What Does Writing a Research Thesis in Psychology Mean in Peru?

• Autor: León, Federico R.
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2016
• Institución: Universidad de Lima
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad de Lima
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistas.ulima.edu.pe:article/977
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistas.ulima.edu.pe/index.php/Persona/article/view/977
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: university thesis; professional qualification; certification; thesis supervisor‘s role; tesis universitaria; certificación profesional; competencias de investigación; rol del asesor de tesis

In compliance with the recent Peruvian University Law, students who apply for a professional license may opt to write a thesis, but the requirement of a thesis is mandatory for a master´s or a doctorate degree to be granted. However, many academics seem confused on the nature of the thesis itself. In this paper, firstly, I contrast contribution to knowledge with student learning and qualification of competences; secondly, I review reasonable demands for each degree level; thirdly, show why present theses still conform to a bureaucratic and encyclopedic style which slows the process of conversion into a scientific article; finally, I discuss the role of the supervisor, and point out some of the risks of authoritarianism due to topic selection and acceptability.