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SUPERVISOR WORKSHOP. MANCOSA 2010. WELCOME. FUNCTIONS OF SUPERVISION. The function of supervision is: Administrative – the promotion of and maintenance of good standards of work Educational – the educational development of both students and supervisor
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SUPERVISOR WORKSHOP MANCOSA 2010
FUNCTIONS OF SUPERVISION The function of supervision is: • Administrative – the promotion of and maintenance of good standards of work • Educational – the educational development of both students and supervisor • Supportive – the maintenance of harmonious academic working relationship
IMPORTANCE OF SUPERVISION • To channel the students interest in keeping with the aim and objectives of the study • To advise students on updates in literature • To monitor and control progress as per the requirements of a Masters dissertation • To assist the student in successfully completing the dissertation in the allocated time frame
SUPERVISION PROCESS The modus operandi for a successful dissertation is as follows: • Study the proposal • Contact the student via telephone, email or set up a meeting. • Set up parameters for submission of work, namely: 3.1 Begin with chapter 2 to get the feel for the dissertation 3.2 Submit chapter 2 3.3 While chapter 2 is being assessed, work on chapter 1 3.4 Review marked chapters, correct and submit for approval 3.5 After the 3rd draft has been approved submit first draft of chapter 1 3.6 Continue this process until all 5/6 chapters are completed. 4. It is important to clarify that each chapter is generally submitted about 2 or 3 times.
COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK • The supervisor should arrange, at the student’s initiative, a first supervision meeting to set out parameters for the research[ e.g. scheduled meetings, modus operandi of submitting chapters etc]. • Request regular written work from the student and provide prompt feedback. • Provide an update on the students progress when requested by Mancosa.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN REVIEWING THE PROPOSAL • The supervisor must become familiar with the student’s proposal. • The supervisor must advise the student on the draft proposal and make changes deemed necessary as the study progresses. • If there are any changes made to the proposal, the supervisor must ensure the aim, objectives, literature review and research instrument are aligned.
STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION The dissertation will include the following: • Cover page • Title page • Declaration • Acknowledgements • Abstract • Table of Contents • Chapter 1: Introduction • Chapter 2: Literature Review • Chapter 3: Research Methodology • Chapter 4: Statement of Results and Analysis • Chapter 5: Interpretation and Discussion of Findings • Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations • Bibliography • Appendices
CHAPTER 1Introduction • Study the aim and ensure that it matches the title of the study. • Look at the objectives, research questions and the instrument used. Ensure that they match in headings, sub headings and contents. Different words may be used but the idea must be present. • The objectives, research questions, literature review and instrument MUST be aligned. • Check referencing and problem statement. Ensure that references are relevant to the research topic under study. • Ensure that background information has been included; specifying the problem background with reference to the organization under study. • Ensure that each chapter has an introduction and a conclusion.
CHAPTER 2Literature Review • The theory in this chapter is based largely on the objectives of the study and must provide theory to justify the collected data. • All theory must be applied at strategic points to the organization under investigation. • The student must establish a clear link to the MBA coursework using the selected theory. • This chapter must be a critical, analytical attempt. It must not be descriptive. Ensure that the selected theory is criticized and justified for its suitability. • Ensure that the theoretical framework is applicable to the topic under investigation. • Ensure that findings of other similar studies have been presented. • Ensure that each chapter has an introduction and a conclusion.
CHAPTER 3Research Methodology • The chapter must be written in the past tense as the study would already have been completed by the time of submission. • Theory must be provided to justify the chosen methodology. For example: Focus on justifying the chosen sampling method and the relevance of the sampling method. The chosen step must be accounted for viz. What is sampling [Theory], list types of sampling, focus on chosen technique e.g. cluster sampling. Define cluster sampling and explain WHY you chose it and why it is most appropriate for your study. • Study the instrument. Ensure that it is aligned to the objectives/research questions. • Ensure that there are no double barrelled questions that can impact on the findings. • Ensure that a pilot study has been conducted, the data analyzed and subjected to a reliability test. Explain how the reliability test was run.
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CONTINUED • All the explanations must be presented scientifically. • Reliability and validity techniques used must be examined. Explain how reliability and validity was established (N.B. It is different for qualitative and quantitative research). Refrain from only stating or describing what reliability and validity are. • Note that this chapter is NOT a literature review of research methodology. Ensure that the student has NOT included an abundance of theory. The student must balance the theoretical discussion showing application to the study. • Ensure that each chapter has an introduction and a conclusion.
