Last modified 01/25/2024

Concluding your thesis?

Summary

Conclusions are the part of the thesis in which the researcher has the obligation to synthesize his or her investigation results, in such way that readers are able to appreciate the results obtained in the research investigation, product of the demonstration or denial of the hypothesis and / or the extend to which the initially traced general and specific objectives were reached.

This is why it is not possible to incorporate new discussion elements that have not been treated in the investigation’s process, which does not keep us from taking into consideration new ideas that came up as a product of the performed investigation and incorporate them as an extra.

How to elaborate the conclusions for a thesis?

Conclusions are the final part of any investigation process that turns into a thesis, because it is there where the investigator must point out the most important aspect he or she found in the development of his or her investigation, summing it up, he or she must indicate the demonstration or denial of the researched hypothesis or the proving of the pointed objective.

There is no scheme for the content that must be in a conclusion, which is why, many times, information that has nothing to do with the real content of the thesis is put there, which is why we are handling you a few tips to help researches when they are redacting the conclusions of their research process.

The conclusions of the thesis or research work must be content in no more than three pages and it is very important been careful in the redaction, orthography and presentation. It is recommendable that the conclusions are systematized in a list, identified by numbers or bullet points.

Even today, an agreement regarding the adequate number of conclusions has not been reached; these should go according to the importance of the research theme, the obtained results product of the demonstration or denial of the hypothesis. You must always remember that the conclusions are not chapter summaries.

Some people recommend that, when redacting the conclusions, people should take into consideration, as a reference, the following tips:

      The obtained results must be pointed out.

      The evidence that led the researched to the results must be shown.

      The general conclusions, product of the demonstration of the hypothesis, must be shown.

      The achieved partial character conclusions must be shown in the development of the  investigation. 

      The contributions made for the specific research field must be pointed out.

      Anything that could not be demonstrated should also be pointed out, so another researcher  can investigate it.

You must never forget that there is a close relation between the introduction and the conclusions, because, while the first shows us the hypothesis that we are trying to demonstrate or deny, the second one indicates us how we managed to obtain the results.

What a researcher must never do, when redacting his or her conclusions, is the following:

      Use the theoretical framework as content, to reinforce the obtained results, because this  attitude could lead to confusions.

      Expose how important the results of the research work are for the investigator, because,  when we develop a research, we are not looking to demonstrate whatever favors us, but how  we have been able to statistically demonstrate or deny the hypothesis or reach the pursuit  objective, from a technical point of view.

      Incorporate or consider quotes from authors that do not belong to the investigation, because  it could lead to confusion for those who are reading the conclusions.

It is necessary to remember that, before initiating the development of the conclusions, an introductory paragraph must be incorporated, so it can help the reader to connect the content of the whole document with what is intended to be exposed.

It is also necessary to point out that there are research cases or thesis in which there is not a hypothesis to prove or deny, but objectives; this is why, the conclusions will be made taking into consideration the amount of specific objectives, this means that, if there are 10 specific objectives, the conclusions must be 10 and gathering them all, a general conclusion related to the general objective will be made.

There is another fact that must not be left aside; when a hypothesis has not been proven or denied, the researcher has the responsibility to explain the problem he or she could not solve, so another investigator can consider it and, possibly, solve it.

You must not forget that, just as like the introduction, the conclusions must be exposed to other people who are not specialists in the field, to see how clear and synthesized is our writing and, if it were not clear enough, we will have to re write them.

Summing up, the conclusions of a thesis are the proof or denial of a hypothesis or the achievement of the general and specific objectives pointed out at the beginning of the investigation process. Conclusions are brief paragraphs that are ordered according to their importance, which allows enumerating them.

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