MQP Research project
How to write your mini – dissertation
1. Format
• Use Arial or Times New Roman
• Use font size 12
• Use double spacing
• Align LEFT or Justify
• Use Page numbering
2. Title Page
This should include the final title of your dissertation and your name, course title AND WORD COUNT.
3. Table of Contents Page
Use the feature in Microsoft Word to insert the contents page. Include page numbers after each heading or subheading
4. Table of figures
Use the feature in Microsoft Word to insert the table of figures
5. Abstract
The abstract has three paragraphs. You can start writing the abstract now. However this is the last thing to do after completing your project but comes after table of content
Paragraph 1 – talks about what you are researching.
Paragraph 2 – talks about how you are researching.
Paragraph 3 – talks about your findings
6. All chapters should start like this
Chapter 1
Introduction/Research Background
Chapter 2
Literature review
Chapter 3
Research methods
Chapter 4
Data analysis, findings, and discussion
(If you are doing both secondary & Primary or field research)
Findings and discussion
(If you are doing ONLY secondary or deskwork)
Chapter 5
Conclusions
7. All chapters should start with an overview and finish with conclusions:
For chapter 1 for example
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1. Overview
This chapter includes / covers / explains [and then include the main headings of the chapter]
1.5. Conclusions
Write in your own words
Don’t include anything new
You have to repeat what you have done and summarise it
One paragraph – This chapter included / covered / explained [and the summarised what you did].
Second paragraph – This chapter highlighted the ….. / emphasised that … / explained ….. [Include the lessons]
1.6 appendix
8. Chapter by chapter
Make sure you understand what you should include in each chapter.
Chapter 1
Introduction
• This chapter tells the reader what you are researching; this chapter explains the area, field and aspect of the research. This chapter gives initial definitions.
• This chapter should explain the research questions and objectives. You always have to check your research questions and objectives, because they change during the process of working on the dissertation.
• Diagrams help to explain what you have done. When you include a diagram you have to refer to it in the text. Include a Number and Title for the diagrams you include. You can include one diagram for the research questions and objectives.
Chapter 2
Literature Review
• In this chapter you explain the main theoretical aspects of your research. You need to review books and journal articles. If necessary you need to review websites.
• It is very important that this chapter includes REFERENCES through the text.
• You CAN’T omit the references, if you leave it for the end, you WON’T remember where you got the information.
• You CAN’T do a literature review based on only 1 or 2 books. This would be a very a LOW standard.
• You CAN’T copy content from books, you need to make something with the content of the books and journal articles.
• You CAN compare and contrast what two authors say about the same things.
• You CAN provide a brief INFORMED OPINION after reviewing the content from books and journal articles
• Give definitions, use more than author to gather definitions especially if the concepts are important in your research
• Decide theories / concepts best describes what you want to use for your research
• Provide summaries using “To sum up” after finishing sections of the literature review
Chapter 3
Research methods
• This chapter explains the reader how you have carried out your research. It explains the research families, approaches and techniques. It explains how you used those in the research.
• First you explain what the approach/method/technique that you research follow.
• Secondly, you explain how you use this approach/method/technique your research has adopted
• Diagrams help to explain what you have done. When you include a diagram you have to refer to it in the text. Include a Number and Title for the diagrams you include. You can include one diagram for the research process.
• An important point here is the ethical considerations; you should explain what was done to take ethical considerations into account.
Chapter 4
Data analysis / Findings / Discussion or Findings / Discussion
Data analysis (If you are doing FIELDWORK)
• You need to explain how you analyse the data – Did you use Word document, Excel, etc.
• You need to explain how you manipulated the data.
Findings
• Here you include what you discovered from the interviews, questionnaires, document analysis, etc.
Discussion
• Here you have to link with the theory you talked about in CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW
• Apply theoretical models to study what you have discovered.
Discuss the similarities between your findings and the secondary data from CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW (this is findings from books, academic journals and websites)
• Secondary data means any information from books, journals and websites. Here you can use Google Scholar to find academic websites and articles.
Chapter 5
• Summary of each chapter (IN THE PAST TENSE)
o Chapter 1 introduced
o Chapter 2 described
o Chapter 3 explained
• Reiterate your research questions (write them again)
• Write your answers to each question and then to the main research question
• This part is very important and it is worth more between 30 % and 40 % of your mark. You have made it this far, it would be a sin not to include the answers to your research
9. References Page
This section is very important. In this section, students have to write the references using the Harvard Referencing System (explanations in section 11)
10. Appendices
If you include any appendices in your dissertation, you have to talk about the appendices.
11. REFERENCES
Use the document you have been given on references according to Harvard Referencing System
If you are going to use websites, use good websites, for example, BBC news, the guardian and other well-known online newspapers.
You can start your research in Wikipedia. This however should only be a start. You can follow the references provided in the Wikipedia website.
You cannot QUOTE Wikipedia. You cannot include Wikipedia in the list of references of your assignments.
You cannot COPY from Wikipedia. It is very obvious for a teacher to notice when a student have copied text from websites or books. Please do not plagiarise from websites or books.
If you are caught copying from the website or books without evidence that you have made an effort to understand the content and write on your own word – you will be asked to do the assignment again. In the worst case, you will be marked down and you will fail the assignment.
In Coventry University, Foundation Campus and any other university or centre, plagiarism is a serious offence.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to write in your own words. One way to give a more academic and objective tone to your assignment is write in the third person
Write in the third person
This dissertation explains…
The research indicates…
The definition illustrates…
The findings…
The literature covers….
If you are referring to other writers:
Smith asserts…
Jones explains…
Jones and Smith argue…
This author…
The authors…
If you are referring to yourself:
The author describes…
The researcher…
This is an example
Contents
CONTENTS 2
ABSTRACT 4
CHAPTER1. INTRODUCTION 5
1.1 Overview 5
1.1 Hypothesis 5
1.2 Objectives 5
1.3 Research questions 6
1.4 Budget scale 6
1.5 Gantt chart 7
1.6 The Developing History and Recently Situations of sponsership 8
1.7 Conclusion 8
CHAPTER2. LITERATURE REVIEW 10
2.0 Introduction 10
2.1 The History of spnsership 10
2.2 The Literature Evidence 11
2.3 The Situation of 13
2.4 Conclusion 14
CHAPTER3. RESEARCH METHODS 16
3.0 Research methods 16
3.1 Primary & Secondary 16
3.2 Qualitative & Quantitative 17
3.3 Sampling framework 18
3.4 Ethics & Bias 18
3.5 Limitations 19
CHAPTER.4 DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS, AND DISCUSSION 20
4.0 Results 20
4.1 Quantitative Research Analysis 20
4.2 Qualitative results 26
4.3 Case study (Secondary Research ) 27
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION 30
5.1 Match findings to hypothesis 30
5.2 Next steps 31
5.3 Reflection 31
APPENDIX 1: 33
A Survey of 33
APPENDIX 2: 36
Statistical Results 36
APPENDIX 3: 45
Reference 45
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