論文の章立て
- この論文の目的
- 論文を理論的に執筆する方法
- 論文の本論
- 結論の書き方
結論の書き方
"It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material."
(Francis Crick and James Watson
影響力のある1953 年「Nature」の論文における二重らせん構造の結論)
結論では、執筆時点と今後の状況をまとめます。以下に、実行すべきことと実行すべきではないことを挙げます。
実行すべきこと：
- 主な論証を再度述べ、主要な結論と推奨事項を提示しながら、まとめを行い、結論を導く
- 所見/新たな枠組みなどが実践の世界にどのように適用されるのかを述べる
- 今後の研究について述べる
- 元の疑問に対してどの程度回答が得られたかを述べる
- 研究の限界について述べる
実行すべきではないこと：
- 新しい論題を始めたり、新しい題材を紹介する
- 序論を繰り返す
- 当たり前のことを述べる
- 前に述べたことと矛盾する内容を述べる。
Emerald の出版理念は、実践に役立つ研究に基づくため、大半のジャーナルの編集者や査読者は特に実務家にとり役立つ文章に注意を払っています。この文章は、今後の研究について述べた文章と共に、結論のどこかか、または別途「Conclusion」もしくは「Discussion」という見出しを立てて含めるかします。こうした文章を書くことが可能でない場合がありますが、あらゆる研究論文には今後の研究について述べ、また大半の論文では実践への意味合いに言及すべきです。
例
Dean Neu et al., in "The changing internal market for ethical discourses in the Canadian CA profession" (Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 16 No. 1), close a review of ethics in the accountancy field with a summary of the key findings of their analysis, a discussion of how the work complements existing work, the limitations of the research, and summary remarks on the contemporary dilemmas of accountants: "We would like to close by suggesting that we have entered a period in which accountants are being forced to live a twin life, one that encompasses the globally competitive, but equally integral, moral individual."
Allen Edward Foster and Nigel Ford, in "Serendipity and information seeking: an empirical study", (Journal of Documentation, Vol. 59 No. 3), summarize findings in bullet points, then talk about the need for further triangulated studies.
"On the use of 'borrowed' scales in cross-national research" (Susan P. Douglas and Edwin J. Nijssen, International Marketing Review, Vol. 20 No. 6) also has a lengthy section on the implications for further research.
Clyde A. Warden et al., "Service failures away from home: benefits in intercultural service encounters" (International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 14 No. 4), conclude their research on intercultural exchanges in the area of service by summarizing their findings, and their are sections on the management implications (apologizing for poor service) and business strategy implications (need for training).
In "Transformational leadership: an examination of cross-national differences and similarities" (Karen Boehnke et al., Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, Vol. 24 No. 1), there is a section "Discussion" on their research findings which is full of obversations for practice; the "Conclusion" starts: "One executive's remark can summarize the content of all the reports: 'key learnings from this experience were that a clearly focused, committed organization with strong visible leadership can accomplish what might otherwise be seen to be the impossible!'".