Research Paper

Dissertation Handbook
MEd

Copyright © Stephen Newman and Desma Brown, Bradford College University Centre, 2011
All rights reserved.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, as permitted by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication cannot be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission.
Note that some pages have deliberately been left blank in order that the pagination follows publishing conventions when printed double-sided.

Contents

SECTION
1 Introduction . 6
Acknowledgements 6
Linkage Tracking’ 6
Summary of structure 10
2 Dissertation proposal 11
Title of research 11
List of previously studied modules 11
Introduction 11
Proposed approach 13
Reference list 14
Indicative bibliography . 14
Preparation undertaken . 14

3 The Dissertation 15
Title 15
Abstract . 15
Chapter One: Introduction . 15
Chapter Two: Review of literature 16
Chapter Three: Research design .. 17
Chapter Four: Presentation of findings 20
Chapter Five: Discussion of findings . 21
Chapter Six: Conclusion and recommendations 21
Reference list 24
Appendix 1
26
Appendix 2 27
Appendix 3 28

Appendix 4 Presentation guidelines 29
Appendix 5 Regulations 32
Appendix 6 Grading Criteria 33

1. Introduction
Only when you have successfully completed the required number of credit points (120 credits), and the Examinations Board has approved your results, are you eligible to proceed to the Dissertation.
However, it is sensible to start thinking seriously about the field of study and your Dissertation topic, and to undertake some preliminary reading during the Research Methods module, which is a compulsory module to be taken before the Dissertation. Here you will be given the opportunity to explore your ideas and formulate some direction for the purposes of assessment during this module. You will build upon these ideas which will prepare you for planning the proposal for your Dissertation. When you are clear about the direction you want to take for Dissertation, then it is advisable to put together your proposal following the guidelines in this handbook and submit it for approval to the Approvals Board.
You will need to be enrolled as a student to draw up your proposal, and to have it considered by the Approvals Board.
The Approvals Board must approve the Dissertation proposal before you begin your Dissertation. If we are awaiting the results of an Examination Board any approval of a Dissertation proposal will be conditional until the Examinations Board has met.
The purpose of this approval is to ensure that your research proposal is appropriate to your chosen Master’s Degree route, that it is appropriately structured and manageable, and that you have chosen a methodology that is fit for purpose. By getting things right at the planning stage you reduce the chances of encountering major difficulties when you undertake your investigation. You will receive detailed feedback on your proposal and if necessary an indication of changes that will need to be made before approval is granted. Once your proposal has received final approval you will be allocated a supervisor who will guide you during your dissertation studies. Your first task after approval is therefore to make arrangements to meet your tutor for an initial discussion, both about the Dissertation and the arrangements for supervision. Although supervision requirements vary greatly you are entitled to up to 10 hours supervision in total.
The Dissertation represents the culmination of your Master’s studies. It is the means by which you will demonstrate a high degree of autonomy in the design and execution of research in your own field of expertise. This handbook aims to guide you through the processes that are necessary to achieve this aim. Note that much of the guidance in this Handbook is especially relevant for research involving empirical investigation, but that dissertations may instead be based on an extended in-depth critical literature review.
Word count requirements in this Handbook are advisory only, except in the case of the Dissertation itself, which has a word limit of 15,000. They have been devised so that the dissertation becomes less of a ‘mammoth production’ and is more akin to the type of assignments that you have already undertaken.

Your Dissertation tutor will help you to organize timescales and set targets for regular meetings. For guidance notes on how to work with your Dissertation tutor see Appendix One. You are strongly recommended to try to keep to timescales, otherwise you will find that your dissertation will take much longer to complete than the proposed year. Taking more than a year is not a good idea for a number of reasons, namely:

• Your initial literature search will have become out of date and will need revision.
• The focus that you have identified for your research may have lost its immediacy due to changes in policy or practice.
• You may change jobs and therefore lose access to the data you require.
• Changed institutional circumstances may mean that the work cannot be completed.
• … and lastly, but perhaps most important point, it is difficult to maintain the impetus to continue with the work beyond a year.
Acknowledgements
In producing this handbook acknowledgement is made to the research framework material provided as part of the Open University T801/2000 MSc Research and Dissertation Handbook, the majority of which was written by John Hughes of the Open University
In addition, the work of Louise Poulson and Mike Wallace (2003) has proved invaluable in refining the dissertation outline and defining what should be included in each section. The following section on linkage tracking is sourced directly from this book which is one of a series on ‘Learning to Read Critically’ in various subject areas within education.
‘Linkage Tracking’
Below is a description of the ‘linkage tracker test’ advocated by Poulson and Wallace. By keeping this in mind as you proceed through the various stages in planning, doing, analysing and writing up your research, you will avoid one of the major pitfalls of novice research i.e. an account which somewhere along the way has lost sight of its central research question and aims.
The ‘linkage tracker test’ for accounts of a research enquiry
Every part of a defensible account of research should link logically together,
from the title, with its keywords indicating the focus of the study, through the central question being addressed, the literature review, the research questions, the research design, the data collection instruments, the summary of the
findings, the conclusions and any recommendations, to the reference list and any appendices.
How well do all the parts of your written account of your research link
together? As critical readers of your work, dissertation and thesis supervisors and examiners are likely to look out for any digressions and for any claims or arguments that have not been adequately backed up. Ensure that your dissertation or thesis is defensible by constructing a logical account of your research, and then applying the linkage tracker test to it.

