informative way possible.  You don’t have to repeat anything that you’ve already stated before in detail. Just report it precisely enough that the reader knows what you’re discussing here.

You can start your discussion chapter with sentences such as:

• The analysis suggests that…
• The results have confirmed…
• The outcomes demonstrate a correlation between…

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2. State Your Interpretations

After capturing the attention of the reader with a killer introduction of the chapter. You have to keep the consistency and keep up with the pace.

You know the meaning of your results, your reader(s) don’t because you have done months’ worth of research and not them. After the introduction, you have to state and discuss your interpretations.

But how do you do it?

You have to follow up on these few key instructions. If you do so, you will be able to easily interpret the results of your research:

• Identify the patterns, relationships, and correlation of the collected data.
• State if the result(s) or the outcome(s) came up to your expectations or not.
• Discuss whether the result(s) or the outcome(s) of your research support your hypotheses.
• You have to contextualize your findings according to existing theories and researches.
• State the result(s) you didn’t expect and then discuss their importance.
• You have to consider all the different possible explanations while arguing over the position of your research.

Your discussion can be organized around key themes, research questions, or hypotheses. You can follow the same formatting for your results section as well. Here are a few amazing ways to start your interpretations part:

• Contrary to the hypothesized association….
• The results contradict the claims of ABC (year) that…
• In line with the hypothesis…

3. What are the Implications of Your Research?

You have to prove the relation of your outcome(s) or result(s) to your research. While doing so, you have to make sure that your research complies with the literature you have referenced in the literature review chapter .

The part where you’re discussing implications should help you stand your ground. It should show how your results or outcomes of the research are fitting with the knowledge already presented. You also have to state how your research is going to contribute to the betterment of future studies.

The quickest way to find and state all the implications of your research is by simply asking yourself these simple questions:

• Are your results or outcomes in favour of previous studies? If they are, state what they add to it.
• Are your results or outcomes against the results or outcomes of previous researches? State why is that and how do you defend it.
• Are your results confirming or challenging the theories that already exist?
• What are the practical implications of your research?

You have to prove your point to the reader that your research is contributing to existing and future studies and it should not be overlooked. To strongly start the implications part, you can start with such phrases as:

• The results should be kept in consideration when…
• The collected data proves an easier approach to understanding the…

4. Discuss the Limitations and Their Impacts

There are always limitations. You should always acknowledge the limitations that you faced while doing your research.

For a top-notch discussion section, it is mandatory to list down limitations directly related to the dissertation. But you don’t have to list down every single error or issue you faced. For example, you can’t simply state the error that your Windows got corrupted or you were having a headache.

You have to state the limitations that directly affected your research process and your results as well. A common limitation example is “regional limitation” or being confined to a certain region of research. You can’t conduct your research to gather data from a wider audience or literature due to travelling issues.

These are some key things you have to keep in mind while stating the limitations:

• Stating the problems or issues you faced during your research
• What kind of impact these problems made on your research
• The possibilities that weren’t countered due to certain limitations.
• What can be done in the future to avoid certain limitations

5. Stating Your Recommendations

You have to analyze the results deeply in order to state the recommendations. The aim of recommendations is to help the future studies get better through your research. You can also make recommendations on how your research can be practically applied to the relevant field or studies.

The recommendations are usually included in the conclusion section of the final chapter. Now it’s up to you whether it will fit in the very end or before that.

You have to answer these questions according to the outcomes of your research.

• State how the results of your research can be made better.
• Discuss what kind of different approaches can be taken which weren’t possible due to the limitations you faced.
• Discuss how future studies can be improved using your research.

And that’s how your dissertation discussion section can be turned into a masterpiece. But before you go and start working on it. I have a few more tips to help you with your discussion section.

Some Tips to Make Your Discussion the Best!

Here are some tips for you to ace your dissertation discussion section.

• You have to make sure your results in the discussion section are not different than your conclusion’s part.
• You have to avoid any sort of claims that are not supported by your research data.
• Never make the limitations seem like a huge problem. State them wisely to increase the credibility of your research
• Avoid over interpretation.
• Only discuss the data being stated in your literature review.

