Researchers and thesis authors are often criticized for “summarizing” rather than “reviewing” the existing literature when conducting their literature review. A common perception among examiners and supervisors is that scholars demonstrate a deep knowledge and understanding of the literature, but are characterized by interpretation, description and explanation, rather than analysis and review. In other words, they often paraphrase the source material, rather than using selection skills such as compare, contrast, rank, and evaluate.
One way to learn skills that will help you become a more critical reader and writer is to become a scholarly reviewer of books and magazines. By reviewing the work of other authors, you can learn to assess, evaluate, and judge their goals, methods, and results. This, in turn, will give you skills in summarizing, restating and critically examining the work of others.
Thesis vs. Thesis: United States
In the United States, the definition of a thesis is almost different from that in Europe. Since the dissertation is shorter than a thesis, it gradually came to mean a preliminary step on the path to a doctorate. Currently, a thesis is in process to obtain the master’s degree. In science fields, a master’s candidate takes advanced courses and gains hands-on experience in a research project, but does not lead the project to the same extent as they would in a doctoral program. In a master’s project, student ideas are welcome and expected, but the emphasis is on acquiring technical knowledge and not on original research. Engineering students typically earn master’s degrees and rarely earn a Ph.D. In other fields, such as chemistry, the opposite is true and a master’s degree is no longer required as the first step for a doctorate.
Almost everyone I know who got a master’s in chemistry got it because they dropped out of graduate school and wrote their truncated research as a master’s project.
Basic differences between a thesis and a research paper
There are many differences between a thesis and a research paper. Some of them are big differences, while others are more detailed or subtle. The distinctions described here derive from classical European Enlightenment thought. There are many relevant and alternative interpretive schemes, and therefore differences. Although only the classical genre is described here, other modes of interpretation, differences, and similarities will also be presented.
A thesis is about the main question or statement of a scientific hypothesis that leads to further investigation, while a research paper aims to prove that main argument.
Differences in Context: Case Situation
In the United States, all of the above is how schools differentiate between dissertations and dissertations. Dissertations are written by Master’s students and Dissertations are written by PhD students.
In Europe, the distinction between a thesis and a dissertation becomes a bit more blurred. In fact, doctoral programs may require a doctoral thesis to graduate. Then, as part of a larger postdoctoral research project, students may write a thesis.
Step 1: identify a valid research question
The first step in the research process is to generate a meaningful research question or set of questions. In other words, you need to find a suitable subject to study. Since a thesis is about research, identifying the main question(s) is an essential first step. Here is an example of a well-defined research question:
“What factors promote or erode customer confidence in UK-based life insurance brokers?”