A dissertation or thesis is a document
submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or
professional qualification presenting the author's research and
findings. In some countries/universities, the word "thesis"
or a cognate is used as part of a bachelor's or master's course,
while "dissertation" is normally applied to a doctorate,
while in others, the reverse is true.
The term dissertation can at times be
used to describe a treatise without relation to obtaining an academic
degree. The term thesis is also used to refer to the central claim of
an essay or similar work.
Structure
A typical thesis (or dissertation) has
a title page, an Abstract, a table of contents, a body, comprising
the various chapters (introduction, literature review, findings,
etc.), and a bibliography or (more usually) a references section.
They vary in their structure in line with the many different areas of
study (arts, humanities, social sciences, technology, sciences, etc.)
and the great differences between them.
Dissertations normally report on a
research project or an extended analysis of a topic. The structure of
the thesis or dissertation explains the purpose, the methods used and
the findings of the project. Most world universities use a 5 chapter
format : a) an introduction, which introduces the research topic, the
methodology, as well as its scope and significance; b) a literature
review, reviewing relevant literature and showing how this has
informed the research issue; c) a methodology chapter, explaining how
the research has been designed and why the research
methods/population/data collection and analysis being used have been
chosen; d) a findings chapter, outlining the findings of the research
itself; e) an analysis and discussion chapter, analysing the findings
and discussing them in the context of the literature review (this
chapter is often divided into two—analysis and discussion); f) a
conclusion.[4]
[edit] Style
Degree-awarding institutions often
define their own house style that candidates have to follow when
preparing a thesis document. In addition to institution-specific
house styles, there exist a number of field-specific, national, and
international standards and recommendations for the presentation of
theses, for instance ISO 7144.[2] Other applicable international
standards include ISO 2145 on section numbers, ISO 690 on
bibliographic references, and ISO 31 on quantities or units.
Some older house styles specify that
front matter (title page, abstract, table of content, etc.) uses a
separate page-number sequence from the main text, using Roman
numerals. The relevant international standard[2] and many newer style
guides recognize that this book design practice can cause confusion
where electronic document viewers number all pages of a document
continuously from the first page, independent of any printed page
numbers. They therefore avoid the traditional separate number
sequence for front matter and require a single sequence of Arabic
numerals starting with 1 for the first printed page (the verso of the
title page).
Presentation requirements, including
pagination, layout, type and color of paper, use of acid-free paper
(where a copy of the dissertation will become a permanent part of the
library collection), paper size, order of components, and citation
style, will be checked page by page by the accepting officer before
the thesis is accepted and a receipt is issued. Theses that are
incomplete or incorrectly formatted may not be accepted.
However, strict standards are not
always required. Most Italian universities, for example, have only
general requirements on the character size and the page formatting,
and leave much freedom on the actual typographic details.[citation
needed]
[edit] Literature review
Main article: Literature review
A literature review examines the
existing literature to discover the strengths and weakness in the
literature. As well as demonstrating knowledge of existing research,
a literature review should also identify gaps in the literature that
the thesis as a whole is intended to fill. It provides the backdrop
to, and reasons for, conducting the research. In addition, the
discussion sets up the items in the methodology in a 1:1
correspondence. For example, if a researcher wants to query variable
A in a particular population, their review of the literature should
discuss the importance of, or other research that has studied
variable A.
[edit] Thesis committee
A thesis or dissertation committee is a
committee that supervises a student's dissertation. This committee,
consisting of a primary supervisor or advisor and two or more
committee members, supervises the progress of the dissertation and
may also act as the examining committee, or jury, at the oral
examination of the thesis (see below).
At most universities, the committee is
chosen by the student in conjunction with his or her primary adviser,
usually after completion of the comprehensive examinations or
prospectus meeting, and may consist of members of the comps
committee. The committee members are doctors in their field (whether
a PhD or other designation) and have the task of reading the
dissertation, making suggestions for changes and improvements, and
sitting in on the defense. Sometimes, at least one member of the
committee must be a professor in a department that is different from
that of the student.
