ED3606 Education and Research 3 – Dissertation Brief 2026 | Brunel University of London

ED3606 Dissertation Brief

Title

Supporting the emotional needs of autistic children in mainstream early years settings

Aim of the study

I want to explore how early years practitioners understand and support the emotional wellbeing of autistic children. I’m interested in what they actually do in practice, how confident they feel, and what helps or makes it harder for them.

Research questions

• How do practitioners recognise and respond to the emotions of autistic children?
• What strategies do they use to support emotional wellbeing?
• What challenges do they face and how do they work with families?

Method of enquiry

I’m planning to use a qualitative approach because I want to hear about people’s real experiences rather than collect numbers.

• I’ll interview around 4–6 early years practitioners (for example SENCOs, key workers or teaching assistants) who have worked with autistic children.
• Interviews will be semi-structured and around 30–45 minutes.
• I’ll use thematic analysis to look for patterns and ideas in what they say.
• I will make sure consent, confidentiality and anonymity are fully followed, and I’ll get ethical approval first.

Key literature I’ve looked at so far

I’ve started looking at research on emotional development in early childhood and why it’s considered important in the EYFS (Denham, 2006; EYFS, 2024). I’ve also been reading studies about how autistic children communicate emotions in different ways, and the challenges practitioners sometimes have in understanding this (Murray et al., 2019; Humphrey & Symes, 2019).

There’s also literature on strategies used in practice, like visual communication tools, routines and sensory approaches (Bright et al., 2017; Robertson, 2017).

Another area I’ve looked at is how families and practitioners work together, and how this can support the child’s emotional wellbeing (Stahmer et al., 2019; Ne’eman & Kapp, 2020).

Finally, I’ve read about barriers such as limited training, time and resources in mainstream settings (Webster et al., 2021).

Why this study is needed

There’s quite a lot written about emotional wellbeing in early childhood, but not much that focuses specifically on autistic children in mainstream settings. Practitioners often say they want more support or guidance in this area, so I think this study could help highlight what they actually need and what’s already working in practice.

Module Information

Module Leader

Name: Anne Chappell

Email: anne.chappell@brunel.ac.uk

Tel.: 01895 266497

Office: Gaskell 207

I will see you as a group on a regular basis where there will be an opportunity for us to meet before or after the taught session. In the period between sessions please email me with any queries or to arrange a tutorial. Please check your Brunel University London email regularly, including on the morning of each taught session, as I will use this to contact you, along with Brightspace, to ensure you are as well supported as possible.

Teaching Team

Anne Chappell, Library and ASK colleagues, and supervisors from across the Department of Education.

Student Handbook

This module study guide must be read in conjunction with the Handbook for your Programme which you can access via Brightspace.

Timetable

This can be found at: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/administration/timetabling. Please check it regularly.

Teaching

The taught component of this module will take place across terms 1 and 2 on campus (unless national guidelines change). The programme of taught sessions will provide guidance for you in developing your research project and will address the various components of the project. The module will consist of a range of activities including teaching by the module leader, discussion, group work, input from the library, Academic Skills Service (ASK) and individual/group supervision. Directed study tasks will be used to support you and you will be required to undertake some preparatory activities between sessions. If you have any questions about the preparation required, please get in touch in advance of the session. You will also meet your allocated dissertation supervisor at agreed times (see the later section on this).

Attendance and Participation

I want to ensure that you have the best possible experience during this module and your full participation will support this. Attendance and participation are very important and there is an expectation that you will attend all taught sessions, complete all directed study tasks, and fulfil any other module related commitments. Your attendance is recorded through SEATs so that we can monitor your attendance carefully for both academic and welfare reasons. It is important to notify me by email in advance of the sessions of any absence (e.g. illness), and copy it to your personal tutor and dissertation supervisor (as appropriate). You are also encouraged to discuss any unavoidable planned absence with me in advance (e.g. hospital appointment), having notified your personal tutor.

Module/Block Assessment

Details of the assessment including the criteria are outlined in a later section of this guide.

Assessment Support

The focus of this module is to support you to design and complete your dissertation, building on the work you have done in Year 1 and 2, including research and study skills in Year 1 and research methods in Year 2. The module is designed so that each aspect of assessment is discussed across the sessions. The activities in the sessions will support your preparation for the assessment and so, as mentioned above, your full participation is really important. In addition to this and any individual tutorials that you arrange, there will be allocated time to ask any questions you may have and to discuss the criteria against which your work will be marked. You can also ask questions at any point in a session, as well as before and after. This will be further supplemented by meetings with your dissertation supervisor, who will read one draft of each chapter during the supervision process (see the later section on this). As this is a piece of undergraduate work at level 6 and you are expected to demonstrate that you can work independently.

