What exactly is a dissertation?

 

A READ THROUGH FOR THE DISSERTATION(WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW)

1       Referencing Style

There is no set referencing style for your dissertation but you should consult with your supervisor on the most appropriate style for your programme of study and follow a recognised standard system such as Harvard or British Standard.

2       Expected size of the submission

The length of your written dissertation should be typically in the range 10,000 – 12,000 words including the abstract but excluding the references and appendices. Further guidance on the format and layout of the dissertation is provided in the project guide. There is also a Word template for the Dissertation that is made available on the module site.  Your project viva will usually last no more than 30 minutes with 10-15 minutes of presentation and 10-15 minutes of questions. The viva can also be used to demonstrate any practical products/applications/experiments that have formed part of the project.

2.1     Dissertation Contents

Your dissertation should include the following elements:

TITLE PAGE

ABSTRACT

CONTENTS PAGE

Chapters usually including

1.     Introduction

2.     Literature Review

3.     Practical Work

4.     Results, Analysis and Evaluation

5.     Project Evaluation

6.     Conclusions and Recommendations

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

The chapters in bold must be included.
The exact title and contents of the chapters in italics will depend on the nature of the project. See below for more details

1.1.1     Abstract

The Abstract should be a single paragraph of 200- 250 words summarising the project. It should include the following:

·       Motivation for the Project

·       Research Aim/Hypothesis

·       Research Approach

·       Key Findings

·       Conclusions

The job of the abstract is to summarise the project in a way that allows the reader to decide whether the report is relevant to them, and whether they should read it.

1.1.1     Introduction

The Introduction should provide an introduction to the main report. It should include a short discussion on each of the following:

·       Motivation for the project

·       Research Aim/Hypothesis

·       Planned Research Approach

It should not discuss the main results and conclusions from the research project. These will appear in the main report and be summarised in the Conclusions and Recommendations Chapter.

The Introduction should also include an explanation of the structure of the rest of the report.

The two main functions of the Introduction chapter is to introduce the main ideas and approach for the research and signpost the reader to the relevant chapters for each different element of the research study.

Please Note: You should not write the introduction and abstract until you have completed the entire project

1.1.1      Literature Review

The literature review chapters should each concentrate on one particular aspect of the background. It is a review, not a survey, which means that it should not be a collection of all previous literature in the field, but instead should be a careful selection of relevant papers and a critical review and evaluation of these, which has a logical structure and provides a coherent argument and background to your proposed study.

The research aim/hypothesis should be the natural conclusion of the literature review. In other words, it should follow clearly and logically from your review why your chosen aim/hypothesis is worth investigating (and answering). For example, because it fills a hole in existing research, or corroborates previous work, or tries a variant of previous research

1.1.2      Practical Research Work

This should discuss any practical work done. If a significant product is built then this should include a discussion of each stage of the product development life cycle, including:

·       Definition of requirements

·       Design of product

·       Implementation/build

·       Testing

Along with consideration of any tools and technologies used. Similarly, if your practical research work has consisted of experimental work, then this should include a discussion of each stage of the experimental process including:

·       Definition of experimental variables and other requirements

·       Design of experiments

·       Implementation

·       Collection of Results

Along with consideration of any tools and technologies used.

The discussion should also outline the choices made, along with any alternatives considered and the reasons for those choices.

This section should also outline the key legal, social, ethical and professional considerations, and also if there are any security issues of note and how these are going to be addressed.

1.1.1      Results, Analysis and Evaluation

The content of these chapter(s) depend on the nature of the project but the overall idea is to determine how well you have met your original research aim/hypothesis. For a development type product, this should include an analysis of to what extent the product created – or the method used to create the product – meets some set of evaluation criteria. In such cases this chapter should discuss the choice of criteria, how they were measured, and the results. In the case of experimental projects, this chapter should include an analysis of the results of the experiments, including some consideration of their statistical significance and reliability. For more qualitative studies, this chapter should include an analysis of the findings from the data, including consideration of their depth, reliability and significance. You should also discuss anything that might have happened during the study that might have affected your main results and findings.

Finally, you should discuss how your findings contribute to the wider academic body of knowledge, and compare your results/findings/hypotheses with those of others, particularly those studies you included in your earlier literature review.

1.1.2      Project Evaluation

This should evaluate two aspects: the quality of the research itself and the journey you have gone through.

For the research itself, consider how well each objective was met and how successful was each stage of the project. For example:

·       How effective was the literature review? Is it possible that there were relevant techniques or issues that were ignored?

·       Were there alternative aims/hypotheses that could have been tested?

