In the academic world, the amount of research work a student is expected to undertake increases and becomes more focussed as they progress to the undergraduate levels. The quality of research further intensifies and students are expected to bring in originality and innovation as they pursue post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral studies.
In this journey, the research work is called by different names – Thesis, Dissertation, and Research paper being the more commonly used terms.
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- Research paper/Research Report: A Research paper is any piece of academic writing (done on a topic) that professors expect you to submit as a requirement for a class. A Research Report is commonly submitted by undergraduate students as a part of their studies in college.
- Thesis: A detailed report or a research project that students submit as part of their studies. It can be Bachelor’s, Masters or Ph.D. level work. Work submitted by students at graduate levels is more commonly referred to as Thesis.
- Dissertation: Done by students pursuing Ph.D., a Dissertation is another name for the Ph.D. Thesis. It’s the final project that leads to a doctoral degree.
While most Indians may have heard of the term ‘Thesis’, dissertation was not commonly used in the Indian education system, until now. Dissertation was common used in foreign universities/colleges and with most of them partnering with Indian colleges, even Indian students are expected to write Dissertation.
Some universities see dissertation and thesis as the same thing, however, there are few differences between the two.
A thesis is submitted at the end of one’s master’s degree, and a dissertation is submitted at the end of a doctorate (PhD).
However, this may not be always true. Some master’s degree programs don’t require you to make a thesis or dissertation at all.
A Thesis is also a smaller study on a particular topic, while a Dissertation is a larger study on a particular topic.
One thing common to ‘Dissertation’, ‘Thesis’ and ‘Research Paper’ is their internal structure. You will find the following sections in all of them:
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Research methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
‘Dissertation’ and ‘Thesis’ may seem interchangeable in practice but not all institutions agree to that notion. Besides, in most colleges, even undergraduates have to submit dissertations, or is it thesis? :).
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