Harvard Manchester Referencing Style Guide
Appendix 3 – Harvard Style Guide for References
Richard Heeks
GDI, University of Manchester, 2014
Glossary
Citation: the author+date item that appears in your text.
References: the full details of all items you have cited in your text.
Bibliography: other items you have used/read but not cited.
General Example
… … Hartman (2008), in her seminal study on urban regeneration, found no evidence to
support the role of charitable donations. However, Okuda (1998:224) concludes that
"donations can have some positive impact if the donors are involved throughout the project's
history". The present fieldwork indicated support for the latter viewpoint from the Bamako
project (Toure 2012). … …
.
.
Reference List
.
Hartman, P.V. (2008) 'Urban regeneration in the Third World', Regeneration Today, vol. 13,
no. 4, pp. 23-45.
.
.
Okuda, Z. (1998) Charities, Donors and Projects, Penguin, London.
.
.
Toure, S. (2012) Personal interview with author, Ministry of Irrigation, Bamako, Mali, 14 Nov.
.
Citations in Your Text
Author: …Jameson (2012) first explained that…
Two/three authors: …Rasmussen and Phillips (2013) make the point also noted by Versing,
Tatler and Mardy (2008) that…
More than three authors – use et al: …it was found by Rasmussen et al. (1998) that…
81
More than one item by same author in same year – use lettering: … (Jameson 2004a). …
(Jameson 2004b)
Quote – use page number wherever possible: … "making information systems harder to
develop" (Heeks 2011: 45).
Multiple citations in a list – using date order: … (Zifcak 2009; Aucoin 2011; Boston et al.
2013).
Organisational authorship: …for the revised policy document (Dept. of Internal Affairs
2011).
Web site – cite as for author/organisation rules; do not put just the Web address.
Secondary references: …Jones (2005 cited in Tomas & Rayus 2009) states…: note include
both items in the reference list.
No author – for newspaper or magazine – use name of newspaper/magazine: … (The
Economist 2010).
No author – use the title of the work … budgetary mechanisms have failed (Beating the
budget blues 1999).
Other notes:
- Citations at end of sentences should appear inside the full stop.
Reference List
Arrange in alphabetical order of author surname.
Book:
Author/Editor surname, initials. (Year) Book Title, Publisher, Place of publication.
Hogan, J.F. (2013) Urban Profiling in Developing Countries, Harper, New York.
Two authors (note edition):
First author surname, initials. & Second author surname, initials. Rest as per normal.
Link, C.J. & MacLean, P. (2008) Rapid Rural Appraisal, 3rd edn, Polity Press, London.
Many authors:
Don't use et al in reference list.
Sheridan, M.C., Jacobs, C., Thomas, A. & Raward, S. (2012) The Government Management
Primer, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Edited book:
Put (ed) or (eds) after name:
Heeks, R.B. & Jones, G. (eds) (2009) ICTs in High Mountain Regions, Routledge, London.
Chapter in book/proceedings:
Author name(s). (Year) 'Chapter title', in Book Title, eds Editors names, Publisher, Place of
publication, Page numbers.
82
Walsham, G. (2002) 'Centralisation of data processing', in Social Implications of IT, S.
Bhatnagar & M. Odedra (eds), McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, pp. 134-51.
Journal article:
Author surname, initials. (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, Vol. no.(Part/issue no.): Page
numbers.
Wittmer, P. (2007) 'Project control under the microscope', Journal of International
Development, (23)5: 124-32.
Newspaper article:
Author surname, initials. (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper [place], Date, Page
number(s).
Kennedy, C. (1999) 'China feels the heat of Clinton campaign', The Guardian [London], 13
Dec., p. 12.
Item with no author:
Item title. (Year) then book publisher/journal location details as per normal.
Beating the budget blues. (2006) People Management, 21(14): 6.
Organisational document:
Organisation name. (Year) Title of Document, Organisation name again, place of publication.
UKCVO (2011) Best Practice for NGOs, UK Council for Voluntary Organisations, London.
Government document:
Name of government department. (Year) Title of Document. Government printer/publisher
(or originating department), Place of publication.
Ministry of Rural Development. (2007) Rural Infrastructure Projects, Indian Government
Stationery Office, New Delhi, India.
CIA (2012) Update Assessment on Iraq, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
Conference paper:
Author details. (Year) 'Title of paper', paper presented at Title of conference, Place and date
of conference.
Nichols, J.R. (2011) 'Patterns of NGO development', paper presented at the Development
Studies Association annual conference, University of York, UK, 19-22 September.
Handouts:
Lecturer's name. (Year) Title of Handout, Course unit title handout, Department, University,
Place, Date of issue.
Heeks, R.B. (2012) Information in Organisations. Fundamentals of Information and
Information Systems course unit handout, GDI, University of Manchester, Manchester, 8
Oct.
Interview:
Interviewee's name. (Year) Personal interview, Place and date of interview.
83
Teller, J. (2006) Personal interview, Ibadan, Nigeria, 12 July.
Email message:
Author details. (Year) Message title, Email to whom [Online], Date sent, Available: Email:
email address of recipient [date accessed]
Nicholson, B. (2012) Re: Indian software industry, Email to R. Heeks [Online], 13 Oct.,
Available: Email: richard.heeks@manchester.ac.uk [Accessed: 14 October 2012]
Web page/document:
Author details. (Year) Page title/heading, Publisher/organisation [Online], Available: URL
[date accessed]
Bradstock, T. (2006) Egypt Online Network, Manchester College of Technology [Online],
Available: http://www.mct.ac.uk/cfs/egypt.html [Accessed: 14 September 2014]
Notes: if no author is apparent, use organisation name or page title; if publication date is not
clear put (n.d.)
Foreign language document:
Use relevant reference format given above, all translated into English, then give the original
language title in brackets after the translated title. E.g.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2013) Software Production and Trade in Latin America
[Producción y Comercio de Software en América Latina], Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Notes:
- What matters most is a) that the reader could locate any item in your reference list; b) that
you are consistent: i.e. that you do all similar items the same way.
- Acceptable variations include: a) putting place of publication before publisher for books
(e.g. … Chichester, UK: John Wiley); b) not putting year in brackets; c) doing journal article
details like this: …vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 124-32.
- The University provides a more-detailed Harvard style guide, which uses slightly different
variations on the above - http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard either be consistent with the guide above or be consistent with the University guide; both
are fine but don’t “mix and match”.
84
Appendix 4 – SEED Word Count Policy
For every piece of work which you are required to submit for assessment, the Course
Convenor will indicate the word limit. This is a maximum word count and should not be
exceeded. Markers can take into account minor transgressions of up to 10% within the existing
marking criteria which means that you can lose marks for not being concise.
The word count includes:
chapter footnotes and endnotes
quotations
tables, etc.
It does not include:
bibliography
appendices (which should be for supporting, illustrative material only and may not be used
to elaborate or extend the argument)
You must include a word count on the front page of every piece of work. Failure to indicate
the word count, or the provision of a false word count, may lead to disciplinary action.
What are the penalties for exceeding the word count?
If you exceed the word count by between 10-50%, your final assignment mark will be
capped at 50% (PGT) or 40% (UG).
Work exceeding the word count by more than 50% will be viewed as not having met the
requirements of the assessment. The work will not be marked and a mark of zero will be
recorded.
Please note also that you must retain an electronic copy of each piece of work which you
submit for assessment.
85
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAREER CHOICE AND
GRADUATES' MAJOR: A STUDY OF SHANGHAI IN CHINA
By
Shuping Jiang
A Dissertation submitted for The Masters in MSc Human Resource Management (Int
development)
School of Environment, Education and Development
University of Manchester
2021
1
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
When the concept of career choices is mentioned, a lot of things come to mind. They
include things such as job description, career outlook, education and training required, and salary
(Indeed Editorial Team 2021). However, numerous other factors can influence the career choices
of a student. These factors can be explored by determining how they are addressed by various
theories (Montmarquette et al. 2020). Theories help to define how and why things appear in a
particular way. Therefore career development theories help determine how and why graduates
make certain career choices. The first factor that influences a graduate's career choice is
childhood fantasies (Sharif et al. 2019). It starts with the question people are often asked while in
elementary and middle school. What do you want to become when you grow up? Most graduates
remember this question and may help shape their understanding of career choices (Keck 2016).
Today numerous career counseling theories are used for career choice development, even for
children at a very young age.
Ginzberg’s developmental theory illustrates three life phases that are related to career
development (Anake et al. 2018). The process begins at a teenage age where students fantasize
about what they wish to be in life (Anake et al. 2018). The second factor is culture which
consists of things like religion, race, family tradition, and ethnic backgrounds (Whitehead 2018).
Most graduates' career choices are shaped by culture as it relates to many aspects of their life.
This has led to the establishment of multicultural career counseling to assist students in
2
discovering their careers based on their cultures. However, culture cannot be attributed as a
predominant factor that influences a particular individual, but the awareness associated with
culture plays a substantial role in the career choice of a student (Johnson & Muse 2016).
The third factor is gender because of the existence of women and men career stereotypes.
Gender is a critical factor in career development approaches and theories, including career
counseling and Social Learning (Bernardo et al. 2016). How the graduates perceive themselves
plays a vital role in the career decisions they make. However, as the roles of men and women in
the workplace evolve, more studies are being carried out to understand the change. The fourth
factor is interests that a student has in life such that they choose a career that aligns with their
passion (Gacohi et al. 2016).
Holland's Career Typology is highly used to connect the career fields with a student's
personality. The theory is used to explain the system of classification that aligns with personal
preferences and personality traits with a certain career choice. The theory has six career types
and personalities that describe various occupations and job characteristics. Using the Holland
Codes, students can get a list of their preferred careers by feeling questionnaires such as the ones
that are offered through the United States Department of Labor (Yılmaz 2017). The last factor is
abilities, talents, and skills that direct the graduates on the careers that best suit them (Stock &
Stock 2019). This helps the student to choose a career that best fits their performance in school to
ensure that they excel in what they do.
Choosing a career is one thing and selecting the right major to explore the career is the
other task. During the early years in college, students have to choose the subjects they wish to
concentrate on for the rest of their college life. This s a critical time because if a graduate
chooses the wrong major, there is a high proposition of dropping out before they can graduate. It
3
is thought that majoring in science is riskier than majoring in business (Jaradat 2019). However,
it is said that graduates who differ in ascriptive and socioeconomic as well as their cognitive
abilities can also differ when choosing a particular major.
Graduates from better socioeconomic backgrounds are said to take riskier majors than
their counterparts because they have a high expectation in life even if they fail. Male students are
also said to take riskier major choices than their female counterparts (Akosah-Twumasi et al.
2018). Other graduates use their grades and high school entry scores to choose their majors at
college. This isolates factors such as gender, culture, personality, and childhood fantasies. The
graduates choose the majors in expectation to succeed as they have excelled before in earlier
school life (Wright 2018).
Past research has focused primarily on the factors that influence graduates' career choices
exclusively and the factors that exclusively influence major choices. Although the two are related
as they influence each other, they have been isolated in the past as if they were two separate
topics. It has been observed that this isolation can lead to graduates dropping out before they
complete their studies. This is because they choose a major, and then in the middle, they realize
that it does not fit their career choice, or they fail and decide to quit (Yu et al. 2018).
Unlike other colleges, studies have identified that Chinese graduates are given the
opportunity to re-choose their majors in case they feel they made a wrong choice. The graduates
are allowed to study in their first choice for two years, and then they can re-choose another major
based on the college assessment of their academic performance and interests (Kazi & Akhlaq
2017). However, only a limited number of graduates are allowed to change their major to avoid
making the practice chaotic. Mostly the better and average students are the only ones who are
4
given the opportunity to transfer to another major. Such students are required to maintain an
above-average academic performance.
The re-choosing only takes place in the second semester of the freshman year, and after
that, the door is closed. This means that a graduate-only has one chance to re-decide their choice
before proceeding to the next year. The process is done in an organized way by each department
announcing the number of slots for the graduates to make their transfer requests. After
application, the students have to engage in an in-person interview which is tough and
challenging, especially for majors that are considered hot (Dafeng 2016). Furthermore, the
Chinese students are also provided with an opportunity to take a double major. This helps the
students with difficulties in choosing the right majors and who do not want a transfer later.
While the importance of job prospects is appreciated everywhere in the world, the choice
of the major that a student takes when joining a University in China is considered as one of the
most important contributors to the career path they will ultimately pursue. Such prospects are
greater in China as compared to many other countries in the world because of the
competitiveness of the job market. Besides, most of the scholars in Shanghai China, like in many
other parts of the country are alive to the fact that their competitiveness in the job market is one
of the most important factors that can boost their chances of becoming meaningful people in
society (João Pires 2019).
1.2 Problem of the Study
In the Chinese higher education system, a national entry exam called gaokao is used by
graduates to decide their major at college. This limits the autonomy of the graduate to choose a
major that interests them because their performance is used as the decider. The system has
received a lot of criticism as it forces graduates to take majors they are not interested in. In a
5
survey that the Chinese Ministry of education conducted, it was established that 70% of
graduates end up in majors they have little or no information about (Dafeng 2016). This means
that choosing a major in the Chinese higher education institutions is a blind one rather than an
informed one. In recent years, the problem started being addressed by large universities such as
Zhejiang University through experimentation on the American model (Dafeng 2016). This
allows the students to study for one to two years before they can choose their major for the rest
of college life. However, graduates still feel that the change is insignificant because it is like a
mini gaokao exam.
After one to two years, the students are given to first learn and then choose their major
eventually. In the end, their choices will still be based on performance (Vu et al. 2019). For
instance, most graduates choose to major in maths, but the resources to cater to the demand are
scarce. Therefore eventually, student's performance is used to categorize the graduates that
should major in maths. This means there are graduates interested in maths, but only the ones with
the best grades will be chosen to major in maths, and the others will be forced to re-choose their
majors (Chao et al. 2017). Often, the students dropped from the popular majors are approached
by the less popular majors and departments to fill the empty slots. Because the students do not
have a choice, they are forced to join the majors and departments that were not their interest.
This decision is made without giving any consideration to the graduates' career choices.
The graduates describe the problem as a vicious cycle. The most popular majors are
crowded with students, while the less popular are left for the ones dropped and those with no
interest in them (Freeman et al. 2017). However, understanding the problem well requires asking
numerous questions and raising a lot of curiosity.
6
The issues in the Chinese higher education system of graduates choosing their majors
have resulted in problems forcing most of them to seek education abroad. The problem that
majors choice restrictions pose to the students threatens their confidence in securing their career
paths of choice (Farley & Yang 2019). The discouragement of a person to do what interests them
is dangerous because it limits their enthusiasm to excel (Hess 2018). Education is valued in
China, and only the people with the best scores are chosen for the best posts that eventually help
them to climb the social ladder. The current study explores the relationship between career
choices and graduates' major. This study anticipates recommending to Government to reduce the
restrictions on the Universities choosing students majors but allowing the career choices of
students to determine one's major.
1.3 Scope of the Study
The study will be conducted in Shanghai, China, particularly in Fudan University, the
biggest in the city. Since the research will be conducted on Shanghai higher education
institutions, the study will involve visiting the institutions and collecting information right from
the graduates and other members of the institution. It will target the senior students who are
almost entering the phase of selecting their career path. The focus on this group of respondents is
important because it will help collect information on how they value the connection between
their career choices and their majors. Examining the gap between their career choices and the
majors they end up in in the final year at college will help determine the relationship between the
majors and the career choices.
1.4 Objectives of the Study
7
The main objective of the research is to identify the relationship between career choices
and graduate majors in Shanghai, China, higher education institutions. The specific objectives are
outlined below:
1. To determine how career choice influences a graduate’s major.
2. To determine the satisfaction of students with their major.
3. To determine the impact of scores on student's career choices.
4. To determine the cause of student's dropout in college.
5. To determine how a major impacts a graduate's career later in life.
1.5 Questions of the Research
According to the aim and objectives mentioned above, this research facilitates answers to the
below questions:
1. How does career choice influence graduate majors in Shanghai higher education?
2. What is the satisfaction rate of graduates in their major?
3. What is the significance of a student's score in determining their major?
4. What are the causes of student's drop-out in college?
5. How does students' major impact their careers later in life?
1.6 Significance of the study
The findings in this study will be useful in helping ensure that graduates choose the right
major at the right time. By deriving the relationship between career choice and a major, it would
be easy to challenge the higher education institutions in Shanghai to give the students freedom to
choose their major. The results can be used to motivate the students to focus their major on their
career to avoid confusion in the way. Lastly, the finding will add more knowledge to the topic of
the relationship between career choice and major for graduates.
8
1.7 Study Organization
The study comprises five chapters. Chapter one consists of the background, problem
statement, objectives, significance, and organization of the study. Chapter two consists of the
conceptual and theoretical framework of the study. Chapter three consists of the methodology
used in the study. Chapter four consists of data analysis of the collected data. And finally,
chapter five consists of the findings, recommendations, and conclusions.
1.8 Conclusion
This chapter of our research study has illustrated the background of our study. The
chapter has also outlined the problem statement. Chapter one also has the organization of the
study, where the study outline has been outlined. This chapter will be proceeded by chapter two.
The next chapter will outline and deal with the theoretical and empirical review among others.
Based on the relevant literature’s reviews, the author will present the current knowledge and
understandings on the topic of the relationship between career choice and graduates' major.
9
References:
Akosah-Twumasi, P., Emeto, T. I., Lindsay, D., Tsey, K., & Malau-Aduli, B. S. (2018) A
systematic review of factors that influence youths career choices-the role of culture.
Frontiers [Online], Available:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2018.00058/full [Accessed: 9 June
2021]
Anake, P., Goodluck, & Odike, E. L., (2018) ‘An appraisal of Eli Ginzberg and associates theory
of career development’, Icheke Journal of the Faculty of Humanities, 11(1): 1-13.
Bernardo, A., Esteban, M., Fernández, E., Cervero, A., Tuero, E., & Solano, P. (2016)
‘Comparison of personal, social and academic variables related to university drop-out and
persistence’. Frontiers in psychology, 7.
Chao, C.-nan, Lu, V. F., Hegarty , N., & Angelidis , J. (2017) ‘Chinese students’ motivations for
studying in the united states’, Journal of International Students, 7(2): 257-269.
