MK7054 Dissertation Handbook 2025-26 | Leicester

Planning the Dissertation

Introduction

The dissertation is your opportunity to explore a current international business issue in depth using the theories, ideas, concepts, and models you have encountered in your programme. This handbook is written for students in the MSc in International Business Programme.

The guidelines in this handbook aim to help you complete your dissertation to the highest standard and facilitate your learning process. These guidelines, together with those of any other relevant modules you have studied throughout your programme (i.e., (i) Principles and Practices of International Business, (ii) Global Strategy, International Marketing and Operations Management, and (iii) Market Intelligence, Data Analysis, and Research Methods) are designed to familiarise you with the standards and expectations of the School of Business. The precise topic you will ultimately write about will be one of your choosing and conception. You will be allocated a supervisor to advise you, but ultimately it is your research, and you will be expected to drive the process.

The MK7054 module contains the dissertation, which weighs 100% and is 15,000 words of original and academic research worth 60 credits towards your final degree. It provides an opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired during the taught elements of your programme. Writing a dissertation will involve identifying a gap in the existing literature, developing research questions, designing an appropriate research methodology, collecting and analysing data to produce theoretically informed empirical findings, deriving conclusions, and proposing recommendations.

An academic dissertation is similar in form and structure to a peer-reviewed journal article. Crucially, it provides answers to specific questions and, building on those answers, contributes to our understanding of a particular topic. The dissertation differs from the modules in your programme. You are not provided with a question to address, but must develop your research question(s). The academic material to respond to the question(s) is not contained within your study textbooks or online materials. You will have to conduct your research to answer your research question(s). Your dissertation must address a topic relating directly to international business.

We understand that undertaking independent research may be a daunting prospect. We offer you extensive support and guidance and invite you to use the various resources available. On behalf of the School of Marketing and Strategy, we wish you a memorable and exciting research journey.

The nature of research

Research involves analysing and presenting data so that you can contribute to a discussion between a community of researchers. A contribution may involve new empirical data, historical contextualisation, or theoretical critique. While your dissertation may provide solutions to specific global business problems, the aim is to demonstrate that you have contributed to academic scholarship. To do this, you need to show that you have acquired a sophisticated understanding of a topic and developed the ability to build on existing academic research. To complete your dissertation, you must identify a topic of interest to you and show that you have considered the most up-to-date research findings and methods.

The research will involve examining existing theories, models, and conceptual ideas, as well as using an appropriate methodology to gather helpful information and the critical analysis of data. A good dissertation may provide solutions to specific international business problems. Alternatively, it may set out to confirm or refute pre-existing assumptions.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• Produce a research design that encompasses secondary and/or primary data, together with an appropriate methodology and data analysis framework.
• Demonstrate an independent level of inquiry at an advanced level and the ability to identify relevant data from various sources and use this to generate findings.
• Critically discuss the research findings and, from the explanatory data generated, formulate practical recommendations for organisations/theoretical problems.
• Synthesise the above processes to produce a dissertation that displays critical thought, practical insights, and, where appropriate, originality to fill a gap in the extant research literature.
• Review and reflect on the research process, displaying awareness of both the limitations of the dissertation and any attendant ethical issues.
• Produce a Dissertation that is logically structured and written with clarity and precision.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Depending on your educational background and experience, some of you may have already prepared a dissertation for other courses of study. However, if you have not written a dissertation before, there is no need to worry. You will receive guidance and advice throughout the programme in the form of one lecture and guidance from your supervisor, who will be assigned to advise you on all aspects of the dissertation.

All the advice in this section is relevant to students writing a dissertation for the first time and those who have done so before. Remember, the dissertation is your piece of work. How you approach it is your responsibility. Below is a collection of questions that students ask each year.

Questions about the dissertation

Questions about supervision

Questions about submission

Dissertation Supervision

For individual support, you will be allocated a supervisor to support and provide feedback on your progress. You are responsible for maintaining regular contact with your supervisor throughout your work. Your project will first be marked by another academic, and your supervisor will secondly mark it. You will receive a total of 10 hours of supervision, comprising 5 hours of in-person individual supervision and 5 hours of online group meetings with your supervisor.

Experience suggests that students who sensibly manage their relationship with their supervisor tend to perform well in their dissertations. We want to clarify that the supervisor’s role is to:

Help assess the feasibility of the dissertation by reviewing and providing feedback on your proposal.

Offer broad guidance throughout the research process, but you are expected to use the knowledge gained from other modules, the information in this handbook, and independent study related to your topic, to structure and manage your research.

