Advanced Academic Writing Workshop

Discussion Section

G.J.E.C.
10 – 13th September, 2018
 Discussion Section: Purpose

• What is the purpose of a Discussion Section?

Please complete Exercise 11

 Exercise 11 - Discussion Section: Purpose

The main purposes of the discussion are to:

• discuss the relationships between your results

• discuss how the results relate to your initial objectives and
hypotheses
• describe the shortcomings of your work
• describe the implications of your work
• provide major conclusions supported with evidence
• suggest future applications of your research findings
 Discussion Section: Content

• The discussion of results should be dynamic and variable

Working with your group, please complete Exercise 12

 Exercise 12 – affecting factors

Discussion section content depends upon:

• size of field (how many investigators working in area)

• amount of relevant work already published
• author’s scientific breadth
• care with which he/she reviewed literature

• today many authors in great rush to publish

 can be careless in reviewing literature

 serves entire field badly
 Discussion Section

• Thorough discussion often makes much more

interesting story!

Literature Review Research Discussion

How does this process take place?

Please complete Exercise 13

 Exercise 13 – Discussion as storytelling

1. study relevant literature thoroughly:

• obtain PDF reprints and annotate them

• ask questions and record them, with references and

passages that prompted them

• pursue the answers

• assemble insights from literature into notes used later to

write Discussion
 Exercise 13 – Discussion as storytelling

2. follow leads in literature

• don’t be afraid to venture into a field about which you

know little

• often, answer to question is in another discipline

• many leads will not be successful

• However, process of following them will increase your

scientific depth
 Exercise 13 – Discussion as storytelling

3. Most of the Discussion Section should be written in the

present tense.

• When you discuss your data, write in the past tense

• When you discuss future implications of your work, write

in the future tense
 Venturing into unfamiliar discipline:

1. Do literature search
• begin with recent review articles of broad scope work
backward - changes in terminology less confusing

2. Do not skip older literature

• full of interesting leads nobody ever followed

3. Read papers everyone else cites, but do not cite them

• frequently cited papers aren’t necessarily best nor are
they necessarily carefully read
• read in detail for hints others may have missed
 Literature and Discussion

Just because something was published doesn’t mean it is

true!

• if something makes no sense, perhaps you don’t know

enough, or perhaps it is just wrong

• confirm anything suspicious using literature, or via

experimentation

• sometimes such experiments lead in exciting new

directions
 Q&A

G.J.E.C.
10 – 13th September, 2018