Highly cited research articles often contain both implications and recommendations, but there is often some confusion around the difference between implications and recommendations in research. Implications of a study are the impact your research makes in your chosen area; they discuss how the findings of the study may be important to justify further exploration of your research topic. Research recommendations suggest future actions or subsequent steps supported by your research findings. It helps to improve your field of research or cross-disciplinary fields through future research or provides frameworks for decision-makers or policymakers. Recommendations are the action plan you propose based on the outcome.
In this article, we aim to simplify these concepts for researchers by providing key insights on the following:
- what are implications in research
- what is recommendation in research
- differences between implications and recommendations
- how to write implications in research
- how to write recommendation in research
- sample recommendation in research
What are implications in research
The implications in research explain what the findings of the study mean to researchers or to certain subgroups or populations beyond the basic interpretation of results. Even if your findings fail to bring radical or disruptive changes to existing ways of doing things, they might have important implications for future research studies. For example, your proposed method for operating remote-controlled robots could be more precise, efficient, or cheaper than existing methods, or the remote-controlled robot could be used in other application areas. This could enable more researchers to study a specific problem or open up new research opportunities.
Implications in research inform how the findings, drawn from your results, may be important for and impact policy, practice, theory, and subsequent research. Implications may be theoretical or practical.1
- Practical implications are potential values of the study with practical or real outcomes. Determining the practical implications of several solutions can aid in identifying optimal solution results. For example, clinical research or research on classroom learning mostly has practical implications in research. If you developed a new teaching method, the implication would be how teachers can use that method based on your findings.
- Theoretical implications in research constitute additions to existing theories or establish new theories. These types of implications in research characterize the ability of research to influence society in apparent ways. It is, at most, an educated guess (theoretical) about the possible implication of action and need not be as absolute as practical implications in research. If your study supported the tested theory, the theoretical implication would be that the theory can explain the investigated phenomenon. Else, your study may serve as a basis for modifying the theory. Theories may be partially supported as well, implying further study of the theory or necessary modifications are required.
What are recommendations in research?
Recommendations in research can be considered an important segment of the analysis phase. Recommendations allow you to suggest specific interventions or strategies to address the issues and constraints identified through your study. It responds to key findings arrived at through data collection and analysis. A process of prioritization can help you narrow down important findings for which recommendations are developed.
Recommendations in research examples
Recommendations in research may vary depending on the purpose or beneficiary as seen in the table below.
Table: Recommendations in research examples based on purpose and beneficiary
|
Type |
Beneficiary |
Recommendation |
| Filling a knowledge gap | Researchers | ‘Future research should explore the effectiveness of differentiated programs in special needs students.’ |
| For practice | Practitioners | ‘Future research should introduce new models and methods to train teachers for curriculum development and modification introducing differentiated programs.’ |
| For a policy (targeting health and nutrition) | Policymakers and management | ‘Governments and higher education policymakers need to encourage and popularize differentiated learning in educational institutions.’ |
If you’re wondering how to make recommendations in research. You can use the simple recommendation in research example below as a handy template.
Table: Sample recommendation in research template
Recommendation in research |
| The current study can be interpreted as a first step in the research on differentiated instructions. However, the results of this study should be treated with caution as the selected participants were more willing to make changes in their teaching models, limiting the generalizability of the model.
Future research might consider ways to overcome resistance to implementing differentiated learning. It could also contribute to a deeper understanding of the practices for suitable implementation of differentiated learning. |
Basic differences between implications and recommendations in research
Implications and recommendations in research are two important aspects of a research paper or your thesis or dissertation. Implications discuss the importance of the research findings, while recommendations offer specific actions to solve a problem. So, the basic difference between the two is in their function and the questions asked to achieve it. The following table highlights the main differences between implications and recommendations in research.
Table: Differences between implications and recommendations in research
|
Implications |
Recommendations |
|
| Definition | Implications in research tell us how and why your results are important for the field at large.
|
Recommendations in research are suggestions/solutions that address certain problems based on your study results.
|
| Purpose | Discuss the importance of your research study and the difference it makes.
|
Lists specific actions to be taken with regard to policy, practice, theory, or subsequent research.
|
| Questions answered | What do your research findings mean? | What’s next in this field of research? |
| Position in research papers | In the discussion section, after summarizing the main findings.
|
In the discussion section, after the implications, and before the concluding paragraphs.
|
| Examples | Our results suggest that interventions might emphasize the importance of providing emotional support to families.
|
Based on our findings, we recommend conducting periodic assessments to benefit fully from the interventions.
|
Where do implications go in your research paper
Because the implications and recommendations of the research are based on study findings, both are usually written after the completion of a study. There is no specific section dedicated to implications in research; they are usually integrated into the discussion section adding evidence as to why the results are meaningful and what they add to the field. Implications can be written after summarizing your main findings and before the recommendations and conclusion.
Implications can also be presented in the conclusion section after a short summary of the study results.
How to write implications in research
Implication means something that is inferred. The implications of your research are derived from the importance of your work and how it will impact future research. It is based on how previous studies have advanced your field and how your study can add to that.
