conclusion of the study in research

How to Write a Conclusion for Research Papers (with Examples)

The conclusion of a research paper is a crucial section that plays a significant role in the overall impact and effectiveness of your research paper. However, this is also the section that typically receives less attention compared to the introduction and the body of the paper. The conclusion serves to provide a concise summary of the key findings, their significance, their implications, and a sense of closure to the study. Discussing how can the findings be applied in real-world scenarios or inform policy, practice, or decision-making is especially valuable to practitioners and policymakers. The research paper conclusion also provides researchers with clear insights and valuable information for their own work, which they can then build on and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field.

The research paper conclusion should explain the significance of your findings within the broader context of your field. It restates how your results contribute to the existing body of knowledge and whether they confirm or challenge existing theories or hypotheses. Also, by identifying unanswered questions or areas requiring further investigation, your awareness of the broader research landscape can be demonstrated.

Remember to tailor the research paper conclusion to the specific needs and interests of your intended audience, which may include researchers, practitioners, policymakers, or a combination of these.

Table of Contents

What is a conclusion in a research paper, summarizing conclusion, editorial conclusion, externalizing conclusion, importance of a good research paper conclusion, how to write a conclusion for your research paper, research paper conclusion examples.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A conclusion in a research paper is the final section where you summarize and wrap up your research, presenting the key findings and insights derived from your study. The research paper conclusion is not the place to introduce new information or data that was not discussed in the main body of the paper. When working on how to conclude a research paper, remember to stick to summarizing and interpreting existing content. The research paper conclusion serves the following purposes: 1

• Warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem.
• Recommend specific course(s) of action.
• Restate key ideas to drive home the ultimate point of your research paper.
• Provide a “take-home” message that you want the readers to remember about your study.

Types of conclusions for research papers

In research papers, the conclusion provides closure to the reader. The type of research paper conclusion you choose depends on the nature of your study, your goals, and your target audience. I provide you with three common types of conclusions:

A summarizing conclusion is the most common type of conclusion in research papers. It involves summarizing the main points, reiterating the research question, and restating the significance of the findings. This common type of research paper conclusion is used across different disciplines.

An editorial conclusion is less common but can be used in research papers that are focused on proposing or advocating for a particular viewpoint or policy. It involves presenting a strong editorial or opinion based on the research findings and offering recommendations or calls to action.

An externalizing conclusion is a type of conclusion that extends the research beyond the scope of the paper by suggesting potential future research directions or discussing the broader implications of the findings. This type of conclusion is often used in more theoretical or exploratory research papers.

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The conclusion in a research paper serves several important purposes:

• Offers Implications and Recommendations : Your research paper conclusion is an excellent place to discuss the broader implications of your research and suggest potential areas for further study. It’s also an opportunity to offer practical recommendations based on your findings.
• Provides Closure : A good research paper conclusion provides a sense of closure to your paper. It should leave the reader with a feeling that they have reached the end of a well-structured and thought-provoking research project.
• Leaves a Lasting Impression : Writing a well-crafted research paper conclusion leaves a lasting impression on your readers. It’s your final opportunity to leave them with a new idea, a call to action, or a memorable quote.

Writing a strong conclusion for your research paper is essential to leave a lasting impression on your readers. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you create and know what to put in the conclusion of a research paper: 2

• Research Statement : Begin your research paper conclusion by restating your research statement. This reminds the reader of the main point you’ve been trying to prove throughout your paper. Keep it concise and clear.
• Key Points : Summarize the main arguments and key points you’ve made in your paper. Avoid introducing new information in the research paper conclusion. Instead, provide a concise overview of what you’ve discussed in the body of your paper.
• Address the Research Questions : If your research paper is based on specific research questions or hypotheses, briefly address whether you’ve answered them or achieved your research goals. Discuss the significance of your findings in this context.
• Significance : Highlight the importance of your research and its relevance in the broader context. Explain why your findings matter and how they contribute to the existing knowledge in your field.
• Implications : Explore the practical or theoretical implications of your research. How might your findings impact future research, policy, or real-world applications? Consider the “so what?” question.
• Future Research : Offer suggestions for future research in your area. What questions or aspects remain unanswered or warrant further investigation? This shows that your work opens the door for future exploration.
• Closing Thought : Conclude your research paper conclusion with a thought-provoking or memorable statement. This can leave a lasting impression on your readers and wrap up your paper effectively. Avoid introducing new information or arguments here.
• Proofread and Revise : Carefully proofread your conclusion for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Ensure that your ideas flow smoothly and that your conclusion is coherent and well-structured.

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Remember that a well-crafted research paper conclusion is a reflection of the strength of your research and your ability to communicate its significance effectively. It should leave a lasting impression on your readers and tie together all the threads of your paper. Now you know how to start the conclusion of a research paper and what elements to include to make it impactful, let’s look at a research paper conclusion sample.

How to write a research paper conclusion with Paperpal?

A research paper conclusion is not just a summary of your study, but a synthesis of the key findings that ties the research together and places it in a broader context. A research paper conclusion should be concise, typically around one paragraph in length. However, some complex topics may require a longer conclusion to ensure the reader is left with a clear understanding of the study’s significance. Paperpal, an AI writing assistant trusted by over 800,000 academics globally, can help you write a well-structured conclusion for your research paper. 

• Sign Up or Log In: Create a new Paperpal account or login with your details.  
• Navigate to Features : Once logged in, head over to the features’ side navigation pane. Click on Templates and you’ll find a suite of generative AI features to help you write better, faster.  
• Generate an outline: Under Templates, select ‘Outlines’. Choose ‘Research article’ as your document type.  
• Select your section: Since you’re focusing on the conclusion, select this section when prompted.  
• Choose your field of study: Identifying your field of study allows Paperpal to provide more targeted suggestions, ensuring the relevance of your conclusion to your specific area of research. 
• Provide a brief description of your study: Enter details about your research topic and findings. This information helps Paperpal generate a tailored outline that aligns with your paper’s content. 
• Generate the conclusion outline: After entering all necessary details, click on ‘generate’. Paperpal will then create a structured outline for your conclusion, to help you start writing and build upon the outline.  
• Write your conclusion: Use the generated outline to build your conclusion. The outline serves as a guide, ensuring you cover all critical aspects of a strong conclusion, from summarizing key findings to highlighting the research’s implications. 
• Refine and enhance: Paperpal’s ‘Make Academic’ feature can be particularly useful in the final stages. Select any paragraph of your conclusion and use this feature to elevate the academic tone, ensuring your writing is aligned to the academic journal standards. 

By following these steps, Paperpal not only simplifies the process of writing a research paper conclusion but also ensures it is impactful, concise, and aligned with academic standards. Sign up with Paperpal today and write your research paper conclusion 2x faster .  

The research paper conclusion is a crucial part of your paper as it provides the final opportunity to leave a strong impression on your readers. In the research paper conclusion, summarize the main points of your research paper by restating your research statement, highlighting the most important findings, addressing the research questions or objectives, explaining the broader context of the study, discussing the significance of your findings, providing recommendations if applicable, and emphasizing the takeaway message. The main purpose of the conclusion is to remind the reader of the main point or argument of your paper and to provide a clear and concise summary of the key findings and their implications. All these elements should feature on your list of what to put in the conclusion of a research paper to create a strong final statement for your work.

A strong conclusion is a critical component of a research paper, as it provides an opportunity to wrap up your arguments, reiterate your main points, and leave a lasting impression on your readers. Here are the key elements of a strong research paper conclusion: 1. Conciseness : A research paper conclusion should be concise and to the point. It should not introduce new information or ideas that were not discussed in the body of the paper. 2. Summarization : The research paper conclusion should be comprehensive enough to give the reader a clear understanding of the research’s main contributions. 3 . Relevance : Ensure that the information included in the research paper conclusion is directly relevant to the research paper’s main topic and objectives; avoid unnecessary details. 4 . Connection to the Introduction : A well-structured research paper conclusion often revisits the key points made in the introduction and shows how the research has addressed the initial questions or objectives. 5. Emphasis : Highlight the significance and implications of your research. Why is your study important? What are the broader implications or applications of your findings? 6 . Call to Action : Include a call to action or a recommendation for future research or action based on your findings.

The length of a research paper conclusion can vary depending on several factors, including the overall length of the paper, the complexity of the research, and the specific journal requirements. While there is no strict rule for the length of a conclusion, but it’s generally advisable to keep it relatively short. A typical research paper conclusion might be around 5-10% of the paper’s total length. For example, if your paper is 10 pages long, the conclusion might be roughly half a page to one page in length.

In general, you do not need to include citations in the research paper conclusion. Citations are typically reserved for the body of the paper to support your arguments and provide evidence for your claims. However, there may be some exceptions to this rule: 1. If you are drawing a direct quote or paraphrasing a specific source in your research paper conclusion, you should include a citation to give proper credit to the original author. 2. If your conclusion refers to or discusses specific research, data, or sources that are crucial to the overall argument, citations can be included to reinforce your conclusion’s validity.

The conclusion of a research paper serves several important purposes: 1. Summarize the Key Points 2. Reinforce the Main Argument 3. Provide Closure 4. Offer Insights or Implications 5. Engage the Reader. 6. Reflect on Limitations

Remember that the primary purpose of the research paper conclusion is to leave a lasting impression on the reader, reinforcing the key points and providing closure to your research. It’s often the last part of the paper that the reader will see, so it should be strong and well-crafted.

• Makar, G., Foltz, C., Lendner, M., & Vaccaro, A. R. (2018). How to write effective discussion and conclusion sections. Clinical spine surgery, 31(8), 345-346.
• Bunton, D. (2005). The structure of PhD conclusion chapters.  Journal of English for academic purposes ,  4 (3), 207-224.

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The conclusion is intended to help the reader understand why your research should matter to them after they have finished reading the paper. A conclusion is not merely a summary of the main topics covered or a re-statement of your research problem, but a synthesis of key points derived from the findings of your study and, if applicable based on your analysis, explain new areas for future research. For most college-level research papers, two or three well-developed paragraphs is sufficient for a conclusion, although in some cases, more paragraphs may be required in describing the key findings and highlighting their significance.

Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University.

Importance of a Good Conclusion

A well-written conclusion provides important opportunities to demonstrate to the reader your understanding of the research problem. These include:

• Presenting the last word on the issues you raised in your paper . Just as the introduction gives a first impression to your reader, the conclusion offers a chance to leave a lasting impression. Do this, for example, by highlighting key findings in your analysis that advance new understanding about the research problem, that are unusual or unexpected, or that have important implications applied to practice.
• Summarizing your thoughts and conveying the larger significance of your study . The conclusion is an opportunity to succinctly re-emphasize  your answer to the "So What?" question by placing the study within the context of how your research advances past studies about the topic.
• Identifying how a gap in the literature has been addressed . The conclusion can be where you describe how a previously identified gap in the literature [first identified in your literature review section] has been addressed by your research and why this contribution is significant.
• Demonstrating the importance of your ideas . Don't be shy. The conclusion offers an opportunity to elaborate on the impact and significance of your findings. This is particularly important if your study approached examining the research problem from an unusual or innovative perspective.
• Introducing possible new or expanded ways of thinking about the research problem . This does not refer to introducing new information [which should be avoided], but to offer new insight and creative approaches for framing or contextualizing the research problem based on the results of your study.

Bunton, David. “The Structure of PhD Conclusion Chapters.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 4 (July 2005): 207–224; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  General Rules

The general function of your paper's conclusion is to restate the main argument . It reminds the reader of your main argument(s) strengths and reiterates the most important evidence supporting those argument(s). Do this by clearly summarizing the context, background, and the necessity of examining the research problem in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found in the literature. However, make sure that your conclusion is not simply a repetitive summary of the findings. This reduces the impact of the argument(s) you have developed in your paper.

When writing the conclusion to your paper, follow these general rules:

• Present your conclusions in clear, concise language. Re-state the purpose of your study, then describe how your findings differ or support those of other studies and why [i.e., describe what were the unique, new, or crucial contributions your study made to the overall research about your topic].
• Do not simply reiterate your findings or the discussion of your results. Provide a synthesis of arguments presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem and the overall objectives of your study.
• Indicate opportunities for future research if you haven't already done so in the discussion section of your paper. Highlighting the need for further research provides the reader with evidence that you have an in-depth awareness of the research problem but that further analysis should take place beyond the scope of your investigation.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is presented well:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize the argument for your reader.
• If, prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the end of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from the data [this is opposite of the introduction, which begins with general discussion of the context and ends with a detailed description of the research problem]. 

The conclusion also provides a place for you to persuasively and succinctly restate the research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with all the information about the topic . Depending on the discipline you are writing in, the concluding paragraph may contain your reflections on the evidence presented. However, the nature of being introspective about the research you have conducted will depend on the topic and whether your professor wants you to express your observations in this way. If asked to think introspectively about the topic, do not delve into idle speculation. Being introspective means looking within yourself as an author to try and understand an issue more deeply, not to guess at possible outcomes or make up scenarios not supported by the evidence.

II.  Developing a Compelling Conclusion

Although an effective conclusion needs to be clear and succinct, it does not need to be written passively or lack a compelling narrative. Strategies to help you move beyond merely summarizing the key points of your research paper may include any of the following:

• If your paper addresses a critical, contemporary problem, warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem proactively based on the evidence presented in your study.
• Recommend a specific course or courses of action that, if adopted, could address a specific problem in practice or in the development of new knowledge leading to positive change.
• Cite a relevant quotation or expert opinion already noted in your paper in order to lend authority and support to the conclusion(s) you have reached [a good source would be from a source cited in your literature review].
• Explain the consequences of your research in a way that elicits action or demonstrates urgency in seeking change.
• Restate a key statistic, fact, or visual image to emphasize the most important finding of your paper.
• If your discipline encourages personal reflection, illustrate your concluding point by drawing from your own life experiences.
• Return to an anecdote, an example, or a quotation that you presented in your introduction, but add further insight derived from the findings of your study; use your interpretation of results from your study to recast it in new or important ways.
• Provide a "take-home" message in the form of a succinct, declarative statement that you want the reader to remember about your study.

III. Problems to Avoid

Failure to be concise Your conclusion section should be concise and to the point. Conclusions that are too lengthy often have unnecessary information in them. The conclusion is not the place for details about your methodology or results. Although you should give a summary of what was learned from your research, this summary should be relatively brief, since the emphasis in the conclusion is on the implications, evaluations, insights, and other forms of analysis that you make. Strategies for writing concisely can be found here .

Failure to comment on larger, more significant issues In the introduction, your task was to move from the general [topic studied within the field of study] to the specific [the research problem]. However, in the conclusion, your task is to move the discussion from specific [your research problem] back to a general discussion framed around the implications and significance of your findings [i.e., how your research contributes new understanding or fills an important gap in the literature]. In short, the conclusion is where you should place your research within a larger context [visualize the structure of your paper as an hourglass--start with a broad introduction and review of the literature, move to the specific method of analysis and the discussion, conclude with a broad summary of the study's implications and significance].

Failure to reveal problems and negative results Negative aspects of the research process should never be ignored. These are problems, deficiencies, or challenges encountered during your study. They should be summarized as a way of qualifying your overall conclusions. If you encountered negative or unintended results [i.e., findings that are validated outside the research context in which they were generated], you must report them in the results section and discuss their implications in the discussion section of your paper. In the conclusion, use negative or surprising results as an opportunity to explain their possible significance and/or how they may form the basis for future research.

Failure to provide a clear summary of what was learned In order to discuss how your research fits within your field of study [and possibly the world at large], you need to summarize briefly and succinctly how it contributes to new knowledge or a new understanding about the research problem. This element of your conclusion may be only a few sentences long, but it often represents the key takeaway for your reader.

Failure to match the objectives of your research Often research objectives in the social and behavioral sciences change while the research is being carried out due to unforeseen factors or unanticipated variables. This is not a problem unless you forget to go back and refine the original objectives in your introduction. As these changes emerge they must be documented so that they accurately reflect what you were trying to accomplish in your research [not what you thought you might accomplish when you began].

Resist the urge to apologize If you've immersed yourself in studying the research problem, you presumably should know a good deal about it [perhaps even more than your professor!]. Nevertheless, by the time you have finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you have produced. Repress those doubts! Don't undermine your authority as a researcher by saying something like, "This is just one approach to examining this problem; there may be other, much better approaches that...." The overall tone of your conclusion should convey confidence to the reader concerning the validity and realiability of your research.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8; Concluding Paragraphs. College Writing Center at Meramec. St. Louis Community College; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Freedman, Leora  and Jerry Plotnick. Introductions and Conclusions. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Leibensperger, Summer. Draft Your Conclusion. Academic Center, the University of Houston-Victoria, 2003; Make Your Last Words Count. The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin Madison; Miquel, Fuster-Marquez and Carmen Gregori-Signes. “Chapter Six: ‘Last but Not Least:’ Writing the Conclusion of Your Paper.” In Writing an Applied Linguistics Thesis or Dissertation: A Guide to Presenting Empirical Research . John Bitchener, editor. (Basingstoke,UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), pp. 93-105; Tips for Writing a Good Conclusion. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Writing Conclusions. Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Writing: Considering Structure and Organization. Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Don't Belabor the Obvious!

Avoid phrases like "in conclusion...," "in summary...," or "in closing...." These phrases can be useful, even welcome, in oral presentations. But readers can see by the tell-tale section heading and number of pages remaining that they are reaching the end of your paper. You'll irritate your readers if you belabor the obvious.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8.

