Impact of 2008 global financial crisis on the profitability of financial firms in the USA

Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. Aims and Learning Outcomes 3
3. Key Contacts 4
4. Learning & Teaching 4
5. Assessment and Submissions 5
6. Supervision 6
7. Detailed Information 8
8. Format 9
9. Dissertation Submission 17
10. Plagiarism 19
11. Help and Support 20
12. Appendices 22

1. Introduction
This handbook gives an overview of the course procedures and regulations for your undergraduate dissertation. It should be read in conjunction with the material available on the Vision site and with the 2019/20 Undergraduate Student Handbook. Students are expected to familiarise themselves with the VISION site that supports their dissertation. If you have a question to which you cannot find the answer here, look at the FAQ section on Vision first. Supervisors and course coordinators will not respond to emails requesting information that is available on VISION.

The Undergraduate Dissertation gives you the opportunity to carry out independent in-depth study on a topic of particular interest in an area related to your degree subject. It is not a taught course, you will be drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed whilst studying for your degree and especially the 3rd year Research Methods course. Over the period September to March, there will be workshops designed to help you. Throughout the course you are responsible for your own learning and project management. You will be allocated a supervisor who will support and guide you through the dissertation process, but remember, the dissertation is your responsibility, from identifying an initial viable research idea to submitting the finished dissertation on time. Your dissertation is effectively two courses, one each semester, each worth 15 credits. The total of 30 credits is awarded and assessed entirely on the basis of the final submitted written dissertation. The criteria used in the assessment reflect the dissertation course learning outcomes, see appendices 6 and 7.

2. Aims and Learning Outcomes
2.1 Aim
To give you an opportunity to study, in depth, a topic of particular interest in the field of business management, economics, accountancy and finance or other related subject area and to write a dissertation demonstrating understanding and critical awareness of the chosen topic and original thought.

2.2 Learning Outcomes
During the course, you should develop and demonstrate the skills required to:
• Identify an appropriate area of research, setting out the reasons for selecting the research topic, the research problem and its relevance to the subject area.
• Undertake a focussed, critical review of relevant academic literature, evidence, and/or theoretical arguments.
• Select, explain, justify and apply an appropriate research method(s).
• Discuss the importance and relevance of ethical research practices.
• Introduce empirical and theoretical evidence, arguments and/or other form of original
contribution.
• Reach appropriate conclusions based on the work of the dissertation.
• Identify and explain the limitations of the research undertaken and suggest how it could be further developed.
• Manage your time to ensure that each stage and the whole dissertation are completed timeously.
• Write and present an extended original piece of work demonstrating your in depth understanding of the area, using appropriate language and structures, presenting coherent arguments and conforming with the regulations and procedures detailed in this student handbook.

3. Key Contacts
Dissertation Supervisor: Your dissertation will be written under the guidance of a Dissertation Supervisor who will normally be a member of the academic staff having knowledge of the subject area being researched and/or general research experience in the context of your degree discipline. Your supervisor is there to guide you through the dissertation process. They will not necessarily be experts on the specific topic you are researching but they will have an excellent understanding of the research process. They will challenge your ideas to help you refine them, warn you about common pitfalls, and listen to your plans.

Dissertation Courses Co-ordinator: The Dissertation Co-Ordinator for each area (see front page) has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the courses (including administration of courses, responsibility for Vision, allocation of students to supervisors, and arranging workshop sessions as appropriate) and ensuring that the regulations and procedures outlined in this booklet and in the Edinburgh Business School Undergraduate Student Handbook are followed. You should normally only contact the Dissertation Co-Ordinator if you are unable to contact your supervisor.

SoSS Research Ethics Committee: Research associated with dissertation courses must satisfy the ethical
practices observed by the School’s Research Ethics Committee.

4. Learning & Teaching
To support your learning, there will also be occasional lectures / workshops during the course, these will vary between department and details will be communicated via Vision by the course co-ordinators.

There are also many resources in the library and on Vision to help you with your dissertation. You are expected to identify and use the library resources to extend your subject knowledge and research methods knowledge.

The pre requisite for the dissertation courses is an appropriate Research Methods course. Some students may have been studying abroad or may have entered directly into Stage 4 of the degree programme. If this is the case, you must contact the Dissertation Co-ordinator for the programme as soon as possible, to discuss dissertation ideas, prepare an outline proposal and to be allocated a supervisor. This should happen by the end of week 1 of semester one of stage four of the degree programme at the latest.

5. Assessment and Submissions
You will be required to make different interim coursework submissions during the two semesters. These are outlined below and described in more detail in Section 7. They are not graded and do not count towards your final mark. However, they are an important part of your learning process and your supervisor will use these to monitor your progress and to give you guidance and feedback on your dissertation. Only the final dissertation is graded.

In the event that you do not submit your dissertation, yet your Extended Dissertation Proposal, Literature Review and Ethics Approval form have been satisfactory completed (ie Coursework 1 and Coursework 2) then the student can be awarded 15 credits.

Coursework Submissions

All submissions should be made online through Turnitin, unless instructed. Further guidance about each piece of coursework and submission requirements can be found on Vision. Your supervisor may also require a hard copy – they will give you separate instructions. Two hard copies of the final bound dissertation must be submitted to the Dubai Student Service Center.

6. Supervision
You will be supported through the dissertation by your Dissertation Supervisor. The supervisor will ideally be allocated on the basis of subject expertise in an area similar to that being studied. However, this will not always be possible and you may be allocated a supervisor with more general subject knowledge. Regardless of the subject background of the supervisor the academic supervisor will understand the research process. Where more specific subject guidance is deemed necessary by yourself and your supervisor, your supervisor may liaise with appropriate, available subject specialists to help to inform your supervision. The extent of that subject expert’s input will be limited to advice concerning the basis of your literature review or data analysis.

