Dr Shakuntala Banaji, STC. S103

Compulsory unit for MSc Global Media and Communications, MSc Media and Communications, MSc Media and Communications (Research), MSc Media and Communications (Media and Communication Governance), MSc Media, Communication and Development, and MSc Politics and Communication.

The aim of this dissertation is for students to pursue an independent piece of research within the field of media and communications following the guidelines provided in the MSc Dissertation Guide and the instructions by the School's staff members.

The dissertation is usually a combination of theoretical enquiry and original empirical enquiry concerning an issue in the field of media and communications. On rare occasions it is based on a theoretical interrogation. Students are encouraged to select a topic that reflects the content of their MSc programme. In all cases, students must obtain the approval of their supervisors before embarking on any research. The dissertation must be word-processed. It should be not less than 10,000 words and not more than 12,000 words in length.

Supervisors will be allocated according to student dissertation proposals early in LT. The supervisor will advise the student, help provide information and bibliography, and identify likely problems with the research proposed. Students may expect to see their supervisors in both individual and group sessions, but should note that supervision is not available after the end of ST. Detailed dissertation guidelines will be issued to all students during MT and are also available in the MSc Dissertation Guide and via a 20 minute 'how-to' Dissertation film on Moodle.

(1) Dissertation symposiums: a two-hour symposium will be held towards the end of LT for all students and another will be held in the summer term.
(2) Dissertation workshops: each supervisor holds three two-hour workshops for their supervisees: (i) early in LT, after supervisors have been allocated; (ii) towards the end of LT; (iii) week 6 or 7 of ST.
(3) Dissertation tutorials: ad hoc sessions for each student and their supervisor that can be organised during term-time in office-hours.

Students are required to submit Ethics Checklists and Dissertation Plans to their supervisor in LT and ST.

Two hard copies of the dissertation must be submitted to the Department of Media and Communications MSc Programme Administrator on the last Friday of August 2012. Students are also required to upload their dissertation file(s) to Moodle by the same deadline.

There are no formal reading lists, but students are encouraged to consult handbooks on how to write dissertations. In addition, students are advised to consult dissertations submitted in previous years for style and formatting purposes and to make sure that they are not replicating previous work.