what chapter is conclusion in research

Get science-backed answers as you write with Paperpal's Research feature

How to Write a Conclusion for Research Papers (with Examples)

The conclusion of a research paper is a crucial section that plays a significant role in the overall impact and effectiveness of your research paper. However, this is also the section that typically receives less attention compared to the introduction and the body of the paper. The conclusion serves to provide a concise summary of the key findings, their significance, their implications, and a sense of closure to the study. Discussing how can the findings be applied in real-world scenarios or inform policy, practice, or decision-making is especially valuable to practitioners and policymakers. The research paper conclusion also provides researchers with clear insights and valuable information for their own work, which they can then build on and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field.

The research paper conclusion should explain the significance of your findings within the broader context of your field. It restates how your results contribute to the existing body of knowledge and whether they confirm or challenge existing theories or hypotheses. Also, by identifying unanswered questions or areas requiring further investigation, your awareness of the broader research landscape can be demonstrated.

Remember to tailor the research paper conclusion to the specific needs and interests of your intended audience, which may include researchers, practitioners, policymakers, or a combination of these.

Table of Contents

What is a conclusion in a research paper, summarizing conclusion, editorial conclusion, externalizing conclusion, importance of a good research paper conclusion, how to write a conclusion for your research paper, research paper conclusion examples.

• How to write a research paper conclusion with Paperpal? 

Frequently Asked Questions

A conclusion in a research paper is the final section where you summarize and wrap up your research, presenting the key findings and insights derived from your study. The research paper conclusion is not the place to introduce new information or data that was not discussed in the main body of the paper. When working on how to conclude a research paper, remember to stick to summarizing and interpreting existing content. The research paper conclusion serves the following purposes: 1

• Warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem.
• Recommend specific course(s) of action.
• Restate key ideas to drive home the ultimate point of your research paper.
• Provide a “take-home” message that you want the readers to remember about your study.

Types of conclusions for research papers

In research papers, the conclusion provides closure to the reader. The type of research paper conclusion you choose depends on the nature of your study, your goals, and your target audience. I provide you with three common types of conclusions:

A summarizing conclusion is the most common type of conclusion in research papers. It involves summarizing the main points, reiterating the research question, and restating the significance of the findings. This common type of research paper conclusion is used across different disciplines.

An editorial conclusion is less common but can be used in research papers that are focused on proposing or advocating for a particular viewpoint or policy. It involves presenting a strong editorial or opinion based on the research findings and offering recommendations or calls to action.

An externalizing conclusion is a type of conclusion that extends the research beyond the scope of the paper by suggesting potential future research directions or discussing the broader implications of the findings. This type of conclusion is often used in more theoretical or exploratory research papers.

Align your conclusion’s tone with the rest of your research paper. Start Writing with Paperpal Now!  

The conclusion in a research paper serves several important purposes:

• Offers Implications and Recommendations : Your research paper conclusion is an excellent place to discuss the broader implications of your research and suggest potential areas for further study. It’s also an opportunity to offer practical recommendations based on your findings.
• Provides Closure : A good research paper conclusion provides a sense of closure to your paper. It should leave the reader with a feeling that they have reached the end of a well-structured and thought-provoking research project.
• Leaves a Lasting Impression : Writing a well-crafted research paper conclusion leaves a lasting impression on your readers. It’s your final opportunity to leave them with a new idea, a call to action, or a memorable quote.

Writing a strong conclusion for your research paper is essential to leave a lasting impression on your readers. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you create and know what to put in the conclusion of a research paper: 2

• Research Statement : Begin your research paper conclusion by restating your research statement. This reminds the reader of the main point you’ve been trying to prove throughout your paper. Keep it concise and clear.
• Key Points : Summarize the main arguments and key points you’ve made in your paper. Avoid introducing new information in the research paper conclusion. Instead, provide a concise overview of what you’ve discussed in the body of your paper.
• Address the Research Questions : If your research paper is based on specific research questions or hypotheses, briefly address whether you’ve answered them or achieved your research goals. Discuss the significance of your findings in this context.
• Significance : Highlight the importance of your research and its relevance in the broader context. Explain why your findings matter and how they contribute to the existing knowledge in your field.
• Implications : Explore the practical or theoretical implications of your research. How might your findings impact future research, policy, or real-world applications? Consider the “so what?” question.
• Future Research : Offer suggestions for future research in your area. What questions or aspects remain unanswered or warrant further investigation? This shows that your work opens the door for future exploration.
• Closing Thought : Conclude your research paper conclusion with a thought-provoking or memorable statement. This can leave a lasting impression on your readers and wrap up your paper effectively. Avoid introducing new information or arguments here.
• Proofread and Revise : Carefully proofread your conclusion for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Ensure that your ideas flow smoothly and that your conclusion is coherent and well-structured.

Write your research paper conclusion 2x faster with Paperpal. Try it now!

Remember that a well-crafted research paper conclusion is a reflection of the strength of your research and your ability to communicate its significance effectively. It should leave a lasting impression on your readers and tie together all the threads of your paper. Now you know how to start the conclusion of a research paper and what elements to include to make it impactful, let’s look at a research paper conclusion sample.

How to write a research paper conclusion with Paperpal?

A research paper conclusion is not just a summary of your study, but a synthesis of the key findings that ties the research together and places it in a broader context. A research paper conclusion should be concise, typically around one paragraph in length. However, some complex topics may require a longer conclusion to ensure the reader is left with a clear understanding of the study’s significance. Paperpal, an AI writing assistant trusted by over 800,000 academics globally, can help you write a well-structured conclusion for your research paper. 

• Sign Up or Log In: Create a new Paperpal account or login with your details.  
• Navigate to Features : Once logged in, head over to the features’ side navigation pane. Click on Templates and you’ll find a suite of generative AI features to help you write better, faster.  
• Generate an outline: Under Templates, select ‘Outlines’. Choose ‘Research article’ as your document type.  
• Select your section: Since you’re focusing on the conclusion, select this section when prompted.  
• Choose your field of study: Identifying your field of study allows Paperpal to provide more targeted suggestions, ensuring the relevance of your conclusion to your specific area of research. 
• Provide a brief description of your study: Enter details about your research topic and findings. This information helps Paperpal generate a tailored outline that aligns with your paper’s content. 
• Generate the conclusion outline: After entering all necessary details, click on ‘generate’. Paperpal will then create a structured outline for your conclusion, to help you start writing and build upon the outline.  
• Write your conclusion: Use the generated outline to build your conclusion. The outline serves as a guide, ensuring you cover all critical aspects of a strong conclusion, from summarizing key findings to highlighting the research’s implications. 
• Refine and enhance: Paperpal’s ‘Make Academic’ feature can be particularly useful in the final stages. Select any paragraph of your conclusion and use this feature to elevate the academic tone, ensuring your writing is aligned to the academic journal standards. 

By following these steps, Paperpal not only simplifies the process of writing a research paper conclusion but also ensures it is impactful, concise, and aligned with academic standards. Sign up with Paperpal today and write your research paper conclusion 2x faster .  

The research paper conclusion is a crucial part of your paper as it provides the final opportunity to leave a strong impression on your readers. In the research paper conclusion, summarize the main points of your research paper by restating your research statement, highlighting the most important findings, addressing the research questions or objectives, explaining the broader context of the study, discussing the significance of your findings, providing recommendations if applicable, and emphasizing the takeaway message. The main purpose of the conclusion is to remind the reader of the main point or argument of your paper and to provide a clear and concise summary of the key findings and their implications. All these elements should feature on your list of what to put in the conclusion of a research paper to create a strong final statement for your work.

A strong conclusion is a critical component of a research paper, as it provides an opportunity to wrap up your arguments, reiterate your main points, and leave a lasting impression on your readers. Here are the key elements of a strong research paper conclusion: 1. Conciseness : A research paper conclusion should be concise and to the point. It should not introduce new information or ideas that were not discussed in the body of the paper. 2. Summarization : The research paper conclusion should be comprehensive enough to give the reader a clear understanding of the research’s main contributions. 3 . Relevance : Ensure that the information included in the research paper conclusion is directly relevant to the research paper’s main topic and objectives; avoid unnecessary details. 4 . Connection to the Introduction : A well-structured research paper conclusion often revisits the key points made in the introduction and shows how the research has addressed the initial questions or objectives. 5. Emphasis : Highlight the significance and implications of your research. Why is your study important? What are the broader implications or applications of your findings? 6 . Call to Action : Include a call to action or a recommendation for future research or action based on your findings.

The length of a research paper conclusion can vary depending on several factors, including the overall length of the paper, the complexity of the research, and the specific journal requirements. While there is no strict rule for the length of a conclusion, but it’s generally advisable to keep it relatively short. A typical research paper conclusion might be around 5-10% of the paper’s total length. For example, if your paper is 10 pages long, the conclusion might be roughly half a page to one page in length.

In general, you do not need to include citations in the research paper conclusion. Citations are typically reserved for the body of the paper to support your arguments and provide evidence for your claims. However, there may be some exceptions to this rule: 1. If you are drawing a direct quote or paraphrasing a specific source in your research paper conclusion, you should include a citation to give proper credit to the original author. 2. If your conclusion refers to or discusses specific research, data, or sources that are crucial to the overall argument, citations can be included to reinforce your conclusion’s validity.

The conclusion of a research paper serves several important purposes: 1. Summarize the Key Points 2. Reinforce the Main Argument 3. Provide Closure 4. Offer Insights or Implications 5. Engage the Reader. 6. Reflect on Limitations

Remember that the primary purpose of the research paper conclusion is to leave a lasting impression on the reader, reinforcing the key points and providing closure to your research. It’s often the last part of the paper that the reader will see, so it should be strong and well-crafted.

• Makar, G., Foltz, C., Lendner, M., & Vaccaro, A. R. (2018). How to write effective discussion and conclusion sections. Clinical spine surgery, 31(8), 345-346.
• Bunton, D. (2005). The structure of PhD conclusion chapters.  Journal of English for academic purposes ,  4 (3), 207-224.

Paperpal is a comprehensive AI writing toolkit that helps students and researchers achieve 2x the writing in half the time. It leverages 21+ years of STM experience and insights from millions of research articles to provide in-depth academic writing, language editing, and submission readiness support to help you write better, faster.  

Get accurate academic translations, rewriting support, grammar checks, vocabulary suggestions, and generative AI assistance that delivers human precision at machine speed. Try for free or upgrade to Paperpal Prime starting at US$19 a month to access premium features, including consistency, plagiarism, and 30+ submission readiness checks to help you succeed.  

Experience the future of academic writing – Sign up to Paperpal and start writing for free!  

Related Reads:

• 5 Reasons for Rejection After Peer Review
• Ethical Research Practices For Research with Human Subjects

7 Ways to Improve Your Academic Writing Process

• Paraphrasing in Academic Writing: Answering Top Author Queries

Preflight For Editorial Desk: The Perfect Hybrid (AI + Human) Assistance Against Compromised Manuscripts

You may also like, phd qualifying exam: tips for success , ai in education: it’s time to change the..., is it ethical to use ai-generated abstracts without..., what are journal guidelines on using generative ai..., quillbot review: features, pricing, and free alternatives, what is an academic paper types and elements , should you use ai tools like chatgpt for..., publish research papers: 9 steps for successful publications , what are the different types of research papers, how to make translating academic papers less challenging.

• USC Libraries
• Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 9. The Conclusion
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Applying Critical Thinking
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Research Process Video Series
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

The conclusion is intended to help the reader understand why your research should matter to them after they have finished reading the paper. A conclusion is not merely a summary of the main topics covered or a re-statement of your research problem, but a synthesis of key points derived from the findings of your study and, if applicable, where you recommend new areas for future research. For most college-level research papers, two or three well-developed paragraphs is sufficient for a conclusion, although in some cases, more paragraphs may be required in describing the key findings and their significance.

Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University.

Importance of a Good Conclusion

A well-written conclusion provides you with important opportunities to demonstrate to the reader your understanding of the research problem. These include:

• Presenting the last word on the issues you raised in your paper . Just as the introduction gives a first impression to your reader, the conclusion offers a chance to leave a lasting impression. Do this, for example, by highlighting key findings in your analysis that advance new understanding about the research problem, that are unusual or unexpected, or that have important implications applied to practice.
• Summarizing your thoughts and conveying the larger significance of your study . The conclusion is an opportunity to succinctly re-emphasize  your answer to the "So What?" question by placing the study within the context of how your research advances past research about the topic.
• Identifying how a gap in the literature has been addressed . The conclusion can be where you describe how a previously identified gap in the literature [first identified in your literature review section] has been addressed by your research and why this contribution is significant.
• Demonstrating the importance of your ideas . Don't be shy. The conclusion offers an opportunity to elaborate on the impact and significance of your findings. This is particularly important if your study approached examining the research problem from an unusual or innovative perspective.
• Introducing possible new or expanded ways of thinking about the research problem . This does not refer to introducing new information [which should be avoided], but to offer new insight and creative approaches for framing or contextualizing the research problem based on the results of your study.

Bunton, David. “The Structure of PhD Conclusion Chapters.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 4 (July 2005): 207–224; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  General Rules

The general function of your paper's conclusion is to restate the main argument . It reminds the reader of the strengths of your main argument(s) and reiterates the most important evidence supporting those argument(s). Do this by clearly summarizing the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem you investigated in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found in the literature. However, make sure that your conclusion is not simply a repetitive summary of the findings. This reduces the impact of the argument(s) you have developed in your paper.

When writing the conclusion to your paper, follow these general rules:

• Present your conclusions in clear, concise language. Re-state the purpose of your study, then describe how your findings differ or support those of other studies and why [i.e., what were the unique, new, or crucial contributions your study made to the overall research about your topic?].
• Do not simply reiterate your findings or the discussion of your results. Provide a synthesis of arguments presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem and the overall objectives of your study.
• Indicate opportunities for future research if you haven't already done so in the discussion section of your paper. Highlighting the need for further research provides the reader with evidence that you have an in-depth awareness of the research problem but that further investigations should take place beyond the scope of your investigation.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is presented well:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize the argument for your reader.
• If, prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the end of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from the data [this is opposite of the introduction, which begins with general discussion of the context and ends with a detailed description of the research problem]. 

The conclusion also provides a place for you to persuasively and succinctly restate the research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with all the information about the topic . Depending on the discipline you are writing in, the concluding paragraph may contain your reflections on the evidence presented. However, the nature of being introspective about the research you have conducted will depend on the topic and whether your professor wants you to express your observations in this way. If asked to think introspectively about the topics, do not delve into idle speculation. Being introspective means looking within yourself as an author to try and understand an issue more deeply, not to guess at possible outcomes or make up scenarios not supported by the evidence.

II.  Developing a Compelling Conclusion

Although an effective conclusion needs to be clear and succinct, it does not need to be written passively or lack a compelling narrative. Strategies to help you move beyond merely summarizing the key points of your research paper may include any of the following:

• If your essay deals with a critical, contemporary problem, warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem proactively.
• Recommend a specific course or courses of action that, if adopted, could address a specific problem in practice or in the development of new knowledge leading to positive change.
• Cite a relevant quotation or expert opinion already noted in your paper in order to lend authority and support to the conclusion(s) you have reached [a good source would be from your literature review].
• Explain the consequences of your research in a way that elicits action or demonstrates urgency in seeking change.
• Restate a key statistic, fact, or visual image to emphasize the most important finding of your paper.
• If your discipline encourages personal reflection, illustrate your concluding point by drawing from your own life experiences.
• Return to an anecdote, an example, or a quotation that you presented in your introduction, but add further insight derived from the findings of your study; use your interpretation of results from your study to recast it in new or important ways.
• Provide a "take-home" message in the form of a succinct, declarative statement that you want the reader to remember about your study.

III. Problems to Avoid

Failure to be concise Your conclusion section should be concise and to the point. Conclusions that are too lengthy often have unnecessary information in them. The conclusion is not the place for details about your methodology or results. Although you should give a summary of what was learned from your research, this summary should be relatively brief, since the emphasis in the conclusion is on the implications, evaluations, insights, and other forms of analysis that you make. Strategies for writing concisely can be found here .

Failure to comment on larger, more significant issues In the introduction, your task was to move from the general [the field of study] to the specific [the research problem]. However, in the conclusion, your task is to move from a specific discussion [your research problem] back to a general discussion framed around the implications and significance of your findings [i.e., how your research contributes new understanding or fills an important gap in the literature]. In short, the conclusion is where you should place your research within a larger context [visualize your paper as an hourglass--start with a broad introduction and review of the literature, move to the specific analysis and discussion, conclude with a broad summary of the study's implications and significance].

Failure to reveal problems and negative results Negative aspects of the research process should never be ignored. These are problems, deficiencies, or challenges encountered during your study. They should be summarized as a way of qualifying your overall conclusions. If you encountered negative or unintended results [i.e., findings that are validated outside the research context in which they were generated], you must report them in the results section and discuss their implications in the discussion section of your paper. In the conclusion, use negative results as an opportunity to explain their possible significance and/or how they may form the basis for future research.

Failure to provide a clear summary of what was learned In order to be able to discuss how your research fits within your field of study [and possibly the world at large], you need to summarize briefly and succinctly how it contributes to new knowledge or a new understanding about the research problem. This element of your conclusion may be only a few sentences long.

Failure to match the objectives of your research Often research objectives in the social and behavioral sciences change while the research is being carried out. This is not a problem unless you forget to go back and refine the original objectives in your introduction. As these changes emerge they must be documented so that they accurately reflect what you were trying to accomplish in your research [not what you thought you might accomplish when you began].

Resist the urge to apologize If you've immersed yourself in studying the research problem, you presumably should know a good deal about it [perhaps even more than your professor!]. Nevertheless, by the time you have finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you have produced. Repress those doubts! Don't undermine your authority as a researcher by saying something like, "This is just one approach to examining this problem; there may be other, much better approaches that...." The overall tone of your conclusion should convey confidence to the reader about the study's validity and realiability.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8; Concluding Paragraphs. College Writing Center at Meramec. St. Louis Community College; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Freedman, Leora  and Jerry Plotnick. Introductions and Conclusions. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Leibensperger, Summer. Draft Your Conclusion. Academic Center, the University of Houston-Victoria, 2003; Make Your Last Words Count. The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin Madison; Miquel, Fuster-Marquez and Carmen Gregori-Signes. “Chapter Six: ‘Last but Not Least:’ Writing the Conclusion of Your Paper.” In Writing an Applied Linguistics Thesis or Dissertation: A Guide to Presenting Empirical Research . John Bitchener, editor. (Basingstoke,UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), pp. 93-105; Tips for Writing a Good Conclusion. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Writing Conclusions. Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Writing: Considering Structure and Organization. Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Don't Belabor the Obvious!

Avoid phrases like "in conclusion...," "in summary...," or "in closing...." These phrases can be useful, even welcome, in oral presentations. But readers can see by the tell-tale section heading and number of pages remaining that they are reaching the end of your paper. You'll irritate your readers if you belabor the obvious.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8.

Another Writing Tip

New Insight, Not New Information!

Don't surprise the reader with new information in your conclusion that was never referenced anywhere else in the paper. This why the conclusion rarely has citations to sources. If you have new information to present, add it to the discussion or other appropriate section of the paper. Note that, although no new information is introduced, the conclusion, along with the discussion section, is where you offer your most "original" contributions in the paper; the conclusion is where you describe the value of your research, demonstrate that you understand the material that you’ve presented, and position your findings within the larger context of scholarship on the topic, including describing how your research contributes new insights to that scholarship.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.

• << Previous: Limitations of the Study
• Next: Appendices >>
• Last Updated: Apr 20, 2024 2:57 PM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

Reference management. Clean and simple.

How to write an excellent thesis conclusion [with examples]

Restate the thesis

Review or reiterate key points of your work, explain why your work is relevant, a take-away for the reader, more resources on writing thesis conclusions, frequently asked questions about writing an excellent thesis conclusion, related articles.

At this point in your writing, you have most likely finished your introduction and the body of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper . While this is a reason to celebrate, you should not underestimate the importance of your conclusion. The conclusion is the last thing that your reader will see, so it should be memorable.

A good conclusion will review the key points of the thesis and explain to the reader why the information is relevant, applicable, or related to the world as a whole. Make sure to dedicate enough of your writing time to the conclusion and do not put it off until the very last minute.

This article provides an effective technique for writing a conclusion adapted from Erika Eby’s The College Student's Guide to Writing a Good Research Paper: 101 Easy Tips & Tricks to Make Your Work Stand Out .

While the thesis introduction starts out with broad statements about the topic, and then narrows it down to the thesis statement , a thesis conclusion does the same in the opposite order.

