Reference no: EM133653844 , Length: word count:17000

Dissertation - ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW

A PG dissertation should report an investigation of a business or management related research
question which...
reflects the strategic management or international focus of the programme;
is based on current research literature and current concerns; and
contributes to developing business practice and new knowledge.

You should make good use of the learning and development opportunities provide by the Business Research Methods module and the research design skills you gained from that module. Reflect whether you can, should and want to follow up the research question chosen in the Business Research Methods module or not.

Research Question and context

State your research question; explain why and how answering it will add new aspect or knowledge to the discipline; briefly describe context and list journal discussions that the question and theme relates to. Provide a brief discussion of the specific research objectives to be investigated. You may have relevant materials from the Business Research Methods module that you could work on for this section.
Literature mind map (c. 400 words)

Enclose a visual mind map and explain this mind map. Demonstrate how your project addresses new aspects as compared to prior literature. You may have relevant materials from the Business Research Methods module that you could work on for this section.
The map itself (graphical illustration) is not included in the word count.
Investigative approach (c. 700 words)

This should cover the following areas, as appropriate:

what is your purpose of theory building: develop new theory, reconfirm/test theory, reconsider dated theories, action-based not theory agenda? Why is that research needed?

what data (evidence/information) you aim to obtain in relation to your research question and what are the sources for such data/evidence/information?

your approach to sampling: whom, how and when will you approach?
It is advisable to write this section from scratch and not start off from your Business Research Methods (BRM) module, as that module has taught you better practices and techniques and by the learning gain from that module, students are usually equipped with the skills to conduct a much more systematic approach in their dissertation. The request to compare two different methods in the BRM module is different from the request from this module.

Introduction, context and research problem
Is the research question clearly stated and shown to be worth investigating?
Has appropriate background information been provided with special terms and concepts defined?
Are the research objectives (sub-questions or hypotheses) clear, relevant, coherent and achievable?
Do objectives etc. go beyond mere description, i.e. do they involve explanation, comparison, criticism or evaluation?

Literature review
Has a comprehensive range of relevant literature been used to discuss relevant concepts, models and theories?
Are the sources used up to date, and of sufficient academic weight?
Does the dissertation give evidence of a critical attitude towards source material?
Are the key themes and issues surrounding the research questions clearly drawn from the literature?
Have sources been acknowledged and cited?

Research design and methodology
Has the project successfully sought ethical approval and in good time before any data collection was started?
Is there a clear rationale for the research design and methodology adopted?
Are the research methods fully described and the advantages and disadvantages of chosen methods discussed?
Are any constraints or limitations identified?
Are the relevant research instruments (e.g. blank questionnaire, interview questions etc) included in the appendices? Are the research instruments well designed with all questions etc. relevant to research objectives?
Are sampling methods described in detail? I.e. who the respondents are, how many there are and how they were selected?

Are data analysis methods discussed?
Is there evidence of care and accuracy in the data collection process? Are reliability and validity issues addressed?
Has the methodology been critically evaluated in retrospect?

Results, analysis and evaluation of findings
Is all data presented relevant to aims and objectives?
Is the analysis thorough and appropriate to the data collected?
For questionnaires: Do the appendices contain a data matrix, and details of statistical analysis undertaken? Is statistical analysis correctly performed and interpreted?
For interviews, focus groups, etc.: Do the appendices contain data collected and analysed such as interview transcripts? Has qualitative data been systematically analysed?
For document, archive and other public data: Has the validity and reliability of the sources been addressed? Has quantitative or qualitative data been systematically analysed?
Are the findings presented clearly and interestingly for the reader, with useful tables and charts embedded in the text and with the appendices being used appropriately for bulky and/or less interesting/essential data?
Have the findings been discussed and evaluated?
Have the findings of the primary research been compared with findings, theories, models and concepts derived from the literature review?

Conclusions and recommendations
Have the research objectives (research questions) been reviewed and addressed?
Do the conclusions and recommendations follow on from the findings? Are they well- grounded in the evidence and arguments presented?
Has the relevance of the conclusions for management been discussed?
Are the conclusions and recommendations discussed in context and are they more widely applicable?

Presentation, structure and writing
Is the overall style and presentation of the dissertation in accordance with that specified in the assessment brief, i.e. cover pages, title page, word count, spacing, chapter and section headings, pagination, appropriate font, font size and font style.
Has the field work been documented appropriately in the appendix?
Have sources been cited properly, in accordance with the Harvard format? Is the references list at the end of the dissertation complete and formatted in the Harvard format?
Is the writing clear and in an appropriate academic style?
Is the title concise and appropriate?

Has the dissertation been spelling and grammar checked?
Is the contents page clear, concise and logically numbered?
Are appendices, tables and figures numbered and listed in the contents page?
Are all appendices referred to in the text?