Approve your ethics application, and assist and provide feedback in completing it.

Provide feedback on one draft of two chapters OR 40% of the dissertation. You should
allow at least two weeks for supervisors to provide feedback on drafted work. You will email the draft work directly to your supervisor after you have agreed on a date for doing so.

Please do not

Ask supervisors questions to which you could easily find the answers, for example, by reading this handbook. This wastes precious dissertation supervision time.

Ignore their feedback, or fail to make revisions where appropriate. You do not have to agree with the changes your supervisor suggests, but you do have to consider how you can overcome their objections to make your work more robust.

Fail to prepare for supervision meetings.

Supervisors will not

Provide your dissertation's topic, title, and/or research question(s).

Tell you what you should (or should not) do. You are studying for a Master’s programme,
and the ability to undertake independent research is a basic expectation at this level. Your supervisor will advise you, but your ultimate dissertation responsibility lies with you.

Proofread your dissertation for spelling or grammatical errors.

Read multiple versions of the same draft chapter(s).

Suggest what mark you may get during the draft, as it is impossible to judge the work until
it is completed and submitted.

Organise access to external organisations.

Please remember that the ultimate responsibility for managing the dissertation is with the student.

Allocation of a supervisor

The MK7054 Dissertation Module Leader will allocate supervisors after reviewing your Proposal. Please note that it is not guaranteed that you will get the supervisor of your choice. To complete this allocation process, you need to propose your research topic. There is a topic Proposal to fill in on Blackboard, and you will also find it in the appendices of this handbook. Please read the form carefully and fill it in thoroughly and appropriately.

Managing the relationship with your supervisor

If you experience a problem with your supervisor, please resolve it directly with them. Talk to the Dissertation Module Leader if you cannot work it out. Please do not approach other academic staff members for a second opinion or a request to change your supervisor. Once allocations have been made, supervisors will only be reallocated in the most exceptional circumstances. In addition to the group and individual meetings, supervisors will also answer reasonable queries via email or during office hours. However, supervisors will not allow these mediums to replace or become de facto supervisions. It is up to you to reach an agreement with your supervisor regarding the timing and supervision session format. It is also your responsibility to keep in touch with your supervisor. Not vice versa.

Student Responsibilities

There are several things you can do to ensure an excellent, constructive relationship with your supervisor, such as:

Keep your supervisor informed about any problems relating to your dissertation. Supervisors will aim to reply to emails within three (3) working days.

Allow plenty of time to arrange appointments with your supervisor. It is often difficult for supervisors to arrange meetings at short notice.

You are responsible for ensuring that you have received your allocated supervision.

You must follow the advice of your supervisor.

You are required to keep a record of your meetings with your supervisor. This should include a record of the key issues discussed and a list of recommended actions or activities you need to undertake.

Pitfalls

The dissertation is the culmination of the MSs in International Business (MSc-IB) programme, and as such, it presents some challenges. In our experience, there are several common difficulties encountered by students. This section seeks to outline various issues which require careful consideration.

Time management

The preparation of the dissertation takes place within very strict time constraints. This calls for careful and systematic planning. The dissertation contains several stages, which are both resource and labour-intensive. It requires careful management to allow ample time to conduct a comprehensive literature review, identify the appropriate methodology, collect sufficient data for analysis, and finally write the dissertation's final version. It is effortless to overrun and not allow sufficient time to write and edit the dissertation.

Dissertation review

Due to poor time management, many students encounter problems with the fluency and structure of their dissertations. As a part of appropriate research practice, it is vital to allow sufficient time to review the dissertation before submission. This stage is crucial for students for whom English is not their first language, and extra attention should be paid to it. It is also a good idea to ask a friend with good English or a professional copy editor to proofread your work.

Feasibility

The time limitations on MSc dissertations require that a student identify realistic dissertation objectives. This necessitates careful consultation with the dissertation supervisor during your first meeting. In particular, students need to consider how they will obtain their data in detail. This raises the issue of access. You must think carefully about how you will gain access to the type and number of participants you wish to research. Surveys, for example, require a large number of responses for them to be statistically valid, while interviewing may require you to build relationships with a smaller but specialised group of participants. In short, many dissertations encounter serious challenges through unrealistic objectives coupled with an inability to operationalise the idea into a practical research plan.

Dissertation resubmission

If you fail the dissertation, dependent upon the circumstances, you may be given a further opportunity to submit your dissertation (i.e., a resubmission). The resubmission will be evaluated against the dissertation assessment criteria. You will need to demonstrate how you have responded to the feedback you received from all markers who reviewed your first submission.

