Faculty

of Economics, Management
And Accountancy

University of Malta

MBA Dissertation Guidelines

As part of the degree formation you are expected to
present a dissertation project. This booklet contains
details of expected practice with respect to the completion
of the MBA dissertation. Clearly general guidelines such
as these may not cover all circumstances. Particular
emphasis and minor adjustments may be necessary in
individual cases.

It is thus imperative that you consult your tutors for

specific advice and guidance on matters pertaining to the
design and content of your study and of course, the
reporting of it.

Nadia Theuma
June 2001

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CONTENTS

PART 1: The MBA Dissertation ……………………………..… 4

PART 2: Structuring the Research Proposal ……………………….. 6

PART 3: Notes on Specific Aspects of the Dissertation …………… 7

PART 4: Some Other Considerations …………………………….… 10

PART 5: Sources for Further Reading ………………………………. 12

Appendices
Appendix 1 Prototype of Title Page ………………………….….. 13

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PART 1: THE MBA DISSERTATION

1.1 General Framework of the Dissertation

The following outline is indicative of the overall structure of a dissertation. Clearly it will have to be
adapted to the particular study you have carried out.

SECTION PAGE

Title Page
Abstract
Statement of Authenticity
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures

CHAPTER 1 Introduction
CHAPTER 2 Literature Review
CHAPTER 3 Methodology
CHAPTER 4 Presentation of Data
CHAPTER 5 Analysis of Data
CHAPTER 6 Discussion and Interpretation of Findings
CHAPTER 7 Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations

References
Appendices

1.2 Word Length

The total length of the dissertation is 20,000-25,000 words. This length is exclusive of title and contents
page, figures, tables, appendices and references.

1.3 Plagiarism
Plagiarism, that is, the willful representation of an other person’s work, without the acknowledgement or
the deliberate and unacknowledged incorporation in a student’s work of material derived from the work
(published or otherwise) of another, is UNACCEPTABLE and will incur the penalty of outright failure.

1.4 Planning Your Work

You are advised to begin working on your dissertation immediately. The lectures in Research Methods held
during the first term of your course are useful in helping you to plan background material and to choose
your methodology.
You should see your supervisor on a regular basis – at least once every two weeks in the beginning. It is
also advisable to start writing as soon as possible. Do not worry if you feel that your material is not good

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enough, almost all early material is weak at the beginning. Starting to write at an early stage will enable
your supervisor to see what direction you are taking, where your weaknesses are and give you constructive
advice and you will gain confidence from this feedback.

1.5 The Role of Your Supervisor

1. Discuss possible directions for the study and advise on aims and objectives
2. Suggest some general areas of research for consideration and where possible, any examples of
current research relevant to the topic.
3. Be available for regular meetings
4. Examine written work and provide constructive criticism. It is not the responsibility of the
supervisor to correct spelling mistakes, etc. other than to point out these are present: nor is it the
duty of the supervisor to organise the presentation content of the work, although advice may be
provided if enough work has been submitted.
5. Make student aware of inadequate progress or any other facts which could impede the completion
of a successful piece of work.
6. Mark the dissertation, confer with the examiner and submit the agreed mark to the Chairman of
the Dissertation Board.

1.6 Your Responsibilities

1. It is your responsibility to make appointments on a regular

basis. If you difficulty in arranging appointments you must
contact the Research Methods Course Co-Ordinator or the Head
of Department.
2. Provide written work for your supervisor to comment on;
maintain your own progress.
3. Where possible, submit your written work in advance of your
appointment in order that your supervisor has time to offer you
constructive criticism.
4. Comply with the regulations as detailed in this handbook.

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PART 2: STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

2.1 Introduction

Although there is no single way of structuring a project or dissertation proposal the following structure
identifies the areas which should be addressed within the proposal. If all of these areas are considered as
part of the proposal then the actual research project should be more coherent and your research should be
more productive.

The areas to consider in the research proposal:

The research question / problem /topic / hypothesis

Introduction and rationale for research
Research Objectives
Research Methods

2.2. The Research Proposal

The areas covered in the research proposal are expanded below.

Title Page
• Proposed Title
• Name of Student
• Course
• Supervisor’s Name

The Research Question / Problem / Topic or Hypothesis

• identify your area of research keeping it broad enough to embrace existing literature but
• sufficiently narrow to allow a detailed investigation
• the area identified could form a working title

Introduction and Rationale for Research

• explain why you think this is a valid research topic
• what will the research contribute to the field?