·       For developmental projects, what other evaluation criteria could have been considered?

·       For experimental studies, how complete were the experimental results; how reliable are the conclusions?

·       For more qualitative studies, how robust was the data collection and analysis; how reliable is the data and were there any limiting factors?

You should then evaluate and reflect on your own learning journey. What have you learnt by doing the project. What worked well, what could have been improved? You should also evaluate the key ethical, legal, social, security and professional considerations for your project and how well you addressed these.

1.1.1      Conclusions and Recommendations

The conclusions should present the answer to the original research question, along with any other conclusions reached along the way (for example, about the best choice of tools or technologies). There should be no ‘surprises’ in this chapter: each conclusion should have been noted and evidenced elsewhere in the dissertation.

Recommendations should also be included for further research, for any possible practical applications, or any recommendations for future practice.

1.2     Dissertation Layout and Format

Dissertations are required to be written in a standard format, to ensure consistent lengths and to make marking easier. A dissertation template is included on Blackboard to make this process easier. You should use this whenever possible

1.2.1     Layout

Paper size: A4, printed on both sides of the paper in a clear 12-point font. The paper should be of good quality and not be transparent.

Margins: At least 20mm should be left all round with a sufficient left-hand margin to allow binding.

Spacing:  One and a half spacing should be used throughout, except for indented quotations or footnotes, where single spacing is sufficient.

Pagination: Pages should be numbered consecutively throughout the dissertation, including preliminaries and appendices.

1.2.2     Preliminary material

The title page should state:

·       the full title and sub-title

·       the full name of the author, including forenames

·       the name of the supervisor

·       the name of the second marker

·       the qualification for which the dissertation is submitted

·       the name of the institution

·       the department in which the work was conducted

·       the year of submission

The title should describe the subject matter accurately and comprehensively as it may subsequently appear in bibliographies which will be consulted by other research workers.

The declaration provided in the dissertation template should immediately follow the title page. Please make sure you complete the word count.

An abstract of the dissertation, between 200 and 250 words, should then be included. The abstract should occupy one side of one sheet, be clearly typed or printed and headed with the author and title of the dissertation.

The table of contents should immediately follow the abstract and list, with page numbers, all the chapters and subdivisions that are included in the dissertation.

1.1.1     Main text of dissertation

This should be divided into numbered chapters each with a clear title.

1.1.2     List of References

This should be a list of sources that have been referenced in the text. This should use a standard referencing system such as Harvard or British Standard. If you are uncertain what to use, please consult your supervisor.

1.1.3     Appendices

Appendices should be numbered and given a descriptive title. The research proposal should be included as Appendix A. Your ethics form should be included as Appendix B. Experimental results, design documentation, coding, etc can also be included as appendices. There is usually no need to include all this information – only the parts that are relevant to the discussion. Full details can normally be included on an accompanying CD/DVD.

1.1.4     Footnotes

Footnotes should be identified in the text by numbers and place the notes in numerical order at the foot of the page 

1.1.5     References and Quotation

References may be cited in the text in a number of ways.  The Harvard system simply states the name(s) of the author, followed by the date of the publication.

            ... a popular Pascal text by Findlay and Watt (1985) is employed ...

If there are more than two authors, you simply state the name of the first author on the publication followed by et al and the date of publication in brackets.

... according to findings by Benedict et al. (1993) ...

All text in the dissertation should be your own. If you wish to quote some text from another source, it must be clearly indicated, or you will be considered to have plagiarised. To quote text from another source:

Small quotes: This applies if you wish to quote a single sentence, or less. Include the text inside your own words inside quotation marks. Italicise the text and put the reference in brackets afterwards. For example:

It is indisputable that “ACS is more effective if the ants start at different cities” (Smith, 2016) …

Large quotes: This applies to any quote that is more than a single sentence. The text should be inserted as a separate paragraph to your own text. The paragraph should be indented, and possibly use a different and/or italicised font. The quote should be clearly referenced at the bottom. For example:

“The structure of the construction industry is large and diverse with its most substantial sector represented by small and medium-sized organisations (SMEs).  Many of these organisations are engaged in small scale developments or repair and maintenance work where the majority of those employed are directly involved in work operations.  The very nature of such work may not immediately highlight the use of ICT as a priority, but the small scale contracts of short duration coupled with the constant requirements of mobility to maintain work continuity would suggest that mobile and wireless solutions would be ideally suited to their needs.  It is this sector of the industry where wireless solutions would prove beneficial.”

 (Strachan and Stephenson 2008)

 

Very large quotes: Quotes of more than six sentences should not be used, unless your supervisor has indicated that it is safe to do so.