6.1 Role of the Supervisor
The supervisor performs many functions but the responsibility for the content and, hence, quality of a dissertation is entirely that of the student. The supervisor role includes the following:

• To advise the student whether or not the project appears to be feasible and the possible risks that may be involved, for example problems in trying to access information, potential poor response rates to surveys concerning commercially sensitive issues.
• To assist the student in understanding resource constraints.
• To challenge the student in determining the validity and relevance of ideas, reading materials and appropriate academic frameworks within which the candidate seeks to place the topic.
• To explore the choice of methodological approach(es).
• To monitor progress and to advise on what is required to achieve a satisfactory dissertation.
• To assess the dissertation (as ‘1st Marker’) and to submit a report.

It should be emphasised that the submitted dissertation is entirely your own work. You should use the meetings you have with your supervisor (see below) to ask any questions you have regarding your project and the writing of the dissertation. Accordingly, you should ensure that you use the meetings to your advantage by having identified prior to each meeting the things you want to discuss, or questions you would like to ask. You may ask your supervisor to read in detail a draft of a portion of your dissertation (normally up to a maximum of two chapters), in order to give feedback on presentation, content and style. Advisors may pass comment on chapter outlines and may scan quickly through other chapters at their discretion. Beyond this, it becomes difficult to assess the work when the dissertation is marked as a whole. You will also have 5 meetings in the course of the Honours year in which targeted support and advice are provided on your project.

The supervisor will not read your finished dissertation prior to submission and will not make any comment at any stage as to the expected grade or mark.

If during the preparation of the dissertation, the focus and direction of the dissertation changes substantially from that outlined at the outset, then you should immediately verify this change with your programme director and academic supervisor and provide evidence of your work.

6.2 Responsibilities of the Student
A supervisor will expect students to do the following;

• To supply a research proposal for the intended dissertation.
• To select a topic that is appropriate for their degree programme
• To plan their research project and track their own progress. If a student is experiencing difficulties in progressing this must be communicated to the supervisor at the time they are encountered. Retrospective information is not acceptable.
• To listen to and respect the guidance offered by the supervisor.
• To maintain regular contact with the supervisor either by e‐mail, by telephone or by Skype. Students are expected to take a proactive approach to maintaining contact and bring material or options to be discussed rather than expect your supervisor to say what should be done next.
• To attend supervisor meetings when they are booked. Supervisors expect students to inform them if they are unable to attend any scheduled meeting. Supervisors are under no obligation to rearrange missed appointments unless good reasons are given by the student.
• To write in clear English using appropriate academic terms and citation and referencing conventions. It is not the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that this condition is met.
• Students who are conducting a company research project are expected to maintain regular contact with the company and appropriate representatives. Students must be mindful that they are representing Heriot Watt University during this period and conduct themselves according to the highest standards of professionalism.
• To inform the supervisor of any absence (sickness, personal, family visits, holidays, work experience) during the time nominated for working for completion of the Dissertation
• To follow the focus and direction of the research project as outlined in the Research Proposal Form.
• To take and maintain reliable notes from discussions with supervisors. Psychology students you will be required to document these within your lab book.
• To write the dissertation with guidance from the supervisor. Work must be the student’s own. The dissertation reflects the student’s work and research abilities, not the supervisor’s.

6.3 Supervisor Feedback Schedule
Students are allocated a maximum of five formal feedback sessions with their academic supervisor. The purpose of these feedback sessions is to discuss progress and resolve any difficulties. Students are expected to take a proactive approach and bring material or options to be discussed rather than expect the supervisor to say what should be done next. Students are responsible for arranging feedback sessions with supervisors. Feedback sessions may include any of the following forms of communications:

1. Face to face meeting with your supervisor;
2. Remote meetings with your supervisor (e.g., via Skype);
3. Telephone conversation; and,
4. Email communication.

The supervisor will endeavour to discuss your dissertation with you as soon as possible but you must remember your supervisor has other work commitments, conferences to attend – please ensure you build these timeframes into your schedule.

A record is kept of each of these feedback sessions detailing the dates, discussion content and any action points. This may be written by the supervisor or the student but needs to be ‘agreed’. A guide template for student–supervisor meetings will be available on the specific VISION course.

7. Detailed Information
Your dissertation will probably be the longest piece of work you undertake at university. It is critically important that you plan and manage your workload effectively in order to complete this project successfully.

Many students find the idea of the dissertation very daunting at the start. Remember that like any big project, it is made up of separate elements, which are inter-related, but can be achieved gradually and, put together, will make up the whole. The coursework submissions are designed to help you through the process.

7.1 Stages of Your Dissertation
7.1.1 Dissertation Topic & Outline Dissertation Proposal
Before you start your dissertation, you must identify a topic and submit an outline proposal form (following the format in Appendix 1) by Monday the 23rd September by 12:00pm.

The purpose of this proposal is to ensure that the dissertation will be focused on a realistic objective that is achievable within the timescale. The topic of your dissertation proposal must be one which is appropriate for your degree programme as inappropriately themed dissertation is unlikely to be counted as a qualifying course for certain badged degrees. The dissertation represents an opportunity for students to investigate a topic or issue that is of especial interest to them. This may be related to a course they particularly enjoyed, an area of their programme or the curriculum they are especially interested in, an extra-curricular interest, or something they came across or developed an interest in during their third year. Whatever the topic, students must ensure that their focus and approach involves an analytical and evaluative treatment of the topic chosen rather than mere description. Students should also bear in mind that the most successful dissertations tend to be those which are specific and narrowly focused. When choosing a topic, students are advised to consider carefully the availability of materials and sources and to establish the scope of the subject in accordance with the length of the dissertation and the time available.