[edit] Regional and degree-specific
practices and terminologies
[edit] Argentina
In the Latin American docta, the
academic dissertation can be referred to different stages inside the
academic program that the student is seeking to achieve into a
recognized Argentine University, in all the cases the students must
develop original contribution in the chosen fields by means of
several paper work and essays that comprehend the body of the
thesis.[5] Correspondingly to the academic degree, the last phase of
an academic thesis is called in Spanish a defensa de grado, defensa
magistral or defensa doctoral in cases in which the university
candidate is finalizing his or her licentiate, master's, or PhD
program. According to a committee resolution, the dissertation can be
approved or rejected by an academic committee consisting of the
thesis director, the thesis coordinator, and at least one evaluator
from another recognized university in which the student is pursuing
his or her academic program. All the dissertation referees must
already have achieved at least the academic degree that the candidate
is trying to reach.[6]
[edit] Canada
At English-speaking Canadian
universities, writings presented in fulfillment of undergraduate
coursework requirements are normally called papers, term papers or
essays. A long paper presented for completion of a 4-year bachelor
degree is sometimes called a major paper. Research-based papers
presented as the final empirical study of a bachelor with honours
degree are normally called bachelor thesis or honours thesis. Major
papers presented as the final project for a master's degree are
normally called thesis; and major papers presenting the student's
research towards a doctoral degree are called theses or
dissertations.
At some Canadian universities where
French is a primary language of study,[7] students may have a choice
between presenting a "mémoire"', which is a shorter
synthetic work (roughly 75 pages) and a thèse which is one hundred
pages or more[citation needed]. A synthetic monograph associated with
doctoral work is referred to as a "thèse". See also
compilation thesis. Either work can be awarded a "mention
d'honneur" (excellence) as a result of the decision by the
examination committee, although these are rare.
A typical undergraduate thesis might be
forty pages. Master's theses are approximately one hundred pages. PhD
theses are usually over two hundred pages. This may vary greatly by
discipline, however.
Theses Canada acquires and preserves a
comprehensive collection of Canadian theses at Library and Archives
Canada' (LAC) through partnership with Canadian universities who
participate in the program.[8]
[edit] France
In France, the academic dissertation or
thesis is called a thèse while the word dissertation is reserved for
shorter (1,000–2,000 words), more generic academic treatises. To
complete a master's degree in research, a student is required to
write a mémoire.
[edit] Germany
In Germany, an academic thesis is
called an Abschlussarbeit (for non-doctorate and non-Habilitation
degrees) or the basic name of the degree complemented by -arbeit
(e.g., Diplomarbeit, Masterarbeit, Doktorarbeit, but
Habilitationsschrift not Habilitationsarbeit). Length is often given
in page count and depends upon departments, faculties, and fields of
study. A bachelor's thesis is often 40–60 pages long, other theses
are usually even longer. The required submission for the doctorate is
called a Dissertation or Doktorarbeit. The submission for the
Habilitation is called Habilitationsschrift. PhD by publication is
becoming increasingly common in many fields of study.
[edit] India
In India, as in Great Britain, the
thesis defence is called a viva voce (Latin for "by live voice")
examination (viva in short). Involved in the viva are two examiners
and the candidate. One examiner is an academic from the candidate's
own university department (but not one of the candidate's
supervisors) and the other is an external examiner from a different
university.[9][citation needed]
In India, PG Qualifications such as
M.Sc. Physics accompanies submission of dissertation in Part I and
submission of a Project(a working model of an innovation) in Part II.
Engineering qualifications such as BTech or B.E. or M.Tech also
involves submission of dissertation. In all the cases, the
dissertation can be extended for summer internship at certain
research and development organizations or also as PhD synopsis.
[edit] Italy
In Italy there are normally three types
of theses, in order of complexity: one for the Laurea Triennale
(equivalent to the Bachelor's Degree), another one for the Laurea
Specialistica (Master's Degree) and then a thesis to complete the
Dottorato di Ricerca (PhD). Theses requirements vary greatly between
degrees and disciplines, ranging from as low as 3-4 ECTS credits to
more than 30. Thesis work is mandatory for the completion of a
degree.
