The Newcastle Business School Masters Dissertation Guidelines

MASTERS DISSERTATION GUIDELINES

Page

Contents 2
Foreword 3

Introduction 4

Dissertation Learning Outcomes 4

Postgraduate Programme Goals 4

Dissertation process 5

Topic Selection 5

Components of the Dissertation 6

Submission of Dissertation Proposal and Supervisor Allocation 8

Supervision 9

Supervisor and student responsibilities and expectations 10

Logbook 11

Supervisor availability 12

Presentation of the dissertation 13

Page layout 13

Writing style 13

Dissertation length 14

Structure of the Masters Dissertation 15

Referencing 16

Research Ethics 17

Submission 18

Submission Procedure 19

Confidentiality 19

Extension to submission dates 19

Failed and Non-submitted Dissertations 19

Working papers 20

Assessment and marking 21

Indicative Reading List for the Dissertation 22

Appendices

Appendix A: Learning Benchmarks 23

Appendix B: Data Protection 26

Appendix C: Abstract – Example 28

Appendix D: Table of Contents – Example 29

Appendix E: Glossary – Example 30

Appendix F: Turnitin 31

FOREWORD

Welcome to the Masters Dissertation at Newcastle Business School.

This document covers many aspects of the Masters Dissertation process as well as information relating to student/staff responsibilities and appropriate presentation of the dissertation.

These guidelines provide comprehensive written guidance to enable both students and staff (in the role of supervisor) to fully understand the dissertation process and follow a common Newcastle Business School approach. This will help to ensure that the challenge presented by this individual piece of work is manageable and that enjoyment and satisfaction are maximised.

Supporting your Masters Dissertation

These guidelines should contain the answer to any queries you may have about the dissertation. Should you require further information please refer to the eLearning Portal (eLP/Blackboard) site that supports the dissertation module (NX0422). The NX0422 site contains all the forms and information that you need and many other resources.

Should you need further help then please contact either Student Central (on the ground floor of CCE1) or the Dissertation Co-ordinator.

Masters Dissertation Co-ordinator: Dr Clare Cook

Email: clare.cook@northumbria.ac.uk

Academic Facilitators are also able to help with any aspects of the administrative arrangements and they are based in the Administration Office.

We wish you every success with your Masters Dissertation, good luck!

Clare Cook

Masters Dissertation Co-ordinator

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all students and staff who have contributed generously to the development and production of this document.

Comments and feedback on dissertation documents are welcome in order to allow continuous improvement. If you have any comments, please give these to the Masters Dissertation Co-ordinator.

INTRODUCTION

The guidelines are intended to help students of the Newcastle Business School in the preparation of the dissertation necessary to obtain their qualification and should be read carefully. The Masters Dissertation is an individual piece of work and there is no intention to unduly restrict students in their approach and therefore this document can only be in the form of guidelines.

A successful dissertation for the Masters degree will present a thorough and critical review of relevant literature and of current subject knowledge. It will demonstrate high levels of analytical and critical awareness, the ability to synthesise theories and the ability to relate theory to practice. The theoretical base will be tested against practical illustration(s). Further information on the Learning Benchmarks can be found in Appendix A.

Dissertation Learning Outcomes

At the completion of the Masters Dissertation module, students will be able to:

1. Plan and complete a major research project on a contemporary business, financial, management or leadership topic and organise the findings into a comprehensive and explicit structure that is critically assessed and is linked to the conclusions drawn;

2. Demonstrate skills of analysis and synthesis in the selection and application of appropriate research methodology and method(s) to their chosen research topic;

3. Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of innovative and contemporary research on the business and management community.;

4. Critically reflect on the processes involved in the research, including reflection upon their own ethical values and the contribution of the research to the topic area;

5. Acquire, interpret and apply specialist functional knowledge in relation to their programme of study (specialist programmes only).

Students will also illustrate and document progress within the dissertation process by providing an adequate set of working papers and log book.

Masters’ Programme Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: To develop the skills necessary for employment and career progression

Demonstrate awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses and the ability to engage in continuing self-development

1.2        Demonstrate the development of  inter-personal and intra-personal skills

1.3        Demonstrate competence in contemporary analytical and ICT applications    

Goal 2: Be culturally and ethically aware

2.1        Demonstrate their ability to work in culturally diverse groups and teams and make appropriate an personal contribution to team effectiveness

2.2        Reflect on their own ethical values

2.3        Understand the wider impact of individual or organisational decision making on social and environmental contexts

Goal 3: Have developed leadership and management capability

3.1        Analyse and communicate complex issues effectively

3.2        Demonstrate decision making, problem solving and project management skills

Goal 4: Have developed and applied knowledge of international business and management theory

4.1        Acquire, interpret and apply knowledge of international business, management and organisational functions

4.2        Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of innovative and contemporary research on the business and management community

4.3        Acquire, interpret and apply specialist functional knowledge in relation to their programme of study (specialist programmes only)

Goal 5: Have developed a range of research skills and project capabilities

5.1        Plan and complete a major piece of research or project on a contemporary business, financial, management or leadership topic

5.2       Demonstrate skills of analysis and synthesis in the application of research methods to the exploration of contemporary business and management issues

Dissertation Process

The Masters dissertation begins with ‘Dissertation preparation and research methods’ in the first semester. This will cover research methods that you will use in your dissertation. Towards the end of the first semester there will be subject specialist presentations from the different subject groups in the Business School and consultation sessions to help you decide on a dissertation topic. Materials to support your dissertation studies will be available on the NX0422 eLP site.

All students completing a dissertation are required to submit a Dissertation Research Proposal via Turnitin – the deadline for this and other information to help you put together your proposal will be available from the eLP site. The proposal will be marked and it is worth 15% of the final dissertation module mark.

Once a supervisor has been assigned, students can meet with their supervisor to get feedback on their proposal. Students must then work under the guidance of their supervisor to complete the dissertation. Students will need to arrange to see their supervisor on a regular basis so that steady progress can be made over the course of the dissertation process.

Topic Selection

Selection of a suitable dissertation topic rests with the student. The student cannot be required by a member of staff to undertake a topic that is not acceptable to the student. Ideas for topics can be gleaned from many sources. Work placement experiences, aspired career paths, course work and readings are just a few. Start thinking early about potential topics that interest you. Copies of previous Masters dissertations are available for inspection via the eLP; consult these to see what previous students have done.

Your dissertation should describe an original piece of work undertaken by yourself. The topic needs to be related to business or management or to the specific named degree the student is studying. You may have come across the phrase ‘addressing a gap in the literature’ but this applies most strongly to doctoral level research. At Masters level your research may be investigating a business (or accounting) issue that has been studied by others but you should still produce a critical literature review and obtain/analyse some data. It is the student’s responsibility to verify that the title and the approach of the dissertation are original. However, a student may not claim exclusive rights to a topic area.

Students can assume that the topic as initially conceived may evolve as the dissertation progresses. By ‘evolve’ it is meant that the particular aspect of the topic which becomes central to the dissertation may well change in one direction or another as the dissertation progresses. This evolution or “fine tuning” of a topic is quite usual and should be expected. The goal is to find a topic which is general enough to be significant, but specific enough to become focused. A common problem is to have the scope of the work too wide so that the work is not sufficiently focussed to allow successful completion with the resources available.

