Category |
Dissertatin |
Subject |
Education |
University |
Griffith University |
Module Title |
Developing and Doing a Dissertation |
Assessment Title |
Dissertation Handbook |
Academic Year |
May 2025 |
Table of Contents
- Section Title
- The Aims and Learning Outcomes of a Dissertation
- The Process of Doing a Dissertation
- The Structure of the Dissertation Style Guide and Technical Specifications Oral Presentations/Vivas
- Appendix 1 Dissertation Proposal Guidelines
- Appendix 2 Ethics Form and Templates
- Appendix 3 Short Guide to Harvard Referencing
- Appendix 4 Dissertation Marking Scheme
1 The Aims and Learning Outcomes of a Dissertation
1.1 Introduction
To be awarded an MSc in Pharmaceutical Business and Technology, an MSc in Medical Device Technology and Business or an MSc Digital Transformation (Life Science), learners must complete an original and comprehensive dissertation which is worth 30 ECTS credits.
This dissertation is expected to further extend a learner’s analysis of aspects in one or more of the related taught modules on the postgraduate programme stages. Learners are expected to draw heavily on the underpinning research methods module.
Learners select their dissertation title from a range of areas that meet specific criteria. The dissertation must be related to the life science industry. Topics can include manufacturing, regulation, validation, technology transfer, clinical research, operational excellence, or related areas are also acceptable areas of research. A portion of the dissertation can focus on business aspects, organisational design or change management. However, a dissertation that is purely business focused is not acceptable.
1.2 Module Aims
Your MSc research dissertation involves an in-depth study of a specialised area or issue central to life science and linked back into your taught modules. Drawing on substantial relevant research, literature, concepts and techniques, you will need to combine theory and practice. Through your research proposal, you have already devised the research question or objective, identified some of the relevant literature and aspects of the research design; and identified any ethical issues and concerns. You must now critically review more extensively the relevant literature, refine and develop your research strategy and methods of data collection and analysis as you will operationalise it, and write up and present your dissertation. You will be supported by your supervisor, who will monitor and review your progress throughout the research process.
It is a condition of the Dissertation module that you must collect primary data as part of your research so this must be considered when mapping out the methods and data types for your research.
The process of completing the dissertation aims to:
- provide you with an opportunity to apply advanced manufacturing and data analytical skills and knowledge to a professional level research project.
- allow you to contribute to your chosen field of enquiry.
- identify confidently ethical issues and concerns together with awareness of data protection and consent obligations.
- provide you with an opportunity to develop substantive research questions, source relevant information, and sharpen your analytical and critical thinking processes through a systematic approach to problem identification and problem solving.
- develop an understanding of the limitations and contributions of your study and suggest areas for further research in the area.
- advance your oral and written presentation and communication skills.
1.3 Module Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, Learners can:
(i) display a critical awareness and conceptual understanding of current relevant issues;
(ii) devise and investigate an original and complex problem in the life science sector by drawing on an extensive and deep knowledge of primary and secondary sources;
(iii) interrelate theory and practice to the formulation of an original and pertinent research question/hypothesis;
(iv) successfully apply appropriate research techniques, methodologies and practical research skills;
(v) identify and apply the appropriate statistics / quantitative /qualitative methods in the analysis of data;
(vi) critically evaluate and interpret relevant literature and data and appraise current results considering previous findings;
(vii) differentiate between good research and research that is lacking in quality and rigour;
(viii) analyse and interpret data, draw conclusions and understand the implications of the findings.
(ix) devise, direct and produce to deadline a substantial piece of research;
(x) act autonomously in tackling problems, and sourcing, planning and implementing solutions;
(xi) interpret and communicate the results of their research clearly, concisely and professionally to colleagues and peers and present research findings in a form suitable for publication.
1.4 Dissertation Bootcamp
The dissertation bootcamp marks the commencement of Semester 3 for Full-time MSCPT, MSCDT and MSCMDT learners towards successful research proposal and dissertation completion and attendance is mandatory.
All online sessions including dissertation bootcamp and support workshops are available as recordings on the dissertation resource page for part-time learners.
To participate, full-time learners must submit a Preliminary document as a requirement for supervisor appointment. The preliminary document is a brief document that outlines 4 main sections:
(i) Proposed Research Topic / Title
(ii) Proposed Research Objectives
(iii) Proposed Research Methodology
(iv) Justification of Research and its relevance to your MSc program of study
This document should be approximately 1 page and forms the basis of discussions during your first supervisor meeting. If deemed adequate by a supervisor, a learner can progress towards a research proposal development.
2 The Process of Doing a Dissertation
2.1 Overview
In practice, doing a dissertation is not a sequential process in which the completion of one stage leads neatly into the next. There are often false starts and returns to earlier stages of the project to reconsider the focus and the aims. Many of the stages of doing a project will be pursued in parallel. While you are reading for the literature review you may also be setting up contacts for interviews or drafting a questionnaire. However, there is a basic logic to the process as illustrated in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Process for Dissertation Research
2.2 The Dissertation Research Proposal
Each learner must complete a dissertation research proposal using the agreed template in Appendix 1 after their preliminary draft is submitted. A detailed worked example of a research proposal is provided in Appendix 2. Research Proposals should state clearly what is intended to be developed and offer a review of current research in the area. A dissertation research proposal should be more than just a documented idea. Learners must demonstrate that they have carried out some research on their proposal and have considered the appropriateness, technical complexity, feasibility and scope of their proposed dissertation. It is a condition of the Dissertation that you must collect data as part of your research so this must also be outlined within the research proposal. The proposal must be approved as acceptable by your appointed supervisor to progress to the dissertation development.
In developing the dissertation proposal, it is expected that the learner will draw directly on the material and techniques presented and advanced in the related research methods module from their taught modules. They should be able to demonstrate:
- project planning and management skills related to the gathering, analysis and professional presentation of research findings.
- the ability to correctly identify, select and apply research methodologies and techniques appropriate to the dissertation under investigation.
- ability to develop their personal development skills of communication, both written and oral.
2.2.1 Proposal Template
Section 1 Topic and Objectives (200-500 words)
Outline the background of the proposed final research topic and a working title, including if you have decided to use one, your hypothesis (for your quatitative data). You must indicate to which module your topic is linked. (5 marks)
List the 3 to 5 key objectives which are relevant and necessary for your research. (10 marks)
Section 2 Literature Review (1000-1500 words, excluding reference list)
2-a Develop a detailed review of the literature linked to your key research objectives. You should:
- Identify in the literature key debates around the research topic
- Write the LR using a thematic approach - not just summarising individual
- reference material
- Identify where, if any, there are any key gaps and /or areas for opportunities for further research. (20 marks)
2-b Use extensive citations and provide a list of references; for both citations and the list you must use the Griffith College Harvard Referencing style. (10 marks)
Section 3 Primary Research (800-1200 words)
3-a Outline the philosophical approach to your proposed primary research and provide justification for your choice of approach. (5 marks)
3-b You are required to collect primary data – describe your primary research strategy by outlining the type of data i.e. quantitative (surveys) and/or qualitative (surveys, interviews, Delphi, focus groups) that is appropriate for your research, how you propose to collect it, and your criteria for the selection of study participants who will provide it. (15 marks)
3-c Based on 3-b, discuss possible ethical implications, uncertainties and/or difficulties in your proposed research and, if necessary, how these will be addressed. (10 marks)
3-d Indicate how the data collected will be analysed. (10 marks)
Section 4 Summary and Timetable
4-a Outline the conceptual framework (key factors and themes influencing your secondary and primary research) using a diagram if possible. (10 marks)
4-b Construct a timetable for the work to be done with specific dates/weeks running up to your submission date, using a Gannt chart if possible (see page 13 of handbook for items to include). (5 marks)
Timeline for Research – 300 to 400 Words (Gantt Chart)
Timetable for research over one or two semesters covering the following:
- Refining research objectives
- Literature
- Methodology
- Research design
- Collecting primary data
- Data analysis / interpretation
- Discussion
- Final writeup
Once the research proposal is uploaded into Moodle, supervisor is expected to provide feedback on areas that may require improvement. After a successful approval by supervisor, it is considered as the final research proposal and the learner can begin the formal dissertation process.
