BEMM251 DISSERTATION IN MANAGEMENT 2022-23
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2022-23
BEMM251
MODULE INFORMATION HANDBOOK
MODULE TITLE: DISSERTATION IN MANAGEMENT
DISSERTATION IN MANAGEMENT (BEMM251)
Writing a dissertation allows you to consider, in-depth, a management topic. A dissertation demands self-motivation and good organisational skills. You are expected to show initiative in choosing your topic of study and in executing the research. You will receive guidance from your supervisor.
There are two dissertation proposals to be submitted– one formative and one summative.
Formative proposal
The formative submission should be 800-1,000 words long. It should include a summary of your topic and suggest specific questions from this topic that your dissertation might cover. You must include a review of at least three academic articles related to your initial proposal. Your proposal must follow the structure of the initial dissertation proposal form (see Appendix 1). Once you have submitted your proposal you will be allocated a supervisor (if not already agreed) who will give guidance on the focus of the dissertation and help you to develop a full research proposal. Please upload an electronic version of the proposal on ELE. Initial proposals do NOT directly contribute to your final mark on your dissertation inas much as this stage is formatively assessed only.
Summative proposal
The final dissertation proposal should be around 1,200 words. In your final proposal you should confirm your dissertation title and develop your initial ideas, giving further detail on your proposed dissertation content, your research questions and how you will address them. Your proposal should follow the structure of the final dissertation proposal form (see Appendix 2 in module handbook). You are strongly recommended to utilise the Easter vacation to finalise your research proposal. You are required to upload an electronic version of your final proposal through BART. Final proposals contribute to 10% of the total mark for the module.
Dissertation submission
An electronic version of your dissertation must be uploaded online. The Turnitin link will be made available for this purpose a couple of weeks prior to the submission deadline. It will therefore be possible for students to submit drafts prior to the due date for the final submission. Please note that it may take Turnitin up to 24 hours to process each submission and to generate the originality report.
Do not leave any submission until the last possible moment in case of technological difficulties. You are encouraged to submit at least a few hours in advance.
Extensions and mitigation are two separate processes and you cannot have both for the same assessment.
• Extensions are granted before the deadline. No extensions are granted unless supported by written evidence. Extension requests must be in writing to the Student and Education Services (SES) and are only considered if supported by the appropriate evidence. Please emailbusiness-school-mitigation@ex.ac.ukfor further information
• Mitigation can be considered after the deadline if your studies or assessments are affected by a significant problem. Mitigation can be used to request consideration for poor performance in coursework or examinations. Applications for mitigation will not be considered until supporting evidence is provided. If you have any questions or concerns about mitigation then please email SES -[email protected].
Students will need to complete an e-Ethics application form. The Business School Research Ethics Page [http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1978] has a link to the e-Ethics Application Site and a user guide for applicants.
Application process:
• All students conducting empirical data collection must complete an ethical review of their research.
• Applications are made using the Business School e-Ethics link, which can be accessed from the Business School Ethics Page (see link, above).
• When students have applied online by following the e-Ethics Application process, the supervisor will be alerted by email and asked to review the application.
• Applications must contain attachments of any survey questions, interview protocols, consent forms, information sheets, other guides or statements made to participants, collaboration agreements with employers/organisations, non-disclosure agreements and evidence that access has been granted to organisations that you are seeking to access (e.g. emails of approval from CEOs etc). Applications without the correct documentation will be declined by your supervisor and the Research Ethics Committee.
Timing of ethics application:
• Please apply as early as possible. You should aim to create an ethics application online by 12th May 2023. Applications received in August-September are unlikely to be approved. In a previous year over 30 applications made in August and September were not approved – you have been warned.
• Please note that retrospective approval cannot be granted. Applications made after data has already been collected will be rejected. You will NOT be permitted to use any data that has been collected without gaining ethical approval.
Track A vs Track B research:
• Track B research is unlikely to be approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Track B research takes a longer period to review and the high level of risk means that specialist training or experience will be required for you to undertake this kind of research.
