The Undergraduate Dissertation: 'most likely you go your way and I'll go mine

The Undergraduate Dissertation ‘Most likely you go your way and I’ll go mine’

Taken from The International Journal for Quality and Standards of 24 www.bsieducation.org/ijqs

The Undergraduate Dissertation: ‘most likely you go your way

and I’ll go mine’

By Paul Greenbank, Claire Penketh, Mark Schofield & Tony Turjansky*

Abstract

The dissertation is regarded as an integral component of many undergraduate degree

programmes. Despite this there is a lack of research into the dissertation. This paper

utilises documentary research to examine dissertation provision within one institution.

The paper focuses on the extent to which the dissertation is included on different degree

programmes; differences in module value/duration; length, structure and format of

dissertations; level and nature of support provided to students; and the skills developed

on dissertations. This study identified significant variations in the provision of the

dissertation across the institution. It goes on to examine the potential reasons for this

variation and considers whether this diversity represents an issue from a quality

perspective. The paper also sets out a research agenda for both ourselves and others to

pursue.

Keywords: Dissertation, higher education, teaching and learning, skills.

* Paul Greenbank is a Reader in Educational Development, Claire Penketh is a Research

Officer, Mark Schofield is Dean of Teaching and Learning Development and Tony

Turjansky is Head of the Academic Quality Unit. They are all at Edge Hill University.

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Paul Greenbank, Edge Hill University Business School,

Paul Greenbank, Claire Penketh, Mark Schofield & Tony Turjansky



St. Helen’s Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP. Email: [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]



Introduction

The dissertation is regarded as an accepted and integral part of many undergraduate

degree programmes (Calvert and Casey, 2004; Todd et al., 2004). It is seen by many

academics and writers as a key component of ‘graduateness’ with several extolling the

importance of the dissertation to the status of degree programmes (Pepper et al., 2001;

Snavely and Wright, 2003; Calvert and Casey, 2004; Todd et al., 2006). For example,

Pepper et al. (2001) describe the dissertation as ‘the ‘capstone course’, or test of the gold

standard of the student’s degree classification’ (p. 32). The dissertation is also regarded

as an effective tool for promoting student learning, particularly ‘deep’ learning, and the

ability of students to operate as autonomous learners (see James, 1998; White, 2000;

Snavely and Wright, 2003; Todd et al., 2004, 2006). This is summed up by Todd et al.

(2004) who state that:

The central place afforded to the dissertation in undergraduate degree

courses reflects the value it is seen to possess as a vehicle for student

learning and as an assessment tool. (p. 335)

Despite comments such as this, there is ambiguity about the importance of the

dissertation in the ‘official’ quality literature (see Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)

Subject Benchmark Statements). For example, in some QAA Subject Benchmark

Statements, e.g. Health Studies, the dissertation is regarded as ‘an essential component’

of a single honours programme (QAA, 2002, p. 4); others such as the English Benchmark

Statement suggest assessment ‘might’ include a dissertation (QAA, 2000, p. 5); whilst the

Business and Management Benchmark Statement only mentions the dissertation as part

of a range of methods of assessment that can be used to develop the students’ research

skills (QAA, 2006, p. 4).

There also appears to be a lack of research on the undergraduate dissertation, with far

more attention centred on masters and doctoral dissertations/theses (Todd et al., 2004;




Rowley and Slack, 2004; Calvert and Casey, 2004). Where research focuses on the

undergraduate dissertation it tends to be orientated towards the process of marking (Todd

et al., 2004). Indeed, very little attention is paid to the early stages of the dissertation

process (i.e. the conceptualisation and design of dissertation modules). Moreover,

textbooks on teaching, learning and assessment allocate relatively little space to the

dissertation (Barratt, 2004). Also, whilst increasing attention is being paid to academic

writing - much of the focus is on the first year undergraduate experience and the novice

writer (e.g. Krause, 2001) or research students writing theses for a masters degrees or

doctorates (e.g. Aitchison and Lee, 2006) - rather than the type of writing carried out by

final year undergraduate dissertation students.