Research Aim and Objectives

• the aim of the dissertation should indicate what you wish to achieve
• the objectives are a list of goals which must be completed in order to satisfy the aim (usually about 6)

Eg. to provide a state of the art review

to determine how a particular market operates
to establish a typology
to assess the impact of something

Research Methodology
• choose methods which will allow you to meet each of the objectives listed above; justify your methods
chosen and the disadvantages of the methods rejected
• try to use a mix of methods

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PART 3: SOME NOTES ON SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF THE
DISSERTATION

What follows is an attempt to provide you with some rules, and some helpful advice on an acceptable
practice. However you are still advised to consult your tutor for more specific advice in relation to your
dissertation.

3.1 The Abstract

An abstract should provide an overview of your study in all its aspects. It should be around 250-300 in
words and should answer the following questions.
• What does this research set out to do and why?
• How did it seek to do it?
• What are the general findings?
• What do these suggest?
• What conclusions are reached?
• What are the implications of these?

3.2 Acknowledgements
In this sections you should express thanks to those who assisted you in your research. These should be kept
to a minimum and include academic supervisors and people who participated in the fieldwork, any funding
bodies and probably a long-suffering spouse, friend or relative.

3.3 Introduction
In the introduction you should introduce the reader to the background of the study and the nature of the
problem being considered. It should therefore set the study in context explaining why this study is
important, highlighting significant issues, problems and ideas. The aim and objectives should be stated
clearly in this chapter.

3.4 Literature Review

In a dissertation a student is expected to provide a critical review of the existing literature (published and
unpublished) on the research area being investigated. This does not mean that you have to indicate every
book and article that has been written on the subject but any you do read should be referenced
appropriately. Nevertheless your review should indicate that you have studied existing and recent work in
the field. The Harvard System (author/date) of referencing should be used. The literature review should be:
• Relevant: Literature used should support your arguments relating to your research question and aim
and objectives of the study. It should uphold methodology. In some cases you may need to discuss
literature review and its relationship to methodology in a separate chapter.

• Up-to-Date: Recent literature (not older than five years) is recommended unless you are referring to
classical works in your field of study. Sources used have to be in their majority primary sources,
secondary referencing may be used.

• Comprehensive: Demonstrate that you have read extensively without being overinclusive. Develop
your ability to employ summary statements and to synthesize.

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3.5 Methodology
The purpose of this chapter is to indicate what you actually did in your research so that your reader may
evaluate the design procedure and findings of your study. The methodology section should be well-
structured, written in concise, matter-of-fact manner and should provide answers to the following questions
- What actually happened - How? - To whom- With what result? - How were problems dealt with?
Approach to data?

The following is an outline of the Methodology Section

• Review of Data Collection Methods
- Why were the data collection methods you chose the best suited to fit your research question?
• Secondary Data
- What secondary data was used? How does it feed into the current research?
• Primary Data:
- A detailed description of research conducted, design of the tool, description of fieldwork, you also
need to mention any specific procedures used.
• Criteria for Sample Selection
- Number of total sample, characteristics of sample and method of selection
• Pilot Study
- To whom was the study administered, what changes were made to the research tool
• Methods of Analysis-
- Briefly explain how you propose to analyse the data, if computer software is going to be used, a
description of the type of software has to be included.
• Limitations
- What were the limitations of this study and how did you overcome these limitations?

3.6 Presentation and Analysis of Data

In the presentation of data you are to present the major findings of your research in a summarised form and
the details of the analyses which have been performed. The content and style depend on the nature of the
research method chosen, but in the case of both quantitative and qualitative studies, the object is to present
the data collected to answer the research questions.

3.6.1 Presentation and Analysis of Qualitative Research

1. Presentation of data is mainly descriptive and this is usually presented in a chronological order.

2. Analysis of data is conducted through the identification of themes. The research tools in
qualitative research include open-ended descriptions, transcripts of interviews, essays and
observations. These produce a mass of data which sometimes can be difficult to sift. A useful way
to process this data is to keep the research question(s) in mind, to read through the data a couple of
times until particular issues or themes present themselves. These can be suggestive of a structure
for presenting the descriptive data. Useful source for this type of analysis are: Berg, B (1995) (2nd.
ed.) Qualitative Research for the Social Sciences Allyn and Bacon, London and Boston; Wolcott,
H. F. (1994) Transforming Qualitative Data: Description, Analysis and Interpretation. Sage:
Thousand Oaks, CA.

3. Evidence is usually in form of quotations from the subjects being studied, discussions of people
involved, illustrations, photographs – the variations are unlimited.