Brightspace

This module will be supported by Brightspace. All module information will be posted here and you should check this and your email regularly for any module-related messages: Homepage – ED3606 Education and Research 3 – Dissertation (A 2025/6).

Assessment Submission

Assessments are submitted on Wiseflow: https://uk.wiseflow.net/brunel

Assessment Feedback

You will normally receive feedback on your assessment as follows: Element 1: after 15 working days and Element 2: after 20 working days. The blank feedback sheets are available in the appendices.

Plagiarism, Collusion or Cheating 

Any coursework or examined submission for assessment where plagiarism, collusion or any form of cheating is suspected will be dealt with according to the University processes which are detailed in the University’s Senate regulations: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/administration/governanceand-university-committees/senate-regulations. The University regulations on plagiarism apply to published as well as unpublished work, collusion and the plagiarism of the work of other students. Please ensure that you fully understand what constitutes plagiarism before you submit your work.

There is information about plagiarism via the Library at:

http://www.brunel.ac.uk/life/library/SubjectSupport/Plagiarism.

You should ensure you engage with the “Academic Misconduct Short Course: Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism” – it can be found on Brightspace (library) here: https://brightspace.brunel.ac.uk/d2l/home/24612

Please also familiarise yourself with the latest AI guidance linked below:

Overview – Generative AI – Guidance for students – LibGuides at Brunel University Library

Health and Safety

University health and safety processes for classroom and online teaching apply to this module. In addition, you are required to complete a risk assessment that is specific to your research project and this will be submitted with your request for ethics approval.

Reading Lists and Resources

The reading list for the module is available online by searching for the module code via: http://libguides.brunel.ac.uk/findingresources/readinglists.       

Module Overview

The dissertation allows you to research an area of interest in education in an in-depth and systematic manner. The area of study must be firmly based in education (broadly defined) and should help inform future career development, including research. Education is complex, and generates many issues worthy of research. A critical approach to the theoretical underpinnings of education, your own practice and that of others is necessary to enable you to contribute to your understanding of the discipline and field, and respond to changes within it. This module is designed to help you to recognise the challenging nature of educational research and adopt a reflective stance to the problems you encounter.

This module builds on the content and processes of previous education studies modules. The module also gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to act autonomously in conducting a study that is initiated, sustained and completed independently. You will be supported and guided by a series of sessions and supervision meetings, which will indicate possible ways of proceeding, building upon your preparatory work during years 1 and 2. The importance of the small-scale nature of the project and field work (as appropriate) will be emphasised. Personal interest and professional relevance should direct your investigation and conclusions will be based on your specific findings.

The module will build on small-scale research undertaken in previous modules and consists of integrating the following three elements:

• your ability to independently pursue your own study
• taught sessions preparing you for addressing relevant issues in education
• supervision meetings providing regular supervisory support.

Module Aims 

This module aims to enable you to research a particular aspect of education in depth, in a systematic manner and to enhance your knowledge and understanding. You will undertake research by developing a viable research question, manage the research process in an educational context, and analyse and critically discuss findings.

Module Learning Outcomes 

The module provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge, understanding, skills and other attributes in the following areas:

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Define and develop a focused and viable research question related to education.
2. Relate their research to existing theory and literature to draw links where applicable between theory and practice.

Cognitive (thinking) Skills

1. Critically evaluate relevant theory and literature related to the chosen area of research.
2. Demonstrate originality of thought in conducting and presenting research findings with recommendations for future practice and research.

Other Skills and Attributes (Practical/Professional/Transferable)

1. Communicate views and ideas effectively, offering reasoned arguments supported by evidence
2. Bring a research project to successful conclusion by the deadline.
3. Present the research project in a clear and logical way, adhering to conventions, including those for ethics, referencing and citation.
4. Demonstrate independence, self-motivation and organisational skills.

Module Summary

(indicative and subject to change)

Module Content

(indicative and subject to change)

Supervision

You will be allocated to a supervisor, possibly in a group with other students. Where you are allocated to a group you may choose to meet together, as well as with your supervisor, to share experiences and support each other. This could, for example, include sharing ideas about research methods; problems you are encountering; or issues relating to the nature of the data you are collecting. We will also be exploring these things in our taught sessions.

