The guide below represents a small part of what you need to investigate when undertaking your dissertation. The intention of these materials is not to provide research training as such but rather to help the students move into the work of doing their dissertations. Currently, work relating to research methods and critical approaches to research reading and writing is integrated into one of our course modules (Intercultural Perspectives on Academic Writing and Research). By contrast, the materials below comprise part of a short intensive program held at the end of the second semester just prior to students starting to focus more seriously on their own research projects.
These activities can be staged over two one hour sessions or a single two hour session and involve a lot of small group discussion. Students are expected to question each other to probe beneath the surface so that topics become clearer and more refined. This gives them what is often a first chance to talk about their own particular research interests with peers and encourages them to develop their ideas in an informal but directed situation.
Normally the materials are presented on PowerPoint slides with supplementary handouts along the lines of what is below. After each stage we would normally have some kind of plenary feedback.
About Dissertations
Get into a small group and talk about the following:
Why do you think we ask you to do a dissertation?
What’s it for?
What do you think are the main differences between this and a coursework essay?
What are you looking forward to doing and what are you dreading?
(This activity followed by a plenary helps to dispel some myths and allows the students to voice uncertainties that they might have. It also reveals that their individual concerns are actually held in common).
Dissertation Topic
It is quite common for you to have a strong idea of the topic you want to write about. It may be an idea that you already had before joining the course or it might be something that you have become interested in during the course. For example, you may want to do your dissertation on the topic of ‘The Role of English in the World’ which is one of the key themes of the whole course. However a topic is not enough by itself. A topic needs to be controlled in some way to prevent it from being too general or too vague. This ‘control’ is what turns a topic into a research project.
Look at the following topics that previous students started out with when they were at a similar stage as you.
What further information would you need to know in order to understand what the dissertation is actually about? Think about the questions you might ask the students concerned.
Native speakers in ELT in China
The discourse of computer mediated communication
Code switching
The relation between language and culture
If YOU were going to write about these topics, what particular aspect(s) would YOU focus on?
(These topics can, of course, be replaced according to the relevant discipline)
Dissertation Title
Now look at the titles of the dissertations. How do they help narrow down the topic?
What do they tell you about the focus of the research?
What do they tell you about the work involved in the dissertation?
What kind of data do you think the students obtained and how?
What is the contribution of native speakers in ELT in China and how can they be best used?
The discourse of Computer Mediated Communication: code-switching and mode-switching in Nepalese on-line communities
Code-switching among English speaking Turkish communities in London
The relationship between language and culture in Ghana: a comparative study of address terms in two speech communities in Cape-Coast.
(Plenary feedback could involve a comparison of their own views with those chosen by the actual writers)
The way you move from topic to title is not as easy as it appears here, however. The process involves an interaction between your chosen topic, the initial questions you have about the topic, the further questions that arise as a result of your reading and the insights you develop (which result in further questions) from analyzing your data. In other words, your ideas develop in the course of actually doing the dissertation.
Starting to Write
It’s common for people to think of research as a sequence of activities moving from one to the other as if in a straight line. This is because when we read other people’s research it looks as if this is how it’s done. However, what research looks like when it’s been published doesn’t really represent ‘what you did in order to do the work’ as the physicist Richard Feynman complained in his 1966 Noble Prize speech.
IF you take the approach that first you’ve got to do all the reading (research context, methodologies, theories etc.) and then you do all the research (data collection, data analysis etc.) and then you come up with all the conclusions (discussion and implications) and finally you write it up, you’ll find it difficult to make progress. You’ll probably get stuck at the reading stage.
HOWEVER, if you start writing from the very beginning, you are more likely to get into the work itself and your reading will be more focused and therefore more relevant. Doing a dissertation is not a linear process, it is more like a series of cycles of activity involving all elements of your research work. The first cycle is to find out what you know about your chosen topic already.
Doing A Dissertation
What You Already Know
Get together with one or two other students and talk through the following questions:
What topic are you planning to discuss?
What particularly interests you about it?
Why is it worth writing about?
What sort of things do you want to find out?
How is it relevant to what you’ve been doing recently (at work? on this course?)?
How is it relevant to you personally?
Make sure you ask your colleagues to go into as much detail as they can. You might also discuss the following questions:
About the data:
What kind of data are you hoping to collect?
How are you thinking of getting it?
Why do you think this data will be helpful?
About the research context:
Who else has looked at this?
Whose work are you planning to read?
What kind of analytic framework are you planning to use?
Don’t worry if you don’t have ‘answers’ to all these questions. They are just to help you begin to work out your ideas. You might even be able to suggest things to one another. Remember, though, that you will all be at different stages depending on the projects you are developing. The important thing here is to use this opportunity to explore the ideas you already have and to help others to do the same.
(Feedback can involve discussion about whether and how these discussions have been helpful).
Now that you’ve talked about your research, you’re ready to start writing. In preparation for your first supervision session, write out ‘answers’ in response to the questions above. Use these questions to help you work through your ideas in writing. You don’t have to do any reading at this stage, rather start writing about what you already know, what you want to find out more about and what you’ll need to do to find it out. This will ensure that your own ideas and questions will lead your research. This, in turn, will help you manage your reading and refine your research methods. It will also mean that you have something concrete to bring to your supervision session which helps your supervisor to help you. A further advantage of this process is that it provides you with the basis of your first chapter (a working introduction) and means that you will have already started writing the dissertation itself.
