The dissertation is the final stage of the Master’s degree and provides you with the opportunity to show that you have gained the necessary skills and knowledge in order to organise and conduct a research project

                                            IMA7006 Dissertation Assessment Brief

Learning Outcomes

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Brief

The dissertation is the final stage of the Master’s degree and provides you with the opportunity to show that you have gained the necessary skills and knowledge in order to organise and conduct a research project. It should demonstrate that you are skilled in identifying an area, or areas, suitable for research: setting research objectives; locating, organising and critically analysing the relevant secondary data and authoritative literature; devising an appropriate research methodology; analysing the primary data selected and drawing on the literature in the field; drawing conclusions; and if appropriate making relevant recommendations and indications of areas for further research. 

A dissertation is a ‘formal’ document and there are ‘rules’ that govern the way in which it is presented. It must have chapters that provide an introduction, a literature review, a justification of the data selected for analysis and research methodology, analysis of the data and, finally, conclusions and recommendations. Where the subject is based around a business or an applied situation recommendations for action may also be required. 

Though you continue your research area/topic from semester 2. It is expected that you streamline and update your Chapter 1 – introduction, Chapter 2 – literature review and Chapter 3 – Research Methodology. You will improve the initial three chapters and in conjunction with your supervisor’s guidance, you will then undertake the data gathering by combination of both fieldwork and desk research, evaluate and synthesise the findings and present them clearly. You will also present a set of conclusions drawn from the findings. In the end you will reflect on your overall journey as a researcher (personal reflection).

Dissertations follow a standard format; an indication of the main structure and contents is given below:

Title Page

Abstract

Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

Glossary

List of Tables

List of Figures 

1. Introduction

• The context in which the research takes place.
• Presentation of the problem that you have identified.
• Rationale for conducting the research, who could benefit from it and how.
• A clear and succinct statement of the research aims and objectives that the dissertation is going to address.
• Key research questions
• The way the dissertation is to be organised.

1. Literature Review

• Critical review of key areas of literature
• Development of a conceptual framework
• Gap in the literature

1. Methodology

• Research paradigm, approach and design
• Methods used and rationale for these.
• Participants and Sampling (for quantitative research)
• Participants and criteria for selecting the participants (for qualitative research)
• Presentation of the instruments for data collection
• Data analysis
• Ethical considerations – (what ethical issues you have identified and what you did to address them)
• Validity and reliability (for quantitative research)
• Credibility and reflexive analysis – (for qualitative research) 

1. Findings and Analysis

• Summary and analyses of data (graphs, charts, results of statistical analysis)
• Interpretation, synthesis and discussion

1. Conclusion

• Summary of dissertation with particular focus on answers to research objectives
• Summary of contributions
• Limitations and future direction of the research
•  

1. Personal Reflection

• Personal development
• Personal experience of the research or enquiry process 

• References
  • All references used in writing the dissertation should be included in a reference list
  •  The Harvard system for listing references should be used - https://www.bolton.ac.uk/leaponline/My-Academic-Development/My-Writing-Techniques/Referencing/Level-2/Harvard-Referencing.aspx.
• Appendices
  • Appendices may be used to provide relevant supporting evidence for reference
  •  Students may wish to include in appendices, evidence which confirms the originality of their work or illustrates points of principle set out in the main text, questionnaires, and interview guidelines. Some of the following could be used too for the appendix section:
  • Table of results for quantitative research
  • Transcripts of interviews, interview notes for qualitative research.
  • Ethics checklist accompanied by the relevant supporting documents such as participant information sheet, participant consent form and other relevant evidence.
  • Reflective career skill development summary
  • Supervisor meeting notes
  • A blank questionnaire (if used) 

Additional elements, such as a glossary, may also be included.

Guidance on formatting and presentation requirements, including font sizes, line spacing, etc., will be available on Moodle; and useful resource is available on LEAP: https://www.bolton.ac.uk/leaponline/My-Academic-Development/My-Assessments/Writing-a-Dissertation.aspx.