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理学硕士课程的高潮在一万字的论文。本论文提供了一个机会，让你更深入你已经研究作为您的硕士课程的一部分，一个主题调查。这项工作将使您能够行使重大判断，并说明如何经济分析有针对性采取的财务决策。
The MSc programme culminates in a 10,000-word dissertation. The dissertation provides an opportunity for you to investigate in greater depth a subject that you have already studied as part of your Masters programme. The work will enable you to exercise critical judgement and illustrate how economic analysis has relevance to financial decision taking.
The dissertation must be clear, well-written and structured. Reference to sources of information and the works of other authors should ensure ease of identification and a list of references should be included. The subject should be dealt with in a competent and scholarly manner. The candidate is expected to display critical discrimination and a sense of proportion in evaluating evidence and the opinions of others. It is not necessary, however, that candidate's work should constitute an original contribution to knowledge or be worthy of publication. Previous dissertations are available for viewing on DUO.
The following guidelines provide students with information about matters relating to the format and procedures for the production of dissertations. More information and specific deadlines will be posted on DUO at the appropriate time.
Learning Outcomes of the Dissertation
The dissertation is expected to:
• Develop, deepen and facilitate the critical understanding of a relevant topic and the most appropriate techniques of analysis.
• Develop and facilitate the skills of research, analysis and scholarly expression in a chosen topic.
• Provide a different, but equally demanding, technique of examination of knowledge of the chosen topic.
Assessment Criteria
Structure of the Work
• the presence of clear and sound objectives
• evidence of the use of an appropriate analytical framework, either theoretical or empirical
• evidence of critical evaluation of the work of other relevant authors, including recent research where appropriate
Execution of the Work
• logical structure and argument
• relevance and depth
Presentation of the Work
• the quality of text, writing and use of tables and figures (including final editing and correction)
• the quality and relevance of the references
The Pass mark for the dissertation is 50 per cent.
Choosing a dissertation title
Students should start thinking about a suitable dissertation area early in the academic year, when working for their Research Methods project. It is desirable that this project should form part of the background work needed to choose a suitable dissertation topic.
A list of broad subject areas will be available on DUO and you will be required to sign up to one. The sign up will start on 9 March 2012 – the Masters Office will email you with further details. You are asked to propose a title fitting within a subject area. Some subject areas may be limited by numbers and you may then need to register for an alternative broad subject.
Once the examination period has ended (1 June 2012) you should make contact with your supervisor for the first meeting. Supervisors may post on their office doors times when they are available for dissertation supervision (please do not expect your supervisor to be available whenever a little doubt crosses your mind: s/he is not a full-time supervisor!) It is your responsibility to arrange for this meeting and not your supervisor’s responsibility. It is also important that you meet your supervisor as soon as possible as s/he will need to see evidence that you have conducted some preliminary investigation (for these look further down) and have identified feasible research question(s). If the evidence is not there the supervisor may wish to see you again, hence allow for that possibility and contact them early on.
Following the above meeting with your supervisor and by Friday 22 June 2012 you will need to register with the Masters Office your final title, agreed by your supervisor, using the Final Title Registration Form. This will be available on DUO under:
Dissertation with Research Methods (11/12)
Final Dissertation Title
We would normally expect you to meet your supervisor on no more than three occasions in total during the dissertation process: the first meeting described above for the title approval and two further meetings. Please keep in mind that your supervisor will not be available for the whole of the summer: s/he may well have commitments outside Durham and may occasionally take a break too!! It is your responsibility to check your supervisor’s availability, and to schedule your work around his/her availability (as it would be difficult for any one supervisor to reschedule his plans according to the plans of a number of different supervisees).
