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On-going supervision is given to each and every student by an appointed supervisor. The role of the supervisor is to provide guidance in the selection of appropriate topics, the formulation of research problems or hypotheses, the determination of research aims and/or objectives, the different approaches for researching your area of study, methods for assimilating and synthesising the information collected, and structuring and presenting the final Dissertation. Your supervisor will also advise you on the completion of the ethics approval form and supporting documentation. Your supervisor will discuss these matters with you and make comments on your written work.
All supervisors are committed to supervising you in the Dissertation research and writing process but they may have different supervisory styles in terms of the frequency of meetings and emphasis of discussion. For instance, some supervisors wish to see students for short meetings at regular intervals, others prefer a more substantial discussion at particular milestones in the research. You should discuss the frequency of meetings at the initial meeting with your supervisor. Your supervisor will indicate in each consultation when he/she expects to see you again. If you find that you hit problems before the next scheduled meeting then arrange an extra appointment to see your supervisor. Written tutorial records will be kept by the tutor and should be signed by both tutor and student at the end of the meeting.
It is your responsibility to contact your supervisor, as and when necessary, by arranging a mutually convenient appointment. You should observe the normal courtesy with regard to attending appointments promptly or advising your supervisor of any changes to the appointment that you wish to make.
As your Dissertation will be assessed by the supervisor (together with another member of the teaching staff and in some cases also an external examiner), it is important for you to seek feedback about the progress of your research and about your supervisor’s expectations for the final product. Don’t become too anxious for guidance, however. Make sure that there is no question of “Whose Dissertation is this anyway?” by owning the decision making process and being in the driving seat, using your supervisor as a facilitator.
In consultation with your supervisor you will be building on the work from Level 5 Module Research Skills in a continuing process.
Please make sure that you observe the following regarding Dissertation Supervision:
Patterns of supervision are variable and normally are a reflection of the individual needs of students. Whilst the actual number of meetings between supervisor and supervisee is normally in excess of that listed below, often at weekly or fortnightly intervals, a minimum of three supervisory meetings is recommended (see overleaf). It is the responsibility of the supervisee to arrange these meetings with the supervisor. A student experiencing difficulty in arranging the meetings should contact the respective Academic Affairs Office, in the first instance. If there are still problems then your Programme Director should be contacted.
The three meetings should:
[1] At the outset confirm and focus the area of study.
[2] Agree aims and/or objectives and appropriate methodologies for the Dissertation. Discuss appropriate methodologies for data collection and analysis as part of the completion of the submission for ethical approval. Identify milestones. Determine an appropriate pattern of supervisory meetings. Confirm a deadline for submission of a draft Dissertation. As a consequence of this meeting you are required to agree with your supervisor, in writing, the aim and objectives together with an appropriate methodology. Use the form on the final page of the module handbook. Both student and supervisor should sign a copy. You must arrange a meeting with your supervisor to ensure that you have written appropriate aims and objectives and that you may continue to pursue your research.
[3] Receive comments back on the complete draft Dissertation towards the end of the process
Meetings 1 and 2 are likely to be very early in the Dissertation period, normally before week 4. Meeting 3 is likely to be towards the end of the Dissertation period. Most students will take advantage of many more supervision meetings.
Students who do not adequately consult their supervisors are likely to be required to undertake a VIVA VOCE examination in the presence of both Internal and External Examiners.
DISSERTATION SUBMISSION
Your final submission must adhere to the word count including figures and tables and excluding appendices. You are required to submit TWO soft copies (ONE of them ring binding) of your Dissertation AND ONE electronic copy (in Word format saved on a CD-ROM) to the respective Handin office on Monday18th April 2016 by 5 pm.
The Dissertation should the typed/printed clearly in black, on one side only of good quality white A4 paper. There shall be a margin (before binding) of 1.5 inches at the left-hand (binding) edge, 1 inch at the right-hand edge, 1 inch at the head of the page and 1.2 inches at the tail. The pages within the main body of the text should be numbered consecutively at the bottom of the page. Introductory sheet, e.g. acknowledgement and contents, may be numbered using lower case Roman numerals. The main body of the text should be typed to 1.5 spacing. The reference section should be single-spaced and hanging indented (by 0.5 inch) with one blank line between each items.
DISSERTATION ASSESSMENT
