University College London
BARTLETT SCHOOL OF PLANNING

MSc Town & Country Planning (continuous)

DISSERTATION (REPORT)	ENVSGW01 (40 Credits)
Co-ordinator: Dr Susan Batty	Summer 2002

1.	GENERAL DESCRIPTION
To complete the MSc students are required to prepare and submit a dissertation of 10,000 words maximum (excluding the abstract, illustrations, tables and appendices), on a subject approved by the Programme Director.  This typically builds on their Individual Professional Project and therefore relates to their chosen Specialism.  However, in its content and objectives it is academically distinct (see 8. below).  Students will be allocated a personal supervisor with whom they should regularly meet to guide them in this work.  

The dissertation develops student’s research skills and abilities and allows students to explore - in depth - a particular and usually complex area of the planning remit.  The dissertation represents a study of a specified topic based on primary data and on a review of the literature.  The student therefore demonstrates abilities in research topic design, execution and presentation and a capacity for in-depth critical thinking in their chosen area of study.

2.	EDUCATIONAL AIMS
This is an opportunity for the student to apply the knowledge and skills acquired from study in Town & Country Planning to a detailed investigation of a relevant topic, thereby demonstrating an ability to apply theory to analysis of a topic and command of appropriate methodology.  The Dissertation should demonstrate the ability:
•	to identify a topic for original research
•	to establish and address clear focused and fundamental research questions
•	in this pursuit to critically analyse relevant theory and literature
•	to supplement the review by gathering and analysing relevant primary and secondary research data and information
•	to write clearly and concisely in a manner that logically presents evidence and draws clear and insightful research conclusions.

3.	TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS
Students will be allocated an individual tutor who will work with them throughout the course of their dissertation.  Students are responsible for arranging regular meetings with their tutor, which should be roughly weekly if taken on a full time basis.

Individual tuition	10 hours
Private reading and writing and research	390 hours
Total	400 hours

4.	ASSESSMENT
The Individual Professional Project will be assessed on the degree to which it meets the module aims and the research objectives established by the student.

There will be viva interview in October/November and it is the student's responsibility to present him or herself at the scheduled time.  

Note: take great care to read the statement on plagiarism in the Programme Handbook.  By submitting the Dissertation, students are effectively declaring that the Project is entirely their own work.

5.	PROGRAMME
It is the student’s responsibility in consultation with their tutor to establish a detailed timetable for their work.

Introduction	Spring term 2002
Submission of project title (to Year Tutor)	10.00 Tuesday 5 June 2002
Final Submission (full time continuous)	14.00  Monday 14 October 2002

These deadlines are absolute.  Marks may also be deducted for Dissertations exceeding 10,000 words and for Dissertations that are poorly written or presented.

6.	GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reading will focus on the chosen research topic, but should also draw from across the programme of study and particularly from the related Specialism modules and from Research Methods.

For detailed advice on the execution of the dissertation, the following will be found useful, as it covers preparation of a research task, data gathering and analysis, and report and presentation of results :

Howard K. & Sharp, J. A. (1983) Management of a Student Research Project, London, Gower

Students may also wish to consult the British Standards document for the production and presentation of theses and dissertations.  Copies are in the Llewellyn-Davies Library on the 5th Floor.

British Standards Institution (1990) British Standard Recommendations for the Presentation of Theses and Dissertations (BS4821), London, BSI

7.	DISSERTATION FORMAT
Two copies of the dissertation should be submitted. At this stage the copies can be bound in any suitable form. (When the dissertation has been examined and passed two hard bound copies or one hard and one soft bound copy are to be provided to the Department for library and Departmental use.) The student should retain a third copy for his/her own use, and bring this copy to the viva interview.

The hard and soft bound copies must be bound in blue with lettering in 18 point capitals in gold.
Lettering on the spine is essential and should read:
	MSc Town and Country Planning     2001    YOUR NAME

Lettering on the front is optional but if you wish should also be in 18 point capitals in gold:
	TITLE at the top and then YOUR NAME below.

The dissertation should be typed on good quality A4 paper, on one side of the paper only, in one-and-a-half spaced text with generous margins at head, foot and left- and right-hand margins.  The pages should be numbered consecutively.