Another Writing Tip

New Insight, Not New Information!

Don't surprise the reader with new information in your conclusion that was never referenced anywhere else in the paper. This is why the conclusion rarely has citations to sources that haven't been referenced elsewhere in your paper. If you have new information to present, add it to the discussion or other appropriate section of the paper. Note that, although no new information is introduced, the conclusion, along with the discussion section, is where you offer your most "original" contributions in the paper; the conclusion is where you describe the value of your research, demonstrate that you understand the material that you have presented, and position your findings within the larger context of scholarship on the topic, including describing how your research contributes new insights to that scholarship.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.

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How to write a strong conclusion for your research paper

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Writing a research paper is a chance to share your knowledge and hypothesis. It's an opportunity to demonstrate your many hours of research and prove your ability to write convincingly.

Ideally, by the end of your research paper, you'll have brought your readers on a journey to reach the conclusions you've pre-determined. However, if you don't stick the landing with a good conclusion, you'll risk losing your reader’s trust.

Writing a strong conclusion for your research paper involves a few important steps, including restating the thesis and summing up everything properly.

Find out what to include and what to avoid, so you can effectively demonstrate your understanding of the topic and prove your expertise.

• Why is a good conclusion important?

A good conclusion can cement your paper in the reader’s mind. Making a strong impression in your introduction can draw your readers in, but it's the conclusion that will inspire them.

• What to include in a research paper conclusion

There are a few specifics you should include in your research paper conclusion. Offer your readers some sense of urgency or consequence by pointing out why they should care about the topic you have covered. Discuss any common problems associated with your topic and provide suggestions as to how these problems can be solved or addressed.

The conclusion should include a restatement of your initial thesis. Thesis statements are strengthened after you’ve presented supporting evidence (as you will have done in the paper), so make a point to reintroduce it at the end.

Finally, recap the main points of your research paper, highlighting the key takeaways you want readers to remember. If you've made multiple points throughout the paper, refer to the ones with the strongest supporting evidence.

• Steps for writing a research paper conclusion

Many writers find the conclusion the most challenging part of any research project . By following these three steps, you'll be prepared to write a conclusion that is effective and concise.

• Step 1: Restate the problem

Always begin by restating the research problem in the conclusion of a research paper. This serves to remind the reader of your hypothesis and refresh them on the main point of the paper. 

When restating the problem, take care to avoid using exactly the same words you employed earlier in the paper.

• Step 2: Sum up the paper

After you've restated the problem, sum up the paper by revealing your overall findings. The method for this differs slightly, depending on whether you're crafting an argumentative paper or an empirical paper.

Argumentative paper: Restate your thesis and arguments

Argumentative papers involve introducing a thesis statement early on. In crafting the conclusion for an argumentative paper, always restate the thesis, outlining the way you've developed it throughout the entire paper.

It might be appropriate to mention any counterarguments in the conclusion, so you can demonstrate how your thesis is correct or how the data best supports your main points.

Empirical paper: Summarize research findings

Empirical papers break down a series of research questions. In your conclusion, discuss the findings your research revealed, including any information that surprised you.

Be clear about the conclusions you reached, and explain whether or not you expected to arrive at these particular ones.

• Step 3: Discuss the implications of your research

Argumentative papers and empirical papers also differ in this part of a research paper conclusion. Here are some tips on crafting conclusions for argumentative and empirical papers.

Argumentative paper: Powerful closing statement

In an argumentative paper, you'll have spent a great deal of time expressing the opinions you formed after doing a significant amount of research. Make a strong closing statement in your argumentative paper's conclusion to share the significance of your work.

You can outline the next steps through a bold call to action, or restate how powerful your ideas turned out to be.

Empirical paper: Directions for future research

Empirical papers are broader in scope. They usually cover a variety of aspects and can include several points of view.

To write a good conclusion for an empirical paper, suggest the type of research that could be done in the future, including methods for further investigation or outlining ways other researchers might proceed.

If you feel your research had any limitations, even if they were outside your control, you could mention these in your conclusion.

After you finish outlining your conclusion, ask someone to read it and offer feedback. In any research project you're especially close to, it can be hard to identify problem areas. Having a close friend or someone whose opinion you value read the research paper and provide honest feedback can be invaluable. Take note of any suggested edits and consider incorporating them into your paper if they make sense.

• Things to avoid in a research paper conclusion

Keep these aspects to avoid in mind as you're writing your conclusion and refer to them after you've created an outline.

Dry summary

Writing a memorable, succinct conclusion is arguably more important than a strong introduction. Take care to avoid just rephrasing your main points, and don't fall into the trap of repeating dry facts or citations.

You can provide a new perspective for your readers to think about or contextualize your research. Either way, make the conclusion vibrant and interesting, rather than a rote recitation of your research paper’s highlights.

Clichéd or generic phrasing

Your research paper conclusion should feel fresh and inspiring. Avoid generic phrases like "to sum up" or "in conclusion." These phrases tend to be overused, especially in an academic context and might turn your readers off.

The conclusion also isn't the time to introduce colloquial phrases or informal language. Retain a professional, confident tone consistent throughout your paper’s conclusion so it feels exciting and bold.

New data or evidence

While you should present strong data throughout your paper, the conclusion isn't the place to introduce new evidence. This is because readers are engaged in actively learning as they read through the body of your paper.

By the time they reach the conclusion, they will have formed an opinion one way or the other (hopefully in your favor!). Introducing new evidence in the conclusion will only serve to surprise or frustrate your reader.

Ignoring contradictory evidence

If your research reveals contradictory evidence, don't ignore it in the conclusion. This will damage your credibility as an expert and might even serve to highlight the contradictions.

Be as transparent as possible and admit to any shortcomings in your research, but don't dwell on them for too long.

Ambiguous or unclear resolutions

The point of a research paper conclusion is to provide closure and bring all your ideas together. You should wrap up any arguments you introduced in the paper and tie up any loose ends, while demonstrating why your research and data are strong.

Use direct language in your conclusion and avoid ambiguity. Even if some of the data and sources you cite are inconclusive or contradictory, note this in your conclusion to come across as confident and trustworthy.

• Examples of research paper conclusions

Your research paper should provide a compelling close to the paper as a whole, highlighting your research and hard work. While the conclusion should represent your unique style, these examples offer a starting point:

Ultimately, the data we examined all point to the same conclusion: Encouraging a good work-life balance improves employee productivity and benefits the company overall. The research suggests that when employees feel their personal lives are valued and respected by their employers, they are more likely to be productive when at work. In addition, company turnover tends to be reduced when employees have a balance between their personal and professional lives. While additional research is required to establish ways companies can support employees in creating a stronger work-life balance, it's clear the need is there.

Social media is a primary method of communication among young people. As we've seen in the data presented, most young people in high school use a variety of social media applications at least every hour, including Instagram and Facebook. While social media is an avenue for connection with peers, research increasingly suggests that social media use correlates with body image issues. Young girls with lower self-esteem tend to use social media more often than those who don't log onto social media apps every day. As new applications continue to gain popularity, and as more high school students are given smartphones, more research will be required to measure the effects of prolonged social media use.

What are the different kinds of research paper conclusions?

There are no formal types of research paper conclusions. Ultimately, the conclusion depends on the outline of your paper and the type of research you’re presenting. While some experts note that research papers can end with a new perspective or commentary, most papers should conclude with a combination of both. The most important aspect of a good research paper conclusion is that it accurately represents the body of the paper.

Can I present new arguments in my research paper conclusion?

Research paper conclusions are not the place to introduce new data or arguments. The body of your paper is where you should share research and insights, where the reader is actively absorbing the content. By the time a reader reaches the conclusion of the research paper, they should have formed their opinion. Introducing new arguments in the conclusion can take a reader by surprise, and not in a positive way. It might also serve to frustrate readers.

How long should a research paper conclusion be?

There's no set length for a research paper conclusion. However, it's a good idea not to run on too long, since conclusions are supposed to be succinct. A good rule of thumb is to keep your conclusion around 5 to 10 percent of the paper's total length. If your paper is 10 pages, try to keep your conclusion under one page.

What should I include in a research paper conclusion?

A good research paper conclusion should always include a sense of urgency, so the reader can see how and why the topic should matter to them. You can also note some recommended actions to help fix the problem and some obstacles they might encounter. A conclusion should also remind the reader of the thesis statement, along with the main points you covered in the paper. At the end of the conclusion, add a powerful closing statement that helps cement the paper in the mind of the reader.

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How to write conclusion of a research paper

Concluding a research paper is akin to putting the final strokes on a masterpiece painting; it's the culmination of all your efforts and the last opportunity to leave a lasting impression on your readers. Crafting a compelling conclusion requires finesse, as it not only summarizes your findings but also provides closure and highlights the significance of your research. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the essential elements of a well-written conclusion and provide practical tips to help you nail this crucial aspect of academic writing. For those who might need assistance in crafting their conclusion, seeking guidance on how to effectively do my paper can offer valuable insights and support in ensuring that your research paper ends on a strong note.

Understanding the Purpose of a Conclusion

Before delving into the specifics of how to write a conclusion, it's essential to understand its purpose within the context of a research paper. The conclusion serves several key functions, including:

• Summarizing the main findings and key points of your research. • Reiterating the significance and relevance of your study. • Providing closure to the reader and leaving a lasting impression. • Suggesting avenues for future research and exploration.

Reiterating Key Findings

In the conclusion of your research paper, it's vital to reiterate the key findings and insights that emerged from your study. This serves to remind readers of the primary takeaways and reinforces the significance of your research. However, avoid simply restating the results verbatim; instead, strive to present them in a concise and compelling manner, highlighting their relevance to the broader field of study. Utilize clear and straightforward language to ensure that your findings are easily understood by readers of varying backgrounds and expertise levels. Seeking guidance from professionals or utilizing resources from the best paper writing services can provide valuable assistance in crafting a conclusion that effectively summarizes your research and leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

• Summarize key findings in a concise and compelling manner. • Emphasize the significance and relevance of your research.

Reflecting on the Implications

In addition to summarizing your findings, the conclusion of your research paper should also reflect on the implications of your study. Consider the broader implications of your research within the context of the existing literature and its potential impact on the field. Discuss any practical applications or implications for policy, practice, or further research. By providing thoughtful insights into the implications of your research, you demonstrate a deeper understanding of its significance and contribute to the ongoing dialogue within your academic community.

• Reflect on the broader implications of your research. • Discuss potential practical applications and avenues for further research.

Providing Closure and Leaving a Lasting Impression

As the final section of your research paper, the conclusion should provide closure to the reader and leave a lasting impression. Consider the tone and language you use to ensure that your conclusion is both memorable and impactful. Avoid introducing new information or arguments in the conclusion; instead, focus on synthesizing and reinforcing the key points you've already made throughout your paper. End on a strong note by leaving readers with a thought-provoking statement or a call to action that encourages further reflection or exploration of the topic.

• End on a strong note to leave a lasting impression. • Avoid introducing new information or arguments.

Practical Tips for Writing a Strong Conclusion

Now that we've explored the essential elements of a well-written conclusion, let's discuss some practical tips to help you craft a strong and impactful conclusion for your research paper:

• Summarize, Don't Repeat: Avoid simply restating your introduction or findings. Instead,summarize the key points and insights of your paper in a concise and compelling manner.

• Keep it Concise: Aim for brevity in your conclusion, focusing on the most important aspects of your research. Avoid unnecessary repetition or verbosity.

• Think About the Big Picture: Reflect on the broader implications of your research and its significance within the larger context of your field. Consider how your findings contribute to existing knowledge and potential avenues for future research.

• End on a Strong Note: Leave readers with a memorable closing statement or a call to action that encourages further reflection or exploration of the topic.

In conclusion, crafting an effective conclusion for your research paper requires careful consideration of its purpose, as well as attention to detail and clarity of expression. By summarizing key findings, reflecting on implications, and providing closure, you can leave a lasting impression on your readers and contribute to the ongoing discourse within your field. So, the next time you sit down to write a conclusion, keep these tips in mind to ensure that your research paper ends on a high note.

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In a short paper—even a research paper—you don’t need to provide an exhaustive summary as part of your conclusion. But you do need to make some kind of transition between your final body paragraph and your concluding paragraph. This may come in the form of a few sentences of summary. Or it may come in the form of a sentence that brings your readers back to your thesis or main idea and reminds your readers where you began and how far you have traveled.

So, for example, in a paper about the relationship between ADHD and rejection sensitivity, Vanessa Roser begins by introducing readers to the fact that researchers have studied the relationship between the two conditions and then provides her explanation of that relationship. Here’s her thesis: “While socialization may indeed be an important factor in RS, I argue that individuals with ADHD may also possess a neurological predisposition to RS that is exacerbated by the differing executive and emotional regulation characteristic of ADHD.”

In her final paragraph, Roser reminds us of where she started by echoing her thesis: “This literature demonstrates that, as with many other conditions, ADHD and RS share a delicately intertwined pattern of neurological similarities that is rooted in the innate biology of an individual’s mind, a connection that cannot be explained in full by the behavioral mediation hypothesis.”  

Highlight the “so what”  

At the beginning of your paper, you explain to your readers what’s at stake—why they should care about the argument you’re making. In your conclusion, you can bring readers back to those stakes by reminding them why your argument is important in the first place. You can also draft a few sentences that put those stakes into a new or broader context.

In the conclusion to her paper about ADHD and RS, Roser echoes the stakes she established in her introduction—that research into connections between ADHD and RS has led to contradictory results, raising questions about the “behavioral mediation hypothesis.”

She writes, “as with many other conditions, ADHD and RS share a delicately intertwined pattern of neurological similarities that is rooted in the innate biology of an individual’s mind, a connection that cannot be explained in full by the behavioral mediation hypothesis.”  

Leave your readers with the “now what”  

After the “what” and the “so what,” you should leave your reader with some final thoughts. If you have written a strong introduction, your readers will know why you have been arguing what you have been arguing—and why they should care. And if you’ve made a good case for your thesis, then your readers should be in a position to see things in a new way, understand new questions, or be ready for something that they weren’t ready for before they read your paper.

In her conclusion, Roser offers two “now what” statements. First, she explains that it is important to recognize that the flawed behavioral mediation hypothesis “seems to place a degree of fault on the individual. It implies that individuals with ADHD must have elicited such frequent or intense rejection by virtue of their inadequate social skills, erasing the possibility that they may simply possess a natural sensitivity to emotion.” She then highlights the broader implications for treatment of people with ADHD, noting that recognizing the actual connection between rejection sensitivity and ADHD “has profound implications for understanding how individuals with ADHD might best be treated in educational settings, by counselors, family, peers, or even society as a whole.”

To find your own “now what” for your essay’s conclusion, try asking yourself these questions:

• What can my readers now understand, see in a new light, or grapple with that they would not have understood in the same way before reading my paper? Are we a step closer to understanding a larger phenomenon or to understanding why what was at stake is so important?  
• What questions can I now raise that would not have made sense at the beginning of my paper? Questions for further research? Other ways that this topic could be approached?  
• Are there other applications for my research? Could my questions be asked about different data in a different context? Could I use my methods to answer a different question?  
• What action should be taken in light of this argument? What action do I predict will be taken or could lead to a solution?  
• What larger context might my argument be a part of?  

What to avoid in your conclusion  

• a complete restatement of all that you have said in your paper.  
• a substantial counterargument that you do not have space to refute; you should introduce counterarguments before your conclusion.  
• an apology for what you have not said. If you need to explain the scope of your paper, you should do this sooner—but don’t apologize for what you have not discussed in your paper.  
• fake transitions like “in conclusion” that are followed by sentences that aren’t actually conclusions. (“In conclusion, I have now demonstrated that my thesis is correct.”)
• picture_as_pdf Conclusions

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• Knowledge Base
• Dissertation
• How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion

How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion | Checklist and Examples

Published on 9 September 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on 10 October 2022.

The conclusion is the very last part of your thesis or dissertation . It should be concise and engaging, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your main findings, as well as the answer to your research question .

In it, you should:

• Clearly state the answer to your main research question
• Summarise and reflect on your research process
• Make recommendations for future work on your topic
• Show what new knowledge you have contributed to your field
• Wrap up your thesis or dissertation

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Table of contents

Discussion vs. conclusion, how long should your conclusion be, step 1: answer your research question, step 2: summarise and reflect on your research, step 3: make future recommendations, step 4: emphasise your contributions to your field, step 5: wrap up your thesis or dissertation, full conclusion example, conclusion checklist, frequently asked questions about conclusion sections.

While your conclusion contains similar elements to your discussion section , they are not the same thing.

Your conclusion should be shorter and more general than your discussion. Instead of repeating literature from your literature review , discussing specific research results , or interpreting your data in detail, concentrate on making broad statements that sum up the most important insights of your research.

As a rule of thumb, your conclusion should not introduce new data, interpretations, or arguments.

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Depending on whether you are writing a thesis or dissertation, your length will vary. Generally, a conclusion should make up around 5–7% of your overall word count.

An empirical scientific study will often have a short conclusion, concisely stating the main findings and recommendations for future research. A humanities topic or systematic review , on the other hand, might require more space to conclude its analysis, tying all the previous sections together in an overall argument.

Your conclusion should begin with the main question that your thesis or dissertation aimed to address. This is your final chance to show that you’ve done what you set out to do, so make sure to formulate a clear, concise answer.