Throughout your life in the academic arena, you will be required to provide a proof of your writing. One such useful technique is to provide references for the other people’s work from which you have borrowed their ideas.
What is referencing
Referencing is a system that allows you to acknowledge the sources of information you use in your writing. If you do not reference your sources you are plagiarizing. Direct quotations, facts and figures, as well as ideas and theories, from both published and unpublished works must be referenced.
When to Reference
You must provide a reference whenever you quote, paraphrase or summaries someone else’s ideas, theories or data. You must also reference any graphic information you use. Some of the sources you will need to reference include:
books or chapters in books
journal or newspaper articles
conference papers
films or television programs
personal communications like emails, interviews or letters
electronic sources such as web pages, journal articles from online databases, or usenet groups.
The importance of accurate citation and dissertation referencing
To prevent plagiarism-If you draw upon other people’s work in your writing and research and do not acknowledge those sources, you can be accused of plagiarism.
To enable you quickly locate information you have already cited
To enable your supervisor or instructor to check the veracity of the information quoted
Correct citations allow others to follow up sources you have referred to, so citing is in the interests of scholarly investigation and the sharing of ideas.
Moral Rights – The Copyright Act includes a section called “Moral Rights” which applies when you reproduce works such as text or images that are subject to copyright. This section protects the moral rights of an author to have their work accurately acknowledged and treated with respect.
An author/artist/creator can take legal action if their work is copied without due acknowledgement or if it is incorrectly attributed to someone else. Furthermore their work must be treated with respect and not subjected to any prejudicial treatment. Hence due acknowledgement of an author’s work can now be seen as a legal requirement as well as good academic practice.
Which dissertation referencing style should I use?
There are number of referencing styles available for use. Your college or instructor will provide you with guide on which referencing style you need to adapt. Some of these referencing styles are listed below:
Harvard (also called the Author-date style)
Numeric (also called the Numbered List or Vancouver style)
MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) for literature and the Humanities
APA (American Psychological Association) for Psychology
AIP (American Institute of Physics) for Physics.
Whatever style you use, it is very important to be clear, consistent and correct, making sure you include all the relevant details.
When do I need to give references?
You need to give a reference if
you quote the exact words of another author
you paraphrase or summarize a passage by another author
you use an idea or material based directly on the work of another author
The Harvard style of referencing
As pointed earlier, Harvard style of referencing is just of the many styles available. However, this style is the most common used in the arts and social sciences. One might find other systems in other disciplines because the things they reference have different requirements (e.g. legal or political documents). Some of these referencing systems use footnotes. However, the
Harvard System does not use footnotes. Again, in the Harvard system, there are varying versions of it. You might find other that this manual provides a slight different version from the one you have been taught in class. We are not looking for something perfect, but a real attempt in using the system. Kindly check with your supervisor or institution you are studying to confirm the acceptable version of the Harvard style of referencing.
How does it work?
The Harvard system consists of two parts:
In-text citation
This is done within the body of your work. In making reference within the body of your text, you generally provide the name of the author(s) and the year of publication in the text.
References (List of references)
This involves providing the name of the author(s), the year of publication in the text and giving the full details of where to find the reference at the end of your report. This section is called references or list of references. Only those sources you have used in preparing your work and cited directly in the text need to be included at the end of your report.
In-text citation
As pointed earlier, in-text citation is accomplished by providing the name of the author(s) and the year of publication the main body of your text. As a result the general rule is to give the surname of the author or organization name in the case of the companies followed by the year in which the source was produced.
Below are different variations of in-text citation
Referring to an author’s viewpoint in your text
Author(s) for books and reports
Again there different cases, but the basic format is Author (Date).
If the author’s name occurs naturally in the sentence
If the author’s name can be incorporated sensibly into the text, the year is followed in parentheses
e.g. suppose you have read a book written by Adisai Jones in year 2008, then you have to cite inside your main body of the research document as follows:
Jones (2008) argued that all organizations need to adapt the new accounting standard for their final reports to make sense.
If the name does not occur naturally in the sentence
In this case, both the author’s name and year are given in parentheses e.g. Following a study on new accounting principles auditing focus has also shifted (Jones 2008), from…
If there are two or more authors
In this case the surnames of both authors are given. e.g. In a study of auditing and investigation, Jones and Evans (2008) established… e.g. In a study of auditing and investigation (Jones and Evans 2008), the results showed that…
If there are more than two authors
If there are more than two authors the surname of the first author is given, followed by et al. This is a terminology meaning and others. e.g. Smith et al (2007) concluded that marketing research … e.g. Marketing research is core to the existence of the business (Smith et al 2007) such that….
If you have two authors with the same surname </DIV>
When you have two authors with the same surname, then Initials are included to distinguish. <DIV align=left>e.g. The ERP model was suggested by B.A. Morgan (2003), with some modification later by C.H. Morgan (2006).
If the author(s) has more work published in the same year
When a author has published more than one cited document in the same year these are distinguished by adding lower case letters after the year within the brackets. e.g. Jones (2008a) argue that… However, Jones (2008b)….
If you refer to an author of a chapter in an edited book
Suppose you refer just to one chapter in a book within a collection of chapters coming from different authors, provide an in-text citation fro the author of the chapter you want to cite, but give the date of the book. e.g. David (2003) provides a general model for portal organisation in a higher learning institution.
