How to Write a Discussion Section of a Research Paper?
Table of contents
- 1 What Is the Purpose of the Discussion Section?
- 2 The Discussion Section Is Not the Same as the Conclusion Section
- 3 6 General Rules to Remember
- 4 Structure of the Discussion Section
- 5 Discussion Section Length
- 6 Common Pitfalls You Must Avoid
- 7 Final Aspects to Consider for Further Research
- 8 Helpful Words of Advice for Your Future Research
While there is no universal formula for writing a discussion section for a research paper that would fit every scenario, certain rules still apply. Most college students forget about the placement of this part in their academic writing research and ignore the importance of interpretation. It means that one deals with the final part of a research where you must describe, analyze an underlying meaning, and interpret what you have found. The trick is to show the significance of your results and showcase the objective reporting connection to your original research question. As you learn how to write the discussion section, the challenge is making it all readable and accessible to your target audience.
Let’s sum up the main aspects that we have to explore in writing the discussion section:
| Summary | It should represent a brief overview of what your study revealed. | Talk about what you have found by offering a summary. |
| Interpretation | An explanation of what your research problem results mean and how they should or can be read by others. | Explain your actions and research methods if your general research results need replicating. |
| Research Implications | Explain why your research results matter to the scientific community or the world. | You must talk about how your new understanding can be deemed an important writing piece. |
| Encountered Limitations | If any limitations have been met, they must be included. | Talk about what your research cannot show and explain the reasons for that. |
| Recommendations | If you have something to recommend for further study or analytical work or an unexpected finding emerged in your work, add it. | It can be a list of further reading or important resources to consider. |
Keeping all this information in proper perspective, we can proceed with details and learn what it takes to write a good discussion section.
What Is the Purpose of the Discussion Section?
Regardless of a chosen essay type, the discussion section aims to review your research findings and place them together. The most important thing is to connect all the sections you have done before, remain focused, and allow your target audience to see them. With the conclusion arising, they should be able to connect each part and see how your research has been conducted. As an author, one must provide three vital elements:
- List with a brief interpretation.
- Analysis with evidence-based interpretation.
- Explanation of relative importance.
Here, you must explain why your research results are important with all the existing knowledge using the same key terms. It can be done by explaining how they fit within the current literature or previous research papers. Speaking of tone, it must be self-critical and candid, especially when discussing the shortcomings and relevant results you have encountered.
The Discussion Section Is Not the Same as the Conclusion Section
Many students mix up these two sections as they fail to understand the major differences. Let’s make the situation clear by focusing on the important differences:
| Discussion Section | Conclusion Section |
| A discussion focuses on a thorough examination of research results. The purpose here is to interpret the gained results by examining how and why they were obtained. | A conclusion section is always about offering a summary. |
| The discussion also reviews the limitations of certain research work and the gaps in findings. It must also conclude by making things meaningful and avoiding inadequately examined facts. | A conclusion is always brief and discusses the main points of the research paper. Unlike the discussion, it does not go too deep into research details. Offering a research paper outline also closes the main research paper’s narrative. |
Creating your discussion research section requires some other rules, which makes it different. The talk is about formatting and subtle details that contribute to the overall clarity and findings.
6 General Rules to Remember
The most important thing is to follow the original writing style format. If your text is a journal style scientific paper, the chosen style must be followed. Although the academic community has published no specific rules, a discussion section appears before the conclusion in most research publications.
Follow these six elements that will become helpful and will make it easier to narrow things down and develop creative solutions for your research problem:
| Discussion Section Rule | Things to Consider |
| Key Findings With a Brief Explanation | Ask yourself whether it is important to present all the key results. Does your research paper provide sufficient analysis and discuss the importance and meaning of your discoveries? An APA outline for research paper can help narrow things down! |
| Placing Things Into Context or a Subjective Exercise Trick | Do you reference any literature and research works done before? Do you show how the findings fit in within the general subject? Do you fit in or disagree? |
| Showcasing Unexpected Results | Include anything that represents unexpected results in your research work. Provide your thoughts and sufficient analysis as you discuss how something effectively demonstrates your findings. |
| Talking About Limitations and Principal Implications of Shortcomings | Talk about the limitations and shortcomings of your study and prior assumptions. Systematically explain how it has affected your work and what conclusions can be made. |
| Leaving Future Studies Recommendation | Think about how your discussion can mention helpful information. You can cite a research paper or talk about what kind of future investigation can be useful or even necessary. Add future directions by discussing only research questions underpinning. |
| Existing Research Restatement Method | The key here is to restate the main points and emphasize the most significant results and their meaning within the scientific community. |
The rest of the rules advise avoiding using or stating something that you or other researchers have not previously mentioned.