Dafeng, W. (2016) Choosing college subjects in china is a major hassle, Sixth Tone [Online],
Available: http://www.sixthtone.com/news/923/choosing-college-subjects-in-china-is-amajor-hassle [Accessed: 9 June 2021]
Farley, A. & Yang, H. (2019) ‘Comparison of Chinese Gaokao and Western university
undergraduate admission criteria: Australian ATAR as an example’, Higher Education
Research & Development, 39(3): 470-484.
Freeman, V. F., Reardon, R. C., & Lenz, J. G. (2017) Career course impact on college students’
career decision and affective states, American Counseling Association [Online],
Available: https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-
10
source/vistas/article_3289ce2bf16116603abcacff0000bee5e7.pdf?sfvrsn=4 [Accessed: 9
June 2021]
Gacohi, J. N., Sindabi, A. M., Chepchieng, M. C., (2016) ‘Influence of career information on
choice of degree programme among regular and self-sponsored students in public
universities, Kenya’, Journal of Education and Practice, 8(11): 38-47.
Hess, A. J. (2018) Study finds that picking the wrong college can make you depressed-here's
why, CNBC [Online], Available: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/30/study-finds-thatpicking-the-wrong-college-can-make-you-depressed.html [Accessed: 9 June 2021]
Indeed Editorial Team (2021) What is the difference between a job and a career?, Indeed
[Online], Available: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/differencebetween-a-job-and-a-career [Accessed: 23 June 2021]
Jaradat, M. (2019) ‘3 What's really matter when choosing a college majors’, International
Journal of Arts and Commerce, 4(2).
Johnson, I. Y., & Muse, W. B. (2016) ‘Choice of academic major at a public research university:
the role of gender and self-efficacy’, Research in Higher Education, 58: 365-394.
Kazi, A. S., & Akhlaq, A. (2017) ‘Factors affecting students' career choice’, Journal of Research
and Reflections in Education, 11(2): 187-196.
Keck, K. J. (2016) Factors influencing student major selection at a community college, Master
theses, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Available:
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3457&context=theses [Accessed: 8
June 2021]
Montmarquette, C., Cannings, K., & Mahseredjian, S. (2020) ‘How do young people choose
college majors?’, Economics of Education Review, 21(6): 543-556.
11
Sharif, N., Ahmad, N., & Sarwar, S. (2019) ‘Factors influencing career choices’, IBT Journal of
Business Studies, 15(1): 33-46.
Stock, P., & Stock, E. M. (2019) ‘What factors affect a college student's decision on a major or
minor?’, paper presented at the Center for Scholastic Inquiry conference, University of
Mary Hardin-Baylor, US, April.
Vu, P., Harshbarger, D., Crow, S., & Henderson, S. (2019) ‘Why STEM? Factors that influence
gifted students’ choice of college majors’, International Journal of Technology in
Education and Science, 3(2): 63-71.
Whitehead, A. (2018) ‘Examining influence of family, friends, and educators on first-year
college student selection STEM major selection’, Journal of Mason Graduate
Research, 5(2): 58-84.
Wright, C. (2018) Choose Wisely: A study of college major choice and major switching
behavior, PhD theses, Pardee RAND Graduate School, Santa Monica, Available:
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD400/RGSD414/RA
ND_RGSD414.pdf [Accessed: 10 June 2021]
Yılmaz, O. (2017) ‘An evidence for validity of holland’s theory of personality types in Turkish
culture’, Journal of Psychology Research, 7(5): 264-273.
Yu, S., Zhang, F., Nunes, L. D., & Levesque-Bristol, C. (2018) ‘Self-determined motivation to
choose college majors, its antecedents, and outcomes: A cross-cultural investigation’,
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 108: 132-150.
12
School of Environment, Education & Development
GDI Dissertation Handbook
Taught Masters programmes in 2020-21:
Notes of guidance on dissertation preparation and submission
GDI Dissertation Handbook
Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
Aims of the Dissertation ........................................................................................... 1
Dissertation Requirements ....................................................................................... 2
Submission Arrangements ........................................................................................ 2
Assessment Arrangements ....................................................................................... 3
Further Reading ......................................................................................................... 3
2. Dissertation Preparation ............................................................................ 4
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
Choosing a Dissertation Topic................................................................................... 4
Submitting Dissertation Topic Suggestions .............................................................. 4
Keeping on Top of the Dissertation Process ............................................................ 5
Working with your Supervisor .................................................................................. 6
Structure for dissertations ........................................................................................ 9
Ethical Applications, confirmation of title and risk assessment ........................... 13
3. Submission Format .................................................................................. 15
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
General information................................................................................................ 15
Presentation ............................................................................................................ 15
Style and Language.................................................................................................. 15
Word limit ................................................................................................................ 15
Graphical material ................................................................................................... 16
Proof reading ........................................................................................................... 16
Plagiarism ................................................................................................................ 16
Bibliography and referencing ................................................................................. 16
Appendices .............................................................................................................. 16
Presentation conventions for text and formatting ................................................ 17
Dissertation Checklist.............................................................................................. 19
4. Assessment Criteria ................................................................................. 21
4.1
4.2
4.3
Content .................................................................................................................... 21
Structure .................................................................................................................. 23
Presentation ............................................................................................................ 23
Appendices .................................................................................................... 1
Appendix 1a: Postgraduate Dissertation Timetable (On-Campus) ..................................... 2
Appendix 1b: Postgraduate Dissertation Timetable (Off-Campus)..................................... 3
Appendix 2: Participant Information Sheet ......................................................................... 4
Appendix 3: Consent Form.................................................................................................... 5
Appendix 4: Risk Assessment ............................................................................................... 6
1
GDI Dissertation Handbook
1. Introduction
Students on all taught Masters programmes within the School of Environment, Education and
Development are required to submit a dissertation, on a topic approved by the Programme Director.
Dissertations should contain an element of original research which may be achieved through reflection
and reading as well as through the collection of primary or secondary data. They contribute a third of a
programme’s assessment (60 credits of 180 for a Masters programme) and must be submitted in
September of the final year of study (or December for part-time, on-campus students).
Students are free to consider a wide range of topics, subject to approval on the basis of the focus for their
Masters programme, the feasibility of the topic within the timescale of the programme, and the extent
to which the topic supplements and extends knowledge gained from following the particular programme
of study.
These guidelines have been produced to help you with the process of preparing and completing a
dissertation. The document sets out the initial objectives and requirements of the dissertation, advises
on dissertation preparation, outlines formatting and submission arrangements, and details the
assessment criteria. You should use it as an aide memoire alongside your Programme Handbook and the
advice of your supervisor.
1.1 Aims of the Dissertation
The overall aims of postgraduate dissertations are to:
provide students with an opportunity to plan, manage and conduct a programme of research on a
topic related to their programme of studies;
further students’ knowledge of a relevant body of literature, and develop powers of critical reasoning;
allow students to seek new research findings which add to the existing body of knowledge on a
particular subject area (noting the majority of dissertations do not involve primary data collection but
review or reinterpretation of materials already available);
develop fully students’ knowledge of, and competence in, an appropriate range of research methods,
including the development of a focal question or hypothesis, an appreciation of the research
methodology and analytical techniques to be utilised, the undertaking of a specific research study,
the synthesis and evaluation of findings, and a clear statement of conclusions and recommendations;
develop students’ writing, presentation and bibliographic skills; and
develop students’ experience of developing and managing a specific programme of work through to
final submission.
In addition and complementary to those above, the aims of the dissertation are to:
enable students to demonstrate their understanding of different theoretical perspectives and to
assess critically the relevance of their application to a relevant problem;
develop students’ ability to apply critically different analytical techniques and methods that are
relevant to their dissertation topic; and
provide the opportunity to demonstrate the capacity for independent, self-managed learning.
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Objectives
On completing the dissertation, students should be better equipped to:
Conduct literature reviews and secondary research using a range of bibliographic techniques and
sources, including those available through the world-wide web.
Analyse and synthesise relevant concepts and methods, and apply these to a relevant problem.
Where appropriate and feasible, conduct small-scale primary research activities.
Manage their own work and learning processes in relation to a research project that can be
completed in three months.
Produce a dissertation conforming to the conventions of academic writing.
1.2 Dissertation Requirements
Dissertation word length
GDI students should submit a dissertation of 12,000-15,000 words (plus or minus 10%) in length.
The word count includes chapter footnotes and endnotes.
The word count does not include references, interview transcripts and abstracts; however no
more than five pages of appendices are permitted.
Ideally you should aim for 15,000 words plus or minus 10%. Your supervisor will guide you and
ensure you are clear on word length requirements and potential implications.
Consequences of submitting a dissertation which has fewer than 10,800 words
Dissertations of fewer than 10,800 words (12,000 - 10%) will not be marked.
This means that you will be required to resubmit your dissertation and your subsequent mark will be
capped at a maximum of 40%.
Consequences of submitting a dissertation which has more than 16,500 words
Dissertations which are longer than 16,500 words (15,000 + 10%) will not be marked.
This means that you will be required to resubmit your dissertation and your subsequent mark will be
capped at a maximum of 40%.
