Difference between a Dissertation and a Research Project
Global Essay
Dissertation , research projects and term papers are the types of educational documents. Still there are some differences among them.
Dissertation is an academic paper which contains the research and findings of a candidate under the strict and step by step guidance of a supervisor or a team of qualified professionals in order to get a degree. Whereas a research project is a collection of facts in order to enhance the knowledge on a specific subject or topic undertaken individually without any supervision.
Dissertation is usually more in length as compared to a research project. Dissertation is done for the sake of Master’s, PhD or M.Phil. Degree usually completed in a number of years. For the completion of dissertation supervisor is there to guide the candidate. He observes critically the findings of the candidates, analyzes his results, polishes his reasoning skills and enhances his writing abilities. A supervisor is either a single person or a committee of subject specialists, co-supervisors, mentors and other professionals.
The most important difference between a dissertation and a research project is oral examination or viva. Dissertation is considered incomplete without your oral examination whereas in research project there is no need of it. Oral examination is conducted after the submission of dissertation. It is a simple examination in which the candidate has to present his workings in front of a panel of experts. They ask a few questions related to your findings. If you are capable enough to answer the questions, then your dissertation is approved after adding the results based on your viva. This paves the way towards receiving your official degree.
In both cases of dissertation and research project advanced academic research and knowledge is needed. A candidate must have reasoning capacity to critically analyze his topic. In case of a dissertation supervisor polishes his skills while in case of a research project the candidate has to work on his own. In both cases originality is the main key and critical reasoning will be a plus point in both.
In most cases while working on a dissertation critical reasoning and explanation of the existing research work is needed but sometimes the supervisor insists on adding personal research and results to the existing ones. In this case the candidate has to work to discover the new horizons. In this way the candidate by working on his own is able to discover a new meaning while this very aspect is not necessarily needed in the case of a research project. In most of the universities the length of the dissertation is considered critically with some defined rules and regulations to be followed along with methodologies and data analyses whereas a research project is free of such limitations.
Acknowledgement is a necessary component of dissertation only. Whereas it is not needed for a research project. As mentioned above that dissertation and research project, both are academic documents so bibliography with authentic references are a must for both of them.