To make the meetings with your supervisor as useful as possible to you, you must go to meetings well prepared. Each dissertation is different, depending on the nature of the work involved, but there are some issues that you should address right from the beginning if you are planning an empirical investigation. This is a guide on the preparation of the three meetings mentioned
Meeting 1: (dates to be confirmed). The purpose of this meeting is to have your Final Title Registration Form approved (it is your responsibility to arrange this meeting, make sure you do not leave it for the last day, as your supervisor may feel that they need to see you again as more may be needed to be done from your side before s/he approves the title). For this meeting, you need to provide your supervisor with the following :
o Ethics flowchart [Appendix 1]. If the Ethics flowchart yields ‘YES’ refer to Appendix 3.
o Two key papers, normally a seminal paper and a very recent one. Print them and have them with you in the meeting to briefly guide supervisors through if need be
o Draft bullet point research question(s) and a draft short time plan for completion of the thesis
o A suggested methodology, normally a paper reference (if the paper you are following is other than the recent one you have identified) and a clear & short methodology description. An example is: I am planning to use the methodology employed by xxxx (2009), with the addition of a test for xxxxx. This is basically an event study and…)
o Information and data requirements: what sources are you going to use? You should check your sources of information and know what kind of information or data you can obtain. There is no point of having a very interesting research question but not enough information to even attempt to answer it. In other words provide evidence that the data for your project is available (Market data, Prices, Accounting data, MV’s and all other data).
o You could make use of your formative Research Methods assignment.
After this meeting you will normally see your supervisor on two further occasions :
Meeting 2: It is your responsibility to arrange for this meeting as well (i.e. date to be arranged between you and the supervisor, it is recommended that this meeting takes place within a week after the final title submission deadline). Your supervisor will not see you unless you come prepared. Prepared means that at least two days before the meeting you email your supervisor with a bullet point memo (maximum 2 pages, preferably less) with :
o The dissertation title and author’s name
o A motivation of the study and key refined research questions. In other words Aim and objectives of the dissertation: exactly what research questions are you seeking to answer? You cannot just research in a general area; you need to have a short list of very narrowly defined questions to investigate.
o A refined methodology including reference(s), together with motivation for selecting the particular methodology (bullet points, up to two lines each)
o The outline of the dissertation. Force yourself to write down a precise outline for your dissertation. Ideally, there should be a beginning, middle and an end. The beginning will typically be a clear exposition of the issues and questions that you are going to address and why, together with a survey of relevant theory and literature (sell your work! make it sound exciting!). The middle should be your original work (either theory or application) and here you should also explain the methodology used and why, specify the information and data used. The end should present the findings of your analysis, discuss whether or not they support the theory and are comparable to other similar studies, how they help you in answering your initial research questions and where can we go from here. A concluding chapter should summarise and draw general conclusions (once again sell your contribution!).
o An updated work plan (1/3 page maximum): Decide, for example, by which dates you will: complete the review of the literature, complete information/data collection, complete the empirical work, write-up the results of your analysis, complete specific chapters, etc.
o A data description: type of data (e.g. Prices, MV’s etc), sample size and period, data frequency etc. Make sure that where appropriate you have already transformed your data in logarithmic return form, you have searched for outliers, volatility clustering etc.
o A motivation for the selection of data (bullet points, up to two lines each)
In this meeting you should also agree with your supervisor the date of the next meeting.
Meeting 3: As mentioned above you will have agreed the date of this meeting with your supervisor during the 2nd meeting, (again it is the two of you that will decide the date and will have to stick with it, it is advisable that this is as early as possible for the reasons mentioned below).
If you have problems between the 2nd and the 3rd meeting, you will be able to see selected PhD students for problems related to data or statistical packages. The Masters Office will circulate a schedule “Rota” for these in due course. Note that this support relates to the empirical part of your work and will be available for a short period and not up to the deadline. The reason for this is that we expect you to have done a good preparation on the literature beforehand (either through your Research Methods Project or if you wish to change topic during the period after the end of your exams), and to start your empirical work straight away, and complete it preferably by the end of July, giving you enough time for feedback, corrections, writing up etc.
Please note that you are required to be in Durham throughout your period of studies, including the dissertation period (DO NOT MAKE ANY TRAVEL PLANS). If you have to be away during the summer from Durham this must be after the final title submission and provided you have attended the required number of dissertation lectures and you have your supervisors agreement, and you must inform the Masters Office. In addition, if the period you need to be away for is more than two weeks, you must discuss this absence and complete the form in Appendix 4, giving reasons for your request, BEFORE you commit yourself to travel.
