MSc Project-Dissertation

BU7001

Briefing session, 2011

- Dr Russell Warhurst
- Jane Glendenning
- Kate Black
- Paul Webb
Programme

10:00-10:45: The MSc Project-Dissertation: What is it and how is

it
assessed?
Dr Russell Warhurst and Jane Glendenning

10:45-11:00: The 3 “C”s of Project-Dissertation failure: Cocking-

up,
Copying or Commissioning work
Dr Russell Warhurst

11:00-11:45: The use of Turn-It-In to detect copying aka

“plagiarism”
Paul Webb and Kate Black

11:45-12:30: Referencing (one more time) to prevent plagiarism

Jeanette Rowley

12:30: Supervisor allocations available

MSc Project-Dissertation: What is it?

• An opportunity to make your MSc your MSc!

• To pursue a particular interest within your Pathway / Management

that will ensure your employability
• In the specific area of management you wish to work
• In the specific economic sector you wish to work

• To develop some of the key capabilities that will enable you to be

effective in a management role

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Firm foundations

• "Shock and Horror ... THE DISSERTATION ... "

… but MSc Management students at Chester need
"Have no Fear!"

• Many benefits of Management Research Methods (BU7002) running in

parallel with your other studies
(compare other courses such as f/t MBA where RM is blocked at the end)

• For 7 months, week by week you have:

• Steadily built your understanding and skills in management research
methodologies and methods
• Explored and reflected upon 30+ previous Masters research projects
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Firm foundations

• MSc students at Chester have a running start (compared to MBA students

and Masters students elsewhere):

• Appreciation of the nature of management knowledge and how

management knowledge is generated

• Able to look critically at existing management and knowledge and

discern how you could extend this knowledge

5
Building blocks

• Your Project-Dissertation builds upon all your other MSc studies to

date:
• General modules
• Pathway modules

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Two Aims of the module

1) To enable you to customise or further customise your MSc by

developing expertise in a subject area relevant to you and your
management career

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Two Aims of the module

2) To enable you to develop & demonstrate key management skills:

• Research and inquiry skills in generating empirical data
• Research and inquiry skills in finding and evaluating secondary data
• Persuasion and influence
• Persistence
• Time-management
• Project management – Planning / Critical pathing
• Dealing with complexity
• Dealing with set-backs by problem diagnosis and problem solving
• Analysis of complex quantitative / qualitative data
• Using theory to understand (and improve) management policy & practice
• Coherent and cogent written communication
• Presentation of management knowledge
• Working and thinking independently 8
• Using professional advice effectively ….
 Working with your Supervisor
• The supervisor acts as an advisor when needed, not as a teacher

• The MSc Project-Dissertation is your Project-Dissertation …

• You need to manage the process (that way you learn more)

• You should e-mail your supervisor at least once every couple of

weeks with a brief up-date

• If you would like face to face meetings with your supervisor be aware
that most supervisors take personal research leave / holiday leave
during the northern summer months
• Before any face to face meeting with your supervisor you should e-
mail either:
• Specific questions
• Specific agenda items ….
1-we think through our writing
2-in writing questions we often answer
them for ourselves 9
3-a Project-Dissertation is a piece of
writing …. So get writing!
Working with your Supervisor

• Your supervisor cannot read and comment on drafts of your work …

•
However, they can answer your specific questions

• Supervisors may run one or more group supervision session/s at the

early stage

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Assessment of MSc Project-Dissertation

• The Project-Dissertation is worth 3 modules

• There are three elements to the assessment, weighted at:

Element 1: 25%
Element 2: 70%
Element 3: 5%

• An overall Pass grade of 40% is needed

• An overall grade of 70% = a Distinction grade

• Full assessment details are in the Project-Dissertation Handbook

available via the e-learning section of the module web-space
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Assessment element 1

• Presentation and Oral Examination

Tuesday 12th July, 2011, 09:00-13:30 - Research Conference
Weighting: 25%

• Literature review

• What’s required:

1) Six PowerPoint slides of 350 words max for an 8 minute presentation

2) One page of A4 listing 20-30 academic sources you have read
3) Ethical approval form – signed by you and your supervisor

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Assessment element 1
• Presentation component (60% of the grade):

1) State your finalised research question and objectives with a brief

rationale (5%)
2) Identify four key themes / ideas (for a basic pass grade) or concepts /
theories (for a good pass or distinction grade) that occur across the
literature in your specific subject area (30%)
3) Identify a key debate in the literature in your specific subject area and
compare and contrast the opposing positions, evaluating these positions
and making a case for your favoured position (20%)
4) Identify and explain gaps or weaknesses in the existing literature in your
specific subject area which your Project-Dissertation will fill (20%)
5) Identify one key theme / idea or concept / theory that occurs in three or
more chapters or articles in your specific subject area and which you will
use in collecting your empirical data and in interpreting that data and
explain why you have selected this theme / idea or concept / theory
(25%) 13
Assessment element 1

• Examination component: (40% of the grade):

• Answer at least three questions posed by the tutor-examiner at
the end of your presentation. Questions will focus on the
processes of your literature reviewing and might include such
things as “how have you searched the literature” and “how do
you make notes”?

