2. Postgraduate Dissertation Guide – Part One
2.1 What is a Masters Dissertation?
The dissertation is usually the final part of the MA or MSc programme. It is one of the most significant parts of your postgraduate study through which Masters level quality is identified and assessed. It is an individual undertaking and the ultimate responsibility for the successful planning, development and completion rests with you. Therefore the dissertation requires you to demonstrate the ability to work independently and ethically in selecting and researching the relevant topic of your choice. Dissertations usually involve either an element of original research and/or the re-work of secondary material from an original perspective. The successful completion of the dissertation module differentiates between students who successfully complete the taught part of a postgraduate programme and those who can additionally demonstrate the ability to carry out a significant piece of independent study to achieve a Masters degree.
2.2 Aim and Objectives of theHBS Masters Dissertation
The aim of adissertation is to enable students to advance their knowledge of the field relevant to the programme of study, by pursuing an independent research work on a selected topic within the field.
Students completing the dissertation will be assessed on the following skills and abilities:
• To develop and apply postgraduate level skills of independent research, analysis, judgement and evaluation, writing and presentation;
• To demonstrate the capacity to understand and explain business management issues, opportunities and/or situations in their context;
• To demonstrate understanding of areas of literature relevant to the research topic.
A dissertation should include well-defined research questions or objectives, specified by the student at the outset. It should present a logically developed argument and provide supporting evidence to validate and verify the rationale for the case. Dissertations will need to follow an appropriate and relevant researchstrategy and design from the overall approach to data collection and analysis techniques, such as: a case study, a comparative study using a quantitative approach or a qualitative approach.
2.4 Dissertation Schedule, Ti