If you are citing a series of reference at the same place in the text
In this case the references should be listed in chronological date order, with the earliest first. e.g. Morgan (2008), Jenkinson (2006) and Smith et al. (2004) argued that…
Summary, paraphrasing and quotation
If you are summarizing or paraphrasing a specific page or section, then you start with the author, year of publication, colon followed by page number(s). e.g. Smith (2007:37) showed that… e.g. Marketing research is core to the business (Smith et al 2007:89) such that…. If you are summarizing the entire book, you do not need to provide the page numbers. For quoting work of a given author(s), the same technique is applied. However the exact words are placed between double quotes. e.g. “The number of users determines whether the database is classified as single-user or mult-user” (Rob and Coronel 2007:8).
When Author is an organisation
Some sources may be produced by organizations and not individuals. In this case you should use the name of the organization in the author’s place omitting any leading article (e.g. A, The). In the same manner, if a publication is produced by an organisation and no individual is credited as the author, treat the organisation as the author. e.g. IAA runs postgraduate diploma in accountancy and finance as well as certificates programs in accountancy, information technology and computer science (IAA 2006).
Author’s name not given
When the author name is not given, use Anon in place of the author. The number of entrepreneurs is increasing in Tanzania (Anon 2003) Note: the keyword Anon stands for anonymous author.
If there is no date on the publication
If you do not know the date of publication, use “n.d.” (which stands for “not dated”) in place of the year. e.g. VfM Steering Group report (n.d.) identifies a number of challenges facing management of student record systems in higher education.
Secondary referencing – Authors quoting other authors
Coventry (2007) refers secondary sources as “second hand sources”. Therefore, try to find the original source before you make us of the secondary sources. If you find the original source, cite it as explain above. However, if you do not find the original source, cite it by giving the author’s name, then write ‘cited in’ and give the author of the book or article you have actually read.
e.g. (Smith 2007: 65 cited in Jenkinson 2008: 89).
Citing a journal article
In citing a journal article follows the same procedure by providing the author(s) of the article and the year in which the journal was published.
e.g. Zastrocky and Yanosky (2002) proposed integrated…
Referencing figures, diagrams, tables and graphs
Tables, diagrams, graphs and figures should be referenced if they are based on another’s work. The reference would normally be given after the title of the diagram or table. These references for diagrams etc. must also be included in the list of references.
Example
reference-example
Figure XXX ERP architecture (Zastrocky and Yanosky 2015)
Electronic Sources
Information taken from the Internet should be cited in a similar fashion to its printed counterparts. Therefore, for any source accessed online including electronic journal, electronic book, e-mails, electronic figures, tables, pictures just to mention a few; give the author’s surname or the corporate author and the data in brackets.
Note: For website and other electronic sources, do not give the full web address as this will be included in your list of references.
e.g. Tzonline (2015)
e.g. (IFM 2015).
e.g. IAA (2015)
Compiling List of References
Harvard style of referencing requires each source cited inside your text to be full referenced at the end of your work. This is well placed in a section called the List of References or simply References. Normally this section is after conclusion and recommendation chapter. The full references should be in alphabetical order arranged by surname.If you do not have an author then list the item alphabetically by title. If an author has more than one publication, list the publications chronologically with the earliest first. It is important to remember a list of references contains details only those works cited in the text and not everything you have read for your work. On the other side, a bibliography includes all sources you have read and which are relevant to the subject. Harvard style of referencing requires one to use List of References and not bibliography. Kindly check with your supervisor to see which one you should use.
Below are the different styles for writing list of references
A book by a single author
For a book with a single author, the format is Author’s Surname, first name initials. (Year of publication) Title. Edition (if not the first), Place of publication: Publisher. The following example shows how this format works:
Morgan, B. (2007) Managing IT for Information Age. Arusha: Oxford
The explanation for the above citation is as follows:
Morgan, B. (2007) Managing IT for Information Age. Arusha: Oxford
[Author] [Year] [TITLE (Italicized or underlined)] [Place of Publication] [Publisher]
Some more examples are given below:
Munguatosha, G. (2007) MS Word 2007 for beginners. London: Macmillan.
Mwaitete, C. (2005) Economics for beginners. 3rd ed. Nairobi: Towson
A book by two authors
In this case follow the format given below:
1st Author’s Surname, first name initials. & 2nd Author’s Surname, first name initials. (Year of publication) Title. Edition (if not the first) Place of publication: Publisher.
Examples for two authors are as follows:
Bird, P. (2002) Understanding Company Accounts. 3rd London : Pitman Publishing
Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2004) Exploring Corporate Strategy: texts and cases 7th London: FT Prentice Hall
Shirima, L. & Shasha, S. (1998) A first course in accounting. Arusha: Levi Press.
A book by more than two authors
All authors need to be listed in your list of reference. A common mistake by most of the writers is to use “et al.” in the list of references. The keyword et al should only be used in the in-text citation and not the list of references.
The suggested format is:
1st Author’s Surname, first name initials, 2nd Author’s Surname, first name initials. and nth Author’s Surname, first name initials. (Year of publication) Title. Edition (if not the first) Place of publication: Publisher.