2.3 Work-based Dissertations
Learners may choose to undertake a work-based dissertation that employs quantitative research methods related to real industry challenges, rather than relying solely on qualitative approaches. This research can be conducted through primary data collection, whether in a laboratory setting or within the learner’s own workplace. This option is particularly relevant for part-time learners who are concurrently employed full-time.
It is important to distinguish between a project and primary research. A project typically focuses on solving a specific, local, real-world problem without necessarily originating from a clearly defined research problem. Its purpose is to gather information to address an identifiable issue within a particular context, but it does not aim to contribute new knowledge or understanding to the broader field.
In contrast, primary research is driven by a research problem and seeks to generate new insights by collecting and analysing original qualitative or quantitative data. This research may involve scientific experiments, quality assessments, computational modelling, engineering investigations, or other systematic methodologies relevant to the discipline.
Therefore, while learners are encouraged to engage with industry-based challenges in their dissertations, the work must go beyond a practical project. It must involve rigorous primary research that contributes to academic knowledge, ensuring the dissertation meets the standards of scholarly inquiry.
For those who decide to incorporate work based quantitative primary research into their dissertation it is important to ensure the following:
- The work is entirely that of the learner. It does not take credit for work completed by others, either currently or in the past.
- Approval must be obtained from the place of work to undertake such primary research.
- Considerations of an ethical and intellectual property nature need to be discussed and agreed prior to the commencement of the research.
- A prior agreement should be documented on the publication of the data, findings and conclusions as well as an agreement to publish the work. An NDA may be required.
- Learners need to consider the scope of any work-related research as it is usually much greater in scope than an academic piece of work.
- Learners need to consider the implications of slippage in work related activities and the impact on the dissertation.
- It is the responsibility of the learners to resolve and manage any issues outlined above.
2.4 Dissertation Supervisor
Each learner will be assigned a dissertation supervisor by the Dissertation co-ordinators after their preliminary proposal has been submitted. The learner must contact the supervisor and arrange a meeting (online or in person). Each supervisor is responsible for giving guidance and direction for the duration of the research proposal through to the dissertation process and until the final dissertation thesis is submitted. Attendance and action points arising from meetings are recorded with work targets and schedules agreed upon by both parties. It is important for all learners to make the most of their meetings with their supervisors.
2.5 Supervisor Responsibility
Supervision is provided by experienced members of academic staff, both within Griffith and Innopharma as well as people in industry that are familiar with the research process. Your supervisor’s role is to advise you on aspects of your research projects and on any matters relating to the College’s and the School’s procedures and regulations governing the MSc dissertation.
The principal duties of your dissertation supervisor are to:
- Advise you on the development of an achievable research plan / timetable of work.
- Advise you on any completion and submission deadlines.
- Provide guidance on your chosen field of study with reference to appropriate literature and research methodology. The supervisor will suggest, advise, debate but will not tell the learner what to do.
- Provide assistance and sign-off with the Ethics process and Ethics Application form
- Review your written work and provide timely feedback on draft chapters.
- Monitor and record your progress, including a mini-viva.
- Ensure academic rigor in your work.
- Advise you on the appropriate standards for your submitted work.
- Liaise with other members of staff, as appropriate and required.
- Mark your dissertation and formal presentation and attend the examination board at which the results are considered it is the responsibility of the learner to get spelling, grammar, and referencing correct, not the supervisor.
These duties are borne out through a series of supervisory meetings and email/phone feedback on your written work up to a maximum of 20 hours (guide) during the agreed research period. Meetings with your supervisor are generally scheduled on a needs basis according to development and progress of your research, which in turn depends on the nature of your project and the phase of the research. Supervision is an interactive and reciprocal process involving an ongoing information exchange between you and your supervisor.
2.6 Learner Responsibility
It is the responsibility of each learner to:
Agree a work schedule with their supervisor - It is important to agree on the format of supervision – this should be negotiated between learner and the supervisor. Some supervisors may prefer to see work done in stages; others may prefer to see bigger blocks of work. It is also extremely important to ascertain what the ‘turnaround time’ is for feedback and whether this will change during the allocated period. Whatever is agreed, make sure you understand the schedule and are clear about what it involves.
Meet deadlines agreed in the work schedule - Please tell your supervisor (or the programme director or administrator) if there are problems that are impacting on your ability to meet deadlines. Many researchers find that even with the best plans life can get in the way, but it is important to let someone know if there are stumbling blocks so that options can be explored.
Attend all provided support workshops during the dissertation process. These are mandatory and are intended to offer extra guidance on the following topics:
- Ethics procedure, forms, GDPR, confidentiality etc.
- Developing questionnaires, surveys and interviews
- Data analysis, visualisation & statistics
- Presentation skills and viva preparation
These workshops will be recorded and made available for those who cannot attend the live ones and obtain prior exemptions from supervisor, research co-ordinator or program lead.
Adhere to ethical standards and guidelines - Your Dissertation should demonstrate that you have considered the ethical implications of your work as this would affect the reputation of the College. Griffith College’s principles of research ethics are outlined in the next section. Common ethical issues include obtaining informed consent, considering how data will be stored, informing participants of data storage conditions, and taking account of the need for permission to record interviews.
Uphold the highest academic standards. This means using good scientific writing and employing the Harvard System for Referencing - please see the short guide at Appendix 3 end of this document. For further information on academic writing, consult the Library Information page on Moodle. This also means that you agree NOT to plagiarise, paraphrase or use thesis-writing services. Your dissertation is an original piece of research and should be written in your own words. Any attempt to collude, cheat or copy in your dissertation will be treated as academic misconduct by Innopharma/Griffith College and may result in the learner being dismissed from the programme.
Upload all completed forms and raw data into moodle. This includes the signed ethics application forms and related documents e.g. PIL and ICF, and all primary research raw data generated through the course of the dissertation process into the applicable folders provided on the relevant moodle page.
2.7 Ethical Considerations
The learner must consider ethics as part of their proposal preparation process and this involves the submission of an Ethics Application form by all learners as primary data collection is a condition of the Dissertation module. Once they are doing the dissertation proper with their supervisor, there is an ethics procedure to go through before primary and learner sign the declaration form and upload this, alongside the above documents. No research can begin. This must be completed and signed by the learner and countersigned by the supervisor. The following forms/templates are available in Moodle (and Appendix 2) and must be completed:
1. Ethics Application and Declaration Form (requires signatures from both supervisor and learner, and occasionally by the ethics committee) – this must be submitted by all learners
2. Informed consent form (ICF) template
3. Participant information leaflet (PIL) template
1. The most important form in the ethics procedure is the Ethics Application and Declaration Form. It needs to be completed and signed by both learner and supervisor and uploaded by the learner into the Completed Ethics Forms folder in Moodle under their name.
2/3. The ICF and PIL are also normally required and should be attached to the Appendix of the Ethics Application and Declaration Form. These two documents become important during the primary research stage, when learners are acquiring data from participants.
4. Taking into consideration all the completed forms and documents, the supervisor might decide that they are happy to allow their learner to proceed at this point, and that no submission to the Ethics Committee (EC) is required. In this case, the supervisor further steps are needed and the research proceeds. If the supervisor decides that there may be ethical issues arising with the proposed research, a review by the EC is advised. The supervisor should make contact the postgraduate research coordinator and he/she will ask the EC to review the folder of documents on Moodle. The Innopharma EC will revert to the supervisor with their decision and any recommendations. Signing of the Ethics Application and Declaration Form by the EC will be deemed to be approval in writing and the dissertation can proceed. The flowchart below in Figure 2 might assist in deciding whether EC approval is needed or not.
A draft questionnaire/list of interview questions must be uploaded to accompany the Ethics Application and Declaration Form.