The Dissertation Co-ordinators will review all proposals to ensure compliance with these requirements, yet it your responsibility to ensure that this requirement is met as you develop your ideas and progress your dissertation in Stage 4.

After you have submitted your outline dissertation proposal, you will be allocated a supervisor and you should contact your supervisor to introduce yourself and arrange your first formal meeting.

7.1.2 Extended Research Proposal
This is an important piece of work as it helps you to refine your ideas about what you are going to do and demonstrate that you have been reading and understanding relevant research articles. This should be submitted in the format shown in Appendix 3. Your supervisor will give you formal feedback on your extended proposal. This is submitted at the end of Week 5 through Turnitin only. Your supervisor may also request a hard copy, this is up to you to arrange with your supervisor.

7.1.3 Online Ethics Approval Form
You must obtain formal approval from the SoSS Ethics Committee for your study before you commence any fieldwork. You must submit an online form (see link on Vision) outlining your proposed research and identifying any potential areas of ethical concern. You will receive an email response from the Chair of the School Ethics Committee within 2 weeks of submission of your form.

You should discuss any ethical considerations with your supervisor before submitting the form.
The deadline for the form is Week 9 of Semester 1 in Stage 4 of the degree programme, but it should be completed earlier if you wish to start your fieldwork earlier.

7.1.4 Draft Literature Review
The Literature Review is a key foundation to your dissertation. By reviewing the existing literature in your area, you will have built up your knowledge and understanding of the field, of different views, of the different relevant research methodologies, on controversies and on gaps in the knowledge and where your work can make a contribution. You need to demonstrate that you have read the key main authors. You should also submit a full reference list (formatted in the Harvard style of referencing) with your literature review. We strongly recommend that you start using EndNote Online as soon as possible for keeping track of all the articles you identify in your research (see later). Your literature review should be 3000 – 4000 words long (excluding references). It must be submitted by the end of Week 10 online via Vision through Turnitin. Again, your supervisor may also require a hard copy but this is for you to discuss with your supervisor.

7.1.5 Data Collection and Analysis
This stage of your dissertation will depend on whether you are undertaking quantitative or qualitative research, whether it is primary or secondary research, whether you are involving human subjects etc. It is important that you discuss this with your supervisor and familiarise yourself with any specialist software you need to use to collect or to analyse data, your supervisor is not expected to have detailed knowledge of any software you choose to use. The subject librarian for your area may also be a useful contact.

8. Format
8.1 Dissertation Length
Your dissertation should be no more than 14,000 words (including text notes but excluding cover page, personal statement, acknowledgements, abstract, table of contents, list of abbreviations, reference list, and appendices). Students who exceed the word count will be penalised.

All dissertations must include a word count which must be shown on the title page of the dissertation. A dissertation is not validly submitted until it is accepted by the Dissertation Co-ordinator as being within the word count limit.

8.2 Writing Style
The dissertation is a ‘formal’ document and, as such, its contents must be expressed in a certain style. That style is the third person singular passive i.e.

Marketing sits within the wider knowledge base of the social sciences and, while it cannot, because of its nature, employ the techniques, formulae and laws of the pure sciences, it should aspire to a ‘scientific’ level of objectivity.

This is an objective statement, and that is the way in which your dissertation / company project should be expressed. The idea is that your work can be judged independently of you, and that others could follow the same steps and arrive at commensurate results.

8.3 Formatting
The dissertation should follow the following requirements:

Aspect ‘Word’ Command
Line Recommended Setting
Language English (UK)
Word count As above in Section 8.1
Excludes abstract, references, tables and graphs i.e. main text only
Paper Size File, Page setup –
Paper. A4
Margin Settings File, Page setup, margins Top 2.54cm Bottom 2.54cm Left 3.17cm Right 3.17cm
Gutter 0cm Gutter Position Left
Line spacing Format, Paragraph, Indents & spacing One and a half spacing, not single or double.
Page Numbering View, Header & Footer, Insert page Numbers For sections from Acknowledgements to start of Main Text page number format is i) ii) iii) and so on continuously
For Main Text page format is 1,2, 3 and so on continuously
With position on page aligned to centre.
Text Format, Styles & Formatting Times New Roman
Font Format, Styles & Formatting 12 point font
Alignment Format, Styles & Formatting Justified (i.e. straight edges)
Typical Dissertation Layout
Front cover Required
Acknowledgements Required
Abstract Required
Table of Contents Insert, Reference, Index & Tables Required
List of Figures Insert, Reference, Index & Tables Required
(Note all figures in the main text must be numbered, titled and attributed)
List of Tables Insert, Reference, Index & Tables Required
(Note all tables in the main text must be numbered, titled and attributed)
Abbreviations Optional
Glossary of Terms Optional

Main text Chapter & Section Headings Format, Bullets & Numbering, Outline numbered Required,
Chapter title, bold, outlined numbered
e.g. Chapter1,
Start each chapter on new page.
Section title , bold, outlined numbered e.g. 1.1, Sub section title, outlined numbered e.g. 1.1.1
References Required
Harvard system preferred
Appendices Optional
Appendix title, bold, outlined numbered e.g. Appendix 1, start each Appendix on new page
Binding Spiral soft bound
(not a A4 Ring Binder)
Number of copies Refer to Section 7
Format Word or pdf

8.4 Dissertation Structure

Accountancy, Economics & Finance Business Management The Dissertation must be clearly divided into appropriate chapters and sections. The following elements are required, if you intend to depart from this format you should discuss the overall structure with your supervisor.