You will be provided with approximately 8 hours of ‘formal’ supervisory support which includes meetings and feedback on your work. As part of this, some of your meetings will take place individually with your supervisor and some meetings may include your group. You will negotiate the use of this time with your supervisor. By arrangement, your supervisor will read one draft of each chapter to provide you with feedback and focussed support. This feedback may take the form of comments or prompt questions and a summary of key areas of strength and areas for development. It is not expected at level 6 that supervisors will correct secretarial errors in your drafts. Please read your work carefully before submitting to your supervisor. It can be very frustrating to read work that has not been appropriately drafted. If you are a student with identified Special Educational Needs or a Disability, you can choose to discuss this with your supervisor, but you are not obliged to do so. However, we encourage you to utilise available support from both academic staff and central University services such as the ASK and DDS teams. Feedback from your supervisor will be given via discussion or electronically.

Responsibilities of the Student

• Agree and honour a schedule of meetings and deliverables with your supervisor, and work to an agreed and reasonable timeline.
• Maintain the progress of the work in accordance with the stages agreed with the supervisor and meet deadlines for the submission of drafts to enable sufficient time for comments and discussion before proceeding to the next stage.
• Discuss with your supervisor the types of guidance and comments that are most helpful for you.
• Seek guidance from your supervisor and respond appropriately to the guidance/comments received.
• Obtain supervisory approval and written approval from the University research ethics committee before any research is embarked upon.
• Take the initiative in sharing difficulties or raising concern with your supervisor and the module leader.
• Maintain a written signed record of all meetings with the supervisor on the ‘Record of Supervision Support’ found in Appendix A at the end of this document. This must be submitted as an appendix in the final submission.

Responsibilities of the Supervisor

• Agree and honour a schedule of meetings with the student.
• Be accessible to the student at agreed and appropriate times.
• Give guidance about the nature of research, the standard expected, the planning of the research programme, literature and sources, methodologies, the write-up of the research and about plagiarism.
• Check that the study is ethically sound (based on the ethics application completed by the student). If there are concerns about the ethics of the proposed study, support changes to the study (or steer to a completely new study, if necessary) to ensure that it is ethical and meets the University’s requirements.
• Give detailed advice on the timeline and completion dates of the successive stages of the work so that it can be submitted within the scheduled time.
• Request written work at agreed times, and return it with constructive feedback in reasonable time in line with the agreed timeline for the project.
• Ensure that the student is made aware of inadequate progress or when the standard of work is below that expected and make suggestions about support services that can be accessed.
• Alert the module leader and personal tutor (as appropriate) if any concerns arise.

Additional Responsibilities

In addition to the above responsibilities, the supervisor and student will establish clear guidelines for the supervision process, including:

• The means of making contact in the event of the necessity for the cancellation of meeting or the holding of additional meetings.
• The degree of professionalism required, for example in relation to expectations and deadlines, on both sides of the relationship. 

Supervision Record

A written record must be kept of all group and individual meetings with your supervisor on the ‘Record of Supervision Support’ found in Appendix A at the end of this document. This is signed by the supervisor and student and must be submitted as an appendix in the final submission.

Resolving Difficulties

It is expected that supervisors and students will negotiate a positive working relationship based on the guidance provided here. However, if differences or difficulties arise it is expected that these will be handled professionally and with courtesy. If you are having difficulties with your study or with any aspect of supervision process, please communicate these at the earliest possible opportunity to your supervisor and try to resolve them through discussion. If there continue to be any difficulties, please approach me as module leader to help in resolving them rather than other members of staff in Education.

Marking Procedures

Dissertations are subject to both internal and external scrutiny. The completion of the first submission is noted by the supervisor. The final submission is ‘blind marked’ by the supervisor and second marked by another member of staff, normally from the Department, using the assessment criteria and the feedback sheet (see Appendices C and D). The module leader supports the process throughout and will act as a third marker if there are any significant differences between grades. In addition, a sample is seen by the External Examiner. This process is outlined in University regulations.

Students will be given a copy of the first marker’s feedback sheet and the agreed provisional grade via Wiseflow prior to the completion of the course. Marks are confirmed at the examination board meeting and confirmed marks are made available via the e-vision portal.

Module Assessments

1. Research Ethics Form and Approval

This pass/fail element of assessment is worth 15% of the assessment weighting. Submission Date: Monday 9^th February 2026 at 12:00 (midday).

Assessment Criteria

1. Ethics Form completed, submitted for approval and uploaded to Wiseflow.
2. Evidence of ethics related approval for the research is uploaded to Wiseflow.
3. Approval has been received for the research to be conducted.