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Assessment element 2

• Date due: 09:00, Monday 5th September, 2011

• Weighting: 70%

• Management Research Project-“Dissertation”

(12,500 words)

• Follow the detailed guidelines in the Management Research Project-

Dissertation Handbook …

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Assessment element 2

• In essence, the Project-Dissertation is just 4 essays + a final,

integrating essay (the Interpretation - Conclusion) ….

• Mark distribution:
• Introduction / rationale: 10%
• Critical literature review: c*. 25%;
• Methodology and methods: c*. 15%
• Analysis of Data – Findings c*. 30%
• Theoretical interpretation of findings and Conclusions: 20%.

* The exact mark distribution can be varied slightly to take

account of whether or not the Project-Dissertation has a
theoretical or an empirical orientation. 16
Assessment element 2

• Reference list: this is not included in the word count but in-text
referencing is to be included in the word count.

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Assessment element 2

• Note:
You may wish (or your supervisor may suggest) that you have the Project-
Dissertation “Professionally proofed and corrected”, in other words,
edited into good English

If you do need to have your work professional proofed and corrected, you
will need to complete your drafts perhaps 2 weeks ahead of the deadline
for submission

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Assessment element 3

• Date due: 09:00, Monday 5th September, 2011

• Weighting: 5% 750 words

• Personal reflective statement, forming Appendix One of your

Management Research Project-Dissertation, which identifies
what you have learnt about the process of conducting
management research

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Assessment element 3
• Your paper should:
• Identify what went well with your research project
• Identify what you might now do differently if you were undertaking research in
the same area again
• Evaluate and explain how you managed the project
• Identify the problems you encountered and evaluate and explain how you
solved problems
• Explain what you have learnt about the management research process itself
(reviewing the literature, designing the research, implementing the methods,
analysing the data, dealing with ethical issues, interpreting the data and
drawing out conclusions) that might be of use to you in your career as a
manager
• This paper is likely to consist mostly of personal, critical reflections and need
not draw directly upon literature.
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Assessment element 3+
• Oral Examination on Project-Dissertation (determined by your tutors)
• Scheduled for week-beginning 10th October, 2011

• In the cases of Project-Dissertations

• which are graded at the borderline between categories (38-42% or 68-
72%)
or
• where the grade awarded is + or – 5% of a student’s grade average for the
taught elements of the course
• you may be required to attend an oral examination
• Approximately 20 minutes
• Questions on any aspect of your MSc Project-Dissertation
• Panel of two tutors.
• Purpose:
• assess your understanding of what is in the Project-Dissertation 21
• assess the processes whereby you researched and wrote the Project-
Dissertation.
Additional support sessions

• Monday 16th May at 1:00pm

“e-resources for Dissertation research”
Sue Hultum

• Tuesday 24th May at 1:00 pm:

“How to get a Distinction in your Dissertation”
Lawrence Ngoe

• Early August (depending on demand *):

NVivo8 with Russell Warhurst and Colin Sinclair

* e-mail Lucy if you need such as session

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Three ways to FAIL the MSc Project-Dissertation

• 3 Cs spell “failure” …

1) Cock-up

2) Commission a Project-Dissertation

3) Copy a whole Project-Dissertation or ….

Copy substantial chunks of material into a
Project-Dissertation.

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Cock-up failure

1) Cock-up

Usually occurs because a student is lazy:

- fails to read and understand the assessment briefs

- does very little reading of proper academic sources (journal

articles and book chapters)

- does very little data gathering

- does no writing until late August

- has no contact with her or his supervisor

- writes in poor, uncorrected, English 24

Commissioning failure

2) Commission a Project-Dissertation

This will be detected by:

• Discrepancies between what you write in e-mails to your
supervisor or say to your supervisor and what you submit
• Not communicating with your supervisor during the 3
month Project-Dissertation period
• Discrepancies between your own English language (e.g.
Indian-English or British-English) and your submission
language (typically commissioned work is written in
International-English)
• A grade difference between your submission and your
profile of grades: more than 5% difference will result in you
having to attend a “viva”, oral-examination, on your
submission at the end of September / early October 25
Copying failure

3) Copy a Project-Dissertation or Copy substantial chunks of material

Plagiarism = Failure of the MSc

Note the importance of referencing each and every source as and when
you use and each and every time you use it

 Copying will be detected using “Turn-it-in” ….

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