ISSN 1753-9439 Paper 6 Vol 2 No 1 pages 139 – 162
The Undergraduate Dissertation: ‘Most likely you go your way and I’ll go mine’
The dissertation is regarded as an integral component of many undergraduate degree programmes. Despite this there is a lack of research into the dissertation. This paper utilises documentary research to examine dissertation provision within one institution. The paper focuses on the extent to which the dissertation is included on different degree programmes; differences in module value/duration; length, structure and format of dissertations; level and nature of support provided to students; and the skills developed on dissertations. study identified significant variations in the provision of the dissertation across the institution. It goes on to examine the potential reasons for this variation and considers whether this diversity represents an issue from a quality perspective. The paper also sets out a research agenda for both ourselves and others to pursue.
Keywords: Dissertation, higher education, teaching and learning, skills.