2016  
 

   

Dissertation  Guidance  Notes  

2015/2016  
DEVELOPMENT  PLANNING  UNIT  

 
1  
Contents  
1   Introduction  ..........................................................................................................................  4  
1.1   Purpose  of  the  Guide  ...........................................................................................................................  4  

1.2   Dissertation  Plan  and  Time  Table  ........................................................................................................  4  

1.3   Submissions  .........................................................................................................................................  6  

1.3.1   Dissertation  Statement  (100  Words)  ............................................................................................................  6  

1.3.2   Detailed  Dissertation  Outline  (600  Words)  ...................................................................................................  6  

1.3.3   Draft  Submission  to  Supervisor  .....................................................................................................................  7  

1.3.4   Final  Dissertation  Submission  .......................................................................................................................  8  

1.4   How  To  Work  With  Your  Supervisor  ....................................................................................................  9  

1.5   Dissertation  Fellowships  ......................................................................................................................  9  

1.6   Referencing,  Citing  and  Plagiarism  ....................................................................................................  10  

2   Steps  Towards  Planning  and  Writing  Your  Dissertation  ........................................................  12  

2.1   Broad  Preparation  Steps  ....................................................................................................................  12  

2.2   What  Does  An  MSc  Dissertation  At  DPU  Entail?  ................................................................................  12  

2.3   Selecting  a  Research  Topic  .................................................................................................................  13  

2.3.1   Criteria  for  a  relevant  topic  area  .................................................................................................................  13  

2.3.2   Defining  a  Topic  of  Interest  .........................................................................................................................  13  

2.4   Formulating  a  Research  Question  ......................................................................................................  14  

2.5   Sourcing  Data  /  Selecting  a  Case  Study  ..............................................................................................  14  

2.6   Undertaking  a  Literature  Review  .......................................................................................................  15  

2.6.1   Techniques  for  Reading  Efficiently  ..............................................................................................................  16  

2.6.2   Note  Taking  .................................................................................................................................................  16  

2.6.3   Organising  Your  Litrature  Review  ...............................................................................................................  17  

3   Structuring  Your  Dissertation  ...............................................................................................  18  

3.1   Overview  on  Structure  .......................................................................................................................  18  
3.1.1   Length  &  Word  Limit  ...................................................................................................................................  19  

3.1.2   Format  .........................................................................................................................................................  19  

3.2   Abstract  ..............................................................................................................................................  19  

3.3   Introduction  .......................................................................................................................................  19  

3.4   Literature  Review  ...............................................................................................................................  20  

 
2  
 3.5   Theoretical  and  Analytical  Framework  ..............................................................................................  20  

3.6   Methodology  /  Your  Methods  ...........................................................................................................  20  

3.7   Discussion  and  Analysis  /  Research  Findings  .....................................................................................  21  

3.8   Conclusions  and  Recommendations  Section  .....................................................................................  22  

3.9   Bibliography  .......................................................................................................................................  23  

3.10   Appendices  (Optional)  .....................................................................................................................  23  

3.11   Criteria  for  Marking  .........................................................................................................................  23  

3.12   Writing  Up  Your  Dissertation  ...........................................................................................................  23  

List  of  Tables  

Table  1:  Dissertation  Preparation  Steps  ............................................................................................................  5  

Table  2:  List  of  submission  deadlines  ................................................................................................................  6  

Table  3:  Links  to  Referencing  Tools  and  Plagiarism  Guidance  ........................................................................  11  

Table  4:  Harvard  in-­‐text  citation  guide    Adopted  from  UCL  Guide  to  Harvard  Citation  Style  .........................  26  

Table  5:  Harvard  bibliography  citation    Adopted  from  UCL  Guide  to  Harvard  Citation  Style  .........................  27  

   

 
3  
1 Introduction  
1.1 Purpose  of  the  Guide  
These  guidelines  are  designed  to  help  you  prepare  and  produce  your  end-­‐of-­‐year  dissertation.  Please  read  
them  carefully  and,  if  you  have  any  doubts  or  comments,  do  not  hesitate  to  consult  your  dissertation  
supervisor  or  your  Course  Director(s).  

The  intention  here  is  to  introduce  and  familiarise  you  with  the  concepts  that  you  are  going  to  deal  with  in  
the  period  of  preparing  your  dissertation.  This  guidance  document  should  be  read  in  conjunction  with  the  
Master’s  Degree  courses  Guide  to  Modules  appendix  3,  Guidelines  for  the  production  and  presentation  of  
dissertations.  

In  addition  to  these  guidelines,  a  number  of  workshops,  preparatory  assignments  and  tutorials  will  be  set  
to  help  you  along  the  way.  

Remember  that  this  is  just  a  guide.  Students  are  referred  to  the  bibliography  section  of  this  report  to  get  a  
broader  understanding  of  the  different  approaches  to  tackle  a  dissertation  and  find  one  that  best  suits  their  
working  approach.  

1.2 Dissertation  Plan  and  Time  Table  

You  are  expected  to  begin  thinking  about  your  dissertation  topic  in  December  of  Term  1.  The  following  
table  give  a  rough  indication  of  the  preparation  steps  and  timelines  you  need  to  adhere  to.    

A  number  of  short  submissions  are  also  expected,  as  a  way  of  prompting  you  to  think  about  your  research  
areas  of  interest  and  to  help  your  assigned  dissertation  supervisor  guide  you  in  the  right  direction.  As  time  
goes  on,  you  will  find  that  your  idea  is  refined,  and  may  even  change  as  you  navigate  through  the  below  
process.    

   

 
4  
TABLE  1:  DISSERTATION  PREPARATION  STEPS  

Date   Stage   Description  and  Outputs  

11-­‐Dec-­‐15   First  dissertation   In  the  first  dissertation  workshop  we  will  explain  the  key  issues  and  process  
workshop   concerning  the  preparation  of  the  MSc  dissertation.  You  will  be  asked  to  go  away  
and  think  about  your  research  areas  of  interest  and  to  prepare  a  100-­‐word  draft  
statement  to  submit  at  the  beginning  of  Term  2  
29  Jan-­‐16   First  Submission:   A  short  dissertation  statement  (100-­‐words)  should  be  submitted  to  outline  your  
100-­‐word   intended  dissertation  topic.  See  section  1.3.1  for  more  guidance.  
dissertation  
statement  
End  of  Feb-­‐ Appointment  of   By  the  end  of  February  you  will  be  allocated  a  supervisor.  We  will  endeavour  to  
16   supervisor   take  into  account  your  choice  of  supervisor,  however  it  may  not  always  be  possible  
to  always  get  your  first  choice.    
 
Once  you  have  confirmation  of  the  supervisor,  it  is  recommended  that  you  make  
contact  with  them  as  soon  as  possible  so  that  you  can  start  to  develop  a  suitable  
and  manageable  topic.  
12-­‐Feb-­‐16   Second   The  second  workshop  will  help  guide  you  through  the  development  of  the  
dissertation   theoretical  framework  and  methodology.  This  consists  of  a  one  hour  plenary  
workshop   lecture  and  a  1.5-­‐hour  further  discussion  with  your  GTA.  
 
You  should  come  to  the  workshop  with  an  idea  of  the  available  literature  and  data  
on  your  topic.  It  is  not  necessary  to  bring  books,  tables  of  data,  etc.,  but  you  should  
be  aware  of  the  kinds  of  information  that  are  in  them  and  be  able  to  generally  
describe  these  to  another  person.  
4-­‐Mar-­‐16   Third   The  third  workshop  will  consider  methodology  and  outline  some  types  of  research  
Dissertation   methods.  It  will  also  deal  with  the  process  of  writing  up  your  dissertation.    
Workshop    
Following  on  from  this  workshop,  you  will  be  asked  to  develop  your  initial  idea  into  
a  detailed  outline  proposal.  
25-­‐Apr-­‐16   Second   A  detailed  outline  (600-­‐words)  should  be  submitted  and  an  initial  bibliography.  See  
Submission:   section  1.3.2  for  more  guidance.  
Detailed  
Dissertation  
Outline  
End  of     Write-­‐up  time   During  this  period  you  need  to  organise  and  manage  your  own  time  for  reading  and  
May  –  Aug   writing  up.  Devise  a  research  plan  and  discuss  this  with  your  supervisor  to  agree  
dates  for  tutorials,  draft  submissions  and/or  consultations.  Please  arrange  dates  
and  details  with  supervisor  directly.  See  section  1.4  for  further  guidance.  
st
1-­‐Sept-­‐16   Third  submission   Deadline  for  submission  -­‐  September  1  2016.  See  section  1.3.4  for  further  
–  final   guidance  
dissertation   § Digital  Copy  on  Turnitin  by  9.45  am  
§ Two  hard  copies  to  the  Admin  office  by  3:00  pm.    

