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Introduction to this handbook 3
Dissertation organisation 3
Guidelines for organisation of the dissertation 3
Arrangements of the dissertation 4
Chapters 5
Bibliography and references 8
Appendices 8
Main points to be considered for various sections 8
Research problems 8
Relevant scholarly literature 9
Research design 9
Findings 9
Conclusions and recommendations 10
Form and style 10
Other guidelines and formatting 10
Plagiarism in dissertation 11
Grading criteria 12
Responsibility 13
Candidate`s responsibility 13
Supervisor`s responsibility 14
Bibliography 14-15
POSTGRADUATE DISSERTATION GUIDELINES
1. INTRODUCTICTION TO THIS HANDBOOK
A dissertation is a necessary requirement in the successful completion of a Master’s degree. Writing a dissertation is one of the most creative challenges for any postgraduate Programmes. It offers students the opportunity to prove that they have the ability to implement the knowledge they have acquired throughout their studies in postgraduate level programme and to carry out in-depth research into a topic of their choice related to the aims of the Programme, under the guidance of a supervisor.
A successful dissertation would represent an outstanding academic achievement, which required hard work, critical thinking, personal discipline and dedication; and sometimes it is the greatest academic achievement for many students. Completing the dissertation is a challenge and will lead the student up to the cutting edge of research conducted at that time on his or her area of interest or field of research.
A dissertation is often expected to make an original contribution to knowledge, which was based on individual and independent work.
This handbook is intended to guide and assist our Postgraduate students towards successfully completing well researched, sound and professionally presented dissertations. It is hoped that both supervisors and candidates would find this handbook helpful, and furthermore it contains mandatory guidelines which at least, will satisfy the minimum requirements for acceptable dissertations and the award of the degree.
You would find this section especially helpful to:
Establish and agree on the terms of student/supervisor working relationship.
Develop a workable plan and follow through an organised sequence of work, and activities to meet deadlines set for research, writing, and analysis, consultations with supervisors, review, and presentations, and/or publications.
Organise the structure of your work, which will reflect a high level of academic orientation and professionalism.
2. DISSERTATION ORGANISATION
A dissertation must address a significant question and demonstrate that its author can interpret findings and formulate conclusions that are the result of independent thinking and sustained evaluation of source materials. These findings must be expressed in clear and grammatical language that is well-organised into cogent and coherent argument. A dissertation must have a comprehensive introduction or review of literature, discussion and bibliography.
2.1 GUIDELINES FOR ORGANISATION OF THE DISSERTATION
The following is a suggested format that may be used to lay out the material within the dissertation document:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(Sample)
Page
Cover page
Declaration Page
Dedication Page (Optional)
Acknowledgement page (Optional)
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of tables and Figures
Operational definitions of constructs (if any)
CHAPTER 1 Introduction
CHAPTER 2 Literature review
CHAPTER 3 Methodology
CHAPTER 4 Findings
CHAPTER 5 Discussions, conclusions and direction for further research
BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES
APPENDICES
2.2 ARRANGEMENTS OF THIS DISSERTATION
Candidates must follow these rules in submitting their dissertations:
a. Front Page – Cover Page
The title page should include the following details (see appendix):
The full title of the Dissertation o The full name of the author
The award for which the degree is submitted in partial fulfilment of its requirements
The Faculty and University title including the collaborating establishment, if any
The month and year of submission
b. Second Page – Declaration
Student must declare that this is his/her original work and that the work has never been submitted and/or presented for any award in any university or institution of higher learning.
c. Third page – Dedication (optional) d. Fourth page – Acknowledgement
A statement of acknowledgement for any assistance given in carrying out the research should be mentioned here.
d. Fifth page – Abstract
The abstract is a synopsis of the research works undertaken written in approximately 500 words. This abstract should state the nature and scope of the research undertaken and the contribution made to the knowledge of the subject area. A loose copy of the abstract should be submitted with the dissertation. The loose copy will have the names of the author and supervisor, the title of the dissertation and year of submission.
e. Sixth page – Table of Contents
f. Seventh page – List of figures and tables g. CHAPTERS
The dissertation should be systematically divided into appropriate sections and subsections throughout the work. It should contain information about aspects relevant to the project which, if contained in the main text, would ensue from the argument being presented in the dissertation.
