MAR042-6 (Block 6-1) Capstone Business Dissertation Unit Handbook 2024-25 | UOB

1 Capstone Dissertation Unit

In this unit, you are introduced to the processes and techniques associated with research methods. You are allocated research mentors, who have relevant knowledge and expertise. Your research mentors will support you in developing your ideas, to ensure that you collect appropriate data to address your chosen topic of interest. Indicative Content:

• Formulating and clarifying research topic aims and objectives
• Conducting a systematic and critical Literature Review
• Introduction and selection of appropriate research methodologies
• Academic writing skills, and good academic and professional practices
• Consideration on the impact that chosen methodologies have on key research indicators such as reliability, validity, relevance, and generalisability can be demonstrated and how research findings can be used

This handbook outlines the deadlines, stages, class schedule and overall process of your dissertation unit. Please make sure to read it carefully!

2 Your unit delivery team

If you are based in one of our overseas partner institutions, your first point of contact is your local lecturer
and course management team. 
Your unit coordinator is: Dr Busra Ergun Sahin 
Course Administrator: Mrs Sally Mayne 
sally.mayne@beds.ac.uk 
Please contact Sally for any queries regarding your grade, graduation,
certificates, completion dates, reference letter, referral submission dates etc.

3 Details of your Course Coordinators

4 Your Dissertation Timeline

5 Master classes

Master classes are an hour-long face-to-face lecture, taking place on campus on Wednesdays of the weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. For detailed information about the content of each session, room number, time and date, please refer to Masterclass, Supervision Meetings and Submission Schedules section below as well your BREO announcements.

• Your attendance in these classes is compulsory and you must scan your card upon entrance for
  tracking purposes.
• In these classes, we will cover topics related to each chapter/stage of your dissertation.

6 Supervisory meetings

The students will have 8 supervisory meetings with their supervisors.

The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies states that Master’s degrees will be awarded to students who have demonstrated ‘a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of their academic discipline, field of study or area of professional practice’ (p. 28). Effective supervision, therefore, will respect the independence of the student’s research project, and aim to facilitate its realisation, rather than dictate its direction.

6.1 The Process

1.Please check BREO to find out who is your supervisor
2.Contact your supervisor using your university email account immediately and arrange a meeting in week 1 (week commencing 29th of August)
3.If you are on the unit but you have not been allocated a supervisor, please contact saira.sultana@beds.ac.uk ASAP.
4.Make sure to keep a close contact with your supervisor Please note:

• Students are required to show their work in progress / draft work to supervisors at all meetings and must submit the draft at least 24 hours before the supervisory meeting.
• Supervisory meeting attendance are mandatory
• All the attendance will be closely monitored; any missed meeting with your supervisor will have an impact on your visa status (students on a study visa only).
• The supervisor will fill in the Capstone supervisory monitoring form at the end of each meeting as evidence of your attendance and progression.

