Hey guys,

I feel like i've talked about so many things in my thesis and now I have to mention them all in my discussion chapter. I feel like the 10000 words available is just not enough!

Has anyone experienced this kind of thing?

Is it wrong to ask my supervisor for help on structure at this point?

Sue - are you only comparing in your last chapter or discussing frameworks as well? Am considering going it alone and just spending a week structuring the chapter before I start writing again. Perhaps I need to read more as well :-( to connect the concepts better?

Please advise.

Just sharing on how I am doing (reliability eng.), perhaps it might work for you too. Cut and paste abstracts from all your chapters, then expand it diligently emphasizing on research contribution. Do include research limitation and future work. If possible, add on some practical aspects that can be achieved from your research. I guess that there is no harm in asking supervisors, since they are here to help us. Ideally, just have a look on your dept’s recent ‘good’ thesis conclusion chapters. Hopefully that helps. Cheers, happy researching.;-)

Hi Jojo

You're getting closer then! Excellent! Am not up to writing the discussion chapter yet, but so far, I've written the case studies as stand alone chapters and highlighted the specific findings they're making each is making to the field - just a pointer to a more fulsome discussion in the discussion chapter. In the discussion chapter, I will be i)comparing the findings of the case studies with each other and 2) relating this back to the literature review, which will include a discussion of the framework and underlying theories. I imagine these 2 areas will need to happen simultaneously, and won't be separate, altho I'm going to try keeping them separate when I start writing.

I'm also going to skim all the lit again to see if there's anything I missed in my first reading which has now turned out to be relevant. But then, I need to rewrite my lit review, so need to do this anyway.

I think Sre's idea of looking at theses in your department is useful too - have also done that with some chapters and found it really useful. I also have my supervisor's thesis to look at. And do talk to your sup about structure - you're close to your work and they can add some objectivity and come up with a solution. Good luck!! Wish I was as close as you! :-)

Hi Jojo,

in my opinion your idea of spending a relatively long on time on how you are going to structure the discussion, is a good one.
I think what you have found in the research, what implications that could have and how this is linked to the literature, are probably issues that should be addressed.

Perhaps you could use the system which is often used in publications:
1. Main findings of the research project
2. Comparison with the literature
3. Implications for policy makers
4. Outstanding questions, future research

Obviously it depends a bit on the field you are in, so have another look at how the papers you have read for your literature review are structured.
:-)