Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology

Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology APIIT

Masters Dissertation Handbook

Table of Contents Page

Introduction

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2 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 5. 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 6 7

Dissertation Processes Dissertation Responsibilities The Student The Dissertation Supervisor The Dissertation Advisor The Dissertations Manager The Dissertations Team The Dissertation Report Topic of Study its feasibility Research Process Dissertation management Variations Dissertation Description Dissertation Report Style Recommended Structure Contents & Length Style of Writing Typographical Design Heading Ethical Requirements Dissertation Submission Dissertation Assessment Dissertation Submission and Extensions 8 8

4 5 5 5 6

6 7 7

13 14 15 16 17 17 19 19

Appendices Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D Appendix E Appendix F Appendix I Appendix II Appendix III Masters Dissertation Proposal Form (DPF) End of Semester (EOS) Interview Dissertation Report Format Example Title Page Harvard System Referencing Dissertation Progress Chart (DPR) Masters Dissertation Variation Form Dissertation Supervision Progress Log Masters Dissertation Marking sheet 20 23 23 25 26 28 31 33 34

1. Introduction What is a Masters Dissertation? The dissertation is an extended essay based upon your independent research, it involves the critical study of a chosen area of business or management and any associated aspects. The dissertation must be your own work, in that you must do your own research, construct your own argument, and write up the final document (the dissertation) yourself. You are not necessarily
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expected to contribute to the body of knowledge within your chosen field of study; that is, to advance new and original work (though you may do, even in a small way); however, it is expected that you demonstrate your capacity for independent and sustained study. Thus, your work needs to be: orderly, critical, reasoned and based on a review of existing literature. You need to finish by justifying your conclusions by reference to evidence put forward in your research work and supported by robust academic argument. On completion [of your dissertation], you should be able to demonstrate these learning outcomes: Provide a systematic and critical understanding of a chosen topic of research appropriate to the award for which the student is registered, with specified aims(s) and objectives by:
1. Developing

a comprehensive and critical literature review and an identification and justification of a sound theoretical framework adopted for your proposed research. 2. Critically evaluating potential suitable research designs and methods and justification of your choice. 3. Developing, implementing and managing a programme of research. 4.Comprehensively analysing research data and appropriate interpretation of results. 5. Arguing conclusion based on your own research and making appropriate recommendations to your specified audiences(s). 6.Presenting a dissertation incorporating all the above elements in a coherent and effective manner. 7.Demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the area of research. 8.Reflection on learning in the dissertation stage (i.e. post-proposal). This is a major piece of work that is equivalent to three modules and is worth 45 credits in semester three (3 & 4). Therefore, it is expected that you spend about 360 hours working on the Dissertation over the two semesters. This is equivalent to approximately fifteen hours per week, of which about 30 minutes to 1 hour on an average is usually spent in time-tabled contact with your supervisor. Please note that the Dissertation is a core part of MBA programme without which the degree makes no sense. The uniqueness of Masters dissertations predominantly requires individual effort. Any attempt to copy anothers work, or to represent others work as your own will be dealt severely under SU regulations. All the relevant documentation is also available on intranet (FTP) Complete Masters Dissertation Handbook with suitable Appendices and Business Research Methods (BRM) study Material..

2. Dissertation Processes
Duration The students will complete the Dissertation in TWO (2) semesters (See DPC- Appendix F) Assessment The Dissertation is a very important part of your degree; it accounts for 45 credits. As such the award board tends to treat the Dissertation modules differently from other modules in semester 1 & 2.
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3. Dissertation Responsibilities
Getting Started You have already made a start on your dissertation by way of producing a proposal for the Business Research Assignmentt. This should hopefully form the foundations of your dissertation. If however you wish to alter your proposal focus then you could do so by submitting a Dissertation Variation Request form (see appendix I) within 4 weeks of being allocated a supervisor. Note -- you will not be granted additional time to complete your dissertation if you fail to submit your request within the time period stated above. Getting Through Naturally, the responsibility for undertaking the work necessary for successfully completing the dissertation rests with you, the Masters Degree student. A major aspect of learning that takes place involves you displaying and developing your skills of self-management, independent learning and research. However, you are not alone. You will develop friendships with other Masters students whom you will find useful in discussing aspects of your dissertations and research, and of course intellectualising with. More formal support is given in the form of a dissertation supervisor. Your allocated supervisor, with his/her professional experience of supervising students like yourself, knowing the processes and structures of dissertations and subject knowledge, will aid you in getting through this crucial period of your course 3.1 Student Responsibilities: Meet the supervisor regularly to discuss your ideas and take guidance as & when required. (Refer Appendix F)
Regularly get your dissertation Supervision Progress Log filled (Refer Appendix -II) Work consistently, regularly and thoroughly, set times and milestones. - to be a good task

manager,
Be realistic. Better to research and produce a dissertation that is deep and focused rather

than a piece of work that is too thin, broad and general.

time.
Ensure you are absolutely aware of all rules, regulations and restrictions pertinent to your

award (e.g. Dissertation Module Learning Outcomes, Ethics, Plagiarism, etc).

be referenced.
Work according to Dissertation Progress Chart-(DPC) (see Appendix F)

Make multiple back-up copies (memory stick, CD or otherwise) at very regular intervals. Remember, computer problems encountered will not be accepted as an excuse for not submitting your work on time.
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It is recommended that you keep a file-binder or notebook and write down your thoughts, notes to yourself, anything that you need to remember for a later period.
Proof read your work get someone else also to read your work. Submit the documentation in the correct format & specified deadline (Appendix F) Prepare well for the end of semester (EOS) Viva & presentation on due date (Refer DPC -

Appendix F)
90 % Attendance is mandatory on due dates as mentioned in DPC (Appendix F) except in

case of extenuating circumstances approved by Dissertation Manager

3.2

Supervisors Responsibilities: The allocated hours to be spent with the student. (Refer DPC Appendix- F)
Response to queries & e-mails of the student at the earliest. Give reasonable assistance regarding material & resource with which to carry out the

Dissertation.
Give reasonable advice on managing, documenting & presenting the Dissertation Make sure the student is following the DPC & supervisors progress log is filled regularly.