The contradiction between the perceived importance of the dissertation and the lack (or

variable) attention paid to it in the various mediums (i.e. research, textbooks and the

‘official’ quality literature) provided the impetus to this research. Our own experience

suggested that not all subjects include the ‘traditional’ dissertation in their degree

programmes and those that do often adopt very different approaches. This raised

questions about the extent to which the dissertation represents an integral part of what it

is to be a graduate; and whether it should, therefore, be a compulsory module on all

undergraduate programmes. It also raises the issue of whether quality systems should

more tightly control the rationale, form, function and assessment of the dissertation in

order to protect ‘a gold standard’ expectation. If this is the case - is there any consensus

over what the rationale, form, function and assessment of the dissertation should be? Or

is standardisation not possible across different discipline? On the other hand, if there is a

consensus: is this based on a sound pedagogical rationale rather than outdated values that

render the dissertation anachronistic?

We felt that such questions could, however, only be answered once we knew more about

the nature of dissertation provision. At this stage our knowledge and understanding was

based on informally acquired information. This is likely to be subject to more bias than




information obtained through rigorous and systematic research. As a starting point we

decided to examine dissertation provision within our own institution, Edge Hill

University, using documentary sources of information.

Context

Edge Hill University is a comparatively new university, but one with a long tradition of

providing higher education. Academic provision at Edge Hill is organised into three

faculties: Education, Health and Arts and Sciences. The Faculties of Education and

Health are predominantly focused on professional education (Education with teacher

training and Health with nurse/health practitioner degrees). Both faculties are also heavily

involved in continual professional development. In contrast, the Faculty of Arts and

Sciences has a wide-ranging portfolio which includes long standing vocational degrees

(e.g. Business and Management, Law and Information Systems); newer vocational

degrees (Media, Sport, Marketing and Social Work); and traditional degrees (e.g.

Geography and History). In the Faculty of Arts and Sciences there is an increasing

expectation that all subjects include vocationality and work related learning within their

curriculum.

Research methodology

This research involved an ‘exploratory case study’ (see Yin, 2003) of our own institution.

The main focus of this initial study was to highlight similarities and differences in the

provision of the dissertation across different subject areas and faculties in the university.

Using documentary evidence (mainly undergraduate programme specifications) we

examined 46 named BA/BSc awards. This involved the analysis of a substantial amount

of documentary evidence. We therefore used matrices to summarise and categorise the

data around the themes identified at the beginning of the next section of this paper.

These matrices provided an overview and enabled comparisons to be more easily made




by identifying ‘singularities, regularities and variations within the data’ (Dey, 1993, p.

195).

It can be argued that the categorisations in a matrix reflect the perspective of the

researcher and the theoretical position they adopt (Sayer, 1992). This is inevitable and is a

criticism that can be levelled against other forms of research. In this study we attempted

to ground the categorisations in the data itself. We are not arguing that we adopted a fully

grounded approach (see Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Straus and Corbin, 1997), because

existing theories and perspectives will always influence the categorisation of data.

However, we consciously tried to detach ourselves from established theories and

‘bracket’ our own values by focusing on what the data was saying (see Greenbank, 2003

for further details). Working as a team also had the advantage of enabling us to question

each others preconceptions and values and how these might be influencing the way we

were interpreting the data.

When the data was categorised it was useful to quantify the number of times particular

aspects of dissertation provision occurred. As Silverman (1993) states ‘if you are trying

to get some feel about the data as a whole … it may sometimes be useful to use certain

quantitative measures, however crude they may be’ (p. 204). Therefore, where it was felt

to be appropriate, simple quantitative measures such as frequencies, percentages and

averages have been utilised.

The use of a single case study, using only documentary sources of information, limits the

extent to which we can obtain sufficiently rich information about the rationale informing

the dissertation process. It also restricts the extent to which we can generalise from our

findings. However, this research represents the first phase of what we regard as an

ongoing and more extensive piece of research. As Wellington (2000) suggests

documentary research can be ‘used to open up an area of inquiry and sensitize researchers




to the key issues and problems in that field’ (p. 113). As such, this is an exercise in

setting a clearer research agenda for ourselves and others to pursue.

