7t
h Edition
D
iscussion Phrases Guide
Papers usually end with a concluding section, often called the “Discussion.” The Discussion is your opportunity
to
evaluate and interpret the results of your study or paper, draw inferences and conclusions from it, and communicate
its contributions to science and/or society. Use the present tense when writing the Discussion section.
• In the Discussion section of a research paper, you should evaluate and interpret the implications of study
results with respect to your original hypotheses. It is also where you can discuss your study’s importance,
present its strengths and limitations, and propose new directions for future research.
• In other types of papers, such as essays or reaction papers, the Discussion is where to summarize the key
points or themes in your paper and reect on previous statements and their broader connections.
This guide provides possible statements to use when discussing specic types of content in the Discussion
section of a research paper. These are examples of only some, but not all, of the phrases that can be used in the
Discussion section of all APA Style papers. Check with your instructor for specic guidelines on the content to
include in your Discussion section.
Summarizing your study results
• The purpose of this study was to gain a better
understanding of …
• The results of the present study support the
hypothesis that …
• The results of this research provide supporting
evidence that …
• There are three key findings of the present
research. First … Second … Third …
Linking findings to previous research
• This pattern of results is consistent with the
previous literature … (citation).
• These results are consistent with the claim that …
• The present results are consistent with Author et
al.’s (year) work that deals with …
• Whereas past researchers have found ... (citation;
citation; citation), the present study has shown …
• These results represent the first direct
demonstration of …
Discussing research results
• Our findings highlight …
• The results strongly imply that …
• It is interesting that …
• In my view, the most compelling explanation for
the present set of findings is that …
• This idea is further supported by the finding
that …
• Two other results from this study merit comment.
First … Second …
• Finally, we obtained evidence that …
• One interpretation of these findings is that …
• This finding may be explained by the idea that …
• Taken together, our findings indicate …
Study limitations
• There are at least three potential limitations
concerning the results of this study. A first limitation
concerns … A second potential limitation is that …
• One limitation of this study is that … It is possible
that ... Although the present research cannot rule
out these explanations, it seems useful to point out
issues that may conflict with these results.
• Although the present results clearly support …, it is
appropriate to recognize several potential
limitations.
• Besides our own interpretation of the data,
an additional explanation warrants comment. For
e
xample, researchers have suggested … (citation).
• Certain limitations of this study could be addressed
in future research. For example …
• The present study represents a first attempt to
address these issues. We feel that further research
examining … may shed light on ...
Study implications
• Despite these limitations, these results suggest
several theoretical and practical implications.
• These data have some potential intervention
implications. For example …
Directions for future research
• Although these studies support … , their most
important contribution may be that they raise a
variety of intriguing questions for future study.
• In terms of future research, it would be useful to
extend the current findings by examining …
• If, as the present study suggests, … then there is a
need for research that explores …
• Much work remains to be done before a full
understanding of the extent of … is established.
• In addition to those already mentioned, I suggest
several avenues of research that may be helpful.
Closing statement or paragraph
• Despite these limitations, this research can be
seen as a rst step towards integrating two lines
of research, [x and y], that, to our knowledge, have
not been directly linked.
• Despite these limitations, the present study has
enhanced our understanding of the relationship
between [x and y]. We hope that the current
research will stimulate further investigation of this
important area.
• The present research, therefore, contributes to a
growing body of evidence suggesting that …
• In summary, our research replicates (citation) …
The ndings contribute to a growing body of
evidence …
• Although the generality of the current results must
be established by future research, the present
study has provided clear support for … Not only
was … Furthermore …
More information on content to include in the Discussion section of
quantitative and qualitative research papers can be found in Sections
3.8 and 3.16 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association
(7th ed.).
SOURCE: American Psychological Association. (2020).
Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
CREDIT: TRACI GIULIANO, SOUTHWESTERN
UNIVERSITY
