Unit 5 Project Submission (Masters Dissertation Workbook)

Unit 5 Project Submission

Site: Moodle - Edinburgh Napier University

Course: SOE11537 2025-6 TR1 001 - Masters Dissertation Workbook: Unit 5 Project Submission

Printed by:

Table of contents

Unit 5 Project Submission

5.1 Project presentation

5.2 Order of sections

5.3 Writing  technique

Unit 5 Project Submission

You will be required to submit your dissertation online via Turnitin.

There are two submission opportunities for the project (for details of the dates please see the `Assessment and Submission` section on the Moodle page). It is completely up to you which of these submissions that you chose - but you should liaise with your supervisor.

5.1 Project presentation

Your aim is to present a project that is relevant and coherent, and can be understood by a well-informed person with a basic understanding of the topic area.

5.1.1 Project length

The project should be 14,000 (±10%) words, excluding figures, tables, reference list and appendices. Everything else - from the start of your introduction to the end of your conclusions - is counted. Your title page, declaration, abstract, acknowledgements, contents page and any lists of tables/figures are not included in the word count.

5.1.2 Typographic detail

The text must be typewritten. Text should be 1.5 spaced, 12 point.

Pages should be numbered consecutively throughout, including appendices, but excluding title page, other preliminaries and illustrative material which is not embodied in the text.

Page numbers should be located centrally at the bottom of the page, approximately 10mm above the edge.

5.2 Order of sections

There is a fairly standard order for presentation of your project. Normally it should adhere to this, although minor deviations are possible e.g. a case- based project would normally contain a descriptive chapter about the organisation at an early stage in the document.

The following elements are integral to your project:

5.2.1 Initial elements

 Title Page

The title of the project should be a concise statement of what the project is about.

The document must contain a title page giving the following information, suitably spaced and arranged:

Edinburgh Napier University Business School Name of Programme

Masters Project Project Title Your Name

Date of Submission

Declaration of originality

Using the Project Declaration template in the `Assessment and Submission` section of Moodle, you must sign the declaration that the work in your project is your own and that where you have used other authors’ work, due acknowledgement has been given.

Table of contents

The table of contents contains the headings and sub-headings of the chapters and sections of the project, with the number of the pages on which these chapters and sections begin.

The title page, abstract and acknowledgements are not entered in the table of contents and therefore the first item to be listed is the title of the first chapter or a preface/introduction.

The table of contents should contain all the chapter/section headings, together with the headings of the appendices (if any).

All headings should correspond exactly in wording, arrangement, punctuation and capitalisation with the headings as they appear in the body of the written project.

The number of the page on which the division begins in the text of the project is given in the table of contents in Arabic numerals.

List of Tables, Figures and other materials

If the project contains figures, tables, or other types of material, each series of these should be listed separately on the page immediately following the table of contents. A new page for each list should be given, which should follow the format of the table of contents.

The number of the item is given at the left hand margin of the page under the appropriate column heading entitled “Figures”, “Tables”. The number is followed by the title of the item. Tables, figures, etc. should be numbered according their chapter and position in that chapter. Thus, Figure 2.10 is the tenth figure in Chapter two.

Acknowledgements

It is customary that projects carry an acknowledgement of assistance, supervision or collaboration given by companies, other agencies and individuals.

Abstract

The purpose of the abstract is to give a succinct summary of the work in terms of its context, aims, methodology adopted and major findings and conclusions. The abstract does not, therefore, act as an introduction to the body of the text. The abstract should be contained on one page.

Introduction

In this section there is an explanation of the background and importance of the study, the purpose of the investigation and an overview of the content/structure of the project. The introduction should lead the reader directly to the issue with which the project is concerned, and this may include a few academic references to contextualise the gaps/reasons for researching in the subject area. It should include the aims/objectives and allow a well-informed individual to understand the nature of the project. Any constraints should be clearly brought out here.

5.2.2 Main elements (body)

The main body of the project begins with the first page of the first chapter or section. Each chapter or section should represent an important division of the project. Special care should be given to dividing the text into paragraphs and the use of sub-headings to help the reader.