Your dissertation supervisor will assist and monitor you in the progression of your resubmission. The supervisor is responsible for supervising the resubmission process and not necessarily the content. The supervisor's role is largely to advise and not to instruct the student on what to do at the different stages of the process. To assist the markers in assessing the resubmission, you should include an open letter to the markers within your resubmitted dissertation. Within this letter, you should provide a detailed response to the feedback and clearly show how you have addressed the comments. The letter is not considered part of your word count. The letter should be placed after your title page. The maximum mark that can be awarded on a resubmission is 50%.

Conducting Dissertation Research

The process below is intended as a guideline for students to plan their dissertations and follows a natural sequence of events.

The dissertation topic

Your dissertation can focus on almost any topic that interests you as long as you can link it to international business. In selecting your research topic, you need to consider the following:

Your programme of study. Your topic must be pertinent to the subject area of the award you are pursuing. MSc International Business students can choose any topic within the remit of IB.

Your interest. Your dissertation is a significant piece of work, which will take a considerable amount of time. To sustain your interest and efforts in working on it, you must choose a topic you are passionate about.

Your career. The purpose of the dissertation is not only to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you have acquired in your studies but also to further develop your knowledge and skills in a particular topic area that you may wish to specialise in for your future career.

Considerations when choosing a research topic

As part of your considerations, you will have to determine whether you will conduct primary or secondary research. To help establish the feasibility of any research topic, you should consider the following items:

Availability of data. You will need to determine whether the appropriate data (i.e., primary or secondary) exists and whether you can access it. In addition, it will be necessary to consider whether it can be collected given the time constraints.

Availability of time. You must plan and manage your time effectively throughout the dissertation process. If the research topic looks too large and unmanageable, consider breaking your topic into smaller parts or limiting the scope of your research realistically. The time limit placed on the dissertation requires you to consider what you can achieve in your dissertation. In particular, you should consider obtaining the subject-specific literature, research skills, and the data you need to complete the research. You might, for instance, need to negotiate access to an external organisation to reach research participants or find those who meet specific criteria. You must factor these sorts of contingencies into your planning. We must ensure that you finish your dissertation to gain the final award of your MSc-IB programme. Consequently, you may need to assess the risk that the work may not be finished in the expected time scale or prove impossible to complete for some other reason.

Sensitive topics. It would be best to avoid topics involving sensitive information, potentially offensive material, or involving vulnerable participants, including those under 18 years old. We cannot approve any ethics applications involving these types of research. Proposals indicating that the research would be above the minimum risk in these ways will be revised.

Formulating the research question

Once you have established your general area of interest and have conducted some preliminary exploration of the subject field, a research question needs to be formulated. A preliminary literature review will help inform your ideas for the dissertation and the essential preparation needed to write your proposal. Start reading literature about your topic of interest at an early stage. As background reading begins, you should search for relevant articles and other secondary sources to help answer the main question. Your initial reading of selected sources should be focused on identifying the following:

The main literature themes, theories, and arguments in the topic area

The primary research on the topic

The ongoing primary debates in the literature on the topic

The research methodology commonly used to examine the topic

The significant unanswered questions in the topic area

Literature review

It is argued that we are in an ‘information age where we have immediate access to endless information and analyses on any topic we might choose to investigate. One challenge with this access to information is that we must become highly skilled as critical researchers. This means making informed judgments and assessments about the quality, credibility, and limitations of the materials we access. While we have access to lots of information, it is not of the same quality, value, or relevance. You are encouraged to use the various electronic search facilities, journal articles, and textbooks to identify and understand well-established and more recent thinking in your area of research. Reviewing the literature will inform the nature of the research questions and objectives. A critical evaluation of the literature in your chosen field of study must be undertaken to produce a clear and logical argument that informs and reflects on your research questions and objectives. A few things to remember while conducting your literature review are as follows.

Define the scope and subject of research. The literature search should be systematic and thorough. Before undertaking a literature search, you need to define the subject you are researching, hence the practice of conducting a preliminary literature search.

Keeping records. You have to keep a record of your reading material for referencing purposes. This should include the author(s), year of publication, article title, journal title, volume, issue, and page numbers. You must also record any page numbers of direct quotations you will include in your work.

Research Methodology

Methodology encompasses information about the selection of research methods, the design of data-gathering instruments, gaining access to the research site, sampling strategy, and research ethics. The dissertation planning sessions are relevant to developing your research methodology, as well as quantitative and qualitative research methods and any issues concerning the formulation of research questions. You must select appropriate methods to answer your research questions. In your methodology chapter, you are required to justify your research design and consider the limitations and implications of your chosen approach.

