NX9625: The dissertation is an individual student-led, ethical investigation into an applied business problem or issue: Undergraduate Dissertation Guidelines Dissertation, NBS, Singapore

The dissertation is an individual student-led, ethical investigation into an applied business problem or issue. The dissertation includes a thorough and critical review of literature relevant to the research area under consideration. This is followed by the implementation of a carefully designed data collection method that adheres to the University Ethics Regulations which provides data that is analyzed using suitable data analysis methods. The findings from this analysis are used to answer the original research questions. The concept of ‘synthesis’ is central to the dissertation process – this is the ability to combine theoretical issues with findings from the analysis of practical data collection. Key points are:

1. To produce an individual academic piece of work, of a target length of 10,000 words.
2. The dissertation needs to be business or management related. For those students on specialist courses, it has to be subject-related.
3. The dissertation needs to have an academic focus/objective which allows you to review academic literature as well as trade and professional body publications i.e. not just standard textbooks.
4. You will need to conduct research. This will take different forms depending on the objectives you have set, the findings from your literature review, and the resources available to you.  For example, you may conduct a quantitative survey or qualitative research, or you make take someone else’s data and re-analyze the data and derive findings from this analysis.  You will be rewarded for how well you interpret your data.
5. You will need to compare and contrast your findings with your literature review.
6. Draw conclusions from your literature review, any other secondary data used, and your research findings. These conclusions should relate back to the objectives set at the start of the dissertation.