The linkage tracker test for self-critical writers:
First select any piece of the text, including a table, figure, reference or appendix. Then ask yourself two questions:
1. Why is this material here?
2. How does this material relate to the stated focus of the research? It should be clear why anything is included in your account, and how it relates to the stated focus of the research.
Second, try tracking the logical links between the parts of your account, going forwards in the direction of the conclusions and any recommendations, and backwards towards the introduction and the title. There should be a logical sequence from title to recommendations or from recommendations to title. Anything that is not directly or indirectly linked might be irrelevant to
answering your research questions. If so, do you think it should be removed?
The linkage tracker test for critical readers:
The linkage tracker test may be applied to any written account of research. Your supervisor or examiner may apply it to your work. But as a critical
reader yourself, you will find it instructive to apply the linkage tracker test to others’ work. (Poulson and Wallace 2003, pp.57-58)
Note that the majority of guidance in this Handbook is concerned with dissertations involving empirical research. An extended critical review of specific aspects of relevant literature (involving sustained critical argument about e.g. policies, arguments etc.) is another approach which can be taken.
Reference
Poulson, L. and Wallace, M. (2003) Designing and writing about research: developing a critical frame of mind. In: Wallace, M. and Poulson, L. (eds.) Learning to Read Critically in Educational Leadership and Management. London: Sage
Summary of structure
The table overleaf summarises the structure of the work that you will complete as part of the dissertation process.

Title Dissertation Proposal Dissertation
Focus What I am going to do What I did
Contents Preliminaries

Main Text Title of research (List of previously studied modules if appropriate) Title
Abstract
Introduction
• substantive focus & central question
• background & rationale
•aims
• summary of key research questions
• proposed learning outcomes

Proposed approach
• research methodology
• research techniques
• description of population & sample
• data analysis
• ethical issues Chapter 1 – Introduction
• substantive focus & central question
• background & rationale
•aims
•summary of key research questions
•outline of the dissertation
•summary
Chapter 2 – Review of literature
•introduction
•review
•summary
Chapter 3 – Research design
•introduction
•key research questions
•research methodology & methods
•methodology review
•research techniques
•description of population and sample
•data analysis
•ethical issues
•summary
Chapter 4 – Presentation of findings
•introduction
•results
•analysis
•results in relation to key
•research questions
•summary
Chapter 5 – Discussion of findings
•introduction
•discussion
•summary

Chapter 6 –Conclusions and Recommendations
• Introduction
• Implications
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

Chapter 6 – Conclusion and recommendations
•introduction
•conclusions
•implications
•recommendations
•summary
Schedule
References Reference list Reference list (Appendices)
Progress Preparation undertaken
Advisory
Word count
Pages (approximate) Timescale for part-time
study

15,000
3 5-50 (at 300 words per page)

10 months

2 Dissertation Proposal
Note that work completed for Research Methods is likely to be an important starting point for your dissertation, though it may need refining in the light of feedback. Much of the detail presented under the Chapter heading here will form the opening sections of your completed dissertation.
Title of research
If you are registered on a named route, your Dissertation topic must link to your named route. If you are following the MEd route then you have the freedom to choose any educationally based topic. In either case the title must reflect the central question that you are seeking to answer. Examine your central question – what are the keywords? These should appear in your title.
List of previously studied modules
If appropriate, list the modules that you have already studied, the level at which they were passed and the marks gained for each module. Briefly indicate how/if they relate to your dissertation theme.
Introduction
Substantive focus and central question
Identifying the central question for research is very easy for some students who already know the area in which they are interested and have very clear ideas about what aspect of that area interests them. Others find this a real struggle! Whichever stance you come from, remember that to qualify for Master’s research your central question must have a significant number of complex, uncertain or ill-defined features. If you can see a readily identifiable answer, then it is unlikely that your chosen topic will qualify, as it will not provide the scope to adequately develop your investigative and academic skills. At the other extreme do not choose a question which you will be unable to answer within the scope of a Master’s dissertation – many dissertation proposals fail at their first submission as they are simply too ambitious.
Before you can decide on the central question you will need to decide what the substantive focus of the dissertation is going to be. This is the particular topic or issue that you wish to study. Ideas for this may come from a number of sources. For example:
• An issue related to your own professional experience or practice – past, present or future
• An issue of current topicality
• A particular area of interest which has developed during your reading for other modules
• A desire to extend work previously begun in another module or some other context
Having identified the substantive focus, the next stage is to express it as the central question for your research. This should be expressed in general terms. You may if you wish use your central question as the title for your dissertation – this may help you focus your ideas.