Piloting your data gathering and analysis is strongly recommended to ensure that your research is plausible and ethically sound. This will ensure that you can generate the results you need. Data collection is a time-consuming process. You should collect your data as soon as possible, but only after your Ethics approval. Transparency throughout the research process is also essential. You should describe as clearly as possible all decisions and considerations involved in developing your research design. You should also ensure that you can provide evidence of the source of your data collection. It is good practice to store the correspondence with organisations or individuals from whom you gather data, audios of interviews, and so forth. This material does not need to be included in the dissertation. Still, markers may ask you to provide evidence of your research, so you should retain the materials until you receive notification that you have gained a pass mark for your dissertation.

Research ethics

Ethics is critically important in social sciences research, as it promotes research aims, such as knowledge, truth, and error avoidance.

The importance of ethics.Failure to obtain ethical approval for your work will be investigated as a potential breach of Senate Regulation 11 and the university’s Research Code of Conduct. Failure to obtain ethical approval can result in a range of penalties, ranging from a formal warning to expulsion from the university, depending on the severity of the failure to obtain ethics approval. Below is a comprehensive list of the penalties.
It is essential that a dissertation can be defended on ethical grounds, so you need to consider research ethics throughout your research. You must discuss the ethical dimensions of your project with your supervisor as soon as possible and must not proceed with any data-gathering until ethical approval has been formally granted by the university's general ethics committee. You have to apply for ethics approval even if you do not conduct research with human participants.

Failure to obtain ethical approval for your work will be investigated as a potential breach of Senate Regulation 11 and the university’s Research Code of Conduct. Failure to obtain ethical approval can result in a range of penalties, ranging from a formal warning to expulsion from the university, depending on the severity of the failure to obtain ethics approval. Below is a comprehensive list of the penalties.

Ethics in academic research can be defined as “the appropriateness of your behaviour concerning the rights of those who become the subject of your research work or are affected by it” (Saunders et al., 2009, pp. 183-184).

Obtaining ethics approval. You can proceed with your data collection only after the School has formally granted Ethics approval. In your ethics application, you will need to indicate what kind of data and methodological design you need to answer your research questions.

Link for new applications

Infotenica is a new system that the University of Leicester has launched for Research Ethics, Governance and Integrity. It is a new, streamlined process for registering your research, obtaining all approvals/reviews (if required) and ensuring compliance with legislation.

Please indicate your supervisor on the online form and not the Module Leader. Initial review will take about two weeks, after which revisions may occur. Your supervisor may request that you make changes and/or revise your design or method before they approve it.

Considerations and preparations for ethical research. Informed consent means that those who participate in the research do so of their own free will without coercion or deception by the researcher, and that they have enough information to make that decision sensibly. This requires that you clearly articulate the aims of the research, who is carrying it out, what the results will be used for, etc. You also need to specify that you allow your participants to choose whether or not they participate in your study. Informed consent needs to be demonstrated through a written contract that is agreed upon by the researcher and participant. For interviews, an informed consent contract would be a written document signed and dated by the participant, who should be provided with a copy of the contract. For surveys, the first question should be an informed consent statement to which the participants are given the option to agree and acknowledge completion of the survey as giving informed consent. A sample consent form is available in the appendices. It is essential that participants:

Know who you are and how you can be contacted
Understand what the research topic is about, why it is being carried out, and what is being
asked of them
Are assured of both confidentiality and anonymity
Are told that it is their choice whether or not to take part in the study
Are informed that they are free to withdraw from the research process at any time and that
they do not have to answer any of the questions
Are asked if they consent to the reproduction of any direct quotations from what they have told you

You must maintain confidentiality and anonymity if you promise this to your participants. Furthermore, a sample participant information sheet is available in the appendices.

Data collection

Your project must incorporate primary or secondary data, or a combination of both to ensure a robust, well-supported investigation into your chosen topic. Your choice of qualitative or quantitative approaches should be guided by your research aims, objectives, and questions. 

Your methodology must be appropriate, manageable, and realistic given the time and word constraints of the project. Although mixed-method research (combining qualitative and quantitative approaches) can be valuable in large-scale research projects, it is not recommended for this project. Due to the size, scope, timeframe, and assessment weighting of this assignment, attempting to combine qualitative and quantitative methods often leads to superficial data collection and limited depth pf analysis.

