Dissertation Development Module Week 1,Part 1: WHAT IS A DISSERTATION LEARNING OUTCOMES

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Dissertation Development ModuleWeek 1,Part 1
WHAT IS A DISSERTATION? LEARNING OUTCOMES

• To appreciate how to plan your dissertation
  development
• within the appropriate time-scales
• To recognise the different stages in dissertation
  development
• To appreciate where the dissertation fits in the
  context of your MA/MSc
• To appreciate the nature of dissertation research
  and study
• To appreciate how to structure a dissertation

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WK1PT1WHAT IS A DISSERTATION RESEARCH POSITION

• Culmination of learning experience -
  Therefore-
• Foundations are core subjects and specialisms
• Integration of Learning
• Using learning for a purpose
• Acknowledgement of academic/professional
  frameworks
• Therefore
• Rigour
• Discipline
• Progression
• Systematic
• Structured
• Etc

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DISSERTATION POSITION RESEARCH ORIGINS AND
FOUNDATIONS
Dissertation Topic
Specialist Subjects
Width and Scope Subjects
Core Foundation Subjects
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WHAT IS A DISSERTATION RESEARCH DEFINITION

• Scholarly work
• Work of discovery
• Rigorous analysis and interpretation
• Progression - Idea/problem to conclusion
• Gateway to further/wider issues/research

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DISSERTATION POSITION CULMINATION OF LEARNING
EXPERIENCE

• Learning of depth and foundation -
  (Appreciation and understanding)
• Core marketing principles - concepts,
  activities
• Core marketing management principles
• Marketing management interactions
• Marketing management in a wider context

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DISSERTATION POSITION CULMINATION OF LEARNING
EXPERIENCE

• Learning width and scope - (Appreciation and
  understanding of a variety of marketing
  domains) For example
• Communications
• Market research
• Management
• Services
• Not for profit
• industries/markets

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• DISSERTATION POSITION
• CULMINATION OF LEARNING EXPERIENCE

• Learning of marketing specialisms -
  (Appreciation and understanding of marketing
  concepts and activities)
• Services
• Small business
• Industry specific
• Communications
• Consumer studies
• Industrial studies
• Relationships
• Competencies and networks

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DISSERTATION POSITION INTEGRATION OF LEARNING

• Interaction of range of topics and issues
• Co-ordination of
  
• Contribution of
  
• Complimentarity of
• Compatibility of
  

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DISSERTATION POSITION USING LEARNING FOR A
PURPOSE

• Appreciation and understanding is dominated by
  description of issues, topics, frameworks, etc
• Dissertation learning USES above descriptions
  of appreciation and understanding by-
• APPLYING them as foundations for rationale
• ASSESSING them for gaps and deficiencies
• Combining learning descriptions with
  experiential knowledge to JUDGE and evaluate
  issues with dissertation topic

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DISSERTATION DEFINITION SCHOLARLY WORK

• Gives credence to any/all/appropriate previous
  study and statements
• Combines a variety of arguments towards a
  consensus and balance
• Acknowledges value or prior work/studies
• Outcomes based on interpretation from above
  rather than conjecture and speculation
• Demonstrates all of the above

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DISSERTATION DEFINITION WORK OF DISCOVERY

• Stems from scholarly work framework
• Demonstration of NEW learning
• New learning viz-
• Concept and/or activity of marketing
• Description of theory and/or practice
• Description of marketing application

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DISSERTATION MILESTONES AND TIMESCALES

• Finding and defining a topic
  WK 1
• Outlining and refining a research proposal
  4-6
• Gathering literature
  (ongoing) 1-8
• Construction of literature foundation
  (Ch2) 4-7
• Outlining and refining research methods
  5-8
• Writing 1st drafts of chapters 1,23
  10-?
• Organising, commencing, completing empirical
  work 8-?
• Analysing empirical research data
  11-?
• Writing up
  12-?

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DISSERTATION GUIDELINES
CHAPTER TOPIC
WKS/MTHS 1 Introduction
5-10 1mth 2
Literature 25-30 1mth
Review 3
Methodology 20
1mth 4 Data Analysis
25-30 2mths 5
Conclusions 15-20 1mth
Implications
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SUPERVISOR ROLE/RELATIONSHIP WITH STUDENT BROAD
FEATURES

• Both supervisor and student should have a
  genuine interest in the topic being
  researched
• Supervisor invests considerable time into the
  process
• Supervisor will expect to learn something new
  about the topic
• Student objective is to learn by a combination
  of reading, discovery, analysis and evaluation
  and reflection
• Learning requires the student to understand
  his/her responsibility for managing the study
  to conclusion

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SUPERVISOR ROLE/RELATIONSHIP WITH STUDENT ROLE
OF SUPERVISOR

• To provide advice and guidance detached from
  minute viz-
• developing the research area and the topic in
  general
• research methods, academic research rigour
• requirements and timescales
• To bring experience and expertise to process and
  topic
• To monitor research process viz rigour and
  method

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SUPERVISOR ROLE/RELATIONSHIP WITH STUDENT KEY
ISSUES IN SUPERVISION

• Consultations - supervisor will determine
  parameters viz-
• Frequency - strict rules
  informality
• Framework of meetings - strict rules
  informality
• Materials/issues for discussion -
• In the beginning - dominated by supervisors
  intellectual guidance
• Later - discussion/evaluation of written
  materials

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DISSERTATION DEVELOPMENT MODULE TEACHING AND
LEARNING FORMAT

• Each week 2 hours
• Teaching inputs
• Student clarification and queries
• Discussions on topic and learning questions

• Each week 1 hour
• Further group discussions
• Self-directed learning
• Supervisor/student consultations

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DISSERTATION DEVELOPMENT MODULE STYLE OF LEARNING

• Lecturer/student interaction
• Peer interactions
• Teaching inputs provide-
• frameworks in the abstract
• frameworks with examples

• Students requirements-
• translate teaching inputs into own research
• proactive participation viz-
• individual learning
• group/peer learning viz-
• ideas
• sharing workload
• sharing references

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OUTLINE PROPOSAL

• What are you going to do? - The research problem
  and assumptions and hypotheses
• Why are you going to do it? - Brief
  justification for the research problem,
  assumptions, hypotheses
• How is it going to happen? - Methodology
• What will the results mean? - Speculations on
  expected outcomes and conclusions

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MA IN MARKETING DISSERTATION STATEMENT OF INTENT
Name Working Title Rationale Aims and
Objectives Proposed Methodology Indicative
Reading Timescale