DISSERTATION PREPARATION:

DISSERTATION HANDBOOK

SIMS
Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS)
Range Hills Road
Kirkee Cantt, Pune – 411020
(Ph- 30213200) Email –coursecoordinator@sims.edu/
Web-www.sims.edu

1
INTRODUCTION

This Guide is designed to assist MBA students at SIMS in understanding the requirements for
Dissertations.

The Dissertation is an integral of the MBA programme. The objective of the dissertation is to
provide students an opportunity to integrate the knowledge and skills gained from their
taught programme with real–problems. The module enables the student to carry out an
original piece of work, which would meet the need of a real-world client. It is a test of the
student’s initiative to work independently and requires the students to develop a critical
insight into business processes.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND REGULATIONS

Preparing the dissertation is the responsibility of the student, aided by the dissertation guide.

The Student’s Responsibilities:

You are responsible for all aspects of preparation of the thesis or dissertation. In addition you
will be responsible to:

• Identify your topic commencement.

• Arrange with organizations for any fieldwork to be conducted in an organizational
setting.
• Bear all the costs incurred in this stage of the work – from fieldwork, communicating
with your supervisor to printing and binding.

Dissertation Guide assistance:

Your guide will be able to help you during the development and writing of your report:
 Defining the precise problem to be tackled, advising on its suitability and the scope of
the work.
 Guidance on relevant techniques and assistance with problems or difficulties in
analytical work.
 Advice on data gathering and its analysis and interpretation.
 Guidance on presenting the final report.

Interaction with Guide

Regular and reasonably frequent contact (through e-mail, telephone, meetings and letter) will
help to ensure that you are progressing in appropriate directions and that mistakes and poor
writing style are identified at an early stage.

STEPS IN THE DISSERATION PROCESS

1) Choosing the Topic:

Topic selection is the most difficult part of the dissertation, and perhaps the most common
reason for this is that many students wait the end to begin thinking about the issue. The
selection for a dissertation topic should begin immediately until the dissertation proposal has
been approved.

The choice of topic remains with the students. The following criteria need to be followed:-

Degree Specialization: The dissertation topic must be related to the specialization. Learning
Outcomes: The topic should achieve the learning outcomes visualized for the specialization.

2
Resources: The topic must consider availability of resources required to complete the
dissertation.
Originality: The topic must be original.

1. Students must have interest in topic, prior knowledge, of the topic and should meet their
future ambitions.

2) Preparing the Initial Proposal :

Dissertation can not be formulated until a clear plan is formed.

The initial proposal to dissertation guide should generally be about 1-2 pages in length
highlighting a working title, an abstract (of not more than 100 words), primary and secondary
aims of the dissertation, research methodology plan, and time plan.

3) Guide:

The dissertation guide is a faculty whose is knowledgeable and interested in the topic of the
dissertation and willing & able to guide you.

4) The Dissertation Proposal:

The Dissertation proposal is expected to demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct the
proposed research. Dissertation proposals take many forms depending on the nature of the
dissertation. The dissertation proposal should contain the following elements:

 A statement of purpose of the study, including topics of study and research questions.
 A literature review.
 The proposed methodology for research.
 A proposed timeframe, containing an estimate of schedule

5) Writing the Dissertation

After the proposal has been approved, by your guide, which should be submitted latest by
15th December 2010, the student can then begin the process of actually implementing the
study. It is very necessary to plan the dissertation ahead in order to complete it on time.
Submit your dissertation proposal on SYNAPSE.

Attached as Appendix I is the standard Dissertation Structure Guide.

Dissertation:

The Dissertation should be about 10,000 words in length. The dissertation should always keep
in mind learning objectives with a high quality of content. Although each dissertation is unique
and the layout varies according to the information to be reported, suggested chapters would
include:

 Abstract
 Introduction
 Literature review – Showing that the student has critically read and analysed existing
literature and information selectively and that the research is underpinned by relevant
theories and concepts in the field of study
 Methodology – including approaches attempted and discarded, problems experienced.

3
  Result and observations – in which the data collated is reported, analysed and
evaluated in relation to the research question.
 Discussion – Key issues and general findings that have arisen from the results are
identified and considered in the context of relevant theories and concepts.
 Conclusion – Main inferences and implications of the research and any
recommendations related to the topic.
 References and Bibliography
 Appendices

DISSERTATION ASSESSMENT

The dissertation should take an estimated time of 300 working hours. The Dissertation will be
assessed as follows:

Dissertation Report - 50 Marks.

Dissertation Viva-Voce - 50 Marks.

The total assessment of the Dissertation Project will be out of 100 marks.

The assessment of your dissertation will look for evidence that you have:

 Identified an original and useful research question.

 Developed a sound research proposal employing appropriate methodology, based on
up-to-date research evidence.
 Managed the project effectively using appropriate and correctly applied theories and
methods of analysis.
 Reported your work in a clear, concise and accurate manner.

The Dissertation will be marked by Internal and External Examiners appointed by SIMS.

Breakdown
Literature review 20%
Research Methodology 20%
Data, analysis and evaluation 30%
Findings and recommendations 20%
Linking of theory/ concepts to practice 10%
____

100%

Word Limits

The count of the dissertation must be presented on a separate sheet together with the bound
copies.

Students will be allowed leeway (+/-) of the word limit upto 5% without penalty.
Penalties will be imposed : 2% deduction for every 500 words. (+/-)

If you are in any doubt the length of your assignment or dissertation please discuss this with
the dissertation supervisor.

4
Submission of the Report:

Submit the Dissertation report latest by 31st January 2011 on SYNAPSE. The schedule of the
viva –voce will be indicated during the same period.

List of Guides will be intimated to you very soon.

5
 APPENDIX I – DISSERTATION STRUCTURE GUIDE
A standard format is outlined below. (The topic chosen will influence the structure).
TITLE What is it about?
ABSTRACT What does it contain?
Who has assisted you?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
What are the key findings
SUMMARY and Recommendations?
CONTENTS What is in it?
LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND What other material is in
APPENDICES the dissertation?
Why was the Dissertation
written?
INTRODUCTION
What is the background?
What facts were
MAIN BODY discerned?
How were they obtained?
What picture has
CONCLUSIONS
emerged?
What course of action
RECOMMENDATIONS
should be followed?
What books, articles,
BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES references etc. have you
used?
Detailed information to
fill out the facts and
APPENDICES
support the conclusions
and recommendations?
**********
Should accurately describe what the report is
about. It is better to say ‘Report on staff
problems in Admin Dept’ than just ‘Admin’.
Briefing the dissertation in a paragraph of not
more than 100 words.
Be precise
This is formulated last but appears at the
beginning of the report and is very brief. The
recipient will be put in the picture at outset.
List all the sections of the main body of your
report and show the page number they start
on. Page numbers should be ordered in column
to the right of the list of sections.
Use the same system as for Contents; show the
location of Tables, Figures and Appendices.
Can include the brief reasons for the report
being thought necessary and any Terms of
Reference.
The main chapters should include :
Literature review
Methodology
Results and observations
Discussion
Sum up the main arguments. Do not introduce
new material into your conclusion. If you have
numbered each paragraph, refer to them by
number.
This is the ‘cutting edge’ of the whole report.
It should clearly and succinctly highlight what
needs to be done; the pros and the cons should
be included with implications.
List them in alphabetical order by authors’
names. A Bibliography lists all works of
interest including those mentioned in the text.
A Reference section only includes those works
you have mentioned.
Utilise to avoid cluttering up the main body of
the report with too much detail.