BTM6DIS Dissertation Assignment 2 Brief | CCCU

BTM6DIS Module Learning Outcomes 

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes. 

• Define and contextualise business and management research problems, questions or issues. 
• Identify and refine an appropriate research question and methodology, justifying all the choices made. 
• Present research findings in an appropriate format, constructing reasoned arguments and critically comparing these with existing knowledge.
• Examine relevant literature and present a critical review of that literature.
• Analyse relevant evidence by using appropriate methods and evaluate their findings, and draw conclusions.
• Discuss the ethical dimensions of your research and obtain appropriate ethical approval if needed. 

BTM6DIS Assignment Requirements 

Overview 

Research is an important element of developing the skillset of a modern professional and is key to developing sustainable business and sustainable tourism. This module provides an opportunity for final year (Level 6) students to research, in depth, a topic of particular interest in the field of tourism related to the degree programme. In this 40-credit module, students are required to select a current topic in tourism for study and carry out a piece of independent research, with guidance from an allocated project/dissertation supervisor. 

This dissertation will enable students to develop skills required for original and creative thinking and enable students to demonstrate research, data gatheringand analysis skills, as well as depth of understanding of the chosen subject/topic area within the broad field of tourism. This module focuses on the following Graduate Achievements, which are the skills students will develop through this module that can be transferred into the workplace: Professionally Committed to Succeed, Digitally Competent and Enterprising Mindset. 

Consequently, this dissertation allows students to demonstrate the ability to understand and interpret information relevant to the research methodologyand present it to an audience in a written format as a 6000-word research project. 

Assignment Tasks to be Completed 

The dissertation will substantially develop the following parts: 

• Introduction, rationale for the research, stating and justifying the research problem, aim, objectives and research approach.
• Theoretical framework as the basis for the literature review.-
• Literature review, illustrating previous research, gap in the research, or evidence of the research necessity, e.g. from reports
• Research methodology, data collection and analytical techniques.
• Result analysis and Discussion
• Summary of research, Conclusions and Recommendations. 

Additional Information Required to Support Completing the Tasks Above 

This Dissertation brief should be used with the dissertation structuretemplate. Its purpose is to guide the best way to meet the task requirements in the assignment brief. It also indicates what the marker will be looking for in the case study. 

Note: The dissertation should be formatted with the font Times New Roman (12 pt) with 1.5 line spacing. 

You must use the dissertation structure template to type in your information as required. 

Start your dissertation with a strong title, brief, clear, and descriptive, summarising the main idea of the research. It should also include keywords that help readers find the dissertation in online searches. 

The word count in the following guidelines is given approximately to help students keep the proportions within the dissertation volume. Each section is divided into subsections might require a different word count; however, generally, the biggest sections – Literature Review and Research Methodology, Data Analysis and Results/Findings, will require an elaborated approach and more specific details. 

Follow the structure and suggestions in the Dissertation Template: 

1. Chapter One: Introduction to the Dissertation (1000words). 

1.1. Overview of the Chapter Be specific about the purpose and the structure of the chapter. 

1.2. Background and Context. 

The background should draw from either industry or business reports or academic sources and include the following: Lead the reader into the topic and scope of your research, explain why this research has value and why it will be original, and why the research is required 

1.3. Problem Statement. 

Describe the theoretical or practical research problem that you want to address. 

What is already known about the problem? Briefly refer to 2-3 main policies/reports/frameworks that introduce the reader into the context and specify the contradiction/problem that still exists and needs a solution. Here you will use relevant terminology: related to the key concepts, theories and empirics (reports/statistics which reveal the problem). 

1.4. Research Aim. 

Make it clear what new insights you will contribute. Formulate a clear research aim in one line, e.g. 

• this study aims to determine…
•  This research aims to explore…
•  This research aims to investigate… 

1.5. Research Objectives. 

Define research objectives (at least two but not more than 5). Justify a major approach you will take (general methodology to achieve these aims). Start by using active verbs, e.g. 

• To discover current research surrounding the topic of dark tourism.
• To evaluate the motivations of travellers visiting destinations associated with dark tourism.
• To use focus groups to examine whether tourist perspectives are influenced by dark tourism. 

OR include specific details of HOW you will achieve these objectives, e.g.