• Title Page
• Abstract
• Acknowledgments and Personal Statement
• Contents Page
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature Review
• Chapter 3: Research Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results and Analysis
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• References
• Appendices

The following section provides more detail on what is expected within each section.

8.4.1 Chapter Content
Each of your chapters will require both an introduction and a conclusion. The former provides the reader with a contents ‘map’ of what is to come, and the latter provides a concise summary of what they have just read.

Each introduction should look back to the conclusion of the previous chapter, and forwards to the contents of the chapter which you are introducing.

The conclusion of each chapter should look back into the chapter just completed, and forward to the introduction of the following chapter. These conclusions and introductions act like small links which bind the ‘chain’ of the chapters together in a more seamless whole than would have occurred if the chapters had not been introduced or concluded; they ‘smooth out’ the transition from chapter to chapter and from topic to topic.

Title Page
The title page must contain, the title of the dissertation, the student’s name, the HWU student ID number, programme of study, supervisor’s name, word count and the date of submission.

Abstract
The abstract summarises your whole project. A good abstract provides background to the study, a summary of what was done, what was found and what it means. A good rule of thumb is to include about two sentences summarising each of the main sections of the dissertation. Check out the abstracts of journal articles. Some of them are much more useful than others because after you read them you have a good idea of what is going to be in the article. This is what you want to achieve. You can give your abstract a structure [Background, Aims, Results, Discussion] to help you organise this summary in a way that conveys the core aspects of your research study.

Acknowledgments and Personal Statement
Provide a brief statement which;

• Acknowledges all help received in writing the dissertation.
• Gives assurance that the dissertation is the student’s own work. In particular students may need to supply evidence of how they arrive at their findings.
• Gives assurance that the SoSS Undergraduate Dissertation Courses: Regulations and Procedures has been read and understood.
• Acknowledges the student has gained ethical approval for their study and that their Research Ethics Approval Form was approved by the Chair of the School’s Ethics Committee.

Note, you must sign your personal statement.

Contents Page
The contents page should list the chapter headings, appendices, references and the respective page numbers. Separate listing should be given for lists of figures, tables and abbreviations. You will find this easier to create if you know how to generate these lists using the indexing and style functions within Microsoft Word. Please note that there are courses available via the Heriot Watt Library to help you in this area.

Chapter 1: Introduction
The introduction should start broadly and focus in on your topic of interest. The following elements will be within your introduction but not necessarily in this order and it does not mean that you should use these as sub- headings. You can, of course, use more relevant subheadings if necessary.

• General Introduction. Start with a brief section that sells or motivates the research. You should outline what you are examining and what you expect to find. You can include the perspective of its value to society, how it furthers research in your area, and how it is different from previous work. You should also state in very general terms what it is you actually intend to do. o Theoretical Background. Use this section to place your research into a theoretical framework. Describe the theories are you using, why you are using those and not others, and how they come to inform the types of problems you are addressing in this piece of research. It is important that we see that you understand them.

• Previous Research. In this section review and describe the main findings from past studies that are relevant to your proposed study. The number of studies that you review will depend on your particular area of research. You need to provide a comprehensive review of all the literature that is relevant to your study, and a much more detailed description of the studies that provide the immediate background to your study. Use this section to establish the foundations upon which your study can be built. Remember your job is not simply to report all that is known in a particular area. Rather you need to master that material, harness it to your own end, and use it to motivate and justify the proposed research.

• The Current Work. This is where you finally get to tell the reader what you are actually proposing to do. Use all of the information you have presented above as a background for why you are now proposing to do a certain piece of work. End this section with a set of research questions you intend to attempt to answer or hypotheses that you intend to test. Be very, very specific in language when writing these questions and hypotheses.

Chapter 2: Literature Review
The literature review shows your skill in locating and critically evaluating the sufficiency of secondary data in the form of published academic articles and practitioner surveys. Your critical evaluation should reveal the research gaps which motivated you to plan primary research on the topic. At the conclusion of the literature review you should clearly state your research aim, objectives, questions and/or model for testing with indication of hypotheses. The content of a literature review may be drawn from all, or a combination of, textbooks, journal articles, conference papers, reports, case studies, the Internet, magazine features or newspaper articles. It should be remembered, however, that the most important source of academic literature are journal articles and you should ensure that you are familiar with the most recent publications in journals relevant to your subject area. The critical evaluation should provide the foundation for your research aim,

objectives and questions/hypotheses. Remember critical does not mean looking at the negatives but also highlighting positives in order to form an evaluation. To complete a literature review you must select appropriate search terms, use these in appropriate databases, read a range of materials, summarise the contents, evaluate the sufficiency of the knowledge and synthesise (combine) your evaluation in order to highlight the research gap. It is important that you demonstrate that you have found a range of appropriate literature. The articles that you locate should be both seminal articles which detail foundational concepts and also current research which updates these concepts. A literature review enables you to demonstrate that;

• You discovered and reported what you have found to be relevant in the literature search and that you have understood it and that you are able to analyse it in a critical manner.
• Your knowledge of the area of interest is detailed enough that you are able to identify gaps in the coverage of the topic; thus justifying the reason(s) for your research.
• You identify a dependent variable (outcome/result), key independent variables (influences), key trends and ‘actors’ in the environment of your study.

The literature review should provide a clear justification for the research objectives and questions. It should not be a descriptive catalogue of authors, frameworks and ideas but should attempt to introduce a critical evaluation of those authors’ work. A good literature review will mean that later in your dissertation you are able to draw on the literature in the methodology chapter to argue for the validity of your choice(s) of research approach, the appropriateness of the process by which you analyse your results, and again in the discussion when you identify whether or not your findings are congruent with the accepted research which has gone before.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology
You’ve told the reader the question you intend to try to answer. Now you need to tell the reader in specific detail how you went about it. You will have a good framework for this section from your Research Methods course (from third year) proposal. However, unlike your proposal, you should write this section in the past tense. Describe what you did. Provide enough detail so that anyone reading this section could replicate your work, i.e. so they could do exactly what you are going to do. Make use of the following subheadings and subsections. Write in ordinary English. Do not use bullet points or lists.