The chapters are identified by Arabic numerals and the sub-sections as specified 1.5 and 1.6.

Each chapter should have a title identifying the subject contained therein, and it should begin on a new page.

The chapter title should be preceded by the words CHAPTER (ONE, TWO, etc.). The title should be centred on the page and typed in capitals. Sections of chapters should be clearly separated. No more than two types of subdivision should be used when numbering chapter sub-sections.

Footnotes may be used in moderation to make short statements to amplify or qualify points which might otherwise disrupt the flow of the text. Long and/or frequent footnotes should be avoided, and bibliographical references should never be put as footnotes. If the student cites an author who has published more than one paper in any given year, they should differentiate between these papers in the text by using Howe (1990a, 1990b), for example.

Literature review

This is not only a record of all the important contributions relevant to the topic area, but an evaluation and critical comment of the work to date. The references should be largely academic and up-to-date, demonstrating your prowess at researching and selecting appropriate and relevant literature. This chapter should culminate in how this literature informs the research question(s) and is a natural lead in to the ensuing methodology and methods chapter detailing how you will collect the data to investigate your research question(s). Quotes should be restricted to include only those that are truly hard-hitting (‘killer’) or seminal ones – in most situations, paraphrasing in the text and appropriate citation makes the project easier to read. Appropriate citation conventions are essential here.

Research approach

The underlying methodological stance should be justified here, together with the research design (e.g. survey, case studies, sampling regime etc.) and methods (e.g. interviews, questionnaires, focus groups etc) utilised in order to collect the data. Reference to research methods texts is expected. Details of the analytical tools/process (e.g. statistical analysis, template analysis etc.) should also be included. Piloting details should be included here, as well as general logistical details (e.g. when the data were collected, how questionnaires were distributed etc.). Ethical considerations must also be addressed here.

Findings and discussion

These are the findings which relate to what you set out to do. They need to be comprehensive and presented in a suitable form such as tables, charts, statistics and illustrations, as appropriate. Tables and charts need to be constructed so that they can be understood in isolation, and students should not fall into the trap of describing in words what they have already presented graphically. Raw data (e.g. an example of a transcript, or numerical codings of data) are generally relegated to an appendix where they can be consulted by anyone wanting the original details. Illustrative data, composed of raw data which students have analysed, is included in the text.

Although the discussion may be a separate chapter, this usually means repeating yourself if you have presented the ‘factual’ findings. It is usual to critically analyse the results in the context of the literature and research aims at this point, commenting on their significance in relation to previous work in the same area. Highlighting similarities and differences in your findings with those of other authors would normally be included here.

5.2.3 Final elements

Conclusions, recommendations and reflections

Appropriate conclusions should be drawn from the research undertaken (and cross-referenced, as appropriate). These should invariably relate back to your aims/objectives. Recommendations should be clearly specified: these should not consist simply of a series of generalised statements but should contain details of how they might be put into effect.

An element of self-reflection in your personal and professional development should be included (around 500 words). This could link specifically to your MBA project research, but may also incorporate learning from other modules – giving examples (and evidence) of how your learning has impacted on you both personally and professionally are expected. You may also link this to learning styles/models, development needs identified at commencement of the programme, etc.

This chapter would normally conclude with some suggestions for further research may be included here.

Bibliography/References

A reference list should be used for all articles, texts, web documents etc. that are cited in your main project. The style used is the APA 6th referencing system. The APA 6th style of referencing has been adopted by The Business School at Edinburgh Napier University since 1st September 2016. In this, the author’s last name and the year of publication are given in the main text to form a link to the full reference section. Full bibliographic details of each reference are given in a list of references arranged alphabetically by author name and year. There are very specific requirements for how the full reference is listed and the instructions for the position of capital letters, commas etc. must be precisely followed – see http://www2.napier.ac.uk/ed/plagiarism/students.htm and http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/vice-principal- academic/academic/LTA/Lists/Resources/Attachments/49/Business%20School%20Referencing%20Guidelines%202016.pdf

You should not number your references in the end list, nor should you use bullet points. The Business School APA 6th Referencing Guide is available on the Moodle page.