Primary data refers to original information collected directly by you for the specific purposes of your dissertation. It provides first-hand evidence and insights that are directly aligned with your research objectives.

Common methods for collecting primary data include:

Surveys or questionnaires – Useful for collecting quantifiable data from a large sample, such as consumer preferences, usage patterns, or satisfaction levels.

Example: A questionnaire distributed to 100 university students to understand their spending habits on digital subscriptions.

Interviews – Suitable for exploring individual experiences, attitudes, or motivations in depth.

Example: One-on-one interviews with independent business owners to understand challenges they face in digital marketing.

Focus groups – Allow discussion-based exploration of perceptions or group opinions.

Example: A focus group with smartphone users to discuss attitudes towards data privacy.

Observations – Involves recording behaviours in natural settings.

Example: Observing customer interactions in a retail store to analyse service quality and staff responsiveness.

Case studies – In-depth analysis of a single case (e.g., a company, a campaign, a product, or a community).

Example: A case study of a start-up’s branding strategy and its effect on customer loyalty.

Experiments – Controlled interventions to test specific hypotheses.

Example: Testing the effect of two different web page designs on user engagement.

Whether quantitative or qualitative, your primary data collection must be carefully designed to ensure:

Alignment with your research objectives
Ethical considerations are addressed (e.g., informed consent)
Sampling methods are appropriate
Data is reliable and valid

Secondary data refers to information that has already been collected, analysed, and published by other researchers, organisations, or institutions. In academic research, secondary data is not simply “background reading”; it plays a critical role in shaping the direction, justification, and interpretation of your study. When used effectively, it can significantly enhance the richness, depth, and credibility of your research.

Examples of how secondary data might be used:

Using Mintel reports to understand broader market trends in the food and beverage sector

Referencing ONS statistics to contextualise the economic backdrop of your study

Reviewing academic literature to identify gaps, build your conceptual framework, or support your interpretations

Using industry publications to explore emerging trends or current issues relevant to your topic

Typical sources of secondary data include:

Academic journal articles
Books and literature reviews
Market research reports (e.g., Mintel, Statista)
Government or NGO reports (e.g., ONS, World Bank)
Industry databases and trade publications
Company websites and public financial statements
Social media or digital data analysis – Analysing user-generated content or engagement metrics

To ensure secondary data adds meaningful value to your research, you must use a sufficient range of credible and relevant sources. The volume and type of data should be appropriate to your topic and provide enough depth to establish context and support your investigation. Limited or overly narrow sourcing will weaken the robustness of your study.

Data Protection and Mandatory Training

As your dissertation involves collecting or using personal data, you must complete the University’s mandatory Data Protection training before your ethics form can be approved. Completion will be tracked, and supervisors will be able to check whether you have watched it. Failure to complete the training may delay ethics approval and your dissertation progress.

Data analysis

You have likely collected a significant amount of data at this stage of your dissertation journey. It is important to remember that in this chapter, you only present your data, while in the following chapter, you discuss those results. Some of the issues you will need to consider:

How will incomplete questionnaires be dealt with?

How will participants be identified to remain anonymous (refer to Appendices E and F)?

The content below explains the differences in analytical procedures between qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Qualitative analysis

A sample structure for the analysis chapter, if you follow a qualitative methodology (e.g., thematic analysis), is as follows:

Introduction
Socio-demographic analysis of the sample
Identification of themes and codes
Themes and sub-themes

Theme 1……
Theme 2……
Theme 3……

Thematic map
Conclusion

All themes and sub-themes should be identified concerning the research question, and it is recommended that you have 3-4 sub-themes for each central theme. Another critical point is that the title or heading for each theme should be unambiguous and between 1-3 words long at a maximum. As part of a thematic analysis, you will be expected to produce a diagram or map representing information visually. Below is an example of such a map. Main ideas, or themes, are presented in the centre, while associated ideas, or sub-themes, are arranged around them. This map helps to visually depict your themes and sub-themes and identify potential overlaps that should be removed.

Quantitative analysis

Below is a proposed structure for your analysis chapter if you follow a quantitative methodology (e.g., statistical analysis):

Introduction
Socio-demographics of the sample
Descriptive statistics. Under this section, you should report measures of central
tendency
Reliability and validity tests. Under this section, you should report tests for Cronbach's Alpha and Factor Analysis
Inferential statistics. Under this section, you should report whichever inferential statistic test is relevant to your studies, such as correlational tests, Structural equation modelling (SEM), analyses of variance (ANOVA), t-tests, regression, etc.

