GUIDANCE ON THE DISSERTATION STRUCTURE, CONTENT AND MARKING CRITERIA
The structure of your dissertation
You are required to follow the structure below.
The suggested word lengths of each chapter are noted in the list below. Please be aware that these are guidelines and you might want to adjust them depending on your specific research area. You should discuss and agree this in advance with your dissertation supervisor.
You will find further information about each of these components of the dissertation in the information below.
The word length of your dissertation
The dissertation has a word limit of 10,000. You must not exceed this limit and if you do so you may incur a penalty mark.
The references and appendices are not included in the word count.
Title page
We will provide you with a template for this.
Abstract
This should be no more than a page in length. You should write it at the end, once you have a final draft of your dissertation, and it should cover the following:
- What you did: outline the specific purpose of your research, including a clear statement of the central research question/problem.
- How you did it: state the methods used to undertake your research
- What you found: summarise the main findings of your research.
Contents page
This simply sets out the structure of your dissertation by listing the main sections and the page numbers.
Dedication and acknowledgments
This is entirely optional, but there might be people you want to thank. If you are thanking participants in your study then make sure not to state anything that might identify them.
Keep this as brief as possible.
The main body of your dissertation
This consists of:
Introduction
Literature Review
Methods / Data collection
Results / Analysis
Conclusion
You should think carefully about each of these sections because they require you to include different types of information. To help you decide what to include, we have listed below the main marking criteria that will be used to assess your work. Read this very carefully.
The Marking Criteria
Your dissertation will be assessed against a set of marking criteria used by all the markers. These criteria are listed below for each section of the dissertation.
Our suggestion is that you look at these criteria frequently throughout the whole of your research to ensure that you stay focused. Please do not leave it until you are writing up because that might be too late.
Of course when you are writing up the different sections of your dissertation it is important for you to reflect on how you are presenting your work to meet these marking criteria.
| Introduction (250 words) | |
| Is the rationale/justification for the research clearly explained? | |
| Is the research question(s) or problem clearly stated? | |
| Literature Review (3000 words) | |
| Has appropriate literature been chosen for review? | |
| Is there sufficient competence displayed in summarising the literature? | |
| Is the literature review broad/extensive enough? |
| Methods / Data collection (2000 words) |
| Is there an adequate explanation of the research strategy/approach? |
| Have appropriate methods been used to tackle the research question/problem? |
| Has the choice of methods been justified? |
| Is there a full explanation of how the methods were used? |
| Is there an adequate explanation of the data collection process and choices made (eg. sampling, selection of data base, conceptual framework)? |
| Is the process, as described, appropriate (i.e. without serious flaws)? |
| Is there an explanation of any problems encountered and how these were overcome? |
| Is there an awareness of any limitations in the approach taken? |
| Analysis & Findings (4000 words) |
| Have the data been analysed using appropriate techniques? |
| Is there evidence of the competent use of specific techniques (at a level appropriate for an MSc student)? |
| Have the data been analysed sufficiently to meet the research objectives? |
| Is there sufficient evidence of general analytical competence/insight at a level appropriate for an MSc student? |
| Is there an effective use of summaries/tables/diagrams or other appropriate data presentation devices? |
| Is there evidence of the ability to draw effective inferences or conclusions from the analysis? |
| Is the written discussion of the analysis and findings competent? |
| Conclusion (750 words) |
| Are the implications of the results/findings discussed adequately? |
| Is there an attempt to relate the results/findings to the literature reviewed? |
| Are the results/findings used explicitly to answer the original question? |
| Are limitations adequately discussed? |
| Are areas for possible further study identified? |
References
We expect you to provide an accurate list of references that you have used for your dissertation. You must use the Harvard referencing system and you must ensure that your reference list is complete – in other words that every reference cited in the main body of the dissertation is listed at the end.
You will all be familiar with the Harvard referencing system because you have been using it throughout the year. We expect you to be able to use it accurately and failure to do so will incur penalty marks.
Appendices
You may include any items in the appendices that provide supplementary information about your research and which might be useful for the examiner to see. However, all essential information should be included in the main body of your dissertation. If you are in doubt then you should consult your supervisor about what to include in the appendices.
You should keep appendices to a minimum. Remember it is somewhere to place supplementary information that you consider useful but not essential for the examiner to see. Remember also that an examiner may choose not to refer to an appendix, so if you think the information is vital to your analysis or argument then it should be provided in the main body of the dissertation.
Presentation (How your dissertation looks)
We expect high standards, so you may incur penalty marks if you fail to meet the required standards in these areas:
Referencing
Failure to reference adequately
Inaccurate use of the Harvard (name, date) system
Incomplete references
Formatting
Failure to comply with the published specified formatting instructions
General presentation
Inadequate abstract
Including illegible tables and diagrams
Errors of grammar that inhibit understanding
Frequent spelling errors/typos (i.e. more than 1 per page)