CHAPTER 4STATEMENT OF RESULTS & ANALYSIS • All data collected must be presented in table format, pie chart or graphs in the order they appear in the questionnaire. • They must be numbered accordingly. • All tables and information must be on the same page. Tables CANNOT be continued on the next page. • All data must be presented in percentages. • Sentences must begin in words not in numbers e.g. 40% this is wrong. It must read as …A total of 40%…. Or Forty percent… • Check to see if a hypothesis was cited in chapter 1. If yes, it must be discussed in this chapter. If not, do not worry. Also ensure that the specific hypothesis testing procedures have been adhered to.
CHAPTER 4 CONTINUED • If students use interviews [qualitative study] there will be no tables and percentages. It will be purely descriptive. Thematic analysis must be conducted. • Correct explanations of statistic procedure adopted may be presented in this chapter or as an annexure. • All explanations referring to tables and/or graphs must make reference to the relevant table and/or graph. • Ensure that each chapter has an introduction and a conclusion. • It is possible to combine chapters 4 & 5. This is left to the discretion of the student/supervisor.
CHAPTER 5INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS • Each table must be discussed in detail and justified by the theory from chapter 2. References must be cited when using theory from chapter 2. • Findings must be explained with reference to theory and the organization under study. • New theory and literature can be brought in at this stage. • There is no right and wrong answer here. The emphasis is on sound interpretation of the findings, justified by theory. • If a multiple approach is used, then there is need for triangulation. Ensure that students do not merely present findings. Each finding MUST be interpreted in the light of the research questions and discussed in the context of the research problem. • Ensure that each chapter has an introduction and a conclusion.
CHAPTER 6CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS • Students to present findings first and then present the conclusions reached from the findings. • Finally, the recommendations offered must flow from the findings of the study. • IT IS MOST IMPORTANT THAT THE FINDINGS ARE IN LINE WITH THE OBJECTIVES AND ANSWERS THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS. • This will ensure that the objectives have been achieved. • Recommendations must be presented and discussed. • Provide an action plan to achieve objectives. • Ensure that each chapter has an introduction and a conclusion.
GENERAL 1. Spot check the dissertation for: • Style • Presentation • Basic structure • Numbering • Alignment • Paragraphs • Spacing • Word count 2. Follow the 6 chapter guidelines and ensure that all sections are covered. 3. As this is a 15000 word dissertation, ensure that students do not go beyond the wordcount. A 5% tolerance level is allowed.
GENERAL CONTINUED 4. The harvard referencing style must be used. 5. Check referencing by ensuring that references that appear in-text appear in the bibliography. 6. Ensure that the student is aware of plagiarism and how best to avoid it. 7. The student should get a statistician to assist him/her with descriptive and inferential statistics.
WRITING AND PRESENTATION STYLE • Proper sentence construction, grammar, punctuation, lay versus scientific, argument coherency • Encourage the student to seek the assistance of a professional editor. • All abbreviations have to be introduced before they are used in the document • Quotations should preferably be in italics and do not form an extensive part of the review. • Quotations must be contextualised within the study. • Presentation style: 12 point font, times new roman or arial at 1.5 line spacing, 1.25 inches margin, and justify all margins.
SUPERVISOR’S REPORT AND SUBMISSION OF DRAFT • Once the student has completed the dissertation and satisfied Mancosa’s requirements, he/she has to submit one spiral bound copy to the research department. • This dissertation must be accompanied by the supervisor evaluation report. • The dissertation will not be moderated if the supervisor does not submit the report. • All collected data must be submitted.
CORRECTION AND RESUBMISSION • After the moderation process, the dissertation is returned to the student for correction. • The supervisor must assist the student with the correction and ensure that all changes have been implemented. • The student must resubmit the dissertation to Mancosa for re-assessment.
FINAL SUBMISSION • If the student has implemented all the changes recommended by the moderator, then he/she is requested to send a final hard bound. • The supervisor must ensure that the dissertation is 100% correct before submission.
STUDENT’S ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES • It is imperative that the student contacts the supervisor as soon as possible to plan the study programme. • He must not submit multiple chapters at one time. There are several disadvantages to it. • Students are urged to submit one chapter at a time, so that all recommendations made by the supervisor may be implemented at each stage. This would obviate the problem of making major changes to the multiple chapters or the entire dissertation.