MSC DISSERTATION GUIDELINES
MSC FULL-TIME PROGRAMMES
2023-2024
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................................. 2
1. MAIN INFORMATION & DEADLINES ............................................................................................................... 3
2. OBJECTIVES & CHARACTERISTICS ................................................................................................................... 3
3. ASSESMENT CRITERIA ..................................................................................................................................... 3
4. THE ROLE OF THE SUPERVISOR....................................................................................................................... 4
5. FORMULATING THE RESEARCH QUESTION .................................................................................................... 4
6. LITERATURE: LIBRARY SOURCES ..................................................................................................................... 5
7. DATA COLLECTION .......................................................................................................................................... 5
8. DATA CONFIDENTIALITY ................................................................................................................................. 5
9. REPORT OUTLINE ............................................................................................................................................ 6
10. REPORT CONTENT & STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................... 6
11. REPORT CITATION & REFERENCING ............................................................................................................ 6
12. REPORT FORMAT ........................................................................................................................................ 7
13. REPORT SUBMISSION & PLAGIARISM ......................................................................................................... 7
14. APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................................... 8
MSC DISSERTATION PROPOSAL OR MSC FINAL DISSERTATION ............................................................................ 9 CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE ................................................................................................................................ 10
DECLARATION OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY .......................................................................................................... 11
1. MAIN INFORMATION & DEADLINES
The MSc Dissertation is an individual, mandatory, end-of-studies report written and it represents 14 ECTS.
The deadline for uploading on Courses is June 2024, the 30th.
Students are authorized to upload their paper on COURSES before this deadline.
Any delay beyond this date leads directly to the second chance session and counts as a resit, marked by (R) on the students’ transcript.
Similarly, failure to satisfy the requirements leads to a re-write of the paper.
Resubmission (resit) Deadline: 2024 September 30th.
The Dissertation includes only written reports (no oral presentations nor defense).
2. OBJECTIVES & CHARACTERISTICS
The objective of the MSc Dissertation is to assess students’ capacity to produce answers to real-life, professional challenges, relying on academic readings and empirical data analysis.
In particular, the assignment is designed to address the following competences:
? Identifying suitable and sustainable approaches to real-life problems.
? Proposing inclusive and/or sustainable recommendations.
? Designing initiatives that achieve sustainability objectives.
? Recommending solutions based on data analysis (primary or secondary data ).
Contrary to purely academic research or standard MSc theses, this work has a strongly professional orientation, addressing a real-world challenge in the domain covered by the programme. Readings and data analyses should result in operational recommendations that can be directly applied in real life. This applied aspect of the Dissertation is more important than theoretical discussion and elaboration.
In this framework, students are expected to build a research question and provide evidence-based responses. The work consists of the following steps:
1. Identify a question within the specialization area of the MSc Programme.
2. Link this question to academic readings; use the NEOMA Library resources.
3. Collect and analyse data (primary or secondary).
4. Provide answers to this question as well alternative answers and evaluating their pertinence.
5. Reach operational conclusions and recommendations for a company, or the related professional field.
3. ASSESMENT CRITERIA
Student performance for the MSc Dissertation is assessed on nine dimensions:
1. Originality of the topic: relevance and originality in relation to the specific area
2. Appropriation of the literature: mastery of the relevant literature and quality of its critical presentation
3. Quality of methodology/information collected: quality and appropriateness of method for data collection (quantitate or qualitative)
4. Quality of analysis and reasoning: the ability to address the issue at hand
5. Ability to synthesize: the degree to which the analysis allows for an in-depth understanding of the recommendations
6. Pertinence of recommendations: recommendations clearly result from the analysis presented
7. Quality of layout: professional level of report writing
8. Ethics: application of citation and referencing standards
9. Quality of thought and knowledge of specialization area: addressing the objectives set out by the dissertation, demonstrating knowledge of the specific area
4. THE ROLE OF THE SUPERVISOR
The dissertation supervisor may be a permanent or associated professor or instructor. They are assigned in the autumn semester by the Head of the Programme in collaboration with the related Academic Department.
Students are enrolled in a 12-hour course, composed of lectures and workshops with their supervisor. Students are assigned to a group of 12 to 15, working in the same broad area, and develop their own individual project.
The course sessions aim to direct students to examine their topic of interest in depth, collecting and synthesizing relevant information. Discussions encourage cross-fertilization and foster critical analysis and thinking.
The mission of the supervisor it to validate the scope and outline of the work. Supervisors guide students in shaping their research question and defining a method of data collection to source the evidence to answer it.
The supervisor marks the Final Dissertation using the grid specified in the Dissertation Assessment, as defined by the Director of MSc Programmes at NEOMA Business School.
