UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY DISSERTATION. GUIDELINES for SUPERVISORS AND EXAMINERS

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1 UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY DISSERTATION GUIDELINES for SUPERVISORS AND EXAMINERS The dissertation is a fundamental component of the Department of Psychology s undergraduate psychology programme. Dissertations are generally regarded as a critical measure of a student s ability to undertake empirical research in a psychological area of inquiry, and are consequently highly valued by students and academic institutions alike. The undergraduate psychology dissertation at the University of Malta is valued at 12 ECTS, which is significantly more than any other course in the undergraduate psychology programme. The dissertation is one of the most exciting courses for students, and many put in a lot of effort towards it. It is very important for students to develop adequate competencies in carrying out psychological research during the process of undertaking their dissertation. Supervision is critical in developing these competencies. Your role as a psychology dissertation supervisor is a vital one for the department. It is key to the department s ability to provide students with learning that develops their competencies in undertaking psychological research. These guidelines have been developed to assist undergraduate psychology dissertation supervisors in understanding the details and requirements of this crucial role. Aims & Objectives of the Dissertation The aim of the undergraduate psychology dissertation is to provide students with a learning experience in undertaking empirical research in a psychological area of inquiry. The principal objective of the dissertation is to teach students the skills and competencies required to negotiate the entire research process, from the study of literature, to formulating a research proposal and satisfying ethical requirements, to the gathering and analysis of data, and finally to the writing up and submission of a research report. Supervision is critical at all stages of this research process. By the end of the course, students should be able to understand the research process as it applies to the discipline of psychology, and to be able to undertake, or assist in the undertaking, of empirical research in psychology. It is worth noting that the dissertation is a research project, and that it ought to focus on such. Supervision is aimed towards assisting students learn about the process of undertaking research, rather than to deepen their knowledge of their chosen field of study. The objective to deepen knowledge of the field pertains to other taught courses. The focus of the dissertation however, is exclusively that of helping students develop their research competencies. It is also worth noting that, at undergraduate level, the capacity to undertake empirical research in a psychological area of inquiry is the only competency that the undergraduate psychology programme aims to develop, in contrast to other taught courses that aim at developing knowledge and fostering understanding. For this reason, the dissertation aims to provide a learning experience through the close collaboration between tutors and tutees that enables students to acquire relevant skills for undertaking psychological research. It is worth bearing in mind that the dissertation s exclusive focus on research spans the entire project. 1

2 What supervision should entail The relationship between a student and their supervisor is an important part of the student s learning experience. Your students rely on your accumulated expertise in their chosen area of inquiry, from which they deem they can benefit directly. As a supervisor, you should be able to guide your student s learning into your area of specialty, as well as how to conduct research into such area. Supervision procedures vary widely across supervisors students, however, the following general rules apply to all supervision of undergraduate psychology dissertations: As a supervisor, you are expected to be able to provide guidance into certain difficulties that students may come across in their research. It is worth making sure that you are in a position to supervise the student s project, both in terms of expertise and in terms of time. Do bear in mind that the expertise required at this stage is that of undertaking research in the student s chosen specialist area. You are expected to provide your tutees with relevant suggestions in relation to the pragmatics of their work. Students often need help in the how to of psychological research, from filling in proposals, to selecting respondents and gaining access, all the way to writing up chapters for their dissertation. You are expected to provide your tutees with relevant and timely feedback on their written work. You are expected to provide such feedback no later than 14 days after student submission. You are expected to review each chapter submitted by your students once, and to provide students with constructive feedback. You are also expected to review their work a second and final time, either in separate chapters or as a whole at the end of the project. You are expected to be able respond to student queries in a timely manner, in a way agreed between your tutees and yourself (e.g. during a face-to-face meeting or by ). You are expected to respond to student queries no later than 14 days after request. You are expected to be familiar with the undergraduate psychology curriculum and to limit your recommendations to the material covered in this curriculum. You are expected not to direct students outside the range of tuition covered in the curriculum. 2

3 What supervision should not entail Whilst the general rules of supervision apply to all undergraduate psychology dissertations, the pragmatics of supervision are often a function of the relationship between supervisor and student and any ensuing arrangements between them. In any case, as a supervisor you are deemed to be a rich source of learning and education by the student and the department. However, the psychology dissertation entrusts responsibility for learning to students themselves. Students are expected to be active learners and to find ways to sustain their own learning throughout this project. It is worth bearing in mind that students will be assessed at the end of their project and it is their work that is assessed and no one else s. Whilst their final submission is often a function of the quality of supervision, the assessment is undertaken independent of the process of supervision. A student s grade is in no way an assessment of the supervisor or of supervision, and it is imperative that students are provided with the space and freedom to submit their own work, such that the grades they are awarded reflect their individual competencies and not those of their supervisors. For this reason, a dissertation is deemed as the sole responsibility of the student, and it is they who are due any credit associated with the final submission. A dissertation is never considered a joint submission, and should never be a product of a supervisor, neither in whole nor in part. Consequently, the following general rules will also apply to the supervision process: You are not expected to provide students with any resources other than your own supervision. Supervisors expertise is not a substitute for reading and conducting a thorough literature review, although supervisors may well guide students as to what literature is noteworthy in their chosen area. The undertaking of a dissertation remains the student s sole responsibility. Supervisors are expected to not carry out any work themselves (e.g. interviews, data analysis, writing up, etc.) that is part of a student s dissertation. Supervisors are not expected to review student work earlier than 14 days before it is submitted to them. Supervisors are not expected to respond to student queries earlier than 14 days, or during official occupational leave or recess. Supervisor are not expected to review any part of the work or the final dissertation more than two times, or to make any corrections or editing in the dissertation (e.g. page layout, editing, spelling) themselves. Supervisors are not expected to provide tuition. Students are provided taught courses covering the whole spectrum of psychological theory, as well as taught courses into research methods, and qualitative and quantitative inquiry. Supervisors are not expected to carry out any additional teaching in any of these areas, but should limit themselves to directing students for revision or further study of the taught material. 3

