CEE MSC Referencing and Dissertation Advice Handbook-2016-17-V2

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Advice on exams, project

and essay writing,
referencing and the MSc
dissertation
Academic Year 2016/2017
Please keep this handbook safe, as you will need to

consult it throughout the academic year. Please bring it
to the first meeting of the Research Methods class
CL986/CL931 (on 21st September 2016).
The information provided is correct at date of publication but may be subject to revision.
Students are expected to be familiar with the content of the handbook and cannot claim later that
they did not know because they did not read the handbook.
Version date: September 2016

List of Contents
1. Advice on Essay Writing
2. Laboratory work and report writing (if applicable for degree/class work)
2.1 Laboratory Work
2.1.1 Aims
2.1.2 Safety
2.1.3 Preparation
2.1.4 Demonstrators
2.1.5 Data
2.1.6 Team Working
2.2 Report Writing
3. Exam Preparation
4. Dissertation advice and information
4.1 Key Dates to Remember Related to the Dissertation
4.2 Dissertation Ideas and Choosing a Topic Relevant for MSc Programme
4.3 Dissertation Proposal including Practical Research Plan and ethical approval
4.4 Dissertation Structure
4.5 Dissertation Length
4.6 Content and Substance
4.7 Fieldwork and Primary Source Material
4.8 Research Literature and Secondary Source Material
4.9 Bibliographic Databases
4.10 Work Placements
4.11 Planning and Guidance
4.12 Dissertation Supervision
4.13 Date for Submission
4.14 Submission Instructions
4.15 Overlap Between Dissertation Proposal and Final Dissertation
4.16 Copyright
4.17 Publication of Research
5. Referencing advice relevant to all your assessed work.

5.1 Quoting references within the text
5.2 Listing references at the end of the work
5.3 Remember these important points when referencing
6. General styling advice - relevant to most assessed work.
6.1 Layout
6.2 Tables, figures and boxes
6.3 Abbreviations and Acronyms
6.4 Emphasis
6.5 International Units and Mathematical Conventions
6.6 Microbiological and Genetic Nomenclature
7. Evaluation criteria for the MSc dissertation/project
Appendix 1 Dissertation Assessment Proforma (2 pages) SAMPLE ONLY
Advice for essays, exams, and the MSc dissertation 2016-17 Page 2
This document aims to give you advice regarding key assessment components of the PG Diploma
and MSc degree: the essays, exams, styling and referencing advice in general and (for the MSc
only) the dissertation. It is intended to help you achieve both academic rigour and clarity in your
assessed work. Please read this document carefully and contact us if you have any further
questions. The document is divided into seven main parts:
1. Advice on Essay Writing (*)

2. Laboratory work and report writing (if applicable for your degree/class work)
3. Exam Preparation (**)
4. Dissertation advice and information (*)
5. Referencing advice relevant to all your assessed work.
6. General styling advice - relevant to most assessed work.
7. Evaluation criteria for the MSc dissertation/project.
There are three other related handbooks for each MSc course. The first two can be found on each
MSc page on http://classes.myplace.strath.ac.uk.
General Postgraduate Handbook. This includes a background to the Department and a
number of University Policies relevant to the course (including progression regulations, academic
honesty, ethical practice and penalties for late submission).
MSc Programme Handbook on structure of each MSc course and assessment.
University Handbook - given to you at registration so, if you dont have a copy, please ask
Student Business in the McCance Building
Note availability of this service:
Study Skills Service at Strathclyde http://www.strath.ac.uk/studyskills/

This service works with students to enhance their learning through one-to-one consultations,
workshops and self-access materials. Service offers advice on:
organisation and self-management
reading and note taking
academic writing
critical analysis and evaluation
editing and reviewing
exam preparation and performance
assessments and feedback
Register for Study Skills Workshops!
(*) These two sections have been largely based on the "Handbook for MSc Students" from the Department of
Government, London School of Economics (LSE). (**) This section is based on a similar advice document given
to the MSc students at the Department of Geography and Environment at LSE.
It is essential that all the assessed work that you complete for this MSc has academic rigour. Equally
important is the ability to write clearly using good English. Jargon is not recommended. There are
several books that can teach you how to improve your writing (* key ones):
Becker, H. (1986), Writing for social scientists: how to start and finish your thesis, book, or article.
Chicago, Chicago University Press. [Library electronic access]
Bell, J. (1999) Doing your research Project a Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education and
Social Science, BuckinghaM: Open University Press. [Library electronic access]
Cutts, M. (2004) Oxford guide to plain English. 2nd Ed. Oxford Univ Press. [Library D 820-4(09)
CUT]
(*) Day, R. (2006) How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper Cambridge University Press [Library D
820-4(09) DAY]
Gowers, E. (1986), The Complete Plain Words. 3rd ed, revised by Sidney Greenbaum and Janet
Whitcut. London: HMSO. [Library D 428 GOW]
Kirkman. J. (2005) Good style: writing for science and technology, Routledge, New York. [Library
Electronic access]
Lindsay, D. (1995) A Guide to Scientific Writing, Longman, Melbourne. [Library D 802-4(09) LIN]
Rogerson, S (1996), Successful group work. London : Kogan Page [Library D 378.176 SUC]
(*) Turabian, K. (1996) A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations. 6th ed./rev. by
J. Grossman and A. Bennett. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [Library D 820-4(09) TUR]
(*) Wallace, M. and Wray, A. (2011), Critical reading and writing for postgraduates. Edition: 2nd ed.
London: SAGE. [Library (D 82(09) WAL )]
Watson, G. (1987) Writing a Thesis a Guide to Long Essays and Dissertations, London: Longman.
[Library D 820-4(09) WAT]
Woods, P. (1999) Successful writing for qualitative researchers. Routledge, New York. [Library
Electronic access]
Also check this web page recommended by an English teacher: http://www.uefap.com/.

This one on HOW TO GET BETTER MARKS WITHOUT (NECESSARILY) DOING MORE WORK
gives a lot of common sense advice: http://www.theory.org.uk/david/essaywriting.pdf
One key element of writing clearly is how to write paragraphs. When writing your essays, reports or
the dissertation, each point you want to make should occupy a separate paragraph. State your point
or argument clearly in the first sentence. The rest of the paragraph should consist of explanation
and/or discussion and/or analysis and/or examples. The paragraph is essentially a unit of thought
() Every paragraph must be homogenous in subject matter, and sequential in treatment of it
(Gowers 1977: 258). Please avoid writing too many very short paragraphs. Each paragraph must
have a beginning, a middle and an end; therefore, as a rule-of-thumb, it could be generally said that
paragraphs should probably have at least three phrases. Another rule-of-thumb is that if the
paragraphs are three lines or less, then they are probably too short. At the same time, avoid writing
paragraphs that are too long. If a paragraph is one page long or more, then it is too long and you
should try to break it into two or more paragraphs. Please note that it is crucial that the readers can
see where are your paragraphs, by using either indentation or a blank line between paragraphs.
Finally, it is imperative that all your assessed work is referenced correctly. This is a key aspect of
achieving academic rigour. References are scholarly acknowledgements of work referred to or
quoted. It is important that you use a recognised citation system. There are several different
conventions, and it does not matter which one you adopt provided that you cite sources properly,
giving all the necessary information, and keep to the same convention throughout (i.e., be
consistent).
The Harvard System is used by the majority of the students and is the one adopted by this degree
programme (see part 5 of this advice document). This citation system requires you to put in the text
of your work the surname of the author and the date of publication all within brackets - e.g. (Johnson,
1991). In case of a direct quote you also need to include the page number(s) - e.g. (Johnson, 1991:
334). At the end of the piece of assessed work you then give a single list of all the references you
have used. This list of references should be arranged alphabetically with full bibliographic
information. The alphabetical list should include all the references that have been used (books,
articles, reports, government publications, theses, web pages, etc.). If you choose to adopt an
alternative convention from the Harvard System, make sure both that it is an acceptable one and that
you use it consistently. Students will be penalised for poor, inconsistent or sloppy references.
NOTE: Plagiarism is a major academic offence. It is your

responsibility to understand what constitutes academic
dishonesty and plagiarism, and the severity of the penalties you
face, should you be found guilty of these offences.
You should make yourself familiar with University Guidelines for Students on Plagiarism at:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/plagiarism/
1. ADVICE ON ESSAY WRITING
A number of assessment forms will be used throughout the programme, including essays,
presentations, laboratory work and group work. It is expected that all students are able to write
comprehensive and cogent essays this is fundamental in order for you to do well both on the
diploma and on the MSc. Many students apparently forget that the point of an academic essay is to
discuss the complexity of a question and to develop an argument. Ideally, an academic essay should
contribute to the debate on a particular topic. Too many times students confuse this style of writing
with journalism or creative writing, which may display a great deal of talent, but do little to satisfy an
examiner.
A common mistake is for students to consider an essay as a test of their own opinion rather than a
summary of all possible perspectives on the set topic. Whilst your opinion is critical later on in the
essay, the early stages should include a review of the debate on the question set. For example, an
essay on resources might review fatalistic (Malthusian) against optimistic (Boserup) arguments.
What is important is that you describe each as different approaches to the set topic rather than one
as right and the other wrong - until the end when you may reach a conclusion, which reflects your
own opinion.
To achieve academic rigour in your essay writing, it is necessary that you link your argument to the
academic and theoretical literature. It is also important that you take care with your style of language.
A very informal language is usually inappropriate and can get in the way of a serious argument.
Avoid for example the use of the first person "I", or inappropriate use of word contractions (e.g., do
not use isnt, instead of is not). Scientific writing is still almost always written in the third person,
i.e. the passive voice.
The following is important advice on how to write a good essay, develop your argument, and
find the relevant literature:
1. Plan your research and start your reading and writing weeks, not days, before the essay is due.
2. Essay questions sometimes contain one or more of the following KEY WORDS, which are your
main guide as to what is required:
(a) Analyse: Consider the various parts of the whole and describe the inter-relationship
between them.
(b) Compare: Examine the objects in question with a view to demonstrating their similarities
and differences.
(c) Contrast: Examine the objects in question for the purpose of demonstrating differences.
(d) Define: Give a definition or state terms of reference.
(e) Discuss: Present the different aspects of a problem or question and draw a reasoned
conclusion.
(f) Evaluate: Examine the various sides of a question and try to reach a judgement.
(g) Summarise: Outline the main points briefly.
3. Question the question itself. Consider its possibilities, scope and limitations. If you are unclear
about what is wanted, ask your lecturer or tutor for clarification.
4. The most comprehensive form of research is performed in the library, where there is a wide
selection of support systems, catalogues and indexes designed to assist you in the task of
locating and using particular items. Always make a note of what you read - author, title, date,
publisher, pages. It is your responsibility to provide complete and correct references. Note that
postgraduate students should draw on research papers as well as books - bibliographic
databases will be particularly useful in this respect. Do not rely exclusively on internet content.
5. Plan your initial research around questions relevant to the topic.
(a) Use small cards on which to build up a file of material. Question headings can go on these.
(b) See that your reading is not too general and that you do not amass material haphazardly and to
no purpose. Prune steadily as you read and actively assess the value of the material.
(c) Continually check your reading against your questions - and the question asked. Your subject
may redefine itself as you become more familiar with the material.
(d) It is helpful to note ideas, facts, and quotes on separate cards. This action makes later
organisation of material much easier, especially if you have to rewrite a draft.
(e) You should also consider using systems and software, such as MindGenius to help organise
thoughts, and EndNote for organising references.
6. Review all your materials and decide what your line of approach (argument, plan) will be. Sort
your ideas into a pattern that will best support the development of your ideas. This is a very
important part of your work. It is rarely sufficient to summarise material. You will be required to
use techniques such as analysing (detecting unstated assumptions, seeing interrelationships
between ideas, distinguishing facts from hypotheses), synthesizing (arranging ideas or
information in such a way as to build a pattern or structure not clearly there before), and
evaluating (making judgements about the value of material and methods for given purposes).
7. It is your responsibility, not that of your readers, to see that you make sense of your material. An
introduction outlining the question and the organisation of your answer is necessary. In the same
way, a conclusion that sums up and clinches your argument is necessary. Remember that sub-
headings may be helpful in some subjects. This may be achieved by a carefully planned outline.
One basic framework for an essay outline is the following:
(a) Introduction
(i) Comment on the subject of the essay. (What do you understand by it? How is it
important?).
(ii) Introduce the points you are going to discuss, first stating your case in general terms: the
opinion you are going to support in the rest of the essay.
(iii) Very briefly summarise the overall theme of your essay, indicating the main points to be
made and perhaps the order in which they are to be presented (i.e. say how the essay is
structured). This gives the reader an idea of what to expect and greatly increases his or
her comprehension. Do not waste your own and the readers time with padding.
Key aspect about the introduction: Should be snappy rather than long-winded. The aim is to show
that you understand the question and know how to structure your answer.
(b) The Main Body
(i) Develop your line of argument through several main ideas.