• To measure …… using quantitative methods. 
• To analyse … by means of …. analysis. 
• To test (e.g. customer brand awareness). 

Do Not Repeat The Verbs! 

1.6. Research Questions. 

State the specific questions that you aim to answer. The research questions should align with the research objectives. 
1.7. Significance of the study 

Highlight the significance and originality of your research, explaining why your study matters and what contribution it makes to your field. What is missing from current knowledge? Briefly state the methods by which the research will be achieved. 

1.8. Dissertation structure. 

Provide a clear outline of how the dissertation is structured and organised, ensuring logical flow and coherence between chapters. 

1.9. Chapter summary 

Briefly summarise the chapter summary and link to the next chapter. 

2. Chapter Two: Literature Review (1500 words). 

The literature review summarises, compares and critiques the most relevant scholarly sources on the topic. There are many ways to structure a literature review, but it should explore the following contents: 

2.1. Overview of the Chapter 

Be specific about the purpose and the structure of the chapter. 

2.2 Review of the Key Concepts

Identifying the key variables and evaluate their relevance to the study. 

2.3 Review of Related Studies 

Review of related literature on the research. Provide a critical review of past empirical studies that relate to your topic. This should not be limited to the chosen company, sector or location. 

2.4 Review Key Theories 

Review of theories that are relevant to the study. Evaluate relevant theories. 

2.5 Gap(s) in existing knowledge. 

Identify and discuss what is missing from the literature and how the research aims to fill the identified gap(s). 

2.6 Chapter summary 

3. Chapter Three: Research Methodology (1200 words). 

This section should explain how you will design the research: qualitative/quantitative data research. Determine what kind of data you need to analyse, and which resources you will use, primary or secondary. Decide and justify the framework you intend to use, following the Onion model with the six layers. 

3.1. Overview of the Chapter 

Be specific about the purpose and the structure of the chapter

3.2. Methodological Framework: Application of the Onion model. Briefly introduce the model. 

3.2.1 Research Philosophy: Explain what philosophy (positivism or interpretivism) you intend to use and justify your selection. 

3.2.2 Research Approach: Explain what approach (deductive or inductive) you intend to use and justify your selection. 
3.2.3 Research Design / Strategies: Decide and justify if this will be exploratory, explanatory, descriptive or experimental research. 

3.2.4 Research Choices: Decide and justify if this will be a mono-method (either qualitative or quantitative) or a mixed method(combination of qualitative and quantitative, which means the student will collect both qualitative and quantitative data). 

3.2.5 Time Horizon: Decide and justify whether the study will use cross-sectional (data gathered at a point in time) or longitudinal(data gathered over a period of time).

 3.3. Research Methods: Techniques and Procedures of Data Collection 

3.3.1 Type of Data: Justify chosen methods of data collection, whether you will use primary or secondary methods to collect the data. 

3.3.2Sampling Design: Describe the procedure and the sample of the participants of your research. 

3.3.3 Describes systematic data collection steps: State exactly what or who you will study, and if you will collect data personally or use the databases. If the databases will be used, which ones and what data will be taken from them? State clearly how you will access the databases or the resources of information. 

3.4. Analytical Techniques 

Include data analysis methods and justify them. Discuss if you are using thematic (qualitative) or statistical (quantitative)analysis. 

3.5. Ethical Considerations 

• Discuss the ethical issues and how you plan for and deal with problems.
• Specify how the consent of subjects will be obtained. Refer to Appendices where the Consent Form must be enclosed. Please include a description of any information you intend to provide the subject with.
• Indicate any potential risks to subjects and how you propose to minimise these.
• Mention policies and guidelines regulating data collection and data protection in the UK (there will be at least two documents). Include them in the reference list.
• Ensure the Approved Ethical Approval Form is Added to The Dissertation and Submitted on the Ethical Form Link.
• Ensure the consent form ( Completed and signed by the Participants) is added to the Dissertation (If You have Primary Data). 

3.6. Data Presentation (in Appendix) 

• It is MANDATORY to present the data collected and add it to the appendix.
• It is important to show the data supervisor 

3.7. Chapter Summary 

4. Chapter Four: Data Analysis and Discussion (1500 words)

Data analysis and results discussion chapter should be organised as: 

4.1. Overview of the Chapter 

Be specific about the purpose and the structure of the chapter. 