• Don’t repeat a list of all the results that you already discussed
• Do synthesise them into a final takeaway that the reader will remember.

An empirical thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:

A case study –based thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:

In the second example, the research aim is not directly restated, but rather added implicitly to the statement. To avoid repeating yourself, it is helpful to reformulate your aims and questions into an overall statement of what you did and how you did it.

Your conclusion is an opportunity to remind your reader why you took the approach you did, what you expected to find, and how well the results matched your expectations.

To avoid repetition , consider writing more reflectively here, rather than just writing a summary of each preceding section. Consider mentioning the effectiveness of your methodology , or perhaps any new questions or unexpected insights that arose in the process.

You can also mention any limitations of your research, but only if you haven’t already included these in the discussion. Don’t dwell on them at length, though – focus on the positives of your work.

• While x limits the generalisability of the results, this approach provides new insight into y .
• This research clearly illustrates x , but it also raises the question of y .

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You may already have made a few recommendations for future research in your discussion section, but the conclusion is a good place to elaborate and look ahead, considering the implications of your findings in both theoretical and practical terms.

• Based on these conclusions, practitioners should consider …
• To better understand the implications of these results, future studies could address …
• Further research is needed to determine the causes of/effects of/relationship between …

When making recommendations for further research, be sure not to undermine your own work. Relatedly, while future studies might confirm, build on, or enrich your conclusions, they shouldn’t be required for your argument to feel complete. Your work should stand alone on its own merits.

Just as you should avoid too much self-criticism, you should also avoid exaggerating the applicability of your research. If you’re making recommendations for policy, business, or other practical implementations, it’s generally best to frame them as ‘shoulds’ rather than ‘musts’. All in all, the purpose of academic research is to inform, explain, and explore – not to demand.

Make sure your reader is left with a strong impression of what your research has contributed to the state of your field.

Some strategies to achieve this include:

• Returning to your problem statement to explain how your research helps solve the problem
• Referring back to the literature review and showing how you have addressed a gap in knowledge
• Discussing how your findings confirm or challenge an existing theory or assumption

Again, avoid simply repeating what you’ve already covered in the discussion in your conclusion. Instead, pick out the most important points and sum them up succinctly, situating your project in a broader context.

The end is near! Once you’ve finished writing your conclusion, it’s time to wrap up your thesis or dissertation with a few final steps:

• It’s a good idea to write your abstract next, while the research is still fresh in your mind.
• Next, make sure your reference list is complete and correctly formatted. To speed up the process, you can use our free APA citation generator .
• Once you’ve added any appendices , you can create a table of contents and title page .
• Finally, read through the whole document again to make sure your thesis is clearly written and free from language errors. You can proofread it yourself , ask a friend, or consider Scribbr’s proofreading and editing service .

Here is an example of how you can write your conclusion section. Notice how it includes everything mentioned above:

V. Conclusion

The current research aimed to identify acoustic speech characteristics which mark the beginning of an exacerbation in COPD patients.

The central questions for this research were as follows: 1. Which acoustic measures extracted from read speech differ between COPD speakers in stable condition and healthy speakers? 2. In what ways does the speech of COPD patients during an exacerbation differ from speech of COPD patients during stable periods?

All recordings were aligned using a script. Subsequently, they were manually annotated to indicate respiratory actions such as inhaling and exhaling. The recordings of 9 stable COPD patients reading aloud were then compared with the recordings of 5 healthy control subjects reading aloud. The results showed a significant effect of condition on the number of in- and exhalations per syllable, the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable, and the ratio of voiced and silence intervals. The number of in- and exhalations per syllable and the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable were higher for COPD patients than for healthy controls, which confirmed both hypotheses.

However, the higher ratio of voiced and silence intervals for COPD patients compared to healthy controls was not in line with the hypotheses. This unpredicted result might have been caused by the different reading materials or recording procedures for both groups, or by a difference in reading skills. Moreover, there was a trend regarding the effect of condition on the number of syllables per breath group. The number of syllables per breath group was higher for healthy controls than for COPD patients, which was in line with the hypothesis. There was no effect of condition on pitch, intensity, center of gravity, pitch variability, speaking rate, or articulation rate.

This research has shown that the speech of COPD patients in exacerbation differs from the speech of COPD patients in stable condition. This might have potential for the detection of exacerbations. However, sustained vowels rarely occur in spontaneous speech. Therefore, the last two outcome measures might have greater potential for the detection of beginning exacerbations, but further research on the different outcome measures and their potential for the detection of exacerbations is needed due to the limitations of the current study.

Checklist: Conclusion

I have clearly and concisely answered the main research question .

I have summarized my overall argument or key takeaways.

I have mentioned any important limitations of the research.

I have given relevant recommendations .

I have clearly explained what my research has contributed to my field.

I have  not introduced any new data or arguments.

You've written a great conclusion! Use the other checklists to further improve your dissertation.

In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.

The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.

While it may be tempting to present new arguments or evidence in your thesis or disseration conclusion , especially if you have a particularly striking argument you’d like to finish your analysis with, you shouldn’t. Theses and dissertations follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the discussion section and results section .) The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

For a stronger dissertation conclusion , avoid including:

• Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion…”)
• Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g. “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5-7% of your overall word count.

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation should include the following:

• A restatement of your research question
• A summary of your key arguments and/or results
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

Cite this Scribbr article

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How Do I Write the Conclusion?

Final Conclusions, Putting Your Work in Context and Considering Further Research

• First Online: 19 October 2023

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• Sue Reeves   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3017-0559 3 &
• Bartek Buczkowski   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4146-3664 4  

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The conclusion is one of the shortest parts of the dissertation. In this chapter, we focus on the meaning and purpose of the conclusion, its components, and the sources of information that you should use to draw your conclusions. We will also point out the connection between the conclusion and the aim of the study, and things to avoid when writing the conclusion.

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Bunton D (2005) The structure of PhD conclusion chapters. J Engl Acad Purp 4(3):207–224

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Cottrell S (2017) Critical thinking skills: effective analysis, argument and reflection, 3rd edn. Palgrave, London

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McGregor SLT (2018) Understanding and evaluating research: a critical guide. SAGE Publications, Los Angeles, CA

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Reeves, S., Buczkowski, B. (2023). How Do I Write the Conclusion?. In: Mastering Your Dissertation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41911-9_10

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• Writing Tips

How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper

• 3-minute read
• 29th August 2023

If you’re writing a research paper, the conclusion is your opportunity to summarize your findings and leave a lasting impression on your readers. In this post, we’ll take you through how to write an effective conclusion for a research paper and how you can:

·   Reword your thesis statement

·   Highlight the significance of your research

·   Discuss limitations

·   Connect to the introduction

·   End with a thought-provoking statement

Rewording Your Thesis Statement

Begin your conclusion by restating your thesis statement in a way that is slightly different from the wording used in the introduction. Avoid presenting new information or evidence in your conclusion. Just summarize the main points and arguments of your essay and keep this part as concise as possible. Remember that you’ve already covered the in-depth analyses and investigations in the main body paragraphs of your essay, so it’s not necessary to restate these details in the conclusion.

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Highlighting the Significance of Your Research

The conclusion is a good place to emphasize the implications of your research . Avoid ambiguous or vague language such as “I think” or “maybe,” which could weaken your position. Clearly explain why your research is significant and how it contributes to the broader field of study.

Here’s an example from a (fictional) study on the impact of social media on mental health:

Discussing Limitations

Although it’s important to emphasize the significance of your study, you can also use the conclusion to briefly address any limitations you discovered while conducting your research, such as time constraints or a shortage of resources. Doing this demonstrates a balanced and honest approach to your research.

Connecting to the Introduction

In your conclusion, you can circle back to your introduction , perhaps by referring to a quote or anecdote you discussed earlier. If you end your paper on a similar note to how you began it, you will create a sense of cohesion for the reader and remind them of the meaning and significance of your research.

Ending With a Thought-Provoking Statement

Consider ending your paper with a thought-provoking and memorable statement that relates to the impact of your research questions or hypothesis. This statement can be a call to action, a philosophical question, or a prediction for the future (positive or negative). Here’s an example that uses the same topic as above (social media and mental health):

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• APR 17, 2024

How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper: Effective Tips and Strategies in 2024

by Imed Bouchrika, Phd

Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist

Writing a research paper is both deemed an essential and dreaded part of academics. The writing process can actually be a fruitful experience, although many students see it as a daunting task. A research paper has lots of pivotal facets, each calling for knowledge-gathering, understanding the subject, and effort to put the pieces together. However, in this article, we will only pay attention to the conclusion and how to construct one that leaves a lasting impact on the readers.

According to Faryadi (2012), writing a conclusion is as difficult as writing the introduction; meanwhile, Holewa states that writing the conclusion is the hardest part of the writing process. As the last part of a research paper format , the conclusion is the point where the writer has already exhausted his or her intellectual resources. Conclusion, however, is what readers often remember the most and, therefore, must also be the best part of your written research (Holewa, 2004).

Unlike what others may have come to believe, the conclusion is not a mere summarization of an article, an essay, or a research paper. Simply put, the conclusion goes beyond restating the introduction and body of your research. In this article, we walk you through the process of formulating an effective research paper conclusion by understanding its purpose, the strategies you can use, and what you should avoid doing when writing a conclusion in a research paper.

What Is a Research Paper Conclusion?

So, what is conclusion in research? The conclusion is the part of the research paper that brings everything together in a logical manner. As the last part of a research paper, a conclusion provides a clear interpretation of the results of your research in a way that stresses the significance of your study. A conclusion must be more extensive and encompassing compared to a particular finding and, in the same vein, various findings may be integrated into a single conclusion (Baron, 2008).

Unlike the introduction where you open a dialogue with your readers about the problem and/or present research questions , arguments, and what knowledge gaps you aim to bridge, the conclusion provides a clear and concise picture of how you are able to accomplish all of these. The conclusion is where you describe the consequences of your arguments by justifying to your readers why your arguments matter (Hamilton College, 2014).

Derntl (2014) also describes conclusion as the counterpart of the introduction. Using the Hourglass Model (Swales, 1993) as a visual reference, Derntl describes conclusion as the part of the research paper that leads the readers from narrow or specific results to broader and more general conclusion.

While it is deeply interlinked with how to make conclusion in research, conclusion writing is another craft on its own. Good conclusion writing oftentimes has a mix of logical presentation and a good deal of rhetoric. So, one of the best ways to actually become better at it is to emulate the way your favorite researchers write or how conclusions are presented in similar papers.

Why Is Conclusion Necessary in a Research Paper?

Just like the final chord in a song, a conclusion is necessary to make a research paper complete and well done (CRLS Research Guide, 2018). While your introduction sets the expectations and the body of your research paper presents your methodology and detailed analyses, the conclusion is where you demonstrate the significance of your findings, insights, and observations. The conclusion creates a bigger picture of your research work that helps your readers view the subject of your study as a whole and in a new light.

As the author of your research paper, the conclusion plays an important role in giving you the opportunity to have the final word, create a good impression, and end your paper on a positive note. In order to achieve this, your conclusion must possess the key characteristics of an effective concluding section. And when someone asks what are the characteristics of research , an effective concluding section is one of the most important characteristics of a good research work.

In terms of length, the conclusions of professional empirical research articles usually have five to six paragraphs, while student/novice papers typically have two- to three-paragraph conclusions (Powner, 2017).

Effective Strategies in Writing a Conclusion

Your research paper conclusion is the opposite of the introduction not just in placement but also in structure. The introduction generally follows the inverted triangle format with the general statement element on top, narrowing down to the main point of research. The conclusion, on the other hand, follows the inverted introduction structure by opening with the highlights of your research and ending with a general but relevant statement that encourages readers to think, as well as challenges them to take action based on the new pieces of knowledge they have gained from your research paper (Purdue Global Campus, n.d.).

Several studies that analyzed how conclusions are framed (see for instance Bunton, 2005 and Lewkowicz, 2012) found that most authors either restate and consolidate a research problem or synthesize the research work. When consolidating the problem, authors either present the solutions, products, or results of a research problem and/or assumptions (Soler-Monreal, C. 2019). Nonetheless, in general, here are general tips on how to write conclusion in research better:

Synthesizing instead of summarizing

As mentioned previously, the research conclusion is not a summary of your research paper. While a summary can be an element of this section, the conclusion goes beyond simply restating your ideas and analyses. Instead of repeating what you already said in the abstract, introduction, and body of your study, demonstrate to your reader how the essential elements in your research paper coherently fit together (The Writing Center UNC, n.d.).

Echoing the introduction

This approach to writing the conclusion brings your reader to a full circle by using or referring to the same elements you used in your introduction or by drawing parallels. An example of this would be retelling a scenario you described in your introduction, but this time while creating a new understanding of the subject based on the results of your study that further reinforces your arguments and/or hypotheses.

Redirecting the reader

Your conclusion plays the role of being your readers’ bridge back to the real world after welcoming them into your study through your introduction and immersing them in your methodologies, analyses, and results. Redirecting your readers is a way of challenging them to take the information they get from your research study and apply them in real life. This strategy can also be approached by proposing a course of action for further studies or solutions to an existing issue.

Challenging your own conclusion

Also called the “so what" game, this strategy requires challenging your own ideas by asking yourself “So what?" while you are in the process of developing your conclusion. Once you are done putting your conclusion to paper, go through it with someone who will challenge what you wrote (The Writing Center UNC, n.d.). You can ask a friend to read your conclusion with you and have them ask “So what?" after every statement. This strategy can help you find loopholes in your conclusion and refine it in the process.

Addressing limitations

This strategy implores you, the researcher, to identify the weak points in your research paper, which include the aspects where your argument is lacking, or if there are instances where your conclusion might be incorrect. This strategy is useful in writing a conclusion of research for scientific papers as well as experiments (Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, n.d.).

Demonstrating ideas to create a new picture or meaning

All relevant data must be interpreted in appropriate depth. Explain how the methodologies or mechanisms used as well as your observations that help arrive at your study’s results. There are times when your study may not yield the results you expected. In cases such as this, explain to your readers why this may have happened. If the results are in line with your expectations, proceed to describe your theory supported by your evidence (Caprette, 1995).

Posing questions

Research studies are motivated by questions. Posing research questions , either to your readers or in general, may help your readers gain a new perspective on the topic, which they may not have held before reading your conclusion. It may also bring your main points together to create or develop a new idea from your research study.

What to Avoid Including in Your Conclusion

Coming up with an effective conclusion includes avoiding approaches that can hinder you from developing a compelling concluding section of your research paper. Here are some of the strategies to avoid when you are writing your research paper conclusion:

Generic and obvious opening phrases

Do not start your conclusion with generic phrases, such as “In conclusion," “In summary," “In closing," etc. While this may be an effective transition during an oral presentation, it does not work the same way on actual paper where your readers can tell exactly which part of your paper they are reading.

Adding new information

The conclusion part of your research paper should have room for any information relevant to your study but is not referenced anywhere else in your research paper. All significant information should be in the body. Conclusion is not the appropriate section to introduce new information as it is where you are supposed to communicate with your readers the value of your research study.

Long and elaborate discussion

Your research paper’s conclusion must be concise and straightforward. Avoid dwelling on descriptions and interpretations that should have been in the body of your paper, including discussing methodologies and results of your studies in detail. While a brief summary of your study is included in your conclusion, the focus should be more about the insights, evaluations, implications, etc., drawn from your study (Sacred Heart University Library, n.d.).

Apologizing

As you reach the concluding part of your research paper, you may have doubts regarding your research paper. You may question yourself if you have done enough work and may feel compelled to apologize. Do not undermine your authority over your research by expressing doubts regarding your approach and apologizing for not being able to include other methodologies that you may deem to be better than yours. You are aware that you have immersed yourself in your research and have covered all the bases to produce a sound and well-backed research study.

Appealing to your readers’ emotions

Your conclusion, just like the rest of your research paper, is meant to be analytical, not emotional. Avoid making sentimental statements to appeal to your readers’ emotions as this has the tendency to fall out of character with what should be a logical and scientific research study (The Writing Center UNC, n.d.).

Picking the Right Strategy to Use in Writing Your Paper’s Conclusion

• Baron, M. (2008). Guidelines for Writing Research Proposals and Dissertations . Vermillion, SD: University of South Dakota. Academia.edu
• CRLS (2018, April). Writing a conclusion tip sheet 18. CRLS Research Guide . Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Rindge and Latin School .
• Caprette, D. R. (1995, August 25). Writing research papers . Houston, TX: Rice University .
• Derntl, M. (2014). Basics of research paper writing and publishing. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 6 (2), 105. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijtel.2014.066856
• Faryadi, Q. (2012). How to write your PhD proposal: A step-by-step guide. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 2  (4), 111-115. https://bit.ly/30IGRcV
• Holewa, R. (2004, February 19). Strategies for writing a conclusion . St. Cloud, MN: St. Cloud State University and Literacy Education Online .
• Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center. (2004, October 4). Conclusions . Clinton, NY: Hamilton College .
• Peter, V. J. (2017). Unit 3 Writing a research paper . New Delhi, India: IGNOU The People’s University .
• Peter, V. J. (2017). Unit 4 Presentation of research paper . New Delhi, India:  IGNOU The People’s University .
• Powner, L.C. (2017). Writing up your Research. In Empirical Research and Writing: A Political Science Student’s Practical Guide (pp. 206-221). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483395906
• Purdue OWL. (n.d.). Conclusions . Purdue Online Writing Lab . Indianapolis, IN: Purdue University .
• Purdue OWL. (n.d.). Writing a research paper . Purdue Online Writing Lab . Indianapolis, IN: Purdue University .
• Purdue University. (n.d.). Writing Process . Indianapolis, IN: Purdue Global Campus .
• Sacred Heart University Library. (2020, January 28). Organizing academic research papers: 9. The conclusion. Research Guides at Sacred Heart University . Fairfield, CT:  Sacred Heart University .
• Sherlock, K. J. (2016, January 16). Three styles of conclusion . El Cajon, CA: Grossmont College .
• Soler-Monreal, C. 2019. Rhetorical strategies in PhD conclusions of computer science. Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics , 32 (1), 356-384. https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.16034.sol
• Walden University (n.d.). Writing a paper: Conclusions.  Academic Guides . Minneapolis, MN:  Walden University .
• The Writing Center (n.d.).  Conclusions . Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .
• Writing Tutorial Services (n.d.). Writing Conclusions . Bloomington, IN: Indiana University .

