ENGT5304 Dissertation Programmes

MODULE HANDBOOK 2019-20
VERSION 4: MAY 2020
ENGT5304 Dissertation
Programmes:
Energy and Sustainable Building Design
Energy and Sustainable Development
Engineering Management
Module Leaders
Mark Lemon: mlemon@dmu.ac.uk +44(0)116 207 8492
Birgit Painter: bpainter@dmu.ac.uk +44(0)116 257 7957
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Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION 3
1.1 REGULATIONS 3
1.2 HELP IS AVAILABLE 3
2 TOPIC SELECTION 3
3 SUPERVISOR ALLOCATION 4
4 DISSERTATION PROCESS AND TIMETABLE 4
4.1 SUPERVISION AND KEEPING A MEETINGS LOG 6
4.2 DOING THE RESEARCH 6
4.3 RESEARCH INTEGRITY 7
4.3.1 HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS 7
4.3.2 CONTACTING EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS 8
4.3.3 CONFIDENTIALITY 8
4.3.4 PLAGIARISM 9
5 WRITING THE DISSERTATION 9
5.1 TENSE AND VOICE 9
5.2 ENGLISH AND GRAMMAR 10
5.3 REFERENCING 10
5.3.1 BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES 10
5.4 SOURCES OF INFORMATION 11
5.5 AUTOMATIC NUMBERING 11
6 STRUCTURE 11
6.1 TITLE PAGE 12
6.2 ABSTRACT 12
6.3 CONTENTS PAGES 13
6.4 INTRODUCTION 13
6.5 BACKGROUND & LITERATURE REVIEW 13
6.6 METHODOLOGY 13
6.7 RESEARCH ACTIVITY: SURVEY / EXPERIMENT / MODELLING 14
6.8 RESULTS & ANALYSIS 14
6.9 DISCUSSION 14
6.10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15
7 SUBMISSION OF DISSERTATION 15
7.1 SUMMARY 15
7.1.1 MARGINS 16
7.1.2 PARAGRAPHS 16
7.1.3 FONTS 16
7.2 DISSERTATION HAND-IN 17
8 ASSESSMENT 17
8.1 MARKING SCHEDULE 17
9 CONCLUDING REMARKS 18
APPENDIX A: DISSERTATION MODULE SPECIFICATIONS (ENGT5304) 19
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APPENDIX B: TITLE PAGE EXAMPLE 22
APPENDIX C: POST-GRADUATE DISSERTATION ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 23
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Introduction
This handbook explains what your dissertation is, how to run your project, how to prepare and submit
your report, and the assessment process. The formal module specification is given in Appendix A.
Your dissertation is an important piece of individual and independent work. It can be the most
exciting and challenging piece of work you do at university, since you are able to research a topic of
interest to you in some depth.
Your dissertation will normally be around 15,000 in length (excluding appendices, table and
references) though this will vary with topic, and will be undertaken in accordance with your
programme’s assessment schedule. You may lose up to 10% of marks if you are outside this word
range by a long margin.
The dissertation is different from coursework, because it is a much larger piece of work, and you have
a lot more freedom about the topic and approach. You will be assessed on how you manage your
dissertation project, as well as on the report and presentation to examiners. It counts for 60 credits,
equivalent to four 15 credit modules.
A dissertation allows you to demonstrate your ability to propose and solve problems. It requires you
to become familiar with the research process, as well as developing and presenting a detailed
academic argument. The work associated with a dissertation will generally call on you to decide on
a research problem, thoroughly review relevant work in the area (mainly but not exclusively the
academic literature), carry out the research (which can take many forms) and analysis, and draw
conclusions.
1.1 Regulations
The regulations applying to postgraduate taught programmes, which include the dissertation can be
found at
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/studentregulations.aspx
1.2 Help is available
Support for writing, maths, referencing etc. is available from the library and the Centre for Learning
and Study Support (CLaSS) http://libguides.library.dmu.ac.uk/class/. This includes support for
distance learners.
2 Topic selection
Most students will have already selected and developed a topic through Assignment B of the Study
Skills and Study Skills and Research Methods (SSRM) module. For those who have not (or perhaps
have changed their mind about their Assignment B topic), there are the following options.
1. Select an area of your own interest. It can take a significant amount of time for students to
identify a suitable area of appropriate scope. It is best to choose an area you are already familiar
with or is related to the work you do. Discuss your area of project idea with your supervisor and
agree aims and objectives.
2. If you are working, it is a good idea to select a topic that has value to the organisation you work
for. This is a good route for part-time and distance learning students. The topic needs to of
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appropriate scope and content for an MSc dissertation. Check that the organisation gives
permission and can provide sufficient data for the project. You must agree the research question
and research aim with your supervisor. It must not simply shadow or reproduce a work project;
it must be separate and include an element of your own research, although it could certainly use
data from your work.
Please note: It is important that your dissertation topic is suitable for the course you are studying.
Throughout your taught modules you will have learnt about a wide range of subjects and issues. It is
expected that this informs your topic choice and focus of your dissertation project.
