Final Year dissertation代写

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　　1. Module Overview

　　Introduction

　　The Final Year Dissertation module is unlike any of the other modules on your degree. It isn’t based

　　on lectures, tutorials and an examination, it gives you the opportunity to pursue work on a subject

　　you are particularly interested in, it gives you a chance to show initiative, use and build on the skills

　　and knowledge that you’ve developed so far. A Dissertation is not expected to be a wholly original

　　piece of work, but you will be expected to show that you have exercised initiative and worked

　　independently. A Dissertation does not have to be a professionally finished product, but it must

　　show a good understanding of the subject area and associated tools and techniques for research.

　　The Dissertation gives you the chance to exercise skills that will be important to you in your future

　　career and which are difficult to measure in other ways: to do well you will need to show initiative,

　　motivation and the ability to work in an organised fashion over an extended period. Most students

　　find doing the Dissertation a very useful and rewarding experience. In addition, future employers

　　are often very interested in a student’s Dissertation.

　　The Dissertation is a very significant part of the degree. It is equivalent to a quarter of your final

　　year, furthermore an Honours degree cannot be awarded unless the Dissertation module has been

　　passed.

　　Aims of the Dissertation

　　The overall aims of the Dissertation are that you will be expected to:

　　• Be required to combine previously acquired knowledge and techniques with newly

　　investigated ideas, the results to be communicated in a report;

　　• Work independently under the guidance of a Supervisor on a Dissertation of your choice

　　and be expected to develop it systematically;

　　• Produce an extended piece of work covering a variety of activities related to a single theme.

　　Advice

　　Choosing a Dissertation

　　The first and often most difficult task is to find a suitable subject for a Dissertation. The topic you

　　choose for your Dissertation must obviously be one which you find interesting and on which you

　　want to work on over the whole year. A Dissertation topic must be of a suitable standard for a

　　Dissertation and subject to the approval of the Module leader.

　　There are several ways of choosing a Dissertation topic:

　　• Develop an idea of your own. If you have an idea that you think would be suitable for a

　　Dissertation, go and discuss it with the module leader. Even if your initial idea is slightly

　　vague, it is essential that you talk to an member of staff - this often has the effect of

　　crystallising your ideas and generating a suitable Dissertation topic.

　　• Do a Dissertation suggested by a member of staff. Most members of staff have a list of

　　Dissertation topics which they are interested in supervising. You can obtain this list from

　　the VLE.

　　• Develop a previous Dissertation. If a student wishes to do this then it is essential that the

　　student consults the Supervisor of the Dissertation and it is recommended that the same

　　Supervisor should be chosen.

　　• Do a Dissertation suggested by some outside organisation. Just because you have chosen to

　　do a ‘real Dissertation’ this does not necessarily mean that it is suitable as an

　　undergraduate Dissertation, you will have to discuss it with a Supervisor.

　　The Role of the Supervisor

　　Your Dissertation Supervisor can have a crucial role in the development of your Dissertation. You

　　must maintain regular contact with your Dissertation Supervisor. Exactly how often such contact

　　takes place is up to you and your Dissertation Supervisor. Most people find a regular fortnightly

　　meeting appropriate. Make sure you know how to contact your Dissertation Supervisor, either by

　　mail, telephone or email. It is unwise to rely on just being able to turn up and knock on your

　　Dissertation Supervisor’s office door.

　　The duties of the Dissertation Supervisor include:

　　• Helping you decide on the scope of your Dissertation;

　　• Helping you to produce a plan of work for the year;

　　• Checking up on the progress you are making throughout the year;

　　• Being available to provide informed discussion and guidance about the Dissertation;

　　• Advising on the contents and style of the Final Dissertation Report.

　　They do not include guiding every detail of your work on your Dissertation or proof reading all your

　　Final Dissertation Report the week before it is due.

　　Organising your Time

　　As a rough guide the Dissertation should take up to 300 hours of your time, in total; this time

　　should be distributed evenly throughout the year. If you spend much longer than this on your

　　Dissertation you will be in danger of interfering with work for other modules. Hence any possible

　　benefit gained from producing a slightly better Dissertation will be outweighed by the harm done

　　to your marks on other modules. If you find that your Dissertation is taking up too much of your

　　time, consult your Dissertation Supervisor who will be able to advise you.

　　You are strongly recommended to keep a Dissertation diary, in which you record all the work,

　　activities and decisions made during the Dissertation. This will help you to keep to your work plan,

　　and also be a useful source of material when you come to write the Final Report.

　　Background Research

　　It will be necessary for you to do background research on your chosen Dissertation topic. Ideally,

　　you should do this background research during the summer vacation before your final year. Like

　　every other aspect of the Dissertation the best way to achieve this is to produce a plan of what to

　　do. In this case the best method is to produce a list of topics that you (and your Dissertation

　　Supervisor) think are relevant to your Dissertation. Once you have done this it will be necessary to

　　produce a list of references that cover each of the topics on your list.

　　Once you have compiled your list of references you have got to read them. It is essential that you

　　make notes on each reference as you read it. These notes will assist you when writing your Final

　　Report.