Background and rationale
In this section you should describe the context of your enquiry, how you decided upon the substantive focus for your dissertation and justify why your central question is worth researching. You should also consider your value stance – your beliefs, values and assumptions – and how these may affect your approach to the central question and the outcomes of your research.
Aims
Thinking about the aims for your research should help you to further refine your ideas on how you will address the substantive topic and answer the central question. To help you do this it is useful to think of three main aims under the following headings:

• Your substantive aim – what exactly are you going to find out about the substantive topic? This often includes words such as: effectiveness, evaluation, recommendations, identification, understanding, developing i.e. how will your research extend our current knowledge with respect to the topic?

• Your theoretical aim – think about the concepts/theories you will be exploring and how they relate to the substantive aim.

• Your methodological aim – this should state how your methodology is going to enable you to achieve your substantive aim.
Summary of key research questions
You then need to consider those aspects of the substantive topic that particularly interest you. These will form the basis of your specific research questions or hypotheses. It is useful to try to identify these at this early stage, as they will help to focus your research and associated reading – but they are not set in stone and it is probable that you will refine them as you review your progress through the dissertation process.

This stage of planning your dissertation is important in clarifying your ideas and should help you to assess if your central question is suitable for study. Spending time on these now will give benefit later as they are the drivers of the research process. In phrasing your questions keep the following guidance in mind, good research questions are:

• clear, concise, specific and focused
• capable of being answered within the scope of the proposed study
• original – you are not aiming to repeat work already carried out by other
• linked to theory, policy or practice
Proposed learning outcomes
These should be clear and precise. Typically, such a set of learning outcomes might start “By the end of the study I will have….” and continue to list specific outcomes. Be realistic about what can be achieved in a study of 12,000 – 15,000 words. Many submissions are simply too ambitious so you need to focus on one or two achievable outcomes.

Proposed approach
The proposed approach must reflect the framework of your dissertation as described above. You need to be able to justify your approach in relation to your research questions and to accepted ways of conducting research. Like the research questions your methodology is not ‘set in stone’ at this stage, but again careful planning now will reap benefits later – it is of little use to find that the proposed methodology/technique is unsuitable after the research has been completed!
Research methodology
Here you should outline your methodological approach and why it is suitable for your proposed research. You may wish to discuss alternative strategies and why you rejected them. If your approach is an unusual one for the chosen topic, you should state this and explain why you believe that on this occasion it is fit for purpose.
Research techniques
In this section you should indicate the technique(s) that will be used for data collection. Again you will need to justify your choice, both in terms of the chosen methodology and the research questions that you are trying to answer.
Description of population and sample
In this section you should describe the size and type of the population you wish to sample and how the sample will be chosen. You should justify why this sample is a suitable one to represent the wider population and consider both the strengths and the limitations of your choice. Again this must be linked to all of the issues already considered so that there is a clear sense of purpose in the overall text.
Data analysis
This section should describe your proposed method(s) of data analysis. This should link to your chosen techniques and methodology and again be appropriate for answering the research questions that you have set.
Ethical issues
Educational research frequently presents ethical issues which must be resolved before the research can be undertaken. Here you should identify any ethical issues that you feel may arise from your research and identify how they will be addressed.
The following guidelines may be helpful:
Confidentiality: You should ensure that all work that you submit remains anonymous. In the interest of confidentiality please ensure that your work does not identify individuals, either colleagues or students and organisations. You may submit copies of documents prepared during the course of your work but names should be blanked out with correction fluid if necessary.

More detailed guidance can be obtained from the BERA (British Educational Research Association) website at www.bera.ac.uk/guidelines.html (“Ethical Guidelines” document), and a set of the guidelines is available in the Library.