• Participants. Give the number of participants, describe their relevant characteristics. Here you can briefly summarise how you identified and sampled your participants, any relevant experience during recruitment which might have an impact on your findings (e.g., reliability of respondents to online questionnaires, testing conditions during fieldwork, etc.).
• Design. Provide a description of the main design which guides your study (i.e., observational, quantitative/qualitative, mixed, repeated-measures, correlational, just to give you some ideas). You can describe this when

you introduce your assessment methods or when you describe your analytical approach (i.e., Data Analysis section). In the latter you will also identify the relevant variables and conditions of your study and add the statistical analysis carried out.
• Equipment & Materials. Give enough detail so that someone else could produce essentially the same material as used in your study. Material such as questionnaires should be included in an appendix.
• Procedures. Describe what you did, using the past tense, in enough detail for someone else to replicate your study. For example, mentioned what happened to your participant since they were first approached until they were debriefed about the study’s aims.

The methods should tightly follow the hypotheses. Assessment methods, tools, procedures described in this section should be in line with the hypothetical framework on which the reported study rested. Including in this section aspects which are not linked to the intended aims or yielded outcomes that could support the predictions, will negative impact on your mark.

Chapter 4: Results and Analysis
A good results section begins by presenting a summary of the data that makes it clear what you found. Often this involves a simple graph or table and a couple of sentences. Don’t confuse the data analysis with the data. You may have taken a great deal of time and energy and effort to produce the data analysis, but the real story lies in the data, put that up front. The analysis is there to back up your claims. For example, if you are comparing two types of training programmes on student performance, start by presenting the average performance measures from the two training groups in a table. Then provide a sentence describing the difference in performance between the two groups. Then state whether the difference was significant and use the results of your data analysis to back this up. Finally, provide any details necessary for your reader to understand what data analysis you did and why you chose that particular statistical test. Make sure the reported results informed the hypotheses and avoid reporting data which are detached from study’s rationale.

Chapter 5: Discussion
Start by assessing whether or not your results support your hypothesis. To do this you may have to restate your hypothesis and your main findings. You should do as much work for the reader as possible. Don’t be afraid to spell it out to make it clear why the results support (or do not support) the hypothesis. Next you should discuss the implications of your findings in their immediate empirical and theoretical context. Do they replicate previous findings? Do they provide evidence against one or more of the theories that you discussed in the introductions? Then you should discuss the wider implications of your findings. Do they have a far reaching impact on your general area of research, or on psychology in general? Are there practical implications or applications of your findings? Now that you have your results you may find that they are quite unexpectedly relevant to areas of psychology that you did not discuss in your introduction. This is the place to bring them up and discuss them. You also need to discuss any problems with

your research or possible future research that your findings suggest.

Chapter 6: Conclusion
This should be short (e.g., a paragraph), and should summarise the main conclusions that you draw from the results and from your discussion of them. This section should not be a repetition of what you already said in the discussion. It should rather highlight the core outcomes from the study that filled the addressed knowledge gaps and also that opened new gaps.

References
When referencing, remember the key criterion is to enable your reader to source and obtain the material that you cite. Avoid citing dictionaries or Wikipedia! All references used in writing the dissertation should be provided with works (articles and books) compiled in alphabetical order by author or first-named author. Cite books and articles in the text of the report by giving the author’s last name and the date of publication. For example, “According to Festinger (1957) people find cognitive dissonance uncomfortable. Not everyone, however, agrees with this conclusion (e.g., Ableson 1968, Bern, 1967, Kermit, 1979). Do not use footnotes for references or citations. Arrange all books and articles that are cited in the text of a research report at the end under the heading “References”. They are arranged alphabetically according to the author’s last name, a format that parallels the way in which they are cited in the text.

Appendices
Appendices may be used to provide supporting evidence but should only be used as necessary. You may wish to include for example evidence which confirms the originality of your work or illustrates points of principle set out in the main text. Appendices should contain a maximum of 10 pages. Only subsidiary material should be included in appendices. Psychology students should also include their Lab Book as an appendix.

Some useful notes

Using the Literature: It is important that you quote material drawn from books and published peer-reviewed papers accurately and provide full note of the reference details. Provide information on the author, the year of publication, or title of the journal in which a scientific paper appears and its volume number. This adds authority and clarity to your argument. It also helps your supervisor to find a reference that may need checking. If you are taking a quotation from a source other than its primary source, provide the details of the source you have actually used in addition to the primary details about the author etc. It is amazing how many quotations appear in texts that are not accurate when compared with the original. It is sometimes the case that a student has cited accurately, but that the textbook is not correct. All of this is important in terms of the clarity of your presentation and the ease of assessment. Good communication also means using language that is sensitive to race and gender issues. Age, disability and religion also present the need to be sensitive in the use of language. Each of us has at least one of these identities – including your supervisor! Practice helps the development of writing and communication. Reflect on completion of early drafts of your dissertation whether you have met all of the issues that are raised here. See also “The good study guide” (Northledge, 1990) (http://www.open.ac.uk/goodstudyguide/).

• The overall criteria for good scientific writing are ACCURACY and CLARITY.
• WRITE SIMPLY – write short sentences – they are easier to write and to read
• USE EXAMPLES
• USE FRIENDS AS REVIEWERS
• BE WILLING TO RE-WRITE. It’s difficult to get everything in the best order on the first attempt. The introduction and the discussion are often hard to distinguish at first but this gets easier with practice. You will benefit if you OUTLINE your report first.