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Home » Research Paper Conclusion – Writing Guide and Examples

Research Paper Conclusion – Writing Guide and Examples

Table of Contents

Research Paper Conclusion

Definition:

A research paper conclusion is the final section of a research paper that summarizes the key findings, significance, and implications of the research. It is the writer’s opportunity to synthesize the information presented in the paper, draw conclusions, and make recommendations for future research or actions.

The conclusion should provide a clear and concise summary of the research paper, reiterating the research question or problem, the main results, and the significance of the findings. It should also discuss the limitations of the study and suggest areas for further research.

Parts of Research Paper Conclusion

The parts of a research paper conclusion typically include:

Restatement of the Thesis

The conclusion should begin by restating the thesis statement from the introduction in a different way. This helps to remind the reader of the main argument or purpose of the research.

Summary of Key Findings

The conclusion should summarize the main findings of the research, highlighting the most important results and conclusions. This section should be brief and to the point.

Implications and Significance

In this section, the researcher should explain the implications and significance of the research findings. This may include discussing the potential impact on the field or industry, highlighting new insights or knowledge gained, or pointing out areas for future research.

Limitations and Recommendations

It is important to acknowledge any limitations or weaknesses of the research and to make recommendations for how these could be addressed in future studies. This shows that the researcher is aware of the potential limitations of their work and is committed to improving the quality of research in their field.

Concluding Statement

The conclusion should end with a strong concluding statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. This could be a call to action, a recommendation for further research, or a final thought on the topic.

How to Write Research Paper Conclusion

Here are some steps you can follow to write an effective research paper conclusion:

• Restate the research problem or question: Begin by restating the research problem or question that you aimed to answer in your research. This will remind the reader of the purpose of your study.
• Summarize the main points: Summarize the key findings and results of your research. This can be done by highlighting the most important aspects of your research and the evidence that supports them.
• Discuss the implications: Discuss the implications of your findings for the research area and any potential applications of your research. You should also mention any limitations of your research that may affect the interpretation of your findings.
• Provide a conclusion : Provide a concise conclusion that summarizes the main points of your paper and emphasizes the significance of your research. This should be a strong and clear statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
• Offer suggestions for future research: Lastly, offer suggestions for future research that could build on your findings and contribute to further advancements in the field.

Remember that the conclusion should be brief and to the point, while still effectively summarizing the key findings and implications of your research.

Example of Research Paper Conclusion

Here’s an example of a research paper conclusion:

Conclusion :

In conclusion, our study aimed to investigate the relationship between social media use and mental health among college students. Our findings suggest that there is a significant association between social media use and increased levels of anxiety and depression among college students. This highlights the need for increased awareness and education about the potential negative effects of social media use on mental health, particularly among college students.

Despite the limitations of our study, such as the small sample size and self-reported data, our findings have important implications for future research and practice. Future studies should aim to replicate our findings in larger, more diverse samples, and investigate the potential mechanisms underlying the association between social media use and mental health. In addition, interventions should be developed to promote healthy social media use among college students, such as mindfulness-based approaches and social media detox programs.

Overall, our study contributes to the growing body of research on the impact of social media on mental health, and highlights the importance of addressing this issue in the context of higher education. By raising awareness and promoting healthy social media use among college students, we can help to reduce the negative impact of social media on mental health and improve the well-being of young adults.

Purpose of Research Paper Conclusion

The purpose of a research paper conclusion is to provide a summary and synthesis of the key findings, significance, and implications of the research presented in the paper. The conclusion serves as the final opportunity for the writer to convey their message and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

The conclusion should restate the research problem or question, summarize the main results of the research, and explain their significance. It should also acknowledge the limitations of the study and suggest areas for future research or action.

Overall, the purpose of the conclusion is to provide a sense of closure to the research paper and to emphasize the importance of the research and its potential impact. It should leave the reader with a clear understanding of the main findings and why they matter. The conclusion serves as the writer’s opportunity to showcase their contribution to the field and to inspire further research and action.

When to Write Research Paper Conclusion

The conclusion of a research paper should be written after the body of the paper has been completed. It should not be written until the writer has thoroughly analyzed and interpreted their findings and has written a complete and cohesive discussion of the research.

Before writing the conclusion, the writer should review their research paper and consider the key points that they want to convey to the reader. They should also review the research question, hypotheses, and methodology to ensure that they have addressed all of the necessary components of the research.

Once the writer has a clear understanding of the main findings and their significance, they can begin writing the conclusion. The conclusion should be written in a clear and concise manner, and should reiterate the main points of the research while also providing insights and recommendations for future research or action.

Characteristics of Research Paper Conclusion

The characteristics of a research paper conclusion include:

• Clear and concise: The conclusion should be written in a clear and concise manner, summarizing the key findings and their significance.
• Comprehensive: The conclusion should address all of the main points of the research paper, including the research question or problem, the methodology, the main results, and their implications.
• Future-oriented : The conclusion should provide insights and recommendations for future research or action, based on the findings of the research.
• Impressive : The conclusion should leave a lasting impression on the reader, emphasizing the importance of the research and its potential impact.
• Objective : The conclusion should be based on the evidence presented in the research paper, and should avoid personal biases or opinions.
• Unique : The conclusion should be unique to the research paper and should not simply repeat information from the introduction or body of the paper.

Advantages of Research Paper Conclusion

The advantages of a research paper conclusion include:

• Summarizing the key findings : The conclusion provides a summary of the main findings of the research, making it easier for the reader to understand the key points of the study.
• Emphasizing the significance of the research: The conclusion emphasizes the importance of the research and its potential impact, making it more likely that readers will take the research seriously and consider its implications.
• Providing recommendations for future research or action : The conclusion suggests practical recommendations for future research or action, based on the findings of the study.
• Providing closure to the research paper : The conclusion provides a sense of closure to the research paper, tying together the different sections of the paper and leaving a lasting impression on the reader.
• Demonstrating the writer’s contribution to the field : The conclusion provides the writer with an opportunity to showcase their contribution to the field and to inspire further research and action.

Limitations of Research Paper Conclusion

While the conclusion of a research paper has many advantages, it also has some limitations that should be considered, including:

• I nability to address all aspects of the research: Due to the limited space available in the conclusion, it may not be possible to address all aspects of the research in detail.
• Subjectivity : While the conclusion should be objective, it may be influenced by the writer’s personal biases or opinions.
• Lack of new information: The conclusion should not introduce new information that has not been discussed in the body of the research paper.
• Lack of generalizability: The conclusions drawn from the research may not be applicable to other contexts or populations, limiting the generalizability of the study.
• Misinterpretation by the reader: The reader may misinterpret the conclusions drawn from the research, leading to a misunderstanding of the findings.

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Organizing Academic Research Papers: 9. The Conclusion

• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Executive Summary
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Annotated Bibliography
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• How to Manage Group Projects
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Essays
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Acknowledgements

The conclusion is intended to help the reader understand why your research should matter to them after they have finished reading the paper. A conclusion is not merely a summary of your points or a re-statement of your research problem but a synthesis of key points. For most essays, one well-developed paragraph is sufficient for a conclusion, although in some cases, a two-or-three paragraph conclusion may be required.

Importance of a Good Conclusion

A well-written conclusion provides you with several important opportunities to demonstrate your overall understanding of the research problem to the reader. These include:

• Presenting the last word on the issues you raised in your paper . Just as the introduction gives a first impression to your reader, the conclusion offers a chance to leave a lasting impression. Do this, for example, by highlighting key points in your analysis or findings.
• Summarizing your thoughts and conveying the larger implications of your study . The conclusion is an opportunity to succinctly answer the "so what?" question by placing the study within the context of past research about the topic you've investigated.
• Demonstrating the importance of your ideas . Don't be shy. The conclusion offers you a chance to elaborate on the significance of your findings.
• Introducing possible new or expanded ways of thinking about the research problem . This does not refer to introducing new information [which should be avoided], but to offer new insight and creative approaches for framing/contextualizing the research problem based on the results of your study.

Conclusions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion . San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008.

Structure and Writing Style

https://writing.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/535/2018/07/conclusions_uwmadison_writingcenter_aug2012.pdf I.  General Rules

When writing the conclusion to your paper, follow these general rules:

• State your conclusions in clear, simple language.
• Do not simply reiterate your results or the discussion.
• Indicate opportunities for future research, as long as you haven't already done so in the discussion section of your paper.

The function of your paper's conclusion is to restate the main argument . It reminds the reader of the strengths of your main argument(s) and reiterates the most important evidence supporting those argument(s). Make sure, however, that your conclusion is not simply a repetitive summary of the findings because this reduces the impact of the argument(s) you have developed in your essay.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is appropriate:

• If the argument or point of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize the argument for your reader.
• If, prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the end of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from the data.

The conclusion also provides a place for you to persuasively and succinctly restate your research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with all the information about the topic . Depending on the discipline you are writing in, the concluding paragraph may contain your reflections on the evidence presented, or on the essay's central research problem. However, the nature of being introspective about the research you have done will depend on the topic and whether your professor wants you to express your observations in this way.

NOTE : Don't delve into idle speculation. Being introspective means looking within yourself as an author to try and understand an issue more deeply not to guess at possible outcomes.

II.  Developing a Compelling Conclusion

Strategies to help you move beyond merely summarizing the key points of your research paper may include any of the following.

• If your essay deals with a contemporary problem, warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem.
• Recommend a specific course or courses of action.
• Cite a relevant quotation or expert opinion to lend authority to the conclusion you have reached [a good place to look is research from your literature review].
• Restate a key statistic, fact, or visual image to drive home the ultimate point of your paper.
• If your discipline encourages personal reflection, illustrate your concluding point with a relevant narrative drawn from your own life experiences.
• Return to an anecdote, an example, or a quotation that you introduced in your introduction, but add further insight that is derived from the findings of your study; use your interpretation of results to reframe it in new ways.
• Provide a "take-home" message in the form of a strong, succient statement that you want the reader to remember about your study.

III. Problems to Avoid Failure to be concise The conclusion section should be concise and to the point. Conclusions that are too long often have unnecessary detail. The conclusion section is not the place for details about your methodology or results. Although you should give a summary of what was learned from your research, this summary should be relatively brief, since the emphasis in the conclusion is on the implications, evaluations, insights, etc. that you make. Failure to comment on larger, more significant issues In the introduction, your task was to move from general [the field of study] to specific [your research problem]. However, in the conclusion, your task is to move from specific [your research problem] back to general [your field, i.e., how your research contributes new understanding or fills an important gap in the literature]. In other words, the conclusion is where you place your research within a larger context. Failure to reveal problems and negative results Negative aspects of the research process should never be ignored. Problems, drawbacks, and challenges encountered during your study should be included as a way of qualifying your overall conclusions. If you encountered negative results [findings that are validated outside the research context in which they were generated], you must report them in the results section of your paper. In the conclusion, use the negative results as an opportunity to explain how they provide information on which future research can be based. Failure to provide a clear summary of what was learned In order to be able to discuss how your research fits back into your field of study [and possibly the world at large], you need to summarize it briefly and directly. Often this element of your conclusion is only a few sentences long. Failure to match the objectives of your research Often research objectives change while the research is being carried out. This is not a problem unless you forget to go back and refine your original objectives in your introduction, as these changes emerge they must be documented so that they accurately reflect what you were trying to accomplish in your research [not what you thought you might accomplish when you began].

Resist the urge to apologize If you've immersed yourself in studying the research problem, you now know a good deal about it, perhaps even more than your professor! Nevertheless, by the time you have finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you have produced. Repress those doubts!  Don't undermine your authority by saying something like, "This is just one approach to examining this problem; there may be other, much better approaches...."

Concluding Paragraphs. College Writing Center at Meramec. St. Louis Community College; Conclusions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Freedman, Leora  and Jerry Plotnick. Introductions and Conclusions . The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Leibensperger, Summer. Draft Your Conclusion. Academic Center, the University of Houston-Victoria, 2003; Make Your Last Words Count . The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Tips for Writing a Good Conclusion . Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion . San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Writing Conclusions . Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Writing: Considering Structure and Organization . Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Don't Belabor the Obvious!

Avoid phrases like "in conclusion...," "in summary...," or "in closing...." These phrases can be useful, even welcome, in oral presentations. But readers can see by the tell-tale section heading and number of pages remaining to read, when an essay is about to end. You'll irritate your readers if you belabor the obvious.

Another Writing Tip

New Insight, Not New Information!

Don't surprise the reader with new information in your Conclusion that was never referenced anywhere else in the paper. If you have new information to present, add it to the Discussion or other appropriate section of the paper.  Note that, although no actual new information is introduced, the conclusion is where you offer your most "original" contributions in the paper; it's where you describe the value of your research, demonstrate your understanding of the material that you’ve presented, and locate your findings within the larger context of scholarship on the topic.

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How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper

Last Updated: July 8, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 43 testimonials and 83% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 2,264,307 times.

The conclusion of a research paper needs to summarize the content and purpose of the paper without seeming too wooden or dry. Every basic conclusion must share several key elements, but there are also several tactics you can play around with to craft a more effective conclusion and several you should avoid to prevent yourself from weakening your paper's conclusion. Here are some writing tips to keep in mind when creating a conclusion for your next research paper.

Sample Conclusions

Writing a basic conclusion.

• Do not spend a great amount of time or space restating your topic.
• A good research paper will make the importance of your topic apparent, so you do not need to write an elaborate defense of your topic in the conclusion.
• Usually a single sentence is all you need to restate your topic.
• An example would be if you were writing a paper on the epidemiology of infectious disease, you might say something like "Tuberculosis is a widespread infectious disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year."
• Yet another example from the humanities would be a paper about the Italian Renaissance: "The Italian Renaissance was an explosion of art and ideas centered around artists, writers, and thinkers in Florence."

• A thesis is a narrowed, focused view on the topic at hand.
• This statement should be rephrased from the thesis you included in your introduction. It should not be identical or too similar to the sentence you originally used.
• Try re-wording your thesis statement in a way that complements your summary of the topic of your paper in your first sentence of your conclusion.
• An example of a good thesis statement, going back to the paper on tuberculosis, would be "Tuberculosis is a widespread disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year. Due to the alarming rate of the spread of tuberculosis, particularly in poor countries, medical professionals are implementing new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment, and containment of this disease ."

• A good way to go about this is to re-read the topic sentence of each major paragraph or section in the body of your paper.
• Find a way to briefly restate each point mentioned in each topic sentence in your conclusion. Do not repeat any of the supporting details used within your body paragraphs.
• Under most circumstances, you should avoid writing new information in your conclusion. This is especially true if the information is vital to the argument or research presented in your paper.
• For example, in the TB paper you could summarize the information. "Tuberculosis is a widespread disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Due to the alarming rate of the spread of tuberculosis, particularly in poor countries, medical professionals are implementing new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment, and containment of this disease. In developing countries, such as those in Africa and Southeast Asia, the rate of TB infections is soaring. Crowded conditions, poor sanitation, and lack of access to medical care are all compounding factors in the spread of the disease. Medical experts, such as those from the World Health Organization are now starting campaigns to go into communities in developing countries and provide diagnostic testing and treatments. However, the treatments for TB are very harsh and have many side effects. This leads to patient non-compliance and spread of multi-drug resistant strains of the disease."

• Note that this is not needed for all research papers.
• If you already fully explained what the points in your paper mean or why they are significant, you do not need to go into them in much detail in your conclusion. Simply restating your thesis or the significance of your topic should suffice.
• It is always best practice to address important issues and fully explain your points in the body of your paper. The point of a conclusion to a research paper is to summarize your argument for the reader and, perhaps, to call the reader to action if needed.

• Note that a call for action is not essential to all conclusions. A research paper on literary criticism, for instance, is less likely to need a call for action than a paper on the effect that television has on toddlers and young children.
• A paper that is more likely to call readers to action is one that addresses a public or scientific need. Let's go back to our example of tuberculosis. This is a very serious disease that is spreading quickly and with antibiotic-resistant forms.
• A call to action in this research paper would be a follow-up statement that might be along the lines of "Despite new efforts to diagnose and contain the disease, more research is needed to develop new antibiotics that will treat the most resistant strains of tuberculosis and ease the side effects of current treatments."

• For example, if you are writing a history paper, then you might discuss how the historical topic you discussed matters today. If you are writing about a foreign country, then you might use the conclusion to discuss how the information you shared may help readers understand their own country.