List of Activities that may require ethical approval:
- Access to medical information by means of questionnaires (survey), interviews or other techniques of information gathering
- Research involving the secondary use of data (use of data not collected for that research purpose), if any form of identifier is involved and/or if health information pertaining to individuals is involved
- Studies involving the collection or analysis of data that could be used to identify participants (including email addresses or other contact details)
- Studies where the intention is to submit findings for publication in journals, oral presentations, books, webpages, and other media of discomfort or inconvenience to participants (or any risk of psychological distress to participants or their families)
- Case studies, when a series of subject observations allow possible extrapolation or generalisation of the results from the reported cases and when there is an intent to publish or disseminate the data
- Studies with data collection using, or as part of coursework
- Studies that may pose any risk
- on-line resources, even those that do not collect or store identifiable data where the questions may be of a sensitive nature
- Participants recruited from vulnerable groups, in particular children or those whose capacity to consent to participation may be challengeable
- Clinical trials involving human participants
- New treatments or interventions
- Research involving human remains, cadavers, tissues, discarded tissue (e.g. placenta), or biological fluids
- Comparing an established procedure with other procedures which are not recognised as established by virtue of their recent development, discovery or use in a new or unfamiliar way
- Innovative practices in health and disability services
- Observational clinical research
Figure 2: Ethics Review Process for Dissertation Research
List of Activities that may not require ethical approval:
- Research using information from existing publicly available documents or datasets (e.g. published biographies, newspaper accounts) – note that this can be conducted alongside your primary research but does not replace it. Primary data collection is mandatory
- Data that is either open source or obtained from other researchers
- Data that are properly anonymised and informed consent was obtained at the time of original data collection
- Observational studies in public places in which the identity of the participants remains anonymous
- A case study of one patient with the proviso that written informed consent has been obtained from the relevant subject
- Quality assurance studies and Audits
2.8 Dissertation flowchart
The flowchart shown below in Figure 3 may help to clarify some of the steps in the dissertation journey but is intended as a guide only
Figure 3: Steps for Dissertation Research
2.9 Research Timetable
The following is an ideal reference for timetable of a learners work towards completing a dissertation over one semester. It is only an approximation. This outlines the critical stages of the research, data analysis and writing-up process and aims to complete the required work within the timeframe of approximately 12 weeks. For part-time learners, these activities would take place over two semesters.
Weeks
|
Learner
|
Action
|
0 - 2
|
· Preliminary Document Submitted
· Supervisor Assigned
· Final Research Proposal completed and approved
|
· First meeting between learner & supervisor to discuss preliminary document and agree on research plan.
· Second meeting to review draft research proposal and offer feedback on area of improvement towards final research proposal submission.
|
3 - 4
|
· Attend Ethics Workshop
· Work on Chapter 1 (Introduction) and Chapter 2 (Literature Review)
|
· Submit completed drafts of Chapters 1 and 2 to receive supervisor corrections & feedback.
· Submit completed ethics forms to supervisor for approval & sign off
|
5 - 6
|
· Attend Questionnaire Design Workshop
· Work on Chapter 3 (Methodology)
· Commence primary research activities
|
· Submit completed draft of Chapter 3, including draft survey/interview questions for supervisor corrections & feedback.
|
7 - 8
|
· Attend Data Visualisation & Data Analysis workshops respectively
· Carry out mini-viva
· Work on Chapter 4 (Analysis & Findings)
|
· Present dissertation progress and on-going primary research updates to supervisor during mini-viva.
· Complete primary research activities
· Submit completed draft chapter 4 to receive supervisor corrections & feedback.
|
9 - 10
|
· Attend Viva Preparation Workshop
· Work on Chapter 5 (Conclusions)
|
· Submit completed draft of Chapter 5 to receive supervisor corrections & feedback.
· Revise all written dissertation work so far, in line with supervisor corrections & feedback.
|
11 - 12
|
· Work on Supplementary Dissertation sections, including final layout and formatting.
· Prepare Viva power-point presentation
· Carry out Main-viva
|
· Submit completed 5 chapters of dissertation including supplementary sections for supervisor review.
· Submit completed viva power-point slides for supervisor feedback.
· Submit Final Dissertation document post main-viva.
|
3 Structure of the Dissertation
This section provides a structure (chapter outline) for a typical dissertation and also reflects the research activity that results in the production of each chapter of the dissertation.
Final marks for each dissertation section are awarded based on the learner’s viva defence performance. The learner must ensure the written component of the dissertation and the oral viva meets the required standard to earn a passing grade. See appendix for dissertation marksheet rubric.
Research proposal (10%)
This is separate to the Dissertation but carries 5% of the marks.
Abstract (5%)
A high-level summary, usually written last after the conclusions chapter.
Introduction (5%)
This chapter sets the scene for why this topic was chosen, why it is important and what gap in knowledge this thesis will fill. It also discusses the background to the project. It should include aims and objectives as well as overall layout of the thesis. Typically, less than 1,500 words.
Literature review (20%)
This is the secondary research and should be comprehensive and critical. This will include and build upon the literature already reviewed in the Part B proposal. The major sources of information will be textbooks, peer-reviewed journals, reputable resources on the internet and other relevant dissertations. The review should lead the reader from what has been done on the topic to what will be done in this research. Approximately 5,000 words.
Research methodology (10%)
This chapter describes the research design and approach to obtaining the primary research data e.g. surveys, interviews, as well as how the data will be analysed. This section should describe the justification of the chosen methodology and design, how the design is implemented for conducting the research. The target participants should be described. The conceptual framework can be included here - this covers the key concepts, models and/or theories that will help inform the learner’s data collection and analysis. Any potential ethical issues should be dealt with here also. Approximately 2,000 – 2,500 words.
Findings and Analysis (25%)
The primary research data is presented, discussed and analysed here. Statistical handling of the data is encouraged. Appropriate use of diagrams, figures and tables is encouraged to illustrate the data. This chapter focuses on the processes and skills of interpreting the research findings and of drawing conclusions that are sensible and practicable. The results here need to be compared and contrasted with those from the secondary research (literature review). This is the most important and discriminatory chapter, hence it accounts for the largest proportion of marks. Approximately 5,000 words.
Conclusions and Recommendations (15%)
Conclusions are summarized and their implications described. Practical and/or academic recommendations are made, any limitations listed and suggestions for future work are put forward. The learner may add in a few lines of reflection on the dissertation. Typically, somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 words.
Reference section (5%)
Following Griffith College's Harvard Style of Referencing
Mini-Viva (5%)
A short viva carried out with the supervisor while research project is underway. It assesses overall knowledge of the objectives and purpose of the research.
Main Viva (Includes the presentation/layout of the dissertation)
Final Marks Are Awarded Based on Viva Defense Performance for Each Section
3.1 Abstract
As illustrated in the template, the page with the abstract should have the title of the dissertation (centred and in bold) with the name of the learner underneath (centred and in italics). The abstract then follows. The abstract is a short, stand-alone statement that explains the essential information about your research. Points to remember when writing your abstract:
- the purpose of your abstract is to provide the reader with a snapshot of what information the project contains – abstracts are frequently published in journals or online databases without the rest of the project and should therefore exist as a stand-alone statement which clearly describes all the essential information.
- the basic elements which should appear in the abstract are the objective, methods, results, and conclusions.
- don’t include any background information, literature review, reference to other literatures or a detailed description of methods you used.
- the abstract should be concise and clear, use direct wording and avoid the use of specialised terms – write for an audience who are not specialists in your chosen subject.
- the abstract should begin with a definitive statement of the primary result e.g. “In this study, it was shown that….”
- from a formal perspective, abstracts are usually written in the third person, but it is acceptable to write in the first person. Abstracts are written in the past tense (see 5.17 below).
- abstracts should be no longer that 350 words – this word limit is strictly adhered to both in academia and publishing. Abstracts should be single-spaced (not 1.5 spaced as in the rest of the dissertation – see 6.1 below).
- the abstract should be the last part of the dissertation that you write as you will need to summarise the essential information from your whole dissertation. Don’t attempt to write your abstract before you’ve finished writing-up.
First, highlight the objective and the conclusions as detailed in your Introduction and Discussion & Recommendations chapters. Next, select the key information in your methodology and highlight your main results. Compile this information into one paragraph and delete any unnecessary words, phrases and information. Begin your first sentence with “In this dissertation…” or “This study…” so that you are presenting new information – your findings – first.
Finally, read over it and check it against the above list of bullet points. A last piece of advice is to put it aside for a few days and read it again to see if you are still satisfied with how it reads. For reference purposes, it would also be helpful to look at published abstracts in online databases and journals.
3.2 Introduction
The dissertation begins with a short introduction. The purpose of the introduction is to provide the reader with sufficient background information to understand the purpose of your research, why you are doing it and what significance it has. It should contain the nature and scope of the problem investigated and the objective(s) and justification for the research. It should also describe the layout of the rest of the dissertation. The introduction can also be used to define any specialised terms and concepts used in the dissertation. This can also be done in the literature review.
