sport finance, listed company

M45EFA: Dissertation 2018 Module Guide

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The Dissertation (M45EFA)

Objective of the Dissertation

The dissertation forms a significant part of the MSc programme. The dissertation/project

provides an opportunity for students to develop their interests in a particular area and to

demonstrate their ability to undertake individual research. It is seen as a ‘capstone’

module as it draws upon many of the previous modules studied and integrates these

separate areas of knowledge in a holistic manner.

Nature of the Dissertation

The dissertation is an independent piece of academic research that should involve the

selection, and application of research methodologies studied in the teaching weeks on

M45EFA and should build upon the knowledge acquired therein. Students are expected to

identify and investigate an appropriate research problem. Their evaluation of this problem

should result in the statement of appropriate conclusions (and possibly recommendations).

The dissertation accounts for 50 M level (credits) points and should be 12,500 words

excluding abstract, appendices and references.

It should be noted that a pass in research proposal is a pre-requisite to being allowed to

proceed to the dissertation stage. Students are also required to have accumulated 130 M

level CATs in order to be eligible to proceed to the dissertation stage.

Dissertations can be based on primary or secondary data or a mixture of the two.

Rigorously reanalysing data that have already been collected for some other purpose (i.e.

secondary data) can form the basis for an excellent dissertation. New data collected

specifically to address the research question (i.e. primary data) must demonstrate validity,

reliability and transparency. You must contact the module leader and school ethics leader

to discuss your intention to undertake a primary data research otherwise all students are

required to carry out research based on secondary data.

The structure that the dissertation should follow will depend to some extent on the nature

of the work undertaken. The following however gives an indication of the type of structure

that the student may wish to follow:

Title

Preferably, this should be a clear statement of the research question or

problem area. It should communicate the aim of the dissertation.

Abstract

This is also one of the last things to be done. It should appear at the front

of the dissertation and is usually one page long (between 300 to 500 words).

It should be a summary of the whole project. Imagine you were giving this

report to your very busy Managing Director at work. The abstract may be

the only part they read completely. With the help of the contents page, they

could then select any other parts to read as they thought necessary.

Table of Contents

This should be tabulated and accurately page referenced. It is one of the

last tasks to be performed.

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Chapter 1: Introduction/Background and Aims and Objectives

This section is to set the scene for the reader. It provides a framework from

which to view the text. It should be described in some detail and provide a

clear motivation for the study showing why your research is of interest and

value.

Aims and objectives should be clearly stated. There is usually a single aim

(which should be reflected in the dissertation’s title) and three-five

objectives which should be explicitly listed. These should be the research

objectives, not what you have to do to write the dissertation. For example,

“To describe the situation/background” is not a research objective, “To

evaluate the effect of a change of corporate financial strategy on a given

organisation” is. Many dissertations have three objectives but two well-

chosen ones can be sufficient; five is probably the maximum number of

objectives in order to keep the project manageable.

You may also wish to include a brief summary of the research methodology

that you use in your study and give an outline of the structure of the

remainder of the dissertation.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

This is a very important part of the dissertation. The literature review should

summarise the current academic thought on the area of interest. It does not

matter if there are conflicting opinions in existence, indeed a good literature

should provide a mixture of opinions and arguments. Each source should be

fully referenced. Sources may include recent journal articles, seminal texts,

financial reports, websites, newspaper articles, etc. however the main

source of the literature should be academic journals.

This chapter should further develop your research questions discussing the

different research and methodologies that have been used in other studies.

The conclusion to the literature review should identify the ‘gap in the

literature’ that you intend to examine in your research.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

The alternative research methodologies available should be described and

discussed. The choice of methodolody(ies) used by the dissertation should

be stated and justified. Also, the limitations of the chosen method should be

discussed. You should provide as much detail as possible regarding the

methods you employed, e.g. if you collected data then what time periods

were involved, how were variables defined, what sources did you use, how

did you define your sample, etc.

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Discussion

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This chapter will present your own results and discuss your findings. It is

important that you don’t merely describe your own results but that you

discuss them in the context of the literature you have reviewed in Chapter

2.

Depending on the nature of the research this section may be split into

several chapters, however do not have a lot of ‘background’ chapters. It is

the actual research that you do that is important in terms of the mark you

end up with!

The structure of the chapter also depends greatly on what has been

researched, but should always have a logical flow and have clear sub-

sections. For more quantitative research sub-sections might include:

• Data description (descriptive statistics, trends etc for the variables)

• Results of the hypothesis/models tested (e.g. regression results)

• Discussion - It is very important here to have a discussion section in

respect to the main research results. You must never just present your

findings and then just leave it at that!

The discussion should focus on the implications of what you find and should

examine if (and why) your findings differ from other research that was

outlined in the literature review.

