What is the section containing the description about the main findings of a research?

There is no one right style or manner for writing an education paper. Content aside, the writing style and presentation of papers in different educational fields vary greatly. Nevertheless, certain parts are common to most papers, for example:

Title/Cover Page

Contains the paper's title, the author's name, address, phone number, e-mail, and the day's date.

Abstract

Not every education paper requires an abstract. However, for longer, more complex papers abstracts are particularly useful. Often only 100 to 300 words, the abstract generally provides a broad overview and is never more than a page. It describes the essence, the main theme of the paper. It includes the research question posed, its significance, the methodology, and the main results or findings. Footnotes or cited works are never listed in an abstract. Remember to take great care in composing the abstract. It's the first part of the paper the instructor reads. It must impress with a strong content, good style, and general aesthetic appeal. Never write it hastily or carelessly.

Introduction and Statement of the Problem

A good introduction states the main research problem and thesis argument. What precisely are you studying and why is it important? How original is it? Will it fill a gap in other studies? Never provide a lengthy justification for your topic before it has been explicitly stated.

Limitations of Study

Indicate as soon as possible what you intend to do, and what you are not going to attempt. You may limit the scope of your paper by any number of factors, for example, time, personnel, gender, age, geographic location, nationality, and so on.

Methodology

Discuss your research methodology. Did you employ qualitative or quantitative research methods? Did you administer a questionnaire or interview people? Any field research conducted? How did you collect data? Did you utilize other libraries or archives? And so on.

Literature Review

The research process uncovers what other writers have written about your topic. Your education paper should include a discussion or review of what is known about the subject and how that knowledge was acquired. Once you provide the general and specific context of the existing knowledge, then you yourself can build on others' research. The guide Writing a Literature Review will be helpful here.

Main Body of Paper/Argument

This is generally the longest part of the paper. It's where the author supports the thesis and builds the argument. It contains most of the citations and analysis. This section should focus on a rational development of the thesis with clear reasoning and solid argumentation at all points. A clear focus, avoiding meaningless digressions, provides the essential unity that characterizes a strong education paper.

Conclusion

After spending a great deal of time and energy introducing and arguing the points in the main body of the paper, the conclusion brings everything together and underscores what it all means. A stimulating and informative conclusion leaves the reader informed and well-satisfied. A conclusion that makes sense, when read independently from the rest of the paper, will win praise.

Works Cited/Bibliography

See the Citation guide.

Appendices

Education research papers often contain one or more appendices. An appendix contains material that is appropriate for enlarging the reader's understanding, but that does not fit very well into the main body of the paper. Such material might include tables, charts, summaries, questionnaires, interview questions, lengthy statistics, maps, pictures, photographs, lists of terms, glossaries, survey instruments, letters, copies of historical documents, and many other types of supplementary material. A paper may have several appendices. They are usually placed after the main body of the paper but before the bibliography or works cited section. They are usually designated by such headings as Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on.

Published on August 21, 2022 by Shona McCombes. Revised on October 10, 2022.

The discussion section is where you delve into the meaning, importance, and relevance of your results.

It should focus on explaining and evaluating what you found, showing how it relates to your literature review, and making an argument in support of your overall conclusion. It should not be a second results section.

There are different ways to write this section, but you can focus your writing around these key elements:

Summary: A brief recap of your key results
Interpretations: What do your results mean?
Implications: Why do your results matter?
Limitations: What can’t your results tell us?
Recommendations: Avenues for further studies or analyses

NoteThere is often overlap between your discussion and conclusion, but these are usually separate sections. However, in some cases, these two sections are combined.

If you’re unsure about your field’s best practices, check out sample dissertations in your field or your departmental guidelines.

What not to include in your discussion section

There are a few common mistakes to avoid when writing the discussion section of your paper.

Don’t introduce new results: You should only discuss the data that you have already reported in your results section.
Don’t make inflated claims: Avoid overinterpretation and speculation that isn’t directly supported by your data.
Don’t undermine your research: The discussion of limitations should aim to strengthen your credibility, not emphasize weaknesses or failures.

Step 1: Summarize your key findings

Start this section by reiterating your research problem and concisely summarizing your major findings. Don’t just repeat all the data you have already reported—aim for a clear statement of the overall result that directly answers your main research question. This should be no more than one paragraph.

