Dissertation Tutors versus Skills Tutor

Hi, this week's blog is about the Dissertation Tutor and what they can do for you versus me, the Skills Tutor. Let's be clear, when you have done a lot of reading and thought over your topic carefully and are ready to submit your proposal you should talk to a dissertation tutor in your area of interest. You can find them on Blackboard under "My courses". You should click on dissertation support.

However, there are a lot of students with whom I've spoken who need to spend some time reflecting and reading before they make an appointment to speak to the Dissertation Tutor. The tutor has only got twenty minutes for an appointment.You may need to wait to get your appointment with the dissertation tutor. So, the more focused you are before you speak to her or him, the more you can get out of your interview time. The following is a list of ideas I strongly urge you to consider before you speak to the Dissertation Tutor:

1. Please read the guidelines on Blackboard about the purpose of the dissertation carefully.
2. I compare writing a dissertation to building a brick wall. You are adding a brick to a wall that is already under construction. Your brick helps to fill a gap in the wall. Essentially, you need to find unexplored areas in management literature to find the topic of your choice. Here is an analogy from the field I know best, literature.If, for example, you told me you wanted to write a 100 page MA dissertation on Moby Dick or the works of Charles Dickens, I'd have to ask you to narrow your focus radically. Similarly, if you tell the Dissertation Tutor that you want to write a dissertation on Motivation, you will find that your topic is much too large. Keep reading to find a piece of this topic that works for dissertation proposal.
   
3. Spend time reading, lots of reading. Use the resources available at the University of Leicester online digital library. If you need help, get in touch with the librarians. They love to help people and are very informed about their subject areas. Andrew Dunn is the Management Librarian. Look him up at the University of Leicester library. You can email or phone him.
   
4. Keep track of your journal articles, books, internet resources and other relevant information in a research log from day one. Record every reference. Remember that ideas, not just words, are the intellectual property of the writer who created them. (See other entries in this blog for my guidance on research logs & the university publications on plagiarism.)
5. Mine journal articles, books and other source materials to find the underlying theories in their research. In other words, read bibliographies to find 'literature streams'. These may lead to crucial source readings.
   
6. Give yourself time to get the resources you need from U of Leicester Library. Try not to begin this work at the last minute.
7. Remember a dissertation is not a 'project', as in a consulting project. It is a piece of research, located within a theoretical framework. It has a specific content and addresses a specific research question. It will have sections that will cover the following areas: your theoretical framework, your literature review, your methodology, your data analysis and your conclusions. At the end of this post, I will suggest a few books for guidance. Just so you know, I asked a tutor who is versed in management literature to help put together this bibliography for you.
   
8. Please don't begin to write your dissertation until your dissertation proposal has been approved.
   

I can help you a great deal while you are doing the basic reading that you need to do before you find a dissertation topic. I'm a trained librarian. However, if you are floundering around and want to talk about the specifics of the finance literature with me, I'm going to send you to speak to the Dissertation Tutor. Nevertheless, I can assist you in your efforts to go through that literature in your search for a topic that looks like it will make a suitable proposal. I can also tell you that it takes a lot of reading before you find a dissertation topic.

Needless to say, you can't ask the Dissertation Tutor to pick your topic for you. That isn't their role! However, if you have some ideas and have done extensive reading, they can help you work through what will work for you as a dissertation topic. All my postings in this blog about critical thinking are of relevance here. You will need to think for yourself to find your own dissertation topic. Additionally, every year the University of Leicester School of Management runs a session on dissertations at summer school. If you can go, this may assist you as well.

List of Resources

Bryman, A & E Bell. (2007). Business Research Methods. (2nd ed.) Oxford:Oxford University Press. (Note: This is a hefty volume with numerous chapters. It is useful as a reference for specific issues when you are doing your project.)

Blaxter, Loraine, C Hughes and M Tight. (2006) How to Research. (3rd ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press.
A good introduction to the research process.

Maylor, Harvey and K Blackmon. (2005). Researching Business and Management. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
This is a good source of material on the dissertation process from start to finish, with exercises and ideas on how to get through the process.

Bell, Judith. (2005) Doing your Research Project: A Guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science. (4th ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Another good overview of the process.