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Component 001:
Dissertation Report: (8000 Words)
100% of module weighting)
To submit your
Dissertation Report,
Use Turnitin.
Ethical Approval for Research
All research requires ethical approval prior to data collection. Guidance on ethical approval
application process can be found on the module Moodle page.
Format, Structure and Content of the Dissertation
The following sets out the expected format, structure, and content of a dissertation. It is
relatively long but contains important information.
Format
The final assessment should be submitted with page margins of 2.54 cm on all sides. Text
should be double-spaced and Size 12 Arial Font or Times New Roman. Tables do not need
to be double-line spaced but ensure the row heights are appropriate with the text centred
vertically and horizontally. The page number should be on each page starting from the
introduction and be located at the bottom centre of each page.
The order of the report should be as follows and each section should start on a new page:
Title page
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Introduction (I.e., Statement of problem, Rationale, Aim, Objective, Research
Question &
Hypothesis)
Literature Review
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Appendices
It is important that each section is written in a scientific style and tense. Scientific
writing is typically very direct, concise, and specific. The whole report should be
written in the third person. The tense that should be used changes during the report.
The abstract, literature review, methods, results, and discussion should all be in the
past tense. The introduction should be a combination of the past and present tense
depending on the context of the sentence.
Title and Abstract
The title page must bear the title of the research, your name, student ID number, the
degree title for which you are registered, the School and University name. See
module handbook for an example.
The title should be clear, concise, and precise enough to identify the area of the
problem, and descriptive enough to permit the study to be indexed in its proper
category. Superfluous words such as "a study of", or "an investigation into", or "an
analysis of", together with catchy, misleading, and vague phrases, should be
avoided. Nouns identifying the major variables under consideration should form the
basis of the title.
The abstract should summarise the dissertation as a whole and include information
on the background to the study, the research question, the methods, the results, and
a conclusion. Well written abstracts always include the primary research results (i.e.,
numeric values) along with statistics. The abstract should be no longer than one
page and be in the formatting expected of the whole dissertation.
The word count of the title page and abstract does not contribute to the word
count of the assessment.
Acknowledgements
On the page following the title page and abstract, you may, if you wish, write an
acknowledgement to anyone who has provided you with assistance with your project.
It is polite to acknowledge the help that you have received with your project, but don’t
get carried away and produce a list of everyone who’s ever ‘been there for you’.
The word count of the acknowledgements does not contribute to the word
count of the assessment.
3
Introduction
The introduction and literature review sections should be used to provide a scientific
rationale for the research you are going to conduct in a progressive, logical narrative.
An introduction provides a rationale through the discussion of the nature of the problem
being addressed. The section should start broad and progress to being specific around your
study focus area, concluding with your research question. Include a sub-heading for
statement of problem
where you will discuss the problem or issues that need to be studied;
a
rationale
which justifies the need for the study, explaining why the study is worth
investigation; a
research aim
which is a broad statement about the purpose of the research
(i.e. use an active verb such as “
to investigate”
the effect of eating behaviour on adults
health in the UK) The
research question
should provide 3 to 4 clear questions centred
around your research aims;
research objectives
should be clear and follow the SMART
rule, identifying specific actions that you will take to achieve the research questions
(remember to use active verbs like to assess, to determine, to analyse, to ascertain, to
document e.t.c.); the
hypothesis
(null or alternative) are predictions about your what your
research might finds. The hypothesis usually predicts what your research might find; hence,
the research questions, objectives, and hypothesis should be properly linked. A hypothesis
should include a null and alternative hypothesis.
Literature Review
A literature review provides a rationale by identifying, critiquing, and synthesising the current
knowledge base around your research question. This section should provide a theoretical
underpinning to your research area and the state of current understanding in your research
area. These sections should provide a foundation to identify how your research is
progressing in the research area, and consequently, the published research needs to be
evaluated and not just stated.