Providing feedback on chapters. This will be in response to the students specific requests on what they are seeking feedback on

Supervisor will not: the students work. Do Correct grammar, expression and English errors. Pre-mark the work. 3.3 Dissertation Advisors responsibilities are: Help student in absence of the supervisor
Attends & Marks end of semester (EOS) viva with supervisor & Dissertation manager

Moderates the thesis marked by supervisor 3.4 The Dissertation Managers Responsibilities are: The overall role of Dissertation manager is to manage the process. More specifically the responsibilities would include:

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Advising supervisors & advisors as to what is expected of them & the Dissertation in

relation to the award

acceptable Dissertation
Receiving the final Dissertation proposals ( PPFs) if accepted & returned if rejected with

comments ( the revised proposal to be resubmitted)

reasonable time period. Monitoring the support given to the students by the supervisors Monitoring to conformance of deadlines & reporting non conformances to the academic Group Head.
Ensuring the necessary facilities & assistance is provided to students who fail & retake the

Dissertation. 3.5 Dissertation Team The Dissertation Team consists of the eminent lecturers who may be additionally consulted in the absence of Dissertation Manager and/or your supervisor. You may also meet them to obtain insights, suggestions or advice pertaining to your Dissertation. They are: The Dissertation Report

4.

Undertaking a Dissertation is not a sequence of unrelated activities. A good Dissertation is based on a systematic, well-managed approach with a sound philosophical foundation. The fundamental principal of carrying out an effective Dissertation is to match the Dissertation plan to the resources that are available for its completion. Disruption to the Dissertation can be minimised by setting a realistic time scale for completing the activities and for presenting the deliverables in a way that takes into account any other commitments. All of this has to be documented in the Dissertation report (the major deliverable), which will be handed in at the submission date. 4.1 Topic of Study Its Feasibility Before finalizing & submitting the Dissertation proposal, it is wise to do some initial investigations as to the feasibility of doing what you would like to do. Then finally submit the proposal. Some Basic Considerations Where will I find the data? What is the theoretical basis of the data? Will gaining data require financing? How much will it cost? Can I afford it? Can I gain access to, say, enough or even any sources of data or people? Does secondary data exist and what do I do if it does not? What are the timeframes in doing what I propose?
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If I need samples, what size is significant? Can I obtain the resources or do I have the expertise to do the analysis? 4.2 The Research Process And Dissertation Management A Typical Process The research process consists of a number of steps (see Figure 1). Typically, it starts with the identification of a topic of research, sometimes called the research problem. For this problem to be properly investigated, you must find a way to describe the problem, its scale and/or scope and which part(s) you intend to focus on in your own research. A comprehensive literature review should be carried out at this stage. This will then lead to the development or selection of an appropriate research methodology and an appropriate plan for your intended research. The methodology determines the parameters that provide you with the basis for data collection. Your articulation of this will therefore include your justification for your data collection and analysis methods. The last but not the least is the writing up of your dissertation. Although this forms the basis of assessment, a lot of work actually takes place well before you start writing.

4.3 Variations Minor variations If you feel you have to make minor variations to your original and ethically or otherwise agreed work, such changes need to be informed to your supervisor in the first place. If this is the case, you are to complete the Masters Dissertation Variation Form (Appendix I) and give this completed form to your supervisor. These variations to your original proposal may only require your supervisors agreement Major variations All Major variations should have been resolved prior to you being allocated a supervisor. However, exceptional major variations occurring after being allocated a supervisor may require further processing, for example; the finding of another supervisor because the field or specialist
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focus of your work has changed. In exceptional cases like this, your supervisor will forward your completed form to the Senior Dissertations Supervisor who will aid you in resolving such issues. You will not be allowed to change your topic or field during the 12 weeks prior to the hand in date of your dissertation. What if Things Go Wrong The dissertation represents a significant learning component of the Masters course and is in itself a major piece of work. As your dissertation spans up to a year, during which time any step in the research process (see Figure 1) could go wrong. For example, the topic you initially chose may prove unworkable as the company you intended to base your primary research on has gone into liquidation or has decided to shut the door on you. This is a problem with data access. Problems might arise during the data collection process the sample population you have drawn might turn out to be very uncooperative. Another commonly experienced problem is time, or lack of it. According to our experience, most things take twice or three times as long to complete as planned. Even just to get your dissertation in the right format can take you days. For this reason, please give yourself sufficient time to complete the necessary tasks when planning out your research. There is no doubt that many of the problems you may encounter during your research will not seriously affect the direction of your dissertation and the length of time you need to complete it if you detect them early and deal with them appropriately. Whenever you feel something is not going according to plan, discuss them with your supervisor as soon as you can and then seek advice from your Dissertation Manager if required.
5.