Appendices

The principal purpose of an appendix is to keep the text of the project from being cluttered and interrupted with supplementary, minor and illustrative materials. Appendices are completely optional and do not carry separate credit.

Appendices may include:

• the text of pertinent documents
• tables that present extensive data, or data of minor or ancillary importance,  the text of legal decisions or laws
• very lengthy quotations, forms of documents,
• blank questionnaire/interview schedule templates,
• blank ethical/informed consent documents templates,
• if (and only if) they are pertinent to the subject matter of the project, and they cannot be incorporated into the main body of the text.

Appendices should appear immediately after the reference list. Each appendix should begin on a separate page. The appendix page should continue the regular pagination of the project. Appendices should be designated sequentially as Appendix A, Appendix B etc. and they should appear in the order that they are referred to in the text. Whenever possible and appropriate, the source of the material in the appendix should be given.

5.3 Writing technique

Beginning to put your ideas onto paper is a way of clarifying your thoughts and it is normal to write several versions or drafts of the project. Do not be hesitant about starting to write, but do make a plan for the section being written and have to hand all notes and research data. However, keep in mind that all the sections must relate to each other to form a coherent whole – remember you are writing a single document, around 14,000 words long, not a number of 1000–1200 word essays. Writing technique is clearly important in this regard. Remember, you can find some useful information about critical and academic writing in the Research Methods/ Research Skills for Managers module.

5.3.1 Order of writing

The order in which you write the sections is unlikely to be sequential and the literature review can usually be written at an early stage. A typical sequencing could be:

• Make a final plan of the project structure
• Write the main text of the literature review
• Write the main text of the research approach and methods  Write the main text of the findings
• Write discussion conclusions/recommendations and abstract  Compile appendices and references
• Write introduction  Write abstract
• Write acknowledgements

5.3.2 Writing style

A well-written project should be easy to read and understand, and it has been traditional in academic writing to adopt a more impersonal style of writing (this is not set in stone, but this approach is generally used in dissertations/projects) e.g.

Impersonal: The sample was selected using quota sampling.

Personal: I selected the sample using quota sampling.

The usual rules of grammar, spelling and paragraph construction apply, so use the grammar and spell check on WORD, as necessary. Sentences should not be too long (on average twenty words in length) and avoid long words if a short one is adequate. Avoid jargon and slang at all costs. Abbreviated English, such as “wasn’t” in place of “was not”, is too informal. If abbreviations for technical terms are being used, be sure to write the term in full when it is first used. You should also restrict one main idea to a particular paragraph.

In written reports, a common problem is lack of depth, a weak argument and imprecise analysis. A critical approach or expository style is expected in academic work i.e. you should question, challenge, prove, refute, interpret, speculate, argue, analyse, evaluate, integrate, differentiate.

This will lead to more meaningful discussion, conclusions and recommendations which are frequently the weakest sections in postgraduate projects/dissertations. Make sure that information is recorded in the correct section and that there are logical links between the sections.

5.3.3 Editing and reviewing

Word processing means that it is relatively easy to edit a document, but remember the word processor is only a tool. You still need to think in sentences and paragraphs and write with correct grammar and syntax – the length of a paragraph is not determined by the page break made automatically by the computer!

Good presentation can have an initial impact on the examiner. Try to structure your project logically and ensure it flows from start to end – sections should be consistently numbered, indented, headed with a different font, etc.

5.3.4 Document writing checklist

Ultimately, the timescale for writing your project is finite and it is unlikely that you will ever be entirely satisfied with your project. The main points to review in the document are listed below:

1. Logical order/argument
2. Aims/objectives directly addressed
3. Clear, interesting style and presentation
4. Findings justified by evidence
5. No unreasonable generalisations
6. Data appropriately presented e.g. in tables, charts or diagrams
7. No materials missing or irrelevant
8. Information in appropriate section
9. Accurate references to figures, appendices and reference section
10. References in the APA 7th style
11. Consistency in format of headings