Criteria for a doctoral thesis

Umberto Eco defines criteria for a scientific thesis:

1. The research deals with a specific object, defined so that others can identify it.
2. The research says things that have not yet been said about this object, or it revises the things that have already been said from a different perspective.
3. The research is useful to others.
4. The research provides the elements required to verify or disprove the hypotheses it presents, and therefore it provides a foundation for future research.