The last of my “big” thesis chapters has finally been added to my master thesis document and that means that thesis season is really nearing the end now! This latest chapter is probably one of the most important ones, too. As the discussion chapter, it is the one that pulls the entire thesis together. This chapter answers the big, important question: What does it all mean?
The discussion chapter took me far too long to write. And, if I am honest, it is not very good. But that’s not because I don’t know what my research means. And it’s not because I don’t know what contributions this work makes to knowledge. I know these things. I know them quite well. What I don’t know, however, is how to articulate all of these things into an academic thesis chapter.
Ultimately, my struggles with writing this chapter stem from my fear of being wrong; from my lack of academic confidence. Ultimately, my fears and lack of confidence are down to imposter syndrome.
That said, I do feel a bit more confident now that the discussion chapter is in the main thesis document. This means that I have come to a point where the draft is fairly complete and that, if I had to, I could submit it as is.
Next up, I will be pulling the rest of the document together into a complete, full draft of my entire thesis. Then I will have a few days to edit and finalise the full document for submission. It’s not long now until I can start planning for my viva!