　　How to Succeed

　　The key to success in the Dissertation module is to write a work schedule, and then to adhere to it.

　　You should prepare your work schedule in consultation with your Dissertation Supervisor, who will

　　help you to make realistic estimates of how long various tasks will take. The Dissertation

　　Supervisor’s first job may be to cut down what you propose to a reasonable size. Do not be

　　disheartened by this; when you are preparing a plan of work for the first time it is very easy to

　　under-estimate how long things will take. It is better to produce a complete, well-rounded but

　　medium-sized Dissertation than to make a botched job of something very ambitious. Remember it

　　always takes longer than you think, therefore you should allow extra time in your schedule so that

　　things like illness or unexpected machine failure do not totally ruin your schedule.

　　It is sometimes difficult to adhere to a plan of work because, as you acquire greater knowledge and

　　expertise in the subject, you will probably think of other approaches to the problem, or extra

　　features that you (or your client) would like to add in to your Dissertation. This is normal. If you

　　really have to change some aspect of your Dissertation, discuss the matter with your Dissertation

　　Supervisor first; keep records of your original approach and reasons for the change - these should

　　be documented in the Final Report.

　　Throughout the course of the Dissertation you are expected to adopt a professional attitude, taking

　　responsibility for the management of the work according to the work schedule.

　　How not to Fail

　　In this section are listed some of the reasons why students have failed the Dissertation module or

　　not done as well as they expected:

　　• Not reading this guide, or having read it ignoring the advice and the requirements laid out

　　in it. Solution: read this guide and do what is says.

　　• Choosing a Dissertation topic that requires the access to Specialists. This will cause

　　problems if the required resources are difficult or impossible to acquire, in this situation a

　　student will have great difficulty in completing the Dissertation by the deadline. Solution:

　　make sure that ALL of the resources you require for your Dissertation are available from the

　　start.

　　• Failure to maintain regular contact with your Dissertation Supervisor. This is very important

　　because without the regular guidance given by the Supervisor the student can end up

　　producing a piece of work which is not suitable as a Dissertation. In extreme cases where

　　the student has very little contact with the Supervisor, this almost always results in the

　　student failing the Dissertation. Solution: this is the most common reason for failing, so see

　　your Dissertation Supervisor regularly.

　　• Including material taken from books, articles, etc., which you do not understand. Solution:

　　do not include any material in your Final Report which you do not understand.

　　• Using material taken from books, articles, etc., which has not been acknowledged: this will

　　give the false impression that you are claiming that it is your own work. Again this is easy to

　　discover, and is regarded as academic malpractice; which could ultimately lead to you

　　failing your degree! Note: it is, of course, legitimate to make use of literature providing that

　　you acknowledge it and that it is not the only material in your Dissertation. Solution: do not

　　use any unacknowledged material.

　　• Not including a critical evaluation of the work performed during the Dissertation in the

　　conclusion. Solution: perform a critical evaluation of your work and include it in your

　　conclusion.

　　• Thinking that a Dissertation is just a large course work. The Dissertation must include work

　　of greater depth, be more substantial than a large course work, show the development of

　　existing skills and the acquisition of new skills. Solution: you must do sufficient and

　　appropriate work.

　　• Rushing the write up of the Final Report, resulting in poor illogical structure, English, layout,

　　contents, etc. This results in a sloppy and poorly-written Report which does not create a

　　good impression. Solution: you should try to write the Final Report as you do the work,

　　rather than leave it until just before it must be submitted.

　　Note: this is not an exhaustive list and there are still plenty of novel ways to fail the Dissertation.

　　Cheating and Plagiarism

　　While you are studying here your academic performance will be assessed on the basis of your own

　　work. Students who cheat are trying to gain an unfair advantage over other students. These are

　　serious offences within the University, and anyone caught cheating in the Dissertation is likely to

　　have their registration suspended or be excluded from the whole course.

　　Plagiarism is a particular form of cheating. Plagiarism must be avoided. It is your responsibility to

　　ensure that you understand correct referencing practices. Consult your Dissertation Supervisor if

　　you need any further advice. As a university student, you are expected to use appropriate

　　references and keep carefully detailed notes of all your sources of material, including any down

　　loaded from the Internet. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are not vulnerable to any

　　alleged breaches of the assessment regulations.

　　2. Learning Outcomes

　　On successful completion of the module students will be able to:

　　1. Identify and critically analyse a system, issue, or problem of current interest within the context

　　of computing and Web (CW1).

　　2. Construct a thorough, well-focused and detailed plan and negotiate appropriate final and

　　intermediate deliverables and associated learning (CW1).

　　3. Evaluate appropriate academic research literature and theoretical perspectives relevant to the

　　chosen topic (CW1,CW3).

　　4. Manage the dissertation effectively demonstrating systematic and effective planning, progress

　　monitoring, reflection and use of time and resources. (CW2 ,CW3).

　　5. Synthesise and confirm information, ideas and practices from both secondary and primary

　　sources (CW3).

