The degree of Doctor of Philosophy may be awarded by the Council on the recommendation of the Higher Degree Committee of the University College ... to a candidate who has made an original and significant contribution to knowledge
The degree of ... Master of Science by research may be awarded by the Council on the recommendation of the Higher Degree Committee of the University College ... to a candidate who has demonstrated ability to undertake research by the submission of a thesis embodying the results of an original investigation
In either case, the work is required to be original; only the PhD is required to be significant
Nevertheless, the boundaries between the two can be fuzzy
Most academics will be aware of the MSc which was 'almost' a PhD, or of the 'not quite PhD' successfully submitted as an MSc
* An opportunity for 'blue sky' research
* A research apprenticeship
The UNSW degree rules suggest:
1 -> PhD
2 -> MSc
Nevertheless, there is a consensus in the literature that
* a PhD should be primarily a research apprenticeship
* 'blue sky' research should be left to the post-doctoral period
Phillips and Pugh provide a three-fold classification of research:
* "Exploratory research .. tackling a new problem, issue, topic about which little is known, so the research idea cannot at the beginning be formulated very well ... involves pushing out the frontiers of knowledge in the hope that something useful will be discovered"
* "Testing-out research ... [tries] to find the limit of previously proposed generalisations ... to improve ... the important, but dangerous, generalisations by which our discipline develops"
* "Problem-solving research ... [starts] from a particular problem 'in the real world', and [brings] together all the intellectual resources that can ... bear on its solution. The problem has to be defined and the method of solution has to be discovered"
Perhaps before we look at Phillips and Pugh's preferred option, you might like to think about which category best fits your own project.
"We hope that you will understand why it seems very obvious to us that the appropriate route [for a PhD] is that of testing-out research ... A degree of protection in the environment is the best situation for efficient learning: being thrown in at the deep end is all very heroic, but it does tend to induce a phenomenon known as drowning!"
We should consider the similarities and differences between the English and American structures and our own to assess the applicability of such advice
Full PhD program -> Dominant path
PhD follows undergraduate degree (no separate honours year)
* Dissertation proposal 6 months -> forever
* Dissertation research & writing remainder of period
Detailed dissertation proposal (problem analysis, research methods, likely results) approved by dissertation committee
Dissertation approved by dissertation committee
Dissertation defended before dissertation committee (public?)
acts in both supervisory and examining roles
* Proposal details the work to be done
* If faithfully and competently carried out, the degree 'ought' to be awarded.
* Leads to emphasis on the importance of 'satisfying the committee' in the American literature
* The members of the examining body are known, and the research and thesis can be tailored appropriately
Full PhD program -> Dominant path
PhD follows on from an undergraduate degree (no separate honours year)
Thesis research & writing remainder of period
Thesis topic and supervisor chosen
Thesis examined by committee of examiners
Thesis orally defended before examiners (in private)
In some institutions, the supervisor may be an examiner
* by the time topic and supervisor are determined, the student usually has some acquaintance with most of the academic members of the department, so informed choice is possible
* examining committee includes an internal examiner: committee will be aware of history of the research
* the oral examination process permits interactive investigation of aspects the examiners are uncertain of
* may work to advantage or disadvantage of candidate
Full PhD program
Research Masters or PhD follows on from an undergraduate degree with separate honours year, or (PhD) from a masters
Thesis research & writing whole period
* Progress appraised after six months
* Thesis examined by committee of examiners
* Thesis oral normally only in case of examiner conflict
* The supervisor is virtually never an examiner
* since the examining committee includes no internal examiner, the committee will be unaware of the history of the research
* there is no opportunity for interactive investigation of the research, unless the examiners disagree widely
* since the supervisor has no role in examination, there is more likelihood of a gradual passage from a student/supervisor role to an interaction of equals
* since the candidate should not know ahead of time who the examiners are, it is difficult to 'write for' the examiners
* at least some of the examiners will be unfamiliar with the system under which the candidate has worked
* system for rapid synthesis of perspective images from a moving vehicle (Tang)
* automated registration of poorly matched stereo images (Abbasi)
* investigation of impact of various parameters on genetic learning (Whigham, Darwen)
* investigation of human speech parameters (Mokhtari)
* methodology for comparative evaluation of military acquisitions (Sun)
* ease-of-use evaluation of particular human/computer interfaces
* investigation of the computability of equivalence over a variety of mathematical domains of a particular abstraction of algorithm (McKay)
* a comparative history of the adoption of computing technologies in Scandinavia and Australasia
* simulation models of political systems