(ii) Support each idea with examples drawn from the books, articles, data and any other
sources you have used.
Key aspect about the main body of the essay: It is fundamental that you argue a point. This
means you present evidence for an opinion based on past research and facts. This is very much part
of answering the question.
(c) Conclusion
(i) Summarise the main ideas.
(ii) Form a tentative answer by way of final comment to the question. Be prepared to write
more than one draft - in the first you will concentrate on content rather than style.
Key aspect about the conclusion: Conclude by referring to your arguments. This is all part of
arguing well. Some essays appear weak because the conclusion seems tacked on to the end of a
long list of facts. A good conclusion should be based on arguments, and ideally involve some
implications for the big debate mentioned in the introduction, and use the review of the questions
subject matter to form the opinion expressed. Stating opinion alone without explaining why will
appear biased. Remember this is an academic essay, not a magazine article or political manifesto.
You have to base conclusions on evidence presented.
N.B. Note that it is often helpful to start writing in a different order - e.g. first draft of the main body,
then the conclusion, then finally the introduction. Remember, be prepared to re-draft your work, this
is a point mentioned continually in the Becker book. Becker (1986) considers it a problem that
students tend to write just one draft of an essay, whereas he feels revision is the key to successful
writing.
2. LABORATORY WORK & REPORT WRITING (if applicable for your degree/class work)
2.1. Laboratory Work
2.1.1 Aims
The aims of laboratory work are:
To provide practical illustrations of material covered in lectures
To allow students to develop practical skills in various aspects of environmental science
2.1.2 Safety
Safe working is a key skill for any scientist and engineer. Ensure you read any risk assessment
information provided BEFORE starting an experiment. Use protective equipment, e.g. laboratory
coat and safety glasses. COSHH forms and Risk Assessments must be carried out for your work,
and failure to follow Health and Safety practice may result in expulsion from the laboratory or from
the University.
Please note that as a student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering you should
make yourself familiar with University Safety procedures and policies.
http://www.strath.ac.uk/safetyservices/documents/ [See also further information in the General
Postgraduate Handbook.]
2.1.3 Preparation
In most practical classes, you will be provided with instructions [possibly in the form of a laboratory
manual] for the experiments you will perform. Read through ALL the instructions thoroughly before
starting an experiment.
2.1.4 Demonstrators
Many departments provide demonstrators [either staff, graduate teaching assistants or postgraduate
students] to assist in the running of the laboratory. These people can provide help in various aspects
of the class [e.g. setting up apparatus, performing unfamiliar procedures or writing up your laboratory
report]. If in doubt, ASK! However, note that the ultimate responsibility for conducting the experiment
lies with the individual MSc student.
2.1.5 Data
Record all experimental data [masses, volumes, measurement results etc] in a laboratory notebook.
DO NOT USE SCRAP PAPER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
2.1.6 Team Working

In some laboratories, students work individually, in others you may work as a pair [usually where
there is too much experimental work for one person to complete in the time available, or where
access to equipment is limited]. It is important that both students in a pair share the practical work
so both have the change to gain hands on experience of the topic covered. It is also important that
both students record all experimental data. Unless otherwise instructed, you should EACH
PREPARE AN INDIVIDUAL LABORATORY REPORT on the experiment.
2.2 Report Writing
A laboratory report is a record of your experimental work. It should be clear, concise and logically
structured. As with all scientific English, it is conventional to write in the third person, past tense,
passive voice.
e.g. The lead concentration in drinking water was measured
NOT I measured the lead concentration
NOT The lead concentration.is measured
The precise requirements of the laboratory report may vary between topics covered in the course,
and you may wish to consult a demonstrator for detailed advice in each class. However the following
is a general guide:
1. Title and date: of the experiment and date performed.
2. Your name and the name of the class to which the laboratory class relates.
3. Introduction: A short summary, in your own, words, of the background to the experiment. This
will often involve summarising the main points in the laboratory manual, supplemented with
information from lectures and/or independent reading.
4. Aim[s]: Briefly state the purpose of the experiment.
5. Experimental: The whole procedure is not usually required but you should specify:
any deviations from the protocol given the in the laboratory manual
details of actual masses or volumes of reagents used if these are not exactly as specified
in the laboratory manual.
6. Results and Discussion: Present the results of your experiment. Note that the raw or primary
data must be included [i.e. the print out from the instrument or the actual piece of paper on
which you originally wrote down the results]. If you cannot include it in this section, perhaps
because you have prepared the report using a computer, include it as an appendix at the end of
the report. Note that even your raw data should be clear enough to be comprehensible to a
reader. A hieroglyphic scrawl that only you can read is not acceptable!
This section should also include any data analysis e.g. use of calculations, tables, graphs,
observations etc, and finally the answers to any questions or exercises specified in the
laboratory manual.
7. Conclusion: Some experiments yield a specific final outcome e.g. The concentration of lead in
the drinking water sample was found to be 12ugl-1. If so, state this as a separate conclusion.
8. Appendices: Instrument or computer print outs (etc) are included here.
Safety is paramount! Failure to adhere to safety guidelines may ultimately result in incomplete
work or necessitate a change in dissertation topic.
3. EXAM PREPARATION
In an exam it is not enough to write a long list of facts and information that you have memorised. You
need to show that you understand the key issues and that you can expose and argue those
coherently (so much of the above advice on essay writing is also relevant for writing certain
examination questions). This part aims at identifying some of the common problems in the past that
seem to arise with exam writing and preparation - by listing these it is hoped that some of the more
avoidable problems will no longer occur.
1. Revision: Look carefully at your lecture and revision notes and thoroughly prepare yourself for
the examinations. Good revision and good supplementation of lecture notes will largely decide
how well you fare. It is crucial that you do not rely solely on lecture material and that you show
that you read more widely by quoting particular authors and references in the exam (although
you do not need to list the references at the end of the exam script).
2. "Practice makes perfect": It is strongly advisable that you practice some essay type questions
in exam conditions before the exams begin. This will ensure you will perform better when the real
exams take place.
3. Common examination script problems:

(a) Problem: Answers off-track and not focused sufficiently on the question asked.
Advice: Read the question carefully! Do not simply start writing on the basis of identifying a
key word. Make sure you answer the question - random verbiage loosely related to the
question is not an answer.
(b) Problem: Not all questions are answered, either because of difficulties or because
candidates ran out of time. Remember that if only two questions are answered out of the
three required then the maximum mark available is 67%, if all questions have the same
weight.
Advice: Make sure that you leave sufficient time to answer each question. Divide your time
equally for each question and try not to overrun on questions you feel you are good at
answering.
(c) Problem: Poor communication skills or answers suffered from poor organisation.
Advice: Each answer should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Take your time to
plan your response to the question and try to organise your ideas into coherent and related
packages (i.e. paragraphs). Make a clear systematic plan of how you wish to answer the
questions. Take about five minutes per question to formulate a plan.
4. Length and content: A key aspect is how much is enough in terms of exam length. Answers of
one to one and half pages are sometimes considered to be too brief and you may find
recommendations that students should aim for more substantial answers of 3-4 pages per
question which are to the point (for a 45 minute to 1 hour question period). Note however that
"padding" will not give you extra marks. It is the quality of content which matters not length per-
se. A brief, precise, accurate and original answer will get good marks. It is particularly important
to bear this in mind if you find yourself short of time - an outline answer in note form is much
better than nothing.
5. Comprehensibility: Comprehensibility and clarity is important, but grammatical corrections and

good English style is much less so. These are not exams on English!
6. Neatness: Neatness is not a big issue in itself, providing the material is legible. There is no time
to mess about with Tipp-Ex, etc.
4. DISSERTATION ADVICE AND INFORMATION
The dissertation differentiates the Postgraduate Diploma from the Masters degree award. Only the
students who have obtained the required academic standard on the taught component of the
programme1, and have been allowed to progress to the dissertation stage by the Examinations
Board, can submit a dissertation. The pass mark of the dissertation is 50%.
The dissertation is the most important part of the examination requirement of the MSc degree so it is
essential that you take care to write a dissertation of the appropriate quality. (Note, however, that you
should not fall into the temptation of neglecting exam revision.) Your dissertation should be based on
original research that you undertake yourself, whether collecting information from records, archives,
interviewing people or delivering questionnaires, undertaking ethnographies, making direct field
measurements or any other method. We are looking for you to demonstrate that you have
sufficiently mastered the subject of the degree to make a contribution meriting attention by scholars
and practitioners in the field. The best dissertations can be (and have been) of a standard, which
leads to serious consideration for publication in a related journal. Even if the content of your
dissertation does not match the criteria, the quality of presentation, including references, must be of
that standard.
The following information gives advice and also instructions on what to do with regards to the
dissertation, and this needs to be read carefully. First key dates related to the dissertation are
presented, and then each aspect is explained in more detail.
4.1 Key Dates to Remember Related to the Dissertation/Project

The following table shows key dates and some suggestions on different steps that the student could
do. This includes the suggestion (to be agreed by each supervisor) of supervision being based on
three key individual meetings (that the students should initiate) between student and supervisor.
Elements of the two research classes (CL931 and CL986) will assist in finding research ideas and in
the preparation for the dissertation. Students on the MSc in Civil Engineering with Industrial
Placement should note that these dissertation dates are different for their MSc please check MSc
in Civil Engineering with Industrial Placement handbook for key dates about the dissertation.
Summary of dates: key dates in bold, suggested dates in italic.

st
1 semester overall Students must check the MSc Dissertation Abstracts in Myplace
and must discuss dissertation ideas with members of staff, guest
speakers, NGOs, local or central government, industry or other
organisations as relevant.
Semester 1, week 9 Five small group discussions part of research methods classes
(MSc Env Eng, MSc Hydrogeology, MSc Env Health Sciences,
MSc Civil Eng, MSc SES+MSc Env Ent) - Advice from course
leaders on planning, researching and writing the MSc dissertation
- Analysis and discussion of past dissertations: what was right
and what went wrong?
1 See University of Strathclydes Faculty of Engineering Operating Guidelines for Boards of Examiners of
Postgraduate Taught Courses in the General PG Handbook.
Summary of dates: key dates in bold, suggested dates in italic.
Semester 1, week 10 Seminar of staff research interests and proposal of dissertation
topics aimed at MSc students.
CHRISTMAS BREAK Possible time to do inquiries about data sources or carry out pilot
study.
nd
Start of 2 semester Students to check the MSc Dissertation Abstracts in Myplace
again for ideas and must discuss dissertation ideas with MSc
course leader and/or staff who may possibly be the MSc
supervisor and/or industry contact.
Semester 2, week 2 Dissertation ideas workshop - Each student to discuss
dissertation ideas at one of the small group 2-hour workshops.
Each student to present a dissertation idea using three slides as
follows:
a) What is the research question you are trying to answer with
your dissertation?
b) Why is this question relevant (the literature review)?
c) How are you going to answer the question (the data &
methodology)?
Semester 2, week 4, Each student to submit a draft dissertation proposal - both as a
10am, Tuesday hardcopy via submission boxes in the Department and through
Turnitin check in Myplace. The draft dissertation proposal is not
marked, but its quality is paramount as it forms the basis from
which dissertation supervision will be allocated.
Semester 2, week 5 Each student to receive feedback about the draft dissertation
proposal at individual meetings with allocated supervisors.
Semester 2, week 7, 2000 WORD DISSERTATION PROPOSAL IS DUE (Including draft
10am, Tuesday Practical Research Plan and/or Ethics forms in appendix if
applicable) - both as a hardcopy via submission boxes in the
Department and through Turnitin check in Myplace. [Worth 40%
final mark in research methods classes.]
March April For lab-based dissertations only: Draft Practical research
plan to be discussed with the Dissertation/Project Supervisor.
Begin preparations for the project (e.g., paperwork, supplies
and inventory).
SPRING VACATION Crucial time to improve the dissertation proposal and to carry out
a pilot study, fieldwork and to collect primary and/or secondary
data.
MAY For lab-based dissertations only: Final practical research
plan is due; safety paperwork (if relevant: COSHH, Risk
assessments, Biological Safety); laboratory inductions
End May Early June Supervisory meeting 1: Students meet with allocated supervisor
to discuss dissertation proposal, key literature to be reviewed,
information sources, proposed timetable
End June/Early July Supervisory meeting 2: Students meet with supervisor to discuss
progress to date, updated timetable, data collection (already done
and/or yet to be done), and overview of dissertation structure.
End July/Early August Supervisory meeting 3: Students meet with supervisor to discuss
the final dissertation structure, as many final draft chapters as
possible, and the data analysis strategy being carried out.
4PM THIRD FRIDAY IN DISSERTATIONS ARE DUE

