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Dissertation Guidelines for Undergraduate Study
Writing a Dissertation: What is it?
The Dissertation module is for final year Honours students. It is a core requirement for Parttime and 2+2 Social Studies degree students. A dissertation offers the opportunity to
undertake independent research on a topic of your choice within the field of adult and lifelong
learning. It enables you to explore a topic in more depth than an assignment essay. As it is
your piece of work you have to:
have an idea for an area of research
identify your research questions
decide how to undertake the research
analyse and write up the data critically
A dissertation is 10,000 words in length, including references but not appendices. Writing a
dissertation is a good preparation for post-graduate work.
A dissertation should be:
A piece of small-scale research which can be completed, start to finish, in the amount
of time you would spend in and out of class for a regular 30-credit module
Enjoyable to carry out
Organised into chapters and with a contents page, references and bibliography
Often, but not always, based on your own personal experience of learning as an adult
or at work or in a voluntary activity
Often, but not always, linking theory with practice
There should be some empirical research in your dissertation. This may be modest in
scale but first hand research will "lift" the overall quality of your dissertation and
enable you to conclude, perhaps in a very qualified way, that your findings support,
contradict, or modify the literature on the problem you have investigated. If there is no
empirical research planned for your dissertation, talk to your supervisor about it!
Module Objectives
On completion of your dissertation you should be able to:
demonstrate the ability to conduct a major piece of social science (adult education)
inquiry by using research approaches and secondary data acquired in Levels 1 and 2
demonstrate academic written skills through the presentation of an extended piece of
writing
Structure
A dissertation should be a sustained argument. This means that it should draw upon the
results of your reading, thinking and information-gathering in such a way that it could
persuade readers to accept your understanding of the topic. In other words, the main aim is
to use a selection of concepts, theoretical ideas, observations, statistical findings and your
own faculties of criticism and imagination in an attempt to reach defensible conclusions about
a topic which interests, challenges or puzzles you.
A very typical format of a dissertation is the discussion of a larger problem or issue followed
by a smaller-scale piece of empirical research (eg, the larger issue is why fewer men than
women enter higher education as adult students, and the smaller-scale piece of research
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explores the issue in one higher education institution; the larger issue is „mentoring‟ as a
means of staff development and the smaller-scale research explores mentoring in a
workplace). The small scale empirical research thus throws some light on the larger issue.
The larger issue provides a framework within which the small scale research sits.
A dissertation should not be:
A class essay which has grown to 10,000 words
A project that will require years of activity or an army of researchers in order to be
completed
About 5,000 words long or about 15,000 words. Much too short or much too long
implies that there was insufficient work on defining the project
The Structure of the Module
The dissertation module is different to other modules as you are working on your own. Once
you have identified a research topic you will be allocated a supervisor who has knowledge of
your area of study.
In order to do this you will be asked to complete a form outlining your topic of research, your
research questions and how you are going to undertake the research (see page 8).
Once you are allocated a supervisor you need to make contact with her/him. It is not the
responsibility of your supervisor to chase you as this is an independent piece of work. Your
supervisor will offer guidance and support in relation to your research questions,
methodology, analysis and literature through tutorial sessions. You will be entitled to up to
three hours of individual tutorial support - CLL‟s website (Contact information:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/cll/cllteam/) for email/phone details of your supervisor.
As writing a dissertation can be a lonely experience the Centre offers the opportunity to
attend three group tutorials during the academic year. The first group tutorial is held early in
October to discuss possible areas of research and to discuss what a dissertation involves.
The second group tutorial focuses on research methodology and the third on analysing and
writing up your data. Group tutorials also enable you to meet other students and share any
problems and issues as well as positive experiences.
Getting started
The biggest hurdle lies not in the technique of researching or carrying out the research or
writing up the research but in deciding what it is you want to find out. This is the thinking
stage. Ask other people what they think of the topic (this will make you think more clearly). It
is essential to choose a topic which interests and motivates you. You should now be able to
move ahead knowing that you are really committed to the project. Do not panic if you find
that you need to adjust your topic or research questions as this often occurs in doing
research. It is a good idea to have a look at previous dissertations written by students.