7 Supervisory Meetings

• Following allocation to a supervisor, each student is required to submit a dissertation outline based on a topic of their choice by email to their supervisor 24 hours before the meeting. This should consist of the dissertation title; 200-300 words outlining research aim, objectives and methodology; and a draft Contents page with numbered chapter/section headings. In addition, each student should provide a list of key references, sources of any data required and an assessment of their availability. A research plan is also prepared at this point, which should identify: efforts required to obtain primary/secondary data and other material; assistance/instruction required (e.g., in bibliographic search techniques or specialised computer software); any other issues that might arise with the research project.
• First meetings between supervisors and supervisees should take place soon after supervision
  arrangements have been agreed and must take place during the induction week (as per the schedule).
• The dissertations’ outline and research plan may form the basis of discussion in this initial meeting,
  which will work towards a focus for the dissertation. Students can expect no more than five meetings with their supervisor (the meetings are included in the schedule), unless by prior arrangement. Finally, in the 1st meeting, there should also be an agreement about: how the student is to contact their supervisors and what can be reasonably expected in terms of response times and the amount of time that can be given to the student. These norms should reflect the nature of the project being undertaken (a more “innovative” or “risky” project demands more responsive supervision, for example).
• The rest of the meetings will be scheduled as per the detailed schedule above and after students’
  staged submissions. The scope of those meetings is for the supervisors to provide feedback to their students regarding the staged submission and advise on how to develop and proceed.
• Please make sure to arrange a meeting with your supervisor in weeks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 11
  EXACTLY as outlined in the timeline above. Failure to do so will have an impact on your attendance tracking as well as your progress on your dissertation.
• To arrange a meeting, please e-mail your supervisor a week before and always put your unit
  coordinator, Dr Busra Ergun Sahin, on cc.
• Supervisory meeting attendance are mandatory
• Students may expect their supervisors to give advice about the nature of the dissertation (title, viability, methodology, university regulations), literature and other sources (including electronic sources via the library), required techniques (methodology etc.), the planning of the dissertation (staged submissions, sections etc.), and the standard of work expected (without prejudging final mark).
• The role of supervisors is to guide students towards the production of their dissertation by discussing each part of the process (e.g., staged submissions). They will advise on relevant areas of literature, help a student to develop their thoughts on their topic, give guidance on the development of chapters and on the conventions of dissertation writing. They will not act as proof- reader of the students’ work.
• In the case of illness or other temporary inability to supervise, other members of the supervisory team normally provide ongoing supervision and support until the return of the absent supervisor.
• Where students are experiencing difficulties in relation to supervision and feel that they cannot discuss this with one of the supervisory team they should raise the issue with their capstone Unit Coordinator in the first instance. However, it is the responsibility of the student to take the initiative throughout the dissertation writing process: raising problems or difficulties, discussing issues arising from feedback, taking appropriate action, and maintaining the progress of work as agreed with the supervisor.
• Additionally, the supervisors must be familiar with the general University procedures on Mitigating Circumstances, and with the policy on extensions which is specific to postgraduate dissertations (which typically address unforeseeable problems with data collection etc.). In the case of unforeseeable problems or disadvantages, it is likely that the supervisor will need to direct the student to further specialist support in the University. However, they will always be the first point of contact, and must be able to give the student informed advice.
• Supervisors and students need to be fully aware of the extent of one another's responsibilities, to enable both to understand: (i) the supervisor's contribution to supporting the student and (ii) where the supervisors’ responsibilities end.

8 Supervisors’ responsibilities include:

✓Provision of satisfactory guidance and advice on the conduct of the student’s research programme;
✓Regular monitoring of the progress of the student's research programme;
✓Maintaining regular contact with the student and ensuring his/her accessibility to the student when s/he needs advice. This will normally involve face to face contact by following the capstone schedule, but may also involve email or online contact depending on the student's location and mode of study;
✓Maintaining appropriate records of supervisory meetings and interim correspondence
✓Input into the assessment of a student's development needs;
✓Provision of timely, constructive and effective feedback on the student's work, including his/her overall progress within the programme;
✓Provision of advice and guidance to enable the student to conduct his/her research with probity and according to ethical principles, and advice on the implications of research misconduct;
✓Ensuring that the student is aware of institutional-level sources of advice, including careers guidance, health and safety legislation and equal opportunities policy;
✓Ensuring that the students understand ethics and signing their students’ ethics forms on time;
✓Establishing and maintaining awareness of academic integrity issues; they should help the student apply good practice at every stage of their academic research.
✓Provision of effective pastoral support, referring the student where appropriate to other sources of such support, including advisers (for example, counselling, Registry staff and others within the student's academic community);
✓To give reasonable responsive assistance in solving specific detailed problems (e.g., mitigation
circumstances);
✓Help for the student to interact with others working in the field of research, for example, encouraging the student to attend relevant conferences and workshops;
✓Maintenance of supervisory expertise, including the appropriate skills to perform the role satisfactorily, supported by relevant continuing professional development opportunities.
✓To assess the dissertation fairly and carefully.
✓To complete the supervisory meeting record form.

Notes:

1]It is NOT the expectation that the supervisor necessarily provides all of the above support personally. The different elements of support can be provided by the University’s different departments (e.g., see above the section with the useful contacts).
2]Both supervisors and students should keep a record for each meeting by completing the supervision monitoring form (the form is at BREO) and sign it at the end of each meeting.

9 Staged submissions

Please note that in order for your dissertation to be considered/marked there are three staged submissions that each student is required to submit in weeks 5, 7, 9.