Examples
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students.3rd London: FT Prentice Hall
Tessa, M., Ruzegera, L. & Hansi, W. (2006) Tanzania Election 2005 Dar Es Salaam: UDSM Press.
Multiple works of the same author
Where there are several works by one author published in the same year they should be differentiated by adding a lower case letter after the date. Remember that this must also be consistent with the citations in the text.
For multiple works the required format is:
Author, first name initials. (Yeara) Title of book . Place of publication: Publisher
Author, first name initials. (Yearb) Title of book . Place of publication: Publisher
Author, first name initials. (Yearc) Title of book . Place of publication: Publisher
And so on, depending on the number of sources taken from the same author
Examples
Deshler, C., and Lincoln, Y. (2006a) A framework for human resource management 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall
Deshler, C., and Lincoln, Y. (ed.) (2006b) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research 3rd ed. Thousands Oak, CA: Sage
When you have both an editor and author
If the book you are referring to has both editor and author(s), then give the author’s surname as usual and the date in brackets, then write éd. by’ and give the editor’s surname and initials, followed by the title in italics then full stop. Finally give the place of publication followed by colon then the publisher.
Some examples include:
Denzin, N. (2005) ed. by Lincoln, Y. The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. 3rd ed. Thousands Oak, CA: Sage
A chapter from an edited book
Sometimes you need to reference only one chapter from a book which contains many chapters which are written by different authors. In this case adapt the following format:
Chapter author’s Surname, initials. (Year of publication) ‘Title of the chapter.’ followed by In Title of book. ‘ed. by’ Surname, Initials of editor(s) of publication Place of publication: Publisher: Page number(s) of the chapter.
Examples
David, E. (2003) ‘Campus portal strategies.’ In Designing Portals: opportunities and challenges. by Jafari, A. and Sheehan, M. London: Information Science Publishing: 68-88
Bantz, C. (1995) ‘Social dimensions of software development’ In Annual review of software management and development by Anderson, J. CA: Sage: 502-510.
Weir, P. (1995) ‘Clinical practice development role: a personal reflection’ In Innovations in nursing practice by Kendrick, K., Weir, P. and Rosser, E. London: Edward Arnold: 5-22.
A book produced by an organization (a corporate author)
For a book with a corporate author, the format is Corporate name (Year of publication) Title. Edition (if not the first), Place of publication: Publisher e.g.
NBAA (2007) Financial Accounting Manual Dar Es Salaam: NBAA
A printed journal article
When citing a printed journal article in the list of references, use the following format:
Author’s Surname, Initials. (Year of periodical issue in which article appeared) ‘Full title of article.’ Full Title of Journal volume, (issue if available) page numbers of whole article including its notes and references
However, some journals do not specify an issue number. In these cases use the Volume followed by the date shown on the journal. Here are the examples on how to cite an article on the printed journal:
McClea, M. and Yen, D. (2005) ‘A framework for the utilization of information technology in higher education admission department.’ International Journal of educational Management 19, (2) 87-101
Morgan, N. (2001) How to overcome ‘change fatigue.’ Harvard Business Review 79(7) 1-3
Pearce, L. (2003) ‘Our stakeholders: requirements for institutional portals.’ The Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems 33, (1) 11-16
A Report
For a report follow the format below:
Surname, Initials or Corporate author (Year of publication) Title of publication Report Number (where relevant) Place of publication: Publisher.
Example
Ministry of Health (2005) Choice and opportunity: primary care: the future no.245. Dar ES Salaam: Government Printing
Wangwe, S.(1988) Industrial Property Protection and Technological Innovation: A Case Study of Tanzania Geneva: UNCTAD
Newspaper articles
For newspaper articles the required format is as follows:
Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of article.’ Full Title of Newspaper,
Day and month: page numbers
Example of how to cite the newspaper in the list of references is given below:
Danda, K. (2008) ‘Forensic audit unit must be effective.’ Daily News 16 March: 7,9
Dissertation-Referencing
A conference paper within conference proceedings
For a conference paper within conference proceedings, the format is as follows:
Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of the paper.’ In Surname, Initials. (ed.) Title of the Conference Proceedings, ‘Title of the Conference.’ Held Full Date at Location of the Conference. Published location: Publisher: Page numbers
Example
Brown, J. (2005) ‘Evaluating surveys of transparent governance.’ In Smith, A. (ed.) Proceedings of the UNDESA Conference on transparent government, ‘ 6th Global forum on reinventing government: towards participatory and transparent governance.’ Held 24-27 May 2005 at Seoul, Republic of Korea. New York: United Nations: 67-72
Conference proceedings
Here, give the organization as the author then the date in brackets. Put the title of the conference followed by the full stop within single quotations marks. Give the conference location and then the title of the conference proceedings in italics then a full stop. Give the surname and initials of the editor or organizer followed by ‘ed.’ in brackets. Finally, give the place of publication followed by a colon then the publisher.
