Researching & Writing a Dissertation
Dr Paul McElheron
www.scba.dk
Things you shouldn’t say at
your dissertation defence
Differences – Dissertations
& Assignments
• The Dissertation differs from
Assignments:
• You need to demonstrate you can identify an
appropriate research question
• You have to demonstrate you know some thing
about research methods
• Requires a critical review of existing literature
The Dissertation at a
Glance
• About 15,000 words (+/- 10%)
• Individual research into a management
issue of your choice
• In 2 parts – dissertation proposal (15% of
the marks) and dissertation
• Graded as assignments
Covered in this
session:
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Project proposal
The dissertation process
Getting started – choosing a topic
Research methods
Writing the dissertation
Referencing
Workshop / any questions
What the
Dissertation is NOT
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Not a purely work-based project
Not the “Last Word”
Not an extended essay
Not “Research First-Think Later”
Not statistics for the sake of statistics
What the Project
Might be…
• A “why” question that requires analysis
• An emphasis upon problem solving
research
• The problem clearly defined
• A method of solution discovered
You Are Being Asked
to Do the Following
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Identify & define a research question
Critically review existing literature
Design a piece of research
Analyse, present & discuss
Project Proposal
• 15% of the total project mark
• Minimum 2000 words
• Project Tutors will advise on scope and
feasibility
Project Proposal
Framework
• Use the University Dissertation Proposal
Pro-Forma
• Background and overview
• Statement of issue and research
objectives
• Methodology
• Analysis
• Structure of final project
• Time schedule
• Can be submitted online
The Dissertation
Process
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Research Question
Literature Review
Research Design
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Conclusions
Implications
What is a
Dissertation?
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A major piece of work 15,000 words
Chosen individually
Likely to include an empirical* element
Likely to be academic research
A “why” question – problem based
Difficult?
 Knowledge based on experience & observation
Why you are asked to
do a dissertation
• Sharpen your information gathering,
critical & analytical skills
• Enhance your subject specific knowledge
• Relate academic theories to real world
problems
• Develop transferable skills
Choosing a Topic (1)
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Personal interests & relevance
Further your knowledge & development
Of value to your organisation (possibly)
Durability/substance
Topic adequacy
A future/immediate career orientated choice
Access
Feasibility
Micro-politics
Resources
Choosing a Topic (2)
• Choose something manageable
• Choose something interesting
• Choose something which doesn’t overlap
too much with other assessments you
have submitted
• Discuss your choice
The topic needs to
be:
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Interesting to you
Feasible
Course-related
Academic
Analytical
Six stage process for
choosing a topic
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Identify broad topic & academic discipline
Determine the scope
Brainstorm issues, puzzles & questions
Map and structure the issues
Conduct a reconnaissance
Frame your research question
Consider
Formulating the Title
as a Question
• Is an Academic Education the Best
Preparation for a Career in the Senior
Management?
• How Far Can Western Management
Training Practices be Used to Develop the
Asia-Manager?
Planning your work
• When do you want to have each chapter
completed?
• How much time will you need for primary
research?
• When must all research work be completed?
• How much time will you need for writing up?
• Will you need your dissertation bound in any
way?
How Long Does it
Take?
• Organisation of ideas
is the hard bit
• You will find
weaknesses/flaws
only when you start to
write up – state them
• Allow 30% of time for
writing up
• 4-6 months?
What is Research?
• Research is an
Original Contribution
to Knowledge
• Your must show two
(maybe three) things:
 Identification of an
unanswered question
 Evidence of analysis
 The Answer!
Fundamental
concerns
• Four categories of information sought:
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Attitudes or what people see/understand
Beliefs what people think is true, (stronger than attitudes)
Behaviour or what people do
Attributes or what people are
• Validity – the degree to which we are measuring what we
need to measure
• Reliability
Research
Terminology
• Methods &
Methodology
• Empirical research vs
theoretical
• Epistomology
Epistemology – what
constitutes valid knowledge and
how can we obtain it?
• Positivism – social
researcher as a
scientist
• Facts not values
• Theory testing
• Phenomenology –
social researcher as
a detective
• Values play a
significant part
• Theory building
The Methodological
Continuum
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Phenomenology
Theory-Building
Qualitative
5 Depth face-to-face
interviews
• High response rates
expected
• More analytical
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Positivism
Theory Testing
Quantitative
500 closed-ended
postal questionnaires
• Low response rate
expected
• More design /
implementation work
Choice of Research
Methods
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Data search
Interviews
Questionnaires
Panels, including
focus groups
• Observation
• Delphi technique
The Methodology
Chapter
• Need to show knowledge of
methodological debates
• Examiners look closely at this
• Shows what you learned about the
process of research itself
Research design –
the University
expects…
• Awareness of different approaches
• Clear justification of the approach taken
• Description of approach, (sampling,
collection, analysis & presentation
• Critical presentation of the methodology
• Demonstrates an understanding of the
approach taken
Sources of
Information
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Academic journals – the gold standard
Working Papers – most peer reviewed
Books
Non-academic journals – standards vary
Consultancy reports – use for context only
Newspapers – use for context only
The internet
Selecting the
Research Method
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What information is needed?