Submission

You are required to submit these two form and approval on Wiseflow. We will cover the process in a taught session and your supervisor will work with you on this.

2. Education related research project (10,000 words) – Dissertation

This element of assessment is worth 85% of the assessment weighting. Submission Date: Monday 20^th April 2026 at 12:00 (midday).

Assessment Criteria

4. Identify, define and refine an issue in education, suitable for inquiry within a realistic time frame;
5. Locate and critically review relevant literature and/or documentation to identify key themes, issues and arguments to support the development of focussed research questions;
6. Select research methods appropriate to answering the research questions and relevant to the context, providing a detailed rationale and demonstrating appropriate ethical considerations, with a consideration of limitations and how these have been addressed;
7. Use appropriate techniques and methods for investigation and/or data collection, analysis and interpretation to draw meaningful and specific conclusions in relation to the research questions and literature review;
8. Present a coherent and grounded argument based on the analysis and discussion of the research findings to identify areas for development in existing practice and research;
9. Write in a clear, logical and rigorous way adhering to conventions, including those for Harvard referencing and citation.
10. Work effectively within the word limit for the assessment task*.

Submission

You are required to submit online. You are advised to keep a copy for yourself.

Note

University assessments must be your own work.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

To maintain your academic integrity you must declare any assistance from Artificial Intelligence (AI).

When submitting these pieces of work, WISEflow will ask you to confirm use of any AI software. Further details, including a guidance video, can be found on Brightspace.

* ‘Working effectively’ within the word limit means using the full scope of the allocated word count to present a clear, well-developed, and academically rigorous response, towards meeting the assessment criteria, without exceeding the limit. High-quality academic work demonstrates the ability to express complex ideas concisely, stay within the set parameters, and use the available space fully. Underuse of the word count or time limit may indicate missed opportunities for depth or breadth; overuse may reflect a lack of clarity or precision. Appropriate and proportionate citation is also a key part of working effectively within the word and time limit, ensuring that sources purposefully support rather than overwhelm your own analysis.

Additional Information

The Project

Getting Started: Identifying a Problem

During years 1 and 2 you have been encouraged to carry out investigations on a number of topics in Education. You need to choose an issue within one of these broad areas to study in more depth. As explored during year 2, it is important that, in making your choice, you consider the following:

• a topic of personal interest
• an area or topic that you know something about already
• an area or topic you have encountered in practice
• a problem you have encountered in practice
• use/evaluate solutions to problems offered in published research.

It is vital that you keep the research within manageable parameters.

Planning

Once you have identified a topic you can plan the next stage of your research. A suggested checklist for this is to:

• list possible topics
• select a topic for investigation
• establish the focus of the research and write a clear research question
• outline the objectives or sub-questions to help address the central research question
• create an outline of the research
• check that relevant literature is available
• plan your timetable and draw up a timeline
• discuss these planning stages with your supervisor.

Literature Searching

The research must contain supporting information from literature. There are a number of different sources you may make use of and there is an expectation that normally studies will demonstrate the use of a balance between sources including books, research journals, government documents, the internet and other texts.

Before beginning a trawl of literature, break down the topic into ‘Key Words’ – this will help when you engage in an electronic search. To undertake an electronic search you need to select a database from those available on the library website. These will be explored in one of our taught sessions. The library provides a range of guides on using the library effectively and staff are happy to help you if you go to the enquiry desk. Our subject liaison librarian, who you will meet during the taught sessions, welcomes contact from you with any enquiries.

The internet is also a useful tool for researchers and can offer a quick way of accessing references to literature, for example, Google Scholar. There are also sites that give useful tips on aspects of academic writing such as writing a literature review. However, much of the information you can access via the internet is not peer-reviewed, filtered or checked for accuracy. It is important to ensure that the sources you draw from are sound and appropriate, and that any one particular source of material is not over-used.

Journals are a valuable source of material and can be accessed electronically via the e-journals gateway as well as on the shelves in the library:

• Use them to gain an historic perspective on research developments in your chosen area;
• Use them to gain a contemporary perspective;
• Key texts are often reviewed, and if you have difficulty gaining access to some of these key texts, reviews allow you at least a second-hand view – be mindful however of their evaluative nature and where possible access primary source material.

Subject bibliographies list material on a particular topic. Entries often have annotations to help you decide how useful they will be.

Indexes will help you locate or trace articles within Journals. They are often organised with author, as well as subject sections. Therefore, if you know that a particular author writes on a particular subject, you can quickly locate any articles that s/he may have written. Many authors condense into articles in journals, what they have published in books – it is much quicker to read a journal article.

