Dissertation format

 

 

Dissertation format

Structure

 

Your dissertation may take a variety of forms, but the structure outlined below is probably the most common. Presentation within this format may not necessarily improve quality of content, but it does ensure that your work is presented in an ordered and professional manner. The three major parts of a dissertation are preliminary material, main body (including tables and figures), and reference material and appendices.

 

Preliminary Material

 

The pages comprising the preliminary material should be numbered in lower case Roman numerals (e.g. iii). The position of the pagination should be consistent throughout the dissertation.

Title page

This page is not numbered, but counts as Page i. The exact title of the dissertation and any subtitle (in upper case), the author’s student number, and the date, e.g. December 2017 (in upper and lower case) should be centred and spaced on the page (see below Figure 1). Near the foot of the page the following statement should be inserted:

 

Dissertation submitted to Oxford Brookes University for the partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT / MASTER OF SCIENCE IN

INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT [please amend as required for your programme].

 

The title should be specific and brief, consistent with giving information about the subject of the dissertation.

 

At the bottom of this page the word length (excluding abstract, contents and other tables, diagrams, list of references and appendices) should be recorded.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements are optional. If included they should be on page iii. The word ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS should be typed, in upper case, centred towards the top of the page. Beneath this should be typed, in lower case, your acknowledgements.

Abstract

Page heading ABSTRACT. This should briefly mention the nature and scope of the dissertation, and should focus upon the sources used for the study. It should be approximately 300 words in length, and should be typed in 1.5 line spacing on one side of A4 paper.

Table of Contents

Page heading CONTENTS. The chapter numbers are shown in Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2, 3) on the left- hand side.

 

As shown in the example below, the ‘First-order’ chapter headings should be in upper case throughout, and ‘second-order’ chapter headings should be sentence case. There should be a line of spaced dots running from the last letter of the chapter heading to the page numbers on the right- hand side.

 

The words ‘Chapter’ and ‘Page’ are placed above the columns of chapter and page numbers. Page numbers should be shown in both Roman numerals (e.g. i, ii, iii) for the preliminary material and Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2, 3) for the text and reference material.

Here is an example layout

Chapter CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………… 1 CHAPTER 2. CONGO’S DEVELOPMENT PROCESS…………………………………… 7 2.1  Key indicators…………………………………………………………………… 7 2.2  Historical background…………………………………………………………. 10

Page

 

List of Tables

Page heading LIST OF TABLES. Table numbers in upper case Roman numerals to the left and page number to the right and full title of the table in between. The words ‘table’ and ‘page’, in lower case, should be positioned above the columns of table and page numbers.

List of Figures

Page heading LIST OF FIGURES. Figures includes all illustrations, photographs and maps, which should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals in the order to which they are referred to in the text. The same format should be adopted as for the List of Tables.

List of abbreviations

(If appropriate for your dissertation)

 

Sample Title Page

 

 

 

 

 

(Dissertation title in 24 pt font)

 

 

 

(Student’s number in 24 pt font)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dissertation submitted to [university name]

for the partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (please amend as necessary for your programme)

 

 

 

 

(month and year) WORD COUNT

 

 Main body

The structure for the main body of your dissertation will be influenced by your topic, discipline, research question, and guidance from your supervisor.

Most writers agree that it is likely to cover include the following general sections:

 

• introduction
• literature review
• methodology
• findings and discussion
• conclusions

 

These sections are not necessarily intended to be used as chapter headings and should not inhibit you (in conjunction with discussion with your supervisor) from adopting something different.

 

The structure of the main body should use the following guidelines:

Text

The text should be appropriately divided. There should be an introduction and a series of numbered and headed chapters, the last of which should be the conclusion. All chapters including the introduction, are numbered consecutively. Starting with the first page of the introduction the pages should be marked consecutively in Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2, 3).