The following is a typical structure of an introductory chapter:
- the purpose of the study
- a brief overall description of the study’s context
- the significance of and justification for the study
- the research question or objective that guides the study - identify and discuss the research questions that you will address in the study. If you are adopting a more positivist or quantitative approach you might frame your research question as a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a speculation about an association between two or more variables. It is important that the hypothesis can be tested by research to see whether it can be disproved.
- This is usually done through using statistically significant analysis of data
an overview of the structure of the rest of the dissertation.
3.3 Literature Review
A dissertation should include a chapter in which the literature relevant to the topic is reviewed. It should be a critical literature review. The purpose of which is to remove the need to rediscover knowledge that has already been reported. The literature review helps you to build upon the work that has already been done in the field you are researching thus enabling you to base your research in the context of what has been done and standing on the shoulders of giants, adding validity to your work. To ensure that things have not been missed in the search it is important to show that you have searched the literature thoroughly and have identified most of the material that could be useful if the research. However, having found material in the literature does not mean that it is fit or useful. It is necessary to subject the key materials you are going to use to a critical examination to make sure they are strong enough to sustain the use you are going to put them to in the dissertation.
The first task in doing literature review is to find the literature. You need a mixture of materials, but the precise combinations will vary from topic to topic. The major sources are:
- Books – basic textbooks can often provide the basics of the topic of your research and can often provide indications of further sources. Edited handbooks (such as the Oxford or Edward Elgar series) are a very useful source of findings the most important theoretical and empirical developments in the relevance discipline.
- Journals – peer review journal articles such as those found on EBSCO and Scopus
- The Internet – though be careful of the provenance of the website (who is behind it – can they be regarded as legitimate and trustworthy)
- Dissertations – looking at previous dissertations can be useful, especially in terms of identifying sources, but be careful; not all dissertations will be of high quality. The Innopharma repository is a useful resource for exploring previous dissertations.
Some learners find it difficult to draft the literature and one of the best suggestions to help is to look at previous dissertations or to observe the style used in many journal articles to get an idea of how to write your own.
In describing the literature, the following step by step process is a guide to how this may be accomplished:
- Preparing a map showing the location of all the appropriate literatures. In most cases the literature search identifies a lot of material – probably more than can be sensibly dealt with in an MSc Dissertation. So, a good step in conducting a literature review is to map out and identify the key works and material in the literature. This also shows the person who marks your dissertation that you are aware of the breadth of literature relating to your topic.
- Provide an overview of the chosen literature and a justification for which literature you are going to concentrate on along with a justification for the shortlist of theories, concepts, etc. that you have chosen or use in your project
- Provide a critical account of the chosen concepts, theories or arguments. A critique is an evaluation of the strength of the arguments proposed in the journal articles or books you have chosen for your literature review.
- The Innopharma Education Guide to Writing a Literature Review is available on Innoskills and the Griffith Moodle.
In conducting the literature review, you need to be very discriminating and selective to ensure that you only include the pertinent literature linked to your research and avoid padding.
The Literature Review serves to tie together two things: what others have done and what you plan to do. The review is supposed to lead somewhere, namely to your own proposed research project and its justification. With this in mind, you need to critique the relevant literature – what does the literature say about your research question? How does it indicate the gap which you are attempting to fill by investigating your question? Your critique should be organised by subject – the organisation depends on the field and the nature and quantity of literature available – and should conclude with a summary which brings the reader clearly to your research question.
3.3.1 Conceptual Frameworks and Theories
The conceptual framework is what links the literature you have read, how you will address your research questions and discuss your findings when you have analysed your data. The purpose of the conceptual framework is to place your research question within the context of the existing theory and empirical research. The conceptual framework also gives shape and structure to your research.
Firstly, it clarifies the concepts that you will use to describe the subject of research. Secondly, it provides a description of the relationships between the concepts being used. And finally, it helps in explaining the patterns and connections that you have found in your research material (theory application) or identify gaps when the theory is not sufficiently robust enough to explain what you discovered in your data analysis (theory testing or theory development).
Sometimes a conceptual framework can be an outline showing, for example, the various elements of a process, such as managing skills in an organisation, and how each stage of the process is interrelated to or perhaps dependent on each other such as how those skills are tied to the competitive advantage of the organisation.
The conceptual framework can be included in either the literature review or the next chapter – research methodology
3.4 Research Methodology
This section both justifies and explains the methodological approach you have taken in conducting your research and collecting your primary data. It deals with how to find things out by research rather than discovering things by reading the literature. Essentially, your methodology section will describe:
- your justification for your chosen methodology;
- the design of the specific application of that methodology;
- how you tested this design and made any required changes;
- how you applied your final methodological design to conduct your research including the kind of questions you used in interviews, the organisation of questions in your survey, etc.;
- the justification for the approach you adopted in the analysis of your data;
- any material employed by you in this whole process (surveys, etc. should be contained in the appendices of your dissertation).
If you used any materials (questionnaires etc.), you need to include any details of exact technical specifications, quantities and sources. The methods you employed in your research should be described in chronological order (although related methods should be described together). Remember, the ‘Methodology’ of your dissertation refers to all methods and materials used for the collection of data, any experiments, right through to the subsequent analysis of the data including the type of statistics for quantitative research or themes used in the analysis of qualitative research. These should be closely related the conceptual framework thus providing a clear link between the literature review and your data.
Any potential ethical issues should also be dealt with in the research design chapter. Most business-related research involves human participants, and every human being is entitled to their dignity. This puts a moral obligation on researchers to respect the dignity of their respondents and anyone affected by their research. In addition, it is important that you do not jeopardise future access for other researchers and therefore have to ensure that when your research is complete, no harm has been done or prejudicial feeling created. Human participants must be made fully aware of the potential risks of the research, how the project will be conducted and how the results will be used, prior to their involvement in that research.
All researchers must ensure the work undertaken is consistent with the agreements and terms and conditions defined by the College. Failure to adhere to these guidelines could be considered as professional misconduct. From a more academic perspective, research requires a commitment to the careful, reflective process of discovery and interpretation. All research results should be checked before submission. Despite the various pressures and deadlines imposed, researchers should not lose sight of the need to question the findings of their research. The content of the research design chapter should reflect the various elements of the research onion as covered in Research Methods with a detailed account of the research strategy and other influences such as case study strategy, survey strategy, etc.
You should work out the kind of data you need access to early on in the process and try to arrange access, with advice from your supervisor, as soon as possible. There are a number of points that should help you in obtaining and managing access:
- you need to set aside sufficient time to arrange access
- you may use your personal network in some limited instances but be careful that the type or respondent you are selecting meets the criteria you should have established prior to data collection
- there is also an Innopharma LinkedIn expert group Innopharma linkedIn expert group
- direct approach to an organisation – letter re research from college / supervisor – spends time identifying the right person
- maintain politeness, professionalism and proper procedure at all times as this will help you establish credibility
- always provide a clear account of your requirements when requesting access
- even where you have informal contact, it is proper procedure to follow this with an introductory letter to outline and confirm your requirements
- outlining the purpose of your research and demonstrating clarity of thought should help establish credibility and assist the goal of gaining access
- a request for access will need to consider and address any organisational concerns relating to the amount of time and resources that would be involved on the part of the organisation, sensitivity about the topic and confidentiality and anonymity
- consider possible benefits for the organisation if they give you access; what’s in it for them?
- pay particular attention to language so that it is appropriate for the person receiving it without any hint of being patronising, threatening or boring
- be prepared to attend a meeting to present and discuss your request for access.
In order to gain access to people or organisations, it is often useful to give them an idea of what your research is about. This can be done by providing a short description of the research to them – your participant information leaflet (PIL) – in the email or invitation letter.
If you conduct your research via interview, it will be necessary to provide both a PIL and an informed consent form (ICF) for participants to sign and date.
In the case of using an online survey/questionnaire, a shortened version of the PIL can be included at the beginning of the questionnaire to explain what the research is about, and this can be followed by two questions asking does the participant understand what the study is about and do they consent to take part. These questions can have a box to tick in each case.
3.5 Findings and Analysis
This section presents the data gathered, the analysis undertaken, and the information obtained from it. The findings and discussion chapter are usually structured in a way that reflects the layout of the literature review or the conceptual framework. For some dissertations the findings and discussion chapters are divided and presented as two separate chapters. Most commonly, in qualitative studies, the discussion of findings appears in the same chapter as the findings. In quantitative studies, some learners chose to have a separate chapter for the discussion of findings, depending on the extent of findings they have. It is common in quantitative studies to have a separate chapter for findings and discussions as there is a very clear delineation between the representation of statistical data and its representation and what it means in terms of the research questions. This is not the case in many qualitative studies as the findings and their implications are often not that easy to separate in practice.