Dissertation provision

The aim of this research was to generate a series of themes that could provide a focus for

further research. In order to achieve this we explored the following issues:

The extent to which the dissertation is included on different degree programmes

Differences in module value/duration

Length, structure and format of dissertations

Level and nature of support provided to students

Skills developed on dissertations

Each of these will be considered in turn.

Inclusion of the dissertation on degree programmes

According to Calvert and Casey (2004) ‘the dissertation is a common (indeed almost

universal) feature of many undergraduate degree programmes, across most disciplines’

(p. 47). At Edge Hill, however, the importance attached to the dissertation varies

considerably by faculty. In the Faculty of Arts and Sciences 90 per cent of undergraduate

programmes include a dissertation. Where a dissertation is not incorporated into

programmes this tends to be in degrees such as Dance and Drama where there is a strong

practical element. In these programmes a performance replaces the dissertation as the

‘capstone’ component of the degree.

In contrast to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the other two faculties are much less

likely to incorporate a dissertation into their programmes. In the Faculty of Health only

11 per cent of undergraduate programmes include a dissertation and in the Faculty of




Education it is just 10 per cent. This equates to just one degree in each of the two

faculties. The fact that most programmes in these faculties do not include a dissertation in

their degrees is likely to reflect the vocational and practical emphasis of their

programmes. In particular, degrees in the Faculties of Health and Education often have to

meet professional requirements which may not demand an extended study such as the

dissertation. It does, however, beg the question as to why the BSc Health and Social Care

Practice and the Key Stage 2/3 undergraduate programme in Education are unique in

their respective faculties for including a dissertation.

On most undergraduate degree programmes (72 per cent)1 the dissertation is compulsory.

Where the dissertation is not obligatory there is often a choice between the dissertation

and a more practical alternative. For example, in the subjects Business, Management and

Leisure the students can choose to carry out an ‘Organisational Study’ and in Geology

they can conduct a ‘Geological Mapping Project’.

Module value/duration

All but one of the 31 undergraduate dissertation modules validated at Edge Hill at the

time this research was carried out had a value of 30 points. This means they generally

account for a quarter of the marks in the final year of a degree. Therefore, dissertations

usually run throughout the final year. About a quarter of dissertation modules are,

however, introduced at the end of the second year and in some cases the students start

their dissertation at this point. For example, in Journalism the students are required to

submit an initial proposal (non-assessed) by the end of the second year.

1 Thirty-three out of the 46 degree programmes contain a compulsory dissertation. There are, however, 31 dissertation modules because some programmes share the same dissertation module. This means that most programmes feel the need to write a bespoke module for their degrees. For example, despite the degrees in Accountancy, Business and Management Studies and Marketing belonging to the same department and covering very similar approaches because of their focus on ‘management education’, they all have different dissertation modules.




In practice, of course, some students approach tutors on an informal basis for advice

about their dissertation. This means that at Edge Hill students may begin their preparation

at the end of the second year and during the summer months before their final year (it

may of course be different in other universities and colleges of higher education -

especially in other parts of the world). This can cause problems if the formal

lecture/workshop programme is based on the assumption that students will commence

work on their dissertation in September or October.

Length, structure and format of the dissertation

The length of dissertations varies from 5,000 to 12,500 words, but most have an

expectation of between 8,000 and 10,000 words. There is, however, considerable

variation in the nature of the submission. Less than one-fifth of the dissertation modules

adopt a straightforward submission where the dissertation accounts for 100 per cent of

the marks awarded. Instead, dissertations often include one or more of the following

additional forms of assessment:

Initial proposal

Research plan

Draft introduction and methodology

Literature review

Draft chapter

Seminar presentation

Oral presentation (on progress or final product)

Poster

Reflection (sometimes linked to the Personal Development Plan)

These different elements are usually marked by the tutors, although in one dissertation

module peer assessment plays a role in awarding marks for an oral progress report.




Nevertheless, the actual dissertation remains the most important component of the

assessment - usually accounting for 80 per cent or more of the overall mark.

