how to write discussion section of a research paper

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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

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How to Write a Thoughtful Scientific Discussion Section for Your Paper

Having trouble writing the discussion section for your scientific paper? Help is at hand. Read our do’s and don’ts to help you have your paper polished up in no time.

Published November 24, 2023

Suryatapa is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. David Ehrhardt’s lab at the Carnegie Institution for Science – Department of Plant Biology. She is curious about unraveling the cellular mechanisms that plants use to successfully interact with their environment. Under this bigger query, her current focus is to characterize a novel family of cell periphery-associated proteins in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Listen to one of our scientific editorial team members read this article. Click  here  to access more audio articles or subscribe.

Writing a scientific discussion is crucial for disseminating research on your field of study, but it can be challenging. Follow the IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) and focus on summarizing results, contextualizing findings, and proposing future research. Emphasize the importance of your results, acknowledge study limitations, and discuss implications. Choose tone and tense wisely and adopt the style of your target journal. Avoid reiterating results, over-interpreting findings, introducing new data, and excessive jargon.

Let’s accept this: writing a good scientific paper, and writing an effective discussion, in particular, is daunting, and learning to write well is a skill that needs to be honed with plenty of practice.

If you’re a scientist, writing effective papers is essential: disseminating your work is crucial if anyone—from other researchers to the general public—is to benefit from your scientific endeavors.

But if you are someone for whom writing is about as easy as getting your PCR to work on a Friday afternoon when you have weekend plans, don’t panic. Bitesize Bio is here to help.

So, if you have got as far as writing up the results for your scientific paper and formatting and putting together your publication-worthy figures , too, then congratulations. You’re doing really well!

But now you need to write the scientific discussion. Eek. This is often the most difficult and thought-provoking part of any scientific manuscript (or thesis) to write.

It is the penultimate part of your paper, in which you summarize your key findings in light of the existing literature, and explain the significance and value of your work.

You also need to suggest some new directions for future research and address what research questions remain.

Unlike the abstract , the discussion section of a paper does not have a broad readership per se, but is written for both beginners to that particular area of science and experts of the same.

How to Structure a Scientific Paper

Most scientific papers follow the hourglass IMRaD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) structure, which means that the sections at the top and bottom of the hourglass (the Introduction and Discussion) occupy more space than the Methods and Results sections.

This means that your discussion wants to have a little more meat on its bones than the two sections that immediately precede it.

The discussion needs to be just that—a discussion. It isn’t enough to simply rehash your results; you need to situate your research in the context of previous studies, draw out the practical implications of your own research, address limitations, and suggest areas for future study.

Only then will your paper be ready for submission to a journal and the peer-review process.

So, what are the keys to success when writing a scientific discussion? We’ve pulled together a few do’s and don’ts to keep in mind.

What To Do When Writing A Scientific Discussion

1. do summarize your results and outline their interpretation in light of the published literature.

This is the first thing that you need to do when writing a scientific discussion section. Use the first paragraph to describe very briefly the conclusion from your results, and then explain what it means with respect to what is already known from previous studies.

Try to highlight the practical implications of your findings, and ensure that you demonstrate your ability to think critically about your main findings.

Remember to emphasize how your results support or refute the current hypotheses in the field, if any. Try to offer alternative explanations of the results.

This is also a good place to address if your data conflict with what is established in the field. By addressing these conflicts, other researchers in your field will re-examine and rebuild hypotheses/models to then test.

Keep in mind that all results should be discussed, and all parts of the discussion should relate to your results; don’t ignore any results, and don’t discuss anything that doesn’t relate to the results obtained.

2. Do Explain the Importance of Your Results

Be sure to advocate for your findings and underline how your results significantly move the field forward. Remember to give your results their due and don’t undermine them.

Make sure you mention the most important finding first; this is what people will remember.

3. Do Acknowledge the Shortcomings of the Study

In this section, explicitly state any potential limitations that your hypothesis or experimental approach might have and the reasoning behind them.

This will help the field to generate hypotheses and new approaches without facing the same challenges.

No study is perfect, and the discussion becomes well-rounded when you emphasize not only the impact of the study but also where it may fall short.

4. Do Discuss Any Future Directions

Depending on which journal you are publishing in , you might have to provide a separate “future directions” section, rather than having it tied into the discussion.

Nonetheless, you should think about the questions that your study might lead to while you are writing the discussion.

Consider posing a few questions, preferably in the form of a hypothesis, to provide a launchpad for future research, especially if your paper contains unexpected findings.

5. Do Decide Between the Active or Passi ve Voice

Lots of journals stipulate writing in the active voice, as it is more immediate and concise. And because the active voice is more personal, it also creates a better connection with the reader:

            We analyzed the samples.

Sometimes, however, the passive voice will be more appropriate if you wish to foreground the research rather than the researcher:

            The samples were analyzed.

The passive voice is widely used in scientific communication as it creates a kind of objective distance between the researcher and their research. But at the same time, it can come across as a bit dry and impersonal.

The key to writing engaging scientific papers is to vary your choice of the active and passive voice to best suit the point you’re trying to make.

Make sure you also check the preferences of your target journal and follow their style guide.

Use the active voice if the people performing an action are important, but opt for the passive voice if it is the action rather than those who performed it that is key. Check out our Grammar 101 webinar for more on this and other top scientific writing tips.

6. Do Pick Your Tenses Carefully

Scientific papers generally switch tenses between different sections of the paper. In the discussion section, a good rule of thumb is to stick to the past tense for describing completed actions (e.g., to summarize your findings):

            We measured the volumes of X and Y.

You should use the present tense to interpret your results or to discuss the significance of your research findings:

            This is significant because X and Y are…

Use the future tense to outline any work that is still to be done:

In a follow-up study, we will measure Z.

What NOT To Do While Writing a Scientific Discussion

Now that we’ve outlined the important features of an authoritative discussion section, here are a few pointers about things to avoid.

1. Don’t Reiterate Your Results

You can open the discussion with a sentence that contains a snapshot of the main conclusion, but make sure you stop right there!

You’ve already written a separate “results” section, so you don’t want to go into too much detail or repeat yourself by describing your results again. Rather, swiftly transition into what these results mean and explain their impact.

2. Don’t Over-Interpret Your Findings

I mentioned giving your results their proper due and underscoring their significance. But be careful not to extrapolate your results and interpret something that is beyond the scope of the study.

Keep in mind the difference between what your results suggest at a given point versus what more can be known from them. You can do this by asking more questions and applying other experimental approaches.

Importantly, you must draw conclusions commensurate with your results.

3. Don’t Introduce a New Piece of Data

Don’t make the discussion confusing by introducing any new results or research questions. Present all of your data in the results section, separate from the scientific discussion section.

4. Don’t Use Too Much Jargon

Although readers in your field of expertise would probably understand any jargon, try to minimize its use to make your paper accessible to a broader audience and to enable a larger impact.

If you need to use abbreviations, for example, make sure that they’re defined on the first mention. Even if a technique or reagent is more commonly known by an abbreviation, provide the full term in brackets.

You’re trying to share knowledge, so your discussion should be as easy to read as possible. Try to use plain English and bear in mind that English may not be the mother tongue of many of your readers, so it’s probably a good idea to avoid lots of idioms.

If you can use a shorter word for something, make sure you use it. Good writing is clear, concise, and simple, and this applies to science writing too. So choose “use” rather than “utilize”, or “ask” rather than “enquire”, for example.

This has nothing to do with dumbing down, and everything to do with clarity; there’s nothing to be gained from trying to make your writing sound overly scholarly or inaccessible.

Check out the resources of the Plain English Campaign for more help.

This also shows why gathering feedback on your writing and editing your work are such important steps in the process of writing scientific manuscripts.

You need to check how your paper sounds to someone else; if something doesn’t make sense to one of your readers, it probably needs to be rewritten.

Writing a Discussion in Summary

Writing and publishing papers is the main way we contribute to scientific knowledge, and the discussion section is a key part. 

In a nutshell, remember that the primary goal of writing a scientific discussion is to emphasize your results. Therefore, take the time to ensure that it is well-rounded, succinct, and relevant.

Do all that, and your paper should sail through peer review !

What are your top tips for writing a scientific discussion? We’d love to hear from you, so leave us a comment below.

If you want to become better at effective writing, check out our webinar on consistent, error-free writing .

Originally published December 7, 2016. Reviewed and updated on December 22, 2020. Reviewed and updated in October 2021. Reviewed and updated again in November 2023 .

