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[camera]

I need some advice about composing a dissertation conclusion (in the humanities). What exactly should a dissertation conclusion include? I know I shouldn't spend those few pages simply summarizing the previous chapters, but I am absolutely lost.  My advisor had some problems with my previous conclusion claiming it didn't "push the argument." 

Any advice or personal conclusion writing experience is much appreciated!

[helpful]

Well, what is the criteria in your dept for a successful dissertation. Address those criteria in the conclusion.

[romance]

Well, what is the criteria in your dept for a successful dissertation. Address those criteria in the conclusion.

Or take a look at some recent conclusions of dissertations filed by students in your program. this may give you some idea.

[phdbliss]

It really depends on the topic, your thesis, and a number of other factors. But I'll give this a whirl - in my case, the conclusion is actually one of the longest chapters because I'm adding a sort of "coda" in which I discuss another topic that is tangential to the main idea - would something that that be a possibility?

Even if I weren't doing that, I think I would frame the discussion to reflect where the research on your topic should head now, taking your dissertation into consideration. Are there implications for more research/data collection? Are there pedagogical implications? Is there the potential to turn your topic into a sub-field of your discipline? Try to think of it outside of the context of itself. Does that make sense?

[commcycle]

Even if I weren't doing that, I think I would frame the discussion to reflect where the research on your topic should head now, taking your dissertation into consideration. Are there implications for more research/data collection? Are there pedagogical implications? Is there the potential to turn your topic into a sub-field of your discipline? Try to think of it outside of the context of itself. Does that make sense?

First-time poster here...

I've written a thesis but not a dissertation. I agree with abdangst, talk about what you (the now-expert on what you just studied for several years) think the implications of your research are. My thesis adviser used to say that the conclusion is where you "sing your song." Everything else is preparing to sing: lit review, formulating questions, and collecting data. You should have a pretty good idea of where this is going by now. Tell readers of your dissertation why the results matter.

[samspade]

And they all lived happily everafter.

[infopri]

Yes.  "Pushing your argument," "singing your song," the conclusion is where you answer the "so what?" questions about your dissertation.  What are the implications?  What can we take away from your work?  Where should research efforts go from here?  Are there practical implications?  (That last one might not apply, if it's a humanities diss; mine wasn't.)  Some people read only the last chapter of dissertations.  What is it that you want them to know, now that you've finished your study?

[commcycle]

Some people read only the last chapter of dissertations. 

Valuable advice. I really wish somebody told me this before I ran with my rather weak conclusions in my thesis. I'm editing it a year later for possible publication and saying, what the heck was I thinking? D'oh...

[manolo]

This, for whatever reason, was the hardest chapter for me to write.  In fact, I am still writing it.  Anyway, I was told to look at it (as others have suggested) in terms of the "so what" question, but also to consider: the conclusion, implications and recommendations (for future research).

[infopri]

This, for whatever reason, was the hardest chapter for me to write.  In fact, I am still writing it.  Anyway, I was told to look at it (as others have suggested) in terms of the "so what" question, but also to consider: the conclusion, implications and recommendations (for future research).

It was hard for me, too.  In fact, my original final chapter was only 15 pages and said almost nothing of substance (basically it just repeated the main findings), but my advisor and I decided to proceed with the defense anyway, on the assumption that I would have to do post-defense revisions anyway (everyone in my program does) and could rewrite the chapter when I did the other revisions.

I'm not sure now whether it was the insight I gained from the defense or merely the passage of time, but when I finally did rewrite that chapter, every word practically just fell into place.  The committee members who saw the rewrite were blown away.  The rewritten final chapter summarized the findings, discussed their theoretical and practical (and political) implications, and laid out the foundations for future research.  It really does stand pretty well on its own now, running about 30 pages, and I'm quite proud of it.

When I finally got it down on paper, it seemed so easy--but that was only after I'd struggled with it for months.

[carebearstare]

I agree wholeheartedly with infopri: conclusions should answer the "so what?" question. Actually, intros answer that question, too, but they answer it in anticipation of your research; conclusions answer it framed by the existence of the research you've just completed. That is, what does the world look like now that your dissertation is in it?

By the way, my answer to the last question was, "it has fewer trees."

[antiphon1]

Just write the conclusion according to the guidelines.  Getting something on paper is the important step.  Don't worry too much at this point about the polishing. You may be  getting ahead of yourself here.  I'm with infopri.  The final gelling of the argument may come after a period of time rather than as one final push.  I wrote my conclusion and percolated for a few weeks before I was ready to pull all the strands together.