Some examples of general educational sources will be given in the library sessions.

Managing your reading, citations and creating a bibliography

You may wish to use software such as RefWorks (or similar) to help you organise your literature. It is an application that enables users to store, manage, and output (in a variety of styles) bibliographic references from various sources, including online article databases. RefWorks can help you effectively organise and manage citations while conducting research, incorporate references into word processing documents, and create independent bibliographies in a variety of styles. You can download texts you have found directly into Refworks. Staff in the library will be able to assist you with this. We recommend that you use either Refworks or a similar kind of referencing package to make this process as easy and efficient as possible, particularly if you think you might undertake further study.

Making and Organising Notes

Keep thorough notes from the start or ‘suffer later’!  Things you should do:

• Make a note of everything you read;
• Start an index immediately (electronic notes, index cards, notebook etc);
• List possible categories for reading;
• Note (or copy) all quotations fully and accurately at the time that you read them, , including author, year and page/paragraph number;
• Save in themed electronic folders or print and file useful journal articles, book chapters or valuable documents;
• Use software tools and comments facilities in Word and Adobe Acrobat Reader etc to annotate on saved documents;
• Create grids for reviewed documents which draw out key information;
• Make use of a research diary.

“Finding information in the first place can be hard enough. Finding it again sometime afterwards can be harder unless your methods of recording and filing are thorough and systematic.”  (Bell et al., 2024: 24)

Data Analysis

If you need to work with rich qualitative data, where analysis on both small and large data sets is required, then you may wish to use software such as NVivo, although this is not a requirement. It will classify, sort and arrange information, so you have more time to explore trends, identify patterns and draw conclusions. Staff in the library will be able to assist you with this.

Linking chapters and writing for clarity

Try to ensure that you start and end chapters so that they read cohesively and coherently and link effectively. Try to begin each chapter by signposting its contents with a brief chapter introduction. Also, try to provide a summary at the end of each chapter and a sentence which takes you into the next. Do not assume the reader or marker knows about the topic you are investigating. Be clear about the key terms and phrases you are using and explain and define for the reader wherever it is required using appropriate literature.

Conventions

Spelling

Use U.K. English spellings unless using a direct quotation from a non-U.K. English source (e.g., U.S. English journal). Also, in the references, use the original spellings of journals (e.g., Journal of Behavior rather than Journal of Behaviour).

General Conventions

• Standard English must be used throughout.
• No contractions, such as ‘don’t’ or ‘can’t’.
• When writing in the third person you will need to construct your sentences accordingly. An example is identified below:

• It may be appropriate to write using the first person i.e. ‘I’, but you must ensure that direct reference is made to literature or relevant evidence to support all statements made.

Reference to organisations or abbreviations

Initials are acceptable providing when first included, the full name followed by the initials is included in brackets, e.g. Brunel University London (BUL). No full stops are required between the letters of abbreviations.

Illustrations: Tables and Figures

All illustrations must have a legend. The legend should be informative and appear beneath the figure or, in the case of a table, it should be at the top of the table. All tables must be individually labelled

e.g. Table 1, Table 2, etc. All illustrations including graphs, charts, pictures and diagrams must also be individually labelled e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.

Copies

You must retain a copy of the assessment submission and the data collected until after the Examination Board have met and your assessment grades have been formally confirmed.

Presentation

The requirements for presentation are detailed below. A template and examples for reference will be provided:

• A4 size ‘white paper’;
• Font: ‘Arial’ size 12 fully justified;
• 3 cm margins on the left-hand side and 2.5 cm margins on the right-hand side, with 2cm at the top and bottom of the pages (this is to allow for binding);
• Double spacing, except in the case of direct quotations which should be single line spaced and indented on both the right and left-hand sides (see the examples in the section on referencing);
• A line must be left between each paragraph and paragraphs must not be indented;
• Page numbered in the centre at the bottom of each page;
• The title page to be completed (see appendix B);
• The word count must be included at the end of the main body of the text (just below the last paragraph);
• Include a header containing your student number on every page;
• The assignment and its references are organised as outlined in this guide.
• Sub-headings may be used to support the organisation of the writing (use ‘bold’ as set up in the ‘styles’).
• References are listed alphabetically following Harvard conventions starting on a new page after the word count.
• Do not use footnotes;
• The coversheet must be used for the submission – this will be made available on Brightspace and via the Handbook. This has a built-in template to assist with the format requirements which you will be shown how to use in a taught session.

Structure and Content

Title Page   

See appendix B

Acknowledgements   

This is where you thank anyone that has assisted you with the project and/or your studies.

