1. Dissertation projects Mary Clarkson

2. Agenda  What is it  What is it not  What does it contain  Literature analysis  Interpretation/synthesis  Conclusions/recommendations  Examples  Assessment  References IMAT3451 Options day

3. What is it  Literature review that is:  Extensive  Strategically significant  Rigorously defined and implemented  Includes well-thought-out recommendations and implications IMAT3451 Options day

4. What is it not  Literature review that is:  Small  Limited in scope  Includes primary research  Dissertation project contains  No fieldwork ie  No questionnaires  No interviews  No observations  No system development  This is not an easy option IMAT3451 Options day

5. What does it contain  Literature analysis  Systematic examination of a problem or question  Via an analysis of published sources  Could include case studies, document analysis, meta-study  Undertaken with a specific purpose in mind  More than just a review of existing work  Interpretation of what is found  Synthesis into issues or major factors  Recommendations and implications IMAT3451 Options day

6. Literature Analysis  30-40 sources rather than 10-12  Read critically and keep notes as you read  Analyse and identify key points in each source  Compare/contrast/categorise  Note any emerging themes or issues IMAT3451 Options day

7. Interpretation  Taking the emerging themes, issues and categories  Expanding on them  Tracing each through the sources  Thinking about what it might mean if put into practice IMAT3451 Options day

8. Synthesis  Building on the emerging themes, issues and categories  Identify major factors that appear to affect what goes on  Explore how the factors might help with the issues IMAT3451 Options day

9. Conclusions / recommendations  Identify ways to take the insights forward  Suggesting ways the insights could be applied in practice  Predicting further issues the application might entail IMAT3451 Options day

10. For example…  Review an organisation’s practices and procedures with a view to recommending significant technical, social and organisational change, drawing on both academic and management literature  Review the importance of professional bodies to industrial practice with a view to recommending ways for professional bodies and organisations to engage effectively with students and recent graduates  Review the case for enterprise-wide application systems, identifying implementation potential and issues to be considered IMAT3451 Options day

11. For example…  Conduct a landscape study into the state of the art in ambient intelligence applications  Carry out a comparative case study of privacy policies in government websites  Conduct a meta-study of other people’s research into the application of ICT in the classroom, looking for how ICT use has evolved in the last 20 years  Perform an ethical theory analysis on an emerging technology IMAT3451 Options day

12. Assessment  Same assessment deadlines as for all other projects  Initial deliverable in week 11  Contract/ethical form/plan  Initial literature review  Firm theoretical foundation  Explanation and rationale for chosen research method  Topics to be explored  Evaluation criteria for each topic, with rationales  Final deliverable  Final complete report including a critical reflection section  Viva IMAT3451 Options day

13. References and further reading  Berndtsson M, Hansson J, Olsson B & Lundell B (2008) Thesis Projects, a guide for students in computer science and information systems. Springer.  Jesson J, Matheson L & Lacey F (2011) Doing Your Literature Review: traditional and systematic techniques. Sage.  Oates B ( 2006) Researching Information Systems and Computing. Sage.  note this briefly describes research methods; it will not be sufficient on its own IMAT3451 Options day