Please contact Sally Blakeman for this.
Topic
The topic should be not only broad enough to make connections with current debates in adult
education and lifelong learning but also sufficiently narrow in focus to enable you to deal with
questions in depth. Topics are initially best framed as questions which force you into
investigative and enquiring mode rather than being merely descriptive. So, „Current issues in
adult education‟ would be much too broad and unfocussed, but „What factors act to exclude
adult males from participating in higher education?‟ would be acceptable. Similarly, „Current
discourses in lifelong learning‟ would be too broad, but „How has radical adult education
theory influenced practice?‟ would be appropriate. Your choice of dissertation topic also
needs to take into account the resources and time available to you.
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Getting Started: Defining the Project
Try to write just one or two sentences defining your project. This will provide a good test for
you. “I want to research and write a dissertation about ....................”. Do not be too
ambitious about the project. Many projects start off by being far too ambitious in scope and
have to be reduced in scale - a shorter time-span, a smaller number of case-studies, fewer
aspects of the problem to be researched, etc. You may need to redefine the project after you
have started.
Getting Started: Outcome and Process
It is unlikely that your research will produce a new paradigm for the Social Sciences, or
completely revise the way we understand the value of, for example, the process of staff
development in a local Careers Education Service. But you will contribute to understanding if
your dissertation is well organised and has an empirical dimension which gives some
outcome or findings, however modest. Your dissertation is also of interest as a record of a
research process. Telling the story of the research may be as interesting as what you find
out. One way to ensure you do this is to keep a research journal or diary in which you record
what you do and how it goes. For instance, last year, one student had great difficulty in
obtaining responses to a questionnaire she had sent out. It took considerable efforts by her
to build up her credibility so that the questionnaire would be answered. This process is one
of the most interesting parts of the dissertation to read.
Getting Started: Write it Down
Write it down! References, dates, articles you see in newspapers. You won't remember and
it will take hours to chase up half-forgotten facts in six months time.
Getting Started: Time-Management
The beginning of May seems a long way off now but it will come round quickly so start writing
early on. See your supervisor frequently. Don't put off writing or making appointments.
What to expect from Supervision
Your tutor will read your dissertation chapters and offer guidance and suggestions for
improvement. It is, therefore, important to send any work for reading in advance of a tutorial.
However, your supervisor will not read and comment upon your final draft.
Managing Your Dissertation
As this is independent study without weekly lectures and seminars, you need to be
disciplined in terms of time management. Once you have identified a research area and your
supervisor has approved it you need to make a work plan. You need to remember that you
need to allocate the same amount of weekly time to your study as your other modules.
What Type of Research?
A dissertation can involve the following types of research:
empirical fieldwork such as a questionnaire survey, interviews, life
history/biographical interviews, or a combination of these
a critical discussion of theory
use of secondary data such as literature, diaries, existing data sets
policy analysis
Writing Your Dissertation
The following is a guideline for your chapters‟ structure:
Title Page
Contents Page (include a word count)
Chapter 1: Introduction
A brief outline of the topic and how you came to choose it; what you wanted to find out; how
you tackled it, and perhaps how your results fit into the broader picture. It is also the place to
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include a brief description of the background, context and setting in which the study has
taken place.
Approximately 1,000 words plus.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
A review of the literature you have found on your subject, with particular emphasis on
theories and debates on the subject. This will place your project into a broader academic
context and may give you a theory or hypothesis that you wish to test in your empirical
research. Approximately 2,000 words.
Chapter 3: Methodology
A review of the methods you used to carry out your research with a discussion of the
strengths and weaknesses of the approach you followed and the approaches you rejected.
A discussion of any ethical issues raises by the research - see below. Types of Dissertation
and Methods of Research. Approximately 1,000 words.
Chapter 4: Results
An account of what you found from your study. Approximately 2,000 words.
Chapter 5: Discussion
A more critical analysis of the results in which you discuss the results in the context of your
original aims, the literature review. Approximately 2,000 words.
Chapter 6: Conclusion and, if appropriate, recommendations for action. Approximately
1,000 words.