Making Your Conclusion as Effective as Possible

• Since this sort of conclusion is so basic, you must aim to synthesize the information rather than merely summarizing it.
• Instead of merely repeating things you already said, rephrase your thesis and supporting points in a way that ties them all together.
• By doing so, you make your research paper seem like a "complete thought" rather than a collection of random and vaguely related ideas.

• Ask a question in your introduction. In your conclusion, restate the question and provide a direct answer.
• Write an anecdote or story in your introduction but do not share the ending. Instead, write the conclusion to the anecdote in the conclusion of your paper.
• For example, if you wanted to get more creative and put a more humanistic spin on a paper on tuberculosis, you might start your introduction with a story about a person with the disease, and refer to that story in your conclusion. For example, you could say something like this before you re-state your thesis in your conclusion: "Patient X was unable to complete the treatment for tuberculosis due to severe side effects and unfortunately succumbed to the disease."
• Use the same concepts and images introduced in your introduction in your conclusion. The images may or may not appear at other points throughout the research paper.

• Include enough information about your topic to back the statement up but do not get too carried away with excess detail.
• If your research did not provide you with a clear-cut answer to a question posed in your thesis, do not be afraid to indicate as much.
• Restate your initial hypothesis and indicate whether you still believe it or if the research you performed has begun swaying your opinion.
• Indicate that an answer may still exist and that further research could shed more light on the topic at hand.

• This may not be appropriate for all types of research papers. Most research papers, such as one on effective treatment for diseases, will have the information to make the case for a particular argument already in the paper.
• A good example of a paper that might ask a question of the reader in the ending is one about a social issue, such as poverty or government policy.
• Ask a question that will directly get at the heart or purpose of the paper. This question is often the same question, or some version of it, that you may have started with when you began your research.
• Make sure that the question can be answered by the evidence presented in your paper.
• If desired you can briefly summarize the answer after stating the question. You could also leave the question hanging for the reader to answer, though.

• Even without a call to action, you can still make a recommendation to your reader.
• For instance, if you are writing about a topic like third-world poverty, you can various ways for the reader to assist in the problem without necessarily calling for more research.
• Another example would be, in a paper about treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis, you could suggest donating to the World Health Organization or research foundations that are developing new treatments for the disease.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

• These sayings usually sound stiff, unnatural, or trite when used in writing.
• Moreover, using a phrase like "in conclusion" to begin your conclusion is a little too straightforward and tends to lead to a weak conclusion. A strong conclusion can stand on its own without being labeled as such.

• Always state the main argument or thesis in the introduction. A research paper is an analytical discussion of an academic topic, not a mystery novel.
• A good, effective research paper will allow your reader to follow your main argument from start to finish.
• This is why it is best practice to start your paper with an introduction that states your main argument and to end the paper with a conclusion that re-states your thesis for re-iteration.

• All significant information should be introduced in the body of the paper.
• Supporting evidence expands the topic of your paper by making it appear more detailed. A conclusion should narrow the topic to a more general point.
• A conclusion should only summarize what you have already stated in the body of your paper.
• You may suggest further research or a call to action, but you should not bring in any new evidence or facts in the conclusion.

• Most often, a shift in tone occurs when a research paper with an academic tone gives an emotional or sentimental conclusion.
• Even if the topic of the paper is of personal significance for you, you should not indicate as much in your paper.
• If you want to give your paper a more humanistic slant, you could start and end your paper with a story or anecdote that would give your topic more personal meaning to the reader.
• This tone should be consistent throughout the paper, however.

• Apologetic statements include phrases like "I may not be an expert" or "This is only my opinion."
• Statements like this can usually be avoided by refraining from writing in the first-person.
• Avoid any statements in the first-person. First-person is generally considered to be informal and does not fit with the formal tone of a research paper.

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• ↑ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/724/04/
• ↑ http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/18_Writing_Conclusion.asp
• ↑ http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/PlanResearchPaper.html#conclusion
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/conclusions/

About This Article

To write a conclusion for a research paper, start by restating your thesis statement to remind your readers what your main topic is and bring everything full circle. Then, briefly summarize all of the main points you made throughout your paper, which will help remind your readers of everything they learned. You might also want to include a call to action if you think more research or work needs to be done on your topic by writing something like, "Despite efforts to contain the disease, more research is needed to develop antibiotics." Finally, end your conclusion by explaining the broader context of your topic and why your readers should care about it, which will help them understand why your topic is relevant and important. For tips from our Academic co-author, like how to avoid common pitfalls when writing your conclusion, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Frequently asked questions

What should i include in a research paper conclusion.

The conclusion of a research paper has several key elements you should make sure to include:

• A restatement of the research problem
• A summary of your key arguments and/or findings
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

Frequently asked questions: Writing a research paper

A research project is an academic, scientific, or professional undertaking to answer a research question . Research projects can take many forms, such as qualitative or quantitative , descriptive , longitudinal , experimental , or correlational . What kind of research approach you choose will depend on your topic.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them.

In general, they should be:

• Focused and researchable
• Answerable using credible sources
• Complex and arguable
• Feasible and specific
• Relevant and original

All research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

Your research objectives indicate how you’ll try to address your research problem and should be specific:

Research objectives describe what you intend your research project to accomplish.

They summarize the approach and purpose of the project and help to focus your research.

Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement .

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in Chicago style are to:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Use 1 inch margins or larger
• Apply double line spacing
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch
• Include a title page
• Place page numbers in the top right or bottom center
• Cite your sources with author-date citations or Chicago footnotes
• Include a bibliography or reference list

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Set 1 inch page margins
• Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
• Center the paper’s title
• Use title case capitalization for headings
• Cite your sources with MLA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a Works Cited page at the end

To format a paper in APA Style , follow these guidelines:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman or 11 pt Arial
• If submitting for publication, insert a running head on every page
• Apply APA heading styles
• Cite your sources with APA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a reference page at the end

No, it’s not appropriate to present new arguments or evidence in the conclusion . While you might be tempted to save a striking argument for last, research papers follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the results and discussion sections if you are following a scientific structure). The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

Don’t feel that you have to write the introduction first. The introduction is often one of the last parts of the research paper you’ll write, along with the conclusion.

This is because it can be easier to introduce your paper once you’ve already written the body ; you may not have the clearest idea of your arguments until you’ve written them, and things can change during the writing process .

The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .

A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.

The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements:

• A hook to catch the reader’s interest
• Relevant background on the topic
• Details of your research problem

and your problem statement

• A thesis statement or research question
• Sometimes an overview of the paper

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Writing An Accurate Conclusion In A Research Study: 5 Step-By-Step Guide

Introduction.

When conducting a research study, it is crucial to provide a well-written and accurate conclusion. The conclusion serves as the final piece of the puzzle, summarizing the main findings, interpreting the results, addressing limitations, providing recommendations, and reiterating the importance of the study. A well-crafted conclusion in a research study not only helps to solidify the research study but also allows readers to understand the significance of the findings and their implications.

In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of writing an accurate conclusion in a research study. By following these steps, you will be able to effectively summarize your findings, analyze the results, acknowledge any limitations, offer recommendations, and emphasize the importance of your study. So let’s dive in and learn how to write the most accurate conclusion in a research study.

Understanding the Role of a Conclusion In A Research Study

The conclusion of a research study plays a crucial role in summarizing the main findings and providing closure to the study. It is not simply a restatement of the research problem or a summary of the main topics covered. Instead, it is a synthesis of the key points derived from the study. The purpose of a conclusion is to leave a lasting impression on the reader and prompt reflection and contemplation. A well-crafted conclusion goes beyond summarizing the findings; it emphasizes the importance of the study and provides recommendations for future research or action. In essence, the conclusion serves as the final opportunity to convey the significance of the research and its contribution to the field.

Step 1: Summarize the Main Findings

The first step in writing an accurate conclusion for a research study is to summarize the main findings. This is an essential part of the conclusion as it allows the reader to quickly understand the key results of the study. To summarize the main findings, you should revisit the research statement or question that guided your study. Identify the key points or outcomes that answer the research question or support the research statement. In this step, you should avoid introducing new information or discussing any implications or recommendations. The focus should solely be on summarizing the main findings of the study.

It is important to be concise and clear in your summary. Use clear and straightforward language to communicate the main findings without unnecessary jargon or technical terms. By summarizing the main findings in this step, you provide a foundation for the rest of the conclusion, allowing the reader to understand the key results before delving into the interpretation, limitations, and recommendations.

Step 2: Interpret the Results

After summarizing the main findings, the next step in writing an accurate conclusion in a research study is to interpret the results. Interpreting the results involves analyzing the data collected during the study and drawing meaningful conclusions from it. To interpret the results effectively, it is important to consider the research question or hypothesis and compare the findings with existing literature reviews or previous studies. This step allows researchers to determine the significance of their findings and understand the implications of the results. It is essential to provide a clear and concise interpretation of the results, avoiding any biased or subjective opinions. Researchers should objectively analyze the data and present the findings in an unbiased manner.

Additionally, it is important to discuss any unexpected or contradictory results and provide possible explanations for them. By interpreting the results accurately, researchers can provide a comprehensive understanding of the study’s outcomes and contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the field.

Step 3: Address Limitations

Identify the limitations of your research study and describe them in detail. Explain why these limitations exist and how they may have affected the results. Assess the impact of each limitation in relation to the overall findings and conclusions of your study. If appropriate, suggest ways to overcome these limitations in future research.

Step 4: Provide Recommendations

After interpreting the results of your research study, it is important to provide recommendations based on your findings. When providing recommendations, it is crucial to be specific and relevant to the evidence you have uncovered. Your recommendations should stem directly from your work and address any gaps or limitations identified in your study.

Consider recommending a specific course of action or suggesting changes that can be implemented based on your research findings. This could include proposing new strategies, interventions, or policies that can improve the current situation or address the research problem . To lend authority to your recommendations, you can cite relevant quotations or expert opinions that support the conclusions you have reached. This helps to strengthen the validity and credibility of your recommendations.

Additionally, you can also make recommendations for future research. Identify areas that require further investigation or suggest new research questions that can build upon your study. This demonstrates the significance and potential impact of your research in advancing knowledge in the field. Remember to present your recommendations in clear and concise language. Avoid simply restating your findings or the discussion of your results. Instead, provide actionable and practical suggestions that can be implemented based on your research findings.

By providing well-thought-out recommendations, you not only contribute to the existing body of knowledge but also provide guidance for future researchers and practitioners in the field.

Step 5: Reiterate the Importance of the Study

The final step in writing an accurate conclusion in a research study is to reiterate the importance of the study. This step is crucial as it reminds the readers of the significance and relevance of the research. To reiterate the importance of the study, you can start by summarizing the main findings and their implications. Highlight the key contributions and insights that your research has provided to the field. Emphasize how your study has addressed a gap in the existing knowledge and how it has advanced the understanding of the topic.

Furthermore, discuss the practical implications of your research. Explain how the findings can be applied in real-world scenarios or how they can contribute to decision-making processes. This will demonstrate the practical value of your study and its potential impact on various stakeholders.

Additionally, consider discussing the theoretical implications of your research. Explain how your findings have contributed to existing theories or have opened up new avenues for further research. This will highlight the academic significance of your study and its potential to shape future research in the field.

Finally, conclude by emphasizing the overall importance of your study in the broader context. Discuss how your research has added to the body of knowledge and how it has the potential to influence future research, policies, or practices. This will leave a lasting impression on the readers and reinforce the significance of your study.

By reiterating the importance of the study in the conclusion, you provide a strong and compelling ending to your research paper . Including this in the conclusion of a research study helps readers understand the value of your research and its implications, leaving them with a clear sense of its significance and relevance.

In conclusion, writing an accurate conclusion in a research study is crucial for summarizing the main findings, interpreting the results, addressing limitations, providing recommendations, and reiterating the importance of the study. By following the step-by-step guide outlined in this article, researchers can ensure that their conclusions are comprehensive, concise, and impactful.

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How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper

Find out which type of conclusion best suits your research, how to write it step-by-step, and common mistakes to avoid.

When writing a research paper, it can be challenging to make your point after providing an extensive amount of information. For this reason, a well-organized conclusion is essential. 

A research paper’s conclusion should be a brief summary of the paper’s substance and objectives; what you present in your research paper can gain impact by having a strong conclusion section.

In this Mind The Graph article, you will learn how to write a conclusion for a research report in a way that inspires action and helps the readers to better understand your research paper. This article will provide you the definition and some broad principles before providing step-by-step guidance.

What is a conclusion for a research paper and why is it important?

A conclusion is where you summarize the main points and, if appropriate, make new research suggestions. It is not merely a summary of the key points discussed or a rehash of your research question.

The reader is expected to comprehend from the article’s conclusion why your study should be significant to them after reading it. A conclusion of one or two well-developed paragraphs is appropriate for the majority of research papers; however, in a few unusual cases, more paragraphs may be required to highlight significant findings and their importance.

Just as the introduction is responsible for giving the reader a first impression on the subject, the conclusion is the chance to make a final impression by summarizing major information of your research paper and, most often, giving a different point of view on significant implications.

Adding a strong conclusion to your research paper is important because it’s a possibility to give the reader the comprehension of your research topic. Given that the reader is now fully informed on the subject, the conclusion also gives you a chance to restate the research problem effectively and concisely.

Examples of conclusions for a research paper

Now that you are aware of what a conclusion is and its significance for a research paper, it is time to provide you with some excellent samples of well-structured conclusions so you may get knowledge about the type of conclusion you can use for your research paper.

Argumentative Research Paper Conclusion

The most convincing arguments from your research paper should be added to the conclusion if you want to compose a strong argumentative conclusion.

Additionally, if your thesis statement expresses your perspective on the subject, you should think about restarting it as well as including any other pertinent information.

Example: As a result of the sixth extinction, which is currently affecting Earth, many species are vanishing every day. There are at least three strategies that people could employ to keep them from going extinct entirely in the ensuing fifty years. More recycling options, innovative plastic production techniques, and species preservation could save lives.

Analytical Research Paper Conclusion

The first thing you should do is reiterate your thesis and list the main elements of your arguments.

There should undoubtedly be a spotlight on a bigger context in the analytical research paper conclusion, which is the key distinction between it and other types of conclusions. It means you can add some meaning to the findings.

Example: Elon Musk has revolutionized the way we drive, pay for things, and even fly. His innovations are solely motivated by the desire to simplify things, but they inevitably alter the course of history. When Musk was a student, he had his first idea for PayPal, which is now among the most widely used methods of online payment. Likewise with Tesla automobiles.

Comparative Research Paper Conclusion

The conclusion of a comparative essay should be deeply analytical. To clearly express your conclusions, you must be very thorough when reviewing the data. Furthermore, the sources must be reliable.

A paraphrased thesis statement and a few sentences describing the significance of your study research are also required, as per normal.

Example: Gas-powered vehicles are ineffective and inefficient compared to electric vehicles. Not only do they emit fewer pollutants, but the drivers also get there more quickly. Additionally, gas cars cost more to maintain. Everything stems from the details of the far more straightforward engines used in electric cars.

How to write a conclusion for a research paper

In this section, you will learn how to write a conclusion for a research paper effectively and properly. These few easy steps will enable you to write the most convincing conclusion to your research paper.

1. Remember about the main topic

The statement must be written clearly and concisely to be effective, just one sentence. Remember that your conclusion should be concise and precise, expressing only the most important elements.

2. Reaffirm your thesis

Restate the research paper’s thesis after that. This can be done by going back to the original thesis that you presented in the research’s introduction. The thesis statement in your conclusion must be expressed differently from how it was in the introduction. This section can also be written effectively in a single sentence.

3. Sum important points in a summary

It’s time to make a list of the important arguments in your research paper. This phase can be made simpler by reading over your research and emphasizing only the main ideas and evidence.

Remember that the conclusion should not contain any new information. Focus only on the concepts you cover in your paper’s main body as a result. And also, keep in mind that this brief summary reminds your readers of the importance of the topic you are researching.

4. Emphasize the importance

At this stage, you can genuinely express a few words about how significant your arguments are. A succinct but impactful sentence can successfully achieve its aim. You could also attempt to examine this circumstance from a wider perspective.

Give an example of how your discoveries have affected a certain field. It would be beneficial if you made an effort to answer the question, “So what?” if there was any ambiguity.

5. Finish up your argument

As you wrap up your conclusion, consider posing a question or a call to action that will encourage readers to consider your point of view even further. This sentence can also answer any queries that were not addressed in the paper’s body paragraphs.

In addition, if there is an unresolved question in the main body, this is a fantastic area to comment on.

Common mistakes you should avoid

After learning the fundamentals of producing a strong research paper conclusion, it’s time to learn the common mistakes to avoid.

• Weak conclusion: If your ending is weak, readers will feel dissatisfied and disappointed. Writing ambiguous closing lines for essays also lowers the quality of the paper and the capacity of your arguments to support your main topic.
• Abrupt conclusion: Your research has to be an expression of your writing as a whole, not just a section. Therefore, make sure your thoughts are fully stated.
• Adding new information: Only your research should only be summarized in the conclusion. As the conclusion cannot contain extra information, make sure to offer all of your conclusions and supporting evidence in the body paragraphs.
• Absence of focus: A conclusion needs to be concise and well-focused. Avoid concluding the research with inane or superfluous details.
• Absurd length: Research must be of a proper length—neither too long nor too short. If you write more than is necessary, you can miss the point, which is to revisit the paper’s argument straightforwardly. Additionally, if you write too little, your readers will think you’re being negligent. It should be written in at least one or two whole paragraphs.