The supervision process
As mentioned, you are normally expected to meet your supervisor up to three times. If you have a problem relating to data or statistical packages you will be able to see a selected PhD student. The Masters office will prepare a schedule that will be circulated to you when the time is appropriate.
The Role of the Supervisor
Students can reasonably expect their supervisor to:
• Help in defining the project, clarify objectives, and define a synopsis
• Discuss introductory reading and possible sources
• Discuss progress
• Help resolve specific difficulties
• Comment on the work plan and the list of contents
• Advise on questions of content and presentation
It is NOT reasonable to expect supervisors to:
• Spend a large amount of time helping to find sources and data
• Plan the dissertation and select methodology
• Resolve IT problems (including package problems)
• Read through a complete draft and make detailed comments
• Proof-read the dissertation, or any part of it.
Specified PhD students should be approached for data and programming (i.e. statistical) problems and for no other reason, at the specified times and dates.
Students should assume full responsibility for the progress and completion of the dissertation within the stipulated time limit set by the School. The final version of the dissertation is their own work, and it is NOT the responsibility of the supervisor to approve it.
You are reminded that students are required to be in Durham throughout the period of studies, including the dissertation period. If the period you need to be away for is more than two weeks, you must discuss this absence and complete the form in Appendix 4, giving reasons for your request, BEFORE you commit yourself to travel.
Word Length
The dissertation MUST NOT EXCEED 10,000 WORDS. Deviation from this regulation on length will be penalised in marking and staff will only mark up to the word limit. The dissertation must be typed using double spacing. It should contain a title page giving Title, Student Anonymous Code, College, Degree and Date. It should also contain a Contents Page, and all pages should be numbered.
The word count should include all the text (plus endnotes, footnotes, executive summary and abstract), but exclude the contents page, title pages, acknowledgements, diagrams, tables, bibliography, list of references and appendices (all other text if not mentioned explicitly here will count towards that word count, abstract, executive summary etc.). Very occasionally it may be appropriate to present, in an appendix, material which does not properly belong in the main body of the assessment but which some students wish to provide for the sake of completeness. Any appendices will not have a role in the assessment - the examiners are under no obligation to read appendices and they do not form part of the word count.
Most word processing packages will provide word counts.
Style and Format
Badly presented dissertations will be penalised. Students are requested to pay particular attention to the following points concerning the arrangement of the dissertation:
(i) Divide the material into Chapters, which may be divided into a number of sections. Chapter 1 should be a brief introduction to the issues examined in the dissertation and include explicit aims and objectives of the dissertation; the final chapter should provide a summary of findings and general concluding remarks.
(ii) All Tables and Figures should be numbered and placed in the appropriate position in the text, rather than at the end of chapters or dissertation. The numbering should refer to the relevant chapter; for example, Table 3.1 would refer to Table 1 of Chapter 3. Give all Tables and Figures a title and refer to them in the text: remember that data never speak for themselves. Also remember to provide an explanation of the meaning of any symbol or abbreviation used, and specify the source of information.
(iii) Logic, clarity and precision in the written text are important. It is wisest to avoid personal pronouns, gerunds, exclamation marks, clichés, and excessive use of capital letters and note form. Care should be taken with grammar, spelling and punctuation. For guidance on writing style, see:
Fowler, HW and FG Fowler (1984) Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Omega.
Gowers, E (1986) The Complete Plain Words. HMSO, 3rd edition.
Turabian, KL (1987) A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations. Heinemann.
Spell-checks should be run on the work.
References and Footnotes
When referring to publications in the text, you can either give the date of publication in parentheses after the name of the author, or put both the name and date in parentheses separated by a comma. For example: "Miller (1969) showed that ..."; or "Empirical evidence shows that … (Miller, 1969; and Modigliani, 1972)”. Further details of the publications referred to in the text must be given in a separate list of references (see below). You may also give a page number after the date, if appropriate. Always give the precise sources of all quotations. Students should note that the General Regulations of the University now include the following:
"In formal examinations and all assessed work prescribed in degree, diploma and certificate regulations, candidates should take care to acknowledge the work and opinions of others and avoid any appearance of representing them as their own. Unacknowledged quotation or close paraphrasing of other people's writing, amounting to the presentation of other persons' thoughts or writings as one's own, is plagiarism and will be penalised. In extreme cases, plagiarism may be classed as a dishonest practice under Section IV, 2(a) (viii) of the General Regulations and may lead to expulsion. The facilitation of plagiarism through publication may also be classed as a dishonest practice under Section IV, 2(a) (ix) of the General Regulations and may lead to expulsion."