Final Words

Now that you know how to finish the dissertation like a pro. Don’t forget to give it all in the other chapters as well. By following the structure you can score highly in your dissertation. Although, if you are still sceptical if you can do it or not, then don’t stress it and buy a professionally written dissertation online . It’d be a lot easier.

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• How to Write Discussions and Conclusions

The discussion section contains the results and outcomes of a study. An effective discussion informs readers what can be learned from your experiment and provides context for the results.

What makes an effective discussion?

When you’re ready to write your discussion, you’ve already introduced the purpose of your study and provided an in-depth description of the methodology. The discussion informs readers about the larger implications of your study based on the results. Highlighting these implications while not overstating the findings can be challenging, especially when you’re submitting to a journal that selects articles based on novelty or potential impact. Regardless of what journal you are submitting to, the discussion section always serves the same purpose: concluding what your study results actually mean.

A successful discussion section puts your findings in context. It should include:

• the results of your research,
• a discussion of related research, and
• a comparison between your results and initial hypothesis.

Tip: Not all journals share the same naming conventions.

You can apply the advice in this article to the conclusion, results or discussion sections of your manuscript.

Our Early Career Researcher community tells us that the conclusion is often considered the most difficult aspect of a manuscript to write. To help, this guide provides questions to ask yourself, a basic structure to model your discussion off of and examples from published manuscripts. 

Questions to ask yourself:

• Was my hypothesis correct?
• If my hypothesis is partially correct or entirely different, what can be learned from the results? 
• How do the conclusions reshape or add onto the existing knowledge in the field? What does previous research say about the topic? 
• Why are the results important or relevant to your audience? Do they add further evidence to a scientific consensus or disprove prior studies? 
• How can future research build on these observations? What are the key experiments that must be done? 
• What is the “take-home” message you want your reader to leave with?

How to structure a discussion

Trying to fit a complete discussion into a single paragraph can add unnecessary stress to the writing process. If possible, you’ll want to give yourself two or three paragraphs to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of your study as a whole. Here’s one way to structure an effective discussion:

Writing Tips

While the above sections can help you brainstorm and structure your discussion, there are many common mistakes that writers revert to when having difficulties with their paper. Writing a discussion can be a delicate balance between summarizing your results, providing proper context for your research and avoiding introducing new information. Remember that your paper should be both confident and honest about the results! 

• Read the journal’s guidelines on the discussion and conclusion sections. If possible, learn about the guidelines before writing the discussion to ensure you’re writing to meet their expectations. 
• Begin with a clear statement of the principal findings. This will reinforce the main take-away for the reader and set up the rest of the discussion. 
• Explain why the outcomes of your study are important to the reader. Discuss the implications of your findings realistically based on previous literature, highlighting both the strengths and limitations of the research. 
• State whether the results prove or disprove your hypothesis. If your hypothesis was disproved, what might be the reasons? 
• Introduce new or expanded ways to think about the research question. Indicate what next steps can be taken to further pursue any unresolved questions. 
• If dealing with a contemporary or ongoing problem, such as climate change, discuss possible consequences if the problem is avoided. 
• Be concise. Adding unnecessary detail can distract from the main findings. 

Don’t

• Rewrite your abstract. Statements with “we investigated” or “we studied” generally do not belong in the discussion. 
• Include new arguments or evidence not previously discussed. Necessary information and evidence should be introduced in the main body of the paper. 
• Apologize. Even if your research contains significant limitations, don’t undermine your authority by including statements that doubt your methodology or execution. 
• Shy away from speaking on limitations or negative results. Including limitations and negative results will give readers a complete understanding of the presented research. Potential limitations include sources of potential bias, threats to internal or external validity, barriers to implementing an intervention and other issues inherent to the study design. 
• Overstate the importance of your findings. Making grand statements about how a study will fully resolve large questions can lead readers to doubt the success of the research. 

