M.A. (EDUCATION)
DISSERTATION GUIDELINES
2013-2014
CONTENTS /Page No.
Introduction
/ 3Dissertationplan and timescale
/ 4When to start and finish
/ 4Intermission
/ 4Mitigating Circumstances
/ 5Extensions
/ 6Writing up
/ 6Group support
/ 6Supervision
/ 6Drafting and writing
/ 7Towards the end…
/ 8What to do ifyou’re not getting on with your supervisor
/ 8Evaluation
/ 9Notes to staff supervising dissertations
/ 11Suggested schedule for preparation and writing
/ 12How to organise the finished work
/ 18Locating the ethics form
/ 20Relative size of different sections
/ 22Theoretical literature, or document-based dissertations
/ 22Assessment criteria
/ 22Grade criteria
/ 24Some other important notes
/ 27Accessing Results
/ 27Production and Submission of Dissertations
/ 28Bibliography example
/ 30New anti-plagiarism software and procedures / 31
Binding
/ 32Sample title page
/ 33Tutorial record
/ 34Supervisionrecord
/ 35Final checklist
/ 37Key contacts
/ 38DOING THE MA(Ed) DISSERTATION
Introduction
By now you have completed the first two stages of the MA(Ed) degree. You have a basic knowledge of methodological issues as well as experience of doing some small scale research and relating your findings to other studies and/or theory.
You now have to identify an issue on which to focus your dissertation. It will need to be:
a)capable of holding your interest and motivation for two semesters;
b)on a manageable scale, given your other roles and responsibilities;
c)a feasible focus for you, whatever role, position or influence you have in your work setting;
d)capable of examination and analysis in sufficient academic depth.
In general, we adopt a rather conservative or traditional approach, seeing the MA dissertation as an exercise or apprentice piece in conventional approaches to systematic academic-professional enquiry. While a certain amount of idealism may be appropriate (even necessary!) we encourage a fairly hard-nosed instrumental attitude. In particular, as a busy practitioner, you are encouraged to investigate a narrow and deep aspect of some on-going practice, so that you make it pay ‘twice’: first as practice and then again as part-and-parcel of your dissertation. In other words, a successful dissertation could be an enhancement of the reflection on practice you probably already undertake.
You are now expected, with your supervisor’s help, to generate your own structures for the remainder of the dissertation work, i.e. you are expected to:
- develop a theoretical framework for the research;
- devise clear research questions;
- adopt appropriate methods to carry out the research;
- analyse and interpret the data effectively.
This will involve a literature search and a critical reading of any theory and existing research, the collection of data of some kind, and its analysis and interpretation in relation to the theoretical ideas informing the work. The aim of this stage of the degree therefore, is not only that you develop expertise in a particular area of professional interest, but also that you become more skilled in the process of educational research and produce findings of potential interest to other educators.
If at all possible set yourself a schedule and some targets for the period prior to starting your dissertation, for example conducting some background reading, especially if you are leaving a gap before you formally start.
Dissertation plan and time scale
As part of this processand ideally before your first meeting with your supervisor, you will need to produce a fairly formal Dissertation Plan, which should contain:
- a paragraph about the overall context, aims, reason for your interest, your post/position in relation to the topic, etc;
- a draft title and a list of your key research question(s);
- some indication of what research methods you intend to use, and with whom;
- your proposed timescale for data collection;
- key texts/sources/existing relevant literature.
The whole document need not be more than 2 typed sides of A4.
When to start and finish
The most straightforward course is usually to continue with the dissertation straight after your final module, since you may lose momentum otherwise. The submission date is then almost a year after you formally start.
SUBMISSION DATE
September 2013 starters / Tuesday 17 June 2014February 2014 starters / Tuesday 16 December 2014
A cautionary note:
Please beware of starting data gathering before you have discussed it fully with your supervisor. There have been cases recently where students have gathered data with insufficient advice about research design and methods, seriously weakening the outcomes of their work.
Intermission
If you experience unforeseen difficulties once you have started your dissertation that prevent you from continuing, you can apply to intermit, but this must be done in complete blocks of time, i.e. full semesters or years. For example, if you commence your dissertation in September (semester 1) and you find that by February (semester 2) you are not in a position to continue, your intermission period would commence from semester 2 onwards. This is because you have ‘used up’ a semester already and you cannot get this time back. When you return from intermission, the time and supervision hours you have already had will be deducted from time and supervision remaining. Please note the period of intermission taken must not exceed a maximum of 2 years throughout the whole programme.
