Theses and Dissertations
Thesis✔✔A piece of work carried out in an academic setting as part of a degree programme. It is
an unpublished piece of work. In the UK it is usually submitted as part of a doctorate degree.
Dissertation✔✔A piece of research carried out in an academic setting as part of a degree
programme. It is an unpublished piece of work. It can be at undergraduate or graduate level. In
some countries, it may be called a thesis.
Empirical dissertation✔✔Data is collected as part of the project. It is most common in science
degrees.
Non-empirical dissertation✔✔Rather than collecting data, the student analyses existing data and
research.
Elements of a thesis or dissertation✔✔Are generally the same as a research paper -
* Abstract
* Literature review
* Methods
* Results
* Discussion
* References
* Appendices
Validity✔✔Is the study measuring what it says it is measuring?
Reliability✔✔If the study was repeated, would the findings be the same?
Sample✔✔The group of people used in the study. Papers may break down in terms of age,
gender, economic status, occupation.
Generalising✔✔Can you make inferences about the wider population based on the findings of
the dissertation or thesis?
How would you reference the following study, using APA referencing?
Mark Brie carried out an MA in 2011 at the University of Sheffield. His paper was called
'Cheese eating trends in the last century'✔✔Brie, M. (2011). Cheese eating trends in the last
century. (MA dissertation, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom).