1.3 Submission Arrangements
You must submit your final dissertation via Blackboard no later than 2 pm on Wednesday, 1 September
2021 (or by Monday, 6 December 2021 for second year part-time students). (Details of dissertation
submission procedures will be circulated at a later date). Please see section 3 for more details.
Please be warned that GDI does not grant extensions for dissertations. The submission of the dissertation
marks the completion of your degree, and we need the time following the deadline in order to mark,
second mark, review and process your grades in time for the Exam Board in November and your
graduation in December. As with coursework assessment, the Mitigating Circumstances mechanism also
applies to dissertations. Any student who considers that their dissertation may be delayed due to
‘unforeseen’ and ‘unpreventable’ circumstances should submit a Mitigating Circumstances application
(https://www.seed.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/postgraduate/postgraduate-taught/mitigatingcircumstances/), along with supporting documentation.
All work to be considered under Mitigating Circumstances should be submitted as soon as is practicable
but note that any work submitted after the end of September may be too late to be marked and
considered in time for December graduation.
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Any dissertations submitted after the deadline without approved mitigating circumstances can only
receive a maximum mark of 40%. It is particularly important to note that any dissertations handed in late
and without approved mitigating circumstances will receive a late penalty deduction of 10 marks per 24
hour period or part 24 hour period. If the penalty deduction reduces the original mark below 50% then
this will normally be treated as a re-sit. This means that the mark maximum of ‘40R’ will be recorded
Where relevant, students should alert their supervisor to any extenuating circumstances well in advance
of the submission deadline.
Students who do not submit a dissertation will normally be awarded a Diploma qualification if they have
met all the other requirements of their programme. Students who fail the dissertation with a mark below
50% but higher than 30% (30-49) will be granted one opportunity to resubmit. Students who fail the
dissertation with a mark below 30% will not be permitted to resubmit.1
1.4 Assessment Arrangements
Once submitted, dissertations are assessed and the marking moderated by a minimum of two internal
examiners. A sample of dissertations is sent to the relevant external examiner for the programme, who
validates standards. Final marks are confirmed by the Board of Examiners, which meets in mid-November.
A full explanation of the assessment criteria for the dissertation is set out in Section 4.
1.5 Further Reading
There is an extensive range of reading material associated with dissertation preparation and research
methods, and specific reading may be distributed by programme directors as appropriate. Some generic
texts include:
Guidance on Postgraduate Dissertation-Type Research
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2016) Research Methods for Business Students, 7th Edition ,
Pearson, Harlow.
Collis, J. & Hussey, R. (2014) Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate and Postgraduate
Students, 4th Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, London
Walliman, N. (2011) Your Research Project: A Step-by-Step Guide for the First Time Researcher, 3rd
Edition, Sage, London
Allan, G. & Skinner, C. (2007) Handbook for Research Students in the Social Sciences, The Falmer Press,
London
Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education, Health and
Social Science. Open University Press, Maidenhead
Developing/Transitional Country-Based Research
Lunn, J. (2014) Fieldwork in the Global South, Routledge, London
Barrett, C. & Cason, J. (2010) Overseas Research: A Practical Guide, Routledge, London
Sumner, A. and Tribe, M. (2008) International Development Studies: Theories and Methods in
Research and Practice, Sage, London
Scheyvens, R. & Storey, D. (eds) (2003) Development Fieldwork: A Practical Guide, Sage, London
1
Students on Distance Learning Programmes under the pre-September 2016 PGT Degree Regulations will be subject
to different regulations. Your Distance Learning Programme Administrator can provide further details.
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2. Dissertation Preparation
This section offers some pointers on drafting postgraduate dissertations. It contains important
information relating to the initial process of preparation and the structure of the final dissertation.
The timetable for dissertation topic selection, supervisory discussions, and submission is provided in
Appendix 1.
2.1 Choosing a Dissertation Topic
It is important that you begin the process of choosing a topic as soon as possible. There are, of course, no
hard-and-fast rules on how to choose a dissertation topic. However, a sensible approach is to identify a
broad area of study – for example, related to one of your lecture courses – but then to narrow this down
to a set of more focused research questions or hypotheses. It is important that you avoid vague and overgeneralised topics. Proposals for studies like ‘something on sustainability’ or ‘something on East Africa’
are insufficiently well-focused. Try to avoid something as vague as ‘mining in Latin America’, and instead
choose something tighter and more focused, like ‘leading organisational change in public sector
institutions in Oman’.
You must select a topic which interests you and will retain your enthusiasm for many months, but also
one which is practicable within the available time. This seems an obvious point to make, but one which
nevertheless is often overlooked as students select topics which they think will appeal to potential
supervisors, but which are of little personal interest. Such an approach is rarely successful since any topic
must be of sufficient interest to retain your attention for several months.
In the initial stages, it is likely that some of you will have difficulty in selecting a topic. For initial ideas,
it is often useful to consider:
Recent academic journal publications to gain an idea of broad fields of contemporary research
interest. In addition, trade or practice journals contain stories on areas of current professional
interest, some of which may offer potential for more detailed investigation. Likewise, newspaper
stories might stimulate initial ideas, though journalistic writing will need to be translated into
suitably robust academic questions and hypotheses.
Current problems in a current/past organisation, or topics that relate to current job/career
priorities.
Expressions of need by practitioners – e.g. engineers and managers in the field.
Consult authorities in the field, and be aware of the interests of your lecturers by looking at their
on-line research profiles.
Also bear in mind that a topic should have an element of novelty - and does not simply repeat what has
been done before. It is also important that the topic should be feasible: matching your capabilities;
matching your motivations/interests; data you need should be accessible; and it can be achieved within
the time available.
2.2 Submitting Dissertation Topic Suggestions
You are required to indicate your proposed dissertation topic using the online Dissertation Planning
Form. A link to the form will be made available in mid-January and you should complete the online form
no later than mid-February: see Appendix 1.You should note that:
Topic suggestions are indicative only, and used principally to inform the allocation of supervisors.
It is possible for you to amend dissertation topics/titles, but you must confirm a final, formal title
(see section 2.3 below).
You need not, at the initial stage, agonise unduly about the precise title for the dissertation; the
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topic is of greater importance. Again, the final title, when it has been agreed, needs to be concise.
You will not be permitted to conduct primary research in countries or areas deemed too risky
(after you have completed the risk assessment with your supervisor), and which are thus not
covered by University of Manchester insurance.
You will not be permitted to do primary research with minors, the sick, vulnerable or incarcerated
or with any other human groups where ethical consent is problematic, because it is not possible
to provide formal Ethical Consent, for these groups, within the timeframe of an MA or MSc.
Even where primary research is not being conducted with the aforementioned groups, some
procedures of research will also not be permitted for ethical reasons. This would include,
although this is not exhaustive, investigative procedures involving subterfuge; undisclosed
participant observation; and interviewing in non-public spaces. See also Appendices 4 and 7.
Many dissertations do not involve primary research or data collection, and finished work is not
penalised for not including these. Similarly, the vast majority of dissertations do not include original
or novel ‘discoveries’. In other words, you should feel reassured that some of our best dissertations
are those which correctly review current literature and secondary data, and reinterpret these in a
professional and insightful way.
Some students will want to do primary research, and they are welcome to do so subject to their
supervisor and Programme Director’s approval of their title, methods and ethical statement (see
Sections 2.6 & 2.7). Getting the approvals from the requisite committees takes time and organisation
and will have to begin as early as possible. Also be warned that the concerns of a current or previous
job or your longstanding commitment to a project or community are not necessarily the best topics
for a dissertation. There can be hidden hazards in doing research ‘close to home’, which may involve
your relatives, friends, or people to whom you otherwise have a responsibility, involving what ethics
committees term ‘coercion’ – people may feel obliged to answer your questions; let alone bias –
people may tell you what they think you want to hear based on their prior knowledge of you.
2.3 Keeping on Top of the Dissertation Process
Planning ahead
When you are planning your schedule, please do remember that your own time and application is only
one of the determining factors. You need to take into account your supervisor’s time as well as your own
when you are estimating overall time needed. Data collection always takes longer than you expect, as
does, for example, the writing of a literature review, and even the completion of your reference list. Given
your overall timing constraints, this may require that you find more time than you initially anticipated
from your weekly schedule to devote to your dissertation.
Organising and backing up your work
Organising your work is of key importance. You should build up separate reference files of material as the
study develops including notes of all documents read, and copies of particularly useful papers or
diagrams, and notes of all meetings and discussions. Ensure that all references are complete, using the
Harvard System. Allow time for the development of ideas and arguments through revision and redrafting
and full discussions of each section of study. Preparing summaries of each section as part of the drafts
can help you achieve this.
Remember to make back-up copies of your work. There is no excuse for not backing-up your files. This
can be done using your P: drive, cloud-based services, a CD/DVD, or a USB memory stick. If you have a PC
or laptop, back up copies using some of these alternatives. Note that any such ‘disasters’ of lost work will
not justify late submission. Make sure you leave plenty of time to proof read work, format the layout, and
chase-up any remaining references; these tasks invariably take much longer than you expect.