Dissertation Description

5.1 Dissertation Report Style The report should be written in a formal style in the third person form. For instance, 'It was found that...' is expected instead of 'I found that...'. Careful attention should be paid to the use of grammar and correct spelling, and students are encouraged to use such aids as are available for this purpose. You are expected to use italics for words in languages other than English (e.g. pro forma) and capitals to begin proper nouns (e.g. MS Windows). If you wish to paraphrase or comment on another author's work, appropriate reference should be made according to the Harvard system (see Appendix E). This also applies to material gained from electronic sources such as the World Wide Web, although students are reminded that such sources are often not refereed and may not have the same authority as academic journals. If a direct quote (i.e. the use of another author's exact words) is made, this should be placed in quotation marks and references with the page number on which they appear in the source document. Long quotations should be used sparingly and only when they are particularly relevant. Students are reminded of the importance of originality and consequences of plagiarism. 5.2 Recommended Structure The British Standard Institute (BSI) 4821 has produced a set of specific guidelines for the production of a dissertation, which have been adopted as the standard for our Masters dissertations at Staffordshire University. According to BSI, your dissertation should be structured to reflect both the contents and the order set out below: Title page, Executive summary, Acknowledgement, Lists of contents, tables/illustrations and appendices, Introduction,
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Literature review, Methodology/methodological review, Empirical study/findings/discussions, Conclusions and recommendations, Footnotes, Glossary (optional), References and bibliography, Appendices The following sections explain in more detail the requirements for each part of the dissertation. Title Page The title page should give the following information in the order indicated: The full title of the dissertation. This should describe the content of the dissertation accurately and concisely and, if necessary, a subtitle should be added for greater clarity. The full name(s) of the author. This should begin with the SURNAME (all upper case) followed by a , then the forename(s) (upper and lower case); e.g. GUPTA, Ramesh; Qualification statement: It should read like this: This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Staffordshire University for the award of Master in Business Administration. Collaborating body: If applicable, the name of the collaborating organisation or organisations in which the research was conducted should be provided. Date of submission: This should be in the form of: month and year, e.g. May 2013.

A sample title page is provided here, see Figure 2.

The Missing Link between Creativity & Innovation An Emperical study

GUPTA, Ramesh;

The Dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of Staffordshire university for the award of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)

Fig 2 May 2013 Executive Summary The executive summary is intended to provide the reader with a general flavour of what the dissertation is about. By reading this, the reader should be able to determine if the contents, either in part or in full, will be of particular interest to him/her and therefore, decide whether or not to
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read the dissertation in detail. To this end, this part of the document should be concise but selfsufficient and free from abbreviations and highly specialised jargon. Please keep it short and sharp, preferably within a page - use single spacing if necessary, and at most not to exceed two pages. It should provide a brief description of: What you have researched including your research objectives, How you carried out your research, Your main findings, Your recommendations and for whom. Acknowledgement You should in this part acknowledge any assistance received during your research and dissertation writing. Such assistance may include financial support or time allowance from your employer, scholarly advice from supervisor(s) and other form of support from your family, friends, colleagues, university librarians, etc. This part should take up no more than a few lines. Lists of Contents, Tables, Figures and Appendices The list of contents should provide, in sequence and with page numbers, all relevant sub-divisions of the dissertation, including titles of chapters, and headings of sections and subsections. The lists of tables and figures (or diagrams) should follow the list of contents but precede the list of appendices. It may be convenient to combine both tables and other illustrations into one numbering sequence if the combined number of them does not exceed 10. If they are each numbered in a separate sequence, they should be listed separately. A two-digit numbering system is then recommended for these. The first digit indicates the chapter number whilst the second the ordinal number of that table or figure in that particular chapter. For example, Figure 2.3 may be identified as the THIRD figure in chapter TWO and Table 8.7 as the SEVENTH table of chapter EIGHT. The list of appendices should include titles of all the supporting materials included in this part of the dissertation. Appendices should be numbered with a sequence different from those used for chapter and section headings, tables and illustrations. Appendices may be numbered as Appendix A, Appendix B, or Appendix I, Appendix II, etc. Introduction This is usually the first chapter of the dissertation. It should provide the details as set out below and in the order illustrated: Dissertation background. This is to provide the reader with a brief account of how the idea for pursuing the particular topic of research came about. It should also briefly justify the social as well as personal value in pursuing the chosen topic of research. Aim(s) and objectives of research. This should include a statement of the overall aim(s) of the proposed research and a set of SMART (abbreviated from Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-scaled) objectives. For a Masters level dissertation, there should be a balance between addressing one or more practical problem and fulfilling a theoretical gap in the chosen area of research. By the end of your dissertation you should have addressed all these aims and objectives. Structure of dissertation. In this section, you should give an overview of how the main body of dissertation is organised and outline the indicative content for each of the subsequent chapters. Literature Review
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This chapter should provide a comprehensive and critical review of the theoretical background to the problem including the definition(s) of the core academic/theoretical concepts to the dissertation and any evidence of existing research carried out to date in the same area or one that is similar to your own. It is also important to review and discuss the methodologies and research procedures adopted by leading researchers in the field and evaluate their relevance to your research. Particular attention should be directed to the identification of a gap in theory or in its application, which you will try to fulfil through your research and the justification of why it is important to fulfil such a gap. You should also identify how this literature review informs you and your research. Where references are made to published or unpublished work, they must be properly cited using the Harvard Referencing system#. Appendix IV provides you with some guidance on the Harvard system. Methodology In this chapter, you are expected to describe and discuss how you intended to conduct your research to achieve the objectives set out in the first chapter. Please note that the past tense is used here because the dissertation is expected to be written after research is completed. The development of your hypothesis, if you are using one, should be discussed in relation to the intended research objectives, the relevant literature and the actual research. Specifically, you are required to discuss and justify in depth the following: Data requirement. Based on the objectives of research, this should be an analysis of what data is required and where they may exist. Research design. This should include a review and evaluation of the fundamental research methodologies, i.e. inductive, exploratory, case study, or action research, etc., and the stages whereby research was carried out, and a justification of why certain ones were chosen. Methods for data collection. Here, alternative methods potentially suitable for collecting the required data must be reviewed, evaluated and the chosen ones justified. Methods for data analysis. Existing methods for analysing the type(s) of data collected should be reviewed, evaluated and the chosen ones justified. Methodological review. This should examine the validity and reliability of the methods actually adopted for data collection and analysis. Empirical Study/Research Findings/Discussion This is the main body - it details how the empirical study was carried out and what and how data was collected. It is advisable that you should adopt an order of presentation that reflects the objectives of your research. If necessary, this part may be further divided into several chapters. In presenting the dissertation, you are strongly encouraged to use tables and figures to illustrate a point and/or support an argument in a way that text alone cannot do as effectively as you would like. Findings should be discussed and fully elaborated in line with research objectives. If a hypothesis testing procedure has been adopted, it should be reflected in the discussion. Clear distinction should be made between the presentation of original data and, discussions and interpretations of them. If necessary, divide this part into several chapters. It may be appropriate to incorporate comparison to secondary data or previous studies in this section.

