ABSTRACT
Prior to reading this chapter you should have had some experience with the following:
The interpretation of the data is always considered in the discussion section of a report or dissertation. In fact, many students make the mistake of discussing some of the data in the results section. This must be avoided: like the methods section, the results should only describe the data, without any explanation. Otherwise the reader will have difficulty in referring back and forth between two sections in an effort to try to understand what you have found and why. The discussion section differs because you are attempting to relate the data to the objectives of the project. This means that you must critically evaluate the relationships, try to qualify the objectives, expand them where necessary, draw inferences and evaluate findings. It is fundamentally different to the results section, where you have just attempted to help the reader in understanding the data by describing general trends, highlighting differences and/or similarities amongst the data points. Therefore, it is vital that you are able to show the reader that you have expertise with the data and demonstrate your ability to discuss results critically and promote your research skills.
