A READ THROUGH FOR THE DISSERTATION(WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW)
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
2.1.1
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.
2.1.2
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
2.1.3
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
2.1.4
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.
2.1.5
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.
2.1.6
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.
2.1.7
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.
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
2.2.1
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.
2.2.2
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.
This should be divided into numbered
chapters each with a clear title.
2.2.4
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.
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.
Footnotes should be identified in the text
by numbers and place the notes in numerical order at the foot of the page
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.