You should use graphs and charts to present your data visually for qualitative and quantitative analysis. For robust quantitative data analysis, a recommended statistical software is SPSS, which the university provides to download. However, for non-statistical analysis, other packages might be required.

Discussion
In this chapter, you discuss and explain the results you obtained. There are some issues you will need to consider, for example:

Are some results unexpected and not explicable by reference to the literature? Can they be explained in any other way?
Do the results fulfil the aims of your study? In what way and to what extent? Is further data required?
How has each research question been answered, or has each research objective been addressed?

For instance, if you conducted a qualitative analysis, all of your themes should be discussed in light of previous literature. You will explain the findings of your analysis in the ‘Discussion’ chapter using secondary sources. Those sources are from the previous ‘Literature Review’ chapter. However, if you have found a finding that contradicts your predictions, do NOT ignore it, but explain it using secondary sources.

Writing Up

The final dissertation is structured in the logical sequence of the research process. Depending on your chosen methodology, yours may look different from others. Writing is time-consuming, and you must ensure you have enough time to write and edit your dissertation's final version. Until you reach this stage, you may think it will take less time than it takes to write a dissertation. To make the writing more efficient, draft as many chapters as you can as early as possible. It may seem like there is another article to read and more data to gather, but if you wait until you have done everything before writing up, you will run out of time.

Most importantly, writing should be an integral part of the research process. It helps you to structure your thoughts, readings, and analysis. Thus, writing should be one of the first things you do. You must agree with your supervisor on the dates you email them drafts of your chapters. You have to allow them to return it to you with their feedback and comments for two weeks.

Structure, Style, and Format

Structure

The precise structure of the dissertation in terms of chapter headings can vary from one dissertation to another. Most dissertations, however, are likely to include the following sections.

Title page

The dissertation title is essential as it needs to indicate a few issues, such as by whom it is written, what it is about, the date of submission, and so forth. It is useful when considering a title to consider how the work may be indexed and coded for information storage and retrieval purposes. Thus, it will be helpful to consider keywords your title should incorporate. Importantly, your title needs to reflect the research you have undertaken. See appendices for a template of the title page.

Table of contents

A table of the various chapters and sections of the dissertation must be included, together with page numbers for each. A well-documented table of contents will quickly show the scope and direction of the dissertation.

Acknowledgements

A statement acknowledging all those who helped you throughout the journey, including your supervisor, peers, friends, and/or family. If relevant, you may also wish to acknowledge the help and contribution of your research participants and any collaborating firms.

Abstract

An abstract is a summary of your work. It should not include quotes or citations. It should be no more than 250 words containing the following:

An introduction telling the reader what the dissertation is about, including its research objectives and questions, and why these issues are essential to research

An overview of the methodological approach, research design, and data analysis techniques

A summary of main findings, conclusions, and recommendations

Introduction

The introduction is essential to inform the reader what the dissertation is about. It should include a statement of the research objectives and questions, the rationale for conducting this research (e.g., why your topic is essential to investigate and who will find it interesting), and indicate the structure of the dissertation. The introduction sets the scene for the rest of the dissertation and puts the whole inquiry into its proper context. A sensible way to approach the introduction is to begin with a clear definition and justification of the topic or problem to be investigated, including a statement on the international business issues involved. The introduction chapter should end with an overview of the dissertation, chapter by chapter (the introduction is usually considered chapter one).

The main body of the dissertation

The main body of the dissertation will contain several chapters, sections, and sub-sections. All of those should be identified using decimal notations whereby significant sections are given single numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4) in a sequence. The first sub-section level will follow decimal points (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 1.3), and the first sub-section will repeat the process (e.g., 1.1.1). To avoid confusion, refrain from including too many sub-sections, as this will lead to confusion and may mean that each section is too short. As a general rule, do not go beyond two decimal points. The following sections are expected as the main body of the dissertation.

Literature review (chapter two). Please bear in mind the following points when writing this chapter.

Identify the appropriate theories, models, basic concepts, and conceptual ideas.

Demonstrate an ability to describe existing research and also critically evaluate it.

Demonstrate your knowledge of critical authors, what they have written and how they
intended it to be interpreted.

Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your reviewed research papers, and highlight their significance. It would help if you also pointed out any disparity between authors, any differing points of view, and so forth.

We are looking for a coherent synthesis of the literature.

Methodology (chapter three). This chapter should include, where applicable, sections about research philosophy and approach, research methodology, sampling strategy, data gathering (survey or interview) structure, details about data collection, research framework, research steps, data analysis approaches, including the recruitment of participants and limitations, and ethical considerations.

Analysis (chapter four). This chapter should include, where applicable, how data were inspected for outliers, whether and why any data were removed, how data were coded, results of any testing, which testing was conducted, results of those tests, and so forth. The reporting and presentation of this chapter will differ depending on whether your research is quantitative or qualitative. Your analysis has to be clear, including illustration by tables, key quotes, or statistical tests if relevant.
 
After this chapter, the reader should be clear about the data upon which you base your discussion and conclusions.

Conclusions and recommendations

This chapter discusses your findings/analysis, where you need to relate your analysis to the literature review and your phenomenon of interest. Note that no new studies should be cited in this chapter. Do your findings confirm or disconfirm your framework, theory, and/or any hypotheses (if applicable) that you identified in chapter 2 (literature review)?

This chapter should summarise the outcome of your study. The conclusions must be drawn from the body of the evidence presented in the main chapters of the dissertation. Each different conclusion should be acknowledged, possibly by numeric sub-sections. The conclusions should have a direct link to the analysis and discussion. This chapter should account for the extent to which the dissertation answered the research questions. It may be used to identify problems and address opportunities you have come across as a result of your analysis. It would help if you were realistic about how your research allows you to make solid recommendations and conclusions. You should, therefore, acknowledge any limitations of your study (chapter five).

Reflections

This section will evaluate the overall research process, problems or constraints encountered during its compilation, and how these challenges were resolved. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the chosen methodology can be expected, together with an assessment of how your research and management skills have been developed. As further guidance for this section, consider how you might answer the following questions (chapter five).

How did the outcomes of the research compare with your initial expectations?
Was the research well planned and executed?
What went well, and what could have been done differently?
What was learned in terms of your experience in managing the research process?
How would you improve the dissertation in light of your experiences?

Appendices

These are optional to add and are not compulsory. Appendices may include supplementary material that is not essential to your presentation but is useful for illustration purposes. Do not include any material essential to the dissertation in the appendices. In other words, appendices are necessary where there is a lot of detailed information, which, if presented in the main body, would interrupt the flow of the dissertation. As a rule of thumb, imagine how your dissertation would read if the appendices were taken out. If the substance of your document will be affected, then the material should be in the main body of your document. Examples of material to be included in the appendices include:

A clean version of your survey or interview schedule
A copy of your letter requesting access to an organisation
A copy of the ethics approval letter
A copy of the participant consent form
Detailed tables of statistics or a series of graphs relating to your analysis; however,
remember that critical statistical tables should be included in the body of your work

Please remember that raw data (e.g., interview transcripts, software codes, software reports, etc.) are not required or expected to be included in the appendices. The appendices should be mentioned at appropriate points in the text, but please do not overdo them.

Style

In addition to ensuring that your dissertation is structured and includes all essential chapters, it should also contain the appropriate style. The style requirements are indicated below.

Tables and figures

Each table and figure needs, at the very least, an introductory sentence in your text to explain its meaning. In addition, the key findings should be highlighted and discussed in the text before summarising them in a table. In other words, do not just dump tables and graphs and expect the reader to analyse them for you. All tables, figures, charts, formulae, etc., should have appropriate titles (i.e., captions), labels, and keys. Those should be numbered sequentially as ‘Table 1-1’, ‘Table 1-2’, and so forth.

Technical terms and abbreviations

A technical term is a word or phrase that is not in general use, but that specialist scholars would understand. Your dissertation is written for an informed and specialist audience, so it will likely include such technical terms. Those terms should be explained in the dissertation. Where technical terms are contested in the literature, you should acknowledge differences and clarify and justify your position. Abbreviations should be kept to the bare minimum and only when they are in normal use in your area of research. You must write the word entirely when using an abbreviation for the first time. Where necessary, a Table of Abbreviations should be provided.

Grammar

The dissertation must be written in academic English and free from typographical and grammatical mistakes. As grammar is full of potential pitfalls and inconsistencies, particularly between the UK and American grammar, we recommend that you be consistent in your language use. For instance, if you use ‘z’ in ‘organisation’ (American spelling) rather than ‘s’ (UK spelling), you should also use
‘z’ in ‘realized.’ As your dissertation is submitted in the UK, it is strongly advised that you set your spell-checker to UK English.

