You would wonder if there's a difference between a thesis and a dissertation. Though they seem similar to each other due to their approach, these two have differences.
Yes, people use dissertation and thesis interchangeably sometimes and often confuse the same. But there are some differences between both of them, which everyone needs to understand.
The papers- thesis and a dissertation- contain the same structure: introduction, literary review, body, conclusion, bibliography, and appendix. But, apart from that, these two terms are different and contain different guidelines.
This article will guide you on whether a thesis is similar to a dissertation or not. Let's address the similarities and differences between a thesis and a dissertation. But before that, we need to understand what these two terms mean?
What is a Dissertation? Which Course Needs Dissertation Writing?
When pursuing a PhD, you will have to conduct your research. After that, you need to write an academic paper at the culmination of the PhD program, which is the dissertation.
A dissertation is a lengthy research work that will be your research work throughout your program. Usually, students can earn their PhD after they submit and defend their dissertation. It is original or expanded research on an existing or a new topic that a PhD candidate conducts.
What is a Thesis? How Crucial is it for Earning a Master's Degree?
A thesis is a research paper. But, you need to work on it when you are pursuing a college master's degree program.
You will have to submit your thesis at the final terms of your master's degree. It is an academic paper that lets you showcase your skills. Thus, you can show your expertise and skills on the subject matter of your master's degree.
Hence, it is different from a dissertation according to courses. Now, let's discuss the similarities between a college thesis and a dissertation. Then, we will move on to their purposes and differences between the two.
Similarities between a Thesis and a Dissertation:
Several similarities are present between a thesis and a dissertation. Due to such similarities, people sometimes use them interchangeably. As you already know, both are research papers conducted for specific courses. Other than that, the similarities between the two include:
A college thesis and a dissertation are research papers for the final project for students in graduate programs. They have to submit it by the end of their programs to earn their degrees.
A dissertation and a thesis paper need proper research. Also, both need an accurate and deep understanding of the topic or research problem.
The students must look into specific research questions for both the thesis and dissertations.
Students must follow ethical practices while collating and documenting their research data in a thesis and a dissertation paper.
Whether you write a college thesis paper or a dissertation paper, you need adequate academic writing skills, which add some similarities to these terms.
In both a thesis and a dissertation, plagiarism is not accepted. Your paper may get disqualified if there's any plagiarism in it.
Before submission, both thesis and dissertations need effective and efficient editing and proofreading.
Students need to have proper analysis skills for both thesis and dissertation to support their findings.
The basic difference between a Thesis and Dissertation
The distinction between them lies at the time of its completion. A thesis ends at the end of a master's program, whereas a student does a dissertation during a PhD program. Let's check out the other differences between a dissertation and a thesis.
The most crucial difference between a dissertation and a thesis is that a thesis is research on an existing idea. Meanwhile, dissertation research is research on a new concept that the student needs to defend.
With a thesis, you can show the knowledge you gained throughout your master's program. Whereas through a dissertation, you can contribute some new ideas or knowledge to your field.
When writing a dissertation, you have to develop your new idea or concept and prove that it's valid. But, a thesis is a research on an existing concept or idea in your field.
A dissertation is much longer compared to a thesis. A thesis usually has 100 pages. But, dissertation research contains more information and background knowledge compared to a thesis. It also requires more pages.
In a dissertation, you have to include your research proposal, literature review, grant proposal, research topic creativity, and other details on the topic. Comparing a thesis and a dissertation in terms of length is three times lengthier than a thesis.
Difference between a Thesis and Dissertation- Location wise:
Both a dissertation and a thesis are different in terms of location. In different locations, people use these terms differently. Hence, locational differences can also inform you whether these terms have similarities. We will discuss the differences between a dissertation and a thesis in the USA and Europe.
USA:
A thesis is a long research paper that graduate students perform to earn a university or college degree in the USA. Meanwhile, a dissertation is a long research paper that students perform for a higher college or university degree.
The students submit a thesis to earn a master's degree and a dissertation to earn a doctoral degree. The students don't have to perform original research and work based on previous and existing ideas in a thesis. But, a dissertation needs original research on the subject that also contains new ideas of the student in their field.
In the USA, a thesis is shorter than a dissertation. Dissertation research requires much more results and takes more time compared to a thesis.
Europe:
Europe has the reverse idea of both a dissertation and a thesis compared to the USA. In Europe, a thesis is a long research paper for students to complete their original research and ideas of the field they are undertaking. On the other hand, a dissertation is a long academic research paper that students write, especially for a university degree.
In Europe, a PhD requires a paper having new concepts or knowledge based on a student's original research. On the other hand, a master's degree requires a paper that contains knowledge and information based on existing ideas.
Usually, a dissertation revolves around one particular question, whereas a thesis contains each chapter for a separate research topic and methodology.
The time required for both a thesis and dissertation is different here. You can perform your research and analysis for several months for a dissertation. But in the thesis, it takes a much longer time, and it can even reach 2-3 hours, depending on your research time.
The essential purpose of thesis papers is that a thesis aims to understand a student's knowledge of their field. The student has to research an existing concept done by others in the same field. On the other hand, a dissertation aims to understand whether students can develop something new in their field of study and conduct original research.
These papers require intense research, analysis skills, time, and effort since they are lengthy and informative. Hence, these papers can show whether the students have effectively mastered the knowledge of their programs and are capable of receiving their degrees or not.
Conclusion
Both a thesis and a dissertation seem similar. However, both these terms have different purposes and help attain different degrees. Hence, we can say that a thesis and a dissertation have similarities, but you cannot interchangeably. A thesis is for a master's degree meanwhile a dissertation is for a doctoral program.
Here we can see how much difference they have in terms of the purpose. Several differences exist between dissertation help research and college thesis in structure, location (USA and UK), length, and many more. We have discussed all such differences in this article.
Yes, these terms may have some similarities in terms of points. But you shouldn't use one term for the other as they have different ideas, guidelines, and uses.