4.2. Presentation of Results/Findings 

• Ensure the specific data to be analysed are first presented using the appropriate structure.
• Briefly discuss how the data was collected and by step analysis to arrive at the results (for example, in thematic analysis, the coding process of how the themes have emerged).
• Ensure you clearly present results in a specific, organised manner, typically using tables, graphs, and descriptive text, highlighting the key data points and patterns discovered without interpretation or extensive discussion, allowing readers to easily understand the results of the investigation. 

4.3. Interpretation of Result/Findings. Interpretation of results, allowing readers to easily understand the results of the investigation. 

4.4. Critical Analysis and Discussion of Results 

• Evaluate your result in line with the objectives.
• Discuss your research findings with existing literature.
• Appraise the theoretical and practical implications of the study.
• Compare the results/findings to the existing literature. 

4.5. Chapter Summary 

5. Chapter Five: Summary and Conclusion (800 words). 

5.1 Introduction to the chapter: Be specific about the purpose and the structure of the chapter. 

5.2 Summary of Research: Summarise the main points of the study and explain why the research is important. And briefly discuss how the research objectives have been achieved. 
5.3 Limitation of Study: Provide information that limits robustnessof your research. 

5.4 Suggestion for Further Research: Provide suggestions for future researchers based on the limitations of the study. 

5.5 Practical Recommendation: Provide practical recommendations based on the findings, with appropriate support. 

5.6 Conclusion: 

The conclusion should help readers understand the significanceof the research and leave them with a strong impression. 

Ensure you show how the research questions are answered 

Format of Your Submission and How Your Assignment Will be Assessed 

This assignment should be submitted electronically via Moodle (module tutors will discuss this process with you during class time). 

Please ensure your work has been saved in an appropriate file format (Microsoft Word). 

You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version. 

Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which will be sent to your forwarded e-mail address (provided you have set this up). Please keep this receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment.

You are reminded of the CCCU’s regulations on academic misconduct, which can be viewed on the CCCU website: Academic Misconduct Policy. In submitting your assignment, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations. 

Assessment Requirements: 

You will submit your dissertation individually: 

• Demonstrate why you are personally interested in this topic? Reflect on what drew you to this research.
• Explain your research aim and objectives.
• Explain some of the key studies in the field, found from your literature review.
• Illustrate the theory or theories you will adopt to analyse your research topic.
• Explain the methodology (primary/ secondary, quantitative/qualitative), and mention the data collection you will likely undertake. 
• Present your research results/findings. 

Assessment Criteria: 

Your work will be assessed to the extent it demonstrates your achievement of the stated learning outcomes for this assignment (see above) and against other key criteria, as defined in the grading descriptors. If it is appropriate to the format of your assignment and your subject area, a proportion of your marks will also depend on your use of academic referencing conventions. This assignment will be marked according to the grading descriptors for Level 6; also see Table of Penalties enclosed with the Assignment Brief and Assessment Guide. 

Please see the assessment rubric at the end of the document 

Submission Requirements 

Submission Platform 

This assignment should be submitted electronically using Moodle to the ModuleSubmission link. 

Submission Date & Time 2:00 pm

All submission and resubmission dates and times are as stated at the beginning of this assignment brief. 

You should submit your Assignment for all deadlines earlier than 2:00pm on the dates stated. 

Late submissions can be accepted for Summative Submissions only up to a maximum of 2 working days after the submission deadline. This does not apply to resubmission deadlines. A 10-mark deduction will be made by CCCU for all late submissions. 

Work submitted more than two working days after the deadline will not be accepted and will be recorded as a non-submission. 

Assignments submitted to the Resubmissions deadlines will be capped at 40 by CCCU 

If you are affected by events which are unexpected, outside your control and short-term in nature (i.e. lasting one to two weeks), under the exceptional circumstances procedure, you may be eligible for: 

• Self-Certification - A 7-day extension to your coursework. Students are allowed a maximum of 2 self-certification requests per academic year can be requested.
• Extenuating Circumstances - A 14-day extension to your coursework, but there must be evidence to support the request. 
  You can make a self-certification request up to 14 calendar days before your deadline: for coursework, it must be no later than 2 pm on the deadline date.