[edit] Pakistan
In Pakistan, at undergraduate level the
thesis is usually called final year project, as it is completed in
the senior year of the degree, the name project usually implies that
the work carried out is less extensive than a thesis and bears lesser
credit hours too. The undergraduate level project is presented
through an elaborate written report and a presentation to the
advisor, a board of faculty members and students. At graduate level
however, i.e. in MS, some universities allow students to accomplish a
project of 6 credits or a thesis of 9 credits, at least one
publication is normally considered enough for the awarding of the
degree with project and is considered mandatory for the awarding of a
degree with thesis. A written report and a public thesis defense is
mandatory, in the presence of a board of senior researchers,
consisting of members from an outside organization or a university. A
PhD candidate is supposed to accomplish extensive research work to
fulfill the dissertation requirements with international publications
being a mandatory requirement. The defense of the research work is
done publicly.
[edit] Portugal and Brazil
In Portugal and Brazil, a dissertation
(dissertação) is required for completion of a master's degree. The
defense is done in a public presentation in which teachers, students,
and the general public can participate. For the PhD a thesis (tese)
is presented for defense in a public exam. The exam typically extends
over 3 hours. The examination board typically involves 5 to 6
Professors or other experts with a PhD degree (generally at least
half of them must be external to the university where the candidate
defends the thesis, but may depend on the University). Each
university / faculty defines the length of these documents, but
typical numbers of pages are around 60–80 for MSc and 200–250 for
PhD.
[edit] Russia and Ukraine
In Russia and Ukraine,[10] an academic
dissertation or thesis is called what can be literally translated as
a "master's degree work" (thesis), whereas the word
dissertation is reserved for doctoral theses (Candidate of Sciences).
To complete a master's degree, a student is required to write a
thesis of about 110–130 pages and to then defend the work
publicly.[11]
[edit] Slovenia
At universities in Slovenia, an
academic thesis called diploma thesis is a prerequisite for
completing undergraduate studies. The thesis used to be 40–60 pages
long, but has been reduced to 20–30 pages in new Bologna process
programmes. To complete Masters studies, a candidate must write
magistrsko delo (Masters thesis) that is longer and more detailed
than the undergraduate thesis. The required submission for the
doctorate is called doktorska disertacija (doctoral dissertation).
Perspective students can skip the preparation and presentation of a
Masters' thesis and continue straightforward towards doctorate.
[edit] United Kingdom
Outside the academic community, the
terms thesis and dissertation are interchangeable. At universities in
the United Kingdom, the term thesis is usually associated with
PhD/EngD (doctoral) and research master's degrees, while dissertation
is the more common term for a substantial project submitted as part
of a taught master's degree or an undergraduate degree (e.g. BA, BSc,
BMus, BEd, BEng etc.).
Individual departments and faculties
set thesis word lengths. Theses in the humanities and social sciences
are typically 8,000–10,000 words,[citation needed] with theses in
the sciences being roughly half that length[citation needed]. The
length of an undergraduate or master's dissertation varies
considerably, but is almost always between 6,000 and 25,000 words.
However, inside the academic community,
the terms thesis and dissertation have very specific meanings. A
thesis is an argument that is created and then tested through
research. A dissertation, however, is the document that records this
research[citation needed] and is submitted as evidence by an
applicant for an academic qualification.
[edit] United States
In some U.S. doctoral programs, the
term "dissertation" can refer to the major part of the
student's total time spent (along with two or three years of
classes), and may take years of full-time work to complete. At most
universities, dissertation is the term for the required submission
for the doctorate, and thesis refers only to the master's degree
requirement.
Thesis is also used to describe a
cumulative project for a bachelor's degree, and is more common at
selective colleges and universities, or for those seeking admittance
to graduate school or to obtain an honors academic designation. These
are called "senior projects" or "senior theses;"
they are generally done in the senior year near graduation after
having completed other courses, the independent study period, and the
internship and/or student teaching period (the completion of most of
the requirements before the writing of the paper ensures adequate
knowledge and aptitude for the challenge). Unlike a dissertation or
master's thesis, they are not as long, they do not require a novel
contribution to knowledge, or even a very narrow focus on a set
subtopic. Like them, they can be lengthy and require months of work,
they require supervision by at least one professor adviser, they must
be focused on a certain area of knowledge, and they must use an
appreciable amount of scholarly citations. They may or may not be
defended before a committee, but usually are not; there is generally
no preceding examination before the writing of the paper save for at
a very few colleges. Because of the nature of the graduate thesis or
dissertation having to be more narrow and more novel, the result of
original research, these usually have a smaller proportion of the
work that is cited from other sources, though the fact that they are
lengthier may mean they still have more total citations.
