Many times readers will decide whether to read an article by going straight to the discussion section and reading the first 2-3 paragraphs. It seems like reading the ending of a book, but in fact, it makes perfect sense. In these first 2-3 paragraphs the author restates his/her hypothesis, states how they were tested, and informs the reader what the main findings were. Therefore, you should strive to make your discussion just as good as the introduction (for which, by the way, you likely had much more time to work on).

Another important component of the discussion for the capstone class purposes is that this is where you show that you understood the work you did and you were able to draw conclusions as to its significance and value to the research community, so your instructor will pay special attention to this section, possibly the most creative and personal section of your paper. Some key points:

• The discussion should start with a one paragraph summary of the purpose and procedures of the research.
• The discussion should discuss the (1) conceptual and theoretical implications of your results, (2) the practical implications of your results, and (3) the connections of your results to past research (see APA Manual for contents of the Discussion). This is the case for both significant findings and non significant findings.
• Null or nonsignificant findings can be discussed in terms of (1) the theory, and thus the hypothesis, is wrong; (2) there were measurement problems that prevented a reasonable test of the hypothesis (e.g. a scale had an unacceptable alpha); (3) the design of the study was flawed or inadequate; or (4) a sampling issue contributed to the null results (sample size, nature of sample).
• The discussion should not repeat the results.
• The discussion may require that you return to the library to conduct an additional search of the literature to interpret unexpected findings.
• The discussion may discuss the limitations of the study.

Some additional ideas for the discussion:

Start your discussion with the main hypothesis, you may want to re-state it (in an effort to facilitate things for the reader). Then discuss what was found. For each finding, find relevant literature that supports or does not. If it does not, state differences and discusses how the differences in the two studies may explain differences in findings. Discuss each individual finding thoroughly. Do not just state and move on, that does not help the reader, who already knows that from your results and expects you to use your developed expertise in the subject to explain the findings here.

Do not write one sentence saying the findings are supported or not by literature (with references). That shows no thought on your part, or work. By reading the discussion people should get the sense that you are an expert and you find the work interesting and worthy of communicating to others. If you can't find your study interesting, you are not going to get the reader to find it interesting. If you are curious about your findings and what they mean and where they come from, then you will be more likely to write a great discussion.

Re-read your work many times. Each time, look to see whether you take some knowledge for granted because you own it but the reader many not. For example, don't use shortened words for your variables (CAS instead of anxiety) because you force the reader to go back and see what that means. Take the time and effort to draw a picture for the reader of what is needed to understand your findings. Some of you may think your sample affected the results. Then you should write a paragraph describing your sample for the reader, so that he/she can have that in mind when reading your conclusions.

Be careful with your paragraph, don't include various results there if it doesn't make sense to group them together, remember paragraphs contain one thought (one finding if there is much to say about it).