9. Dissertation Submission
All dissertations must be submitted via Turnitin, prior to the submission deadlines. In addition to the electronic Turnitin submission two hard copies of the dissertation, written and bound in the approved manner should be submitted to the Dubai Student Service Center.

Exact dates will be confirmed via the relevant VISION course, however typically full-time students: Thursday week 12, Semester 2.

Binding.
You are responsible for having the dissertation bound; try to arrange for this to happen several days in advance of the deadline. Dissertations can be bound on campus using the Copy Room (you will be charged for this). The dissertation should be ring bound, fronted with a transparent cover and backed with a black sheet. You can choose to have your dissertation bound off campus.

Supporting material.
At the same time as submitting the hard copy of your dissertation, you must also submit any supporting electronic data, e.g. SPSS or Excel files, sound files from interviews, transcribed interviews in word process format, re-analysed data, etc. on VISION. It is your responsibility to ensure that submitted electronic files are readable and are identical to the hard copies.

The preferred method of submission of supporting material is via VISION. However, should the file format not allow upload, eg a very large video file, or multiple large files, then these should be kept secure and be available to examiners or other school officials on request.

You must keep a copy of all data, including that which cannot be submitted in an electronic format. Examiners or other School officials may request such data. Field data includes, for example, completed hand written questionnaires and interviews, diaries, non-digital audio recordings etc.

9.1 Late Submissions
All submissions after the deadline will be marked as being submitted late.

Any submission after that time will be required to be submitted completing a late submission form. In line with SoSS policy on late coursework submissions, all dissertations submitted after the deadline will automatically be subject to a 30 % deduction. The deduction will be withdrawn if the student can satisfy the Mitigating Circumstances (MC) Board that there are adequate reasons for the late submission.

Late submissions will be accepted up to five days after the standard submission deadline (and will be subject to the late penalty as indicated above). Beyond the five days, dissertations will not be accepted and will be awarded a mark of zero.

9.2 Dissertation Extensions
If students experience exceptional circumstances during the process of preparing and submitting their dissertation and are concerned about late submission they should contact the relevant Dissertation Co- ordinator and their mentor.

In exceptional personal circumstances only a request may be made for a short extension, up to two weeks, to the normal submission date. All such requests must be accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation. e.g a medical note or a letter from the University Counsellor. The completed form and supporting documentation should be submitted to the Dubai Student Service Center for consideration by the School. Extension requests submitted without supporting documentary evidence cannot be considered. It is essential that requests are made in a timely fashion and should normally be made at least two weeks in advance of the stated submission deadline. Submitting an extension request does not guarantee that the request will be granted and students should be prepared to submit by their official deadline unless they are formally granted an extension. All decisions regarding extensions will be made strictly in line with the SoSS Mitigating Circumstances policy.

In exceptional circumstances, if MCs are accepted and dissertation cannot be completed within that additional 2 week extension, the student award will be carried over to August exam diet, with a possible November Graduation.
Note: If you are unable to submit your dissertation by the extension deadline due to Mitigating Circumstances (MC), you are required to submit a new MC form, with additional verifiable documentary evidence. Failure to submit an MC form prior to the extended deadlines will result in your dissertation receiving a mark of zero (0). It is the responsibility of students to ensure that they schedule their work in such a way that they are able to submit by the deadline.

The time required for final checks, proofreading, printing and binding should not be underestimated.

Where an extension has not been granted, late submissions will be accepted up to two weeks after the standard submission deadline (and will be subject to an automatic late penalty of 30%). Beyond that, late dissertations will not be accepted and will be awarded a mark of zero.

9.3 Marking
All dissertations will be read and assessed by two internal examiners. In addition, some dissertations will be moderated by an External Examiner. An agreed mark will be awarded for the final Dissertation. The assessment criteria used are provided in see appendices 6 and 7.

Students should note that final Dissertations will not be returned to students. Marks for the final Dissertation will be available on Student Self-Service following the Award Board in May; marks will not be disclosed to students before then. Students may approach their supervisor for feedback on their Dissertation, but only after the marks have been released centrally via Student Self-Service.

10. Plagiarism
Plagiarism involves the act of taking the ideas, writings or inventions of another person and using these as if they were one’s own, whether intentionally or not. Plagiarism occurs where there is no acknowledgement that the writings or ideas belong to or have come from another source. Please refer to the SOSS Undergraduate Student Handbook, section on Academic Misconduct and Plagiarising Handbook. The university takes plagiarism very seriously, each year there are some SOSS students who are unable to graduate because their work is being investigated by the academic misconduct committee.

In SoSS, the main approach to detecting plagiarism is through plagiarism tools such as Turnitin and the experience and skill of dissertation examiners, co-ordinators and supervisors. All your work will be submitted through Turnitin and you will be able to see the similarity index reports. However, just changing one or two words may result in Turnitin not identifying a similarity which might still exist and might still be deemed to be plagiarism. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to explain ideas in your own words and phrases; it may not sound as fluent, but it will demonstrate your understanding of the subject far better than using someone else’s words

Most plagiarism is unintentional or accidental. It is therefore vital that you are aware of common pitfalls which can lead to suspicions of plagiarism. The university’s guide to plagiarism and how to avoid it is on Vision. Plagiarism comes in many forms, but typical examples (courtesy of the University of Sussex) include:

• Collusion – when one student allows another student to copy their work.
• Complete plagiarism – where the work is copied entirely from one or more sources.
• Partial plagiarism – this involves inserting an unacknowledged passage of text into the coursework.
• Word switch – copying sentences and changing a few words without appropriate reference to the original source.
• Concealing sources – failure to make ongoing acknowledgements to original sources used more than once in a piece of work.
• Self-plagiarism – when a student uses material from a previous assignment in a current assignment.
• Inadvertent plagiarism – the result of poor study skills.