Begin your results section with a general statement that means something to the reader. Then, as necessary, support this statement with appropriate figures and/or tables. The narrative portion of the section should stand on its own – tables, charts and other illustrations should only verify, or elaborate points made in the text. Tell the results in words, augmented with as few numbers as possible, and refer the reader to the more detailed presentation in your tables and figures. If you choose to present your results by writing “the results are summarised in Table 1”, you should guide your reader through the table. Highlight the trend, range of values and other interesting aspects. Don’t leave the reader to sort out the figures and decide what they mean.
Findings in qualitative research are usually dominated by respondent views/voices to interview questions and representation of ‘responses’ to questions. Findings in quantitative research are usually a statistical summary of questionnaire data accompanied by pictorial representation of statistics.
The findings and discussion chapter focus on the processes and skills of interpreting your research findings and of drawing conclusions from your interpretations that are sensible and practicable. Interpretation in this chapter means deciding how robust and helpful your research findings are and the extent you might reply on them when exercising your judgment. It involves much thinking to help you “find out” the meaning of your research findings. It can represent a loss of confidence after the buzz of certainty that comes with having completed the research phase of your project. It should be a stage in which you question everything before finally coming to a final statement of your interpretation and conclusions in the next “writing up” phase of the project. You should include in your discussion of findings concepts of validity, reliability, generalisability, certainty and / or trustworthiness.
Your results need to be compared and interpreted with those in previously published works. The implications of your results as well as possible practical applications must be discussed, and appropriate conclusions drawn. Your conclusions should state the deduction from the findings and present the significance of the study, and how the situation described in the beginning of the dissertation has changed because of your research. In other words, your conclusions must address the research question posed by you at the beginning of your dissertation. At this point, and with reference to your conclusions, you must make recommendations for future work / research in the area.
Even when you have made sense of your research material and this has helped you to understand the managerial or organisational issue you are studying, the conclusions to be drawn and the recommendations you need to make may not be obvious. Making your conclusions and recommendations calls for a different type of thinking. Your analysis of the research material will not help you synthesise a response. It is in this chapter of your dissertation that you should give your judgment, and possibly your recommendations, about the research question (this may also appear in the conclusion chapter of the dissertation).
Conclusions of your discussion of findings are not the same as your research finding or research analysis. Conclusions of your discussions are your interpretations of the findings. You may wish to separate out your conclusions into the following types:
a) Research conclusions – these summarise your understanding of the processes and dynamics of the subject you have researched. They provide the explanations that answer your research questions.
b) Strategic conclusions – these summaries your judgments about what actions should be taken, about what, if anything, should be done in response to your research questions. The strategic conclusions should be based on the new understanding that the research conclusions provide. The research conclusions may provide a context for answering the strategic questions, but it is your judgment, your ability to decide options and actions that are critical at this stage.
c) Recommendations – there are the practical steps that need to be taken to implement the strategic conclusions. Recommendations are not always necessary or appropriate in a master’s dissertation. Whether or not they are needed will depend upon the aims and topics of the dissertation. Some dissertations are directed addressed to problems and issues; others are not. Only in the former case would recommendations be necessary.
You may ask what is the difference between analysis and conclusions in a dissertation? Analysis is a synthesis of the data gathered and relating it to the literature. Conclusions are a synthesis of the whole research process in answering the research question. Therefore, conclusions (be they at the end of the discussion chapter or in the conclusion chapter itself) will relate back to chapter 1 and illustrate clearly how your aims and objectives have been met.
Note: A folder is provided in moodle where all raw data for the dissertation is to be stored for easy access by supervisor, second reader and/or external examiner. This is also important to have in case of later publication.
3.6 Conclusions and Recommendations
The conclusion chapter in the vast majority of dissertations will include:
- a summary of the main findings and their implications for the research questions (discussed in the previous chapter) in bullet point form
- a summary of the differences (if relevant or significant) between the findings and the literature (discussed in the previous chapter) in bullet point form
- any recommendations practical and/or academic
- limitations and contributions of the research (somewhat based on the discussion of the strength of the research design implemented in the study)
- suggestions for further research in the area. It may be that your research provides a platform that explored an issue in a particular context but that it needs further research. No research in the social sciences, be it undergraduate dissertation or PhD thesis, provide an absolute conclusive and infallible conclusion.
As for the very last paragraph of the dissertation, it can be a recap of the chapter or it can be imaginative and include a few lines of reflection by the learner on their learning having completed the dissertation.
4 Style Guide and Technical Specifications
Before discussing the style guide and technical specifications, it is worth providing a note on the writing style to be used in the dissertation.
4.1 Writing Style
A simple guide is to use the present tense when referring to previously published work and the past tense when referring to your present results. In the dissertation, you will normally go back and forth between the present and past tenses. Most of the abstract should be in the past tense because you described what you did and what you found. On the other hand, most of the introduction, literature review, and discussion should be in the present tense because these sections usually refer to previously published works.
In terms of using the “first person” in writing the dissertation, the following applies:
- If the approach is broadly of an interpretivist, phenomenological, social constructivist/ism, qualitative nature, then it is suggested that the dissertation is written in the first person. This does not give you licence to write "my opinion", etc. and you should substantiate any observations, etc. and make clear your interpretation from material derived from the literature or your data.
- If the approach is broadly of a positivist, realist or quantitative (and by this we mean not one that just uses numbers but, one that seeks statistical reliability), I suggest that you write in the third person. However, if the research is of a positivist / quantitative nature, then there should be very little need for reference to the writer of the dissertation and little to no room for "interpretation" or "opinion".
In your dissertation, you should at all times endeavour to ensure a coherency and well-ordered structure where it is possible for the reader to identify a chain of logic and argument that can be easily followed. It is often a good idea to signpost this development by frequent summaries of how the argument has developed and it is going to be developed in the rest of the dissertation; this is especially important to the introduction and conclusion paragraphs of each chapter.
This section details the house style that master’s degree learners are expected to follow. It follows the more formal outline of the dissertation developed in the previous section and covers formal structure and formatting.
4.2 Layout
When putting together your written dissertation, you should follow a particular format – this is a typical format adopted for postgraduate dissertations and essentially represents a logical sequence of sections:
a) Preliminary pages:
- Title Page
- Candidate Declaration
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication (optional)
- Table of Contents
- Lists of Tables
- List of Figures
- List of abbreviations
- Abstract
b) Main body of work:
- Introduction
- Literature Review
- Conceptual Framework (may be the final part of the literature review)
- Research methodology (including the philosophical paradigm that influences the research) and design
- Findings and Analysis (this may be divided into two chapters of Results and Discussion with quantitative studies sometimes having a separate results/findings chapter to the critical analysis of the findings - discussion)
- Conclusions & Recommendations
c) References, Bibliography and Appendices:
- References and Bibliography
- Appendices (if any) – should include your full signed Ethics Application forms and all final drafts of your questionnaires, PIL and consent form templates
4.2.1 Preliminary pages
Title Page
This page contains the title of your dissertation, your name, a statement regarding the qualification for which the dissertation is submitted, the institution to which the dissertation is submitted, and the year of submission (see the dissertation template provided for a sample Title Page).
Your dissertation title should contain the fewest possible words that adequately describe your research. Avoid unnecessary words such as “study of”, “investigation on”, “survey of” and “observation of”.
The Title Page should be laid out to show the following information (see Template in Appendix 4):
- Full title of the dissertation centred in the top third of the page
- Degree, subject and the institution centred in the middle third of the page
- Your name and the year centred in the lower third of the page
Candidate Declaration
This is a declaration signed by you (the candidate) that claims the work as your own (see sample Candidate Declaration page in Template). This is also signed by your supervisor.
Acknowledgements & Dedication
The purpose of the Acknowledgements section is to recognise and express thanks to those people (including institutions) from whom you have received guidance and assistance during the research and writing-up process. Acknowledgements should be expressed simply and tactfully. You may also dedicate your work to person/persons, if you choose.
