We’ve reached the heart of your research paper—the chapter that determines whether you’ve made a good integration between the literature review and your findings. Remember when we mentioned in the review chapter that one article does not support your research hypothesis? Now’s the time to talk about it. Remember some subjects chose not to answer two questions? Now’s the time to discuss that too. Actually, anything that can explain the data you’ve received will be welcomed with open arms and with some bonus points for your grade.
Firstly, it’s recommended to start with the main conclusions obtained in the study. Don’t just mention “the hypothesis was confirmed” but add the conclusion drawn:
“The conclusion is that the higher a person’s financial literacy, the less they will engage in online consumption habits, meaning, they will make fewer online consumer purchases.”
Go through all your hypotheses like this, write down even the ones that were not confirmed and the conclusions that arise from them. This is just the opening of the chapter, and now you have to provide explanations.
A good explanation will examine all aspects of your conclusions. For example, you need to address the reasons why you believe you’ve come to the conclusion that high financial literacy reduces internet consumption. This is the time to review again the various studies on reducing consumption among people who monitor their monthly expenses, and it’s even better to add a few more studies that you haven’t discussed before. This usually happens when you get results you weren’t prepared for. It doesn’t mean your work isn’t good, quite the opposite; it’s a great opportunity to show your discussion skills. For example, if you found a very weak link between financial literacy and internet consumption habits, maybe you can now bring in articles and studies that strengthen the weak link found, which can provide a very good explanation for the non-significant findings.
But if not these, there could be other reasons that lead to flawed research. It happens to quite a few researchers, so not to worry. In this case, you can discuss the problems you think lead to the errors. Maybe your sample population wasn’t random enough? Perhaps it would have been better to conduct interviews instead of distributing questionnaires? Or maybe the variables you chose to investigate confused your entire research. The main thing is to discuss it.
It’s also very important to mention in the discussion alternative explanations for the findings you’ve received. For example, internet consumption habits could also be explained not only by high financial literacy but also by age or gender. For example, people over 50 might prefer to shop in physical stores rather than people under 30, and that’s even if both age groups have high financial literacy.
But more importantly, RikiGPT can also draft the discussion chapter and draw conclusions perfectly, in minutes. Riki can synthesize all your chapters into a cohesive narrative that not only upholds the highest academic requirements but also provides insights that can push the academic conversation further. Or even insights you wouldn’t have been able to think about yourself. Just provide RikiGPT with the necessary inputs, and she can help conclude your research paper with unmatched thoroughness and accuracy.
Again, remember that the discussion and conclusion chapters are the final product of your work and are one of the most crucial aspects for assessing your work. Also, remember that there isn’t necessarily a connection between the discussion chapter and the summary chapter. Many tend to get it confused, so we’ve prepared a short guide on it called “Summing It All Up.” You’re welcome.