Details that may interrupt the flow of the text can be placed in footnotes, which should be flagged at the appropriate point in the text by a superscript. Number the footnotes http://www.steelbee.net/baogao/c368 consecutively through each chapter. Most word processing packages will provide automatic numbering. It is preferable to use footnotes placed at the bottom of the appropriate page, than endnotes placed at the end of each chapter.
Students should provide a list of references, arranged in alphabetical order, by author at the end of your dissertation. These should be written in the following style.
(i) For articles in Journals:
NAME, A (Year of Publication) Title of Article, Journal, Volume No., page start-end.
Notice that the title immediately follows the year of publication and the name of the Journal is underlined
(ii) For Books or pamphlets:
NAME, A (Year of Publication) Title of Book. Place of publication: publisher.
Notice that in this case the title of the book is underlined.
(iii) For web based sources:
Please seek guidance from your supervisor.
Submission Deadline
The final deadline for submission of your paper and electronic copies is 4pm, 7 September 2012.
Where a candidate is unable to submit the dissertation due to illness or other reasonable cause, permission for an extension to this deadline must be requested in writing as soon as possible but in any case prior to the submission date. Such a request, accompanied by documentary evidence of mitigation, must be made to the Chair of the Board of Examiners. Any request for an extension of the date for submission will be finally considered by the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, who usually takes action on behalf of the Graduate School Committee in the light of the known circumstances and the documentary evidence presented. A dissertation submitted after the due date, without a prior agreement for late submission, is normally awarded a mark of zero.
Please note that due to the strict marking deadlines on the dissertation, an extension on your dissertation may affect your graduation date.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that sufficient time is allowed before the deadline for typing, corrections, printing and binding.
Number of Copies to be Submitted and Accompanying Documents
Two copies of the dissertation must be submitted in a suitably bound form. The work should be submitted to the Masters Office. Students should retain a copy themselves in case an oral examination is required. You are also required to submit an electronic copy of your Dissertation on DUO by the specified deadline. Failure to submit both the electronic copy and the paper copy by 4pm on 7 September 2012 may result in a mark of zero being awarded.
Other Documentation to be Submitted
1. Signed ethics flow chart (signed by your supervisor at the first meeting) – Appendix 1.
2. Research ethics submission form which will be given to you when you submit your dissertation (if your ethics flow chart from meeting 1 resulted in ‘NO’ you tick the first box.
3. At the Graduate School Committee held on 25 January 1996 a resolution was passed with regard to the right of examiners to investigate sources of data. This resolution was endorsed by the Teaching and Learning Committee held on 20 February 1996. It is, therefore, necessary for the School to have access to research material for any piece of assessed work. In the light of this, when submitting assessed work that uses data, each student should submit a 3½ inch disk or CD containing the data files and the estimations that have been used for that assessed work. The files must be accompanied by a full explanation of their content.
You must ensure that you keep all your research data for a minimum of three months after the hand-in for your dissertation. This includes recordings (on tape or in digital format), any notes taken during interviews or observations you have carried out, all returned questionnaires, and all SPSS/Excel data-sets, etc.
APPENDIX 1
Ethics in Research
Process flow chart for students and staff undertaking research
Note: all research can potentially raise ethical issues. The focus here is on research involving human participants, but consideration should also be given to ethical issues that may arise in connection with research that does not involve human participants. In all cases research is governed by the University’s “Ensuring Sound Conduct in Research” which is available at http://dbs-internal.dur.ac.uk/ethics - all researchers should read Sections A, B and F; Principal Investigators should also read Section D. This process flow chart applies to each discrete research project and a separate flow chart should be completed for each such project.
Please complete the details as requested below and highlight either ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ after each box to show your route through the flow chart. “DBS SCE” refers to Durham Business School’s Sub-Committee for Ethics throughout.
