Structure of a Master's Thesis Conclusion
It’s important once you reach the end of your thesis to
reinforce your main findings and to emphasize the importance of your study for
the reader.
The final chapter of your dissertation is your conclusion
chapter. This chapter should be completed after extensive work, rereads and
edits of your previous chapters, so that you have as much clarity on your study
as you possibly can, and you can incorporate the feedback of your supervisor
and your professional editor into your conclusion.
There are many different things that a dissertation
conclusion needs to do, and it will be considerably longer than an essay
conclusion. The conclusion chapter should be around two to ten pages in length.
Since your conclusion isn’t as long as your other chapters
in your dissertation, you might not require subheadings, especially if it’s
only two or three pages. However, if it gets a bit longer, subheadings might be
useful for the reader. We’ll go through all of the things you need to
accomplish in your conclusion below, and you can use the subheadings we map out
in your conclusion chapter.
Summary of findings
Explain what your findings were for your study in a
shortened, summarized section. This should be no longer than a few paragraphs where
you map out your main findings and how you’ve analyzed them. Try and bring
together everything that your study has found in this section.
Here you should show a link between your thesis statement
and the data which you’ve found. How did your data analysis demonstrate that
the aims of your research were actually reached? How did you answer your
research questions?
Contributions of the
research project
List the contributions that your research has made to the
field. Did you help to fill in any gaps in knowledge or understanding which you
identified in your literature review? Did you test any assumptions in new ways?
Did you build on the research of scholars who came before you?
Areas for Future
Research
What are questions raised by your study which could be
answered in future research by yourself or other researchers? How did the limitations
in your study hold you back from fully answering certain questions, and what
could be done in future studies to increase knowledge and understanding of
these questions?
You could use a portion of your conclusion to be slightly
less formal and to add points of interest for the reader, or even talk a bit
about your personal journey in the study. For example, you could talk about stories
in the news and how your research offers some perspective on these, or you
could speak about how you will use the knowledge from your study in the
professional setting. For my master’s thesis, I ended my conclusion with a
poem, and in my PhD dissertation I included discussions of current social
trends. There is a bit more flexibility in the conclusion, and you should think
about the impression you’re leaving your reader with when they finish reading
your work. At least a few future researchers will be reading your dissertation
to help with their own research.
Review Your Learning:
- Your conclusion should summarize your findings
- Explain whether you’ve accomplished your research aims and how you’ve tested your hypotheses
- End with areas for future research or even a personal touch if appropriate