Over the years the construction industry has changed and this has resulted in increased production rates, changes in construction techniques and total quantities of materials used each year. The size of construction projects are now considerably much larger than they ever were. All of this has resulted increased demand for materials which has resulted in increased waste. The UK construction industry as a whole uses over 400 million tonnes of natural resources per year of which 60 million tonnes is sent to landfill. This is a significant concern due to the fact that millions of pounds are being lost each year. In order to save money in construction projects and increase profits, wastage must be reduced. This paper has identified the three main areas where material wastage is produced. Within these areas the client, architect and contractor have been identified to have a pivotal role in reduction methods. Reduction methods have been assessed to identify the most effective way in which to apply waste minimization within the UK’s built environment.
Waste Reduction UK Construction
The aim of the dissertation is to identify what stage within the project lifecycle material waste is created and analyse methods available that may be effective in reducing waste and saving money. The author will attempt to answer the hypothesis question through conducting a literature review, analyzing a questionnaire and reviewing case studies. The findings will then be compared and contrasted to find how to reduce material wastage and at what stage in the project will it be most effective.
Dissertation Objectives
To determine what stage of a construction project material waste is created
To establish how wastage adds to project costs
To evaluate the measures that can be applied to reduce material wastage
In today’s modern world, gender equality is battled for and we strive to ensure the sex of a person in no way obstructs their aims and goals in life. Wages for men and women are on their way to being equal, sexist behaviour is frowned upon and no longer do we live by the stereotypical nature that a man earns the living and the woman makes a home. So why, in this apparently modernized world, do women still remain the minority in STEM based subjects such as, mathematics, science and computing. In a world where more females attend university than males, women still continue to only make up a disproportionately small segment of Computer Science majors. Many factors have been attributed towards the shocking decrease in both women achieving degrees in Computer Science subjects and then continuing to work in those Computer Science subject areas; lack of female role models, gender stereotypes, peer pressure and general lack of interest in the STEM subjects.
Females Computing Industry
The aim of this project is to gain a deeper understanding into why women still steer away from working in Computing. How the idea that a women is incapable of achieving in a Computer Science subject is seen as normal and socially acceptable in the 21st century. To actually listen to women and their experiences of how they were influenced into choosing their career path/degree specialism. To gain a better understanding to why a social stigma still revolves around Computing and why this continues to disenchant females.
The report consists of a background into the research area, primarily focusing on literature review of other similar studies, including specific studies into girls and computing. The different forms of methodology intended to be used to gain more knowledge about girls who study STEM subjects such as interviews, surveys etc. and then how this data will be analysed and then linked with previous studies and research, to show common themes and areas of importance.
The aim of this dissertation project is to build a greater understanding into why this fear of going into the industry still remains strong. Why it still remains normal to go into an A Level ICT class and expect to see a large amount of boys with a scattering of girls to balance it out. To not only understand from females why they either chose to pursue a STEM subject or decided another path in their lives, but to also see the other side, why males feel their female counterparts feel disillusioned towards the degree subject.
International marketing strategy includes detailing showcasing system over a scope of nations. Various distinctive methodologies have been taken in examining worldwide promoting method, including the exchange cost viewpoint, institutionalization / adjustment, arrangement/coordination point of view, worldwide incorporation point of view, and the transformative viewpoint. Commonly, every spotlights on diverse choices or parts of worldwide promoting method and relates in numerous regards to contrasts in the experience of the firm in global markets. Contingent upon the level of involvement in universal markets, the firm must manage issues identified with starting operations in worldwide markets, refining and creating worldwide showcasing method, or merging/incorporating worldwide procedure. In this dissertation, the proponent intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the international marketing strategies being used by various fashion brands in UK.
Fashion-Dissertation
In this study, the researchers used survey questionnaire focusing on the respondents profile such as age, sex, educational attainment, and employment status. The chosen respondents accomplished documentation by answering all the questions posted in the questionnaire. The researchers followed the step by step gathering procedure in conducting the study. First, the title was formulated and then approved by their adviser. Second, the researchers asked the approval of the professor for the research to be conducted. Questionnaires were then distributed which was immediately followed by the collection of data. The data were tallied, analyzed, and interpreted using the appropriate statistical treatments. Through these methods, the researcher was able to see that the international marketing strategies being made by the observed fashion brands were performing effectively.
Research Objectives
To investigate the group of writing identified with international marketing procedures and practices
To investigate British Fashion brands regarding international marketing methods viability
To conduct a near study with respect to the benefit of diverse international marketing methodologies
To conduct an interior and outer industry examination of British Fashion brands and its vicinity in today’s globalized economy
To make suggestions for British Fashion brands through compelling internationalization exercises in today’s very focused environment
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?
