Seminar: Differences between graduation theses, dissertations, and doctoral dissertations from the perspective of scientific research methodology.

The workshop was attended by a large number of faculty members, lecturers, postgraduate students, and doctoral candidates from the Faculty of Management Science and other faculties within the university. In addition, the seminar attracted the attention of many lecturers from other universities in Hanoi, agencies under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and the Academy of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The seminar was honored to have Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Cao Dam (formerly the founding Director of the Institute for Strategic and Policy Management in Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology), and also the former Director of the Center for Policy Research and Analysis (the predecessor of the Institute of Policy and Management, University of Social Sciences and Humanities) attend and share some differences between graduation theses, master's theses, and doctoral dissertations from the perspective of scientific research methodology.

In his presentation, Professor Vu Cao Dam emphasized that he highly appreciated the initiative of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation Management of the Faculty of Management Sciences in organizing this scientific seminar. He noted that, in reality, many doctoral candidates, when conducting their research, still cannot distinguish what makes a doctoral dissertation different and what higher requirements it has compared to a master's thesis from a methodological perspective. This often leads to confusion and low-quality dissertations. Each scientific discipline has its own research methods, but the logical structure is similar, including: formulating research questions, scientific arguments, supporting arguments, and methods for information gathering. However, the level of requirements for theses, dissertations, and doctoral theses will differ, with a doctoral dissertation being the most complete in terms of methodology. In my professor's view, a doctoral dissertation, in addition to identifying valid research questions, needs to formulate hypotheses to find supporting evidence (which is not mandatory in a bachelor's or master's thesis).

Following Professor Vu Cao Dam's presentation, many faculty members currently teaching Scientific Research Methods at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and other universities, as well as postgraduate students and doctoral candidates, actively asked questions, commented, and exchanged ideas, sharing their teaching experiences related to the seminar's topic. Many questions and concerns arose regarding whether it's necessary to formulate hypotheses for a thesis or dissertation when research questions are already established, or how to handle situations where the initial hypothesis proves incorrect after proof. These discussions yielded very specific suggestions.

Concluding the seminar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Thanh Truong expressed his sincere gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Cao Dam for his companionship in the training and scientific research activities of the Faculty of Management Science in particular and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in general. His sharing was truly useful for postgraduate students and doctoral candidates studying at the university, as well as faculty members teaching about scientific research methods. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Thanh Truong also stated that the Department and the Faculty of Management Science will pay attention to and promote the organization of seminars and scientific activities in the future, creating conditions for students, postgraduate students, and doctoral candidates to participate more in the academic activities of the Faculty and the university, in order to improve the quality of training and scientific research.

At the end of the seminar, on behalf of the faculty, lecturers, and students of the Faculty of Management Science and the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation Management, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Thanh Truong presented flowers and took a commemorative photo with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Cao Dam.