• Restate the thesis.
• Review or reiterate key points of your work.
• Explain why your work is relevant.
• Include a core take-away message for the reader.

Tip: Don’t just copy and paste your thesis into your conclusion. Restate it in different words.

The best way to start a conclusion is simply by restating the thesis statement. That does not mean just copying and pasting it from the introduction, but putting it into different words.

You will need to change the structure and wording of it to avoid sounding repetitive. Also, be firm in your conclusion just as you were in the introduction. Try to avoid sounding apologetic by using phrases like "This paper has tried to show..."

The conclusion should address all the same parts as the thesis while making it clear that the reader has reached the end. You are telling the reader that your research is finished and what your findings are.

I have argued throughout this work that the point of critical mass for biopolitical immunity occurred during the Romantic period because of that era's unique combination of post-revolutionary politics and innovations in smallpox prevention. In particular, I demonstrated that the French Revolution and the discovery of vaccination in the 1790s triggered a reconsideration of the relationship between bodies and the state.

Tip: Try to reiterate points from your introduction in your thesis conclusion.

The next step is to review the main points of the thesis as a whole. Look back at the body of of your project and make a note of the key ideas. You can reword these ideas the same way you reworded your thesis statement and then incorporate that into the conclusion.

You can also repeat striking quotations or statistics, but do not use more than two. As the conclusion represents your own closing thoughts on the topic , it should mainly consist of your own words.

In addition, conclusions can contain recommendations to the reader or relevant questions that further the thesis. You should ask yourself:

• What you would ideally like to see your readers do in reaction to your paper?
• Do you want them to take a certain action or investigate further?
• Is there a bigger issue that your paper wants to draw attention to?

Also, try to reference your introduction in your conclusion. You have already taken a first step by restating your thesis. Now, check whether there are other key words, phrases or ideas that are mentioned in your introduction that fit into your conclusion. Connecting the introduction to the conclusion in this way will help readers feel satisfied.

I explored how Mary Wollstonecraft, in both her fiction and political writings, envisions an ideal medico-political state, and how other writers like William Wordsworth and Mary Shelley increasingly imagined the body politic literally, as an incorporated political collective made up of bodies whose immunity to political and medical ills was essential to a healthy state.

Tip: Make sure to explain why your thesis is relevant to your field of research.

Although you can encourage readers to question their opinions and reflect on your topic, do not leave loose ends. You should provide a sense of resolution and make sure your conclusion wraps up your argument. Make sure you explain why your thesis is relevant to your field of research and how your research intervenes within, or substantially revises, existing scholarly debates.

This project challenged conventional ideas about the relationship among Romanticism, medicine, and politics by reading the unfolding of Romantic literature and biopolitical immunity as mutual, co-productive processes. In doing so, this thesis revises the ways in which biopolitics has been theorized by insisting on the inherent connections between Romantic literature and the forms of biopower that characterize early modernity.

Tip: If you began your thesis with an anecdote or historical example, you may want to return to that in your conclusion.

End your conclusion with something memorable, such as:

• a call to action
• a recommendation
• a gesture towards future research
• a brief explanation of how the problem or idea you covered remains relevant

Ultimately, you want readers to feel more informed, or ready to act, as they read your conclusion.

Yet, the Romantic period is only the beginning of modern thought on immunity and biopolitics. Victorian writers, doctors, and politicians upheld the Romantic idea that a "healthy state" was a literal condition that could be achieved by combining politics and medicine, but augmented that idea through legislation and widespread public health measures. While many nineteenth-century efforts to improve citizens' health were successful, the fight against disease ultimately changed course in the twentieth century as global immunological threats such as SARS occupied public consciousness. Indeed, as subsequent public health events make apparent, biopolitical immunity persists as a viable concept for thinking about the relationship between medicine and politics in modernity.

Need more advice? Read our 5 additional tips on how to write a good thesis conclusion.

The conclusion is the last thing that your reader will see, so it should be memorable. To write a great thesis conclusion you should:

The basic content of a conclusion is to review the main points from the paper. This part represents your own closing thoughts on the topic. It should mainly consist of the outcome of the research in your own words.

The length of the conclusion will depend on the length of the whole thesis. Usually, a conclusion should be around 5-7% of the overall word count.

End your conclusion with something memorable, such as a question, warning, or call to action. Depending on the topic, you can also end with a recommendation.

In Open Access: Theses and Dissertations you can find thousands of completed works. Take a look at any of the theses or dissertations for real-life examples of conclusions that were already approved.

Mastering Your Dissertation pp 117–122 Cite as

How Do I Write the Conclusion?

Final Conclusions, Putting Your Work in Context and Considering Further Research

• Sue Reeves   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3017-0559 3 &
• Bartek Buczkowski   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4146-3664 4  
• First Online: 19 October 2023

295 Accesses

The conclusion is one of the shortest parts of the dissertation. In this chapter, we focus on the meaning and purpose of the conclusion, its components, and the sources of information that you should use to draw your conclusions. We will also point out the connection between the conclusion and the aim of the study, and things to avoid when writing the conclusion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Bunton D (2005) The structure of PhD conclusion chapters. J Engl Acad Purp 4(3):207–224

Article   Google Scholar  

Further Reading

Cottrell S (2017) Critical thinking skills: effective analysis, argument and reflection, 3rd edn. Palgrave, London

Book   Google Scholar  

McGregor SLT (2018) Understanding and evaluating research: a critical guide. SAGE Publications, Los Angeles, CA

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

University of Roehampton, London, UK

Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

Bartek Buczkowski

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter.

Reeves, S., Buczkowski, B. (2023). How Do I Write the Conclusion?. In: Mastering Your Dissertation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41911-9_10

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41911-9_10

Published : 19 October 2023

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-031-41910-2

Online ISBN : 978-3-031-41911-9

eBook Packages : Biomedical and Life Sciences Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

• Link to facebook
• Link to linkedin
• Link to twitter
• Link to youtube
• Writing Tips

How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper

3-minute read

• 29th August 2023

If you’re writing a research paper, the conclusion is your opportunity to summarize your findings and leave a lasting impression on your readers. In this post, we’ll take you through how to write an effective conclusion for a research paper and how you can:

·   Reword your thesis statement

·   Highlight the significance of your research

·   Discuss limitations

·   Connect to the introduction

·   End with a thought-provoking statement

Rewording Your Thesis Statement

Begin your conclusion by restating your thesis statement in a way that is slightly different from the wording used in the introduction. Avoid presenting new information or evidence in your conclusion. Just summarize the main points and arguments of your essay and keep this part as concise as possible. Remember that you’ve already covered the in-depth analyses and investigations in the main body paragraphs of your essay, so it’s not necessary to restate these details in the conclusion.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Highlighting the Significance of Your Research

The conclusion is a good place to emphasize the implications of your research . Avoid ambiguous or vague language such as “I think” or “maybe,” which could weaken your position. Clearly explain why your research is significant and how it contributes to the broader field of study.

Here’s an example from a (fictional) study on the impact of social media on mental health:

Discussing Limitations

Although it’s important to emphasize the significance of your study, you can also use the conclusion to briefly address any limitations you discovered while conducting your research, such as time constraints or a shortage of resources. Doing this demonstrates a balanced and honest approach to your research.

Connecting to the Introduction

In your conclusion, you can circle back to your introduction , perhaps by referring to a quote or anecdote you discussed earlier. If you end your paper on a similar note to how you began it, you will create a sense of cohesion for the reader and remind them of the meaning and significance of your research.

Ending With a Thought-Provoking Statement

Consider ending your paper with a thought-provoking and memorable statement that relates to the impact of your research questions or hypothesis. This statement can be a call to action, a philosophical question, or a prediction for the future (positive or negative). Here’s an example that uses the same topic as above (social media and mental health):

Expert Proofreading Services

Ensure that your essay ends on a high note by having our experts proofread your research paper. Our team has experience with a wide variety of academic fields and subjects and can help make your paper stand out from the crowd – get started today and see the difference it can make in your work.

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

2-minute read

How to Cite the CDC in APA

If you’re writing about health issues, you might need to reference the Centers for Disease...

5-minute read

Six Product Description Generator Tools for Your Product Copy

Introduction If you’re involved with ecommerce, you’re likely familiar with the often painstaking process of...

What Is a Content Editor?

Are you interested in learning more about the role of a content editor and the...

4-minute read

The Benefits of Using an Online Proofreading Service

Proofreading is important to ensure your writing is clear and concise for your readers. Whether...

6 Online AI Presentation Maker Tools

Creating presentations can be time-consuming and frustrating. Trying to construct a visually appealing and informative...

What Is Market Research?

No matter your industry, conducting market research helps you keep up to date with shifting...

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

In a short paper—even a research paper—you don’t need to provide an exhaustive summary as part of your conclusion. But you do need to make some kind of transition between your final body paragraph and your concluding paragraph. This may come in the form of a few sentences of summary. Or it may come in the form of a sentence that brings your readers back to your thesis or main idea and reminds your readers where you began and how far you have traveled.

So, for example, in a paper about the relationship between ADHD and rejection sensitivity, Vanessa Roser begins by introducing readers to the fact that researchers have studied the relationship between the two conditions and then provides her explanation of that relationship. Here’s her thesis: “While socialization may indeed be an important factor in RS, I argue that individuals with ADHD may also possess a neurological predisposition to RS that is exacerbated by the differing executive and emotional regulation characteristic of ADHD.”

In her final paragraph, Roser reminds us of where she started by echoing her thesis: “This literature demonstrates that, as with many other conditions, ADHD and RS share a delicately intertwined pattern of neurological similarities that is rooted in the innate biology of an individual’s mind, a connection that cannot be explained in full by the behavioral mediation hypothesis.”  

Highlight the “so what”  

At the beginning of your paper, you explain to your readers what’s at stake—why they should care about the argument you’re making. In your conclusion, you can bring readers back to those stakes by reminding them why your argument is important in the first place. You can also draft a few sentences that put those stakes into a new or broader context.

In the conclusion to her paper about ADHD and RS, Roser echoes the stakes she established in her introduction—that research into connections between ADHD and RS has led to contradictory results, raising questions about the “behavioral mediation hypothesis.”

She writes, “as with many other conditions, ADHD and RS share a delicately intertwined pattern of neurological similarities that is rooted in the innate biology of an individual’s mind, a connection that cannot be explained in full by the behavioral mediation hypothesis.”  

Leave your readers with the “now what”  

After the “what” and the “so what,” you should leave your reader with some final thoughts. If you have written a strong introduction, your readers will know why you have been arguing what you have been arguing—and why they should care. And if you’ve made a good case for your thesis, then your readers should be in a position to see things in a new way, understand new questions, or be ready for something that they weren’t ready for before they read your paper.

In her conclusion, Roser offers two “now what” statements. First, she explains that it is important to recognize that the flawed behavioral mediation hypothesis “seems to place a degree of fault on the individual. It implies that individuals with ADHD must have elicited such frequent or intense rejection by virtue of their inadequate social skills, erasing the possibility that they may simply possess a natural sensitivity to emotion.” She then highlights the broader implications for treatment of people with ADHD, noting that recognizing the actual connection between rejection sensitivity and ADHD “has profound implications for understanding how individuals with ADHD might best be treated in educational settings, by counselors, family, peers, or even society as a whole.”

To find your own “now what” for your essay’s conclusion, try asking yourself these questions:

• What can my readers now understand, see in a new light, or grapple with that they would not have understood in the same way before reading my paper? Are we a step closer to understanding a larger phenomenon or to understanding why what was at stake is so important?  
• What questions can I now raise that would not have made sense at the beginning of my paper? Questions for further research? Other ways that this topic could be approached?  
• Are there other applications for my research? Could my questions be asked about different data in a different context? Could I use my methods to answer a different question?  
• What action should be taken in light of this argument? What action do I predict will be taken or could lead to a solution?  
• What larger context might my argument be a part of?  

What to avoid in your conclusion  

• a complete restatement of all that you have said in your paper.  
• a substantial counterargument that you do not have space to refute; you should introduce counterarguments before your conclusion.  
• an apology for what you have not said. If you need to explain the scope of your paper, you should do this sooner—but don’t apologize for what you have not discussed in your paper.  
• fake transitions like “in conclusion” that are followed by sentences that aren’t actually conclusions. (“In conclusion, I have now demonstrated that my thesis is correct.”)
• picture_as_pdf Conclusions

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to content

• Home – AI for Research

How to write a conclusion chapter

The conclusion chapter is the last in a thesis. It is usually a rehash of the major highlights of the thesis, especially the results of the empirical findings discussed in the previous chapter. In this article, we discuss some tips for writing a good conclusion chapter. You may also want to check out Avidnote , our app that makes it easier for you to write and organize your research notes for free.

Though there are no hard and fast rules on how to write a conclusion chapter in any field of learning, it is imperative that the written work concludes as sensibly and strongly as possible.

Provide a reminder of what you are researching

Research is always driven by a need to solve a problem and/or generate more insight about a topic of interest as well as fill gaps in knowledge. When concluding, it is logical to remind readers about what your study set out to investigate. This can easily be adapted from the thesis topic, problem statement, and objectives of the study. Note that the reminder has to be brief since any greater details should be found in the first chapter of the thesis. Starting with a brief explanation of what you are examining lays a good foundation for the rest of the conclusion. It also helps readers avoid referring back to chapter one.

Another highlight of your a priori expectations [if any]

Try to shed some light on the theoretical underpinnings of your study as well as your a priori expectations (if any). Many researchers have a particular expectation when formulating their study’s hypothesis. This expectation is usually based on extant theories about the subject matter of interest. Based on theory, the researcher holds his or her position until the hypothesis is tested. Sometimes, the a priori expectation of the researcher is not met (say a non-rejection of the null hypothesis). In such a scenario, he or she has to find creative ways to justify the unexpected outcome.

  A reminder of the sampling technique/sample size

Data is the cornerstone of academic research. Your investigation must include a collection of data on the variables you wish to estimate. Depending on your research design and data collection instrument, you have to select a sampling technique from which a sample is drawn. Note that your sample size has to be representative enough (valid) if it is to be extended to the wider population. Be sure to find some space to describe your sampling technique and size in your conclusion .

Include your data analysis methods

Collected data has to be processed and analyzed to resolve the study’s hypothesis, answer the research questions, and solve the stated problem.  With the advent of computer software, several applications are available to help researchers process and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data across all fields of learning. It is necessary to include a mention of whatever data analysis techniques as well as the measurement software early in your conclusion chapter.

Another mention of key findings

The results or findings of your study must have been explained extensively in the discussion of findings section or chapter. It is very important that the early phase of your conclusion significantly focuses on the study’s important findings especially with respect to the problem statement or area of interest, the research questions, and hypothesis. This area is of paramount interest to readers because it is the climax of the research and provides a basis on which recommendations and future suggestions can be made. The study’s findings are also a good yardstick for evaluating the usefulness of the study.

Restate your limitations

Though it is not impossible, it is not easy for all the data collection, measurement, and analysis to yield desired outcomes. Usually, there are shortcomings in one or all the above-mentioned areas which can question the integrity of the research. For instance, in some studies, some of the key variables may turn out results that are not statistically significant. Whatever the nature of the limitations you faced [which you may have stated earlier] during data collection, measurement, and analysis, etc should be mentioned in your conclusion chapter .

A reminder of the practical implications

Your study must have been intended to solve an observed educational or societal problem or tried to close a knowledge gap (or both). If you intend to solve a problem, then you have to relate the outcomes of your investigation to the real-world problem. In other words, be sure to explain the practical implications or benefits of your study to both the academic community and society as a whole. For example, if you are investigating the impact of terrorism on socio-economic development, your conclusion should be able to articulate how society will benefit from your thesis based on your findings and recommendations.

If you are also trying to close a knowledge gap, it is necessary to make a convincing case for this in your concluding comments. This is because your supervisor and many others that will study your thesis are high-standing intellectuals that will need a compelling argument before accepting whatever ever gap you claim to have closed. A weak argument can thus lead to severe literary criticism and non-acceptance which can erode the significance of your claims.

The conclusion chapter is an important component of a thesis because it is where the researcher summarizes the key highlights or ideas behind his or her study. A strong conclusion should have the capacity to paint a clear picture of the entire thesis, especially the important findings and their implications.

Though there are no fixed rules for writing a conclusion chapter, it is necessary for the researcher to commence with a reminder of what he or she is investigating. Note that the conclusion chapter is just a rehash of information in previous chapters and hence no new argument or information is expected to be introduced at that stage.

Other resources

This post was produced as part of a research guide series by  Avidnote  which is a free web-based app that helps you to write and organize your academic writing online.  Click here  to find out more.

You may also like

Formatting Tips: How to Italicize Text Using LaTeX

Learn how to italicize text using LaTeX and enhance your academic writing. Discover the benefits of LaTeX for formatting and collaborating on complex projects. Click here for tips and insights.

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: Ensuring Research Data Security

Ensure research data security and protect valuable findings. Learn about cybersecurity and data privacy best practices in this informative blog. Click to read more!

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Privacy Overview

Adding {{itemName}} to cart

Added {{itemName}} to cart

When you choose to publish with PLOS, your research makes an impact. Make your work accessible to all, without restrictions, and accelerate scientific discovery with options like preprints and published peer review that make your work more Open.

• PLOS Biology
• PLOS Climate
• PLOS Complex Systems
• PLOS Computational Biology
• PLOS Digital Health
• PLOS Genetics
• PLOS Global Public Health
• PLOS Medicine
• PLOS Mental Health
• PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• PLOS Pathogens
• PLOS Sustainability and Transformation
• PLOS Collections
• How to Write Discussions and Conclusions

The discussion section contains the results and outcomes of a study. An effective discussion informs readers what can be learned from your experiment and provides context for the results.

What makes an effective discussion?

When you’re ready to write your discussion, you’ve already introduced the purpose of your study and provided an in-depth description of the methodology. The discussion informs readers about the larger implications of your study based on the results. Highlighting these implications while not overstating the findings can be challenging, especially when you’re submitting to a journal that selects articles based on novelty or potential impact. Regardless of what journal you are submitting to, the discussion section always serves the same purpose: concluding what your study results actually mean.

A successful discussion section puts your findings in context. It should include:

• the results of your research,
• a discussion of related research, and
• a comparison between your results and initial hypothesis.

Tip: Not all journals share the same naming conventions.

You can apply the advice in this article to the conclusion, results or discussion sections of your manuscript.

Our Early Career Researcher community tells us that the conclusion is often considered the most difficult aspect of a manuscript to write. To help, this guide provides questions to ask yourself, a basic structure to model your discussion off of and examples from published manuscripts. 

Questions to ask yourself:

• Was my hypothesis correct?
• If my hypothesis is partially correct or entirely different, what can be learned from the results? 
• How do the conclusions reshape or add onto the existing knowledge in the field? What does previous research say about the topic? 
• Why are the results important or relevant to your audience? Do they add further evidence to a scientific consensus or disprove prior studies? 
• How can future research build on these observations? What are the key experiments that must be done? 
• What is the “take-home” message you want your reader to leave with?

How to structure a discussion

Trying to fit a complete discussion into a single paragraph can add unnecessary stress to the writing process. If possible, you’ll want to give yourself two or three paragraphs to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of your study as a whole. Here’s one way to structure an effective discussion:

Writing Tips

While the above sections can help you brainstorm and structure your discussion, there are many common mistakes that writers revert to when having difficulties with their paper. Writing a discussion can be a delicate balance between summarizing your results, providing proper context for your research and avoiding introducing new information. Remember that your paper should be both confident and honest about the results! 

• Read the journal’s guidelines on the discussion and conclusion sections. If possible, learn about the guidelines before writing the discussion to ensure you’re writing to meet their expectations. 
• Begin with a clear statement of the principal findings. This will reinforce the main take-away for the reader and set up the rest of the discussion. 
• Explain why the outcomes of your study are important to the reader. Discuss the implications of your findings realistically based on previous literature, highlighting both the strengths and limitations of the research. 
• State whether the results prove or disprove your hypothesis. If your hypothesis was disproved, what might be the reasons? 
• Introduce new or expanded ways to think about the research question. Indicate what next steps can be taken to further pursue any unresolved questions. 
• If dealing with a contemporary or ongoing problem, such as climate change, discuss possible consequences if the problem is avoided. 
• Be concise. Adding unnecessary detail can distract from the main findings. 

