Conclusion and Future Work

Function

• Summarize the main points (results and insights) of your work
• Outline future research directions
• Sometimes: Links the results of your work to the results of the related works section (but only very briefly)

Style

• Written in a neutral, unbiased and fact-oriented language
• The conclusion does not
  • contain any new information or facts
  • contain any references (unless necessary)
  • contain any definitions
  • introduce new terms or concepts

Structure

• Usually separated into two logical parts
  1. the actual conclusion
  2. future work

Tipps

The aim of this section is to communicate how the results of your work contribute to progress in your field. It can, however, be a difficult balance between being certain in your tone and not conveying arrogance. One guiding principle is to make sure your deductions aren’t over-inflated in their nature, but always backed-up with data and what others have reported. Furthermore, you can discuss any follow-up work that is underway and suggest future research, to provide further credibility to the points you make.

A couple of useful tips on content:

• Discuss your research’s significance: You should discuss the key significance of your results. Don’t be tempted to just restate them, that’s what your results section is for.
• Tackle conflicting research: You should address any work that disagrees with your findings directly in this section. Rather than lambasting it, convince the reader why your work is an improvement, in a constructive way.
• Remember to reiterate your objectives: You should always relate back to the objectives that you laid out in your introduction at this stage, to make the paper congruent for the reader.

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Letztes Update: 17. September 2024