Headings and Sub-headings

On the first page of each chapter, the word CHAPTER (in bold) and the appropriate number should be centred. The title of the chapter should be centred below this and in bold. A hierarchy of sub- headings can be used to divide the chapter into sections. For example, if three ranks of sub-headings are required, the following scheme would be appropriate (but you may wish to adapt)

1. FIRST ORDER HEADING (Text continues on next line)     1.1. Second order heading (Text continues on next line)     Third order heading: (text continues on the same line)

 

Sub-heading should reflect the important themes within the chapter(s)

Quotations

Short prose quotations should be incorporated into the text of the dissertation in support of a given argument, and should be enclosed in single or double quotation marks (which look like this: ‘quote’ or “quote”). When a quotation runs for more than four type-written lines, it should be set off from the text in single spacing and indented in its entirety four spaces from the left-hand margin line.

 

Quotation marks should still be used. When quoting from a publication the author, date and page number(s) should be quoted.

Footnotes

Use of the Harvard system of referencing (see appendices) with a properly constructed bibliography should obviate the need for footnotes as references. It may be necessary, however, to use footnotes to elucidate or expand a particular point in a way that would otherwise complicate or hinder the textual argument. In this case, reference to footnotes is made by superscript numerals or symbols *

$ II in that order. Footnotes should be indicated in the text by placing the appropriate superscript Arabic numeral or symbol one-half space above the list of text. The footnote, typed in single spacing, should be placed at the foot of the page, or at the chapter end or at the end of the text as a whole.

Illustrations

Diagrams, photographs and maps should show clearly and simply what cannot be economically described in the text. They are all known as ‘Figures’ and are numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals (e.g. see above Figure 3). Figures should not be marginal to the text but a crucial illustration of it. Figure numbers and figure titles should, where possible, be placed at the bottom of the illustration with the word FIGURE # in upper case followed by the appropriate number and title in upper case. If illustrations are based upon other publications or are the result of compilation of extant source material, that source or sources must be cited in the bottom left-hand corner of the figure. Figures should come immediately following initial reference to them in the text.

Tables

Tables should be accurately and neatly compiled. Short tables may be inserted at the appropriate place in the text. Long tables should be on a separate page. Table numbers and table titles should, where possible, be placed at the top of the table with the word TABLE in upper case followed by the appropriate number in Roman numerals upper case (e.g. I, II, III, IV). The heading TABLE ? should be centred on a line by itself. The title should be centred in upper case below. If tables are based upon other publications or are the result of compilation of extant source material, that source or sources must be cited under the title. Tables should come immediately following initial reference to them in the text.

 

See below for an example of how this might look in practice. (It is an illustration only – please refer to your supervisor for advice).

 

 

Notation

As far as possible, the metric system and S.I. units [e.g. see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sms/ugradteaching/guidetosiunits.shtml ] should be used throughout.

 

Equations

Equations should be centred in the text on separate lines and should be serially numbered on the right-hand side of the page as follows:

y = a + bx                                                                                                             (3)

This should be referred in the text as follows:

 

‘…as shown in equation (3)…

 

Abbreviations

Abbreviations unknown to the reader create confusion. If there is any doubt, the words should be spelled out in full the first time they are used, with the abbreviations shown in brackets immediately afterwards. For example: Sex Discrimination Act (‘SDA’).

Reference material including appendices

This comprises the list of references, an appendix or Appendices.

 

Appendices: The appendices provide an outlet for material that would otherwise be too lengthy or bulky to place in the text, or material that is not absolutely necessary for full comprehension of the text. An appendix or appendices might include for example lengthy tables of raw data, lists of company names, or computer programmes used in the dissertation. Appendices should be kept to a minimum. Appendix numbers and appendix titles should, where possible, be placed at the top of the appendix with the word APPENDIX in upper case followed by the appropriate letter in upper case (e.g. A, B, C). The heading APPENDIX should be centred on a line by itself. An explanatory title should be centred in upper case below. If appendices are based upon other publications or are the result of compilation of extant source material, that source or sources must be cited under the title.

 

Normal page numbering, i.e. Arabic numerals, applies to the pagination of appendices. Appendices do not count towards the word totals.

 

References: The reference list should display all the references included in the text. They should be listed (using the Harvard system of referencing.

 

 

 Regulations for Length                                                                                                                                                            Length & Formatting

The maximum word count for the dissertation is 15,000 words.

 

The work must be written concisely. Lengthy tables and pages of calculations within the dissertation may be included as appendices after the references and will not count toward the page total.