How will it be collected?
How accurate will it be?
Will the methods get all the information?
Will the information appear credible?
Will the participants conform?
Who will administer the methods?
How can the information be analysed?
Sampling Plan
• Sampling unit – who
will be surveyed?
• Sample size – how
many shall be
surveyed?
• Sampling procedure –
how should
respondents be
chosen?
Approaches to the
main research
methods
Unstructured
Structured
Interviews
In-depth, open
Keep to script, answer
options
Panels
Focus groups
Delphi
Questionnaire
Research diary
Tick boxes
Observation
Research diary
Observation
schedule, Activity
sampling
Data search
Search engine
Primary/secondary
Interviewing
• Several types,
arranged, intercept,
structured
• Very versatile
• Can record additional
observations
• Expensive
• Susceptible to
interviewer bias
Questionnaires advantages
• Relatively inexpensive
• Can reach people at long
distance
• Avoids interviewer bias
• Anonymity possible
• Response quality may be
better, (respondents may
gather & consult sources)
Questionnaires disadvantages
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Low response rates
Difficult to develop rapport
No opportunity to probe or clarify
Strong tendency to give answers
that are socially, desirable, make
the respondent look good, please
the researcher
• Can the respondent provide a
meaningful answer?
• Biased response?
• Easy to critique
Focus Group
Research
• A gathering of 6-10 people
invited to spend a few hours
with a skilled moderator to
discuss a product, service,
organisation or marketing
entity.
• Start with a broad question,
encourage free & easy
discussion, hoping that group
dynamics will reveal deep
feelings and thoughts.
Focus Groups advantages
• Use homogenous groups, similar needs &
interests
• Good for ascertaining interest or
acceptance
• Suited to motivational research, attitudes,
perceptions
• Used as a prelude to more sophisticated
techniques
Focus Groups disadvantages
• Is it real research?
• Biased participation?
• Nature and direction of
discussion led by the
most articulate or
aggressive
• Conclusions have to be
inferred by reading the
discussion
• Results cannot be
quantified, (small sample)
Observational
Research
• Fresh data can be
gathered by
observing
• Can obtain findings
not accessible by
other methods
Common errors
made in Research
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Selective observation
Inaccurate observation
Over-generalisation
Made-up information
Ex post facto hypothesising
Illogical reasoning
Ego involvement in
understanding
• Premature closure of inquiry
• Mystification
Delphi Technique
• A forecasting method
• A group decision making tool
– reaps the benefit of group
decision making while
insulating the process from
group decision making
• Aids decision making in a
political of emotional
environment
• Useful where decisions affect
strong factions with opposing
views, conflicting goals
• Works formally or informally
Common errors
made in research
• I found a juicy data set and accidentally found that serial
killers all had telephone numbers with the number 13 in
them. I then decided that fear of the number 13 makes
people into serial killers, wrote a book about my findings
and became famous.
• What error of human enquiry is NOT present in this
scenario?
• Ex post facto hypothesizing
• Illogical reasoning
• Made-up information
• Inaccurate observation
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Standard format of a
dissertation: 6
chapters
Executive summary
Contents
Introduction
(1000-1500)
Theory/Literature review (2500-3000)
Research methods
(1500-2000)
Data description, presentation of findings (25003000)
• Analysis & interpretation of findings (3500-4000)
• Conclusions, recommendations, reflections
(1000-1500)
• References
Writing the
Dissertation
• The marker will be less
knowledgeable on detail
than you
• Explain motivations,
goals, methodology,
make no assumptions,
apart from basics
• Get feedback,
(supervisors, friends,
fellow students – give
feedback too).
Ideas for the
Introduction
• A clear statement of your subject
• An explanation of why the research is
worthwhile
• An outline of the methods used
• An indication of the limitations of the study
• A summary of the chapters to follow
• Thanks to any person or agency who gave
you special help
Ideas for the
Chapters
• Each one should answer a major question
• Each chapter should contain lots of answers to
smaller questions
• Use sub-headings to guide the reader
• Develop points carefully, step by step
• Each chapter should make sense if read on its
own
• Give chapters introductions and conclusions as
well
Writing Style
Revisited
• A review of good
practice…
A Well Written
Dissertation..