Don’t

• Rewrite your abstract. Statements with “we investigated” or “we studied” generally do not belong in the discussion. 
• Include new arguments or evidence not previously discussed. Necessary information and evidence should be introduced in the main body of the paper. 
• Apologize. Even if your research contains significant limitations, don’t undermine your authority by including statements that doubt your methodology or execution. 
• Shy away from speaking on limitations or negative results. Including limitations and negative results will give readers a complete understanding of the presented research. Potential limitations include sources of potential bias, threats to internal or external validity, barriers to implementing an intervention and other issues inherent to the study design. 
• Overstate the importance of your findings. Making grand statements about how a study will fully resolve large questions can lead readers to doubt the success of the research. 

Snippets of Effective Discussions:

Consumer-based actions to reduce plastic pollution in rivers: A multi-criteria decision analysis approach

Identifying reliable indicators of fitness in polar bears

• How to Write a Great Title
• How to Write an Abstract
• How to Write Your Methods
• How to Report Statistics
• How to Edit Your Work

The contents of the Peer Review Center are also available as a live, interactive training session, complete with slides, talking points, and activities. …

The contents of the Writing Center are also available as a live, interactive training session, complete with slides, talking points, and activities. …

There’s a lot to consider when deciding where to submit your work. Learn how to choose a journal that will help your study reach its audience, while reflecting your values as a researcher…

• my research
• contributions and comments
• connecting chapters/chapter conclusions

This post is the second of four which address the question of how you achieve flow across a thesis text. The previous post ( here ) offered a three-part approach to beginning to write a chapter. The three moves, link, focus and overview, are particularly useful if you are going back to writing a chapter after a period of time, writing chapters out of order or if you are really worried about the process of starting off. If you stare at the blank screen not knowing where to start, using the three part move as a kind of less-stress ‘holding’ text can be helpful. These three moves – just like the one in this post – are one approach – and only one – to achieving a coherent first draft.

This post focuses on the conclusion.

A conclusion should be a short summary of the most pithy points in the chapter. It’s the thing that you’re going to leave the reader with. Given that they’ve just spent time reading the whole chapter, they don’t want to read it all again. What do you most want the reader to remember about this chapter? What is the key to the argument you’ve made, the most significant thing(s) that they have to keep in their mind as they go forward? In a thesis, a conclusion is usually fairly brief and to the point. Barbara and I call this ‘crunching’. Crunching the conclusion requires some thought – it’s not an afterthought. It is always about your take-home message , if you like. So don’t go on at length in the conclusion – Crunch.

But conclusions can also be VERY helpful in achieving flow. When you get to the conclusion of the chapter, it’s vital to return to the ‘focus’ that you wrote at the start. What did you aim to do in this chapter?

Now is the time to see if you have actually done what you said you would do. It may be that, as you were writing, a new angle came to you, something that you hadn’t thought of at the start. If that happens that’s probably really good. You just need to go back to the focus/aim that you had and readjust it. However, it may be that you wandered off track during the chapter, and going back to check the aim at the start helps you to work out how and where. In both of these circumstances the conclusion is working for you as a writer, as well as for the reader. It’s making sure that the start and the end of the chapter work together, they open up and then sum up the argument you are making.

Of course, using this strategy means that the first draft of the next chapter will also start with a link back, a trailer which says what you’ve done in the chapter before… so there is a decision to be made when you get to the second draft about whether a summary at the end of one chapter, and another summary at the start of the next is good for the reader… But before we get to that, the next and third post looks at headings and the way to use headings to signal flow, and to check on argument flow.

Share this:

About pat thomson

17 responses to connecting chapters/chapter conclusions.

Pingback: connecting chapters/chapter introductions | patter

Pingback: chapter flow /using headings to help | patter

Pingback: Main parts of a book | authorlywriter

I have seen many dissertations that don’t have conclusions of each chapter. As I’m writing my own dissertation, I would like to know your opinion. At the beginning I thought to include a brief summary of each chapter. For example, the summary of the theoretical framework chapter was more or less half page. But then I was wondering if it could be too repetitive, because I also want to include a brief summary at the beginning of the last chapter (“conclusion”). I know that a summary helps the reader, but isn’t it too much to include a summary of each chapter and then summarize again at the beginning of the conclusion? Thank you!

I would only have a summary once in a chapter. Usually this is at the end of the chapter not the beginning of the next. The beginning Of the chapter usually has some signposts only of what is to come, not a summary. Th summary in the conclusion is usually brief.

I think what @Agnese was asking is about the final ‘Conclusions’ chapter. If there are conclusions at the end of each chapter, would it be too repetitive because one will again have to mention these same points in the final chapter of conclusion anyways. Cheers 🙂

If I understand well what @Agnese asked, she was hinting whether repeating the same conclusions that one writes at the end of each chapter could seem repetitive since they are mentioned again at the end in the ‘Conclusions’ chapter. I think that each chapter has a summary at the end which highlights the most important results from that chapter, whereas the conclusions at the end of the thesis are in a way the conclusions that are derived from the overall thesis (more global conclusions wrt the main thesis research question).

Like Liked by 1 person

Pingback: Thesis writing advice | A Roller In The Ocean

Hi Thanks for some great advice. I’ve just noticed that you posted this way back in 2014 but the rest of the posts are not here, are there plans to continue this post or am I looking in the wrong place? Thanks

Great post Pat! I just stumbled across this via google by searching for “conclusions at the end of chapters or book?” You have some good advice in here. As you can see, I am still in the midst of converting the thesis into a book – it is steadily getting there…

All best wishes to you from Vietnam, Simon

How to mark this conclusions? Shall I use ***, or “Chapter Conclusion”, or “Chapter Summary”?

How people do it?

I would put as “Summary” so as not to confuse with the actual conclusion chapter.

I am writing a dissertation and I am confused in writing the conclusion of each chapter and general conclusion because I found it repetitive so can you help me

This post and comment section are so helpful, thank you!

Thanks for posting this article.

I am writing a dissertation; the last chapter is entirely titled as “conclusion.” Additionally, this is also emphasized in the list of contents. Now my question is; should I also provide a brief conclusion at the end of each chapter?

It helps to tell the reader what they need to remember before they start the next chapter. But very succinctly.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

• Search for:

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

patter on facebook

Recent Posts

• Anticipation
• research as creative practice – possibility thinking
• research as – is – creative practice
• On MAL-attribution
• a brief word on academic mobility
• Key word – claim
• key words – contribution
• research key words – significance
• a thesis is not just a display
• should you do a “side project”?
• the ABC of organising your time
• Why journal articles are rejected

SEE MY CURATED POSTS ON WAKELET

Top posts & pages.

• writing a bio-note
• I can't find anything written on my topic... really?
• aims and objectives - what's the difference?
• avoiding the laundry list literature review
• headings and subheadings – it helps to be specific
• looping - a free writing strategy​ for generating ideas
• explaining and justifying the use of theory via a sentence skeleton
• writing the thesis – the theoretical framework
• Entries feed
• Comments feed
• WordPress.com

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

• Resources Home 🏠
• Try SciSpace Copilot
• Search research papers
• Add Copilot Extension
• Try AI Detector
• Try Paraphraser
• Try Citation Generator
• April Papers
• June Papers
• July Papers

How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper

Table of Contents

Writing a conclusion for a research paper is a critical step that often determines the overall impact and impression the paper leaves on the reader. While some may view the conclusion as a mere formality, it is actually an opportunity to wrap up the main points, provide closure, and leave a lasting impression. In this article, we will explore the importance of a well-crafted conclusion and discuss various tips and strategies to help you write an engaging and impactful conclusion for your research paper.

Introduction

Before delving into the specifics of writing a conclusion, it is important to understand why it is such a crucial component of a research paper. The conclusion serves to summarize the main points of the paper and reemphasize their significance. A well-written conclusion can leave the reader satisfied and inspired, while a poorly executed one may undermine the credibility of the entire paper. Therefore, it is essential to give careful thought and attention to crafting an effective conclusion.

When writing a research paper, the conclusion acts as the final destination for the reader. It is the point where all the information, arguments, and evidence presented throughout the paper converge. Just as a traveler reaches the end of a journey, the reader reaches the conclusion to find closure and a sense of fulfillment. This is why the conclusion should not be taken lightly; it is a critical opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the reader.

Moreover, the conclusion is not merely a repetition of the introduction or a summary of the main points. It goes beyond that by providing a deeper understanding of the research findings and their implications. It allows the writer to reflect on the significance of their work and its potential contributions to the field. By doing so, the conclusion elevates the research paper from a mere collection of facts to a thought-provoking piece of scholarship.

In the following sections, we will explore various strategies and techniques for crafting a compelling conclusion. By understanding the importance of the conclusion and learning how to write one effectively, you will be equipped to create impactful research papers.

Structuring the Conclusion

In order to create an effective conclusion, it is important to consider its structure. A well-structured conclusion should begin by restating the thesis statement and summarizing the main points of the paper. It should then move on to provide a concise synthesis of the key findings and arguments, highlighting their implications and relevance. Finally, the conclusion should end with a thought-provoking statement that leaves the reader with a lasting impression.

Additionally, using phrases like "this research demonstrates," "the findings show," or "it is clear that" can help to highlight the significance of your research and emphasize your main conclusions.

Tips for Writing an Engaging Conclusion

Writing an engaging conclusion requires careful consideration and attention to detail. Here are some tips to help you create an impactful conclusion for your research paper:

• Revisit the Introduction: Start your conclusion by referencing your introduction. Remind the reader of the research question or problem you initially posed and show how your research has addressed it.
• Summarize Your Main Points: Provide a concise summary of the main points and arguments presented in your paper. Be sure to restate your thesis statement and highlight the key findings.
• Offer a Fresh Perspective: Use the conclusion as an opportunity to provide a fresh perspective or offer insights that go beyond the main body of the paper. This will leave the reader with something new to consider.
• Leave a Lasting Impression: End your conclusion with a thought-provoking statement or a call to action. This will leave a lasting impression on the reader and encourage further exploration of the research topic.

Addressing Counter Arguments In Conclusion

While crafting your conclusion, you can address any potential counterarguments or limitations of your research. This will demonstrate that you have considered alternative perspectives and have taken them into account in your conclusions. By acknowledging potential counterarguments, you can strengthen the credibility and validity of your research. And by openly discussing limitations, you demonstrate transparency and honesty in your research process.

Language and Tone To Be Used In Conclusion

The language and tone of your conclusion play a crucial role in shaping the overall impression of your research paper. It is important to use clear and concise language that is appropriate for the academic context. Avoid using overly informal or colloquial language that may undermine the credibility of your research. Additionally, consider the tone of your conclusion – it should be professional, confident, and persuasive, while still maintaining a respectful and objective tone.

When it comes to the language used in your conclusion, precision is key. You want to ensure that your ideas are communicated effectively and that there is no room for misinterpretation. Using clear and concise language will not only make your conclusion easier to understand but will also demonstrate your command of the subject matter.

Furthermore, it is important to strike the right balance between formality and accessibility. While academic writing typically requires a more formal tone, you should still aim to make your conclusion accessible to a wider audience. This means avoiding jargon or technical terms that may confuse readers who are not familiar with the subject matter. Instead, opt for language that is clear and straightforward, allowing anyone to grasp the main points of your research.

Another aspect to consider is the tone of your conclusion. The tone should reflect the confidence you have in your research findings and the strength of your argument. By adopting a professional and confident tone, you are more likely to convince your readers of the validity and importance of your research. However, it is crucial to strike a balance and avoid sounding arrogant or dismissive of opposing viewpoints. Maintaining a respectful and objective tone will help you engage with your audience in a more persuasive manner.

Moreover, the tone of your conclusion should align with the overall tone of your research paper. Consistency in tone throughout your paper will create a cohesive and unified piece of writing.

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Writing a Conclusion

When writing a conclusion, there are several common mistakes that researchers often make. By being aware of these pitfalls, you can avoid them and create a more effective conclusion for your research paper. Some common mistakes include:

• Repeating the Introduction: A conclusion should not simply be a reworded version of the introduction. While it is important to revisit the main points, try to present them in a fresh and broader perspective, by foregrounding the implications/impacts of your research.
• Introducing New Information: The conclusion should not introduce any new information or arguments. Instead, it should focus on summarizing and synthesizing the main points presented in the paper.
• Being Vague or General: Avoid using vague or general statements in your conclusion. Instead, be specific and provide concrete examples or evidence to support your main points.
• Ending Abruptly: A conclusion should provide a sense of closure and completeness. Avoid ending your conclusion abruptly or leaving the reader with unanswered questions.

Editing and Revising the Conclusion

Just like the rest of your research paper, the conclusion should go through a thorough editing and revising process. This will help to ensure clarity, coherence, and impact in the conclusion. As you revise your conclusion, consider the following:

• Check for Consistency: Ensure that your conclusion aligns with the main body of the paper and does not introduce any new or contradictory information.
• Eliminate Redundancy: Remove any repetitive or redundant information in your conclusion. Instead, focus on presenting the key points in a concise and engaging manner.
• Proofread for Clarity: Read your conclusion aloud or ask someone else to read it to ensure that it is clear and understandable. Check for any grammatical or spelling errors that may distract the reader.
• Seek Feedback: Consider sharing your conclusion with peers or mentors to get their feedback and insights. This can help you strengthen your conclusion and make it more impactful.

How to Write Conclusion as a Call to Action

Finally, consider using your conclusion as a call to action. Encourage the reader to take further action, such as conducting additional research or considering the implications of your findings. By providing a clear call to action, you can inspire the reader to actively engage with your research and continue the conversation on the topic.

Adapting to Different Research Paper Types

It is important to adapt your conclusion approach based on the type of research paper you are writing. Different research paper types may require different strategies and approaches to writing the conclusion. For example, a scientific research paper may focus more on summarizing the key findings and implications, while a persuasive research paper may emphasize the call to action and the potential impact of the research. Tailor your conclusion to suit the specific goals and requirements of your research paper.

Final Thoughts

A well-crafted conclusion can leave a lasting impression on the reader and enhance the impact of your research. By following the tips and strategies outlined in this article, you can create an engaging and impactful conclusion that effectively summarizes your main points, addresses potential counterarguments, and leaves the reader with a sense of closure and inspiration. Embrace the importance of the conclusion and view it as an opportunity to showcase the significance and relevance of your research.

Important Reads

How To Humanize AI Text In Scientific Articles

Elevate Your Writing Game With AI Grammar Checker Tools

A Guide to Using AI Tools to Summarize Literature Reviews

AI for Essay Writing — Exploring Top 10 Essay Writers

Role of AI in Systematic Literature Review

You might also like

AI for Meta-Analysis — A Comprehensive Guide

Cybersecurity in Higher Education: Safeguarding Students and Faculty Data

How To Write An Argumentative Essay

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Dissertation
• How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion

How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion | Checklist and Examples

Published on 9 September 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on 10 October 2022.

The conclusion is the very last part of your thesis or dissertation . It should be concise and engaging, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your main findings, as well as the answer to your research question .

In it, you should:

• Clearly state the answer to your main research question
• Summarise and reflect on your research process
• Make recommendations for future work on your topic
• Show what new knowledge you have contributed to your field
• Wrap up your thesis or dissertation

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

Discussion vs. conclusion, how long should your conclusion be, step 1: answer your research question, step 2: summarise and reflect on your research, step 3: make future recommendations, step 4: emphasise your contributions to your field, step 5: wrap up your thesis or dissertation, full conclusion example, conclusion checklist, frequently asked questions about conclusion sections.

While your conclusion contains similar elements to your discussion section , they are not the same thing.

Your conclusion should be shorter and more general than your discussion. Instead of repeating literature from your literature review , discussing specific research results , or interpreting your data in detail, concentrate on making broad statements that sum up the most important insights of your research.

As a rule of thumb, your conclusion should not introduce new data, interpretations, or arguments.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Depending on whether you are writing a thesis or dissertation, your length will vary. Generally, a conclusion should make up around 5–7% of your overall word count.

An empirical scientific study will often have a short conclusion, concisely stating the main findings and recommendations for future research. A humanities topic or systematic review , on the other hand, might require more space to conclude its analysis, tying all the previous sections together in an overall argument.

Your conclusion should begin with the main question that your thesis or dissertation aimed to address. This is your final chance to show that you’ve done what you set out to do, so make sure to formulate a clear, concise answer.

• Don’t repeat a list of all the results that you already discussed
• Do synthesise them into a final takeaway that the reader will remember.

An empirical thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:

A case study –based thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:

In the second example, the research aim is not directly restated, but rather added implicitly to the statement. To avoid repeating yourself, it is helpful to reformulate your aims and questions into an overall statement of what you did and how you did it.

Your conclusion is an opportunity to remind your reader why you took the approach you did, what you expected to find, and how well the results matched your expectations.

To avoid repetition , consider writing more reflectively here, rather than just writing a summary of each preceding section. Consider mentioning the effectiveness of your methodology , or perhaps any new questions or unexpected insights that arose in the process.

You can also mention any limitations of your research, but only if you haven’t already included these in the discussion. Don’t dwell on them at length, though – focus on the positives of your work.

• While x limits the generalisability of the results, this approach provides new insight into y .
• This research clearly illustrates x , but it also raises the question of y .

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

Correct my document today

You may already have made a few recommendations for future research in your discussion section, but the conclusion is a good place to elaborate and look ahead, considering the implications of your findings in both theoretical and practical terms.

• Based on these conclusions, practitioners should consider …
• To better understand the implications of these results, future studies could address …
• Further research is needed to determine the causes of/effects of/relationship between …

When making recommendations for further research, be sure not to undermine your own work. Relatedly, while future studies might confirm, build on, or enrich your conclusions, they shouldn’t be required for your argument to feel complete. Your work should stand alone on its own merits.

Just as you should avoid too much self-criticism, you should also avoid exaggerating the applicability of your research. If you’re making recommendations for policy, business, or other practical implementations, it’s generally best to frame them as ‘shoulds’ rather than ‘musts’. All in all, the purpose of academic research is to inform, explain, and explore – not to demand.

Make sure your reader is left with a strong impression of what your research has contributed to the state of your field.

Some strategies to achieve this include:

• Returning to your problem statement to explain how your research helps solve the problem
• Referring back to the literature review and showing how you have addressed a gap in knowledge
• Discussing how your findings confirm or challenge an existing theory or assumption

Again, avoid simply repeating what you’ve already covered in the discussion in your conclusion. Instead, pick out the most important points and sum them up succinctly, situating your project in a broader context.

The end is near! Once you’ve finished writing your conclusion, it’s time to wrap up your thesis or dissertation with a few final steps:

• It’s a good idea to write your abstract next, while the research is still fresh in your mind.
• Next, make sure your reference list is complete and correctly formatted. To speed up the process, you can use our free APA citation generator .
• Once you’ve added any appendices , you can create a table of contents and title page .
• Finally, read through the whole document again to make sure your thesis is clearly written and free from language errors. You can proofread it yourself , ask a friend, or consider Scribbr’s proofreading and editing service .

Here is an example of how you can write your conclusion section. Notice how it includes everything mentioned above:

V. Conclusion

The current research aimed to identify acoustic speech characteristics which mark the beginning of an exacerbation in COPD patients.

The central questions for this research were as follows: 1. Which acoustic measures extracted from read speech differ between COPD speakers in stable condition and healthy speakers? 2. In what ways does the speech of COPD patients during an exacerbation differ from speech of COPD patients during stable periods?

All recordings were aligned using a script. Subsequently, they were manually annotated to indicate respiratory actions such as inhaling and exhaling. The recordings of 9 stable COPD patients reading aloud were then compared with the recordings of 5 healthy control subjects reading aloud. The results showed a significant effect of condition on the number of in- and exhalations per syllable, the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable, and the ratio of voiced and silence intervals. The number of in- and exhalations per syllable and the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable were higher for COPD patients than for healthy controls, which confirmed both hypotheses.

However, the higher ratio of voiced and silence intervals for COPD patients compared to healthy controls was not in line with the hypotheses. This unpredicted result might have been caused by the different reading materials or recording procedures for both groups, or by a difference in reading skills. Moreover, there was a trend regarding the effect of condition on the number of syllables per breath group. The number of syllables per breath group was higher for healthy controls than for COPD patients, which was in line with the hypothesis. There was no effect of condition on pitch, intensity, center of gravity, pitch variability, speaking rate, or articulation rate.

This research has shown that the speech of COPD patients in exacerbation differs from the speech of COPD patients in stable condition. This might have potential for the detection of exacerbations. However, sustained vowels rarely occur in spontaneous speech. Therefore, the last two outcome measures might have greater potential for the detection of beginning exacerbations, but further research on the different outcome measures and their potential for the detection of exacerbations is needed due to the limitations of the current study.

Checklist: Conclusion

I have clearly and concisely answered the main research question .

I have summarized my overall argument or key takeaways.

I have mentioned any important limitations of the research.

I have given relevant recommendations .

