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Conclusions in Scientific Research Reports (Imrad) : Move Sample Language

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120 views2 pages

Conclusions in Scientific Research Reports (Imrad) : Move Sample Language

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scribd.thct
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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George Mason University Writing Center

writingcenter.gmu.edu
[email protected]
703.993.1200

Conclusions in Scientific Research Reports (IMRaD)


In IMRaD* reports, conclusions often fall under the discussion section. In some disciplines and journals,
however, conclusions are separated from discussions. If this is the case for the paper you are working on,
you may find the following description of common conclusion moves and sample language useful.

* IMRaD refers to reports with the structure Introduction-Method-Results-Discussion used in empirical


research in natural and social sciences. Please refer to the Writing Center quick guide “Writing an IMRaD
Report” for more explanations.

Move Sample Language


Restating the aims of the study The aim of the present research was to examine …
The purpose of the current study was to determine …
The main goal of the current study was to determine …

Summarizing main research findings These experiments confirmed that…


X made no significant difference to…
This study has shown that…

Suggesting implications for the field The results of this study indicate that …
of knowledge These findings suggest that in general …
The findings of this study suggest that …

Explaining significance or The study contributes to our understanding of …


contribution of the study These results add to the rapidly expanding field of …
The contribution of this study has been to confirm …

Acknowledging limitations A major limitation of this study is…


Being limited to X, this study lacks …
The small sample size did not allow …

Providing recommendations for More research using controlled trials is needed to …


future research A further study could assess the long-term effects of …
Considerably more work will need to be done to determine …

Offering recommendations for Greater efforts are needed to ensure …


practice or policy These findings suggest several courses of action for …
Continued efforts are needed to make X more accessible to …

The table is based on the information from University of Manchester’s Academic Phrasebank
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/writing-conclusions/

As always, it is important to remember that depending on the discipline, journal, or purpose of the paper,
certain moves may or may not be present.

© The George Mason University Writing Center 2018


Sample conclusion
Below is an example of a conclusion from a published research article. Notice how the moves are utilized
in it.
Italics = Restating the aim of the study
Underlined = Summarizing main findings
Italics/Bold = Suggesting implications for the field of knowledge
Bold = Explaining significance or contribution of the study
Underlined/Bold = Acknowledging Limitations
Italics/Underlined = Offering recommendations for practice or policy

This is one of the first studies to more comprehensively examine adolescents' knowledge of and attitudes
towards e-cigarette ingredients, addictive properties, safety, perceived prevalence, acceptability, and
regulation*… In our study of 9th and 12th graders, participants had more favorable attitudes towards and
perceived less risk from e-cigarettes than cigarettes, and they expressed less support for policies that
applied to e-cigarette than cigarette regulation. Participants believed that about 30% of their closest friends
used e-cigarettes, which is approximately 10% higher than the self-reported rates in the sample… As we
hypothesized, adolescents who have ever used tobacco perceive greater prevalence of e-cigarette use
among their parents, siblings, and peers… These findings demonstrate the importance of developing
educational and health messages that correct misperceptions about use rates of e-cigarettes,
since it is plausible that beliefs about how many peers use e-cigarettes can translate into
increased adolescent e-cigarette use. Our findings are particularly concerning considering that
positive perceptions of e-cigarettes may be increasingly common among teens… This study was
limited to a school-based convenience sample recruited from California schools, and given the
relatively low response rate, as is true with other convenience samples, it is unclear how
representativeness and generalizable the sample is compared to California adolescents.
… health care providers need to understand basic facts concerning e-cigarettes as well as adolescents'
attitudes towards these products since e-cigarettes are becoming a more predominant tobacco product
among adolescents. (adapted from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743516303413)

*this sentence also shows significance or contribution of the study

Activity to help you prepare for writing IMRAD conclusions


Choose three different papers in your discipline and look through their conclusions. What moves do you
see? What language clues helped you identify these moves? Are there any moves missing in a way that
impacts the interpretation of the conclusion? Consider doing this activity and discussing your findings with
others.

Last updated 4/26/2018

© The George Mason University Writing Center 2018

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