Example
ACM (2007) ‘Conference on Network design and analysis.’ Durban(2007) Use of IPVer6 in network design. Lawton, D. (ed.) Nairobi: Moi University Press
Thesis, dissertation or research report
The required format is:
Author, Initials. (Year of publication) Title of dissertation. Unpublished Level thesis or dissertation or report, Name of the higher learning Institution
Example
Morgan, B. (2007) Analysis of the Network traffic of IAA LAN. Unpublished MSc dissertation, IAA
Annual report
The required format is:
Corporate author (Year of Publication) Full title of annual report Place of publication: Publisher
Example
Shoprite (2007) The annual report 2006-2007 Johannesburg: Shoprite
List of references for electronic sources
The principles of referencing information found on the internet and electronic sources are basically the same as for other material. However, for the web based sources, you will also need to include the uniform resource locator (URL), or web address. Make sure you write down the URL exactly as even the smallest mistake in the punctuation can mean that it is not possible to retrieve the site.
It is also important to include the exact date on which you accessed the web site to find the information you are using to support your work. This is because, unlike books and journal articles etc, web sites are updated or change frequently and you need to indicate which version you used.
This section presents different forms of electronic sources and how to write the list of references at the end of your report.
CD-ROM, DVD or video
The required format for referencing is given below:
Corporate Author (Year of publication) Full title of DVD or video. [Medium e.g. CD-ROM] Place of publication: Publisher [Accessed Date of Access]
Example: Mwananchi Films (2008) Great films from the 90s. [DVD]. Dar Es Salaam: Mwananchi Films [Accessed 4 March 2008]
Journal articles from an electronic source
For journal articles from an electronic source the format is as follows:
Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of article.‘ Full Title of Journal [online] Volume number, (Issue/Part number) Page numbers if available.
Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]
Example
Feld, C. and Stoddard, D. (2004) ‘Getting IT right’ Harvard Business Review 82, (2) 72-79 [online] available from
<http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&an=12109042> [Accessed 27th July 2006]
E-version of annual reports
For an e-version of an annual report (or other document) the required elements for a reference are:
Author or corporate author (Year) Title of document or page [online]
Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]
e.g. Marks & Spencer (2004) Annual report 2003-2004. [Online] Available from: <http://www-marks-and-spencer.co.uk/corporate/annual2003/> [accessed 4 June 2005]
Online newspaper articles
For newspaper articles found on line newspapers the required format for a reference is:
For newspaper articles the required format is as follows:
Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of article.’ Full Title of Newspaper,
Day and month: page numbers [online]
Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]
Example of how to cite the online newspaper in the list of references is given below:
Danda, K. (2008) ‘Forensic audit unit must be effective.’ Daily News 16 March: 7,9 [online] Available from <http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/editorial/?id=3556> [Accessed March 24, 2008]
For websites the required elements for a reference are:
For a normal website, whether belonging to the individual or corporate, the following format is adopted:
Author or corporate author (Year) Title of document. [online] Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]
Example
Oracle (2015) PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal [online] available from <http://www.oracle.com/applications/portals/enterprise/enterprise-portal.html [5th September 2015]
IAA (2006) About IAA [online] available from <http://www.iaa.ac.tz/pages/iaa/about_iaa.html>[13th July 2015]
E-book
For e-books the required format is as follows:
Author (Year) title of the book [online] Place of publication: Publisher
Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]
Example
Shaman, R. (2005) Commuting in the dark [online] Chester: Castle Press. Available from <http://www.freeebooks.com / E-books> [Accessed 5 June 2005]
An online conference paper within conference proceedings
For an online conference paper within conference proceedings, the format is as follows:
Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of the paper.’ In Surname, Initials. (ed.) Title of the Conference Proceedings, ‘Title of the Conference.’ Held Full Date at Location of the Conference. Published location: Publisher: Page numbers [online]
Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]
Example
Brown, J. (2005) ‘Evaluating surveys of transparent governance.’ In Smith, A. (ed.) Proceedings of the UNDESA Conference on transparent government, ‘ 6th Global forum on reinventing government: towards participatory and transparent governance.’ Held 24-27 May 2005 at Seoul, Republic of Korea. New York: United Nations: 67-72 [online]
Available from <http://webapps01.un.org/pubsCatalogue/browse.do?by=category&code=9 > [Accessed March 24, 2008]
Online information for Conference proceedings
Here, give the organization as the author then the date in brackets. Put the title of the conference followed by the full stop within single quotations marks. Give the conference location and then the title of the conference proceedings in italics then a full stop. Give the surname and initials of the editor or organizer followed by ‘ed.’ in brackets. Finally, give the place of publication followed by a colon then the publisher. Then provide information for the online source as shown on the previous cases.
Example
ACM (2007) ‘Conference on Network design and analysis.’ Durban(2007) Use of IPVer6 in network design. Lawton, D. (ed.) Nairobi: Moi University Press [online] Available from <http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1027802.1027891> [Accessed March 24, 2008]
Online thesis, dissertation or research report
The required format is:
Author, Initials. (Year of publication) Title of dissertation. Unpublished Level thesis or dissertation or report, Name of the higher learning Institution numbers [online] Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]
Example
Morgan, B. (2007) Analysis of the Network traffic of IAA LAN. Unpublished MSc dissertation, IAA numbers [online]
Available from < http://myweb.polyu.edu.hk/~lbaho/Library/Writing.pdf> [Accessed March 24, 2008]
Objective and detached about the arguments and conclusions drawn
Rational
Before you submit your dissertation in, check the following
Content
The text answers the central question posed by the title
The main line of argument is clear, not lost in a sea of detail
Sufficient space (words) has been given to the most important points
There is sufficient evidence to support the arguments
All of the information included is relevant to the question
The dissertation contains evaluative comments as well as description
Style and Presentation
The dissertation is written in the third person (not ‘I’, ‘me’ or ‘my’)
The language is clear and straightforward
The dissertation is presented with the correct font, font size and line spacing
Sentences are of reasonable length and are uncomplicated
Spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct
Technical vocabulary is used correctly
Each paragraph is well structured
The words used are my own (there is no plagiarism)
Ideas are presented in the right order and there is no repetition
There is nothing the reader will find confusing
The text is not too chatty or flippant and is free of slang and colloquialisms
The dissertation is within the word limit
The introduction summarises the argument/ approach that will be taken
The assignment front sheet has been completed
The conclusion sums up the main points
The conclusion does not introduce any new material
References
Appropriate references have been used
All sources have been acknowledged correctly and included in the reference list
Have you taken account of any feedback you have been given for previous work?
