Challenges of writing a good discussion part for an article

The structure of this part is in contrary to the introduction part since the specific and detailed info are provided prior to the general ones. Through this section, the following questions need to be answered:

1. What applications/functions do the obtained results have?
2. What do the findings mean?

Writing this section can be considered as the most difficult and challenging part of article writing demanding meticulous reflection on the issues. With regard to the length of this section, it should be pointed out that it should not exceed one-third of the whole manuscript.

The points which need to be taken into account through writing the discussion part of a study

• Provide the summary of the significant findings at the beginning of this part.
• Make a comparison and contrast of the findings with those of the other authors in the same field of study.
• Discuss the scientific, as well as the clinical applications and functions of the findings.
• Mention the problems with regard to the used methodology.
• Review the points which have not been obtained through the study.
• Recommend a further research considering the other aspects of the study.
• Present a brief conclusion of the obtained results.
• Place your work in the context of an ongoing disciplinary field of study.
• Be critical, rather than descriptive in writing this part.
• Do not include the raw data which can be postponed to the appendix part and only consider the data relevant to the discussion.
• Lay an appropriate foundation for discussion section through the previous section (results).
• Include the discussion in the same order as the hypotheses portraiting a better and clear picture of the issues.
• Explain how the answers fit the existing body of knowledge related to the field of study.
• Make the tone of discussion compatible with the tone of introduction in terms of perspectives, tenses, keywords, etc.
• Take into account that the discussion part is written for the readers and their understanding is the focus of the procedure; accordingly, it should be as brief, relevant, to the point and clear as possible.

As a result, in this section, the differences and similarities between the study and the previous studies should be made clear in order to be able to present particular recommendations for the future studies. The shortcomings of the study should be mentioned. The contributions which are made by the study to the academic and scientific field should also be indicated.

According to Hess (2004), the discussion section gives you an opportunity to explain the meaning of your results. When writing the discussion, remember that the focus should be to help the reader understand the study and that the highlight should be on the study data.

References:

• http://cancer.dartmouth.edu/documents/pdf/effective_discussions.pdf.

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