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About Jessica Abbadia

Jessica Abbadia is a lawyer that has been working in Digital Marketing since 2020, improving organic performance for apps and websites in various regions through ASO and SEO. Currently developing scientific and intellectual knowledge for the community's benefit. Jessica is an animal rights activist who enjoys reading and drinking strong coffee.

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How to Write a Research Paper Conclusion in 3 Steps

Published on July 2, 2024 by Hannah Skaggs . Revised on August 6, 2024.

A conclusion for a research paper summarizes your key points and the value of your research. To write a good one:

• Review your thesis statement and research problem
• Summarize your findings or argument
• Look toward the future

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Table of contents

How to write a conclusion for your research paper, mistakes to avoid in a research paper conclusion, research paper conclusion examples, frequently asked questions about how to write a research paper conclusion.

A research paper conclusion is similar to an introduction in the sense that it offers a bird’s-eye view of the research rather than a detailed examination. However, while an introduction looks forward to what the paper will say, a conclusion looks back at what it has said. And while an introduction explains how general knowledge in the field has led to the specific research in your paper, a conclusion does the reverse. It states how your research findings (specific) will affect the field of study (general).

A good conclusion reminds the reader of the paper’s main points without simply restating them in the same way. It leaves the reader feeling like they’ve understood the paper’s main finding or argument and its importance.

1. Review the thesis statement

Start your conclusion by reviewing your thesis statement and the research question , if there was one. Your goal is to remind the reader of the problem you were aiming to solve in relation to previous research and to show the development of the solution or argument.

As you review, use different words. For example, the research question in the intro could be phrased as a statement in the conclusion.

In the intro: Which type of activity do children in grades 1-5 prefer when socializing with children with whom they have never interacted: board games, playground games, spontaneous imaginative play, or parallel play?

In the conclusion: This study examined elementary schoolchildren’s preferences among four types of play with new peer acquaintances.

2. Summarize the findings/argument

Your research paper conclusion should also revisit the evidence, findings, and limitations of your research, but as an overview, not in detail. State only the most important points, what they mean, and how they illustrate the main idea you want the reader to take away.

3. Look toward the future

Finally, consider questions like these and include the answers in your conclusion (if they didn’t already appear in the discussion section):

• How might your findings change the field of study?
• What are the next steps based on your findings?
• What will be the effects of implementing, or not implementing, your recommendations?
• What might be some avenues for further research that can build on what your paper contributes?

The answers will help the reader understand why your research matters and leave a lasting impression.

As you’re working through the steps above, avoid these pitfalls to keep the focus of your conclusion tight.

1. Restating information you’ve already given in the same way

While you want to remind the reader of your goal and the outcome of your research, you shouldn’t just repeat these things in the conclusion exactly as you said them earlier in the paper. You should not only use different words but also show how the problem, findings, and contribution of the research relate to each other and where the research leads.

2. Adding new information

The conclusion is not the place to add another argument or further findings. All of these details should appear in the earlier sections of your paper, while the conclusion should focus on giving the reader a major takeaway.

3. Being long-winded

Academic writing should never be wordy, but writing concisely is especially important in short summarizing sections like the abstract, introduction, and conclusion. Your goals in the conclusion are to remind and to leave an impression, so think snippet, not surplus.

Below, we’ve created basic templates showing the key parts of a research paper conclusion. Keep in mind that the length of your conclusion will depend on the length of your paper. The order of the parts may vary, too; these templates only demonstrate how to tie them together.

1. Empirical research paper conclusion

Here’s a basic structure for the conclusion of an empirical paper.

By [research methods or procedures], this study demonstrated that [findings]. [How findings relate to previous research]. [Evidence], despite [limitations], suggests that [overall takeaway from the research]. [Future implications of the research].

To see a similar structure in action, look at this paper about how feral animals interact with human environments . The conclusion is a single paragraph at the top of the right column on page 6. Can you find all the bracketed elements from the template above?

2. Argumentative research paper conclusion

For an argumentative paper, a basic template for the conclusion is as follows:

It is clear that [main argument] because [evidence]. [How evidence relates to previous research]. Although [possible caveats], it is likely that [expected outcome of accepting or rejecting the argument]. [Suggestions or recommendations].

For example, see this paper that argues for creating guidelines for the use of ChatGPT in academia and healthcare . Of the bracketed components shown in the template, only the caveats are missing. This omission of opposing arguments or research limitations is unfortunate because it can make the reader think that the writer is biased or that the research wasn’t thorough. Don’t make this mistake in your own paper.

Struggling to come up with a great conclusion? It’s time to turn to QuillBot’s Summarizer . It can instantly pick out the major points of any text you feed it, then give them to you as a list or combine them into a cohesive new paragraph. Either option gives you a fantastic starting point for your conclusion.

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A research paper conclusion is a section that briefly summarizes what the research has found and why it matters. It reminds the reader of the most important findings and points to where the research may lead and the outcome it may bring about.

You can start a research paper conclusion in several ways. You might begin by restating your main argument or finding, or you might begin with a transition phrase signaling to the reader that you’re wrapping things up.

Don’t end with “in conclusion” or a similar phrase because these can feel too elementary or obvious.

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Hannah Skaggs

Topic Guide - Developing Your Research Study

• Purpose of Guide
• Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• APA 7th Edition
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study

Importance of a Good Conclusion

Structure and writing style, writing tip, another writing tip.

• 10. Proofreading Your Paper
• Writing Concisely
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Annotated Bibliography
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Study
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Bibliography

The conclusion is intended to help the reader understand why your research should matter to them after they have finished reading the paper. A conclusion is not merely a summary of the main topics covered or a re-statement of your research problem, but a synthesis of key points and, if applicable, where you recommend new areas for future research. For most college-level research papers, one or two well-developed paragraphs is sufficient for a conclusion, although in some cases, three or more paragraphs may be required.

Conclusions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University.

A well-written conclusion provides you with important opportunities to demonstrate to the reader your understanding of the research problem. These include:

• Presenting the last word on the issues you raised in your paper . Just as the introduction gives a first impression to your reader, the conclusion offers a chance to leave a lasting impression. Do this, for example, by highlighting key findings in your analysis or result section or by noting important or unexpected implications applied to practice.
• Summarizing your thoughts and conveying the larger significance of your study . The conclusion is an opportunity to succinctly answer [or in some cases, to re-emphasize]  the "So What?" question by placing the study within the context of how your research advances past research about the topic.
• Identifying how a gap in the literature has been addressed . The conclusion can be where you describe how a previously identified gap in the literature [described in your literature review section] has been filled by your research.
• Demonstrating the importance of your ideas . Don't be shy. The conclusion offers you the opportunity to elaborate on the impact and significance of your findings.
• Introducing possible new or expanded ways of thinking about the research problem . This does not refer to introducing new information [which should be avoided], but to offer new insight and creative approaches for framing or contextualizing the research problem based on the results of your study.

Bunton, David. “The Structure of PhD Conclusion Chapters.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 4 (July 2005): 207–224; Conclusions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion . San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Conclusions . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University.

I.  General Rules

The function of your paper's conclusion is to restate the main argument . It reminds the reader of the strengths of your main argument(s) and reiterates the most important evidence supporting those argument(s). Do this by stating clearly the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem you investigated in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found in the literature. Make sure, however, that your conclusion is not simply a repetitive summary of the findings. This reduces the impact of the argument(s) you have developed in your essay.

When writing the conclusion to your paper, follow these general rules:

• State your conclusions in clear, simple language. Re-state the purpose of your study then state how your findings differ or support those of other studies and why [i.e., what were the unique or new contributions your study made to the overall research about your topic?].
• Do not simply reiterate your results or the discussion of your results. Provide a synthesis of arguments presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem and the overall objectives of your study
• Indicate opportunities for future research if you haven't already done so in the discussion section of your paper. Highlighting the need for further research provides the reader with evidence that you have an in-depth awareness of the research problem.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is presented well:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize the argument for your reader.
• If, prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the end of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from the data.

The conclusion also provides a place for you to persuasively and succinctly restate your research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with all the information about the topic . Depending on the discipline you are writing in, the concluding paragraph may contain your reflections on the evidence presented, or on the essay's central research problem. However, the nature of being introspective about the research you have done will depend on the topic and whether your professor wants you to express your observations in this way.

NOTE : If asked to think introspectively about the topics, do not delve into idle speculation. Being introspective means looking within yourself as an author to try and understand an issue more deeply, not to guess at possible outcomes or make up scenarios not supported by evidence.

II.  Developing a Compelling Conclusion

Although an effective conclusion needs to be clear and succinct, it does not need to be written passively or lack a compelling narrative. Strategies to help you move beyond merely summarizing the key points of your research paper may include any of the following strategies:

• If your essay deals with a contemporary problem, warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem.
• Recommend a specific course or courses of action that, if adopted, could address a specific problem in practice or in the development of new knowledge.
• Cite a relevant quotation or expert opinion already noted in your paper in order to lend authority to the conclusion you have reached [a good place to look is research from your literature review].
• Explain the consequences of your research in a way that elicits action or demonstrates urgency in seeking change.
• Restate a key statistic, fact, or visual image to emphasize the ultimate point of your paper.
• If your discipline encourages personal reflection, illustrate your concluding point with a relevant narrative drawn from your own life experiences.
• Return to an anecdote, an example, or a quotation that you presented in your introduction, but add further insight derived from the findings of your study; use your interpretation of results to recast it in new or important ways.
• Provide a "take-home" message in the form of a strong, succinct statement that you want the reader to remember about your study.

III. Problems to Avoid

Failure to be concise Your conclusion section should be concise and to the point. Conclusions that are too lengthy often have unnecessary information in them. The conclusion is not the place for details about your methodology or results. Although you should give a summary of what was learned from your research, this summary should be relatively brief, since the emphasis in the conclusion is on the implications, evaluations, insights, and other forms of analysis that you make. Strategies for writing concisely can be found here .

Failure to comment on larger, more significant issues In the introduction, your task was to move from the general [the field of study] to the specific [the research problem]. However, in the conclusion, your task is to move from a specific discussion [your research problem] back to a general discussion [i.e., how your research contributes new understanding or fills an important gap in the literature]. In short, the conclusion is where you should place your research within a larger context [visualize your paper as an hourglass--start with a broad introduction and review of the literature, move to the specific analysis and discussion, conclude with a broad summary of the study's implications and significance].

Failure to reveal problems and negative results Negative aspects of the research process should never be ignored. Problems, drawbacks, and challenges encountered during your study should be summarized as a way of qualifying your overall conclusions. If you encountered negative or unintended results [i.e., findings that are validated outside the research context in which they were generated], you must report them in the results section and discuss their implications in the discussion section of your paper. In the conclusion, use your summary of the negative results as an opportunity to explain their possible significance and/or how they may form the basis for future research.

Failure to provide a clear summary of what was learned In order to be able to discuss how your research fits back into your field of study [and possibly the world at large], you need to summarize briefly and succinctly how it contributes to new knowledge or a new understanding about the research problem. This element of your conclusion may be only a few sentences long.

Failure to match the objectives of your research Often research objectives in the social sciences change while the research is being carried out. This is not a problem unless you forget to go back and refine the original objectives in your introduction. As these changes emerge they must be documented so that they accurately reflect what you were trying to accomplish in your research [not what you thought you might accomplish when you began].

Resist the urge to apologize If you've immersed yourself in studying the research problem, you presumably should know a good deal about it [perhaps even more than your professor!]. Nevertheless, by the time you have finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you have produced. Repress those doubts! Don't undermine your authority by saying something like, "This is just one approach to examining this problem; there may be other, much better approaches that...." The overall tone of your conclusion should convey confidence to the reader.

Assan, Joseph. Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing . Department of Geography, University of Liverpool; Concluding Paragraphs . College Writing Center at Meramec. St. Louis Community College; Conclusions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Freedman, Leora  and Jerry Plotnick. Introductions and Conclusions . The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Leibensperger, Summer. Draft Your Conclusion . Academic Center, the University of Houston-Victoria, 2003; Make Your Last Words Count . The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Tips for Writing a Good Conclusion . Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion . San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Writing Conclusions . Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Writing: Considering Structure and Organization . Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Don't Belabor the Obvious!

Avoid phrases like "in conclusion...," "in summary...," or "in closing...." These phrases can be useful, even welcome, in oral presentations. But readers can see by the tell-tale section heading and number of pages remaining to read, when an essay is about to end. You'll irritate your readers if you belabor the obvious.

New Insight, Not New Information!

Don't surprise the reader with new information in your conclusion that was never referenced anywhere else in the paper. If you have new information to present, add it to the discussion or other appropriate section of the paper. Note that, although no actual new information is introduced, the conclusion, along with the discussion section, is where you offer your most "original" contributions in the paper; the conclusion is where you describe the value of your research, demonstrate that you understand the material that you’ve presented, and locate your findings within the larger context of scholarship on the topic, including describing how your research contributes new insights or value to that scholarship.

Assan, Joseph. Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing . Department of Geography, University of Liverpool; Conclusions . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.

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What Does a Conclusion Generally Imply?

If you do not know how to write a conclusion for research paper , you should remember the main thing – it should summarize the key points of the paper. It should also help readers understand the basic information, be memorable, and leave an impression because it is the last thing people read. The conclusion happens to be the best chance for you to both tie all the information together and mention the main points one more time. In general, it is one of the most important parts of a research paper.

In most cases, the conclusions of research papers are one paragraph long. Even though they do not usually introduce new data or information, they tend to offer a new perspective on the topic or reframe the issues.

Why Is It Important to Come Up With a Good Conclusion?

It is important to write an impressive conclusion research paper because it must serve a few critical purposes:

• It offers recommendations and implications . A conclusion happens to be an excellent place to talk about the broader implications of your research and proffer probable areas for further study. This part of your paper is also a great chance to provide practical recommendations based on the data you find.
• It provides closure . An outstanding conclusion delivers a sense of closure to your paper. The thing is that it should leave the audience with a feeling that they have reached the end of a thought-provoking and well-structured research project.
• It should leave a lasting impression . If you manage to come up with a well-crafted research paper conclusion, it will leave a lasting impression on your audience. You should remember that it is your final opportunity to leave readers with a call to action, a new idea, or a memorable quote.

What Types of Research Paper Conclusions Are There?

As mentioned before, a research paper conclusion delivers closure to the reader. When choosing a type, you should consider the goals of your study, its nature, and your target audience. Further, you can see the three common types of conclusions:

• Summarizing conclusion. This is the most common type , which is utilized across various disciplines. It tends to include reiterating the research question, the key points, and mentioning the significance of the findings one more time.
• Editorial conclusion. This type is less common, but you can use it in research papers that are focused on advocating or proposing a certain policy or viewpoint. It includes showing a strong opinion based on the data and offering calls to action or recommendations.
• Externalizing conclusion. It is a kind of conclusion that extends the research beyond the paper`s scope by offering probable future research directions. It may also discuss the wider implications of the findings. They usually use this type of conclusion in more exploratory or theoretical research papers.

Tips on Writing a Conclusion for a Research Paper

If you do not know how to write a conclusion for a research paper , you should consider the following steps:

You should restate your research topic

The first step when writing a conclusion must be to restate your research topic. In most cases, one sentence is enough for this purpose, and you should also explain the importance of your topic. You should bear in mind that this part must be concise and clear and state only the essential information.

Writing Metier experts also recommend avoiding such phrases as “ in summary ”, “ in conclusion ”, and “ in closing ”. This kind of phrases might be helpful in oral presentations , but it can turn out to be unnecessary and too obvious when ending an essay.

You should restate the thesis

This is the next step that can be performed by revising the initial thesis that you introduced in the paper`s introduction. At the same time, you should bear in mind that the thesis statement in your conclusion must be put in different words than those you used in your introduction. It is also possible to write this element effectively in one sentence.

You should summarize the key points of your paper

You can sum up the key points of your paper. The thing is that, it is helpful to read through the text a second time to see only the most important arguments and facts.  At the same time, there is no need to mention any more details than the key facts or arguments that you introduced in your paper.

The goal of summarizing these facts is to remind the audience of how important the research paper topic is.

You should connect the results or significance of the key points

You can introduce the significance of the key points after you discuss them. For example, after stating the key points you made in your argument, you may mention how the impacts of the topic can cause a certain outcome.

You might also introduce the results of studies that may assist you in adding emphasis to how you introduce the significance of your information. At the same time, there is no need to surprise the audience with new data in your conclusion that was not mentioned in your paper.

The conclusion is the part where you describe the value of your research and introduce your understanding of the data you have presented.

You should conclude your thoughts

When finishing your conclusion, you may come up with a call to action or pose an idea that will make your audience think further about your statements. Students can also use this sentence to address any issues that were left unanswered in the paper`s body paragraphs.

Effective Strategies for Writing a Research Paper Conclusion

Your conclusions in a research paper are the opposite of the introduction in terms of both placement and structure. The introduction should generally follow the inverted triangle format with the main statement element on top and the main point of research at the bottom.

The conclusion should follow the inverted introduction format by starting with the highlights of your findings and finishing with a general statement that should encourage the audience to think. It should also challenge the readers to take action based on what they have learned from your paper.