Table of Contents
The Table of Contents lists in sequence, with the corresponding beginning page numbers, the titles of all relevant parts of the dissertation. These include the titles of chapters, sections and subsections as appropriate, references or literature cited and appendices, together with the titles of the preliminary pages.
List of Tables
This lists the exact titles or captions of all tables in the text in the order that they appear in the dissertation and the beginning page for each. The tables should be numbered in sequence, using Arabic numerals (1, 3.4 etc.).
List of Figures
This is a listing of all tables and any illustrative materials (including figures, graphs, maps, photographs, images etc.) in the order they appear in the dissertation, and with page numbers. All figures should be numbered in sequence, using Arabic numerals (1, 3.4 etc.).
List of Abbreviations
This is a list of commonly used abbreviations and acronyms in the dissertation (if any) so that the reader can reference them easily. They should be listed alphabetically.
4.2.2 Main Body of Work
The previous section, section 4, provides a detailed account of the contents of the main body of the dissertation.
4.2.3 References and Bibliography
All references cited in the preceding sections of the dissertation have to be listed. As covered in the research methods module, the college requires that the Harvard Citation and Referencing Style be used (see Appendix 3). Your references should be complete, accurate and consistent so that any reader could easily locate the materials. You have already received coaching in citation and correct referencing using the Harvard Style and in the use of Zotero to help in the process of managing your references.
4.2.4 Appendices
Appendices include material that apply to the dissertation as a whole or to a particular chapter, e.g. ethics forms, questionnaires, raw data sheets, etc. Their function is to keep the main body of text in the dissertation uncluttered, and reference to them should be made at the appropriate place in the text. Raw data upon which the research is based can be included in the appendices where relevant.
4.3 Technical Specifications for the Dissertation
The guidelines below are more relevant to printed versions of the thesis and some of these instructions may be less important where the dissertation is only submitted, read and marked as a soft copy.
Style
This is an academic document, and therefore the document should not be plain. Unnecessary information on headers/footers or borders and the use of embellishments should be avoided.
Pagination & numbering
- All preliminary pages, beginning with the Title Page, should have page numbers in lower case Roman numerals (I; ii; iii, etc.).
- The main text of the dissertation and the References section should have page numbers in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 etc.).
- Page numbering ends at the Appendices, where the pages are numbered differently – showing Appendix letter/number and the page number e.g. page 10 in Appendix A would be A10, etc.
- Page numbers (whether in the preliminaries, main text, references or appendices) should be located in a consistent position throughout the dissertation.
- Ensure that page numbers, headers and footers are away from the edge.
Spacing
The text must 1.5 line spaced, except for the following, which should be single spaced:
- Abstract
- Footnotes
- Quotations longer than three lines
- References
- Tables
- Appendices, such as questionnaires, letters etc.
Margins
Your page margins should be set out as follows: 4cm left margin to allow for binding; 2cm margin on the outer side and 2.5cm top and bottom margins.
Font size
Font size should be neither too large nor too small. A size of 10 – 12 point is recommended depending on the font used.
Figures
Illustrations, figures, photographs, maps, graphs etc. should be numbered in Arabic numerals. Text references are to be made in brackets and should precede the figure. Where they are your own work, the source of any maps, tables, photographs, etc. should be appropriately acknowledged and referenced correctly.
Length
Dissertations should be approximately 17,000 words long but should definitely not exceed 25,000 words. If a dissertation extends beyond 17,000 words, the grading process will reflect whether the dissertation could have been more prudently edited in order to cover the necessary content in a shorter word count. Likewise, if the dissertation falls short of 15,000 words, then it is presumed that insufficient data or discussion was included unless adequate justification is given. Appendices and quotations are not included in the word count.
Submitting your Pre Viva copies
Once you have completed your dissertation, you must submit your work to the school for marking. You will be informed by the faculty of the formal submission dates and requirements. Of course, you may submit your work prior to this date, if agreed with your supervisor. At the pre-viva stage, you need to submit the following: Submission through Moodle/Turnitin.com via the link provided on Moodle.
Cost of Preparation
The cost of the preparation of a dissertation for presentation is borne by the learner
5 Oral Presentations/Vivas
5.1 Mini-Viva
The oral presentation will serve as a practice for the formal viva and will establish if the learner can disseminate their work and field some questions. Performance here will make a small contribution (5%) to the overall marks in the dissertation.
The supervisor organises this in the middle of your dissertation timeline and no later than four weeks before final submission, to assess the learners’ understanding of their research so far. This can take place face-to-face or remotely.
Mini-viva process:
- Supervisor is to arrange mini viva ideally within weeks 7 – 8 of dissertation process (for a learner doing a dissertation in 1 semester).
- The format for the mini-viva is a short 10-minute presentation (power-point recommended but not necessary) to supervisor only (no 2nd marker required).
- Learner will present under the following headings- a) Overview/Introduction b) Literature review/key findings c) Primary Research progress/dissertation outlook.
- Learner presentation is followed by 3 – 5 minutes of supervisor comments/questions as applicable.
- At the end of mini-viva, supervisor awards 25% max for each of 3 headings listed above and a final 25% for “Credibility”.
- Credibility marks are based on overall supervisor assessment from questions/comments on mini viva conducted (is dissertation really learners' own work? does learner understand significance of findings so far, etc)
5.2 Main Viva
Following submission of the dissertation, all learners will be required to give a max. 20-minute oral presentation (viva) of their work to their supervisor and a second examiner/reader. The exact schedule for the viva will be issued closer to the time. The viva will be recorded.
The Dissertation Presentation Format is detailed below:
Presentation
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20 minutes
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Question and Answer Session
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20 minutes
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Grading time for Staff
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5 minutes
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Set-up time for next learner
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5 minutes
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This is a process where after you have presented a brief outline of your research, several examiners ask questions to see how well you can defend your work. It is a vital part of the process, and many provisional grades are revised significantly based on the viva voce performance. It is very important that you prepare for it. The intent of this presentation is to defend your dissertation and as such you should briefly review the work you have done but ensure that you spend most of the time defending your conclusions and recommendations.
You will have had the experience of delivering presentations throughout the duration of the course. Presenting/defending your dissertation is only the next step, so don’t be too nervous! Remember, this is your work, and you know more about it than anyone – your job in the presentation is to help your audience understand what you have done, why you have done it and what you have found. The more relaxed you are, and the more you present your work, allowing the audience to ask you questions, the better your presentation will be.
5.2.1 General Guidelines
- Present your information in the most logical and appropriate sequence - remember the flow chart illustrated in section one. Include the information necessary to provide the context for your research, to make the main points of your dissertation, and your conclusions and recommendations – don’t exhaust your audience with large amounts of data or information. In short: cover what you’ve done, why you’ve done it, and what you found. Bear in mind that the audience will have read your dissertation.
- Use visual presentation tool(s) (PowerPoint, overheads), and use them effectively. Present your visual information clearly and concisely, using titles for each key theme.
- Don't be tempted to read from your visual tool(s). Keep good eye contact with your audience. Use index cards as prompts for yourself, but don’t read from them, and remember to vary your tone when you are speaking!
- When preparing your presentation (viva), an idea is to present to a friend / someone who is unfamiliar with your research and ask them to ask you questions – this will help you prepare for the most obvious questions that your audience might ask.
- Have your presentation and any handouts proof-read for spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. You do not want to give any reason for creating a less than 100% positive impression
- Dress professionally and use a professional demeanour, even if the presentation is by Zoom or Teams. Assume a relatively formal manner addressing people by their proper title, letting them know you are taking the viva seriously.
- Preparation, planning and practice, practice, practice are the keys to successful presentations.
5.2.2 What to bring
- A copy of your thesis – use Yellow post-it notes for chapter beginnings, tables, important points, etc.
- Presentation – make sure the technology is working; arrange to test the technology beforehand to ensure everything is working
- Have a copy of your handouts for each of the examiners (about three copies)
- Pen and paper to help you remember any questions / answers / pointers
- Notes of the main points of your dissertation – one page
- Water / something to drink.
5.2.3 Questions
The following are some questions to help in preparation:
- In one sentence, what is your thesis about?
- Summarise your key findings
- Who are the main contributors (literature and research) in the field of workplace diversity?
- What are the main contributions from your research?
- What's original about your work?
- How did your research questions emerge / what led you to research this topic?
- What are the motivations for your research?
- Why is the problem you have tackled worth tackling?
- How does your work differ from previous research?
- What are the main weaknesses of your work?