Reference list
This should include any texts cited in the above proposal and should follow the current referencing guidelines. In addition, detailed guidance on referencing is given at:
http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/Books/StyleGuide/StyleGuideV1.pdf. This handbook also contains much valuable advice on preparing your dissertation for publication.
Indicative bibliography
Provide a short indicative bibliography of the books, articles and web sites you are intending to use which are not already cited above. Books relating to methodology as well as those relating to content of the study should be included.
Preparation undertaken
Please state briefly any work already undertaken which relates to your study title. As mentioned previously, it is likely that work completed for Research Methods will be directly relevant.

3 The Dissertation
Title
Check that the title continues to reflect the focus of the work undertaken. An ideal title will identify:

• why the research problem or issue is interesting
• the subject of the research
• where the research problem will be investigated

A few points to note:
• The setting of the research should be indicated in general terms only e.g. an Academy; a two-form entry inner-city Primary School. The actual name of the institution must not be quoted.
• Avoid enigmatic and over-technical titles that few readers will understand
• Do not overuse acronyms, and explain those you do use.
• Do not start the title with ‘Investigation into…’ or similar expressions. All research includes study or investigation and the use of these and similar words are superfluous.
• Do not make your title over-long. A title of up to about seven words is ideal.
Abstract
The abstract is a brief summary (say around 200 words) of the purpose of the study, the work undertaken and your main conclusions. It should answer the following questions:
• What is the substantive focus of your research and the central research question?
• Why is it significant?
• What are you trying to achieve?
• What methodology will you adopt in the research?

Chapter One – Introduction

The introduction to this report largely follows the outline used for the Dissertation proposal. However the format has changed slightly. However there are two sections to add and these are:
• Outline of the dissertation – this should offer signposts to the rest of the dissertation, explaining how each chapter will develop your argument.
• Summary – a brief summary of the main points within the introduction
Chapter Two – Review of literature
The review of the literature should be critical and focused and must relate to the substantive focus and theoretical issues that you identified in the introduction. It may be split into separate sections which reflect the major issues that you are dealing with.
Having reached this stage in your Master’s studies, you should by now be adept at undertaking a review of this nature. However the experience of those of us who examine Master’s dissertations is that this is not always the case! It may be helpful at this stage to state the most frequently occurring problems
• Failure to engage critically with the literature – typically this type
of review is just a list of what different authors have said with little or no attempt to analyse the relative merits of their different approaches.
• Poorly structured writing in which there is no discernable argument
and no clear conclusions.
• Writing which contains too many generalisations, personal opinions
and which fails to use reference material to back claims.
• Literature which is dated and consists largely of references to books
or collected works, with very few references to journals, conferences etc. i.e. original and recent research in the area of interest
• A review that is largely unrelated to the substantive and theoretical
focus of the research. In these cases it often seems that the student has found a particular area of interest and his/her reading has taken off on a tangent that is increasingly unrelated to the original aims of the research.
• Long (often bullet-pointed) lists of facts that contain no attempt at
analysis.
• Very long quotations which form a substantial part of the review –
again with little or no critical analysis on the part of the student who relies on the quoted author to provide the argument.
• Poor and inconsistent referencing. The Bradford School of Teaching, Health and Care uses the Harvard system of referencing
Summary
This should summarise the key issues identified as part of the review and indicate your position concerning the substantive and theoretical issues that you have discussed. It may also identify any problems which arise as a result of the review. Finally it should indicate how the research design will take the work forward in relation to the substantive and theoretical areas and your res
Chapter Three- Research design
It is likely that your analysis of the findings of your research will flag up issues with respect to particular strengths or weaknesses of your approach.

Key research questions
These formed part of the Introduction to your Dissertation Proposal. They may not have changed since then, in which case include them in their original format. However it is likely that as a result of your reading and the preliminary work you have undertaken for your research, these questions have been further refined in which case this section will need revision from its original format.
Research methodology and methods
You now need to indicate how the methodology you have described above will be put into practice. The headings that are the same as in the Dissertation Proposal.
In addressing this chapter of the dissertation you are concerned with presenting your chosen research design in as clear a way as possible. Think of it as a map of your investigation which will enable the reader to understand how it was put together. As part of the design process it is important that you consider what you can feasibly do and what compromises you may have to make to ensure that while the methodology is rigorous, it is also practicable. In the following sections you will need to include the choices or compromises that you have made and be able to justify them. This will enable the reader to understand the rationale behind your design. It will also demonstrate your ability to reflect critically upon your own work in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of alternative approaches. Remember a dissertation is not weak just because there were problems with the methodology. The strength comes from being able to recognise difficulties, respond to them and reflect upon what was learned as part of the process.
Methodology review
This should be a brief review of the literature that relates to your chosen methodology. It should contain critical analysis of the chosen strategies and indicate how the work of other researchers has informed your choices. Your aim in this section is to justify the methodological approach that you will take. It should conclude with a brief statement that summarises the issues and any associated problems.
Again students often struggle with this type of review and the following examples of poor practice may be useful in helping you to get it right:
• Generalised discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of different
methodologies that fail to address the reason behind the choice of a particular methodology for the proposed research.
• Discussions of possible methodologies that then assume that there is
an obvious choice for the proposed research without providing justification.
• Failure to link the proposed methodology to the research questions.
• Discussions of validity and reliability which fail to address these
issues in a sufficiently robust manner and frequently rely on the students personal opinion that the methodology is both reliable and valid with no real evidence or understanding of either issue.