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The writing process
A golden rule is to write down as much as you can from as early on as you can – and your task will become
easier. There are several good reasons for this advice. For some people, actually getting thoughts and
methods down on paper presents one of the biggest stumbling blocks. If you feel this way, take comfort
that this is a common feeling. However, this must be overcome early in the process. Quite often, it is
difficult to spot the flaws in your reasoning until it is set out on paper, so you are well advised to write up
bits and pieces in draft as early as possible. Early discussions with your supervisor should be followed by
a period where you get down on paper and develop ideas that have been mentioned. Another reason for
writing early on is that your supervisor will want to see your reasoning is committed to paper; feedback
based on loose ideas can be a waste of time. One of the reasons why you might be reluctant to do this is
lack of confidence. Many people who have not written such an extended piece of work before are
diffident about committing their critical thoughts and methodology descriptions to paper. Try to rise
above this! A more positive reason for getting down to it early is that you will be pleasantly surprised at
how many words it takes to put down your ideas. The daunting task of 15,000 words does not seem nearly
so unattainable when you realise how many thousands you have already written on literature review and
a description of methodology.
2.4 Working with your Supervisor
The student’s role
The initiative for requesting supervisions lies entirely with you, the student. Agree methods of getting in
contact with your own supervisor: email is usually the best way. You must ensure that dissertation
supervisors are kept fully informed on progress and difficulties, and that you prime them with specific
questions about issues on which you want feedback. The onus is on you to make sure that you arrange
contact with your supervisor: you will not be ‘chased’ by supervisors.
Your responsibilities include:
Discussing with your supervisor the type of guidance and comment that you find helpful.
Beginning the submission of title process, including discussion of Ethical Issues and/or Risk
Assessment forms if applicable.
Taking the initiative in arranging consultations, raising questions, problems or difficulties
encountered.
Delivering written drafts several days before you want feedback.
Maintaining a schedule of work as agreed with your supervisor, and keeping your supervisor
informed of your progress with regular updates.
Completing the Notice of Submission form at the time of submitting the dissertation.
Keeping any data you have collected (such as responses to interview questions and
questionnaires) in a safe place until such time as the assessment of your dissertation has been
fully and formally completed.
Submitting the completed dissertation via Blackboard, correctly formatted, by the agreed date,
having completed an online Notice of Submission form. Information on where and when to
submit your dissertation and the link to the online Notice of Submission form will be sent to you
by your programme administrator as the time for submission draws near.
Your supervisor will almost certainly be supervising a variety of other projects; therefore, you should not
assume that s/he can immediately recall the last discussion you had together about yours. You should
never expect on-the-spot responses. There will also be periods when your supervisor is not available,
either because s/he is heavily committed with other duties such as examining, or on leave for work or
holiday reasons. Do make sure that you and your supervisor are aware of each other’s periods of absence.
It is important that you submit whole chapters for feedback in good time in order to receive written
feedback from your supervisor, accompanied each time by an updated outline, a running bibliography
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and any necessary appendices. Your supervisor cannot deal with smaller sections since it is impossible to
see how these relate to the whole.
Your supervisor will not have the time to read your entire dissertation as you prepare it. It would be a
good idea, therefore, to discuss this and establish which sections s/he wishes to see and provide written
feedback on. Examiners, however, read all of it! Also, supervisors are not to be expected to proof read or
to correct spelling/grammar. Students are advised to buy-in or otherwise arrange such services if needed.
To a large extent, then, the dissertation has to be a self-managed process. Your role is to organise the
research programme as a whole, taking advice from your supervisor and taking the initiative in raising
problems/difficulties. The supervisor’s role is to give advice and help about the nature and standard of
the work. But remember, the ultimate responsibility remains yours: this is your work and the quality
depends on you. Do NOT expect your supervisor to read drafts and re-drafts of every piece of your work,
and above all, do NOT expect your supervisor to guarantee it is of a pass standard. When submitted, the
dissertation is referred to internal and, in some instances, external examiners who will make an
independent judgment of your work in its entirety.
The role of the supervisor is to:
give guidance concerning the nature of the research process, the standard of work required and in
planning the programme of research involved.
establish at an early stage the supervisor’s responsibilities in relation to the student’s written work,
including the nature of guidance and comments to be offered as work proceeds.
agree completion dates for successive stages of the work, receiving first draft chapters as appropriate
and returning written material with constructive criticism on the broad shape and structure of the
work (but not on its detailed content).
provide advice and guidance to help improve the quality of the work. At all times, however, it must
be made clear that dissertation preparation for a higher degree is undertaken within the general
principle that the dissertation must be the student’s own work.
Supervisory structure
Starting the Dissertation
You will be allocated a dissertation supervisor who is experienced and knowledgeable regarding the
dissertation process and research methods. All dissertation supervisors will be able to advise students on
the intellectual process of writing a dissertation, including the standards required, research design and
dissertation structure, and will be able to respond to student queries regarding the aims and research
questions of the dissertation, the conduct of a literature review, methodology and ethics/risk assessment.
Each year we have students who want to pursue legitimate topics within the wide subject area of global
development policy and management. Do not be anxious if the member of staff assigned to supervise
your work is not someone you have met or know. Please also note that, as well as being provided a
dissertation supervisor, you may approach any member of staff during office hours for specific advice.
Contact with the Dissertation Supervisor
You are expected to have contact with your supervisor at intervals throughout the dissertation process.
Although individual instances will vary, you are permitted a maximum of four substantive consultations
with your supervisor. It is your responsibility to arrange these before the supervision period ends in midJuly. It is advisable to make arrangements for subsequent contact at the end of each prior contact. If you
are unable to meet with your supervisor, you should agree the most convenient way of proceeding (for
example through email or by telephone).
On-campus students are advised to keep a formal record of meetings with your supervisor. Your
supervisor will also keep a record of meetings.
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Dissertation Milestones (timetable):
Note that the structure of supervision arrangements varies over time and is designed to reflect the
changing needs of your research:
Nov 2020: Milestone 1 – Starting the Dissertation (see Section 2.1)
The Dissertation Handbook will be circulated (on-campus and distance learning) and students
will be encouraged to start thinking about dissertation topics which may include discussions
with their Academic Advisor or other members of staff.
mid-Feb 2021: Milestone 2 – Submission of Dissertation Topic (see Section 2.2)
Students will submit an indication of a general area of interest for their dissertation topic which
will aid supervisor allocation.
mid-March 2021: Milestone 3 – Supervisor Allocation
Your supervisor will be allocated and each student will be notified who their supervisor is by
email. Students will be allocated a dissertation supervisor who is experienced and knowledgeable
regarding the dissertation process and research methods, and where possible has expertise in
the topic area. It would be expected that students, if they wish, will be able to make initial contact
with their supervisor to address any concerns about the dissertation.
end-April 2021: Milestone 4 – Dissertation Proposal/Outline
The second 'research proposal' assignment for core modules in research methods (which vary for
different programmes) will be due by the ‘end of April’. Students will then be free to discuss their
dissertation research proposals (see Section 2.5 – Introduction) with their supervisors and to
receive feedback. This should focus on assisting you in the framing of your research – in particular
the development of your specific research questions – and also discussion of the
conceptualisation and methodology for your work. In other words, discussion at this time focuses
on laying the foundations for your dissertation (note: Distance Learning students submit their
‘research proposal assignment’ during the first week of February, and will receive feedback by
the end of February).
May to mid-July 2021: Milestone 5 – Independent Research with Supervisory Input
The student contacts the supervisor at any time from the beginning of May to agree a timetable
for supervision, to frame the research, develop the research questions and discuss
conceptualisation i.e.: lay the foundations for the dissertation. Any need to complete risk
assessments and ethical forms needs to be addressed at this early stage.
The latter part of the period will concern development of a literature review and methodology,
and then move on to the later chapters, including possibly undertaking primary research, and will
include a maximum of four supervision consultations. Therefore there is an onus on you to use
this time effectively. Remember that every time you give your supervisor something to read, s/he
will need a few days to read it (note: Distance Learning students can contact their supervisor
from mid-March).
mid-July to end Aug 2021: Milestone 6 – Independent Research
During this stage the student should be completing the analysis and write-up, working
independently without further supervisory input.
Please note that any alteration to the dissertation title can be made on the Notice of Submission form at
the time of dissertation submission. However, if a change to dissertation title affects ethical issues and/or
fieldwork, this must be discussed in advance of submission and agreed with the dissertation supervisor
and an application made via the Ethical Review Manager (ERM) application system, where relevant.
Difficulties or Problems
Your supervisor will ensure that you are made aware when progress on the dissertation is below the
standard expected and are given guidance as to how the problem should be rectified. If you feel that the
dissertation is not proceeding satisfactorily and are unable to resolve the difficulty with your supervisor,
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you should seek advice by writing to your personal tutor or the Programme Director. If both of these are
your dissertation supervisor, the letter should go to the Head of Institute.
