BUU44590 Business Dissertation

(20 ECTS) 

Dissertation Co-ordinator:

Dr. Aisling Curley

Email: aicurley@tcd.ie 
Office Hours: Online, by appointment. Email to make appointment.
Supervisors: To be assigned individually

Module Description:

Students are required to write a dissertation, typically in the range of 12,000 - 15,000 words. The dissertation should accomplish the following: 

• Offer an insightful and critical evaluation of existing literature on a particular subject 
• Evaluate and apply relevant theory in a specific business or management problem or setting 
• Derive appropriate conclusions from the research process 

A dissertation proposal must be submitted to the Coordinator no later than Friday 5:00pm of Michaelmas teaching week 1. 

A supervisor from Trinity Business School will be allocated before the end of Michaelmas Term Teaching Week 4. The role of the supervisor is to discuss the merits of the proposed research ideas; to provide guidance on the research process, on the academic content and on the development of the argument; to indicate likely sources of information. 

The supervisor should expect to meet with you on at least two occasions during each semester. In 2021/22, the meetings will usually be online rather than in person, using Blackboard Collaborate or other agreed platform.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

This module relies entirely on independent work on part of the student, who will work under the supervision of a faculty member.

The module coordinator assigns a supervisor to the individual student, with a focus on matching the supervisor to the topic. Matching is facilitated by a well developed research proposal.

A supervisor from Trinity Business School will be allocated before the end of Michaelmas Teaching Week 4, of Semester 1. The role of the supervisor is to discuss and advise on the merits of the proposed research and guide the student through the research process.

The responsibility to produce content of quality and meet deadlines rests on the student.

The module coordinator is available to clarify issues that arise in the supervision/writing process, such as the appropriateness of a given methodology or paper format.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students should be able to: 

1. Identify and frame a research topic in a business or management related area 
2. Conduct a literature review that identifies and critically evaluates the academic literature appropriate to the topic of investigation 
3. Demonstrate an ability to relate the theories, models and frameworks identified through the research process to a specific business or management setting in the world of practice 
4. Analyse data from primary and/or secondary sources that relates to the business and management situations and problems at hand 
5. Evaluate and link the existing literature on a particular subject in a critical way to the analysed data 
6. Derive conclusions that are applicable to the broader business context. 
7. Give an oral presentation of the written dissertation at viva, and answer questions on the presentation and written thesis.

Assessment:

• Written dissertation (90%)
• Viva (10%)