Dissertation (12,000) words

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Writing the Dissertation, Structure and Word Counts

Planning and Writing the Dissertation 

The dissertation period starts on  with data collection starting once our research ethics request has been approved and ends on the submission date

 

The more methodical your approach, the more enjoyable the experience and the greater the quality of the final dissertation is likely to be. Defining clear aims, careful planning, and good organisation as well as listening to advice and feedback will help with the process.  

Working on your dissertation will give you the opportunity to learn and practise important skills you will need in your career: researching and writing. The writing requires you to organise the arguments and communicate these in an effective manner. It is where you can apply and demonstrate the knowledge and understanding from your courses, with additional self-directed reading/research, and the analytical and problem-solving techniques you have acquired during your studies to investigate a specialist interest in greater depth.  

There is no one way to plan a dissertation: different projects and dissertation formats (see Dissertation formats section) require different approaches and the way in which people work will vary. The specifics should be discussed with your Dissertation Advisor when you are creating you project timeline. It is advisable for your Dissertation Advisor to see a draft chapter early on, so that you have time to incorporate any feedback into subsequent writing.  

Given the breadth of subject specialisms in Postgraduate Taught studies and the wide- ranging interests of students, the range of possible project types is very broad and cannot be covered in this handbook. Every dissertation will be different, but the outline below is an indication of the critical points. 

Reading and Planning Stage 

• Select broad topic and identify possible objectives  • Initial reading (plus note-taking and reflection) to focus the project  • Present proposal – indicating title, objectives, outline,

agreed methodology and provisional bibliography 

Main Research and Writing Stage 

• Complete your reading (there is always a point to stop)  • Conduct any fieldwork (ensuring the appropriate research ethics approval

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has already been approved for any surveys or interviews etc)  • Produce detailed chapter outlines with bibliography/reference list  • Write  • Submit a draft chapter for your Advisor to review  • Presentation and conclusions 

Completion Stage 

• Reflect, revise and redraft (check spelling and bibliography)  • Submit final version for marking

The dissertation is a complex piece of individual work, you should expect to devote a considerable amount of time to its completion. As per the Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework (SCQF), this means that it should entail approximately 600 hours (MSc 60 credits) of student effort. It is, therefore, important for you to carefully plan and to “front- load” your efforts as much as possible to allow enough time to complete the dissertation within the time allowed. Successful completion of the dissertation requires considerable time to be devoted to researching the topic, gathering relevant data, and writing up the research in the appropriate manner. You will need to make an early start on reviewing the literature and collecting the data as well as writing up your topic as you research it. In addition, if you intend to use modes of enquiry with which you are not entirely familiar, you will need to spend time to understand the qualitative or quantitative methods of analysis that you intend to use.  

  

Good Academic Practice 

Following the principles of good academic practice will help you to do better work and avoid academic misconduct. 

• Guidance and factsheets on good academic practice, including referencing and avoiding plagiarism (https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute- academic-development/study-hub/learning-resources/standards) 

The Institute for Academic Development provides advice on specific study skills topics, plus downloadable resources with useful study strategies. 

• Study Hub learning resources (https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic- development/study-hub/learning-resources) 

Course-specific guidance on the use of Generative AI 

Academic integrity is an underlying principle of research and academic practice. Accordingly, all submitted work must clearly reflect your own efforts and thinking. The use of generative AI tools is not prohibited but must be approached with care and transparency. For your dissertation, you must not submit text which is primarily generated by AI tools and presented as if it were your own original writing. However, you

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are allowed to use these tools to identify ideas, explore key themes, and plan your dissertation. You may also use AI to improve the clarity of your writing. If you use AI software, you must acknowledge its use in your submission.  

Please read the guidance below if you are thinking of using a Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) website. 

• Guidance for students on the use of Generative AI (such as ChatGPT) (https://information-services.ed.ac.uk/computing/comms-and- collab/elm/generative-ai-guidance-for-students/using-generative) 

Academic Misconduct 

Academic misconduct includes plagiarism, collusion, falsification, deceit, cheating and impersonation. The University takes all reported incidences of academic misconduct seriously and seeks to ensure that they are dealt with efficiently and appropriately. 

• The University’s academic misconduct procedures and forms, and examples of academic misconduct (https://www.ed.ac.uk/academic- services/staff/discipline/academic-misconduct) 

  

Dissertation Structures and Word Count 

Length/Word Count 

The maximum word count for an MSc dissertation is 12,000 words. Students must ensure their work does not exceed this limit and are required to state the number of words used. Keeping to the word limit is an indicator of a clear and professional presentation, which is part of the dissertation marking criteria.   

