Transcript Slide 1

Writing Conclusions, Discussion,
and Recommendations
Kevin Schwandt, PhD
Dissertation Editor
Myths
•
•
•
•
•
2
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
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
3
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.
4
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.
5
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
6
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.
7
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.
8
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 nonreader in a reading world.
9
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
10
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.
11
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.
12
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…
13
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
14
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.
15
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.”
16
Take Home Message
• The work closes with a strong concluding
statement, making the “take home message” clear
to the reader
17
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.
18
Common Problems
•
•
•
•
19
Making generalizations
Avoiding counterargument
Making logical fallacies
Praising or criticizing yourself
Making Generalizations
•
•
20
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).
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
21
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.
22
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...''
23
Writing Style and Composition
• Written in scholarly language (accurate, balanced,
objective, tentative)
• Uses vocabulary that is clear, precise, and
comprehensible
24
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.
25
Thanks for your attention.
26