The ideas, experiences and other information gathered from the literature review should be referenced and acknowledged by using the abbreviated citations in the text which provided the key to a fuller description in the reference section
Chapter-1:
Introduction
All dissertations/thesis begin with an introduction describing the problem under investigation and its background, its relevance to the field, the assumptions and the limitations of the study, and the expected findings.
Chapter One should discuss the following points:
An introduction describing the background of the problem and the rationale for the research
The research aims and objectives
Research questions and hypotheses
The significance of the study
The operational definitions used in the study
Structure of the study
Chapter 2:
Literature Review
All dissertations, contain reviews of the literature about their topics. A literature review appears in dissertations as a separate chapter). The project will include a robust and critical literature review. The main purpose is to establish the important areas of research and enquiry such that the project objectives can be achieved. It serves an important purpose in expanding the body of knowledge that we have with which to understand current performance and as a secondary base to build better informed practices for the future. It should review both the academic literature and the empirical practices that organisations operate
A successful literature review will accomplish the following objectives:
Describe the line of research or investigations of which the dissertation is meant to form a most recent part.
Identify, describe, and evaluate the studies that support the dissertation’s or research project’s formulations of the research problem, the research question, and the significance of the study.
Describe and evaluate the studies that present the theoretical framework used to select the variables or the focus for the study and to guide the analysis and interpretation of the data
collected in the dissertation project.
Identify, describe, and evaluate the studies supporting the selection of the dissertation’s methodology and approach.
Support the appropriateness of the dissertation’s instruments, measures, and/or methods used to collect data
The main aspects of the literature review should be based on the following points:
The literature review chapter will discuss the previous research and theory in which the researcher discovered and developed the research problem.
It will show the relevance of the particular theoretical perspective or framework for identifying the issues, variables, phenomena, or key factors to investigate, including the significance of the problem.
It will synthesize and critique the literature reviewed, showing both the main foundation points for the dissertation and the opposing viewpoints, controversies in interpretation, or contrary findings relevant to the study. For example, attachment theory has many components and constructs; the literature review synthesizes them with other relevant research findings and selects those constructs that will be used to focus the present study.
Chapter-3: Research Methodology Chapter Three, you will describe the step-by-step the methods and procedures used in your study, in a way that will enable future researchers to replicate your study. The methodology should be informed by the background and rationale section. In the methodology section you should present your methodological choices on the research design, data collection method/s, sampling, data analysis, ethical issues
This chapter has at least the following elements:
Purposes of the Study: Re-introduce the purpose of the study.
Research Design: Define more fully the research design, citing its strengths and weaknesses.
Target Population and Participant Selection: Identify the population from which participants are to be selected and the method of sampling. Discuss and justify the sample size in this section.
Procedures: Describe the methods and procedures for conducting the study including ethical considerations of the study.
Instruments: Describe the data collection instruments
. Hypotheses and Research Questions: State the hypotheses or research questions in the proper form and style.
Data Collection and Data Analyses: Describe the collection and data
Chapter-4:
Findings/Results Chapter Four presents a non-evaluative reporting of the data, supported by tables, figures, and charts where applicable. Quantitative studies are typically guided by hypotheses or research questions, and
so the data are typically reported relative to each hypothesis or research question. This section is important as this is the area where you engage with new and original material that you have collected and the skills deployed here are definitive in terms of the scope final assessment grade together with the recommendations. Data must be presented systematically and structured clearly around tables, figures etc.
Chapter Four has at least the following elements:
Introduction: a brief introduction to the chapter containing three main points: a description of the chapter’s purpose, how it fits into the overall dissertation, and how the chapter is organized.
Description of the Sample: a description of the sample of participants who were in this study including significant demographic data describing the sample.
Statement of the Results: A brief point-by-point summary of the results and findings of your data analysis, typically organized around the research questions or hypotheses.
Details of the Analysis: The full detailed presentation of the data analysis and results. Again, this section typically takes each hypothesis or research question in order, describes the analysis, and presents the results for that hypothesis or question.
Summary: the findings can be recapitulated as a transition to Chapter 5
Chapter-5: Discussions, conclusions &
Recommendations In Chapter Five, authors must evaluate their own work and provide personal insight into and interpretation of their study’s results. This does not mean, of course, that informal, first-person writing is now possible. But within the constraints of scholarly writing, the learner now presents what the study means to him or her, and more widely, what he or she thinks it means to the field of practice, to the line of previous research, and to the communities interested in the topic.
