How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion Chapter

Writing a compelling conclusion is crucial as you reach the final stage of your thesis or dissertation. This section allows you to tie everything together, answer your core research question, and leave a lasting impression on your reader.

In the conclusion, you should:

• Explicitly state the answer to your primary research question
• Summarize and reflect on the research process you undertook
• Suggest areas for future work related to your thesis or dissertation topic
• Demonstrate the new knowledge you have contributed to your academic field
• Bring a sense of closure to your overall thesis or dissertation

Discussion vs. Conclusion

It’s important to distinguish between your paper’s discussion chapter and conclusion chapter. The discussion is where you interpret and evaluate the significance of your results in relation to your research objectives and the broader field of research. This section allows you to delve deep into your research findings and their implications.

Conversely, when you write the conclusion for a paper or a thesis conclusion, you should concisely summarize your key findings and their implications. The conclusion chapter typically recaps the key points of your study, emphasizing how your research findings contribute to the field and potentially suggesting future directions for investigation.

How Long Should Your Conclusion Chapter Be?

The length of your conclusion will depend on factors like the overall length of your thesis or dissertation, the complexity of your research, and your discipline’s conventions. As a general guideline, aim for a word count of approximately 5-10% of the length of your total paper. This ensures you devote sufficient space to wrapping up your work effectively without becoming repetitive or excessively long-winded.

The conclusion of a thesis or dissertation serves as a summative chapter that synthesizes the study’s key findings, highlights its significance, acknowledges limitations, and recommends future research directions. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Restate Your Research Question

Your conclusion should begin by clearly restating the central research question or hypothesis your thesis or dissertation sought to address. This is your final opportunity to demonstrate that you have accomplished what you set out to do, so providing a direct, concise answer is crucial.

Avoid repeating a list of all the results you have discussed in previous sections. Instead, synthesize the key findings into a cohesive, memorable takeaway for the reader.

Here is an example of a  conclusion for an empirical thesis or dissertation:

Example: Empirical Research

This study investigated the relationship between employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment in the retail industry. Through a survey of 500 retail employees across various job roles and locations, the findings suggest a strong positive correlation between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The analysis reveals that factors such as work-life balance, career growth opportunities, and recognition for performance are key drivers of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in this sector.

Here is an example of the conclusion of a thesis or dissertation based on a case study:

Example: Humanities Research

This dissertation explored the evolution of feminist themes in Virginia Woolf’s works, focusing on three of her most influential novels: Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Orlando. Through closely reading these texts and examining Woolf’s personal writings, this study has demonstrated how her fiction challenged traditional gender roles and societal expectations of women in the early 20th century. 

The conclusion of a case study-based thesis or dissertation typically does not directly restate the research aim. Instead, it may summarize the aim implicitly within a broader statement about the work conducted and how it was carried out. 

This approach helps avoid repeating the same information already provided earlier in the paper. The conclusion can provide a concise overview of the overall study and its methodology by reformulating the original aims and research questions into a more general statement.

Step 2: Summarize and Reflect on Your Research

Your conclusion provides an opportunity to remind the reader of the rationale behind your chosen research approach, your initial expectations, and how well your results ultimately aligned with those expectations. 

To avoid redundancy, aim to write more reflectively in this section rather than simply summarizing the content of each preceding chapter. Consider discussing the effectiveness of your chosen methodology or highlighting any new questions or unexpected insights that emerged over the course of your investigation.

You can also acknowledge any limitations of your research, but only if you have not already addressed these in your discussion section. However, it’s important not to dwell excessively on limitations – instead, maintain a balanced perspective by emphasizing the positives and contributions of your work.

Example: Summarization sentence

• Although x  may constrain the generalizability of the findings, this methodological approach has provided valuable new insights into the phenomenon of y.
• The research demonstrates x but also raises intriguing questions about y that warrant further exploration.

