DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Postgraduate Taught Programmes 2009/10

To progress to the dissertation you must prepare a dissertation proposal.

The main reason for setting you this task is to get you to think about and to start planning your dissertation;

The proposal should include:

1. The title of your dissertation;
2. A brief explanation of the topic;
3. An outline of the method or methods you plan to use to gather relevant data and a justification for its, or their, use;
4. A description as to how you will actually be able to apply those method(s);
5. A timetable of the various stages of your research;
6. A brief overview of some of the key literature relevant to your topic.

In total the proposal should not exceed 1,500 words.

The proposal constitutes formative assessment only and carries no formal weighting towards your degree. However, satisfactory completion of this document is essential if you are to proceed to your dissertation. You may include or develop from coursework you have completed in your Business Research Methods courses, but you should ensure the proposal aligns with your chosen dissertation topic. Your supervisor will review your proposal and may request you to revise your work if the required standard is not met. Your supervisor must approve your proposal before you can proceed to the dissertation.

Some comments on the six sections of the proposal (above)

1. Make sure that your topic is one you can research and write as a dissertation in the limited time available. The wider, the less focused, a topic is the more difficult and time consuming it will be for you. The title should not be more than 15 words.
2. Explain in more detail what you plan to research;
3. Describe the research methods you plan to employ to research your topic (interviews, questionnaires, or whatever). Explain how your chosen method(s) are relevant for your topic. For example, if you wanted to examine the impact of the weather on share prices interviewing a few individuals would not be relevant.
4. Describe how you will realistically be able to apply that/those methods. For instance, if you plan to conduct interviews, explain why you are confident that you will get access to the interviewees. For example, if your topic was the impact of Bill Gates on the development of Microsoft, an interview with him would be very insightful but would he give you the interview?
5. Set out (just approximately) when you plan to start your dissertation research, to conduct the various stages of analysis, and to write up the final version.
6. Your dissertation will have to include a review of the relevant literature. At this stage a very brief indication only is possible, but you should indicate that you have identified and read some relevant literature. Whatever your dissertation topic you will not have been the first person to consider researching it – so relevant literature will be available – a good source is Google Scholar.#p#分页标题#e#

Deadline: Your proposal should be submitted to the School of Management (the Reception or the Programme Support Office (Postgraduate Office) by 14.00 on 1st March 2010. You will also be sent instructions by you Programme Administrator on how to submit the proposal electronically to Jisc-TurnitinUk nearer the time. You must keep a hard copy of all your coursework.