• Track A research will initially be reviewed and authorised by your supervisor. It will then be independently reviewed by the research ethics committee. Your supervisor and independent reviewer may ask for changes to be made to your application before approval is granted.
Ethics contact
For questions regarding Ethics please contact Dr. Steven Boyne: [email protected] who is the Departmental Research Ethics Officer for the Department of Management or Beth Kewell: [email protected]who is the Departmental Research Ethics Officer for the Department of
SITE. If you are unsure which to contact, ask your supervisor which department they are in and submit accordingly.
What topic should I choose for my dissertation?
There is no one standard way to write a masters dissertation. The finished articles take different forms and are necessarily marked according to different criteria. However, irrespective of the approach you take you need to remember that the outcome must be an account of a piece of substantial original research undertaken into a management issue. This means that you must either to analyse original pieces of information (primary data), or existing information (secondary data) within an original framework, against objectives.
The dissertation you submit will be around 8,000-10,000 word long (excluding appendices, bibliography, glossary), which comprise chapters or 'parts'that achieve the following:
i) A clear statement either of a hypothesis or hypotheses that you wish to test or research questions that you are going to set out to answer. You are recommended not to set more than three of either.
ii) Discussion of the underlying rationale for your study. What practical and / or academic debates are you going to contribute to? How is your dissertation positioned vis-a-vis existing literature in your field?
iii) A critical review of existing literature in your field of study. You need to ask yourself (and then answer) the following question: How far does existing literature provide an answer to my research questions / hypothesis? You should aim to do more than simply give a descriptive account of what other writers have said about the issues.
iv) A section setting out and justifying the methodology you have chosen to adopt. You will need to say why you chosen your methodology and why it was the most appropriate of those available to you. You will also need to explain what limitations you faced and locate your chosen approach in wider debates about research philosophies.
v) Two or three sections setting out your research findings and then analysing and discussing them in detail. How far do they provide answers to your initial research questions? How far do they support or fail to support your original hypothesis?
vi) A conclusion which relates your findings back to the literature review and shows how you have made a contribution to knowledge. This section may well involve further critical review of existing literature in the light of your research findings and will state how your research might itself be taken forward by others in the future.
vii) A section either making practical recommendations to managers in general or to those in the specific industry or organisation you have researched. As with everything else in a master’s dissertation, your recommendations will need to be effectively justified.
Occasionally students who register for a Master-level degree fail to complete it or end up with a lower mark than they expected or could have achieved. You can greatly reduce the chances of this happening to you by making a careful choice of topic area and approach when you first start planning your research. You would be well-advised to make your choice according to the following criteria:
i) It must be a topic area which you genuinely find interesting. There is no point in working hard for several months in an area in which you have little interest, which you do not consider meaningful or which you do not fully understand. Remember that you will be living with the topic area and reading about it in more depth than any other subject you have considered in the past. It is essential that you are interested in trying to contribute to debates and taking knowledge forward in your chosen field.
ii) The dissertation must have an appropriate scope. If your topic is too narrowly focused you will struggle to find sufficient literature to study and may find it difficult to collect sufficient data on which to write 8,000 words. However, you also need to avoid topics which are too wide and which prevent you from exploring clearly defined issues in sufficient depth. Once you have chosen the broad area of study your supervisor will be happy to advise you on the appropriate scope.
iii) Your research aims must be achievable in a practical sense. It is pointless setting high ambitions for yourself at the start which you then struggle subsequently to deliver. Research data access is important here. Are you going to be able to collect the data you require via case studies, interviews, questionnaires and / or library-based work? You also need to be mindful of the time that you have available to you. Your data must be collectable in a relatively short period of time. This makes it impracticable, for example, to embark on a longitudinal study which involves observing developments as they occur overlong periods of time.
iv) You want to strive for originality. High marks are achieved by those who make a genuinely original contribution. You should avoid simply replicating someone else's existing work. You do not need to reinvent the wheel, but you should think about using different methodologies to explore familiar research questions, applying past approaches to new organisations, industries, labour markets or countries, or asking questions that nobody has asked before. If things go well, a sufficiently original set of findings will enable you to publish your research after you have submitted your dissertation as a number of students have in the past.
v) Ideally you want to choose a topic which will be of practical relevance to you in the early stages of your chosen career. Employers are likely to ask you at interviews to discuss your dissertation, so you need to choose a subject that will be of interest and, if possible, practical use to you and/or a future employer. Remember that the postgraduate qualifications are about demonstrating 'mastery'of a subject. This is your opportunity to develop expertise in an area of study, so it makes sense to focus on a topic area that will give you useful expertise.
