How long should discussion be

Care should be taken that the findings are summarized in the context of the published literature and not simply a reiteration of the results section. For example:. Another common issue encountered regarding the discussion is the length of this section. The length of the discussion should fit with the type of article and maximum word count permitted for the journal. For example, the discussion of a case report will be much shorter than that of an original article which describes six figures.

However, the discussion should not be an in-depth review of the literature, but rather a discussion of the findings as they relate to published studies. A good rule of thumb is to aim for approximately words. When a discussion is too long, the reader often loses sight of the main message of the study. Therefore, to keep the reader engaged and provide a convincing argument, an attempt should be made to be as concise as possible. Another common error is the cited literature throughout the discussion.

Citation quality is important because it is used to support the results presented in the manuscript. The authors should ensure that the citations are from the most recently published literature, and not reports from over 20 years prior. Attention should also be paid to the journal requirements, as some journals will require that a certain percentage of the references must be published within the past 5 to 10 years. Authors should also ensure that the references are from top tier journals to adequately support the findings of the present study.

Another common error is a lack of proper citations. This occurs when the findings obtained from outside sources are not cited at all or inconsistently referenced. It is important to note that all statements containing data from external sources should be properly referenced and specific to maximize the impact. One of the most frequently neglected aspects of a discussion is the mention of the study limitations. While it is understandable that the flaws in the experimental design and data are not factors that most authors wish to highlight, this section is required by most journals and should be stated.

A recommended strategy is to discuss the limitations in such a way that provides justification for why they are acceptable. For example, if the study included only a small number of participants, you may wish to describe this limitation in the context of why so few subjects were available.

While the inclusion of few patients prohibits the extrapolation of our findings to the general population, disease X is extremely rare, and this study presents data from the largest number of subjects to date.

An effective conclusion is one of the most important aspects of the entire manuscript as this is the final impression that the reader has after reading the study. Overstated conclusions should be avoided because the data does not support these statements and can mislead the reader. In addition, by not stating the conclusions or implications of the study, the reader may be left unimpressed, and the author loses the ability to guide the interpretation of the data. Further large-scale studies and clinical trials are required to verify our promising results.

Future studies are required to verify our results in humans. Further study is warranted to verify our findings in large-scale trials. To ensure that the discussion is organized appropriately and contains all essential information, the following structure is recommended:.

Learn more about Scientific Editor Dr. H orvath. The results of the germination experiment Fig. Strategy for Writing the Results Section. Frequently asked questions FAQs. What are the "results"? Those observations are then analyzed to yield an answer to the question. In general, the answer is the " key result". The above statements apply regardless of the complexity of the analysis you employ.

So, in an introductory course your analysis may consist of visual inspection of figures and simple calculations of means and standard deviations; in a later course you may be expected to apply and interpret a variety of statistical tests. You instructor will tell you the level of analysis that is expected. For example, suppose you asked the question, " Is the average height of male students the same as female students in a pool of randomly selected Biology majors?

You would then calculate the descriptive statistics for those samples mean, SD, n, range, etc and plot these numbers. In a course where statistical tests are not employed, you would visually inspect these plots. Suppose you found that male Biology majors are, on average, Differences, directionality, and magnitude : Report your results so as to provide as much information as possible to the reader about the nature of differences or relationships.

For eaxmple, if you testing for differences among groups, and you find a significant difference, it is not sufficient to simply report that "groups A and B were significantly different". How are they different? How much are they different? See also below about use of the word " significant. Organize the results section based on the sequence of Table and Figures you'll include. Prepare the Tables and Figures as soon as all the data are analyzed and arrange them in the sequence that best presents your findings in a logical way.

A good strategy is to note, on a draft of each Table or Figure, the one or two key results you want to addess in the text portion of the Results. Simple rules to follow related to Tables and Figures:.

The body of the Results section is a text-based presentation of the key findings which includes references to each of the Tables and Figures. The text should guide the reader through your results stressing the key results which provide the answers to the question s investigated.

A major function of the text is to provide clarifying information. Key results depend on your questions, they might include obvious trends, important differences, similarities, correlations, maximums, minimums, etc. Some problems to avoid :. Statistical test summaries test name, p- value are usually reported parenthetically in conjunction with the biological results they support.

Always report your results with parenthetical reference to the statistical conclusion that supports your finding if statistical tests are being used in your course. This parenthetical reference should include the statistical test used and the level of significance test statistic and DF are optional. For example, if you found that the mean height of male Biology majors was significantly larger than that of female Biology majors, you might report this result in blue and your statistical conclusion shown in red as follows:.

If the summary statistics are shown in a figure, the sentence above need not report them specifically, but must include a reference to the figure where they may be seen:. Note that the report of the key result shown in blue would be identical in a paper written for a course in which statistical testing is not employed - the section shown in red would simply not appear except reference to the figure.

