MSc Management
Dissertation Guidance for Students, 2022-2023
The Dissertation (45 Academic Credits, equivalent to three modules)
8,000 word dissertation submitted at 12:00 midday (UK time) on Tuesday 29 August 2023.
Your Research Ethics Form needs to be submitted by 12:00 midday UK time on Monday 19
June 2023.
The completed Research Ethics Form and email confirmation from your supervisor need to be saved
and converted to a PDF, to be submitted via the assessment tab in your Dissertation module,
IB9BFM before the deadline.
We strongly recommend you do not leave contacting your supervisor for approval of your form, on
the deadline day, they may not respond in time for 12:00 midday.
Do not send your Research Ethics via email to the Programme Team, they cannot submit it on your
behalf.
Your Research Ethics form is compulsory, you cannot start your research without an approved form.
When your Research Ethics is being checked you may start your Literature Review.
When your form is approved you will receive a mark of 100 on my.wbs with feedback.
Please note your Research Ethics is not weighted and does not impact your Dissertation mark.
If your form is not approved you will receive an email from [email protected].
Resources supporting your dissertation
We have a number of resources available to support you as you complete your dissertation project,
we have collated them in the list below:
Dissertation Workbook
o Available on my.wbs the workbook is a self-study guide provided for all MSc
programmes (some parts do not apply, e.g., you are not doing a dissertation for a
client/company)
Student Handbook
o Available on my.wbs the dissertation section contains specific resources like the
different marking criteria used for dissertations, details of the Ethics Approval form
and survey consent forms, details of survey software available, etc.
Dissertation Library
o Distinction-level MIM dissertations saved in the dissertation module on my.wbs
Research Methods
o Lectures and online materials in the Research Methods module
The Library
o Review literature and find data/information for your analysis
1
o Advice on using search tools was provided in Week 4 of the Research Methods
module
o The Library offers advice and access to various business databases, see details here
o Kat Halliday ([email protected]) is our Academic Support Librarian who
can offer guidance, she offers a 1:1 consultation on literature searching if you wish
to contact her
Referencing standards
o Expected standards are listed in section 6.2d in your Student handbook
o WBS asks you to use the Harvard style with in text citation (Smith, 2020) then an
alphabetical list by author surname at the end that should include links and URLs
where available
o The Libr
ary has more general guidance accessed via Students/referencing from its
home page
Delivery of Supervision
Please make contact with your supervisor as soon as possible to arrange initial discussions and
establish the best pattern of working together.
Your supervisor is there to offer guidance and feedback as you advance through the dissertation –
but they are not there to tell you what to do and how to do it!
The first discussion will be about your proposal, the preparation for that session is already done!
It is also important that you and your supervisor make each other aware of any times that either of
you is unavailable and plan around these. This includes respecting plans that both you and your
supervisor will have for holidays. We expect you to plan your time around your supervisor having a
holiday of up to two weeks. If there are periods exceeding that, for whatever reason, please contact
the Programme Team so that we can provide alternative support.
Please also appreciate your supervisor needs appropriate time to schedule reading your work that
you send them and/or to set up a meeting. Your role includes planning the work to meet the overall
timeline and any meetings or milestones within that. It’s not your supervisor’s role to be reminding
or chasing you.
The following sets out the minimum input expected from the supervisor:
In-person/online meetings as appropriate
Provide occasional guidance during dissertation period (by online, phone or email)
Respond to online, email and telephone contact from students in a timely manner; ideally
within three days for a general query
Review and comment on a draft of the dissertation; ideally within a two-week period (if
submitted in good time)
Continue supervision in the event of a resubmission being required
The following sets out the minimum input expected from the student:
Use the on-line support materials and take an active part in any meetings
Set up and agree dates for progress review sessions with the supervisor
Set up and agree a date for the delivery of the draft of the dissertation
Set up and agree a date for receiving feedback on the dissertation
2
Be pro-active in seeking help, where possible asking specific questions to ensure most
efficient use of academic supervision
Where possible, prepare a set of questions for your meetings and send chapter drafts in
advance
Please ensure you allow time to include any feedback and revisions proposed by your
supervisor
When finishing your dissertation, a useful final review stage is to ensure it’s ready for reading
by someone not previously involved
Support
Academic queries are best dealt with by your supervisor.
Any other queries can be sent to the Management Programme Team ([email protected]).