LO1: Identify an appropriate research topic and formulate appropriate objectives LO3: Produce a critical literature review and research methodology LO4: Undertake primary research and critically appraise the results LO5:

BMP6001 Dissertation 2024-25

BMP6001 Dissertation 2024-25
Assessment Number	2 of 3
Assessment Type (and weighting)	Report of 8000 words (70%)
Assessment Name	Dissertation
Assessment Submission Date	11.59pm, Friday 12th December 2025

Learning Outcomes Assessed

LO1: Identify an appropriate research topic and formulate appropriate objectives

LO3: Produce a critical literature review and research methodology

LO4: Undertake primary research and critically appraise the results

LO5: Synthesise research findings and make informed judgements in the light of these

Brief

Write a dissertation of 8000 words (±10%). Your dissertation is a structured PRIMARY  RESEARCH REPORT on the process and outcomes of a significant piece of independent research. Using the same guidance in Assessment I, you will extend your work into a much deeper critical analysis of your chosen topic.

In this you will examine the context of your research to provide motivation for your work; you will clarify the aims and objectives of your proposed research; demonstrate critical engagement with key areas of relevant literature, using this to develop an initial conceptual framework (Optional Element- Stretch and Challenge); you will present and justify the theoretical perspective underpinning your proposed research approach. You will contrast this with alternative perspectives, and use this to inform the systematic development of your research design (Optional Element- Stretch and Challenge); you will present and discuss your findings and their implications, and consider the limitations of your proposed approach; you will also reflect on your contributions and to what extent your proposed objectives were met.

Dissertations follow a standard format; a proforma with guidelines, structure and formatting requirements is available on Moodle. An indication of the main structure and contents is given below. However, basic guidance includes using a standard size 12 font, double line spaced following the suggested format below.

Your dissertation should be uploaded in Microsoft Word format¹ to Moodle using the appropriate Turnitin submission link and a hard copy of your dissertation (with a white general cover sheet) may also be submitted via the Assignment Post-box in the Mall on or before Friday 12th December 2025. If there are restrictions in place which prevent this, then please email your supervisor and the Module Leader to advise as soon as you are aware of the issue.

The date of upload to Moodle will be taken as the date of submission.

The submission should include a front sheet which includes the module code and module name, a title “ – Research Proposal”, your name and your student number; an example is included in the Module Guide.

A table of contents is expected; and you should also include a table of figures, tables, etc. as appropriate.

You MUST include evidence of your interactions with your supervisor with the inclusion in your appendices of your Supervisors Log.

The recommended structure and contents (with suggested ranges for word counts) are as follows:

Title Page

Abstract (not included in word count) Acknowledgements (not included in word count) Table of Contents

List of Tables List of Figures

Introduction (400-600 words)

• Background and Motivation
• Research Question
• Research Aims and Objectives

Literature Review (2500 words)

• Critical review of key areas of literature

(5 Marks)

• Conceptual Framework (Optional Element- Stretch and Challenge)

(25 Marks)

Methodology (1000-1250 words)

• Justification of Research Approach
• Data Collection and Analysis (incl. sampling approach)
• Ethical Considerations
• Theoretical Perspective and Research Paradigm (Optional Element- Stretch and Challenge)
• Validity and Reliability (Optional Element- Stretch and Challenge)

(10 Marks)

Results and Analysis (1200-2000 words)

• Summaries and analyses of key results
• Interpretation and synthesis

(20 Marks)

Discussion (1200-2000 words)

• Significance of findings
• Relation to literature
• Managerial/business implications
• Limitations

Conclusion (800-1000 words)

• Review of objectives
• Summary of contributions
• Recommendations for future work

7. Presentation of the Report

• Structure of the Dissertation Report
• References (not included in word count)

(10 marks)

Appendices (not included in word count; but a major contribution to support the work)

Your Tutor Log (Containing evidence of your interactions with your  supervisor) Compulsory.

• As agreed with supervisor
• Copy(ies) of Questionnaire(s) if used
• Copy(ies) of themes, questions, and prompts, for semi-structured interviews, focus groups, etc., if used
• Copy(ies) of initial (qualitative coding) template(s), if used

It is advised that you use the appendix section to support your research activities. Additional elements, such as a glossary, may also be included.

The university has numerous support pages to assist you with your dissertation. Guidance on formatting and presentation requirements, including font sizes, line spacing, etc., are available on Moodle and discussed in class on a regular basis; and useful resource is available on LEAP: https://www.bolton.ac.uk/leaponline/Test/Search.aspx?search_keywords=dissertation.