4 What supervision should achieve The process of supervision should help students achieve the aims and objectives of the dissertation, as outlined above. Supervision should therefore provide an opportunity for students to learn how to undertake empirical research in a psychological area of inquiry. As with any other course, students will be able to master the skills involved to differing degrees. Students differ both in their abilities as well as in their motivations to learn to undertake such research. Consequently, they will be graded differently according to the merits of their final submission. Supervision is in no way expected to enable every student to become a proficient researcher in all areas of psychology. It is intended, however, to enable students to fulfill their potential in undertaking psychological research as a function of their abilities and motivations. Aside from providing practical advice regarding undertaking fieldwork in Malta in the student s area of inquiry, supervision should enable students to submit a better dissertation and gain a higher grade than were they to do this without supervision. Supervision should, therefore, help students further their learning according to their potential. The way by which supervision is intended to achieve this is through the provision of constructive criticism. It is important for supervisors to review the work submitted by their students in detail, and to be guided by how this work can be improved and what the student needs to do for this work to achieve the next higher grade than the one it presently deserves. Constructive feedback is a twofold critique that outlines: (a) What the student is doing well, and (b) what the student might be able to do better. Constructive feedback shifts the focus of criticism from what the student is doing wrong, to what the student is able to do right. It therefore paces the student s learning in line with their potential, and it is important for supervision to provide such a learning environment to our students. It is not the aim of supervision to make sure that all students get the highest mark. This is neither realistic nor desirable. Supervision should aid the student further their learning in line with their individual learning path. A further scope for supervision is to make sure that the research undertaken by students conforms to good standards of psychological research. This entails two things: (a) that research is psychological in nature. The discipline of psychology is broad in scope, and much of its findings have been absorbed by other disciplines. At undergraduate level however, it is important for students to be able to clearly articulate an identifiable field of psychology that defines the scope of their inquiry (e.g. educational psychology, psychopathology, sports psychology, etc.). Dissertations should not be guided by specialist concerns (e.g. communication studies, peace studies, culture and cognition etc.) in which psychology is called to make a contribution, but one that does not define the field; (b) that research is ethical and does not violate any ethical standards of good practice in psychological research. It is important therefore that undergraduate dissertations be sensitive to the respondents with whom studies are undertaken, and that the good health and rights of respondents be protected at all times. For this reason, and given that at undergraduate level the department does not teach students the skills and competencies of 4

5 psychotherapy, research with vulnerable populations (such as individuals in therapy, or research concerning past abuse) is strongly discouraged. Furthermore, supervision should make sure that the rights of respondents are respected at all times, including informed consent, confidentiality, and right of refusal/withdrawal. Supervision should direct students to conduct ethical research, and to seek ethical clearance in the study of sensitive issues. Procedure The procedure for submitting an undergraduate psychology dissertation involves 5 steps. The first task for students is to identify an area if inquiry that interests them and in which they would like to conduct empirical research. The second step involves their soliciting supervision from a professional who is qualified to supervise their empirical research. Once supervision is secured, they will then proceed to write up a proposal for submission to the department. This might well be the most intensive part of supervision, as students are helped in developing a proposal for research that suits the requirements of the dissertation. The proposal is then reviewed by the Dissertations Committee and students are notified of the outcome. Proposals may be accepted, rejected, or students may be advised to resubmit with changes. As proposals may not be accepted the first time, this step may need to be repeated a number of times until it gains approval. Upon approval, the Dissertations Committee will indicate whether the study also requires ethical clearance. Students will be able to fully embark on their projects once they gather all necessary approvals. They will thereafter work on their own for considerable periods of time and seek supervision to make sure they are making good progress. At this stage, the supervisor reviews drafts of the dissertation and provides feedback until such time that final submission is made. Proposal The proposal is the first step of the procedure for completing and submitting a final dissertation. Proposal forms are provided to students, who need to fill in their details and those of their supervisors, as well as provide a brief description of their study and details of the methodology they intend to adopt. Proposals are reviewed by the Dissertations Committee and may be approved or rejected. Students may also be asked to make changes and resubmit. What is required at this stage is an articulation of a single and clear research question that is located within a larger psychological literature (brief description section), and an outline of a methodology that addresses the research question and that will enable the student to come up with an answer (methodology section). It is important that the research proposed is in line with the requirements of the dissertation that is to demonstrate an ability to undertake empirical research in a psychological area of inquiry. Consequently, a single research question will suffice for the purpose of an undergraduate dissertation. Moreover, data collection need only be sufficient to provide students with an opportunity to acquire findings that address the research question. Students are neither required to make an original contribution to the field, nor to conduct thorough investigations that serve academic or national interests. Students are in no way required to adopt flawless 5