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Discussion Section

• First Online: 10 December 2023

Cite this chapter

• Tara Fahmie 3 ,
• Stephanie Hood 4 &
• Javid Rahaman 3  

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This chapter covers the mechanics of the discussion section of a scholarly manuscript. The discussion section is intended to tie together the study and leave a meaningful, perhaps inspiring, impression on the reader. In this chapter, we review writing style, structure, common components, and common errors found in discussion sections. A variety of examples and tips are provided to aid the construction of a factual and impactful discussion section.

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Fahmie, T., Hood, S., Rahaman, J. (2023). Discussion Section. In: Griffith, A.K., Ré, T.C. (eds) Disseminating Behavioral Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47343-2_8

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How To Write A Perfect Discussion Section Of A Research Paper

A discussion section of a research paper is the most important part of your research process. During this section, you will determine the stance and scope of your research. Not to mention that the quality of the discussion will also influence your supervisor’s perception of your work. Writing it can be as hard as it is important. If you are still getting cold feet about this, worry no more!

Our experts have shared their opinions on how to write a discussion section. They have years of experience offering  research paper writing service , so we are confident that you will find their ideas the most helpful.

Table of Contents

Steps To Writing The Best Discussion Section In A Research Paper

You must prepare for your discussion section diligently. You should first make sure that you have a clear understanding of your paper and its contents. Then, it would help if you practiced summarizing your paper to different audiences. It will help you gauge how well you can articulate your ideas and explain your work. Here are all the ingredients you need to make your discussion section rock.

Introduce Your Idea/Topic

When you’re writing the discussion section in your research paper, the best part is the introduction. This part is filled with all the originality and basic ideas. You are forming the basis of your thesis, and you get to put the main points of everything you will discuss in your research paper ahead.

However, remember to be precise in your introduction and ensure that your focus is clear. It is normal to get distracted from your central idea when you love your research topics and are super excited about them. You would want to share more and more thoughts of yours. That can be tricky. So staying precise and focused is the goal that you want to achieve here. For example, if you are writing your paper on some  historical research topic , a great introduction comes with a historical perspective of your topic.

Define The Problem

Defining the problem is the most important part of the discussion section of a research paper. A problem is a deviation from the expected condition or an obstacle that prevents something from occurring. It is the first step in your research writing process. Gather some facts on context and background information. What existing knowledge and subsequent studies say about your problem matters a lot.

Address The Problem

A research problem is identified as a gap in the body of knowledge that needs to be addressed. It is important to spend time identifying the research problem because this is what the study will aim to solve. It is important to be as clear and concise as possible when addressing the problem and research question because this will guide the remainder of the study. We can take the problem of the environment and the  requirement of sustainability in business .

Asking The Questions

You have introduced your idea to your audience, or in our current sense, your reader. What’s the plan ahead? That’s right! Start with a question. The right question follows every great project. In the discussion section of a research paper, you lay down all the questions regarding your research and prepare the reader for what is to come. After defining the problem, this is the most important part. You ask all the questions that are present in society regarding your research topic.

For example, you will take your issue and apply the 5-WHY formula to find the root problem. Let’s assume you are writing on an  autism research topic . The right questions could be like this: What are the genetic causes of autism? Can autism be cured? How can we enable autistic children to do well in their lives? You could include questions from your psychology course syllabus as well.

Preparation of The Data

After you have asked all the right questions, the next step is to collect and prepare data for your research paper. It can involve various tasks, such as conducting surveys and interviews, collecting data from existing sources, or performing experiments. Once you have collected your data, it is important to prepare it for analysis. It can involve cleaning and organizing the data, ensuring that it is accurate and complete, and designing appropriate analysis methods. A deep look at the data can also lead you to further research and improve your topic.

Forming Hypothesis

One of the most interesting phases in the discussion sections of a research paper is forming a hypothesis. You form a hypothesis based on your data, make some initial conclusions, and share your understanding of the problem. Why does this problem exist? How much is further research required? How long has it existed? What are the causes and the effects, and where does this situation lead us? It is like the intermission of your research paper.

Comparative Analysis

It would be great to run a comparative analysis of your problem with other present issues and previous studies in the discussion section of a research paper. To provide a comprehensive analysis of your problem, it is important to compare it with other aspects of your research or the issues in the discussion section of your research paper. It will allow you to identify the key issues and develop a well-rounded argument.

Additionally, this comparative analysis will provide valuable insight into how your problem fits into the larger conversation surrounding it. A comparative analysis would also provide further research ideas and insights. We can take an example right here from the word analysis. If you are writing research about  the Middle East benefitting from data analytics , you can also compare it to the scope of data analytics in Europe and the Americas.

Interpretation of Results

After countless hours conducting research and writing your paper, it is time to discuss your results. That is where you get to analyze and discuss what your research found and what it means for the topic at hand. You can start by describing lessons learned and what they tell us. The results part is where you can add your insights and perspective to the discussion. So take your time and think about what you want to say. Your results are the most important part of your paper.

Comparison With Previously Published Research

According to a great philosopher, we only mimic existing things. Knowledge is never created; it always evolves. That is what research is all about. Comparing your research to the existing works would be a great idea. It can give the impression that you know what you are discussing and the roots of your subjects.

Comparison of your idea to the previous research would add more value to your ideas and increase their worth. It will also tell your reader why further research questions need to be asked and how we can compare them with other problems.

Limitations And Implications

An honest researcher would always know and would not hesitate to express the limitation of their hypothesis. Human knowledge is limited, after all. No matter how far we go, we can never reach the end of the universe. The same is the case with our research and case studies. Limitations would always bind us.

Writing limitations of your research would make your discussion section of a research paper perfect. It would also be great to state the practical implications of the subject to make your stance clear and precise.

Conclusions

After discussing the research topic, analyzing the problem and limitations, and how you conclude the outcome of your discussions, the conclusions should be based on the research findings and supported by evidence. The conclusions should be clear and concise. Typically, the conclusions of a discussion section of a research paper are between 1-3 pages. However, the size of the conclusion depends on the size and scope of your research paper.

The conclusion should summarize the paper’s main points and explain the research’s significance. It is important to restate the research question and answer it based on the study’s findings. The conclusion should also discuss the implications of the findings and make recommendations for future research.

Recommendations

The final step in the discussion section of a research paper is usually to provide recommendations. In this part, you take what you have learned from your research and suggest what should be done with that information. For example, if you were studying a new philosophical idea. We recommend further research and analysis before introducing it as a phenomenon.

This blog will help you write a brilliant discussion section for a research paper. Could you do your best and make us proud? If you still hesitate or need clarification, contact  Paper Perk for a consultation. We are always happy to help.

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The purpose of the discussion section is to interpret and describe the significance of your findings in relation to what was already known about the research problem being investigated and to explain any new understanding or insights that emerged as a result of your research. The discussion will always connect to the introduction by way of the research questions or hypotheses you posed and the literature you reviewed, but the discussion does not simply repeat or rearrange the first parts of your paper; the discussion clearly explains how your study advanced the reader's understanding of the research problem from where you left them at the end of your review of prior research.

Annesley, Thomas M. “The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument.” Clinical Chemistry 56 (November 2010): 1671-1674; Peacock, Matthew. “Communicative Moves in the Discussion Section of Research Articles.” System 30 (December 2002): 479-497.

Importance of a Good Discussion

The discussion section is often considered the most important part of your research paper because it:

• Most effectively demonstrates your ability as a researcher to think critically about an issue, to develop creative solutions to problems based upon a logical synthesis of the findings, and to formulate a deeper, more profound understanding of the research problem under investigation;
• Presents the underlying meaning of your research, notes possible implications in other areas of study, and explores possible improvements that can be made in order to further develop the concerns of your research;
• Highlights the importance of your study and how it can contribute to understanding the research problem within the field of study;
• Presents how the findings from your study revealed and helped fill gaps in the literature that had not been previously exposed or adequately described; and,
• Engages the reader in thinking critically about issues based on an evidence-based interpretation of findings; it is not governed strictly by objective reporting of information.