Many students struggle with the differences between a discussion section and a results section. The crux of the matter is that your results sections should present your results, and your discussion section should subjectively evaluate them. Try not to blend elements of these two sections, in order to keep your paper sharp.

Examples: Summarization sentence starters

The results indicate that …
The study demonstrates a correlation between …
This analysis supports the theory that …
The data suggest that …

Step 2: Give your interpretations

The meaning of your results may seem obvious to you, but it’s important to spell out their significance for your reader, showing exactly how they answer your research question.

The form of your interpretations will depend on the type of research, but some typical approaches to interpreting the data include:

Identifying correlations, patterns, and relationships among the data
Discussing whether the results met your expectations or supported your hypotheses
Contextualizing your findings within previous research and theory
Explaining unexpected results and evaluating their significance
Considering possible alternative explanations and making an argument for your position

You can organize your discussion around key themes, hypotheses, or research questions, following the same structure as your results section. Alternatively, you can also begin by highlighting the most significant or unexpected results.

Examples: Interpretation sentence starters

In line with the hypothesis …
Contrary to the hypothesized association …
The results contradict the claims of Smith [2007] that …
The results might suggest that x. However, based on the findings of similar studies, a more plausible explanation is y.

Step 3: Discuss the implications

As well as giving your own interpretations, make sure to relate your results back to the scholarly work that you surveyed in the literature review. The discussion should show how your findings fit with existing knowledge, what new insights they contribute, and what consequences they have for theory or practice.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do your results support or challenge existing theories? If they support existing theories, what new information do they contribute? If they challenge existing theories, why do you think that is?
Are there any practical implications?

Your overall aim is to show the reader exactly what your research has contributed, and why they should care.

Examples: Implication sentence starters

These results build on existing evidence of …
The results do not fit with the theory that …
The experiment provides a new insight into the relationship between …
These results should be taken into account when considering how to …
The data contribute a clearer understanding of …
While previous research has focused on x, these results demonstrate that y.

Step 4: Acknowledge the limitations

Even the best research has its limitations. Acknowledging these is important to demonstrate your credibility. Limitations aren’t about listing your errors, but about providing an accurate picture of what can and cannot be concluded from your study.

Limitations might be due to your overall research design, specific methodological choices, or unanticipated obstacles that emerged during your research process.

NoteYou should only mention limitations that are directly relevant to your research objectives. Then, share how much impact they had on achieving the aims of your research.

Here are a few common possibilities:

If your sample size was small or limited to a specific group of people, explain how generalizability is limited.
If you encountered problems when gathering or analyzing data, explain how these influenced the results.
If there are potential confounding variables that you were unable to control, acknowledge the effect these may have had.

After noting the limitations, you can reiterate why the results are nonetheless valid for the purpose of answering your research question.

Examples: Limitation sentence starters

The generalizability of the results is limited by …
The reliability of these data is impacted by …
Due to the lack of data on x, the results cannot confirm …
The methodological choices were constrained by …
It is beyond the scope of this study to …

Step 5: Share your recommendations

Based on the discussion of your results, you can make recommendations for practical implementation or further research. Sometimes, the recommendations are saved for the conclusion.

Suggestions for further research can lead directly from the limitations. Don’t just state that more studies should be done—give concrete ideas for how future work can build on areas that your own research was unable to address.

Examples: Recommendation sentence starters

Further research is needed to establish …
Future studies should take into account …
Avenues for future research include …

Discussion section example

Here is an example of how you can introduce your discussion section. Note that it includes everything mentioned above: notably research outcomes, limitations, interpretations, and avenues for future research.

Frequently asked questions about discussion sections

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McCombes, S. [2022, October 10]. How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from //www.scribbr.com/research-paper/discussion/

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What part contains a description of the main findings of a research paper?

Often only 100 to 300 words, the abstract generally provides a broad overview and is never more than a page. It describes the essence, the main theme of the paper. It includes the research question posed, its significance, the methodology, and the main results or findings.

Which part describes the finding of the research?

The Results [also sometimes called Findings] section in an empirical research paper describes what the researcher[s] found when they analyzed their data.

What are the main sections of research?

A complete research paper in APA style that is reporting on experimental research will typically contain a Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References sections. Many will also contain Figures and Tables and some will have an Appendix or Appendices.

Which section focuses on the impact of the findings from the research?

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.