| Unit name | Dissertation in Healthcare Management |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0089 |
| Credit points | 60 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Professor. Gianluca Veronesi |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
The taught element of the programme. |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The aim of the project and associated dissertation is for students to pursue a major project in an area of personal interest relevant to healthcare management at the level of Masters. It will give students the chance to work autonomously on a project of their choice and to both demonstrate, and develop communication, problem solving, research and project management understanding, knowledge and skills.
Every student will be allocated a dissertation supervisor, whose guidance they will use to undertake the project and complete the dissertation write-up (10,000-15,000 words long). A dissertation demands self-motivation and good organisational skills. Students are expected to show initiative in choosing their topic of study and in executing the project. The unit will further develop skills in developing an agenda of enquiry, formulating appropriate questions, conducting a literature review, planning a programme of enquiry, analysing data, and communicating the findings by a fixed deadline.
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. frame a clear, central project question;
2. identify and critically review literature relevant to the topic and central question;
3. understand and apply an appropriate enquiry methodology to investigate the chosen topic;
4. analyse data and/or evidence, where appropriate, and draw apposite conclusions and recommendations that answer the central question;
5. Integrate discussion of the findings and conclusions into wider academic debates drawn from the literature review and formulate practice relevant recommendations;
6. produce a dissertation in a clear, well-written and grammatically-correct style, that conforms to the conventions of academic presentation.
There will be five hours of supervision with a dissertation supervisor. Contact will be also provided electronically via email. Supervisor responsibilities include guidance on aspects of the dissertation preparation (including a specific discussion on research ethics approval, where appropriate), checking and helping with formal arguments and theoretical models, data collection, analysis and conclusions as applicable.
Formative assessment (ILO 1-4)
Supervisors will read and provide feedback on one full draft of the dissertation (either complete or by chapter). Provided the draft is submitted within guidelines, the supervisor will respond with feedback within 14 days. Feedback should provide detail on the requirements for improvement.
Summative assessment (ILO1-6)
A dissertation of 10,000 to 15,000 words is to be produced. The dissertation will assess students’ ability to frame an enquiry question in the context of relevant literature, apply a suitable strategy for either of qualitative, quantitative or library-based study; analyse resulting data and draw relevant conclusions and integrate these into wider academic debates drawn from the literature review. The dissertation will also assess students’ ability to produce a substantial piece of work independently and by a deadline, which also conforms to the conventions of academic presentation.
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Students are expected to read extensively around the chosen topic for the research project and associated dissertation to inform their knowledge and develop critical analysis skills. Students are encouraged to draw from a range of sources including academic texts and papers, practice-oriented and policy-driven reports, and online sources.
Core Texts for this Unit are:
White, B. and Rayner, S. (2015). Dissertation Skills: For Business and Management Students, 2nd edition. ISBN-10: 1408081776; ISBN-13: 978-1408081778.
Thematic reading will vary according to your chosen research topic (please seek advice from your dissertation supervisor about key reading for the dissertation).
Recommended Reading:
1. Bryman, A., and Bell, E. (2015). Business Research Methods, 4th edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN-10: 0199668647; ISBN-13: 978-0199668649.
2. Brown, B.R. (2006). Doing Your Dissertation in Business and Management: The Reality of Researching and Writing. SAGE. ISBN: 9781412903516; Online ISBN: 9781849209069. **SAGE Study Skills.