Annesley Thomas M. “The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument.” Clinical Chemistry 56 (November 2010): 1671-1674; Bitchener, John and Helen Basturkmen. “Perceptions of the Difficulties of Postgraduate L2 Thesis Students Writing the Discussion Section.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 5 (January 2006): 4-18; Kretchmer, Paul. Fourteen Steps to Writing an Effective Discussion Section. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  General Rules

These are the general rules you should adopt when composing your discussion of the results :

• Do not be verbose or repetitive; be concise and make your points clearly
• Avoid the use of jargon or undefined technical language
• Follow a logical stream of thought; in general, interpret and discuss the significance of your findings in the same sequence you described them in your results section [a notable exception is to begin by highlighting an unexpected result or a finding that can grab the reader's attention]
• Use the present verb tense, especially for established facts; however, refer to specific works or prior studies in the past tense
• If needed, use subheadings to help organize your discussion or to categorize your interpretations into themes

II.  The Content

The content of the discussion section of your paper most often includes :

• Explanation of results : Comment on whether or not the results were expected for each set of findings; go into greater depth to explain findings that were unexpected or especially profound. If appropriate, note any unusual or unanticipated patterns or trends that emerged from your results and explain their meaning in relation to the research problem.
• References to previous research : Either compare your results with the findings from other studies or use the studies to support a claim. This can include re-visiting key sources already cited in your literature review section, or, save them to cite later in the discussion section if they are more important to compare with your results instead of being a part of the general literature review of prior research used to provide context and background information. Note that you can make this decision to highlight specific studies after you have begun writing the discussion section.
• Deduction : A claim for how the results can be applied more generally. For example, describing lessons learned, proposing recommendations that can help improve a situation, or highlighting best practices.
• Hypothesis : A more general claim or possible conclusion arising from the results [which may be proved or disproved in subsequent research]. This can be framed as new research questions that emerged as a consequence of your analysis.

III.  Organization and Structure

Keep the following sequential points in mind as you organize and write the discussion section of your paper:

• Think of your discussion as an inverted pyramid. Organize the discussion from the general to the specific, linking your findings to the literature, then to theory, then to practice [if appropriate].
• Use the same key terms, narrative style, and verb tense [present] that you used when describing the research problem in your introduction.
• Begin by briefly re-stating the research problem you were investigating and answer all of the research questions underpinning the problem that you posed in the introduction.
• Describe the patterns, principles, and relationships shown by each major findings and place them in proper perspective. The sequence of this information is important; first state the answer, then the relevant results, then cite the work of others. If appropriate, refer the reader to a figure or table to help enhance the interpretation of the data [either within the text or as an appendix].
• Regardless of where it's mentioned, a good discussion section includes analysis of any unexpected findings. This part of the discussion should begin with a description of the unanticipated finding, followed by a brief interpretation as to why you believe it appeared and, if necessary, its possible significance in relation to the overall study. If more than one unexpected finding emerged during the study, describe each of them in the order they appeared as you gathered or analyzed the data. As noted, the exception to discussing findings in the same order you described them in the results section would be to begin by highlighting the implications of a particularly unexpected or significant finding that emerged from the study, followed by a discussion of the remaining findings.
• Before concluding the discussion, identify potential limitations and weaknesses if you do not plan to do so in the conclusion of the paper. Comment on their relative importance in relation to your overall interpretation of the results and, if necessary, note how they may affect the validity of your findings. Avoid using an apologetic tone; however, be honest and self-critical [e.g., in retrospect, had you included a particular question in a survey instrument, additional data could have been revealed].
• The discussion section should end with a concise summary of the principal implications of the findings regardless of their significance. Give a brief explanation about why you believe the findings and conclusions of your study are important and how they support broader knowledge or understanding of the research problem. This can be followed by any recommendations for further research. However, do not offer recommendations which could have been easily addressed within the study. This would demonstrate to the reader that you have inadequately examined and interpreted the data.

IV.  Overall Objectives

The objectives of your discussion section should include the following: I.  Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings

Briefly reiterate the research problem or problems you are investigating and the methods you used to investigate them, then move quickly to describe the major findings of the study. You should write a direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results, usually in one paragraph.

II.  Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important

No one has thought as long and hard about your study as you have. Systematically explain the underlying meaning of your findings and state why you believe they are significant. After reading the discussion section, you want the reader to think critically about the results and why they are important. You don’t want to force the reader to go through the paper multiple times to figure out what it all means. If applicable, begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most significant or unanticipated finding first, then systematically review each finding. Otherwise, follow the general order you reported the findings presented in the results section.

III.  Relate the Findings to Similar Studies

No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for your research. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps to support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your study differs from other research about the topic. Note that any significant or unanticipated finding is often because there was no prior research to indicate the finding could occur. If there is prior research to indicate this, you need to explain why it was significant or unanticipated. IV.  Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings

It is important to remember that the purpose of research in the social sciences is to discover and not to prove . When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations for the study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. This is especially important when describing the discovery of significant or unanticipated findings.

V.  Acknowledge the Study’s Limitations

It is far better for you to identify and acknowledge your study’s limitations than to have them pointed out by your professor! Note any unanswered questions or issues your study could not address and describe the generalizability of your results to other situations. If a limitation is applicable to the method chosen to gather information, then describe in detail the problems you encountered and why. VI.  Make Suggestions for Further Research

You may choose to conclude the discussion section by making suggestions for further research [as opposed to offering suggestions in the conclusion of your paper]. Although your study can offer important insights about the research problem, this is where you can address other questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or highlight hidden issues that were revealed as a result of conducting your research. You should frame your suggestions by linking the need for further research to the limitations of your study [e.g., in future studies, the survey instrument should include more questions that ask..."] or linking to critical issues revealed from the data that were not considered initially in your research.

NOTE: Besides the literature review section, the preponderance of references to sources is usually found in the discussion section . A few historical references may be helpful for perspective, but most of the references should be relatively recent and included to aid in the interpretation of your results, to support the significance of a finding, and/or to place a finding within a particular context. If a study that you cited does not support your findings, don't ignore it--clearly explain why your research findings differ from theirs.

V.  Problems to Avoid

• Do not waste time restating your results . Should you need to remind the reader of a finding to be discussed, use "bridge sentences" that relate the result to the interpretation. An example would be: “In the case of determining available housing to single women with children in rural areas of Texas, the findings suggest that access to good schools is important...," then move on to further explaining this finding and its implications.
• As noted, recommendations for further research can be included in either the discussion or conclusion of your paper, but do not repeat your recommendations in the both sections. Think about the overall narrative flow of your paper to determine where best to locate this information. However, if your findings raise a lot of new questions or issues, consider including suggestions for further research in the discussion section.
• Do not introduce new results in the discussion section. Be wary of mistaking the reiteration of a specific finding for an interpretation because it may confuse the reader. The description of findings [results section] and the interpretation of their significance [discussion section] should be distinct parts of your paper. If you choose to combine the results section and the discussion section into a single narrative, you must be clear in how you report the information discovered and your own interpretation of each finding. This approach is not recommended if you lack experience writing college-level research papers.
• Use of the first person pronoun is generally acceptable. Using first person singular pronouns can help emphasize a point or illustrate a contrasting finding. However, keep in mind that too much use of the first person can actually distract the reader from the main points [i.e., I know you're telling me this--just tell me!].

Analyzing vs. Summarizing. Department of English Writing Guide. George Mason University; Discussion. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Hess, Dean R. "How to Write an Effective Discussion." Respiratory Care 49 (October 2004); Kretchmer, Paul. Fourteen Steps to Writing to Writing an Effective Discussion Section. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sauaia, A. et al. "The Anatomy of an Article: The Discussion Section: "How Does the Article I Read Today Change What I Will Recommend to my Patients Tomorrow?” The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 74 (June 2013): 1599-1602; Research Limitations & Future Research . Lund Research Ltd., 2012; Summary: Using it Wisely. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Schafer, Mickey S. Writing the Discussion. Writing in Psychology course syllabus. University of Florida; Yellin, Linda L. A Sociology Writer's Guide . Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2009.

Writing Tip

Don’t Over-Interpret the Results!

Interpretation is a subjective exercise. As such, you should always approach the selection and interpretation of your findings introspectively and to think critically about the possibility of judgmental biases unintentionally entering into discussions about the significance of your work. With this in mind, be careful that you do not read more into the findings than can be supported by the evidence you have gathered. Remember that the data are the data: nothing more, nothing less.

MacCoun, Robert J. "Biases in the Interpretation and Use of Research Results." Annual Review of Psychology 49 (February 1998): 259-287; Ward, Paulet al, editors. The Oxford Handbook of Expertise . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Write Two Results Sections!

One of the most common mistakes that you can make when discussing the results of your study is to present a superficial interpretation of the findings that more or less re-states the results section of your paper. Obviously, you must refer to your results when discussing them, but focus on the interpretation of those results and their significance in relation to the research problem, not the data itself.