Some assessment packages are quite complex. This is illustrated by the dissertation in

History which is made up of the following elements (with the marks allocated to each

component shown in brackets):

Written proposal (5 per cent)

A journal reflecting on their experience of carrying out research (5 per cent)

Oral presentation (10 per cent)

Dissertation, 8,500 words (80 per cent)

The vast majority of dissertations require written work, although the Department of

Media provide the opportunity for alternative forms of submission. For example, the

module ‘Web Systems Development Project’ on the BSc (Hons) Web Systems

Development programme requires the creation of either a web system or a research

dissertation. A single set of eight learning outcomes can be met by either mode of

assessment. Similarly, the module ‘Creative Industries Dissertation’ on the BA (Hons)

Television Production programme doubles as a written dissertation or ‘equivalent’

practical project. Again, this is on the basis that both will deliver the stated learning

outcomes. Assessment consists of either a 7,000-8,000 word dissertation (100 per cent of

the grade) or an alternative practical submission consisting of 60 per cent for an artefact

such as a video production, 30 per cent for an accompanying written critique, and the

remaining 10 per cent for an oral presentation.

It is perhaps surprising that advances in information and communication technology,

which enable electronic dissertations to be submitted that utilise various forms of multi-

media, are not encouraging other subject areas to promote different types of dissertation.

However, the challenge with alternative forms of dissertation is measuring equivalency.




Judgements have to be made about the relative importance of different types of

submission, or the weightings and expectations required of different components of a

submission (as in the case of History described above). It would be interesting to pursue

further the rationale that underpins such decisions.

Student support

Student support also varies considerably. All the dissertations have individual dissertation

supervisors, with the amount of supervision ranging from 2-8 hours with 6 hours the

modal average. A couple of modules, however, indicate that students could negotiate

additional supervisory hours if they felt they needed it. In addition, two-thirds of the

modules have formal lectures/workshops, although these varied from introductory or

briefing sessions to a series of inputs on different aspects of the dissertation process.

Seven of the 31 dissertation modules also run seminars relating to the dissertation and

one runs the dissertation in direct conjunction with a research methodology course.

Web-based course tools (WebCT) are utilised as a learning and teaching resource in a

number of dissertation modules. It tends to be used in conjunction with more traditional

forms of teaching and learning, such as lecturers, seminars and workshops. Therefore a

‘blended’ approach tends to be adopted rather than WebCT being offered as the only

source of support for students. Just under a quarter of the dissertation modules use

WebCT to provide on-line materials such as copies of lecture notes and other additional

material that the students may find useful. Around one-in-five modules use WebCT as a

forum for discussion between students and also for tutor-student communication.

Three modules encourage collaborative approaches in the dissertation process. This is

where students are encouraged to ‘learn with and from each other’ (Boud, 2001, p. 2)

through the ‘sharing of knowledge, ideas and experience’ (ibid., p. 3). According to Boud

(2001) collaborative (or peer) learning can be described ‘as a way of moving beyond

independent to interdependent or mutual learning’ (p.3, italics in original). For example,




in Information Systems students are allocated to groups if they are undertaking research

in similar subjects. However, most subjects continue to target support at individuals and

those encouraging collaboration still maintain a system of individual support.

About two-thirds of degree programmes have research methodology modules and they

usually run in the second year of undergraduate degrees. It is interesting to note that

modules covering research methodology have increasingly become a feature in course

design. An examination of the documentation relating to these modules suggests that this

has occurred because of the need to prepare students for their dissertations in their final

year. It is, however, not clear from the documentation why course teams have only felt

the need to initiate research methodology modules in recent years. Indeed, with

coursework now more widely utilised throughout undergraduate programmes we would

expect students to be better prepared for the dissertation than they were in the past. As

Rowley and Slack (2004) argue, the dissertation should ‘build on writing, referencing and

other information skills that the student has developed earlier in their studies’ (p. 177).

They go on to write that:

Many courses seek to develop independence in student learning throughout

the course, rather than offering the dissertation as a unique opportunity for

independent learning. The dissertation, therefore, provides an opportunity

for students to demonstrate learning skills that they should have acquired

throughout their study, rather than being as it was in the past, a new

departure …’ (Rowley and Slack, 2004, p. 177).

Therefore, today’s students should be well prepared for the dissertation. As such, it would

be useful to learn more about the rationale behind the increasing tendency to include

research methodology modules on undergraduate programmes.