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It is most important that you do not move on from having gathered and analysed your data to making conclusions from these data without firstly having discussed the analysed data with the literature you had previously reviewed. Therefore, a logical process, after stipulating your research findings, is to discuss your finding against those you have reviewed in the literature review section of your dissertation. Having done this, you are in an informed position to make your conclusions and recommendations. Applying this approach you can better defend your findings and also show what contributions your work adds to previous works, even in a modest way. Conclusions and Recommendations This part of the dissertation contains the conclusions you have drawn from your own research and the recommendations you wish to make to an identified audience. You may draw according to the objectives of study and be based ONLY on data collected throughout the research. Any unfulfilled objectives should be highlighted and explained, which may present opportunities for future research. Reflection on Learning This is the final part of the main body of the Dissertation. In this part of the dissertation, you are required to produce a comparatively short separate section where you reflect on the entire personal experience of carrying out and completing the Dissertation since submitting your proposal (it does not therefore include the proposal). In essence you are to reflect on what you have learned from doing the Dissertation. Therefore, ask yourself questions such as: What have I learnt? Have I achieved anything not originally intended? Was there anything I did but should not have done? If I were to start all over again, was there anything I would do differently? Footnotes These are optional. Footnotes, which appear at the bottom of the page, often serve to complement the main text where the additional information provided will be beneficial to the reader but its inclusion in the main body will obstruct its flow. Glossary Again, this is optional. It may be used if a large number of abbreviations or highly specialised jargon have been introduced or used in the main text. Whether it should be presented as an integral part of the dissertation depends on your own judgement. The question to ask is whether or not the reader will benefit from it. If the answer is yes, then include it otherwise leave it out. References/Bibliography You may include lists of references and bibliography or just the former. The main difference between them is that references are sources from which direct or indirect quotations have been made and therefore specific page numbers are clearly identified whilst a bibliography tends to be the sources that have been consulted, which have contributed to the authors thought process but no specific statements have been quoted. Appendices This is the part of the dissertation where you provide supplementary materials. Typical examples are:

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copies of questionnaires used, supporting documents, e.g. letter of support from an authoritative source, documented verdict of the trial implementation of a product, service, etc., introduced by you during the course of the research, raw data, i.e., primary data collected through your own research. In the case of data collected through a structured questionnaire, the inclusion of all the returned questionnaires is often impractical and unnecessary. The common practice is to include a copy of the coding sheet(s) supported with a copy of the original questionnaire and coding instructions. 5.3 Contents And Length Contents of Dissertation Whilst the content is a choice you make for yourself, each Masters award route has a particular area of focus, which must be adequately reflected in the dissertation. In the case of the MBA award, the topic of your dissertation should lie in the area of general business and management. Length of Dissertation As specified in the Dissertation module descriptor, the Masters dissertation is 10,000 words. In practice it is, of course, impossible to stick to the exact word limit. However you are advised that an overlong or verbose summary will lose marks. You need to note that up to a maximum of 10% variation above the 10000 words stipulated for the dissertation will incur no penalty points. However, 11% to 20% of excess wordage will result in a deduction of 5% of the total marks of your dissertation. Also 21% to 30% excess wordage will result in a deduction of 10% of the total marks of your dissertation. Wordage over 30% will result in no more than a pass mark being achievable. These regulations are to ensure that students cannot benefit from excessive word length, but will not fail because of exceeding the word limit alone. Importantly, as part of the assessment, you are required to submit a separate sheet with each copy of the dissertation, giving the breakdown details of the wordage for each chapter and the total wordage for the entire dissertation. This sheet should not be bound into the dissertation. Instead, it should be inserted in the inside cover. 5.4 Style of Writing Style of writing varies with people. It is often difficult to be prescriptive about it. In academic writing, however, there are a few rules which you should observe. Firstly, unless stated otherwise, you must not present your dissertation in the management report style. Although this type of report is known for its accurate and concise nature, it does not allow for adequate in-depth analysis. In other words, the dissertation has to be written in an essay style. Secondly, words like I, we, us, you, my/mine, your/yours, and our/ours are best avoided1. So, instead of saying I carried out an investigation into the problem of rising absenteeism within the company you should say The author carried out an investigation examining the phenomenon of bullying in the workplace or An investigation into the phenomenon of bullying in the workplace has been carried out. Thirdly, you should avoid making sweeping generalisations, e.g. Americans are good innovators, Apple Corporation is a successful company. One way of doing so is to use the past tense when describing what actually happened and discussing findings emerged from a particular study. In other words, at Masters level, we expect our students work to be more accurate and be qualified and quantified where possible.