For example, for the MSc Engineering Management programme, the dissertation project must enable
students to gain experience at working at the interface of technology and management, taking into
account sustainability where appropriate. This can take various forms – the project could look at the
sustainability and business demands associated with the implementation of a new technology, or
investigate the impact/implementation of engineering aspects in a business or societal context, e.g.
manufacturing, energy use.
Many students start out with a project idea which is too broad ranging and ambitious. Have a look at
previous examples (provided on Blackboard) and make sure your idea focuses on a specific area.
Remember it is not simply a review, but an investigation, often involving data collection, experiments,
development of a model etc. A good dissertation will lead to new insights and may be suitable to
develop into an academic paper with your supervisor.
If you are in any doubt, please discuss this with your dissertation supervisor.
3 Supervisor allocation
You will be allocated a supervisor at the start of your dissertation period. You are then expected to
meet with your supervisor to discuss and develop your project idea.
You will meet with your supervisor on a regular basis throughout your dissertation period. It is your
responsibility to seek their advice and to record your meetings (see 4.1). There should be at least
three recorded meetings, but more regular contact is strongly recommended.
If you are doing a work-based project, it may be useful to find someone at work – perhaps your
manager or an experienced colleague – to act as informal industrial supervisor/mentor, in addition
to the DMU supervisor. It is very important to identify a topic as early as you can.
4 Dissertation process and timetable
The process is typically as follows, for full time students starting in September:
1. An outline of the dissertation is usually developed in Assignment B of the Study Skills and
Research Methods Module. However you can change the topic if you find it’s not suitable.
2. Supervisor allocated via Dissertation Module Leader at start of the semester.
3. Regular correspondence with your supervisor throughout the project.
4. Regular supervision meetings (face-to-face or remotely where appropriate). You are expected to
keep a record of the meetings – after each meeting summarising your progress and plans for next
steps.
5. Submission of ethics form once methodology has been agreed with the supervisor.
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6. Submission of final dissertation document (electronically via Turnitin on Blackboard shell). The
dates for this in general terms will be:
a. For most students starting in September, submission is in early September in the following
or later year depending on study mode (module ENGT5304_1920_519).
b. For some students with deferrals, or other reasons, early January (module
ENGT5304_1920_501).
c. For most students starting in January, submission is in mid-May in the following or later
year depending on study mode (module ENGT5304_1920_502).
d. Distance learners and part-time students, if in doubt, please contact the Dissertation
module leader to confirm start and submission dates.
7. Oral examination, which takes one of the following forms (further details in section 8
Assessment):
a) Presenting at the MSc Conference, normally for September and May submissions.
b) A viva voce examination, in person at DMU with two examiners, one of whom is the
supervisor, on a mutually agreed date, following submission.
c) A viva voce examination, by video web link for students unable to come to DMU at reasonable
cost etc. (usually overseas students) on a mutually agreed date, following submission.
We encourage students to come to the conference if they can, or come to DMU for a viva in person,
but remote vivas are permitted if it would be very expensive or difficult to travel to DMU.
Students who started in September studying part time, including distance learners, will normally have
decided on a topic and worked on it well before May of the year of submission – topic selection will
be part of the Study Skills & Research Methods module that may be in an earlier year.
Table 1: Key dates for dissertation submission.

*Arrangements may be subject to change due to Covid-19 response. Any changes will be communicated through the
Blackboard shell.
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4.1 Supervision and keeping a meetings log
Supervision is really important. It is recommended that you have regular meetings with your
supervisor, either in person if possible, or by phone or web link. A minimum of once a month is
suggested, but frequency may vary, often with more meetings near the beginning and towards the
end. At least six contacts – e-mail discussions; telephone calls; face-to-face meetings – should be
achieved throughout the period, but of course there may be more. Share your plan of work and
decide on some review points and milestones. Supervisors will be willing to comment on draft
dissertations, but don’t expect them to read and comment on several versions of the same material.
Remember that academic staff are very likely to take some holiday over the summer, particularly
during school holidays from mid-July to the end of August, and you may do yourself. So consider this
in your planning with your supervisor.
It is important that you take the initiative to keep in touch with your supervisor to manage your
project. Supervisors usually have several project students, and many other things to do, so you
cannot expect them to organize everything for you. Make sure you keep to appointments or inform
your supervisor in good time if you have to rearrange a supervision meeting.
The meeting log is an important part of the process. Students are expected to keep a record of their
meetings using the ‘Supervision meeting log’ on Blackboard. Notes should include date, issues
discussed, next steps. Keeping of the log is intended to provide a record of engagement with
supervision and will contribute to the ‘Research Activity’ component of the dissertation mark (see
8.1 Marking schedule). Details on how to use the supervision meeting log are provided on Blackboard
(select ‘Supervision’ on the main menu on the left).