4. You may find that there is evidence of difference of opinion. Include variations in opinion and
describe poles of belief. These add richness to qualitative research.

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3.6.2 Presentation and Analysis of Quantitative Research

1. As a preliminary to working out results, any test given must be scored, data inputted into the
appropriate computer programme and additional material gained from the sample must be sorted
out. This is often purely mechanical work, and it takes time but must be done accurately.

2. The data presented must not be in their raw form (this is placed in the Appendices). The only time
you would ever describe data on individual subjects is when you have done a case study.

3. In this section, the task is to summarise data meaningfully, through the use of descriptive statistics.
These include mean scores, medians, ranges, standard deviations, correlation coefficients.

4. Visual presentation is very important in quantitative research. Graphs, tables, histograms, bar
graphs are simple ways in which to present condensed data but they are also very effective.

3.7 Discussion of Results and Conclusions

1. This chapter should draw together all the issues of the research and link back to the aim and objectives
which were outlined in the Introduction and Methodology. Have the aims set at the beginning been
met? If not, why not?

2. Evaluate how your findings bear on issues or points raised in the Literature Review.

3. What are the implications arising from the findings. Be careful with your generalisations and your
interpretations. Recommendations should be based on evidence.

4. Do you have suggestions for future research in this area?

3.8 References
Full details of all the books and journal articles cited or referenced throughout the dissertation should be
included in this chapter. A reader should be able to identify the exact source and refer to it directly. The
Harvard method of referencing is the recommended system.

3.9 Appendices
The Appendices should include selective, supplementary material which is distracting when placed in the
main body of text. Only material which is necessary for a full understanding of your study should be
included. These include important forms, questionnaires or interview schedules, description of equipment
or settings, tables and lists of data supportive of the study.

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PART 4: SOME OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

4.1 Presentation Layout

4.1.1 General Text: Text should be double-spaced using one side of the page only
Font selected should be Times New Roman
Print size 12
Margins at least 3.5cm on the left margin
2.0 cm on the right margin
3.0 cm on the top margin
2.5 cm on the bottom margin

Page numbers: Centered at the bottom of the page

Roman Numbers (i, ii….) should be used from the
first page (excluding the title page) until the main
body of the text where the Introduction commences
on page 1.
Justified: Both left and right
Paragraphs: No indentation
Start new paragraph after two returns
In-text emphasis: Use italics or bold typeface .

4.1.2 Headings: Chapter Headings Print size 16 in bold typeface

Sub-Headings Print size 14 in bold typeface
Main Chapeteheadings in block capitals
Chapter headings left justified at the top of a new page
All other headings justified and followed by a single line space
Sub-headings: Use sub-headings together with a numbering system
used in this document thus giving structure to your
work.

4.1.3 Quotations: Single line-spacing

Indented left and right
Justified left and right
Must include author name, date and page number referring to the parent text
Must be preceded and followed by a line space.

4.1.4 Tables, Figures etc., Must be numbered according to the chapter (eg. Table 5.1 means that it
is located in Chapter 5 and that it is the first table presented and
discussed in this chapter)
Must have a title at the top and key (legend) underneath

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 4.2 Typing and Proof Reading
Always proof read your copies for good grammar and
presentation before handing your work to your tutor.
Special attention should b made to the final draft of your
dissertation.
Be prepared for the unexpected such as hard disk failure,
loss or corruption of diskettes and printer failure. Use
back-up disks and always keep (updated) hard copies of
your work in case of an emergency!

4.3 Binding

Three hardbound copies of the dissertation are to be handed in. The hardbound copies should have a wine
cover with gold lettering. It is the students' responsibility to organize the binding and make sure that the
copies are ready before the submission date.

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PART 5 SOURCES FOR FURTHER READING

You will be given course work material during the Research Methods Class. However, you are strongly
encouraged to consult the following list of suggested readings. In addition, the Faculty has a number of
books on research methodology, which you can consult for reference. Please refer to the Course Tutor for
further information.

Blaxter L, Hughes C and Tight M. (1996) How to Research Open University Press

Clark, M. Riley, M., Wilkie E. and Wood, R (1998) Researching and Writing Dissertations in Hospitality
and Tourism International Thomson Business Press

Cryer P. (1994) The Research Student’s Guide To Success

Miles, M.B. and Hubeman A.M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Source
Book (2nd. ed. ) Thousand Oaks: Sage

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Appendix 1: Prototype of Title Page

Title

(Subtitle)

Blob Sample (student’s name)

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements

of Masters in Business Administration at the
Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy
University of Malta.

Month Year

13