The conclusion is the very last part of your thesis or dissertation. Its main purposes are to:
Clearly state the answer to the main research question
Summarize and reflect on the research
Make recommendations for future work on the topic
Show what new knowledge you have contributed
The conclusion should be concise and engaging. Aim to leave the reader with a clear understanding of the main discovery or argument that your research has advanced.
Discussion vs conclusion
The conclusion contains similar elements to the discussion, and sometimes these two sections are combined (especially in shorter papers and journal articles). But in a thesis or dissertation, it’s usual to include a final chapter that wraps up your research and gives the reader a final impression of your work.
The conclusion chapter should be shorter and more general than the discussion. Instead of discussing specific results and interpreting the data in detail, here you make broad statements that sum up the most important insights of the research.
The conclusion should not introduce new data, interpretations, or arguments.
Length of the conclusion
Depending on the type of thesis, the conclusion should typically be around 5-7% of the overall word count. An empirical scientific study will often have a short conclusion that concisely states the main findings and recommendations, while a humanities thesis might require more space to conclude its analysis and tie all the chapters together in an overall argument.
#Discussion #Conclusion #References