4.2 Doing the research
The whole research/dissertation process usually takes a few months of concentrated full-time effort,
or the equivalent spread over a longer period. It does after all account for 60 credits out of 180 for a
Master’s degree, equivalent to four taught modules or a third of the course. So don’t underestimate
the amount of work involved. Time management and good project planning are essential. You should
have a detailed (divided say into weeks) Gantt chart with tasks and milestones.
Writing the dissertation should not be considered the last task ‘after all the work is done’. It is far
more efficient, and less stressful, to write as you go along. It is best to have a rough plan of the
dissertation from the start, and to use this for a developing draft. For example, the literature review
becomes a draft chapter, rather than some scribbled notes. The final ‘writing’ phase then becomes a
matter of editing, checking and formatting your existing draft.
Doing research is usually not a smooth, linear process. It switches and loops between literature,
research, writing up, developing hypotheses or models, and so on. Often you will pursue something
and find it’s not useful, or unexpectedly find a new line to investigate. It’s important to remain
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flexible, but not to go so far off track that you lose sight of your original aims, your work plan falls
apart or you run out of time.
Common mistakes to avoid:
• Choosing a topic not well suited to you.
• Choosing a topic which is too general (e.g. ‘solar energy’; ‘sustainable business’).
• An approach without any primary research (data collection, experiments, modelling) relying
mainly on literature; this is unlikely to achieve a good mark.
• Not allowing sufficient time to achieve tasks.
• Not making use of what you have been taught in the Study Skills & Research Methods module.
• Trying to do too much, collect more data than you need etc.
• Not collecting enough data – usually due to poor planning or approach.
• Not leaving enough time for finishing the writing.
Finally, make sure you keep regular backups of your work electronically. Almost every year at least
one student loses some of their work due to a computer crash or theft, accidental deletion of files,
etc. Ideally, use an automated backup of some kind; if it’s manual do it frequently and regularly
(ideally every day). It’s much better to backup to the ‘cloud’ or a university network drive, than
another piece of your own hardware. Network storage is more secure and has the further advantage
that you can access it from anywhere.
4.3 Research Integrity
There are a number of important things to consider in order to ensure the research is done in a proper
manner, and does not adversely affect others, or compromise the project. While there is no universal
definition of research integrity, most of it is common sense and includes:
• Excellence – in carrying out research to a high standard
• Honesty – with results, with other people involved
• Integrity – comply with all legal and ethical requirements
• Safety – dignity, rights, safety and wellbeing of all involved in research
For further details there is information on the DMU website, see following link and submenus for
guidance, policies and forms: ‘Ethics and governance’: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/ethics-andgovernance/research-integrity-and-ethics.aspx
More general guidance is provided by the UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) http://ukrio.org/
4.3.1 Human research ethics
Ethical research is an important part of research integrity. De Montfort University has adopted a
policy regarding the protection of individuals who are the subjects of research including student
projects. According to University regulations all research projects need to undergo ethical review, so
this includes postgraduate dissertation projects. Ethical issues arise when the conduct of a student
project involves the interests and rights of others. This includes confidentiality, privacy, convenience,
comfort or safety of others.
An ethical review must be undertaken as part of the drawing up terms of reference for the project.
This review uses a simple form comprising a checklist of ethical issues and an outcomes section. It is
in line with the guidelines provided by the University Human Research Ethics Committee. For many
technical projects, there are no ethical issues so this will be a very simple process.
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All students must complete the ethics form with their supervisors at the start of a research project.
Ethics forms are on the Blackboard shell and also available at the link below.
The ethics procedures are faculty specific; for CEM a training video can be found at
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/ethics-and-governance/faculty-specific-procedures/technologyethics-procedures.aspx
You will be given information about completing ethics forms. Please also check the ‘Ethics’ tab on the
Blackboard shell.
4.3.2 Contacting external organisations
Before attempting to collect any data from an external organisation you must ask yourself why you
wish to collect such data and how you will use it – firstly establish exactly what you think you want to
find out. You must contact your dissertation supervisor before contacting any external
organisation(s) and agree the purpose, format, wording and presentation standard of any material
that you intend to send to any external organisation by post. It will be necessary for you keep records
of this.
In contacting external organisations please remember that you are representing and conveying an
impression not only of yourself, but also of the university. It is often better to write in the first
instance rather than telephone or email unless you have the name of the person that you wish to
speak to. It is advisable in your letter of introduction to give a brief summary of the nature and
purpose of your work, indicating that it is in connection with a postgraduate dissertation. If you
promise to provide a summary of the results of your work as a way of encouraging participation then
you must always ensure that such promises are kept. If you do not keep your promises then you
could well blight the chances of another student wishing to obtain similar co-operation. Any
assistance provided by an external organisation should be acknowledged in the dissertation.
4.3.3 Confidentiality
Completed dissertations are not routinely put into the public domain. However, they will be seen by
examiners and may be presented at the MSc conference, or shown to future students as examples.
Some very good dissertations may be made available on public areas of the DMU website, with
permission of the student and supervisor. Therefore it should be assumed that a dissertation could
go into the public domain unless specified otherwise.
