Dr Brittany Jones NAB 4.04

In addition, all students will be allocated an individual dissertation supervisor during MT in year two.

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Management. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Students on other Department of Management Postgraduate Programmes are welcome to attend the preparation sessions.

Dissertations are based on a research question which students are required to agree with their assigned dissertation supervisor during MT in year two. Students are encouraged, but not required, to relate their research questions and dissertations to the business projects carried out as part of MG489.

Research questions may be investigated by:

(a) Framing the question via a literature review and examining the problem in more detail through a small scale empirical research project, using either primary or secondary data sources; OR

(b) Carrying out an extended literature review to provide a rigorous analysis of existing research investigating the problem.

1 hour and 30 minutes of lectures in the MT. 6 hours of lectures in the LT.

Students are required to attend a course of five lectures during MT and LT in year two covering the following topics:

Lecture 1 (MT): What is a dissertation? Getting started and writing your proposal 

Lecture 2 (LT): Refining your research question and thinking about research designs

Lecture 3 (LT): Designing qualitative research

Lecture 4 (LT): Designing quantitative research

Lecture 5 (LT): Writing up an exemplary dissertation

Students are required to write a short research proposal (maximum of 1,000 words), to be submitted as set out in the policies of their degree programme, with their proposed research question.

Partington, D. (2002) Essential Skills for Management Research. London. Sage Publications.

Other readings will be provided during lectures in MT and by dissertation supervisors.

Dissertation (100%, 6000 words) post-summer term.