Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing the recommendations for the study?
Actually, this isn’t quite the right question to ask about recommendations. Or rather, you wish to know whether you should write the recommendations for your study but have asked this in a different way. Perhaps what you mean to ask is under what circumstances you should write recommendations.
Quite simply, it’s based on your study. If the intent of your study is mainly to add to the existing body of knowledge, you usually don’t need to include recommendations. In this case, even when you suggest paths for further studies in your discussion/conclusion, those are more like suggestions. A recommendation is a proposed solution backed with data, which of course needs to be accurate, coming after diligently analyzing and vetting the results. So, if your study is indeed about finding a solution for something and you do unearth a solution (or multiple), you can then make (in fact, must make) recommendations in your study. For some more insights into this, you may refer to this previous query by another researcher: What is the difference between implication and recommendation?
Also, as recommendations are written in the Discussion section, you may find these resources helpful:
- How to write the Discussion section in a qualitative paper? [In case you are doing quali research]
- How to write a convincing discussion section [This is a course on R Upskill, a sister brand offering learning programs around various aspects of a researcher’s work, such as publication, communication, and career progression. For a limited period, the course are available for free. So, do check it out!]
Hope this helps. All the best for completing your manuscript, in case that’s why you asked. :)
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