Dissertation writing uses:
Evidence (correctly referenced) to support the arguments or question perspectives
A critical approach to the subject
Introduction: should:
Contain a brief explanation of the topic and context
Identify the main themes or concepts
Outline what the topic means – its relevance
Describe the approach to the topic
Set a clear direction and structure to the dissertation
Main Body
Contains all the points to be made in the argument and presentation of the material in a series of paragraphs
Conclusion
Contains no new material. It:
is a reminder of:
the question posed in the dissertation title
the important features of the argument main themes
Is a summary of:
The main points
The specific evidence presented
Explains the significance of the conclusions
What general points can be drawn from the writing as a whole?
The conclusion should clearly signal to the reader that the piece of writing is completed and leave a clear impression that the purpose of the text has been achieved. Remember to refer back to your title – you could use words from the question to prove that you have answered the whole question.
Think about the lasting impression your reader will have.
What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is series of sentences;
The first sentence introduces the main idea of the paragraph
The other sentences develop the topic of the paragraph: use relevant definitions, examples, details, evidence, quotations, citations
The final sentence leads up to the next paragraph – use transition words (see handout on the Study Skills page on Moodle) to indicate to the reader the ‘route map’ of the dissertation.
NB a paragraph is longer than one sentence and shorter than a whole page.
Tips for Good Dissertation Writing
Use source materials – you do not have an opinion – you must remain emotionally neutral and use evidence (all referenced) from lecture notes; reading, case studies. Avoid writing in the first person. This means avoiding the use of phrases like ‘I think’ or ‘I agree’. Instead use the third person, ‘It can be argued that’ for example, sounds more academic. Other useful phrases might be ‘It can be seen that’, It has been found that’.
Be cautious. Academic writing generally sounds cautious in drawing conclusions. For example a writer might say ‘the evidence suggests that’ rather than ‘this proves that’. Use the full form of words and phrases, not contractions like ‘don’t’ or can’t’.
Be precise. Avoid phrases like ‘some people disagree’ and ‘some psychologists agree that’. Give the reader enough detail for them to know exactly what you are talking about.
Avoid ‘lazy’ words such as got, did and nice.
For example, rather than saying ‘a lot of research was done’ say ‘extensive research was conducted’. Rather than saying ‘Smith did a study’ say ‘Smith conducted research’.
Avoid slang and colloquialisms.
Avoid unnecessary words and phrases such as ‘a man called Smith (2015) …’
Simply say ‘Smith (2015) found…’
Develop an academic vocabulary. You will already be coming across new terms in your course. Don’t use these terms without understanding them but if you do use them appropriately your writing tends to sound more precise and hence more academic.
If you use someone else’s ideas then you should reference them. To try and pass ideas off as your own is called plagiarism. Even if you put the ideas into your own words they still belong to the original author and this should be acknowledged. You can do this as follows: ‘as Smith (2015) argues’ or you can give a direct quote followed by the author’s name, date and page number of the quote. Use quotes sparingly.
Proof read your work. Reading it out loud is an excellent way to check the style.
Finally – a dissertation needs a final draft.
Dissertation Writing Tips
Prompts to Support Critical Evaluation of the Literature
This resource first lists general questions on this page, and then more specific questions on the following pages. Please browse the entire list for prompts on what to think about while you are evaluating the literature.
Where is the author coming from?
Who is the author?
What is the author trying to convince you of?
Is the author objective/neutral or subjective/biased? Are statements facts or opinions?
Does the author have any vested interests (conflicts of interest)?
Where are you coming from?
Recognize your own viewpoint.
Remain open to consider the viewpoints of others.
Consider how your prior knowledge and understanding relates to what the author has written.
Following evaluation, clarify your own (possibly new) viewpoint and its social significance; ask yourself ‘so what?’
Evaluation of argumentation
Are the arguments logical or flawed?
What assumptions are made and are they valid or flawed?
Are other counter-arguments omitted?
Are there any inconsistencies in the author’s arguments?
What evidence is provided and is it valid?
Is any counter-evidence omitted?
Are any authorities referred to and are they reliable?
Are alternative perspectives and interpretations considered? Can you think of any others, e.g. ‘What if…’
Is the writing style analytical or descriptive? Is the language used appropriate?
Are any comparisons or analogies made appropriate?
