Are you in the final phase of your research and need to know how to write a discussion chapter?
Don’t panic.
In this article, you will find everything you need to know to write an exceptionally good discussion and reflect on your results on a high level.
I will reveal to you the 5 essential components your discussion chapter needs to have in order to convince an academic audience of the value of your results.
Why you need a good discussion chapter
If the results are the heart of your academic paper or dissertation, then the discussion is the lungs. Without it, your findings would simply run out of breath. Writing a discussion is absolutely essential for any dissertation and most research papers.
By writing a discussion, you give meaning to your study. The evaluation of your whole study largely depends on how you:
- evaluate
- classify
- reflect
your own results (which can also be the results of a literature review) in relation to previous work.
I cannot emphasize enough how important this is. It is EXTREMELY important.
And now I’ll show you how to do it.
#1 Summarize your findings
On your quest to learn how to write a discussion chapter, you need a clear outline or structure to follow. The discussion is perhaps the most important chapter of the entire study, so you shouldn’t leave anything to chance.
The following tip is worth its weight in gold for structuring your discussion:
Convert your research questions into subheadings.
In the discussion, the primary focus is to answer your previously formulated research questions to the greatest extent possible.
If you have only one research question, this approach may not work as effectively unless it contains multiple sub-aspects. However, this structure is highly suitable when you have two research questions.
Another option for quantitative studies: Instead of research questions, you can use hypotheses as the structuring elements of your first 2-3 paragraphs of your discussion, in which you summarize your findings.
#2 Interpret your findings
The simplest way at this point on how to write a discussion chapter is to scan through the results section of your study from beginning to end and provide your own interpretation for each finding in relation to existing literature.
For empirical studies you can think about the following. For example, if the influence of Variable A on Variable B is significant, the results section will simply state that it is. Usually, this is presented in the form of tables, etc., accompanied by descriptive text.
In the discussion, you are now allowed to assess what it actually means for a significant effect to exist. The same principle applies to the results of qualitative studies.
- What do your findings add to existing literature?
- How are your results different from results other researchers have found?
- How does this affect an existing debate in you field of study?
For literature-based studies you can ask yourself the following questions:
- Did your literature review reveal that certain niches within the field have not been covered?
- What does the research focus on, and which aspects does it neglect?
Discuss the content of the literature you analyzed. Reflect on a meta-level on the themes, assumptions, gaps, or contradictions you have found and what it means in terms of answering the research question(s).
#3 Explain your theoretical contributions
If you work with theory (I hope so!), the next step on how to write a discussion chapter is to relate your theoretical interpretation to existing theory.
The good news is that you have already covered existing theory in the front end of your study. This means that you don’t need to find new sources here. An exception for this are grounded theory studies, in which you do not have a theoretical background but introduce existing theory for the first time in the discussion.
But for most other studies, you can stick to the rule NOT to introduce new theory or authors in the discussion chapter.
The simplest approach is to compare your background chapter with your results and write down how both relate to each other.
Consider the following question:
What do my results contribute to theory?
Have a look at Whetten (1986) who defines what can constitute a theoretical contribution.
- Did you introduce new theoretical concepts?
- A new model?
- Did you transfer an existing theory to a new context?
- Did you shift the boundaries of an existing theory?
- Have you tested new theoretical relationships?
- Maybe you have discovered a new theoretical mechanism?
Read Whetten’s (1986) paper if you have no idea about the things I just mentioned.
#4 Explain your practical contributions
Studies that have relevance to the professional world can optionally include a section or subsection that highlights practical implications.
This refers to what the results actually mean for the world out there.
You can incorporate it into the discussion or treat it as a separate sub-section.
In economics, practical implications could be recommendations for management decisions.
In the healthcare sector, it could lead to implications for the design of processes in hospitals.
Communication scholars could consider implications for media production or distribution.
Mechanical engineers could explore application scenarios for industrial projects.
And so on. Most disciplines can establish a connection to practical applications.
However, every field has their own standards of what is expected in a discussion chapter. Review a handful of papers from you discipline and model the structure you find there.
#5 Mention some limitations
While conducting your research you will encounter various limitations.
In your discussion chapter, you should reflect and explain which limitations you encountered and how they affect your results.
Depending on the research project, possible limitations can refer to the chosen methodology or the reliability of the method may be compromised.
Focus on limitations that were outside of you control to not become to critical with yourself. After all, you want to sell your study as important!
Based on the explanation of the limitations, you can also derive recommendations for further research. You explain how your own results yield new questions or which questions remain unanswered.
In some cases, the limitations and recommendations for future research can be found in the conclusion section of a paper.
If you write more than a paragraph for each, I would recommend to position them in the discussion. This allows you to keep the conclusion short and sweet.
Some final remarks
The most important element of every discussion is your study’s contribution.
If you do not convincingly sell your contributions, a reviewer may claim that your work is too descriptive.
To counteract this, you should invest a lot of time and brainpower into writing your discussion.
If you want to write a discussion that leaves a lasting impression, demonstrate that you have engaged deeply with the literature and/or theory.
Use plenty of references. Not every sentence has to be supported by a reference; you should also craft your own arguments.
It is important to stay close to the literature, but with in constant interplay with your own interpretations.
One characteristic that sets outstanding discussion chapters apart from the average is the ability for critical reflection.
Take a clear position and solidify your arguments by referring to other works.
If you can do this, your results will get the discussion they deserve.