A few studies that performed an analysis of how conclusions are structured found that the bigger part of authors either synthesize the research work or restate and consolidate a research issue. When consolidating the issue, they tend to introduce the solutions or results of research.

The following tips can help you come up with an impressive conclusion:

Synthesize instead of summarizing

Yu already know that a research paper conclusion is not a summary of the content. A summary can be a part of this section, but the conclusion should go beyond simply restating your analyses and ideas.

Instead of mentioning again what you already said in the introduction, abstract, and body, you should show your audience how the main elements in your paper fit together.

Echoing the introduction

This method of writing brings your audience to a full circle by referring to or utilizing the same elements you used in your introduction. A research paper conclusion example of this would be retelling a scenario you presented in your introduction, but this time, you should manage to create a new understanding of the topic based on the study`s results.

Redirect your reader

Your conclusion should act as a bridge for your readers back to the real world after welcoming them into your research through your introduction and showing them your analyses, methodologies , and results. When you redirect your audience, you challenge them to take the data they receive from your paper and use it in real life.

It is also possible to approach this strategy by offering solutions to an existing issue or a course of action for further studies.

Challenge your own conclusion

This one is also known as the “so what” game, and it requires you to challenge your own ideas by asking this question while creating your conclusion. After you finish this part of the research paper, you might ask someone who will go through the content and challenge what you wrote.

For example, you can ask your friend to read it with you and have them ask this question after every viewpoint. Thanks to this strategy, you can find weaknesses in your conclusion and refine it in the process.

Address limitations

This method should also help you find the weak points in your paper, which should involve the aspects where there is a lack of argument. It will also allow you to see whether there are instances where your conclusion may be wrong.

This approach is especially helpful in writing conclusions of scientific research papers.

Show ideas to create a new meaning or picture

You should interpret all the relevant data in appropriate depth. It means that you should explain how the mechanisms or methodologies were utilized to help your audience get to the results of your study.  You should also consider that your study might not bring the results you expected.

In this scenario, you need to explain to your readers why this situation may have happened. If the outcome is what you expected, you should describe your theory supported by your evidence.

Pose questions

Research studies tend to be motivated by questions. Posing questions in a research paper conclusion , either to your audience or in general, might help them get a new point of view on the topic, which they might never have had before diving into your conclusion. It might also help you bring your key points together to come up with a new idea from your study.

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Elements That You Should Never Include in Your Conclusion

If you are willing to figure out how to write conclusions for research papers , you also need to know what things should never be included. So, here is a list of these elements:

• Dry summary . You should always bear in mind that summarizing might be an important part of a conclusion, but it is not the only part. The thing is that your conclusion must be more than just a summary – it should form your reader`s opinion about your topic. That is why you should not just repeat the facts. You need to contextualize them for the audience, offer a step for solving the issue, or suggest a new perspective.
• You should avoid too generic words . It is recommended to avoid cliched or generic phrasing in your conclusion. The reason is that some phrases or words are used too often to the point of becoming trite. If you are willing to come up with well-written and fresh research paper conclusions, you should never use the following phrases:
• In closing;
• In conclusion;
• In summary;
• To wrap up.
• No need to use new evidence or data . Research paper conclusions are the wrong place to present new data or evidence, especially if they are impressive enough to reshape the entire argument. Supporting evidence and significant facts belong to the paper`s body. When the audience is reading this section, they are still learning more about the topic. The reader tends to form their opinion by the conclusion. Therefore, the conclusion is more about retrospection. This implies that presenting unexpected information there can be frustrating to the audience.
• Never ignore negative results . You might want to hide negative results or just ignore them completely, but this action will harm your research paper in the end. The best solution is to own up to shortcomings in your paper and admit them. Thanks to your transparency, you will easily validate your other findings and prevent critics from introducing these shortcomings to damage the outcome.
• You should avoid ambiguous resolutions . Conclusions of research papers are expected to clean up any loose ends and wrap up arguments. If your conclusion happens to be ambiguous, it may seem that your research was inadequate, incomplete, or fundamentally flawed. Therefore, you should write your final words with direct language and take a firm position. Even if the information was inconclusive, you should state clearly that it was inconclusive. Thanks to this, you are going to sound both competent and confident.

Research Paper Conclusion Examples

Your conclusion must be a compelling close to the paper as a whole, which implies that it should highlight your hard work and research. Obviously, your conclusion must represent your unique style, but the following research paper conclusion example texts might be a starting point:

Ultimately, the data we researched all lead to the same conclusion: When encouraging a great work-life balance, we improve employee productivity, which can benefit the company in general. The research states that when workers feel that their personal lives are respected and valued by their employers, they tend to be more productive when at work. Moreover, company turnover is usually reduced when workers have a balance between their professional and personal lives. Even though additional research is necessary to determine ways companies can support employees in establishing a better work-life balance, it is obvious the need is there.

Social media happens to be a primary way of communication among young individuals. As we have seen in the introduced data, the bigger part of young people in high school utilizes a diversity of social media apps at least every hour, including Facebook and Instagram. While social media is a way to connect with peers, research supposes that its use correlates with body image problems. Young girls who have lower self-esteem usually utilize social media more often than those who do not use these apps daily. As the popularity of new applications is increasing and as more students are provided with smartphones, more research will be necessary to estimate the outcome of prolonged social media use.

Allow Writing Metier Experts to Write a RP Conclusion for You

You now have an example of research paper conclusion , and it might help you to come up with an outstanding piece. The importance of an impressive conclusion is obvious, but it is not an easy thing to write. That is why many students ask for help from someone who knows how to create a good conclusion.

Writing Metier has a team of professional research paper writers who are able to cope with any sort of assignments, including research paper conclusions. We can craft an ideal conclusion for your findings, and it will be impressive.

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There is no need to worry about anything or think about when to get time to write a conclusion. Instead, you can focus on your studies or work and allow expert writers from Writing Metier to do everything for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should i introduce in my research paper conclusion.

If you are eager to learn how to write a conclusion of a research paper , you should consider adding a few key elements, such as:

• A restatement of the research issue.
• A brief discussion of your research`s implications.
• A summary of your main arguments or findings.

Do I Need to Introduce New Arguments in my Research Paper Conclusion?

You should not add new arguments in your conclusion. It is a great idea to follow the formal structure of a paper, but new data can confuse your audience.

What Other Sections Should Be Included in My Research Paper?

The important parts of a research paper are usually the following:

• Introduction. This should include an introductory sentence, a thesis sentence with three main points, and a minimum of three supporting sentences.
• Body paragraphs that support each of the points.
• Conclusion. This is where you need to restate the thesis, add a minimum of two sentences that summarize your findings, and end with a suggestion for future research or a declarative statement.

What Is the Goal of a Research Paper Conclusion?

The goal of any conclusion is to sum up the key points of the paper, leave a lasting impression on the audience, and help them contextualize the data.

How Many Pages Should a Research Paper Conclusion Include?

There is no certain length for a conclusion. At the same time, it is a great idea not to make it too long because conclusions are expected to be succinct. Therefore, you should keep this part around 5 to 10 percent of the research paper`s total length. For example, for a paper that is 10 pages long, you should provide a conclusion under one page.

What Different Types of Research Paper Conclusions Are There?

Even though there are no formal types of research paper conclusions, they tend to fall under the categories of summarizing, editorial, and externalizing conclusions. You should bear in mind that these types are not mutually exclusive – the same paper might be both externalizing and summarizing. That is why you should follow the guidelines and requirements of your assignment.

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Laura Orta is an avid author on Writing Metier's blog. Before embarking on her writing career, she practiced media law in one of the local media. Aside from writing, she works as a private tutor to help students with their academic needs. Laura and her husband share their home near the ocean in northern Portugal with two extraordinary boys and a lifetime collection of books.

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Study Start-Up Training Checklist for Research Staff

Clinical research is a vital part of advancing medical science, and research staff play a critical role in ensuring the success of clinical trials. The study start-up phase is one of the most complex and important stages in the clinical trial process. Proper training during this phase is essential to ensure that the trial runs smoothly, adheres to regulatory standards, and achieves its intended outcomes.

A well-structured study start-up training checklist for research staff ensures that all team members are prepared for the challenges of the study. This guide provides a comprehensive checklist to help research staff, clinical coordinators, and principal investigators organize and execute clinical trials efficiently. By following these steps, you can ensure that your clinical research team is well-prepared and the trial is set up for success.

What is Study Start-Up in Clinical Research?

Study start-up (SSU) is the phase that begins once the study sponsor has selected sites for the trial. This phase includes all the activities required to initiate a clinical trial at a specific site, such as gaining regulatory approvals, finalizing contracts, training staff, and setting up study documentation. The process is often complex, involving multiple stakeholders, including research staff, sponsors, regulatory bodies, and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs).

The effectiveness of the study start-up phase often determines the overall success of the clinical trial. A well-organized study start-up phase reduces delays, ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, and improves the chances of recruiting and retaining study participants.

Why is a Study Start-Up Training Checklist Important?

A training checklist is essential because it helps research staff stay organized and ensures that no critical steps are missed during the study start-up phase. Missing a crucial task or failing to properly train the staff can lead to delays, protocol deviations, or non-compliance with regulatory guidelines, which can ultimately jeopardize the entire clinical trial.

A checklist also ensures that all team members are on the same page, which improves communication and collaboration. By having a clear outline of the steps to be completed, research staff can focus on their specific tasks, resulting in greater efficiency and a smoother trial launch.

Key Components of a Study Start-Up Training Checklist

The checklist for training research staff during the study start-up phase should include several key components, ranging from regulatory preparation to logistical coordination. Below, we provide a detailed breakdown of these components.

1. Regulatory Documentation and Compliance

The first and foremost priority during the study start-up phase is ensuring that all regulatory documentation is in place. This includes, but is not limited to:

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval: Ensure that the study protocol has been reviewed and approved by the IRB or Ethics Committee. Without this approval, no study activities can proceed.

FDA and Other Regulatory Submissions: If applicable, submit the necessary documentation to the FDA or relevant regulatory authorities.

Informed Consent Forms (ICFs): Confirm that the informed consent forms are prepared and approved by the IRB. Research staff should be trained on the importance of obtaining proper informed consent from participants.

Internal Link : For more information on regulatory compliance in clinical trials, check out this Clinical Research Coordinator Certification Course.

2. Staff Training and Responsibilities

All members of the research team must receive thorough training to ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities. This includes:

Principal Investigator (PI) Training: The PI must be trained on the study protocol, the roles of other staff members, and the responsibilities they hold as the primary leader of the trial.

Study Coordinator Training: The clinical research coordinator is often responsible for the day-to-day operations of the trial. They need to be trained on subject recruitment, data collection, and maintaining study documentation.

Investigator Meeting Attendance: Ensure that all key research staff attend the investigator meeting, which is typically organized by the sponsor to discuss study procedures, safety protocols, and reporting requirements.

Additionally, research staff should receive Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training and be certified if they haven’t been already.

3. Protocol Training

Understanding the study protocol is essential for all research staff. This step ensures that everyone involved is familiar with the study design, eligibility criteria, intervention methods, and data collection processes. Key components of protocol training include:

Study Objectives and Hypotheses: Ensure that all staff understand the goals of the trial and the research questions it aims to answer.

Eligibility Criteria: Review the inclusion and exclusion criteria in detail to ensure proper participant recruitment.

Safety Monitoring and Adverse Event Reporting: Train staff on how to monitor for adverse events and report them to the appropriate regulatory bodies.

Research staff should regularly revisit the protocol throughout the study to ensure adherence to its guidelines.

4. Data Collection and Management

Accurate data collection is critical in clinical research. Research staff should be trained on:

Electronic Data Capture (EDC) Systems: Ensure that staff are proficient in using the EDC system for recording and managing study data.

Source Documentation: Train staff on maintaining accurate and compliant source documents. Source documents must provide a clear audit trail for all study-related activities.

Data Integrity and Confidentiality: Review best practices for maintaining data accuracy and patient confidentiality, in compliance with HIPAA or other relevant privacy regulations.

5. Site Preparation

Once regulatory and protocol training are complete, focus should shift to preparing the physical site for study activities. The checklist should include:

Clinical Supplies: Ensure that all necessary clinical supplies, such as lab kits, are available on-site.

Study Equipment: Verify that any specialized study equipment (e.g., diagnostic tools) is calibrated and functioning correctly.

Pharmacy Coordination: Work with the site pharmacy to ensure proper handling and storage of study drugs, if applicable.

6. Subject Recruitment and Enrollment

Recruitment is often one of the most challenging aspects of clinical research. Research staff should be trained on recruitment strategies, as well as the ethical considerations involved in subject recruitment. Key components include:

Recruitment Plan: Develop a recruitment plan based on the study’s target population and inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Informed Consent Process: Research staff must be proficient in explaining the study to potential participants and obtaining informed consent in accordance with regulatory guidelines.

Screening and Enrollment: Train staff to accurately screen potential participants for eligibility and document the screening process thoroughly.

7. Budget and Financial Management

The financial aspects of a clinical trial, including budgeting and payments to participants or investigators, should also be part of the study start-up training checklist. Research staff involved in financial management should:

Understand the Study Budget: Ensure that the trial’s budget is clearly understood and that all research staff are aware of their responsibilities in managing financial aspects.

Participant Compensation: Set up processes for compensating study participants in a timely and ethical manner.

Tracking Expenses: Implement a system for tracking all study-related expenses to ensure that the trial remains within budget.

Internal Monitoring and Auditing

Regular monitoring and internal auditing are essential to ensuring that the clinical trial is being conducted in compliance with the protocol and regulatory requirements. Research staff should:

Conduct Routine Audits: Ensure that all study documentation is up to date and that study activities are being conducted according to the protocol.

Address Protocol Deviations: Train staff on identifying and addressing any deviations from the study protocol.

Monitoring ensures that the trial stays on course and that any issues are addressed promptly before they escalate into significant problems.

Conclusion: A Well-Prepared Team Ensures Success

The study start-up training checklist for research staff is a vital tool in ensuring that clinical trials are conducted efficiently, ethically, and in compliance with regulatory standards. By following this checklist, research staff can be confident that they are well-prepared to execute a successful study. Proper training and preparation not only improve the chances of trial success but also protect participant safety and data integrity.

For more comprehensive training and certifications to enhance your clinical research career, check out this Advanced Clinical Research Project Manager Certification.

References:

National Institutes of Health. (2023). Clinical Trials: Overview and Process .

University of California, San Francisco. (2022). Ethics in Clinical Research .

This blog provides a structured approach to study start-up, ensuring that research staff are well-prepared to contribute to the successful execution of clinical trials.

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Color matters: a study exploring the influence of packaging colors on university students’ perceptions and willingness to pay for organic pasta.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods, 4. discussion, 5. conclusions, 6. limitations, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

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Nagy, L.B.; Temesi, Á. Color Matters: A Study Exploring the Influence of Packaging Colors on University Students’ Perceptions and Willingness to Pay for Organic Pasta. Foods 2024 , 13 , 3112. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13193112

Nagy LB, Temesi Á. Color Matters: A Study Exploring the Influence of Packaging Colors on University Students’ Perceptions and Willingness to Pay for Organic Pasta. Foods . 2024; 13(19):3112. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13193112

Nagy, László Bendegúz, and Ágoston Temesi. 2024. "Color Matters: A Study Exploring the Influence of Packaging Colors on University Students’ Perceptions and Willingness to Pay for Organic Pasta" Foods 13, no. 19: 3112. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13193112

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Trends in clinical workload in UK primary care 2005–2019: a retrospective cohort study

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Background Substantial increases in UK consulting rates, mean consultation duration, and clinical workload were observed between 2007 and 2014. To the authors’ knowledge, no analysis of more recent trends in clinical workload has been published to date. This study updates and builds on previous research, identifying underlying changes in population morbidity levels affecting demand for primary health care.

Aim To describe the changes in clinical workload in UK primary care since 2005.

Design and setting Retrospective cohort study using GP primary care electronic health records data from 824 UK general practices.

Method Over 500 million anonymised electronic health records were obtained from IQVIA Medical Research Data to examine consulting rates with GPs and practice nurses together with the duration of these consultations to determine total patient-level workload per person–year.

Results Age-standardised mean GP direct (face-to-face and telephone) consulting rates fell steadily by 2.0% a year from 2014 to 2019. Between 2005 and 2019 mean GP direct consulting rates fell by 5.8% overall whereas mean workload per person–year increased by 25.8%, owing in part to a 36.9% increase in mean consultation duration. Indirect GP workload almost tripled over the 15 years, contributing to a 48.3% increase in overall clinical workload per person–year. The proportion of the study population with ≥3 serious chronic conditions increased from 9.7% to 16.1%, accounting for over a third of total clinical workload in 2019.

Conclusion Findings show sustained increases in consulting rates, consultation duration, and clinical workload until 2014. From 2015, however, rising demand for health care and a larger administrative workload have led to capacity constraints as the system nears saturation.