   

 
5  
1.3 Submissions  
As  you  can  see  from  the  outline  timetable,  you  are  required  to  make  a  number  of  preparatory  submissions,  
in  addition  to  your  final  dissertation  submission  on  the  1st  of  September  2016.  These  include:  

TABLE  2:  LIST  OF  SUBMISSION  DEADLINES  

Dissertation  Statement   100  words   29  January  2016  

Dissertation  Outline   600  words  plus  indicative   25  April  2016  

bibliography  

Draft  submissions  to  your   Format  and  length  to  be  decided   TBC  with  supervisor  
supervisor   directly  with  your  supervisor  

Final  submission   10,000  words   1  September  2016  

The  following  sections  detail  what  should  be  included  in  each  submission:  

1.3.1 Dissertation  Statement  (100  Words)  

This  is  a  short  proposition  describing  the  research  area  you  are  interested  in  and  want  to  take  further.  You  
should  explain  why  the  research  area  or  problem  you  identify  is  important  and  warrants  further  research.  
The  submission  should  include  the  following  information:    

§ Your  dissertation  proposition  in  100  words.  This  is  essentially  a  statement  of  your  research  topic  
area.  
§ Your  indicative  dissertation  title  
§ Your  chosen  supervisors;  Your  first  choice  and  second  choice.  Please  check  the  available  
supervisors’  list  on  moodle.  
§ What  you  plan  to  accomplish  and  why  you  want  to  do  it.  Explain  how  you  intend  to  approach  the  
research  topic  you  propose.  

1.3.2 Detailed  Dissertation  Outline  (600  Words)  

This  assignment  asks  you  to  develop  your  original  statement  following  discussions  with  your  assigned  
supervisor.  Here  you  will  develop  your  research  proposal,  detailing  your  provisional  title  and  research  
questions,  hypothesis  and  a  brief  review  of  the  relavant  literature.  Your  outline  should  be  around  600  
words  and  will  need  to  include  the  methods  you  will  adopt  and  your  proposed  theoretical  framework  to  
address  the  research  questions  you  are  proposing.  The  outline  must:    

§ Be  developed  in  consultation  with  your  supervisor.    

§ Be  feasible  and  be  based  upon  a  serious  and  realistic  assessment  of  the  resources  available  to  you  
(in  terms  of  time,  information  and  your  own  skills,  for  example  knowledge  of  statistics  or  any  other  
discipline  required  in  the  analysis).    

 
6  
 § Have  a  clearly  defined  structure  that  clearly  defines  your  approach  to  presenting  your  argument,  
identifying  the  key  headings  and  sub-­‐headings  (including  the  approximate  word  count  for  each  
section).  
§ You  should  structure  your  outline  in  the  following  way:  
§ An  indicative  working  title  that  summarises  the  argument  you  intend  to  present.  
§ The  hypothesis  and  supporting  research  question(s)  that  form  your  core  argument.  This  
should  clearly  state  the  problem  to  be  researched  or  the  research  question  to  be  answered  and  
it  should  describe  your  area  of  enquiry.  You  must  propose  some  tentative  answers  to  your  
research  question  (this  essentially  forms  the  hypothesis  of  the  dissertation).  Ensure  you  explain  
the  context  for  the  question/  problem  to  be  addressed,  situating  the  project  in  the  context  of  
prior  research.  Ensure  there  is  an  indication  of  how  the  proposed  research  contributes  to  
knowledge/the  possible  impacts  of  the  research.  
§ A  brief  literature  review  of  the  relevant  academic  research  (books  and  journal  articles)  that  has  
discussed  the  problem  you  are  researching.  This  should  not  be  a  simple  summary  of  the  articles  
or  books,  but  should  identify  the  concepts  and  theories  researchers  have  used  to  answer  the  
question  or  study  the  problem  and  analyse  the  effectiveness  of  potential  solutions.    
§ Your  theoretical  /  analytical  framework.  You  must  spell  out  the  analysis  you  intend  to  carry  out  
in  order  to  address  your  argument.  Introduce  and  justify  your  theoretical  perspective  and  key  
concepts.  Specify  and  justify  the  scope  of  the  research  project  (e.g.  which  theoretical  
perspectives,  whether  a  single  case  study  or  comparative  study  will  be  used.  Clarification  of  the  
theoretical  resources  that  the  research  will  draw  from  and  why  they  were  chosen).  
§ A  short  description  of  your  proposed  Method,  outlining  the  scope  of  and  approach  to  your  
research  question.  More  information  on  research  methods  will  be  given  in  due  course.  
§ A  description  of  the  case  study  (if  applicable)  and  evidence  of  the  available  data  for  the  case  
study  (if  appropriate).  
§ A  bibliography  and  references  (not  included  in  the  word  count).  The  bibliography  must  list  at  
least  10  relevant  sources  that  illustrates  an  awareness  of  the  breadth  and  depth  of  the  
literature  relating  to  the  research  question  including:    
§ academic  books  or  book  chapters    
§ academic  journal  articles    
§ research  reports    
§ useful  web  sources  and/or  press  articles    

1.3.3 Draft  Submission  to  Supervisor  

This  is  negotiated  directly  with  your  supervisor.  Together  you  must  work  out  a  timetable  and  aim  to  get  a  
draft  well  in  advance  so  that  you  take  advantage  of  your  tutorials  with  your  supervisor.  It  is  good  practice  
to  develop  a  research  plan  /  timetable  that  states  the  actions  you  will  undertake  and  when  you  intend  to  
complete  each  task.  This  must  be  shared  and  agreed  with  your  supervisor.    

 
7  
1.3.4 Final  Dissertation  Submission  
Further  information  is  set  out  in  section  3  on  how  you  go  about  structuring  your  dissertation.  This  section  
outlines  the  instructions  on  when  and  how  you  submit  your  final  complete  dissertation.    

§ An  electronic  version  must  be  submitted  via  TURNITIN  by  9.45  

am  on  the  1st  September  2016.  
Electronic  Submission   § Do  not  submit  the  Declaration  of  Ownership  and  Copyright  
Form  (see  Annex  A.5)  with  the  electronic  version.  This  is  signed  
and  handed  in  with  the  two  hard  copy  documents.  

§ Two  hard  copies  must  be  submitted  to  the  Admin  office  in  
person  by  3pm  1st  September  2016.  
Hard  Copy  Submission   § Both  hard  copies  must  be  heat  bound  
§ A  loose,  signed  copy  of  the  plagiarism  and  copyright  form  (see  
Annex  A.5)  must  also  be  included  with  both  hard  copies.  

§ Normal  submission  procedures  apply,  as  outlined  in  the  Course  

Guide,  including  extenuating  circumstances  and  mark  
deduction  for  late  submissions.    
§ Late  submissions  (except  in  cases  especially  considered  in  UCL  
regulations)  will  be  penalised  in  the  same  way  as  for  
coursework  (see  section  4  -­‐  IV  of  the  Course  Guide).    
§ Late  penalties  will  be  applied  to  any  hard  copy  Dissertation  that  
carries  past  the  deadline  (except  in  cases  specially  considered  
Submission  Policy  and  Penalties   in  the  University  Regulations).    
§ Failure  to  submit  a  dissertation  by  the  deadline  will  result  in  
the  award  of  a  mark  of  zero.    
§ If  a  student  fails  the  dissertation  module,  they  will  be  
permitted  to  submit  for  a  second  and  final  time.    However,  
please  note  that  this  second  submission  will  only  be  considered  
at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Examiners,  in  June  of  the  
following  academic  year,  which  means  they  will  not  graduate  
until  the  following  year,  subject  to  passing  the  module.  

§ Your  dissertation  will  be  first  marked  by  your  supervisor  and  
second  marked  by  another  academic  member  of  staff.  
§ The  final  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Examiners  to  examine  the  
Marking  Timeline   student’s  performance  during  the  year  (including  your  
dissertation),  will  take  place  in  October  of  the  same  year  you  
submit  your  dissertation  

 
8  
1.4 How  To  Work  With  Your  Supervisor  
You  must  prepare  and  write  your  dissertation  independently.  However,  it  is  recommended  that  you  consult  
with  your  chosen  supervisor  in  the  time  leading  up  to  the  presentation  of  an  outline  at  the  beginning  of  the  
Third  Term.  After  that,  supervisors  may  be  available  only  sporadically  until  the  submission  date,  so  you  
must  check  their  availability  during  the  summer  period  for  meetings,  skype,  e-­‐mail  or  telephone  
consultations.  It  is  your  responsibility  to  propose  a  schedule  of  meetings  to  the  supervisor,  not  the  other  
way  around.  The  role  of  your  supervisor  is  to:  

• Advise  you  on  relevant  literature    

• Guide  you  in  focusing  your  study  and  drawing  up  a  proposal    
• Help  you  to  confirm  a  plan  and  timetable  for  the  work  
• Help  you  draw  up  an  outline  for  the  dissertation  and  discuss  subsequent  revisions    
• Read  and  comment  on  parts  of  your  dissertation  (usually  in  2  stages)  

You  should  know  that:    

• You  have  the  responsibility  for  managing  your  supervisor  

• Try  to  clarify  and  fulfil  the  expectations  that  your  supervisor  may  have  of  you  
• Manage  the  meetings  (e.g.  find  in  advance  the  schedule  of  your  supervisor),  make  them  as  regular  
as  possible  (You  can  agree  the  next  meeting  at  the  end  of  each  meeting)  
• Be  open  about  your  progress  
• Listen  and  follow  their  advice  or  come  with  good  reasons  for  why  you  did  not  follow  it  
• Ensure  you  send  your  materials  to  your  supervisor  with  enough  time  to  read  it  
• Your  supervisor  will  engage  with  your  work  if  you  are  enthusiastic  about  it!  