- How have you provided for bias in your research?
- What is the relevance of your contributions? To other researchers? To industry?
- How do you arrive at your conceptual framework?
- Why would others be interested in your conclusions?
- Why did you choose the research strategy that you did?
- Why did you use interviews / a questionnaire / observation?
- Can you explain to me simply, how did you arrive at your conceptual framework?
- Why did you use the statistics you used? What do they tell you?
- Looking back, what might you have done differently?
- What have you learned from the process of doing your MSc?
- Has your view of your research topic changed during the course of the research?
When answering questions
- Answers should flow out from you without a lot of prompting, indicating that you know your stuff
- Bear in mind that the examiners will have read your dissertation
- Make sure to listen to the questions and take your time answering them
- Try to be as confident in your answers as possible – point out strengths, recognise limitations but go back to the strengths – Remember that part of this exercise is to challenge your confidence in your work
- If you don't understand the question, ask for clarification. Paraphrase the question in your own words and say, "Is this what you mean?" State your assumptions
- Treat vague questions as invitations to tell the examiners that you know your area
- Try to link the question to the questions you have anticipated and their prepared answers
- If you think the question is irrelevant, explain why you think it is irrelevant (it may be that the examiners may not know the methods used for example)
If you really can't answer a question
- Be honest
- If you have any idea at all, say it
- Say, “I can't answer this on the spot, but I should be able to work it out in my own time”
- If it's about literature you haven't come across, thank the questioner and ask for a reference.
You will most likely be given a chance to sum up at the end of the questions and this is when you can make some points re questions you haven’t been asked but would like to make.
6 Written Dissertation Assessment
6.1 Written Dissertation Marking Scheme
The final written document is marked according to the marking scheme in Appendix 4.
Research proposal: 5%
Dissertation: 90%
Mini-Viva Presentation: 5%
The assessment is based on the final written document / submitted dissertation and a presentation. For a dissertation the word count is expected to be between 15,000 - 17,000 words. The Research proposal is awarded 5% of the marks, the final written document is awarded 90% of the marks, the mini-viva presentation is awarded 5% while the final viva presentation and final marks are awarded based on viva defence performance for each section.
Before presentation a second reader (other than the supervisor) is also assigned to each learner. The role of the second reader is to mark the thesis and presentation independently of the first reader. Second readers will not meet learners formally prior to the Viva. Both first and second reader should agree on the final mark. In the event of a wide difference in marks, a third reader will be appointed to advise on the final mark; however, all marking is ultimately subject to the decisions of the examination board including the external examiner.
The Final Mark for the Dissertation module will be given in percentages and decided according to the following guidelines in Appendix 1.
Appendix 1: Dissertation Proposal Template
Learner Name:
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Learner Number:
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Module:
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Dissertation
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Study Mode:
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Full time
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Part-time
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Dissertation Title:
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Objectives of each research proposal section are as follows:
- Establish an initial dissertation topic, scope and review of current literature.
- Moving from the topic selected in the preliminary document to a specific title-and specific research objectives--complete a more in-depth review of the relevant literature and critically review the most pertinent for the proposal.
- Generate and evaluate an appropriate research design and method which is consistent with the research philosophy/paradigm.
- Consider the nature of the data to be collected as well as Access and Ethical considerations in the collection of such data.
- Consider how the data will be analysed and presented.
The following research proposal sections provide the structure for the research proposal. It is important that you relate each section back to the logical flow of the dissertation process/structure and that each component is connected. It is important to remember that the quality of the proposal rests to a very considerable extent on the intrinsic logic of the proposed research. The word count for each section is indicative only and will differ between proposals but proportions between sections should be relatively similar to the word counts indicated.
Section 1: Topic and Objectives (200-500 words)
1-a Outline the background of the proposed final research topic and a working title, including, if you have decided to use one, your hypothesis. You must indicate to which module your topic is linked. (5 marks)
1-b List the 3 to 5 key objectives which are relevant and necessary for your research. (10 marks)
Section 2 Literature Review (1000-1500 words, excluding reference list)
2-a Develop a detailed review of the literature linked to your key research objectives. You should:
- Identify in the literature key debates around the research topic
- Write the LR using a thematic approach - not just summarising individual
- reference material
- Identify where, if any, there are any key gaps and /or areas for opportunities for further research. (20 marks)
2-b Use extensive citations and provide a list of references; for both citations and the list you must use the Griffith College Harvard Referencing style. (10 marks)
Section 3 Primary Research (800-1200 words)
3-a Outline the philosophical approach to your proposed primary research and provide justification for your choice of approach. (5 marks)
3-b Describe your primary research strategy by outlining the type of data i.e. quantitative (surveys) and/or qualitative (surveys, interviews, Delphi, focus groups) that is appropriate for your research, how you propose to collect it, and your criteria for the selection of study participants who will provide it. (15 marks)
3-c Based on 3-b discuss possible ethical implications, uncertainties and/or difficulties in your proposed research and, if necessary, how these will be addressed. (10 marks)
3-d Indicate how the data collected will be analysed. (10 marks)
Section 4 Summary and Timetable
4-a Outline the conceptual framework (key factors and themes influencing your secondary and primary research) using a diagram if possible. (10 marks)
4-b Construct a timetable for the work to be done with specific dates/weeks running up to your submission date, using a Gannt chart if possible (see page 13 of the handbook for items to include). (5 marks)
Timeline for Research – 300 to 400 Words (Gantt Chart)
Timetable for research over one or two semesters covering the following:
- Refining research objectives
- Literature
- Methodology
- Research design
- Collecting primary data
- Data analysis / interpretation
- Discussion
- Final writeup
Appendix 2: Ethics Forms for Dissertation
Ethics Application & Declaration Form
Dissertation Title:
Researcher's Name:
Programme of Study:
Supervisor's Name:
Declaration:
The information in this application form is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I undertake to abide by the principles outlined by Innopharma/Griffith College ethics policy in my research dissertation. I confirm that I have completed a full ethics assessment for my research dissertation as per the college guidelines. I will not begin my primary research until such approval from my supervisor and/or ethics Committee has been obtained.
I pledge to carry out my research according to the Innopharma/Griffith College academic integrity standards. Any results presented in my dissertation will be from my own, original research, I will reference and/or acknowledge any material or sources used in its preparation and I will not plagiarise the work of anyone else.
For Learner:
LEARNER SIGNATURE:
DATE:
The research contained within this research dissertation proposal has been approved.
For Supervisor:
Ethics Committee Approval Required: Yes No
SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE:
DATE:
For Ethics Committee (if required):
Ethics Committee Approval Given: Yes No
ETHICS COMMITTEE MEMBER SIGNATURE:
Section 1: Description of Research Study
1.1 Purpose and objectives of research [300 words maximum/ use literature review findings to guide]
1.2 Research methodology: [300 words maximum/ detail how you will acquire your primary data (focus groups/interviews/online surveys etc). Proposed questions for questionnaires and/or interviews must be included in the appendix].
Section 2: Possible Ethical Issues
Answer 'yes' or 'no' to the following questions.
Subject Matter
Does the research proposal involve:
Research into specific company activities that would be deemed sensitive or confidential Yes No
Research into politically and/or racially/ethnically and/or commercially sensitive areas Yes No
Sensitive, personal, professional or corporate issues Yes No
Research Procedures
Does the research proposal involve:
Research that might damage the reputation of companies or participants Yes No
Research that may negatively affect the reputation of Griffith College/Innopharma Yes No
Use of personal records without consent Yes No
Use of company data without consent Yes No
The offer of any inducements to participate Yes No
Audio or visual recording without consent Yes No
Using a language other than English Yes No
Participants
Does the research proposal involve
:
People who are not competent and/or fluent in English Yes No
Does your research group include any of the following vulnerable groups Yes No
(Adults with psychological impairments; Adults with learning difficulties; Adults under the protection/control /influence of others (e.g. in care/prison); Relatives of ill people (e.g. parents of sick children); Hospital or GP participants recruited in a medical facility; persons under the age of 18)
If you have answered NO to ALL questions, please go straight to Section 4.
If you have answered YES to ANY question in SECTION 2, you must fill in SECTION 3.
