What is a 'Master's by Research'? Someone has stated that they have a 'Master's by research'.  Does this mean that their entire degree was awarded based on their thesis work?  Or does it mean that they took requisite courses, but also wrote a thesis?
In most institutes Masters by Research means they had to take the core courses usual Master students are offered but they also produce a compulsory Masters thesis in order to earn their degree. However, I have that seen in most cases that they have to take lesser number of electives so that they have more time for research.

Edit: Also see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Research