Writing An Effective Discussion BY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. FAIZUNIAH PANGIL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA

Recap Your Research Process Reading the Literature Prepare the Proposal Conduct the Research Analyze the Data Write the Report/ Thesis

Recap: your research process Reading the Literature Prepare the Proposal Conduct the Research Analyze the Data Write the Report Your area of research Issue/problem that needs to be solved Gaps/weakness in the currently available literature in the area of research Research questions that is to be address Research objective

Recap your research process Reading the Literature Prepare the Proposal Conduct the Research Analyze the Data Write the Report Research design Scope of your study Respondents Research instruments Data collection method Data analysis procedure Write & defend the proposal

Recap your research process Reading the Literature Prepare the Proposal Conduct the Research Analyze the Data Write the Report/ Thesis Prepare your questionnaire Distribute your questionnaire Collect your questionnaire

Recap your research process Reading the Literature Prepare the Proposal Conduct the Research Analyze the Data Write the Report/ Thesis Acquire the necessary software Conduct the pre-analysis procedures Conduct the analysis

Recap your research process Reading the Literature Prepare the Proposal Conduct the Research Analyze the Data Write the Report/ Thesis

Your Report/Thesis General Structure Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Literature Review Chapter 3 Methodology Chapter 4 Research Findings Chapter 5 Discussion THESIS

Level of Discussion Chapter 5 Chapter 4 Wisdom Understanding Knowledge Information Data Chapter 5 Chapter 4

Level of Discussion = Knowledge + experience + good judgement Wisdom Understanding Knowledge Information Data = Knowledge + experience + good judgement Linking the new knowledge to existing knowledge Interpretation of the statistical values R-square, β, and other statistical values Ratings given by the respondents Numbers 1-5 or 1-7

WRITING the DISCUSSION CHAPTER

Discussion chapter So what? Discussion Research objectives Literature Research method Findings Discussion chapter So what?

Discuss everything, but be concise brief and specific Discussion Chapter Discuss everything, but be concise brief and specific This is the chapter where you state your interpretations and opinions, explain the implication of your findings and make suggestions for future research. The main function is to answer the question posed in the introduction chapter, explain how the results that were discussed in the findings chapter support the answers and how the answers fit in with existing knowledge on the topic.

Discussion Chapter General Structure Introduction Recapitulation of the Study Discussion of Findings Implications: Theoretical & Practical Limitations and Recommendations Conclusion Chapter 5

Recapitulation of the Study Introduction The purpose of the chapter The organization of the chapter Recapitulation of the Study The summary of the overall research The research objectives, the method and the overall findings

Discussion of the Findings The Do’s and the Don’ts Discussion need NOT be lengthy, but … Should clearly and fully stating, supporting, explaining and defending your findings Provide a commentary, but NOT reiteration of the results DO NOT REPEAT YOUR RESULTS

Discussion of the Findings The Do’s and the Don’ts Organize your discussion Organize your thoughts in a logical form According to your research objectives/ hypothesis, or any other logical structure Discuss from the specific to the general Your findings to the literature, to theory, to practice Use the same key terms, the same verb tense (present tense), and the same point of view that you use in the research objectives

Discussion of the Findings The Do’s and the Don’ts For each research question, discuss each hypothesis separately Explain your findings and explain how your results relate to expectations (hypothesis) and to the literature. What is your finding? Does it support your expectations (hypothesis)? How they are consistent or fit in with previously published knowledge on the topic? Findings should be critically appraised in regard to other’s findings. Why your findings is as it is? Defend your answers. If possible, explain why your answer is satisfactory and why others are not.

Discussion of the Findings The Do’s and the Don’ts If your results supports your hypothesis, your explanation should be easy because you have thoroughly argued your hypothesis in your Literature Review Chapter. If your results DOES NOT support you hypothesis, you have a lot of explaining to do.

Discussion of the Findings The Do’s and the Don’ts When discussing unexpected finding, begin the paragraph with the finding and then describe it. Identify potential limitations and weakness and comment on the relative importance of these to your interpretation of the results. How they may affect the validity of the findings? AVOID using apologetic tone

Discussion of the Findings The Do’s and the Don’ts How to identify potential limitations and weakness to explain unexpected findings? The respondents The context of the study The sampling method The demography The data collection procedure/process The analysis

Implications implications Theoretical Practical Future research Summarize concisely the principal implications of the findings, regardless of statistical significance

Theoretical Implications Advanced a new theory Support a theory Improve a theory Provide new insights

Practical Implications applications of new insights derived from the thesis

Implications for future-research (Recommendations ) Provide recommendations (no more than two) for further research Types of recommendations Based on study’s actual findings Based on its limitations DO NOT offer suggestions which could have been easily addressed within the study, as this shows there has been inadequate examination and interpretation of the data

Conclusions Explain how the results and conclusion of this study are important. How they influence our knowledge or understanding of the problem being examined (chapter 1)