UK Dissertation Writing Help

You have to submit your thesis or dissertation to get your degree and make your parents and yourself proud, but wait! Are you mind-boggled since you don’t know exactly what to write as you don’t know the difference between thesis and dissertation.

Thesis and dissertation most often are mistaken to be the same thing. In some universities, these are talked about interchangeably. However, it is important to note that these two terms differ significantly from each other.

Usually students spend hours searching for material in libraries and other sources to help them differentiate a thesis from a dissertation but end-up with insufficient and confusing information.
Here are 10 most significant differences between a thesis and a dissertation

1. In writing thesis, you have to conduct your own original research. A dissertation entails that you have to synthesize the collected information and include your thoughts to it.

2. A thesis allows you to get a higher degree, whereas dissertation is more likely to be smaller part of first degree.

3. In writing thesis, you have to put forward a hypothesis that has to be original implying the authenticity and originality of your work. Dissertation on the other hand requires knowledge of the recent discoveries allowing you to draw conclusion by analyzing the collected data.

4. Dissertation is lengthier thus takes more time to be completed than thesis. Thesis comparatively requires less time.

5. In thesis, you have to work on the main point that you are presenting where as in dissertation, you focus on the work that has already been done by analyzing it critically and then adding your own input into it.

6. Thesis is more like a research paper and dissertation is more of a research book presenting your novel findings to existing literature.

7. In USA, thesis is needed for either diploma, undergraduate or masters degree whereas dissertation is required to be written at PhD level. It is vice versa in UK.

8. Data collection in thesis and dissertation differs. Data for thesis is collected by keeping the hypothesis in mind whereas in dissertation it is comprised of theory and argumentation based on original work.

9. Students conclude their thesis by defining their viewpoint based on research work done while in dissertation they conclude by presenting their major findings.

10. In thesis, you have an objective or a point to prove failing which you fail your thesis. In dissertation, you have to focus on everything and if you are unable to prove, you have to accept or defend the limitations of your research proposal.

The 10 Points listed above gives you a clear picture of the difference between thesis and dissertation however in countries where dissertation is the basic requirement to earn Master’s degree and thesis to earn doctorate, some of these points need to be reversed.

“Any formal discourse in speech or writing” is a generalized definition for both, thesis and dissertation. Some scholars also have a standpoint about thesis vs dissertation i.e. “there is no difference between thesis and dissertation”. However, it is not just enough for us to conclude that thesis vs dissertation is same.

Scholars may possess the standpoint of no difference between thesis and dissertation, but there exists differences between the two that let us to compare thesis vs dissertation. In general, thesis is required by Master’s students to earn their degree while dissertation is the necessity for doctorate students to earn a PhD.

Following distinction between thesis and dissertation will give you a better idea about why people distinguish thesis and dissertation:

a) A dissertation is based on the original research whereas thesis needs you to rely on the information i.e. already available to you.

b) A thesis does not require students to spend too much time on it; however, dissertation takes too much time from students to get completed.

c) You need to conduct hypothesis in a thesis based on the research work while you need to infer conclusion in a dissertation through the new discoveries about your subject matter.

d) Data collection in thesis is based on hypothetical analysis of contents while you need to perform the original research to gather data for dissertation in support of your theory and arguments.

e) Thesis serves as the cornerstone for students to earn scholarships. In contrast to thesis, dissertation only serves an academic purpose to the students.

f) Primary arguments are the main focus of students in a thesis while students rely on their background research work in a dissertation.

g) Thesis is like an academic paper while dissertation is like an academic book.

h) Addition of novel findings will support your dissertation while you research work will aid you in the thesis.

Conclusion:

Hopefully; points listed above are some guidelines for you to help you out in the distinction between a thesis and dissertation. In some countries, students write a dissertation to earn their Master’s degree and they write a thesis to earn a PhD; therefore, the points listed above will reverse for those countries. In short, you just need to remember these basic differences in comparison of thesis vs dissertation.