AUGUST 2
2 Please note that this is a very strictly imposed deadline and that no extensions are allowed, except for exceptional
personal circumstances that need to be approved by Faculty Personal Circumstances Board. This is to ensure equity
between the students. The usual penalty for late submission does not apply. If a dissertation is late, the mark will be zero.
4.2 Dissertation Ideas and Choosing a Topic Relevant for MSc Programme
All students need to generate their own dissertation ideas by researching the literature and
discussing with staff and industrial contacts. The ability of students to think about research topics,
and to justify how to tackle them in terms of research methods, is one of the things that the
Research Methods class will be evaluating. Students should start thinking about dissertation ideas
from the start of the MSc. Students should write ideas as they may come up due to lecturers,
research seminars, independent reading, and discussions with staff, guest speakers, practitioners,
industry contacts and fellow students.
The dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc degree. It should
therefore relate to the syllabus for one or more components of the course. That means that the
dissertation should clearly demonstrate the link between the topic or case(s) studied and a
recognised corpus of literature (in the same way that a journal article has to do) and that this link
should be made explicit. Pick a topic that closely interests you, but make sure that it fits within the
field of study of each MSc. Note that for the MSc in Civil Engineering and the MSc in Civil
Engineering with Industrial Placement, if students are interested in graduating with one of the named
streams, the dissertation topic needs to be relevant to that named stream.
Finding a dissertation idea is not just about finding a topic. It is also about justifying why that topic
and, very importantly, what exactly will be done to tackle the topic. Students should phrase the
possible topic in the form of a question as it helps to frame what the dissertation may be about.
Therefore, when thinking of dissertation topics, students should think of three key points:
What is the dissertation about (VERY IMPORTANTLY - phrased in the form of a question).
Why is this question relevant (the literature review plus industry/policy relevance).
How are you going to answer the question (the data & methodology).
To get ideas for your dissertation, you need to carry out research in order to find your research
question, by for example:
Reviewing the literature (Web of Knowledge (giving access to Science Citation Index),
GEOBASE and other bibliographic databases are quite useful for this see point 4.10 on
Bibliographic Databases).
Talk to members of staff at the University of Strathclyde (not only Civil and Environmental
Engineering staff members, but even other academics at the University as long as these
other academics are willing to have a quick chat with you check if they have an office hour
or send them an email).
Also talk with practitioners, local and central government officials, NGOs, environmental
agencies, etc. The dissertation may well involve a problem of interest to an NGO, some
governmental agency, or a commercial firm, and students are actively encouraged to seek
opportunities for collaboration with such institutions.
Look at past dissertations and/or list of abstracts to get an overview of topics covered by
previous students.
It is very important that students check the CEE dissertation abstracts database in Myplace (class
called MSc Dissertation Abstract) for ideas. The database includes not only the 192 abstracts for all
dissertations submitted in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16, but it also includes suggestions for future
research. Students can do searches of the database from all MSc programmes to find ideas.
Topics may also be provided by staff that may be of interest to students. In some cases, students
may need to apply to work on these topics in a competitive basis based on CV, statement of interest
and sometimes interview. In week 10 of Semester 1, there will be a seminar of staff research
interests and proposal of dissertation topics aimed at MSc students, as part of the research methods
class CL986/CL931. Each member of staff will be asked to present one slide for 5 minutes where
they outline their research interests and also any dissertation topics ideas for MSc students.
Attending this seminar will also help students to get dissertation ideas.
The dissertation ideas workshop in week 2 of semester 2, where each student discusses dissertation
ideas at one of the small group 2-hour workshops, is also a fertile ground for generating dissertation
ideas. Not only speaking about your dissertation ideas will help shape and clarify your thoughts, but
listening to others students ideas will also generate new ideas not only on possible topics but, very
importantly, on how to tackle them. It is fundamental that all students attend these workshops even if
they are still missing a dissertation idea.
Supervisor selection will be made in Semester 2 by MSc Course Leader based on the draft
dissertation proposal. Therefore the quality of the draft dissertation proposal is very important (see
section 4.3). Changes in topic selection can be made anytime during the year. The dissertation
proposal does not commit you to do that research you can do the actual dissertation in a different
subject. However, it should be noted there is a time element in re-designing or choosing a
completely new topic. Late changes of dissertation topics can affect the quality of the dissertation for
lack of time of carrying out the research and writing the dissertation. New topics should undergo
submission of a new dissertation proposal to MSc Course Leader for approval. A change of topic will
not be grounds for an extension of the dissertation deadline.
4.3 Dissertation Proposal including Practical Research Plan and ethical approval
Your dissertation topic will be evaluated and approved via a dissertation proposal document.
Students will need to produce two versions of this document (both submitted as a hardcopy in
submission boxes on level 5, James Weir Building and through Turnitin check in Myplace for
CL986/CL931):
1. Draft dissertation proposal due on Semester 2, week 4, 10am, Tuesday this version does
not contribute to mark in research methods class but will be used to provide feedback and to
allocate supervision. The quality of the draft dissertation proposal is, therefore, very
important.
2. Final dissertation proposal due on Semester 2, week 7, 10am, Tuesday improved version
based on feedback received on draft version. This version is worth 40% of the final mark in
research methods class (CL986/CL931).
The proposal should state very clearly what you expect to achieve with your dissertation. The
dissertation proposal is intended to form a broad introduction to your study topic rather than a
definitive and final overview of your dissertation. However, the methodology needs to be as detailed
as possible. For example, it is not enough just to say questionnaires will be distributed, you need to
also say why, how will they be distributed, to whom, to how many people, to what type of people and,
most importantly, what questions will be asked. In the past, the best dissertations proposals that
used questionnaires as a data collection tool, included the proposed questionnaire, already properly
formatted, as an appendix.
The 2000-word dissertation proposal (length excluding references and appendices) should look
professional and be well formatted. Use sub-headings, 1.5 spacing and structure as follows:
1. a provisional title related to the dissertation topic (written in the form of a question),
2. your name, MSc title and MSc course leaders name
3. 200-word introduction stating clearly your research aim and research objectives. Remember,
your aim is what you are trying to achieve (this is often written as a research question), your
objectives are how you are going to do this.
4. 900-word literature review (including theoretical literature) supporting the relevance of the
proposed study (i.e. justifying why is this research question relevant),
5. 900-word summary of the methodology to be employed (i.e. on how you intend to carry out
your research to try answer the research question). The summary of the methodology should
be both a description and a justification of the methods to be employed. You should also
include what quality assurance and quality control procedures will be adopted in order to
ensure the quality of the data produced, plus discuss the possible difficulties and how to
overcome them. As applicable, this section (or expanded in appendix) should also discuss
what resources are needed, any ethical issues, and any health & safety issues.
6. list of references cited (these need to cover both topic area and relevant research methods).
7. Appendix 1 Detailed timetable covering the work you will do every week for the dissertation
(normally from May until August). This is compulsory proposals missing this will be
marked down. Be as detailed as possible instead of data collection in July specify
what data will be collected in what week. Also do not say writing dissertation say when
each chapter will be written (reminding that Introduction Chapter is the last one to be
written).
8. Appendix 2 Draft practical research plan only needed for students planning to do lab or
field work (see below for information about this)
9. Appendix 3 As applicable, include details on: specialist training needed (e.g. using a
particular equipment), potential safety hazards associated with the work, ethics forms (see
below for information about ethics).
10. Appendix 4 for draft proposal only please suggest as to who should be your supervisor
and why? (Note: This does not mean that you will get the requested supervisor, as we
distribute students to staff in an equitable manner. Please also note that students do not
select their supervisor; it is up to the MSc Course Leader to do this - see section 4.12 but
information you provide in this appendix will be taken into account).
Practical Research Plan: In addition to the main dissertation proposal, you are required to include a
draft practical research plan as an appendix to allow time for approval, preparations and staff
feedback. Write the draft practical research plan in the form of a table one column for each of
these items:
(i) A list of all the tasks you propose to do (these are your rows in the table).
(ii) Estimation of the time that will take for each task.
(iii) A list of everything that you require for the tasks above (e.g. materials, staff time).
(iv) Cost estimate (both of materials and support staff time).
Very importantly, add in appendix to your proposal a statement on:
a) Specialist training that you will require to carry out this work (e.g. training to use a
particular equipment).
b) The safety hazards associated with the work, and the precautions you will take to
minimise risk. Please note that in addition to project proposal documentation, all projects
require to comply fully with all relevant University Health and Safety guidance.
c) Ethics as applicable.
After you are allocated a supervisor in Semester 2, you will need to discuss very carefully with your
supervisor your dissertations proposal and the draft practical research plan. You need to finalise the
practical research plan with input from supervisor. For the final version, you need to include how
work will be financed (to be discussed and approved by supervisor). Having this plan helps to avoid
missing or unavailable resources at a later stage. We cannot, of course, guarantee the availability of
everything, but you will be told in advance of any problems. You will then be able to modify your
plans, in discussion with your Supervisor and others. Correspondingly, it is essential that you:
(a) consult properly with your supervisor, who can keep you informed of current procedures;
(b) obtain appropriate Ethics approval (if needed);
(c) work with your supervisor to complete and give your attention to the requisite Departmental
Risk Assessment forms as appropriate for your project before commencing any work. See
information at: http://www.strath.ac.uk/Departments/Civeng/common/safety/index.htm
For those planning to work in the laboratories or fieldwork (with supervisors approval):
(a) If potentially hazardous materials are being handled, complete and give your attention to the
requisite Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) proforma. COSHH
assessments require to be approved by both an appropriate risk assessor (see the chief
technician, Mr John Carlin, for advice: j.carlin@strath.ac.uk) and your supervisor before any
work with potentially hazardous materials commences.
(b) Individuals planning on working with biological agents, including genetically modified
organisms and microorganisms, human or animal tissues, body fluids and secretions should
register with the Biological Protection Services before commencing work, details on Pegasus
(pegasus.strath.ac.uk). Additionally, consult Dr Charles Knapp (charles.knapp@strath.ac.uk)
for any additional documentation and training that may be required.
(c) Be sure to add any COSHH and/or Biological Protection forms to the practical proposal
documentation.
(d) Arrange to have laboratory or fieldwork training to be provided directly either by your
supervisor or a competent proxy (e.g., post-doctoral researcher or senior PhD student).
Safety is paramount! It is the responsibility of the researcher to be familiar and appropriately

trained with safe laboratory practices and guidelines. If you are not comfortable with the lab,
either obtain training from your project supervisor or consider a different project. Failure to
adhere to these guidelines and/or regulations may (and is likely to) result in the termination of
your experimental work. This ultimately results in incomplete work or necessitates a change in
dissertation topic.
You can never work alone in a laboratory, and working in the laboratory out of hours (i.e., after 5 pm
and on weekends) will never be allowed, for safety reasons.
Overseas Research: Some MSc students undertake their research topics in Africa and other
countries. There are very specific guidelines for the Risk Assessment, Health and Safety, and
appropriate nature of research of this nature. For those students who plan to undertake research
elsewhere, you must get full approval of the MSc Course Coordinator and follow all the advice and
requirements for the project. Additionally, when working overseas you are an emissary of the
University, and you should seek to show the highest professional standards of work and engagement
with overseas partners. Professor Bob Kalin (course leader of the MSc Hydrogeology) has extensive
experience on supervising MSc projects overseas, as many of the MSc Hydrogeology students
undertake their research topics in Africa, so MSc students planning to do work overseas may also
seek Professor Kalins advice.
Ethical Approval
As a student of the University of Strathclyde any research that you do that involves investigations on
human beings must be given ethics approval before the work commences. This is needed
whatever the form of your research, for example experiments, demonstrations, interview or
questionnaires. Approval is necessary so that the rights, dignity, safety and well-being of all actual
and potential participants in your research are protected.
Whether you need ethics approval for your project should be decided in collaboration with your
supervisor. Your supervisor, as a member of staff, acts as the Chief Investigator in your project.
Consequently your supervisor is responsible for all of your actions relating to the project. Thus your
supervisor must ensure that you are aware of and observe the relevant guidelines and that you
receive appropriate training in any procedures and techniques to be undertaken as part of the study
(training will be covered within the research methodology aspect of your course).
You must fill out an ethics application form and have copies of participant information sheets,
consent forms and potentially sample questionnaires or interview formats. This then must be
approved by your supervisor prior to being submitted to and reviewed by the Departmental Ethics
Committee (a different procedure will be followed if you intend to undertaken clinical or similar
research3). Approval must then be given by the Departmental Ethics Committee before the work
commences (contact: Girma Zawdie, g.zawdie@strath.ac.uk).
VERY IMPORTANT: If a student submits a dissertation, involving human subjects, that was
supposed to have received ethics approval and no ethics approval was requested, the
dissertation may be rejected as unacceptable and a mark of zero will be recorded. Not going
through ethics approval is a breach of the research code of practice. If a student is uncertain
if ethics is required, it is better to err on the side of caution and submit an ethics application.
At its simplest form, when interviewing people or sending out a questionnaire, the researcher must:
a) tell what the research is about and how will the results be used (e.g. for the purpose to write a
dissertation); and
b) ensure that all data gathered will be treated in a confidential and anonymous manner.
But, permission to carry out the research must be obtained and participants must sign consent
forms!
The University Ethics Committee is responsible to Court, through the University Management Group,
for the consideration of general ethical issues relating to the teaching and research of the University
which involves investigations on human beings. The Committee will consider studies submitted for
ethical review and will strive to protect the rights, dignity, safety and well-being of all actual and
potential participants. The Committee will also provide impartial advice to participants and
researchers. The Ethics Committee meets on a monthly basis to consider projects submitted for
ethical review. The Code of Practice on Investigations on Human Beings (plus other information) can
be viewed at: http://www.strath.ac.uk/ethics/
Very importantly from a dissertation point of view, you can obtain the ethics application form,
consent form template and participant information sheet template from:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/ethics/
3 Investigations involving clinical trials or medicinal products, or those involving staff, patients, facilities, data,
tissue, blood or organ samples from the National Health Service.
Any waiver of confidentiality must be justified and agreed by volunteers in writing. If you will be
processing personal data then you need to comply with the provisions of Data Protection legislation
(http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1066/0006064.pdf). Be aware of the need for protecting
the anonymity and confidentiality of research participation, and ensuring secure storage and disposal
of any personal data4. You also need to be aware of the provisions of the Freedom of Information
Scotland Act (2002) and the implications this may have for your study
(http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/02/18961/33501).
There is an obligation upon you to protect volunteers (interviewees) who may participate in your
study from possible harm and to preserve their dignity and rights. Confidentiality and privacy MUST
be maintained and your intentions in this matter must be made known (a) to the Departmental Ethics
Committee; and (b) to the volunteers.
Before the go ahead for your project may be given, the following requirements must strictly be
adhered to:
(i) complete and append the University's Ethics Application Form to your research proposal
(template here http://www.strath.ac.uk/ethics/), signed by your supervisor
(ii) agree content of the Participant Information Sheet (template here

