This academic writing guide will help you learn more about the implications of a research paper. In brief, it stands for a conclusion section that has been inferred from relevant findings that have been done in a study. You will learn the difference between recommendations and research implications and the types of implications in research writing. We shall focus on several implications examples to help you see how it works.
What the implications of the research definition?
Do not be frightened when asked to include research implications because there is nothing to fear! Generally, research implications can be compared to suggestions with a single purpose. You must tell about how the findings of a study can be important for a given policy, certain practices, theoretical knowledge, and the following research. In technical terms, these are the conclusion elements taken from the results. The purpose of implications in research is to explain how the findings will help your target audience. As a rule, implications can be theoretical and practical, depending on the source you are using.
- Theoretical implications stand for all the new additions to theories that have already been presented in the past. At the same time, one can use a totally new theory that provides a background and a framework for a study.
- Practical implications are about potential consequences that show the practical side of things.
In a certain sense, implications can discuss what a specific study has found. For example, it focuses on the results, which is why it relates to the conclusion paragraph. We can take a study that has made it clear that children playing a musical instrument tend to sleep better and have excellent cognitive skills than those playing violent video games. The implications for practice here are: the study finds that playing a musical instrument as a child helps to correct sleep patterns and improves cognitive skills compared to children that play violent video games.
Recommendations VS Implications
Most college students tend to mix up the use of implications and recommendations for research work as they learn to write implications in research. Both sections should be written in the Discussion part closer to the conclusion and have a conclusive tone. They have a special purpose of showing what comes next in a paper, which is why it is not hard to become confused! Let’s see how we can tell the difference and see where one must use this or that:
- Implied content versus proposed writing. It means that an implication should provide an outcome from your study. The recommendation is always based on the outcome, along with your words as a personal opinion.
- Potential impact a study may have versus a specific act. When you are composing your research paper, your implications have the purpose of discussing how the findings of the study matter. They should tell how your research has an impact on the subject that you address. Now, unlike the implications section of the research paper, recommendations refer to peculiar actions or steps you must take. They should be based on your opinion precisely and talk about what must be done since your research findings confirm that.
Tip: Recommendations talk about the best ways to guide your target audience through the knowledge gaps, which is why they are mostly present when some limitations exist.
What are the types of implications in research?
As we have already mentioned in the prior section, there are two main types of implications that you can encounter in academic writing. These implications of research examples are self-explanatory since you will be based on something that comes from theory and assignments focused on practical tasks or hands-on work. Now, speaking for the academic subjects, implications types can include the following:
- Political implications. These are mostly common for Law and Political Sciences students basing implications on a certain study, a speech, or legislative standards. It is a case when implications and recommendations can also be used to achieve an efficient result.
- Technological implications. When dealing with a technological implication, it serves as special implications for future research manuals where you discuss the study with several examples. Do not use a methodology in this section, as it can only be mentioned briefly.
- Findings related to policies. When you have implemented a special policy or you are dealing with a medical or legal finding, you should add it to your policy. Adding an implications section is necessary when it must be highlighted in your research.
- Topical (subject) implications. These are based on your subject and serve as a way to clarify things or as a method to narrow things down by supporting the finding before it is linked to a thesis statement or your main scientific argument.
Step-by-step implications in research writing guide
Now, how to write implications in research in practice? We shall take five study implications steps to make it possible by making it a basic universal formula.
Step 1: Talk about what has been discovered in your research.
Talk about what theory or practice has been discovered as you study. It should be precise and clear by making it a thesis. If something is unclear for your target audience, add explanatory information.
Step 2: Name the differences compared to what previous studies have found.
It should be mentioned if the same research has been done in the past or if someone else has done the same work. Name the reason(s) why your research is different and why it matters to the scientific community. You can compare the implications of findings and show why your work is different.
Step 3: Discuss the implications of your findings.
Next, talk about how your findings impact the subject and talk about your thesis based on your methodology. It should be necessary to remind your readers about the key facts.
Step 4: Add specific information to showcase your contributions.
In implications in a research paper, talk about how exactly you have contributed. It can be an example, a specific research group, a different sample of people, a specific methodology, software, an AI-based solution, and more.
Step 5: Match it with your discussion and thesis statement.
Make sure to connect your discussion part and provide your thesis statement to summarize and show why you have included these implications. Check and edit your Discussion section’s content to match them.
Research implications examples
Let’s see some implications examples that you can use for your study. First of all, some practical samples will be as follows:
Green energy can benefit from the use of vertical turbines versus horizontal turbines due to construction methods and saving costs.
The use of AI-based apps that contain repetition and grammar-checking will help ESL students and learners with special needs.
As for the theoretical research implications example:
Most studies provide more research on the social emphasis that influences the problem of bullying in the village area. It points out that most people have different cultural behavior where the problem of bullying is approached differently.
Since we are dealing with the recommendations versus implications in research, we decided to include another example to help you see things clearly:
If you encounter challenges in terms of precise replication, you can use a CR genetic code to follow the policies used in 1994. Considering the theoretical limitations, it is necessary to provide exact theories and practical steps. It will help to resolve the challenge and compare what has been available back then. It will help to trace the temporal backline.
