Dissertation (M454)

The dissertation is a supervised piece of research on a topic that we will agree with you. The length will be 10,000 words. Before we can consider a proposal to submit a dissertation we will need to review your academic performance so far.

Students wishing to take the Dissertation should ideally do so in their second or third year of study. Students will need to enrol for the Dissertation before the enrolment deadline for Session Two of each academic year. It will not be possible to enrol onto the Dissertation past this point. The annual Dissertation period is March to October.

With the exception of the MSc Finance (Quantitative Finance) programme, if you wish to write a dissertation you are required to successfully complete the tutor marked assignments for the Research Methods module before proceeding to the Dissertation.

Module objectives

The Dissertation module aims to make students develop the capabilities and skills required to undertake a supervised research project at master's level of study and to write the results of the study at the academic level. Detailed objectives are:

• To develop research capabilities and skills at postgraduate (master's) level.
• To develop the capacity and skills to pursue an independent inquiry.
• To produce a coherent and logically argued piece of writing that demonstrates competence in research and the ability to operate independently.
• To develop knowledge, capabilities and skills on issues of research design, methodology, and research ethics.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• evaluate and apply the methods acquired in the Research Methods course to write a dissertation,
• apply epistemological and ontological concepts to intellectual enquiry,
• analyse and critique the research of others,
• choose an appropriate method for investigating your own research question
• collect, present and interpret data using qualitative or quantitative methods,
• carry out an effective and ethical research project – from the proposal initiation stage, through the literature search, data collection and analysis to the final writing-up and presentation of results,
• demonstrate the capacity to work independently under the guidance of an academic supervisor,
• show that they have followed good academic research practice and have achieved a good level of competence in academic writing.

Study calendar 2022/23

Study calendars are subject to change.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules