Dissertation structure
If you choose an individual project based on a question of your choice or from the suggested topics, (and agreed by the project leader) you should follow the structure below:
Title Page:
The Title of the project: This should reflect the specific focus of the project.
Student number(s): your NAME(S) must NOT appear in the project;
Course name and year of submission.
Executive summary: maximum 300 words (not included in the words count) – a summary of the project aim, approach, and results.
Table of Content Page
This page lists the main parts of the project together with their page numbers.
Introduction (Chapter 1 – 500 words) – In this section you will frame your research topic. You will set out the main reasons why your chosen topic is worth researching and what you hope to achieve. How will your research focus make a contribution to the business context (i.e. a company’s goals) and the existing literature? This should be followed by the main research question/project aim. This will be in the form of 3 SMART objectives to narrow the focus. This should be followed by a brief description of what the upcoming chapters will be about, your research approach and your key conclusion.
Literature review (Chapter 2 -1000 words) – You should critically review the literature relevant to the objectives of the project. This will involve a concern for both seminal and contemporary literature, with alternative perspectives outlined and arguments discussed.
Research Methods (Chapter 3 – 900 words) – Here, you will discuss the research methods used. This will involve a discussion of qualitative or quantitative research, sampling, reliability and validity, analysis of data and limitations of the research method used. Secondary research may be used such as company reports, company web sites, and newspaper and journal articles. It is important that you comment on the validity and reliability of such data. It is also important that ethical issues in researching and managing your project are also considered.
The Findings / Discussion (Chapter 4 -2100 words). Here, you will present your key findings. If you are doing quantitative analysis, you will present and analyse your statistics. You may also include graphs, charts and tables to support your arguments. Each graph, chart and table must be numbered and clearly titled. Each should be about half a page and be clear for the reader to see. If you are doing qualitative analysis, extracts from the interviews you conducted should be presented (these should be in italics and in “speech marks”) to highlight the themes that will be evident from the interviews.
When writing up you must ‘synthesize’ the above findings. This requires you to critically analyse them with reference to the existing literature and in relation to your project aim and objectives. The key to achieving success is to ensure that you contextualise your discussion with reference to the literature that supports your arguments.
Conclusion (Chapter 5 – 500 words). This chapter will include recommendations in terms of managerial implications based on your research findings.
The Appendix
Bibliography / Reference list: Referenced publications are listed in the bibliography alphabetically by author’s surname using the Harvard System.
Diagrams, figures and graphs which are too large for the text should be provided in this section.
Reflection – 1000 WORDS
Reflection report.
