BUSINESS DISSERTATION: MAR042-6

Putting Everything Together

My thanks to Dr. Rosemary Burnley, who produced this guide

Expected Outcomes

Demonstrate aptitude in the development and implementation of a

management based research investigation;
Demonstrate the ability to plan, monitor and control (project manage) the
research to a successful conclusion in a structured, skilled and
professional manner;
Critically assess and determine a range of suitable research methods to
progress the Dissertation.
Produce a critical and detailed review of literature pertinent to the topic
under investigation;
Implement and evaluate a suitable process of data gathering
Expected Outcomes (Cont.)

Produce a written thesis that demonstrates a robust investigation, focus, rationale,

analysis, interpretation, and conclusions for an empirically based business phenomenon.

You should also identify findings and conclusions with respect to the frame of reference
developed from the literature review and rigorously justify and defend the research
process, findings, and conclusions/recommendations within the Dissertation
 The Structure of your Dissertation

The layout of the majority of Dissertations follows a standard convention:

Title page (see Appendix V for Template)
Abstract
List of Contents
List of Figures and/or Tables (if applicable)
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Findings/Analysis/Discussion
Conclusions (and Recommendations where appropriate)
References
Appendices
 Title Page

The title should be clear and succinct and accurately describe the contents of the
Dissertation. Do not write the abstract or summary on the title page or the recommendations
or conclusions.
The title page must also include:
Your name
The date
The name of the course
The name of the department and University
Any statements of confidentiality (page ii).
NOTE: A template for this is in the Appendices of the Handbook
The Abstract

The abstract should succinctly set out what the Dissertation has accomplished in terms of:
The stated aims and objectives
What it looked at (the problems)
How it looked at it (research methods, concepts, models)
What was found
The limitations of the research
What conclusions can be drawn and recommendations made.
Keep the abstract brief (around 250 words); it should not be too detailed, but must
provide the salient points of the research. Remember, you cannot write the abstract until
the report is finished!
 Introduction

The introduction should state the purpose and intention of the project by setting out:
Background history/information
The detailed aims and objectives
Identification of the problem
Any definition of terms (if no Glossary)
The general methodology to be used in the investigation
Keep it brief and stick to the significant points only.
For those counting words, remember that appendices are useful for providing supplementary
information and backing up arguments and discussions and can be excluded from the word count.
Literature Review

It will be necessary for you to understand the fundamental issues involved in the chosen area of
research therefore a substantial amount of reading is required. In essence, a literature review offers,
"… a selection of available documents (both published and unpublished) on the topic, which
contain information, ideas, data, and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfil certain
aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated, and the
effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed.”(Hart, 1998, p.
13)
Be prepared to read a lot; be prepared to write a lot. The essence of a good literature review is to be
able to set out and critically develop the main themes or schools of thought on the chosen topic.
Compare and contrast specific ideas, models or commentators within one of these schools, or
combine themes from various schools and synthesise them into a coherent and rigorous analytical
framework of your own. Remember that the model or framework you ultimately end up with must
be able to shed some understanding on the topic under investigation – so it must be able to be
defended.
Methodology

All research employs some form of data and information collection; how these are collected and
the problems associated with such collection are important factors to be considered within the
context of the research.
A methodology can been defined as, “A system of methods and rules to facilitate the collection and
analysis of data. It provides the starting point for choosing an approach made up of theories, ideas,
concepts and definitions of the topic.” (Hart, 2009, p. 28).
The precise methods of conducting the research will vary depending on the topic and the question.
There are advantages and disadvantages to all methods of data collection, and some may be
inappropriate for certain studies. It is important that you consider carefully the methods you choose,
as they must then be justified in terms of the approach taken.
Findings/Analysis/Discussion

This is the part of the project where the facts or evidence are presented. The presentation should be
structured around the conceptual framework chosen and must incorporate references, views, ideas,
and critiques from that perspective.
Remember: the Management Dissertation is meant to be an in-depth piece of work focusing on a
narrow issue or problem - do not try to fit in all your discoveries, facts, histories and information
that you generate, use only that which is specific and relevant to the main issues and which meet
the set objectives.
Arrange material into groups of similar information and sub divide as you feel necessary
Give each section a heading which indicates the contents
Ensure that all related ideas are grouped together and not scattered throughout the report
See that sections follow each other logically: chronologically; geographically, historically
Present the facts then analyse the information.
Build your argument step-by-step towards your conclusions
Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions and recommendations can be combined or dealt with

separately though the latter is more usual in larger research projects. They
should be clear and precise and they are better listed with headings.
Conclusions should draw out the implications from the main body of the
work. They should always relate to the conceptual/theoretical framework
of the report and you should not introduce new material into this section.
Recommendations should be based only on the explicit conclusions and
should describe a clear course of action.
References

All referencing should be wholly consistent with Harvard style. You

should refer to the various information/sources made available to you.
There are study guides from the University. There is also information in
several research books in the library. Note, there are a number of
referencing styles used throughout academia, ensure that you use Harvard,
simply copying and pasting from another source and claiming it is right
will not be good enough if it isn’t consistent with the Harvard style you
use.
Remember; reference lists are written in alphabetical order.
 Appendices

Appendices contain all the supporting information that would otherwise

hinder speed-reading of the report. It is also where you place all the
information you have collected in the form of data, letters etc. Appendices
are used to present:
Information which is useful to the understanding of the presentation but
not essential to the text.
Information which is referred to continuously in the text and has therefore
no one logical position in the text.
Other supporting evidence not available in normal published sources and
held only by you. e.g.: letters, trade literature, etc.