Chapter 5: Conclusions

These should be clear and concise. They should directly address the research

objectives (see above). If they do not, it is likely that the writer has lost

their way and not achieved what they set out to do. Obviously, this would

have a significant negative effect on the final mark awarded. Where

appropriate you may want to give a list of recommendations based on your

research. You may also want to discuss the limitations of your research and

areas where you think your research could be taken further in any future

work.

Appendices

These are optional but it is very unusual to find a dissertation with no

appendices. Appendices should contain information which is indirectly

(rather than directly) relevant to the subject. They may take many forms

e.g. example tables, illustrations, documents, sample questionnaires etc.

References

This is a list of all citations used in the text. The Harvard system of

referencing should be used. For details of how to do this, please refer to

STILE/Study Skills/Harvard Referencing on the module web.

Submission Process

Submission of the dissertation is due on August 20th 2018 at 18:00

hours. Non-submission by students by this date without having applied and

been granted a deferral/extension, will be recorded as absent, and will result

M45EFA: Dissertation 2018 Module Guide

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in a failure in the module, and therefore the MSc. Any requests for deferrals

or extensions should be submitted to the postgraduate reception. These

requests must be submitted before the hand in date and must include

supporting evidence Students are advised to consult Section 4 of this

handbook for guidance on the university policy on plagiarism.

You must submit one electronic copy through Turn-It-In on the module

Moodle page (you are not required to submit a hard copy of your

dissertation).

Before submission, and more importantly, before you begin to collect any

data, you must ensure you have adhered to the ethical

procedures/guidelines required on your programme. Details of these

requirements are available on the module web.

Assessment Criteria

The proportion of the marks allocated to each section will depend on the

subject of the dissertation and also the methodological approach taken.

However, the literature review and the analysis and discussion of results

tend to be the most important chapters of any dissertation, the latter is

especially important for more quantitative based studies.

You should note that it is generally the case that dissertations containing

some original research e.g. your own analysis of data (it can be primary

(only if approved on ethics) or secondary data) will receive a higher mark

that work that just summarises the existing literature already available. An

example mark sheet and assessment criteria are shown on page 49/54.

When writing your dissertation, you may want to ask yourself the following

questions.

Background and Objectives

• How well does the background set the scene?

• How clear is the rationale for the project?

• How clear and realistic are the objectives?

Literature Review and Referencing

• How widely/deeply has the topic been researched?

• Have the key seminal texts been mentioned?

• Have the most relevant theories been covered?

• Has there been critical analysis of the literature?

• Does the conclusion to the literature review identify the area to

be researched?

• To what extent is the text adequately referenced?

Research Methodology

• Is there sufficient justification of the research method in terms of

perspective, design and data collection and analysis?

• Have the data collection methods been fully explained?

• How sound is the sampling method and make-up of the sample?

• Is the sample representative of the population that the results are

being applied to? • Have ethical issues been fully addressed?

• How successful was the data collection?

• What modelling procedures are used? For example, econometric

methods.

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Analysis and Discussion of Findings

• Is the data clearly and accurately presented in an appropriate

format?

• Is there an attempt to apply the theories discussed in the literature

review to the findings?

• Are the results fully discussed and related to previous research in

this area? (several pages will normally be expected here)

• How well does the analysis address the research objectives?

Conclusions

• Are the conclusions consistent with the analysis?

• How closely do the conclusions address the objectives?

• Has the need for any further research been addressed?

Presentation and overall structure

• How integrated, logical and coherent is the dissertation?

• How clear and persuasive is the dissertation?

• How well does the dissertation flow?

• Has the document been thoroughly proof read?

Please refer to the assessment criteria for details.

M45EFA: Dissertation 2018 Module Guide

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PG Dissertation Assessment Sheet

Module name: Module number: Program:

Student name:

Student number:

Dissertation title:

Examiner name (First marker/Second marker, delete as required):

Strengths of the Dissertation

Areas for improvement

Overall comments

Student had regular meetings/engaged well? Yes No Declaration included and signed? Yes No

Accreditation component

YES No

M45EFA: Dissertation 2018 Module Guide

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PASS-distinction (70-100)* PASS-merit (60-69) PASS-good (50-59) PASS-adequate (40-49) FAIL-inadequate (20-39) FAIL-Very poor (20-0)

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Explicit and feasible objectives. Fully justified research topic. Research set in context with comprehensive rationale provided. All aspects of the study are clearly outlined.

Clear research objectives. Justification for research topic. Research set in context with a clear rationale provided. All main areas of introduction included but minor improvements could still be made.

Clear research objectives. Some attempt to justify research topic. Research set in context with a good rationale provided. Outline of dissertation structure is detailed.

Clear research objectives. Basic attempt to justify research topic. Attempts to provide a rationale for the study but limited organisational context included and may need further explanation/refining. Shows reasonable understanding of the topic area. Dissertation content is outlined.

Unclear research objectives. Limited attempt to clarify research topic. The report does not develop a rationale for the report. Many elements missing or need attention.

Very poor choice of research topic area and objectives needs to be

revised/changed. A number of elements are

missing. Very little understanding shown.

L it

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(2

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A current and comprehensive review of literature using primarily journal based sources. Research question(s) excellently articulated and reviewed within literature. Literature critically analysed and evaluated A summary of main themes/issues of the review is provided with explicit links to the research methods.

Literature review based upon a greater use of material. Research question(s) reflecting a knowledge of literature. Critical awareness of key theories and arguments. Summary of main points included as a link to the methods employed.

A review of main literature using relevant material. Research question(s) demonstrating some knowledge of literature Relevant discussion of related theories and argument.

A review of main literature using some but basic material. Research question(s) demonstrating some basic knowledge of literature Some relevant description of related theories and arguments.

Flawed and narrow view of literature based upon few material. Research question(s) with reflecting limited or no knowledge of literature Limited or no discussion of related theories and arguments

Lacks understanding of what is required. Review does not relate to research objectives. Sources used are not relevant and mainly based on textbooks.

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( 2

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An excellent and critical review of different methodologies and research methods. Critical and excellent justification for chosen research design option. For primary data collection approach, highly detailed description of all aspects of the design (e.g. sampling) and the practical implementation. For secondary data collection, detailed information on how and from where the data has been extracted. Substantial and appropriate data collected. Reliability and validity discussed. Limitation acknowledged and addressed. Excellent awareness and appreciations of Ethical Issues. Evidences of university ethics application and approval.

Very good research design chosen. Methodologies were explained and methods were clearly justified. Detailed description of the research process was provided covering all stages. Sufficient and useful data collected. Reliability and validity were discussed. Limitation acknowledged and addressed. Thorough awareness of ethical issues. Evidences of university ethics application and approval.

Good and appropriate research design chosen and explanation and justification provided for methodology and methods, but lacking details. A description of the research process was provided. Sufficient data collected. Reliability and validity were mentioned, but not discussed in details. Limitation acknowledged and addressed. Good awareness of ethical issues. Evidences of university ethics application and approval.

Research design mentioned and some attempts in explanation and justification provided for methodology and methods, but lacking depth and details. Limited description of the research process is provided. Sufficient data collected. Limitation acknowledged and addressed, but with room for improvement. Awareness of ethical issues. Evidences of university ethics application and approval.

Very limited information on research design and justification of methodology and data collection method. Crucial details relating to the research process are missing. Insufficient data collected. Limitation ignored. There maybe serious issues regarding the Ethics procedures- breaches of the University Ethical guideline. (Note: Dissertation without gaining the timely ethics approval will be automatically marked as a fail.)

No justification for data collection methods or an unsuitable methods. No awareness of methodology. Very patchy description of the research process. Insufficient or inappropriate data is collected. Limitation were ignored. Very serious breaches of University Ethical Guideline. (Note: Dissertation without gaining the timely ethics approval will be automatically marked as a fail.)

A n

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Outstanding approach to analysis and interpretation of results demonstrating critical insights consistent with findings. Discussion and implications reflecting a deep and critical understanding of theories and methods used

Detailed and clear analysis with some critical evaluation of findings. Discussion and implications of findings and literature clearly understood and discussed within context.

A clear but basic analysis with discussion of findings. Logical discussion and implications supported by evidence of reflection upon literature.

Basic analysis with some discussion of findings. Discussion and implications roughly in line with some evidence of reflection upon literature.

Unsubstantiated analysis based either in findings or relevant literature. Limited and illogical discussion and implications with little evidence of reflection upon literature.

Significant errors in the data analysis section, leading to invalid findings. No/irrelevant discussion provided with no evidence of reflection upon literature.

M45EFA: Dissertation 2018 Module Guide

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S y

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Critical summary of research aims and objectives, and research contribution. Findings related to the body of knowledge presented in the literature review. Appropriate conclusions drawn from and supported by findings presented. Issues of limitation of the whole dissertation identified and critically reviewed. SMART recommendations for both theoretical and practical development. Ideas for future research are identified and discussed thoroughly.

Detailed summary of research aims and objectives, and research contribution. Findings related to the body of knowledge presented in the literature review. Appropriate conclusions drawn from and supported by findings presented. Issues of limitation of the whole dissertation identified and reviewed. Logical recommendations for both theoretical and practical development. Ideas for future research are identified and discussed briefly. Lacks in depth in terms of synthesis and details.

Clear summary of research aims and objectives, and research contribution. Findings related to the body of knowledge presented in the literature review. Appropriate conclusions drawn from and supported by findings presented. Issues of limitation of the whole dissertation identified and reviewed. Clear recommendations for both theoretical and practical development. Ideas for future research are indicated.