If you have told participants in a survey, interview etc. that the data will be anonymous, make sure
this promise is kept. Omit any information which would enable them to be identified as individuals
or organisations; this does not just mean not naming them directly. For example, if you were doing a
survey of houses, don’t put in the address; just give labels such as house 1, house 2 etc. although you
should give the approximate location or main postcode (e.g. LE3). In other cases, organisations may
be happy for them to be identified, but it is advisable to get a signed consent form to do so. Consult
your supervisor and the DMU web page.
If you know that what somebody tells you is ‘confidential’ information, is actually publicly available,
then it is all right to cite or quote it as long as you reference the published source. If in doubt consult
your supervisor.
Occasionally, students do research for organisations, which do not want the research put into the
public domain immediately. It is possible to put an ‘embargo’ on the dissertation to ensure that it
does not go into the public domain, usually for a fixed period of time, for example 2 years from
submission date. This may enable you to do something really interesting that would not otherwise
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be possible. Include such information prominently on the title page, for example ‘Embargoed until 1
September 2017’ in large font.
Always request permission before recording an interview and ensure that you have the permission
of the person and/or organisation concerned to use the data generated. One option is to produce a
transcript of such tapes and acquire evidence that the person interviewed has agreed that the
transcript provided is a faithful representation of the views and comments made. The demonstration
of this process adds to the rigour of the research undertaken, but transcription takes a great deal of
time and is not usually necessary or useful.
4.3.4 Plagiarism
This dissertation must be your own unaided work and as such you must maintain the highest
standards of integrity. The university has an established policy on academic impropriety and takes a
serious view of collusion, plagiarism and cheating. Any student suspected of submitting a
dissertation that is not their own unaided work will be subject to the full investigative procedures set
down by the university. If you have been found to have acted in an inappropriate manner you could
risk having penalties imposed on your work that would prevent you from receiving your degree.
The university uses the same Turnitin software for dissertations as used in assignments, which is very
effective at identifying content from other sources which a student tries to pass off as their own
work, without attribution. All dissertations are checked on Turnitin for any sign of plagiarism.
• Turnitin can find matches to student projects, dissertations etc. submitted previously at DMU
and other universities – the work does not have to be available through public internet sites.
• Turnitin can also identify external content even if it has been paraphrased.
In short, if you try to plagiarise content you run a very high risk of this being identified, with serious
consequences for your dissertation mark and whole degree. See also
https://www.dmu.ac.uk/current-students/student-support/exams-deferrals-regulations-policies/studentregulations-and-policies/academic-offences.aspx
5 Writing the dissertation
This section gives you guidance on referencing, numbering and structure. For details of physical
presentation, binding etc. see Submission of Dissertation
5.1 Tense and voice
The dissertation must be written in the passive voice (as this guide is), avoiding ‘I’*, ‘we’ throughout
(so for example ‘energy is often used inefficiently’, rather than ‘we often use energy inefficiently’. If
you have to refer to yourself, say use ‘the author’ rather than ‘I’ – as in ‘the site was visited by the
author…’ Most of the dissertation is written in the past tense, certainly in relation to your
(completed) research, but some parts such as the literature review may be in the present tense,
describing things as they are ‘now’. Most of this comes naturally, but if in doubt consult your
supervisor.
* Except of course in Acknowledgments, which is a personal statement.
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5.2 English and grammar
The dissertation must of course be in English. Spelling should be British English by default, but if you
are used to American spelling, that is acceptable. Examiners recognise that English is not the first
language of many students, and will make allowances for this. However, incomprehensible or very
poor writing will inevitably lead to a lower mark. Students are strongly advised to set up Word
processors to show spelling and grammatical errors (marked by coloured underlining in Word) for
the dissertation, after setting† the language/dictionary to English; right click to see suggested
corrections. The library’s Centre for Learning & Study Support (ClaSS) can provide help with writing.
5.3 Referencing
There are dozens of formatting systems for quoting literature references, but two main types are
numeric or numbered systems which is favoured by the humanities disciplines, and uses a numbered
list, cited as [1], [2] etc. (IEEE) or superscripts 1,2,3 (Vancouver); and the Harvard system favoured in
the sciences, social science and educational academic disciplines cited by surname of first author, for
example Smith (2015).
(Another method sometimes used in short documents is to give references as footnotes‡ on the same
page as the citation. You should definitely not use this method – a bibliography at the end with all
references together is an important element of the dissertation.)
Your dissertation MUST reference consistently throughout with either the Harvard style or a
Numbered style. A reference explains the source of particular information or data and it is important
that a reader can trace the precise source to which the reference alludes. For detailed examples see
the guide below, and do take time to read these and refer to it when writing. You will have to use an
automated numbering system for numbered citations – Word Endnotes§ can be used for this, but is
easier using a bibliographic database.