5. FORMULATING THE RESEARCH QUESTION
The Dissertation work aims to provide (several) alternative, substantiated answers, solutions and recommendations to the research question.
Students must initially argue the importance and relevance of their research question by considering the following issues:
? Why should this question be asked?
? What are the real-word challenges relating to this issue?
? Is it possible to answer this question? (data availability and accessibility; confidentiality issues) ? Can the possible alternative answers be substantiated?
Good research questions are specific, accessible, and answerable, for example:
? Should brand X be extended to other circuits of distribution?
? Is company X on the road to brand extension?
? Should a product be re-branded in order to re-launch sales?
? How to improve the performance of brands of a large distributor?
? What is the impact of marketing levers on recruitment in sector X?
? Is viral marketing adapted to attracting and winning brand loyalty from adolescents? ? Which development strategies to adopt in the management of an ageing brand?
Bad examples of research questions are broad and vague topics (see below). It is essential to define a research question rather than a descriptive title. Also, the student might be asking the right question but not have access to any reliable data in order to analyse it.
× The private investor faced with the risk of being sued.
× The risks of civil responsibility of the firm and their insurance.
× We are all managers.
× Internationalisation strategies and partnerships.
× Information systems and strategy.
× Developing luxury products in Asia. × Corporate social responsibility.
6. LITERATURE: LIBRARY SOURCES
Students must follow two Self-Training Library Modules and participate in the Q&A Zoom organised by the Library before the beginning of the Dissertation seminar. Self-evaluation quizzes are included in the training.
Students are expected to use two types of literature sources:
? Concepts and theories provided in textbooks, course material and research articles from academic sources (reviews, colloquia, theses, etc.)
? Previous studies or benchmark cases, analyses of the companies and/or sectors that have faced similar problems in the past. Such examples can be found in specialised literature sources: textbooks, published case studies, articles from professional reviews, press articles, analyses and studies by specialised agencies or experts in the field, etc
A Dissertation based on sources dating from years ago is at risk of losing a great deal of relevance. It is highly recommended that the student uses and cites the most up-to-date edition of any work used.
7. DATA COLLECTION
Data collection aims to find the evidence that will support answers to the research question driving the Dissertation.
? The Dissertation may collect and analyse original, primary data, that is, data collected by the student using a scientific method of data collection: survey, in situ observation, model testing, semi-directive interviews, focus group, etc.
? Alternatively, the Dissertation may analyse secondary data, that is, already published evidence. Secondary data sources are diverse: company data, sectoral and/or professional data, panels, sectoral analyses, annual reports and financial statements, OECD and other international agency and NGO publications, articles from professional reviews, studies by specialised firms and experts in the field, government studies, official reports, etc.
Data analysis and synthesis aim at three objectives: (i) propose alternative answer(s) to the research question, (ii) substantiate the objectivity of the data, and (iii) argue for the validity of the real-word recommendations.
Depending on the method of data collection, original data can be quantitative (e.g. percentages, frequencies, etc.) or qualitative (e.g. text from semi-directive interviews or focus groups, etc.). Data analysis therefore may include statistical testing when the data are quantitative.
8. DATA CONFIDENTIALITY
In the case when a Dissertation collects data from a specific company, it is essential to ask for and obtain the company’s authorisation to use these data and/or any internal documents of the company.
The company may request that the Dissertation in question be treated as confidential and not be read or distributed outside the Direction of the NEOMA Business School MSc programmes. In this case, the Director of the MSc Full-Time Programmes, the Head of the MSc Programme and the student sign a confidentiality clause. The confidentiality clause form is added in the Dissertation.
9. REPORT OUTLINE
Both the Dissertation Proposal and the Final Paper should follow the below outline. The Final Dissertation may include the Proposal chapters; however, it will only be evaluated on the chapters that compose the Final Dissertation as defined in this document.
1. Cover page
2. Declaration of Academic Integrity
3. Confidentiality Clause (when applicable)
4. Acknowledgments
5. Table of Contents
6. Abstract (800 words including 5 keywords)
7. Main body of the text
8. References
9. Appendix (when applicable)
10. REPORT CONTENT & STRUCTURE
The structure of the manuscript may vary according to the topic (e.g. chapter titles, order of the chapters etc.). The outline of the Dissertation must be validated by the supervisor before submission. The documents must cover the following content:
1. INTRODUCTION: presenting the inspiration and importance of a real-world, professional challenge 2. LITERATURE REVIEW: linking this problem to academic and other readings from the Library resources.
3. CONCLUSION: reformulating a research question and outlining the method and the procedure to be followed in order to answer it.
4. METHOD: description of the method and procedure used to collect data and evidence. Details of sample, measuring instruments (e.g., questionnaire, interview guide or documents analysed) etc.