http://www.strath.ac.uk/ethics/) for your study with your supervisor and append this to the
proposal
(iii) agree content of consent form (template here http://www.strath.ac.uk/ethics/) for your study
with your supervisor and append this to the proposal
(v) agree the content of the questionnaire and/or interview questions (as appropriate) with your
supervisor and append this to your proposal.
In addition to the above, students filling an ethics application form, are responsible for uploading the
following (after supervisor approval), using the ethics link in the MSc dissertation Myplace page:
- Ethics Application Form
- Participant information sheets
- Consent form
- Survey/questionnaire/interview guide
Uploaded ethics form must have the supervisor signature. Note that approval may not be presumed.
The Ethics Committee needs to approve the research involving investigations on human beings
before the project goes forward. Some applications may be refused and others may need to be
revised and resubmitted.
REMEMBER: Never bind the signed consent forms with your dissertation otherwise confidentiality
and anonymity will NOT be assured. The consent forms are for you to keep safe.
4 You should never bind the signed consent forms from your interviewees with the dissertation as this will break
all confidentiality and anonymity.
Final Note about the Proposal and Timings of Work. The draft dissertation proposal will
determine the supervisor that will be allocated to each student (see section 4.12 about dissertation
supervision). As soon as you have been allocated a supervisor, each student should meet quickly
with his or her supervisor to agree a programme of supervision. It is important to do this early as staff
may have other commitments at various times during the dissertation-work period (see section 4.1
on key dates to remember related to the dissertation). As well as the guidance, which you will receive
from your supervisor, part of the Research Methods class CL986/CL931 will be devoted to
discussing the dissertation exercise. In addition, this handbook is provided to guide you in your work
on your dissertation. The content of this handbook has been carefully discussed by the dissertation
supervisors involved in each of the MSc courses and is provided well in advance to avoid
misunderstandings over what is required.
You can only proceed with your dissertation work after your dissertation topic is approved. The
quality of the final dissertation proposal is paramount. Students who have a grade less than 50% in
the dissertation proposal may not be allowed to proceed to the dissertation. In addition, only students
attaining an average of 50% or above across all classes taken, will be able to proceed to the MSc
degree and undertake the dissertation.5 This last aspect is determined at the Exam Board normally
held in the first week of June. Students however are strongly advised not to wait for the Boards
decision to proceed to the dissertation stage but to start working on the dissertation as soon as the
topic is approved, i.e. after getting the grade for the final dissertation proposal. (Note, however, that
you should not fall into the temptation of neglecting exam revision.)
4.4 Dissertation Structure
A total of about 600 hours would be the normal time to spend on a dissertation (including writing).
Please consider this when planning your summer.
All dissertations should follow established scientific practice in containing a logical structure
including: identification of the topic and its context, choice of methods for data collection and
processing, analysis and interpretation of results, and statement of findings. The best research
projects are in the form of an argument - you are trying to convince the reader that your work is
worthwhile and the findings are valid. Strive for clarity of expression, simplicity and conciseness. The
"main ingredients" for a clear and well-structured dissertation are as follows:
a) Never forget that you are presenting an argument and that an argument should usually
progress, i.e. present the material in an order that supports that argument. The argument
should not only be running throughout the dissertation, but there should also be an argument
running within each chapter. For example, the first chapter can argue why the proposed
research is interesting/topical, the methodology can argue why the proposed methods are a
5 There are also specific rules concerning number of class fails (less than 50%) that are allowed See
University of Strathclydes Faculty of Engineering Operating Guidelines for Boards of Examiners of
Postgraduate Taught Courses in the General PG Handbook. If these are not clear, ask your MSc leader.
good (or best or appropriate) way to go about answering the research question, and the
conclusion chapter can argue why the findings are relevant.
b) It is fundamental to be able to recognise what is important and not so important, especially

when considering size constraints. Find the right balance between chapters and sections,
and be selective - put only in the dissertation what is important, relevant or interesting.
c) Finally, a well-structured dissertation should flow rather than jump from paragraph to
paragraph and from section to section. It is important that you link each chapter or section
with the next.
The suggestions and guidelines presented here are not intended to prevent imaginative
presentations but to indicate the points to be considered. Your supervisor will also give you advice on
how best to structure your dissertation. You could choose a presentation style that you particularly
like by looking at published books and journals. It might also be useful to look at the '"instructions for
authors" of an international journal (sometimes published inside the front or the back cover).
Textbook: Day, R. (2006) How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper [Main Library D 820-4(09)
DAY] - provides practical suggestions as to the writing of individual sections of the dissertation and
can be very helpfully read in conjunction with this handbook.
The dissertation should contain, in this order, the following (all starting in a new page i.e. chapters
always start at the start of new page):
a) A title page is necessary giving the full title of the dissertation (brief but interesting and
informative), authors name, department name and date as follows:
(Title of dissertation)
(Name of author)
A dissertation submitted by (name of author) to the Department of Civil & Environmental
Engineering, University of Strathclyde, in part completion of the requirements for the (name MSc).
I, (name of author), hereby states that this report is my own work and that all sources used are
made explicit in the text.6
(Number of words)
(Month, year)
b) A declaration of authors rights - the dissertation should include, on the page immediately
subsequent to the title page, the following declaration of authors rights:
The copyright of this dissertation belongs to the author under the terms of the United
Kingdom Copyright Acts as qualified by University of Strathclyde Regulation 3.49. Due
acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived
from, this dissertation.
6 Students are required to confirm that the dissertation is their own work by including this declaration at the foot of the title-
page.
c) An abstract of 300 words the whole dissertation. An abstract is a summary, not a mini
introduction; therefore, you need to say what the research was about, what was done, and (very
importantly) what was found (these could be three paragraphs of about 100 words each).
Normally abstracts do not cite references, and the sentences should be unique (i.e. cannot have
the same sentences somewhere in the introduction).
d) Acknowledgements - in here the extent to which help has been received should be made clear.
If thanking interviewees, and you have promised anonymity, make sure you do not specify their
names here.
e) A list of contents. All preliminary pages (excluding title page, copyright page and table of
contents) and each major section and sub-sections of the dissertation (and all appendices with
titles), should be listed with page numbers. Also include a list of figures, followed by a list of
tables, and a list of boxes (if used) all with page numbers. A list of abbreviations (or acronyms)
could also be included. Preliminary pages are numbered i, ii, etc.
f) An introduction (Chapter 1) is needed, outlining the aims of the dissertation and the research
question. Reference should be made to major literature in the field (which will be drawn upon in
the discussion of the findings) setting the context and the rationale of the dissertation
(depending of the dissertation, the literature review could be a separate chapter altogether:
Chapter 2). Chapter 1 should end with a clear and concise description on how the dissertation is
structured into key chapters (the last phrases or paragraph of the introduction). (Note that
sometimes an effective introduction cannot be written until you know exactly what was done and
what your main conclusion was. Note also that the introduction is a chapter on its own right and
therefore cannot be 1 or 2 pages long! As a rule-of-thumb each chapter should be approximately
between 5 and 20 pages long). Note that the first page of the introduction is the one numbered
1 (preliminary pages are numbered i, ii, etc).
Besides an explanation of what the study is about, the introduction may include:
An explanation on why it is important to do such a study.
A critical review on how it relates or compares with previous work - do not make lists but be
critical. (Note that a critical review of the literature could be a chapter on its own.)
A brief summary of the main point(s) you intend to approach.
A clear statement of the line of inquiry you intend to take. If in doubt use the words of the
research question(s); turn them into a statement. Alternatively, the introduction could be phrased
as a question or series of questions.
A definition and explanation of the main terms or words used in the research question(s).
A clear and concise description on how the dissertation is structured (the last phrases or
paragraph of the introduction).
If you include both aims and objectives, note the difference between these two: the aim is what
you are trying to achieve; the objectives is how you are trying to achieve it.
g) Of overwhelming importance is the description and justification of the methodology employed -
particularly in the case of the methods which have been developed or adapted for the particular
piece of research. According to the principle of replication it should be possible for another
researcher to conduct the same investigation with the same results or be quite clear why a
difference has arisen. Make all value-judgements explicit. If a long explanation would interrupt
the flow of the report or unbalance it, techniques can be enlarged upon in appendices. Don't
forget that any tables or figures should be integrated within the text.
Besides an explanation of what was done, the methodology chapter should probably include:
If relevant, an explanation of why you have done things the way you did (i.e. why was it not done
another way) - don't just be descriptive, be critical as well
A critical explanation and description of all the assumptions, oversimplifications, drawbacks and
limitations of the method (some of these might end up in the last chapter).
If relevant, include a description of the study area, and explain why and how was it selected
(Note that, for certain studies, the study area could be a chapter on its own.)
h) The results (or findings) and discussion should be presented as concisely and clearly as
possible. Often there is a Results and Discussion chapter (combined), but can also be
separate (not recommended). Most importantly results should be integrated with some
analyses! Structure the Results and Discussion (or Results and Analysis) chapter(s) in such a
way as to facilitate analysis and discussion. (e.g., organise the results by themes rather than by
lists so rather than analyse case study 1 followed by case study 2 in a list-like fashion, think
what are the two or three key themes that come out of both case studies and structure your
results accordingly comparing and contrasting the case studies). Be critical rather than
descriptive. Were your results affected by the data used, the methodology employed, or the
study area selected? Don't forget that any tables or figures should be integrated within the text.
(Again, it is strongly recommended that you consult with a textbook such as Day, R. (2006) How
to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper for guidance on the production of clear and concise Tables
and Figures.)
It is possible to have more than one Results and Discussion chapters. Instead of calling these
chapters Results and Discussion give them a thematic title related to the main argument of
each chapter.
i) In the conclusions and recommendations (the last chapter) you should discuss the main
points that you want to put across (the main ideas and findings of your dissertation). This is a
key chapter and you should put a lot of effort into it. This chapter should consist of both a
critique of your findings and an analysis of the implications of your study. The conclusion should
link back to the introduction and summarise the main points that you have made. It should state
your own feelings and observations - the conclusions that you have come to as a result of doing
the study and considering the issues discussed. In some cases it might be advantageous to
contrast your findings with the views of authors you have read. The conclusion should not, as a
rule, introduce completely new material, though it may suggest other possible lines of enquiry
that you did not have time to go into or that were beyond the scope of your dissertation (i.e. write
a sub-section on Future Research). Could the methodology be improved? Can you extrapolate
your findings to other situations (e.g. other study areas) - i.e. discuss how generally applicable
are your conclusions? What further research could be done in order to validate or expand your
study? Finally, if applicable, you could add recommendations for future practice (in local/central
government, NGOs, NHS etc). Therefore, three possible sub-sections in the conclusions (which
work well) are:
summary of key findings

