If you undertake a research, it is necessary to be clear whether what you intend to develop will be a thesis or a dissertation. There are certain substantial differences between one type of work and another, which we detail below:
-The thesis has a broader scope and perspective; in addition to its length, it requires additional research effort. The thesis, although it requires an exhaustive bibliographical dive, can be prepared without the need to carry out field work.
-The dissertations are generally done through a bibliographic-documentary methodological approach, and may present a looser and stripped-down writing style. For their part, the theses demand a meticulous tracking of the sources -primary and secondary- and the bibliography used, which must be archived through files.
-Regarding the choice of the topic and the depth with which it will be treated, the thesis is more demanding than the dissertation. In principle, all thesis work begins with a project or preliminary project, which must include a schedule and, generally, a budget, in addition to elementary aspects, such as the problem statement, justification, objectives, hypotheses, operationalization of variables, a theoretical and methodological frameworks, which will have a certain rigor. The tesina can be prepared without this prerequisite.
-Dissertations tend to simplify, to present the state of the art on a particular topic, and perhaps outline original guidelines or proposals. Theses usually focus on a specific problem, which can be analyzed from a quantitative or qualitative approach, or through a combination of both.
-A dissertation can emerge from a thesis, but the reverse path rarely occurs. It can be argued that the dissertation is a first approach to a topic of interest, which will then be investigated in greater depth in the thesis instance.
-Generally, the thesis involves the preparation of a “State of the Art”, which consists of a bibliographic review of what has been written and/or researched in relation to the chosen topic. In the dissertation, it is enough to present some background information, paying special attention to writing techniques and putting one's own critical judgment into play.
-Another difference that is usually recorded between theses and dissertations is that the former usually contain tables, graphs, figures, diagrams and conceptual maps that accompany the text and in many cases serve as support, while in the dissertation it is advisable to present the information -and the argumentation of the thesis's idea- through words.
-Theses require much more extensive and complex management of citations and databases than dissertations. In any case, in both cases you must be very particular in your presentation, since many universities base their correction criteria on these aspects.
-Special mention deserves the care that must be taken with searches carried out through Internet. Many students think that theses or dissertations are a matter of searching for other previous works, and putting together a “cut & paste”. The truth is that there are many sites and works that, according to our criteria, lack the necessary quality and level to be included as valid sources for works of these characteristics. Therefore, we always recommend relying on works by original and recognized authors in the academic field.
-Finally, our experts in research methodology will always be available to help, advise and support you in the writing and preparation of theses, dissertations, as well as monographs and/or essays.
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