The dissertation is a major academic component of the MBA. This module aims to equip students with the skills and resources required to effectively prepare for and produce a dissertation. It provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate the ability to diagnose and investigate a contemporary business issue (i.e. selecting a topic); to locate the work within the body of academic knowledge (i.e. conducting a literature review); to collect and analyse data (i.e. choosing a research design for data collection/analysis); to derive supportable conclusions and, organise and discuss the findings; to present results in a logical and clear manner; and to make practical and actionable recommendations for change, improvement or enhancement of current practice.
The module also aims to support the students in developing a research proposal as a part of the dissertation process. On completion of the module students will understand the purpose and structure of dissertations and have the skills necessary to conduct an independent piece of research. It will enable them to develop and embed their conceptual skills, data analytical skills, ethical awareness, critical evaluations skills, as well as their ability to effectively communicate their research findings to both an academic and practitioner audience.
There are three parts to the assessment: topic choice form; dissertation proposal; and the dissertation itself. During the dissertation phase of the module students will be individually supervised. The design and delivery of the Dissertation module is such that students engage with the research methods workshops in order to prepare a research proposal and be able to execute and deliver that proposal as a full MBA dissertation.