英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion課件

1、4/18/2021,1,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,The heart of the paper,Discussion,4/18/2021,1,4/18/2021,2,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,It may seem obvious that a scientific document is incomplete without the interpretation of the writer; it may not be so obvious that the document cannot exist without

2、 the interpretation of each reader. G.D. Gopen and J.A. Swan,4/18/2021,2,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,3,Discussion,Always write the discussion for the reader the focus should be to help the reader understand the study and the highlight should be on the study data.,4/18/2021,3,4/18/2021,

3、英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,4,Discussion: The Elements,State the studys major findings Explain the meaning and importance of the findings Relate the findings to those of similar studies State the theoretical or practical relevance or implication of the findings Acknowledge the studys limitations

4、 Make suggestions for further research Give the “take-home message” in the form of a conclusion,4/18/2021,4,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,5,State the major findings,In the first paragraph： Begin (with a statement of the major findings A direct, declarative, succinct proclamation Should n

5、ot include any data Begin: Our results confirm that Our findings suggest that The data show that In this study, we found that .,4/18/2021,5,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,6,Explain the meaning and importance of the findings,No one has thought as long and as hard about your study as you ha

6、ve. As the person who conceived, designed, and conducted the study, the meaning of the results and their importance seem obvious to you, but the findings might not be so clear for the readers who read your paper for the first time. What do the findings mean? Why are they important? “That make perfec

7、t sense!” (Why didnt I think of this?),4/18/2021,6,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,7,Always remember:,Introduction Broad Specific Discussion Specific Broad Moves from the narrow specific focus of the research to a more general view,Your findings,Your goals/objectives,Your conclusions/futur

8、e works,The importance/significance of Your findings,Limitations,Relate to expectations and to literature,Prove the hypotheses/Answered questions,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,8,Make explanations complete,Discuss the results in the same order as in the “Results” one by one Explain how yo

9、ur results relate to expectations and to literature cited in your Introduction Give evidence for each conclusion. Discuss possible reasons for expected and unexpected findings Whether the experiments prove the hypotheses with evidence (results). Do they agree, contradict, or are they exceptions to t

10、he rule?,4/18/2021,8,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,9,Relate the findings to similar studies,Is your study so novel? (no relation to other studies?）No！Then, relate your findings to others. Previous findings: Stimulated yours to Fill a gap, Correct their errors, invent a new method, Suppor

11、t yours strength the importance of your studies Our finding/result is associated with/similar to, different from (others ),4/18/2021,9,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,10,Alternative Explanations of the Findings,Remember that the purpose of research is to discover and not to prove. Dont fal

12、l into the trap to prove Carefully consider all possible, alternative explanations for your results,4/18/2021,10,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,11,Acknowledge the studys limitations,Studies: flaws, fatal flaws? Even the best studies in the most prestigious journals have limitations! Shoul

13、d know the limitations in your studies that might cause problems and possible explanation Do not hide weak results behind bad writing Be sure to explain why results are weaker than you expected We used only . Future research should include/ do (differently, use different , use more ),4/18/2021,11,4/

14、18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,12,Suggestions for Further Research,You only answered some questions, others related to this subject may remain unanswered You should make suggestions for further studies and give a future perspective Make recommendations, discuss future work Our subject that

15、remain to be explored is how to More studies in are needed ,4/18/2021,12,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,13,Take-Home Message: Conclusions,What is the “take-home message”? What do you want the reader to remember from your study? The take-home message should be the first sentence of the con

16、clusions section.,4/18/2021,13,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,14,Discussion,The same information can have different meanings or significances to different people - brainstorming,4/18/2021,14,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,15,Discussion,How do your results fit into a broader con

17、text? Suggest the theoretical implications of your results. Suggest practical applications of your results Extend your findings to other situations or other species Give the big picture: do your findings help us understand a broader topic?,4/18/2021,15,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,16,Fr

18、ee to explain what the results mean or why they differ from what other workers have found. Should interpret your results in light of other published results, by adding additional information from sources you cited in the Introduction section as well as by introducing new sources. Relate your discuss

19、ion back to the objectives and questions you raised in the Introduction section. Limit your conclusions to those that your data can actually support.You can then proceed to speculate on why this occurred and whether you expected this to occur, based on other workers findings. Suggest future directio

20、ns for research, new methods, explanations for deviations from previously published results, etc.,Discussion: summary,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,17,How to Cite Sources in the Discussion Section It is important to cite sources in the discussion section of your paper as evidence of the

21、claims you are making. There are ways of citing sources in the text so that the reader can find the full reference in the literature at the end of the paper.,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,18,The Bully Pulpit - Avoid,Dont criticize or attach other studies or researchers Contrast your find

22、ings to others professionally Remember, they may be reviewing your paper Avoid offending people, unless you must,4/18/2021,18,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,19,Over interpretation of the results Unwarranted speculation that cannot be tested in the foreseeable future Inflating the importan

23、t of the findings Conclusions that are not supported by the data Dont leave the reader thinking So what?. Watch out for symptoms of “megalomania”,4/18/2021,19,4/18/2021,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,20,Potential pitfalls,Including too much information - wordy arguments. Not focused, meandering, etc. Failure to follow arguments set up in the introduction Failure to focus on the current results Speculating too much or not enough Improper tense (largely in present tense),4/18/2021,20,英文科技論文寫作HOW-to-WRITE-Discussion,21,End ,Many a paper loses much of its effect because the clear stream of