If you wish to intermit you must inform us by email () in order that this can be formally approved and recorded.
Retrospective Intermission
Please note that retrospective intermission will not normally be permitted other than in exceptional circumstances, e.g. serious illness. In such circumstances the student should in the first instance contact their supervisor and Sue Bentham, Programme Coordinator (). An intermission form will need to be completed (available onMoodlevia Portia) and this must be accompanied by details in writing/evidence of the extenuating circumstances, which prevented timely notification. This will also have to be approved by the Deputy Dean (Academic Provision).
Intermission Queries should be directed to:
Academic Registry (Student Records)
Bishop Otter Campus
University of Chichester
College Lane
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 6PE
Email:
For more information refer to the section on Intermission in the on-line Student Handbook on Portia.
Mitigating Circumstances
If you intend to hand in your dissertation on time, but unforeseen difficulties occur close to the hand in date that prevent this or affect the quality of your work (possibly resulting in a fail), you can apply for mitigating circumstances. These will be considered at the Board of Examiners and, if accepted, a new submission date will be offered.
Procedure for applying for Mitigating Circumstances:
1)inform your supervisor and Sue Bentham, MA(Ed) Programme Coordinator() by email;
2)complete mitigating circumstances form (available on Portia, under UniServices and then Academic Standards Unit);
3)submit completed Mitigating Circumstances form, together with supporting paperwork, as appropriate to:
Helen Bicknell
Academic Quality and Standards Unit
Bishop Otter Campus
University of Chichester
College Lane
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 6PE.
Tel: 01243 816021
Email:
Extensions
Academic Regulations state that dissertation extensions should not normally be for more than 2 weeks. If you are granted an extension and you cannot meet this, you need to inform Sue Bentham, MA(Ed) Programme Coordinator, in advance in writing. If you do not honour the extended date and fail to communicate with the Programme Coordinator, this would be recorded as a non-submission, which would result in a fail.
Writing up
If you are unable to complete your dissertation on time and do not have mitigating circumstances or an extension, you must let Sue Bentham know (in writing) before the due date, otherwise it will be recorded as a fail.
Students who have not completed at the final Board of Examiners and wish to carry on into a further academic year, will be allowed up to two years “writing up” period to complete. This is subject to you having communicated to the Programme Coordinatorbefore the due date that you are unable to submit your dissertation on time and that the maximum time of 7 years to complete the full Masters has not been exceeded. An annual writing-up fee is payable (please contact the MA(Ed) Admin Office for up-to-date fees). Please note that you would not be entitled to any further supervision.
Group Support
Doing your dissertation can be lonely! It is really important that you keep in contact with other MA students, by whatever means suits you; email, telephone or informal meetings. Discuss your work and progress with them. This may make you feel a bit vulnerable at first, it is always unnerving to have your work read by others. Remember that they will be going through similar stages to you and will be sharing similar feelings. It is good to talk! You must also keep in regular contact with your dissertation tutor. It is tempting sometimes to’keep a low profile’ if you are not keeping to schedule, but this can be fatal! If you are having problems, you must contact your tutor and also keep Sue informed.
Supervision
The Dissertation is obviously very important to you; it’s the culmination of two or more years on the MA already and will preoccupy you for almost another year. It is largely an individual effort with support and guidance from your supervisor.
Supervisors are usually drawn from the Department of Education, but there may be situations if you have a particular expertise, we will draw on the expertise of the wider Faculty. Students quite often request a particular supervisor and we try to oblige within the limits imposed by the tutor’s other commitments. All supervisors have a professional background relevant to the student’s work, and normally all have (at least) an MA of their own. Supervisors are allocated at the end of the semester when you take your final module and you can contact him/her as soon as you know who it is.
Thereafter you meet (or email, or phone) at mutually convenient times (though it's unlikely you'll be able to meet your supervisor in the latter half of July or in August).
As explained in the run-up to the dissertation, the purpose of the list of dates (set out on subsequent pages) is to provide a timescale - for supervisors and students - in which there are definite stages marked by seven key tutorials. There is some flexibility in arranging them and in addition, of course, students may negotiate tutorials at other times. Tutors are allocated 10 hours per dissertation for tutorials.
It’s a good idea for you and your supervisor to be mutually informed about busy periods when response speed may be low. We too have spells of considerable pressure from teaching, marking and admin!
Drafting and writing
You should keep a beady eye on the dissertation as an assessment task. You should see it as a platform to demonstrate and display a wide range of knowledge, understanding, competence and skill. However wonderful your dissertation is as a project, it will cut no ice with your examiners; their judgement of your performance will be on the quality of the dissertation as a research report. The supervisor’s job is helping you to write a coherent, informative, lively, interesting, polished and well-argued report, and all have considerable experience in academic discourse and in student writing.
