Writing Conclusions, Discussion, and Recommendations

Kevin Schwandt, PhD Dissertation Editor

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Myths

• Dissertations are written chronologically• My dissertation is better than good, it’s done• Prescriptive material isn’t fun to write• Dissertations aren’t supposed to be persuasive• This section should be devoid of opinion

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What is in the final chapter/section?

• Summary• Interpretation of Findings• Implications for Social Change• Recommendations for Action• Recommendations for Future Study• Reflections on Researcher’s Experience (for

qualitative)• Take home message

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Summary

• A brief overview of why and how the study was done, reviewing the questions or issues being addressed and a brief summary of the findings.

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Example

As a researcher with an intent to reveal and explore the connection between the past and the present, I collected surveys and interview data from 10 adult participants who disclosed a history with struggling to learn to read. Through this research, I discovered data that identified the intrinsic role of agency and the extrinsic role of social expectations for adults who are or were a non- or limited reader. The data revealed the lived experience of these participants.

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Interpretation of Findings

• Addresses all of the research questions• Contains reference to outcomes in results

section/chapter• Is bounded by the evidence collected• Relates the findings to a larger body of literature on

the topic

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Example

What is the role of agency in learning to read as an adult?

In this study, the data indicated that some non- or limited readers with a strong sense of agency were able to teach themselves to read or to find an educational environment to improve their reading skills. As children, some of these participants did not know what to do to improve their reading, but as adults, their sense of agency allowed them to figure out a way to improve their reading skills.

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Implications for Social Change

• Clearly grounded in the significance of introduction and outcomes presented in results chapter/section.

• Expressed in terms of tangible improvements to individuals, communities, organizations, institutions, cultures, or societies.

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Example

Positive social change can be accomplished by using the data to reevaluate the social expectations for reading…to include not simply self-esteem education, but more importantly self-view education based on the strengthening of agency within individuals.

These stories suggested that those with agency have positive, long-term outcomes, whether they become proficient readers, like Hank, or whether they learn to manage, like Constance, being a non-reader in a reading world.

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Recommendations for Action

• Flow logically from the conclusions and contain steps to useful action

• State who needs to pay attention to the results• Indicate how the results might be disseminated

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Example

In light of these findings, I suggest three primary recommendations with two related recommendations for each major recommendation. The first major recommendation is for educational leaders…to acknowledge the value of identifying and enhancing agency in students who struggle with reading. The second primary recommendation is for literacy leaders… to implement an expansion of literacy to include acknowledging the six processes of literacy developed by Taylor and Collins (2003). The third major recommendation is for educators to focus on self-view enhancement to augment self-esteem curriculum, especially for younger struggling readers.

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Recommendations for Further Study

• Point to topics that need closer examination and may generate a new round of questions.– Keep these limited.– Don’t worry about examining these topics

yourself. These are recommendations for OTHERS.

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Example

This qualitative life history study has also generated additional questions for future research, which are beyond the scope of this study. These questions are presented by the researcher in four areas that are related to life history research with adult non- and limited readers, to the concept of agency as it relates to education, to the changing social expectations for reading, and to theories of self-view as it relates to adolescents.

To address these four areas, qualitative or mixed methods research may be more appropriate for areas of future research to augment qualitative life history research…

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Reflections on Researcher’s Experience

• Possible biases or preconceived ideas and values• Possible effects of the researcher on the

participants or the situation• Researcher’s changes in thinking as a result of the

study

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Example

As I began to formulate findings and write sections of the dissertation, the fledgling researcher in me had to fight the urge to return to the field to find more participants or to return again to some participants to push them to tell me more. I questioned if where their stories ended for me truly represented all of their lived experience.

When I returned to the life history theorists before and during the writing of the findings, I realized that the participants were sharing the truth that they believed and that they wanted to share with a researcher; therefore, as the researcher I would need to be satisfied to analyze the data offered for now, and look to future research to find and present more stories.

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Example (cont’)

Even though I love reading and writing, it was my older sister who was supposedly born with a book in her hand; I took a little longer to learn to love to read.

“Writing also became a joy for me.”

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Take Home Message

• The work closes with a strong concluding statement, making the “take home message” clear to the reader

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Example

As the findings of this study indicate, the intrinsic role of agency and the extrinsic role of social expectations play a vital part in the lives of adult non- and limited readers. Those who have agency, or who gain it as they mature, have a greater chance of managing their failure at meeting the social expectation of becoming a proficient reader.

Educational environments that value all the processes of literacy as much as reading give all students a greater

chance of long-term success.

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Common Problems

• Making generalizations• Avoiding counterargument• Making logical fallacies• Praising or criticizing yourself

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Making Generalizations

• Lends itself to either/or choices• Encourages blanket or sweeping statements

- After I interviewed the teachers at Alpha School, I discovered that all teachers hate the No Child Left Behind Act” (Pezalla, 2010, p. 9).

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Avoiding Counterargument

• Pretending there are not two sides does not make one side true

• Tackle the best points of the other side• Look for intersections• This is not a cage match; it is research

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Making Logical Fallacies

• Slippery slope fallacy:- If we do not work with at-risk middle school boys

in reading, they will inevitably end up in jail.- After the remedy, test scores improved” (Pezalla,

2010, p. 20).

• Why it appeals: – This argument is often used to avoid describing

all the mediating steps between A and Z. The devil is in the details.

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Praising or Criticizing Yourself

Avoid self-assessment, whether it be praise:• “The methods outlined in chapter 3 represent a

major breakthrough in the design of distributed systems…”

Or criticism:• “Although the technique employed in the current

study was not earthshaking...''

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Writing Style and Composition

• Written in scholarly language (accurate, balanced, objective, tentative)

• Uses vocabulary that is clear, precise, and comprehensible

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Organization and Form…

• Is logically and comprehensive organized, using subheadings where appropriate

• Has a professional, scholarly appearance• Is written with correct grammar, punctuation, and

spelling• Includes citations for the following:

– Direct quotes, paraphrasing, facts, and references to research studies

• Includes in-text citations in the reference list.

Thanks for your attention.

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