Specific undergraduate courses,
especially writing-intensive courses and/or courses taken by
upperclassmen, may also require one or more extensive written
assignments referred to variously as theses, essays, or papers.
Increasingly, high schools are requiring students to complete a
senior project or senior thesis on a chosen topic during the final
year as a prerequisite for graduation.[12][13]
Generally speaking, a dissertation is
judged as to whether or not it makes an original and unique
contribution to scholarship. Lesser projects (a master's thesis, for
example) are judged by whether or not they demonstrate mastery of
available scholarship in the presentation of an idea.
[edit] Thesis examinations
One of the requirements for certain
advanced degrees is often an oral examination. This examination
normally occurs after the dissertation is finished but before it is
submitted to the university, and may comprise a presentation by the
student and questions posed by an examining committee or jury. In
North America, an initial oral examination in the field of
specialization may take place just before the student settles down to
work on the dissertation. An additional oral exam may take place
after the dissertation is completed and is known as a thesis or
dissertation "defense," which at some universities may be a
mere formality and at others may result in the student's being
required to make significant revisions. In the UK and certain other
English-speaking countries, an oral examination is called a viva
voce.
[edit] Examination results
The result of the examination may be
given immediately following deliberation by the examiners (in which
case the candidate may immediately be considered to have received his
or her degree), or at a later date, in which case the examiners may
prepare a defence report that is forwarded to a Board or Committee of
Postgraduate Studies, which then officially recommends the candidate
for the degree.
Potential decisions (or "verdicts")
include:
Accepted / pass with no
corrections.
The thesis is accepted as
presented. A grade may be awarded, though in many countries PhDs are
not graded at all, and in others only one of the theoretically
possible grades (the highest) is ever used in practice.[citation
needed]
The thesis must be revised.
Revisions (for example, correction
of numerous grammatical or spelling errors; clarification of concepts
or methodology; addition of sections) are required. One or more
members of the jury and/or the thesis supervisor will make the
decision on the acceptability of revisions and provide written
confirmation that they have been satisfactorily completed. If, as is
often the case, the needed revisions are relatively modest, the
examiners may all sign the thesis with the verbal understanding that
the candidate will review the revised thesis with his or her
supervisor before submitting the completed version.
Extensive revision required.
The thesis must be revised
extensively and undergo the evaluation and defense process again from
the beginning with the same examiners. Problems may include
theoretical or methodological issues. A candidate who is not
recommended for the degree after the second defense must normally
withdraw from the program.
Unacceptable.
The thesis is unacceptable and the
candidate must withdraw from the program.
This verdict is given only when the
thesis requires major revisions and when the examination makes it
clear that the candidate is incapable of making such revisions.
At most North American institutions the
latter two verdicts are extremely rare, for two reasons. First, to
obtain the status of doctoral candidates, graduate students typically
write a qualifying examination or comprehensive examination, which
often includes an oral defense. Students who pass the qualifying
examination are deemed capable of completing scholarly work
independently and are allowed to proceed with working on a
dissertation. Second, since the thesis supervisor (and the other
members of the advisory committee) will normally have reviewed the
thesis extensively before recommending the student proceed to the
defense, such an outcome would be regarded as a major failure not
only on the part of the candidate but also by the candidate's
supervisor (who should have recognized the substandard quality of the
dissertation long before the defense was allowed to take place). It
is also fairly rare for a thesis to be accepted without any
revisions; the most common outcome of a defense is for the examiners
to specify minor revisions (which the candidate typically completes
in a few days or weeks).
On the other hand, at universities on
the British pattern it is not uncommon for theses to be failed at the
viva stage[citation needed], in which case either a major rewrite is
required, followed by a new viva, or the thesis may be awarded the
lesser degree of M.Phil (Master of Philosophy) instead, preventing
the candidate from resubmitting the thesis.