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Has an appropriate structure – it flows
Has headings and sub-headings
Includes research methods & background information
Demonstrates evidence of a wide range of information
sources
Includes reference to relevant theory, correctly
referenced
Uses both qualitative and quantitative sources of
information
Is “analytical” rather than descriptive
Uses tables, figures and models to support the narrative
Makes appropriate recommendations and conclusions
Style of the
Dissertation
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Use a title page and number the pages
Put in a ”contents” list
Do what you say you will do in the introduction
Footnotes not recommended
Use quotes from opposing views
Quotes and paraphrasing work well together
Avoid excessive use of “bullet points”
Plagiarism – don’t do it
Writing Style
• Personal
• Academic
• Information comes from the
writer’s experience
• Personal feelings and views
• Information comes from a
range of sources
• Evidence & argument, citing &
referencing others work
• Comments, evaluates,
analyses
• Subject specific vocabulary
• “I” as observer & commentator
• Recounts, tells a personal
story
• Non-technical vocabulary
• “I” at the centre
Language to Avoid
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Obviously
Research shows..
It is true that..
This proves..
Where does this lead
us?
• It’s a well known fact
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“I”, “we”, “you”
I think
I feel
Good, bad, normal
Contractions
Jargon
Language to use
• “this suggests..”
• “it is plausible..”
• This argument appears reasonable \
unreasonable because..
• Use the terminology!
A Word about
Word Count
• Approximately 15,000 words – stick to the
format
• The word count starts after the contents
page and ends before the references
• Words in the appendix don’t count
• Words in models don’t count
Literature Review
• The University will
expect…
• Normally 40-50 credible
references
• Harvard system referencing
throughout
• Use of original sources where
possible
• Avoid the Heathrow library!
References
• Closely tied to the review
done early in the
dissertation
• Markers usually check
out this section early on
and will form preliminary
assessment notions early
• References must appear
in the main body
Requirements for
Referencing
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Assertions or statements of fact
Theories views or arguments
Where information came from
Who created the information
Who collated the information
When to Reference
I.
II.
Brahm’s wrote four symphonies
Brahm’s compositions were driven by unrequited love
III.
IV.
Harry Potter was a wizard
The Harry Potter books constitute a danger to the
moral fabric of youth
Types of
Referencing
• Quotations
• Paraphrasing
• Using your own words
Examples
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QUOTATION: “… to which the automatic human reaction is helpless discouragement. But for the
successful leader failure is the beginning, the springboard of hope.” (Bennis and Nanus, 1985,
p.71).
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PARAPHRASE: Failure is finality, a dead feeling of helpless discouragement. For the successful
leader, failure can be the springboard to a new beginning, (Bennis & Nanus, 1985).
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OWN WORDS: Bennis and Nanus (1985) point out that effective leaders react to failure differently
than other people. Rather than becoming de-motivated and discouraged as most people do,
leaders see failure as a challenge which rousers them to greater efforts and stimulates hope for a
brighter future.
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REFERENCE: Bennis, W., and Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge
New York: Harper & Row, p.71.
An Ideal List of
References
• Sources from the
recommended reading
• Recognised leaders in
the field
• Some up-to-date sources
• Something the marker
has not yet read
• Contextualised
information
Conclusions
• Short concise statements of
inferences made as a result of
work done (numbered
subsections ?)
• Must be directly related to the
research question/problems
raised
• Markers will scrutinise this section
• Future research – useful to
people following in your tracks
Recommendations
• Suggest ways of
solving the problems
• How the
recommendations link
to the aims of the
dissertation
• Timescale and
ressource allocation
• Should flow logically
from the conclusions
Reflections
• Analysis & evaluation
of the research
process
• Strengths &
weaknesses of the
dissertation
• Problems or
constraints
encountered
Think of the Marker
• Make no unreasonable
assumptions about the
marker
• Don’t bore the marker
• Markers hate to work hard on
trivia, (to understand poorly
named sections, organise
themselves from your work,
wade through bad grammar).
• Create a good impression
• Refer to QAA Assessment
criteria for M Level
Appendices
• Designed to let you include material not fitted
easily into any chapter
• Important material referred to in more than one
chapter
• Does not count against word count
• Material which casts light on work done but
would impede the clear delivery of ideas
• Mathematical proofs unless prime focus
• Huge tables of data
• Lengthy company profiles
Support - Blackboard
• Announcements
• ULMC staff
• Project guidelines /
support materials
• Library / external links
• Discussion boards
• Study skills
• Example
dissertations
The Pub Bore Test
• Write an interesting
account of your
dissertation, in a few
sentences, that you
could use when
someone in the pub
asks, “What is your
research about?” It has
to be something to
catch the listeners
attention.
Why writing a dissertation is harder
than having a baby
• Conceiving a baby is way more fun
that conceiving a topic
• You know exactly how long
pregnancy takes
• Everyone will admire your baby
• No one will complain that your
baby is too similar to another one
• You can borrow other peoples stuff
without it being called plagiarism
You’re Almost
There…