1. Doing Research in Applied Linguistics April 22, 2011
Relevance of findings in Results to Discussion sections in applied linguistics research
Doing Research in Applied Linguistics
April 22, 2011
Punjaporn Pojanapunya
Richard Watson Todd

2. Writing research articles is difficult
Discussions & Literature reviews are most difficult to write
Difficulty in writing discussions
Language proficiency
Genre
Content
(Bitchener & Basturkmen, 2006)

3. Content in discussions
Discussions involve “commenting on results” (Lim, 2010; Basturkmen, 2009), but how is this organised?
Genre
e.g. reporting results, summarising results, commenting on results
Results discussed

4. Research questions
What findings are reported in the discussion section of articles?
What functions of discussion sections are these findings reported in?

5. Data Results and Discussion sections of 10 research articles
Quantitative research articles
Explicit RQs
IMRD structure

6. Analysing Results Identify each individual finding
Match each finding to the relevant RQ
Identify if the specific finding:
answers or is relevant to an RQ
answers more than one RQ
is not relevant to the RQs

7. Analysing Discussion sections
Identify all findings reported in discussions
Identify how the findings are reported in terms of level of detail
Analyse genre move in discussions
Match findings with genre moves
Presenting new findings Repeating purpose Repeating findings Contributions to the field Linking to literature about the research methodology Linking to real-world applications/practical recommendations Discussing limitations of the study Pointing to directions for future research Explaining reasons for the finding

8. Results RQ1: What findings are reported in the discussion section of articles?
RAs
No. of
Findings in R
Findings in D
Percentage of findings in R which are discussed in D 1 8 5
62.50 2 28 11
39.29 3 33 7
21.21 4 55
20.00 58 29
50.00 6 62
3.23 74
8.11
102 9
8.82
119 15
12.61 10
247
4.45 M
78.6
10.6 SD
67.86
7.46

9. Match between specific findings and RQs
Match findings
with specific RQ
No. of
Findings in R %
Findings in D
Answer RQs
665
84.61 93
87.74
Answer more than 1 RQ 54
6.87 4
3.77
Not relevant to RQ 67
8.52 9
8.49
786
106

10. 3 ways of reporting findings in D
Actual quantitative data e.g.
During the semester, the 31 students whose data was included in the analysis read 11 graded readers at various levels on average, ranging from 8 to 19 readers with a standard deviation of 2.5
Comparing post-test 1 and post-test 2, 8 learners achieved lower scores and only 3 higher.
Summary of data/ statistics e.g.
According to time logs kept during RR treatments, the average wpm of the experimental group increased significantly.
The participants were most fluent in the V/NV condition as predicted by Hypothesis 1.
Interpretation e.g.
Again, the results of the current research showed that textbooks with communication strategies are more effective tools of second language instruction than those without them.
The edge which class B has on class A on the Achievement test is another indication that teaching communication strategies can be fruitful.

11. Ways of reporting findings in D
No of types of findings %
Actual quantitative data 21
19.81
Descriptive statistic
18 (85.71%)
Inferential statistic
3 (14.29%)
Summary of data/statistics 57
53.77
Interpretation 28
26.42

12. Summary of findings: RQ1
High variation of no. of findings in R, while more consistency in no. of findings in D (range from findings)
Most findings answer RQs, while some having no relevance to RQs are reported in R and discussed in D
Findings in D are most commonly reported as summaries
Statistic data presented is descriptive rather than inferential

13. Genre pattern Summarising findings Explaining reasons for the finding
No of articles 9 1 8 5
Summarising findings
((Linking to literature about the research methodology))
Explaining reasons for the finding
Contributions to the field
Linking to real-world applications/ practical recommendations
(Discussing limitations of the study)
Pointing to directions for future research
((Presenting new findings))

14. Results RQ2: What functions of discussion sections are these findings reported in?
Discussion functions
Frequency %
Summarizing findings 22
20.75
Linking to literature about the research methodology
0.00
Explaining reasons for the finding 53
50.00
Contributions to the field 13
12.26
Linking to real-world applications/practical recommendations 7
6.60
Discussing limitations of the study 5
4.72
Pointing to directions for future research 1
0.94
Presenting new findings

15. Summary of findings: RQ2
Findings in D are reported more frequently in the beginning of discussion sections
More than half of findings in D are reported to explain reasons for findings

16. Discussion and Implications
Different paradigms can lead to great differences in no. of findings but appears to be implicit expectation about no. of specific findings that can be discussed
Expected length of discussion section limits number?
The more you discuss, the less the focus?
Limited number gives more coherence
Most findings are presented as summary
Succinct
Focused
Most discussion is to explain reasons for findings
Some discussion to summarise findings – but this can also appear at end of results section

17. Discussion and Implications
General heuristic for findings in discussion
Choose 5-15 key findings that need to be explained
Cluster the key findings and present as summaries
Explain the summaries
Move on to other functions of discussion
(with occasional citing of findings as evidence where necessary)