Title of Project: ……………………………………………………………………………………
Name of Principal Researcher
or anonymous code of student: ..........................................................................................
Signature of Principal Researcher or Supervisor:
………………………………………………………………………………………………
APPENDIX 2
RESEARCH ETHICS REVIEW CHECKLIST
“DBS SCE” refers to Durham Business School’s Sub-Committee for Ethics throughout.
This checklist should be completed for every research project that involves human participants. It should also be completed for all ESRC funded research, once funding has been obtained. It is used for approval or to identify whether a full application for ethics approval needs to be submitted.
Before completing this form, please refer to the University’s “Ensuring Sound Conduct in Research” available at http://dbs-internal.dur.ac.uk/ethics/default.aspx – all researchers should read Sections A, B and F; Principal Investigators should also read Section D. The researcher and, where the researcher is a student, the student and supervisor are responsible for exercising appropriate professional judgement in this review.
This checklist must be completed before potential participants are approached to take part in any research.
Section I: Project Details
1. Project title: ……………………………………………………………………………………
2. Start date: ……………………………… Expected End date: …………………………..
Section II: Applicant Details
3. Name of researcher (applicant)
or anonymous code of student: …………………………………………………………….
4. Status (please delete those which are not applicable)
Undergraduate Student / Taught Postgraduate Student / Postgraduate Research Student / Staff
5. Email address
(staff only): …………………………………………………………………………………
6. Contact address: ………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. Telephone number: …………………………………………………………………………...
Section III: For Students Only
8. Programme title: …………………………………………………………………………….
9. Mode (delete as appropriate)
Full Time / Part Time / Distance Learning
10. Supervisor’s or module leader’s name: ……………………………………………………..
11. Aims and Objectives: Please state the aims/objectives of the project
12. Methodology: Please describe in brief the methodology of the research project
13. Risk assessment: If the research will put the researcher(s) into a situation where risks to the researcher(s)’ health and safety are greater than those normally incurred in everyday life, please indicate what the risks are and how they will be mitigated. (Please note that this also includes risks to the researcher(s)’ health and safety in cases of international research and in cases where locally employed Research Assistants are deployed).
Research which will take place outside the UK requires specific comment. (Note that research outside the UK is not automatically covered by the University’s insurance. See the DBS intranet site (http://dbs-internal.dur.ac.uk/ethics/default.aspx) for further details).
For student research the supervisor should tick the following, as appropriate. The study should not begin until all appropriate boxes are ticked:
0 The topic merits further research
0 The participant information sheet or leaflet is appropriate (where applicable)
0 The procedures for recruitment and obtaining informed consent are appropriate (where applicable)
Comments from supervisor:
Section IV: Research Checklist
Research that may need to be reviewed by NHS NRES Committee or an external Ethics Committee (if yes, please give brief details as an annex)
YES
NO
1
Will the study involve recruitment of patients or staff through the NHS or the use of NHS data or premises and / or equipment?
2
3
4
Does the study involve participants age 16 or over who are unable to give
informed consent? (e.g. people with learning disabilities: see Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005).
Please note: - All research that falls under the auspices of MCA must be reviewed by NHS NRES.
Research that may need a full review by Durham Business School Sub –Committee for Ethics (DBS SCE)
Does the study involve other vulnerable groups: children, those with cognitive impairment, or those in unequal relationship e.g. your own students? 2
Will the study require the co-operation of a gatekeeper for initial access to the
groups or individuals to be recruited? (e.g. students at school, members of a self-
help group, residents of a Nursing home) 3
5Will it be necessary for participants to take part in the study without their knowledge and consent at the time? (e.g. deception, covert observation of people in non-public places)
6Will the study involve discussion of sensitive topics? (e.g. sexual activity, drug use)
7Are drugs, placebos or other substances (e.g. food substances, vitamins) to be administered to the study participants or will the study involve invasive, intrusive or potentially harmful procedures of any kind?
