The results chapter reports what you found. The discussion says what those findings mean for your research question and for the literature. If a sentence can stand without any interpretation, it belongs in results. If it explains, compares, or weighs, it belongs in the discussion.
Sacred Heart University's guide offers a useful way to think about it: “Think of the results section as the place where you report what your study found; think of the discussion section as the place where you interpret your data and answer the "so what?" question.” The University of Kansas journalism handbook focuses on the discussion: “A discussion provides context to the results and explains why the results are what they are.”
| Results | Discussion | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | What did I find? | What does it mean, and why does it matter? |
| Sources | Few, unless your program expects them | Many: this is where you bring the literature back in |
| Typical verbs | reported, increased, differed, mentioned | suggests, may explain, contrasts with, is consistent with |
| Ends with | All findings relevant to your question | Limitations and questions for further research |
The same guide says the results section should state the findings without interpretation, in a logical order. To test this, search your results chapter for words that interpret: "suggests," "because," "surprisingly," "as expected," "clearly," "confirms." Each hit is a sentence to move or to rephrase. Here are three hypothetical sentences from a study on tutoring:
| Sentence | Where it belongs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "Students who attended tutoring averaged 74 on the exam, compared with 69 for those who didn't." | Results | It states a finding |
| "Tutoring improves exam performance." | Discussion, and with caution | It claims a cause the comparison alone can't show |
| "The gap is smaller than in the two earlier studies, possibly because attendance here was voluntary." | Discussion | It compares and offers an explanation |
Sacred Heart notes that with more experience you may want to combine your results with a discussion of what they imply. Check whether your program allows a combined chapter.
Presenting a theme already involves a choice, so a strict line is harder in qualitative work. What you can still separate within a paragraph: what participants said, and what you make of it. Your committee should be able to tell which is which.
| What you see | What to ask yourself |
|---|---|
| The discussion repeats your numbers in the same order | What does each finding mean for the question? One reference to the finding is enough. |
| A new finding first appears in the discussion | Does it belong in results? Kansas allows additional results in the discussion, so check your program's view. |
| The discussion never mentions the literature review | How do your findings relate to what you said others found? |
| Only the findings that fit your expectation are discussed | What do the others mean? A result that doesn't support your hypothesis is still a result. |
| Limitations appear only in the conclusion | Would they change how someone takes a specific finding? Then they belong next to it. |
The discussion works through your findings one by one. The conclusion steps back and answers the research question. In a short thesis they can share a chapter. If yours are separate and read almost the same, you probably need to cut or rework one of them.
Esmond evaluates every assignment before you submit. It never writes it.
Esmond comments where your discussion repeats findings without saying what they mean, and where a claim in your discussion clearly goes further than the results behind it. You decide what to do with each comment, and every sentence stays yours.
Some programs allow it, and Sacred Heart's guide mentions it as an option. Your handbook or advisor can confirm what your program expects.
Often only lightly. Sacred Heart allows a brief comparison with an earlier study where it clarifies a finding and keeps the rest for the discussion. Follow your program's practice.
Kansas gives 7-10 pages for results and 10-15 for discussion in a thesis of about 50-75 pages, as rough estimates. Ask your advisor what fits your data.
Kansas puts them at the end of the discussion. Some programs ask for them in the methods chapter as well, so check your handbook.
Read on November 3, 2026.
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