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Fourthly, if you need to recap a point made elsewhere there is no need to repeat it. Just cross reference it to where it actually appears in the dissertation using expressions such as As suggested earlier, As will be discussed in section 4.3.4, or As can be seen from Appendix B. Last but not least, you should be precise in what you are trying to say. Keep sentences short but avoid producing a report consisting of only bullet points. Do not include materials just to reach the word limit. If there is more to write than the word limit allows, use appendices. However, it must be remembered that only what is written in the main body will be assessed. When the first draft is completed, try reading it from the readers point of view and see if there is anything that could be improved. Always proof-read the dissertation before handing it in. It is strongly recommended that you get someone else to proof-read (not to re-write) it. 5.5 Typographical Design In terms of typographical design, the details set out below are mainly based on BS 4821: British Standard Recommendations for the Presentation of Thesis and Dissertations produced by the British Standard Institution, 1990. The key aspects of typographical design and their respective recommended standards are as followings: Paper size. Use only A4 sized paper printed on one side only. Margins. Left should be no less than 30 mm, others no less than 25 mm (including running heads and page numbers). DO NOT use the default setting as it is mostly intended for users in the United States. Character size. No less than 2.0 mm, i.e. size 12 on Microsoft Word. Type font: Times Roman or something similar is recommended. Once a font has been selected, stick to it. Change of font throughout the text is to be avoided unless there are good reasons given. Line spacing. 1.5 recommended. Paragraphs. Flush left with one additional line space between paragraphs. Page breaks. Start each chapter with a fresh page. General typing conventions. The first letter of the first word in a sentence or a bullet point should be in Capital (UPPER CASE); a punctuation must be inserted immediately after its preceding word with NO (!!!) blank space, but a blank space should be inserted after it; an EXTRA blank space may be allowed after a period .; word division at the end of a line should be avoided; DO use the British version of on-line spell checker. Page layout. The text of your dissertation may be set out in one of the two formats illustrated in Figure 3.

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5.6 Headings No more than 4 levels may be used and should be differentiated by case, font style, and maybe font size; for maximum clarity, it is recommended that spacing between a heading and its preceding text should double the spacing between the heading and its subsequent text as illustrated in Figure 4. Inclusion of a heading alone, a heading and a single line of a paragraph, or a single line of a paragraph alone at the bottom of a page should be avoided unless it is a one-line paragraph.

Fig 4 Levels of Headings Consistency in detail. This means that the same expression should appear in the same format throughout the document. This applies to the design of tables and illustrations, the numbering of headings, tables and figures, and the citing of references.

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Tables and diagrams. A table is an illustration with multiple columns and rows. It usually contains quantitative information whilst all other illustrative materials may be called figures. Table 1 shows an example of how a table should be presented. As can be seen, the title should appear above the table and the source of where the data came from should be indicated beneath it. It should have grid lines but the borders on both the right and the left should be left open. In contrast to a table, a figure should be boxed and the title should appear beneath the box (see Figure 1)

If a figure is an adaptation from a known source, the source should be indicated inside the box, preferably somewhere in the bottom half of the illustration. All tables and figures must be numbered. If there are no more than ten tables and figures in total, they may be numbered in one single sequence as Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, ... etc. If there are many of them, they must be numbered separately as Table 4.1, Table 4.2, and Figure 2.1, Figure 2.2, ... etc. Tables and figures must be placed close to where they are first referred to in the text. If for reasons of practicality they have to be kept away from their referring text, they must be inserted after the first point of reference but NEVER before it. It is also important to note that no tables and figures must be created and left alone without any reference made to them. 5.7 Important Ethical Requirements And Your Dissertation An absolute requirement! Ethical research practice has increasingly become an important aspect of social inquiry. Carrying out research is not a licence to pry and intrude into peoples lives. People have a right to privacy, not to be offended or harmed and not to be placed at risk due to being the subject of research activity. However, University regulations stipulate certain requirements on all students who are carrying out research as part of their awards. As stipulated already, ethical considerations of your research must be chronicled and well considered prior to doing any field work, also during any field work that is carried out, and, during the writing up of your dissertation. Please remember to never embark on a piece of research that will require you interviewing or observing a person or persons without having initially discussed this with your supervisor and gained his/her consent on behalf of the University, and, having obtained the necessary completed documentation from the University, and, where agreed appropriate (between you, your supervisor and the subject) written consent from the subject/s being studied. Failure to adhere to this procedure will result in your dissertation not being assessed and thus your award will not be attainable.