Azar, Beth. "Discussing Your Findings."  American Psychological Association gradPSYCH Magazine (January 2006).

Yet Another Writing Tip

Avoid Unwarranted Speculation!

The discussion section should remain focused on the findings of your study. For example, if the purpose of your research was to measure the impact of foreign aid on increasing access to education among disadvantaged children in Bangladesh, it would not be appropriate to speculate about how your findings might apply to populations in other countries without drawing from existing studies to support your claim or if analysis of other countries was not a part of your original research design. If you feel compelled to speculate, do so in the form of describing possible implications or explaining possible impacts. Be certain that you clearly identify your comments as speculation or as a suggestion for where further research is needed. Sometimes your professor will encourage you to expand your discussion of the results in this way, while others don’t care what your opinion is beyond your effort to interpret the data in relation to the research problem.

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Research Article

How to write an effective discussion in a research paper; a guide to writing the discussion section of a research article.

Hamed Taherdoost*

University Canada West, Canada

Corresponding Author

Hamed Taherdoost, University Canada West, Vancouver, Canada.

Received Date: February 10, 2022;   Published Date: April 23, 2022

Discussion is mainly the section in a research paper that makes the readers understand the exact meaning of the results achieved in a study by exploring the significant points of the research, its implications in different areas of the study, and the improvements that the study can make for future developments. However, it is commonly challenging for researchers to realize what should be covered in the discussion section of a research paper and how to write it to ensure it helps to sell the research paper to the audience. The main aim of this article is to provide information on writing the discussion section appropriately in a research paper. For doing this, more details about the purpose of writing a discussion in an academic research project are provided and differences between discussion and introduction are clarified. Then, the important points that need to be considered or avoided in a standard discussion section are discussed.

Keywords: Discussion; Research; Guide; Article; Academic Paper; Research Project; Research Process; Research Sections; Research Elements

• What Does Discussion Mean in a Research Paper?

In a research paper, the hypothesis, the purpose, and the design of the study should be regarded initially. You need also describe your research methods, collect data, analyze them and then obtain the results. Now, you are ready to add the discussion section with the aim of providing more effective implications about your study (based on the results) and achieving the real meaning of your result.

Generally, this section includes an evaluation and interpretation of your result as well as the differences between them and your written hypothesis discussed in the initial parts of your paper. However, the critical point to consider is thinking about this section at the beginning of the research process, even though it comes at the end of the paper. For this purpose, you should design specific questions based on the outset of your study. These questions should be developed based on the following:

• The importance of the study • The relationship between the study and previous similar ones • The limitations of the design of the study [3].

It can be also noted that, in some other kinds of papers, for example reaction papers or essays, discussion section is used to gain a summary about the main points of the research paper together with the reflections and connections and the previous statements as well [1]. Considering all these points, discussion section provides the last chance for the researcher to sell the research paper to the audience [5].

• What are the Differences between Discussion and Introduction Sections?

In the first section, we provided the main properties of a good discussion section, but to gain a better understanding, we aim to compare this part with the introduction in a research paper.

First of all, the main aim of introduction is to provide the answer to the question about the needs of conducting the research. However, discussion as explained before, aims to provide an interpretation about the results to help you gain a better understanding.

Secondly, discussion includes the answers to research questions and it also discusses whether the results support the hypothesis or not. However, in the introduction section, the hypothesis or the research question are disclosed.

Another difference is based on the content of these sections. Introduction aims to provide the current knowledge about a topic to achieve the gaps in the field of the study. On the other hand, discussion lists the finding of your study and recommends the gaps that can be considered for future works.

Finally, you need to gain a specific objective from general information in the flow of an introduction. The flow of discussion; however, is inverse and at the end of this section you can implicate for a relevant general population from your initial specific results [5].

• How to Write a Discussion Section?

The method of writing a standard discussion section will be discussed in this section. The paragraphs are written based on the following points:

The first section of a discussion, also known as the opening section, is the most challenging part to write. It can be shaped using different constructions. Most authors start the discussion section answering the research question using the data of the result section to gain the central conclusion of the study. It can be also started using the re-description of the main purpose and encompass the results of some other works to support this purpose [2]. However, this section can be also shaped using a general summary of the findings without any details and based on the previous sections of the paper. This helps the readers who want to gain an overview of the study without reading the results and methodologies [5].

In the next section, a subjective judgment is required. For this purpose, a framework should be used based on the four following steps: interpret results, compare or contrast results with other relevant ones both with similar and different results as they are provided in the literature, account for results, and finally evaluate findings [4].

Next, the limitations and strengthen points of the research should be added based on different points such as objectives of the work, the characteristics of the participant or conduct of the paper, and finally the needs of sensitive, or specific tests. Then, it should be explained how the limitations can affect the results of the study and what countermeasures were applied to face them. Unexpected findings should be also provided in this section.

Then, present and implicate the findings of study based on the whole evidence from both the previous results and the current work, and then cite what your result can add to the state-of- the-art knowledge in this field. The validity and applicability of the result should be also discussed based on the achieved data and without exaggerating the importance of the study.

Finally, state whether the results support the hypothesis or not and add both un-answered questions and new questions raised by the research for future studies. If results disprove the hypothesis, the reasons behind the differences should be also explained [5].

• What Element Should Be Included and Avoided in a Discussion Section?

Generally, a discussion section aims to show the advantages and merits of your research to the readers. Based on this statement, it should include some elements. These particles are listed as the following:

Main Findings: The most important findings of your research should be listed at the beginning of the discussion directly, declaratively, and without including any data. For example, our results show that …. has no effect on….

Meaning and Importance of Your Findings: you should explain the meaning of your results, and their importance without overbearing or unbending statements. You should help the reader to easily understand the results of your work. Because most of the readers do not prefer to go through the results multiple times and thus, in this situation your work would be forgotten and disregarded.

Relationships with Other Studies: All studies are shaped based on the questions raised from other works. These questions motivate you to conduct a new study. On the other hand, findings of other research works can support your study.

Different Explanations: Instead of considering those explanations that fit your viewpoints, go through all possible explanations. It helps you to find the truth, not just being trapped into a specific design. You should not conclude based on just your biases. Therefore, try to discover, not just proving your bias.

Limitations and Suggestions: As all studies may face limitations, it is recommended to discuss the limitations of the study in the paper instead of waiting to find them in the works of other researchers in the future. It is also possible to make some suggestions based on these limitations or the remaining questions at the discussion section.

On the other hand, there are some general points that should be avoided in the discussion section:

Impress Others: First of all, keep in mind that the discussion is not a forum for the researcher to impress others with knowledge regarding the subject.

Over-Interpretation, Unwarranted Inflation and Irrelevant Points: Nothing should be interpreted beyond supported data and the unwarranted inflations to avoid readers’ objections should be discussed. You should also stay on the main hypothesis and research questions and avoid considering other irrelevant issues or critiques on the other researches, as this is not the section to attack the results of other [3].

In the last part of this section, important general rules which should be considered when writing a discussion section are provided. These points are listed following:

• Make sure that the language is concise and clear to prevent misunderstandings.

• Use active voices as the predominant structures and add some mixtures of active and passive sentences as well.

• Use tables and figures to explain complex mechanisms. However, they are rarely used in this section [5].

The result of the research can be described in the conclusion section at the end of the paper. This section provides information regarding the path a researcher can write a discussion section as well as the points to consider and avoid achieving a technical discussion. Considering the above statements, discussion covers the following points:

• States the most important finding of the research; • Relates results and previous studies; • Explains findings of the research; • Provides an acknowledgment about limitations of the work; • Finally, it makes suggestions for further researches.

Acknowledgement

• Conflict of Interest

Author declare no conflict of interest.

Table 1: Characteristic of the patients with AED withdrawal (n=162).

• (2019) American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
• Bavdekar SB (2015) Describing the significance of the study findings. J Assoc Physicians India 63(11): 40-42.
• Hess DR (2004) How to write an effective discussion. Respir Care 49(10): 1238-1241.
• Hwang K (2012) Writing the discussion. Arch Plast Surg 39(3): 183.
• Nodoushan M, Khakbaz N (2011) Theses ‘Discussion’ sections: A structural move analysis. International Journal of Language Studies 5(3): 111-132.
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• DOI: 10.33552/OAJAP.2022.05.000609
• Volume 5 - Issue 2, 2022
• Open Access

Hamed Taherdoost. How to Write an Effective Discussion in a Research Paper; a Guide to Writing the Discussion Section of a Research Article. Open Access J Addict & Psychol 5(2): 2022. OAJAP.MS.ID.000609. DOI: 10.33552/OAJAP.2022.05.000609.