The following content is included in the final word count: 

• Main body of text  • Section headings/subheadings  • Words and numbers used in tables, graphs and other forms of data

presentation (including titles of figures)  • In-text citations and quotations  • Textboxes, footnotes and endnotes  

Note: Turnitin will count each separate word within a URL, however a PDF or Word document will count a URL as one word. Turnitin’s word count does not count the words in textboxes, footnotes and endnotes. If there appears to be excessive words in text boxes and the assignment is near the word count limit, then the number of words in the text boxes will be investigated and count towards the total.  

The following content is not included in the final word count: 

• Front cover sheet  • Contents page 

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• Reference list  • Bibliography  • Appendices - these should only contain reference materials illustrating and

supporting arguments fully made in the main body of work. 

Appendices 

If appendices are used, they should not be excessive and should not be ‘essential reading.’ If you include an Acknowledgements section, please do not include information that will de-anonymise yourself. Appendices should only contain reference materials illustrating and supporting arguments fully made in the main body of the work. 

Interview Transcriptions 

Given the time it takes to prepare and write a dissertation, you are not expected to transcribe any interviews. It is required that any quotations within the project are marked with a reference to the time at which the interview is situated within the recording. 

Data Security 

Students should keep all research data secure in their University of Edinburgh OneDrive. If either of the dissertation markers wishes to access your raw data as part of the assessment process, the folder can be shared with the Teaching Operations Team via University of Edinburgh Office 365. Refer to The University's Data Protection Policy and The University’s Guidance for Data Protection for Students for more information.  

Key Information for students: 

• Word Count: Please review the word count before submitting your work. While Turnitin provides a word count during submission, please note that this word count is only indicative and includes words from the abstract, table of contents, references/bibliography, and appendices. 

• Textboxes, Footnotes, and Endnotes: Turnitin's word count excludes words in textboxes, footnotes, and endnotes when a Word file is submitted These are included when a PDF file is submitted. 

• Screenshots: Please insert screenshots in an appendix.  • Spreadsheets: Please insert spreadsheets as screenshots in an appendix.  • In-text Citations: No matter how much you rephrase ideas taken from

elsewhere, the original source must be cited and included in the word count. 

• URLs: Note that Turnitin will count each separate word within a URL, whereas a PDF or Word document will count a URL as one word. 

 

Structure 

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A typical traditional research dissertation is usually broken into four to six chapters, including a short introduction and conclusion. The chapter structure helps break the dissertation into manageable parts and ensures progression from one theme to another. The introduction spells out the focus of the study and its objectives or research questions, explaining why these were interesting to the author and 'locating' them in the field. It should also include an outline of the subsequent chapters. In the case of primary research, there should be a separate chapter providing an account and justification of the research design and methodology adopted. The conclusion should reflect on the implications of your ‘findings’ for wider theory and where relevant, for practice, picking up themes about the rationale of the study in your introduction. How the substantive chapters are organised will depend on personal preference and the nature of the research. However, you must ensure that your treatment is sufficiently analytical, integrating conceptual and empirical material. This integration may run through the body of the work, or it may take place largely in a discrete analysis chapter. 

• How this chapter fits into the rest of the dissertation  • The structure of the chapter  • The main points which the reader should take from it. Always ensure that

your argumentation is as tight as possible and clearly presented. 

Dissertations will be different in structure, and different in the relative length of particular chapters, depending on their type, the nature of the research question and preferences of students and Advisors. The following represents a rough guide only; relevant sections, as well as their appropriate length, will vary substantially from dissertation to dissertation.  

The following indicative chapter headings and word counts are only for guidance. You should discuss with your Advisor how best to adapt these guidelines to your work. 

 

Research Dissertations 

This involves critical engagement with a body of literature, followed by the collection and analysis of qualitative or quantitative data that can help to address gaps in the literature and improve our understanding of a particular subject in business.  

Indicative Chapters  Indicative Word count    

Abstract  250 (not included in overall word count) 

Overview of study, approach, broad findings, and significance. 

Introduction  1,000 

Subject, significance, research questions/hypotheses, and structure. 

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Literature review  3,000  

 

Critical review of relevant literature; identifying gaps or questions in the literature; development of conceptual framework. 

Methodology  2,000 

Research design and justification of methodological choices, balance of qualitative and quantitative; data gathering (sampling etc); data presentation and analysis; alternative choices, limitations.  

Data presentation 

Analysis and interpretation 

5,000 combined 

 

Description, explanation, and presentation of data.

Application of analytical tools to the data collected; evaluation and interpretation of what the data suggests in relation to the research questions/hypotheses; reintegration with general literature; theory implications. 

Conclusions  1,000 

Summary of answers to research questions/hypotheses, explanation of contribution to knowledge, business relevance, implications for policy, avenues for further research.