Library links: https://library.dmu.ac.uk/refguide
5.3.1 Bibliographic databases
You should use a bibliographic database to record your references. There are many available free to
students, such as Endnote, Mendeley, Refworks (the DMU recommended software). All have varying
features, but all will allow you to store references (normally securely online via a login), sort them
into different folders, and generate bibliographies (lists of references to put into your dissertation)
in a wide range of formats, such as Harvard or IEEE. When you are using online databases, you can
usually save a reference as a text file and read it into your chosen database. Mendeley is very easy to
use and allows you to search for literature from within the software. You can also drag and drop a
PDF of a document into the application; it then automatically generates a reference for it, although
this may need editing (for example it may interpret a subtitle as the author) particularly if not in a
standard journal paper format. Most online databases allow you to download a citation direct to your
software, or via a text file. Data can be exported between different software.
Using bibliographic software for the first time will take a little effort at the start, but save you great
deal of time and improve the organisation, accuracy and formatting of your referencing. Most
† Word is often tricky here as the language can vary through a document. One suggestion is to highlight everything
(CTRL+A) then set the language. Pasted in text, such as quotes, may bring a different language with it, even if written as
English!
‡ Footnotes can be used for other purposes, for example to provide further detail on something; but do not over use.
§ Endnotes are like footnotes, but appear at the end of the document or section.
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software allows you to insert citations from within Word using an add-in. Use a database from the
start.
5.4 Sources of information
You must use the academic literature, as well as other sources. This means mainly academic journal
and conference papers, and books. Just using sources in the public domain from web searches will
result in a poor mark. Increasingly, academic sources are in the public domain, but most are not. You
will need to use the library databases and your student login to access many journal papers. (Google
Scholar is a good starting point to identify papers, but full text is often not available this way, but will
be through the library site.) You can either use databases that cover many different journals (such as
Web of Science), or if you know the journal, search for this. See links at
https://library.dmu.ac.uk/navsearch
Other sources such as government web sites, non-academic reports, press articles, commercial sites
etc. can of course be used and often are for good reason, but are in general these much less
academically credible because they are not peer reviewed, and often not impartial. Use your
judgement.
5.5 Automatic numbering
Word processors, and text based document preparation systems such as LaTeX, have the facility for
automatic numbering of headings, figures and tables. It is essential to use these when preparing your
dissertation. Get used to using them from the start, as it will save you time later on and make your
document much less likely to have numbering errors. You should use this for referring to a figure,
table or section (for example ‘…as shown in Figure 3’…’…see section 5.3…’ ) as well as the caption
itself. This means that if for example you have 10 figures, and insert a new figure 5 after figure 4,
then all figures 5-10 will renumber as 6-11 both in the captions and references to them in text. It also
means that you can insert nicely formatted tables of contents, lists of figures and tables very easily.
If you do these manually it will take a long time and need repeating if you make a few edits.
For Word, make sure you update all the fields. If saved as a PDF, the file is updated but you may not
see these updates. This can result in that familiar phrase in Word Error! Reference source not found.
instead of ‘Figure 3’ or whatever it was before the fields changed. Fields can be updated by pressing
F9; for the whole document, highlight all text first (CTRL+A) – or right click an individual field and
select ‘update field’. Don’t forget to update the Table of Contents right at the end.
Always check through your PDF before submission for this sort of error. For Word users, there is lots
of useful guidance on the web**.
6 Structure
Below is an outline structure for the dissertation document. There will be variations according to the
topic, but you are advised to follow the general pattern, which is fairly standard for masters’
dissertations and PhD theses. These sections are given in the order they should appear in the
document. A recommended structure is as follows:
• Front Cover (optional – may just be clear plastic with title page visible beneath)
** For example, a very useful guide can be found at http://guides.lib.umich.edu/content.php?pid=245394&sid=2027134
– the tab ‘Insertions’ explains use of captions and cross-referencing.
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• Title Page
• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents*
• List of Figures* (where applicable)
• List of Tables* (where applicable)
• List of Acronyms
• THE REPORT ITSELF
• References (& Bibliography)
• Appendices
• Back Cover
*generated within word processing software from auto-numbering.
The report itself will typically have something like the following structure, but this can vary
considerably and will often have additional chapters to these. Usually there will be about 8 chapters.
– Introduction
– Background/literature review
– Methodology
– Survey / experiment / modelling etc. depending on topic
– Results/ Analysis
– Discussion
– Conclusion, Recommendations, Further Research
6.1 Title page
The title should be precise and informative, without being over long or using a lot of technical jargon;
avoid abbreviations. A main title and subtitle separated by a colon may be used. Sometimes it can
work as a question. For example:
– Broken records: is record-breaking weather a reliable indicator of a changing climate?
– Assessing the suitability of energy performance contracting for UK universities
– Electric vehicles – What is the potential for electric vehicles as electrical energy storage in a
future smart city?
You should decide on a title early on and agree with your supervisor – it helps to focus the project –
but you can change it before submission, as the research may develop differently from the original
plan. An example layout is given in Appendix B.
