Department of Politics, Birkbeck, University of London
Guidelines for MSc and MRes Dissertations
What is a dissertation?
The dissertation counts for one-third of the entire degree i.e. 60 credits. It is a long written piece of research with a minimum length of 12,000 words and a maximum length of 15,000 words including all footnotes, references and appendices. The aim of the dissertation is to enable students to advance their knowledge of the field covered by their degree programme by pursuing an independent research project on a chosen topic within the field. Students completing the dissertation will have examined a subject in substantial depth, shown evidence of an ability to undertake sustained critical analysis, developed and improved their research skills, and produced a long piece of written work that demonstrates understanding of their area of study.
Who writes a dissertation?
The submission of a dissertation is a requirement for completion of all the MSc and MRes programmes in the Department of Politics. Students taking the MSc in Government, Policy and Politics can either do a dissertation or submit a research portfolio instead. Guidelines about the research proposal are available from the Programme Director for the MSc in Government, Policy and Politics upon request.
The dissertation proposal
The topic for your dissertation, which must be relevant to your degree programme, must be approved in advance by your Programme Director. To have your topic approved you must completed a dissertation proposal form (see annex of this document) and upload to to the dissertation Moodle base for your programme (http://moodle.bbk.ac.uk/). You should then await confirmation from your Programme Director concerning the approval of this topic. The deadline for submitting the dissertation and ethics proposal forms varies from programme to programme. Your Programme Director will be in touch to confirm the deadline but it is expected that all dissertation and ethics proposal forms should be submitted by the end of the spring term at the very latest.
Ethics proposal form
All research that is carried out by Birkbeck students that involves intervention or interaction with human participants, or the collection and / or study of data derived from living human participants (e.g. conducting research interviews), requires ethical approval. Please see the annex to the document for the ethical approval form.
For further details on the College’s policy on research ethics, please see:
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/sshp/our-research/sshp-ethics-committee-and-procedures
Submitting your dissertation
All dissertations must be submitted on the 15 September of the year in which they are to be examined (if 15 September is a Saturday or Sunday, then they are due on the preceding Friday). Please submit one hard copy to the Department of Politics office(10 Gower Street, London WC1E 6DP) by 5pm on the day of the deadline and and upload your dissertation electronically to the dissertation Moodle base for your programme. This should appear as one of your modules when you log into http://moodle.bbk.ac.uk/
If you cannot access Moodle or your dissertation module does not appear, please send your dissertation by email to
The length of the dissertation should be 12,000-15,000 words inclusive of appendices and bibliography. A dissertation which exceeds this word count by more than 10% may be penalised by the examiners. The dissertation much be typed or word-processed, and spiral bound. The dissertaton should include a completed cover sheet (see annex).
The role of the dissertation supervisor
The dissertation is intended to provide an opportunity for students to pursue a research project independently. Students are, therefore, entirely responsible for the work for their dissertation. The role of the supervisor is to offer advice and guidance, not to direct the research. Your supervisor will help you to identify a topic, to draw up a suitable preliminary bibliography and to plan the primary and secondary research you will need to do for the dissertation. He/she will be available to advise you on approach, coverage, questions to be asked and the outline structure and research design.
You should have up to three meetings with your supervisor. It is up to you to contact your supervisor for meetings and you should make sure that you do so in good time. Please note that the supervisor is under no obligation to meet you during the summer term, which runs from July to October so it is advisable that all supervision meetings take place before then. Nor is the supervisor required to find you a suitable topic for the dissertation, read preliminary drafts of your work, offer you guidance or assistance after the end of the summer term or proof read your final draft.
Additional Support
In workshop week, which is held in both the autumn and spring terms, lectures and seminars for specific modules are replaced by general study skills sessions and other events. A departmental dissertation workshop is held in the autumn workshop week to provide general guidance on writing a dissertation in the field of politics. A programme-specific workshops that offers guidance on conducting research related to your degree programme is held in either the autumn or spring workshop week. The Departmental Office will provide you with details of these events in due course.