When figuring out how to write implications in research, a good strategy is to separate it into the different types of implications in research, such as social, political, technological, policy-related, or others. As mentioned earlier, the most frequently used are the theoretical and practical implications.
Next, you need to ask, “Who will benefit the most from reading my paper?” Is it policymakers, physicians, the public, or other researchers? Once you know your target population, explain how your findings can help them.
The implication section can include a paragraph or two that asserts the practical or managerial implications and links it to the study findings. A discussion can then follow, demonstrating that the findings can be practically implemented or how they will benefit a specific audience. The writer is given a specific degree of freedom when writing research implications, depending on the type of implication in research you want to discuss: practical or theoretical. Each is discussed differently, using different words or in separate sections. The implications can be based on how the findings in your study are similar or dissimilar to that in previous studies. Your study may reaffirm or disprove the results of other studies, which has important implications in research. You can also suggest future research directions in the light of your findings or require further research to confirm your findings, which are all crucial implications. Most importantly, ensure the implications in research are specific and that your tone reflects the strength of your findings without exaggerating your results.
Implications in research can begin with the following specific sentence structures:
- These findings suggest that…
- These results build on existing body of evidence of…
- These results should be considered when…
- While previous research focused on x, our results show that y…
Implications in research example |
| Study result: Patients were most interested in items relating to communication with healthcare providers. |
| The implications: These findings suggest that people can change hospitals if they do not find communication effective. |
What should recommendations in research look like?
Recommendations for future research should be:
- Directly related to your research question or findings
- Concrete and specific
- Supported by a clear reasoning
The recommendations in research can be based on the following factors:
1. Beneficiary: A paper’s research contribution may be aimed at single or multiple beneficiaries, based on which recommendations can vary. For instance, if your research is about the quality of care in hospitals, the research recommendation to different beneficiaries might be as follows:
- Nursing staff: Staff should undergo training to enhance their understanding of what quality of care entails.
- Health science educators: Educators must design training modules that address quality-related issues in the hospital.
- Hospital management: Develop policies that will increase staff participation in training related to health science.
2. Limitations: The best way to figure out what to include in your research recommendations is to understand the limitations of your study. It could be based on factors that you have overlooked or could not consider in your present study. Accordingly, the researcher can recommend that other researchers approach the problem from a different perspective, dimension, or methodology. For example, research into the quality of care in hospitals can be based on quantitative data. The researcher can then recommend a qualitative study of factors influencing the quality of care, or they can suggest investigating the problem from the perspective of patients rather than the healthcare providers.
3. Theory or Practice: Your recommendations in research could be implementation-oriented or further research-oriented.
4. Your research: Research recommendations can be based on your topic, research objectives, literature review, and analysis, or evidence collected. For example, if your data points to the role of faculty involvement in developing effective programs, recommendations in research can include developing policies to increase faculty participation. Take a look at the evidence-based recommendation in research examples provided below.
Table: Example of evidence-based research recommendation
|
Evidence |
Recommendation of research |
| The study findings are positive | Recommend sustaining the practice |
| The study findings are negative | Recommend actions to correct the situation |
Avoid making the following mistakes when writing research recommendations:
- Don’t undermine your own work: Recommendations in research should offer suggestions on how future studies can be built upon the current study as a natural extension of your work and not as an entirely new field of research.
- Support your study arguments: Ensure that your research findings stand alone on their own merits to showcase the strength of your research paper.
How to write recommendations in research
When writing research recommendations, your focus should be on highlighting what additional work can be done in that field. It gives direction to researchers, industries, or governments about changes or developments possible in this field. For example, recommendations in research can include practical and obtainable strategies offering suggestions to academia to address problems. It can also be a framework that helps government agencies in developing strategic or long-term plans for timely actions against disasters or aid nation-building.
There are a few SMART2 things to remember when writing recommendations in research. Your recommendations must be:
- Specific: Clearly state how challenges can be addressed for better outcomes and include an action plan that shows what can be achieved.
- Measurable: Use verbs denoting measurable outcomes, such as identify, analyze, design, compute, assess, evaluate, revise, plan, etc., to strengthen recommendations in research.
- Attainable: Recommendations should offer a solution-oriented approach to problem-solving and must be written in a way that is easy to follow.
- Relevant: Research recommendations should be reasonable, realistic, and result-based. Make sure to suggest future possibilities for your research field.
- Timely: Time-based or time-sensitive recommendations in research help divide the action plan into long-term or short-term (immediate) goals. A timeline can also inform potential readers of what developments should occur over time.
If you are wondering how many words to include in your research recommendation, a general rule of thumb would be to set aside 5% of the total word count for writing research recommendations. Finally, when writing the research implications and recommendations, stick to the facts and avoid overstating or over-generalizing the study findings. Both should be supported by evidence gathered through your data analysis.
References:
- Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological bulletin, 124(2), 262.
- Doran, G. T. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives. Manag Rev, 70(11), 35-36.
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