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Importantly, you must include (as an appendix) in your bound dissertation the signed ethics approval form. Failure to do this, and thus not provide evidence for ethical approval will automatically disqualify the dissertation from being accepted. Extracts from the faculty of Business & Law Ethics Web Pages The Universitys Faculty of Business and Law has an up-to-date website which you need to refer to in order to ensure that your research considers the most current thinking and requirements in your carrying out an ethical piece of research. See ethics web pages at: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/academic/business_law/ethics/index.php Ethical Research and Code of Conduct for Research Inserted in the Appendices (Appendices IV) are copies of documents that are extracts from the above-mentioned web pages (however, at the time of this booklet going to press, information and requirements may have changed, therefore you must always refer to the above website for latest guidance. 5.8 Dissertation Submission Each candidate is required to submit two printed copies of his/her dissertation bound according to the requirements set out in section 3 together with an electronic copy to be submitted via the module website or if agreed with by Dissertation Tutor a CD containing an electronic version in WORD Format. Remember to obtain a receipt as proof of submission. Front cover and spine The front cover should display: The full title and subtitle, if any, of the dissertation; The full names of the candidate in order of SURNAME, forenames, e.g. JONES, Jane; Award title, e.g. MBA, M.Sc. in Marketing, etc., and Year of submission The spine should bear the details of: a) year of submission, b) abbreviated title of up to FOUR key words, c) surname of candidate, d) award title. See Figure 5 for example.

Candidates are advised to prepare a separate sheet detailing what is to be printed on the cover and spine and take it along to the chosen binding specialist.
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Please note that the cover is not to be confused with the title page of the dissertation. The latter is the first page of the actual dissertation and gives more details. Font and case of characters The recommended type font for the front cover and spine is Roman. All information on the front cover and spine should appear in gold print. Use of upper and lower case should be as illustrated in figure 5. Choice of material The material highly recommended for dissertation binding is Library Buckram because it is water-proof and strong enough not only to carry the weight of the dissertation itself but also to endure years of normal display and referencing in the University Library. Choice of colour For easy identification, each award route has been allocated a different colour for the cover. Details are as indicated in the following table: Fig 5. Front cover and spine Table 3. Allocation of Colours for Dissertation Cover

6.

Dissertation Assessment

A Dissertation Assessment Marking Scheme (see Appendix III) will be used to determine the marks to be awarded. Supervisee must note that presentation is mandatory for dissertation ; where Dissertation Manager , Supervisor & Advisor will identify and authorize the genuinity and originality of the Dissertation work by cross questioning the supervisee. In any case, if the supervisee fails to appear in the presentation, he/she will be marked zero for the whole Dissertation. It should be noted that you are required to pass each component of the Dissertation. If you fail to achieve a mark lower than 40% in any component it is likely that you may be required to rework and resubmit that module as well as paying a re-submission fee.

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7.

Dissertation Submission & Extensions

Kindly refer to Appendix C for report format. Late submissions will not be accepted (i.e. deemed an automatic fail) unless there are extenuating circumstances involved that are backed-up with evidence. Extenuating circumstances usually consist of an incapacitating illness or events that are outside the students control which makes study very difficult (for example, a death in the family). Please ensure you submit a fully completed Extenuating Circumstances Form.

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Appendix A MBA Dissertation Proposal Form 1. General Details 1 2 3 4 Name Intake Number Email Address (University) Award Title (e.g. MBA IB)

2. Dissertation Proposal Please provide the information requested. Once your supervisor is satisfied with your proposal they will sign it and you are required to submit the completed, signed proposal to the Dissertation Coordinator so that a Second Assessor can be allocated to you. Proposed Title

Background - Provide a brief description to the background of the dissertation topic. This should provide the context of the work, how it is relevant to your award and the challenges (academic and technical) you foresee in completing successfully. Background

Aims & Objectives. Prior to your first meeting with your supervisor to discuss your proposed dissertation you are expected to undertake background research to establish that the topic is feasible. You should be able to answer and if necessary provide evidence of the following: What do you anticipate as being the main aims and objectives of the dissertation?
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Aims

Objectives

Foreseeable Constraints. Do you foresee any constraints that may restrict the success of the work? Foreseeable constraints

Foreseeable risks. Are there any identifiable risks to the successful completion of the work? Foreseeable risks

What resources do you envisage utilising to help complete the work? Textbooks

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Journals

Electronic (e.g. web)

3. Dissertation Plan of Work Plan work according to the Dissertation Progress Chart (DPC). (see Appendix F) 4. Student Declaration I confirm that the information in this proposal is as agreed between myself and my supervisor and representative of the work I have agreed to undertake in partial fulfilment of my dissertation. Student Signature: Date: 5. Supervisor Declaration Supervisor, please sign to indicate that you approve this students dissertation proposal as being representative of the work agreed between you and the student to be undertaken in partial fulfilment of their dissertation. Supervisor Name: Sign: Date: Once your supervisor has signed the form please submit it to student services executive: For Office Use Only Received coordinator Checked Approved Second assessor by