• consultation
• primary care
• staff workload
• electronic health records
• retrospective study
• Introduction

Strong primary care is associated with better population health, lower healthcare expenditure, and a more equitable distribution of health resources. 1 In the UK, primary care plays an essential role in the provision of health care, accounting for approximately 90% of all NHS contacts. 2 Although NHS activity data indicate that general practices delivered a record 356 million appointments in 2023, demand continues to outstrip capacity. 3 A recent survey reported that 71% of GPs in the UK found their job to be very or extremely stressful, with the highest proportion among the 10 high-income countries surveyed. 4

Fears that primary care in the UK is in crisis or nearing breaking point are nothing new. 5 Although pressures on general practice were undeniably exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current situation is the outcome of many years of underinvestment, a shrinking of the GP workforce, an ageing and growing population, and national strategic objectives that sought to shift care out of hospitals and into the community. Analysis of 2023 workforce data showed an 11.8% fall in the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) GPs (excluding locums, trainees, and retainers) and a 41% increase in the number of patients per FTE GP since 2014. 1 , 6 The proportion of NHS funding directed to general practices declined from 10.6% in 2005/2006 to 6.8% in 2020/2021 as secondary care services secured a greater share of increases in healthcare spending. 7 The UK population increased by 11.4% over the same period and its median age rose from 38.7 to 40.7 years. 8

Analysis of a large database of electronic health records described a 10.5% increase in annual consultation rates per person between 2007 and 2014, mainly accounted for by an increase in GP consultations. 9 The same period also saw an increase in consultation duration. In cross-sectional analysis, consultation rates were higher in older patients, females, and those living in more deprived regions. 10 A similar analysis of duration found GP consultations were longer in older patients and females, although the differences were small. 11 The focus of much of the literature on GP workload is on direct patient care, an activity that typically accounts for 75% of patient-related clinical workload. 12 Time spent on indirect patient care (for example, referral letters or repeat prescriptions) was not included, implying that primary care workload data may under-represent total patient-related clinical activity by a third.

How this fits in

Many questions remain unanswered. There is limited understanding of the factors driving long-term trends in consultation rates. The aim of this analysis of the volume and nature of GP and practice nurse consultations was to obtain objective data on changes in clinical workload between 2005 and 2019. Overall clinical workload over time, workload by clinical role, and by multimorbidity level are examined.

Study design

A retrospective cohort study was carried out using data obtained from IQVIA Medical Research Data UK (IMRD) incorporating data from The Health Improvement Network, a Cegedim database. IMRD includes anonymised electronic primary health care records from approximately 6% of the UK population in over 800 UK general practices. General practices are largely representative of UK primary care practices in size, age, and the sex of patients, and prevalence of chronic conditions. 13

Data were extracted for all patients registered with practices contributing to IMRD, covering the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2019. Data extraction was facilitated using the Data Extraction for Epidemiological Research (DExtER) tool. 14

The primary outcome is individual patient clinical workload, defined as the total number of contact minutes per year that the patient has with their general practice, coded by staff role and by type of contact. A GP contact is defined as any file opening by a GP and includes face-to-face consultations, telephone calls to or from a patient, results recording, or issuance of a repeat prescription. Similarly, a nurse contact is defined as any file opening recorded as being made by a practice nurse. Patient consultations with nurses are mainly separate from those with doctors. In the UK, primary care nurses’ responsibilities include immunisation, cervical screening, health promotion, and chronic disease management. 15 All non-clinical work by a GP or practice nurse was excluded from the workload calculations, as was any work done by other clerical or administrative staff or other providers of direct care such as physiotherapists or dieticians.

File openings of 0 min have been rounded up to 30 s. File openings of ≥30 min were truncated at 30 min as long openings were considered unlikely to reflect patient work. Consultation rates are defined as the number of times a patient’s file is opened per person–year, by a nurse or a GP. Consultation rates for direct patient contacts (face-to-face surgery consultations and telephone consultations) are also reported. Clinical workload per person–year is defined as the sum of all GP and nurse contact minutes for a given patient in a given year.

Multimorbidity status

Information about patients’ long-term conditions was obtained from IMRD with medical diagnoses of these conditions recorded using the Read code clinical classification system. Read codes are a hierarchical clinical terminology system used within both primary and secondary care to record a wide range of information relating to a patient’s demography, symptoms, tests, results, and diagnoses.

Previous work by Barnett et al identified 40 long-term conditions that had a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life, risk of mortality, and need for health care. 16 In the current study the code lists associated with each of these conditions as determined by a multimorbidity research joint project between the Universities of Cambridge and Birmingham was used. 17

Consulting patterns from 2015 until 2019 were examined, comparing individual workload at 1-year pre-diagnosis to workload 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years post-diagnosis for each condition to determine the length of time that conditions should be shown as present following diagnosis.

Person–years for each age group were calculated for each year. Workload per person–year and consultation rates were age standardised to the population of the 2005 IMRD dataset to allow comparison over time. Mean annual clinical consulting rates and mean duration of file openings were calculated for all types of consultations with a GP, face-to-face and telephone consultations with a GP, and consultations with a practice nurse. Patients were grouped according to how many chronic conditions they had (0, 1, 2, and ≥3 conditions) and average workload per person–year calculated for each group over the period. Summary statistics are presented in the following section, either graphically or in tables.

Overall, data for over 550 million file openings for 10 098 454 patients from 824 practices were examined in this study, representing over 69 million person–years of observation. Descriptive statistics are given for 2005 and 2019 ( Table 1 ).

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Descriptive statistics of dataset

A comparison of the population by age group for the dataset and for the UK population as a whole in 2005 and 2019 shows that the sample is broadly similar to UK national data obtained from the World Bank databank. 18 For example, in 2005, 59.7% of the UK population was aged <45 years compared with 55.5% for the sample ( n = 2 861 740/5 159 933). In 2019, 55.7% of the UK population was aged <45 years compared with 50.2% for the sample ( n = 1 399 167/2 785 796) (see Supplementary Table S1).

GP face-to-face/telephone consulting rates

After an initial drop in the age-standardised mean consulting rate, rates climbed to a high of 3.84 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.84 to 3.85) direct consultations per year in 2014. From 2014 mean consulting rates fell steadily by 2.0% a year to 3.47 (95% CI = 3.46 to 3.47) consultations per year by 2019. Between 2005 and 2019 mean consulting rates fell by 5.8% overall (see Supplementary Figure S1).

Duration of file openings

Duration of file openings by practice nurses increased at a relatively constant rate over the period from a mean of 6.83 (95% CI = 6.82 to 6.83) min in 2005 to 8.99 (95% CI = 8.98 to 9.00) min in 2019, a rise of 31.7% overall (see Supplementary Figure S2).

For GP face-to-face or telephone consultations, mean duration increased by 36.0% between 2005 and 2011. From 2011 onwards, the rate of increase in mean duration of GP face-to-face consultations plateaued, remaining between 8.21 (95% CI = 8.21 to 8.21) min and 8.46 (95% CI = 8.45 to 8.46) min until 2019. The biggest change was in all GP file openings where mean duration increased by 68.4% from 4.57 (95% CI = 4.57 to 4.57) min in 2005 to 7.69 (95% CI = 7.69 to 7.70) min by 2019 (see Supplementary Figure S2). From 2005 to 2019, mean duration of GP direct consultations increased by 36.9% overall.

Clinical workload

Age-standardised mean clinical workload per person–year increased by over 48% from 39.06 (95% CI = 39.03 to 39.10) min in 2005 to 57.61 (95% CI = 57.55 to 57.66) min in 2014. From 2014 to 2019 it remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 56.98 (95% CI = 56.93 to 57.03) and 57.98 (95% CI = 57.93 to 58.03) min ( Figure 1 ).

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Mean age-standardised workload per person–year by staff role. F2F = face to face.

GP workload

In the study, GP workload was separated into two parts: patient-facing workload (GP F2F: all face-to-face consultations and telephone consultations) and patient-related administrative work (GP admin). Mean GP F2F workload per person–year increased every year between 2005 and 2012 to a maximum of just under 33 min. From 2012 to 2019 it fell by 10.6% to just below 30 min. Mean GP admin workload stood at 4.60 (95% CI = 4.60 to 4.60) min per person–year in 2005 rising to 12.53 (95% CI = 12.52 to 12.55) min by 2019, an increase of 172.4%. Administrative workload as a proportion of total GP workload nearly doubled from 16.3% in 2005 to 29.6% in 2019 ( Figure 1 ).

Practice nurse workload

Age-standardised mean practice nurse workload per person–year rose consistently over the period from 10.75 (95% CI = 10.74 to 10.76) min in 2005 to 15.58 (95% CI = 15.56 to 15.59) min in 2019, an increase of 44.9% overall ( Figure 1 ).

Changes over the period in age-standardised mean workload by staff role and type of consultation are shown in Table 2 .

Age-standardised mean workload (in minutes per person–year) by staff role

Multimorbidity levels

Analysis of the impact of a diagnosis on workload found that for most conditions clinical consultation time increased considerably in the year of diagnosis compared with the year before diagnosis, however, consultation time returned to below pre-diagnosis levels within 5 years. For 11 conditions, consultation time increased considerably in the year of diagnosis and remained at a higher level even after 5 years. These conditions were coded to show as present indefinitely, whereas all the other conditions were coded to show as present for 5 years only following diagnosis (see Supplementary Information S1 for details).

Multimorbidity increased across all older age groups between 2005 and 2019 ( Figure 2 ). Overall, 51.5% of the study population had no serious chronic conditions recorded in 2005 and accounted for 27.9% of total clinical workload. Patients with multimorbidity with ≥3 serious chronic conditions represented just 9.7% of the study population but 24.2% of the workload ( n = 499 998/5 159 933). By 2019 the share of the population without any serious chronic conditions had fallen to 43.6% whereas that for patients with multimorbidity with ≥3 conditions had increased to 16.0% ( n = 447 060/2 785 796). The share of total clinical workload accounted for by these patients was 34.5%.

Prevalence of chronic conditions by age group. a) 2005; and b) 2019.

The mean clinical workload associated with patients with no chronic conditions was 21.71 (95% CI = 21.67 to 21.75) min in 2005. Clinical workload increased linearly with the number of chronic diseases: mean workload was 41.13 (95% CI = 41.04 to 41.22) min for patients with one condition, 62.54 (95% CI = 62.37 to 62.71) min for two conditions, and 97.14 (95% CI = 96.86 to 97.42) min for ≥3 conditions. In 2019, mean workload was 31.08 (95% CI = 30.99 to 31.16) min, 54.83 (95% CI = 54.67 to 54.99) min, 79.73 (95% CI = 79.45 to 80.00) min, and 131.03 (95% CI = 130.63 to 131.42) min for 0, 1, 2, and ≥3 conditions, respectively ( Figure 3 ).

Clinical workload by number of chronic conditions.

The rate of increase in clinical workload per person–year over the study period was highest for patients with no chronic conditions at +43.2%, compared with a +33.3% increase in workload for those with one condition, +27.5% for two conditions, and +34.9% for ≥3 conditions ( Figure 3 ).

This study examined trends in consulting rates and duration of consultations for GPs and practice nurses from 2005 to 2019. To capture the full scope of patient-level activity, all aspects of GP workload were studied: both time spent in face-to-face and telephone consultations as well as patient-related administrative work, such as results recording or third-party consultations. Direct patient workload has considerably increased over the period for both GPs and practice nurses by roughly the same amount. However, the amount of time spent by GPs doing patient-related administrative work has increased enormously.

Many factors are likely to have contributed to the increased admin workload of GPs observed over the study period, including the increased ability of GPs to access diagnostic services directly, the transfer of work from secondary to primary care, as well as the introduction of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) in 2004. 19 , 20 The QOF is a pay- for-performance scheme intended to reward primary care providers for improvements in the management of long-term conditions, representing over 8% of total practice income on average in 2019/2020. 21 Little existing literature on the QOF examines its impact on administrative work undertaken by GPs. There is evidence to suggest, however, that its introduction led to a substantial increase in non-consultation GP workload, in particular that associated with tests. A study of changes in diagnostic testing in UK primary care reported a 3.3-fold increase in test use between 2000/2001 and 2015/2016, and estimated that the average GP spent 1.5 to 2 h each day reviewing test results. 22

The current study recorded a plateauing of the rate of increase in clinical workload from 2014 onwards, with the higher levels of GP admin workload making up for the decline in the GP face-to-face or telephone consulting rate.

Strengths and limitations

The main strength of this study is that it is the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to report on trends in overall clinical workload, examining duration and frequency of clinical consultations, for both patient-facing and administrative activity related to a direct patient contact, such as a repeat prescription or recording of test results. Its findings are based on nearly 70 million person–years of observation covering a 15-year period for practices throughout the UK, making it, to the authors’ knowledge, the largest analysis of clinical workload to date.

This study has several limitations. The most important limitation is that it was not possible to include data from 2020 onwards in the analysis. However, it was felt that the considerable disruption in primary care use during the COVID-19 pandemic was unlikely to be permanent and consequently that the use of data from that period and shortly after would not be representative of any underlying trend. Although the IMRD database is one of the most comprehensive data sources worldwide, as is the case for many observational studies using electronic health records, the accuracy of the recording of consultation durations and types is variable. Short file openings for face-to-face consultations may not accurately reflect the actual work associated with a particular patient if the practitioner does not open the file at the beginning of a consultation, underestimating workload. Similarly, workload will be overestimated if a practitioner forgets to close a patient’s file at the end of the session (all consultations were truncated at 30 min to mitigate this problem).

The list of chronic conditions selected to determine morbidity levels is based on highly regarded previous work: the Read codes used to define these conditions for the present study closely mirror those used by Barnett et al and Cassell et al but may differ slightly. 16 , 23 Using a different set of conditions may have given different results in terms of prevalence and workload associated with the different levels of multimorbidity.

Comparison with existing literature

This study supports previous literature that showed an increase in face-to-face and telephone GP and practice nurse workload between 2007 and 2014 in English general practices, observing both a rise in the mean number of consultations per year and a 4.9% increase in consultation duration. 9 Research by Kontopantelis et al described an increase in the number of GP consultations per year from a median of 5.3 to 8.3 between 2000 and 2019, whereas the number of face-to-face GP consultations per year per patient fell from 3.7 to 3.1. 24 Analysis of the use of primary care by children in England reported a fall in general practice consulting rates of 1% per year in all age bands (except for infants) between 2007 and 2017 while observing a corresponding rise in urgent care use. 25

Whereas literature examining overall trends in clinical workload is scarce, considerable research has examined the association between primary care use and multimorbidity. The crude prevalence rate of multimorbidity (defined as the presence of ≥2 long-term conditions) was 31.6% in the present study in 2019 compared with 22.5% in 2005, rates that are broadly consistent with previous studies of similar populations in the UK. 16 , 23 Multimorbid patients consulted a GP 2.6 times more frequently 23 and each consultation lasted 0.2 min longer on average than for patients without multimorbidity. 26 Using a different definition of multimorbidity (≥2 chronic conditions of the 17 conditions included in the QOF), the first comprehensive study published on the prevalence of morbidity in England identified 16% of patients as being multimorbid in 2008 and these patients accounted for almost a third of all primary care consultations. Patients with multimorbidity had on average 9.4 consultations per annum compared with 3.8 for those without multimorbidity. 27

Implications for research and practice

Primary care practices have had to adjust to consistent increases in the duration of nurse and GP contacts since 2005 in the face of higher numbers of patients with multimorbidity with complex care needs and a greater administrative load per patient. With fewer FTE GPs per head of population, many practices have been unable to keep pace with these changes, leading to a drop in consulting rates since 2015.

The implications of this for practice funding and access to care are important. Approximately half of practice revenue is from the global sum payment, with the amount allocated based on an estimate of a practice’s patient-level workload using demographic data that is over 20 years old. The statistical model used is commonly known as the Carr-Hill formula and it includes factors relating to patient age and gender, morbidity and mortality measures, the number of newly registered patients, staff expenses, practice rurality, and the number of patients living in nursing and residential homes. It is widely recognised that the Carr-Hill formula does not adequately reflect population healthcare needs, particularly need associated with socioeconomic deprivation. 28 , 29 Previous research reported that practices in areas of greater deprivation received 7% less funding per need-adjusted patient than those in more affluent areas. 30 An analysis of primary care funding in England for 2015–2016 found only a modest association between practice funding and morbidity burden at the regional level, with the North East and North West regions appearing to be particularly under-resourced. 28

Repeated calls on the government to replace the Carr-Hill formula with a more equitable formula that better reflects the greater workload associated with deprivation and morbidity have resulted in little progress. Acknowledging in 2015 that the current formula is ‘out of date and needs to be revised’, NHS England and the British Medical Association committed to review the Carr-Hill formula, anticipating that the work would be completed by the summer of 2016. 31 The timeline for reporting findings has since been extended several times but no details of any proposed changes to the formula have been reported to date.

• Acknowledgments

Thank you to the DExtER team at the Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, for their assistance in extracting the data from IMRD.

Ethical approval

This article is based on independent research carried out as part of Lyvia de Dumast’s PhD thesis. Analysis of IQVIA Medical Research Data (IMRD) was approved by London — South East Research Ethics Committee pm 5 Jul 2018 (reference: 18/LO/0441), subject to independent scientific review of the analysis. Scientific Review Committee approval for this analysis of the IMRD-UK data was received in January 2021 (reference: 20SRC076).

The IMRD-UK dataset cannot be shared under the data-sharing agreement with the University of Birmingham on behalf of IQVIA.

Freely submitted; externally peer reviewed.

Competing interests

The authors have declared no competing interests.

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• Received November 14, 2023.
• Revision requested February 29, 2024.
• Accepted March 27, 2024.
• © The Authors

This article is Open Access: CC BY 4.0 licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ ).

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