Contents Page

Includes chapter headings with page numbers using the Word ‘Tables of Contents’ to generate this (we will explore this) how to) 

Abstract 

A summary of the whole project.

Chapter 1 Introduction

• State the problem or issue to be investigated.
• Frame the study in recent and relevant research or policy.
• Clarify your source of interest in the topic.
• Identify any prior assumptions.
• Articulate the need for the study.
• Justify its relevance to Education and its potential value.
• Briefly outline the structure of the dissertation.

Chapter 2 Review of Literature

• Critically review literature drawn from a range of publications relevant to the area of research.
• Synthesise major concepts, themes, arguments and/or lines of enquiry (do not present as an annotated bibliography).
• Organise this under headings and relate these headings back to the issue being investigated.
• Summarise the key issues emerging from the review of literature.
• State the research question and sub-questions based on the review.

Chapter 3 Research Methodology

• State the approach to research being taken in the study and the relevant links to other research.
• Outline the context of the study and its rationale with reference to literature.
• Provide an outline of the selected ‘sample(s)’ for the study and its rationale.
• Detail how the research was undertaken and the key research methods used.
• Detail how the data collection instruments were developed with reference to the pilot study, taking account of how you have worked with both their strengths and limitations.
• Outline why the research was undertaken in this way.
• Acknowledge your position within the research.
• Explain how you have dealt with ethical issues.
• Outline your approach to data analysis.

Chapter 4 Results, Analysis and Discussion

• Statement of results with associated quotes, tables, figures and graphs etc, as appropriate.
• Analysis of the findings.
• Critically discuss the results in relation to the original aims and research question/s drawing on the literature explored in chapter 2.

Note: The discussion can be presented in a separate chapter if you decide this is more appropriate for your study. Your supervisor will assist with this decision.

Chapter 5 Conclusion

• Summarise your key findings.
• Propose recommendations and suggestions for practice.
• Propose recommendations and suggestions for further research.
• Note any relevant limitations in this study and suggestions for ways in which these might be resolved.
• Reflect on your experiences as a researcher and consider the potential influence on future personal practice and professional learning.
• Offer a final summary comment.

References

• An alphabetical list of all sources used in the text, following Harvard conventions detailed in this guide.

Appendices

• Research ethics checklist and risk assessment.
• Letter of approval from the University ethics committee
• Participant information sheets.
• Consent forms.
• Records of tutorial support.
• Templates of all research instruments designed and used, with evidence of changes made following the pilot study.
• Selected samples of completed instruments where possible.
• Include supporting material only.

The Word Limit

Your supervisor will discuss with you the best format for your specific study. As an example and noted earlier, it may be appropriate to split chapter 4 into two chapters: ‘Results and Analysis’ and ‘Discussion’ (see * below). They will also discuss with you the best ways to present the information in relation to your particular area of research. Below is a very rough guide to the words that might be allocated to each section to aid your planning. The sections below in italics are not included in the 10,000-word count.

• Coversheet
• Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Contents Page
• Abstract (200 words)
• Chapter 1 Introduction (5% 500 words)
• Chapter 2 Review of Literature (25% 2500 words)
• Chapter 3 Research Methodology and Methods (20% 2000 words)
• Chapter 4 Results, Analysis and Discussion (40% 4000 words)*
• Chapter 5 Conclusion (10% 1000 words)
• References
• Appendices 

Ethics

You and your supervisor are reminded of the ethics of your position in conducting a small-scale inquiry. In the collection of relevant data and its subsequent publication there must be appropriate respect for those who have co-operated with or were involved in the investigation. The associated University, College and Course requirements for research ethics and approval for research will be explored in the taught sessions, with additional support from your supervisor.

Anonymity/Confidentiality

Conventions found in the fieldwork environment should be maintained and appropriate protection given to respondents (e.g. pseudonyms should be used in the final presentation). Anonymity must be maintained throughout the work including appendices.

Negotiating Access

In the current climate, it is essential that appropriate permissions are sought from all who are involved in the study. This will need careful planning with your supervisor and discussion with colleagues in the settings you are working in. Negotiating access and maintaining access appropriately are essential features of this work. You will provide all participants with a project information sheet that they read prior to giving consent to participate. This should be outlined in a way that makes the information accessible to the participants. You are also required to provide evidence that you have secured informed consent from all of the participants. There are templates provided that you will adapt and use as appropriate.

Power

As part of your ethical considerations we recommend you read literature relating to understanding power and social desirability in the research process especially when researching with young or vulnerable people.

