“Thesis is the research document that allows making further contribution to an existing study or research. Whereas dissertation is a research paper that might have background study around the topic but not exactly on the topic.”
This is the shortest and the simplest way you can differentiate between both the research papers. Each carries its significance in the realm of academia. They seem to serve the same purpose but they have different approaches. Due to this reason, most of the students have both of them confused most of the time.
The real challenge for a student is to understand which research document to write in their academic life. To do that you need to understand their characteristics, their purpose and then select the one you want to write. Since both of them have their qualities, you should be able to differentiate between them easily.
In this post, you will learn the real difference between both the research papers from a professional writing expert. The differences will provide you the freedom to decide which one you want to write.
Degree programs
A thesis is generally written for your final year research project, it is based on the existing research and you are supposed to write it to pass your Masters or bachelors. A thesis is usually is meant to be built on the study in a way that adds a new perspective to the study. To develop this new perspective, students try to get help with thesis writing services and get the best way to present the thesis.
For instance, there is existing research on the topic “Global warming is causing the ice caps and icebergs to melt into the arctic ocean.”
Your thesis research topic could be “The excessive air pollution is causing the rise in global warming and simultaneously the increase in ice caps melting.”
A dissertation is completely based on new research. It is usually done for your Ph.D. doctoral degree program. It requires a lot of new research and new data collection. A dissertation can be a challenging research study as it requires you to make a dissertation proposal and if the jury panel agrees you will be given the title of a “Doctor”. Getting the prestigious title of a doctor opens doors for you in your professional life.
Structure of both
The structure of a thesis is a little different than a dissertation, the reason for this is that the thesis is has a longer literature review chapter. The entire focus is on the previous study done and how you added value to it by adding perspective and new data. The thesis has almost the same structure as a dissertation but with a dissertation, the abstract is lengthier than usual.
A dissertation’s structure has the chapters; an abstract, list of figures, an introduction, a literature review, research methodology, data collection, data analysis, and a Bibliography list. This is the basic structure of a dissertation along with the results added at the end.
A dissertation has to have a very good data collection chapter along with a data analysis one that explains completely the new study or research area. Due to this difficult structure, most students opt to do my dissertation services to reduce any mistakes in the research document.
Country/Location
A thesis research paper is usually widely used in the USA and Canada. Most of the students in their bachelor’s and masters have to submit their thesis as part of their research project for credit. Sometimes the thesis is not even that heavy, the research is not extensive and it effort you need to put in is the same as an assignment.
A dissertation research paper is written in most of Europe but its origin can be traced back to England. Most of the students enrolled in their master’s in Ph.D. degree program write their dissertations. These students have to compose a completely new study or research. In most European universities, a dissertation is compulsory, and there has to be a jury panel that approves your research document.
Length
The length of a thesis can be anywhere from 100 words to a maximum of 4000 words. The content of a thesis should not contain long long chapters. Equal attention should be given to every chapter. From the most common topics to the most important and wide-ranging topics can be covered in a thesis paper.
Whereas, a dissertation should start from 30,000-60,000 words. Since a dissertation focuses on a new research topic, you need a lot of material to cover in this research paper. Some students even find it hard to complete their research topic within 60,000 words since the data collection takes up most of the length of the dissertation.
Approaches
A thesis approach has to be a hypothesis or problem statement. You think of a problem that needs to be addressed, you research its significance and its background then you test that hypothesis and prove it with your results.
With the help of this approach, a student can address many issues with a single thesis paper. With a thesis hypothesis, you can get two answers, whether your research problem was correct or null. A thesis helps you make an opinion about two ways.
Whereas, a dissertation is more of a problem-solving research document. With a dissertation, you can create solutions for an existing issue. If you want to talk about a problem that is close to your heart, or you noticed an issue in your field then this is your chance to do something about it.
You start with research with a research question or research problem, that helps summarize the research topic. This research question or problem will be solved with the help of your data collection and data analysis. This approach will give you a guaranteed good
What should be your option? A thesis or a dissertation!
There is not really one answer to this question. Experts can guide you in the process of deciding which research document will benefit your academic and professional life. But it is you at the end of the day, that has to make the wise decision. Our experts suggest that you take some time studying the kind of research paper you want to write and then decide which one you want to start with.