Present the results of your experiment s in a sequence that will logically support or provide evidence against the hypothesis, or answer the question, stated in the Introduction. For example, in reporting a study of the effect of an experimental diet on the skeletal mass of the rat, consider first giving the data on skeletal mass for the rats fed the control diet and then give the data for the rats fed the experimental diet.

Report negative results - they are important! If you did not get the anticipated results, it may mean your hypothesis was incorrect and needs to be reformulated, or perhaps you have stumbled onto something unexpected that warrants further study. Moreover, the absence of an effect may be very telling in many situations. In any case, your results may be of importance to others even though they did not support your hypothesis.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that results contrary to what you expected are necessarily "bad data". If you carried out the work well, they are simply your results and need interpretation.

Many important discoveries can be traced to "bad data". Always enter the appropriate units when reporting data or summary statistics. Function : The function of the Discussion is to interpret your results in light of what was already known about the subject of the investigation, and to explain our new understanding of the problem after taking your results into consideration. The Discussion will always connect to the Introduction by way of the question s or hypotheses you posed and the literature you cited, but it does not simply repeat or rearrange the Introduction.

Instead, it tells how your study has moved us forward from the place you left us at the end of the Introduction. Style : Use the active voice whenever possible in this section. Watch out for wordy phrases; be concise and make your points clearly. Use of the first person is okay, but too much use of the first person may actually distract the reader from the main points.

Approach : Organize the Discussion to address each of the experiments or studies for which you presented results; discuss each in the same sequence as presented in the Results, providing your interpretation of what they mean in the larger context of the problem.

Do not waste entire sentences restating your results; if you need to remind the reader of the result to be discussed, use "bridge sentences" that relate the result to the interpretation:. You will necessarily make reference to the findings of others in order to support your interpretations.

Use subheadings , if need be, to help organize your presentation. Be wary of mistaking the reiteration of a result for an interpretation, and make sure that no new results are presented here that rightly belong in the results. You must relate your work to the findings of other studies - including previous studies you may have done and those of other investigators. As stated previously, you may find crucial information in someone else's study that helps you interpret your own data, or perhaps you will be able to reinterpret others' findings in light of yours.

In either case you should discuss reasons for similarities and differences between yours and others' findings. Consider how the results of other studies may be combined with yours to derive a new or perhaps better substantiated understanding of the problem. Be sure to state the conclusions that can be drawn from your results in light of these considerations. You may also choose to briefly mention further studies you would do to clarify your working hypotheses.

Make sure to reference any outside sources as shown in the Introduction section. Do not introduce new results in the Discussion. Although you might occasionally include in this section tables and figures which help explain something you are discussing, they must not contain new data from your study that should have been presented earlier.

They might be flow diagrams, accumulation of data from the literature, or something that shows how one type of data leads to or correlates with another, etc. For example, if you were studying a membrane-bound transport channel and you discovered a new bit of information about its mechanism, you might present a diagram showing how your findings helps to explain the channel's mechanism.

If, in your experiment, you received any significant help in thinking up, designing, or carrying out the work, or received materials from someone who did you a favor by supplying them, you must acknowledge their assistance and the service or material provided.

Authors always acknowledge outside reviewers of their drafts in PI courses, this would be done only if an instructor or other individual critiqued the draft prior to evaluation and any sources of funding that supported the research. Although usual style requirements e. Function : The Literature Cited section gives an alphabetical listing by first author's last name of the references that you actually cited in the body of your paper.

Instructions for writing full citations for various sources are given in on separate page. A complete format list for virtually all types of publication may be found in Huth and others A bibliography contains references that you may have read but have not specifically cited in the text. Bibliography sections are found in books and other literary writing, but not scientific journal-style papers. Format and Instructions for standard full citations of sources.

Literature Cited FAQs. Function : An Appendix contains information that is non-essential to understanding of the paper, but may present information that further clarifies a point without burdening the body of the presentation. An appendix is an optional part of the paper, and is only rarely found in published papers.

Headings : Each Appendix should be identified by a Roman numeral in sequence, e. The content of the discussion section of your paper most often includes :. Organization and Structure. Keep the following sequential points in mind as you organize and write the discussion section of your paper:. Overall Objectives. The objectives of your discussion section should include the following: I.

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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. NOTE: Besides the literature review section, the preponderance of references to sources is usually found in the discussion section.

If a study that you cited does not support your findings, don't ignore it--clearly explain why your research findings differ from theirs.

Problems to Avoid. Analyzing vs. Department of English Writing Guide. George Mason University; Discussion. Department of Biology. Bates College; Hess, Dean R. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sauaia, A. Lund Research Ltd. The Writing Center. Writing the Discussion.