In order to make the most of tutorials, you should ensure that drafts are posted or emailed to your supervisor in good time - ideally at least a week beforehand - and that you have prepared a list of your concerns and questions. Tutors, in turn, will ask questions, make comments and expect you to explain, expand, defend or re-consider points. At the end of the tutorial, try to sum up what has been achieved, what new actions you may have to take, make clear your intentions for the next tutorial and then agree the date. A page is provided for this in this handbook and tutors are encouraged to keep a record themselves on a similar sheet.
After the initial stages an actual draft, however rough and ready, is much more effective at eliciting feedback than a tutorial or conversation. Though individuals will vary, it is often preferable to send a ‘little and often’. If you send hard copies, make drafts double spaced and on one side of the paper, leaving plenty of space for comments. Please date your work and indicate clearly the address you would like the draft sent back to if it is not focused upon a tutorial. As plans and lists of proposed contents evolve it’s a good idea to send these too. It can also be a good idea to make sure that your tutor can easily relate a draft to something s/he has seen before, so if you add sections to an earlier draft, it’s useful to put the new parts in bold, another colour, or in a different font.
We place considerable stress on the quality of writing and we would expect most chapters of the final report to go through several drafts. It may surprise you to know that errors in spelling and punctuation appear fairly often in completed, bound dissertations (apostrophes, in particular, are either under- or over-used). Please be sure to weed out these errors - it is not part of the supervising tutor's job to be this kind of proof reader and a large number of errors could mean the dissertation having to be resubmitted. On the one hand it may seem harsh to penalise you for such errors, when the quality of work may be otherwise very good, but on the other hand the expectation in principle of master’s dissertations is that they should be publishable. Publishers would not think highly of manuscripts with punctuation mistakes. This aside, comments should be taken as ‘food for thought’, in the spirit of an academic-professional dialogue, rather than as instructions.
Towards the end…
There comes a stage when supervision stops and you are ‘on your own’. This is essential, because at the very final stages the conclusions you reach must be your own and not something in which your supervisor has been heavily involved. Partly for this reason you need to bear in mind that a supervisor cannot guarantee that a dissertation will pass - all s/he can do is give advice and support to help you achieve the best dissertation you can, within all the constraints that usually exist for busy teachers. In the end, the finished product is yours and the supervisor is only one of two or possibly three examiners.
What to do if you are not getting on with your supervisor
Evaluations of our supervision are particularly positive, but in about 2% of cases there is a request to change supervisors. If you have problems with your supervisor you should try, in the first instance, to resolve issues between yourselves. If this is not successful, you should contact the ProgrammeCoordinator ( or tel 01243 812162) who will try to resolve your difficulties. It may be the case that you have a change of supervisor.
Supervision is evaluated using an online form, shown overleaf. This, together with the staff notes on the page after that, give you some idea of what mutual expectations should be. The link for the online form will be emailed to you on completion of the dissertation.
MA(Ed)
Dissertation and Programme Completion Evaluation (online)
1. How would you rate ease of contact with your supervisor?very good / good / satisfactory / poor
Comment
2. How would you rate the quality of the contact that you had with your supervisor?
very good / good / satisfactory / poor
Comment
3. How would you rate the response time to drafts sent to your supervisor?
very good / good / satisfactory / poor
Comment
4. How would you rate the comments on your drafts?
very good / good / satisfactory / poor
Comment
5. How would you rate tutorial meetings with your supervisor?
very good / good / satisfactory / poor
Comment
PTO
6. Any other comments about dissertation supervision?7. Do you have any general suggestions as to how we could improve dissertation supervision?
In order that we can track the effectiveness of our Masters level provision, we would be grateful if you could supply us with the following information.
8. What was your job title when you started the MA(Ed)?9. What is your job title now?
10. If you have gained promotion, do you think that your MA(Ed) studies have assisted this process in any way?
Notes to staff supervising dissertations –
all tutors are asked to address the following:
At your initial meeting set up a ‘contract’ with the student to establish agreement over mutual expectations, regarding the nature and purpose of the supervision and the respective roles of tutor and student.
Remind the student of the assessment criteria.
Arrange regular meetings and keep a record of these.
Make sure that you and your student(s) know the periods when either party may be very busy with other work, on leave, or otherwise unavailable.
Give constructive and positive written feedback to students on drafts you have seen.