Topic Changes

Any major change of topic must be made with care and must be discussed with the dissertation supervisor. A change of topic will not result in a change of supervisor, and a student may find that significant variation to the topic may compromise the ability of the supervisor to give advice. The topic change does not need to be notified to anyone beyond the dissertation supervisor.

COMPONENTS OF THE MASTERS DISSERTATION

The arrangement of the completed dissertation is in three stages, preliminaries, the body of work, and end material.

Preliminaries (to be arranged in the following order)

Covers

Front sheet/Title Page Declarations

Abstract

Acknowledgements Table of Contents

Glossary

The Body of Work

The End Material

References

Bibliography

Appendices

Back cover sheet

Further details of the format of the preliminaries and end material are provided later in this document.

Main sections of the dissertation

Title – The title should be succinct yet clearly specify the content of the report. This should be descriptive and explicit rather than poetic or implicit. It should be agreed and finalised as part of the final draft. It may be different from the original proposed title.

Abstract – The purpose of the abstract is to summarise the entire dissertation, including a description of the problem, the student’s contributions, and conclusions. Four keywords are required.

Acknowledgements – The student may wish to thank those people who have been particularly helpful in the preparation of the dissertation. Consideration of persons external to the Newcastle Business School is particularly appropriate. Facetious acknowledgements are not acceptable.

Declarations and Word Count – a declaration page signed by the student MUST be included. See the eLP for the Declaration template. Please do not forget to sign the Declaration.

Introduction – The purpose of this section is to contextualise the study. This means that the significance or importance of the subject is set out. If there is no apparent importance to the study to any external reader, the topic may not be appropriate. Personal interest may inspire selection of the dissertation topic, but ultimately, its importance to others should be specified. This can often be done by positioning the dissertation in relation to other work that has been published either as an advancement, continuation, compilation or verification. This section should also tell the reader how the topic will be unfolded and the order of forthcoming material.

Body of Work – The sections of each dissertation will differ, but in any case should progress logically, starting with a critical review of existing knowledge (the literature review), presentation of a summary or synthesis, introduction of research methodology and findings, if applicable, or introduction of case material.

The Literature Review – This will include the following qualities:

The topic of the dissertation will derive from a systematic body of knowledge;

The review of this knowledge is made as current as possible;

The knowledge is organised into a comprehensible and explicit structure;

All major points are included and extraneous information omitted;

Critical theoretical analysis/evaluation informs the choice of research approaches/methods;

A summary is produced outlining the current state of the knowledge.

It is further implied that the result of the literature review will be used either in 1) a situation for which the student has collected primary data OR 2) to critically examine and assess the operation of this knowledge in an existing case study OR 3) to re-evaluate existing published data or knowledge to derive new knowledge or meaning. The main points of the body of knowledge being synthesised are to be i) critically selected and analysed and ii) the strengths and weaknesses of the synthesis itself are to be discussed and appropriate conclusions drawn.

Research methodology and methods – A degree of proficiency in the understanding, selection and execution of research methodologies and methods must be evident. It is expected that these procedures will provide:

a defensible verification of the ideas put forward in the dissertation,

development and exploration of the ideas in applied conditions. If an existing case is presented, sufficient secondary research must be attempted to produce a coherent and informed critical evaluation of that case.

It is also possible that the application of knowledge can be made under some other circumstances not directly indicated here, so long as the use of the knowledge is appropriate and illustrative.

The connection between the knowledge and the original case or primary data for the dissertation must be explicitly articulated and the case or data be presented as a valid and reliable means of verification of this knowledge. If the goal of the dissertation is not data based but conceptual in nature, then the validity and verifiability of the concepts must be established.

Whenever data is being collected or used, students must adhere to the University Regulations relating to Ethics and Data Protection. Details of the Ethics procedure are included in this document and those for Data protection are in Appendix B.

Conclusion – This section explains the relations between the body of knowledge and the case or new finding. It should present the case for the dissertation’s success in meeting its goals, as well as any shortcomings and limitations that apply. It may suggest further work or study needed on the topic, as well as ways the new work can be used or applied in other cases. It is not meant to be a summary or restatement of the entire dissertation, which belongs in the abstract. If the student has developed any strong personal opinions about the subject this is the place where such content is appropriate.

Appendices – Often the concepts of the study can be clarified in graphic form, or data presented in tabular form. Normally, this material should be entered into the text at or near the place it is referred to in the text. Where such material would be inconvenient to include in the text itself, it can be included in an appendix. As a general rule, if figures, tables, charts or quotes are less than a full page and can be conveniently included in the text, you will want to do so, since reference to appendices is awkward for the reader. All such material, in the text or at the end, should be titled and sequentially numbered. Tabular material presented in landscape format, should be bound with the top of the table to the spine.

Appendices are labelled alphabetically, although if there is little such material and it is all of a similar nature, it may all be included in one Appendix.

SUBMISSION OF DISSERTATION PROPOSAL AND SUPERVISOR ALLOCATION

At the end of the first semester, students are required to submit a dissertation proposal which will in part inform the allocation of an appropriate supervisor. The proposal will be assessed and is worth 15% of the 60 credit point dissertation module (the remaining 85% for the completed dissertation).

The submission date(s) for the proposal will be announced on the eLP.

Masters Dissertation Proposal Instructions

This information tells you how to structure your research proposal using the sections below. The Dissertation Proposal Form (template) is available from the eLP under the Key Information section. You will also find some past example proposals with generic feedback to help you see what previous students have done. The word limit for the proposal is 3000 words. Here are the sections of the Proposal:

Section 1: Researchable Topic Area (Approx. 300 words)

You should include background and issue(s) underlying your research topic area.

Section 2: Objectives for the Research (Approx. 150 words)

You should state 3-4 maximum research objectives, relating to academic theories, your proposed investigations, your analysis and your conclusions.

Section 3: Literature Review (Approx. 1050 words)

You should identify and discuss the academic theories and some current research relevant to your researchable topic area.

Section 4: Details of your research (Approx. 1050 words)

You should identify who or what you will use to obtain your data or information; explain how you will collect this data / information and how you will get access; identify how you are going to analyse your data and information.

Section 5: Research Ethics (Approx. 150 words)

If your study involves people, briefly describe what you will consider in order to ensure that your research follows the University’s Ethical Policies and Procedures.

If your study involves secondary data only, you should advise us of any ethical issues or the absence of any ethical issues.

Section 6: Conclusions (Approx. 300 words)

You should describe what your research will achieve by referring back to your objectives.

Section 7: Timetable for your research

Give a month by month indication of when you are going to work on various parts of your dissertation (e.g. your literature review; your collection of data / information; your analysis of data / information etc)

Section 8: References

List in sources you have used in the production of your proposal. This must be in the correct format (APA style).

Once the proposal is completed it must be submitted electronically via Turnitin by the deadline posted on the NX0422 eLP site.

You must also complete a ‘Dissertation Proposal Registration Form’ – the link to this is available from the eLP if you select the Dissertation Proposal on the left hand menu bar.

SUPERVISION

This section gives guidance on nature of the student/supervisor relationship and it is expected that all staff and students will adhere to these. All students will have a Logbook that is used to keep records of interaction with their supervisor (please see the ‘Logbook’ section below).

