Introduction: What Is the Length of Empirical and Non-Empirical Dissertations?
What Is Empirical Research?
Empirical research entails an organized research process that is based on facts which can be observed and measured. Experiments, surveys, observations, laboratory experiments, field work, databases or statistical methods are used to find answers to research questions. Examples of empirical research in biological sciences could include laboratory experiments, ecological observation, genomics databases or computation.
An empirical dissertation will show evidence of research design, data analysis and interpretation while a non-empirical dissertation is based on literature, theories or evidence published by others. The length of empirical and non-empirical dissertations differ from one institution to another. [1]
Empirical vs Non-Empirical Research: What Is the Difference?
It is necessary to keep in mind the difference between empirical and non-empirical research while considering the length of the dissertation.
Feature | Empirical Dissertation | Non-Empirical Dissertation |
Evidence | Original or analysed datasets | Existing literature and documented evidence |
Methods | Experiments, observations, surveys, statistical or computational analysis | Literature review, conceptual analysis, theoretical or policy analysis |
Typical structure | Introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion | Introduction, literature review, analytical framework, discussion, conclusion |
Biological example | Experimental study of bacterial growth | Critical review of antibiotic-resistance research |
Main emphasis | Data collection and interpretation | Critical synthesis and argumentation |
Systematic/systematized literature review can be a useful tool in master’s thesis, even though there can be some confusion regarding categorization of such kind of research. York St John University states that master’s students are supposed to perform systematized rather than systematic reviews. [2]
How Long Is an Empirical Dissertation?
There is no standard word count for an empirical dissertation. But generally, the length of a master's dissertations in biology and life sciences tend to have a length between 10,000–20,000 words, depending on the university and course.
For instance, the University of Manchester has set a limit of 10,000 words for some of its MRes project reports, whereas it has set 10,000–15,000 words for its Medical Microbiology/Virology dissertations.
The length of an empirical dissertation depends on the nature of the experiment performed. This is because a laboratory experiment requires much space for:
- Experimental design and methodology
- Statistics
- Results and data analysis
- Figures and tables
- Limitations and reproducibility
- Comparison with existing studies
Notably, figures and tables need not be counted towards the word limit. Therefore, students should verify this from their department’s guidelines. [3]
How Long Is a Non-Empirical Dissertation?
In this respect, a non-empirical dissertation might feature a slightly similar or even shorter number of words than an empirical one since it does not involve the presentation of new original experiment methods and findings. However, the intellectual level of a literature-based dissertation can be very high and may require much critical evaluation.
It might be appropriate to use a planning range of 10,000-15,000 words for master-level dissertations; however, this planning range should not be perceived as the universal one.
Some of the non-empirical dissertation examples in the biological sciences might include:
- Gut microbiota and its effect on human health: review of published literature.
- Antibiotic resistance in hospital pathogens: evaluation of existing evidence and research gaps.
- Climate change and biodiversity: review of ecological literature and conservation strategies.
- Ethical aspects of gene editing: conceptual and ethical evaluation of CRISPR technology.
- Use of artificial intelligence in genomics: review of published papers on the subject.
- These examples of non-empirical dissertations are valuable since the questions under consideration can be answered via existing evidence base only. [3]
Length of a Master's Dissertation in Biological and Life Sciences
The institutional examples help to explain why students must not generalize the idea of one word count applicable to all courses. The University of Cambridge, for example, requires that the M Phil thesis in Biological Science should not be longer than 20,000 words without certain specified materials, including tables, footnotes, bibliography and appendices.
On the other hand, the M Phil in Biological Sciences by Advanced Study in the same institution has the word count of 10,000 words in research-project report, including tables, figure legends and appendices but without bibliography.
Oxford's guidelines concerning M Sc by Research dissertations in Biological Sciences provide the limit of 25,000 words for normal cases. This illustrates that dissertation length has more to do with the programme guidelines than the nature of the research itself. [4]
Empirical Dissertation Examples in Biology
Examples of possible empirical dissertation topics are:
How Should Students Decide the Right Dissertation Length?
Quality should always come before quantity. A dissertation should be sufficiently lengthy to set the context, explain the problem being researched, prove the choice of methodology/analysis method, provide substantial evidence, conduct critical analysis, and arrive at the conclusions.
Before drafting, students need to do the following:
- Refer to the official dissertation guidelines handbook.
- Determine if references, tables, appendices, and captions count.
- Ask the supervisor about the programme requirements.
- Schedule words based on their significance to the chapter.
- Not artificially increase the length of the dissertation to meet some arbitrary criteria.
- Provide room for analysis, not description. [5]
Conclusion
Length of the empirical and non-empirical dissertation depends on many different factors at many different universities, programs and study designs. While for master’s students in biological and life sciences, a good estimation is between 10,000–20,000 words, one should pay attention that the institutional guidelines come first. Empirical dissertations allocate significant amount of pages for the sections on methodology, results and data analysis while non-empirical dissertations pay more attention to synthesis, reasoning and critical assessment of the existing evidence.
Finally, success of a dissertation cannot be determined merely by its length. The important factors are a clear research question, a sound methodology, critical reasoning, evidence and scientific interpretation. One can contact Tutors India’s Masters Dissertation for academic help with dissertation planning and writing.
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References
- Calfee, R. C., & Chambliss, M. (2005). The design of empirical research. Methods of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts, 53-88. http://library.megu.edu.ua:8180/jspui/bitstream/123456789/3220/1/2005%20Methods%20of%20Research%20on%20Teaching%20the%20English%20Language%20Arts_%20The%20Methodology%20Chapters%20From%20the%20Handbook%20of%20Research%20on%20Teaching%20the%20English%20Language%20Arts%2C%20...%20%26%20National%20Council%20of%20Teachers%20of%20English%20%28%20PD.pdf#page=54
- Dan, V. (2017). Empirical and non-empirical methods. Int Encyclopedia Commun Res Methods, 1, 1-3. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Viorela-Dan-2/publication/309922961_Empirical_and_Non-Empirical_Methods/links/5c582b3ba6fdccd6b5e1672d/Empirical-and-Non-Empirical-Methods.pdf
- Lyons, P., & Doueck, H. J. (2010). The dissertation: From beginning to end. Oxford university press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WhwTDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=How+Long+Is+an+Empirical+Dissertation&ots=HDtp2CgY4F&sig=vfWlJ-zndRW3b6dpPhtt15Zx1VM
- Goh, K. M. (2023). Research methodology in bioscience and biotechnology (p. 241). Springer. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-981-99-2812-5.pdf
- Biggam, J. (2018). EBOOK: Succeeding with your Master's Dissertation: A Step-by-Step Handbook: Step-by-step Handbook. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bsovEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=How+Should+Students+Decide+the+Right+Dissertation+Length&ots=jS1QWxnfrY&sig=pvRukQ21OoOhloST3-O1XxaJBZ8
