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Thesis Dissertationwhatisdifference

The thesis and dissertation required for a Masters in Public Health both require investigating a public health problem, but differ in scope. The thesis represents a full year of work and 120 credits, requiring primary data collection and analysis. It is expected to be 50-60,000 words. The dissertation represents half the requirement at 60 credits, often relying on secondary data analysis. It is generally shorter at 20-30,000 words. While the thesis usually requires collecting original data, the dissertation typically analyzes existing secondary data but may also include a research proposal or systematic review.

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44 views2 pages

Thesis Dissertationwhatisdifference

The thesis and dissertation required for a Masters in Public Health both require investigating a public health problem, but differ in scope. The thesis represents a full year of work and 120 credits, requiring primary data collection and analysis. It is expected to be 50-60,000 words. The dissertation represents half the requirement at 60 credits, often relying on secondary data analysis. It is generally shorter at 20-30,000 words. While the thesis usually requires collecting original data, the dissertation typically analyzes existing secondary data but may also include a research proposal or systematic review.

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Francisco Hurtado
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Thesis and Dissertation: What is the difference?

The aim of both a thesis and dissertation is to give the student the
opportunity to investigate or research a public health problem using
principles and methodologies developed within the Diploma in Public
Health course.
By doing a thesis or dissertation students should master skills in:
• developing a research proposal to explore a specific research question
• identifying and accessing the resources necessary to undertake the
investigation
• reviewing and analysing relevant literature
• choosing a research methodology appropriate to the problem and
applying that methodology whether it be qualitative or quantitative.
• reporting the project particularly its purpose, backgrounds, method,
findings, conclusions, and recommendations
• interpreting the findings and identifying the wider implications of the
project especially for public health in New Zealand, and elsewhere.

Scope of a thesis
The thesis represents one full time year's work and constitutes the full
120 points of the Masters of Public Health. An MPH done in this way is a
“research masters”. The thesis will generally require data collection and
analysis. This data will often be primary data (see Data Collection below),
that is, data collected by the student through interview or survey,
although secondary data may also be permitted, that is, data extracted
from routine data sources (e.g. hospital statistics).
The length of the report will vary depending on the topic and method
used. It is expected that most texts will consist of up to 200 pages, or 50-
60,000 words, single-sided, including tables and appendices.

Scope of a dissertation
The dissertation counts for 60 credit points and so represents half the
requirement for an MPH. The other half is from coursework; this
constitutes a “taught masters”.
A dissertation will not often require primary data collection (see Data
Collection below), that is, data collected by the student through interview
or survey. It may require analysis of secondary data, that is, data
extracted from routine data sources (e.g. hospital statistics) or data
already collected by a previous or wider study. A literature review alone is
not usually considered sufficient for a dissertation, unless it is augmented
by substantial critical discussion and debate, or with a proposal outlining
methodology for new research, or if it is a formal systematic review.
Length will vary with the nature of both the topic and the methodology
used. It is expected that most texts will be around 80-100 pages, or 20-
30,000 words, single-sided, including tables and appendices.

Data Collection
Data analysed in a thesis or dissertation can be broadly classified in two
ways:
Primary Sources: Original data - eg. questionnaire/interviews (with
patients, experts, key actors, others); or a student’s own extraction of
data from extant sources (hospital or government data).
Secondary Sources: Books, articles; sample survey reports; data from
studies already done; government/official statistics. Both narrative
material and numerical data may be useful to the task.
Many dissertations will rely on secondary data while a thesis may require
collection of primary data, though this rule is not hard and fast. If
secondary data is used, it must be fully referenced and acknowledged.
For a dissertation it would not normally be expected that the student
would need to go through the Ethics approval process; this being either
already obtained or not necessary.

“Non-data” dissertations or theses.


A thesis or dissertation for an MPH will usually entail collection and
analysis of data, but it may not. An examination of policy, philosophy, or
theory may be sufficient. For a thesis this would need to be an extension
of ideas and show intellectual input and novel work of the student. For a
dissertation it may entail a detailed examination of existing practices and
theories.

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