Discussion Chapter

What is a Discussion Section? This section has four purposes, it should: Interpret and explain your results Answer your research question Justify your approach Critically evaluate your study

What Discussion Tells review your findings In alignment with the literature and the existing knowledge about the subject It should relate back to your literature review

How to begin writing the discussion Key Findings: start with phrases such as “we found that…” “It has been observed…” Explain the data of your study and its meaning State the findings of the study Compare your results with the results of other researchers (i.e. what you have done in your review of literature) Discuss how your findings support or challenge the paradigm

Demonstrate the Strength and Weakness Anticipate the criticism coming from the readers; Explain why your results are robust; point out unanswered questions and future directions Tell the implications of these findings and why the readers should care about the study

Writing Strong Conclusion Restate your main findings; Give final take- home message!

How to present this chapter Two Ways: Results chapter  Discussion Chapter (Thesis/Dissertation) Results and Discussions (Research Paper)

KEY POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND Discussion should be written in active voice It should start and end with the main finding of the study

Example - I Beginning with the major finding: This study investigated two design factors of store atmosphere in relation to store image and consumers’ expectations of merchandise quality for web-based stores. Comparing our results with the results of previous researchers Some researchers have suggested that a thematic and picture based store design creates a safe and entertaining shopping environment (Gutman and Alden, 1985; Marsh, 1999; Mazurasky and Jacoby, 1985). Previous research also suggested that design factors in stores increase consumers’ perceptions of favorable and convenient shopping in brickand-mortar contexts (Eckman et al., 1990; Gutman and Alden, 1985; Marsh, 1999; Mazurasky and Jacoby, 1985).

Example – I cont… Answering the Research Question The results also indicate that convenience in web- based stores is related only to the method of information display, not to storefront designs. This finding provides important information to web- store designers. Sophisticated storefront designs may initially attract a consumer, however it has been found that at the same time it distracts consumers (Geissler, 2001; Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1997).

Example – I cont… Explaining the robustness of Results in alignment with previous studies This result is consistent with Mazurasky and Jacoby’s (1985) study that compared the effects of two display methods, one with pictures and one with text in a brickand-mortar store. The previous research found that consumers perceived high- quality merchandise in a store using displays and signage that were designed with pictures. The result of this study supports the effectiveness of picture- based display in a web-based environment.

Discussing the hypothesis The results indicated that the effect of the storefront design was not significant, and only the method of information display significantly influenced consumers’ expectation of merchandise quality [F (1, 202) ¼ 35.75, p ¼ .000]. In the last procedure, the effects of the three measures of store image on consumers’ expectation of merchandise quality were eliminated when the mediators were treated as covariates

Showcasing the limitations of the study Generally, the results of this study show that only methods of information display, not storefront design, affect consumers’ expectation of merchandise quality when mediated by an entertaining and a convenient store image. Safety did not contribute to the mediating role of store image.

Providing a Strong conclusion The study supported the relationship between store image and the perception of merchandise quality, is consistent with previous studies (Heisey, 1990; Olshavsky, 1985) that regarded store image as an antecedent of quality.