I have clearly explained what my research has contributed to my field.

I have  not introduced any new data or arguments.

You've written a great conclusion! Use the other checklists to further improve your dissertation.

In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.

The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.

While it may be tempting to present new arguments or evidence in your thesis or disseration conclusion , especially if you have a particularly striking argument you’d like to finish your analysis with, you shouldn’t. Theses and dissertations follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the discussion section and results section .) The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

For a stronger dissertation conclusion , avoid including:

• Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion…”)
• Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g. “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5-7% of your overall word count.

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation should include the following:

• A restatement of your research question
• A summary of your key arguments and/or results
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

George, T. & McCombes, S. (2022, October 10). How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion | Checklist and Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 15 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/conclusion/

Is this article helpful?

Tegan George

Other students also liked, how to write a thesis or dissertation introduction, how to write a discussion section | tips & examples, how to write an abstract | steps & examples.

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game New
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Writing
• Research Papers

How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper

Last Updated: June 29, 2023 Approved

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 42 testimonials and 82% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 2,257,286 times.

The conclusion of a research paper needs to summarize the content and purpose of the paper without seeming too wooden or dry. Every basic conclusion must share several key elements, but there are also several tactics you can play around with to craft a more effective conclusion and several you should avoid to prevent yourself from weakening your paper's conclusion. Here are some writing tips to keep in mind when creating a conclusion for your next research paper.

Sample Conclusions

Writing a basic conclusion.

• Do not spend a great amount of time or space restating your topic.
• A good research paper will make the importance of your topic apparent, so you do not need to write an elaborate defense of your topic in the conclusion.
• Usually a single sentence is all you need to restate your topic.
• An example would be if you were writing a paper on the epidemiology of infectious disease, you might say something like "Tuberculosis is a widespread infectious disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year."
• Yet another example from the humanities would be a paper about the Italian Renaissance: "The Italian Renaissance was an explosion of art and ideas centered around artists, writers, and thinkers in Florence."

• A thesis is a narrowed, focused view on the topic at hand.
• This statement should be rephrased from the thesis you included in your introduction. It should not be identical or too similar to the sentence you originally used.
• Try re-wording your thesis statement in a way that complements your summary of the topic of your paper in your first sentence of your conclusion.
• An example of a good thesis statement, going back to the paper on tuberculosis, would be "Tuberculosis is a widespread disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year. Due to the alarming rate of the spread of tuberculosis, particularly in poor countries, medical professionals are implementing new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment, and containment of this disease ."

• A good way to go about this is to re-read the topic sentence of each major paragraph or section in the body of your paper.
• Find a way to briefly restate each point mentioned in each topic sentence in your conclusion. Do not repeat any of the supporting details used within your body paragraphs.
• Under most circumstances, you should avoid writing new information in your conclusion. This is especially true if the information is vital to the argument or research presented in your paper.
• For example, in the TB paper you could summarize the information. "Tuberculosis is a widespread disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Due to the alarming rate of the spread of tuberculosis, particularly in poor countries, medical professionals are implementing new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment, and containment of this disease. In developing countries, such as those in Africa and Southeast Asia, the rate of TB infections is soaring. Crowded conditions, poor sanitation, and lack of access to medical care are all compounding factors in the spread of the disease. Medical experts, such as those from the World Health Organization are now starting campaigns to go into communities in developing countries and provide diagnostic testing and treatments. However, the treatments for TB are very harsh and have many side effects. This leads to patient non-compliance and spread of multi-drug resistant strains of the disease."

• Note that this is not needed for all research papers.
• If you already fully explained what the points in your paper mean or why they are significant, you do not need to go into them in much detail in your conclusion. Simply restating your thesis or the significance of your topic should suffice.
• It is always best practice to address important issues and fully explain your points in the body of your paper. The point of a conclusion to a research paper is to summarize your argument for the reader and, perhaps, to call the reader to action if needed.

• Note that a call for action is not essential to all conclusions. A research paper on literary criticism, for instance, is less likely to need a call for action than a paper on the effect that television has on toddlers and young children.
• A paper that is more likely to call readers to action is one that addresses a public or scientific need. Let's go back to our example of tuberculosis. This is a very serious disease that is spreading quickly and with antibiotic-resistant forms.
• A call to action in this research paper would be a follow-up statement that might be along the lines of "Despite new efforts to diagnose and contain the disease, more research is needed to develop new antibiotics that will treat the most resistant strains of tuberculosis and ease the side effects of current treatments."

• For example, if you are writing a history paper, then you might discuss how the historical topic you discussed matters today. If you are writing about a foreign country, then you might use the conclusion to discuss how the information you shared may help readers understand their own country.

Making Your Conclusion as Effective as Possible

• Since this sort of conclusion is so basic, you must aim to synthesize the information rather than merely summarizing it.
• Instead of merely repeating things you already said, rephrase your thesis and supporting points in a way that ties them all together.
• By doing so, you make your research paper seem like a "complete thought" rather than a collection of random and vaguely related ideas.

• Ask a question in your introduction. In your conclusion, restate the question and provide a direct answer.
• Write an anecdote or story in your introduction but do not share the ending. Instead, write the conclusion to the anecdote in the conclusion of your paper.
• For example, if you wanted to get more creative and put a more humanistic spin on a paper on tuberculosis, you might start your introduction with a story about a person with the disease, and refer to that story in your conclusion. For example, you could say something like this before you re-state your thesis in your conclusion: "Patient X was unable to complete the treatment for tuberculosis due to severe side effects and unfortunately succumbed to the disease."
• Use the same concepts and images introduced in your introduction in your conclusion. The images may or may not appear at other points throughout the research paper.

• Include enough information about your topic to back the statement up but do not get too carried away with excess detail.
• If your research did not provide you with a clear-cut answer to a question posed in your thesis, do not be afraid to indicate as much.
• Restate your initial hypothesis and indicate whether you still believe it or if the research you performed has begun swaying your opinion.
• Indicate that an answer may still exist and that further research could shed more light on the topic at hand.

• This may not be appropriate for all types of research papers. Most research papers, such as one on effective treatment for diseases, will have the information to make the case for a particular argument already in the paper.
• A good example of a paper that might ask a question of the reader in the ending is one about a social issue, such as poverty or government policy.
• Ask a question that will directly get at the heart or purpose of the paper. This question is often the same question, or some version of it, that you may have started with when you began your research.
• Make sure that the question can be answered by the evidence presented in your paper.
• If desired you can briefly summarize the answer after stating the question. You could also leave the question hanging for the reader to answer, though.

• Even without a call to action, you can still make a recommendation to your reader.
• For instance, if you are writing about a topic like third-world poverty, you can various ways for the reader to assist in the problem without necessarily calling for more research.
• Another example would be, in a paper about treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis, you could suggest donating to the World Health Organization or research foundations that are developing new treatments for the disease.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

• These sayings usually sound stiff, unnatural, or trite when used in writing.
• Moreover, using a phrase like "in conclusion" to begin your conclusion is a little too straightforward and tends to lead to a weak conclusion. A strong conclusion can stand on its own without being labeled as such.

• Always state the main argument or thesis in the introduction. A research paper is an analytical discussion of an academic topic, not a mystery novel.
• A good, effective research paper will allow your reader to follow your main argument from start to finish.
• This is why it is best practice to start your paper with an introduction that states your main argument and to end the paper with a conclusion that re-states your thesis for re-iteration.

• All significant information should be introduced in the body of the paper.
• Supporting evidence expands the topic of your paper by making it appear more detailed. A conclusion should narrow the topic to a more general point.
• A conclusion should only summarize what you have already stated in the body of your paper.
• You may suggest further research or a call to action, but you should not bring in any new evidence or facts in the conclusion.

• Most often, a shift in tone occurs when a research paper with an academic tone gives an emotional or sentimental conclusion.
• Even if the topic of the paper is of personal significance for you, you should not indicate as much in your paper.
• If you want to give your paper a more humanistic slant, you could start and end your paper with a story or anecdote that would give your topic more personal meaning to the reader.
• This tone should be consistent throughout the paper, however.

• Apologetic statements include phrases like "I may not be an expert" or "This is only my opinion."
• Statements like this can usually be avoided by refraining from writing in the first-person.
• Avoid any statements in the first-person. First-person is generally considered to be informal and does not fit with the formal tone of a research paper.

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/724/04/
• ↑ http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/18_Writing_Conclusion.asp
• ↑ http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/PlanResearchPaper.html#conclusion
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/conclusions/
• ↑ http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/conclude.html

About This Article

To write a conclusion for a research paper, start by restating your thesis statement to remind your readers what your main topic is and bring everything full circle. Then, briefly summarize all of the main points you made throughout your paper, which will help remind your readers of everything they learned. You might also want to include a call to action if you think more research or work needs to be done on your topic by writing something like, "Despite efforts to contain the disease, more research is needed to develop antibiotics." Finally, end your conclusion by explaining the broader context of your topic and why your readers should care about it, which will help them understand why your topic is relevant and important. For tips from our Academic co-author, like how to avoid common pitfalls when writing your conclusion, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Ummay Aimen

Sep 30, 2016

Did this article help you?

Oct 22, 2017

Sally Larrin

Mar 17, 2018

Maya Loeven

Jun 4, 2017

Sep 26, 2016

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Get all the best how-tos!

Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter

How To Write The Methodology Chapter

The what, why & how explained simply (with examples).

By: Jenna Crossley (PhD) | Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | September 2021 (Updated April 2023)

So, you’ve pinned down your research topic and undertaken a review of the literature – now it’s time to write up the methodology section of your dissertation, thesis or research paper . But what exactly is the methodology chapter all about – and how do you go about writing one? In this post, we’ll unpack the topic, step by step .

Overview: The Methodology Chapter

• The purpose  of the methodology chapter
• Why you need to craft this chapter (really) well
• How to write and structure the chapter
• Methodology chapter example
• Essential takeaways

What (exactly) is the methodology chapter?

The methodology chapter is where you outline the philosophical underpinnings of your research and outline the specific methodological choices you’ve made. The point of the methodology chapter is to tell the reader exactly how you designed your study and, just as importantly, why you did it this way.

Importantly, this chapter should comprehensively describe and justify all the methodological choices you made in your study. For example, the approach you took to your research (i.e., qualitative, quantitative or mixed), who  you collected data from (i.e., your sampling strategy), how you collected your data and, of course, how you analysed it. If that sounds a little intimidating, don’t worry – we’ll explain all these methodological choices in this post .

Why is the methodology chapter important?

The methodology chapter plays two important roles in your dissertation or thesis:

Firstly, it demonstrates your understanding of research theory, which is what earns you marks. A flawed research design or methodology would mean flawed results. So, this chapter is vital as it allows you to show the marker that you know what you’re doing and that your results are credible .

Secondly, the methodology chapter is what helps to make your study replicable. In other words, it allows other researchers to undertake your study using the same methodological approach, and compare their findings to yours. This is very important within academic research, as each study builds on previous studies.

The methodology chapter is also important in that it allows you to identify and discuss any methodological issues or problems you encountered (i.e., research limitations ), and to explain how you mitigated the impacts of these. Every research project has its limitations , so it’s important to acknowledge these openly and highlight your study’s value despite its limitations . Doing so demonstrates your understanding of research design, which will earn you marks. We’ll discuss limitations in a bit more detail later in this post, so stay tuned!

Need a helping hand?

How to write up the methodology chapter

First off, it’s worth noting that the exact structure and contents of the methodology chapter will vary depending on the field of research (e.g., humanities, chemistry or engineering) as well as the university . So, be sure to always check the guidelines provided by your institution for clarity and, if possible, review past dissertations from your university. Here we’re going to discuss a generic structure for a methodology chapter typically found in the sciences.

Before you start writing, it’s always a good idea to draw up a rough outline to guide your writing. Don’t just start writing without knowing what you’ll discuss where. If you do, you’ll likely end up with a disjointed, ill-flowing narrative . You’ll then waste a lot of time rewriting in an attempt to try to stitch all the pieces together. Do yourself a favour and start with the end in mind .

Section 1 – Introduction

As with all chapters in your dissertation or thesis, the methodology chapter should have a brief introduction. In this section, you should remind your readers what the focus of your study is, especially the research aims . As we’ve discussed many times on the blog, your methodology needs to align with your research aims, objectives and research questions. Therefore, it’s useful to frontload this component to remind the reader (and yourself!) what you’re trying to achieve.

In this section, you can also briefly mention how you’ll structure the chapter. This will help orient the reader and provide a bit of a roadmap so that they know what to expect. You don’t need a lot of detail here – just a brief outline will do.

Section 2 – The Methodology

The next section of your chapter is where you’ll present the actual methodology. In this section, you need to detail and justify the key methodological choices you’ve made in a logical, intuitive fashion. Importantly, this is the heart of your methodology chapter, so you need to get specific – don’t hold back on the details here. This is not one of those “less is more” situations.

Let’s take a look at the most common components you’ll likely need to cover. 

Methodological Choice #1 – Research Philosophy

Research philosophy refers to the underlying beliefs (i.e., the worldview) regarding how data about a phenomenon should be gathered , analysed and used . The research philosophy will serve as the core of your study and underpin all of the other research design choices, so it’s critically important that you understand which philosophy you’ll adopt and why you made that choice. If you’re not clear on this, take the time to get clarity before you make any further methodological choices.

While several research philosophies exist, two commonly adopted ones are positivism and interpretivism . These two sit roughly on opposite sides of the research philosophy spectrum.

Positivism states that the researcher can observe reality objectively and that there is only one reality, which exists independently of the observer. As a consequence, it is quite commonly the underlying research philosophy in quantitative studies and is oftentimes the assumed philosophy in the physical sciences.

Contrasted with this, interpretivism , which is often the underlying research philosophy in qualitative studies, assumes that the researcher performs a role in observing the world around them and that reality is unique to each observer . In other words, reality is observed subjectively .

These are just two philosophies (there are many more), but they demonstrate significantly different approaches to research and have a significant impact on all the methodological choices. Therefore, it’s vital that you clearly outline and justify your research philosophy at the beginning of your methodology chapter, as it sets the scene for everything that follows.

Methodological Choice #2 – Research Type

The next thing you would typically discuss in your methodology section is the research type. The starting point for this is to indicate whether the research you conducted is inductive or deductive .

Inductive research takes a bottom-up approach , where the researcher begins with specific observations or data and then draws general conclusions or theories from those observations. Therefore these studies tend to be exploratory in terms of approach.

Conversely , d eductive research takes a top-down approach , where the researcher starts with a theory or hypothesis and then tests it using specific observations or data. Therefore these studies tend to be confirmatory in approach.

Related to this, you’ll need to indicate whether your study adopts a qualitative, quantitative or mixed  approach. As we’ve mentioned, there’s a strong link between this choice and your research philosophy, so make sure that your choices are tightly aligned . When you write this section up, remember to clearly justify your choices, as they form the foundation of your study.

Methodological Choice #3 – Research Strategy

Next, you’ll need to discuss your research strategy (also referred to as a research design ). This methodological choice refers to the broader strategy in terms of how you’ll conduct your research, based on the aims of your study.

Several research strategies exist, including experimental , case studies , ethnography , grounded theory, action research , and phenomenology . Let’s take a look at two of these, experimental and ethnographic, to see how they contrast.

Experimental research makes use of the scientific method , where one group is the control group (in which no variables are manipulated ) and another is the experimental group (in which a specific variable is manipulated). This type of research is undertaken under strict conditions in a controlled, artificial environment (e.g., a laboratory). By having firm control over the environment, experimental research typically allows the researcher to establish causation between variables. Therefore, it can be a good choice if you have research aims that involve identifying causal relationships.

Ethnographic research , on the other hand, involves observing and capturing the experiences and perceptions of participants in their natural environment (for example, at home or in the office). In other words, in an uncontrolled environment.  Naturally, this means that this research strategy would be far less suitable if your research aims involve identifying causation, but it would be very valuable if you’re looking to explore and examine a group culture, for example.

As you can see, the right research strategy will depend largely on your research aims and research questions – in other words, what you’re trying to figure out. Therefore, as with every other methodological choice, it’s essential to justify why you chose the research strategy you did.

Methodological Choice #4 – Time Horizon

The next thing you’ll need to detail in your methodology chapter is the time horizon. There are two options here: cross-sectional and longitudinal . In other words, whether the data for your study were all collected at one point in time (cross-sectional) or at multiple points in time (longitudinal).

The choice you make here depends again on your research aims, objectives and research questions. If, for example, you aim to assess how a specific group of people’s perspectives regarding a topic change over time , you’d likely adopt a longitudinal time horizon.

Another important factor to consider is simply whether you have the time necessary to adopt a longitudinal approach (which could involve collecting data over multiple months or even years). Oftentimes, the time pressures of your degree program will force your hand into adopting a cross-sectional time horizon, so keep this in mind.

Methodological Choice #5 – Sampling Strategy

Next, you’ll need to discuss your sampling strategy . There are two main categories of sampling, probability and non-probability sampling.

Probability sampling involves a random (and therefore representative) selection of participants from a population, whereas non-probability sampling entails selecting participants in a non-random  (and therefore non-representative) manner. For example, selecting participants based on ease of access (this is called a convenience sample).

The right sampling approach depends largely on what you’re trying to achieve in your study. Specifically, whether you trying to develop findings that are generalisable to a population or not. Practicalities and resource constraints also play a large role here, as it can oftentimes be challenging to gain access to a truly random sample. In the video below, we explore some of the most common sampling strategies.

Methodological Choice #6 – Data Collection Method

Next up, you’ll need to explain how you’ll go about collecting the necessary data for your study. Your data collection method (or methods) will depend on the type of data that you plan to collect – in other words, qualitative or quantitative data.

Typically, quantitative research relies on surveys , data generated by lab equipment, analytics software or existing datasets. Qualitative research, on the other hand, often makes use of collection methods such as interviews , focus groups , participant observations, and ethnography.

So, as you can see, there is a tight link between this section and the design choices you outlined in earlier sections. Strong alignment between these sections, as well as your research aims and questions is therefore very important.

Methodological Choice #7 – Data Analysis Methods/Techniques

The final major methodological choice that you need to address is that of analysis techniques . In other words, how you’ll go about analysing your date once you’ve collected it. Here it’s important to be very specific about your analysis methods and/or techniques – don’t leave any room for interpretation. Also, as with all choices in this chapter, you need to justify each choice you make.

What exactly you discuss here will depend largely on the type of study you’re conducting (i.e., qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods). For qualitative studies, common analysis methods include content analysis , thematic analysis and discourse analysis . In the video below, we explain each of these in plain language.

For quantitative studies, you’ll almost always make use of descriptive statistics , and in many cases, you’ll also use inferential statistical techniques (e.g., correlation and regression analysis). In the video below, we unpack some of the core concepts involved in descriptive and inferential statistics.

In this section of your methodology chapter, it’s also important to discuss how you prepared your data for analysis, and what software you used (if any). For example, quantitative data will often require some initial preparation such as removing duplicates or incomplete responses . Similarly, qualitative data will often require transcription and perhaps even translation. As always, remember to state both what you did and why you did it.

Section 3 – The Methodological Limitations

With the key methodological choices outlined and justified, the next step is to discuss the limitations of your design. No research methodology is perfect – there will always be trade-offs between the “ideal” methodology and what’s practical and viable, given your constraints. Therefore, this section of your methodology chapter is where you’ll discuss the trade-offs you had to make, and why these were justified given the context.

Methodological limitations can vary greatly from study to study, ranging from common issues such as time and budget constraints to issues of sample or selection bias . For example, you may find that you didn’t manage to draw in enough respondents to achieve the desired sample size (and therefore, statistically significant results), or your sample may be skewed heavily towards a certain demographic, thereby negatively impacting representativeness .

In this section, it’s important to be critical of the shortcomings of your study. There’s no use trying to hide them (your marker will be aware of them regardless). By being critical, you’ll demonstrate to your marker that you have a strong understanding of research theory, so don’t be shy here. At the same time, don’t beat your study to death . State the limitations, why these were justified, how you mitigated their impacts to the best degree possible, and how your study still provides value despite these limitations .

Section 4 – Concluding Summary

Finally, it’s time to wrap up the methodology chapter with a brief concluding summary. In this section, you’ll want to concisely summarise what you’ve presented in the chapter. Here, it can be a good idea to use a figure to summarise the key decisions, especially if your university recommends using a specific model (for example, Saunders’ Research Onion ).

Importantly, this section needs to be brief – a paragraph or two maximum (it’s a summary, after all). Also, make sure that when you write up your concluding summary, you include only what you’ve already discussed in your chapter; don’t add any new information.