2.5 Structure for dissertations
Your dissertation is likely to be structured along the following lines. It is helpful to have brief introductory
and concluding paragraphs for each chapter to introduce its content and draw findings together and link
to the next chapter.
introduction to the study, outlining: (a) background to the topic, in terms of key policy and/or
research questions, issues and debates; (b) the shape and scope of the dissertation, outlining for
the reader the broad purpose of the study; (c) an outline of the structure of the dissertation. (This
should broadly follow the lines of any Dissertation Proposal you may have submitted.)
a literature review. This should provide an overview of a range of literature relevant to the topic
chosen, including relevant policy documents and technical reports as well as other academic work
detailing research findings in your chosen field of study. The purpose is to identify gaps in the
overall body of research and to outline the (modest) ways in which your research can fill those
gaps and expand the larger body of knowledge. It is not simply a summary of everything written
on a particular topic; rather, it is an attempt to locate your research within the broader array of
knowledge on a particular subject. This, in turn, will provide a detailed justification for, and
explanation of, the research questions or hypotheses around which your work will be structured.
the methodology you have employed to attempt to address the research questions or test the
hypothesis, outlining both the broad research design and justifying the particular methods and
techniques selected. You may also incorporate either here or in the previous chapter details of the
conceptual framework that shapes your work.
a results chapter, outlining the findings of research undertaken (e.g. review of policy and technical
documents, interviews with key actors, questionnaire-based surveys, or analysis of data collected
from secondary sources).
an analysis and evaluation chapter, exploring the significance of the results, relating them to the
‘bigger picture’ issues outlined in your literature review and highlighting the implications in light
of the research questions or hypotheses.
a concluding chapter, relating findings presented in the previous chapters to the research
questions/hypotheses, and highlighting the implications of your work for policies, practices,
theories or techniques, and setting out the ways in which your research has advanced or reinforced
knowledge of your chosen subject area.
a full bibliography, covering all works cited in the main text.
any other relevant reference materials, which may be presented in the appendices.
The following example does not give an exact blueprint for your dissertation: you will decide the structure
in discussion with your supervisor dependent on topic and methods. But it offers an illustration plus some
tips on the typical scope and content of chapters and sections.
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Background
The dissertation should begin by outlining the background to your topic. This could include the broad
policy, sectoral or organisational context (where relevant), and details of other research studies which
have looked at the area of study.
You must remember that this section should act as a general introduction to the study, and should
therefore be short and snappy, avoiding too much detail. A common problem with dissertations is too
much contextual, background material, and insufficient analytical detail or synthesis of source documents
and interviews. You should merely introduce the topic, and flesh out some of these ideas later on in the
work, particularly in the literature review, which will involve a much more detailed exploration of key
research issues and questions, based on current findings.
Shape and scope of the study
The second section of chapter 1 should build on the background context you have outlined, and explain in
brief the purpose of the study and the broad questions and issues you will be addressing. You would also
include here some mention of your research methods, though these will be explained in greater detail in
your methods chapter. You may also – in that later chapter and on the basis of the earlier literature review,
state the formal aims and objectives of the study and outline specific research questions to be addressed
or hypotheses to be tested.
Structure
The third section in the chapter 1 is normally an outline of the structure of the dissertation. The
progression of chapters must be logical, with each building upon material covered in the preceding
chapter. This will help focus your mind on the material required for the final report, and in planning your
time. The precise structure adopted will be dependent on the particular topic chosen, and should be
devised in consultation with your supervisor.
Chapter 2: Literature review
The second chapter might be a literature review, although again the structure will vary according to the
precise topic selected and should be discussed at length with your supervisor.
The literature review is something which confuses many students. In essence, the aims of a literature
review are two-fold. First, it should bring the reader up to date on previous research findings in the field,
with particular reference to your chosen topic. This can point towards areas of general agreement (or
disagreement) among researchers, highlighting what different studies say about your chosen topic. To use
the example of outsourcing once more, it may be the case that previous research has yielded important
findings on success and failure of outsourcing initiatives (even if some studies disagree), but there have
been recent changes in the market and regulatory environment within a particular sector (say, the banking
sector) which raise new and unanswered sets of questions which your research will proceed to explore.
The central aim is to pull out the key ideas and findings from past research and ‘locate’ your study within
that broader body of knowledge.
Secondly, where your chosen topic is related to particular policies or strategies, your literature review
should consider relevant policy/strategy and/or technical documents, in addition to the more ‘academic’
literature. For instance, in the case of the outsourcing topic, the literature review might also assess the
ways in which different types of organisations (both public and private) have attempted to develop
strategies that seek to use outsourcing to achieve rapid organisational transformation and explore the
extent to which they have met with any success in doing so. In other words, some dissertations may have
a ‘policy/strategy review’ as well as a ‘research review’ as part of the overall literature review.
In summary, then, a literature review should synthesise others’ work, highlighting the key themes to
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emerge from other studies and applying these to your own research. You should not treat the literature
review as simply a summary or précis of policy documents, journal articles and books: it should not be, for
example, ‘everything I know about organisational change’, or ‘everything I know about development
policy’. Instead, the literature review must be related to the tightly defined research questions or
hypotheses which your study is intended to address. In other words, it requires your own assessment of
the key findings of earlier work which relates to your topic. A literature review has to be comprehensive,
covering policy debates as well as theoretical and conceptual issues (i.e. academic literature). It is also
important that you concentrate on literature which is of direct relevance to your work; ignoring related
material of only marginal relevance.
You might well select (or create via synthesis of multiple sources) a conceptual model or framework that
you will apply to your research. If not in this chapter, then it would likely appear in the next.
It is also vital that you avoid plagiarism, whether unintentional or deliberate. If you lift ideas, or quote a
short passage from others’ work – which is, of course, perfectly acceptable – you have to acknowledge the
source by full and proper referencing.
A useful starting point for literature reviews is to read a small number of core texts, and then trace back
the more detailed articles cited. For example, if your dissertation is on ‘The role of public-private
partnerships in healthcare in Nigeria’, you might begin your literature review by looking at broad texts
on healthcare, before focusing-in upon more detailed (and directly relevant) work cited in these texts
(e.g. other research on public-private partnerships). You should also try to make use of a full range of
sources for literature review material. In particular, learn to use the library search facilities. In particular,
make use of the bibliographic databases and other sources that offer pointers to journal papers that you
can readily access online. You may also find Google Scholar useful for the same purposes.
Chapter 3: Methodology
The dissertation should attempt to build upon the material covered in the literature review through a
programme of further desk-based analysis, or possibly the collection of data in the field. This might take
the form, for example, of:
a short programme of structured, semi-structured or unstructured interviews (e.g. face-to-face, or by
email);
the collation of data from published sources such as via published case studies or other government
or industry surveys.
the collation of relevant policy documents, both published and unpublished (e.g. consultants reports,
donor reports, – again the list is endless);
a structured questionnaire survey (again, face-to-face, by telephone or by email).
You can structure this into Chapter 3 in the following way:
Research questions and/or hypotheses
Building on the key areas of interest you have identified in the literature review, the first part of Chapter
3 would normally contain a question or set of questions to be addressed by your dissertation, a particular
issue to be explored, or a set of hypotheses to be tested. It is vital that you set out in detail the research
questions, hypotheses, issues or problems your study addresses. This could take the form of either of the
following:
research questions, e.g. in what ways are organisations in developing countries formulating strategies
for outsourcing information systems, what form do these strategies take in different types of
organisations, and to what extent do strategies differ according to sector and country location?
hypotheses to be tested, e.g. ‘Cash transfers have led to greater expenditure by men than women
within low-income households’. The veracity of this hypothesis would be tested, possibly by using
appropriate quantitative methods, or through qualitative interviews with relevant sources. However,
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you should bear in mind that it is not always possible to develop such research hypotheses for certain
topics; and it may not be possible to collect the type of primary data that is required to test them
effectively. A detailed description of the research question(s) may be more appropriate. In addition, it
is vital that you devise hypotheses which are not over-ambitious: remember that your study is limited
in both time and in the length of the final dissertation.
Aims and objectives
The second part of chapter 3 could show the aims and objectives for your study:
Aims: these set out the overall purpose of the study. They are broad statements which explain what
you are trying to achieve to a non-expert reader who may not be familiar with your topic area.
Objectives: these are the specific operational targets which will assist in meeting the broad aims of the
study. Since these objectives are clearly set out, they will be used to judge what you have been able
to achieve at the end of your dissertation. It is thus unwise to be over-ambitious by setting objectives
which are not realistically achievable. At the same time, devising clear objectives at the outset of your
research will ensure that the work is sufficiently focused, and avoid the work being too generalised.
Throughout your programme of research, you should constantly refer back to your objectives to
ensure that what you are doing or writing is relevant, and to ensure that it will help to meet those
objectives.
For both aims and objectives, these should be stated as succinctly as possible, and should be revised, if
necessary, as work progresses. Therefore it is quite possible that your questions, aims and objectives will
all be covered in quite a short amount of text.
Note, in outlining aims and objectives, you need to build on the conclusions of your literature review, the
purpose of which in essence is to explain and justify the focus of your research.
Research design
Thirdly, having generated relevant research questions and/or hypotheses, you have to explain clearly how
you will go about answering or testing these. In other words, you must give details of the research methods
to be used, outlining the overall research design – including any conceptual framework or model that you
are using, and (in relevant cases) specifying methods of data collection (e.g. sources of published data that
have been used, semi-structured interviews which have been conducted). You must attempt to justify the
choice of your particular methodology, in light of the chosen research topic: you have to try to
demonstrate why the methods selected are appropriate to answering a particular question, or
investigating a given hypothesis. Why, for example, is a programme of interviews useful in investigating
your topic? Why are particular data sources useful? Why have you chosen to collate a series of policy
documents? Why have you selected particular case study areas? And how have you gone about
investigating a particular case study?