It is the student’s responsibility to make and continue regular contact with the supervisor. If a supervisor does not respond to student messages within a week then students should contact the Administration Office. It is essential to maintain regular contact with your supervisor. Regular contact helps to ensure that your supervisor is better aware of your progress and the sources of your materials as your dissertation develops. Students should always use their Northumbria student email account when sending messages to staff because emails sent from personal email accounts may not reach staff. Students should also be aware that any dissertation which is produced with minimal or zero contact with supervisor will inevitably be scrutinised with extra care with respect to the origin of the work.

The total number of hours allocated for face-to-face supervision is four hours and supervision is nominally six 40 minute meetings but can be arranged differently, for shorter or longer periods, at the request of the student and agreed through negotiation between student and supervisor. It is strongly recommended that students try to spread out their meetings regularly. Staff cannot and will not compensate for failure of the student to use meetings early in the dissertation period by providing meetings compressed into the final stages of the dissertation period. Staff are often busy and students must be proactive in organising meetings in a timely manner to ensure that they receive the support they need.

In terms of reviewing student work, the expectation is that students may request that supervisors review some elements/aspects of written work. Supervisors are not expected to review whole drafts of dissertations. Here are some examples of what students might submit to their supervisor for discussion:

Literature Review: a resume of key issues, summaries of main elements, developed models of best practice/best fit, a summary of the conclusions to the literature review.

Methodology section: an outline of the chosen methodology, approaches/methods, examples of interview questions or draft questionnaires.

Data/Information analysis: strategies/formulae for statistical analysis, a draft of key aspects of data/information analysis

Synthesis/Findings/Conclusions: a draft of key elements.

Supervision can also be electronic via email, Skype or by telephone, but has to be with the explicit agreement of the supervisor. Some supervisors may not wish to offer supervision by email, Skype or telephone. Supervision by electronic means is considered as part of the supervision allowance, which includes time taken to read draft sections, summaries or questions submitted in electronic form or hard copy by students. Electronic supervision and the review of written materials should therefore be included as part of the overall allowance and recorded in the student’s Supervision Logbook by the student and signed off by both student and supervisor. There is therefore a limit to the amount of written material that a student can reasonably expect a supervisor to review. Students are therefore required to be selective and to negotiate arrangements in advance with supervisors, to obtain a clear understanding of what aspects are to be submitted in draft or summary form within such reasonable limits.

In addition to the face-to-face supervision meetings, staff will be able to answer other questions by email/telephone providing these are brief; staff will not be able to engage in lengthy and detailed email discussions regarding your dissertation – substantial issues should be dealt with at the meetings. It is up to the student and their supervisor to agree a way of working that is acceptable to both parties and is within the guidelines provided above. Establishing and maintaining a good working relationship with your supervisor is an important part of your dissertation and the value of this should not be underestimated. Your supervisor should be your main point of contact for your dissertation but this does not prohibit you from approaching other staff for help with specific queries. Please keep your supervisor informed if you have received advice from other members of staff.

Change of Supervisor

Once you have received the name of your supervisor, please do not request a change of supervisor since this is only permitted in exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the Dissertation Coordinator. An example would be if a member of staff is absent from work due to illness – in this case a replacement supervisor may be allocated.

If you are experiencing difficulties with your supervision then please see an academic facilitator to discuss the matter, who will then contact the Dissertation Coordinator if necessary.

Remote Supervision

Individual students are normally expected to work on their dissertation within reasonable proximity of Newcastle Business School under the direct guidance of their Supervisor. However, in exceptional circumstances, ‘remote’ supervision may be necessary. This is usually due to personal, workplace or family circumstances. This arrangement is negotiated in advance between the student, the Programme Leader and the Supervisor. It may be accommodated within the process using a range of communication techniques. Please note, that where such arrangements are made, it is still necessary that the student and the supervisor have at least one substantive face to face meeting within the process. Students should ensure that they have adequate access to library, internet and e-mail facilities, if working remotely on their dissertation.

Supervisor expectations

General

Students will treat the supervisor and their colleagues with respect.

Students will take responsibility for their own dissertation. It does not belong to the supervisor or to their colleagues.

Selection of a suitable topic rests with the student; however the Dissertation Supervisor or any member of staff may be approached for suggestions and ideas. The student cannot be required by a member of staff to undertake a topic that is not acceptable to the student.

Meetings

Students will attend all pre-arranged meetings or provide at least 24 hours notice of non-attendance.

Students will attend meetings with personal writing and note-taking equipment.

Students will make a report on their progress at each meeting, working steadily through the dissertation period.

Other Support

Students are responsible for their own dissertation. Students will recognise that the supervisor will advise but will not instruct.

Students will set their own direction. The supervisor’s role is to help the student achieve their own objectives but to ensure that the dissertation belongs to the student; the supervisor will not intervene in the direction or objectives of the dissertation.

Students will only contact the supervisor on substantive issues, after having exhausted other legitimate avenues to rectify their query (eg Libraries).

Students will provide written work in draft form by the dates and with the content agreed from time to time. Adequate time, usually one week, should be allowed between the submission of written work and a meeting to discuss it, though this may be varied by mutual consent.

Students will present written work only when agreed with the supervisor.

Students will recognise that the supervisor’s support will primarily concern process i.e. how the dissertation is undertaken, rather than the detailed content of the dissertation that may fall outside the supervisor’s area of specific knowledge.

Students will not ask the supervisor whether their dissertation will pass, or what mark it may achieve.

Student expectations

General

The supervisor will treat all students with respect.

The supervisor will support the student’s dissertation but always recognise that the dissertation belongs to the Student.

The supervisor will give a similar level of support to all students, recognising that students vary in the legitimate demands they may make upon supervisors.

Meetings

Supervisors will respond to students’ requests for a meeting within three working days, such requests will normally be made using e-mail.

The supervisor and student will meet usually about six times and normally for up to 40 minutes per meeting. The student will discuss their progress and the supervisor will answer any reasonable question the student raises. If the supervisor is unable to answer a reasonable question, s/he will contact the student with the answer no more than a week after the meeting.

The supervisor will attend all pre-arranged meetings or provide at least 24 hours notice of non-attendance, giving the students alternative dates for the meeting.

The supervisor will be fully prepared for all meetings, having considered any submitted student work.

Other Support

The supervisor will give the best guidance s/he can in assisting the student to achieve their objective.

The supervisor will not intervene in the direction or objectives of the dissertation and will not allow any previous disagreement on this to damage the quality of advice s/he gives.

The supervisor will consider all submitted written work usually no later than one week from the date of submission.

The supervisor will review a maximum of one draft chapter and will not review a draft of the complete dissertation. In reviewing a draft chapter, the supervisor will provide general comments regarding the writing style, referencing and content but will not give a word-by-word appraisal of the draft.

The Masters Dissertation Logbook

This is a dated, chronological record of your dissertation progress. The Logbook is available via the eLP. You should use the Logbook to record items such as:

Date and times of meetings with your supervisor

Agenda

Questions

Notes of discussion

Action plan

Date of next meeting

The Logbook is to be submitted as an appendix of your dissertation since it provides evidence of how well you have managed the dissertation process. It will also enable the supervisor to give better information to prospective employers regarding your organisational and time management skills. It will also enable you to write a more informative reflective statement to accompany your submission.

You should keep all your ‘working papers’ as your work progresses since you may be asked to submit them – see Working papers section.

Supervisor availability

It is up to the student to arrange meetings with their supervisor. To ensure you are able to meet with your supervisor at the most useful points in your research process, you will need to make sure you check with them of any dates when they will not be available. Reasons your supervisor may not be available to meet or respond to an email include (but may not be limited to):

taking annual leave (at Christmas, Easter or during the summer for example)

taking University approved research leave (although they should be able to respond to emails during this time)

attending a conference

illness

travelling on University business.

However, your supervisor will not normally be unavailable for a period of more than four weeks at a time.

Knowing when your supervisor is available will enable you to plan your meetings effectively and help you to make the most of your supervision.

PRESENTATION OF THE DISSERTATION

An outline guide is provided here. Please refer to the past Masters dissertations on eLP for student examples of appropriate Masters Dissertation Cover Pages, Title Pages, Contents Lists and Abstracts.

Page Layout

Pages should be numbered in sequence at the top right hand corner, starting with and including the title page.

Margins and headings: the specifications are 38mm (11/2”) left margin, 31 mm (11/4”) on the other three sides. The page number should be above the top margin line. The right margin should be unjustified (left ragged), since the spacing between words used to make the right margin even inhibits readability greatly, while adding little aesthetically. Headers and footers are to be used with discretion. Please do NOT include your name in any header or footer.

Tables and charts should be numbered in sequence by chapter, eg Table 3.1 is the first table in Chapter 3. Each figure should be properly referenced and accompanied by a descriptive title that completely explains the contents of the figure.

It is not acceptable to insert photocopies of tables into the body of the dissertation. Tables should be word processed into the dissertation. In broad terms this principle also applies to diagrams – no photocopies from books etc. There will, of course, be occasions when a photocopy of a table or a diagram is specifically required in order to illustrate points peculiar to the original. Use of such photocopies must be cleared with the supervisor. Similar principles apply to the appendices with regard to tables and diagrams. It is recognised that there will be circumstances (eg a dissertation on advertising) where photocopies are necessary. Another example might be a sample of a completed questionnaire. The dissertation must be word- processed, and final copy must be printed single sided on A4 paper. Spacing may either be set at double or one and a half line spacing, depending on the machine used. Spacing greater than double spacing is not acceptable. Direct quotations may be presented starting on a new line and in single spacing, indented both left and right. The body of the dissertation should be in font size 12 and Arial is the Newcastle Business School standard font face.

Both the draft and final copies of the dissertation must be produced in such a manner that the text is entirely legible. This means a text suitable for good quality reproduction from a photocopier.

Dissertations can be printed in either Black or Colour. Please note that there are no extra marks for colour and that the University makes no guarantee as to the provision of colour printing facilities.

Writing Style

The level of writing must be appropriate to the level of the Masters degree. Specifically, acute attention should be paid to correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and clarity of style. Also, it is the student’s responsibility to edit the text for typing errors, uncover all spelling errors, including dissertations that have been typed by another party. Note that a spell-check programme does not uncover all spelling errors e.g. principal and principle can be confused.

It should be decided (in consultation with the supervisor) whether the use of the first person (I, we, us) is appropriate for the dissertation.

The library looks after study skills and students can get help from the enquiry desk points at CCE and City Campus libraries. See online support for details.

Dissertation Length

Masters Dissertation word limit

Word Count

The word count is to be declared on the front page of your dissertation. The word count does not include:

Title page

Reference list

Appendices (including reflective learning statement)

Appropriate tables, figures and illustrations

Contents page

Bibliography

Glossary

Quotes from interviews and focus groups

Declarations page

Acknowledgements

Abstract

End material

Please note, in text citations [e.g. (Smith, 2011)] and direct secondary quotations [e.g. “dib-dab nonsense analysis” (Smith, 2011 p.123)] are INCLUDED in the word count.

If this word count is falsified, students are reminded that under ARNA page 30 Section 3.4 this will be regarded as academic misconduct.

You are required to integrate ideas in a succinct way (i.e. without unnecessary description and context). This is a necessary skill.

Penalties

The acceptable length of this dissertation is between 13,500 and 16,500 words.

If your work is above this, the following penalty will apply: The final mark is reduced by 10% if the word length is exceeded by more than 10% over 15,000 (i.e. 16,501). For example a mark of 70% would be reduced to 63%.

Dissertations shorter than 13,500 words will not attract a specific penalty as it is anticipated their short nature will affect the overall quality anyway.

Dissertation Structure

You can refer to the eLP for examples of previous students’ dissertations to see the structure of the dissertation. The arrangement of the completed dissertation is in three stages; preliminaries, the body of work and end material.

Preliminaries

Front sheet:

For layout see the eLP.

Declarations

See the eLP.

Abstract:

In no less than 200 and no more than 300 words – see Appendix C

Acknowledgements: Optional but recommended

Table of Contents:

Formatted as per example Appendix D

Glossary:

If your dissertation contains unfamiliar abbreviations or technical terms it is helpful to include a glossary at this point – example Appendix E

Body of Work

Presented as a series of chapters beginning with an Introduction and ending with a Conclusion.

End Material

References:

A list of specific works referred to directly in the text.

Bibliography: Optional

List of additional material consulted, but not directly cited in the text. Note the distinction between this section and ‘References’ – do not duplicate sources, they should be either in ‘References’ or ‘Bibliography’ but not both.

Appendices:

Designed for the optional inclusion of charts, graphs, additional data, photographs, maps, sample questionnaires/interview schedules etc. These must be bound in A4 format. It is not appropriate to include photocopies of journal articles or similar material.

The Reflective statement to be included in this section – see the eLP for further information.

Referencing

The intellectual work of others that is being summarised in the dissertation must be attributed to its source. It is assumed that all ideas, opinions, conclusions, specific wordings, quotations, conceptual structures and data, whether reproduced exactly or in paraphrase, which are not referenced to another source are the work of the student. If this is not the case, an act of plagiarism may have occurred, which is cause for disciplinary action under the ‘Academic Misconduct’ process.

Plagiarism

Please pay particular attention to originality and the proper acknowledgement of your sources. It is important that the work you submit:

Is original and your own work

Gives proper acknowledgement to any work by others which is used in completing your dissertation

Originality means that the dissertation subject is presented in a way which differs from any other:

Published works

Study guides

Dissertations of other students, past or present

This does not preclude the use of the same material from wider reading (to support it with examples, or relevant opinions and ideas, or to place it within the context of existing knowledge). In fact, credit is specifically given for references in the assessment scheme. It does mean, however, that the sources of any such material MUST be identified.

You should ensure that:

Words or phrases taken verbatim from published works are placed in quotation marks and the source acknowledged.

Quotations take the form of brief relevant extracts.

Where lengthier use of a published work is appropriate, you may summarise or paraphrase an author’s words, but the source of the summary or paraphrase must again be fully acknowledged by textual reference.

Unacknowledged use of the work of others (plagiarism) is regarded as dishonest practice and will be dealt with on that basis, as per the University’s Regulations.

Format of references

You must use the correct referencing system and that is the APA system. The APA method of referencing uses the author’s name and the date of the publication. In-text citations give brief details of the work you are referring to in your text. References are listed at the end of the text in alphabetical order by the author’s name. The general format of an electronic journal reference in the APA style is shown below:

Coutu, D. (2009). Why Teams Don’t Work. Harvard Business Review, 87(5), 98-105. Retrieved 29th April 2012 from EBSCO http://searchebscohost.com

Author/s name and initials are listed first, followed by year of publication in brackets. Then there is the title of article and the journal where the article appears, which is in italics. Then state the volume and issue number (in brackets) along with the pages where article can be located. Finally add the date the article was retrieved and then the name of the database, followed by the web address. Wherever possible use the homepage URL rather than the full and extended web address.