This section should draw on some key context relating to specific research questions and
hypotheses to form relevant subheadings. This section should also identify how your
research is progressing from other research based on the literature review. Undergraduate
dissertations typically progress the research area by (1) addressing a clear gap in the
literature, (2) identifying limitations of past research and addressing these limitations or (3)
providing confirmation of prior findings (replication studies) and drawing the connection
between them (finding the themes, pattern, conflicting ideas and gaps). This section will
consider your (1) knowledge and understanding, (2) structure and argument, (3) analysis
and conclusions and (4) written/visual style and clarity.
Methods
This section should provide clear, complete, and precise details on the methods used,
allowing others to recreate your study. If someone reading your methods cannot replicate
your work, given the appropriate skills and resources, then your written description is
probably inadequate. Of course, some assumed knowledge from the 'reader' is acceptable,
but it is important to include methodological descriptions supporting the data's reliability and
validity. Methods should contain information on the participants,
study design
, procedures,
and data analysis (it is important to use relevant sub-sections to increase clarity). The
methods should be in the past tense and third person.
Study Participants: Describe your selection of participants, including sampling techniques
and recruitment. Briefly describe the critical features of your participants (sex, age range,
mean age, any characteristic you may think is relevant and the informed consent and
screening process). Do not use participants’ names, initials, or other identifying factors. In all
cases mention that ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection. The inclusion and
exclusion criteria should also be clearly stated
4
Study Design: Describe the study design (e.g., within, between or mixed measures),
organisation of test sessions, randomisation, or other intervention strategies (e.g., pair-
matching and counter- balanced order), experimental controls (methods or participants). You
should identify the validity and reliability of your study design.
Procedures: Describe the procedures used to obtain data in a clear, concise and logical
order to allow replication of methods. You should identify the design and construction of
equipment (brief manufacturer details are normally included – e.g., Seca, Hamburg,
Germany when using scales to measure body mass) and identify any substances used and
their amounts (e.g., concentration of a carbohydrate solution). You should identify the validity
and reliability of your procedures; this could be done by providing reference to an
appropriate prior study that has used your procedures or research around the approach you
are taking.
Data Analysis: Clearly state how data was analysed and what the analysis was for. Describe
data analysis methods in sufficient detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to
the original data to verify the reported findings.
Ethical consideration should also be well discussed, providing information on how this is
ensured within the study.
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Results
This section should be text-based and identify your study’s observations, and the text should
be supported by tables and/or figures which clearly communicate key observations.
However, avoid undue repetition of data in figures and tables and do not start your results
section with a table or figure.
In quantitative studies this section should be very factual in that you only report what was
found and avoid providing explanations at this stage; therefore, you should use concise,
factual statements rather than debate, commentary, or speculation. Qualitative studies often
merge the results and discussion together; therefore, some explanation and interpretation
may be evident. This should be discussed further with your supervisor to ensure the correct
presentation of the results.
Figures: These should be numbered consecutively and can be in the form of photographs,
line drawings or graphs, and care should be taken to ensure good standards of presentation.
A clear and complete numbered (Arabic numerals) title should be placed below the body of
the illustration. All figures should be referred to in the text and should be large enough for
easy reading. Your figures should be embedded within the results section at an appropriate
point relative to the descriptive text (at least 1⁄2 a side of A4 in size).
Tables: A table should be simple, logically arranged, and easy to read. Data should be
centred in each cell. The title is situated above the table. Tables should be numbered
consecutively and referred to in the text by their numbers (e.g., Table 1). Tables only
normally have some horizontal lines inserted for sub-sectioning; vertical lines are not
normally included.
Discussion & Conclusion
This section should discuss and critically appraise your results in relation to the current
knowledge in the area where you consider differences or similarities in findings. Although
this section is normally simply called the discussion, it is actually the 'discussion of the study
results. It is common to read discussions written by inexperienced researchers that fail to
remain focused on the results of the current study. The results of your study should be
compared and contrasted with related studies in the literature. In the discussion, you have
the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the underlying theory and, where
appropriate, to examine the mechanisms that may have led to your results. It is imperative
that you draw extensively on the existing literature to write this section but take care not to
extend your discussion beyond what the results support directly. A degree of speculation
may be possible, but you should liaise with your supervisor to check the extent to which you
should do this. This section should also identify the strengths and limitations of the research,
future directions for the research, and application.
