Discussion

Helpful Hints

It is often helpful to place headings in your discussion that match any you have in your results. Usually these are divided up by question.
Don’t just answer what happened. Try and explain why or how it happened. (This is what is meant by interpretation.)
If you’re not sure how to tie your results to the introduction, go back to the results of your primary literature and compare (and/or contrast) what you found to their results.
Don’t forget that, as in the Introduction, you will need to cite your sources if you refer to them.
The general rule of paraphrasing, not quoting, still applies in the discussion.
It is okay to go over your results with your group in order to interpret them. However, you need to each write your own discussion. (You may also disagree with your group members.)
The discussion is where you demonstrate your understanding of your experiment. Therefore, you often need to spend the most time on your discussion.