Research techniques
You should by now have a clearer idea about how your data will be collected e.g. in terms of piloting questionnaires/interviews, the numbers of questionnaires to be distributed etc. This section should therefore summarise the research techniques that you propose to use and how you will use them. In planning this aspect of your research ask yourself the following questions:

• Why have I chosen this technique as the most effective way of generating the data I need?
• How will I design the chosen instrument? (e.g. questionnaires, observation schedules etc.)
• How have I checked that the instrument works? (e.g. piloting questionnaires to check that they make sense, checking that the observation schedule is practicable in the chosen environment etc.)

You will not be surprised to learn that there are common pitfalls into which students fall when considering the nature of the research techniques that they will use:

• The main difficulty is being over ambitious in estimating what can be completed within the timeframe of the dissertation – not only in terms of the time taken to complete the research e.g. where a large number of face to face interviews are proposed – but also in terms of the time that will be needed for analysis of the data e.g. in the example given above, the time taken to accurately transcribe a large number of interviews. Remember this is a Master’s Dissertation – not a PhD!
• A technique that is inappropriate for the nature of the research question e.g. using a questionnaire with closed questions when the subject would be far better analysed by means of personal interview and open questions.
• A technique which is inappropriate for the chosen methodology (e.g. an experimental intervention such as a changed teaching method, which is studied by classroom observation, but has no baseline against which to compare it)
Description of population and sample
This should have been outlined in your Dissertation proposal, but as you have refined your methodology and techniques, so too you may have changed your ideas about what represents a suitable population and sample. The pitfalls here are very much as described above i.e. make sure that your population is an appropriate one to study and that your sample size is large enough to ensure validity and reliability, but small enough to be manageable.
Data analysis
Again you may have now refined your proposed method(s) of data analysis. If not this section may be as outlined in your Dissertation proposal. A key point to consider here is whether you have the skills to analyse the data you aim to produce e.g. there is little point in producing lots of data that will require statistical analysis if you do not have the necessary statistical understanding.
You will also need to make explicit how you intend to check, summarise and analyse the data. This might include why a particular statistical package was chosen or the parameters used in coding qualitative data. Your aim is to convince the reader that the conclusions you draw from the data are well grounded in the procedures you adopted. At this stage of your research you may still be unclear about elements of the analysis – but by focusing on this issue early in the research process you may save yourself a difficulty often experienced by novice researchers, namely a wealth of research data which because of its nature is extremely difficult to analyse.
Ethical issues
As you refine your methodology and techniques, be aware that new ethical issues may arise – the BERA guidelines will help you to analyse what issues you need to consider (see p.6 of this guide)
Summary
In this section you should conclude with a reflective consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of your design.

Chapter Four – Presentation of findings
This is also a new chapter and one which students can find challenging, particularly because by now you have become so familiar with your work that what you have discovered seems very obvious. The key to this part of the dissertation is therefore critical reflection – the opportunity to stand back from the work and exercise your critical mind.
Introduction
This should summarise what is to be covered in each of the sections of this chapter. This should include:
• How the presentation of findings will be organised.
• What each section will address.
• How these sections link to relevant previous chapters or sections – especially to the key section containing the specification of your research questions.

Findings Results
This section should present the results of your research i.e. a summary of the data you have collected. It should be concise and seek to present the results in a way that makes them readily accessible to the reader. It should also present the results in a manner that relates them to your key research questions/hypotheses. It may include tables, matrices, diagrams, quotations etc. Pitfalls to be avoided include:

• Long tables of results extending over several pages that are very difficult to follow.
• Presentation which lacks a logical order – this may sound obvious, but after you have been working on the data for some time, what may seem to be obvious to you, may not be to the reader who is seeing it for the first time.
• Unnecessary use of pie charts, histograms etc – e.g. for a simple yes/no question where 90% of respondents answered yes, a pie chart does not clarify the data. Similarly where data is more complex a pie chart may be exactly what is needed. In other words think very carefully about the best way to present your data.
• Poorly labelled data which fails to make clear to the reader what aspect of the research is being referred to.
• Explanations of the data that are neither accurate nor succinct and assume too much, therefore leaving the reader uncertain as to what the data is purporting to show.
• Presentation of qualitative data in a manner that leaves the reader uncertain as to whether it has been selected in such a way as to support a pre-judged interpretation.