recommendations for future research
recommendations for future practice
j) The list of references cited in the text must all appear at the end of the main text of the
dissertation, i.e. before the appendices. Please note that if you have used et al within the text, in
the list of references all authors should be cited. The list of references should be one of the last
things you need to check before the final proof reading. References section should not be
numbered. See Part 4 for more referencing advice.
k) Appendices include supportive or explanatory matter (e.g. statistical results may be used in the
text and a full 'work-out' is given in an Appendix). In other words, any material essential to the
report, but which would be indigestible or unbalanced if included in the body of text, can be
placed in an appendix or appendices at the end of the dissertation. Appendices should be
numbered and referred to in the text - e.g. (see Appendix 1). The appendices may include:
Questionnaire/interview schedules.
Computer programs or macros developed for the study.
Raw data collected by you (in the case where the data presented in the text is in the form of
figures), so the study can be reproduced. (Note that raw census data and other published data,
exactly because they are published, do not need to be included in an appendix.)
More detailed description of some of the techniques used in the methodology.
Data classifications used (e.g. land use classification).
Definitions of terms (e.g. of census variables).
Letters and other documentation if relevant for the subject of the study (e.g. on a study on
censorship it would be of interest to include letters forbidding the disclosure of certain
information).
(Some people suggest another rule for deciding what should go into an appendix: "If it's boring
but important, it should go in an appendix. If it's really boring, leave it out altogether.")
What about footnotes?
You can use footnotes to take care of the occasions when you have a piece of information to give
but it is inconvenient to break up the text to give it. Often, footnotes appear at the bottom of the
relevant page in a smaller font (as in this document). Alternatively, you can put all notes at the end
of the dissertation and signal them in the text by a number in brackets, in a single numerical
sequence. Note however that you must limit your use of footnotes to a bare minimum. They are
disruptive to the readers and overuse of footnotes is a symptom of a failure to work out a proper
structure for the argument.
4.5 Dissertation Length

The length of the dissertation should range between 8,000 and 15,000 words, excluding references
and appendices. The dissertation topic will determine the appropriate dissertation length within that
range and this is something the supervisor can advise. For some topics 8,000 words may be
considered too short, while for other topics 15,000 words might be considered too long. The
appendices can add depth to the dissertation as well as they can provide supplementary information
(although do not make the mistake of putting all the important results in appendix rather than in the
main body of the dissertation).
Irrespective of the length of the dissertation, it is critical that the dissertation reflects 600 hours of
work. This is not just about length of the final dissertation; it is also, and very importantly, about the
data collection and analysis done, and the research and/or practical contribution the dissertation has
achieved. It is important not to submit a dissertation that may be considered thin. A dissertation
with weak data collection and analysis, which is then only 8,000 words long, runs a higher risk of
being considered thin and then failing. While a 15,000 words dissertation, which has the same
weak data collection and analysis, but has an in-depth review of the literature and an in-depth
analysis of recommendations for future research may just pass. [As a rule of thumb, the more data
you have collected the more it is acceptable to have a shorter dissertation of 8,000 words, while
dissertations weaker on data collection would need to boost dissertation with more extensive writing,
although this writing stills needs to have depth and argue a point, rather than just padding.]
A dissertation that is less than 8,000 words will be considered too short. While a dissertation that
substantially exceeds the maximum length of 15,000 words (i.e. more than 10% over the length), will
be penalised by the examiners. You should note the number of words in the dissertation on the cover
page (this requirement is not onerous, since most word processing packages incorporate a word
count facility). Penalties are necessary in order to achieve equity. All candidates should be assessed
on the basis of submissions, which are similar in form. The length limit is also intended to discourage
candidates from attempting over-ambitious topics or engaging in excessive "waffle". (Remember that
articles in major journals rarely exceed 8,000 words.)
4.6 Content and Substance
The dissertation should contain original research or analysis, based either on primary or secondary
data. A dissertation needs to have a central integrating argument. The argument should be logically
developed, building up a case point by point, and displaying a critical and analytical approach to the
subject. Descriptive material, which does not contribute to such an argument, should normally be
omitted.
It is not enough simply to write about the collection of books and articles, which you have read about
the topic. A good dissertation needs to contain your assessment of existing knowledge about the
topic (plus any contributions which you yourself may have made to that knowledge through original
research from primary sources or fieldwork) and will be an expression of your thoughts and
conclusions. It follows that you are required to examine the evidence critically. Do not commit the
ipse dixit fallacy: the proposition that something must be true simply because Professor X (or some
other eminence) said it or wrote it. Your task as the dissertation writer is to examine the evidence,
assess the argument or analysis, and then come to your own conclusions.
Your argument must have depth and balance. Avoid making superficial claims that will not stand up
to scrutiny. Do not make the mistake of regarding all possible counter-arguments as irrelevant.
Important alternative views must be met. Refute them if possible. If not, take them into consideration
in your final assessment and give any reasons for having doubts about their validity. Similarly, do not
ignore evidence that does not support your case. Examine the evidence. If you can find no fault
there, and if you have no counter-evidence, then maybe something is wrong with your case.
Superficiality is a common defect identified by examiners. If candidates adopt a single perspective,
they must demonstrate a critical awareness of its strengths and weaknesses. Your dissertation must
have an analytical base rather than be solely a descriptive piece of work.
It is absolutely crucial that you always link your empirical work and source material (fieldwork or
material based on secondary sources) to the conceptual, academic or theoretical literature. A case
study for example would be acceptable only if it were used to contribute to a theoretical debate,
illustrating or refuting some hypothesis.
4.7 Fieldwork and Primary Source Material

Do use primary source material (from fieldwork, surveys or analysis of original documents) if you
wish and if it is available to you. However, given the short time span available to you for dissertation-
related research, you should ensure that any fieldwork or primary research that you undertake is
strictly containable within the time-frame for the dissertation. The Board of Examiners will not be
sympathetic to pleas for extra time or excuses for chopped off short dissertations on the grounds
that fieldwork took longer to complete than expected. Moreover, you should note that the use of
primary source material is not a requirement of a successful dissertation. A dissertation that is closer
in style and approach to an extended tutorial essay than to a mini-doctoral thesis is perfectly
acceptable, provided it has a clear and convincing argument, achieves adequate depth and contains
original research or analysis. Note that although this is possible to achieve without primary data, it is
usually more difficult to do with secondary data only.
4.8 Research Literature and Secondary Source Material

Do make sure well in advance that the material you hope to use is actually available. Some MSc
candidates have been known to postpone work on their dissertations until early July, only to
discover, at this stage, that their expected sources did not exist or were inaccessible ... panic! Early
identification of a fairly precise topic for your dissertation will help you enormously with sources,
since the process of serendipity and chance sightings of books and articles during the pursuit of
your other studies will save time later. In addition, reflection on your topic in advance of intensive
work on it, may help develop ideas which can elude you in mid-summer. The sessions on information
gathering in the Research Methods class CL986/CL931 are intended to help you to find sources for
you dissertation, and to learn how to use library resources for the purpose. Writing your dissertation
will give you the opportunity to put those skills into action. One such source that you may want to
investigate is the City Observatory Data Portal at http://ifuturecities.com/urban-data/city-observatory-
data-portal/. This on-line facility houses open access data from a range of sources, with topics
including transport, health, energy, crime and community. Data from the portal could be incorporated
into many projects.
Under no circumstances plagiarise. The dictionary definition of plagiarism

is "To take and use another persons (thoughts, writings, inventions...) as ones own". The most
obvious form is using someone elses ideas without any acknowledgement, but there are other kinds
of plagiarism. For example, using a verbatim passage without quote marks would be plagiarism even
if the source was acknowledged with a reference. Proper citation of sources is an elementary but
critical part of the presentation of scholarly work, and you should observe the standards used in top
refereed journals (see also Part 4 in this advice document). Full details on the University Policy on
Academic Dishonesty are outlined in the departmental General Postgraduate Handbook. It is highly
recommended that you read this section. If you have any questions or doubts about citation consult
your supervisor. The examiners are vigilant for cases of plagiarism, and a dissertation containing
plagiarism will be referred to the university authorities.
4.9 Bibliographic Databases

It is highly recommended that you use bibliographic databases for your research (both for the
dissertation and for all other assessed work as well). These give you easy and quick access to book
chapters, journal articles, conference papers, and other published materials. These databases allow
you to glance through article's abstracts and book summaries for each recorded item, so you can
save time physically searching for materials that may or may not be relevant. Two of the
bibliographic databases available at the library that are very useful for your research are: Web of
Knowledge (which gives access to the Science Citation Index) and GEOBASE. However, make sure
you check if others are also useful through the University of Strathclyde electronic databases page:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/library/masterlist/electronicdatabases/
To refine your search you can use the Boolean logic operators (details given by database providers).
Use the abstracts to select your key papers. To get access to the full papers that you need, you may
need to go to another library in Glasgow or even in Edinburgh. To find out which library has which
journals, you must use the SALSER (Scottish Academic Libraries SERials) system
(http://edina.ed.ac.uk/salser).
4.10 Work Placements7

A dissertation could be linked to a work placement. Work placements provide an opportunity for
students to enhance academic studies with professional development, and help set career plans in
motion. Over the years, students have been successful in obtaining placements within a variety of
private, NGO and public sector organisations (e.g. SEPA, RSPB, Local Authorities, IBM, Clyde
Bottling Co. Ltd, Mountaineering Council of Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, Denholm Industrial
Services, Field Packaging Ltd, BAA Scottish Airports, Aramark Ltd, GSK, Scottish Canals). Check
University Careers Service for information (http://www.strath.ac.uk/careers/).
Students are actively encouraged to seek opportunities for collaboration with such institutions.
Please note that a dissertation based in a placement still needs to have an argument running
through it and needs to have a dissertation structure. Some extra work will be needed, in addition to
the work carried as part of the placement, when putting the dissertation together. Extra work
(besides writing the dissertation with a dissertation format) could be in terms of a literature review,
that sets the context and relevance of the work carried out, or even extra data collection, for example
asking stakeholders involved in the placement how they thought the project has gone. Your
supervisor will give you advice on this. The two key placement programmes are:
The STEP Programme (www.step.org.uk) matches student skills and knowledge to a companys
needs over an eight-week period. Although predominantly aimed at undergraduate students, this
Programme is becoming increasingly aware of the potential and maturity that postgraduate students
can offer to a company. Several of our students have benefited from their involvement in the
scheme. John Watt, a 2010 graduate of MSc Environmental Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde,
achieved second place in the STEP Highlands Awards for Most Enterprising Student. The award
acknowledged the work undertaken on social and environmental accounting, which added to the
business portfolio of his company. As part of a position with InspirAlba, a social enterprise support
organisation, John was able to assist two recycling organisations in demonstrating the environmental
and wider community value of their operations, using the research findings to contribute to a
dissertation study within the department. John was runner up from 44 students competing for the
prize in Inverness on 1st September 2010.
The Bright Green Business (http://www.brightgreenbusiness.org.uk/) places students within

Scottish Businesses to undertake projects with an environmental focus. It aims to provide
7 Some placements will offer paid work. Just for reference, EPP in 2009 was paying 210 per week tax free.
businesses with focused, low cost practical environmental support, whilst providing students with
paid work experience in a commercial environment (applications normally start in November of each
year so enquire early). Kenny MacFadyen, a Strathclyde Civil and Environmental Engineering MEng
student, was awarded for his input to the business over his placement. During the 8 weeks spent
with organic root crop specialists Tio, he developed a resource efficiency measure, which contributed
to over 30,000 of future savings for the company. Kennys efforts earned him the prize for Most
Enterprising Student 2010, seeing off competition from 60 other students at the prestigious Royal
Society of Edinburgh on the 8th September 2010.
4.11 Planning and Guidance

You should start planning your dissertation early. Start thinking about ideas from the start of the first
semester (e.g. maybe using a notebook dedicated to dissertation ideas), and during the second
semester you must write the 2000 words dissertation proposal. The compulsory Research Methods
class CL986/CL931 will include discussions about the dissertation, but these sessions are intended
to provide only broad guidance, and to complement, not substitute for, your own planning.
Once you have sketched and defined your topic, and done some initial reading, draw up a draft plan.
In the first instance, the plan is likely to be simply a list of questions to be asked; new aspects will be
added as you do more research. Often your dissertation will develop with a cyclical process: you
begin with a rough idea of what might be found or argued, you modify this idea as you get into the
topic, discard some ideas and concentrate on others, refine the research question, and so on. Most
of the sessions related to the dissertation preparation in the Research Methods class CL986/CL931
are intended to help you find and refine your research question.
Remember that the dissertation is your independent research project and, therefore, the initiative is
on your side.
4.12 Dissertation Supervision

A number of staff are available for supervision of MSc dissertations, including academic staff, visiting
academics and module tutors. Dissertation supervision will be allocated by the MSc dissertation co-
ordinator of each MSc programme based on the draft dissertation proposal. As soon as you have
been allocated a supervisor, you must discuss in detail with your supervisor the general scope and
approach of your dissertation, as well as your proposed plan of work and source materials. Your
supervisor will advise you on your approach, coverage, questions to be asked, and the outline
structure and research design of the dissertation.
8
The Supervisors responsibilities include:
To advise on and approve an activity outline;
To offer guidance on the nature and planning of the research programme, the structure of the
dissertation, the feasibility of the methodology to be used, literature, sources, and writing up;
8 As per University Procedures and Guidelines Postgraduate Instructional Programmes.