For further information on why it is important to reference accurately go to the Referencing and Plagiarism topic in Skills Plus available from the Library website:

www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus

You will find other useful help guides on Skills Plus to help you with the skills involved in writing your dissertation.

For further information on the APA style of referencing see the Concise Rules of APA style and the APA website http://www.apastyle.org/learn

RESEARCH ETHICS

Northumbria University strives to uphold the highest standards of ethical practice in research and academic integrity. Irrespective of the nature and ethical complexity of a research project, staff and students are expected to ensure that their conduct is driven by the ethical imperative of respect, the intent to do no harm and to contribute to society’s knowledge and practice through engagement in research that has beneficent intent.

To achieve a high quality research culture, the following key elements are promoted:

Respect for the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of participants and researchers

Valuing diversity in society

Personal and scientific integrity

Leadership

Honesty

Accountability

Openness

Clear and supportive management.

Dissertation work conducted by postgraduate students is recognised as research activity by the University. Therefore, it is subject to appropriate ethical scrutiny and review. Ethical approval must be obtained prior to the commencement of the research. This applies to all dissertation regardless of whether primary data is being collected (for example using interviews/questionnaires) or secondary data is being analysed (no primary data is being collected). Ethical approval is awarded by an independent reviewer.

The ethical approval process

Here is the process that students must follow:

Ethical approval MUST be obtained for all research projects PRIOR to the commencement of the research. Students must not collect/analyse any data without ethical approval. A failure to secure this approval in advance risks both your dissertation grade and having an academic misconduct allegation made against you (risking your degree).

Applications for ethical approval must be submitted online through the University’s online ethics system. To access Ethics Online go to Ethics and Governance webpage https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/ethics-and-governance/ You should discuss your application with your supervisor and get their sign off on your completed application at one of your supervision meetings or via email prior to the submission.

In the application, you will be asked to select from the drop down what you are submitting as. You need to select PGT – Postgraduate Taught Student.

You also need to name the module tutor, your supervisor and the named submission coordinator. The module tutor is Clare Cook. You also need to put Clare Cook where it asks you for the ‘named submission coordinator’ Put your supervisors name in the supervisor box.

In the application, you also will be asked to determine the level of ethical risk of your dissertation. Please note that this module does NOT ACCEPT High ethical risk dissertations. You are only allowed to conduct medium and low risk dissertations. In the next section you will find an explanation for each level of ethical risk.

Your application will be approved (or returned for reworking) by an independent reviewer. In most cases, the reviewer will be able to authorise the research. Occasionally, a reviewer may have concerns over the proposed research and then it may be necessary to make amendments to your application

Informed consent is one of the core ethical principles of conducting research with human participants. Students MUST obtain informed consent from all participants in the research. This applies to all forms of primary research including online surveys. You must use the appropriate version of the University consent form, which is available in Blackboard.

If you work with an organisation, organisational consent is required. In this case, students must complete the “Faculty Organisational Consent Form” and have it signed by an appropriate manager within the Organisation being studied. The signed form must be included in the appendix. The company name may be obscured to retain anonymity.

If you wish to collect data within the Faculty of Business and Law, the Faculty Organisational Consent Form needs to be signed by the Director of Research Ethics. Dissertation students may wish to approach students from other faculties; they must seek approval from the Ethics Committee in the relevant School / Faculty after having discussed the research with their supervisor.

It is the duty of all students undertaking research activities to follow and maintain the highest standards of academic practice when processing information about living individuals (personal data) as part of their research. All processing of personal data must be in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations.

Failure to submit for ethical approval risks a case of academic misconduct being brought against you. Students failing to follow these procedures for ethical approval will be unable to score over 6 marks for the methods chapter of their dissertation and may be awarded a zero grade for the chapter.

Ethical risk level.

A research project has High ethical risks when involves one or more of the following

Medicinal products

Clinical trial

Pharmacologically active substances

Animals, or material derived from animals

Children or vulnerable adults

NHS staff, patients, premises or equipment

Human tissue (e.g. blood or saliva samples)

Significant concerns around personal safety or physical discomfort beyond normal experience, for the participants or researchers

Sensitive topics such as trauma, bereavement, drug-use etc.

Data which comes under the Official Secrets Act

A research project has medium ethical risks when involves one or more of the following

Non-vulnerable adults

Personal data referring to a living individual

Secondary data not in the public domain

Environmental issues

Commercially sensitive information

A research project has low ethical risks when involves one or more of the following

the analysis of secondary data which has been previously published

desk or lab-based research which does not involve collecting data from people (other than pilot data collected solely within the research team).

For more detailed information on the Ethics procedures, students should check Blackboard site and the University’s Research ethics and governance we page https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/ethics-and-governance/

SUBMISSION

Dissertations must be submitted electronically by the dates posted on the eLP.

Using turnitin

Turnitin is a piece of software that can detect plagiarism. Turnitin will be used in any disciplinary action taken by the University in cases of alleged plagiarism or other misconduct.

Here are the main points to remember:

In the originality report, low matches (a few percent) are expected – these will be the sources that you have used and referenced.

These individual low matches will accumulate to give an overall match (similarity index) of perhaps 20-30% over the dissertation. This is not a problem.

There will only be an issue if there are high percentage matches to small numbers of sources (for example, one source matching at around 10% or more).

It is not possible to give a definitive figure of what constitutes a ‘high overall match’ since it is more important to make sure that the individual matches that make up the overall match are low.

Where necessary, the academic staff assessing the dissertation will judge whether the dissertation is satisfactory based on the information in the Turnitin originality report as part of the marking process.

Use your 2 trial/draft submissions to check your dissertation before you submit it for the final time and talk to your supervisor if you have concerns about the originality report results.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is regarded as an exceptional procedure and must be agreed with the dissertation Supervisor and declared on the Logbook front cover.

Extensions to submission dates

An extension to the published submission dates may be granted for valid personal extenuating circumstances by the Academic Facilitators. Extensions are granted only for substantive reasons such as illness, family difficulties or other personal circumstances. Where appropriate, written medical/professional evidence must be provided by the student to support the claim for an extension. Please make contact with the Academic Facilitators as soon as possible and well before the published submission date. Please note that difficulties such as losing your work accompanied by failure to keep a back-up copy or short term pressures of work are not substantive reasons and extensions will not be given in such cases.

Extensions are limited to two weeks. If you need a longer extension than this you will need to complete a PECs form and submit it to the Administration office as early as possible – Academic Facilitators will help you with this.

Late submission approval applies to the submission of the dissertation only. It does not entitle the student to additional supervision. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange supervision within the original time period as far as possible.

If, for any reason, a supervisor cannot provide supervision (for example due to illness), then for periods of between 1 and 2 weeks an extension will be granted to compensate for the lost time. If a supervisor is absent for more than two weeks then alternative supervision will be arranged.

Non-submission without an approved extension

The Masters dissertation is subject to the same University Regulations as any other module (or subject) and unauthorized late submission will result in a ZERO mark (0%).

