Reimagining academics being thorough in Pakistan.

The depth of concepts and their clarity of expression, rather than the sheer volume of words, are the real indicators of academic rigour. However, the former is still given priority in Pakistani thesis guidelines.

Research theses are frequently seen as the pinnacle of a student’s academic career, influencing the assessment of their accomplishments. In many Pakistani universities, doctoral theses are expected to be long, with hundreds of pages and numerous references.

This approach, which is commonly seen as an indication of commitment and thoroughness, may unintentionally cause the emphasis to shift from originality and quality to mere volume.

Global academic practices, however, paint a different picture. This approach, which is popular throughout Europe, places more attention on quality than quantity and gives straightforward synthesis of facts and strong arguments precedence over in-depth elaboration. Pakistan has to rethink how it approaches thesis writing.

In the majority of industrialised nations, a thesis is expected to clearly synthesise key results and provide succinct arguments backed by solid evidence. However, in Pakistan, students may produce hundreds of pages over the course of years in order to satisfy institutional requirements.

These guidelines encourage a “checklist” attitude by emphasising minimum page numbers and thorough references. Instead of creating meaningful insights, students concentrate on fulfilling formal obligations. Their study may become less unique and clear as a result of this method, producing lengthy yet disjointed documents.

The power of succinct and powerful research is demonstrated by Nobel laureate John Nash’s seminal 26-page thesis, Non-Cooperative Games. Even though it was brief and had only two references, Nash’s thesis introduced the Nash Equilibrium, a notion that transformed a number of disciplines, including political science and economics. This emphasises that the depth, accuracy, and clarity of ideas—rather than length—are what define academic rigour.

Similar to this, the European tradition of including published papers into theses shows how an emphasis on quality and originality may produce work that is compelling and succinct. These instances cast doubt on the widely held belief in Pakistan that thoroughness is synonymous with length, arguing that academic rigour should instead be defined by originality and clarity.

Quality-focused evaluation must replace quantity-driven criteria in order to reimagine academic rigour in Pakistan. Institutions need to update their policies to prioritise clarity, originality, and analytical depth over artificial page counts.

As is done in Europe, allowing students to include published papers in their theses would motivate them to concentrate on creating significant, high-caliber research rather than completing assignments on time.

Mentors from the faculty are essential to this change. A research culture that encourages critical thinking and clear communication can be fostered by mentors who help students prioritise precision and originality. In addition to helping students become more proficient at communicating complicated concepts in a clear and concise manner, this model would make it simpler for reviewers to assess theses on the basis of their merits.

Using a quality-over-quantity approach for research theses could help Pakistan align its academic standards with international best practices. Impactful research requires critical thinking, creativity, and good communication, all of which would be fostered by shorter, more focused theses.

Additionally, students who receive instruction in this method will be more prepared to contribute to professional and worldwide academic domains where accuracy and clarity are highly prized.

Pakistani universities have the chance to develop a new generation of scholars whose work is distinguished by its depth rather than its length by redefining academic rigour. By doing this, they can promote an academic atmosphere that values significant contributions over copious verbosity, which is in line with the real goal of scholarly endeavour.