How complex does a master's thesis experiment generally need to be?
So I'm a master's student that hates research but is in a thesis based program because it was one of the only schools that had GAs covering tuition. I like my teaching assistanceship and it's what I think I want to continue to do with my MS when I finish. Research feels like pulling teeth though, but some amount has to get done so I can write a thesis. Now originally when I disclosed that my focus was on teaching my grad director assured me that a thesis did not need to be publishable. Other professors I've had have said negative data and relatively simple experiments are fine, you just need a good literature review, a good explaination of your experimental design and results. Mainly that it needs to be demonstrated that you completed a project and thought about it, and for those that want Phd's after it's better to do more serious publishable stuff, but also ok to do simpler things for the degree alone.
Initially with my PI, we had a pretty good experiment thought out that could easily be completed within the 2 years with time to spare for writing and revisions. Then gradually my PI has added more and more ideas so now there are like 4 experiments he wants and an additional analysis of old data to incorporate in my thesis. He also wants papers to be published. I really have no interest in any of it and am dreading any of the experiments at all, especially not the ones that were added. When I expressed some hesitancy he said that the first experiment that was supposed to be my whole thesis was not complicated enough and that you are supposed to have a multi stage "story" to tell about research for a thesis. I doubt a lot of this can be done within my remaining year and all of my cohort are just now starting our research experimemts because the first 2 semesters are getting the design approved. Some of the experiments he's adding are not in my proposal and the 2 that are in it were already approved. So I feel like the additional things aren't necessary and one faculty member said my 1st experiment would have been enough even though it was pretty simple.
I'm wondering if he's right, because he said my first exleriment seems like something an undergrad could do. So for a passable STEM master's thesis do you need multiple experiments? And is negative data acceptable too if you write about it well? I'm very worried that my PI is right and that I'm not even cut out for a master's if this much is expected to be done, plus analyzing data, writing, and defending within the next 12 months.