Step 3: Make Future Recommendations

While you may have already included a few recommendations for future research within your discussion section, the conclusion provides an opportunity to elaborate further. This is your chance to consider the broader implications of your findings, theoretically and practically.

Example: Recommendation Statements

• Based on the conclusions drawn from this study, practitioners in the field should consider implementing strategies that…
• To better understand the full implications of these results, future research could investigate…
• Additional studies are needed to determine the underlying causes of/effects related to/relationships between the key variables examined in this work.

When making suggestions for future research, do not undermine the strength and significance of your work. While future studies may serve to confirm, extend, or enrich your conclusions, your argument should be able to stand on its own merit. 

Similarly, avoid overstating the direct applicability or generalizability of your findings. When proposing practical recommendations, it’s generally best to frame them as possibilities or suggestions rather than mandates. After all, the primary purpose of academic research is to inform, explain, and explore – not to definitively prescribe.

Step 4: Emphasize Your Contributions to Your Field

It’s essential that your conclusion leaves the reader with a clear understanding of how your research has advanced the current state of knowledge in your academic field. 

Some effective strategies for achieving this include:

• Revisit the problem statement or gap in the literature your study sought to address and explain how your findings have helped to solve or fill that void.

• Refer back to the fundamental theories, models, or assumptions you examined in your literature review, and discuss how your results have served to confirm, challenge, or build upon the existing knowledge base.

• Highlight your work’s most significant and impactful insights or implications, and position these within your discipline’s broader context.

Again, it’s important to avoid simply reiterating points you have already covered in depth within your discussion section. Instead, selectively summarize the most crucial takeaways, ensuring that you situate your project and its contributions in a clear, compelling manner.

Step 5: Finalizing Your Thesis or Dissertation

As you complete the writing process, it’s time to complete a few key steps to wrap up your thesis or dissertation:

1. Consider writing your abstract next while the details of your research are still fresh in your mind. This concise summary will provide an overview of your work.

2. Thoroughly review your reference list to ensure it is comprehensive and adequately formatted according to the citation style required by your institution. To streamline this process, you can utilize a free citation generator tool.

3. After adding any necessary appendices, construct your table of contents and title page to provide a clear organizational structure for your document.

4. Finally, conduct a thorough read-through of your entire thesis or dissertation to check for any lingering language errors or areas that require clarification. You can proofread it yourself, enlist a friend or colleague to review it or consider employing a professional proofreading and editing service.

Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion Example

Here is an example of what a well-structured conclusion for a thesis or dissertation might look like:

This study investigated gamification’s impact on student engagement in online learning environments. The findings indicate that strategically incorporating game-like elements, such as points, badges, and leaderboards, can significantly enhance learners’ motivation, participation, and satisfaction with digital coursework. 

The results build on existing literature surrounding the educational applications of game-based approaches, providing empirical evidence of their efficacy in improving student outcomes. Additionally, the study offers practical recommendations for instructional designers and educators seeking to leverage gamification techniques to create more dynamic and immersive online learning experiences.

While this research was limited to a specific institutional context, the underlying principles and design considerations could be applied across various educational settings. Future studies should explore the long-term impacts of gamification and its effectiveness in enhancing learning and knowledge retention among diverse student populations.

Overall, this thesis has demonstrated that thoughtfully implemented gamification has the potential to revolutionize online education by fostering higher levels of engagement, interactivity, and meaningful learning. As institutions expand their digital offerings, these findings underscore the value of integrating game-based approaches to better meet the evolving needs and expectations of 21st-century students.

Conclusion Section Checklist

Before submitting your final thesis or dissertation, use this checklist to ensure your conclusion is thorough and effectively wraps up your work:

• Directly answer your original research question or hypothesis
• Summarize the key findings, themes, and insights that emerged from your study
• Reflect on the significance and implications of your results in relation to existing literature
•  Identify limitations of your research and recommend avenues for future investigation
• Clearly articulate the unique contributions your work makes to your academic field
• Provide a concise, compelling summary that leaves the reader with a solid final impression