In general, however, Chapter Five must accomplish two primary objectives:
It should assess whether the dissertation addresses the problems that precipitated the study (and how well); in doing so, the learner should interpret the study’s results in light of existing findings in the field.
It should recommend directions for future study.
To accomplish the first objective, Chapter Five addresses and discusses what the study means: What its implications are for the research question, the previous literature, and the wider communities of interest. Whereas Chapter Four was limited to simply presenting the results, now the researcher must show how those results do or do not answer the research question and what they mean in its light.
In your discussion section you should present your analysis clearly and logically and it should be relevant to your research aim, research
question(s), hypothesis (es) and objectives. Make sure that you relate the findings of your primary research to your Literature Review. You can do this by comparison: discussing similarities and particularly differences. If you think your findings have confirmed some literature findings, say so and say why. If you think your findings are at variance with the literature, say so and say why
The second objective is to make recommendations for future research. To do so, Chapter Five should discuss the limitations of the study. The following elements can be incorporated in chapter-5:
Introduction to the chapter
Summary of the results
Discussions of the results
Conclusions
Recommendations (if any)
Contribution of the study
Theoretical and Managerial implications
Limitations of the study
Direction for further research
h. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
All published or other sources of material consulted must be acknowledged either in the Bibliography or Reference list. A list of references that you have used that should be cross-referenced with your text.
Books – Author’s surname, initials of other names, (year of publication in brackets); Title of book. Publishers and place of publication
Articles and Journals – Name of Author(s), Title of article. Name of Journal, Volume and Number, Date of publication, page number(s)
Internet Search – Site Address needed (Please see Appendix for Harvard Referencing style guide)
i. APPENDICES
Any appendices should be included. These should be made up of relevant statistical data or material which cannot be fitted into the chapters.
2.3. MAIN POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR VARIOUS SECTIONS
Dissertations should make an original contribution to knowledge, based on individual and independent work.
A. RESEARCH PROBLEM
Does the dissertation deal with a significant and meaningful problem that lends itself to a substantial research effort? Is the problem of interest to other scholars or practitioners in the field? Has a persuasive case been made as to why the problem is worth solving?
Is it clear who or what will be aided by the research findings?
Will the findings provide a basis for generalised conclusions or have practical applicability?
Are the research questions stated concisely and explicitly in question form? Are they precise, specific and focused? Do they flow logically from the problem?
Are the hypotheses, when applicable, well formulated? Do they pose a relationship between or among measurable variables that is subject to testing?
Are the limitations of the study identified with recognition of their consequences? Are discrepancies in the study dealt with positively?
Are technical terms well defined? Are the definitions clear-cut, unambiguous, and comprehensible?
Does the dissertation clearly address some aspect of social change? What aspects has been addressed?
B. RELEVANT SCHOLARLY PROFESSIONAL LITERATURE
Is the conceptual framework properly developed for this type of study? Is previous work on the topic and related subjects critically appraised with due respect for differences of opinion?
Does the dissertation reflect comprehensive knowledge of the literature in the topic of the study, including both classic and contemporary works? Is this knowledge demonstrated in the presentation of the problem?
Is the research informed by primary sources of theories, concepts, principles and models in the field and are they referred to specifically? Is there an identifiable historical and philosophical context?
Is appropriate literature cited to provide a rationale for the research design, methods of data collection and data analysis?
C. RESEARCH DESIGN
Is the research designed fully described and justified?
Does the research design derive logically from the problem statement and the research questions?
Is the rationale for the chosen methodology clearly articulated?
Are the methods of data collection appropriate to the research design and the research problems?
Are the methods of data analysis and interpretation appropriate to the research questions or, when applicable, to the hypotheses?
Is the presentation of the research design and the study’s implementation sufficiently thorough as to enable replication of the study in all its essential aspects?
D. FINDINGS
Are the processes by which the data were analysed and interpreted clearly presented?
Are the analyses and resulting findings presented logically and comprehensibly?
Do patterns and implications emerge from the data analysis? Do they yield informative findings that are meaningful in terms of the research questions?
E. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Do the conclusions and recommendations flow logically and consistently from the research findings?
Are the recommendations useful? Do they point to appropriate action? Does the study provide a basis for further research?
F. FORM AND STYLE
Is the dissertation well written in scholarly language that is grammatically correct?
Is the presentation in accordance with required style and format? Are citations and references correctly used?