Constructive criticism, and early indication if requisite standards are not being met, so there is
sufficient time for any remedial action;
Meetings and comments on draft chapters given that most of this process will occur during
the summer months, the student, in agreement with the supervisor, should establish a work
programme to ensure availability;
To advise on the final form of the dissertation to be submitted; this notwithstanding, it is the
students responsibility to decide after consultation with the supervisor when the standard of
the dissertation is sufficient for assessment.
Remember that during the summer academics are expected to dedicate time to their own research
and writing, as well as attending meetings and conferences and taking holidays. Therefore, it is
crucial that during the second semester you discuss with your supervisor how and when you will be
able to communicate with him or her during the summer. Please note that you should not expect
your supervisor to give meticulous detailed comments on drafts: the purpose of the dissertation is to
give you a chance to show your capacities to contribute to academic discussion and debate and it
should be your own effort and independent work. Remember also that your supervisor is one of your
examiners, so it is naturally inappropriate for the supervisor to give too many detailed comments.
The supervisor can browse through the written dissertation but only one draft copy per chapter and
cannot give detailed written comments.
It is the student's responsibility to submit to the supervisor, with reasonable notice, material that can
form the basis of discussion in the meetings with the supervisor during the second semester and
over the summer. In order to maximise the meetings' productivity it is also advisable that you give to
your supervisor a list of topics for discussion (e.g. problems and questions that you have) a few days
ahead of the meeting. Remember that if you do not approach your supervisor he/she will not
necessarily chase you - the initiative is on your side. The dissertation is ultimately the students
responsibility. The supervisor offers advise rather than issue directives. It is open to the student to
seek guidance and information from other sources.
Responsibilities of the student are:

To maintain progress in accordance with the agreed schedule of work, including completion of
any written work;
To maintain direct contact with the supervisor (not via the Department Office!);
To approach the supervisor as soon as possible, if any problems or difficulties are encountered;
9
To contact your course leader , if there is a failure to establish a satisfactory working relationship
with the supervisor; and
To decide when the standard of the dissertation is sufficient to submit for assessment.
9 If the course leader is your supervisor, students should approach Dr Elsa Joo, the Postgraduate Director, if
Dr Elsa Joo is your supervisor, students should approach another academic member staff.
Important: The supervisors approval of the final form
of the submission should not be taken as an indication
of the outcome of the assessment and may not form
the basis of an appeal.
4.13 Date for Submission
All dissertations must be submitted by 4PM ON THE THIRD FRIDAY IN AUGUST. Students that fail
to submit by this deadline will be transferred to Postgraduate Diploma, unless there are personal
circumstances approved by the Faculty Personal Circumstances Board. The deadline is both the
date and the time of submission. Dissertations submitted on the day but after 4pm will not be
marked. It is not possible to ask for an extension and the dissertation is not like other coursework
were you get a penalty for late submission. Problems with printing or binding will not be taken into
account and this is why you must aim to submit early (aim to submit at least two days before the
deadline).
Remember that is not the department that approves personal circumstances - it is the Personal
Circumstances Faculty Board. The personal circumstances must be supported by documentation
and submitted on-time to Faculty for board approval. Check:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/sees/studentpolicies/policies/appealscomplaintsdiscipline/personalcircumstancesproced
ure/
http://www.strath.ac.uk/media/ps/strategyandpolicy/PersCircs_AcademicAppeals_Aug2013_v1_1.pdf
If a student has personal circumstances and the dissertation attempt is discounted (if approved by
the University), then the next possible graduation is July of next year.
Remember that personal circumstances may not be approved by the University. In the case of the
dissertation, which is a long-term process, one week worth of medical issues for example is likely not
be sufficient reason for a non-submitted dissertation. You could have adapted the dissertation to suit
the less time. You should therefore submit a dissertation by the deadline even if you think you have
personal circumstances. Then, if the personal circumstances are approved, the attempt can be
discounted. If they are not approved, then you have submitted something that hopefully might get a
pass mark (or a mark between 45 and 49 which normally allows a re-submission and possibly get a
maximum mark of 50%). If no dissertation is submitted, and personal circumstances are not
approved, then this will definitely mean the transfer to PGDip (unless there are really obvious
extreme personal circumstances - e.g. you have been in the hospital for the last 2 months - in which
case your supervisor and course leader would have been contacted already).
Deadline for the dissertation for part-time students We hope all part-time students will submit
the dissertation on 4pm on the third Friday in August of year 2 of their studies (for graduation in
November of year 2). Part-time students however do have extra time to carry out the dissertation if
needed. The minimum MSc part-time study in CEE is 36 months. Therefore, the deadline for
submission of dissertation for part-time students is 4pm on the third Friday in August of year 3 of
your studies (for graduation in November of year 3). However, if students want to graduate earlier in
July, the deadline for submission of the dissertation is 4pm, last Friday in April of the third year.
Students that fail one or two taught classes to resit in Aug, they may choose to either:
a) proceed to the MSc project 'at risk'; i.e. may submit project by the August deadline, but
should they fail to achieve 120 taught credits after the second attempt, they will not be eligible
for the MSc and will be awarded a PgCert. [Students need to complete a form available from
department to confirm that they understand this and are proceeding with project at own risk.]
If students pass resits and pass dissertation they will be able to graduate with MSc in
November.
b) Or, if students prefer, they may defer starting project until they have the results from the next
diet of examinations, with no penalty. This means waiting their resit results before starting
their project which, in practice, means students submitting before end of December,
depending on when their results are released in September (students will have the same
amount of weeks as normal full-time students to complete dissertation). If students pass
resits and pass dissertation they will be able to graduate with MSc in July of next year.
4.14 Overlap Between Dissertation Proposal and Final Dissertation

Duplication with the dissertation proposal does NOT matter, i.e. you will not be penalised for it.
However, and following the principle of duplication where students cannot get a mark twice for the
same piece of work, material that was in the dissertation proposal and ends up again in the
dissertation will not add extra marks for the dissertation. This means that the dissertation has to
move on and produce further material than the one already presented at the proposal stage. So for
example, a student that carries out a pilot study and presents results of this pilot study on the
dissertation proposal might get a very high mark for the dissertation proposal. However, if that same
student only presents as results in the final dissertation the same pilot study findings already
presented at the proposal stage, this would be equivalent as having a dissertation with no new data
and this may actually be a failed dissertation. The same can be said of the literature review. What
has been already been written at the proposal stage can be included in the dissertation but more
needs to be said and expanded in the final dissertation. If this is unclear, please discuss with
supervisor.
4.15 Submission Instructions

These are very important instructions. Failure of students to comply fully with this guidance on
dissertation submission may result in refusal of permission to graduate.
Candidates are required to submit the following to the Department Offices:
Two soft bound copies of the dissertation (e.g. spiral bound). Illustrative material is to be
inserted within the text or, if necessary, folded to the size of the typescript in a pocket at the
end. Separate maps and diagrams will normally be accepted. To save paper, the document
can be printed as double-sided.
Slotted (not bound) inside each of the two soft bound copies the dissertation you need to add
the sheets found in Myplace for the dissertation class code (that need to be filled with details
of the student and dissertation title). These are the marking sheets to be used for the
dissertation, which are different from the usual ones.
Via Myplace http://classes.myplace.strath.ac.uk candidates must also do the following electronic

compulsory submissions:
Submit full dissertation document (including references and appendices) via Myplace
(via dissertation/project class) for electronic storage and turnitin check.
Title, abstract, keywords and recommendation for future research submitted to a

database function in Myplace (Via class MSc dissertation abstracts see box 1).
Box 1 Database of MSc dissertation abstracts
It is compulsory for all MSc students to enter information on their dissertation on the MSc dissertation abstracts
database in Myplace (with the name "MSc dissertation abstracts") immediately after submission of the final
version of the dissertation. Please make sure you enter information for all the fields. MSc course leaders will
check if an entry has been done before returning marks to registry. Description of the different fields used in
database:
Year - Year dissertation was submitted

MSc degree - MSc degree for which dissertation was submitted
Full name - Full name of author of dissertation
Title of dissertation Full title of dissertation
Abstract (max 300 words) - Abstract exactly as it appears in dissertation (do not exceed 300 words)
Keywords (max six) - Type keywords as follows: keyword 1; keyword 2; etc
Industrial collaborator (if any) - Name of industrial collaborator (if applicable; if anonymous, please enter
type of organisation)
Recommendations for future research (max 300 words) - Recommendations for future research
(extracted conclusions chapter) - could be list of bullet points
Supervisor - Name of supervisor (if from a different department, please add name of department in
brackets)
Second Supervisor (if any) - Name of second supervisor. If person from industry, add name of
organisation in brackets after name of person (if anonymous, enter job title and type of organisation)
Staff Comments - For staff comments only
All students are listed in this class. If your name is missing, please contact beth.stewart@strath.ac.uk.
ATTENTION: Please type text in a word file and check that there are no spelling mistakes before cut and paste
into the database entry. Even a small spelling mistake (e.g. enviroment instead of environment) will affect the
functionality of the database in terms of searches. Please also ensure that no confidential information is
entered.
To enter the data for your dissertation click on "Add entry". When done, go to the bottom of the page and click
(once only) "Save & View". Do NOT click on "Save and add another" as each student should have only one
entry. Any questions with regards to the database, please ask elsa.joao@strath.ac.uk.
The University may publish the abstract in whole or in part.
The dissertation must be written in English and word-processed (or typed) using one-and-a-half
spacing, numbered pages, on A4-size paper. Note that, although main text needs to be typed using
one-and-a-half spacing, table of contents, appendices, tables and boxes can be typed using single
spacing. Appendices (and sometime tables and boxes) can sometimes be more effectively
presented in using a smaller font. There shall be a margin (before trimming) of 40 mm at the left-
hand (binding) edge, 25 mm at the fore edge, of 20 mm at the head of the page and of 40 mm at the
tail. Text pages and appendices shall be numbered in continuous sequence irrespective of volumes
page 1 is the first page of the introduction. Preliminary material (e.g. copyright page, abstract,
contents pages, acknowledgments, list of tables, figures, boxes, list of acronyms) are given a
separate pagination (i, ii, iii, iv, etc). This separate pagination can be easily achieved in word by
using section break between preliminary pages and the rest of the text.
After the exam board, candidates can collect one of the soft bound copies of the dissertation if they
wish. The second copy of the soft-bound dissertation will remain in the department. It is also
appropriate to offer the project supervisor a copy of the dissertation (either electronic or soft-bound).
This is especially important if this project is part of the supervisors overall research strategy.
4.16 Copyright
Submission of the dissertation resulting from University of Strathclyde project is an
acknowledgement that the copyright is assigned to the University. No part of the dissertation may be
reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the permission
of the Programme Manager.
4.17 Publication of Research

To help informed debate on any research conducted by students it is important to publish the results
of such research, either in conjunction or with due acknowledgement of, any participating
organisation involved in the research. The Department strongly encourages the submission of
papers based on the work carried out for the MSc dissertation, which, with the help of the
supervisor(s), could be published as joint papers normally with the student as the first author and
the supervisor as the second author.
If any participants or organisations indicate that they wish all, or part, of their involvement excluded
from this arrangement, such confidentiality will be strictly respected. Before commencing the writing
for publication the project supervisor(s) must be consulted. Manuscripts must be circulated between
all interested parties prior to submission for publication.
Where publication results from the data accrued from any student project and the student is a
named author on the publication, the name of the MSc programme, and the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde must be acknowledged as the students work
place of at the time of the work being conducted.
Examples of papers published based on MSc dissertation work carried out in the department (MSc
student has name underlined):
McCluskey, D. and Joo, E. (2010), The promotion of environmental enhancement in

Strategic Environmental Assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 31: 344-
351.
Deeks, J. et al. (2014). Frequency dependent ultrasound transformation in E. coli.