Example One: the use of a case study approach. You should explain briefly:
why a case study approach is the most appropriate method to tackle the research questions;
why you have used one case study rather than two or more, or vice versa;
why you have used a particular case study or studies (e.g. previous research might have ignored certain
places; a problem or issue might be especially apparent in that area; or the area may be representative
of the general pattern);
the ways in which you have collected information for these case studies, whether it be interviews,
collation of policy documents, or use of published data for that area (it is not sufficient simply to say
that you will ‘do’ a case study, without specifying the means by which this will be conducted).
Example Two: the use of interviews. You should explain briefly:
why you have chosen to use interviews to address the research problem;
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GDI Dissertation Handbook
who you have interviewed, and why;
what questions were asked and why;
the means by which you conducted interviews (e.g. were they unstructured discussions, structured
face-to-face questionnaires, or email questionnaires?);
how you have used the information collected (e.g. quotes from interviewees etc.).
Chapters 4 and 5: Fieldwork/results and analysis/evaluation/discussion
You must also take care to avoid a purely descriptive study which is then dutifully described without
interpretation, commentary or evaluation. You must try to develop themes and arguments on the basis of
interviews, data assembled or documents collected. Your work must go beyond mere description, to
provide an analysis of information collected, and to highlight the implications of your findings. Where you
are undertaking a case study, for example, you should ensure that you constantly refer to the bigger
picture: what, if anything, does the experience of a case study area or subject say about the broader
question you are exploring through your research?
In writing a suitably analytical and interpretative piece of work, it is important that you refer back
continuously to your initial objectives and avoid being side-tracked on irrelevant detail, or bogged-down
by the superfluous minutiae which surround any topic. At the same time, you must also take care to ensure
that the information collected is not simply ‘analysed’ for its own sake, without identifying the implications
for the study: this is one distinction between a dissertation and project work. Throughout this stage of the
work, you should constantly ask yourself what is the implication of a given finding for your research
question or hypothesis. For example, if an interviewee makes a particular comment, or if you note an
interesting quote in a committee report, what are the implications of this for your dissertation topic? It is
important to avoid writing in an over-generalised way, neglecting to concentrate on tightly defined
objectives for the research. For example, on too many occasions, student dissertations read like
‘everything I know about e-business/outsourcing/export-led strategy in Bangalore’, rather than a study
which focuses on a clear and well-defined research question and which is of interest beyond a particular
case study area.
In some cases, you might opt to have two chapters devoted to ‘results’: a first one describing your main
findings and outlining the results of any fieldwork; and a second discussing the broader implications.
Whether you have one or two chapters is likely to depend upon the topic in question. Again, you will need
to discuss this with your supervisor.
Chapter 6: Conclusions
The concluding chapter should not merely summarise material already covered in previous chapters.
Instead, you must attempt to draw together the various messages to emerge from your review of the
literature, and from your ‘analysis’ chapter(s). Again, it is important not to be descriptive, and to
concentrate on the research questions posed at the outset of your study. In particular, you should try to
highlight the implications of your study for both (a) research and knowledge of a particular topic area, and
(where relevant) (b) policy and practice.
2.6 Ethical Applications, confirmation of title and risk assessment
All students are required to complete an online Confirmation of Dissertation Title, Ethical and Risk
Assessment form. It is essential that you complete this form in order that we have an indication of your
agreed dissertation title. The link to this online form will be sent to you by your programme administrator.
Risk Assessment
You should consider whether your dissertation research will constitute a ‘risk’ of some description. The
School provides advice on most types of risk associated with independent research through generic risk
assessments detailed in Appendix 4. For work within the UK, this normally falls into the ‘low risk’ category.
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GDI Dissertation Handbook
If your proposed work is not covered by these risk assessments e.g. you wish to interview people as a
lone researcher, then you must complete a full risk assessment and this will need to be accepted before
you can start any work.
Ethical Review
Prior to starting any recruitment, data collection or research you must ensure that you have completed
the University’s Ethics Decision Tool. The tool will advise whether ethical approval is required for your
specific project. If you wish you can complete the Ethics Decision Tool with your supervisor but if this is
not possible, take a screenshot of the outcome and share it with your supervisor for discussion. You
should retain a copy of the toolkit outcome. You must then agree the next steps for your project with
your supervisor.
If you both agree that ethical approval is not required for your project then you can proceed but you must
ensure that you comply with all best practice requirements, including GDPR, informed consent and data
storage.
If you agree that ethical approval will be required for your project, you then need to decide what type
(i.e. school level or full UREC). To do this, please ensure you read the SEED Student Intranet pages on
applying for low or medium risk review. If your study meets all mandatory criteria for either low or
medium risk school review, then you can apply for approval using this route. However, if your study does
not meet all of the mandatory criteria, you must apply for full UREC review. More information on the
UREC process can be found on the Research Ethics website.
Once you have decided on the route of ethical approval that is appropriate for your project you need to
log on to the online Ethical Review Manager (ERM) to create a new ethics application. Ensure you choose
the correct route of review in Section A and answer all questions on form. Also, be sure to include any
relevant attachments such as participant information sheets, consent forms, data collection tools (i.e.
interview schedule, focus group schedule, questionnaire, etc) and advertisements. These can be found at
https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/rbe/ethics-integrity/ethics/app-prep/
Before any recruitment or data collection can begin you must ensure that your ethics application has
been reviewed and approved by the school ethics committee or UREC via the Ethical Review Manager
(ERM system). Any required/suggested revisions made by the committee must be reviewed, your form
and supporting documentation updated and then resubmitted back to the Committee for final approval
in the ERM system. You must ensure that you receive formal confirmation of ethical approval by email
and PDF attachment before you can start your dissertation project.
As all ethics applications are submitted via the Ethical Review Manager (ERM), please read our guidance
on completing the ERM form, use the information bubbles next to all questions in the online application
form and read our frequently asked questions (FAQs) document. Please use all of these resources before
contacting your supervisor or the School’s Ethics Chair with questions. It is also advisable to check the
timescales involved should you require submission of a full ethics application. If applying for a high risk
UREC application, from the point of submission, this can take a minimum of 12 weeks and medium risk
applications (at school level) can take between 6-8 weeks. Please consider these timescales carefully
as they may lead to a significant delay in your dissertation project.
Further information on good research conduct, misconduct and policies and guidelines can be found on
our research governance, ethics and integrity webpage on the central University website.
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GDI Dissertation Handbook
3. Submission Format
3.1 General information
All dissertations must be written in English; quotations, however, may be given in the language in which
they were written, with appropriate translation provided. In exceptional circumstances variation of this
regulation may be approved by the University for candidates to submit a dissertation predominantly in
their language of research.
Students will be asked to submit their dissertation in electronic form through Blackboard. You will be
asked to submit your dissertation to two Turnitin submission windows at the time of submission, so each
marker has a separate copy.
If you would like to produce a bound copy, then guidance on doing that can be provided by your
programme administrator. But please note this is not a requirement of the dissertation process.
3.2 Presentation
The overall structure must be clearly presented (e.g. with an organised hierarchy of fonts and typefaces
for chapter and section headings), with logical layout of chapters and paragraphs, and with text and
graphics integrated in an overall ‘house’ style.
3.3 Style and Language
The aim should be to use simple prose, but with variety in the construction of sentences and an expansive
approach to the vocabulary employed. Sentences are best kept short (maximum of around three lines),
but their length should be varied to avoid monotony. Paragraphs should be of reasonable length
(normally 3-6 sentences in length) and help to build up argument sensibly, allowing the reader time to
digest one idea or theme before introducing another. Convention requires the use of an impersonal style
in the narrative past tense, but other tenses may be necessary when, for instance, the writer states an
existing or future condition; and it is acceptable to use “I..” when referring to yourself – e.g. if your
research relates to a project you have worked on. It is important to adopt a mode of writing which keeps
the reader interested, and this can be achieved more easily if the active voice is used e.g. ‘examination of
the site revealed...’. Try to adopt this mode of writing right from the start since altering a whole draft can
be lengthy and tiring. It is also important to use language which is neutral when matters of race and
gender are involved. Terminology is often used as verbal shorthand to convey complex ideas (e.g.
‘multiplier effect’, ‘regime approach’) and terms employed must be used accurately in the sense by which
they are understood among those familiar with the subject.
The most frequently used abbreviations are - i.e. (that is), e.g. (for example), etc. (et cetera, other things
of the same class), viz. (namely), cf. (compare with), no. (number), ibid. (the same place), idem. (the same),
sic (sic passim, thus, typically used to denote an error in a quote), et al (and others) – be sparing in the
use of these in the main text. Where title abbreviations are used it is common practice to use the full
term followed in brackets by the abbreviation on the first occasion of use in the text, and thereafter use
the abbreviation only e.g. environmental impact assessment (EIA), information-and-communications
technologies for development (ICT4D). The punctuation between the initial letters of well-known
organisations should be omitted in the text e.g. EU, UN. Do not abbreviate units of measurement unless
they are preceded by an exact number e.g. 17ft; do not add an s to the plural of an abbreviation e.g.
