SBM Online: SBM has yet again successfully conducted the 7th SBM Postgraduate Talk Series 2017 which was held on 18th of July, 2017 at SBM’s Main Meeting Room. The talk titled “How to Write an Effective Discussion?” was delivered by Associate Prof. Dr. Faizuniah Pangil, Senior Lecturer from Human Resource Department of SBM. The session was attended by more than 70 staff and postgraduate students.
During the talk Associate Prof. Dr. Faizuniah elucidated that an effective discussion should begin with a statement of the major findings of the study with the attempt to relate the findings to the research problem and those of other studies. The purpose of discussion is to state interpretations and opinions, highlight the significance and implications of the findings, and propose suggestions for future research.
Likewise, students are advised to focus on the aim of research which is to discover and not to prove, as it is easy to fall into the trap of designing the study to prove the researcher’s bias rather than to discover the truth. When writing the discussion section, it is important to carefully consider all possible explanations for the study results, rather than just those that fit the biases. The discussion is considered the heart of the paper and usually requires several writing attempts which explicate how the study has moved the reader's understanding of the research problem forward from where the researcher have left them at the end of the introduction.
The interaction session was indeed very inspiring and prolific with participants actively involved throughout the session. The participants expressed their gratefulness to SBM and Associate Prof. Dr. Faizuniah for sharing her valuable experiences, knowledge and views. SBM, on the other hand will continue to uphold the culture of SBM’s scholars sharing knowledge with staff, academicians as well as postgraduate students.