There are 4 syllables in dissertation. Dis-ser-ta-tion.
"Its" has one syllable.
The Dissertation was created in 1972.
one syllable
There is 1 syllable.
In the word "the", there is one syllable.
it has one syllable
There is 1 syllable
There is 1 syllable.
The word "to" has one syllable.
one syllable--and syllable is missing an "s". You should say "How many syllables is winked?"
Mean has only 1 syllable.
They are usually secondary sources, but can be a primary source depending on the topic of the dissertation. If you are looking for primary sources you might be able to find many primary sources within the bibliography of a dissertation, since most of these scholars would have most likely referred to primary documents while drafting their dissertation.