5. RESULTS: presenting the analysis of data or other evidence (qualitative or quantitative data)
6. DISCUSSION: providing answers to the initial research question as well alternative answers and evaluating their pertinence. Presenting operational conclusions and recommendations for a company, or the related professional field.
11. REPORT CITATION & REFERENCING
Students must apply the rules set out in the NEOMA Library’s online guide: Avoiding plagiarism, citing its sources and writing a bibliography.
The source (e.g., academic or press article, company report, book, webpage etc.) of all information (e.g., ideas, analyses, events, data etc.) presented in the Dissertation must be cited in the main body of the text using APA style2 7th Edition (i.e., last name of the author(s) and year of publication). All sources cited in the document must be presented in full in the References section at the end of the manuscript.
The source of any figure (e.g., table, diagram, statistical chart, image) taken from another publication must be cited in the main body of the text (i.e., author(s) last name(s), year of publication and page n°, placed under the figure). The full reference is to be listed in the References section.
Direct (verbatim) quotes must not exceed 40 words. They must be signalled by quotation marks and followed by the appropriate citation in parenthesis (i.e., author(s) last name(s), year of publication, page n°).
The References list must contain all the sources (e.g., academic reports, press articles, figures, images, etc.) cited in the manuscript. Sources must be presented in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author. An additional bibliography presented separately in an APPENDIX may list sources that have not been used in the manuscript but are relevant to the topic.
It is highly recommended that students use and cite the most up-to-date edition of any work used.
12. REPORT FORMAT
All documents must be submitted in a .doc format, using MS Word as provided to students in their Office365 account.
The recommended number of pages is min. 30 for the Dissertation (not including Cover page, References and Appendix).
The file name must contain the students’ SURNAME and FIRST name and the title e.g. SURNAME_First name_Final Dissertation.
The format should respect basic APA 7th Edition report-writing requirements. Students are expected to study the writing guides available in the NEOMA Business School Library3
? Font size: min 11 - max 12, depending on font Preferred type font Calibri 11
? Justified paragraphs with 1.5 paragraph spacing and normal margins (2.5cm on all sides)
? Page number on Footers, student name on Headers
? No more than 3 levels of titles for sections and subsections
13. REPORT SUBMISSION & PLAGIARISM
Students must upload an MS Word file of their work on COURSES before each deadline. All submissions are automatically analysed by the anti-plagiarism URKUND software. The software is capable of recognizing text that has been published elsewhere that is used verbatim or with small changes with great accuracy.
2 Students may apply another Citation and Referencing style that they are familiar with (e.g. Harvard or MLA) as long as one and the same style is used it throughout the manuscript.
3 Doing your Master’s Dissertation
The Quick Fix Guide to Academic Writing : How to Avoid Big Mistakes and Small Errors Ed. 1 Essay Writing: a Student’s Guide
Doing Your Dissertation in Business and Management : The Reality of Researching and Writing Ed. 1
URKUND cannot be used to test manuscripts before submission.
Plagiarism is a matter of great concern at NEOMA Business School and may lead to exclusion from the school. Plagiarism consists in intentionally or unintentionally failing to identify the source of ideas and information.
A Declaration of Academic Integrity is available in Appendix and must be included in the Dissertation.
Plagiarism detected in the MSc Dissertation is sanctioned by failing to validate the related ECTS. Papers with a high percentage of plagiarized content must be resubmitted in the resit session.
Students must consult the Internal Regulations and Study Regulations concerning sanctions related to plagiarism which are available on MyNEOMAgora. Similarly, students should read their MSc Programme Regulations available on COURSES.
14. APPENDIX
A. COVER PAGE TEMPLATE
B. CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE
C. DECLARATION OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
MSC DISSERTATION
TITLE OF YOUR DISSERTATION
POSSIBLE SUBTITLE
Your FAMILY NAME / First name
Head of MSc Programme: FAMILY NAME / First name
Dissertation Supervisor: FAMILY NAME / First name
Date:
CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE
All information related to the company Click or tap here to enter text. contained in the Dissertation presented by the student Click or tap here to enter text. currently enrolled in the MSc Click or tap here to enter text. programme, is strictly confidential and will under no circumstances be diffused outside NEOMA Business School.
City Click or tap here to enter text.
Date Click or tap to enter a date.
Anne-Sophie COURTIER Click HERE Click HERE
Associate Director Programme Grande Ecole Student Head of Programme
Director MSc Full-Time Programmes
DECLARATION OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
I, undersigned, M./Ms Click or tap here to enter text. student enrolled in the MSc Click or tap here to enter text. certify that the data and information contained in the Dissertation entitled Click or tap here to enter text. have not been plagiarised.
City Click or tap here to enter text.
Date Click or tap to enter a date.
Signature