Findings, Discussion, Intro, and Conclusion

Background

Intro

You’ve already learned how to do a literature review.

That told you how to enter the conversation.

Today, we’re learning how to exit the conversation:

• How to show what you found
• How to explain what it means
• How to make it matter
• And how to wrap it all together

Structure of Today’s Session

1. The Findings Section

2. The Discussion Section

3. The Introduction Section

4. The Conclusion Section

The Findings and Discussion Sections

Overview

Findings and Discussion are typically sections that appear at the end of an article

While there might be overlap here is the difference:

• Findings
  • What the data show
    
  • Descriptive and evidence-based
    
  • Examples: survey stats, quotes, observed patterns
• Discussion
  • What the findings mean
    
  • Interpretive and synthetic
    
  • Includes: significance, implications, limitations, next steps

The Findings Section

Helpful Questions

• Does each finding directly help answer the research question?
  • Clearly state how it does so.
• Are the findings relevant and thematically cohesive?
  • Organize them by theme, not just by chronology or data source.
• Are your findings situated in existing research?
  • Compare them to 2–3 similar studies using the same method or tackling a similar problem.

The Findings Section

Using the Model Article

Let us examine the model article that we identified and look at the conclusion and discussion

Use some of the language that the authors are using, but don’t write more than 3-4 sentences for each of the following questions:

1. Do the findings answer the author’s research question? How?
2. Are the findings in line with what the author expected?

The Findings Section

To Do

Now. draft your own findings section in which you also answer:

1. Do the findings answer your research question? How?
2. Are the findings in line with what you expected?

After answering these questions go back to the abstract and ensure to:

• clearly and succintly state the key findings

The Discussion Section

Overview

• The Discussion interprets your findings—this is where you explain the so what.

• It connects your results back to:

  • The research question
  • The existing literature
  • The broader theoretical or practical implications

• This is where you show why your findings matter.

• Sometimes the discussion is part of the conclusion and sometimes it is distinct

The Discussion Section

Using the Model Article

Let us examine the model article that we identified: Murray (2014)

1. Why do the findings matter?

• What is the contribution to key debates or theories?
• Do they challenge, confirm, or reframe existing literature?
• Do they reveal previously overlooked relationships or offer a new perspective?

By reframing male overrepresentation as the problem, the article challenges the traditional focus on women’s exclusion and contributes a novel, normatively grounded critique of meritocracy in political representation.

The Discussion Section

Using the Model Article

Let us examine the model article that we identified: Murray (2014)

2. What are the broader implications?

• How should readers now think differently about the literature or topic?
• What paths does it open for future research?

Readers are encouraged to rethink gender quotas not as special treatment for women, but as necessary correctives to systemic bias that distort democratic representation for all.

The Discussion Section

Using the Model Article

Let us examine the model article that we identified: Murray (2014)

3. What are the limitations?

• What can’t this article answer?
• What future work could address these gaps?

The article is largely theoretical and calls for future empirical research to assess how reframing quota debates affects public attitudes and policy outcomes.

The Introduction and Conclusion Sections

Purpose

The introduction and conclusion work together to frame your paper and guide the reader.

• The introduction sets up your argument, explains its relevance, and highlights the gap in existing literature.
• The conclusion mirrors the introduction but also synthesizes your findings, explains their implications, and may suggest future research.

Think of the intro as the what and why and the conclusion as the so what and what’s next.

The Introduction Section

What to Include

• Begin broadly with the overall field, then zoom in on your specific question.
• Identify key analytical themes and the literatures that engage them.
• Clearly state the gap your paper fills.
• Take a positional stance:
  • Are you building on existing work or pushing back against it?
• Frame the argument:
  • e.g., “I find that gender quotas are a key factor in…”
• Explain why your question is interesting and why it matters

The Conclusion Section

What to Include

• Restate your key argument in parallel to your intro:
  • e.g., “I have shown that gender quotas are a key factor in…”
• Explain why your findings matter.
• Discuss their implications for the literature and a general audience.
• Suggest future research or unresolved questions.

The Introduction and Conclusion Sections

Homework 3

Pull out your model articles and keep track of:

• How broad or narrow are the conclusions?
• How long are the intro and conclusion, and how closely do they mirror each other?
• Does the conclusion introduce any new ideas or directions?
• Where and how does the author explain their contribution?
• How does the author position themselves in relation to existing literature?

The Introduction Section

Homework 4

Get your draft and type under the intro section the answer to the following questions:

• What does your research demonstrate?
• What does your research teach us that we didn’t already know?
• Why do we need this information? How does it benefit the discipline or sub-discipline?

The Conclusion Section

Homework 5

Get your draft and type under the conclusion section the answer to the following questions:

Include the rephrased answer to the previous questions together with:

• Why do your findings matter? What should the reader remember?
• How are your findings important for a general audience?
• What questions are left to answer?

Reflection

Potential Overlap

There might be overlap among: Literature Review, Findings, Discussion, Intro, Conclusion

Reflection

Why Does it Feel Repetitive

Because academic writing repeats on purpose:

• You pose a question at the start
• You review what others said
• Then you say what you found
• Then you show how that changes what others thought