Workshop 2: Research Report structure write-ups for BSc in Employment and Economic studies.

Learning outcome.

At the end of this workshop, students will be able to

• Successfully write a highly structured research report for their undergraduate degree.

Synopsis

This workshop address how to structure your dissertation report

Dissertation Structure

The conventional layout for most social science dissertation reports follows the structure below. I will explain what you need to do in each section/chapter drawing on our proposal in workshop 1.

• Dissertation Title
• Abstract
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature Review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Findings
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion

Dissertation Title: An exploration of the impact of remote working on staff productivity:

Abstract:

Your abstract must not exceed more than 300 words. The abstract is a summary of your dissertation. When one reads your abstract, one must be able to get a good sense of your findings, methodology, and limitation of your dissertation. Here is an example using our proposal in workshop1:

Model Abstract

This research explored the impact of remote working on staff development; in doing so, two major questions were used to guide the study. First, a qualitative approach was utilised to interview 25 line managers across many industries. Second, Hertzberg’s two-factor theory and Hawthorns’ effect theory were used as a theoretical framework. Findings show that remote working has both negative and positive impacts on staff productivity. Where organisations want to deploy their staff to work from home, it is recommended that training on mental health and cybersecurity issues must be provided.

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter should consist of the following

• Introduction to Remote working and its broader context.
• Research Aims and Objectives
• Research questions.
• Research timeframe
• Research ethics forms

Chapter 2: Literature Review

In this chapter, you summarise the key literature you have reviewed. The best way to address the literature review is to organise them under themes from your review. For example, in this research, you use themes such as remote working and productivity, staff satisfaction and remote working, the culture of trust and remote working, cybersecurity and remote working etc.

Chapter 3: Methodology

In this chapter, you will write about the methodology you used to guide your project and why did you choose that methodology over another? This chapter also accounts for the choice of theoretical frameworks and their utilities.

Chapter 4: Findings

In this chapter, you present your findings based on the topic and your questions. These are typically framed around your questions.

Findings are often the answers to your research questions and sub-questions. Note- all responses must come from your literature review in chapter 2

Chapter 5: Discussion

In this chapter, you discuss your findings in chapter 4. What do they mean for your research?. Do your findings provide adequate answers to your questions?. Are some results better than others? Where do your findings sit in the broader literature- what did they contribute to the existing knowledge?

Chapter 6: Conclusion

In this chapter, you write a comprehensive conclusion about your research and its findings. This chapter will also talk about challenges you have faced while undertaking the project and how you overcame them.