Methodology Chapter Example

In the video below, we walk you through an example of a high-quality research methodology chapter from a dissertation. We also unpack our free methodology chapter template so that you can see how best to structure your chapter.

Wrapping Up

And there you have it – the methodology chapter in a nutshell. As we’ve mentioned, the exact contents and structure of this chapter can vary between universities , so be sure to check in with your institution before you start writing. If possible, try to find dissertations or theses from former students of your specific degree program – this will give you a strong indication of the expectations and norms when it comes to the methodology chapter (and all the other chapters!).

Also, remember the golden rule of the methodology chapter – justify every choice ! Make sure that you clearly explain the “why” for every “what”, and reference credible methodology textbooks or academic sources to back up your justifications.

If you need a helping hand with your research methodology (or any other component of your research), be sure to check out our private coaching service , where we hold your hand through every step of the research journey. Until next time, good luck!

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

You Might Also Like:

50 Comments

highly appreciated.

This was very helpful!

This was helpful

Thanks ,it is a very useful idea.

Thanks ,it is very useful idea.

Thank you so much, this information is very useful.

Thank you very much. I must say the information presented was succinct, coherent and invaluable. It is well put together and easy to comprehend. I have a great guide to create the research methodology for my dissertation.

Highly clear and useful.

I understand a bit on the explanation above. I want to have some coach but I’m still student and don’t have any budget to hire one. A lot of question I want to ask.

Thank you so much. This concluded my day plan. Thank you so much.

Thanks it was helpful

Great information. It would be great though if you could show us practical examples.

Thanks so much for this information. God bless and be with you

Thank you so so much. Indeed it was helpful

This is EXCELLENT!

I was totally confused by other explanations. Thank you so much!.

justdoing my research now , thanks for the guidance.

Thank uuuu! These contents are really valued for me!

This is powerful …I really like it

Highly useful and clear, thank you so much.

Highly appreciated. Good guide

That was helpful. Thanks

This is very useful.Thank you

Very helpful information. Thank you

This is exactly what I was looking for. The explanation is so detailed and easy to comprehend. Well done and thank you.

Great job. You just summarised everything in the easiest and most comprehensible way possible. Thanks a lot.

Thank you very much for the ideas you have given this will really help me a lot. Thank you and God Bless.

Such great effort …….very grateful thank you

Please accept my sincere gratitude. I have to say that the information that was delivered was congruent, concise, and quite helpful. It is clear and straightforward, making it simple to understand. I am in possession of an excellent manual that will assist me in developing the research methods for my dissertation.

Thank you for your great explanation. It really helped me construct my methodology paper.

thank you for simplifieng the methodoly, It was realy helpful

Very helpful!

Thank you for your great explanation.

The explanation I have been looking for. So clear Thank you

Thank you very much .this was more enlightening.

helped me create the in depth and thorough methodology for my dissertation

Thank you for the great explaination.please construct one methodology for me

I appreciate you for the explanation of methodology. Please construct one methodology on the topic: The effects influencing students dropout among schools for my thesis

This helped me complete my methods section of my dissertation with ease. I have managed to write a thorough and concise methodology!

its so good in deed

wow …what an easy to follow presentation. very invaluable content shared. utmost important.

Peace be upon you, I am Dr. Ahmed Khedr, a former part-time professor at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. I am currently teaching research methods, and I have been dealing with your esteemed site for several years, and I found that despite my long experience with research methods sites, it is one of the smoothest sites for evaluating the material for students, For this reason, I relied on it a lot in teaching and translated most of what was written into Arabic and published it on my own page on Facebook. Thank you all… Everything I posted on my page is provided with the names of the writers of Grad coach, the title of the article, and the site. My best regards.

A remarkably simple and useful guide, thank you kindly.

I real appriciate your short and remarkable chapter summary

Bravo! Very helpful guide.

Only true experts could provide such helpful, fantastic, and inspiring knowledge about Methodology. Thank you very much! God be with you and us all!

highly appreciate your effort.

This is a very well thought out post. Very informative and a great read.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR NICE IDEA

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

33 Conclusion

The very first steps in the research process are oftentimes the most important because they set the groundwork for the rest of your research. This chapter covered the importance of narrowing your broader topic down into a more manageable topic that interests you and the importance of performing some general background reading. Background reading can be done using library databases, Wikipedia, or quick online searches on your topic, which can help you find narrower sub-topics to focus on. Background reading at the beginning of your research helps familiarize you with your topic and with the specific vocabulary and keywords often, which can be used in your searches later in the research process.

Zoom in or read the text version of this infographic

Image: Head, Alison J., John Wihbey, P. Takis Metaxas, Margy MacMillan, and Dan Cohen. “ How Students Engage with the News: Five Takeaways for Educators, Journalists, and Librarians .”  Project Information Literacy , 16 Oct. 2018. Licensed under  CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Image: “ Rainbow Frequency ” by Ricardo Gomez Angel is in the Public Domain, CC0

Introduction to College Research Copyright © by Walter D. Butler; Aloha Sargent; and Kelsey Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

The very first steps in the research process are oftentimes the most important because they set the groundwork for the rest of your research. This chapter covered the importance of narrowing your broader topic down into a more manageable topic that interests you and the importance of performing some general background reading. Background reading can be done using library databases, Wikipedia, or quick online searches on your topic, which can help you find narrower sub-topics to focus on. Background reading at the beginning of your research helps familiarize you with your topic and with the specific vocabulary and keywords often, which can be used in your searches later in the research process.

Zoom in or read the text version of this infographic

Image: Head, Alison J., John Wihbey, P. Takis Metaxas, Margy MacMillan, and Dan Cohen. “ How Students Engage with the News: Five Takeaways for Educators, Journalists, and Librarians .”  Project Information Literacy , 16 Oct. 2018. Licensed under  CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Image: “ Rainbow Frequency ” by Ricardo Gomez Angel is in the Public Domain, CC0

Introduction to College Research Copyright © by Walter D. Butler; Aloha Sargent; and Kelsey Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Language selection

• Français fr

Chapter 4: Economic Growth for Every Generation

On this page:, 4.1 boosting research, innovation, and productivity, 4.2 attracting investment for a net-zero economy, 4.3 growing businesses to create more jobs.

• 4.4 A Strong Workforce for a Strong Economy

To ensure every Canadian succeeds in the 21 st century, we must grow our economy to be more innovative and productive. One where every Canadian can reach their full potential, where every entrepreneur has the tools they need to grow their business, and where hard work pays off. Building the economy of the future is about creating jobs: jobs in the knowledge economy, jobs in manufacturing, jobs in mining and forestry, jobs in the trades, jobs in clean energy, and jobs across the economy, in all regions of the country.

To do this, the government's economic plan is investing in the technologies, incentives, and supports critical to increasing productivity, fostering innovation, and attracting more private investment to Canada. This is how we'll build an economy that unlocks new pathways for every generation to earn their fair share.

The government is targeting investments to make sure Canada continues to lead in the economy of the future, and these are already generating stronger growth and meaningful new job opportunities for Canadians. New jobs—from construction to manufacturing to engineering—in clean technology, in clean energy, and in innovation, are just the start. All of this, helping to attract further investment to create more opportunities, will raise Canada's productivity and competitiveness. This will create more good jobs, and in turn, raise the living standards of all Canadians.

We are at a pivotal moment where we can choose to renew and redouble our investments in the economy of the future, to build an economy that is more productive and more competitive—or risk leaving an entire generation behind. We will not make that mistake. We owe it to our businesses, to our innovators, and most of all, to the upcoming generations of workers, to make sure that the Canadian economy is positioned to thrive in a changing world.

Canada has the best-educated workforce in the world. We are making investments to ensure every generation of workers has the skills the job market, and the global economy, are looking for—and this will help us attract private investment to grow the economy (Chart 4.1). Building on our talented workforce, we are delivering, on a priority basis, our $93 billion suite of major economic investment tax credits to drive growth, secure the future of Canadian businesses in Canada, and create good jobs for generations to come.

In the first three quarters of 2023, Canada had the highest level of foreign direct investment (FDI) on a per capita basis among G7 countries, and ranked third globally in total FDI, after the U.S. and Brazil (Chart 4.2).

The Canadian economy is adding new, high-paying jobs, in high-growth sectors, like clean tech, clean electricity, and scientific research and development (Chart 4.4). Budget 2024 will continue this momentum by making strategic investments that create opportunities for workers today—driving productivity and economic growth for generations to come.

Impacts report

Find out more about the expected gender and diversity impacts for each measure in section 4.1 Boosting Research, Innovation, and Productivity

Canada's skilled hands and brilliant minds are our greatest resource. Capitalizing on their ideas, innovations, and hard work is an essential way to keep our place at the forefront of the world's advanced economies. Our world-class innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, and researchers are solving the most pressing challenges of today, and their discoveries help launch the businesses of tomorrow.

Canadian researchers, entrepreneurs, and companies are the driving force of this progress—from scientific discovery to bringing new solutions to market. They also train and hire younger Canadians who will become the next generation of innovators. New investments to boost research and innovation, including enhancing support for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, will ensure Canada remains a world leader in science and new technologies, like artificial intelligence.

By making strategic investments today in innovation and research, and supporting the recruitment and development of talent in Canada, we can ensure Canada is a world leader in new technologies for the next generation. In turn, this will drive innovation, growth, and productivity across the economy.

Key Ongoing Actions

• Supporting scientific discovery, developing Canadian research talent, and attracting top researchers from around the planet to make Canada their home base for their important work with more than $16 billion committed since 2016.
• Supporting critical emerging sectors, through initiatives like the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the National Quantum Strategy, the Pan-Canadian Genomics Strategy, and the Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy.
• Nearly $2 billion to fuel Canada's Global Innovation Clusters to grow these innovation ecosystems, promote commercialization, support intellectual property creation and retention, and scale Canadian businesses.
• Investing $3.5 billion in the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership to strengthen the innovation, competitiveness, and resiliency of the agriculture and agri-food sector.
• Flowing up to $333 million over the next decade to support dairy sector investments in research, product and market development, and processing capacity for solids non-fat, thus increasing its competitiveness and productivity.

Strengthening Canada's AI Advantage

Canada's artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem is among the best in the world. Since 2017, the government has invested over $2 billion towards AI in Canada. Fuelled by those investments, Canada is globally recognized for strong AI talent, research, and its AI sector.

Today, Canada's AI sector is ranked first in the world for growth of women in AI, and first in the G7 for year-over-year growth of AI talent. Every year since 2019, Canada has published the most AI-related papers, per capita, in the G7. Our AI firms are filing patents at three times the average rate in the G7, and they are attracting nearly a third of all venture capital in Canada. In 2022-23, there were over 140,000 actively engaged AI professionals in Canada, an increase of 29 per cent compared to the previous year. These are just a few of Canada's competitive advantages in AI and we are aiming even higher.

To secure Canada's AI advantage, the government has already:

• Established the first national AI strategy in the world through the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy;
• Supported access to advanced computing capacity, including through the recent signing of a letter of intent with NVIDIA and a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.K. government; and,
• Scaled-up Canadian AI firms through the Strategic Innovation Fund and Global Innovation Clusters program.

AI is a transformative economic opportunity for Canada and the government is committed to doing more to support our world-class research community, launch Canadian AI businesses, and help them scale-up to meet the demands of the global economy. The processing capacity required by AI is accelerating a global push for the latest technology, for the latest computing infrastructure.

Currently, most compute capacity is located in other countries. Challenges accessing compute power slows down AI research and innovation, and also exposes Canadian firms to a reliance on privately-owned computing, outside of Canada. This comes with dependencies and security risks. And, it is a barrier holding back our AI firms and researchers.

We need to break those barriers to stay competitive in the global AI race and ensure workers benefit from the higher wages of AI transformations; we must secure Canada's AI advantage. We also need to ensure workers who fear their jobs may be negatively impacted by AI have the tools and skills training needed in a changing economy.

To secure Canada's AI advantage Budget 2024 announces a monumental increase in targeted AI support of $2.4 billion, including:

• $2 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, to launch a new AI Compute Access Fund and Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy, to help Canadian researchers, start-ups, and scale-up businesses access the computational power they need to compete and help catalyze the development of Canadian-owned and located AI infrastructure. 
• $200 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to boost AI start-ups to bring new technologies to market, and accelerate AI adoption in critical sectors, such as agriculture, clean technology, health care, and manufacturing. This support will be delivered through Canada's Regional Development Agencies.
• $100 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, for the National Research Council's AI Assist Program to help Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses and innovators build and deploy new AI solutions, potentially in coordination with major firms, to increase productivity across the country.
• $50 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, to support workers who may be impacted by AI, such as creative industries. This support will be delivered through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, which will provide new skills training for workers in potentially disrupted sectors and communities.

The government will engage with industry partners and research institutes to swiftly implement AI investment initiatives, fostering collaboration and innovation across sectors for accelerated technological advancement.

Safe and Responsible Use of AI

AI has tremendous economic potential, but as with all technology, it presents important considerations to ensure its safe development and implementation. Canada is a global leader in responsible AI and is supporting an AI ecosystem that promotes responsible use of technology. From development through to implementation and beyond, the government is taking action to protect Canadians from the potentially harmful impacts of AI.

The government is committed to guiding AI innovation in a positive direction, and to encouraging the responsible adoption of AI technologies by Canadians and Canadian businesses. To bolster efforts to ensure the responsible use of AI:

• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $50 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to create an AI Safety Institute of Canada to ensure the safe development and deployment of AI. The AI Safety Institute will help Canada better understand and protect against the risks of advanced and generative AI systems. The government will engage with stakeholders and international partners with competitive AI policies to inform the final design and stand-up of the AI Safety Institute.
• Budget 2024 also proposes to provide $5.1 million in 2025-26 to equip the AI and Data Commissioner Office with the necessary resources to begin enforcing the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act .
• Budget 2024 proposes $3.5 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to advance Canada's leadership role with the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, securing Canada's leadership on the global stage when it comes to advancing the responsible development, governance, and use of AI technologies internationally.

Using AI to Keep Canadians Safe

AI has shown incredible potential to toughen up security systems, including screening protocols for air cargo. Since 2012, Transport Canada has been testing innovative approaches to ensure that air cargo coming into Canada is safe, protecting against terrorist attacks. This included launching a pilot project to screen 10 to 15 per cent of air cargo bound for Canada and developing an artificial intelligence system for air cargo screening.

• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $6.7 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to Transport Canada to establish the Pre-Load Air Cargo Targeting Program to screen 100 per cent of air cargo bound for Canada. This program, powered by cutting-edge artificial intelligence, will increase security and efficiency, and align Canada's air security regime with those of its international partners.

Incentivizing More Innovation and Productivity

Businesses that invest in cutting-edge technologies are a key driver of Canada's economic growth. When businesses make investments in technology—from developing new patents to implementing new IT systems—it helps ensure Canadian workers put their skills and knowledge to use, improves workplaces, and maximizes our workers' potential and Canada's economic growth.

The government wants to encourage Canadian businesses to invest in the capital—both tangible and intangible—that will help them boost productivity and compete productively in the economy of tomorrow.

• To incentivize investment in innovation-enabling and productivity-enhancing assets, Budget 2024 proposes to allow businesses to immediately write off the full cost of investments in patents, data network infrastructure equipment, computers, and other data processing equipment. Eligible investments, as specified in the relevant capital cost allowance classes, must be acquired and put in use on or after Budget Day and before January 1, 2027. The cost of this measure is estimated at $725 million over five years, starting in 2024-25.

Boosting R&D and Intellectual Property Retention

Research and development (R&D) is a key driver of productivity and growth. Made-in-Canada innovations meaningfully increase our gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, create good-paying jobs, and secure Canada's position as a world-leading advanced economy.

To modernize and improve the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives, the federal government launched consultations on January 31, 2024, to explore cost-neutral ways to enhance the program to better support innovative businesses and drive economic growth. In these consultations, which closed on April 15, 2024, the government asked Canadian researchers and innovators for ways to better deliver SR&ED support to small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses and enable the next generation of innovators to scale-up, create jobs, and grow the economy.

• Budget 2024 announces the government is launching a second phase of consultations on more specific policy parameters, to hear further views from businesses and industry on specific and technical reforms. This includes exploring how Canadian public companies could be made eligible for the enhanced credit. Further details on the consultation process will be released shortly on the Department of Finance Canada website.
• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $600 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $150 million per year ongoing for future enhancements to the SR&ED program. The second phase of consultations will inform how this funding could be targeted to boost research and innovation.

On January 31, 2024, the government also launched consultations on creating a patent box regime to encourage the development and retention of intellectual property in Canada. The patent box consultation closed on April 15, 2024. Submissions received through this process, which are still under review, will help inform future government decisions with respect to a patent box regime.

Enhancing Research Support

Since 2016, the federal government has committed more than $16 billion in research, including funding for the federal granting councils—the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

This research support enables groundbreaking discoveries in areas such as climate change, health emergencies, artificial intelligence, and psychological health. This plays a critical role in solving the world's greatest challenges, those that will have impacts for generations.

Canada's granting councils already do excellent work within their areas of expertise, but more needs to be done to maximize their effect. The improvements we are making today, following extensive consultations including with the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, will strengthen and modernize Canada's federal research support.

• To increase core research grant funding and support Canadian researchers, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $1.8 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $748.3 million per year ongoing to SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR.
• To provide better coordination across the federally funded research ecosystem, Budget 2024 announces the government will create a new capstone research funding organization. The granting councils will continue to exist within this new organization, and continue supporting excellence in investigator-driven research, including linkages with the Health portfolio. This new organization and structure will also help to advance internationally collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and mission-driven research. The government is delivering on the Advisory Panel's observation that more coordination is needed to maximize the impact of federal research support across Canada's research ecosystem.
• To help guide research priorities moving forward, Budget 2024 also announces the government will create an advisory Council on Science and Innovation. This Council will be made up of leaders from the academic, industry, and not-for-profit sectors, and be responsible for a national science and innovation strategy to guide priority setting and increase the impact of these significant federal investments.
• Budget 2024 also proposes to provide a further $26.9 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $26.6 million in remaining amortization and $6.6 million ongoing, to the granting councils to establish an improved and harmonized grant management system.

The government will also work with other key players in the research funding system—the provinces, territories, and Canadian industry—to ensure stronger alignment, and greater co-funding to address important challenges, notably Canada's relatively low level of business R&D investment.

More details on these important modernization efforts will be announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.

World-Leading Research Infrastructure

Modern, high-quality research facilities and infrastructure are essential for breakthroughs in Canadian research and science. These laboratories and research centres are where medical and other scientific breakthroughs are born, helping to solve real-world problems and create the economic opportunities of the future. World-leading research facilities will attract and train the next generation of scientific talent. That's why, since 2015, the federal government has made unprecedented investments in science and technology, at an average of $13.6 billion per year, compared to the average from 2009-10 to 2015-16 of just $10.8 billion per year. But we can't stop here.

To advance the next generation of cutting-edge research, Budget 2024 proposes major research and science infrastructure investments, including:

• $399.8 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, to support TRIUMF, Canada's sub-atomic physics research laboratory, located on the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus. This investment will upgrade infrastructure at the world's largest cyclotron particle accelerator, positioning TRIUMF, and the partnering Canadian research universities, at the forefront of physics research and enabling new medical breakthroughs and treatments, from drug development to cancer therapy.
• $176 million over five years, starting in 2025‑26, to CANARIE, a national not-for-profit organization that manages Canada's ultra high-speed network to connect researchers, educators, and innovators, including through eduroam. With network speeds hundreds of times faster, and more secure, than conventional home and office networks, this investment will ensure this critical infrastructure can connect researchers across Canada's world-leading post-secondary institutions.
• $83.5 million over three years, starting in 2026-27 to extend support to Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon. Funding will continue the important work at the only facility of its kind in Canada. A synchrotron light source allows scientists and researchers to examine the microscopic nature of matter. This specialized infrastructure contributes to breakthroughs in areas ranging from climate-resistant crop development to green mining processes.
• $45.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to support the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute, a network of universities and institutes that coordinate astroparticle physics expertise. Headquartered at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, the institute builds on the legacy of Dr. McDonald's 2015 Nobel Prize for his work on neutrino physics. These expert engineers, technicians, and scientists design, construct, and operate the experiments conducted in Canada's underground and underwater research infrastructure, where research into dark matter and other mysterious particles thrives. This supports innovation in areas like clean technology and medical imaging, and educates and inspires the next wave of Canadian talent.
• $30 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support the completion of the University of Saskatchewan's Centre for Pandemic Research at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon. This investment will enable the study of high-risk pathogens to support vaccine and therapeutic development, a key pillar in Canada's Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy. Of this amount, $3 million would be sourced from the existing resources of Prairies Economic Development Canada.

