The undergraduate dissertation in UG economics in the UK
A brief survey

This report summarises the findings of a brief email survey of UK Economics departments concerning the role of the dissertation or research project in undergraduate programmes. The survey was carried out in the Spring of 2008, disseminated by the Higher Education Academy Economics Network. Responses were received from 21 of the 92 institutions contacted (23%).

Is there a dissertation/research project element in your undergraduate programme?
18 of the 21 respondents indicated that their programmes do contain a dissertation element in the final year of the undergraduate degree programme. 

One institution has chosen to replace the dissertation with a synoptic module assessed at the end of the final semester, success in this is required if a student is to achieve Honours. This module engages students in the process of research, but in a more managed environment, with closer supervision and with a Personal Development Planning (PDP) element built into it. Better students can apply to take an independent study option in the final year, but this is a shorter piece of work than a dissertation. The reason for the change was to avoid the problems caused by students who left matters until the last minute. It also helps to reduce the extent to which students can plagiarise, as students are more closely supervised within class, and the smaller components of the assessment are less easy to plagiarise than the narrative of a dissertation.

Two institutions had no dissertation element in the programmes. One of these had dropped the dissertation because of the excessive staff time required. The other had set up a working group to consider adding a dissertation element to the programme.

CATS rating
The Credit Accumulation and Transfer System was established to enable students to accumulate credit that in principle could be transferred between institutions. In a typical modular programme, a year’s study would entail 120 CATS. Thus, in an eight-module structure, each module would carry 15 CATS. This question was thus designed to evaluate the relative weighting of the dissertation in the final year of study. Where responses indicated the proportion of the final year attributed to the dissertation, the CATS equivalent has been calculated, with the following pattern emerging:

		No of responses
15 CATS 		 1
20			 3
24		 	 1
30			 7
30 this year 40 next	1
40			 2
Not stated		 3

Is the unit compulsory for all students?
The dissertation was compulsory for all students at 11 responding institutions, and an option in three. For four other institutions, the dissertation was compulsory only for a subset of students. In some cases, this meant that the dissertation was only compulsory for single honours students, but joint honours students were not required to take it. Elsewhere, only students achieving a certain standard (e.g. Upper Second) could take the dissertation component.
How many students per year take the dissertation?
Numbers varied substantially, from ‘about one every other year’ to ‘500+’.

Number of students		Number of responses
<10				1
10-49				5
50-99				5
100-199			4
>200				1
Not specified			2

What is the typical number of students supervised by each member of staff?
Number of supervisees	Number of responses
0-4				8
5-10				5
15				1
Variable			3
Is the supervision load spread evenly across staff members?
Most institutions make an attempt to spread the load evenly although this may be less of an issue where student numbers are relatively low. It was noted that problems sometimes arose where some topics were especially popular with students, which tended to put some supervisors in high demand, leaving others with less supervision to carry out. One institution commented that it was important not to force unwilling supervisors to take on the responsibility, as this would be detrimental to the student experience. Uneven loads were sometimes accommodated through workload management systems. 
How do students select their topic?
In the majority of cases (11 responses), students were given a free choice of topics, tempered by guidance from supervisors or a dissertation coordinator. In six cases a list of topics was provided – sometimes a relatively long list of broad topic areas. Students could choose a topic not on the list provided they could find a supervisor willing to take them on.
How are students prepared for dissertation work?
Seven respondents indicated that this was mainly a matter for the supervisor, but a variety of methods were in place to assist students in preparing for the dissertation. In some cases, a dedicated module(s) was provided to train students in research methods in economics; in other cases, an introductory lecture/talk was provided. In other institutions, a handbook was provided, or a site on a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), with advice, guidance and links to data sets. Sample past dissertations were made available in some institutions, either in hard copy or through a VLE. Sessions providing library skills were run in some institutions. Student-led presentations and student-run groups were also mentioned.
Do you take steps to monitor standards of academic integrity?
11 respondents said that all dissertations were routinely submitted to TurnitinUK for checking, and a further three institutions submit a random sample, or dissertations under suspicion of a breach of academic integrity standards. One institution augmented TurnitinUK by double-marking; one institution relied only on double-marking to vet academic integrity standards. In another case, students have a viva (30-40 minutes), which is effective in identifying plagiarism. In one case, this was seen as purely the supervisor’s responsibility; only one institution reported that no checking was carried out.
Please comment on the main strengths that you perceive for the dissertation
There was a strong consensus amongst respondents about the main strengths of the dissertation. The dissertation is seen to foster independent study, and provide students with the opportunity to study in depth a topic in which they have a strong interest. It is also seen as a beneficial educational experience, and ‘the single most important piece of academic work that students undertake’. The dissertation is seen to offer a synoptic component, allowing students to draw together what they have learnt from across the curriculum. It also serves as preparation for the world of research and to have benefits in terms of employability, as the dissertation can be included in a portfolio of the student’s work. The supervision process gives students contact with staff.
Please comment on the main difficulties faced in relation to the dissertation
There was less of a consensus about the difficulties than about the strengths, although a number of respondents commented that problems arose mainly with the weaker students, who tend to be costly in demands upon staff time, and who are less likely to become engaged by the dissertation process. In general, the demands on staff time were seen to be an issue, together with the difficulty of ensuring that all staff concerned in supervision provide a more-or-less consistent standard of supervision. These problems naturally escalate as numbers increase, and coping mechanisms may be needed to handle large numbers. In some cases, allocating students to supervisors becomes a burden.

It was reported that students face problems in understanding what is meant by plagiarism and in knowing how to go beyond a literature review and actually doing some research. All too often, students were beset by ‘last-minute-ism’, and persuading them to start early and spread the load through time seems to constitute a major challenge. This is especially problematic when students only discover at a late stage that the data they require are not available. Some respondents also noted that in an environment where problem sets form a major part of the assessment pattern, students do not become accomplished at producing continuous prose, so embarking on such a substantial piece of work as a dissertation is a major obstacle – and this is not confined to international students whose first language is not English. 

Three respondents reported no major problems – in one case because only some students take this option.

Peter Smith
University of Southampton
Associate, HEA Economics Network
July 2008