1.5 Dissertation  Fellowships  

More  information  will  be  circulated  about  dissertation  fellowships  in  due  course.  The  Dissertation  
Fellowship  scheme  links  students  to  reputable  international  NGOs  and  development  consultancies  who  
have  defined  a  number  of  topics  that  could  potentially  form  dissertation  options.  If  students  feel  that  the  
topics  match  their  own  interests,  then  this  could  potentially  become  one  route  to  follow  in  undertaking  a  
dissertation.  There  are  only  a  limited  number  of  possible  titles,  and  so  a  competitive  application  process  
will  determine  a  partnership  between  a  student  and  the  organisation.  If  selected,  you  will  do  your  
dissertation  with  the  relevant  supervisor  for  that  fellowship.  Expenses  will  be  reimbursed.  

The  advantages  for  choosing  this  option  include:    

§ Your  dissertation  will  be  relevant  to  the  current  work  of  an  international  development  
organisation.  
§ You  will  have  access  to  a  member  of  staff  and  relevant  data  (but  NO  fieldwork  and/or  primary  data  
collection  is  expected).  

 
9  
 § A  summary  of  your  dissertation  will  be  published  in  an  appropriate  form  (e.g.  policy  brief,  blog  
post),  subject  to  agreement  over  edits  to  ensure  that  high  standards  are  maintained  with  respect  to  
the  work  itself  and  any  pertinent  copyright  or  other  issues  
§ You  will  receive  a  letter  stating  that  you  have  done  this  research  with  them.  
§ For  Islamic  Relief  only,  you  will  also  become  an  Islamic  Relief  Academy  Postgraduate  Fellow.  

In  the  past,  these  fellowships  have  offered  important  opportunities  for  professional  development  and,  in  
some  cases,  led  to  research  collaborations,  internships,  and  employment.  However,  none  of  this  is  part  of  
the  programme  and  there  is  no  further  commitment  beyond  your  dissertation.  

To  apply  you  will  need  to  send  your  CV  (max  2  pages),  a  list  of  all  the  grades  you  have  received  so  far,  and  a  
brief  statement  (Max  350  words)  detailing  how  you  would  plan  to  develop  the  research  area  into  a  
dissertation  topic.  Please  specify  clearly  specify  which  Fellowship  you  are  applying  for.  You  can  also  specify  
a  second  option,  in  case  you  do  not  get  into  your  preferred  choice.  

An  email  detailing  how  you  apply  will  be  issued  to  you  separately.  If  you  have  any  query  on  the  programme,  
read  this  email  again,  if  you  still  have  a  query,  please  send  an  email  with  the  subject  line:  “Dissertation  
Fellowship  Query”  to  andrea.rigon@ucl.ac.uk  

IMPORTANT  NOTE:  These  collaborative  opportunities  are  established  because  we  believe  they  have  the  
potential  to  provide  mutual  benefit  both  to  you,  the  student,  and  to  your  partner  organisation.  The  terms  
of  the  fellowship  do  not  alter  DPU's  or  UCL's  commitment  in  terms  of  the  supervision  to  which  you  are  
entitled  or  the  more  general  requirements  of  the  dissertation  itself.  

1.6 Referencing,  Citing  and  Plagiarism  

It  is  very  important  that  you  cite  your  sources  accurately  to  avoid  plagiarism.  Plagiarism  is  defined  as  the  
unacknowledged  use  of  another  person’s  ideas,  words  or  works  either  verbatim  or  in  substance  without  
specific  acknowledgement.  

Plagiarism  can  occur  when  you:  

§ Copy  someone  else’s  work  or  ideas  claiming  it  is  yours.  
§ Use  same  or  similar  words  of  an  author  without  using  direct  quotation  and  referring  to  them  
appropriately.  
§ Rephrase  other’s  work  without  acknowledging  it;  even  if  you  have  changed  the  order  it  will  still  
be  plagiarism.  
§ Submit  previous  work  of  your  own  without  acknowledging  it1.  

                                                                                                                       

1
 For  more  information  refer  to  http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-­‐students/guidelines/plagiarism  

 
10  
 § Submit  work  you  have  asked  someone  else  to  write  for  you.  

To  avoid  accusations  of  plagiarism,  you  must:  

§ Cite  all  reference  you  are  using  or  referring  to  in  the  body  of  your  text  using  the  Harvard  Style.  This  
includes  using  the  author’s  last  name,  the  date  of  the  publication  and  the  page  number  in  the  text  
(if  you  have  used  a  direct  quote).  See  Table  4  in  Appendix  0  to  guide  you  on  how  to  cite  in-­‐text.  
§ Ensure  all  sources  are  listed  in  a  Bibliography  section  at  the  end  of  the  dissertation  in  alphabetical  
order.  

Don't  forget  that  you  can  use  referencing  tools  to  help  you  with  devising  your  bibliography/reference  list  at  
the  end  of  your  dissertation.  This  will  save  a  lot  of  time  writing  out  the  references  using  the  correct  format!  
These  tools  tend  to  have  MS  word  plugins  to  help  you  can  create  the  citation  as  you  type.  

Table  3  list  a  number  of  useful  tools  and  resources.    Note  that  reference  generating  tools  are  not  always  
100%  accurate,  so  do  make  sure  you  have  a  quick  scan  of  the  resulting  referencing  list  that  is  generated.  

TABLE  3:  LINKS  TO  REFERENCING  TOOLS  AND  PLAGIARISM  GUIDANCE  

UCL's  online  guide  to  referencing  and  plagiarism   https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/training/guid

es/webguides/refscitesplag  

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-­‐
students/guidelines/plagiarism  

Anglia  University  has  a  useful  online  guide  that  is  easy  to   http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harv
navigate   ard.htm.  

Mendeley  is  free  to  downloaded.  This  also  has  a  plug  in   https://www.mendeley.com/download-­‐
which  works  with  Microsoft  word  so  you  can  reference  as   mendeley-­‐desktop/.  
you  write.  

Endnote  is  licensed  and  only  available  from  UCL  machines   http://swdb.ucl.ac.uk/  
on  network.    You  can  download  it  from  UCL  server  if  you  are  
on  a  UCL  workstation  that  doesn't  have  it;  search  for  
'endnote'  to  get  to  the  download  page  

   

 
11  
2 Steps  Towards  Planning  and  Writing  Your  Dissertation  
2.1 Broad  Preparation  Steps  
The  key  to  a  good  dissertation  is  preparation.  You  need  to  Read,  Think,  then  Write;  not  the  other  way  
around.  Be  sure  to  set  out  a  research  plan  that  incorporate  adequate  time  to  carry  out  the  following  crucial  
steps  involved  in  preparing  your  research:  

§ Selecting  a  broad  research  topic  of  interest  which  may  relate  to  a  module  you  have  followed  
and/or  may  broadly  relate  back  to  your  own  personal  experience  and  skills.  
§ Undertaking  an  extensive  literature  review,  involving  searching  and  reading  the  relevant  body  of  
literature  to  inform  your  thinking.    
§ Formulating  your  hypothesis  and  research  questions,  including  any  gaps  in  the  literature  that  you  
see  need  addressing  through  your  research  questions.  
§ Finding  data  and/or  case  studies  to  illustrate  or  back  up  your  arguments  and/or  to  answer  your  
research  question  (see  Booth,  Colomb  &  Williams,  2008,  p.31-­‐32).  
§ Continuing  to  read,  develop  and  refine  your  research  proposition.  
§ Writing  up  the  dissertation.  
§ Editing  and  finalising  the  dissertation.  

2.2 What  Does  An  MSc  Dissertation  At  DPU  Entail?  

All  MSc  degree  students  at  DPU  are  required  to  submit  a  dissertation  (comprising  60  credits)  in  order  to  
complete  their  degree.  This  dissertation  should  demonstrate  a  deep  engagement  with  course  content  and  
show  that  you  are  able  to  produce  a  well-­‐argued  extended  piece  of  academic  work.  The  dissertation  should  
complement  and  synthesise  the  learning  process  in  previous  modules.  The  dissertation:    

• Is  an  argument  that  addresses  a  research  question  or  hypothesis  which  is  supported  by  the  
application  of  elements  of  theory,  method  and  practice  in  an  analysis  of  either  case  material,  
existing  scholarly  research  or  of  a  body  of  theory.  
• Demonstrates  your  independence  in  putting  forward  a  solid  argument  deploying  theoretical  and  
empirical  elements  in  your  course  and  both  interesting  and  clearly  related  to  the  body  of  concepts  
and  empirical  realities  explored  during  your  MSc  course.  It  should  be  proof  of  your  ability  to  select  
a  topic  and  present  an  argument  in  a  scholarly  and  professional  manner.  
• The  structure  and  the  nature  of  the  argument  will  be  similar  in  nature  to  the  essays  you  have  
already  prepared  during  the  year.  The  main  differences  are  that  you  are  largely  responsible  for  the  
choice  of  a  dissertation  topic  (usually  in  discussion  with  a  Tutor)  and  that  the  dissertation  is  up  to  
five  times  as  long  as  any  of  the  essays  you  will  have  submitted  previously.    
• Unlike  a  PhD  thesis,  an  MSc  dissertation  is  not  expected  to  represent  new  empirical  evidence  or  
constitute  an  original  contribution  to  theoretical  knowledge.  It  should  however,  be  novel  in  the  
way  the  arguments  and  supporting  evidence  are  selected  and  presented.  You  should  make  it  clear  
what  your  perspectives  are  in  presenting  your  own  take  of  the  research  topic  in  question.  