Basic summary and partially integration of research aims and objectives, and research contribution. Findings related to the body of knowledge presented in the literature review. Conclusions drawn from but not clearly supported by findings presented. Issues of limitation of the whole dissertation might not be identified and fully reviewed. A few recommendations for both theoretical and practical development, but this could be more specific with stronger links to the research undertaken.

Limited or no summary and integration of research aims and objectives, and research contribution. Findings are poorly related to the body of knowledge presented in the literature review. Issues of limitations of the whole dissertation were not identified adequately. Limited recommendations for both theoretical and practical development. There are no relevant ideas for further research.

A complete lack of clarify regarding how the conclusions are draw from the findings. No recommendations provided. No relevant ideas for further research.

P r

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( 5

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A substantial and quality piece of work demonstrates well- structured and coherent arguments and lines of thoughts throughout. Outstanding standards of presentation with correct reference style. Few grammatical and typing errors. Excellent linkages between chapters. Looks professional.

Logical presentation with fluent layout and sound structure and all sections clearly linked into overall arguments. All literature and information referenced with correct and consistent format. Minimal grammatical and typing errors. Good presentation.

Clear structure and coherence of arguments demonstrated. Literature and information mainly referenced to requisite standard. A few grammatical and typing errors Lack of integration.

Acceptable structure and some coherence of arguments demonstrated. Literature and information mainly referenced to requisite standard but with some inconsistence. Some grammatical and typing errors.

Unstructured work with inconsistent arguments. Literature and information not referenced to requisite standard. Some major grammatical and typing errors.

Very poor structure and poorly presented throughout. Irrelevant arguments. Difficult to follow. Literature not referenced to a passable standard. Major grammatical and typing errors.

First 70-100 Two-one 60-69 Two-two 50-59 Third 40-49 Borderline Fail 35-39

Poor Fail 20-34

Very Poor Fail 0-20

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O v

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The project is well structured and communicated. It is coherent and shows an excellent level of synthesis or evaluation with clear signs of originality and insight. Has read extensively beyond the immediately relevant reading. Has designed, undertaken and completed a comprehensive piece of research.

The project has relevant aims and objectives and an appropriate research design. Clear evidence of independent inquiry and critical judgement in selecting, ordering, analysing and synthesising. Has read the immediately relevant literature and to a limited extent beyond. Has designed, undertaken and completed a well thought through and presented piece of research.

Aims and objectives set up. Some appropriate theory plus an attempt at analysis but with basic linkage between theory and analysis. Has read the immediately relevant literature. Has designed, undertaken and completed an independent piece of research. The student shows sound understanding of the Master’s research approach.

Makes only a basic attempt to answer a central research question. Lacks focus and only a weak attempt at analysis. Has read some of the immediately relevant literature. Has made a basic attempt at original research (either primary or secondary). A basic understanding of what is required for masters research is evident.

Fails to ask a central research question. Essentially descriptive work showing some familiarity with the subject matter and limited application of ideas at the Master’s level. Little evidence of having read the immediately relevant literature and lack of justification for the research design and methods. Has made little attempt at original research (either primary or secondary). No evidence that relevant subject knowledge has been understood. To reach a pass standard when resubmitting, the student will need to adequately address all the issues identified.

Poorly organised and superficial description with very limited understanding or analysis of the issues involved. The work fails to reach an adequate PG level either in an important area or is generally weak and lacks depth and rigor in several areas. The standard of presentation and writing is likely to need much improvement. To reach a pass standard when resubmitting, the student will need to adequately address all the issues identified. Note: The student will need to gain ethical approval if new data will be collected.

Extremely poorly organised, superficial description with virtually no understanding or analysis of the issues involved. No attempt at synthesis. No evidence of having read the immediately relevant literature. No evidence of original thought or research. The dissertation has very serious weakness. The student has failed to demonstrate an understanding of what is required for Masters’ research. To reach a pass standard when resubmitted will require the student to address all the issues identified and undertake a significant amount of new work rather than just minor improvements. Note: The student will need to gain ethical approval if new data will be collected

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Note: For a mark of 80+, the dissertation should be of sufficient standard to make a contribution to the wider academic world. The dissertation

demonstrates an excellent level of understanding, presence of clear description, critical/analytical skills and research as appropriate.

Your mark for the dissertation

Mark agreed by both markers

CPD Log & Personal Statement

PASS FAIL

Examiner signature:

Date:

CPD LOG & Personal Statement

CPD Log: Completion of the CPD Log document answering all relevant questions. Appropriate evidence included to demonstrate skill acquisition and knowledge.

Personal Learning Statement: Evidence that personal learning has been reviewed, including comments from organisation if appropriate.