Blog • Posted on Sep 24, 2024
How to Write the Discussion Section of a Research Paper (With Examples)
The discussion section is a common sticking point for many authors when writing up a research paper. However, once you learn the template that most discussion sections follow, it’s really quite simple.
In this article, you’ll learn how to write the discussion section of a research paper in just 5 easy steps.
Discussion section template:
1. Summarize your key findings
The first step is to provide a one-paragraph summary of your key findings.
You might be thinking: “haven’t I just described my findings in the results section?”. And you would be correct.
However, the purpose of this paragraph is to provide the reader with a convenient (and familiar) place to find the key outcomes of your study.
While the results section acts as an inventory for all of your results, the first paragraph of your discussion acts as an executive summary of the findings that matter most - especially in relation to your research questions/hypotheses.
So list each of your key findings, one sentence each, bluntly one after the other.
2. Compare & contrast your findings with other work
Now that you’ve listed your key findings, it’s time to address them individually in more detail. After all, our jobs as scientists are not only to find things, but to discuss how what we found relates to what others have found.
Take each one of your key findings (typically 2-4) and give them their own paragraph. In each of these, restate the result in question before comparing and contrasting with what others have found in other studies.
This could be other study species, other geographical locations, other climates, or even using a different methodology.
- Did they find the same as you?
- Or did your results differ?
- Are your results in line with theoretical expectations?
- Or do they break the rules?
All answers are equally interesting here! Remember, any result is better than no result. It’s all about how you package it.
Note: if you need inspiration on how to do this, read the discussion section of other papers in your field. But read them for structure and style rather than content.
3. Speculate hypothetical explanations for your findings
This step is often overlooked in the discussion section of newer authors.
The reader doesn’t just want an itemized list of every result the field has produced. They’re also craving some explanation for why your results do or do not fall in line with expectations.
It’s simply the next logical question: “Okay, but why?”.
So with this in mind, do your best to outline why your work is not only appropriate for the journal’s readership, but also why you expect it to be cited frequently moving forward.
Here are some example speculative openers:
- “One potential explanation for X is…”
- “Another possible mechanism at work may be…”
- “Several factors could be at play here. For example, …”
- “A potential contributing factor to the relationship between X and Y could be…”
Newer researchers often feel intimidated and fear that they should avoid any kind of speculation. But that would actually be unscientific.
This is your chance to generate new hypotheses about what might be going on in nature.
Many new research avenues start from curious researchers speculating as to what forces might be at work in their data. So don’t be afraid to speculate - embrace it!
Just be sure not to state your speculations as certainties.
4. Acknowledge your studies' limitations
You’ve arrived at what I like to call the humble pie section. Despite how great you think your findings are, it’s time to eat some humble pie.
For the sake of presenting a balanced case (and remaining objective, like all good scientists should strive to do), it’s important that you discuss the limitations of your findings.
All good findings come with caveats and limitations - no study has the definitive, final answer to the universe!
For example, you might have discovered a strong relationship between the size of endemic birds and their historical likelihood to go extinct.
While a fascinating find, it would be overzealous to extend your conclusions about body size and extinction risk in birds to other animal groups without further empirical investigation.
So, to present a balanced case, you might speculate or hypothesize that given the shared evolutionary mechanisms between birds and other animal groups, you expect the same relationship to exist in mammals and reptiles.
Not only does this keep your discussion section objective, but it also opens the door for other researchers to answer these open questions and add to our wider understanding of the topic at hand.
Other types of limitations include:
- Imperfect experimental design
- Confounding variables
- Conflicting results
- Results that are sensitive to statistical treatment
- Geographical constraints
- Inaccurate or missing data
Note: Try to keep your ‘humble pie’ section to no more than 2 paragraphs. This maintains a healthy balance between discussing your results in the context of other work while remaining objective. Any more tends to distract from your research paper’s central storyline.
5. Give your recommendations
Here’s your chance to share your recommendations for future research and implementation of what you’ve found. Don’t just state that more studies need to be done - give concrete ideas about how future studies can expand or improve upon what you’ve done.
If your findings have important implications outside of academia, mention these here. For example, your findings might suggest that the conservation management strategy of an endangered species needs adjusting.
If your findings demand further investigation, you should also mention this here. For example, they might contradict our theoretical understanding of the study system, so further investigation should be carried out to confirm that a new theory is needed.
Finally, to close out your paper, state any take-home conclusions you’d like to leave the reader with.
FAQs
What goes in the discussion section of a thesis chapter?
The discussion section of your thesis chapter should include a summary of your key findings, comparison of your findings withrelated studies, discussion of potential causal mechanisms, an acknowledgement of your studies’ limitations, and recommendations for future research.
What is the difference between results and discussion?
The difference is primarily depth. The results section is simply an inventory of each of your findings. The discussion section, on the other hand, explores each of these findings in detail, discusses how they compare and contrast with the wider literature, highlights their implications and limitations, and offers recommendations for future work.
What is the difference between discussion and conclusion?
The discussion section is reserved for discussing the implications and limitations of your findings in relation to other work. The conclusion section is reserved for making final conclusions based on what you’ve found, with little mention of caveats or restrictions.
Not all paper formats have a dedicated conclusion section. Instead, conclusions are often made in the final paragraph of the discussion section.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You’ve just written a thorough and balanced discussion section for your research paper.
A well-written discussion section can do wonders for not only helping your paper stand out, but also increasing its long-term citation rate because other researchers will cite the ideas discussed within it.
You’ve put a lot of work into your research paper, so why not increase its chances of acceptance in a leading journal by getting it professionally edited?
Our scientific editors include former journal editors and publishing veterans, and their expertise could be the difference between receiving a rejection email or landing your paper in the high-impact journal of your dreams.
Dr. Matt Biddick is a Senior Editor & Research Consultant at RURU. You can book sessions with him here.