 
12  
 • In  preparing  for  your  dissertation,  you  are  not  expected  to  collect  new  (primary)  data  (e.g.  
interviews,  fieldwork  activities,  etc.).  In  fact,  you  are  actively  discouraged  from  doing  so,  as  going  
on  fieldwork  may  endanger  your  ability  to  complete  your  dissertation  in  the  three  months  or  so  
that  you  have  available.  This  is  because  fieldwork  is  a  major  undertaking  in  its  own  right  as  it  
requires  careful  preparation,  a  solid  knowledge  of  the  secondary  information  available  and  a  good  
command  of  data  collection  and  analysis.  It  is  often  delayed  by  unexpected  events,  distractions  
(such  as  family  engagements,  if  you  are  going  home)  and  the  logistics  of  travel  and  
accommodation.  Furthermore,  funding  for  the  MSc  courses  rarely  includes  an  allowance  for  
individual  fieldwork,  so  you  may  find  yourself  in  difficulties  trying  to  cover  unexpected  
expenditures.    

2.3 Selecting  a  Research  Topic  

2.3.1 Criteria  for  a  relevant  topic  area  
The  choice  of  a  topic  for  your  dissertation  must  come  from  your  own  initiative;  however,  it  must  comply  
with  the  following:  

§ A  dissertation  topic  must  be  deemed  acceptable  by  the  Course  Director(s).  You  may  wish  to  discuss  it  
with  your  Course  Director  or  another  Tutor  available.  
§ A  topic  is  acceptable  if  it  falls  within  the  contents  of  the  course  and  you  are  interested  in  it,  or  you  
want  to  know  more  about  it.  
§ An  example  of  an  unacceptable  topic  would  be  “A  study  of  fish  farming  patterns  in  Iceland”,  as  none  of  
the  DPU  MSc  courses  would  have  provided  you  with  enough  conceptual  or  empirical  material  to  deal  
with  this  topic  in  a  competent  manner.  In  addition,  there  are  no  tutors  in  DPU  who  are  knowledgeable  
about  this  topic  to  be  able  to  assist  you.  The  most  suitable  topics  are  therefore  course-­‐specific.    
§ A  student  may  choose  within  these  limits  to  write  a  purely  theoretical  dissertation  or  case  study  that  
raises  this  type  of  issue,  or  a  combination  of  both.    
§ Because  this  is  part  of  the  examination,  a  student  is  advised  to  address  an  argument  that  
demonstrates  a  command  of  concepts,  methods  and  information  presented  in  the  course.    

2.3.2 Defining  a  Topic  of  Interest  

Use  the  following  resources  to  search,  select  and  define  your  topic  areas  of  interest:  

§ Skimming  relevant  topics  in  the  UCL  library  catalogue  and  its  online  databases  
§ Skimming  headings  of  relevant  journals  
§ Searching  your  topic  in  Google  scholar    

Start  to  list  all  potential  topics  of  interest.  Then  choose  one  or  two  promising  ones.  The  more  you  read,  the  
further  you  can  refine  and  clearly  define  your  topic.  If  you  can’t  state  your  topic  in  four  or  five  words,  
probably  the  topic  is  too  broad.    

 
13  
It  is  recommended  to  use  action  words  to  make  your  topic  more  interesting,  e.g.  conflict,  description,  
contribution,  and  developing.  

EXAMPLE  

A  broad  topic  àPublic  Infrastructure  Provision  and  the  City  

A  focused  topic  àContribution  of  Public  Infrastructure  Provision  on  land-­‐use  change  of  the  city:  
Lima  case  study  
 

2.4 Formulating  a  Research  Question    

After  you  have  defined  a  topic,  it  is  the  time  to  formulate  your  research  question.  You  can  start  with:  who,  
what,  when  and  where  questions  but  then  focus  on  how  and  why  questions  to  invite  deeper  thinking.    

Record  all  the  proposed  questions  and  their  possible  answers.  Ask  about  the  history  of  your  topic,  
questions  suggested  by  your  sources  and  etc.  

After  developing  your  research  question  you  need  to  justify  why  it  is  worthwhile.  By  thinking  about  these  
‘So  what?’  questions  you  are  trying  to  determine  the  significance  of  your  question.  (ibid,  p.45)  

Booth,  Colomb  and  Williams  (2008,  p.46-­‐47)  suggest  three  steps  to  work  on  your  question  and  its  
significance:  

Step  1:     I  am  trying  to  learn  about  (working  on,   I  am  studying  the  relationship  between  social  and  
studying)  …   spatial  processes  and  their  outcomes  

Step  2:     Because  I  want  to  find  out  who/  what/   Because  I  want  to  find  out  how  low-­‐income  urban  
when/  where/  whether/  why/  how  …   communities  shape  their  local  spaces  

Step  3:     In  order  to  help  my  reader  understand   In  order  to  explore  areas  that  are  difficult  to  
how/  why/  whether  …   conceptualise  and  encourage  new  ways  of  thinking  
about  known  issues  

2.5 Sourcing  Data  /  Selecting  a  Case  Study  

If  you  have  a  question  and  at  least  one  promising  answer  (hypothesis,  proposition)  you  can  start  looking  for  
data  and/or  a  case  study  to  explore  it.  However,  do  not  forget  that  to  be  able  to  formulate  your  question(s)  
you  need  to  read  around  your  topic  more  generally.  

 
14  
Sources  of  data  are  categorised  into  primary  sources  and  secondary  sources.  Primary  sources  can  be  
generated  from  direct  observation,  structured  interviews,  semi-­‐structured  interviews,  questionnaire  etc.  
Given  the  limited  scope  of  your  MSc  dissertation  you  are  not  required  to  collect  any  primary  data.  

Secondary  sources  of  information  can  be  gathered  from  books,  journal  articles,  reports,  theses  and  
dissertations,  conference  proceedings,  media  reports,  newspapers,  policies,  regulations,  letters  and  
websites.    To  find  the  relevant  data  to  answer  your  research  question  you  can  search  Libraries  catalogue,  
online  databases  (e.g.  Web  of  Science,  World  Bank),  search  engines  (e.g.  Google  Scholar)  and  professional  
organisation  web  sites.    

2.6 Undertaking  a  Literature  Review  

In  your  dissertation,  the  literature  review  should  focus  on  relevant  scholarship  by  others  in  the  field.  
Essentially,  your  literature  review  is  incorporated  into  the  arguments  you  are  presenting;  it  is  not  a  
sequential  listing  of  the  articles  you  have  read,  but  rather  a  discussion  of  how  other  researchers  have  
approached  questions  or  subjects  similar  to  yours.  You  should  show  what  questions  other  researchers  have  
asked,  what  data  they  have  found,  what  hypotheses  they  have  examined  and  what  conclusions  they  have  
reached.  This  should  help  you  to  outline  your  own  research  questions,  hypotheses  and  the  data  you  will  
need  to  answer  them.  A  literature  review  also  puts  your  own  study  in  context.    

In  order  to  evaluate  the  source  that  you  want  to  include  in  your  literature  review,  Booth,  Colomb  and  
Williams  (2008,  p.76-­‐80)  suggest:  

§ Evaluating  sources  for  relevance  by:  

§ Skimming  books  index  for  your  keywords  
§ Skimming  the  first  and  last  paragraphs  of  relevant  chapters  
§ If  the  source  is  an  article,  reading  the  abstract  
§ Skimming  introductions,  summary  chapters  and  conclusions    
§ Checking  the  bibliography  for  titles  relevant  to  yours  
 
§ Evaluating  sources  for  reliability  by  asking  yourself:  
§ Is  the  source  published  by  a  reputable  press?  
§ Was  the  source  peer-­‐reviewed?  
§ Is  the  author  a  reputable  scholar?  
§ Is  the  source  sponsored  by  a  reputable  organisation?  
§ Does  the  source  have  a  bibliography?  
§ Has  the  source  been  frequently  cited  by  others?  

When  you  have  determined  the  relevance  and  reliability  of  a  source  and  decided  what  to  include  in  your  
literature  review,  record  its  bibliographical  data;  remember  to  use  available  tools  to  help  automatically  
capture  a  referencing  list.  

It  might  help  you  to  think  about  the  following  headings  while  you  are  reading:  

 
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§ Topic:  this  project  will  study...    
§ Question/problem:  to  find  out...    
§ Significance:  so  that  more  will  be  known  about...    
§ Secondary  sources:  additional  data  comes  from...    
§ Methods:  the  research  will  be  conducted  as  follows...    
§ Justification:  the  method  is  most  appropriate  because...    
§ Limitations:  there  are  some  matters  that  this  methodology  may  not  help  me  to  explain.    

2.6.1 Techniques  for  Reading  Efficiently  

One  of  the  suggested  techniques  to  read  efficiently  is  known  as:  SQ3R.  This  technique  can  help  you  to  
interact  with  the  text  that  you  are  reading  (Ridley,  2012,  p.63).    