_________________________________________________________________
Footnotes
Research in the NHS may be classified as “service evaluation” and, if so, does not require NHS research ethics approval. In such cases, prior written confirmation that the research is considered to be service evaluation is required from the appropriate authority, and on receipt of this the “No” box may be ticked and this form used for ethics approval. Advice and assistance is available from [email protected]
2 Vulnerable persons are defined for these purposes as those who are legally incompetent to give informed consent (i.e. those under the age of 16, although it is also good practice to obtain permission from all participants under the age of 18 together with the assent of their parents or guardians), or those with a mental illness or intellectual disability sufficient to prevent them from giving informed consent), or those who are physically incapable of giving informed consent, or in situations where participants may be under some degree of influence (e.g. your own students or those recruited via a gatekeeper - see footnote 3). Where students are perfectly able to choose to be involved and to give informed consent then, so long as there is no impact on assessment, the “No” box may be ticked.
3 This applies only where the recruitment of participants is via a gatekeeper, thus giving rise to particular ethical issues in relation to willing participation and influence on informed consent decisions particularly for vulnerable individuals. It does not relate to situations where contact with individuals is
established via a manager but participants are willing and able to give informed consent. In such cases, the answer to this question should be “No.”
Research that may need a full review by Durham Business School Sub –Committee for Ethics (DBS SCE) (continued)
YES
NO
8
9
10Will tissue samples (including blood) be obtained from participants?
Is pain or more than mild discomfort likely to result from the study?
Could the study induce psychological stress or anxiety or cause harm or negative consequences beyond the risks encountered in normal life?
11Will the study involve prolonged or repetitive testing?
12
13
14 Will the research involve administrative or secure data that requires permission from the appropriate authorities before use?
Does the research involve members of the public in a research capacity (participant
research)?
Will the research involve respondents to the internet or other visual / vocal methodswhere respondents may be identified? 4
15
16Will the research involve the sharing of data or confidential information beyond the initial consent given?
Will financial inducements (other than reasonable expenses and compensation for
time) be offered to participants? 5
Section V: What to do next
If you have answered ‘No’ to all of the questions:
Undergraduate and Postgraduate taught students should discuss this with their supervisor, obtain his or her signature and submit it with their business project or dissertation.
DBA / MPhil / PhD students should discuss this with their supervisor, obtain his or her signature and submit it as part of the transfer / 9 month review process and with their thesis.
Work that is submitted without the appropriate ethics form may be returned un-assessed.
Members of staff should retain a copy for their records, but may submit the form for approval by DBS SCE if they require approval from funding bodies such as ESRC. In such cases, the letter of invitation to participate, Participant Information Sheet, Consent Form and, where appropriate, the access agreement should also be submitted with this form.
Please note that DBS SCE may request sight of any form for monitoring or audit purposes.
If you have answered ‘Yes’ to any of the questions in Section IV, you will need to describe more fully how you plan to deal with the ethical issues raised by your research. This does not mean that you cannot do the research, only that your proposal will need to be approved by the DBS SCE.
(Continued overleaf)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Footnotes
4 This does not include surveys using the internet providing that the respondent is identifiable only at their own discretion.
5 In experiments in economics and psychology in particular it is common to pay participants. Provided such payments are within the normal parameters of the discipline, the answer to this question should be “No.”
_________________________________________________________________________
You will need to submit your plans for addressing the ethical issues raised by your proposal using the ethics approval application form REAF, which should be sent to the committee at [email protected].
(Form REAF can be obtained from the School Intranet site at http://dbs-internal.dur.ac.uk/Pages/Default.aspx or using the student / visitor access:-
http://dbs-internal.dur.ac.uk/ethics
Username: dubs\ethicsvisitors
Password: durham
If you answered ‘yes’ to Questions 1 or 2 in Section IV, you will also have to submit an application to the appropriate external health authority ethics committee, but only after you have received approval from the DBS SCE. In such circumstances complete the appropriate external paperwork and submit this for review by the DBS SCE to [email protected].
Please note that whatever answers you have given above, it is your responsibility to follow the University’s “Ensuring Sound Conduct in Research” and any relevant academic or professional guidelines in the conduct of your study. This includes providing appropriate participant information sheets and consent forms, abiding by the Data Protection Act and ensuring confidentiality in the storage and use of data.