The Dissertation will normally contain:
•	a word count
•	an abstract of not more than 300 words
•	an introduction setting out the approach and the questions or issues to be explored or alternatively the hypothesis to be tested
•	a conceptual/theoretical context and thorough literature review of the work already done in the particular field
•	an explanation of research design and methods
•	a presentation and analysis of the research material.
•	a conclusions and if relevant recommendations
•	a bibliography
•	appendices briefly presenting any primary data/information gathered.

The first page of the dissertation should have as its heading the following :

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

FACULTY OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

BARTLETT SCHOOL OF PLANNING

and be followed by the title of the dissertation and the author's name (including qualifications).

At the foot of the page should be a declaration as follows :

Being a dissertation submitted to the faculty of The Built Environment  as part of the requirements for the award of the Diploma in Town and Country Planning at  University College London:

I declare that this dissertation is entirely my own work

									(signature)

									(date)

There should then follow an Acknowledgement page, indicating any intellectual or practical help received in the execution of the dissertation (it is not appropriate to include a dedication).  There should then follow, on a separate page, a list of contents, together with a list of figures, tables, diagrams, illustrations, photographs etc., related to the appropriate pagination.  

Care should be taken to ensure all maps, diagrams etc. are fully titled and numbered, and cross-referenced to the relevant part of the text.  It is inadvisable to overburden the text with an undue weight of illustrative material, which often can more appropriately be located in appendices at the end of the text.

An abstract of not more than 300 words should follow the contents on a separate sheet.  This is an essential requirement for examination purposes.  An abstract is a concise summary of the dissertation not an introduction.

The dissertation should be clearly divided into chapters, with appropriate use of headings and sub-headings.  Attention should be given to the format and presentation of maps, diagrams, tables, illustrations etc.  Maps should be scaled and presented in a consistent format.

The introductory chapter should set out the context, objectives and methodology of the dissertation, and the (substantial) concluding chapter should draw together the main findings in a manner which is more than a straightforward resume.   The opportunity should usually be taken in this final chapter to put forward prescriptive and practical recommendations for change in the designated planning field, as well as recommendations for future research.

The bibliography should include all cited references in the Harvard style a description of which is included in the Programme Handbook.

Note: special care should be taken to proof-read and edit the final typescript before it is bound, to correct typographical and other mistakes. Dissertations that contain an unwarranted number of such presentational errors will not be accepted for examination.

8.	RELATION TO INDIVIDUAL PROFESSIONAL PROJECT
The Individual Professional Project can be used as a stepping stone to the completion of the MSc Dissertation.  Nevertheless, the Dissertation should be an academically distinct piece of work and not simply an extended version of the Individual Professional Project.  It may be appropriate, however, for the Dissertation to build on the Project through exploring in greater detail any research gaps identified by the earlier work.  The Dissertation is intended to be a more focused, academic piece of original research aiming to address clear focused and fundamental research questions.

The Dissertation will also always include the gathering and analysis of primary research data, for example from interviews, questionnaires, surveys, etc..  These methods should be complemented by a focused literature review and if appropriate by the gathering and analysis of secondary or published information/data.  The table below clarifies the distinguishing features of the two modules.

Individual Professional Project and Dissertation: Distinguishing Features

Individual Professional Project
	
Dissertation (Report)	

Purpose	
To allow students to demonstrate the breadth of their knowledge by drawing from and bringing together in one place the range of professional skills and knowledge imparted from across the Diploma
	
To allow students to demonstrate the depth of their academic capabilities and knowledge by focusing on one particular aspect of their studies	

Emphasis
	
Professional practice based	
Academic research based	

Character	
A professional investigation drawing from the wide knowledge base and applying that knowledge to a clearly identified problem
	
An academic investigation based on original research and aiming to address clear, focused and fundamental research questions	

Focus and outputs	
Broad focus, but usually leading to site or case specific recommendations or proposals
	
Focused and specific work leading to academic findings of general significance	

Data	
Critical literature review and analysis secondary data	
Critical literature review and collection and analysis of primary and secondary data

Style	
Professional extended essay and proposals
	
Fully referenced dissertation	

Teaching methods	
Individual guided study complemented by small group tutorials and seminars
	
Individual guided study	

Word length	
8,000 words
	
10,000 words