Biotechnology Letters. Doi: 10.1007/s10529-014-1618-y
Knapp, CW, B. Aitken, et al. (submitted, 2015) Relationship between antibiotic resistance
genes and metals in residential soil samples from Western Australia. (Contribution to
international-consortium research programme).
Anderson, JC, , C. Donaldson, et al. (2015) Reducing contaminants and toxicity in rural
wastewater effluent using new subsurface treatment technology. Ecological Engineering.
(Contribution to international-consortium research programme).
Salifu, E., E. MacLachlan, K. R Lyer, C. W Knapp, A. Tarantino (2016) Application of

microbially induced calcite precipitation in erosion mitigation and stabilisation of sandy soil
foreshore slopes: A preliminary investigation. Engineering Geology 201: 96-105
4.18 Publication as a Dissertation

In exceptional circumstances, it may be possible to submit a publication as requirement for
dissertations, i.e. instead of the dissertation format the student can submit a paper for an
international journal and get the same credits as the dissertation. There is separate documentation
regarding this process; please speak with MSc Course Leaders for additional information. This route
is designed to facilitate the dissemination of the research effort, but it requires a demonstration of
research excellence (usually students with taught course weighted average above 65%). Decisions
are usually made in July.
5. REFERENCING ADVICE - relevant to all your assessed work!
Any research must first start with an understanding of current thinking on the particular topic
concerned. Knowledge of the relevant literature on a research topic is useful for several reasons:
a) You can tailor your research design to attempt to answer those questions which have either
never been asked or those which have not been properly addressed;
b) You can avoid any problems that have arisen in carrying out similar research and thereby
improve your research design - without first making expensive mistakes;
c) Once the research has been done, you can evaluate its worth more easily and place it in its
proper context.
Referencing is an essential tool for correct presentation of work, and as a guide to further research.
Listing references and sources is important for three main reasons:
a) It is intellectually honest to give the sources used in preparing a piece of work;

b) It tells the reader where to go to find out more about the topic;
c) It gives the reader an expectation of what the work contains. Many tutors look at the list of
references before reading a piece of work submitted for assessment.
5.1 Quoting references within the text

The most common way to cite references in the text is the Harvard System, which gives the surname
of the author (or name of organisation) and the year of publication. Every table and figure that is not
your own work should also have a source that refers to where you obtained the data, or the
reference from which you copied the table or figure. Examples of the different ways in which correct
referencing may be made in the text:
(a) Smith (1993) states that the study of social class and environmental quality is a very problematic
one.
(b) According to Smith (1993) the study of social class and environmental quality is a very
problematic one.
(c) The study of social class and environmental quality is a very problematic one (Smith, 1993).
In case (a): Of course you can alter the tense e.g. to stated if required, or use other words such as:
affirmed, articulated, asserted, averred, declared, explained, expounded, expressed, presented,
propounded, put, reported, said, suggested, voiced, etc the list is very long.
If there are two authors, quote the two, e.g. (Clark and Smith, 1993). While if there is more than two
authors, use et al., for example, Clark et al., 1993. But give all the names of the authors in the
reference list. (Note that et al., which means 'and others', it is usually written in italics).
What about if there is more than one author with the same surname in the same year, e.g. Smith
(1993):
(a) if different Smiths give the initials, e.g. Smith, D. M. (1993); Smith, D. E. (1993).
(b) where the same author has written two or more articles in the same year, they can be
differentiated by a, b, c, etc., e.g. Smith (1993a), Smith (1993b), Smith (1993c).
Personal Communication:
Personal communications, i.e. information and ideas given to you in a non-published form (e.g.
letters, telephone conversation, emails, interviews, memos, unpublished lecture notes, etc), need to
be referenced as well. However, because personal communications are non-recoverable from the
readers perspective, they are not to be included in the reference list and should only be cited in the
text as they are referred to. In order to quote personal communications in the text, you must provide
as much detail as possible and note the nature of the communication. Permission should be sought
before these sources are quoted and in some case you must keep the person (or even the
organisation) anonymous to protect privacy (see University policy relating to Ethical Practice for
Research and related discussion in General Postgraduate Handbook).
Some examples:
(J. Smith, Department of the Environment, personal communication, interview 12 March 1996).
OSullivan, S., 2003. Discussion on citation and referencing. [Letter] (Personal communication, 5
June 2003)
(Local planner A, Scottish Local Authority, talk on the benefits of environmental assessment,
personal communication, 20 October 2008)
It is important to give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator (if you have
permission to do so), the name of the organisation (if you have permission to do so), and provide
as exact a date as possible. Note that in all cases (anonymous or not) you need to add the words
personal communication.
You can use this method to reference interesting statements told by guest speakers at lectures for
example. Please note that lecture notes are treated as personal communication if they are
unpublished (i.e. not copied and distributed in print or on the web with the instructor's permission).
Quoting verbatim:
When you quote verbatim from the text you should place the quoted words in speech marks and give
the exact page or pages where the quote may be found, for example:
Cowlard (1993: 176-7) suggested that the urban fabric can be regarded as an imperfectly erased
manuscript.
When you want to use a relatively longer quote because of its interest, you might want to indent and
use single spacing:
"..the greatest possible accuracy with respect to the scale of the map; clear expression of
metric information; good characterisation in the forms; the most naturalistic forms and
colours; the greatest possible clarity of meaning and good legibility, simplicity and clarity of
graphic expression; and finally, summarising all these qualities, a beauty peculiar to the map
itself." Imhof (1982: 86)
Rather than quoting verbatim, most of the time you should express the points you wish to make in
your own words. Often this will mean paraphrasing the work of others, but do not forget to
acknowledge the sources. For example, rather than writing (a) you would write as in (b):
(a) The variables affecting spatial differences in cost and revenue are often hard to measure
accurately, and their inter-relationships pose conceptual as well as practical obstacles (Smith,
1987: 35).
(b) A major problem of neoclassical location theory is the difficulty of measuring spatial differences
in costs and revenue. Moreover there are conceptual as well as practical difficulties because the
costs of production are not independent of the revenue (Smith, 1987).
Distinguishing between references read from the ones you have not read:
You should clearly distinguish between references you have actually read and unread sources that
you refer to, but have not read in the original. Very often you may quote from a textbook or an article,
which is often not the original source of the material. In the following example, a paper by Allerston is
found quoted in a textbook by Dixon.
(a) Allerston (1986, in Dixon 1989) suggested that rural settlement patterns owe more to the
contingencies of history than to a structured planning process.
(b) It has been suggested that rural settlement patterns owe more to the contingencies of history
than a structured planning process (Allerston 1986, in Dixon 1989).
In summary when referencing it is not acceptable:
a) to copy whole phrases, sentences or paragraphs and use the words in your essays without any
reference to their source;
b) to use an authors exact words without quotation marks even when the material is referenced,
since this implies that the words are paraphrased when in fact they are copied;
c) to string together phrases from different parts of an article (e.g. beginning and end of a
paragraph) and incorporate the resulting sentence into your essay as your own work;
d) to use a secondary source as a primary source without reference to both authors (e.g. Bloggs,
1980 in Smith, 1984), since it is possible that the second author paraphrased or misquoted the
first author.
5.2 Listing references at the end of the work

It is necessary to ensure that all references mentioned in the text should be listed in full at the end of
the piece of work. The most common way is to list books and papers at the end of submitted essays
or projects in alphabetical order of the surnames of the authors (or names of organisations). If you
have used several books or papers from one author, then these are then arranged according to date
with the oldest material first.
Always list references in full. The minimum amount of information you need to give is the author(s)
name(s) and initials, the year of publication or edition, the title of the book (in italics) or the title of the
article, journal title (in italics), volume number and page numbers. In the case of an article in a book
also give the name of the editor and initials and book title (in italics) and the page numbers. In the
case of books in general also state the place of publication and the publisher. (N.B. Do not use
underline.)
Notice the different ways of citing books, articles in journals, articles in edited books, etc.:
A book or report can be reported like this:
Monmonier, M. (1991), How to Lie with Maps. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Department of Environment (1987), Handling geographic information. Report of the Committee

of Enquiry chaired by Lord Chorley. London: HMSO.
or if it is a book of edited papers, like this:
Buttenfield, B. and McMaster, R. (eds.), (1991), Map Generalization: Making Rules for
Knowledge Representation. Harlow: Longman.
First the author(s) and date, then the title which should be in italics, then the place of
publication followed by the publisher. Note that, in the case of the report, the author is a
government institution.
A journal article can be reported like this:
Bolstad, P., Gessler, P. and Lillesand, T. (1990), Positional uncertainty in manually digitised
map data. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, 4 (4): 399-412.
First the author(s) and date, then the title of the article, then the journal followed by its volume,
number and page numbers. Note this time it is the journal that is in italics, not the title of the
article.
A paper or article in a book of collected and edited articles can be reported like this:
Gatrell, A. and Vincent, P. (1991), Managing natural and technological hazards. In: Masser, I.
and Blakemore, M. (eds.), Handling Geographical Information: Methodology and Potential
Applications, pp. 148-180. Harlow: Longman.
First the author(s) and date, then title, then the name of the editor(s) of the book, then the title
of the book (in italics), the page numbers of the article and finally the publisher.
A newspaper article can be reported like this:
Home, M. (1989), Haddock skippers warn of crisis, The Independent, 4th October.
Conference proceedings can be reported like this:
Herbert, G., Joo, E. and Rhind, D. (1992), Use of an artificial intelligence approach to
increase user control of automatic line generalisation. Proceedings of the Third European
Conference on Geographical Information Systems. Munich, Germany, March 23-26, pp. 554-
563.
First the author(s) and date, then title of the article, then title of the proceedings of the
conference (in italics), place and date of the conference and finally the page numbers.
Theses and dissertations can be reported like this:
Painho, M. (1992), Modelling errors in digital landuse/landcover maps. Unpublished PhD

thesis, Department of Geography, University of California at Santa Barbara.
Information obtained from the Internet should be referenced like a reference (with author,
year, title, etc.). For example:
CIA World Factbook (2002) "Botswana."

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bc.html. Accessed 9/29/2002.
The important thing is to always include the author, date, title or description, the web address
and the date when it was accessed.
Other publications:
Where you are in doubt (e.g. occasional papers) include all bibliographical details or as much
information as you can.
Unread references (must be referenced too):

As above, but add the reference you saw it cited in, for example:
McDermott, P. (1973), Spatial margins and industrial location in New Zealand. New Zealand
Geographer, 29: 64-74. Cited in Smith (1987).
5.3 Remember these important points when referencing

It is consistency and use of conventions that allows you to distinguish between a book, journal
article, article in a book, conference proceedings, article in conference proceedings, or articles in a
newspaper or magazine. This enables anyone wanting to follow up your research to distinguish
between types of publication and track them down easily.
There are many different styles of citing references, as you will see if you compare the bibliographies
at the end of a few books or articles, but you will find it useful to learn one way and then stick to it.
The examples shown in this handout follow one style. You are free to choose a style of your liking as
long as you list the references in full and use your style consistently. Always remember to write down
the full reference (including page numbers) when you are taking notes.
6. GENERAL STYLING ADVICE - relevant to most assessed work
In addition to the general notes given here it is recommended that you use the easy to read guidance
given in Day, R. (2006) How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper Press [Main Library D 820-4(09)
DAY]
6.1 Layout
Headings and sub-headings are usually essential in reports and dissertations - think of short,
informative and interesting titles for all the sections and sub-sections. Indentation can be used to
make sections clear.
Headings and sub-headings should be numbered in order to improve clarity. (Be aware that too
many sub-division of chapters may interrupt the flow.) Modern convention favours the decimal
system, i.e. 1.1 (first sub-section of chapter 1), 2.2 (second sub-section of chapter 2), etc., (and
even 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...) but other systems are acceptable, provided there is consistency.
Sections can then be referred to later in the text by their number (e.g. "as shown previously (see
section 3.1.2) this could have affected the results ...").
It is best if you can think of titles for the chapters, sections and sub-sections that reflect your
message/findings/argument/ideas so rather than have the title key finding you could have a
title that says what the key finding is e.g. the importance of environmental awareness.
6.2 Tables, figures and boxes