Summary
This should include a summary of your key findings and any emerging issues that you have identified.
Chapter Five Discussion of findings
Your discussion should centre upon the substantive, theoretical and methodological issues that you have identified, linking your key findings with your research questions and the literature you have studied. In summary this section should:
• Highlight what was particularly important or significant about the findings with respect to your central research question.
• Consider the significance of any unexpected findings.
• Discuss the substantive, theoretical and methodological issues identified earlier and link these with the literature reviewed.
• Establish links between your findings and the wider field of enquiry.
Summary
This should provide a summary of how the key findings provide a response to the substantive, theoretical and methodological issues or problems and provide a signpost as to what will follow in the final chapter.
Chapter Six – Conclusion and recommendations
In this chapter you are aiming to pull all aspects of the work together. The impression that you want to leave in the mind of your reader is that you have selected a meaningful problem, analysed it rigorously, produced interesting conclusions that add to our knowledge and provided a basis for future work. This section therefore provides you with the opportunity to discuss how far you have achieved your substantive, theoretical and methodological aims and how you have evaluated the overall theoretical framework, methodology and research design. Again it should be divided into sub-sections.

Introduction
Here you set out what is to be covered in this final chapter.
Conclusions
The conclusions you present here should relate to the substantive, theoretical and methodological aims of your research i.e. you need to identify and discuss what you have learned. This should include an analysis of your research design and how successful it has been in enabling you to answer your research questions. You should also consider the findings of your research and raise any issues with respect to how they support your conclusions. You may also wish to discuss any limitations of the research.
Implications
Here you need to consider the implications of your findings – particularly with respect to any future research that you think needs to be undertaken.
Recommendations
Your recommendations may be personal e.g. relating to an aspect of your own practice, or they could be for a wider audience e.g. line managers, other researchers, policy makers, etc. They should be supported by evidence from your research.

Summary
This is the final conclusion to your dissertation. It should relate to your central research question. Make it succinct and relevant.
Reference list
The reference list should contain all of the references cited, using the Harvard system of referencing conforming to the current Guidelines. They should be in alphabetical order of author. There is no requirement for a bibliography.
Appendices
You may wish to present some of the results (or other information) in the form of appendices, but remember that they should not be used to include detail that should be in the main body of the work and as a means of avoiding the word count. Appendices must be properly referred to in the text and must support the research e.g. research instruments, letters to research subjects, examples of raw data etc. They should not be used as general information about the subject.

4. Suggested reading
Bell, J. (1999) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First Time Researchers in
Education and Social Science. 3rd edition. Buckingham: Open University Press
Biggam, J. (2008) Succeeding with Your Masters Dissertation: A Step-by-step Guide. Maidenhead: Open University Press
Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (2001) How to Research. 2nd edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press
Burton, D. and Bartlett, S. (2005) Practitioner Research for Teachers. London: Paul Chapman Publishing
Campbell, A., McNamara, O. and Gilroy, P. (2004) Practitioner Research and
Professional Development in Education. London: Paul Chapman Publishing
Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2000) Research Methods in Education. 5th edition. London: Routledge/Falmer
Denscombe, M. (1998) The Good Research Guide for Small Scale Research Projects. Buckingham: Open University Press
Fielding, N.G. and Lee, R.M. (1998) Computer Analysis and Qualitative Research London: Sage
Greg, A. and Taylor, J. (1999) Doing Research with Children. London: Sage Hart, C. (2005) Doing Your Masters Dissertation. London: Sage
Hitchcock, G. and Hughes, D. (1995) Research and the Teacher. 2nd edition. London: Routledge
Holloway, W. and Jefferson, T. (2000) Doing Qualitative Research. London: Sage
Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. (2004) A Handbook for Teacher Research: From Design to Implementation. Maidenhead: Open University Press
Levin, P. (2005) Excellent Dissertations! Maidenhead: Open University Press
Lewis, I. and Munn, P. (1997) So you want to do research? 2nd edition. Glasgow: The Scottish Council for Research and Education
McNiff, J., Lomax, P. & Whitehead, J. (2003) You and your Action Research Project. 2nd edition. London: RoutledgeFalmer
Mounsey, C. (2002) One Step Ahead: Essays and Dissertations. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Opie, C. (2004) Doing Educational Research. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Robson, C. (1993) Real World Research. Oxford: Blackwell