Failed and non-submitted dissertations

If you fail your dissertation the first time, you would normally be given one resubmission opportunity following the Progression and Awards Board (PAB). Feedback from the supervisor and second markers will be provided and you would have until the next deadline date to work on your re-submission. If you wish, you may have one meeting or a telephone discussion with your supervisor to clarify what is required. Normally, you would not receive any further supervision for this activity. As with other referral work, the maximum mark you would get for the re-submitted dissertation, provided it passes, is 50%.

When submitting your revised dissertation you should include an appendix detailing what you were asked to do and how you have addressed these issues in your resubmission.

If you do not submit your dissertation by the deadline, with no extenuating circumstances, an ‘absent’ mark is recorded and you will be deemed to have failed the dissertation. In such circumstances, you would normally be given one resubmission opportunity at the PAB. You could then submit your dissertation, as a referral, at the next submission deadline.

You would not be provided with any supervision in this period. As with other referral work, the maximum mark you would get for the submitted dissertation in this case, provided it passes, is 50%. You would not have any further resubmission opportunity.

In the case of failed re-submitted dissertations, you would normally be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma.

Working papers

As your work progresses, you will build up a collection of materials that you have used to put together your dissertation. You MUST retain these. Here are some examples of what your working papers may include.

From the literature review:

Copies of academic journal articles

Copies of specific parts of books (perhaps annotated) or professional publications

Drafts of your literature review

Sections of writing that you have done but not used in the final copy

Printed web pages used in your research

From your analysis and results sections:

Versions of questionnaires / questions for interviews

Completed questionnaires/recorded or transcribed interviews or notes from interviews

Attempts at analysis with corrections and annotation as you refine your ideas

Excel/SPSS output

Ethics forms

If your dissertation includes calculations, the working papers for those would be expected. And if your dissertation includes a survey or questionnaire, the original papers for those should be kept along with names and addresses of any firms or individuals involved. Keep all computer-based material on CD or USB memory stick. Production of “working papers” includes being able to produce the CD or USB memory stick.

These working papers must be retained by the student until formally notified of the award of their degree.

Please ensure you keep your working papers safe because you may be asked to submit them for examination when your dissertation is being marked. Therefore working papers must be accessible, so DO NOT pack them away in an inaccessible place such as luggage you are shipping home.

Request for working papers

A random sample of students will be selected and asked to submit their working papers with their dissertation. Individual supervisors may also request working papers for any of the students they are supervising. A student may receive a request to submit working papers just before or during the marking process. Failure by the student to produce an adequate set of working papers when requested will be treated as Academic Misconduct and the procedures given in the University regulations for such matters will be followed.

To facilitate this process it is the responsibility of ALL students to ensure the Administration Office has their correct e-mail and postal correspondence address.

Once the working papers have been examined by the assessor (normally the supervisor) any concerns will be followed up via an informal discussion with the student (preferably in person). Newcastle Business School will take all reasonable steps to arrange a mutually convenient time for the informal meeting to take place. If the student is not able to attend in person a telephone conversation may be possible. Failure by the student to take part in this meeting or failure to address and resolve the concerns will result in consideration of the case by an Academic Misconduct Panel. The award of the degree will be delayed until the matter is resolved.

Assessment and marking

A standard marking form will be used that assesses the work against the Newcastle Business School Cross Comparative Benchmarks for Undergraduate and Masters Dissertations (Appendix A). The marking form used for the Masters dissertation is available from the eLP so that students can see the criteria against which their work will be judged. The marks available for the different sections of the dissertation are shown on the marking sheet.

The Masters Dissertation mark will equal 85% of the module assessment, and the remaining 15% is for the Dissertation proposal. Students should note that a pass mark for the dissertation can be used to compensate a fail mark for the proposal. Provided the dissertation is passed with a mark of 50% or more, when the combined mark for the proposal and final dissertation results in an overall mark of less than 50%, a mark of 50% will be awarded for the module.

The dissertation will be assessed independently by two academic members of staff; normally the supervisor and a second marker. A final mark is then agreed between the two markers. Occasionally, a dissertation may be assessed by a third marker. Additionally, a sample of dissertations is assessed by relevant external examiners.

Please remember that Supervisors will not disclose potential marks to students at any stage whilst the work is underway or being formally assessed (as stated in the ‘Expectations’ section of these guidelines). Students will receive their mark and a copy of the completed assessment sheet following the conclusion of the examination boards.

MASTERS DISSERTATION – INDICATIVE READING LIST

The current NBS Masters Dissertation Guidelines (available from the eLP).

Brown, R. B. (2006) Doing your dissertation in Business and Management, Sage.

Bryman, A. & Bell, E. (2015) Business Research Methods, 4th Ed. Oxford

Cassell, C. & Symon, G. (2004) Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research. Sage.
Cassell, C.,Symon, G. & Dickson R. (2000) Qualitative methods in Organizational Research and Practice, European journal of work and organizational psychology, Vol. 9, no.4.
Collis, J. & Hussey, R. (2014) Business Research, 4th Ed. Palgrave Macmillan.

Creswell, J. (2012) Qualitative inquiry & research design: choosing among five traditions, 3rd Ed. Sage.
Creswell, J. (2013) Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Method Approaches, 4th Ed. Sage.
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R & Jackson, P. (2012) Management Research, 4th Ed. Sage.

Gray, D.E. (2014) Doing research in the real world, 3rd Ed. Sage.

King, N & Horrocks, C. (2010) Interviews in Qualitative Research, Sage.

Robson, A., Pemberton, J. & McGrane, A (2011) Business Research Analysis, 2nd Ed. McGraw Hill.

Salkind, N, J. (2011) Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics, 4th Ed. Sage.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2012) Research Methods for Business Students, 6th Ed. Pearson.

Wilson, J. (2014) Essentials of Business Research, 2nd Ed. Sage.

Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C., Griffin, M. (2013) Business Research Methods, 9th Ed. South-Western Cengage Learning

Recommended Journal articles:

Nguyen, T, Charity, I & Robson, A (2014) “Students’ perceptions of computer-based learning environments, their attitude towards business statistics, and their academic achievement: implications from a UK university”. Studies in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2014.950562

Robson, A. & Robson, F. (2011) “Do committed employees wish to stay longer in post? – A comparison of public and private sector nurses”, Chartered Institute of Management: Top Management Articles. http://cmilibrary.managers.org.uk/Library/Catalogues/Summary.aspx

Mitchell, E., Robson, A. & Prabhu, V. (2002) “The impact of maintenance practices on operational and business performance”, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 17, No. 5, pp234-240.

Robson, A. & Mitchell, E. (2007) “CSR performance: driven by TQM implementation, size, sector?”, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 24, No. 7, pp722-737.

Robson, A. & Prabhu, V. (2001) “What can we learn from the “leading” service practitioners about business excellence?”, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp249-261.

Robson, A., Yarrow, D. & Owen, J. (2005) “Does quality drive employee satisfaction in the UK learning sector?”, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 22, No. 5, pp465-484.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: Learning Benchmarks

QAA DESCRIPTOR FOR A QUALIFICATION AT MASTERS (M) LEVEL: MASTERS DEGREE

Masters degrees are awarded to students who have demonstrated:

a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of their academic discipline, field of study, or area of professional practice;

a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to their own research or advanced scholarship;

originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline;

conceptual understanding that enables the student;

– to evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline; and

– to evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses

Typically, holders of the qualification will be able to:

deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences;

demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level;

continue to advance their knowledge and understanding, and to develop new skills to a high level;

and will have:

the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring: – the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility

– decision making in complex and unpredictable situations; and

– the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development.