Use of EndNote Online (see below) can help you ensure that you cite sources correctly.

Dissertation students must be particularly careful about self-plagiarism. If a piece of work has been submitted for a course such as Research Methods in Stage 3, it cannot be submitted without change for the Dissertation. That piece of work has already been used to gain credits. Students can use the Research Methods work as the basis for their Dissertation, but are expected to add to the work, provide evidence of further reading, be more critical of literature and provide fuller discussion. You should also remember that the dissertation is being assessed at a higher level than your work in Stage 3.

If you have any doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism, consult your Dissertation Supervisor.

If there are any concerns regarding the authenticity of work submitted by students (draft work or final dissertation submission), an oral Viva will be arranged with the student.

11. Help and Support
You are responsible for the whole of your dissertation, from coming up with the initial research idea to submitting the finished document. There are many sources of help and support available to you throughout the process. There is a great deal of information on Vision, which should be the first place you check for answers to general queries. For more complex queries, your supervisor may be able to help or direct you to a subject librarian or other online resources.

11.1 Your Supervisor
You should meet with your supervisor FIVE times during the academic year. Appendix 2 contains a schedule showing the deadlines for the different interim submissions and the suggested dates for meeting with your supervisor, along with suggested topics for each meeting. It is your responsibility to arrange meetings with your supervisor and keep a record of what was discussed. Failure to attend meetings could result in you being required to attend a Viva to discuss your dissertation after submission.

It is important to establish a good working relationship with your dissertation supervisor. Remember that they are busy people and will not automatically remember everything you have told them about your dissertation plans. VISION also contains a useful materials for ensuring an effective relationship with your supervisor, along with a list of ‘do’s and don’ts’.

11.2 Feedback
Coursework designed around the Dissertation Courses allows the Dissertation Supervisor to read one chapter of the dissertation in some detail in order to give formal feedback on direction, presentation, content and style. The dissertation supervisor may scan other chapters to understand the context of the research and discuss this with you. However, they should not be expected to read the whole dissertation and will not read your finished dissertation prior to submission.

You do not have to adopt your Supervisor’s suggestions or recommendations nor do you have to justify any decision not to take their advice, provided your actions do not result in a major or unannounced change of subject or direction.

11.3 EndNote Online
One of the most important resources available to you is a database system called EndNote Online. This enables you to keep track of all the articles you read and then import the details in the correct format into your dissertation when you cite different articles and when you compile your reference list. It will save you an enormous amount of time and effort later. Links to the IS guides to EndNote Online can be found in Vision as can details of library Power Hour sessions.

11.4 Other resources
The Vision site contains lots of useful information and links to other sources. There are also many specialist databases (e.g. Fame, Osiris etc.) as well as software tools. If your supervisor is not an expert in the area of your study, consult the subject librarian.

11.5 Academic Staff
All academic members of staff have office hours. Should you wish to speak to them about your topic, please contact them and arrange to see them during their office hours.

12. Appendices
Appendix 1: Outline Dissertation Research Proposal
The outline Dissertation Proposal must be completed and submitted via Turnitin by Monday 23rd September by 12:00pm (Week Two). This outline will be used to allocate you to a supervisor.

Description
You will not be allocated a supervisor until you have submitted your outline proposal.

Instructions
Students should fill out the form, providing answers to the following questions:

1. Student Information

2. Provisional Title (a sentence that summarises your proposed research project):

3. The Research Question (i.e., what do you hope to establish with your research?)

4. What are your research aim and objectives?

5. What key theory or concepts are you proposing to base your dissertation on?

6. What is the context of the proposed dissertation? (e.g. historical, geographic, industrial)

7. What information will you need to gather to meet your objectives?

8. What key words will you use for your literature search?

9. What quality and relevance criteria will you use to select your journal articles / books / reports (e.g. date of publication, credibility of author etc)

10. How will you obtain data/information to write your dissertation (e.g. re-analyse existing datasets, law reports, interviews, questionnaires, focus group, etc.)?

11. What approach to you plan to use to analyse the data collected?

12. What problems do you foresee and how do you plan to overcome them?

13. Any other comments

Appendix 2: Example Dissertation Supervision Schedule

Semester One
Date Targets Meeting Agenda
Week 3 1st main dissertation meeting • Clarify research topic
• Discuss literature search, writing and structure
• Discuss fieldwork

Week 5
Submission: Extended research proposal
(See Appendix 3 of course rules and regulations – approx. 1800 words)
Week 6/7 2nd dissertation meeting • Feedback on extended proposal
• Discuss full draft of literature review
• Discuss research methodology and fieldwork
• Discuss On-line Research Ethics Approval Form

Week 9
Submission 2: On-line Research Ethics Approval Form
Week 10 Submission 1: Draft literature review (approx. 3000 – 4000 words)
Week 11 or by mutual agreement between supervisor and student 3rd dissertation meeting • Feedback on draft literature review
• Discuss methodology chapter
• Discuss plans for fieldwork

Semester Two
Date Targets Meeting Agenda

Week 3
Submission: Self-assessment progress report
(See Appendix 4 of course rules and regulations)
Week 4 4th dissertation meeting • Discuss self-assessment progress report
• Discuss progress with data collection
• Discuss data analysis and evaluation
Week 8 5th dissertation meeting • Discuss dissertation progress
• Discuss compilation of research findings

Week 12
Submission: Final dissertation
(See Sections 6 & 7 of this guide – 14,000 words)