Ridley  (2012,  p.64)  explains  SQ3R  as:  

§ Survey  (skim)  the  text  to  understand  the  general  idea  of  the  text  
§ Question;  think  about  questions  that  you  wish  the  text  to  answer  in  order  to  see  if  it  is  a  relevant  text  
for  your  research  
§ Read  the  text  carefully    
§ Recall  the  main  points  
§ Review  the  text  to  confirm  that  you  have  not  missed  a  point  

2.6.2 Note  Taking  

It  is  really  useful  to  take  notes  when  you  are  reading  a  source.  Taking  notes  helps  you:  

§ Identify  and  understand  the  main  points  of  a  text  

§ Recall  what  you  have  read  
§ Concentrate  on  what  you  are  reading  
§ Make  connections  between  different  sources  
§ Re/arrange  information  for  writing    
§ Avoid  plagiarism  (Ridley,  2012,  p.67)  

To  record  what  you  read,  you  may  take  full  notes,  paraphrase  or  summarise  the  source.  You  take  full  notes  
to  quote  in  your  work  when:  

§ Quotes  are  evidence  for  your  study  and  can  back  up  your  argument  
§ Words  are  strikingly  original  or  can  frame  your  discussion  compellingly  
§ You  want  to  disagree  with  a  view  and  to  be  fair  you  want  to  quote  what  the  text  exactly  said  (Booth,  
Colomb  &  Williams,  2008,  p.97).  
§ The  key  is  not  to  copy  down  chunks  of  text  from  a  book.  Your  aim  is  to  make  clear  notes  using  a  few  of  
your  own  words.  You  may  also  wish  to  note  your  own  ideas  that  have  been  stimulated  by  text  you  
have  read.  Choose  to  paraphrase  a  source,  i.e.  by  representing  the  text  in  your  own  words  more  
clearly  or  pointedly  than  the  original  text  (ibid,  p.96),  but  remember  to  cite  the  source.  

 
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§ Be  selective.  Write  down  the  main  subject  and  important  headings  before  you  start,  then  fill  in  notes  
on  these  areas.  You  can  summarise  a  passage,  a  section  or  whole  book  or  article  when  you  are  only  
concerned  with  the  main  point,  not  its  details  (ibid).    
§ Focus  on  the  dissertation  title.  Keep  referring  back  to  this  and  make  sure  your  notes  are  relevant;  
§ If  you  come  across  information  you  think  may  be  useful  in  a  different  subject  or  essay,  make  a  
separate  note  of  the  reference  and  return  to  it  later,  at  the  appropriate  time;  

2.6.3 Organising  Your  Litrature  Review  

After  you  have  spent  some  time  reading  and  taking  notes  from  your  sources,  you  should  try  to  arrange  your  
litrature  review  structure  by  finding  threads  in  your  notes.  Try  to  come  up  with  headings  and  sub-­‐headings.    

There  is  no  blueprint  on  how  you  structure  and  present  your  literature  as  long  as  it  includes  the  
components  outlined  in  Section  3.1.    

   

 
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3 Structuring  Your  Dissertation  
3.1 Overview  on  Structure  
Presentation  and  structure  of  the  dissertation  should  be  clear,  logical  and  readable.  You  must  follow  the  
Guidelines  for  the  Production  and  Presentation  of  Essays  included  as  an  appendix  of  the  DPU  Course  Guide.    

Remember  that  any  substantial  faults  in  presentation,  structure,  referencing  and  so  on  may  reduce  your  
dissertation  mark.  These  factors  may  be  especially  decisive  in  borderline  cases,  where  poor  presentation  or  
referencing  may  force  a  borderline  distinction  onto  a  simple  pass,  or  worse  still,  a  borderline  fail  to  an  
outright  fail!  A  basic  framework  for  structuring  your  dissertation  is  as  follows:  

• Title  page:  See  example  layout  in  Annex  A.4.  It  must  have  state  your  name,  candidate  number,  
course  name,  date,  name  of  supervisor,  word  count.  [mandatory]  
• Declaration  of  ownership  and  copyright  form  (see  Annex  A.5)  that  must  be  signed  and  dated  (DO  
NOT  bind  this  into  your  dissertation).  All  students  MUST  complete  a  copy  of  this  form  to  cover  the  
MSc  dissertation  report.  Please  print,  sign  and  date  the  form  and  submit  it  with  your  dissertation  to  
the  Administration  Office  in  the  DPU  building.  If  you  fail  to  submit  this  statement  duly  signed  and  
dated,  your  dissertation  cannot  be  accepted  for  marking.  [mandatory]  
• Abstract:  One  paragraph  summarising  the  whole  dissertation.  [optional]  
• Acknowledgements.  Thanks  to  those  who  have  assisted  you.  [optional]  
• Table  of  contents.  A  clear  listing  of  the  chapters,  sections,  sub-­‐sections  with  page  numbers.  This  
can  be  automatically  generated  in  word.  [mandatory]  
• Table  of  figures:  List  of  any  figures/diagrammes/tables  you  have  used.  Figures  can  be  used  but  only  
if  integral  to  the  argument  and  discussed  directly  in  the  main  text.  [optional]  
• Introduction:  A  summary  of  your  research  question,  hypothesis,  proposition  and  a  brief  outline  of  
the  structure  of  your  dissertation.  [mandatory]  
• Literature  review:  Essentially  forms  the  main  section(s)  in  your  work  and  should  discuss  existing  
literature  relevant  to  your  topic  area.  [mandatory]  
• Methodology:  describes  your  approach  to  studying  your  topic  area  and  the  methods  you  choose  to  
use.  
• Theoretical  /  conceptual  framework:  The  theoretical  framework  describes  the  prevalent  structure  
or  organisation  of  the  main  concepts  or  set  of  ideas  in  your  topic  area.  It  establishes  a  vantage  
point,  a  perspective,  a  set  of  lenses  through  which  you  view  your  research  question(s).  
• Discussion  and  analysis:  The  section(s)  in  which  you  analyse  the  evidence,  provide  research  
findings,  evaluate  and  discuss  them  in  relation  to  your  own  questions.  Again,  the  headings  and  
structure  should  be  tailored  to  suit  your  work.  [mandatory]  
• Conclusion:  a  summary  of  your  findings;  where  you  bring  it  all  together,  state  clearly  your  answer  
to  your  central  research  question  and  if  appropriate  make  recommendations  and  suggestions.  
[mandatory]  
• Bibliography:  A  complete  list  of  your  references  and  source  of  literature  used  and  cited,  and  
correctly  formatted.  All  sources  must  be  referenced  fully  and  accurately  within  the  main  body  and  
listed  in  the  bibliography  section.  Your  bibliography  must  demonstrate  evidence  of  a  well  
researched  topic  and  include  a  wide  range  of  sources.  [mandatory]  

 
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 • Appendices:  Any  information  not  central  to  your  main  text  or  too  large  to  include  such  as  maps,  
questionnaires  or  data  excepts,  copies  of  correspondence,  etc.  [optional]  

3.1.1 Length  &  Word  Limit  

§ The  main  text  of  the  dissertation  must  be  no  more  than  10,000  words  in  length.  This  excludes  text  
in  appendices,  bibliography,  table  of  contents,  list  of  figures  and  tables,  list  of  acronyms,  
acknowledgements  and  title  page.    
§ Dissertations  that  exceed  by  more  than  10%  word  length  will  be  reduced  by  five  final  marks.  

3.1.2 Format  
The  format  should  follow  the  essay  writing  guidance  found  in  the  Course  Guide.  In  summary:  

§ The  dissertation  must  be  typed  using  one-­‐and-­‐a-­‐half  or  double  spacing  on  white,  A4  size  paper  
§ The  hard  copy  must  be  bound,  in  order  that  the  dissertation  can  be  conveniently  stored  and  
referred  to  as  part  of  a  student's  record.  Please  use  heat-­‐bound  only  (do  not  use  hard  binding  or  
spiral  binding).    
§ The  DPU  can  provide  a  heat  binding  service  for  a  small  number  of  dissertations  provided  this  is  
done  well  before  the  submission  deadline.  Please  check  with  the  Administrative  Staff  if  you  require  
help  with  this.  This  service  is  also  supplied  commercially  by  several  outlets  in  central  London.  

The  following  components  should  be  part  of  your  dissertations,  but  not  necessarily  structured  ridigly  or  
using  the  literal  section  headings  in  this  way.  The  components  must  be  obvious  however,  as  you  will  be  
marked  for  evidence  on  all  of  the  below  components.    

3.2 Abstract  
An  abstract  is  a  brief  summary  of  your  dissertation  that  covers  all  the  main  points  and  conclusions.  It  should  
be  seen  as  a  standalone  paragraph  that  should  help  the  reader  quickly  ascertain  the  dissertation’s  purpose  
and  content  and  entice  them  to  want  to  read  more.  It    

3.3 Introduction  
This  should  be  a  clear  and  interesting  summary  of  the  content  and  key  findings  of  the  disseration.  It  must:  

§ Introduce  a  clear  and  well-­‐defined  research  question  or  hypothesis  

§ Give  an  indication  of  how  the  proposed  research  contributes  to  knowledge/the  possible  
impacts  of  the  research  
§ Clearly  indicates  the  scope  and  aims  of  the  study,  including  limitations  
§ Gives  a  good  idea  of  what  is  included  and  excluded  
§ Key  focus  of  the  arguments/proposition  and  findings  
§ Provide  a  short  discussion  of  the  main  question(s)  you  are  trying  to  answer,  the  hypotheses  you  
have  and  the  secondary  data/case  study  you  will  use  to  answer  the  questions  or  test  the  
hypotheses.  This  is  where  you  will  put  your  questions  in  context.    