Minimum Secondary Research Sources Requirements

It is expected that the Reference List will contain thirty to fifty sources, with no fewer than twenty high quality journal articles. Citations and references should follow the Harvard Referencing System: see https://www.bolton.ac.uk/leaponline/My-Academic- Development/My-Writing-Techniques/Referencing/Level-2/Harvard-Referencing.aspx.

Specific Assessment Criteria

This is a Primary Research Project. You therefore should retain ALL your primary research data, as this must be produced on demand by your supervisor/ module tutor. Failure to  provide this data will result in a Fail Assessment grade being awarded.

Submissions without evidencing primary research will be marked with a ‘fail grade’.

Appendix A provides a rubric identifying specific assessment criteria (rubric) for the elements identified in the proforma feedback sheet.

Appendix B contains a copy of the proforma feedback sheet that will be used to mark and provide summative feedback on the dissertation.

Please note that the General Assessment Criteria (see Module Guide) are a useful supplement to guide and indicate the general academic qualities expected at HE6.

AppendixA–SpecificAssessmentCriteria(Rubric)

 

	Exceptional 85-100%	Excellent 70-84%	VeryGood 60-69%	Good 50-59%	Satisfactory 40-49%	BorderlineFail 35-39%	Fail Below35%
Introduction	Succinctcriticalsynthesis of businessandacademiccontextsexplicitly linked to aclearly stated researchquestion.Attainmentof the research aimwould fully answer theresearchquestion;andtheaimisbrokendowninto a clear set ofchallengingyetmanageableobjectives.	Succinctcriticalanalysisof business andacademiccontextsthatleads naturally to aclearly stated researchquestion.Attainmentof the research aimwould answer theresearchquestion;andtheaimisbrokendowninto a clear set ofmanageableobjectives.	Succinct analysis ofbusinessandacademiccontextsrelateddirectly to a clearlystatedresearchquestion.Attainmentof the research aimwould address theresearchquestion;andtheaimisbrokendowninto a clear set ofachievableobjectives.	Coherentexaminationof business andacademiccontextsrelated to researchquestion;furtheranalysis would bebeneficial.Attainmentof the research aimwould address theresearchquestion;andthe link between theaim and objectivesneeds to be moreexplicit.Objectivesmayneedrefinement.	Discussion of businessand academic contextsthat are mostlyrelevant. Link toresearchquestionshould be strengthen;discussion is largelydescriptive, and moreanalysiswouldimprove.Researchaims need to moredirectly linked to theresearch question; andaim and objectives needsmaybenefitfromrefinement.	Superficialdiscussionofbusiness and academiccontexts that is largelydescriptive and lacksanalysis.Researchquestion, aim andobjectives may bemissing; and if presentlinks between theseand to the context arenotclear.	Discussionofbusinessandacademiccontextsthatisverydescriptiveand vague with noanalysis.Researchquestion, aim andobjectives may bemissing;andifpresentlinks between theseandtothecontextaremissing.
Literature Review	Synthesisesin-depthinformation,fromselected key papers,into directly relevantthemes.Review iscompletelyuptodate.Motivatestheneedforthe proposed work. Themessynthesisedinto an insightfulconceptualframeworkthat highlights theareas for inquiry andtheirinterrelations.	In-depth,criticalanalysisofinformation,from high qualitysources, into directlyrelevant themes. Keyrecent papers areincluded. The reviewsituates the proposedwork. Themesorganisedintoa clear, conciseconceptualframeworkthat relates the areasforinquiry.	Thorough analysis ofinformation,fromgoodqualitysources,organisedunderdirectlyrelevantthemes.Recentpapersare included. Thereviewidentifiesgap(s)thattheproposedworkwilladdress. Themesorganisedintoa clear conceptualframeworkthatrelatesthe areas for inquiry.	Good discussion ofrelevantofinformation,mainly from goodqualitysources.Furtheranalysiswouldstrengthen. Some ofthe sources are dated.The review identifiesgap(s) that theproposed work willaddress,butthisneedsto be made clearer. Themesorganisedintoaconceptualframeworkthatidentifies areas of inquiry;interrelationscouldbestrengthened.	Discussion of a broadrangeofsources,someof which may not bedirectlyrelevant. Analysis is weak andcritical engagement ismissing. Many of thesourcesaredated.Thereviewshouldbemoredirectly used tomotivatetheproposedwork. Theconceptualframeworkneedstoberevisedtoclarifyareasof inquiry and howtheseinterrelate.	Limited survey ofliterature, some ofwhich is not relevant.Analysisisverylimitedandcriticalengagementismissing.Many of the sourcesare dated. The reviewdoes not motivate theproposedwork. Theconceptualframeworkismissingorneeds to be revised toidentifyareasofinquiryand how theseinterrel