Is the material set systematically, logically, and rationally with appropriate use of headings and sub-headings?
Is the work well organised? Does it flow smoothly and without redundancy? Does it communicate to the reader in a straightforward fashion?
2.4. OTHER GUIDELINES & FORMATING
a. Length of dissertation – 15,000-20,000 words.
More or less than 5% of the prescribed word count will be penalised. Word count will be based on the abstract to the final chapter or conclusions. This excludes references, bibliography, notes and appendices
b. Diagrams, Pictures
Diagrams, pictures etc. should be self-explanatory with adequate annotation and captions and should be located in close proximity to where they are first mentioned in the main text c. Font
The main text font type – 12 pt., and must be consistent throughout.
Title – 18 pt. bold
Section Headings – 16 pt. bold
Sub-headings – 14 pt. bold
d. Line Spacing
One and a half spacing must be used in typescript except for indented quotations of headers and footers where single spaces may be used.
e. Page Numbering
Pages up to the abstract must be numbered with Roman system and the rest of the pages shall be numbered consecutively throughout the main text including any insertions like photographs, diagrams, etc. which are including as whole pages.
f. Margins
Margins should be set as follows:
Top and Bottom Margins – one inch
Left – 1.5 inches & Right Margins – 1 inch
g. Headers and Footers These are not permitted
h. Quotations
All quotations shall be referenced in short form inside the main text in abbreviated form but fully in the reference section. If more than a few lines, then this must be indented and annotated.
5. PLAGIARISM IN DISSERTATION
Definition:
Plagiarism is defined as presenting the work of another as one’s own without proper acknowledgement.
This applies to all forms of written material and can include:
Published and unpublished work, and in this instance the work completed by other students.
Quoting or making reference to the work of others in order to complete your work or even reuse of your own previous work. Do remember that it is the failure to acknowledge or disclose, your use of others work that constitutes plagiarism.
Avoid plagiarism by following these guidelines: iii. Seek advice from your supervisor or other academic staff if you are unsure.
Use bibliographies to list the sources from which the work of others were adopted or examined.
Do not forget to quote World Wide Web sources, including the date, the title, and author.
Use quotation marks wherever you use direct quotation of others work, and include such source. However if you paraphrase the work of others, you need not put these in quotation marks, but you must put the source.
You may include within you sentence the source of any material you quote, paraphrased or studied. An example can be George (1990) pointed out that ………….
Whenever you obtained work of another (primary source) through another source (secondary source) such as a book or magazine, you must quote the secondary source only.
Please see student and programme handbook for further information on plagiarism policies.
Caution viii. Dissertation will be submitted online via Turnitin-plagiarism detection software.
The contents of bibliographies will be carefully examined and the authenticity of sources may be verified.
Academic staff may be well familiar with the material presented and as such may detect where plagiarism is present.
6. Grading Criteria
The following grading criteria will be applied for all postgraduate dissertations
(MBA, MA Strategic Marketing, MA Finance & Investment etc.)
Criteria 70%+ Distinction 60-69% Merit 50-59% Pass 0-49% Fail
Generic skills: communication and presentation.
Comprehensive and correctly structured assessment. Style of writing is very fluent and develops a coherent and logical argument. Excellent referencing. Well-structured report which follows appropriate format but some aspects of layout and referencing could be improved. Style of writing is fairly fluent. Good referencing. Good report in most aspects but suffers from variations in quality and the
layout contains some inadequacies. Style of writing is satisfactory. Referencing needs improving. Very poor report which is incorrectly structured and contains major errors and omissions. Style of writing lacks coherence and fluency. Poor referencing.
Knowledge & Understanding Demonstrates excellent knowledge of theory and provides critical theoretical underpinning. Very good
interpretations and summarising of main themes.
Wide range of knowledge demonstrated and evidence of good understanding of the topic.
Ability to interpret and summarise succinctly. Good range of knowledge demonstrated but weaknesses in key areas. Some understanding displayed of the topic.
Summary and
interpretation are satisfactory. Very poor range of knowledge demonstrated and there are major weaknesses evident in interpretation and understanding.
No clear interpretation of main themes.
Analysis Excellent use of theoretical and conceptual models to guide analysis linked with a critical discussion of main themes. Deconstructs the major themes used in the argument. Very good use of the theoretical and conceptual models with good critical discussion and application.