1.Staged submission 1 in week 5: Chapter 2: literature review, 2,000 words

2.Staged submission 2 in week 7: Chapter 3: Method of analysis, 1,500 words

3.Staged submission 3 in week 9: Chapter 4: Analysis and Findings 2000 words

• These staged submissions must be included as Appendices in the final submission of the Capstone Business Dissertation.
• Furthermore, if there is no work submitted in the staged submissions then a viva will be triggered
  after submission of the executive summary (final dissertation).
• Attendance to the viva is compulsory as per University guidelines. The staged submissions required are as below (Deadlines for each stage will be communicated by the unit coordinator)
• Failure to submit the staged submission will result in a viva and subsequently failure in this unit.

10 The Proposal (Assessment 1)

10.3 Main Dissertation (Assessment 2)

Your final dissertation is in the format of an executive summary. Your executive summary (main
dissertation, assessment 2) is a concise explanation of your dissertation that includes:

• A definition of topic area of your interest including research aim and objectives (1000 words)
• A discussion and summation of the research findings (2500 words)
• A reflection on the dissertation process and a recommendation on how you would do it differently (1000
  words)

Please note that in order for the executive summary to be considered there are three staged submissions that each student is required to submit in weeks 5, 7, 9.

These staged submissions must be included as Appendices in the final submission of the 2nd assessment. Failure to do so will result in a fail grade in your dissertation.

Furthermore, If there is no work submitted in the staged submissions then a viva will be triggered after submission of the executive summary. Attendance to the viva is compulsory as per University guidelines.

10.4 Structure of your Dissertation

11 Masterclass, Supervision Meetings and Submission Schedules

12 FAQ

• What is the rational for the staged submissions, when only the proposals and the executive summary are been marked? You will receive feedback on your staged submissions on BREO and during your supervisory meetings. Failure to submit staged submission on time will result in a fail grade and you will have to attend a viva.
• Can I go back to my town/country during the Capstone unit? No, you have to remain in the country to
  attend the face to face master classes. Attendance to these classes are mandatory.
• Can you explain the word count? How many word is the staged submission?

Staged submission 1 in week 5: Chapter 2: literature review, 2,000 words
Staged submission 2 in week 7: Chapter 3: Method of analysis, 1,500 words
Staged submission 3 in week 9: Chapter 4: Analysis and Findings 2000 words

• What if I fail to submit my ethics form on time? You will fail your 1st assessment which is the proposal. And you will not be able to proceed with the rest of your dissertation unless you have approved MC. You will also fail the unit if you complete the incorrect ethical form.
• What if I fail to submit the staged submission on time? The dissertation has been divided into chapter submissions that is the stages. There are many reasons for this one of the most important is because it is how our University runs the capstone. The deadlines are there for a reason and you will not be able to submit later than the deadline for each chapter/stage except if you get an MC approval. If you do not submit, then at the end when you will submit the executive summary by adding all the chapters/staged submissions means that you will be missing the LR chapter and as such you will fail the dissertation. In addition, the meetings with your supervisors are based on the staged submissions : you get feedback and discuss the next staged submission after your supervisors read and evaluate each submission. We all have to follow the University's regulations and I will advise you to do the same.
• How can I arrange a meeting with my supervisor? Please email your supervisor a week in advance to
  arrange a meeting in the supervisory meeting weeks as outline din the dissertation timeline. Please make sure to copy put busra.ergunsahin@beds.ac.uk on cc.
• Where can I find out who my supervisor is? Your BREO shell.
• What if I do not hear back from my supervisor? Send another email and inform your unit coordinator immediately.
• What    can    I    do    if    I    am    not    allocated    a    supervisor?    Contact    your    unit    coordinator (busra.ergunsahin@beds.ac.uk) immediately
• How do I complete the ethics form? Please attend your master class on Ethics form completion
• Who should sign my ethics form? Your supervisor. However, if for any reason if your supervisor is unavailable, you will need to submit the ethics form on time without supervisor’s signature and once you are bale to contact your supervisor, please ask the supervisor to sign and resubmit the signed ethics form immediately. Make sure to keep busra.ergunsahin@beds.ac.uk informed.
• When is the referral submission point? It will be within three months. Please keep an eye on BREO, there
  will be an announcement on the exact dates.
• What if I fail my dissertation? You will have to do a referral at later point. If you fail the referral, you will have to retake the unit again.