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Academic Writing Tips for the Discussion Section of a Research Paper

This article is part of an ongoing series on academic writing help of scholarly articles. Previous parts explored how to write an introduction for a research paper , literature review outline and format , how to write a research methodology , and presenting research findings .

In the ‘Discussion and Conclusion’ section, you have to interpret and depict the noteworthiness and significance of your discoveries as they relate to the research questions and results. Also, it is important to point out and clarify any new understanding or contributions your study brings to the problem you have examined.

What to Include in Your Academic Article’s ‘Discussion’ Section

This section is frequently viewed as the most important component of your academic article. That’s why, it’s very important that your ‘Discussion’ section includes the following aspects:

• Results explanations and clarification of results: in your discussion, mention if your study’s findings were according to your initial assumptions or if you discovered outcomes that unexpected or particularly significant. In case you reached unexpected results or patterns, you should explain them and clarify significance (or new avenues for future research) in connection to the research issue.
• Referencing other studies: your research outcomes should be contrasted to other previous studies, or presented in line with other recorded findings. This can incorporate re-visiting previously sources that were already mentioned in the Literature Review or Results section.
• Highlighting links to a broader framework: in your academic article, you can describe how the outcomes of your research are connected to broader concepts or knowledge on a particular subject.
• Hypothesis discussion: it’s also important to present a general conclusion that emerged from the outcomes of your study, regardless if the claim was demonstrated or refuted. The general conclusion you present can also be linked to new avenues for future research.

How to Organize the ‘Discussion and Conclusion’ Section of Your Research Paper

For a high-quality academic article, you should divide your ‘Discussion’ section in at least 3 parts, focused on the theoretical contributions of your research paper, the managerial or policy implications, and limitations and future research suggestions based on the outcomes and conclusions of your study.

Theoretical Contributions

This should be the first sub-section of your article’s ‘Discussion and Conclusion’ section and it should portray the following aspects:

• Start by repeating the research problem and present the most important findings of your study
• Clarify the meaning of the findings and explain their significance
• Show how your research helps reach a more meaningful comprehension of the research problem
• Present solutions to the research problems you encountered based on your study’s discoveries
• Indicate similarities or differences with prior studies that explored similar issues like your research paper
• Document negative results and offer explanations for their emergence
• Consider all possible explanations for the study’s discoveries and discuss them, accordingly

Managerial or Policy Implications

In social sciences, particularly for academic articles in business and management, marketing, economics and finance (as the ones we publish at Expert Journals), a majority of studies have either managerial, or policy implications.

The implications for practitioners or policy-makers reflected in your academic article should show:

• How your study responds and offers solutions to real and current issues they are experiencing
• Which practical measures you propose , as an academic for managers or policy-makers, based on your analysis and results

Study’s Limitations and Directions for Future Research

Limitations and suggestions for future research can either be included in one sub-section, or two, depending on the length of the discussion for each one of them.

For your academic article’s Limitations , you should:

• Indicate any research questions or problems that were not included in your academic article (these can also serve as suggestions for future research)
• For empirical studies, focus on the restrictions of your chosen research methods, data collection limitations, results, interpretation and describe in detail the issues you experienced and why.
• For theoretical studies, focus on limitations regarding your sources, concepts, and what you might have overlooked (or not emphasized enough) in your paper.

For your academic article’s Future Research Directions , you should:

• Correlate possible new avenues for research with your results (either the ones that were discovered, or the unexpected findings)
• Depict the hypotheses, relationships, connections that resulted from your analysis and offer perspective on what they mean to general knowledge of the subject being studied.
• Identify limitations and restrictions of your research paper
• Outline your recommendations for additional research to the limitations of your study or to a spects that your analysis revealed and need further examination

Key Structure Aspects for Your ‘Discussion and Conclusion’ Section

For a good structure and organization of your research’s discussion and conclusion, keep in mind these aspects:

• Think of your discussion and conclusion section as an inverted pyramid: start from the general aspects of your research and then focus on the specifics.
• Use the same terms, academic writing style that was used throughout your research paper
• Use the present verb tense (as the one used in the Introduction of your paper), especially for established facts; however, refer to specific works or prior studies in the past tense
• Include any unexpected findings that your analysis highlighted
• Note that negative results offer you the opportunity to write a more engaging ‘Discussion’ section
• Avoid repetitions of your article’s findings that were already presented in the ‘ Results ’ section

Which aspects do you focus on when writing your research results section?

This blog series focuses on useful academic writing tips. Find our more on writing high-quality research papers

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Thanks for sharing the marvelous info. It is an excellent article which helps me a lot. I expect we will get this type of informative article more and more.

How to Write the Discussion Section of a Research Paper

The discussion section of a research paper analyzes and interprets the findings, provides context, compares them with previous studies, identifies limitations, and suggests future research directions.

Updated on September 15, 2023

Structure your discussion section right, and you’ll be cited more often while doing a greater service to the scientific community. So, what actually goes into the discussion section? And how do you write it?

The discussion section of your research paper is where you let the reader know how your study is positioned in the literature, what to take away from your paper, and how your work helps them. It can also include your conclusions and suggestions for future studies.

First, we’ll define all the parts of your discussion paper, and then look into how to write a strong, effective discussion section for your paper or manuscript.

Discussion section: what is it, what it does

The discussion section comes later in your paper, following the introduction, methods, and results. The discussion sets up your study’s conclusions. Its main goals are to present, interpret, and provide a context for your results.

What is it?

The discussion section provides an analysis and interpretation of the findings, compares them with previous studies, identifies limitations, and suggests future directions for research.

This section combines information from the preceding parts of your paper into a coherent story. By this point, the reader already knows why you did your study (introduction), how you did it (methods), and what happened (results). In the discussion, you’ll help the reader connect the ideas from these sections.

Why is it necessary?

The discussion provides context and interpretations for the results. It also answers the questions posed in the introduction. While the results section describes your findings, the discussion explains what they say. This is also where you can describe the impact or implications of your research.

Adds context for your results

Most research studies aim to answer a question, replicate a finding, or address limitations in the literature. These goals are first described in the introduction. However, in the discussion section, the author can refer back to them to explain how the study's objective was achieved. 

Shows what your results actually mean and real-world implications

The discussion can also describe the effect of your findings on research or practice. How are your results significant for readers, other researchers, or policymakers?

What to include in your discussion (in the correct order)

A complete and effective discussion section should at least touch on the points described below.

Summary of key findings

The discussion should begin with a brief factual summary of the results. Concisely overview the main results you obtained.

Begin with key findings with supporting evidence

Your results section described a list of findings, but what message do they send when you look at them all together?

Your findings were detailed in the results section, so there’s no need to repeat them here, but do provide at least a few highlights. This will help refresh the reader’s memory and help them focus on the big picture.

Read the first paragraph of the discussion section in this article (PDF) for an example of how to start this part of your paper. Notice how the authors break down their results and follow each description sentence with an explanation of why each finding is relevant. 

State clearly and concisely

Following a clear and direct writing style is especially important in the discussion section. After all, this is where you will make some of the most impactful points in your paper. While the results section often contains technical vocabulary, such as statistical terms, the discussion section lets you describe your findings more clearly. 

Interpretation of results

Once you’ve given your reader an overview of your results, you need to interpret those results. In other words, what do your results mean? Discuss the findings’ implications and significance in relation to your research question or hypothesis.

Analyze and interpret your findings

Look into your findings and explore what’s behind them or what may have caused them. If your introduction cited theories or studies that could explain your findings, use these sources as a basis to discuss your results.

For example, look at the second paragraph in the discussion section of this article on waggling honey bees. Here, the authors explore their results based on information from the literature.

Unexpected or contradictory results

Sometimes, your findings are not what you expect. Here’s where you describe this and try to find a reason for it. Could it be because of the method you used? Does it have something to do with the variables analyzed? Comparing your methods with those of other similar studies can help with this task.

Context and comparison with previous work

Refer to related studies to place your research in a larger context and the literature. Compare and contrast your findings with existing literature, highlighting similarities, differences, and/or contradictions.

How your work compares or contrasts with previous work

Studies with similar findings to yours can be cited to show the strength of your findings. Information from these studies can also be used to help explain your results. Differences between your findings and others in the literature can also be discussed here. 