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Appendix B End of Semester (EOS) Interview What is expected of you? You should have completed & submitted your research Dissertation in the stipulated time. (Refer Appendix VII on Dissertation timeliness) Areas the Interviewer will question you on? Your understanding of the Dissertation background and objectives. What research and investigation you have completed. Details of your development plan and how much you have completed. Have you analysed the work you have done including extensive critical insights? Completely referenced using Harvard referencing? Appendix C Dissertation Report Format Title page, Executive summary, Acknowledgement, Lists of contents, tables/illustrations and appendices, Introduction, Literature review, Methodology/methodological review, Empirical study/findings/discussions, Conclusions and recommendations, Footnotes, Glossary (optional), Also keep in mind the following points : The full title of the Dissertation. The full name of the student as registered with the Staffordshire University. The Student-ID in brackets. The award for which the student is registered. A statement that the qualification is awarded by Staffordshire University and that the report is submitted in partial fulfillment of that programme. The full name of the supervisor. Month and year when submitting Dissertation The spine of the hard-bound copy of the report must have: The full title of the Dissertation (on the left of the spine when the title page is facing upwards). The full name of the student (on the right of the spine) The Student-ID in brackets (on the right of the spine, below the name)

Two copies of the report will be submitted, one spiral-bound and one hard-bound. Both copies will be accompanied by a CD containing softcopy of Dissertation documentation and source codes of the running program. These copies will be retained by APIIT and might be put on
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display if judged to be of a suitable quality. The colour of the covers in the hard-bound copy will be dark blue. Important Notes: The CD submitted shall be used during presentation to demonstrate the final system. Please verify the contents of the CD before submission.

Appendix D Title Page

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Dissertation Title by Student Name (Intake Number)

MBA Staffordshire University A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of Master of Business Administration Specialisation: Supervised by -

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Appendix E Harvard System of Referencing

Referencing Your Work

The most commonly accepted and used method of referencing is known as Harvard. Be sure to use this to avoid any risk of plagiarism and to receive full reward for the research you conduct. 1. In the text include: a) The authors surname b) The year of publication c) Page number(s) if appropriate Punctuation After the date use either a colon followed by the page number on which the quotation can be found (1997:12) or a comma followed by P. and the page number (1997, P.12), it is conventional to put pp. when the quotation or theme covers more than one page (1997, pp. 1215). 2. In the list of references at the end of the text include: a) The authors surname (followed by a comma) e.g. Smith, b) The authors initial(s), (followed by full stops) e.g. Smith, P. c) The date of the publication of the work cited (written in brackets) e.g. Smith, P. (1997). d) If the work is a book, the title (in Italics followed by a coma) e.g. Smith, P. (1997) Promotional Communications, e) The place of publication (followed by a comma) e.g. Smith, P. (1997) Promotional Communications, London, f) The name of the publisher (followed by a full stop) e.g. Smith, P. (1997) Promotional Communications, London, The Academic Press. g) If the work is an article, include the title of the article (in inverted commas, followed by a comma) followed by the volume number and pages on which the article appears in the journal (each followed by a full stop) e.g. Jones C. (1997) The Rudiments of Reflection, Journal of Advanced Education, Vol.12, No.3, pp.23-26. If you are referring to a contribution in a book, then: Wright, p. (1986). Reactions to an Advertisement content versus judgements of Advertisement impact. In: J. Olsen and K. Sentis, eds Advertising and Consumer Psychology. Vol3, New York: Praeger, 1986, pp.108-117. If you are referring to a conference paper, then:

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Silver, K. (1989). Electronic Mail: The New Way to Communicate. In D. I. Raitt, ed.9th International on-line information meeting, London 3-5 December 1988. Oxford: Learned Information 323-330. If you are referring to a publication from a corporate body e.g. a government department or other organisation, then: Independent Television Commission, 1991. The ITC Code of Advertising Standards and Practice. London: ITC. APIIT library website link below will show you how to cite traditional references as well as internet and electronic sources. http://crypto.apiit.edu.my/library/ReferenceSite.htm Footnotes and Signs The purpose of footnotes and signs is to quote the authority upon which a statement in the text is made, to add further information or to refer to some other passage in the text. Generally Latin abbreviations are used; this is because they are internationally recognised. Some of the most frequently used terms are as follows: Op.cit (opere citato), means in the work cited. This abbreviation is used when the same book is quoted in the text or in a previous footnote. Loc.cit. (loco. citato), means in the work cited. This abbreviation is often used in place of op.cit when the author wishes to refer to an article and not to a complete book. Ibid (ibidem), means in the same place. This abbreviation is used when the same authority as is quoted in the text or in a previous footnote (preceding) is referred to. Et. seq. (et sequentia), means and what follows q.v. (quod vide) means which see. It is used by an author in the sense of for other reference see. ff. means on subsequent pages e.g. p.21ff implies that the matter is discussed on page 21 and the page following cf. means compare with

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Appendix F Dissertation Progress Chart DATE 30/7/2012 EVENT

Student Activity Attend introduction by Dissertation manager Introduction to respective supervisors & Advisors Meeting them at their convenient time Revise/ Prepare for a feasible Dissertation proposal

Introduction to MBA dissertation

31/7/201231/8/2012

13/8/12 16/8/12 27/8/12 3/9/12 10/9/12 17/9/12 24/9/12

Glance at Dissertation handbook Research methodology revision sessions Supervisor-student meeting on every Monday Submission of Dissertation proposal Declaration of proposal result Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Spl. Lecture on student request, if any Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Guest Lecture organised

Reference FTP Server Dissertation Handbook (Appendix A) Supervisor

Mandatory to attend lectures on Research methodology Guidance from respective Supervisors in meetings Presentation of proposal to Dissertation manager, Supervisor & Advisor Start Secondary Research Continue with proposed work if proposal accepted otherwise redo Introduction shown to Supervisor( Refer pg. 16 of Handbook) Check for Plagiarism Selecting & Finalizing the Methodology Sample size decided Rough draft of Questionnaire shown Methodological review Work done till date shown for approval Approval of questionnaires by Supervisor Other inputs taken to Continue for Primary research Check for Plagiarism