40cm, 18lb. Where you use a local currency, always provide an international currency equivalent –
typically US$ but GB£ or euros are acceptable.
3.4 Word limit
See 1.2 Dissertation Requirements. An over-long dissertation is usually one which is sloppily written, too
vague, and strays from the specified aims and objectives. Equally, it is important that you do not agonise
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GDI Dissertation Handbook
too much about word length: you do not have to ‘hit’ the word limit exactly. A word count for text and
for appendices should be inserted at the bottom of the contents page.
3.5 Graphical material
Maps, statistical tables, figures, diagrams, graphs and photographs often provide a useful means of
summarising complex information. They can also add to the work in a presentational sense. However,
you should take care to use these sparingly in a manner appropriate to the topic. Any graphical figures
must be referred to in the main body of text and properly labelled. All illustrations must have a
designation, number and title situated immediately above or below, usually with the prefix of Figure or
Table in capital letters. Ensure that you can obtain or draw illustrations easily for the final draft.
Illustrations may be lifted from other sources, if properly acknowledged. Colour copying is now the
normal expectation for any illustrations utilising colour.
Statistical tables or graphs should normally be no greater than a single A4 size page. All rows and columns
should have unambiguous headings, and use ruled lines sparingly. Graphs should only have as many grid
lines as are needed for comprehension of trends and relationships (normally 4-5 being the maximum),
and with legends and descriptive notes normally standing clear of the grid lines.
3.6 Proof reading
The final draft of your dissertation should be read, where possible, by another person in order to eliminate
errors of syntax and grammar, and any typographical errors which are not picked up by standard word
processor spell-checkers and grammar-checkers. Proof reading is time consuming, but extremely
important. If you cannot prevail upon a friend to do it, it is critical that you do it yourself. In particular,
you should take care to avoid long, rambling sentences, pretentious and jargon-ridden prose, and bad
grammar. Learn how to use the apostrophe in the correct manner. Avoid vague, voguish jargon like
‘sustainability’, ‘partnership’ or ‘stake-holder’ unless you are sure of the precise meaning of these. Note
that it is not your supervisor’s role to proof-read final drafts.
3.7 Plagiarism
The University’s regulations covering plagiarism (copying work from others without reference to the
source) is fully set out in your Programme Handbook. It is regarded as a serious malpractice, and may lead
to severe penalties for the work - including removal from your MSc programme. The most common way
in which plagiarism occurs is by the verbatim reproduction of another author’s work without
acknowledgement, or the ‘lifting’ of a concept from a specific source without attribution. Full and proper
referencing of sources is a vital safeguard against plagiarism.
3.8 Bibliography and referencing
References must be consistent throughout the dissertation. A complete bibliography of all policy
documents and literature consulted should be given and properly referenced using the Harvard System,
following the standard guidelines for work in GDI and outlined in Programme Handbook. All work cited in
the main text should appear, fully referenced, in the bibliography; all works in the bibliography should
appear in the main text. This, of course, applies to your final dissertation and, indeed, to all work
completed in GDI. It is vital that you adopt the proper referencing system, otherwise you will lose marks.
It is often helpful to keep a file of all work to which you refer over the course of your study; this can prove
invaluable when you come to compile your final bibliography.
3.9 Appendices
Appendices, if necessary and if relevant, can also be included in your dissertation. However, the use of
appendices has to be justified and legitimate: they should not just be a repository of disparate information
which does not fit anywhere else; nor should they be used to avoid exceeding the word limit. Instead,
appendices might usefully contain material such as the list of interviewees canvassed, lists of documents
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GDI Dissertation Handbook
collected, data sources consulted, tables of data, correspondence, questionnaires, extracts from circulars
or statutory regulations, and summarised accounts of previous studies.
3.10Presentation conventions for text and formatting
There are a number of conventions to which you must adhere when submitting your completed
dissertation. These are listed below.
Title
The title must be short, unambiguous and accurate.
Title page
This should provide a statement as follows:
Title of the dissertation
The following text: ‘A dissertation submitted to the University of
Manchester for the degree of xxx in the Faculty of Humanities’
the year of submission (not including the month).
the candidate’s 7 or 8-digit student ID number.
the name of the candidate’s School (‘School of Environment, Education
and Development’).
Table of Contents
A list of contents, giving all relevant sub-divisions of the dissertation and a
page number for each item (in Arabic numerals throughout). The final word
count, including footnotes and endnotes, must be inserted at the bottom
of the contents page. If illustrative materials are integrated within the text
a separate list of illustrations should be prepared.
List of Illustrations
The term ‘illustration’ refers to all tables, maps, plans, graphs, diagrams,
photographs. The list of illustrations should provide number, title, and page
references. This usually appears on a separate page unless included in the
table of contents.
Abstract
All dissertations must include an abstract. This should be undertaken when
the dissertation is otherwise complete. The abstract should precede the
introduction so that the reader/examiner can quickly see what the text is
about prior to more detailed reading. Typically the abstract defines the
problems the writer sets out to solve, the main procedures adopted, and
the principal results and conclusions; it should occupy a single A4 page, and
can be single-spaced.
Acknowledgements
Assistance given to the student in the preparation of their work must be
acknowledged, and would usually include the supervisor and any key
individuals (other academics, individuals from the agencies under study
etc.) who have helped. Acknowledgments should not normally exceed one
or two paragraphs.
Declaration
A declaration stating that: ‘No portion of the work referred to in the
dissertation has been submitted in support of an application for another
degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of
learning’.
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GDI Dissertation Handbook
Intellectual Property Statement
All four of the following notes on copyright and the ownership of
intellectual property rights must be included as written below:
i. The author of this dissertation (including any appendices and/or
schedules to this dissertation) owns certain copyright or related rights in it
(the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Manchester certain
rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes.
ii. Copies of this dissertation, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard
or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it
or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the
University has entered into. This page must form part of any such copies
made.
iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and
other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any
reproductions of copyright works in the dissertation, for example graphs
and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this dissertation,
may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such
Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made
available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the
relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions.
iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure,
publication and commercialisation of this dissertation, the Copyright and
any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take
place
is
available
in
the
University
IP
Policy
(see
http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=24420), in any
relevant Dissertation restriction declarations deposited in the University
Library,
The
University
Library’s
regulations
(see
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/about/regulations/) and in The
University’s Guidance for the Presentation of Dissertations.
Text
Text should formatted as double or 1.5 spacing, with a minimum font size
of 12 (Times) or equivalent for other fonts for the main text. Single-spacing
should be used for indented quotations of more than three lines, footnotes
and references. Pages may be single or double-sided. Chapter headings
section headings should be bold and capitalised; sub-section headings
should be bold.
Page sizes and margins
If you wish to allow for binding the margin at the binding edge of any page
must be not less than 40mm; other margins must be not less than 15mm.
The required paper size is A4 (197mm x 210mm).
Page numbering
Page numbering must consist of one single sequence of Arabic numerals
(i.e. 1, 2, 3 …) throughout the dissertation. Page numbers must be displayed
on all pages except the title page. The pagination sequence will include not
only the text of the dissertation but also the preliminary pages, diagrams,
tables, figures, illustrations, appendices, references etc. Roman numerals
must not be used for page numbering.
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GDI Dissertation Handbook
Maps
Where maps are used, these should be no larger than A4.
Diagrams and tables
These should be clearly presented, properly sourced, and explained in the
text. See 3.5 Graphical Material.
Photographs
Titles with explanatory notes should be on the page preceding the
photograph, or underneath the photographs, printed in a consistent
manner.
Quotations
Direct prose quotation exceeding three lines of text should be set out in a
separate inset paragraph in single line spacing (indented about 25mm to
the right and left of the main text), without inverted commas. Shorter
quotations should be enclosed within the main text, in double inverted
commas. If there are gaps in the quotation use three dots ‘…’ to indicate
where the words are left out. For all quotes, the author and page number
must be stated. If it is desired to draw attention to a phrase in a quotation
do this by italics, but note in the reference whether any italics are in the
original or have been added by you as author (e.g. Smith, 2016, emphasis
in original; or Jones, 2016, emphasis added).
Footnotes
These should be used very sparingly, if at all. Where footnotes are deemed
absolutely necessary, they should be of direct relevance to the topic. They
should be placed at the bottom of the page. They should be numbered
consecutively throughout the dissertation as a whole. The font should be 9
point (in Times New Roman or similar). Text should be single spaced.
References
Should be in Harvard style (see information in your handbook for further
details). All references must be included in the bibliography, which should
be arranged by alphabetical order of author surname. Where there is more
than one reference by the same author in the same year each should be
differentiated by a, b, c, etc (e.g. Jones 2016a, Jones 2016b)
3.11Dissertation Checklist
You need to check your draft for what might be termed continuity errors. Roughly speaking, this means
checking that the whole text is consistent with itself from beginning to end. If you have changed some
sections, there might be section headings to re-number, for example. To help you eliminate such errors,
here is a checklist:
are the headings and sub-headings in the contents list the same as those in the text?
have you given lists of tables and figures as well as chapters in your contents?
are they all numbered consecutively? Numberings from earlier versions may persist and you may
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