Discussion

Research

The section that interprets results — what they mean, how they relate to prior literature, and what alternative explanations exist.

Sources

1. Merriam-Webster — discussion merriam-webster.com accessed 23 September 2026

Merriam-Webster: “consideration of a question in open and usually informal debate”, and “a formal treatment of a topic in speech or writing”. First recorded 1546. A paper’s discussion section lives in the second sense while borrowing the spirit of the first — it is where a result is considered rather than reported, which is why simply restating the findings there is the commonest weakness.

Merriam-Webster is cited as the dictionary of record: where an entry defines a word rather than a position, a dictionary is the primary source for it. The research usage above is this lexicon’s own.

Related terms

• Abbreviation
• Abstract
• Abstraction
• Academic Database
• Analysis
• Annotation

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).