Statistical data are usually clearest in tabular form, but words (e.g. descriptions) can also be
categorised to give a clear summary of findings.
Graphs, histograms, etc. provide useful summaries. Points may also be summarised by the use
of diagrams to give a clear, visual impression and suggest relationships. Other visual material
relevant to the topic should be included as appropriate.
Don't forget that the tables and figures should always be clearly integrated within the text, i.e.
avoid "phantom" tables. For the dissertation, tables, figures and boxes should be numbered
according to the Chapter (e.g. Fig 3.1 is first Figure in Chapter 3) and referred to in the text (e.g.
see Figure 3.1, Box 5.3, Table 3.2 etc). For smaller pieces of work, tables, figures and boxes are
numbered sequentially.
Boxes can also be cleverly used for a piece of text that you want to give emphasis to or that you
may want to cross-reference throughout the dissertation e.g. a list of criteria of best practice or
an approved definition for a key term.
Tables and Figures must be clearly captioned in accordance with normal publication conventions
(see the textbook by Day (2006) for excellent guidance on how to do this properly and avoid
some very common mistakes in students dissertations!). A useful check is to ensure that Tables
and Figures can stand alone in terms of being interpretable without excessive or detailed
reference to the text. Always refer to the source of the tables and figures, when they are not
your own or when the data was not collected by you. Titles of Tables should go above the tables
and titles of Figures should go below the Figures. Titles of boxes go above the box. For the
dissertation, boxes are also numbered in relation to the chapter.
6.3 Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations may be used in tables and diagrams and possibly lists. A key must be included
where necessary.
You should avoid too many acronyms in order to improve readability.
Most acronyms need to be spelt out fully the first time they appear.
If you have many acronyms it may be useful to include a list of acronyms at the beginning of the
report or dissertation (e.g. after the table of contents).
6.4 Emphasis
Within the text use italics. For titles use italics and/or bold. Never use underline.
6.5 International Units and Mathematical Conventions

Most books and papers now use metric systems and standard units (SI's) of measurement.
Numbers under ten are usually spelt out, i.e. "eight levels", (unless it is a numeration e.g. figure
8, level no. 8).
Numbers at the start of sentences are spelt out even if larger than ten, e.g. Twenty three people
answered the questionnaire AND NOT 23 people answered the questionnaire.
A zero is inserted before a decimal point for values less than the unity, i.e. 0.35 not .35.
Order of brackets according to mathematical conventions: [{( ... )}]
In the case of mathematical formulas with fraction bars, and if you want to include the formula in
the middle of the text, then use only a single line, rather than over two lines:
{(a+b) / (x+y)} rather than a+ b

x+y
If it is quite a complex formula it might help to separate it from the text and to use Microsoft
Equation Editor or a special mathematical software program. It can then cover more than single
line, but not be inserted within the text; it must be it own line, for example:
(Equation x.1)
With any formula always explain what the variables are.
If you are using many formulas/equations and require cross-referencing, they can be numbered
in relation to the chapter (e.g., Formula 3.1 or Equation 3.1)
Pay attention to significant figuresthe number of digits in a number that carry meaning to its
precision. Having many numbers behind the decimal point does not look good, and misleads
the reader about precision and accuracy of results. (2-3 significant figures/digits usually suffice
for most measurements).
6.6 Microbiological and Genetic Nomenclature
The International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP) governs the rules of naming
micro-organisms:
By convention, binary names consisting of genus and species are used for most organisms
(except viruses, for which consult guidelines by the International Committee of Taxonomy of
Viruses).
The genus name is capitalised, and the species is lower case; both are italicised in the text, e.g.,
Escherichia coli.
Both names should be spelled out during its first mention; however, the genus name can be
abbreviated (provided it doesnt generate any confusion with other genera). For example
Escherichia coli can subsequently called E. coli. If more than one species is mentioned and they
all belong to the same genus, the genus name only needs to be mentioned once.
The designation sp. after a genus refers to a single un-named species; spp. refers to more
than one species.
Some other guidelines:

Gene names are designated by three letter descriptors, and are italicised.
By convention many publications are moving away from the term 16S-rDNA (small subunit
ribosomal RNA gene); rather 16S-rRNA gene is more commonly used.
IUPAC defines the letter-based codes for nucleic acids and amino acids.
7. EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR THE MSC DISSERTATION/PROJECT
The assessment process serves as a fundamental measure of achievement in terms of knowledge
and understanding, and provides both a guide for progression and the basis for the award on the
strength of outcomes achieved. Dissertations are blind marked by at least two people (one being the
supervisor), with the assessments mediated and ratified by the External Examiner. The External
Examiner(s) may determine to interview any student with respect to their dissertation. Marks and
comments are made on the Dissertation Assessment Form (see Appendix 1). Assessment of the
dissertation will take account of the following:
critical appreciation of relevant literature, theoretical issues, public policy implications and
methodological issues
the nature of the topic and its relationship to relevant literature
the coherence and structure of the argument presented
originality
the appropriateness of the methods used and the adequacy of their execution
degree to which conclusions are justified by the data/information presented
the clarity of expression and overall presentation, including quality of tables, figures and maps.
Students must be able to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes for subject specific
knowledge and skills, and non-subject specific and cognitive skills.
You should avoid losing marks needlessly through typographic, spelling and other technical errors.
You should always leave yourself time to proofread your final draft very closely. To perform this task
properly requires considerable time and concentration, because proofreading quickly turns into
superficial skim-through unless it is done in quality time and with adequate breaks. At least two
careful readings will be needed to ensure that the material you submit is of final draft quality. You
should take particular care with any diagrams and tables that you include, making sure that the
headings and captions are fully self-explanatory. Do not forget to say where figures, statistics in
diagrams and tables have been derived from. Make sure you are not breaking copyright rules with
the use maps (e.g. in case of the Ordnance Survey you must write Crown Copyright).
Assessors will use the marking descriptors and organise their comments under the component
headings contained in the marking proforma shown in Appendix 1.
It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of careful

proofreading of all your submitted work!
Use spelling & grammar checking software to correct poor spelling and grammar that may
distract/annoy your supervisor and/or examiner! But in addition you must proof read to check for
errors that spell checkers will not find e.g. if you meant to write most but wrote moat a spell
checker will not spot the error. A good technique is to read the text aloud Becker (1986, p.68) calls
this editing by ear - proofreading by earworks for rhythm (e.g. commas out of place), word
repetition within the same paragraph or close-by paragraphs and clarity in general.
Appendix 1: DISSERTATION ASSESSMENT PROFORMA (2 pages) SAMPLE ONLY
Students Name Name degree: ...
Dissertation Title ..
Topic, Research Question and Literature Review

Exceptional Excellent Very Good Good Minor Major
Weaknesses Weaknesses
Comments:
Research and Methodology

Comments:
Content and Analysis, including Conclusions and Recommendations

Comments:
Structure and Presentation

Comments:
Final sum up comments to give to student:
Markers turnitin check - okay / not okay [If not okay please add justification in separate report.]
Recommended Mark ......................%
Signed........................................................... Date...........................................
Supervisor/Second Marker (delete as appropriate)
Please return to General Office. Do not write on the script.
DISSERTATIONS GUIDANCE ON ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND COMMENTS
1. All dissertations are double blind marked according to the assessment sheet components. The supervisor
and second reader prepare written comments and recommend a mark independently.
2. Once both markers have submitted their written comments and recommended marks, the supervisor will
meet (or call/email) with the second marker to discuss and identify an agreed recommended mark.
3. On the occasion that an agreed mark is not recommended, a third internal reader and/or the opinion of the
External Examiner will be sought. In these cases, the External Examiner will be supplied with the markers
comments and a written statement of the circumstances.
4. External Examiner may determine to interview any student with respect to their dissertation.
5. Internal assessors should organise their comments under the component headings contained in the
marking proforma. In making assessments the use of the descriptors outlined below is recommended.
Topic, Research Appropriateness and relevance of topic to the MSc in question.
Question and Clarity and realism of key research question or hypothesis set out.
Literature Review Clear statement of aims and objectives.
Robustness of justification and rigour of establishing the relationship and context
of the research question, i.e. referencing appropriate literature.
The extent to which the cover of the breadth and depth of the literature review
and its relevance to the topic has been achieved.
The establishment of a relationship between the research question and the
literature discussion/critique.
Research and Methodology is clearly explained and justified.
Methodology The extent to which a critical and synthetic perspective has been adopted and
the clarity and appropriateness (robustness) of the research methodology in the
investigation of the research question.
If field research of any nature has been conducted, the reasoning, adequacy and
appropriateness of method and the research tools used.
Evidence of lessons learned about and limitations of research approach and
method.
Content and General quality overall and originality.
Analysis, Evidence of critical faculty and analytical ability.
including Clarity and strength of conclusions and recommendations for future research
Conclusions and and future practice
Recommendation The relevance of the conclusions to the discussion and evidence.
s The consideration and appropriateness of the recommendations.
The insight and commentary of future research needs.
Structure and The clarity and sequencing of the content and discussion including a statement
Presentation of how the dissertation is laid out/structured.
Continuity and linkage between chapters.
Logical sequence of presentation.
Quality of presentation, including use of appropriate illustrations/figures.
Quality of proof checking.
Evidence of sound scholarship with respect to referencing (i.e. proper citation
and referencing), use of tables/figures, cross referencing, general layout and
appearance.
80 Exceptional Truly Exceptional/Outstanding demonstration of the descriptors. Highly
100% (Distinction) suitable for publication.
70 79% Excellent Excellent demonstration of the descriptors
(Distinction)
60 69% Very Good (Merit) Very Good demonstration of the descriptors
50 59% Good (Pass) Good in demonstration of the descriptors
45-49% Minor Weaknesses Minor Weaknesses in demonstration of the descriptors.
(Fail) Possible consideration for resubmission of dissertation (in which case, if
it passes, a maximum mark of 50% will be recorded).
< 45% Major Weaknesses Major Weaknesses in demonstration of the descriptors. No
(Fail) consideration for resubmission of dissertation. Possible recommendation
of award of PG Diploma.
Note faculty regulations no. 29: Boards of Examiners may allow a thesis/dissertation to be re-submitted only if the
original mark is at least 45%, in which case the re-submission must be made in 6 weeks before the end of November (in
the same calendar year).

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Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Advice on exams, project

Academic Year 2016/2017

Please keep this handbook safe, as you will need to

Version date: September 2016

5. Referencing advice relevant to all your assessed work.

Appendix 1 Dissertation Assessment Proforma (2 pages) SAMPLE ONLY

1. Advice on Essay Writing (*)

Note availability of this service:

Study Skills Service at Strathclyde http://www.strath.ac.uk/studyskills/

Register for Study Skills Workshops!

Also check this web page recommended by an English teacher: http://www.uefap.com/.

NOTE: Plagiarism is a major academic offence. It is your

(d) Define: Give a definition or state terms of reference.

(g) Summarise: Outline the main points briefly.

5. Plan your initial research around questions relevant to the topic.

(b) The Main Body

(i) Develop your line of argument through several main ideas.

(i) Summarise the main ideas.

2.1.6 Team Working

1. Title and date: of the experiment and date performed.

4. Aim[s]: Briefly state the purpose of the experiment.

8. Appendices: Instrument or computer print outs (etc) are included here.

3. Common examination script problems:

5. Comprehensibility: Comprehensibility and clarity is important, but grammatical corrections and

4.1 Key Dates to Remember Related to the Dissertation/Project

Summary of dates: key dates in bold, suggested dates in italic.

4PM THIRD FRIDAY IN DISSERTATIONS ARE DUE

Very importantly, add in appendix to your proposal a statement on:

(b) obtain appropriate Ethics approval (if needed);

Safety is paramount! It is the responsibility of the researcher to be familiar and appropriately

(ii) agree content of the Participant Information Sheet (template here

4.4 Dissertation Structure

b) It is fundamental to be able to recognise what is important and not so important, especially

summary of key findings

4.5 Dissertation Length

4.7 Fieldwork and Primary Source Material

4.8 Research Literature and Secondary Source Material

Under no circumstances plagiarise. The dictionary definition of plagiarism

4.9 Bibliographic Databases

4.10 Work Placements7

The Bright Green Business (http://www.brightgreenbusiness.org.uk/) places students within

4.11 Planning and Guidance

4.12 Dissertation Supervision

8 As per University Procedures and Guidelines Postgraduate Instructional Programmes.

Responsibilities of the student are:

4.14 Overlap Between Dissertation Proposal and Final Dissertation

4.15 Submission Instructions

Candidates are required to submit the following to the Department Offices:

Via Myplace http://classes.myplace.strath.ac.uk candidates must also do the following electronic

Title, abstract, keywords and recommendation for future research submitted to a

Box 1 Database of MSc dissertation abstracts

Year - Year dissertation was submitted

The University may publish the abstract in whole or in part.

4.17 Publication of Research

McCluskey, D. and Joo, E. (2010), The promotion of environmental enhancement in

Deeks, J. et al. (2014). Frequency dependent ultrasound transformation in E. coli.

Salifu, E., E. MacLachlan, K. R Lyer, C. W Knapp, A. Tarantino (2016) Application of

4.18 Publication as a Dissertation

a) It is intellectually honest to give the sources used in preparing a piece of work;

5.1 Quoting references within the text

In summary when referencing it is not acceptable:

5.2 Listing references at the end of the work