Library Internet Others

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1/10/12 8/10/12 15/10/12 29/10/12 5/11/12 19/11/12 26/11/12 31/11/12 10/12/12

Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Lecture on compilation of data Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting

Show revised work to supervisor Start primary Research using questionnaire & personal interviews Show your work till date to Supervisor Show the work done till date to respective Supervisors to check for valedity Necessary feedback noted & worked on Disuss the result getting from primary research with supervisor Primary Research continued. Be in touch with Supervisors on Mail or on Telephone Empirical study, findings, conclusions to be discussed with Supervisor based on Primary Research Show compilations done so far to supervisor for approval. Show the rough draft of Empirical study, findings & conclusion drawn; with citation and references attached for approval to supervisor Check for Plagiarism All work done till date approved by Supervisor to be shown to Dissertation Manager & Advisor Be Ready for Presentation/cross Questioning Meet Supervisor to know the result of midpoint submission & further inputs for change if required Show revised work after mid point submission viva to supervisor Show entire work till date to Supervisor for Approval Show Revised & completed documentation regarding Empirical study , conclusion & Recommendations & Literature Review to Supervisors for Approval Bring Dissertation file & Dissertation log sheet

Library Internet Others

Library Internet Others

17/12/12

Mid-point Submission

24/12/12 15/1/12 28/1/13

Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisor meeting- X

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11/2/13 13/2/13 25/2/13 11/3/13 25/3/13 8/4/13 25/4/13 6/5/13 13/5/13

Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisor meeting Mandatory Supervisory meeting Mandatory Supervisor meeting Briefing on Submission of Dissertation by Dissertation Manager Mandarory Supervisor Meeting Mandatory Supervisor meeting Briefing on Presentation of Dissertation by Dissertation Manager Report Submission (Comb-bound & Hardbound) Date for Presentation of submitted dissertation declared final

Take further tips from Supervisors for betterment of dissertation work Discuss problems if any in work Show to respective Supervisor the Executive summary & Compiled work done so far for Approval Discuss with supervisor for some revised contents, page of documentation or any new updation required Show supervisor final documentation Get CD checked before submitting from Supervisor Report Submission ( CD) Plagiarism Report submitted

Library Internet Others

Print and bind Dissertation (comb binding and hard binding) with CD attached including system and documentation Prepare for final presentation Rehearse for presentation Schedule on Notice board Through e-mail

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APPENDIX I Masters Dissertation Variation Form (Section One) A. Name ________________________________ B. Award Enrolled On? ____________________ Student No. _______________ Date Enrolled? ____________

C. Present Dissertation Title? __________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ D. Present Disciplinary Field? Marketing E-Business Economics Operations Management Finance-Accounting HRM Strategy-Enterprise

E. When was your present dissertation proposal agreed? __________________________________________________________________ (Section Two) F. Do you wish to change the topic of your dissertation? Yes No

G. If yes, what is the reason for the change? _____________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ H. If yes, proposed New Dissertation Title or Theme? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ (Section Three) I. Do you wish to change the disciplinary field of your new dissertation? Yes No Marketing E-Business (Section Four) K. Present Supervisor? _______________________________________________ L. Do you wish to change your supervisor? Yes No M. If yes, why? ___________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________
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J. If yes, proposed new disciplinary field? Operations Management Economics Finance-Accounting HRM Strategy-Enterprise

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N. Proposed New Supervisor (If Known)? ________________________________ O. Has your present supervisor been informed? Yes No P. If no, why? _____________________________________________________ (Section Five) Q. Expected submission date? _________________________________________ R. Any other information? ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

Signature ________________________________ Date _____________________ Tutors Signature __________________________Date _____________________

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APPENDIX III MASTERS DISSERTATION MARKING SHEET Name: _______________ 1st Marker: __________________________Agreed Mark:_______ (Subject to confirmation by Exam Board) 2nd Marker: _________________________ Title: ________________________________________________________________________ [NOTE] This guide is developed to ensure consistency of marking only. It is not intended to replace judgment. In the column Brief Assessment, each item may be assessed using words, e.g. excellent, average, poor, etc. Detailed comments MUST be provided overleaf. Criteria* (indicative) Brief Assessments Marks Awarded

Executive Summary & Introduction (10%) Research background Aims & objectives Dissertation outline Literature Review - (20%) Relevant theories & authors Clear & coherent argument Proper referencing Research question(s) identified Research Methodology (20%) Data requirement analysis Research design & justification Methods for data collection Methods for data analysis Empirical research procedure Reflection of problems Research Findings & Discussions-(20%) Completeness of research data Use of tables & figures Application of Literature to data Data interpretation & discussion Relevance to objectives Criteria* (indicative) Brief Assessments
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Conclusions/ Recommendations-(20%) Logical links to findings Relevance to objectives Generalisability to other settings Reflection on Learning (5%) Other Considerations (5%) Breadth in general management Document design Language proficiency Effective use of appendices Appropriate listing of bibliography TOTAL (100%) * - The sequence illustrated above is intended only to make it visually easier to use the marking grid.

COMMENTS:

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Important! Has an appropriate completed ethics approval form been submitted within the bound copy of the dissertation? Please tick: Yes No

Signature: _______________________ Date: _______________

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