Awareness of self-plagiarism

Please be aware that the dissertation MUST be an entirely new work. While we expect that you will draw on the readings, analysis, and content of many of the modules you have taken as part of your studies, you cannot copy and paste text from your previous assignments into your dissertation. That will be classed as ‘self-plagiarism’ and treated as plagiarism. Naturally, plagiarism of any variety will be penalised. Please refer to your Student Handbook for details on the University’s plagiarism policy. You are expected to develop your knowledge of a particular topic through extensive research, and we recommend that you do not rely solely on previous work or modules.

Format

The following standard is required for the submitted dissertation, and those requirements must be adhered to.

Spacing should be used for typescripts, except for indented quotations, where single spacing should be used.
Pages must be numbered consecutively throughout the text.
The cover page should be used.

Citations and quotations

Short quotations of less than 40 words should be included in the main body of the text with quotation marks. You must also provide the source of the quote. For example:

Evans et al. (2007, p.47) claim that “to be effective, marketers have to make sure that consumers are exposed to their marketing activities”.

Long quotations of 40 or more words should be indented from the left-hand margin with a line’s space above and below the quote, enclosed in quotation marks. Provide the necessary information about the source of the quote:

“Exposing consumers to a message just once may not be enough to understand or accept the message. Therefore, a message is often repeatedly delivered during a particular time period. Frequency is the number of times a message is placed or shown during a particular period of time” (Evans et al., 2007, p. 50).

The above is also an example of what not to include as a direct quotation. It is a lengthy text and should be paraphrased in your own words. For citations in the text, the author’s surname and the year of publication should be given in one of the following forms.

If the author(s) name(s) occurs naturally in the sentence, then the year is in brackets. For example:

Wanick et al. (2018) argue that if Brazilians were familiar with the visual advergames interface elements, they would have a more positive gaming experience and a more favourable attitude towards the brand promoted in the game.

If, on the other hand, the name of the author does not occur naturally in the sentence, citations should be provided in brackets. For example:

‘A recent study (Wanick et al., 2018) shows that ….’

The above were two examples of different formats to provide citations. In those examples, there are more than two authors; hence, you need to indicate all authors’ names the first time you cite them in the body of the text.

For example, Wanick, Stallwood, Ranchhod, and Wills (2018). The next time you mention the authors, abbreviate the citation by using the first author’s name followed by ‘et al.’ so that the reference should read as Wanick et al. (2018).

If the items being cited do not have an author, cite the title and date of publication or broadcast.

For example, “in the film Citizen Kane (1941), the main character …. “

The dissertation should be 12,000-15,000 words (+/-10%), excluding anything that precedes the introduction, such as the Cover Page, Table of Contents, and Abstract, and anything that follows the conclusion, such as References and Appendices. Any dissertation submitted with more words than the limit of 16,500 words (15,000 words + 10% allowance) will result in the excess not being marked. Penalties will be applied if you exceed the word limit. Please also note that writing too little may not give you the opportunity to fully fulfil the potential of your work. There will be a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the total marks available for this assessment for work exceeding the word limit. Assessments which are significantly below the word count are unlikely to answer the assignment criteria fully.

Assessment Criteria

Your supervisor and a second marker will assess each dissertation to ensure that consistent and appropriate marking standards are applied. All dissertations are judged according to five broad criteria:

The ability to construct a dissertation with clear, coherent, and well-defined research questions. It should be clear to the reader what the context of the inquiry is. The topic or problem should be clearly explained from the outset (i.e., Introduction chapter)

The ability to discuss and critique relevant literature. Relevant previous work should be reviewed and appraised. The dissertation should demonstrate the ability to evaluate and use relevant sources critically.

The ability to discuss and justify the methodology used. The methodology should be adequately explained and appropriate to the research topic and the data needed to explore it. Reasons for using particular techniques should be explained. Data must be relevant to the dissertation.

Critical understanding and analysis. The dissertation should demonstrate rigour in the analysis. There should be a high standard of interpretive skills in analysing and understanding the investigation results.

The ability to evaluate the implications and limitations of your study. The final chapter should discuss what was learned about applying the concepts and techniques in the dissertation. This should include an appraisal of the enhanced research competencies, reflections on successes or failures of the research process, and any areas that require further investigation. To meet these criteria, a good dissertation will:

Focus on a topic that is of interest to international business scholars
Clearly explain and defend its research questions
Critically review the appropriate literature to make its academic contribution clear
Consider and address any ethical issues arising from the research
Make clear conclusions based on robust data and analytical techniques
Offer critical reflections on the research implications and limitations
Contain accurate referencing throughout
Be well-written, logically structured, and carefully presented

In addition to the above criteria, the dissertation will be marked according to the School’s postgraduate marking criteria, which can be found in the appendices.