Choosing a dissertation topic is the first and most important part of the dissertation writing process. You should be interested in the topic and the research needs to be easily readable, fluid, informative, attainable and more importantly to answer the research question posed by the author. There needs to be adequate and readily available facts to comfortably help you accomplish your dissertation research project. Below are six methods which may help you discover a dissertation title and to kick start the writing process and more importantly help you in choosing a dissertation topic.
Choosing a Dissertation Topic
1. Make the Topic Interesting and Informative
A lot of researchers and student undertaking a dissertation project of spend months, if not years composing their dissertation. You should choose a topic that you are familiar with and have a good understanding of. If you are not enthusiastic about a topic then there is a high probability that you will waste a lot of research time and effort. Image yourself as the reader and try to make your dissertation stimulating.
2. Attainable and Solvable Dissertation Topics
Can the questions or hypotheses in the dissertation be answered and is the topics too broad with no real relevance to your field of research? If you are about to write a Marketing Dissertation try not to write a dissertation outside of this subject field, make it relevant and informative to individuals within the marketing arena. Make sure you can answer the questions within the time frame set by your university or supervisor, I am aware of so many students failing their dissertation project because they ran out of time, or they hurried their research resulting in a lower grade. Try to break your research into attainable milestones and be realistic when doing this.
3. Be Organized
Organization is so critical when you are looking to start a dissertation project. From experience I suggest you have a well structured electronic filing system on your computer. Create folders to mirror the dissertation chapters, try to keep all your files in one location and make sure to back this up from time to time. Don’t have files located on numerous computers and folder structures as you will lose track and valuable time. Also use folders to keep copies of printouts and photocopied material, this will prove useful when conducting a Literature Review or Appendix Section of the dissertation. Try to identify best days to conduct your research, weekend is a good time as you can reflect on the material gathered during the previous week and you can identify what material you need in the forthcoming weeks.
4. Expand on Existing Material You Have Written
If you intend to write a Business Dissertation take a look at what you have already written in previous modules or classes in degree. You will be surprised on how much you have already written and how relevant the material is to your project. From my experiences of writing dissertations, you can use existing literature already identified in previous modules, this is also true of academic models, structure and you may extend a previous topic you have written about and turn that into your own dissertation topic. Inspiration can be found within oneself.
5. Original and Meaningful Content
There are many dissertation topics and ideas that are interesting, attainable and solvable however, someone else may have already covered the topics you are looking into. It is safe to say that if your dissertation supervisor lectures a class of 200 students on the current global economic environment, a significant number of students will write their dissertation topic relating to this subject area. Try to find gaps in existing research or a void in current knowledge, this will make your research more readable and you will get a lot of satisfaction from it. This will prove useful experience when you leave university and start your career in employment. Groundbreaking dissertation research tends to be unique and highly thought provoking whilst adding a valuable contribution to the subject area.
6. Relax and Compose Yourself
Lets be honest, dissertations are in-depth and complex to write if you have never written a dissertation or thesis before. You need to gather your thoughts and do not go off on a different tangent when writing your dissertation. Try to visualize who will be reading your dissertation, in reality on a handful of fellow students and your dissertation supervisor will read your dissertation and it is highly unlikely that it will make the cover of The Wall Street Journal. Don’t be afraid to use the writing style you have adopted at university whilst paying careful consideration to your university guidelines. Remember, writing your dissertation is one of the most satisfying aspects of undertaking a degree or professional university qualification. Writing your dissertation can prove enjoyable and you will benefit from a sense of accomplishment once you have completed it.
To summarize, your dissertation must be interesting, relevant to the subject area you are acquainted with and you must answer the questions and hypotheses presented. Be organized, look at your existing writing contributions, don’t be afraid and make sure you complete your dissertation on time. Hopefully, the tips on choosing a dissertation topic will prove useful to you.
Many students ask us the question – What Is A Dissertation?… Well, your dissertation will be the most challenging aspect of your university study. It may also be an unfamiliar mode of assessment that requires you to engage independently with your subject matter, at a level of both breadth and detail that is perhaps not typical of most other forms of assessment. A crucial aspect of all this is to ensure that you are aware of all the elements involved in the dissertation writing process and that you allow yourself adequate time to do your dissertation topic justice. At most universities around the world, a dissertation or thesis is an extended piece of academic writing based on extensive reading of a subject area and independent research at an undergraduate or postgraduate level. Having been the longest established sample dissertations website we are here to assist and support you in preparing your own dissertation project by giving you some general information on how a dissertation is structured and what a dissertation is.
Many of you will be expected to construct and submit your own original idea for a dissertation topic, though students in certain disciplines (e.g. business) may either be given a specific topic, or expected to choose from a list of suitable projects. Nonetheless, it is advisable that you start to think about your choice of dissertation topic at the earliest possible early stage of your final year, if not earlier. Let’s make no mistake about it, your dissertation research project is probably the single most important task you will undertake whilst at university or college, and is often a key indicator of your true capabilities as a student and researcher. In addition to the information contained in this article, you must refer to the instructions and guidelines outlined in your nominated study program. It is worth noting that different subject areas have different expectations, referencing styles and support mechanisms for the dissertation. For example, in some areas you are able to formulate your own dissertation title, whilst in others you will be required to choose from a list of predefined titles. The content and structure of a dissertation can differ across national boundaries and level of study.