Source: The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2001)

NEWCASTLE BUSINESS SCHOOL CROSS COMPARATIVE BENCHMARKS FOR UG AND MASTERS DISSERTATIONS

It is useful for you to understand Newcastle Business School benchmarks in relation to Masters Dissertations compared to UG Dissertations. The respective benchmarks are detailed below. The following table illustrates the major benchmarks against which undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations are assessed. Of course, either set of students may exceed the benchmarks for their level of work but, while such an outcome may be desirable, it is not a pre-requisite for the achievement of a good mark. Students can achieve a good mark by meeting the benchmarks for their level.

Benchmark

Undergraduate requirement

Postgraduate requirement

Dissertation subject matter

A topic in business, management or economics (including named / specialist degrees).

A topic in business, management or economics (including named / specialist degrees).

Research objectives

Clearly defined objectives relating to the topic and based upon the literature in the field.

Clearly defined objectives relating to the topic and based upon the literature in the field.

Research philosophy and methodological choices

Not required.

Must demonstrate an awareness of research philosophy at a broad level (e.g. positivism versus interpretivism) and select a justifiable and appropriate epistemological approach. The research methodology such be consistent with the philosophical stance and should be appropriate and justifiable considering the research objectives.

Selection and justification of appropriate Research methods

Application of relevant theory to the data gathered to gain understanding of the value.

Must demonstrate an awareness of different research strategies (e.g. survey, case study etc.) and must justify, explain, select and recognise the limitations of the strategy chosen.

Must demonstrate an awareness of different research methods (quantitative and / or qualitative) and justify, explain, select and recognise the limitations of appropriate research methods for the dissertation topic.

Must explain the practical details of the conduct of the research and recognise limitations.

Primary research may or may not be conducted. Students may undertake primary research (quantitative or qualitative etc.) or they will need to undertake some re-analysis of existing material (e.g. quantitative – financial data, budgets, trade statistics, or qualitative – minutes of meetings, use of diaries and other archival materials etc.)

Ethical issues and compliance with University / School Guidelines need to be addressed.

Application of relevant theory to the data gathered to gain understanding of the value.

Must demonstrate an awareness of different research strategies (e.g. survey, case study etc.) and must justify, explain, select and recognise the limitations of the strategy chosen.

Must demonstrate an awareness of different research methods (quantitative and / or qualitative) and justify, explain, select and recognise the limitations of appropriate research methods for the dissertation topic which fit with the philosophy, methodology and strategy of the dissertation.

Must explain the practical details of the conduct of the research and recognise limitations.

Primary research may or may not be conducted. Students may undertake primary research (quantitative or qualitative etc.) or they will need to undertake some re-analysis of existing material (e.g. quantitative – financial data, budgets, trade statistics, or qualitative – minutes of meetings, used of diaries and other archival materials etc.)

Ethical issues and compliance with University / School Guidelines need to be addressed.

Benchmark

Undergraduate requirement

Postgraduate requirement

Literature review

Discussion of relevant literature. A critical review involving the discussion of relevant theories, identifying the significant themes and comparing and contrasting of different perspectives. Explanation of role of the literature in the dissertation in broad terms by linkage to the research methods.

Discussion of relevant literature, Critical review involving the in-depth discussion of relevant theories, identifying the significant themes and comparing and contrasting the different perspectives to a high level. Detailed explanation of role of the literature in the dissertation, for example by deriving statistical hypotheses to be tested or by generating interview schedules.

References

An adequate range and number of journal articles and books are to be used / cited. All may not be current.

Evidence of knowledge of current research, predominantly journals.

Referencing

APA method of referencing

APA method of referencing

Analysis and discussion of findings

Discussion of the data in relation to the theories.

Displays competence in the subject matter and related theory.

Use of appropriate quantitative/qualitative analysis techniques. For quantitative studies this will include descriptive statistics and limited analysis of potential links between variables (using correlation, or a chi-squared test).

For qualitative studies, a description of the findings and a review of the process adopted. Findings to be compared between respondents and with the literature review.

Recognition of limitations.

Discussion of the data in relation to the theories.

Displays a mastery of the subject matter and related theory.

Use of appropriate quantitative/qualitative analysis techniques. For quantitative studies this will include descriptive statistics and statistical testing of hypotheses derived from the research objectives.

For qualitative studies, analysis should be achieved by applying a justifiable qualitative technique (e.g. thematic analysis, coding, and content analysis).

Recognition of limitations.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions are drawn from the analysis and supported by the data.

Conclusions are related to relevant prior research.

Conclusions relate back to objectives (in broad terms).

Suggestions for further research.

Conclusions are drawn from the analysis and supported by the data.

Conclusions are related to relevant prior research.

Conclusions include a detailed discussion of whether the research objectives have been met.

Conclusions raise further questions for investigation and suggestions for further research.

APPENDIX B

DATA PROTECTION

Introduction

Whenever research involves the processing of personal information relating to living individuals, students are required to ensure that it is done so in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDOR) which sets out a number of principles for processing personal information.

This document provides guidance and outlines the requirements to ensure students follow best practice when undertaking research as part of their studies. What does GDPR mean for research ethics?

What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union regulation which comes into force on May 25th 2018. It is designed to harmonise data protection laws across Europe, and to bring the laws up to date with technological advancements, specifically the increasing use of digital data. It aims to promote a more compliance-based approach to data protection, with an emphasis on transparency, accountability and data protection by default and design. The UK Government has published its Data Protection Bill, which will lead to a new Act replacing the current Data Protection Act (1998).

Key organisational responsibilities

Article 5 of GDPR outlines the main responsibilities for organisations to ensure that personal data are processed in line with key Principles:

Personal data can only be used for “specified, explicit and legitimate purposes”

Data collected on an individual should be “adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed”

Data must be “accurate and where necessary kept up to date”

Personal data must be “kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than necessary”

Data should only be processed  “in a manner [ensuring] appropriate security of the personal data including protection against unlawful processing or accidental loss, destruction or damage”.

Data Subject Rights

GDPR introduces eight ’rights’ that a data subject has over the personal identifiable data which are stored about them. These are:

To be given clear information about how their data will be processed.

Access to all personal data held about them.

To correct incomplete/inaccurate information

To request data deletion

To ask for data processing to cease

To request an electronic copy of their data

The right to complain about certain types of data processing

The right not to be subject to a decision made solely on automated processing

Implications for Researchers

Due to our ethical procedures being based on such as the Data Protection Act and the Concordat for Research Integrity, as well as various legal, government, institutional and professional recommendations, much of what we do is already compliant with GDPR. However there are some additional steps we will have to take:

Transparency

All research involving personal data must provide information to data subjects about the collection and processing of their data. In particular, the legal basis for the processing of personal data must be specified (note that simply obtaining informed consent does not provide a legal basis for obtaining data). For most cases of university-based research the legal basis is “processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested the controller”. When special categories of personal data are being retained then the legal basis is: “processing is necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) based on Union or Member State law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject”.