Any significant change in research question, design or conduct over the course of the research project should result in a review of research ethics issues using the “Process Flow Chart for Students and Staff Undertaking Research” and completing a new version of this checklist if necessary.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Declaration
Signed
(staff only, students insert anonymous code): …………………………………………………………….
Date: ………………………………………………
Student / Principal Investigator
Signed: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Date: ………………………………………………
Supervisor or module leader (where appropriate)
APPENDIX 3
Research Ethics Requirements
In all research it is important that ethical issues are considered and appropriate action taken to eliminate or handle appropriately any ethical issues that may arise. You should have been instructed about research ethics issues and the procedures that Durham Business School has put in place to handle these during either the Research Methods or equivalent module or, for undergraduate students, in lectures that were given to prepare you for the dissertation. There should be a Powerpoint file that covers these issues available on the DUO site associated with that module or the preparatory lectures, but a (staff) version of this is also available on the intranet site (see below). It would be advisable to review this material before continuing.
Here, the aim is to cover only the procedural issues that you need to follow in carrying out your dissertation, since the substantive issues concerning research ethics should already have been covered.
Forms
All forms, together with the various items of guidance on how to take account of ethical issues in research, can be accessed as follows:
http://dbs-internal.dur.ac.uk/ethics
Username: dubs\ethicsvisitors
Password: durham
On this web-site there is a section entitled “Forms”, but the two key forms are also available on the DUO site for this module together with the University Policy “Ensuring Sound Conduct in Research”. You must complete the “Process Flow Chart for Staff and Students Undertaking Research”. This should be completed once the methods to be used have been decided and should be discussed with your supervisor and then signed by your supervisor. Sign-off by your supervisor can be via an e-mail.
Where the answer to all questions on this form is “No” that completes the process (though see below for submission of forms). There is no need to comment further on research ethics issues in the body of the dissertation itself.
Where any of the answers to the questions on the “Process Flow Chart” is “Yes” you will need to complete a further form. This is most likely because you are doing research involving human participants (e.g. by using questionnaires, interviews, focus groups or observation), but could be because other significant ethical issues arise. In either case you will need to complete the “Research Ethics Review Checklist” also available from the web-site or DUO site. Again, this should be completed only once the methods to be used have been decided. Where the answer to all questions in Section IV of this form is “No” you should again discuss this with your supervisor and both of you should ‘sign’ the form (students sign by entering their anonymous number; supervisors sign or an e-mail is again appropriate). You should then include a discussion of the ethical issues that arose during the research both in the design stage that the forms summarise, but also including any ethical issues that arose during the data collection or writing up stages, as a section within the Research Methods chapter of your dissertation.
Where any of the answers to the questions on the “Research Ethics Review Checklist” is “Yes”, or you are planning to undertake research in the National Health Service (NHS), then you will need to complete a further form. This would be either the NHS forms (see the web-site for links to these) or the internal “Research Ethics Application Form” (REAF). Please be aware that in both cases these are lengthy forms and require a formal approval process. In the case of the NHS this may take a considerable period of time and make it difficult if not impossible to complete the dissertation within the timescales required. Hence, you may wish to consider adapting your project or deciding on an alternative. In the case of the “Research Ethics Application Form” the internal approval procedures from the Durham Business School Sub-Committee for Ethics are much quicker and it should be possible to complete these within the dissertation timescales. Again, however, you may wish to consider revising the proposed research methods to avoid the need to complete the “Research Ethics Application Form”. You would then need to revise the “Research Ethics Review Checklist” to reflect the revised research methods and obtain your supervisor’s signature.
If you have any questions about these procedures you should talk first to your supervisor about them. If you and your supervisor are still unsure about a particular issue, further advice can be obtained from the general research ethics e-mail address [email protected].
Submission
The form or forms or, in the case of approval from the Durham Business School Sub-Committee for Ethics, the approval from the Sub-Committee, must be submitted separately from the dissertation using the “Research Ethics Submission” form. On this form you will be required to sign the following declaration:
Research ethics issues have been considered and handled appropriately within the Durham Business School guidelines and procedures.
The deadline for submission of the forms is the same as the deadline for submission of the dissertation.
Note
Durham Business School reserves the right not to mark or to withhold the mark of any dissertation which is submitted without the accompanying research ethics forms.
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