Scott, D. and Usher, R. (1999) Researching Education: Data, Methods and Theory in Educational Enquiry. London: Cassell
Swetnam, D. (2005) Writing Your Dissertation: The Bestselling Guide to Planning, Preparing and Presenting First-Class Work. Oxford: How To Books
Soles, D. (2005) The Academic Essay: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Edit. London: Sage
Verma, G.K. and Mallick, K. (1999) Researching Education: Perspectives and Techniques. London: Falmer
Wilkinson, D. (ed.) (2000) The Researcher’s Toolkit: The Complete Guide to Practitioner Research. London: Taylor and Francis
Some websites that you may find useful include those listed below. Note that the format in which they are listed here does not conform to accepted referencing conventions; they are listed in this way merely for your convenience.

www.bath.ac.uk/~edsajw/RI.doc

http://www.bera.ac.uk/debate/paperc.html

http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/5_research/pedres.html

http://cem.dur.ac.uk/ebeuk/culture.htm

http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/research/Fpage.html

http://education.massey.ac.nz/wellington_online/bedu6205/course/205natmap.htm

http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research/conference_list.asp

http://www.learning.ox.ac.uk/iaul/IAUL%2B3%2B4%2B2.asp

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/s/j/sjm256/portfolio/kbase/Research&Evaluation/edresearch.html

http://www.scre.ac.uk/spotlight/spotlight49.html

http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/dratcliff/qual/

http://www.york.ac.uk/services/library/subjects/resmethods.htm

http://www.educationstudies.org.uk/journal/

Useful journals include:
British Educational Research Journal Journal of Education for Teaching
Studies in Philosophy and Education
Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice Teacher Development
Higher Education Quarterly
Journal of Further and Higher

Appendix 1

The Role of the Study Tutor

Each student will be allocated a study tutor on the basis of the area they have chosen to investigate.

It is advisable to ensure you always give your tutor maximum notification of your tutorial need so they are able to plan accordingly.

The Study Tutor’s role is to:
 Negotiate the area of study with the student, suggesting a specific focus where necessary;

 Agree a provisional title for the study and approve the final title;

 Advise the student on initial reading;

 Advise the student on a study schedule; there are 6 hours allocated for the support of dissertation students (with additional time for VLE contact) and this needs to be used effectively.

 Meet with the student for tutorials at appropriate times throughout the academic year.

 Offer advice and suggest improvements to the student about the structure, organisation and approach of the study. Tutors are not obliged to read first drafts or give students an indication of an expected grade;

 Double mark the work they have supervised and liaise with the other marker;

 Liaise with the module leader regarding the progress and development of the student’s work.

Appendix 2

The Role of the Student

Students undertaking Masters Dissertation Study are required to:

 Attend all seminars and tutorials unless a valid reason is given for absence;

 Make contact with their study tutor and arrange regular tutorials, (a maximum of 6 hours is allocated for this supervision with additional time for VLE contact). If a student is unable to attend a tutorial the tutor must be informed and an alternative date arranged;

 Prepare adequately for tutorials. It is useful to bring a plan or outline of the progress made and a list of the sources used;

 Inform the tutor of any problems or difficulties being experienced so these can be addressed, and hopefully resolved, in good time;

 Keep a record of each session (using the form on Moodle) so your tutor is clear about the progress being made.

 Discuss any changes to the study area or title with the tutor. Students must gain the approval of the study tutor for any major changes or their work may not be marked;

 Negotiate access to schools or other agencies for research within the ethical guidelines provided;

 Complete and submit all work within the set deadlines and in the correct format.

Appendix 3

Tutorial Progress Form

Date of tutorial Time started Time finished

_____________ ___________ ____________

Points to be raised by the student (prepared before the tutorial):

Points raised by the supervisor:

Recommendations by the supervisor/action to be taken:

Date and time of next tutorial:__________________________

Student signature____________________________________

Supervisor signature__________________________________

Appendix 4

Notes for guidance on the presentation of dissertations for the degree of Master

1. Introduction

If you have any query with regard to these notes, please contact your supervising tutor. If in doubt it is far better to check and ensure that the presentation is correct at an early stage rather than face inconvenience at the time of submission.

2. Maximum Period of Registration

If your maximum period of registration is due to expire before submission of your thesis or dissertation, you should seek, through your supervisor, an extension of time. It is important to ensure that this is done before you submit, since delays will occur if it is necessary for an extension to be approved on a retrospective basis.