Birkbeck’s Centre for Transformative Practice in Learning and Teaching also offers a range of academic development workshops for students. Some courses are initially only available to first year undergraduates, but other students can join a standby list. All workshops are free of charge unless stated otherwise. Topics covered in these modules include:
Moodle
Reading skills
Note taking
Time Management
Essay writing
Academic English
For more details, please see: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/learning-and-teaching/supporting-learning/students-skills-development
Assessment Criteria
The dissertation is assessed according to the following criteria, with credit given to the extent that:
· the research question is well-defined, and contextualised;
· an argument is specified, coherently presented and supported by evidence;
· alternative arguments are analysed;
· the approach is critical, not descriptive;
· a relevant methodology is employed;
· relevant sources have been consulted;
· knowledge of relevant literature, issues and debates is demonstrated; and
· the style and presentation is clear and careful, and appropriate academic conventions have been observed.
Marking Schema
The pass mark for the dissertation is 50. Dissertations written for courses or during examinations are marked according to the schema:
0-29: A totally inadequate dissertation, which does not specify a research question, fails to present an argument, is largely descriptive, shows little or no knowledge of the topic, or its intellectual context, does not refer adequately to the relevant literature, fails to follow an appropriate methodology, and is shoddily presented
30-39: An inadequate dissertation, which fails to identify a research question adequately, does not present a clear argument, includes some relevant material, but does not evidence of sufficient reading and is overly descriptive
40-49: A poor dissertation, which identifies a research question, states an argument, shows some knowledge of the literature and addresses the question, but does not sustain the argument, is overly descriptive, and lacks originality, sufficient knowledge of the relevant literature, issues and debates, and organisation.
50-59: A satisfactory dissertation, which defines a research question adequately, makes an argument, shows an awareness of the major issues, shows some knowledge of the sources and of alternative approaches to the subject, but does not adequately develop or sustain the argument, does not show a clear understanding of alternative arguments, and makes uncritical use of sources.
60-69: A good dissertation, which offers a precise specification of the research question, presents a clear and coherent argument that is well-substantiated by evidence, treats the issues in a critical and balanced way, shows an awareness of context, sources and different explanations, and achieves a high standard of presentation
70-79: A dissertation of distinction quality, which addresses a well-defined research question, displays exceptional knowledge of the literature and/or a substantial measure of originality, and achieves a high standard of presentation.
80-100: A dissertation of distinction quality, which is outstanding in virtually all areas of a calibre far beyond what would be expected at this level. Contains substantial evidence of original and independent thought.
Plagiarism
The dissertation must be your own work. Plagiarism - the presentation of another person's thoughts or words as one's own - in the dissertation constitutes grounds for failing the dissertation; more serious sanctions may be also applied if circumstances warrant them. Please read the plagiarism guidelines in the annex to this document to ensure that you understand the concept of plagiarism and why it should be avoided.
Deferring your dissertation
Students who wish to defer their dissertation must inform their Programme Director before the dissertation is due. Students who do so without claiming mitigating circumstances that are then accepted by their Programme Director will be given one additional attempt to pass. Students who claim mitigating circumstances that are approved by their Programme Director will be offered two remaining chances to pass the dissertation. Deferred dissertations can be submitted by 15 May (or the Friday before if 15 May is a Saturday or Sunday) or September 15 (or the Friday before if 15 September is a Saturday or Sunday) in the year following deferral.
For further details on mitigating circumstances, please see:
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/services/administration/assessment/exams/mitigating-circumstances
Annex
1. Dissertation Proposal Form
2. Ethics Proposal Form
3. Dissertation Cover Sheet
4. Some tips on writing a postgraduate dissertation
5. Birkbeck plagiarism guidelines
Department of Politics
DISSERTATION PROPOSAL FORM
Please copy and paste this form into a new document, complete it, and upload it to the Moodle site for your dissertation, which you can find at moodle.bbk.ac.uk.
