Dissertation Structure
The dissertation should be a maximum of 15,000 words. Normal word limit penalties will apply and are detailed in the Programme Regulations.
An abstract of no more than 300 words summarising the content of your dissertation.
An introduction which briefly but clearly presents your research topic/questions and the structure of your analysis.
Main text logically divided into chapters, with each chapter starting on a new page. See the information on dissertation content below for more guidance about some of the information that we expect you to include in your dissertation.
An overall conclusion to your findings. Depending on your dissertation topic, it may be appropriate to include a recommendations section.
Clear, consistent and complete references in the main text, with full details included in a bibliography.
Appendices containing any material which you mention in your main text but which is too detailed or bulky to include within that text, or which is supplementary to it (e.g. questionnaires, sample consent forms). Do not put material in an appendix if you do not refer to it in your main text. Appendices are not included in the overall word count.
Introduction
A good introduction is essential in order to catch the reader’s interest and help ensure that your dissertation hangs together as a coherent and convincing piece of work. You need to present your chosen topic briefly but clearly. What problem area are you focusing on, and why? State your research question and your initial hypothesis or argument. What were you trying to show through your research? What results were you expecting?
You should also explain why you decided that this research project was worthwhile. Briefly, in no more than two or three sentences, explain the context of the research. What theoretical framework are you applying, and why? What previous research has been undertaken on this topic? You may also comment on why the topic is important and interesting to you personally.
Having introduced your topic, you should then outline the structure of your dissertation, noting briefly what you will cover in each chapter.
Analytical framework
The main body of your analysis should begin with a review of the most significant published work relating to your chosen problem area. This should locate your project in the context of existing knowledge and debates, explaining what the main academic ‘disputes’ are in your field of interest and what theory or theories you will be drawing on. The analytical framework provides a critical insight into the topic under investigation, especially to readers who are new to the topic. It is also your main chance to provide evidence of your secondary research. This should be extensive – it is not enough just to discuss a couple of textbooks and a few websites. In this regard, make sure that you follow the advice later in this guide on undertaking an effective literature search at the start, and also take advantage of further guidance from your supervisor.
Methodology
You need to include a chapter or section covering the methodology of your primary research. What research techniques and methodology did you use, and why? Explain how you conducted your research (e.g. describing questionnaire design and fieldwork management) and also – crucially – how your choice of research methods gave you access to the empirical data needed to answer your research question satisfactorily.
You are free to choose from a wide range of social scientific research methods, but always keep in mind the relationship between research questions and methods. For example, some research questions may demand data collection through well-chosen, semi-structured interviews with key personnel and practitioners and/or observations of an agency’s practices, whereas for others a questionnaire survey may be a better means of data collection. You are also free to work from a single disciplinary perspective but we encourage interdisciplinary insight.
Ethical aspects of your research should be considered and discussed in this part of your dissertation.
Discussion of findings
The central part of your dissertation is your discussion of your research findings. It is here that you develop the main argument(s) of your dissertation. Describe and systemise your primary research data. If you use quantitative methods, please do not go overboard with data tables, graphs and pie charts as these can be disproportionate to the quality and size of your samples. Analyse your data and evaluate them through the perspective of your research design and its strengths and limitations/weaknesses, your research questions and the literature review. Remember to interpret and analyse the data in relation to existing works and theories in order to build a sound argument. You must link the analytical/theory framework to your primary research. Relate back to the introduction where you set out what you were trying to find. Be self-critical about any shortcomings in your research methods in terms of validity and reliability.
Conclusion
Begin your conclusion by describing what you set out to do, then summarise each section of your dissertation showing how you developed your ideas. Provide an overall conclusion to your findings. If appropriate, suggest further investigation that might be undertaken in the area, or further developments that might be expected, but avoid introducing any argument or issue that is so extensive as to amount to a new finding.
Recommendations
Depending on your dissertation topic, it may be appropriate to include a recommendations section. This is not the same as the conclusion; rather, it involves identifying specific policy recommendations that your conclusion entails. Sometimes students make recommendations in the course of discussing their findings, but this is a mistake because you need to show that the recommendations follow on logically from your conclusion. There are some perfectly valid dissertation topics that do not lend themselves to this sort of practical policy focus but, as a general rule, a good dissertation will probably have a recommendations section.
Bibliography
Your dissertation must include a comprehensive bibliography. Tutors can often get a good idea of the potential quality of a research project by looking at the bibliography and seeing how extensive and realistic it is.
Make sure that you include all the works that you refer to in the dissertation. Present them in alphabetical order in a consistent format, either Harvard or OSCOLA, in two (or three) separate lists:
Secondary literature (including books, journal articles, newspaper articles, web-based reports) and grey literature (including unpublished documents such as pamphlets).
Interviews (people interviewed should be listed in alphabetical order,* with a brief description of their position and the place and date of the interview: i.e. (name, place date), or for direct quotes (name, place, date: page number).
Case law cited (if applicable)