Skills developed on dissertations




Figure 1 (below) provides a frequency analysis of the skills that are referred to in the

academic rationales, learning outcomes and indicative content of the dissertation modules

examined. These skills have been grouped together within the following four categories:

Research-type skills - which include investigation and inquiry, information gathering

and selection, organisation of ideas, analysis and consideration of balance, fairness,

ethics and confidentiality.

Self-management skills - which comprise planning, initiation and design of an idea or

project, implementing and managing a project, project monitoring, independent or

autonomous thinking and working and time-management.

Cognitive skills – which include interpretation, argument, reflection,

conceptualisation and evaluation.

Communication skills – which consist of written and oral communication,

interpersonal skills, team working, ability to accept direction and the use of

information and communication technology (ICT).




Figure 1 Skills: number of times referred to in dissertation module documentation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Research-type skills

Self-managementskillsCognitive skills

Communication skills

The vertical axis indicates the number of mentions in the dissertation module

documentation under each of the four categories. Not surprisingly, research-type skills

were the most commonly cited type of skill, followed closely by self-management skills

and then cognitive skills. Communication-type skills were generally mentioned much less

frequently. The focus on research and self-management skills is replicated in textbooks

on dissertations (see for example Parson and Knight, 1995; White, 2000; Walliman,

2004; Fisher, 2007). For example, Walliman (2004) contends that the dissertation is

‘research based’ and in the introduction to his book ‘Your Undergraduate Dissertation:

the essential guide for success’ he offers these thoughts to students:

After having, over the years, been fed with lots of information, guided step

by step through various assignments and been tested on your knowledge and

understanding in examinations, you undertake the dissertation as an exercise

in independent study. It tests your abilities to educate yourself, to




demonstrate your expertise in collecting and analysing information, and to

come to conclusions based on solid argument. (p. 3)

Arguably, there is a case for trying to widen the range of skills developed through the

dissertation process, especially given the increasing emphasis on improving student

employability (Little and Harvey, 2007). Indeed, many of the skills identified as

important by employers are not mentioned in a significant number of the documents

examined by us. Skills such as creativity, adaptability/flexibility, willingness to learn,

ability to work under pressure, oral communication, interpersonal/social skills, numeracy,

attention to detail and problem solving/decision-making (see Knight and York, 2003;

Pedagogy for Employment Group, 2006; Thomas and Jones, 2007) can be developed

through the dissertation process. There is a strong argument for making them more

explicit, both to encourage their development and to ensure students are aware of the

skills they are improving.2 The latter is important when they apply for graduate jobs

(Stewart and Knowles, 2000; Brown and Hesketh, 2004).

Moreover, in the documentation, very little attention is given to the skill of writing an

extended piece of work. The skills required of this are different from shorter essays and

reports, but this does not appear to be explicitly referred to in the dissertation modules at

Edge Hill. There may be some scope for addressing such issues through the more

collaborative approaches to dissertation provision promoted in some subject modules (see

Boud and Lee, 2005). However, there is no indication from the documentation that these

groups are being used to encourage students to peer review each others writing.

2 A good example is problem solving which is often an implied rather than a skill explicitly developed in the dissertation process.




Discussion

This study has identified significant variations in the provision of the dissertation across

Edge Hill University. The research has highlighted major differences between the

faculties in the extent to which the dissertation is included on undergraduate programmes.

Also important is the variability that exists in the length, structure and format of

dissertation submissions. Moreover, there are significant differences in the level and

nature of support provided to students. Finally, modules make reference to a mixture of

different skills that are developed through the dissertation process. Although research and

self-management skills are referred to the most frequently, there is still considerable

variation in the specific skills within these broad categories that modules explicitly aim to

develop.