How to divide this section into subsections

If you have more than one objective in your study or many key findings, you can dedicate a separate section to each of these. Here’s an example of this approach. You can see that the discussion section is divided into topics and even has a separate heading for each of them. 

Limitations

Many journals require you to include the limitations of your study in the discussion. Even if they don’t, there are good reasons to mention these in your paper.

Why limitations don’t have a negative connotation

A study’s limitations are points to be improved upon in future research. While some of these may be flaws in your method, many may be due to factors you couldn’t predict.

Examples include time constraints or small sample sizes. Pointing this out will help future researchers avoid or address these issues. This part of the discussion can also include any attempts you have made to reduce the impact of these limitations, as in this study .

How limitations add to a researcher's credibility

Pointing out the limitations of your study demonstrates transparency. It also shows that you know your methods well and can conduct a critical assessment of them.  

Implications and significance

The final paragraph of the discussion section should contain the take-home messages for your study. It can also cite the “strong points” of your study, to contrast with the limitations section.

Restate your hypothesis

Remind the reader what your hypothesis was before you conducted the study. 

How was it proven or disproven?

Identify your main findings and describe how they relate to your hypothesis.

How your results contribute to the literature

Were you able to answer your research question? Or address a gap in the literature?

Future implications of your research

Describe the impact that your results may have on the topic of study. Your results may show, for instance, that there are still limitations in the literature for future studies to address. There may be a need for studies that extend your findings in a specific way. You also may need additional research to corroborate your findings. 

Sample discussion section

This fictitious example covers all the aspects discussed above. Your actual discussion section will probably be much longer, but you can read this to get an idea of everything your discussion should cover.

Our results showed that the presence of cats in a household is associated with higher levels of perceived happiness by its human occupants. These findings support our hypothesis and demonstrate the association between pet ownership and well-being. 

The present findings align with those of Bao and Schreer (2016) and Hardie et al. (2023), who observed greater life satisfaction in pet owners relative to non-owners. Although the present study did not directly evaluate life satisfaction, this factor may explain the association between happiness and cat ownership observed in our sample.

Our findings must be interpreted in light of some limitations, such as the focus on cat ownership only rather than pets as a whole. This may limit the generalizability of our results.

Nevertheless, this study had several strengths. These include its strict exclusion criteria and use of a standardized assessment instrument to investigate the relationships between pets and owners. These attributes bolster the accuracy of our results and reduce the influence of confounding factors, increasing the strength of our conclusions. Future studies may examine the factors that mediate the association between pet ownership and happiness to better comprehend this phenomenon.

This brief discussion begins with a quick summary of the results and hypothesis. The next paragraph cites previous research and compares its findings to those of this study. Information from previous studies is also used to help interpret the findings. After discussing the results of the study, some limitations are pointed out. The paper also explains why these limitations may influence the interpretation of results. Then, final conclusions are drawn based on the study, and directions for future research are suggested.

How to make your discussion flow naturally

If you find writing in scientific English challenging, the discussion and conclusions are often the hardest parts of the paper to write. That’s because you’re not just listing up studies, methods, and outcomes. You’re actually expressing your thoughts and interpretations in words.

• How formal should it be?
• What words should you use, or not use?
• How do you meet strict word limits, or make it longer and more informative?

Always give it your best, but sometimes a helping hand can, well, help. Getting a professional edit can help clarify your work’s importance while improving the English used to explain it. When readers know the value of your work, they’ll cite it. We’ll assign your study to an expert editor knowledgeable in your area of research. Their work will clarify your discussion, helping it to tell your story. Find out more about AJE Editing.

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Writing a discussion section of research paper.

Are you struggling to write your first research paper? Congratulations! Doing it all by yourself won’t be easy, but you will quickly get the hang of it. Subsequent papers will be a lot easier to write. However, the first research paper always proves to be difficult. You don’t have extensive experience with academic writing, so you may be wondering how to write various sections of it.

The discussion section of research paper is one of the most difficult sections of the essay. This is why we will do our best to explain what it is, what it is there for, and how to write it. We will help you write the research paper discussion section in just one hour – or less. Read on!

The Importance of Discussion in a Research Paper

The role of a discussion in research paper may not be evident from the start. After all, most students think that the main purpose of the essay is to conduct research and present the findings. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. You need to also be able to discuss your findings and draw the appropriate conclusions. Your professor wants to see that you’ve understood the research methods and know how to analyze the results.

Simply presenting a list of results won’t be enough, obviously. This is precisely why you need a discussion in a research paper. And remember, the research paper discussion will be under intense scrutiny by your professor. It weighs heavily on the final grade, so be very careful how you write it.

So, What Goes in the Discussion Section of a Research Paper?

By now, you are probably interested to learn what goes in the discussion section of a research paper. Our academic writers have offered us some insight into this complicated section of the essay. Most often, the discussion section is made up of several paragraphs, each one dealing with an important finding. You will basically be analyzing the underlying meaning of your research. You will try to prove that your research and findings are of great help to the scientific community; that they fill gaps in knowledge. Here is what the discussion section should include:

• An explanation of the results. You should make it clear to your audience whether the results were expected or unexpected. In case of unexpected (or very important results), discuss your findings in greater detail. Make sure you note any important patterns or information that you came across during the research phase.
• Previous research. Of course, the discussion part of research paper should take into consideration previous research. Try to link your results to other studies and, when possible, show the gaps in knowledge that your own work can fill. The literature review section already contains the studies you should discuss.
• The deduction. How can the results of your study be applied generally? Do you have some recommendations to improve some best practices? Or perhaps you can suggest a way to improve a certain condition or situation. Bottom line, you need to show your readers how your research can help the scientific community.
• The research hypothesis . You can include a hypothesis (a possible conclusion or a more general claim) in the discussion section in a research paper. Keep in mind that the hypothesis can be disproved by subsequent research papers.

How to Write a Discussion Section of a Research Paper

The things that can go into the discussion section of a research paper we have listed above can be used in any order you wish. You can start with the hypothesis, if you want to. However, you should be very careful to remain objective while you discuss your findings. We know that you need to support your thesis, but sometimes the results of your research simply disprove it. The discussion section of research paper should discuss accurate results and data, even if you don’t like the outcome of your study.

We realize you probably want to learn how to start the discussion section of a research paper right away. You don’t have much time at your disposal, after all. Here are the basic steps you need to take to write this section as fast as possible:

• We’ll assume you’ve done the research yourself and then wrote the paper. In case you’ve taken data from an original discussion section of a research paper example (like the ones you can get from our amazing team of writers), you should read the paper from start to finish at least twice.
• Summarize all of your most important findings. This should take just one paragraph, so be very concise and stick to the point. You don’t need to repeat all your findings.
• Interpret the results. If you want to learn how to write the discussion section of a research paper, you need to be able to analyze data. Even though you know what the data means, your readers don’t. Explain why it is significant and how. Are there any patterns in the data? Were your findings expected? Are there any other explanations for the results?
• Identify the implications and discuss them. You should link your findings to the other studies that you have listed in the Literature Review section. What does your data prove? How does it fill a gap in knowledge? Did your work disprove the hypothesis of another research paper?
• A key part of learning how to write a discussion section of a research paper is accepting the limitations. You need to acknowledge the limitations of your research and present them in an objective way. Were there variables you were unable to control? Was the sample size too small? Were there any problems with data gathering or analysis?
• Make the appropriate recommendations. The discussion and conclusion in research paper are not that different, so you need to end the Discussion section with some recommendations. Is there a need for future research? Does a situation or best practice need to be changed? State your recommendations clearly.

Get A Discussion Section of a Research Paper Example

Writing the discussion section shouldn’t be difficult. The advice you’re received above – as well as the guide – should help you write the section in less than one hour. However, we realize you need something more palpable. You need an excellent discussion section of a research paper example. By reading a well-written sample, you can understand how the writer discussed his or her findings. The problem is that finding a great example of discussion in research paper is not as easy as it sounds.

The Internet is full of badly written Discussion sections. An example of a discussion research paper writers would use is hard to come by. Get in touch with our seasoned academic writers if you need such a sample. They will gladly send you a well-written and well-organized example. And since the sample will be written just for you, it will be 100% original. In addition, our team of academics can show you how to write results and discussion in a research paper quickly for a top grade. You can rely on us for quick help.

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How to Write a Quality Discussion Section of a Research Paper?

Table of Content

Purpose of a Discussion Section

How long should a discussion section be, research summary, results interpretations, comparison with your similar work, implications of your findings, limitations of your research, adding more findings, forgetting any part, writing false claims, pasting the result section, making it dull, inflating the results, under-state your research, disconnecting to the previous sections, excluding the proofreading, exceeding the word limit.