What Is A Dissertation
The structure of an undergraduate dissertation written at a UK university can differ immensely to an undergraduate dissertation written at a North American university. This is due to how learning content is delivered and taught and many words can be used interchangeably. For example a dissertation abstract can be referred to as a dissertation synopsis. Similarly, a dissertation appendix can be referred to as an annexure. Some universities encourage The Harvard System of referencing while other universities prefer citing dissertations using the APA, MLA, Chicago and AAA Styles, the list goes on. Nonetheless, a dissertation is, in essence, a piece of research submitted in support of submission for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author’s research and findings. Never lose sight of this. We at study-aids.co.uk will give an insightful overview to what a dissertation is:
A Dissertation Adheres To Certain Fundamental Principles Of Academic Writing:
It is a structured piece of writing that develops a clear line of thought in response to a central question or plan.
What Is A Dissertation?… A dissertation is an extended piece of work, usually divided into chapters, and containing a significantly more detailed examination of your subject matter and evidence than is the case for most essays.
Because you usually have much more responsibility in choosing your research topic, and for sourcing supporting material, your dissertation provides evidence of your ability to carry out highly independent study and research.
You are typically expected to be clear about the methodology you have used to gather and evaluate your evidence. This aspect of producing a dissertation has much greater emphasis than in a typical essay or assignment.
Those of you undertaking analysis of quantitative data must similarly ensure that you adhere to the methodological requirements expected within your academic discipline and that you utilise the appropriate software such as SPSS and SYSTAT. You must satisfy yourself as to these requirements within your subject area.
It is highly advisable for you to ask your supervisor where you can find details of any regulations about your dissertation, such as its word count, structure and submission details. You should pay special attention to this. Hopefully, we have answered your question of what is a dissertation.
Dissertation Structure
Abstract
The length of the Abstract should be no more than 300-500 words, but not included in the formal word count.
The purpose of this very short section is to tell the reader something about the contents. About 1/3 of the Abstract should explain what you intended to do (parameters). The other 2/3rds should tell the reader what you did, including recommendations.
The Abstract may duplicate some material included in the Introduction and/or Conclusion
Introduction
The length of the Introduction should be about 10% of the whole dissertation.
The Introduction gives you the opportunity to provide your reader with an overview of the dissertation. Firstly, introduce the topic; secondly, outline the key areas to be covered; and identify your primary aims and objectives.
The background section should be short and securely focused on the topic, real statistical data can be included.
Larger themes, as well as specific topics, should be identified
Literature Review
The length of the Literature review should be about 20% of whole dissertation.
This chapter gives you an opportunity to show the reader that you have learned to analyse and to synthesise the views of others in relation to your own research programme.
The Literature Review is NOT a Book Review. Contents of books and articles are only useful if particular points have some direct relevance to your dissertation. In Literature Review you should compare and contrast ideas, theories and/or views relevant to your proposed research topic. Keep in mind that at least 10 references should be discussed and 3-4 different models or theories or views should be mentioned.
At the end of this chapter, identify the principal research questions to be addressed in the dissertation. These will form the basis of your dissertation in the subsequent chapter on Research Methodology.
Research Methodology
The Research Methodology chapter in length should be about 20% of whole dissertation.
This chapter gives you an opportunity to discuss the research programme that you have designed for your dissertation.
Begin by reviewing briefly some common methods advocated for structuring research programmes.
Then look again at the research questions formulated at the end of the Literature Review. Select the kind of programme best suited for addressing those particular research questions, and discus the reasons prompting your decision.
Discuss the research strategies adopted, the collection procedures selected and the difficulties and/or problems encountered.
Findings and Discussion
You might divide this chapter for two like:
Analysis of Findings
Discussion
This is the largest and probably the most important part in assessing your research by examiners. The length of this section should be about 30% of the whole dissertation.
The Findings and Discussion chapter gives you an opportunity to discuss your research findings.
Your findings may be derived from the analyses of statistical data, interviews, questionnaires or any viable combination of instruments used for research collection and the measurement of data.
Link important points of this chapter back to principle ideas in the Literature Review with the evidence obtained in your own research.
End this chapter with a brief summary of you findings. This, in turn, should set the scene for the concluding chapter.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Again you can divide this chapter on two smaller parts:
Conclusions
Recommendations or Recommendations from the future studies
This chapter in lengths should be about 15% of the whole dissertation.
The Conclusions and Recommendations chapter gives you the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of your research programme and to offer recommendations, if desired.
Conclusions can be rather short, because the bulk of the analysis and synthesis of material will probably have taken place in the chapter of Findings and Discussion.
In your Conclusions be sure that all of the questions raised in the Literature Review have been addressed. Weigh the final results of your research against the original aims and objectives of the dissertation. Anomalies, for example, can be important and interesting.
Add recommendations if you desired. Ideas for further research and/or some strategies advocated for better management of the issue or the enterprise are particularly useful.
Bibliography
Not included in the word count
This part of the dissertation gives you the opportunity to show the reader what research sources were used in your dissertation.
All books articles, sources of statistical data and web sites used in the dissertation must be listed in the bibliography. Additional sources consulted should be also be placed in the bibliography
Entries in the Bibliography should be placed in alphabetical order. Web sites, however, should be grouped together separately at the end of the Bibliography.
Appendices
Not included in the word count
This part of the dissertation gives you an opportunity to add interesting research material to your dissertation.
Interview summaries and sample questionnaires, for example, should appear in the Appendices
