Summary of Chapter 9: The Discussion or Interpretation 119
Checking the thesis structure:
- Before you start writing material in each of these sections, check your thesis
structure by stringing together introductions and conclusions for all the chapters. - Check that the tentatively structured thesis responds to the aim and scope you set
yourself in your introductory chapter.
Write with authority:
- Make sure that your exposition of new theory or ideas places your thesis within
the context of the field you are working in. This will require that you not only
draw on your own results, but that you view these against existing thinking as
expounded in your background chapters. - Acknowledge any limitations on your findings. Theoretical results may need
validation before their suitability in practice is known, for example. Shortcom-
ings or uncertainties should also be acknowledged. - If the thesis involves a case study, check that you have dealt with the problem of
generalizability, or issues of transference, for your findings to similar situations.