13 Students’ Responsibilities:

✓Master students should be taking responsibility for their own personal and professional development, including, where possible, recognizing when they need help and seeking it in a timely manner;

✓Maintaining (a joint responsibility with supervisors) regular contact with supervisors;
✓Preparing adequately for meetings with supervisors;
✓Keeping to timetables and deadlines, including planning, submitting required work, and maintaining satisfactory progress with their submissions;
✓Informing their supervisors on time as per any exceptional circumstances that might arise during the capstone unit.
✓Making supervisors aware of any specific needs or circumstances likely to affect their work;
✓Attending all scheduled sessions (both twilight and masterclasses) or any other development opportunities (research-related and other) that have been identified when agreeing their development needs with their supervisors;
✓Adhering to the University’s regulations, policies, and guidance regarding master's
programs, including those relating to health and safety, and intellectual property;
✓conducting research with integrity, in accordance with the University’s policy frameworks and any legal compliance and/or funder requirements;
✓ensuring (a joint responsibility with supervisors) that appropriate ethical approval is obtained before research commences;
✓maintaining records of their supervisory meetings.

14 Your Timetable and Academic calendar

Your timetable will be made available to you in hard copy or on-line through the Student Portal. Occasionally we may need to postpone a session, for example if a member of staff is unwell or if weather conditions make travel dangerous, if this is the case we will try and notify you BREO announcements.

15 Student Record System (E-Vision)

The student record system contains your results and also your contact details access is from the e-Vision link on the BREO gateway. Please make sure the latter are up-to-date so that we can contact you if we need to (details of how to do this can be found in e-Vision after you log in).

You can log in using your Student Number as your Username and your Password which will be provided by letter or e-mail. You will be prompted to change your password the first time you log in. Please note that your password is not the same as your BREO password in order to add an additional level of security for your personal details.

Please note that the mark you see on E-Vision are not finalised until they are presented and confirmed at the exam board.

16 Student Information Desk (SID)

SID is your first point of contact for a range of services. Whatever your question or problem, the SID team
can advise you. Amongst other things they are the first place to go for:

• Mitigating Circumstances forms
• Interruption of studies forms
• Request to withdraw forms
• Student status letter
• Access to the Engagement and Mitigation Teams
• Counselling
• Disability support
• Dyslexia support
• Mental Health Support
• Professional Academic Development (PAD)
• Student finance advice
• And much, much more ...

17 Learning Resources

One of the advantages of studying with the University of Bedfordshire is the specialised support which is available to enable you to develop your individual skills and professionalism.

While your own individual involvement and approach to your studies is essential, the way you study and learn is collaborative. During your studies you will learn to develop particular skills or understanding. Learning will happen with lecturers, your personal academic tutor, course or unit tutors, your peers, professional services staff, and through your own research.

18 Where to go for help with referencing?

18.1 AIR (Academic Integrity Resources)

https://breo.beds.ac.uk/ultra/organizations/_61949644_1/outline

Please make sure to fully familiarise your self with Harvard Refencing format. Please visit AIR (Academic Integrity Resources). The AIR is a resource that has been designed to make you aware of good academic practice. This includes an awareness of plagiarism and referencing processes, among many other things.

As a University of Bedfordshire student, you will need to undertake research and use the words and ideas of others in your assignment while following our regulations and maintaining your own academic integrity. If you do not follow the regulations, you might lose marks or end up facing charges of academic misconduct. In many cases the rules are broken unintentionally through lack of understanding of what academic integrity is all about.

Quality academic writing takes time to develop. While we do not expect you to be perfect right away, we do expect you to follow the rules regarding academic integrity in order that you and the University can satisfy ourselves that what you have written has been written in accordance with the correct conventions.

You can access AIR through BREO Gateway (www.breo.beds.ac.uk).

18.2 RefWorks

Through Learning Resources you have access to an excellent web-based reference management system
called Refworks. 

19 Studiosity – Assessment writing support service

You must have noticed Studiosity on your BREO shells. You have all been enrolled on to this system.

Studiosity provides live 24/7 feedback on your written work. The feedback is provided by professionals who specialise in academic writing and study skills. Please watch the introductory videos below on how to access and use Studiosity.

Part 1:
University of Bedfordshire Resource For Education

Part 2:
University of Bedfordshire Panopto

20 Coursework Submission

Each Unit's BREO area will explain exactly how your tutors expect you to submit your assignments. This will usually be online through Turnitin, which is a tool that checks submissions for matches to work on the Internet and to the work of other students. 

Each assessment brief will also carry details of the learning outcomes your work will be expected to meet, how you will be expected to deliver your work, the format, the presentation, the deadline date and information about how to receive the essential feedback on your work (through BREO and possibly other means). These are all provided to support you to succeed - but if you are unclear about assessment requirements or submission procedures, ask your tutor in the taught sessions.