Data

All data must be stored carefully on your password protected drive at Brunel University to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.

All data pertaining to the research must be available throughout – it can be requested by the department at any time.

Findings

Due to the nature of educational material there is a strong possibility that the gathering, presentation and interpretation of data may be controversial at least to some of those involved. Every attempt, therefore, should be made to invite key people to discuss the investigation and to share findings at various stages throughout the inquiry. In this way the project becomes of value to the respondents as well as the investigator.

Referencing

Terms

• Citing means formally recognising, within your text, the resources from which you have obtained information.
• Reference is the detailed description of the item from which you have obtained your information.
• References is the list of sources you have used.

Citing

When making references to any published or unpublished work, credit to the author(s) must be included in the text and in the references to avoid plagiarism (see the section on this later). Recognised conventions must be adhered to, both in the use of correct punctuation (commas, colons and full stops) as well as the layout and format used to present references. See the annotated example on Brightspace.

Conventions

Reference to authors

Surname only, plus date,

e.g. Lofthouse (1990) noted that the time devoted to physical education in primary schools may be as low as 4% of the school day; or

A survey carried out in primary schools, as discussed by Read (1995) revealed that the majority of PE lessons are taken by the class teacher who generally has responsibility for teaching all curriculum subjects (a factor also identified by Williams, 1993; Evans et al., 1996). 

Quotes under two lines

Must be written into the text and marked off by inverted commas. Author, date and page number (or paragraph number for a web page reference) lead or follow the quote but if the quote is included in the middle or at the end of a long sentence then the date and page (or paragraph) number must follow the quote.

e.g. As Lawton (1992: 132) reveals, “many primary schools are inadequately housed and poorly equipped”; or

“Many primary schools are inadequately housed and poorly equipped” (Lawton, 1992: 132); or

 Lawton supports the findings of this piece of research through a similar study which reveals that  “many primary schools are inadequately housed and poorly equipped” (Lawton, 1992: 132).

Note here that in the first example a comma precedes the quote only because the sentence structure requires one. A comma would not be required if the quote is part of a fluid sentence that does not need a comma. Note also that the quote only begins with a capital letter when it starts the sentence.

Quotes longer than two lines

Must be inset, single spaced, without inverted commas. A line must be left before and after the quote so that it is clearly identifiable in the main body of the text. Author, date and page (or paragraph) number may lead or follow the quote.

e.g. This period in a child’s education is considered to have potentially far-reaching consequences for each individual, as Jennings and Hargreaves (1981: 35) comment: 

The transition from junior to secondary school is of great importance in the life of a child. It may encourage development, presenting challenge and stimulation, or it may have a detrimental effect…

or

This period in a child’s education is considered to have potentially far-reaching consequences for each individual:

The transition from junior to secondary school is of great importance in the life of a child. It may encourage development, presenting challenge and stimulation, or it may have a detrimental effect… (Jennings and Hargreaves, 1981: 35)

Note here that in both examples quotes are preceded by a colon. The quote starts with a capital letter because that is how it appears in the original source.

Reference to a single author, or group of authors

In brackets in the text,

e.g. It is suggested that careful recording and organising of sources of literature used in academic writing is key in making the process easier (Bell, 1993); or 

There has been a range of work examining the transitions which children make from one educational establishment to another (Measor and Woods, 1984; Beynon, 1985; Pugsley et al., 1996). 

Reference to an author cited in another publication

Must be acknowledged as follows:

e.g. At secondary school they will be in unfamiliar larger buildings, with many teachers, and older noisier pupils (Jackson, 1968 cited in Bennett and LeCompte, 1990).  NB. This should be avoided whenever possible and original sources used.

Other Electronic References

These must include the author’s name/s and date (if available), or URL for references, adding the page number (p.x) for direct quotes in the same way as any other source, or paragraph number (para.x) where there is no page number. If you are absolutely certain that the copy you find online/on a database is identical to the printed version, you may omit the URL and reference the source in the same way as a printed book or journal. Either quote the URL address of the page containing the cited information in the text, or quote the author in the same way as above:

e.g.  recommendations  follow  best  practice  in  referencing  electronic  resources  (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/citing_references/docs/Citing_Refs.pdf: 3); or recommendations follow best practice in referencing electronic resources (Support, 2008: 3). Lecture Notes

Lecture Materials

It is essential that all references to other works are referenced fully as outlined above. We would prefer that students do not reference lecture notes for this module as the reading list indicates the influences which have shaped the content. There are often references in presentations which can be cross referenced to the reading list. In the unusual case where you make reference to a session at the University then you need to include the author and year in the main text and the author, year, title of the module and session, date of the session in the list of references: e.g. Chappell (2024) ED3606 lecture, 1^st October, 2024.