These new investments build on existing federal research support:

• The Strategic Science Fund, which announced the results of its first competition in December 2023, providing support to 24 third-party science and research organizations starting in 2024-25;
• Canada recently concluded negotiations to be an associate member of Horizon Europe, which would enable Canadians to access a broader range of research opportunities under the European program starting this year; and,
• The steady increase in federal funding for extramural and intramural science and technology by the government which was 44 per cent higher in 2023 relative to 2015.

Investing in Homegrown Research Talent

Canada's student and postgraduate researchers are tackling some of the world's biggest challenges. The solutions they come up with have the potential to make the world a better place and drive Canadian prosperity. They are the future Canadian academic and scientific excellence, who will create new innovative businesses, develop new ways to boost productivity, and create jobs as they scale-up companies—if they get the support they need.

To build a world-leading, innovative economy, and improve our productive capacity, the hard work of top talent must pay off; we must incentivize our top talent to stay here.

Federal support for master's, doctoral, and post-doctoral students and fellows has created new research opportunities for the next generation of scientific talent. Opportunities to conduct world-leading research are critical for growing our economy. In the knowledge economy, the global market for these ideas is highly competitive and we need to make sure talented people have the right incentives to do their groundbreaking research here in Canada.

• To foster the next generation of research talent, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $825 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $199.8 million per year ongoing, to increase the annual value of master's and doctoral student scholarships to $27,000 and $40,000, respectively, and post-doctoral fellowships to $70,000. This will also increase the number of research scholarships and fellowships provided, building to approximately 1,720 more graduate students or fellows benefiting each year. To make it easier for students and fellows to access support, the enhanced suite of scholarships and fellowship programs will be streamlined into one talent program.
• To support Indigenous researchers and their communities, Budget 2024 also proposes to provide $30 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support Indigenous participation in research, with $10 million each for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit partners.

Boosting Talent for Innovation

Advanced technology development is a highly competitive industry and there is a global race to attract talent and innovative businesses. Canada must compete to ensure our economy is at the forefront of global innovation.

To spur rapid growth in innovation across Canada's economy, the government is partnering with organizations whose mission it is to train the next generation of innovators. This will ensure innovative businesses have the talent they need to grow, create jobs at home, and drive Canada's economic growth.

• Budget 2024 announces the government's intention to work with Talent for Innovation Canada to develop a pilot initiative to build an exceptional research and development workforce in Canada. This industry-led pilot will focus on attracting, training, and deploying top talent across four key sectors: bio-manufacturing; clean technology; electric vehicle manufacturing; and microelectronics, including semiconductors.

Advancing Space Research and Exploration

Canada is a leader in cutting-edge innovation and technologies for space research and exploration. Our astronauts make great contributions to international space exploration missions. The government is investing in Canada's space research and exploration activities.

• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $8.6 million in 2024-25 to the Canadian Space Agency for the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program to support Canada's world-class space industry and help accelerate the development of new technologies. This initiative empowers Canada to leverage space to solve everyday challenges, such as enhancing remote health care services and improving access to healthy food in remote communities, while also supporting Canada's human space flight program.
• Budget 2024 announces the establishment of a new whole-of-government approach to space exploration, technology development, and research. The new National Space Council will enable the level of collaboration required to secure Canada's future as a leader in the global space race, addressing cross-cutting issues that span commercial, civil, and defence domains. This will also enable the government to leverage Canada's space industrial base with its world-class capabilities, workforce, and track record of innovation and delivery.

Accelerating Clean Tech Intellectual Property Creation and Retention

Canadian clean technology companies are turning their ideas into the solutions that the world is looking for as it races towards net-zero. Encouraging these innovative companies to maintain operations in Canada and retain ownership of their intellectual property secures the future of their workforce in Canada, helping the clean economy to thrive in Canada.

As part of the government's National Intellectual Property Strategy, the not-for-profit organization Innovation Asset Collective launched the patent collective pilot program in 2020. This pilot program is helping innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises in the clean tech sector with the creation and retention of intellectual property.

• To ensure that small- and medium-sized clean tech businesses benefit from specialized intellectual property support to grow their businesses and leverage intellectual property, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $14.5 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada for the Innovation Asset Collective.

Find out more about the expected gender and diversity impacts for each measure in section 4.2 Attracting Investment for a Net-Zero Economy

In the 21 st century, a competitive economy is a clean economy. There is no greater proof than the $2.4 trillion worth of investment made around the world, last year, in net-zero economies. Canada is at the forefront of the global race to attract investment and seize the opportunities of the clean economy, with the government announcing a net-zero economic plan that will invest over $160 billion. This includes an unprecedented suite of major economic investment tax credits, which will help attract investment through $93 billion in incentives by 2034-35.

All told, the government's investments will crowd in more private investment, securing Canadian leadership in clean electricity and innovation, creating economic growth and more good-paying jobs across the country.

Investors at home and around the world are taking notice of Canada's plan. In defiance of global economic headwinds, last year public markets and private equity capital flows into Canada's net-zero economy grew—reaching $14 billion in 2023, according to RBC. Proof that Canada's investments are working—driving new businesses to take shape, creating good jobs, and making sure that we have clean air and clean water for our kids, grandkids, and for generations to come.

Earlier this year, BloombergNEF ranked Canada's attractiveness to build electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chains first in the world, surpassing China which has held the top spot since the ranking began. From resource workers mining the critical minerals for car batteries, to union workers on auto assembly lines, to the truckers that get cars to dealerships, Canada's advantage in the supply chain is creating high-skilled, good-paying jobs across the country, for workers of all ages.

This first place ranking of Canada's EV supply chains is underpinned by our abundant clean energy, high labour standards, and rigorous standards for consultation and engagement with Indigenous communities. That's what Canada's major economic investment tax credits are doing—seizing Canada's full potential, and doing it right.

By 2050, clean energy GDP could grow fivefold—up to $500 billion, while keeping Canada on track to reach net-zero by 2050. Proof, once again, that good climate policy is good economic policy.

Helping innovative Canadian firms scale-up is essential to increasing the pace of economic growth in Canada. Already, the Cleantech Group's 2023 list of the 100 most innovative global clean technology companies featured 12 Canadian companies, the second highest number of any country, behind only the U.S. The government is investing in clean technology companies to ensure their full capabilities are unlocked.

Budget 2024 announces the next steps in the government's plan to attract even more investment to Canada to create good-paying jobs and accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy and clean technology.

• Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage investment tax credit;
• Clean Technology investment tax credit;
• Clean Hydrogen investment tax credit;
• Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit; and
• Clean Electricity investment tax credit.
• Since the federal government launched the Canada Growth Fund last year, $1.34 billion of capital has been committed to a world-leading geothermal energy technology company, the world's first of its kind carbon contract for difference; and to clean tech entrepreneurs and innovators through a leading Canadian-based climate fund.
• Working with industry, provinces, and Indigenous partners to build an end-to-end electric vehicle battery supply chain, including by securing major investments in 2023.
• Building major clean electricity and clean growth infrastructure projects with investments of at least $20 billion from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
• $3.8 billion for Canada's Critical Minerals Strategy, to secure our position as the world's supplier of choice for critical minerals and the clean technologies they enable.
• $3 billion to recapitalize the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program, which builds more clean, affordable, and reliable power, and to support innovation in electricity grids and spur more investments in Canadian offshore wind.

A New EV Supply Chain Investment Tax Credit

The automotive industry is undergoing a major transformation. As more and more electric vehicles are being produced worldwide, it is essential that Canada's automotive industry has the support it needs to retool its assembly lines and build new factories to seize the opportunities of the global switch to electric vehicles. With our world-class natural resource base, talented workforce, and attractive investment climate, Canada will be an electric vehicle supply chain hub for all steps along the manufacturing process. This is an opportunity for Canada to secure its position today at the forefront of this growing global supply chain and secure high-quality jobs for Canadian workers for a generation to come.

Businesses that manufacture electric vehicles and their precursors would already be able to claim the 30 per cent Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit on the cost of their investments in new machinery and equipment, as announced in Budget 2023. Providing additional support to these businesses so they choose Canada for more than one stage in the manufacturing process would secure more jobs for Canadians and help cement Canada's position as a leader in this sector.

• electric vehicle assembly;
• electric vehicle battery production; and,
• cathode active material production.

For a taxpayer's building costs in any of the specified segments to qualify for the tax credit, the taxpayer (or a member of a group of related taxpayers) must claim the Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit in all three of the specified segments, or two of the three specified segments and hold at least a qualifying minority interest in an unrelated corporation that claims the Clean Technology Manufacturing tax credit in the third segment. The building costs of the unrelated corporation would also qualify for the new investment tax credit.

The EV Supply Chain investment tax credit would apply to property that is acquired and becomes available for use on or after January 1, 2024. The credit would be reduced to 5 per cent for 2033 and 2034, and would no longer be in effect after 2034.

The EV Supply Chain investment tax credit is expected to cost $80 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, and an additional $1.02 billion from 2029-30 to 2034-35.

The design and implementation details of the EV Supply Chain investment tax credit will be provided in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement . Its design would incorporate elements of the Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit, where applicable.

Delivering Major Economic Investment Tax Credits

To seize the investment opportunities of the global clean economy, we are delivering our six major economic investment tax credits. These will provide businesses and other investors with the certainty they need to invest and build in Canada. And they are already attracting major, job-creating projects, ensuring we remain globally competitive.

From new clean electricity projects that will provide clean and affordable energy to Canadian homes and businesses, to carbon capture projects that will decarbonize heavy industry, our major economic investment tax credits are moving Canada forward on its track to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050.

In November 2023, the government introduced Bill C-59 to deliver the first two investment tax credits and provide businesses with the certainty they need to make investment decisions in Canada today. Bill C-59 also includes labour requirements to ensure workers are paid prevailing union wages and apprentices have opportunities to gain experience and succeed in the workforce. With the support and collaboration of Parliamentarians, the government anticipates Bill C-59 receiving Royal Assent before June 1, 2024.

• Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage investment tax credit: would be available as of January 1, 2022;
• Clean Technology investment tax credit: would be available as of March 28, 2023; and,
• Clean Hydrogen investment tax credit; and,

The government will soon introduce legislation to deliver the next two investment tax credits:

• Clean Hydrogen investment tax credit: available as of March 28, 2023; and,
• Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit: available as of January 1, 2024.

As a priority, the government will work on introducing legislation for the remaining investment tax credits, including the new EV Supply Chain investment tax credit, as well as proposed expansions and enhancements:

• Clean Electricity investment tax credit: would be available as of the day of Budget 2024, for projects that did not begin construction before March 28, 2023;
• The expansion of the Clean Technology investment tax credit would be available as of November 21, 2023; and,
• The expansion of the Clean Electricity investment tax credit would be available from the day of Budget 2024, for projects that did not begin construction before March 28, 2023.
• Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit enhancements to provide new clarity and improve access for critical minerals projects. Draft legislation will be released for consultation in summer 2024 and the government targets introducing legislation in fall 2024.
• The EV Supply Chain investment tax credit : would be available as of January 1, 2024.

Given that the major economic investment tax credits will be available, including retroactively, from their respective coming into force dates, businesses are already taking action to break ground on projects that will reduce emissions, create jobs, and grow the economy. Passing the major economic investment tax credits into law will secure a cleaner, more prosperous future for Canadians today, and tomorrow.

Implementing the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit

As the economy grows, Canada's electricity demand is expected to double by 2050 (Chart 4.7). To meet this increased demand with a clean, reliable, and affordable grid, our electricity capacity must increase by 1.7 to 2.2 times compared to current levels (Chart 4.8). Investing in clean electricity today will reduce Canadians' monthly energy costs by 12 per cent (Chart 4.9) and create approximately 250,000 good jobs by 2050 (Chart 4.10).

Canada already has one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world, with 84 per cent of electricity produced by non-emitting sources of generation. Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Yukon are already clean electricity leaders and generate nearly all of their electricity from non-emitting hydropower—and have more untapped clean electricity potential. Other regions of Canada will require major investments to ensure clean, reliable electricity grids, and the federal government is stepping up to support provinces and territories with these investments.

In Budget 2023, the government announced the new Clean Electricity investment tax credit to deliver broad-based support to implement clean electricity technologies and accelerate progress towards a Canada-wide net-zero electricity grid.

• Low-emitting electricity generation systems using energy from wind, solar, water, geothermal, waste biomass, nuclear, or natural gas with carbon capture and storage.
• Stationary electricity storage systems that do not use fossil fuels in operation, such as batteries and pumped hydroelectric storage.
• Transmission of electricity between provinces and territories.
• The Clean Electricity investment tax credit would be available to certain taxable and non-taxable corporations, including corporations owned by municipalities or Indigenous communities, and pension investment corporations.
• Provided that a provincial and territorial government satisfies additional conditions, outlined below, the tax credit would also be available to provincial and territorial Crown corporations investing in that province or territory.
• Robust labour requirements to pay prevailing union wages and create apprenticeship opportunities will need to be met to receive the full 15 per cent tax credit.

The Clean Electricity investment tax credit is expected to cost $7.2 billion over five years starting in 2024-25, and an additional $25 billion from 2029-30 to 2034-35.

The Clean Electricity investment tax credit would apply to property that is acquired and becomes available for use on or after the day of Budget 2024 for projects that did not begin construction before March 28, 2023. The credit would no longer be in effect after 2034. Similar rules would apply for provincial and territorial Crown corporations, with modifications outlined below.

Provincial and Territorial Crown Corporations

The federal government is proposing that, for provincial and territorial Crown corporations to access to the Clean Electricity investment tax credit within a jurisdiction, the government of that province or territory would need to:

• Work towards a net-zero electricity grid by 2035; and,
• Provincial and territorial Crown corporations passing through the value of the Clean Electricity investment tax credit to electricity ratepayers in their province or territory to reduce ratepayers' bills.
• Direct provincial and territorial Crown corporations claiming the credit to publicly report, on an annual basis, on how the tax credit has improved ratepayers' bills.

If a provincial or territorial government satisfies all the conditions by March 31, 2025, then provincial or territorial Crown corporations investing in that jurisdiction would be able to access the Clean Electricity investment tax credit for property that is acquired and becomes available for use on or after the day of Budget 2024 for projects that did not begin construction before March 28, 2023.

If a provincial or territorial government does not satisfy all the conditions by March 31, 2025, then provincial or territorial Crown corporations investing in that jurisdiction would not be able to access the Clean Electricity investment tax credit until all the conditions have been satisfied. In this case, the Clean Electricity investment tax credit would apply to property that is acquired and becomes available for use from the date when the conditions are deemed to have been satisfied for projects that did not begin construction before March 28, 2023.

The Department of Finance Canada will consult with provinces and territories on the details of these conditions before legislation is introduced this fall.

Additional design and implementation details for the tax credit can be found in the Budget Tax Measures Supplementary Information, under "Clean Electricity investment tax credit."

Delivering Clean Electricity with Indigenous, Northern, and Remote Communities

The government has announced significant measures to advance clean electricity projects nationwide. These initiatives include the Clean Electricity investment tax credit, the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program, and strategic financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Understanding the energy goals and challenges in Indigenous, Northern, and remote communities—such as moving away from diesel—the government has offered unique assistance for projects in these areas, including for planning and feasibility stages. Recent federal investments to support projects with these communities include:

• Up to $535 million in Canada Infrastructure Bank financing and $50 million in funding from the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program for the 250-MW Oneida Energy storage project in Ontario, which is the largest battery storage project in the country.
• $173 million in Canada Infrastructure Bank financing and $50 million in funding from the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program for the Bekevar Wind Power project, an Indigenous-led wind power project in Saskatchewan.
• $14.4 million in funding to explore the feasibility of the Kivalliq Hydro Fibre Link, an innovative project that would connect northern Manitoba to southeastern Nunavut to provide electricity and internet access to five communities and one existing mine, helping to transition Northern communities off of diesel and connect them to the rest of Canada.
• $9 million in funding from the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program for the Salay Prayzaan Solar project, which is 100 per cent owned by the Métis Nation of Alberta.

Implementing the Major Economic Investment Tax Credits

The government's suite of major economic investment incentives is unprecedented in Canadian history, and the government is delivering these supports on a priority basis to attract investment, create good-paying jobs, and grow the economy, while continuing to make progress in the fight against climate change.

To deliver the major economic investment tax credits, without delay, the government is boosting resources to the Canada Revenue Agency, Natural Resources Canada, and the Department of Finance Canada, which each have a role to play in delivering these support measures. To this end:

• Budget 2024 proposes to provide the Canada Revenue Agency up to $90.9 million over 11 years, starting in 2024-25, to administer the new major economic investment tax credits.
• Budget 2024 proposes to provide Natural Resources Canada $7.4 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to provide expert technical advice on engineering and scientific matters related to the major economic investment tax credits and to support the administration of certain investment tax credits with the Canada Revenue Agency.
• Budget 2024 proposes to provide the Department of Finance Canada $21.4 million over 11 years, starting in 2024-25, to complete the implementation, including legislation, of the major economic investment tax credits, ensure ongoing evaluation and response to emerging issues, and propose appropriate legislative amendments to the Income Tax Act and Income Tax Regulations .

The Canada Growth Fund

The Canada Growth Fund is a $15 billion arm's length public investment vehicle launched by the federal government to attract private capital and invest in Canadian projects and businesses, which is led by Canada's world-leading public sector pension professionals. The Canada Growth Fund investments in clean energy and clean technology are already building Canada's strong, clean economy and creating good-paying jobs across the country:

• On October 25, 2023, the Canada Growth Fund made its first investment—a $90 million investment in a groundbreaking geothermal energy company, Calgary's Eavor Technologies Inc., that is creating meaningful employment opportunities for Albertans and securing the Canadian future of a company at the leading-edge of the global economy. 
• The Canada Growth Fund's second investment was announced on December 20, 2023—a $200 million direct investment, plus complementary carbon contract offtake agreement, in a world-leading carbon capture and sequestration company, Calgary's Entropy Inc. to support the reduction of up to one million tonnes of carbon per year. This major investment will support 1,200 good jobs for Albertans and grow the company's Canadian-based activities.
• The Canada Growth Fund's third investment was announced on March 25, 2024—a $50 million commitment into the Idealist Climate Impact Fund, a clean tech investment fund led by the Montréal-based Idealist Capital. The clean tech fund will manage equity investments into innovative entrepreneurs and businesses that are creating good-paying jobs and accelerating the energy transition.

Carbon Contracts for Difference

A price on pollution is the foundation of Canada's plan to build a prosperous net-zero economy. It is a system that is fair and that promotes market-driven solutions. The government recognizes the substantial demand from industry and other stakeholders for carbon contracts for difference (CCFDs) as a tool to accelerate investment in decarbonization and clean growth technologies by providing certainty around carbon pricing.

The 2023 Fall Economic Statement announced that the Canada Growth Fund will be the principal federal entity to issue CCFDs, including allocating, on a priority basis, up to $7 billion to issue all forms of contracts for difference and offtake agreements. The Canada Growth Fund is fulfilling this important role as a federal issuer of CCFDs. Building on its initial success, the Canada Growth Fund is assessing the opportunity to expand its carbon contract offerings and is developing approaches that can best serve the different carbon credit markets across Canada:

• Budget 2024 announces that the Canada Growth Fund is developing an expanded range of CCFD offerings tailored to different markets and their unique risks and opportunities. The Canada Growth Fund will continue offering bespoke CCFDs and carbon offtake agreements, with a focus on provinces contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
• Building on the insights gained from these transactions, Budget 2024 announces the Canada Growth Fund will explore ways to broaden its approach, for example, by developing off-the-shelf contracts for certain jurisdictions and ways to offer these contracts on a competitive basis for a set amount of emissions reductions.
• The Canada Growth Fund has around $6 billion remaining to continue issuing, on a priority basis, all forms of CCFDs and carbon offtake agreements. Budget 2024 announces the government will ensure that the Canada Growth Fund continues to have the resources it needs to fulfill its role as federal issuer of CCFDs. The government is also evaluating options to enhance the Canada Growth Fund's capacity to offer CCFDs, including by exploring the possibility of a government backstop of certain CCFD liabilities of the Canada Growth Fund.

CCFDs can help develop robust carbon credit markets, and the federal government has taken action to ensure their success. For example, in 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada worked with Alberta to ensure that their TIER market was sufficiently stringent so that the projected demand for carbon credits exceeded projected supply, ensuring robust credit demand even as more major decarbonization projects get built and more credits are generated.