Name:
E-mail address:
MSc or MRes programme:
Full-time or part-time?
Title of proposed dissertation
Description of subject area
What scholarly literature will you be examining?
What primary research material might you use?
Have you identified or spoken with a potential supervisor? If so, who?
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY
BIRKBECK, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
PROPOSAL TO CONDUCT RESEARCH INVOLVING ADULTS (over 16yrs)
SUBMISSION TO SCHOOL ETHICS COMMITTEE
Please complete this document and upload it to the relevant dissertation module on Moodle. Do not begin collecting data from participants until ethics approval has been received, usually from your supervisor, but where necessary, from the School ethics committee. If you intend to do research with minors (persons under 16 years old), then you must complete a different form. Speak to your supervisor about this before proceeding, and to obtain the form.
Please note:
· If your participants are under 16 yrs old you will need to fill in the ‘minors’ form.
· Do not attach any documents; instead make sure all the relevant information is included in this form (e.g. interview questions or questionnaires)
· Paper copies of this proposal are no longer required
· Supervisors must complete all the relevant sections in this form
· Students’ ethics form can only be submitted by supervisors not the student.
· Expand sections for answers as necessary. Do not remove any questions – you must answer them all.
1. Name of investigator: ______
2. Status (e.g. lecturer, researcher, Phd student, undergraduate): ______
3. Name of supervisor (if investigator is student): ______
4. Course/Programme (if student): ______
5. Contact address for investigator: ______
6. Telephone number: ______Mobile: ______
Email: ______
7. Date of Application: ______Proposed starting date:______
8. Reference Number(s) of any previous related applications:[1] ______
9. Is any other Ethical Committee involved: YES/NO
If YES, give details of committee, stage of process/decision, enclosing any relevant documentation: ______
10. Title of study (15 words max): ______
11. Aims/objectives of the study (20 words max): ______
12.Rationale: Which are the main theoretical debates or research traditions within which your research question is framed and becomes relevant? (100 words max): ______
PARTICIPANTS
13. How will participants be selected? ______
14. Any inclusion/exclusion criteria? ______
15. Where will the study be conducted? ______
MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES
16. Briefly describe what participating in the study will involve. (Max 1 page)
17. Equipment/facilities to be used (if not included in answer to 16). Please provide details of questionnaires[2], interview schedules etc, & attach copies if they are not standard ones. Comment on content area of questionnaires, could any questions cause distress or offence? Invade privacy? Is there a strong rationale for conducting this research in spite of this risk? How would this risk be managed?
When thinking about this question please bear in mind that according to College
ethics guidelines researchers have a duty of care towards the participants, the
College and their own safety. (Please read carefully the Ethics guidelines at the
end of this document for further details). Additionally, you are required to
be mindful of another criterion as described in the Section 1.2 of the College
Ethics Responsibilities and Procedures:
1.2 Ethical requirements arise from an evolving understanding of the rights and duties of human beings. Ethics are broader than law, though the law can both reflect and clarify ethical duties. School staff are part of a changing social system. They are, therefore, required not only to abide by ethical principles such as justice, truthfulness, confidentiality and respect for persons, but also to attend to the evolving understanding of how these principles are expressed in society at a particular time.
Researchers are required to demonstrate a critical stance towards the assumptions and beliefs underpinning their proposal, so not to reproduce stereotypical and prejudicial views of participants. This is particularly crucial when dealing with vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.
18. How will you find/access potential participants? (Include details of any relevant documentation e.g. letter to manager, advert, notice to go on notice board.)
INFORMED CONSENT
19. Potential participants must give free and informed consent. You need to provide sufficient information about your study in an information sheet or note for participants. This needs to explain confidentiality and right to withdraw. Please modify the template information sheet at the end of the form so it is appropriate for your study.
Tick one entry here to explain how you will use the information sheet:
o Information sheet distributed to each participant