 
19  
3.4 Literature  Review  
Here  you  need  to  discuss  existing  scholarship  /  discourse  in  your  field  of  study  and  discuss  it  with  reference  
to  your  own  topic  and  questions.  It  should  provide  a  critical  assessment  of  what  has  been  said  to  date,  who  
the  key  writers  are,  what  the  prevailing  theories  and  hypotheses  are,  and  what  questions  are  being  asked.  
It  is  important  to  highlight  where  you  think  the  weaknesses  and  gaps  are,  contrasting  the  views  of  
particular  authors,  or  raising  questions.  The  headings  and  structure  should  be  tailored  to  suit  your  work  and  
questions.  See  section  2.6  above  for  more  information.    

3.5 Theoretical  and  Analytical  Framework    

Your  theoretical  framework  is  based  on  your  literature  review  and  the  concepts  and  theories  you  discuss  
there.  The  theoretical  framework  establishes  a  vantage  point,  a  perspective,  a  set  of  lenses  through  which  
you  view  your  research  question(s).  You  may  choose  an  existing  theoretical  framework  and  apply  this  as  
your  lens  of  analysis  or  else  you  may  wish  to  abstract  the  body  of  theory  into  a  framework  that  defines  the  
interrelated  set  of  ideas  and  models  as  you  perceive  them  to  exist  in  the  literature.  By  defining  your  
theoretical  framework,  your  investigation  no  longer  hangs  loose  but  becomes  part  of  a  line  or  tradition  of  
inquiry  which  other  researchers  can  check,  replicate  or  build  upon.  It  should:  

§ Define  concepts  relevant  to  your  topic  which  can  be  applied  to  analyse  secondary  data  and/or  case  
study  material  related  to  your  research.  
§ Demonstrate  a  detailed  knowledge  of  approaches  and  contextual  literature  relevant  to  the  subject  
matter  
§ Provide  a  critical  analysis  of  relevant  theoretical  frameworks  highlighting  any  weaknesses  and  gaps  
in  studying  the  research  subject  

Hart  (1998,  p.14)  identifies  the  following  steps  towards  developing  your  theoretical  and  analytical  
framework:    

§ Identify  key  theories,  concepts  and  ideas  

§ Identify  major  issues  and  debates  (arguments)  
§ Identify  what  questions  and  problems  have  been  addressed  to  date  and  therefore  what  gaps  exist  
§ Identify  how  theory  and  ideas  have  been  applied  in  practice  
§ Understand  how  knowledge  on  the  topic  is  structured  and  organised  
§ Trace  the  origins  of  the  definition  of  the  topic  

3.6 Methodology  /  Your  Methods  

An  important  part  of  your  dissertation  is  its  methodology.  The  methodology  describes  the  philosophical  
underpinning  to  your  chosen  research  approach,  i.e.  whether  you  have  used  any  quantitative  data,  or  
conducted  a  case  study  analysis.  The  Methodology  should  clearly  outline  the  approach  you  are  taking  in  
developing  and  presenting  your  argument  and  why  it  is  the  best  way  to  answer  your  research  question(s)  

 
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and  begin  to  develop  an  epistemology.  It  should  also  define  the  methods  you  have  used  along  the  way.  You  
should  ensure  that:  

§ Your  chosen  research  methods  are  very  well  planned  and  relevant  to  the  theory  and  the  
subject/data.  You  should  be  clear  about  the  academic  reasons  for  all  the  choices  of  research  
methods  that  you  have  made  (i.e.  'I  was  interested'  or  'I  thought...'  is  not  enough;  there  must  be  
good  academic  reasons  for  your  choices).  
§ You  demonstrate  a  complete  grasp  of  limitations  of  approach(es)  adopted.  
§ You  articulate  how  your  methodology  challenges  existing  ideas  or  approaches  discussed  in  
literature.  
§ Your  methods  section  links  back  to  the  literature  to  explain  why  you  are  using  certain  approaches,  
and  the  academic  basis  of  your  choices.  You  must  explain  what  you  did,  with  any  refinements  that  
you  made  as  your  work  progressed.    

It  is  important  that  you  discuss  the  issue  of  the  methodology  used  in  your  analysis  with  your  supervisor.  As  
some  dissertation  topics  will  call  for  more  theoretical  approaches,  it  may  be  necessary  for  you  to  add  a  
separate  methodological  chapter  or  section  where  these  issues  are  clearly  discussed  and  spelled  out.  All  
dissertations  will  include  a  reference  to  an  existing  body  of  knowledge.  While  some  may  confront  this  body  
of  knowledge  with  a  set  of  theoretical  arguments,  others  may  choose  to  illustrate  or  dispute  the  arguments  
contained  in  this  body  of  knowledge  with  empirical  evidence.  It  is  important  for  a  dissertation  to  strike  a  
good  balance  between  the  literature  review  and  the  empirical  work  where  the  latter  is  the  core  of  your  
work.  You  may  also  come  across  information  gaps in  your  area  of  research,  which  you  may  find  difficult  or  
impossible  to  fill  within  the  available  time.  You  must  always  acknowledge  the  existence  of  these  gaps  by  
clearly  suggesting  in  the  main  body  of  the  text  that  you  are  aware  of  these  gaps  and  the  consequences  this  
may  have  for  your  conclusions  or  the  line  of  argument  you  are  pursuing.    

3.7 Discussion  and  Analysis  /  Research  Findings  

This  is  the  part  of  your  dissertation  where  you  present  your  findings  (i.e.  secondary  data,  an  analysis  of  
existing  findings,  and  /  or  case  study  evidence)  and  discuss  them  in  light  of  your  research  questions/  
hypothesis.  Your  analytical  or  theoretical  framework  will  help  you  to  do  this.  It  doesn’t  matter  if  your  
hypotheses  are  not  supported  –  that’s  what  research  is  about!    

If  you  have  studied  more  than  one  case  you  should  have  a  section  that  compares  your  findings  between  the  
cases.  Again  you  should  organise  this  according  to  your  analytical  framework,  questions  and    /  or  
hypotheses.  In  other  words,  you  use  your  analytical  framework  to  explain  your  findings.    

It  is  also  important  to  refer  back  to  your  literature  review  when  addressing  your  questions.  How  did  other  
authors  explain  their  data  or  results?  What  arguments  or  theories  did  they  use?  Are  these  relevant  to  your  
cases  or  do  you  need  to  develop  your  own  explanation  of  your  findings.  

A  good  discussion  section  might  incorporate  some  or  all  of  the  following:  

§ Research  findings  that  are  analysed  using  relevant  concepts  and  your  theoretical  framework  

 
21  
 § An  analysis  of  case  study  evidence  developed  into  an  argument  which  uses  the  theoretical  
framework  to  make  logical  and  coherent  links  between  evidence  and  theory  to  answer  research  
questions  
§ A  range  of  high  quality  and  relevant  of  secondary  data  
§ A  clearly  organised  and  presented  discussion  of  data  that  refers  back  to  the  concepts  outlined  in  
the  theoretical  framework  and  the  methods  in  the  methodology  

Some  dissertations  may  involve  an  analysis  of  data.  The  way  you  analyse  your  data/case  study  depends  on  
what  kind  of  data  you  have,  the  concepts  you  are  working  with  and  your  methodology.  We  assume  that  the  
majority  of  you  are  working  with  qualitative  data.  If  you  need  to  deal  with  quantitative  data  please  refer  to  
references  provided  in  the  bibliography  section  of  this  text.  

Laws,  Harper  and  Marcus  (2006,  p.381-­‐383)  suggest  that  data  analysis  is  a  process  of  taking  data  apart,  
discerning  patterns  and  trends  within  them  and  putting  them  together  again.  But  do  not  forget  that  you  
also  need  to  bring  theory  in  to  your  analysis.      

There  are  several  different  techniques  to  help  researchers  conduct  their  analysis.  Three  suggested  steps  by  
Laws,  Harper  and  Marcus  (2006,  p.382)  to  analyse  data  involve:  

§ Organising  and  cataloguing  your  data  

§ Breaking  it  down  into  its  constituent  parts  and  identifying  themes  
§ Bringing  it  back  together,  relating  different  elements  to  each  other,  and  clarifying  the  meaning  of  the  
data    

When  you  have  finished  the  categorisation  or  assigning  codes  you  can  start  to  build  up  your  analysis  
section  and  narrate  your  findings.  2  

3.8 Conclusions  and  Recommendations  Section  

This  is  where  you  reiterate  your  main  research  questions  /  hypotheses,  outline  the  data  /  evidence  you  
found  and  state  whether  your  hypotheses  were  supported  or  not.  You  should  then  review  your  discussion  
and  analysis  and  the  various  possible  explanations  for  your  findings  and  summarise  your  argument.  A  good  
conclusion  section  should  involve  the  following:  

§ A  summary  of  your  main  argument  and  how,  why  you  were  able  to  make  it  
§ Clear  answers  to  your  research  questions  (or  tests  of  hypotheses)  
§ Original  /  novel  insights  into  the  research  subject  
§ Discussion  of  implications  of  the  study  for  theoretical,  methodological  or  empirical  work  in  the  area    
§ Discussion  of  the  implications  of  the  study  for  practice    
§ Outline  of  the  limitations  of  the  study  and  identify  options  for  future  research  or  practice  

                                                                                                                       

2
 For  more  information  refer  to:  laws,  Harper  &  Marcus,  2006,  pp376-­‐422  and  Yin,  2003,  pp126-­‐  163  

 
22  
  

3.9 Bibliography    
Throughout  your  dissertation  you  must  cite  all  your  sources,  see  in-­‐text  referencing  examples  in  Annex  
A.2A1.1.  All  sources  must  be  listed  in  a  reference/bibliography  list  at  the  end  of  your  dissertation  –  see  
Annex  0  for  further  guidance.  