Are you facing issues while writing the discussion section of a research paper? Worry not! Our blog teaches you how to write it effectively. It covers the definition, structure, and example of the discussion section. If you understand them once, you will never face any problems while writing any of your research papers. So, without wasting a second, let's learn how to write a discussion section, beginning with its meaning.

What Is a Discussion Section of a Research Paper?

The discussion section is the second last section of a research paper that comes after the results section and before the conclusion. It differs from the findings page as it includes more explanation, importance, and subjective opinion. Moreover, the discussion section also covers the interpretation and limitations. Lastly, it also includes a comparison with your previous work, if you have done it on a similar topic. In some papers, the content of the discussion and the conclusion section is almost the same, so many even combine them.

What to Include in the Discussion Section of a Research Paper?

• Result Interpretation
• Comparison with Your Similar Work
• Implications of your Findings
• Limitations of your research

The discussion section is mostly the last part of your whole research paper. So, why do you have to add it? This section explains your results and why they are essential. Without it, the reader may feel that the paper lacks something and may not fully understand your viewpoint on the results.

Now, let us know the ideal length of a discussion section. You can keep it as long as you require, but the rule is to make it no longer than any of the other sections of the research paper. This section should be of 7 paragraphs and each of 200 words. So, the final length would be 1200-1400 words, but why many paras? Because one long passage would look messy and difficult to understand. If you cannot write this long, then get online help by searching for "can i hire someone to write my paper ."

Structure of a Discussion Section

You have understood the basic definition and details of a discussion section. Let us now discuss the structure in depth and what goes in each paragraph. We have broken down it into five divisions, so let's learn how to write a discussion section with the summary part first.

The first paragraph will deal with the summary of your work. Remember to start with the research topic, which will help the readers to recall your results section and understand your upcoming content. Second, write about the methods you have used to conduct your research. Lastly, tell about your research results. But you do not have to explain every detail, write in 3-4 lines concisely and clearly.

The second paragraph interprets your results. If the previous division answers to what, this part answers why, how, and when. Here, you can also analyze your findings. Lastly, discuss the unexpected part of the results and why it occurred. If you find it difficult, search for online assignment help .

After your result interpretations, compare your findings with your previous work, if you have on a similar topic. For instance, the last time B occurred, A was the reason. But now, C is seen as the reason for the happening of B. So, you can talk about why it varies this time. Compare your results with the past work and add the reasons for variations and similarities.

The fourth paragraph talks about the importance, which means why your research is useful. How it can serve society, tell if B was the result then how society will benefit. Second, also talk about the evidence and reasons if your research contradicts or supports the existing material of the other scholars. For instance, if you say A is the reason for B, but others say X is the reason for B, tell why you are correct and they are wrong.

Lastly, talk about the limitations of your research process, your findings, the data sample you collected, or problems you faced during research. Tell about the errors you made which can prove your research wrong. Lastly, tell readers the way to use the data even with flaws. Be authentic and do not try to hide them.

So, this is what goes in the discussion section of a research paper. Let us now learn about the things to avoid which can degrade the quality of your writing.

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What to Avoid while writing a Discussion Section?

So, now that you understand the structure of a discussion section let's learn some pointers to avoid. If you do not correct them, then your writing quality will degrade and your section may not be able to fulfill its objective.

Never add any new findings in your discussion section. Only discuss the one which you have already written on the results page. Adding new ones may confuse the readers. If you have something more to add, first include it in the findings and then explain it in the discussion section.

Sometimes, we are in so much rush that we forget to add any part of the structure of the discussion section. Every division has its importance, do not think anyone is less relevant and delete it. Not including any part will hamper the effectiveness of the content and readers may find it inadequate.

Sometimes, while researching, you may find something interesting to add that can elevate the impact of your research paper. But you are not sure whether it is true or not. So, avoid adding such findings, as they can affect the credibility of your paper. If you still want to add them, write "it looks like" as the readers will understand that the information can go wrong.

As stated earlier, the discussion section is the place where you analyze and discuss your results. Do not finish it by just copying the content of your results section. Yes, you have to introduce your findings, but then there is more to add like the results' purpose, analysis and limitations. You will get more clarity with the discussion section example added later.

The discussion section should be positive and energizing. The reader must feel to read even further by going through your paper. You can do that by adding something interesting from your whole research. The second way is to start it with the research statement which will introduce the topic to the readers. If you cannot put it down interestingly, you can search for custom writing .

It means that you should avoid over-saying any pointers related to your results. Do not exaggerate the result data or importance and mislead your readers. You may get caught later, there are consequences for that. Be true to your research and audience, and do not fool them.

Do not say anything less about your results' numbers, importance, and interpretations. It also does not mean that you will overemphasize the limitations of your primary research . Critically write them with insights and positive language. Do not make the limitations sound too negative.

It is essential to write your discussion in a manner that connects to all the previous sections (method, results, etc). If you fail to connect it properly then it will be difficult for the readers to understand.

Remember to proofread your discussion section when you do that for your whole research paper. If you avoid it, you may leave room for errors. Mistakes like incorrect information, grammatical errors or unclear sentences can make piss off your audience.

Often having so many things to add to the discussion section makes it too long. First, if you make it longer than 6-7 paragraphs, the reader is less likely to read it. Second, you may make long sentences that are even more difficult to understand. Write it concisely and remove the fluff.

An Example of a Perfect Discussion Section

The discussion section example is here on the topic - Stress or Reward: the better motivator. It is small just for your explanation, you can increase it as per your requirements.

The research question is what motivates the employee better- stress or reward? For that, we have taken twenty employees of the same company. We asked 10 to deliver X in ten days and if they fail, their salaries will get cut. The other ten will get a 10% bonus as a reward if they deliver X. Both of the groups have the same capabilities and were given the same amount of time and resources. After ten days, the reward group delivered 95% of the X, while the stressed group completed only 60% of X. It happened because the group who wanted rewards was working peacefully, unlike the other one who was always in fear of losing something. This data again supported the previous research and will help the businesses to increase the productivity of the employees. But it has some limitations like the sample was too small and the employees were of only one industry.

So this was the discussion section of a research paper example, hope you now have fully understood the structure

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How to Write a Discussion Section for a Research Paper

We’ve talked about several useful writing tips that authors should consider while drafting or editing their research papers. In particular, we’ve focused on  figures and legends , as well as the Introduction ,  Methods , and  Results . Now that we’ve addressed the more technical portions of your journal manuscript, let’s turn to the analytical segments of your research article. In this article, we’ll provide tips on how to write a strong Discussion section that best portrays the significance of your research contributions.

What is the Discussion section of a research paper?

In a nutshell,  your Discussion fulfills the promise you made to readers in your Introduction . At the beginning of your paper, you tell us why we should care about your research. You then guide us through a series of intricate images and graphs that capture all the relevant data you collected during your research. We may be dazzled and impressed at first, but none of that matters if you deliver an anti-climactic conclusion in the Discussion section!

Are you feeling pressured? Don’t worry. To be honest, you will edit the Discussion section of your manuscript numerous times. After all, in as little as one to two paragraphs ( Nature ‘s suggestion  based on their 3,000-word main body text limit), you have to explain how your research moves us from point A (issues you raise in the Introduction) to point B (our new understanding of these matters). You must also recommend how we might get to point C (i.e., identify what you think is the next direction for research in this field). That’s a lot to say in two paragraphs!

So, how do you do that? Let’s take a closer look.

What should I include in the Discussion section?