Suggested action to ensure transparency

The following must be added to information and/or debrief sheets:

Name and contact details of the data controller.

Information relating to data processing and the legal basis for processing personal data.

Storage period.

The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Information on whether or not the data will be transferred out of the EU.

The University is currently adapting existing templates to ensure consistency.

A Participant Information Sheet can communicate the basics and then perhaps signpost to further resources (e.g. research project webpages) where further detail can be provided.

Data Management

There is a greater emphasis under GPDR on implementing safeguards for research data management. This will mean researchers should carefully consider arrangements for security and storage of data, anonymise or pseudonymise data where possible, and that personal data are only collected when needed to undertake the research (‘data minimisation’).In particular, where research involves processing of special categories of personal data, additional measures must be in place to safeguard the rights and interests of the data subject. Typical research governance arrangements such as ethical review, peer review from public funders, data minimisation, pseudonymisation and other technical safeguards will be sufficient to meet this criterion.

Remember!

Where research participant data are no longer identifiable, then they are no longer ‘personal data’, and the GDPR transparency requirements do not apply

Help and Support

For further advise on any of these issues please read the Research Ethics Governance Handbook, available online here https://northumbria-cdn.azureedge.net/-/media/corporate-website/new-sitecore-gallery/research/documents/pdf/nu-research-ethics–governance-handbook.pdf?la=en&modified=20180727074219&hash=EFE7A35374ACB7B42DF843FC026D871B02273493

APPENDIX C – Example of an Abstract

Abstract

Increasing speed of globalization puts pressure on companies conducting international business. Therefore, multinational companies (MNCs) need managers with an enhanced understanding of international business and an improved coordination and configuration of HQs and subsidiaries. Expatriate assignments are critical for developing international managers and penetrating critical capabilities throughout global dispersed companies. But expatriate failure and repatriate turnover rates reveal severe adjustment difficulties during the assignment and after return. Nevertheless, to meet demands out of globalization and reach objectives of foreign assignments, companies need to support expatriates succeeding overseas and especially retaining them after they come home.

To investigate repatriation practice this dissertation uses a case study approach. The aims are to explore repatriates’ experiences and business practices at X plc. By conducting face-to-face interviews, six repatriates were interviewed about their pre-departure, overseas and especially their experiences after return. Additionally, they were asked about their perception of support they received by the company and their recommendations about what should be improved at the X plc. The responses were content-analysed to search for patterns among the answers. If problems for repatriates are widely similar, support practices can be standardised whereas individual difficulties support personally-tailored programmes. With the responses, the repatriates’ recommendations and the existing literature several conclusions could be drawn. And although this project is focused on repatriation it does not only provide recommendations for repatriation but also for expatriation and therefore covers the whole transition cycle management at X plc.

Appendix D – Example Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Literature review 5

Methodology 16

3.1. Positivism vs. phenomenology 16

3.2 Qualitative or quantitative research and data gathering 17

3.3 Data analysis 18

3.4 The research instrument 18

4. The case X plc 24

5 Results 25

5.1 Sample characteristics 25

5.2 Expatriation and overseas adjustment 28

5.3 Experiences after return 36

5.3.1 Work life 36

5.3.2 Social life 40

5.3.3 Company support 46

5.3.4 Individual coping strategies 49

5.4 Recommendations 51

5.4.1 Expatriation recommendations 52

5.4.2 Repatriation recommendations 54

6 Limitations and conclusion 55

References 56

Appendix 1: Reflective Learning Statement 68

Appendix 2: The structure of the X plc Group 69

Appendix 3: Content sheet 70

Appendix 4: Interview 1 76

Appendix 5: Interview 2 84

Appendix 6: Interview 3 96

Appendix 7: Interview 4 112

Appendix 8: Interview 5 119

Appendix 9: Interview 6 142

APPENDIX E – Example of a Glossary

GLOSSARY

Abbreviations used in the text

AMEX = American Stock Exchange

CME = Chicago Mercantile Exchange

DJIA = Dow Jones Industrial Average

EMH = Efficient Market Hypothesis

FTSE = Financial Times Stock Exchange

NASDAQ = National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System

NMS = National Market System

NYSE = New York Stock Exchange

S&P = Standard and Poor Stock Index

APPENDIX F – Turnitin

How to submit your Masters Dissertation to Turnitin

The following instructions cover the steps students follow to submit a paper to Turnitin and view the originality report. Adapted from Source: eLP Help Guide (Northumbria University 17.09.12)

Log on to the eLearning Portal and click on the link to the module where the Turnitn link has been posted

NX0422 – for UK-based students

Note: BNN01 = FT / BNN01 = PT

NX0419 – for CV Partner Institutions

Note: BCV or FCV = PT Sept Start or Jan Start

2012YL_NBX022BNN01: Dissertation Preparation and Research Methods

2012YL_NBX022BNN01: Dissertation Preparation and Research Methods

Click on the link on the left hand side of the page to go to the content area where the tutor has posted the Turnitin link – it will be called (ASSESSMENT).

Once in the Assessment section, click on the Turnitin folder

Locate the necessary Turnitin link and click the View/Complete link under the assignment title. NBS Dissertation submission: Revision 1 / Revision 2 / FINAL

Note: under the FINAL submission you must upload the whole of your Masters Dissertation (including ALL references)

The submission page opens. The option to submit a paper by file upload is selected and your name appears.

Enter a ‘submission title’.

Click on Browse to locate the file then click Open.

Click upload. You see a message telling you that step 1 of 2 has been completed and that you will be directed to the next step in 3 seconds.

A preview of the document is presented. Make sure the correct file has been submitted. If not choose ‘return to upload page’ and browse for the correct file. If correct click submit.

The submission process may take up to two minutes. You will see this message.

A digital receipt is displayed. It includes the first page of your submitted document. Confirmation of receipt is also sent to you via email.

Click on ‘go to portfolio’. This brings you to the assignment inbox page where you can view the originality report if your tutor has given you permission to do so.

How to view the originality report (student instructions)

Click on ‘go to portfolio’ in the digital receipt or on the View/Complete link in the content area where you submitted your work.

Click on ‘Show details’.

The page expands to reveal the link to the originality report (if available). The link appears as a coloured square next to a percentage. The percentage indicates the amount of text in your document that matches the sources searched by Turnitin. This figure may include bibliographic and quoted material.

Click on the percentage to open the originality report (see next page).

The coloured square indicates the percentage of matching text found by Turnitin: blue (no matching text); green (0-24% matching text); yellow (25-49% matching text); orange (50-74% matching text); red (75-100% matching text).

If the link to the report appears greyed out initially (or if you see the word “processing”) this means that the reports has not generated. Right click on the web page and choose ‘Refresh’ from the shortcut menu then click on ‘Show details’ again. If the report is still unavailable, try again later.

Your tutor may not have given you permission to view the originality report.

Some assignments don’t allow you to view the report until the assignment Due Date.

Although the report is usually generated straight away, it can take up to 24 hours when systems are busy. There is always a 24 hour delay for repeat submissions.

Students can view the originality reports under Revision 1 or Revision 2. The FINAL submission cannot be viewed by the student.

Adapted from Source: eLP Help Guide (Northumbria University 17.09.12)

Turnitin Originality Report – Document Viewer

Turnitin Originality Report – Document Viewer

Note: The coloured version of this diagram is available in the online copy of this handbook – located on the eLearning Portal.

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