References
Appendices
When writing your dissertation it is important to remember that you will not get your chapters
„right‟ first time. They will be drafts which you need to read, revise and improve upon. Once
you have an approved topic you can start to write your introductory chapter. This will outline
why you have chosen this particular topic - this can be related to your own biography and
experiences. You also need to state what you are researching, your key research questions
and how you will carry out your research. While you are conducting your fieldwork you can
begin to write your literature review. It is advisable to complete this by the beginning of the
spring term.
Do not leave the writing of your dissertation to the last minute. Remember that you will also
have other assignments to write and revision for examinations to do.
Some simple hints for beginners:
Thinking of the dissertation in terms of chapters makes 10,000 words appear to be
much less daunting that it may appear to you now!
Start writing early. You do not write a dissertation in three phases: thinking then
researching then writing up. Writing up can start almost immediately and by
Christmas you should certainly have the introduction, literature review and research
methodology chapters written - you can always come back to them, revise them,
edit them, etc.
You can add acknowledgements if you wish (My deepest thanks must go to Katie
without whom this dissertation would never have been completed on time) but this
is probably best kept between you and Katie. Do you want a preface - and if so
what would it say?
Sub-headings within chapters may be helpful. It is useful to state clearly what you
are going to say at the beginning of each chapter and then summarise at the end of
each chapter as this helps to keep your reader fully informed of where the
dissertation is going.
You must write in paragraphs, not in bullet points or in sentences that appear on the
page as if they were paragraphs. A paragraph will normally have about 150 words
and convey one important stage of the argument.
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Two less obvious hints:
You can organise the literature review by author in which case it will appear
something like:
Jones (1990) said the following about training in Coventry ......
Smith (1992) said the following and disagreed with Jones in the following
respects.... Byrd (2000) said the following and concluded that ......
Conclusion - the main themes in the literature are as follows ......
A better approach is to organise the literature by theme or issue in which case it will
appear as:
There are three areas of disagreement in the literature on training in Coventry
The first disagreement concerns funding and here Jones and Smith disagree with
Byrd
The second concerns the qualifications framework and here Jones and Byrd
agree
while Smith...
The third concerns who has access to the training and here…
This second approach is better because your objective as a student must always be to
master information and to make it your own - to impose your own structures on the
information and not passively to summarise the views of others.
You may find that you wish to draw together into one single results chapter my two
suggested chapters on results and discussion. That's fine. A more important question
concerns how you present your results. Let us say that your research consisted of six indepth interviews. Do you present the results of each of the six interviews and then compare
and contrast the responses? Or do you identify the main themes in the six interviews and
organise your findings into these main themes? There is something to be said for each
approach. Whatever you do, you will need to think about how best to present your results.
Searching for Information
While your supervisor will make suggestions for reading you will also need to use your
independent learning skills and search the library OPAC system and Google Scholar for
relevant books, journal articles, etc.
It is important to keep a record of all books, journal articles, etc, you have read as these need
to be included in your references. You need to use the Harvard System (see below).
If you think that an extract from the literature you read will be useful as a quote you need to
make a note of the page number and year of publication.
Referencing
The Centre for Lifelong Learning uses the Harvard referencing system. However, please note
that other departments at Warwick may use another system. Harvard is used in the following
ways:
In the text of the essay the author/s name/s have to be quoted together with the date of
publication in brackets, for example:
As Scott (1995) argues we do now have a mass higher education system.
Biographical methods are now a popular approached to research on adult education
(West 1996, Alheit & Merrill 2004).
If a quote is used from a text the page number has to also be included:
For Bourdieu the habitus is „the site of the internalization of reality and the externalization
of identity‟ (1977: 205)
In the reference section references need to be cited in the following way:
-
-
The author‟s surname following by a comma
The author‟s initial/s
The date of publication in brackets
If the book is edited you need to put either (ed) or (eds)
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-
-
The title of the book in italics. If it is a chapter from an edited book the title of the book
and not the chapter referred to has to be in italics. If a journal article is cited the title of
the journal has to be in italics. References to journal articles must also include the
page numbers of the article at the end of the reference.