As we stated above, the goal of your Discussion section is to  answer the questions you raise in your Introduction by using the results you collected during your research . The content you include in the Discussions segment should include the following information:

• Remind us why we should be interested in this research project.
• Describe the nature of the knowledge gap you were trying to fill using the results of your study.
• Don’t repeat your Introduction. Instead, focus on why  this  particular study was needed to fill the gap you noticed and why that gap needed filling in the first place.
• Mainly, you want to remind us of how your research will increase our knowledge base and inspire others to conduct further research.
• Clearly tell us what that piece of missing knowledge was.
• Answer each of the questions you asked in your Introduction and explain how your results support those conclusions.
• Make sure to factor in all results relevant to the questions (even if those results were not statistically significant).
• Focus on the significance of the most noteworthy results.
• If conflicting inferences can be drawn from your results, evaluate the merits of all of them.
• Don’t rehash what you said earlier in the Results section. Rather, discuss your findings in the context of answering your hypothesis. Instead of making statements like “[The first result] was this…,” say, “[The first result] suggests [conclusion].”
• Do your conclusions line up with existing literature?
• Discuss whether your findings agree with current knowledge and expectations.
• Keep in mind good persuasive argument skills, such as explaining the strengths of your arguments and highlighting the weaknesses of contrary opinions.
• If you discovered something unexpected, offer reasons. If your conclusions aren’t aligned with current literature, explain.
• Address any limitations of your study and how relevant they are to interpreting your results and validating your findings.
• Make sure to acknowledge any weaknesses in your conclusions and suggest room for further research concerning that aspect of your analysis.
• Make sure your suggestions aren’t ones that should have been conducted during your research! Doing so might raise questions about your initial research design and protocols.
• Similarly, maintain a critical but unapologetic tone. You want to instill confidence in your readers that you have thoroughly examined your results and have objectively assessed them in a way that would benefit the scientific community’s desire to expand our knowledge base.
• Recommend next steps.
• Your suggestions should inspire other researchers to conduct follow-up studies to build upon the knowledge you have shared with them.
• Keep the list short (no more than two).

How to Write the Discussion Section

The above list of what to include in the Discussion section gives an overall idea of what you need to focus on throughout the section. Below are some tips and general suggestions about the technical aspects of writing and organization that you might find useful as you draft or revise the contents we’ve outlined above.

Technical writing elements

• Embrace active voice because it eliminates the awkward phrasing and wordiness that accompanies passive voice.
• Use the present tense, which should also be employed in the Introduction.
• Sprinkle with first person pronouns if needed, but generally, avoid it. We want to focus on your findings.
• Maintain an objective and analytical tone.

Discussion section organization

• Keep the same flow across the Results, Methods, and Discussion sections.
• We develop a rhythm as we read and parallel structures facilitate our comprehension. When you organize information the same way in each of these related parts of your journal manuscript, we can quickly see how a certain result was interpreted and quickly verify the particular methods used to produce that result.
• Notice how using parallel structure will eliminate extra narration in the Discussion part since we can anticipate the flow of your ideas based on what we read in the Results segment. Reducing wordiness is important when you only have a few paragraphs to devote to the Discussion section!
• Within each subpart of a Discussion, the information should flow as follows: (A) conclusion first, (B) relevant results and how they relate to that conclusion and (C) relevant literature.
• End with a concise summary explaining the big-picture impact of your study on our understanding of the subject matter. At the beginning of your Discussion section, you stated why  this  particular study was needed to fill the gap you noticed and why that gap needed filling in the first place. Now, it is time to end with “how your research filled that gap.”

Discussion Part 1: Summarizing Key Findings

Begin the Discussion section by restating your  statement of the problem  and briefly summarizing the major results. Do not simply repeat your findings. Rather, try to create a concise statement of the main results that directly answer the central research question that you stated in the Introduction section . This content should not be longer than one paragraph in length.

Many researchers struggle with understanding the precise differences between a Discussion section and a Results section . The most important thing to remember here is that your Discussion section should subjectively evaluate the findings presented in the Results section, and in relatively the same order. Keep these sections distinct by making sure that you do not repeat the findings without providing an interpretation.

Phrase examples: Summarizing the results

• The findings indicate that …
• These results suggest a correlation between A and B …
• The data present here suggest that …
• An interpretation of the findings reveals a connection between…

Discussion Part 2: Interpreting the Findings

What do the results mean? It may seem obvious to you, but simply looking at the figures in the Results section will not necessarily convey to readers the importance of the findings in answering your research questions.

The exact structure of interpretations depends on the type of research being conducted. Here are some common approaches to interpreting data:

• Identifying correlations and relationships in the findings
• Explaining whether the results confirm or undermine your research hypothesis
• Giving the findings context within the history of similar research studies
• Discussing unexpected results and analyzing their significance to your study or general research
• Offering alternative explanations and arguing for your position

Organize the Discussion section around key arguments, themes, hypotheses, or research questions or problems. Again, make sure to follow the same order as you did in the Results section.

Discussion Part 3: Discussing the Implications

In addition to providing your own interpretations, show how your results fit into the wider scholarly literature you surveyed in the  literature review section. This section is called the implications of the study . Show where and how these results fit into existing knowledge, what additional insights they contribute, and any possible consequences that might arise from this knowledge, both in the specific research topic and in the wider scientific domain.

Questions to ask yourself when dealing with potential implications:

• Do your findings fall in line with existing theories, or do they challenge these theories or findings? What new information do they contribute to the literature, if any? How exactly do these findings impact or conflict with existing theories or models?
• What are the practical implications on actual subjects or demographics?
• What are the methodological implications for similar studies conducted either in the past or future?

Your purpose in giving the implications is to spell out exactly what your study has contributed and why researchers and other readers should be interested.

Phrase examples: Discussing the implications of the research

• These results confirm the existing evidence in X studies…
• The results are not in line with the foregoing theory that…
• This experiment provides new insights into the connection between…
• These findings present a more nuanced understanding of…
• While previous studies have focused on X, these results demonstrate that Y.

Step 4: Acknowledging the limitations

All research has study limitations of one sort or another. Acknowledging limitations in methodology or approach helps strengthen your credibility as a researcher. Study limitations are not simply a list of mistakes made in the study. Rather, limitations help provide a more detailed picture of what can or cannot be concluded from your findings. In essence, they help temper and qualify the study implications you listed previously.

Study limitations can relate to research design, specific methodological or material choices, or unexpected issues that emerged while you conducted the research. Mention only those limitations directly relate to your research questions, and explain what impact these limitations had on how your study was conducted and the validity of any interpretations.

Possible types of study limitations:

• Insufficient sample size for statistical measurements
• Lack of previous research studies on the topic
• Methods/instruments/techniques used to collect the data
• Limited access to data
• Time constraints in properly preparing and executing the study

After discussing the study limitations, you can also stress that your results are still valid. Give some specific reasons why the limitations do not necessarily handicap your study or narrow its scope.

Phrase examples: Limitations sentence beginners

• “There may be some possible limitations in this study.”
• “The findings of this study have to be seen in light of some limitations.”
•  “The first limitation is the…The second limitation concerns the…”
•  “The empirical results reported herein should be considered in the light of some limitations.”
• “This research, however, is subject to several limitations.”
• “The primary limitation to the generalization of these results is…”
• “Nonetheless, these results must be interpreted with caution and a number of limitations should be borne in mind.”

Discussion Part 5: Giving Recommendations for Further Research

Based on your interpretation and discussion of the findings, your recommendations can include practical changes to the study or specific further research to be conducted to clarify the research questions. Recommendations are often listed in a separate Conclusion section , but often this is just the final paragraph of the Discussion section.

Suggestions for further research often stem directly from the limitations outlined. Rather than simply stating that “further research should be conducted,” provide concrete specifics for how future can help answer questions that your research could not.

Phrase examples: Recommendation sentence beginners

• Further research is needed to establish …
• There is abundant space for further progress in analyzing…
• A further study with more focus on X should be done to investigate…
• Further studies of X that account for these variables must be undertaken.

Consider Receiving Professional Language Editing

As you edit or draft your research manuscript, we hope that you implement these guidelines to produce a more effective Discussion section. And after completing your draft, don’t forget to submit your work to a professional proofreading and English editing service like Wordvice, including our manuscript editing service for  paper editing , cover letter editing , SOP editing , and personal statement proofreading services. Language editors not only proofread and correct errors in grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and formatting but also improve terms and revise phrases so they read more naturally. Wordvice is an industry leader in providing high-quality revision for all types of academic documents.

For additional information about how to write a strong research paper, make sure to check out our full  research writing series !

Wordvice Writing Resources

• How to Write a Research Paper Introduction 
• Which Verb Tenses to Use in a Research Paper
• How to Write an Abstract for a Research Paper
• How to Write a Research Paper Title
• Useful Phrases for Academic Writing
• Common Transition Terms in Academic Papers
• Active and Passive Voice in Research Papers
• 100+ Verbs That Will Make Your Research Writing Amazing
• Tips for Paraphrasing in Research Papers

Additional Academic Resources

•   Guide for Authors.  (Elsevier)
•  How to Write the Results Section of a Research Paper.  (Bates College)
•   Structure of a Research Paper.  (University of Minnesota Biomedical Library)
•   How to Choose a Target Journal  (Springer)
•   How to Write Figures and Tables  (UNC Writing Center)