Hi Britta, and all,

Although the discussion’s general purpose is the same, its place in the thesis often depends on the field. In the humanities, they might integrate discussion throughout the thesis, while in the sciences it would probably be a separate chapter after the results. A doctorate composed of articles or manuscripts should contain a separate chapter that discusses the significance of the whole thesis. I agree with Mauricio's point about arranging the parts to benefit the reader. You might find it useful to take a look at a book on doctoral assessment, such as Denicolo et al. (2020).

Let me try using a metaphor to describe my view of the discussion's purpose. Imagine your thesis is a kayak or a canoe. You have constructed your kayak with a canvas shell, stretched over a wooden frame. You want other people to use your kayak safely, so you want to know whether it is sound and strong.

You try out the kayak in an indoor paddling pool and find out that there are no holes where water can get in, so you know that the canvas shell is sound. But other people might not want to only use the kayak in an indoor paddling pool, so you need to see if it is strong enough to hold up in different conditions. So, you try it on a lake in windy conditions, and you try it out on the sea where there are waves, and you try it on a river with rapids and boulders. You find out that your kayak’s wooden frame is strong enough to handle a wide variety of conditions. 

You want both soundness and strength, but there’s tradeoff. An extra strong frame can handle a river with Class VI rapids, but then it requires special canvas material for the shell. If you use a weaker frame that’s compatible with a range of canvases, then its only safe on calm lakes.

In my view, the discussion’s general purpose is to communicate to your readers a sense of the soundness and strength of your argument and the tradeoffs you made along the way. 

Best,
Luke


Denicolo, Pam, Dawn Duke, and Julie Reeves. Delivering Inspiring Doctoral Assessment. Sage, 2020.


Luke Feast, Ph.D. | Senior Lecturer | Industrial Design | School of Art and Design | Auckland University of Technology | New Zealand | Email [log in to unmask]


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