1. Discussion Chapter

2. What is a Discussion Section?
This section has four purposes, it should:
Interpret and explain your results
Answer your research question
Justify your approach
Critically evaluate your study

3. What Discussion Tells review your findings
In alignment with the literature and the existing knowledge about the subject
It should relate back to your literature review

5. How to begin writing the discussion
Key Findings: start with phrases such as “we found that…” “It has been observed…”
Explain the data of your study and its meaning
State the findings of the study
Compare your results with the results of other researchers (i.e. what you have done in your review of literature)
Discuss how your findings support or challenge the paradigm

6. Demonstrate the Strength and Weakness
Anticipate the criticism coming from the readers; Explain why your results are robust; point out unanswered questions and future directions
Tell the implications of these findings and why the readers should care about the study

7. Writing Strong Conclusion
Restate your main findings; Give final take- home message!

8. How to present this chapter
Two Ways:
Results chapter  Discussion Chapter (Thesis/Dissertation)
Results and Discussions (Research Paper)

9. KEY POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND
Discussion should be written in active voice
It should start and end with the main finding of the study

10. Example - I Beginning with the major finding:
This study investigated two design factors of store atmosphere in relation to store image and consumers’ expectations of merchandise quality for web-based stores.
Comparing our results with the results of previous researchers
Some researchers have suggested that a thematic and picture based store design creates a safe and entertaining shopping environment (Gutman and Alden, 1985; Marsh, 1999; Mazurasky and Jacoby, 1985).
Previous research also suggested that design factors in stores increase consumers’ perceptions of favorable and convenient shopping in brickand-mortar contexts (Eckman et al., 1990; Gutman and Alden, 1985; Marsh, 1999; Mazurasky and Jacoby, 1985).

11. Example – I cont… Answering the Research Question
The results also indicate that convenience in web- based stores is related only to the method of information display, not to storefront designs. This finding provides important information to web- store designers. Sophisticated storefront designs may initially attract a consumer, however it has been found that at the same time it distracts consumers (Geissler, 2001; Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1997).

12. Example – I cont…
Explaining the robustness of Results in alignment with previous studies
This result is consistent with Mazurasky and Jacoby’s (1985) study that compared the effects of two display methods, one with pictures and one with text in a brickand-mortar store. The previous research found that consumers perceived high- quality merchandise in a store using displays and signage that were designed with pictures. The result of this study supports the effectiveness of picture- based display in a web-based environment.

13. Discussing the hypothesis
The results indicated that the effect of the storefront design was not significant, and only the method of information display significantly influenced consumers’ expectation of merchandise quality [F (1, 202) ¼ 35.75, p ¼ .000]. In the last procedure, the effects of the three measures of store image on consumers’ expectation of merchandise quality were eliminated when the mediators were treated as covariates

14. Showcasing the limitations of the study
Generally, the results of this study show that only methods of information display, not storefront design, affect consumers’ expectation of merchandise quality when mediated by an entertaining and a convenient store image. Safety did not contribute to the mediating role of store image.

15. Providing a Strong conclusion
The study supported the relationship between store image and the perception of merchandise quality, is consistent with previous studies (Heisey, 1990; Olshavsky, 1985) that regarded store image as an antecedent of quality.