This section should finish with a conclusion to the research that identify the key results and
how these relate to your research question and/or hypothesis. There may be a statement
around the implications or use of the findings but remember these statements need to be
based on your data.
References
A reference list should be provided that includes every source mentioned in the text.
Referencing should follow the university’s Harvard format. There is no correlation between
the length of the reference list and the mark awarded; scanning through recent issues of
most sports and exercise science journals will reveal that the number of references used can
vary considerably, but many limits this to 40 references (for a 4000-word article).
You will minimise the time needed to compile your reference list if you make sure that you
retain the full reference each time you read an item, even if you think you will not use it. A
great deal of time may be wasted at a later date in trying to identify the full references for
items that you have referred to in the text.
Appendices
The appendices should contain information necessary to augment the reader’s
understanding of your project work. For example, it might be useful to include one (clean)
copy of a questionnaire that you used, the complete text of the standardised instructions, or
examples of experimental stimuli. You must include (anonymised) transcripts of any
interviews and a full copy of your interview schedule. Do not get carried away; the
appendices should not be too long. Your supervisor will advise you on what and how much
to include in the appendices, but remember to include your Dissertation Tutorial Record
(Appendix 6).
There must be nothing in your report that would allow individual participants to be identified,
as this violates participant anonymity, which you will have promised to maintain! Generally,
you should include an (uncompleted) example of each of the materials presented to
participants in your appendix.
As always, remember that it should be possible for the reader to understand the details of
your study without having to refer to an appendix to make sense of it. Information in
appendices can augment the report but should not be an essential part of it. Each appendix
should be clearly labelled and referred to in the text where appropriate.
The appendix should be preceded by a sheet containing the word APPENDIX (capitalised
and centred on the page). Possible appendices include copies of letters used,
questionnaires, tests and other data-gathering devices may be placed in the appendix.
However, extensive appendices are rarely appropriate. Each separate entry heading is listed
APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B,...
Word Count: The word count for this assessment is up to 8000 words. This does not include
the references list. Any work after 8000 words will not be marked if you exceed the word
limit. Whilst you are not penalised for being under the word count, work that is substantially
under the word count will be more limited in meeting the module learning outcomes.
Assessment Criteria
The assessment is to be marked holistically using the university's generic marking criteria
(see section 11), with the marker providing an indicator and category for each of the
following sections for your feedback (see section 11 for typical descriptors for each
classification).
Title & Abstract – This section requires you to concisely state your research question,
methods, results and conclusion, which links to all three learning outcomes of the module.
This section must be reflective of the actual content of the dissertation.
Introduction & Literature Review & Research Question / Hypothesis – This section requires
you to provide a rationale for the research you are conducting, the current understanding in
the research area, the underlying theory/mechanisms and how it progresses understanding
in your field linking to learning outcome 1 of the module. It is important this section is
factually correct, makes links between prior research findings leading to conclusions and
relates to your research question.
Methods – This section requires you to state your methodological approaches with sufficient
detail to allow the methods to be recreated and consideration for the rigour of your methods
allowing all learning outcomes of the module to be shown. It is important that your study
allows your research
question to be addressed, and the extent of this will be considered in the allocated mark for
this section (learning outcomes 1 & 2).
Results – This section requires you to present your observations clearly, concisely and
logically following academic conventions and links to learning outcomes 2 and 3 of the
module. It is essential that not only can you identify how to analyse data but that this
analysis is performed and reported correctly. Consequently, this will be considered in the
allocated mark for this section.
Discussion & Conclusion – This section requires you to interpret and explain your
observations (learning outcome 2) and to highlight limitations of the research which may
have impacted your observations (learning outcome 2 and 3) and any future research
(learning outcome 1). It is important that this section focuses on the interpretation,
comparison and explanation of your data and that any statements are factually correct. This
section must be progressive and in a clear, logical order.
Referencing, Overall Style, Structure and Presentation– It is important that all points are
supported by literature (covered in the section allocation) but that this evidence is cited in the
text with a reference list provided in a set format..
Reference in Havard style
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