@Rod Pallister has interesting insights reproduced hereunder: “How to write the Introduction to the Discussion for your PhD dissertation

This is when years of hard work, sweat, and tears finally begin to pay off.

These ‘Findings’ translate data and theory from ‘Results’ into practical applications.

1) Clearly restate your research problem/questions and briefly inform your audience about the context. What caused the problem (study objective), and why did you choose your selected methodology to get some answers. What about research design, how did you collect data, what about sample size, and ethics (such as IRB) did you have to include? Be brief, you’re just reminding your reader. Keep circling back to the research problem/ questions; such provides arterial blood to your study. What connects your findings to the research questions/problem?

2) Concisely summarize these findings noting what primary and secondary results/trends/patterns emerged in the Results? Were they significant, why, and how were they relevant to your study problem/questions? How will they add to known knowledge within your field of expertise? What their implications? Briefly, tell your reader what to expect. Keep it brief, stay on target, and construct simple wording so your bored or weary supervisor doesn’t fall asleep.

3) In terms of secondary research, how do these findings relate to your sourced peer-reviewed literature? Do these findings support the theories you investigated? Do your findings agree or disagree with other researchers engaged in your field of expertise? Briefly, do your findings fully or in part address existing research gaps?

4) So how about a map to help your audience navigate their way through this chapter? How are you going to write this chapter, and how are you going to organize each heading/sub-heading? Do the headings and sub-headings flow logically, and will these findings build upon existing secondary research? If so, briefly state how.

5) At this point, you transition from the summarized introduction to the discussion of the findings. Make sure you briefly mention all the themes, points, and patterns that emerged from both primary and secondary results. It is at this transition stage that you should ensure that you ‘sell’ these findings to your audience. How? Make sure that your introduction is clear and your vocabulary is compelling. Ensure that the following headings and subheadings are contextually relevant and designed to enable continuity and flow. Try and use transitional wording that is seamless in design as connectors between paragraphs, headings and sub-headings. Make sure your map (Introduction) sets out all the checkpoints that sets the stage for your interpretation and discussion of all the results from the previous chapter. So even if you feel disorganized and somewhat incompetent, at least make an effort to make this critically important part of the dissertation APPEAR to be organized, logical, factual, and compelling to read.

I found this informative. However, I will benefit from the guidance regarding how to conclude a PhD thesis when the thesis is “ a PhD by publications?”