6.2 Abstract
The abstract is like a short executive summary, without sections. It should encapsulate the whole
project – introduction, methods, results and conclusions. Many students make the mistake of
treating it as an introduction, without any outcomes or conclusions. The purpose is to convey the
whole project in very brief form, so that a reader can decide whether to read the main text, or just
to pick up the key points. The abstract is on its own page, as a single paragraph, and should not be
longer than one page; half a page is typical. It should be all text with no tables or figures. It must
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stand alone; do not include any references, do not refer to any numbered sections, figures or tables.
Avoid abbreviations if possible – only use if repeated several times.
6.3 Contents pages
After the Abstract come a Table of Contents, List of Figures and List of Tables. Using automatic
numbering, these can very easily be generated by the software (see Automatic numbering). It may
also be useful to add a list of abbreviations, and/or a list of symbols, depending on the topic. Put both
in alphabetic order.
6.4 Introduction
This chapter usually has three main functions: to introduce the work, to give the aims and objectives,
and to map out the structure for the reader. The introductory section puts the work in a wider context
and explains why it is worth doing. Usually it is best to have a single aim, or a very small number,
which is to be achieved through a number of objectives – typically around 4 to 6. You can view the
objectives as a series of steps to achieve the aim. These are usually revisited in the concluding
chapter. Finally, there is a short section describing the rest of the dissertation, so the reader knows
what is coming.
6.5 Background & literature review
This may split into more than one chapter if you are combining topics. The literature review sets the
general context but quite quickly focus in on the area of interest. Have a look at Figure 1. The light
green area represents the ‘known world’, the white the unknown. The research is attempting to
extend the known into the unknown a little – the invading green arrows. A literature review should
concentrate on the most relevant material, closest to the known/unknown boundary – the bright
green ellipse. A common mistake is to include a lot of background (light green) which does not help
to move the research forward. Note – this is just one of many ways of looking at research!
Figure 1: Boundary between known and unknown, and research process.
Your review should not just be a set of brief summaries of others’ papers, but a flowing narrative; a
synopsis of the current state of knowledge in your research area, and the gap you intend to explore.
It must include synthesis (assembling relevant bits from different sources), and analysis (interpreting
what this all means, in particular for your study).
6.6 Methodology
The methodology chapter describes how you went about your research, and why you chose the
approach, sample, experiment or whatever. You should already have covered methods in detail in
the Study Skills and Research Methods module. The chapter should show that your research is
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– Sufficient – you have done enough work, chosen a large enough sample, done well designed
experiments, developed a good enough model etc. in relation to your research question
– Valid – choice of method, type of analysis and statistics etc. in relation to your research
question
– Reliable – ideally, the methodology should be described so that it could be reproduced by
another researcher – this is a good test, and applies to surveys, physical experiments and
modelling.
6.7 Research activity: survey / experiment / modelling
What comes here will depend on the nature of the work. There may not be any such chapters – for
example a survey may be described in the methodology and lead straight to a set of results, described
next. But usually there will be some chapters specific to your work. Include the problems you had
(for example finding a large enough sample, or getting accurate measurements), as this is useful for
other researchers, and can explain the progress you made.
6.8 Results & analysis
These may be split into separate chapters, but usually it’s easier to present and analyse the results
together. Presenting results is often straightforward, using tables, graphs etc. Avoid too many of
these; if you have lots of data, pick out some representative graphs and summarise the rest.
Without analysis the results are just a set of facts and numbers. A survey presented as 50 pie charts
(not recommended!), one for each question, tells us almost nothing until the data are analysed and
interpreted, or statistical links made between responses. This part of the analysis may be fairly
technical – turning data into information, such as finding out from a survey if there are significant
differences between groups of people in relation to something, or calculating the seasonal efficiency
of an energy system from a mass of data points. This may include statistical tests; it is important to
use the right statistical approach and tests, but very easy to use the wrong ones. If in doubt, consult
your supervisor.
The analysis, and implications of the results in a wider context, may all be included in this chapter.
Alternatively you may have a separate Discussion chapter – this is particularly common with social
sciences and arts subjects.
6.9 Discussion
(As noted above, the material here may be part of a results and analysis chapter, or a separate
chapter called Discussion.) Either way, thoughtful analysis (beyond numerical calculations and
statistics) is key to obtaining a good mark. This section or chapter can be used to develop a case to
support your hypothesis, if you have one, or to assess the implications of the results of experiments,
modelling etc. and how they link together – what does it tell us? Does it confirm what others found?
Are there surprises or new insights? Could this technology make a significant contribution to reducing
carbon emissions? In this chapter you can demonstrate a contribution to knowledge. You should also
compare your results with others’ – they may not agree for all sorts of valid reasons, or provide new
insights. The academic work you have read for your literature review will contain sections like this,
and may be useful models (though not all are done well!). Don’t hesitate to ask for help from your
supervisor, as it is one of the hardest chapters to write. In summary, the analysis might cover the
following:
• What your findings mean
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• Answering the question “so what?”