3.10 Appendices  (Optional)  

You  do  not  have  to  have  appendices.  But  if  you  choose  to,  then  you  can  use  them  to  show  the  raw  data,  
statistics  and  other  evidence  you  have  gathered  which  you  did  not  have  space  to  include  in  the  text  (i.e.  
policy  excerpts,  maps  etc).  If  you  used  a  questionnaire  then  this  should  be  included  here.    

3.11 Criteria  for  Marking    

Your  final  dissertation  will  be  read  and  assessed  by  two  readers.  Familiarise  yourself  with  the  marking  
criteria  in  Annex  A.3  to  help  you  include  all  the  relevant  components  for  the  highest  grade.  

3.12 Writing  Up  Your  Dissertation  

There  are  no  fixed  rules  around  how  and  when  to  start  writing  up  your  dissertation.  However,  the  following  
tips  might  help:  

§ It  is  important  to  read,  think,  then  write  up  the  final  dissertation.  This  can  be  a  cyclical  approach  
rather  than  leaving  all  the  writing  at  the  end.  You  can  take  notes  in  the  meantime,  but  only  start  to  
write  up  when  you  have  fully  formed  your  hypothesis,  research  questions,  and  have  devised  a  
structure  for  how  you  are  going  to  set  out  your  proposition.  
§ It  is  important  to  carry  out  your  literature  review  before  beginning  to  write  up  your  methodology  
as  it’s  the  theoretical  underpinning  that  helps  you  choose  your  approach  
§ Always  write  your  introduction  paragraph  and  abstract  last  as  it  should  clearly  summarise  your  
proposition.    
§ Do  start  to  write  drafts  as  soon  as  possible  however.  Bear  in  mind  that  you  will  refine  and  re-­‐refine  
your  text  as  you  find  ways  to  make  your  arguments  stronger  and  clearer.  The  draft  can  be  prepared  
by  following  the  below  steps  (adopted  from  Booth,  Colomb  &  Williams,  2008,  p.179-­‐186):    
1. Sketch  a  working  draft  which  includes:    
a. A  brief  summary  of  the  key  points  mentioned  in  the  most  relevant  sources,    
b. Rephrasing  your  research  question  as  a  statement  to  show  a  flaw  or  gap  in  the  sources,    
c. State  the  importance  of  your  research,    
d. Briefly  write  about  your  findings,    
e. Write  the  road  map  of  your  research  (e.g.  in  part  1,  I  discuss  …  part  2  addresses  …)    
2. Plan  the  body  of  your  report:    
a. Add  a  page  to  write  about  the  larger  historical  or  social  context  of  your  topic  and  
research  area  

 
23  
 b. Create  a  page  for  each  major  section  of  your  dissertation    
c. Find  a  suitable  order  for  them    
d. Plan  each  section  and  sub-­‐section  and  highlight  the  key  terms  in  each  section  and  
subsection  
3. Sketch  a  working  conclusion  
 
§ After  finishing  your  draft  you  will  need  to  revise  it  to  make  sure  that  your  argument  is  clear  and  
runs  throughout  your  entire  dissertation.  To  do  that  you  have  to  read  each  part  of  your  draft  
objectively  to  find  out  what  should  be  changed  or  reorganised.  After  that  it  is  the  time  for  you  to  
re-­‐write  your  final  introduction  and  conclusion  sections.  3  

   

                                                                                                                       

3
 To  read  more  about  the  structure  of  introduction  and  conclusion  see:  Booth,  Colomb  &  Williams,  2008,  
p.232-­‐245  

 
24  
A.1 Useful  Links  

A1.1 Online  Courses  

There  are  two  online  courses  that  you  can  take  part  to  improve  your  skills.  You  need  to  use  your  UCL  login  
information  to  be  able  to  access  these  two  courses:  

1. WISE  (Web  Information  Skills  Environment)  for  Engineering  and  Built  Environment,  this  online  
course  can  improve  your  skills  for  finding,  using  and  managing  information  when  conducting  a  
research  project.  
Course  link:  https://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=17970  
2. SKILLS4STUDYCAMPUS  course  on  critical  thinking    
Course  link:  http://www.skills4studycampus.com/StudentContent.aspx?Section=22    

A1.2 Libraries  

1. UCL  library  Catalogue:  http://ucl-­‐

primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=UCL_VU1&reset_conf
ig=true  
a. British  Library:  http://www.bl.uk/  
b. Senate  House  Library:  http://senatehouselibrary.ac.uk/  
c. SOAS  Library:  http://lib.soas.ac.uk/  
d. LSE:  
http://librarysearch.lse.ac.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=44LSE_VU1&res
et_config=true  
 

A1.3 Online  Websites    

e. Web  of  knowledge:  http://wok.mimas.ac.uk/  
f. Google  Scholar:  http://scholar.google.co.uk/  

A1.4 Policy  Reports  and  Statistics  

g. World  Bank  Development  Reports:  

http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/0,,conte
ntMDK:20227703~pagePK:478093~piPK:477627~theSitePK:477624,00.html  
h. UN  Habitat,  State  of  Cities  report  (Global  and  Regional)  and  Global  Report  on  Human  
Settlements:  http://mirror.unhabitat.org/pmss/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1  
i. UNDP:  http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/  
j. UN  Statistics:  http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm  

   

 
25  
A.2 References  &  Bibliography  

A1.1 In  Text  Referencing    

TABLE  4:  HARVARD  IN-­‐TEXT  CITATION  GUIDE  ADOPTED  FROM  UCL  GUIDE  TO  HARVARD  CITATION  STYLE4  
 

Citation  Situations   Examples  

Author’s  name  is  in  the  sentence  /   Bao  (2003)  compares  this  population  group  with…  
referring  directly  to  an  author  
Author’s  name  is  not  in  the  sentence   An  earlier  study  (Bao,  2003)  concluded  that…  
Up  to  two  authors   Bao  and  Levin  (2003)  propose  that…  
It  is  suggested  (Griffiths  and  Favin,  1999)  that  …  
More  than  two  authors   Smith  et  al.  (2006)  conducted  a  situation  analysis…  
Citing  more  than  one  publication   Harvey  (2003)  and  Liu  (1996)  have  both  found  …  
The  findings  of  two  previous  studies  (Liu,  1996;  Harvey,  
2003)  indicate  that…  
Citing  several  works  by  the  same  author   Harvey  (2003a)  suggested  that…  but  the  results  of  the  
in  the  same  year   follow-­‐up  survey  (Harvey  2003b)  challenge  …    
Citing  several  works  by  the  same  author   Harvey  (2002,  2003)  suggested  that…    
written  in  different  years  
No  author   The  previous  report  (Anon,  1994)  confirms  that  …  
No  date   A  project  evaluation  report  (Singh,  n.d.)  was  completed  
Chapters  in  edited  publications   The  reference  in  the  text  should  refer  to  the  author  of  the  
particular  chapter,  not  to  the  editor    
Author  is  referring  to  another  author     Research  conducted  by  Miles  (1984  cited  in  Davis  2000)  
suggests  that…    
Davis  (2000)  cites  research  conducted  by  Miles  (1984),  
which  suggests  that…  
Quotation:  Short  quotations  (1-­‐2  lines)   Al-­‐Hasani  (2003,  p27)  states  that  “this  method  is  …”    
can  be  included  in  the  body  of  the  text.  
It  has  been  suggested  that  “this  method  is…”  (Al-­‐Hasani,  
Longer  ones  should  be  indented  in  a  
2003,  p27)  
separate  paragraph.    
When  referring  to  a  particular   It  is  argued  that  references  (Cottrell,  1999)  are  needed  
issue/argument  put  forward  by  an  
author  
 

                                                                                                                       

4
 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ich/services/library/resources/harvard/in_text  

 
26  
 A1.2 Bibliography  Listing  
TABLE  5:  HARVARD  BIBLIOGRAPHY  CITATION  ADOPTED  FROM  UCL  GUIDE  TO  HARVARD  CITATION  STYLE5  