[edit] Australia
In Australia, doctoral theses are
usually examined by three examiners although some, like the
Australian Catholic University, have shifted to using only two
examiners; without a live defense except in extremely rare
exceptions. In the case of a Master's Degree by research the thesis
is usually examined by only two examiners. Typically one of these
examiners will be from within the candidate's own department; the
other(s) will usually be from other universities and often from
overseas. Following submission of the thesis, copies are sent by mail
to examiners and then reports sent back to the institution.
Similar to a Master's Degree by
research thesis, a thesis for the research component of a Master's
Degree by coursework is also usually examined by two examiners, one
from the candidate's department and one from another university.
Theses for Honours degrees in three-year Bachelor courses are also
examined by two examiners, though both are usually from the
candidate's own department. Honours and Master's by coursework thesis
also require an oral defence before they are accepted.
[edit] Germany
In Germany, a thesis is often examined
with an oral defense (Verteidigung), also called Disputation. This
applies to many diploma degrees and to almost all Magister, master's
and doctoral degrees, but usually not to bachelor's degrees. The
minimum word count varies but is usually between 15,000 to 17,500
words. Masters Degrees sometimes dictate that 30,000 words must be
written.
[edit] Portugal
In Portugal, a thesis is examined with
an oral defense, which includes an initial presentation by the
candidate followed by an extensive questioning/answering period.
Typical duration for the total exam is 1 hour 30 minutes for the MSc
and 3 hours for the PhD.
[edit] North America
In North America, the thesis defense or
oral defense is the final examination for doctoral candidates, and
sometimes for master's candidates.
The examining committee normally
consists of the thesis committee, usually a given number of
professors mainly from the student's university plus his or her
primary supervisor, an external examiner (someone not otherwise
connected to the university), and a chair person. Each committee
member will have been given a completed copy of the dissertation
prior to the defense, and will come prepared to ask questions about
the thesis itself and the subject matter. In many schools, master's
thesis defenses are restricted to the examinee and the examiners, but
doctoral defenses are open to the public.
The typical format will see the
candidate giving a short (20–40 minute) presentation of his or her
research, followed by one to two hours of questions.
At some U.S. institutions, a longer
public lecture (known as a "thesis talk" or "thesis
seminar") by the candidate will accompany the defense itself, in
which case only the candidate, the examiners, and other members of
the faculty may attend the actual defense.
[edit] United Kingdom, Ireland and Hong
Kong
In Hong Kong, Ireland and the United
Kingdom, the thesis defense is called a viva voce (Latin for "by
live voice") examination (viva for short). Involved in the viva
are two examiners and the candidate. Usually, one examiner is an
academic from the candidate's own university department (but not one
of the candidate's supervisors) and the other is an external examiner
from a different university.[citation needed]
In the United Kingdom, there are only
two or at most three examiners, and the examination is in many
universities strictly in private—however, in the University of
Oxford, at least, in theory any member of the University may attend a
DPhil viva (the University's regulations require that details of the
examination and its time and place be published formally in advance)
provided he or she attends in full academic dress.[14] Also, in the
UK, the candidate's primary supervisor is not permitted to ask
questions during the viva, and their presence is not necessary.
[edit] Submission of the thesis
A submission of the thesis is the last
formal requirement for most students after the defense. By the final
deadline, the student must submit a complete copy of the thesis to
the appropriate body within the accepting institution, along with the
appropriate forms, bearing the signatures of the primary supervisor,
the examiners, and, in some cases, the head of the student's
department. Other required forms may include library authorizations
(giving the university library permission to make the thesis
available as part of its collection) and copyright permissions (in
the event that the student has incorporated copyrighted materials in
the thesis). Many large scientific publishing houses (e.g. Taylor &
Francis, Elsevier) use copyright agreements that allow the authors to
incorporate their published articles into dissertations without
separate authorization.
Failure to submit the thesis by the
deadline may result in graduation (and granting of the degree) being
delayed. At most U.S. institutions, there will also be various fees
(for binding, microfilming, copyright registration, and the like),
which must be paid before the degree will be granted.
Once all the paperwork is in order,
copies of the thesis may be made available in one or more university
libraries. Specialist abstracting services exist to publicize the
content of these beyond the institutions in which they are produced.
Source:wikipedia
