Thesis Seminar Module 14: Results & Discussion II

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See Developing Body Paragraphs in Results and Discussion Section.

Recap for Week 14

Thesis Seminar: Week 14 RecapThesis Seminar: Week 14 Recap - Notes

How to list tables and figures in Word

How to list tables and figures in Word according to APAHow to list tables and figures in Word according to APA - Notes

• Issues and Advice

  It’s Week 14, and you are officially in the “synthesis phase.” You’ve moved past the initial panic of data collection, and while many of you finally see the “light at the end of the tunnel”, this week has brought a fresh set of technical and structural hurdles.

  Here is a breakdown of the specific challenges you mentioned in your reflections and the strategies you can use to conquer them.

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  1. The “Mental Logjam” (Paragraph Structure)

  The Challenge: Many of you feel that putting your thoughts into words is the biggest hurdle right now. You might have the ideas or sentences ready, but you aren’t sure how to “put them together” or how a body paragraph should actually look.

  Strategies to Overcome It:

  • Trust the M.E.A.L. Plan: Your professor recommended this for a reason—it provides a mechanical way to build coherence.

    Main Idea: One sentence stating the finding.

    Evidence: The specific quote or observation from your notes.

    Analysis: Your explanation of how this evidence answers your research question.

    Link: A transition to the next point or a concluding thought.

  Use Sentence Starters: If you’re stuck, start with: “A key pattern observed was…” followed by “For instance, Participant X stated…” and then “This suggests that…“.

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  2. The “Coding Maze” (Moving to Themes)

  **The Challenge:**You’ve started your codebook, but the struggle is moving from “first cycle” (basic codes) to “second and third cycles” (categories and themes). You are finding it difficult to organize this data so it remains coherent with your framework.

  Strategies to Overcome It:

  • Thematic Mapping: Don’t just look at a list of codes. Group your codes into “families.” For example, if you have codes for “fear of speaking” and “low confidence,” group them under a category called “Affective Filters”.

  The “Research Question” Filter: When you get lost in the codes, go back to your research questions. If a code doesn’t help you answer those specific questions, move it to the background so you can focus on the most relevant evidence.

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  3. Avoiding Repetitive Results

  **The Challenge:**A common fear this week is that your chapters will feel repetitive. You want to show your results clearly but find the process “tedious” and are unsure how to present evidence without saying the same thing over and over.

  Strategies to Overcome It:

  Synthesize, Don’t Just List: Instead of listing every quote you found, pick the one strongest example that represents a group of participants. You can say, “Multiple participants expressed X; for example, Student A noted…”.

  Vary Your Presentation: Use a mix of narrative description, short direct quotes, and perhaps a small table or chart if your data allows it.

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  4. Technical “Gremlins” (Formatting & Citations)

  The Challenge:
  Small details are causing big headaches. Some of you are struggling with Word document spacing , while others find APA style citations and references confusing.

  Strategies to Overcome It:

  • Check Paragraph Settings: If your top spacing won’t line up, it’s usually not a “margin” issue. Right-click your text, go to Paragraph, and ensure “Spacing Before” and “Spacing After” are both set to 0 pt.

  • Use a Style Guide: Don’t guess on APA. Use a dedicated generator or a guide (like OWL Purdue) specifically for the “Results” section to ensure your formatting is clean from the start.

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  5. Appendix Confusion

  **The Challenge:**Several of you are confused about what an appendix should look like and how to organize the “extra” pieces like observation instruments and full codebooks.

  Strategies to Overcome It:

  • The “Evidence Room” Concept: Treat the appendix as a storage room for anything that would clutter your main paper.

  • Standard Layout:

    Appendix A: Your final Research Instrument (e.g., your observation sheet).

    Appendix B: Your completed Codebook (the list of categories and themes).

    Appendix C: Any additional evidence or raw notes that support your findings.

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  Final Pro-Tip for Week 15

  You mentioned feeling less pressured now that you have a plan. Keep that momentum by setting micro-goals. Don’t try to “write the results chapter”—just try to “write the M.E.A.L. paragraph for Research Question 1” today. You’ve got this!

🎯 Understanding

Instructors will understand that…

• Results and Discussion sections can be organized within paragraphs (integrated) or across paragraphs (results-first, discussion-follow-up), depending on the rhetorical purpose of each point.

• MEAL paragraph structure (Main idea, Evidence, Analysis, Link) helps readers follow how findings connect to claims and the research question(s). - The M.E.A.L. Plan: A Comprehensive Approach to Paragraph Development

• Clear distinctions between results (what the data show) and discussion (what the results mean) improve coherence and reduce repetition.

• Strategic comparison/contrast and selective citation strengthen the interpretation of findings and situate the study within prior research.

• Visuals (e.g., figures and tables) can be used to clarify results and discussion (text).

🎯 Language Objective

Students will be able to…

• Draft Results & Discussion body paragraphs using the MEAL plan, with clearly labeled evidence (results) and analysis (discussion).

• Use appropriate reporting verbs, hedging, and linking language to interpret findings (e.g., suggest, indicate, may, appears to, therefore, however).

• Write a topic sentence that states the key finding/point, integrate supporting data, and end with a linking/synthesizing sentence that connects back to the research aim.

• Produce accurate in-text citations when comparing findings to previous studies (paraphrase + citation; avoid over-quoting).

🎯 Vocabulary

• Results language (reporting): show, indicate, reveal, demonstrate, suggest, report; was/were observed, increased/decreased, higher/lower.

• Discussion language (interpreting): implies, may be explained by, could be due to, this supports, this contradicts, aligns with.

• Hedging & caution: may, might, appears to, tends to, likely, potentially, in part.

• Comparison/contrast: similarly, likewise, in contrast, however, whereas, on the other hand.

• Connecting evidence to claims: this finding suggests that…, taken together…, overall…, therefore….

Setting up tables and figures in Microsoft Word

How to make table captions and a list of tables in wordHow to make table captions and a list of tables in word - Notes

🎯 Video Archive

Thesis Seminar recap for week 14Thesis Seminar recap for week 14 - Notes