• Discussing results
• Describing the practical applications of your research
• Discussing the theoretical implications of your research (these can relate to methods, or be
scientific)
6.10 Conclusions and recommendations
This final chapter is often the most read, and should be carefully written. It draws out the key
conclusions from the preceding chapters (particularly results, analysis and discussion), and usually
makes recommendations for further research in the topic (e.g. what could be done with more time
and resources). In a work-based topic, it may include recommendations of a practical nature – for
example, how to improve the design of heating controls, or incentivise people to use more
sustainable forms of transport, or increase the range of electric cars. It is not the same as the abstract,
which summarises the whole dissertation. The structure can vary greatly, but some or all of the
following may be included:
• Very brief summary of thesis
• Summary of main findings
• Extent to which aims and objectives have been achieved, and/or research question answered
• Limitations of the method – important because it shows the ability to reflect critically on your
work, and how it could be improved
• Areas for future research
• Recommendations
7 Submission of Dissertation
7.1 Summary
Hard copies are not required. Submission is electronically via the Blackboard shell, as with
assignments. It is recommended that you save as a PDF, and check this carefully before submission –
sometimes things change slightly in the conversion from word processor format, fields become
updated (sometimes showing errors, see §5.5), and markers may use a PDF version from Turnitin.
However, you may like to print a hard copy for yourself. If you do, print double sided to save paper
and weight.
The following requirements must be adhered to in the format of the dissertation. For fuller guidance,
reference can be made to the British Standards 4821 (1990). If the university requirements differ
from the British standard, students may follow either. However, it’s very unlikely you’ll need to refer
to the standard.
a) Pages should be A4, portrait orientation.
b) One-and-a-half spacing must be used in typescript except for indented quotations or
footnotes where single spacing may be used. A further half space must be allowed between
paragraphs.
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c) Pages shall be numbered consecutively throughout the, including any appendices,
photographs, and/or diagrams that are included as whole pages. (For more detailed issues
relating to numbering refer to the relevant section of British Standard 4821)
d) The title page shall give the following information:
o full title of the dissertation
o full name of the author
o award for which the dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of its requirements
o that the degree is awarded by De Montfort University
o Sponsoring Establishment in which the research was conducted where appropriate,
and the Collaborating Establishment, if any
o month and year of submission
e) Students shall use either the Harvard or the Numeric system of referencing.
7.1.1 Margins
The following is recommended: 4cm binding margin, 2 cm top margin, 2.5 cm fore-edge (outer)
margin, 4 cm bottom margin. If double sided you may need different margins on odd and even pages
to accommodate the binding (since the binding will be next to left and right margins on alternate
pages).
7.1.2 Paragraphs
Always set up styles as you want them, rather than ‘manually’ editing the text to the right font etc.
The most important is the Normal style in Word, for the main text. The easiest way to do this is to
get some text as you want it, then ‘update the style to match selection’ – right click within text or on
style ribbon. Do not use white space (spaces, extra lines, tabs) to edit text; edit the style instead. For
example, if you want more space before or after a heading, edit the paragraph of the heading style,
don’t add more lines before each instance. If you use white space it is likely to go wrong later when
you add or delete text, with large unwanted gaps for example.
Use single, not double columns for normal text. Spacing should be 1½ lines, not single or double.
Make sure there is extra space between paragraphs. This is most easily done in Word by editing the
Normal style to have a half line space (6 pt) after the paragraph. This will automatically sort out the
paragraph spacing without needing extra lines.
The following are normal practice (use Insert Caption in Word):
• Table headings left justified, above table.
• Figure captions left justified or centred, below figure.
7.1.3 Fonts
For the main text use a font at 11 or 12 point font. A serif font (e.g. Times New Roman) or sans serif
(Calibri, Helvetica) is acceptable. Note that some fonts look larger than others – this entire paragraph
is 11 point. Data in tables can be reduced to 9 point if really necessary, but don’t go any smaller.
For figures, particularly graphs, fonts smaller than 9 point are acceptable but make sure the writing
is clearly legible (not doing so is a very common fault).
Tip – CTRL+Q in Word on a selection of text removes paragraph formatting, CTRL+SPACE removes
font formatting, reverting to the current Style defaults.
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7.2 Dissertation hand-in
Dissertations should be uploaded to Blackboard before midnight on the submission date. It is best to
allow plenty of time for this in case of technical problems.
If for any reason (e.g. medical) you expect or need to extend the hand-in date, please ask for an
extension from your supervisor, not the module leader (unless the supervisor is unavailable). You
should do this as early as possible in order to plan ahead – don’t leave it until a few days before
submission, as the supervisor may not be available. Your supervisor will inform the module leader.
8 Assessment
8.1 Marking schedule
Students will be assessed on the following components:
a) The dissertation (90%)
b) The viva, or oral presentation and questions at student conference (10%)
c) Ethics form; must be submitted but is not marked (0%)
Note:
• The dissertation and viva/presentation will be marked by the supervisor, and a second
marker, using the marking criteria below.
• A pass will be achieved if the overall mark is over 50%.
• There is no minimum mark for any component.