Credit markets are largely the responsibility of provinces, and there are opportunities to improve how these markets function. For example, commitments to maintain their industrial carbon pricing systems over the long-term, tighten the stringency of systems as necessary to avoid an oversupply of credits, publishing the price of carbon credits, and recommitting to maintain a price signal of $170 per tonne by 2030 could help improve carbon price expectations for investors. Increased credit price transparency would greatly improve market functioning and provide greater investment certainty, unlocking more decarbonization projects. It would also facilitate the Canada Growth Fund's efforts to develop off-the-shelf CCFDs and deliver more deals, much quicker across provincial carbon markets.

• Budget 2024 announces that Environment and Climate Change Canada will work with provinces and territories to improve the functioning of carbon credit markets, in order to help unlock additional decarbonization projects throughout Canada.

Getting Major Projects Done

Putting Canada on a path to net-zero requires significant and sustained private sector investment in clean electricity, critical minerals, and other major projects. For these investments to be made, Canada's regulatory system must be efficient and quicker—it shouldn't take over a decade to open a new mine and secure our critical minerals supply chains.

To that end, Budget 2023 announced an intention to develop a plan to improve the efficiency of the impact assessment and permitting processes for major projects. The Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects was launched to coordinate this work, and drive positive, pro-growth culture change throughout government, to ensure major project approvals come quicker. New major projects create thousands of new, good-paying jobs for Canadians, and the government is focused on getting more done.

• Provide $9 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to the Privy Council Office's Clean Growth Office to implement the recommendations of the Ministerial Working Group and reduce interdepartmental inefficiencies, including preventing fixation on well-studied and low-risk impacts, ensuring new permitting timelines are upheld throughout departments, and improving data sharing between departments to reduce redundant studies.
• Launch work to establish a new Federal Permitting Coordinator within the Privy Council Office's Clean Growth Office.
• Set a target of five years or less to complete federal impact assessment and permitting processes for federally designated projects, and a target of two years or less for permitting of non-federally designated projects;
• Issue a Cabinet Directive to drive culture change , achieve new targets, and set out clear federal roles and responsibilities within and across departments with the objective of getting clean growth projects built in a timely and predictable manner;
• Build a Federal Permitting Dashboard that reports on the status of large projects which require permits, to improve predictability for project proponents, and increase the federal government's transparency and accountability to Canadians; and,
• Set a three-year target for nuclear project reviews , by working with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, and consider how the process can be better streamlined and duplications reduced between the two agencies.
• Amend the Impact Assessment Act to respond to the October 2023 Supreme Court of Canada decision that ruled that elements of the Act are unconstitutional. The proposed amendments will ensure the Act is constitutionally sound, facilitating efficient project reviews while advancing Canada's clean growth and protecting the environment. An amended Act will provide certainty for businesses and investors through measures that include increasing flexibility in substitution of assessments to allow for collaboration and avoid interjurisdictional duplication, clarifying when joint federal-provincial review panels are possible, and allowing for earlier Agency screening decisions as to whether a full impact assessment is required after the Planning phase. The amended Act will remain consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act ;
• Enhance coordination across orders of government using the tools available under the Impact Assessment Act and permitting coordination mechanisms, to reduce duplication and minimize the burden of regulatory processes on project proponents and Indigenous groups; and,
• Engage Northern Premiers, Indigenous communities, industry, and other partners to discuss transformative changes to their unique project review frameworks, to ensure the North is also prepared to assess and build clean growth projects.
• Advance Indigenous participation in major projects, through the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program detailed in Chapter 6, which will provide more opportunities for Indigenous communities to benefit from the significant number of natural resource and energy projects proposed to take place in their territories;
• Work to establish a Crown Consultation Coordinator to ensure efficient and meaningful Crown consultation with Indigenous peoples on the issuance of federal regulatory permits to projects that do not undergo federal impact assessments. The government will consult First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Modern Treaty and Self-Governing Indigenous partners on the design of the Crown Consultation Coordinator. The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada will continue to be the Crown consultation body for all federal decisions related to projects that undergo federal impact assessments; and,
• Improve Indigenous capacity for consultation by advancing the co-development and implementation of consultation protocol agreements and resource centres, led by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

More details on the Ministerial Working Group's recommendations will be published in an Action Plan in spring 2024. Additionally, further analysis of opportunities for improving the efficiency of the impact assessment process will be undertaken as part of the five-year review of the Impact Assessment Act's designated project list, which will occur later this year, following coming into force of the amended Act. This review will be undertaken in consultation with the public, including with Indigenous partners.

Getting major projects built means more jobs, in more regions across Canada, and more opportunities for the next generation of workers.

Securing the Canadian Biofuels Industry

Biofuels and biogas are renewable energy sources sustainably made from plants or biowaste, such as canola crops and landfill emissions. Not only do they generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels, they also represent a unique opportunity for the Canadian economy. The industry supports agriculture and forestry jobs and can help decarbonize key sectors like marine, aviation, rail, and heavy industry. Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations , in place since 2022, are helping drive the production and adoption of specific biofuels in Canada.

The government is proposing new measures to support biofuels production in Canada, with a focus on renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and renewable natural gas, aiming to capitalize on the increasing demand for these fuels and strengthen Canada's position in the market. Budget 2024 announces:

• The government's intention to disburse up to $500 million per year from Clean Fuel Regulations compliance payment revenues to support biofuels production in Canada, subject to sufficient compliance payments being made to the federal government. More details will be announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement .
• The government will also retool the Clean Fuels Fund to deliver funding faster, and extend the Fund for an additional four years, until 2029-30. With reprofiled funding proposed through this extension, a total of $776.3 million will be available to be deployed from 2024-25 to 2029-30 to support clean fuel projects. The program will shift to a continuous intake process, and streamlined negotiations and decision-making processes will expedite delivery. By the end of this year, Natural Resources Canada will launch another call for proposals under the extended Clean Fuels Fund.
• The Canada Infrastructure Bank will invest at least $500 million in biofuels production under its green infrastructure investment stream.

Advancing Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Research, and Environmental Remediation

Non-emitting, nuclear energy is one of the key tools in helping the world reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Canada stands out as one of the few countries to have developed and deployed its own nuclear technology, the CANDU. And the robust Canadian supply chains built around CANDU not only generate high-skilled jobs and foster research and development but also play a role in creating affordable and clean electricity. Canada's nuclear sector also produces medical isotopes essential for radiation therapy and diagnosing heart disease.

Canada is a Global Nuclear Energy Leader

Over the last few years, the government has announced significant investments and action to advance nuclear energy:

Large Reactors:

• Canada has committed up to $3 billion in export financing to Romania to support the construction of two new CANDU reactors, reducing Romania's reliance on Russian energy while boosting their own energy security and their neighbours', all while supporting Canadian jobs. Canadian supply chains will participate in the construction and maintenance of these reactors over their multi-decade operating life.
• The government announced $50 million in funding to support Bruce Power's large nuclear expansion.

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs):

• The Canada Infrastructure Bank announced a $970 million investment to support Ontario Power Generation in building the first grid-scale SMR among G7 nations at Darlington.
• The Strategic Innovation Fund has committed $94.7 million to accelerate the development of three different next generation SMR designs.
• The government announced $74 million in funding to support SaskPower's SMR development.
• The government announced $120.6 million to enable the deployment of SMRs through various activities such as building regulatory capacity.

Major Economic Investment Tax Credits:

• The Clean Electricity and Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credits announced in Budget 2023 would support investments in nuclear electricity generation, nuclear power supply chains, and nuclear fuel production, which are part of the solution for a clean economy transition.

 Sustainable Finance:

• The government updated its Green Bond Framework to make certain nuclear energy expenditures eligible.

Budget 2024 is announcing new measures to help get nuclear projects built in a timely, predictable, and responsible fashion.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories conducts nuclear science research that helps advance clean energy and medical technologies, as well as environmental remediation and waste management of historic nuclear sites. This work is overseen by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, a Crown corporation responsible for enabling nuclear science and technology and ensuring environmental protection at nuclear sites.

• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $3.1 billion over 11 years, starting in 2025-26, with $1.5 billion in remaining amortization, to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited to support Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' ongoing nuclear science research, environmental protection, and site remediation work.

Canada-U.S. Energy Transformation Task Force

On March 24, 2023, the Canada-U.S. Energy Transformation Task Force was launched by Prime Minister Trudeau and President Biden, as a one-year joint initiative to support our collective energy security and economic growth as we transition to a clean energy future. Canada is pleased to announce the renewal of the Energy Transformation Task Force for an additional year.

Since its creation, the Energy Transformation Task Force has driven significant progress towards more secure and resilient Canada-U.S. supply chains for critical minerals, nuclear fuels, and green steel and aluminum.

Canada is a global leader in the supply of responsibly sourced critical minerals. The government is investing $3.8 billion through the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy to further develop Canadian value chains for critical minerals needed for our green and digital economy, including the new Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit. The Strategy will be further enabled by enhancements to the Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit, and Canada's new Electric Vehicle Supply Chain investment tax credit.

Canada is building on our strong partnership with the U.S. on critical minerals, underpinned by the Canada-U.S. Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Collaboration. Under the Energy Transformation Task Force, we have redoubled efforts to address issues of mutual concern such as bolstering supply security for critical minerals. Our government will continue to work in close collaboration with industry partners and our allies to support cross-border priority critical mineral projects that advance our shared interests.

Nuclear energy will play a key role in achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Canada is a Tier-1 nuclear nation with over 70 years of technological leadership, including our own national reactor technology, and a strong domestic supply chain that includes the world's largest deposit of high-grade natural uranium. Our government is taking action to support the growth of nuclear energy, including through the Clean Electricity investment tax credit, the Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit, the Strategic Innovation Fund, the Canada Infrastructure Bank, and an updated Green Bond Framework that includes certain nuclear expenditures.

At COP28, the government and likeminded partners reaffirmed their commitment to triple nuclear energy capacity and promote public-private investment to strengthen supply chains and reduce reliance on non-allied countries for nuclear fuel needed for advanced and conventional nuclear energy. Through the Energy Transformation Task Force, Canada will continue to engage industry and international partners with a view to announcing concrete measures later this spring to bolster North American nuclear fuel supply chains.

Canadian steel and aluminum—among the greenest in the world—are important pillars of integrated North American manufacturing supply chains and key products to support the net-zero transition. We have invested significantly to further decarbonize our steel and aluminum sectors and to maintain their competitiveness in the green economy. As well, earlier this year, our government announced actions to increase the transparency of steel import data that will help provide more details on the origins of imported steel and align our practice with the U.S. We will continue to collaborate with the U.S. to promote common approaches for trade in low emissions green steel and aluminum goods.

Canada will continue to advance its work in partnership with the U.S., to reduce our shared exposure to production and supply chains controlled by non-likeminded countries, including by attracting investment in EV supply chains, solar, and more.

Clean Growth Hub

The Clean Growth Hub is the federal government's main source of information and advice on federal funding and other supports for clean technology projects in Canada. It directly supports up to 1,100 companies and organizations every year, ranging from emerging small businesses to Canada's world-leading clean tech companies.

Together, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Natural Resources Canada partner with 16 other departments and agencies to offer this one-stop shop to help businesses seeking to invest in Canada and create net-zero growth navigate the federal government's numerous clean economy programs and incentives—unlocking new investment and creating good jobs for Canadian workers.

• To continue supporting clean technology stakeholders to identify and access relevant support and advice, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $6.1 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, for the Clean Growth Hub.

Made-in-Canada Sustainable Investment Guidelines

The government recognizes the importance of promoting credible climate investment and combating greenwashing, to protect the integrity and fairness of the clean economy. This is critical for fostering investor confidence and mobilizing the private investment that Canada needs to help achieve a net-zero by 2050 economy.

As announced in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, the Department of Finance Canada is working with Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada to undertake next steps, in consultation with regulatory agencies, the financial sector, industry, and independent experts, to develop a taxonomy that is aligned with reaching net-zero by 2050. 

This work is being informed by the Sustainable Finance Action Council's Taxonomy Roadmap Report, which provided the government with recommendations on the design of a taxonomy to identify economic activities that the financial sector could label as "green" or "transition."  The government will provide an update on the development of a Canadian taxonomy later this year.

Find out more about the expected gender and diversity impacts for each measure in section 4.3 Growing Businesses to Create More Jobs

Small- and medium-sized businesses are an integral engine of Canada's economy, and they employ about 64 per cent of Canadian workers. Entrepreneurs, local small business, start-ups, growing medium-sized businesses—everywhere in Canada, there are people with good ideas, ready to grow their businesses and create good jobs. The government is ensuring Canada's investment climate sets businesses up for success.

For economic growth to reach the pace that is needed, existing businesses need support to stay competitive and scale-up. The government is taking action to help businesses scale-up their technological innovations, and implement productivity-raising technology across the economy. By cutting red tape, new and existing businesses can grow faster. Boosting access to financing from financial Crown corporations and encouraging Canada's large public pension funds to put their investments to work here at home will unlock new growth opportunities for Canadian businesses.

Through Budget 2024, the government is making it easier for new businesses to start-up and for existing businesses to grow by cutting red tape, and providing the tools businesses need to scale-up. The government is also taking steps to have Canadian public institutions and Crown corporations put their capital to work here at home and seize opportunities to increase Canada's growth and productivity.

The federal government has set up a range of programs and initiatives to help small and medium businesses thrive, and foster economic growth, including:

• Supporting small- and medium-sized businesses to hire 55,000 first year apprentices in construction and manufacturing Red Seal Trades through a grant of $5,000 towards upfront costs, such as salaries and training.
• Maintaining the lowest marginal effective tax rate (METR) in the G7, and a 5.2 percentage point competitive advantage over the average U.S. METR, to ensure Canada is a competitive place to do business.
• Secured commitments with Visa and Mastercard to lower credit card interchange fees for small businesses while protecting reward programs for consumers. These reductions are expected to save eligible Canadian small businesses approximately $1 billion over five years.
• Budget 2022 cut taxes for Canada's growing small businesses by more gradually phasing out their access to the small business tax rate.
• Ongoing support for small- and medium-sized businesses through Canada's seven Regional Development Agencies, including over $3.7 billion since 2018 to help businesses scale-up and innovate through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program.
• Almost $7 billion since 2018 for the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy to help women-owned businesses access the financing, networks, and expertise they need to start-up, scale-up, and access new markets.
• Enhancements to the Canada Small Business Financing Program, increasing annual financing to small businesses by an estimated $560 million.
• Up to $265 million for the Black Entrepreneurship Program to help Black business owners and entrepreneurs succeed and grow their businesses.
• $150 million investment in the Indigenous Growth Fund, to help recruit other investors, and in turn provide a long-term source of capital to support continued success for Indigenous businesses.
• $49 billion in interest-free, partially forgivable loans of up to $60,000 to nearly 900,000 small businesses and not-for-profit organizations through the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).

National Regulatory Alignment

Barriers to internal trade are preventing Canada from reaching its economic potential. These barriers, most commonly the 13 different sets of regulations for each province and territory, hold back businesses from trading across provincial and territorial borders, restrict workers from moving between provinces and territories, and can increase costs for businesses as they work to overcome regulatory hurdles.

By addressing barriers to internal trade, including harmonizing regulations between provinces and territories, we can create more opportunities for Canadian businesses to grow and make life more affordable for all Canadians through greater competition and consumer choice. According to the International Monetary Fund, Canada could increase its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita by as much as 4 per cent—or $2,900 per capita estimated in 2023 dollars through the reduction of internal trade barriers for interprovincial trade of goods.

In 2022, the federal government launched the Federal Action Plan to Strengthen Internal Trade , which is guiding work with the provinces and territories to cut red tape. This includes a rigorous assessment of remaining federal exceptions in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) and important investments in trade data and research.

Two significant milestones have now been reached, with further actions upcoming in 2024:

• The removal and streamlining of one third of all federal exceptions in the CFTA. This means the removal of 14 exceptions related to procurement that will provide Canadian businesses more opportunities to compete to deliver government goods and services. By the end of 2024, the federal government will publicly release the rationale for all remaining exceptions, and encourages provinces and territories to do the same.
• The launch of the new Canadian Internal Trade Data and Information Hub on April 3, 2024. The Hub is an open and accessible data platform that will provide governments, businesses, and workers with timely, free information to help them make choices about where to invest and where to work. The Hub will help shine a light on where labour mobility barriers are highest and where unnecessary red tape costs businesses time and money.

The federal government is committed to working with provinces and territories to ensure goods, services, and workers move seamlessly across the country by advancing the mutual recognition of regulatory standards and eliminating unnecessary red tape for full labour mobility in the construction, health, and child care sectors.

• Budget 2024 announces that the government will launch the first-ever Canadian Survey on Interprovincial Trade in June 2024, to engage thousands of Canadian businesses on the challenges they face when buying, selling, and investing across provincial and territorial borders. The survey's insights will help identify top interprovincial barriers so that they can be eliminated.

As detailed in Chapter 1, the federal government is also leveraging federal housing financing to encourage provinces and territories to align their building codes, including to support modular housing construction, to make it easier to build more homes, faster.

The federal government will announce further progress to align the regulatory environment across the country in due course.

The New Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses

Canada's small- and medium-sized businesses keep main streets flourishing across the country, create jobs, and deliver the dream of entrepreneurship. It is essential that these businesses thrive so they can continue being the bedrock of our communities and our economy.

Pollution has a cost, one which will only rise this century as climate change causes intensifying natural disasters and more severe health effects, as detailed in Chapter 5. Canada's carbon pricing system includes a federal backstop for provinces and territories that don't put their own system in place. It's a system designed to be fair and affordable—for households, Indigenous communities, farmers, and businesses—while reducing the pollution that is causing climate change.

The government is delivering on its commitment to return proceeds from the price on pollution to small- and medium-sized businesses, by announcing an accelerated and automated return process to provide direct refunds to small- and medium-sized businesses in the provinces where the federal fuel charge applies—the new Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses.

• Proceeds would be returned directly to eligible corporations through direct payments from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), separately from CRA tax refunds.
• To receive their proceed return for each fuel charge year, corporations would be required to have filed their tax return for 2023 by July 15, 2024.
• The proposal would return proceeds for future fuel charge years, including 2024-25, in a similar manner each year.

Environment and Climate Change Canada continues to consult with Indigenous governments on how best to directly return fuel charge proceeds to their communities, and will announce next steps soon. The share of fuel charge proceeds allocated to Indigenous governments will double to 2 per cent of direct proceeds beginning this year.

Unlocking New Opportunity Through Financial Crown Corporations

Canada's financial Crown corporations support economic growth by helping businesses get the financing they need to grow; helping farmers and agri-businesses invest in new equipment and technology and support their operations; and helping companies sell their products around the world.

Canadians expect the government to make the most of their tax dollars. That is why in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement the government announced it would be reviewing the operations of the Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, and Farm Credit Canada. Based on this review:

• The amended Framework has also introduced a target solvency rating for financial Crown corporations in cases where the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has no legislative supervisory role. The amended Framework can be found in the: Capital and Dividend Policy Framework for Financial Crown Corporations .
• The Business Development Bank of Canada should increase financing for promising new and high-growth businesses and accelerate reorientation of its venture capital investments toward emerging and higher-risk sectors to help attract more private capital.
• Export Development Canada should leverage its full toolkit and authorities, including by updating internal risk management guidance to facilitate greater risk taking across its portfolio. Recognizing that success for Canadian exporters in highly competitive markets and sectors at times requires additional targeted support, Export Development Canada should also create a new stretch capital envelope to maximize potential for exporters in areas of strategic importance for Canada by taking on greater risk in deploying its capital. Having Export Development Canada take on more higher-risk, higher-impact transactions itself will reduce the need for direct support through the Canada Account. Further implementation details, including the scale and scope of the envelope, will be identified over the coming months.
• Farm Credit Canada should continue to pursue opportunities to support agri-food and agribusiness, including through venture capital investment, and further deployment of technologies to mitigate climate change. The government intends to amend the Farm Credit Canada Act to require regular legislative reviews that ensure Farm Credit Canada's activities are aligned with the sector's needs.

In focusing their mandate on driving economic growth and productivity, these Crown corporations are also expected to prioritize new financing, insurance, and advisory support to under-financed business owners, as well as increase their public reporting and engagement with Canadians. The performance incentives of senior leaders are expected to align with their organizations taking on increased risk appetite in support of economic growth objectives. For Export Development Canada, performance incentives should also encourage alignment of business activities with countries that have free trade agreements with Canada.

Investing in Canadian Start-Ups

Venture capital financing gives Canadian entrepreneurs the resources they need to start-up, scale-up, and become the next generation of Canadian anchor companies. Financing can help take new ideas from lab to market, while creating high-quality, middle-class jobs.

The Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) strengthens Canada's venture capital ecosystem by co-investing with the private market, discovering and nurturing the next generation of globally recognized Canadian companies, and generating returns for private and public investors alike. Since 2016, the government has invested $821 million through VCCI, delivering support to over 300 companies across Canada.

• Building on this momentum, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $200 million over two years, starting 2026-27, on a cash basis, to increase access to venture capital for equity-deserving entrepreneurs, and to invest in underserved communities and outside key metropolitan hubs. 

Encouraging Pension Funds to Invest in Canada

Keeping Canada's vibrant economy strong for future generations of Canadians requires significant capital investments in our businesses, industries, and communities. Attracting higher levels of investment into Canada from all sources, including foreign and domestic private and institutional investors will raise Canada's productivity and increase living standards for all Canadians.

Pension plans are a critical pillar in Canada's retirement income system that ensures Canadians can enjoy a secure and dignified retirement. Canadian pension funds hold over $3 trillion in assets, which are invested both at home and abroad to provide secure retirement income for plan members and retirees.

The government believes that encouraging pension funds to invest in Canada more would help grow the Canadian economy and provide the stable long-term returns needed to deliver strong pensions for Canadians. In the 2023 Fall Economic Statement , the government committed to improving transparency around pension funds' investments and to working collaboratively with Canadian pension funds to create an environment that encourages and identifies more domestic investment opportunities for pension funds and other responsible institutional investors.

Canadian pension funds rely on their strong governance practices and diversified portfolios to deliver Canadians' pensions, with assets including public and private equity, infrastructure, real estate, and bonds. Canada's own economy is full of investment opportunities in these asset classes that could provide valuable contributions to pension fund portfolios. Opening up more opportunities for investment by pension funds in these domestic assets would help one of Canada's largest pools of savings contribute to the growth of the Canadian economy.

Further engagement with industry experts and pension funds will guide the government's way forward on ways to make more domestic investments available that meet the needs of pension funds.

• digital infrastructure and AI investment;
• physical infrastructure;
• airport facilities;
• venture capital investments;
• building more homes, including on public lands; and,
• the removal of the 30 per cent rule for domestic investments.

To support investments in airport facilities, the Minister of Transport will release a policy statement this summer that highlights existing flexibilities under the governance model for Canada's National Airport System airports to attract capital, including from pension funds.

• Following up on the 2023 Fall Economic Statement , Budget 2024 also proposes to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 to enable and require the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to publicly release information related to the plan investments of large federally regulated pension plans.

The information to be disclosed would be set out in regulations and would include the distribution of plan investments by jurisdiction and, within each jurisdiction, by asset class.

The government will continue to engage with provinces and territories to discuss similar disclosures by Canada's largest pension plans in a simple and uniform format.

Boosting Regional Economic Growth

To build a brighter future for communities across the country, Canada's Regional Development Agencies help businesses and innovators grow to fuel economic growth and create good middle class jobs. Through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program, businesses can access funding to scale-up, implement new technologies, improve productivity, and find new markets, helping to develop prosperous and inclusive communities across the country.

• To create jobs and boost regional economic growth, Budget 2024 proposes to provide an additional $158.5 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, on a cash basis, to Canada's Regional Development Agencies for the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program. A portion of this funding will be dedicated to housing innovation.

This support builds on the $200 million that Regional Development Agencies will deliver to businesses for AI adoption.

Cutting Red Tape to Boost Innovation

For innovative businesses to scale-up new ideas, they need certainty that they will be able to bring their product to market. But existing regulation can often be too outdated to fit the needs of new technologies.

To ensure regulation keeps pace with the speed of new innovations, rather than hold innovation back, the government is advancing work on regulatory "sandboxes" to create temporary rules to enable testing of products, services, or new regulatory approaches.

• Budget 2024 announces the government's intent to introduce amendments to the Red Tape Reduction Act to broaden the use of regulatory sandboxes across government. The changes will enable innovation by offering limited exemptions to existing legislation and regulations, streamlining the regulatory system, and reforming regulations to modern business realities.

Supporting the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's Business Data Lab

Since 2022, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has collaborated with Statistics Canada to provide Canadian businesses with insights and information through the Business Data Lab. This initiative provides access to real-time information and analysis, that helps Canadian businesses stay informed, and make decisions that help them stay strong and support workers.

• To advance this work, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $7.2 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's Business Data Lab.  

4.4 A Strong Workforce for a Strong Economy 

Find out more about the expected gender and diversity impacts for each measure in section 4.4 A Strong Workforce for a Strong Economy

Building an economy that is fair for everyone means making sure that every generation can seize the opportunities of the government's investments to grow the economy and create jobs.

Investing in new jobs and skills support for younger Canadians will help them get that first good job or start their first business. Strengthening labour laws and safeguarding the rights of workers will help ensure more jobs are good jobs. Skills and education investments for the next generation of workers will lead to higher productivity and benefit businesses in Canada and looking to invest in Canada who can tap into a robust, highly skilled workforce.

The federal government's generational job-creating investments today lay the groundwork for a brighter tomorrow, where good job opportunities are available to everyone.

• Helping over one million Canadians each year upgrade their skills or find new jobs by investing nearly $3 billion annually in Canada's Labour Market Development Agreements and Workforce Development Agreements with provinces and territories.
• Supporting a trades workforce that is skilled, inclusive, certified, and productive through the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy.
• Equipping close to 105,000 Canadian workers with the skills they need by increasing access to union-led training through the Union Training and Innovation Program since 2019-20, and supporting over 45,000 apprentices through interest-free Canada Apprentice Loans since 2018-19.
• Introducing labour requirements for prevailing union wages and apprenticeship opportunities in most major economic investment tax credits to ensure Canadian workers thrive in the growing clean economy.
• Ensuring workers have time to recover when they get sick, by providing ten days of paid sick leave for all federally regulated workers.
• Banning the use of replacement workers during a strike or lockout in federally regulated workplaces to protect workers' right to strike and support a fairer collective bargaining process during labour disputes.

Empowering Young Entrepreneurs 

Futurpreneur Canada is a national not-for-profit organization that provides young entrepreneurs with access to financing, mentorship, and other business supports to help them launch and grow their business. For over two decades, Futurpreneur Canada's programs and offerings, supported by $161.5 million in federal funding, have helped over 17,700 young entrepreneurs to launch more than 13,900 businesses across the country, supporting thousands of jobs since its inception.

• To empower young entrepreneurs, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $60 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, for Futurpreneur Canada. Futurpreneur Canada will match this federal investment with funding received from other orders of government and private sector partners.

By 2029, Futurpreneur Canada estimates this investment will enable an estimated 6,250 additional youth-owned businesses to launch and scale-up their businesses.

Futurpreneur Helps Young Entrepreneurs Scale-up Their Businesses

Sarah is a recent university graduate who wants to launch a sustainable clothing manufacturing company, but is unsure where to begin. She learns about Futurpreneur Canada. After visiting their website, she finds resources to help develop and test her business model, write a business plan and even attends a webinar to answer her questions. Now, Sarah feels confident and prepared to launch her business, but is having difficulty securing financing.

She decides to apply to Futurpreneur's Startup Program to take advantage of their financing and mentorship offering. Futurpreneur helps her finalize her business plan and cash flow, collects the necessary documentation, reviews her application and determines her business is a good fit, and provides her with financing and mentoring to help launch her business and start making sales.

Sarah is matched with an experienced business mentor who will provide her with guidance and reassurance over the next two years and receives financing of up to $20,000 from Futurpreneur and up to $40,000 from BDC to help start her business. She is also connected to various networking events with experts and other young entrepreneurs to build her business network and gain peer advice.

Investing in a Strong Workforce for a Strong Economy

Investments since Budget 2017 in skills training measures include:

Labour Market Transfer Agreements: Annual investment of nearly $3 billion enabling provinces and territories to deliver training and employment supports tailored to their unique labour market needs.

Union-based training: Over $200 million through Budget 2022 and Fall Economic Statement 2022 to expand the Union Training and Innovation Program to train more than 30,000 additional apprentices and journeypersons.

Employer-led training: Budget 2021 announced the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program to help key sectors of the economy, including the construction sector, implement solutions to address their current and emerging workforce needs. Budget 2021 also announced $250 million for the Upskilling for Industry Initiative to support more than 15,000 workers. Budget 2024 proposes $50 million over four years to provide skills training for workers in sectors disrupted by AI, and $10 million over two years to train more early childhood educators, building up the talent needed for the expansion of affordable, high-quality child care.

Apprenticeship Service: Launched the Apprenticeship Service to help first year apprentices in construction and manufacturing Red Seal trades connect with opportunities at small and medium-sized employers. Budget 2024 proposes to provide $90 million over two years for the Apprenticeship Service to help create placements in the residential construction sector.

Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program:   Budget 2018 announced the Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program to help Canadians explore the trades and make informed career choices. Budget 2024 proposes $10 million over two years to continue to encourage Canadians to explore and prepare for careers in the skilled trades.

Sustainable Jobs Training Fund:   Recently launched the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund to help workers upgrade or gain new skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy.

Indigenous-led training: $99.4 million per year through the co-developed Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program to help Indigenous people improve their skills and find employment.

Financial support for adult learners: About $250 million per year for the Canada Training Credit, which covers up to 50 per cent of eligible training fees.

Affordability for Apprentices: Eliminated Elimination of interest on Canada Apprentice Loans, which provides up to $4,000 per period of technical training for tuition, tools, equipment, living expenses and forgone wages.

Apprenticeship Requirements for Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits: to access the highest tax credit rates, projects must dedicate at least 10 per cent of labour hours performed by covered workers to apprentices. This provides apprentices with the crucial hours they need to complete their training.

Establishing a Right to Disconnect

Everyone needs some downtime; it is essential for well-being and mental health. As the nature of work in many industries has become increasingly digital, workers are finding it increasingly difficult to disconnect from their devices and inboxes after hours and on weekends. This has particularly impacted Millennial and Gen Z workers, many of whom have worked their whole careers without firm separation between work and personal time. 

The government is taking action to restore work-life balance for the many workers in federally regulated industries, including but not limited to financial services, telecommunications, and transportation, by moving forward with a right disconnect from work, outside of their working hours.

• This is expected to benefit up to 500,000 employees in federally regulated sectors.

Further, on the topic of worker misclassification, Employment and Social Development Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency will enter into necessary data-sharing agreements to facilitate inspections and enforcement.

Modernizing the Employment Equity Act

Through the Employment Equity Act , the government promotes and improves equality and diversity in federally regulated workplaces. Since the introduction of the Employment Equity Act , continued progress has been made to address inequalities, but some workers are still facing barriers to employment and many federal workplaces fail to reflect the full diversity of Canada's population. That is why, in 2021, the government launched an arm's length Task Force to review the Act and advise on how to modernize the federal employment equity framework.

• Following the recommendations of the Task Force, Budget 2024 announces the government's intention to propose legislative amendments to modernize the Employment Equity Act , including by expanding designated equity groups.

Examining Critical Port Operations

Labour disputes and work stoppages at Canadian ports can lead to serious economic impacts by disrupting supply chains. To protect port workers and resolve the structural issues underlying port labour disputes, in 2023, the government launched the first phase of a formal review in collaboration with industrial relations experts.

• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $3.1 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to enable the Labour Program at Employment and Social Development Canada to complete the second phase of its review, which will explore long-term solutions to minimize labour disputes, respect the collective bargaining process, and secure the stability of Canada's supply chains. This funding would be sourced from existing departmental resources.

Extending Temporary Support for Seasonal Workers

Many seasonal workers—including in fishing and tourism sectors in Atlantic Canada and Quebec—rely on Employment Insurance for the support they need between work seasons. To address gaps in Employment Insurance support between seasons, the government introduced temporary rules in 2018 to provide up to five additional weeks—for a maximum of 45 weeks—to eligible seasonal workers in 13 economic regions. This support is set to expire in October 2024.

• Budget 2024 proposes to extend this support for seasonal workers in targeted regions until October 2026. The cost of this measure is estimated at $263.5 million over four years, starting in 2024-25. 

Page details

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

Changing Partisan Coalitions in a Politically Divided Nation

2. partisanship by race, ethnicity and education, table of contents.

• What this report tells us – and what it doesn’t
• Partisans and partisan leaners in the U.S. electorate
• Party identification and ideology
• Education and partisanship
• Education, race and partisanship
• Partisanship by race and gender
• Partisanship across educational and gender groups by race and ethnicity
• Gender and partisanship
• Parents are more Republican than voters without children
• Partisanship among men and women within age groups
• Race, age and partisanship
• The partisanship of generational cohorts
• Religion, race and ethnicity, and partisanship
• Party identification among atheists, agnostics and ‘nothing in particular’
• Partisanship and religious service attendance
• Partisanship by income groups
• The relationship between income and partisanship differs by education
• Union members remain more Democratic than Republican
• Homeowners are more Republican than renters
• Partisanship of military veterans
• Demographic differences in partisanship by community type
• Race and ethnicity
• Age and the U.S. electorate
• Education by race and ethnicity
• Religious affiliation
• Ideological composition of voters
• Acknowledgments
• Overview of survey methodologies
• The 2023 American Trends Panel profile survey methodology
• Measuring party identification across survey modes
• Adjusting telephone survey trends
• Appendix B: Religious category definitions
• Appendix C: Age cohort definitions

As has long been the case, White voters are much more likely than those in other racial and ethnic groups to associate with the Republican Party. Hispanic and Asian voters tilt more Democratic. Black voters remain overwhelmingly Democratic.

However, there have been some shifts toward the GOP in most groups in recent years.

The Republican Party now holds a 15 percentage point advantage among White voters: 56% of non-Hispanic White voters identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, while 41% align with the Democratic Party.

• This double-digit lead for the GOP among White voters has held for more than a decade. The last time White voters were about equally split between the two parties was in 2008.

About six-in-ten Hispanic voters (61%) are Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, while 35% are Republicans or Republican leaners.

• The Democratic Party’s edge among Hispanic voters over the last two years is somewhat narrower than it was in years prior.

Black voters continue to overwhelmingly associate with the Democratic Party, although the extent of the Democratic advantage among this group has fallen off over the last few years.

• Currently, 83% of Black voters are Democrats or lean Democratic, while 12% align with the GOP.
• As recently as 2020, the share associating with the Democratic Party was 5 percentage points higher. That somewhat larger edge in party affiliation had been in place for much of the last two decades.

About six-in-ten Asian voters (63%) align with the Democratic Party, while 36% are oriented toward the GOP.

• The balance of partisan association among Asian voters has changed little over the last few years.

The relationship between education and partisanship has shifted significantly since the early years of the 21st century.

• The Republican Party now holds a 6 percentage point advantage over the Democratic Party (51% to 45%) among voters who do not have a bachelor’s degree. Voters who do not have a four-year degree make up a 60% majority of all registered voters.
• By comparison, the Democratic Party has a 13-point advantage (55% vs. 42%) among those with a bachelor’s degree or more formal education.

This pattern is relatively recent. In fact, until about two decades ago the Republican Party fared better among college graduates and worse among those without a college degree.

In the last years of George W. Bush’s presidency and the first year of Barack Obama’s, Democrats had a double-digit advantage in affiliation over Republicans among voters without a college degree. For example, in 2007, 56% of voters without a degree were Democrats or leaned Democratic, while 42% were Republicans or GOP leaners. This group was narrowly divided between the two parties for most of the next 15 years, but in the last few years it has tilted more Republican.

College graduates moved in the opposite direction, becoming more Democratic over this same period.

• Since 2017, the gap in partisanship between college graduates and those without a degree has been wider than at any previous point in Pew Research Center surveys dating back to the 1990s.

Voters with postgraduate degrees are even more Democratic than those with bachelor’s degrees. About six-in-ten registered voters who have a postgraduate degree (61%) identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 37% associate with the Republican Party. Voters with a bachelor’s degree but no graduate degree are more closely divided: 51% Democratic, 46% Republican.

Voters with a high school degree or less education and those who have attended some college but do not have a bachelor’s degree both tilt Republican by similar margins.

White voters are far more polarized along educational lines than are Hispanic and Black voters.

White voters by education

By nearly two-to-one (63% vs. 33%), White voters without a bachelor’s degree associate with the Republican Party.

The GOP’s advantage among this group has remained relatively steady over the last several years but reflects a major shift since 2009. This group is now substantially more Republican-oriented than at any prior point in the last three decades.

Today, White voters with a bachelor’s degree are closely divided between associating with the Democratic Party (51%) and the Republican Party (47%). Prior to 2005, this group had a clear Republican orientation.

Hispanic voters by education

In contrast, there are no meaningful differences in the partisan leanings of Hispanic voters with and without bachelor’s degrees. Democrats hold a clear advantage in affiliation among both groups of Hispanic voters, although the share of Hispanics (both those with and without bachelor’s degrees) who align with the Democratic Party has edged lower in recent years.

Black voters by education

Black voters both with (79%) and without college degrees (85%) remain overwhelmingly Democratic in their partisan affinity.

Black college graduates are somewhat less closely aligned with the Democratic Party now than they were for most of the prior three decades (for most of this period, 85% or more of Black college graduate voters affiliated with the Democratic Party).

Asian voters by education

Two-thirds of Asian voters with a college degree align with the Democratic Party; 31% associate with the Republican Party. The partisan balance among Asian voters with a college degree has remained largely the same over our last two decades of surveys. (Asian American voters without a college degree are a smaller group, and sample sizes do not allow for reporting trends among this group.)

Visit the chapter on partisanship by gender, sexual orientation and marital and parental status for discussion of overall trends among men and women.

Six-in-ten White men who are registered voters identify as Republicans or lean Republican, as do 53% of White women voters.

The balance of partisanship among White women voters has tilted toward the GOP in recent years, but it was more divided in 2017 and 2018.

Among Hispanic voters, about six-in-ten men (61%) and women (60%) associate with the Democrats. Hispanic women voters have become somewhat less Democratic in recent years (down from 74% in 2016).

About eight-in-ten Black voters – both women (84%) and men (81%) – are Democrats or Democratic leaners.

About six-in-ten men (61%) and women (64%) among Asian voters identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party. (There is insufficient sample to show longer-term trends among Asian voters by gender.)

Among White voters, there are wide differences in partisanship by gender, by educational attainment – and by the combination of these.

• Among White voters without a college degree, 64% of men and 62% of women say they identify as or lean toward the Republican Party (about a third of each associate with the Democrats).
• White men with a college degree also tilt Republican among voters, though to a lesser extent (53% are Republicans or lean Republican, 45% are Democrats or lean Democratic).
• In contrast, White women with a college degree are more Democratic than Republican by 15 percentage points (42% Republican or Republican leaning, 57% Democrat or lean Democrat).

Among Black and Hispanic voters, there are only modest differences in partisanship across the combination of gender and education. In both groups, there are no significant differences between men with and without college degrees, or between their women counterparts. (Because Asian American voters without a college degree are a small group, sample sizes do not allow comparing college and non-college Asian men and women.)

This dynamic has changed over time, as college-educated White men and women have grown more Democratic and those with less formal education have grown more Republican.

As recently as 15 years ago, there were sizable gender gaps in partisanship among both college and non-college White voters. In both cases, men were substantially more likely than women to associate with the Republican Party.

But, at that time, there was not a substantial difference in the partisanship of college and non-college White voters – for either women or men.

Today, there is no gender gap in partisanship among non-college White voters, while there is a gender gap among college graduate White voters. The difference in partisanship between White women voters who have a college degree and those who do not, in particular, is quite large.

By contrast, there is little variation in the partisanship of Black and Hispanic voters by these characteristics, and the relationship has varied less over time.

Sign up for The Briefing

Weekly updates on the world of news & information

• Education & Politics
• Election 2024
• Gender & Politics
• Political Parties
• Race, Ethnicity & Politics
• Religion & Politics
• Rural, Urban and Suburban Communities
• Voter Demographics

What’s It Like To Be a Teacher in America Today?

Republican gains in 2022 midterms driven mostly by turnout advantage, more americans disapprove than approve of colleges considering race, ethnicity in admissions decisions, partisan divides over k-12 education in 8 charts, school district mission statements highlight a partisan divide over diversity, equity and inclusion in k-12 education, most popular, report materials.

• Party Identification Detailed Tables, 1994-2023

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Age & Generations
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Economy & Work
• Family & Relationships
• Gender & LGBTQ
• Immigration & Migration
• International Affairs
• Internet & Technology
• Methodological Research
• News Habits & Media
• Non-U.S. Governments
• Other Topics
• Politics & Policy
• Race & Ethnicity
• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookie Settings

Reprints, Permissions & Use Policy