Published
Is your MSN program requiring a thesis or something else. Mine apparently has a thesis/research project. Just curious what everyone else is doing.
When I got my first Masters, I did a thesis. This time, I'm going the research project route. Less trouble, less expense, less work :)
Grannynurse :balloons:
Just my opinion here... but I don't think a Masters is a research degree. (Even though I did a thesis.) Once upon a time, when there were few if any doctoral programs, the MSN was considered the terminal degree. If nursing research was going to occur, it would have happened at that level. These days there is a lot of research being done at the doctoral and even postdoctoral level, so... I think the MSN should be about mastery of the existing knowlege base. Face it... there more than enough current nursing data and concepts in which to immerse a Masters student. That should be the focus, in my view.
I agree that extensive research doesnt seem to fit into a masters program. I agree that we should be able to find and interpret relevant research, but as far as doing it, no. I believe a project or some other novel approach would be better. Is anyone else doing something besides research or a project?
Another thought: My friend is working on her doctorate and they are telling them to hire someone to put together the research. They said that professionals hire it done.
That development worries me. What type of doctorate is your friend getting? Is it a PhD? Or is it a practice doctorate? If it is a practice doctorate, I can understand that it some programs might not include a research degree ... but unless the graduates are clearly going to identify themselves as "expert practitioners" rather than "expert scholars," I would prefer that people at the doctoral level still do original scholarly research as part of their academic preparation.
BTW, when I got my MSN many years ago, I chose not to do a thesis. When one of the entry requirements into my PhD program was that I submit a "thesis or equivalent," I was able to submit a work project that I was actually descriptive research of a new treatment.
llg
moonshadeau, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, APN, NP, CNS
521 Posts
Is your MSN program requiring a thesis or something else. Mine apparently has a thesis/research project. Just curious what everyone else is doing.