MSc International Business - Dissertation Option - Research Module

Students who have successfully completed the 8 taught modules of Semesters 1 & 2 (120 credits) can elect to complete the remaining 60 credits of the MSc International Business programme via either the Dissertation or the Applied Research Project options.
The Dissertation provides an option to students seeking to focus on the more traditional academic pathway through a Master's study programme or as a gateway to a PhD programme, for example. It brings together all relevant aspects of the course in research on an International Business issue or problem. International Business is an applied field and thus raises substantive questions of importance beyond the world of academia. Thus, this individual Dissertation will show evidence of both conceptual and empirical rigour.
Aim
The aim of the module is to allow those students who are pursuing the Masters degree to have a further opportunity to develop their chosen specialism by preparing and presenting a research based Dissertation. The final submission will be not more than 12,000 words. The Dissertation will build on previous studies and will fuse them into a major piece of research related to an international business issue/s.
Learning Outcomes
Successful students will be able to:
1.Demonstrate a critical understanding of different research strategies and approaches.
2.Demonstrate knowledge and development of a critical literature review on an international business and topic.
3.Apply research skills to carry out empirical research on an international business subject, including collecting, analysing and interpreting data.
4.Develop writing skills and be able to present an independently reasoned and logical argument in written communication.
Content
On completion of the Dissertation module, students will have identified topics within the international business domain that are of particular interest to them. The development of their research proposal document is a key component of this process, as are ongoing discussions with academic staff, the modules studied prior to their Dissertation and the research expertise available within the Department.
By the end of semester two/year two, students will therefore have prepared and have had approved a Research Proposal Document and will each be allocated a suitable academic supervisor who will provide them with specialist guidance, advice, and editorial comment.
Key tasks of the supervision will be to ensure that the proposed research is theoretically and methodologically sound and that the student can complete it within the timescale available. Typically, the thesis will contain a rationale for the chosen subject of study, a review of the relevant literature, research methodology, findings and analysis and conclusions and recommendations.

A rationale and justification for the need for the study. A broad statement of the purpose of the study and its aims and objectives.  The research problem, specifics and justification of these objectives should be included in this section.
The literature review considers the work of theorists in the area and compares their work with others. The section should not merely be descriptive, but rather should compare and contrast various perspectives on the matter.  All relevant and recent work on the topic should be reviewed. In essence the literature review is a thorough and selective appraisal of the topic. It should discuss the key theories and concepts related to the research aims and objectives. 
This section is used to provide details of the design of the research. There is normally a reiteration of the objectives.  It should include a rationale for the choice of research design/approach, the procedure used, details of the empirical work and the method of analysis.
Findings: Analysis of results/data. Evidence of data collected through primary research should be included in the Appendix.
Discussion: This section is probably the most important section of the dissertation and the findings of the work should be discussed in detail in relation to the original issues/problem.  An interpretation of the findings and a discussion of their practical and theoretical implications should be included.
The work should be concluded by identifying and highlighting the key findings and by suggesting some areas for improvement and/or further work depending on the topic.