Good evidence of deconstruction. Use of theory and concepts limited but relevant.
Application could
be improved and
there is a
tendency towards
description.
Must provide more evidence of deconstruction. Very poor use of theory and very little application of concepts.
Very little description with not much evidence of analysis.
Synthesis/
Creativity/
Application Logical presentation of themes with appropriate examples being demonstrated. Very good demonstration of synthesis. Models have been clearly applied to the argument. Very good account of main themes with sound application.
Good attempt at
applying models to the argument. .Fairly good attempt at synthesising the salient points. Good account of main themes with some attempt at application. Limited Evidence of synthesis. Very poor account of
main themes
with little or no application. No links between models and argument.
Evaluation Shows clear evidence of indepth critical reflection and evaluation of the argument by providing a robust defence of the opinions presented in the assessment. Shows evidence
of critical reflection and evaluation and a fairly cohesive
defence of the argument Shows some evidence of critical reflection but could have been developed. Shows little or
no evidence of critical reflection and needs to be much more developed. There is no defence of the opinions presented.
7. RESPONSIBILITY: CANDIDATE
7.1 The responsibilities of the candidate involves
Subject matter and content
Organisation and format
Editorial, linguistic and bibliographic quality
Quality of text, figures and photocopy
Quality of data, evidence and logical reasoning presented
Initiating and participating in adequate discussions with the supervisor on the dissertation preparation. The supervisor and candidate are jointly responsible for initiating such discussions, and there should normally be contact between the supervisor and the candidate 6 contact hours during the dissertation phase.
Contact should be maintained during any period of field works.
Becoming familiar with the rules for the postgraduate dissertation.
Submitting written work to the supervisor in accordance with a pre-arranged and agreed schedule and must keep a record of meetings.
Report to the supervisor and administrative authority any significant change likely to affect the progress of the dissertation.
Negotiating with the supervisor in respect of any publication or joint publication likely to arise on the basis of the research project.
Producing the final online versions of the dissertation for online submission, and ensuring that it’s content and standard of presentation in accordance with College requirements.
Taking ultimate responsibility for the direction and content of the dissertation.
7.2. RESPONSIBILITY: SUPERVISOR
Becoming familiar with the rules of the postgraduate Dissertation.
Clarifying the candidate’s and the supervisor’s respective expectations of supervision and of the operation of the dissertation evaluation panel.
Advising and negotiating with the candidate, in respect of any publication likely to arise from or on the basis of the research project.
The supervisor should ensure that from an early stage in the supervision process the student is aware of the criteria for the award of the degree. As the submission date nears, the student should be advised of the relevant procedures.
During the writing up period, the supervisor will be expected, as part of his/her normal duties, to offer the student advice and constructive criticism on the preparation of the dissertation without compromising the independence of the candidate’s work. The supervisor is expected to read the final draft of the dissertation before it is prepared for submission, to offer an opinion to the student and, if appropriate, to advise that modification are made.
Initiating and holding frequent and adequate discussions with the candidate on the candidate’s dissertation. There should normally be contact between the supervisor and the candidate at least 6 contact hrs during the dissertation phase.
Ensuring that any major decisions about the candidate’s research programme made in conversation between the supervisor and the candidate, or any major variations to agreed expectations and guidelines, are confirmed in writing and a copy given to the candidate and noted in the monthly meeting report
Submitting monthly meeting/student feedback report to the Postgraduate Administrator and head of the school.
Facilitating contact between the student and other researchers in related areas
8. Bibliography
Capella University (2006). Dissertation Manual.
Cronbach, L.J., & Associates (1980). Toward reform of program evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Howitt, D., & Cramer, D. (2000). First steps in research and statistics: A practical workbook for psychology students. London, UK and Philadelphia, PA:
Routledge/Taylor and Francis.
Leedy, P.D., & Ormrod, J.E. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design, 8th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Main, M. (2000). The Adult Attachment Interview: Fear, attention, safety and discourse processes. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 48, 10551096.
Norris, F. H. (1996). Designing trauma studies: Basic principles. In E.B.Carlson (Ed.), Trauma research methodology, (22-55). Lutherville, MD: Sidran Press.
Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Robson, C. (1993). Real world research: A resource for scientists and practitionerresearchers. London: Blackwell.
Treisman, A..M. (1986). Features and objects in visual processing. Scientific American, 255(5), 114B-125.