The variation identified in this paper may result from the differing educational

requirements of degree programmes. For example, the epistemological basis of different

subject areas may encourage a certain approach to the dissertation. Alternatively, the type

of student attracted to specific degrees may require a form of pedagogy, and therefore

approach to the dissertation, that supports their particular needs. On the other hand, there

is a danger that when course teams are writing dissertation modules, pressure of time

results in the replication of what has been done in the past (see Beach and Connolly,

2005). The inclusion of a dissertation may therefore owe more to tradition and the

academic status associated with the dissertation, rather than to a well thought out

rationale. For example, the dissertation is still regarded by many as the ‘culmination of an

undergraduate programme’ (Todd et al., 2006, p. 161) or the ‘capstone course’ (Pepper et

al., 2001, p. 32) and something that is ‘fundamentally different’ to the type of activity

undergraduates have engaged in to date (Parsons and Knight, 1995, p. 5). However, with

the increased emphasis on assignments involving research in undergraduate programmes

(Scott, 2005), the role of the dissertation as something fundamentally different to what

students have so far experienced may no longer be a valid justification for its inclusion

(see Rowley and Slack, 2004 above for similar comments).




Similarly, differences in approach to the dissertation that exist across degree programmes

might also reflect tradition rather than a well thought out rationale. The role that

academic disciplines play in creating sub-cultures within universities (see Becher, 1989;

Becher and Huber, 1990; Becher and Trowler, 2001) may be an important influence here.

Subject areas tend to be created around academic disciplines and therefore these

academic sub-cultures are likely to have a significant influence on the form that

dissertations take (and whether the dissertation is included in programmes in the first

place).

Conclusion

The nature of this paper has been to highlight potential lines of enquiry into the purpose

and form the undergraduate dissertation might take. Our intention was to provide a focus

for our own research agenda and also expand on what is currently represented in the

prevailing literature.

The diversity in the provision of dissertations identified in this study is not in itself a

concern. It may only be problematic if there is no rational basis for the differences that

exist. As such, there are a number of key issues that need to be addressed. The most

fundamental of these is whether there is still a place for the dissertation in modern

undergraduate degree programmes. If there is, then we need to consider whether the

dissertation (or rationalised variations on its theme) should form a compulsory

component of all degrees. Is the inclusion of a dissertation on undergraduate degrees

essential to the students’ learning experience? If it is not, then we need to consider the

rationale for including/excluding the dissertation.

Assuming there is still a place for dissertations in today’s undergraduate degree

programmes, the next issue is the extent to which there are particular features of a




dissertation that ought to be standardised across all programmes. For example, should

there be similar forms and levels of support for all students? Moreover, is it essential that

students undertaking a dissertation study a research methodology module, or is the

emerging focus on the pedagogic relationship between teaching and learning through

research (see Jenkins and Healey, 2005) altering this structural antecedent and need for

standardised preparatory modules?

Finally, what criteria (if any) should be used to justify any variation in dissertation

modules across a university? Are there, for instance, disciplinary or subject specific

differences that mean dissertation modules need to be tailored to meet the requirements

of a particular degree? Or, are the students attending different courses dissimilar in a way

that has implications for the style and delivery of the dissertation module on these

courses? For example, a degree with a high proportion of non-traditional students may

have different pedagogical needs to other courses (see HEFCE, 2002 for similar

comments) and this may have consequences for the nature of dissertation modules.

As an extension to our research agenda we propose to address these lines of enquiry by

interviewing a selection of key decision-makers at Edge Hill University to obtain a more

in-depth understanding of the rationale behind the nature of dissertation provision at our

institution. We also plan to carry out interviews and focus group discussions with

students from a cross-section of degree programmes in order to obtain their views on the

way dissertation modules are delivered. This will help us to understand the extent to

which the rationale underpinning decisions about dissertation modules are understood

and shared by the students. There are also likely to be valuable lessons that can be learnt

from comparing the different experiences of students. The interviews and focus groups

should help us to identify those aspects of dissertation provision that the students find

helpful, in terms of facilitating their learning and ability to successfully complete a

dissertation.




This study demonstrates the need for further research into the role of dissertations on

undergraduate programmes. It is hoped that this paper encourages others to engage in

research into the issues we have raised. As discussed in the research methodology

section, there are limits to the extent to which generalisations can be drawn from single

case studies. However, if others engage in similar types of research we can begin to build

a more informed picture of undergraduate dissertation provision and the factors

influencing it and begin to monitor changes to the curriculum landscape through sharper

lenses.




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The Undergraduate Dissertation: 'most likely you go your way and I'll go mine

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