3. Format

• The dissertation must be typed.
A4 paper (210×297) is required – weight optional but not lighter than 80g/m2.
• Font size should be 12-point.
• Chapter headings should be centred, 16-point or 18-point (be consistent).
• Other headings or sub-headings should be appropriate to the context. Note that headings and sub-headings should normally be in lower-case. The font should be Arial.
• Line spacing should be double except for the Contents, indented quotations or foot/end notes and the Reference list, where single spacing should be applied.
• Margins: left: 40mm; all others: 20mm
• Text should be only left-aligned (left-justified). Full justification on both right and left margins is not required.
• Text should be carefully proof read to ensure a high standard of punctuation, spelling, use of Standard English, and overall presentation. Referencing should be in the style shown in the current Guidelines.
• Pages should be numbered consecutively. Page 1 (Arabic numeral) is the first page of the first chapter. Preceding pages that include the Abstract, Acknowledgements and Contents pages should be numbered with lower case Roman numerals. Page numbers should be bottom centred.
• Chapter headings should be followed, on the same page, by the text of the chapter.
• The title page, which should be preceded by a blank page, should be set out as shown in Annex 1

4. Footnotes and References

Footnotes should not normally be used. Where they are used, they should be numbered sequentially for each chapter and either noted at the foot of each page, collated at the end of each chapter, or collated as a separate section before the References at the end of the thesis. Alternatively, footnotes may be numbered sequentially throughout the thesis, and either noted at the foot of each page, or collated as a separate section before the References at the end of the Dissertation. If a separate set of footnotes is cited, in parallel with the first, then Roman numerals (or letters of the alphabet) should be used to delineate this set from the first.

References and footnotes should be cited in a consistent manner throughout the dissertation. In particular, the referencing must conform to the current Guidelines on referencing in academic writing, and details of sources mentioned or quoted in the text must appear in the list of references that appears at the end of the Dissertation.

5. Binding Format

Candidates for the degree of Master by Advanced Study must present two copies of the dissertations soft bound (spiral binding is acceptable) and one copy through Moodle via the Dissertation page through turn-it-in. Please note that in the academic year 2017/18 students are not required to submit hard copies of the dissertation unless specifically requested by their supervisor. All students must submit their work via Turnitin on the Dissertation Moodle page by 23:59 on the day of submission.

The minimum requirements are:
One bound using soft binding – black card and binding with white lettering.

Note that the terminology used for binding does vary from time to time. Please check with your tutor for the latest situation prior to your dissertation being bound.

6. Spine and Cover

Specimen layouts for the cover and spine of a thesis and dissertation are given in Annex 1. Your surname or family name with initials should appear on the spine. If the dissertation consists of more than one volume the individual volume number should be indicated on the front cover and spine. Particular attention is drawn to Annex 1 – which requires the word ‘dissertation’ to be printed on the spine and cover of a dissertation for the degree of Master by Advanced Study. (See Annex 1 for specimen layout.)

Please note that in spiral bound copies this is not possible.

7. Arrangements for Binding

Candidates may use the binding service provided by the University of Bradford, Inprint + Design Ltd. Please ring 01274 233240 for further information. This is located in the University of Bradford’s Communal Building accessed via Carlton Street.
 
8. Inclusion of Supporting Material

In some cases it may be considered necessary to include a substantial amount of supporting material. This may be achieved by means of appendices that, depending on size, can either be included in the Dissertation volume or form a second volume.

9. Title Page

The title page of every volume should give the following information in the order listed (See Annex 1 for specimen layouts):

• The title of the dissertation
• The total number of volumes if more than one and the number of the particular volume.
• The full name of the candidate, followed, if desired, by any qualifications and distinctions. It is particularly important that the forenames (in full) should be in lower- case letters and the surname only in capital letters.
• The degree for which the dissertation is submitted and a statement that the dissertation is submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree.
• The full name of the School and College i.e. McMillan School of Teaching, Health and Care, Bradford College, Associate College of Leeds Metropolitan University.
• The year of submission.
• In order to assist library processing two additional copies of the title page should be submitted with the three copies of the thesis or dissertation.

10. Acknowledgements and Dedications

If you wish to include a dedication or acknowledgement in the thesis or dissertation you should insert the details on a page following the Table of Contents.

11. Restriction of Access to Dissertations

The author of a dissertation may request that access to the dissertation be withheld in the Library and department. Any such request should initially be submitted in writing to the Programme Manager indicating the exceptional reasons for the request and the length of time for which restriction is sought.