The place of publication and publisher follows the title. For example:
-
Jenkins, R (1996) Social Identity, London, Routledge
Merrill, B (2005) „Dialogical Feminism: other women and the challenge of adult education‟
in International Journal of Lifelong Education, Vol 24, No 1 (January-February), p 41-52
Scott, P (2004) „Researching widening access: an overview‟ in Osborne, M, Gallacher, J
& Crossan, B (eds) Researching Widening Access to Lifelong Learning, London,
Routledge
A policy document should be referenced stating first the policy organisation, followed by the year
in brackets, the title of the document in italics, place of publication and finally the publisher:
DfES (2002) New Transformation Programme to Raise Standards in Further Education
and Training, London, Department for Educations and Skills
The Library has a referencing guide here:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/main/help/guidespublications/bib_cit/
Appendices in Dissertations
Appendices can be attached to dissertations and these are not included in the word count.
Appendices offer supporting evidence of your work. You, therefore, need to assess whether
or not this is the case rather than putting a large amount in the appendices.
Relevant appendices include:
Evidence of research instruments used such as a questionnaire or interview
schedule, letters to participants, research logs, etc.
Research data such as interview transcripts, statistical tables. However these should
not appear only in the appendices. You need to integrate interview quotes or
statistical tables into the dissertation text.
Technical information relating to sources, for example, access to research sites,
limitations of secondary data sets.
Brief policy documents of organisations studied.
Ethical Issues
All social science research is guided by a code of ethics, including research undertaken by
undergraduate students. Please see pages 9-11 for further information.
Dissertation Binding
Printing and binding are handled by the Bookshop online at:
www.warwick.ac.uk/go/bookbinding - please choose the soft binding in red.
Useful References for Writing a Dissertation
Most of these are aimed at postgraduate students but will still be useful:
Bell, J (2005) Doing your Research Project: a Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education, Health
th
and Social Science, 4 edn, Buckingham, Open University Press – entire text available online via
Google Scholar
Burnett, J (2009) Doing Your Social Science Dissertation, London, Sage
Glatthorn, A & Joyner, R (2005) Writing the Winning Thesis or Dissertation, London, Sage
Wyse, D (2006) The Good Writing Guide for Education Students, London, Sage
Hunt, A (2005) Your Research Project: How to Manage It, London, Routledge
Allison, B & Race, P (2004) The Student’s Guide to Preparing Dissertations and Theses, London,
Routledge
Adamson, A (1990) A Student’s Guide for Assignments, Projects and Research, Oxford, Thamesman
Berry, R (2004) The Research Project: How to Write It, London, Routledge
Walliman, N (2001) Your Research Project: A step-by-step Guide for the First-time Researcher,
London, Sage
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References on Research Methods (General):
Bryman, A (2008) Social Research Methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press – comes with a
companion web site
Gilbert, N (ed) (2005) Researching Social Life, London, Sage
Gray, D E (2004) Doing Research in the Real World, London, Sage
Hammersley, M (ed) (1993) Social Research, London, Sage
May, T (2001) Social Research: Issues, methods and process, Buckingham, Open University Press
Handing in Your Dissertation
The completion date is outlined in the Centre‟s handbook. You need to hand in two copies of
your dissertation. These must be bound in red and contain the following information on the
front page:
Your student number (not your name), the title of the dissertation, the date of
submission (eg, May 2007) and the statement: “A dissertation submitted in partial
fulfilment of the degree of Bachelor of Honours at the University of Warwick. I
confirm that the attached represents my own work, and that I am aware of the
University‟s Regulations on Plagiarism”.
Plagiarism
The University of Warwick regards plagiarism as a very serious issue. See information given
in the Undergraduate Student Handbook issued by the University. In submitting assessed
written work it is important to beware of plagiarism, which is the unacknowledged use of
other people‟s material. The University regards this as cheating and it can have serious
consequences, even if it is unintentional. To avoid any misunderstanding, always put
quotations from other authors within quotation marks and give full references to every source
you use, even if you are not quoting directly from it. Module tutors will be happy to give you
advice if you are worried about plagiarising unintentionally.
