What is a Dissertation or a Thesis?

A Dissertation or Thesis are used interchangeably today, the American Institutions at large prefer the word ‘dissertation’ while European Institutions are accustomed to the word “thesis”. In North America, the word “dissertation” is primarily used for PhD work of a student while the thesis is preferred for a master’s degree. The thesis or dissertation normally refers to the culmination of a student’ research as a final requirement for the degree sought (Fitt et al. 2009). Although the thesis refers to a master’s dissertation, since in general researchers call PhD as thesis, we use the word thesis for PhD dissertation.

According to the definition of Webster’s New collegiate “a proposition that a person advances and offers to maintain by argument”. There are three elements under this definition

• A thesis is a Proposition: Since it advances an idea, a hypothesis or a recommendation
• A PhD thesis offers an argument: It presents a rationale for accepting the proposition made, rather than simply asserting a point of view and
• The argument of the thesis should be maintained. It should be made convincingly by appropriate logic and sufficient evidence.

A Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD or DPhil) is one of the highest academic degrees. PhD is a unique degree and doing a PhD is oriented around research, believed in creating new knowledge by conducting independent research in his or her chosen area. However, in order to conduct research in an area, PhD researchers require deep knowledge in that area, and related areas, and the working experience on research problem (problems whose outcome are not known). In other words, to gain the awards, a student is typically required to make a substantial original contribution to knowledge, evidenced through a thesis that is examined by academic peers. Hence in order to develop such compatibility among researchers, usually PhD programs have three components in them

• Coursework to provide the breadth of knowledge
• Some methods to develop the depth of knowledge
• A thesis that provides the experience of working on research problems

An important stage in your career starts only when you prepare to write a thesis or dissertation – a stage where many graduate students flounder. Due to a lack of structure in the dissertation process, perhaps a key element in the failure of many scholars complete their PhD program (D Andrea’s 1997). However, in order to obtain a winning dissertation, PhD scholars need to establish a solid foundation.