Citing   Examples  
Printed  books   Helander,  E.  1993.  Prejudice  and  dignity:  an  introduction  to  community-­‐based  
rehabilitation.  New  York:  United  Nations  Development  Project  
Electronic  books     Werner,  D.  1993.  Where  there  is  no  doctor:  a  village  health  care  handbook.  
[online].  Rev.  ed.  London:  MacMillan.  
http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download.php#wtnd  [Accessed  25  July  
2006]  
Book  chapters   Toole,  M.J.,  Waldman,  R.J.  and  Zwi,  A.B.,  eds.  2001.  Complex  humanitarian  
emergencies.  In:  Merson,  M.H.,  Black,  R.E.  and  Mills,  A.J.  International  public  
health:  diseases,  programs,  systems,  and  policies.  Maryland:  Aspen  Publishers,  
2001,  pp  439-­‐510.  
Journal  articles   Narayan,  J.  2006.  Utilising  existing  resources  for  inclusive  education  of  children  
with  disabilities  in  India.  Asia  Pacific  Disability  Rehabilitation  Journal.  17(1),  pp  87-­‐
93.  
Newspaper  articles   Ramesh,  R.,  2006.  HIV  will  cost  India  billions.  The  Guardian.  21  July.  pp  36  
Websites     O’Connor,  M.  1998.  Breastfeeding  Basics  [online].  Ohio.  Available  from:  
http://www.breastfeedingbasics.org/  [Accessed  28  May  2006]  
Thesis  or   Fischer,  U.,  2005.  A  literature  review  on  trachoma  management  with  illustrations  
dissertation     from  two  current  programmes  in  Ethiopia.  MSc.  University  College  London  
Conference  papers   Cameron,  V.,  2000.  HIV  information  through  drama  to  and  by  the  community  in  
Oro  Province,  Papua  New  Guinea.  In:  Cowley,  E.  et  al.  1st  pacific  regional  HIV/AIDS  
and  STD  conference,  23-­‐25  February  1999  Nadi,  Fiji.  New  Caledonia:  Secretariat  of  
the  Pacific  Community,  pp  62-­‐64.  

                                                                                                                       

5
 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ich/services/library/resources/harvard/in_bibliography  

 
27  
A.3 Marking  Criteria  
IF  YOUR   YOU  WILL  BE   NUMERICAL   DETAILED  COMMENTS  
COURSEWORK   AWARDED   VALUE*  
Is  totally  unrelated  to   F  -­‐     39%  and   Work  is  unsatisfactory.  I.e.  The  central  question  or  task  is  
the  task,  shows  no   (fail)   below   misunderstood  and  /  or  the  understanding  of  them  is  very  poor.  
evidence  of  you   It  fails  to  show  basic  grasp  of  essential  concepts  and  arguments.  
having  participated  in   There  is  no  structure  or  argument  and  written  expression  is  
the  module,  and  has   poor.    
no  analysis.  
IS  NOT  related  to  the   F     40-­‐  49%     The  central  question  or  task  is  not  addressed  very  clearly  and  
task,  shows  little   (fail)     the  understanding  of  it  is  weak.  It  presents  material  unrelated  to  
evidence  of  you   the  question  or  task.  Shows  some  familiarity  with  the  relevant  
having  participated  in   literature  but  a  poor  grasp  of  essential  concepts.  There  is  
the  module,  and  has   inadequate  comprehension  of  relevant  debates.  There  is  little  
limited  analysis.     evidence  of  analysis  and  no  critical  engagement.  The  answer  is  
structured  poorly  with  an  inconsistent  argument.  The  writing  
quality  (grammar,  style)  may  be  substandard.  
IS  RELATED  to  the   D     50-­‐53%     The  question  or  task  is  partly  addressed  and  understood,  but  not  
task,  has  some   (low  pass)     with  great  clarity  or  depth  of  understanding.  A  narrow  range  of  
analysis,  but  does  not   relevant  literature  is  consulted  albeit  understood  to  some  
fully  answer  it  –   extent.  Some  useful  concepts  and  positions  presented,  but  
instead  it  skirts  the   analysis  is  weak  or  ill  conceived  with  little  or  no  critical  
issue,  and  contains   engagement.  Argument(s)  are  structured  but  insufficiently  
irrelevant  material.     developed.    
IS  RELATED  to  the   C     54-­‐56%     Demonstrates  adequate  knowledge  of  concepts.  Much  relevant  
task,  has  some   (satisfactory)       literature  is  consulted  and  understood.  Important  concepts  and  
analysis,  and  does       positions  presented.  Arguments  exhibit  some  structure  but  are  
answer  most  parts  of   C+       not  sufficiently  developed.  Fails  to  meet  the  criteria  for  60+  
the  question  and  is   (satisfactory)     57-­‐59%     partly  because  of  inadequate  organisation,  errors  of  
structured  so  that  it   understanding,  lack  of  in-­‐depth  analysis  and  critical  reflection,  or  
reads  logically.     failure  to  support  arguments  with  reasons  and  evidence.    
 
ADDRESSES  ALL  parts   B     60-­‐64%     The  question  or  task  is  clearly  addressed.  Key  literature  
of  the  task.  The   (good)       consulted  and  understood.    Responses  to  the  question  or  task  
analysis  structure  and       are  well  organised.  Important  concepts  and  positions  are  
conceptualisation  are       presented  clearly  and  analysed  competently.  Arguments  are  
sound,  and  there  are   B+     65-­‐69%     cogent  and  supported  by  evidence  (i.e.  empirical  facts,  
no  misconceptions.     (very  good)     examples,  so  on)  and  reasons  but  might  need  further  
  development.  There  is  some  attempt  at  critical  reflection.    
ADDRESSES  ALL  parts   A     70-­‐74%     Topic  addressed  clearly  and  with  precision.  Wider  reading  
of  the  task  and  has  a   (excellent)       beyond  key  texts  demonstrated.  Literature  is  well  understood  
clear  structure,       and  appropriately  employed.  Analysis  of  concepts,  arguments  
conceptualisation  and       and  positions  is  rigorous  and  thorough.  The  articulation  of  
analysis  and  brings  in       concepts  is  illustrated  with  evidence.    The  argument  
additional/own     75-­‐79%   demonstrates  a  systematic  attempt  at  critical  reflection.  
material,  and   A+        
integrates  with  other   (outstanding)       Meets  all  the  assessment  criteria  and  demonstrates  critical  
modules  and  the   thinking  and  contains  elements  of  originality  and  sophistication.  
Course.   The  arguments  logically  developed,  cogent  and  properly  
supported  by  evidence  and  reasons.    
ADDRESSES  ALL  parts   A+     80%  and   Meets  all  the  conditions  for  an  A+  and  in  addition  displays  
of  the  task  and  has  a   (outstanding)   above   further  strength  such  as  originality,  or  outstanding  technical  
clear  structure,   competence,  and  considerable  breadth  and  depth  in  knowledge  
conceptualisation  and   of  literature.  Of  publishable  standard.  Makes  a  theoretical  
analysis  while   contribution  and  /  or  offers  original  empirical  data.    
demonstrating  an  
outstanding  level  of  
insight  and  critical  
engagement  with  the  
issues.  

 
28  
A.4 Example  Title  Page  Layout  
 
 

Title of the Dissertation

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

MSc <XXX>

10,000 words

FirstName SecondName
MSc Course Name

Supervisor: Name of Supervisor

Development Planning Unit, University College London

1st September 20xx    

 
29  
A.5 Declaration  of  Ownership  Form  
DECLARATION  OF  OWNERSHIP  AND  COPYRIGHT  FORM  

1.  DECLARATION  OF  COPYRIGHT  

I  confirm  that  I  have  read  and  understood  the  guidelines  on  plagiarism  produced  by  DPU  and  UCL,  that  I  
understand  the  meaning  of  plagiarism  as  defined  in  those  guidelines,  and  that  I  may  be  penalised  for  
submitting  work  that  has  been  plagiarised.  

Unless  not  technically  possible  and  with  the  prior  agreement  of  the  Course  Director  for  my  MSc  
®
programme,  the  dissertation  report  must  be  submitted  electronically  through  TurnitinUK .  I  understand  
that  the  dissertation  cannot  be  assessed  unless  both  a  hard  copy  and  an  electronic  version  of  the  work  are  
submitted  by  the  deadline  stipulated.  

I  declare  that  all  material  is  entirely  my  own  work  except  where  explicitly,  clearly  and  individually  indicated  
and  that  all  sources  used  in  its  preparation  and  all  quotations  are  clearly  cited  using  a  recognised  system  for  
referencing  and  citation.  

Should  this  statement  prove  to  be  untrue,  I  recognise  the  right  of  the  Board  of  Examiners  to  recommend  
disciplinary  action  in  line  with  UCL's  regulations.  

2.  COPYRIGHT  

The  copyright  of  the  dissertation  report  remains  with  me  as  its  author.  However,  I  understand  that  a  copy  
may  be  given  to  my  funders  (if  requested  and  if  appropriate),  alongside  limited  feedback  on  my  academic  
performance.  

I  also  understand  that  a  copy  may  also  be  deposited  in  the  UCL  E-­‐prints  public  access  repository  and  copies  
may  be  made  available  to  future  students  for  reference.  

Please  write  your  initials  in  the  box  if  you  DO  NOT  want  this  report  to  be  made  available  
publicly  either  electronically  or  in  hard  copy.    

 
 
 
YOUR  NAME:    

MSC  PROGRAMME:    

SIGNATURE:  
 

DATE:  
 

   

 
30  
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Yin,  R.K.  (2003).  Case  study  research:  design  and  methods,  Los  Angeles:  Sage  Publications  
 

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