Appendix 3: Extended Dissertation Research Proposal
Submission Deadline: Thursday 17th October by 12.00pm (noon), Week 5, Semester 1, Stage 4 of Degree Programme
Please read the associated guidance notes on Vision before commencing your Extended Dissertation Proposal

Student Name and Matriculation Number:
General degree pathway (insert as applicable) Business Management – Accountancy and Finance e.g.
Degree Title:
Dissertation Supervisor:
Dissertation Working Title
Research Aim(s) and Objectives
Introduction
Literature Search and Overview
Research Method and Design
Project Plan

Note: Students should note that the usual rules regarding self-plagiarism (see Paragraph 7) apply for this course. Where students wish to build upon previous literature review work done in other courses they should note that this is perfectly acceptable, but it is expected that in the normal course of development of a literature review the final submission will be different from the earlier work. It is not acceptable to adopt sections of text from earlier submissions without significant development of the concepts and narrative. You may preview your work (multiple times if need be) at anytime during the Dissertation course using Turnitin.

Appendix 4: Dissertation Coursework Three (Self-Assessment Progress Report)

Submission Date: Thursday 30th January by 12.00pm, Week 3, Semester 2, Stage 4 of Degree Programme

Student Name and
Matriculation Number:
General degree pathway
(delete as applicable) Business Management – Accountancy and Finance – Economics
Degree Title:
Dissertation Course Codes: Date:
Dissertation Title:
Dissertation Supervisor:
Provide details of the meetings you have had so far with your supervisor since the beginning of Semester One, e.g. how many times you have met, when you met, what you discussed, etc.
Have you finalised your dissertation structure? If not, please explain why:
Have you obtained any new evidence required for your dissertation (e.g. interviews, company accounts, questionnaire surveys, data, etc.)? If not, please set out when you expect this to take place or indicate that this is not relevant for your dissertation:
Have you completed any further draft chapters (give details)? If not when would you expect to do so?
Supervisor comments:

Appendix 5: Title Page Template

Dissertation Supervisor: INSERT NAME OF YOUR SUPERVISOR HERE

Word Count: INSERT FINAL WORD COUNT HERE

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of
INSERT YOUR DEGREE TITLE HERE

INSERT MONTH AND YEAR

1. y).

Appendix 7 General Marking Criteria (Dissertations)

These notes are intended as a general guide for students and academic staff.

To achieve 80% the dissertation will: • Seek to achieve a clear and entirely appropriate set of aims; show a detailed understanding of relevant theory and theoretical concepts;
• Demonstrate a clear ability to critically evaluate secondary sources;
• Be entirely well founded;
• Be based on a suitable set of data which is entirely consonant with the stated aims;
• Adopt a methodology which is entirely appropriate, well thought through and fully justified;
• Provide an insightful and in-depth analysis of data underpinned by relevant theory;
• Show clear evidence of independent thinking;
• Display a structure which is entirely clear and appropriate, given the stated aims;
• Be clearly and coherently expressed in an appropriate academic register;
• Adhere fully to academic conventions in terms of referencing and presentation;
• Be presented in an entirely appropriate manner.
• Be within word count
To achieve 70% the dissertation will: • Seek to achieve a clear and appropriate set of aims;
• Show a detailed understanding of relevant theoretical concepts;
• demonstrate a clear ability to critically evaluate secondary sources;
• Be very well founded;
• Be based on a suitable set of data which is clearly consonant with the stated aims;
• Adopt a methodology which is appropriate, well thought through and well justified;
• Provide an insightful analysis of data underpinned by theory;
• Show clear evidence of independent thinking;
• Display a structure which is clear and appropriate, given the stated aims;
• Be clearly and coherently expressed in an appropriate academic register;
• Adhere fully to academic conventions in terms of referencing and presentation;
• Be presented in an appropriate manner.
• Be within word count

To achieve 60% the dissertation will: • Seek to achieve an appropriate set of aims;
• Show a good understanding of relevant theoretical concepts;
• Demonstrate some ability to critically evaluate secondary sources;
• Be well founded;
• Be based on a generally suitable set of data;
• Adopt a methodology which is largely appropriate and justified;
• Provide a perceptive analysis of data underpinned by theory;
• Show evidence of independent thinking;
• Display a structure which is largely appropriate, given the stated aims;
• Be well expressed in an appropriate academic register;
• Adhere generally to academic conventions in terms of referencing and presentation;
• Be presented in a largely appropriate manner.
To achieve 50% the dissertation will: • Seek to achieve a set of aims which is more or less appropriate given the requirements of the task;
• Show a fair understanding of relevant theoretical concepts;
• Provide some evaluation of secondary sources;
• Be generally well founded;
• Be based on a set of data which is more or less suitable;
• Adopt a methodology which is more or less appropriate;
• Provide some analysis of data underpinned by theory;
• Show some evidence of independent thinking;
• Display a structure which is more or less appropriate;
• Be relatively well expressed;
• Adhere generally to academic conventions in terms of referencing and presentation;
• Be presented in a more or less appropriate manner.
To achieve 40% the dissertation will: • Have an aim / aims which are more or less appropriate; show some understanding of relevant theoretical concepts;
• Provide some discussion of secondary sources;
• Be more or less well founded;
• Be based on a set of data which is more or less suitable;
• Provide some awareness of research methodology;
• Include some analysis of data;
• Show some evidence of independent thinking;
• Display a structure which is more or less appropriate, although there may be flaws (e.g. omissions, digressions);
• Be expressed in a generally suitable manner, notwithstanding some errors and stylistic flaws;
• Show an awareness of academic conventions in terms of referencing and presentation;
• Be presented in a more or less appropriate manner.