Snippets of Effective Discussions:

Consumer-based actions to reduce plastic pollution in rivers: A multi-criteria decision analysis approach

Identifying reliable indicators of fitness in polar bears

• How to Write a Great Title
• How to Write an Abstract
• How to Write Your Methods
• How to Report Statistics
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Step-By-Step Guide On How To Write a Dissertation Discussion

Writing a dissertation is a big task for students, and the discussion part is really important. It's where you show why your research matters. This guide will help you understand how to write discussion in dissertation in a way that makes your work stand out.

What Should Your Dissertation Discussion Structure Look Like?

When thinking about how to structure a dissertation , it's important to organize your discussion part clearly. A good discussion usually includes:

• A summary of what you found
• What your results mean
• How your work affects theories and real-life situations
• What limits your study had
• Ideas for future research
• A wrap-up of everything

This way of organizing helps you cover all parts of your research and present your findings; frankly, it is how to write dissertations best.

Key Steps for Writing a Powerful Dissertation Discussion

Let's look at the main parts of a good discussion and how to write a dissertation well.

Summarise Your Main Findings

Start your discussion by briefly stating your main results. This summary should answer your research questions or address your guesses about what you'd find. You might begin with something like "The results show that..." or "The information supports the idea that..."

Focus on the most important outcomes without repeating everything from your results section. You want to remind the reader of the key findings and set up for a deeper look at what they mean.

Interpreting Your Results

This is where you show how well you can analyze things. When explaining what your findings mean:

• Look for patterns and connections in your information
• Explain how your results support or challenge what you thought you'd find
• Compare what you found with other research in your field
• Give good reasons for your conclusions
• Think about other ways to understand your results, if there are any

For example, if you studied how social media affects how much students study, you might write: "While we found that students who use more social media study less, this doesn't mean social media is the only reason. Other things, like how much time students spend looking at screens or how they handle doing many things at once, might also play a part."

How Does Your Research Impact Theory and Practice?

Discuss the bigger picture of your work. When thinking about how to write the results section of a dissertation, it's good to connect your findings to existing ideas or real-world uses. Think about:

• Do your results agree with or challenge other studies?
• What new things does your research tell us?
• How might your findings change how people work or make decisions?

In a study about education, you could say: "These findings could help schools create better programs to teach study skills, especially focusing on how to use digital tools wisely and manage time well."

What Are the Limitations of Your Study?

Being honest about what your study couldn't do makes your work more trustworthy. Be clear about things that limited your research, like:

• How many people you studied or who they were
• Problems with how you did your research
• Not having enough time or resources
• Possible biases

For instance: "While this study gives us good information about how college students study, we only looked at students from one university. Future research could look at students from many different schools to get a fuller picture."

Offer Recommendations: Where Should Future Research Go From Here?

Suggest ideas for future research based on what you found and what limits your study had. This shows you understand your field and that there's always more to learn. You might suggest:

• Looking into related questions that your study couldn't answer
• Using different ways to study the same problem
• Studying the topic with different groups of people or in different places

For example: "Future studies could watch how students' study habits change throughout the school year. This would give us a more detailed understanding of how outside factors affect students' productivity."

Review Conclusions and Cut Irrelevant Details

As you finish your discussion, make sure everything you say helps support your main points. Don't add new information or talk about things that aren't closely related. Your conclusion should bring together your main points and remind readers why your research is important.

Wrapping Up Your Dissertation Discussion

Writing a dissertation discussion isn't easy, but it's very important. It's your chance to show how well you can think about your research and explain why it matters. Remember to explain your findings clearly, discuss what they mean, and connect them to the bigger picture in your field. It's okay to be proud of your work, but also talk about things your study couldn't do - this shows you're thorough and honest.

Remember, the key to how to write a discussion in a dissertation is to be confident about what you found while also being humble as a researcher. Talk about your work's limits, but highlight how it adds to your field of study.

Feeling overwhelmed with all this writing? Aithor might be just what you need. It's a smart writing tool that can make writing a dissertation faster and easier. It will help make your dissertation writing easier and how to write results section of dissertation. Your future self (the one who's finished their dissertation) might be very happy you did!

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