• See the Mitigating Circumstances section below for advice about what to do if you  think you won't be able to meet a deadline. Do note that lecturers are not able to extend deadlines.
• Assessments are always due on Fridays at 10:00 UK time in week 3 and 6 of the  block. 
• Late submissions, regardless of the reason for delay is unacceptable and late work  will be marked “0”
• If you submit late, your mark will be marked “0”. You will then be given a second  opportunity to submit during the referral period, which is in week 3 of the next block. 
• Referral submission are capped at “40”. It means that you can only get a maximum  grade of “40”
• If you fail to submit during the referral period, you will then have to retake the unit  and pay the corresponding unit fees.

21 Mitigating Circumstances

Coursework must be handed in by the date and time specified. This will be given to you in your unit handbooks, on the assessment brief and/or on BREO.

Late work without formal agreement is not accepted and will be deemed a ‘fail’ and marked at 0 (no work submitted). We are very firm about this because working to deadlines is an important life skill, which we encourage you to develop during your studies.

Sometimes things outside your control can affect your ability meet a deadline. If you believe that you are likely to miss a deadline for a valid reason (see below for reasons considered valid under mitigating circumstances) then you should apply to the Student Engagement and Mitigation Team (mitigation@beds.ac.uk) for an extension. Only they can make the decision. It is important to realise that your lecturers are not able to extend published deadlines.

21.1 What are mitigating circumstances?

Examples of circumstances that would justify special consideration include:

• Serious personal injury, broken limbs, or a medical condition requiring hospital attention or with an incapacitating effect.
• An acute illness that makes it impossible to complete the required task.
• Being a victim of a serious crime during the period immediately preceding assessment.
• The serious illness or death of a close relative: normally a partner, parent, child or sibling.
• Birth of a baby and/or unforeseen pregnancy complication.
• Requirement to travel abroad for urgent medical attention for yourself, or an immediate family member

Normally not acceptable are:

• The death or illness of a distant relative.
• Financial problems, including payment of fees to the University.
• Difficulties with housing.
• Difficulties with baby-sitters, child-minders.
• Transport difficulties such as public transport strikes, road works or private transport breakdowns.
• Confusion over time, date location of the examination, or assignment hand-in date on the part of the candidate when this has been clearly notified, and has not posed any problem to other students in the group.
• Work pressure if you are enrolled as a full-time student.
• Cases where medical certificates are retrospective, i.e. dated/issued after you have recovered from the illness claimed.
• Any claim not supported by independent and reliable evidence.
• Computer problems such as viruses, memory stick failure/loss, printer problems, and network problems.
• Problems with receiving/submitting referral work and results.
• Problems handing in an assignment to the designated place by the deadline.
• Collecting data/more data for an assignment.

You can find out more details about mitigating circumstances and how to apply via your Course Coordinator.

21.2 Academic Offences

Academic offences include a range of actions designed to deceive and gain an unfair advantage over other students. This is unethical and threatens the integrity of our assessment procedures and the value of the University’s academic awards. 

Your academic performance will be assessed on the basis that anything you submit for assessment is your own work. Anyone thought to be gaining an unfair advantage in any form of assessment is subject to formal investigation in accordance with University Regulations (follow the link on the BREO gateway).

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are not vulnerable to any allegation that you have breached these regulations (for example by sharing your assignments with friends in such a way that they can copy your work and claim it as their own).

Penalties for students found to have committed an academic offence may include failure in a unit or an element of a unit which may mean that you have to repeat the year as a part-time student and bear the associated financial cost. In extreme cases you may be required to leave the University. During the course we will introduce you to correct academic practice to help ensure that you know what we are looking for in your assessments

22 What if I fail an assessment?

• Students who submit all elements of assessment and do not successfully complete the unit have a further opportunity to pass the unit by undertaking a referral of all failed elements of assessment at the next opportunity. 
• All referrals, including for non-submission, must be taken at the next scheduled opportunity (usually in week 3 of the next block). 
• The grade for the referral element is capped at the minimum pass mark. 
• Students who do not pass a unit on referral may normally retake the unit at the next scheduled opportunity.
• Students who retake must normally be assessed in all the elements of assessment in a unit. The retake marks override any previous marks for the unit.