Postgraduate Course: Leading Major Programmes Dissertation (MSc) (PGEE11209)
Course Outline
| School | School of Engineering |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 60 |
ECTS Credits | 30 |
| Summary | All students will undertake a 15,000 words dissertation on a topic they have identified and agreed with the supervisor/s, to be submitted by a date specified in the University Regulations.
The dissertation is an extended piece of scholarship in which a student is expected to formulate and sustain a substantive piece of research within the discipline. The dissertation is expected to engage critically and analytically with the literature in the field, building upon relevant concepts and theory covered in the taught element of the degree and deploying a range of primary and secondary sources as well as appropriate data-analytic and bibliographic skills.
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| Course description |
The formal instruction and preparation for the Dissertation is provided within the Research Methods course which students will have taken and completed by the time they commence the Dissertation course.
The Research Methods course requires students to identify a subject relevant to the aims of the LMP programme, that aligns with their own interests and ideally strategically contributes to their employment needs and experiences. Students will have framed their research subject and provided a research proposal that includes:
- An encapsulation of their problem area that allows a problem identification and definition
- A clear identification of the need for investigation
- A research aim or aims together with accompanying research objectives
- A clear identification of both the beneficiaries of their proposed work and what the benefit will potentially be
- A brief understanding of the academic and industrial context of their proposed work
- A broad but feasible programme or work for their investigation.
This research proposal will then be used to commence and guide the students' research investigation, which is expected to last approximately 6 months under the supervision of a supervisor appropriate for their subject.
The research methods course will also have provided the students with appropriate instruction in literature discovery, research philosophy and methodology, research methods, analysis tools and academic writing to enable them to effectively undertake their research and write it up.
The report write up of their investigation, the dissertation itself, is subject to assessment by both supervisor and a 'second reader', together with an oral defence, or viva, scheduled between students and both assessors.
Supervisors for the dissertation will be one of academic staff from either School of Engineering or the Business School. From time to time a supervisor from outside the university may be appointed who is either an academic or industrialist with experience and expert knowledge of the subject area.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Block 5 (Sem 2) and beyond |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
600
(
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 30,
Summative Assessment Hours 60,
Revision Session Hours 498,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 12,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
0 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Written Exam %: 0
Practical Exam %: 0
Coursework %: 100
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| Feedback |
Continuous feedback will be offered to the students, both in textual and verbal forms, through the preparation of the problem statement and research question, the dissertation development and the oral examination, while the supervisors will provide additional verbal feedback on progress during the meetings with the students on a weekly basis. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Design and manage a piece of original research work;
- Synthesise knowledge and skills previously gained and applied by the expert community, and identify a corresponding gap in knowledge;
- Select from different methodologies, methods and forms of analysis to produce a suitable research design, and justify their design;
- Consider the ethical dimensions of their research, and obtain appropriate ethical approval, if needed;
- Present the findings of their project in a written report that effectively synthesises the work conducted and the key conclusions reached.
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Reading List
The Dissertation course draws from similar literature used in the Research Methods course, which suggests the following texts as starters:
- Leong, E. C., Heah, C. L. H., & Ong, K. K. W. (2015). Guide to research projects for engineering students: planning, writing and presenting. CRC Press.
- Fellows, R. F., & Liu, A. M. (2015). Research methods for construction, 4th edition. John Wiley & Sons.
- Diggle, P. & Chetwynd, A., (2011). Statistics and scientific method: an introduction for students and researchers, Oxford: Oxford University Press. (UoE Online Access)
- Atkinson, P & Delamont, S (2011). SAGE Qualitative Research Methods, Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc. (UoE Online Access)
- Tracy, S.J., (2013). Qualitative research methods: collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact, Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. (UoE Online Access)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Dissertation,MSc,Engineering,Business,Research Methods,Writing,Dissemination |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Frederic Bosche
Tel: (0131 6)51 3525
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Margaret Robertson
Tel: (0131 6)50 5565
Email: |
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