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[dismal_sci]

My econ dissertation was 125 pages and that is what I recommend for my students.  They rarely have more than 150 pages.

[tin_cup_chalice]

I'll tell you this, I have never had any complaints.

The title of this thread was not an accident. ;)

[tin_cup_chalice]

My econ dissertation was 125 pages and that is what I recommend for my students.  They rarely have more than 150 pages.

Most econ dissertations would be quantitative, right?  I'm sure that would make a difference in average length.

[case_insensitive]

My econ dissertation was 125 pages and that is what I recommend for my students.  They rarely have more than 150 pages.

Most econ dissertations would be quantitative, right?  I'm sure that would make a difference in average length.

In my field it does. Quant diss = short.  Not so quant diss (we don't have totally Qual disses)  = long

[crazybatlady]

I'll tell you this, I have never had any complaints.

I bet you mine's bigger than yours.

cbl, plastics fan

[psychle]

I'll tell you this, I have never had any complaints.

Moreover, it's not how big it is, but how you use it.

[hcx100]

Moreover, it's not how big it is, but how you use it.

Actually, that's just what you're told, to make you feel better if you have a small one.

[shrek]

My dissertation was about 100 pages long. I got two articles out of it, could have gotten a third but I'm too busy doing other things. I recommend my students aim for about 50 pages that they can turn around and submit for publication with little cutting, but so far they tend to be about 100 pages so more cutting involved-- of course if they can get 2 or 3 articles out of it that's great. I absolutely hate reading dissertations more than 150 pages long, too redundant usually. Linguistics is the area where I find the longest dissertations among those I read. I'm often on committees in psych, ed psych, special ed. and linguistics (in addition to my own field).

[feelingemo]

Moreover, it's not how big it is, but how you use it.

Actually, that's just what you're told, to make you feel better if you have a small one.

Regardless of size, not being able to use one is a fatal drawback - oh, there's a wicked twist of prose.

Now for something completely different.  I always thought that a diss, or an article or a book, should be as long as it needs to be.  I hate reading too much and I hate wishing that I had more.

I noticed several posted that claim that they have two (or three!) diss in one.  I've talked to several people that make the same claim.  If I end up with more than one crammed into the same volume, I'll wonder why I didn't do the second later on when I had a postdoc or tt that paid a living wage.

[francie_]

Moreover, it's not how big it is, but how you use it.

And in truth, what matters is not how long it is, but how thick (with knowledge of course).

In researching for my diss, several topics evolved out of the material.  The trick became knowing where to draw the boundary so that the diss was a coherent whole and yet not 1000 pages long.

[iomhaigh]

Theatre
385 pages
35 page bib
25 pages of images
the rest is good old text baby.

And it makes a fabulous doorstop, except my dean told me that I might be setting a bad example for our students by propping open my office door with it. 

[sociological]

My dissertation is getting pretty huge. In my field, chapters are supposed to be the length of a journal article (25-40 pages). But my first chapter is 50, and the three middle chapters are each about 70 pages. I feel like I've already written more than a dissertation and I have two more chapters to go!! (By the way, there are good reasons for the length).

[infopri]

My dissertation is getting pretty huge. In my field, chapters are supposed to be the length of a journal article (25-40 pages). But my first chapter is 50, and the three middle chapters are each about 70 pages. I feel like I've already written more than a dissertation and I have two more chapters to go!! (By the way, there are good reasons for the length).

The same thing happened as I was writing my diss, socsciabd.  The solution turned out to be to move large chunks of the text to appendices.  That way, all this necessary but page-consuming stuff didn't interrupt the flow of the "story" being told by the diss.  My committee was happy because this material was now out of the way, and I was happy because it was still included for those who wanted to read it.

[huntingtoo]

(in a foreign language - literature) Right now I have 156 pp., and I still need to add one more chapter of text, as well as a chapter of conclusions.  I'm thinking I'll end up around 200 pp.

A couple of months ago, I hunted up the room in our department where old copies of dissertations go to hibernate, since I know a student who graduated last year worked with a topic somewhat similar to mine.  Imagine my dismay when I saw that said student's diss. was a mere 117 pages (and absolutely laden with errors, from orthographical to grammatical to factual)!  In fact, the last "chapter" (identified as such) was all five pages of the works cited and consulted.  I checked, and said student's five-person committee was virtually the same as mine, give or take a prof.

"How did they let that slide?!?" I wondered.  And then, of course, I wondered if something like this would ever prove detrimental to me -- I mean, we both got (will have gotten) our degrees from the same institution, with virtually the same committee, and that dissertation is really close to being described as rubbish.

Long story short - I was quite disappointed at my committee's (and director's) lack of high standards for this student.  Were I not so close to finishing, I might consider working with some other folks, if only to ensure that my dissertation ends up as something better.

[francie_]

I was quite disappointed at my committee's (and director's) lack of high standards for this student.  Were I not so close to finishing, I might consider working with some other folks, if only to ensure that my dissertation ends up as something better.

Do not change your committee so late in the game!  Your dissertation is what you make it, not they.

It may be disappointing to learn they have low standards, but now you can be reassured that your committee will be absolutely overawed by your superior dissertation and pass you with flying colors.  They can give themselves (unearned) pats on the back, but so what?