　　6. Critically evaluate the methodology undertaken to fulfil the aim and the objectives of the

　　dissertation (CW3).

　　7. Articulate and demonstrate the outcomes of the dissertation clearly and in a professional

　　manner (CW3).

　　3. Outline Content

　　Since the Dissertation is individually negotiated, most learning will be self-directed under the

　　guidance of your supervisor. However, we recognise that there are some specific aspects of the

　　Dissertation with which most students require assistance. Consequently, some support and

　　workshop sessions are provided during the autumn term. These workshop sessions reinforce and

　　develop this knowledge, together with specific Dissertation-related issues in order to help you

　　apply it to your own context.

　　Workshops are planned to include activities on the following:

　　• Critical literature review and information searching using books, journals and electronic

　　sources.

　　• Footnotes, end notes, referencing and bibliographic form.

　　• Ethics

　　• Research design and management, to include problem formulation, case selection,

　　justification of choice of research methods, data production, methods of analysis,

　　dissertation management and writing research reports.

　　• Research methodologies, particularly the distinction between quantitative and qualitative

　　approaches.

　　• Critical reading and evaluation of research in terms of how well it focuses on, and answers,

　　the research questions posed.

　　• Analysis of different types of quantitative and qualitative data.

　　• Writing your report.

　　• Evaluation methods

　　4. VLE (Blackboard)

　　The Virtual Learning Environment will be used as follows:

　　• Provision of resources (materials and links) with online activities for learning including short

　　lectures on specific relevant topics.

　　• Submitting coursework

　　Blackboard can be accessed through the

　　5. Assessment

　　CW1 Individual Extended Dissertation Proposal (20%)

　　Learning Outcomes: LO1, LO2, LO3. (See CW Document on BB)

　　CW1 will require students to develop a detailed and extended dissertation proposal, which will

　　identify and elaborate the dissertation title, aims, objectives, and scope and an early Literature

　　Review. Students will identify possible references/ resources and include a detailed dissertation

　　plan and identify and describe the dissertation.

　　CW2 Interim Report and Negotiated Outcome (20%)

　　Learning Outcomes: LO4. (See CW Document on BB)

　　The Interim report will vary depending on the type of dissertation. It is expected that all

　　dissertations will report and analyse progress made against a plan.

　　CW3 Final Dissertation Report (60%)

　　Learning Outcomes: LO5, LO6, LO7. (See CW Document on BB)

　　All students will produce a final report. This is expected to be the only deliverable and be of the

　　order of 8,000- 10,000 words. All final reports will include an evaluation and reflection on the

　　dissertation process and outputs.

　　Formative Assessment

　　Formative assessment in this module consists of written and verbal feedback designed to

　　encourage and motivate your participation throughout the module. Your supervisor will provide

　　feedback on sections of your Dissertation report.

　　Word limits

　　It is important for you to note that the number of words must always be declared on your

　　assignment submission. Writing concisely for a purpose is an essential skill for many aspects of life.

　　Word Limits are advisory, but should be taken seriously: over-length work can be penalised for poor

　　writing style (waffle).

　　6. Reading List

　　Students will be directed to a wide range of reading, but there are certain core texts that will be

　　referred to during workshops:

　　Baase, S., (2008) A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal and Ethical Issues for Computing and the internet,

　　Prentice Hall

　　Davies, M.B. (2007) Doing a Successful Research Dissertation: using qualitative or quantitative

　　methods, Palgrave Macmillan.

　　Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (2003) The Landscape of Qualitative Research – theories and issues, 2nd

　　edition, Sage.

　　Flick, U. (2006) An Introduction to Qualitative Research, 3rd edition, Sage.

　　Holliday, A. (2007) Doing and Writing Qualitative Research, 2nd edition, Sage.

　　McNiff, J. & Whitehead, J. (2006) All You Need to Know About Action Research, Sage.

　　Oliver, P. (2003) The Student’s Guide to Research Ethics, Open University Press.

　　Prior, L. (2003) Using documents in Social Research, Sage.

　　Punch, K.F. (2005) Introduction to Social Research, 2nd edition, Sage.

　　Silverman, D. (2005) Doing Qualitative Research, 2nd edition, Sage.

　　Sinkin, R.M. (2005) Statistics for the Social sciences, 3rd edition, Sage.

　　Walliman, N. (2005) Your Research Dissertation, 2nd edition, Sage.

　　Walliman, N. (2004) Your Undergraduate dissertation – the essential guide for success, 2nd edition,

　　Sage.

　　White, B. (2003) Dissertation Skills: for Business and Management students, Thomson.

　　Yin, K.Y. (2003) Case study Research – design and methods, 3rd edition, Sage

　　Supplementary texts

　　Students should refer to their chosen topic area/particular methodological approach and seek out

　　relevant Level 6 texts.

　　Key journals

　　Students should utilise both electronic journals and those in hard copy to support their research for

　　this module.

　　Other learning resources

　　On-line electronic databases

　　Appropriate web sites

　　Workshop/Blackboard materials