Promotional cover for the Degree Doctor Discussion and Writing Up PhD Survival Guide for qualitative researchers, helping readers move from describing findings to explaining what their research means through clear academic arguments.

Discussion

The discussion feels different because it asks you to do something different.

£75

You’re being asked to explain what your findings mean, connect them to existing knowledge, and show how your research contributes to the wider conversation. That can feel like an enormous leap. This guide helps you make it one step at a time.

Scroll down for more details of what’s included, previews of the guide, and reviews from our customers.

This is a digital download. You’ll get access to the full guide and worksheets as soon as you purchase, so you can start making progress straight away.

For a more streamlined and coherent approach, you can access all four PhD Survival Guides in the full series here.

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Here's what this guide helps you do

Graphic describing how the Discussion and Writing Up PhD Survival Guide helps qualitative PhD researchers turn findings into a coherent discussion chapter built around a clear argument rather than a list of observations.
Graphic describing how the Discussion and Writing Up PhD Survival Guide helps qualitative PhD researchers connect findings with literature and theory without forcing the fit.
Graphic describing how the Discussion and Writing Up PhD Survival Guide helps qualitative PhD researchers communicate their original contribution with confidence and write up their thesis more effectively.

What’s included?

9 structured guides

Designed to help you connect your findings, explain what they mean, and communicate your contribution with confidence.

Work through them in order or begin where you're stuck.

Nine Discussion and Writing Up guides covering discussion, contribution, conclusions and thesis writing.

4 PDF printable and editable worksheets

Structured exercises to untangle your thinking, strengthen your argument, and make writing feel more manageable.

Preview of four printable and editable discussion chapter worksheets that help qualitative PhD researchers clarify conclusions, map a discussion structure, identify their research contribution, and develop a confident writing strategy.
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Qualitative PhDs are assembled retrospectively.

Preview of the "Tracing the Loop" worksheet for reconnecting theory with findings and developing a stronger discussion chapter.
Preview of a discussion chapter planning worksheet that helps qualitative PhD researchers organise ideas, develop a clear line of argument, and build a coherent discussion chapter.
Preview of discussion guide pages explaining different types of original contribution and helping qualitative PhD researchers identify and explain how their research contributes new knowledge.

A lot of PhD researchers feel a sense of relief once they've finished analysing their data - assuming that the most challenging thinking work of the doctorate is behind them.

This doesn’t last long once they meet their discussion chapter.

This is the part of the doctorate that asks you to look across your thesis - from the introduction to the analysis - and pull everything together.

That can feel awkward because when you’re writing your discussion chapter, things will feel blurry and you'll realise you need to revisit some of your earlier chapters. When this happens, a lot of PhD researchers imagine they’re doing something wrong, or a bit shady.

If this is you, you’re not. This is normal. During the 20+ years I’ve been working with qualitative researchers, I’ve seen that a great deal of doctoral writing involves retrofitting, reshaping, restructuring, reverse engineering, and gradually discovering what your thesis is actually trying to say.

You’ll need to revisit earlier chapters, rethink concepts halfway through writing, discover what matters most while drafting the discussion chapter, and realise - often very late in the process - that the real contribution of the thesis is rather different from what you originally thought it was.

Most discussion chapter resources aren't written with this reality in mind. They can leave you feeling as though you're doing something wrong when, in fact, you're doing exactly the kind of thinking this stage requires.

This guide is different. It walks you through the real process of creating your discussion so you can get to the neat, finished version that everyone else is eventually going to read.

Your discussion chapter is where much of the intellectual work happens. It's where patterns become explanations, findings become arguments and your research becomes a contribution. It’s the hardest chapter of your thesis to write, but when you follow the process in my guide, you’ll stop feeling like your thesis is a collection of mismatched chapters and start seeing the argument that runs through it.

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Before

You know what you found, you just don't know what it means.

Your discussion chapter feels unclear, disconnected and much harder than you expected.

❌ "I'm worried I'm just repeating my findings instead of discussing them."

❌ "I keep questioning whether my interpretations are good enough."

❌ "Everything still feels like separate chapters instead of one coherent PhD."

After

You trust your interpretation and understand what your research contributes.

Your discussion chapter becomes a clear explanation of what your findings mean and why they matter.

✅ "I know how to move beyond describing my findings to explaining them."

✅ "I can connect my findings to the literature with confidence."

✅ "My discussion chapter has a clear argument rather than a collection of observations."

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What changed after using the guide

Testimonial from a completed PhD researcher explaining how the guide increased confidence by clarifying that an original contribution can be both theoretical and practical, reducing anxiety before thesis submission.
Testimonial from a completed PhD researcher explaining how the guide clarified the purpose of the discussion chapter, introduced the concept of the thesis "golden thread", and helped produce a coherent argument recognised by an examiner.
Testimonial from a final-year PhD researcher describing how the guide overcame writer's block and helped connect findings, theory and literature more clearly, leading to positive supervisor feedback.
Testimonial from a completed PhD researcher describing how the guide helped strengthen the overall argument of the thesis, resulting in fewer supervisor revisions and greater confidence before submission.
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Looking for support beyond your discussion?

Graphic showing the complete Degree Doctor PhD Survival Guide collection, designed to help qualitative PhD researchers develop their literature review, methodology, analysis and writing in a connected, coherent way.

Questions about this guide?

Portrait of Dr Elizabeth Yardley, founder of Degree Doctor and creator of the PhD Survival Guides for qualitative researchers.

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