Chapters 4 and 5 in the five-chapter dissertation and Section 3 in the applied doctoral project present your findings, implications, and recommendations. This resource is intended to help you complete your Implications and Recommendations for Practice section for both a qualitative and quantitative study. The 4S pattern has been found to be helpful.
NOTE: You may need to repeat this pattern per theme or per hypothesis. Please discuss with your chair.
Writing a Good Read: Effective Ways of Presenting Qualitative Data
NU Skill Up Series (Producer). (2023, Oct 25). Writing a good read: Effective ways of presenting qualitative data [Video file]. National University.
Tips and Tricks for Writing Chapter 4 of Your Dissertation Manuscript
NU Skill Up Series (Producer). (2021 Aug 4). Tips and tricks for writing chapter 4 of your dissertation manuscript [Video file]. National University.
What follows is a sample Evaluation of the Outcomes section. This sample contains the introduction to this section as well as the first RQ and evaluation of the first theme. In the RQ, please notice how the findings are first summarized (highlighted blue/bolded), then the evaluation is presented (highlighted yellow/italicized) then literature, particularly literature regarding the Framework, is noted (highlighted green/underlined).
NOTE: Sometimes, literature referencing the Framework is not pertinent. However, some literature must be used to support your evaluation and to demonstrate whether your findings are consistent or inconsistent with the literature. Literature is a support, not the evaluation itself. The evaluation is your own initial conclusions based on the findings.
The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to explore the perspectives of educators and support staff of middle school students with EBD, specifically CD or ODD, on how to effectively meet these students’ behavior, reading, and math needs to make the learning environment more effective and to improve their learning experiences. The theoretical framework that was utilized for this qualitative case study was Albert Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory (SCT). Bandura postulated that learning occurred because of interactions that are bi-directional, reciprocated, and triangular. Bandura’s SCT assists with understanding how the personal factors (i.e., motivation, knowledge, and self-efficacy) of an individual, the environment, and their behaviors play a role in the individuals’ academic performance, level of achievement, and overall success. Bandura’s SCT was utilized to frame this qualitative case study because personal factors may affect the behaviors of middle school students with CD or ODD while in specific environments and engaging in particular activities (An & Meaney, 2015; Hwang et al., 2016; Ozkal, 2019).
According to Bandura (1986), there exist interactions among one's beliefs, the environment, and behavior. These interactions are evident from the research themes generated from this qualitative case study to meet middle school students with CD or ODD behavioral and academic needs. The interactions of cognitive factors such as knowledge, motivation, environmental factors such as social influences and norms, as well as behavior, aid in the learning process (An & Meaney, 2015; Bowers, 2018). Below is an evaluation of the outcomes for each research question.
The purpose of research question one was to investigate special education teachers and support staff perspectives on how to influence the behaviors of middle school students with EBD, specifically CD or ODD, to meet their reading and math needs. The responses of the study participants generated six themes. These themes were challenging behaviors causing gaps in learning, collaboration and communication, student engagement, build a rapport and positive relationship with students, small group and one-to-one instruction to meet students where they are, and a system of rewards and incentives.
Participants spoke about various challenging behaviors that caused gaps in their students learning. They also noted that building positive relationships and a good student-teacher rapport can help decrease students’ disruptive behaviors and increase their academic performance in reading and math in the learning environment. These participants were cognizant of how critical it is for special education teachers and support staff members to manage challenging behaviors that cause gaps in the student’s learning, to have positive student-teacher relationships, to provide rewards and incentives, and to differentiate instruction utilizing small group instruction to increase the level of engagement of middle school students with CD or ODD. Bandura’s social cognitive theory is useful for examining the interactions of cognitive, environmental, and behavioral factors that influence students (Bowers, 2018). In this study, the educators focused on building positive relationships with their students as well as among their students to create a positive learning environment, which accounted for cognitive, environmental, and behavioral factors. Researchers have confirmed that when educators and support staff develop positive student-teacher relationships and implement strategies to increase the students’ level of engagement, students with CD or ODD demonstrate gains in their academic performance (Dykstra Steinbrenner & Watson, 2015; Ennis et al., 2018).
Chapters 4 and 5 of your dissertation or Section 3 of your applied doctoral project are where you show how your work fits in the existing field of literature and establishes your position as a scholar and practitioner in the field. This is the culmination of all your work and effort. The results of your research will show how your findings relate to those existing studies about your topic.
Think of the topic you investigated as a giant crossword puzzle. Your work is one piece that will help provide a better understanding of the reasons behind the problem. What does your work mean for others in the field? Your findings may complement existing studies or present new ideas about the problem. What needs to be addressed or changed about how things are being done? Based on your findings and the implications from those findings, what specific things can be done to improve practice? What actions can be taken to make things better?
Your recommendations for others in the field will provide ways to apply the results of your work. Based on your results and implications, they provide examples of practical actions and suggestions for additional research to add to the understanding of the problem you investigated. As a scholar, these are your contributions to the field.
ADE Findings and Implications - Positioning Your Research
NU Skill Up Series (Producer). (2021, Jul 6). ADE findings and implications [Video file]. National University.
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