Extensions
Extensions will only be granted in extenuating circumstances such as ill health or severe
personal problems. You need to contact your supervisor if you require an extension.
Marking
Dissertations are marked by your supervisor and a second marker. The same marking
criteria applies as assignments. Your dissertation may be looked at by an External
Examiner.
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Centre for Lifelong Learning
Preliminary Dissertation Proposal – Please complete this form and send to
[email protected] or by internal mail to Dr Barbara Merrill, Centre for Lifelong
Learning
Name
Email
Topic/area for research
Key questions
Availability of evidence and relevant literature
Possible research methods
Timescale and planning of activities
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Centre for Lifelong Learning
Ethical Approval for Research by Students in CLL
All research undertaken by students and staff within the Centre for Lifelong Learning must
conform with the University‟s and the Centre‟s ethical guidelines. There are separate
procedures for staff and students. This guidance addresses the latter.
All students undertaking research are required to complete the appropriate form before
undertaking research for small projects and dissertations. The completion of the form is an
opportunity to discuss ethical issues with your tutor/supervisor. The form is intended both as
a learning exercise as well as an administrative process to ensure compliance with CLL‟s
policy.
Undergraduates will be expected to undertake research projects which are characterised by
common and straightforward ethical issues. You should complete the ethical approval form
before starting your research project. The form may be obtained form the CLL website.
Your form should be signed by yourself and your supervisor and returned as a paper copy to:
Dissertations: Dr Barbara Merrill
Your ethical approval form will be reviewed and may be approved, approved subject to minor
amendments or declined. If any changes are required you should undertake these in
consultation with your tutor/supervisor. The form should then be resubmitted.
Further Guidance
The British Sociological Association‟s Statement of Ethical Practice:
http://www.socresonline.org.uk/info/ethguide.html
Research Ethics for Projects Involving Data Collection with Human Participants
http://www.socscidiss.bham.ac.uk/s8.html
British Educational Research Association (BERA)
http://www.bera.ac.uk (in publications section)
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Centre for Lifelong Learning
Dissertation: Research Ethics
NAME: ……………………………………….
The Centre for Lifelong Learning is committed to ensuring that research conducted by its
staff and students follows the highest possible standards of integrity. To ensure this all
proposals for research will be subject to a process which considers the ethical aspects.
This form should be completed and signed by both dissertation student and supervisor. It
must be returned to Dr Barbara Merrill by 16 October 2009. Students must not commence
any field-work until this form has been submitted.
The last part of this form will be detached after its submission, to preserve student anonymity
during the marking process. The remainder of the form will then be attached to the
dissertation when it is submitted.
You should make sure that the methodology section of your dissertation addresses relevant
ethical issues and your approach to them.
Dissertation title/topic:
Supervisor:
1.
You need to familiarize yourself with the following resources on research
ethics:
The British Sociological Association‟s Statement of Ethical Practice:
http://www.socresonline.org.uk/info/ethguide.html
Research Ethics for Projects Involving Data Collection with Human Participants
http://www.socscidiss.bham.ac.uk/s8.html
British Educational Research Association (BERA)
http://www.bera.ac.uk (in publications section)
2.
Please answer the following questions to help you refine your consideration of
research ethics:
Does the study involve participants who may be particularly vulnerable or unable to give
informed consent? (eg: children; people with learning disabilities)
YES
NO
Will it be necessary for participants to take part in the study without their knowledge/consent
at the time? (eg covert observation of people in
non-public places)
YES
NO
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Will the study involve discussion of sensitive topics? (eg drug use)
YES
NO
Could the study induce psychological stress or anxiety or cause harm or
negative consequences beyond the risks encountered in everyday life, either to the
researcher or the research participants?
YES
NO
If you have answered yes to any of these questions, please discuss the implications
with your supervisor.
3.
We confirm that we have considered the ethical implications of the dissertation
research and the research methodology is consistent with good practice.
University Student Number:
Signature of Supervisor:
Date:
--------------------------------------------------------Student Name:
University Student Number:
Dissertation Topic:
Signatures of:
Student
Date:
Supervisor
Date:
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