Structure of the Discussion Section
Describing lessons learned, the structure is clear and follows the same pattern. Your structure may differ slightly if some lab work has been done or your methodology is out of the ordinary. In most other cases, with context and background information included, it may consist of six body paragraphs:
| Key Findings Summary Paragraph | Start with your research question first and link it to the initial thesis. The trick here is to explain what your readers can learn and take from your paper. You must talk about what has been found and why it matters. |
| Findings Within Research Context | The second paragraph must explain how all your findings fit together and what they can change. A helpful solution is to revisit your literature review and re-visit key sources to provide an analysis. It must also provide existing evidence. |
| Unexpected Results Discussion | It is quite often that we encounter unexpected results. Provide a brief description of such results (if available) and offer an interpretation. It must be reasonable! Explain why they have appeared based on theory. If an unexpected result is quite significant, make sure to explain that logical link. |
| Study’s Limitations and Research Weaknesses | The limitations and weaknesses in research work are inevitable. When you address specific limitations, be honest and sincere about them. They help to show that you are a trustworthy author who is critical enough about one’s study. Do not ever cover the weaknesses and unexpected findings. Show all that there is. |
| Possible Follow-up Future Research Study | A brief inclusion of helpful information and resources must be included either as previous studies or as text explanations. Talk about some areas where further research can be made. Explain why and how it can become helpful for future research. Such elements may be crucial for the understanding of your thesis. At the same time, do not overdo it, as it may make your research papers sound weak! |
| Thesis Restatement and Conclusion | Restate your thesis with the most important findings, existing theories, and their effects. Support broader knowledge and talk about why your research is important. Offer a concise summary and remind your target audience about the main purpose behind your work. |
Remember: the most important thing is to restate your thesis and clarify the connection to the research question!
Discussion Section Length
A typical discussion section of a research paper is about six paragraphs in length. It can be up to 3-4 pages. In certain cases, the length can go up to 10 paragraphs. Suppose you focus on other research-specific findings, existing theories, and lab reports for a discussion of experiment or related work. Think about 1000-1,500 words as you narrow things down to perfectness!
Helpful Writing Tips Based on Previous Research Examples
Nothing can be compared to seeing an actual example of a discussion section. Your subject may differ if you come from a Psychology course syllabus. Still, our example below will help you to understand things. See how each section uses specific phrases and words to make it more accessible.
| Key Finding 1 | An analysis of musical instruments discovered in Syria shows us that there is a relationship between Anatolian and Assyrian civilizations and their cultural paradigms. It has been found that many instruments have been borrowed from Syrian provinces with little to no changes. | Tip: State your main topic clearly! |
| Placing Findings Within Context | It is a good explanation of why many instruments in Muslim culture appear similar when identifying their origin and structure. Many researchers in musicology constantly argue about the origins or ignore them to explain things clearly. They tend to link them to a certain country, which is not entirely right, as we see in the cultural exchange case. | Tip: Talk about why it matters and how it helps to understand things! |
| Key Finding 2 | It has also been found that many altered musical instruments in Syria were adjusted because of the local Makam system, the complex structure of tones and half-tones specific not only to the region but also to most Middle Eastern countries. | Tip: Major findings briefly reiterate more than one aspect, so divide them. |
| Restating a Key Finding | It has been observed that musical instruments have been altered based on tonal requirements and musical trends of the time. | Tip: Explain your key findings again if you see it necessary! |
| Limitation | We cannot exclude the possibility that changes in the musical culture have also been linked to religious beliefs and limitations caused by the trading rules. Either the discussion | Tip: Talk about your doubts and weak points by focusing on unusual or unanticipated patterns! |
| Further Research Tip | While we believe that most trading that took part in Syria had no significant impact on the list of musical instruments available, we believe that further work in this regard could be helpful with such a restricted focus. | Tip: Provide a list of other future studies that can be done. Add a few historical references by following sequential points. |
| Final Paragraph | Proper research of Anatolian and Assyrian cultures makes understanding Syrian musical culture easier. The key findings and practical implications show that musical exchange has taken place, influencing the culture of the region. | Tip: Look into your research question and simply restate it! |
Now that we know how to structure things, it’s time to move on to things that must be avoided in subsequent research.
Common Pitfalls You Must Avoid
As we all know, it is not easy to learn how to write a discussion section for your assignment. It is why we all make mistakes and fail to notice the most obvious! Fear not, as we have prepared a helpful checklist for you based on a sociology writer’s guide for researchers:
Do not copy your results section!
A discussion section is not only about the results you have obtained. You must provide your interpretation of the research questions. An analysis must be made here as well.
Do not offer conclusions without a piece of evidence and some supporting data! Either the discussion is fueled by facts or left out.
All of your explanations must be backed up by at least one fact and evidence that can be read in your research paper. Your audience should not be looking for research questions or information elsewhere. All the vital data must be in your literature review section and the list of references. The most important is to remain within the major findings. Do not go into other scientific territories without properly backing up the facts!
Avoid the use of information that has not been provided before!
As a rule, any new information not mentioned before must be avoided. The most common mistake among students is adding new information or previously published research to the discussion section. If new information is available, add it to the results section as well.
Do not pick easy results to conduct your analysis upon them!
Some results and findings are easier than the rest! Do not pick only those that seem to fit but talk about what you have discovered, good or bad. If all else fails, offer alternative explanations.
Some other common mistakes include failing to proofread and edit one’s research paper for accuracy. Never ignore the proofreading part, and double-check your previous research references!
Final Aspects to Consider for Further Research
On a final note, the ingredients vital to writing the discussion section of a research paper include the following:
- Always remain honest about your findings.
- Talk about the pros and cons of what has been discovered and future research tips.
- Explain why it matters and how it can be helpful through the lens of previous research.
- Add research recommendations.
- Provide facts and examples mentioned in your paper.
This will help make your further research paper readable and more accessible
Helpful Words of Advice for Your Future Research
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