List of References

All references to authors made within the text must be included alphabetically in the ‘References’ section. Exact details of each reference are essential.

General Guidelines

• The reference list is single line spaced with a line between each entry;
• Publications must be listed in alphabetical order by author’s surname;
• Titles must be in italics (see detail below identifying how this applies to different sources).
• List multiple publications by an author chronologically, with the most recent first.
• Add a, b, c if an author has published more than once in the same year.
• List all individual publications before collaborations.

Book by a single author

Format: Surname, initials. (Date) Title. Place of publication: Publisher.

e.g. Schmidt, R.A. (1982) Motor Control and Learning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Book by more than one author

Format: Surname, initials. (Date) Title. Place of publication: Publisher.

e.g. Loy, J.W. and Kenyon, G.S. (1969) Sport, Culture and Society. New York: Macmillan. and  Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2000) Research Methods in Education. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Article in a journal

Format: Surname, Initials. (Date) Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume (Number): Pages.

e.g. Howarth, K. and Head, R. (1988) Curriculum Continuity in Physical Education. British Journal of Physical Education, 19 (6): 241 – 243.

Chapter in a book

Format: Surname of author, Initials. (Date) Title of article. Surname of Editor, Initials (ed.) Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher.

e.g. Kroll, W. (1978) Psychological Aspects of Wrestling. In Straub, W.F. (ed.) Sport Psychology:  an analysis of athlete behaviour. Ithaca, NY: Movement

Paper presented at a conference

Format: Surname of author, Initials. (Date) Title of paper. Paper presented at ‘Name of conference’, Location of conference, dates of conference.

e.g. Terry, P.C. (1984) The coaching preferences of elite athletes competing at Universiade ’83. Paper presented at the Olympic Scientific Congress, Eugene, Oregon, 19-23 July.

Unpublished paper/Master’s thesis/PhD thesis

Format: Surname of author, Initials. (Date) Title of the paper or thesis. Unpublished paper/Master’s thesis/PhD thesis. University/College.

e.g. Brown, M.S. (1968). Sex differences in achievement motivations and performance in competitive and non-competitive situations. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Michigan.

Internet References Individual works

Format: Surname of author/editor, Initials. (Date) Title [online]. (Edition) Place of publication: Publisher (if ascertainable). Available from: URL [Accessed Date]. Write “No date” when the electronic publication date is not available.

e.g. Support, A. (2008) Guide to citing Internet sources [online]. Poole, Bournemouth University. Available from:   http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/citing_references/docs/Citing_Refs.pdf             [Accessed      27th August 2008].

Social Media Posts

Social media sites are web pages and so should be referenced as such.

Format: Surname of author/editor, Initials. (Date) Title of page. [Title of web site] Day/month of posted message. Available from: web address [Accessed date].

e.g. Smith, S. (2015) Research group. [Facebook] 4^th October. Available from: www.facebook.com [Accessed 3^rd August 2016]. or Research University (2019) Great referencing is making a difference to dissertations. [Twitter] 4^th July. Available from: https://twitter.com/researchuniversity [Accessed 04/07/20].

Citing E-Journals

Format: Surname of author, Initials. (Date) Title. Journal Title [online], Volume (number), location within host. Available from: URL [Accessed Date].

e.g. Korb, K.B., 1995. Persons and things: book review of Bringsjord on Robot-Consciousness. Psycholoqy [online], 6 (15). Available from: www.psycprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00000462/ [Accessed 20 May 2004].

Newspaper

Format: Name of writer, year, title of article, name of paper, date (minus year): page number (paragraph number for electronic newspaper articles).

e.g. Bowcott, O. (1996) Tug battles to stop tanker breaking up. The Guardian. 19 February: 2.

TV and Radio

Format: Title of programme, episode number, title of episode, transmitting organisation, channel, full date (Year, Month, Day), time of transmission.

e.g. Island of Dreams. (1996) Episode 2. ‘For Better or Worse’ TV. Ch.4. 1996 19th February, 2100 hrs.

For individual contributions within a programme are quoted, such as the Prime Minister being interviewed on the TV news, format is as follows:

e.g. Major, John. (1996) Interview. In: Six O’Clock News. Television. BBC1. 1996. 19th February, 1823 hrs.

Library

There is information provided by the library which can also be used to assist you: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/services/library/learning/referencing.