The dissertation requires students to complete a major independent piece of work, culminating in the delivery of an extended written assignment to account for the final 60 credits of the MSc programme.

Proposal will be submitted in March/April

Meetings will take place between May and August

A formal written submission of at least 12,000 words.

The dissertation/project provides students with the opportunity to reflect upon the knowledge acquired during the taught elements of the MSc programme and to take independent responsibility for the application of explicit management principles and practices to a particular problem or issue.

The dissertation aims to enable students to:

■ develop and demonstrate their understanding of key concepts, theories and contemporary issues identified in the degree programme

■ plan, organize, conduct and present a distinctive and substantial piece of research-based or applied scholarship.

On completion of the dissertation/project students will be able to:

■ Develop a research plan/proposal to analyse a specific management problem

■ Conduct extensive literature searches and evaluate the credibility of secondary source material

■ Evaluate specific issues related to a particular disciplinary area and problem of management research

■ Formulate appropriate key questions or hypothesis

■ Identify appropriate research designs, including data collection, sampling and analytical techniques to aid management research.

■ Evaluate and apply a range of pertinent research techniques - sampling methods; qualitative and quantitative tools (questionnaires, forms of participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups).

■ Write a competent, accessible and extended research-based review or report of contemporary significance to management approaches or issues.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.