Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: a handbook for Supervisors

Structuring the Results/Findings section
From this point on in the thesis structure, it is fair to say that there is
greater variability than in the previous sections we have examined. The sec-
ond-language student is confronted with options as to how to structure and
organize their data, present the results or findings of their research, and
begin to put forward the knowledge claims they wish to make. To a great
extent, the discipline in which they are working and the research paradigm,
whether quantitative or qualitative, will shape the decisions they make as
to whether, for example, they opt for a separate chapter entitled ‘Results’ or
‘Findings’ or have a series of Discussion chapters which integrate findings
and discussion of the findings, with no identifiable generic headings. In the
thesis by compilation (see Chapter 5), each chapter will report on a discrete
study and therefore discuss relevant results within the specific chapter, usu-
ally making use of distinct section headings. In qualitative research in