The major types of dissertation
The following describes the approaches that are most commonly chosen by students and which have led to successful completion in the past. This does not mean that you cannot do something rather different, but you should seek advice from staff if you are thinking about doing so. You might
also like to take elements from two or more of these alternative approaches in formulating your own research design.
i) A questionnaire-based survey
If you are interested in the application of quantitative methodologies you may choose to opt for a questionnaire-based dissertation. It is possible to base your findings entirely on responses to a questionnaire, although it is common for students to send a questionnaire out to employers (or to employees within one organisation) and to follow this up with interviews to explore issues in greater depth. A common problem with a questionnaire study is a poor response rate such that you are unable to draw meaningful conclusions. It is important therefore not to underestimate the number of questionnaires you will need to send out or the importance of phrasing accompanying letters appropriately to maximise response-rates. It is also wise to have some kind of contingency plan prepared in case your response rate turns out to be very disappointing. Minimum sample size should meet various assumptions/requirements.
ii) An interview-based dissertation
This can be combined with the questionnaire approach, or can be adopted as an effective approach in its own right. If the latter you are choosing to adopt a qualitative or interpretive methodology. Interviews allow you to explore a range of topics in more depth. Each interview that you undertake informs future ones, allowing you to build up a good, deep understanding of your chosen topic area. You will be able to see where people agree and where they disagree and will be able to ask in more detail about past and future activity than is possible with a questionnaire. The drawbacks are research access, which is not always easy to gain, the possible lack of generalisability of your findings, and the justification for your interpretation of the data. Furthermore, if only four or five people agree to be interviewed you will not end up with sufficient data and you will be unable to make any kind of general conclusions about your topic. You will thus need to focus your research on a particular type of organisation or type of employee. As a general rule, if your only original data is sourced from interviews and assuming each lasts for an hour or so, the minimum number of interviews you will need to complete to get sufficient data will be 10-15, as a guidance. You must reach the theoretical saturation point to stop data collection.
iii) Laboratory approaches
The other form of observation – for which you should also seek advice from your supervisor – is the laboratory approach. This approach requires you to set up a study using the principles of laboratory work, giving subjects (i.e., people) some form of experience and then observing their reaction. There is a long-established tradition of laboratory approaches in work carried out by psychologists and it enables the researcher to have more control over the behaviours they wish to study. Because these are unusual approaches for masters students, you need to give particular attention to your methodology section so that you can convincingly and authoritatively explain and justify your chosen approach. They also take a considerable time to set up.
iv) Observation ‘in the field’
Another option to consider involves gaining data through the observation of people rather than
asking them about their perceptions. Such approaches are highly original and can be enjoyable but are also difficult to setup and can be time consuming and have more ethical challenges. It is essential that you take advice from your supervisor if you are thinking about embarking on this
research approach. Observation in the field involves participating in a workplace by taking a
job/role which allows you to observe co-workers at close quarters. This has the advantage of
exploring behaviour in a ‘real’ setting, but it can be challenging to gain access and to interpret the data as you have limited control over what you want to observe and in establishing cause and
effect.
v) Using organisational data
The final approach involves evaluating or manipulating data which has been collected by an organisation and to which you are able to gain access. Many such dissertations are quantitative in nature, involving regression analysis of the data in order to draw statistically significant conclusions. Where the data is qualitative in nature, then the dissertation will be more interpretative in nature. Clearly success in this area depends entirely on you being given access to the information you require. This is more likely to be achievable if you are currently working in or have close ties with an organisation and are able togainformal approval to analyse the data for your master’sdissertation. Whatever the nature of the data, it remains important that your dissertation is rooted in a specific body of literature and that this informs your research objectives.