Dissertation – Your dissertation will be marked by at least two members of staff, one of which will be
your dissertation supervisor. They will each mark your dissertation independently in the first instance
and then meet to confirm if they can agree a mark. In the event that they cannot agree, a third
assessor will mark your dissertation, and a mark agreed (in the vast majority of cases, examiners are
in good agreement so third marking is not required). This will be worth 80% of your marks.
Viva or Presentation – If you can attend the MSc conference in September, which is strongly
recommended, then you will present for about 15 minutes and then answer questions from the
audience (exact timings to be confirmed once numbers are known). Alternatively, you are required
to have a viva voce oral examination (viva) with two examiners, one of whom is the supervisor, on a
mutually agreed date, usually late May/June or September. Preferably this is done in person, but it
can also be by video web link for students unable to come to DMU at reasonable cost etc. (usually
overseas students) on a mutually agreed date. This must include a 15-minute presentation (it is
possible to ‘share screen’ over a web link for this). This is also double marked.
The general assessment criteria used for postgraduate work are given in Appendix C, taken from
https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/quality-management-and-policy/academic-quality/learningteaching-assessment/mark-descriptors.aspx.
For the actual marking, the breakdown used by staff in the detailed assessment of your submitted
dissertation (component (a) above, 90% of marks) is shown below. This is marked out of 100 then
given an 90% weighting for the overall mark.

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You should note that the assessment criteria and marks schedule contained within this module
handbook are related to conventionally approached dissertations. All dissertations have the
potential to be unique in their approach, structure, contents and /or presentation. Should this be
the case, your assessors may adjust the marking scheme accordingly within the principles of the
assessment criteria.
If a student achieves an agreed mark of less than 50%, but the individual mark of one assessor is over
50% the dissertation will automatically go for third marking. A sample of dissertations will be assessed
by the external examiner.
9 Concluding remarks
Your dissertation will be challenging but it should be enjoyable (at least most of the time!) and
rewarding. If you are having problems or need advice, don’t hesitate to contact your supervisor or
the module leader. It is not an imposition on them; it’s part of their job.
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Appendix A: Dissertation Module Specifications (ENGT5304)
De Montfort University
Module template proforma
Basic module information
Module Title: Dissertation
Module Code: ENGT5304 Credit value: 60 Credit level: 7
Owning Board: ENGT
Faculty: Technology
Semester: X for September start, 2 for January start (+1 year).
Module Leader: Mark Lemon, Birgit Painter
Module pre-requisites (module code/s only): None.
Maximum student numbers on module (if applicable): None.
Module description (including outline content)
The dissertation will provide the opportunity to research into a specific topic related to the MSc. The
topic title will be chosen from a range of dissertation topics within the Institute, or will be based upon
a subject chosen by the student and agreed with the dissertation supervisor.
The Dissertation should be approximately 15,000 words in length. Students on the building design
course may choose to do a dissertation based around building modelling, but this must show original
content.
Learning outcomes
1 Carry out rigourous original research or review, or building design development using modelling.
2 Effectively apply knowledge and skills from taught modules in their dissertation.
3 Carry out a detailed literature review on the topic with correct citation and referencing.
4 Make coherent recommendations based on findings, where appropriate.
5 Produce a report to a high academic standard.
6 Effectively present the work to examiners and respond to questions in a viva or conference
presentation.
Assessment

Assessment Notes
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The student may present their work in an MSc conference, or in a normal viva with examiners. This
may be via the web if it is impractical to be in the UK. There will be two markers, one of which is the
supervisor. Further details are given in the module handbook.
Reassessment
Reassessment is by retaking the failed component.
Expected methods of delivery
This module is delivered to both attending and distance learners. A module shell is provided on the
Blackboard VLE for information and submission. A detailed Handbook is provided on all aspects of
the dissertation.
Once the dissertation topic has been selected, the student will work individually to prepare the
dissertation thesis, with advice from their supervisor. The transferable skills/research methods
module will have equipped the student with the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to
undertake the dissertation.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is incorporated into module delivery, according to current Faculty
guidance. All material is also designed to meet the needs of distance learners.
Please supply the amount of teaching hours below along with the amount of learning hours for an individual module.
Module Name:

Learning Approach For Module Non-academic led Placement Learning 0
Placement 0 0
Student Led : Self Directed Learning 0
On Line Learning 5 0

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Module delivery variations (if applicable)
Depending on how they study, students will work on different timescales and submission dates.
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Appendix B: Title page Example
This is not actual size or scale. Note degree title will vary!
Investigating the effects of domestic combined heat and power
systems on electrical demand profiles
Mark Smith
MSc Energy and Sustainable Development
September 2019
Embargoed until [date] – only if required!
This dissertation is submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements
of De Montfort University for the degree of Master of Science in
Energy and Sustainable Development.
Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media
Note – if using the DMU logo on the title page, use the current logo (without the website), as shown.
Put on title page only!
You should include all the items of information as shown.
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Appendix C: Post-graduate Dissertation Assessment Criteria
Modules are marked on a range of 0-100%. Mark descriptors are given in the table below. A mark
below 50% indicates a Fail grade (the shaded boxes).

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