Section 3: Steps Taken to Avoid Ethical Issues
[Only fill in this section if you answered YES to ANY of the questions in Section 3. For example, if you answered yes to including participants who are not fluent in English, you might put forward a plan that offers your survey in two languages to take this into account. Another example could be a study where the researcher wants to include information about the care received by children with a long-term condition but it would not be ethical to approach the children directly but it might be acceptable to instead ask parents questions about their child’s care. If these plans are acceptable to your supervisor, you may not need to apply for ethical approval from the Ethics Committee].
3.1. If your ethics relates to Subject Matter, outline your action plan to work around any sensitive issues.
3.2. If your ethics relates to Research Procedures, outline your action plan to deal with possible ethical issues in your research procedures.
3.3. If your ethics relates to Participants, outline how you will protect vulnerable persons or those that do not have English as their first language.
Section 4: About Your Participants
4.1. Outline your participant profile and why you have chosen them for this study [Do not provide names except where it is deemed impossible to conceal identity].
4.2 How do you plan to gain access to/contact/approach your participant(s).
Section 5: Information, Consent and Confidentiality
5.1 Participant Information Letter (PIL) for participants
[You must submit an information letter for participants with this application, as part of your appendices document. For online surveys, it is sufficient to include a paragraph summarising and explaining the purpose of the research at the beginning of the survey. In all other research e.g. interviews, phonecalls, a PIL should be provided to each participant before they are asked for their consent to take part. A template PIL is available in Moodle].
Please confirm below that your information letter covers:
Description of the research topic and method Yes No
Details of what participation will involve Yes No
Rights to anonymity Yes No
Confidentiality Yes No
Rights to withdraw from the research Yes No
The contact details of the researcher and supervisor (if necessary) Yes No
5.2 Informed Consent Form (ICF) for participants
[Informed consent is required for most research. For online surveys, it is sufficient to get the participant to tick two boxes at the beginning of the survey – one to state they understand the research and one to give consent. In all other research e.g. interviews, phonecalls, a signed consent form is required. If the data is gathered online e.g. zoom, a signed consent form can be scanned and sent to the researcher. A template ICF is available in Moodle. The signed ICFs, along with the surveys, audio files or interview notes etc. must be stored in the primary data folder on moodle and can be accessed by Innopharma staff for the purposes of verifying the authenticity of the research carried out and the data collected].
Please indicate below if your research requires a signed consent form by selecting the relevant option only:
Yes: my research requires signed consent and I have attached an ICF in the appendices of my application.
No: my research study involves an online survey only and/or does not require signed consent
SECTION 6: Storage of Data
[Please ensure that you are abiding by GDPR and the national Data protection laws).
The learner is responsible for storage of data and this will be handed over to the college in an electronic format as part of the thesis submission i.e. primary data and completed ICFs where applicable will be added to the primary data folder on moodle. The rationale is to keep data as long as it is still useful and there is an intention to use it further for research so if this is not the case then this can be stipulated here and a shorter retention period given.]
6.1. How will you store the research data and for how long? How will you manage data protection issues?
SECTION 7: Non-Disclosure Agreement & Learner Consent
7.1 Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
Will the final dissertation contain any information pertaining to any source what would warrant the use of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) e.g. industry-based research? Yes No
7.2 Learner consent
If a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is not required, does the Learner consent to allow their completed dissertation to be held/published by Innopharma/Griffith College? Yes No
SECTION 8: Recording and Retention of Dissertation Viva
8.1 Viva Recording
The Dissertation viva will be recorded. This recording may be used to facilitate assessment by Innopharma staff, a third reader if necessary and/or if requested by the external examiner for the Programme. The recording will be held in line with current GDPR guidelines and will not be made publicly available.
SECTION 9: Document Checklist
NOTE: Applicants must attach the following documents in electronic format to the appendix.
Which documents are added to the appendix? Please tick N/A if not applicable:
9.1 Participant Information Letter (PIL) for participant Yes N/A
9.2 Informed Consent Form (ICF) for participant Yes N/A
9.3 Questions/survey for interviewees/focus groups etc (can be in draft form Yes N/A
9.4 Any other documents e.g. Non-Disclosure Agreement Yes N/A
I confirm that this application is complete and all required documents are included in the appendix.
SECTION 10: Appendix
Informed Consent Form (ICF) – Template
Consent to take part in research
[Insert Research Title] [Should be on GC Headed Paper]
[This template is designed primarily for those doing qualitative interviews with adults from non-vulnerable populations and dealing with non–sensitive topics]
The researcher retains one copy signed by both themselves and the participant. The participant should also receive a copy of consent form as a record of what they have signed up to.
-I [insert participant name] voluntarily agree to participate in this research study
- I understand that even if I agree to participate now, I can withdraw at any time or refuse to answer any question without any consequences of any kind
- I understand that I can withdraw permission to use data from my [interview/survey] within two weeks after the interview, in which case the material will be deleted.
- I have had the purpose and nature of the study explained to me in writing and I have had the opportunity to ask questions about the study
- I understand that participation involves….[describe briefly and simply what participation involves]
-I understand that I will not benefit directly from participating in this research
-I understand that all information I provide for this study will be treated confidentially
-I understand that in any report on the results of this research my identity will remain anonymous. This will be done by changing my name and disguising any details of my interview which may reveal my identity or the identity of people I speak about.
-[ if conducting interviews by Skype/Zoom etc.] I agree to my interview being audio-recorded.
-I understand that disguised extracts from my interview may be quoted in [list everywhere that you plan to use the data from the participant: dissertation, conference presentation, published papers, ejournals, library etc.].
-If data is coming from within one company or specifically pertaining to the one company -I understand that I will adhere to all of the codes of conduct and employee confidentiality for company XXX and there is no expectation to breach these by partaking in this research. Include a signed confidentiality statement between researcher and company if deemed necessary.
-I understand that if I inform the researcher that myself or someone else is at risk of harm, they may have to report this to the relevant authorities - they will discuss this with me first but may be required to report with or without my permission
-I understand that signed consent forms and original audio recordings will be retained in [state location security arrangements and who has access to data - until [specific relevant period -for learners this will be until the exam board confirms the results of their dissertation]
-I understand that a transcript of my interview in which all identifying information has been removed will be retained for [specific relevant period – for learners this will be two years from the date of the exam board].
-I understand that under freedom of information legalisation I am entitled to access the information I have provided at any time while it is in storage as specified above.
-I understand that I am free to contact any of the people involved in the research to seek further clarification and information.
Researcher Details
Name
Degree Programme
College Details
Contact number
Contact mail
Signature of participant
[Full Name – Printed]
Signature of research participant
----------------------------------------- -------------------- Date
Signature of researcher
I believe the participant is giving informed consent to participate in this study
------------------------------------------ ---------------------- Date
Signature of researcher
Appendix 3: Short Guide to Harvard referencing
Books should be referenced as follows:
Chomsky, N. (1989) Necessary illusions: thought control in democratic societies. London: Pluto Press.
Edwards, D. and Cromwell, D. (2006) Guardians of power: the myth of the liberal media. London: Pluto Press.
Heywood, A. (2007) Political ideologies: an introduction. 4th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Journal articles should be referenced as follows:
Downie Jr., L. and Schudson, M. (2009) ‘The reconstruction of American journalism’, Columbia Journalism Review, 48(4), pp. 28-51.
Chapter in edited book should be referenced as follows:
Rorty, R. (2001) ‘Texts and lumps’, in Rice, P. and Waugh, P. (eds.) Modern literary theory. London: Hodder Arnold, pp. 451-465.
Podcasts should be referenced as follows:
Giles, M. (2010) ‘Social networking’, The Economist special reports [Podcast]. 30 January.
Newspaper article should be referenced as follows:
McEnroe, J. (2010) ‘HSE “losing €80m a year” on home care for elderly’, Irish Examiner, 8 February, p.7.
More information on Harvard Referencing is available on Moodle.
Useful Sources:
The writing of a thesis is a daunting task however your supervisor, the Journalism Faculty and the Library are there to support you. Additionally, there are a number of books that have been written on the subject which may be of use:
Bell, J. 1993, Doing your own research project, Open University Press, Buckingham
Denscombe, M. 2007, The good research guide for small-scale social research projects, Open University Press, Maidenhead
Glatthorn, Allan A. and Joyner, Randy L. 2002, Writing the winning thesis or dissertation: a step-by-step guide, Corwin Press, California
Murray, R. 2006, How to Write a thesis, Open University Press, Berkshire
Appendix 4: Mark Sheet Guidelines