vi) Focusing on a single organisation
You may focus on a single organisation. This could be your current or previous place of work or one in which you have undertaken a placement. The topic area will invariably be one which is significant for the organisation and will lead to you making recommendations which you can expect to be implemented in practice. Remember: a master-level dissertation is an academic piece of work, not a management report. Aside from any practical recommendations it must also be academic in nature, building on the literature and making a contribution to knowledge in the widest sense. The academic/theoretical objective is not always easy to achieve if the initial research questions are wholly practical in their orientation.
vii) Comparative organisational studies
A comparative approach involves making a comparison of the practices prevalent in two or more organisations. The aim is to establish how the approaches are similar and how they differ typically with a view to making recommendations about which (or which combination) is most appropriate in different situations. You may choose to look at two or three separate employers in some depth or at a dozen or so in less depth. Either approach is feasible provided sufficient data is collected to enable you to produce a master’s level dissertation. It will usually be appropriate to focus on organisations which have something in common so that the comparisons you make between them have some purpose. You might for example want to look at retail groups, or at small firms or at different divisions within the same larger organisation.
viii) A library-based dissertation
It is possible to undertake a dissertation which is very heavily reliant on library-based research. However, it is important to understand that this is by no means an easy option. You still have to make a contribution to knowledge in order to gain a masters qualification and your dissertation must still amount to a substantial piece of original research. A successful library-based dissertation thus comprises a great deal more than just an extended literature review and is NOT appropriate for all topics. You need to think of your library research as comprising your data-gathering stage (i.e., the equivalent of the interviews or questionnaires in a conventional dissertation), so you are looking to use libraries as a source of information (i.e., raw data) through which you can develop your own original findings and proposals. This does not mean that you can't make use of research published by others, but it does mean that you have to do more than just evaluate what others have already said. Library-based projects can, for example, involve looking at reports about developments in a field of management or about an aspect of the business environment. Alternatively,you could analyse published case studies or analyse large data sets such as those you will find on the Office of National Statistics website. It would also be feasible to focus, for example, on advertisements or at any other kind of business-related information that is published in newspapers or journals. Library-based projects are particularly suitable when you want to draw on data sourced in other countries or when you want to study historical developments. Whatever the topic area, there must be outcomes which are clearly identified as your own work (e.g., proposals for new / reformed legislation, a new model, a critique of an established theory or a meta-analysis of published data).
As there is no primary data collection for this form of dissertation, supervisor approval is necessary for a literature review-based dissertation.
There are several criteria that you should consider in planning your dissertation:
i. Is the dissertation feasible? All dissertations are conducted within certain boundaries and the MSc dissertation is no different in this respect. Although you might be interested in human resource management in the British Secret Service you might have problems collecting data or establishing contacts. It might be rewarding to conduct a two-year study into how British companies are responding to the Euro, but an MSc dissertation must be completed in only a few months. Whilst a cross-cultural investigation into accounting practices would be a worthwhile subject it is important to take into account the resources needed to conduct such a project. Factors such as these all need to be carefully considered before deciding how to proceed with the dissertation. The most common problem in dissertations is too wide a topic. Researchers often underestimate the time needed for each stage. Here, you need your supervisor’s guidance.
ii. Who is going to supervise my dissertation? You will receive some guidance from a member of staff with knowledge of your subject area. You will be informed who this person will be, after you have submitted your initial proposal, if you have not already identified an appropriate supervisor. You are advised to meet with this member of staff to discuss your research before submitting your final proposal. Your supervisor will devote a total of 5 hours for meetings, reviewing the proposed structure of your dissertation and reading a draft chapter.
iii. The role of ‘theory’ in the dissertation. Once you have established the general nature of the dissertation, you will need to carryout a literature review to help you understand the issues and how to address them. Start by reading around your topic, to obtain a deeper understanding of the topic and learn from the experiences of others. Keep a careful and full record of all references. You will need to consult research texts. This will help you develop a strong and integrative framework and allow you to evaluate the worth of existing theories and build on them from your investigations or even modify or severely criticise them. The literature element of the dissertation is not just a checklist or description of relevant theories. It demonstrates that your analysis and recommendations are informed by existing theories and research on the topic. You must use the theory in subsequent discussions i.e. there must be a link between the literature and your analysis and recommendations.
The role of dissertation supervisors is to advise and support drawing on their expertise and experience. However, you must take personal responsibility for your dissertation, for arranging meetings and meeting deadlines. The supervisor will advise you, but ultimately you must make your own decisions.
In summary, your supervisor will:
• Discuss and assist you in the development of the submitted proposal
• Agree a timetable of activities
• Discuss the structure of the dissertation (e.g. chapter coverage and purposes)
• Advise on issues of theory and/or methodology used in the dissertation
• Read selected parts of your dissertation
• Examine and mark the completed dissertation.
Do not expect your supervisor to find company contacts or introduce you to people whom you can interview.
Supervisory allocations
Supervisory allocations will be made in two ways: supervisor-student led matching and module lead matching.
• Supervisor/student led matching. This occurs when students identify and secure the agreement of a supervisor to supervise their dissertation. This is primarily a student-led process and is recommended as it ensures that the student has the most involvement in the selection of their supervisor. To do this, you should look at the list of potential supervisors on ELE (note: not all colleagues have capacity to take on supervisions, so please select from this list), look at their areas of interest and meet them to discuss your ideas.
All potential supervisors are invited to suggest research topics they are interested in supervising, project areas of interest, or in some cases more developed project ideas. These will be posted on ELE by the start of February. You can also look at staff profiles on the School webpages to learn more about the expertise and interests of staff members. You are encouraged to look at these to identify supervisors with similar interests and/or similar methodological approaches. You should arrange to meet with the potential supervisor(s) to determine if you can work together. Once their agreement is secured it is your responsibility to inform the module lead via email ([email protected]) so this can be registered. Note that allocations are made on a first-come, first served basis and once a supervisor has reached their maximum allocation they will not take on additional student projects.
• Module lead matching. Not all students will find a suitable match. In such cases the initial
module proposal form will be used to secure a ‘best fit’. This will be based on the topic of
interest and the methodological approaches. Note: only dissertations in management will be supervised. Dissertation proposals in other fields may well be refused.
It is difficult to specify exactly what needs to be in dissertations because they differ in content, style and focus1. However, a dissertation’s format should be broadly as follows:
a) Abstract – A concise summary (200-300 words) explaining the purpose (focus) of your work, the approach you took and your conclusions.
b) Introduction – This defines your objectives (the questions you aim to address) and explains briefly why your subject is interesting to study. Summarise your methodology i.e. how you will address rigorously your research questions. The introduction should also summarise what follows in the rest of the dissertation.
c) Literature review – A thorough and critical review of the literature in your chosen area of study, demonstrating knowledge of theoretical frameworks that have been used to inform understanding of your subject area.
d) Methodology – This describes your methodological approach e.g. case study or survey. Explain why you chose the approach, highlight its strengths and note its weaknesses. If you are conducting a critical review of a particular subject your approach could take various forms,e.g. comparing two different theoretical positions on a topic; discussing two or more different examples of a business phenomenon that would need to be set out here. This chapter should also address ethical considerations.
e) Results – If you are analysing data, give details of your data (large amounts of data should be in an appendix), your analysis and your results (this may require two chapters). Explain any limitations of your data – scope, quality etc. Present your results in a clear and ordered manner and relate them to the questions you posed at the beginning. Explain whether they support the argument. Make sure you make this connection to your research questions and objectives. If the results do not support your argument, say so and discuss possible reasons why not. The dissertation is not judged on its results, but on your process for posing and researching your question and for explaining and documenting your arguments and results.
If you are conducting a critical review of literature in a certain area, you will not have a results chapter. Instead, you must consider how to present your critical analysis logically and rigorously. You may not need a chapter called a literature review, as your whole dissertation is in effect a critical review of the literature.
f) Conclusions – Summarise your main conclusions. You may wish to identify the problems you would have addressed if you had had more time. Relate the results to recommendations either to business and/or policy makers.
g) Appendices – Place&nbs
2023-09-01