6 methodologies or methods, and insofar as they are able to note and critique the limitations of their own studies in their submitted dissertations they will be deemed to have a demonstrable ability to undertake research and will not be penalized for such limitations. Proposals need to be reviewed by supervisors, who will provide students with relevant feedback. Upon submission, proposals require the signed endorsement of supervisors, which indicates to the Dissertations Committee that the supervisor has reviewed the proposed study and approved the procedure outlined for its execution in the proposal. Proposals are to be submitted to the departmental secretary by the 1 st December Ethics Forms Sensitive studies require ethical clearance from the Faculty Research Ethics Committee (FREC) in the first instance, and thereafter from the University Research Ethics Committee (UREC). It is important for supervisors to ensure that proposals adhere to ethical standards of good practice in psychological research. Should ethical clearance from FREC be required, the Dissertations Committee will indicate such requirement upon returning the proposal to the student. In this event, further details may be obtained from Ms Tiziana Grech secretary of the Faculty Ethics Board, on the following address: tiziana.grech@um.edu.mt. The ethics form and guidelines may be accessed online ( Final Dissertation The final dissertation should be a research report, of not more than words, drawn up by the student detailing their empirical study. Students will be notified of an exact date for submitting their final dissertation in due course. This is generally set around the time of the Lent recess in their final year. References in the dissertations should follow the APA format and primary sources should be cited as much as possible. Excessive use of secondary sources will be penalized. The work submitted should be the sole product of the student s own work. It is important for the work submitted to be the student s own in its entirety, and that there is no supervisor input into the editing or writing up of the dissertation at any stage. Suspected plagiarism is referred to the Faculty Assessment Disciplinary Board and is subject to disciplinary proceedings, as per published University Assessment Regulations ( As a general rule, dissertations are divided into chapters that review the literature in which the study and the research question are located, the methodology that has been adopted by the student to furnish an answer to the research question, a result section that presents the findings, a discussion of the findings in light of the research question and the literature reviewed, and an introductory and concluding section. It is worth bearing in mind that the exclusive focus throughout the dissertation if the research process, rather than knowledge of the area being studies. Please do make sure that you are in a position to supervise the empirical process of the dissertation and supervise students into the intricacies of undertaking psychological research. 6

7 Three spiral bound copies as well as one electronic copy are to be submitted to the Department on the deadline date. One copy will be retained by the Department, another by the supervisor, while the third copy will be returned to the student. The following statement should be included in the dissertation: Difficulties I confirm that this is my own work and that all material attributed to others (whether published or unpublished) has been clearly identified and fully acknowledged and referred to the original sources. I agree that the University has the right to submit my work for originality checks. Difficulties that may arise during the process of supervision should be directed to the chairperson of the Dissertations Committee (gordon.sammut@um.edu.mt). Also, should you notice that the student is not making progress as stipulated, you are kindly requested to bring this to the attention of the Dissertations Committee. However, you are not expected to chase students for the submission of their work. The Department seeks to promote active learning that allows students the freedom to pace their own learning as needed. Whilst this may be at odds with the studying preferences of supervisors, it is the student s prerogative as to how often to seek supervision. In addition, any recommendations made in the form of constructive feedback are held to be just that. It is the student s prerogative whether to adopt a supervisor s suggestions or otherwise and student s final submitted work should be assessed without prejudice in this matter. In the event, however, that the student s independent research undertaking raises ethical concerns for the respondents of the study, the supervisor should bring the matter to the attention of the Dissertations Committee immediately. It is worth also bearing in mind that what is required of supervisors throughout this process is supervision of the research procedure. Students may, at times, face various difficulties in the course of their studies. Should any difficulties arise that are extraneous to the dissertation procedure, please refer these immediately to the chairperson of the Dissertations Committee. Supervisors are not expected to mentor students and involve themselves in their academic affairs beyond the requirements of the dissertation or in their personal affairs. The University provides specialist student support and it is important for students to be directed to such services in the event that any such difficulties arise. Late submissions Dissertations submitted after the deadline will incur penalties as follows: 1-5 days -5 marks; 6-10 days -10 marks; 10 to 15 days -15 marks. No dissertation shall be accepted after 15 days unless there is a reason which the dissertations board considers valid. Late submissions need to be accompanied by a Late Submission Form (which has been provided to students), that outlines the reasons for late submission. These may be endorsed by the supervisor at the supervisor s discretion. 7

8 Extensions In the event that a student experiences exceptional extenuating circumstances during the course of their empirical work that prohibit her/him to submit the dissertation by the deadline set by the department, such student may request an extension of specified time to make up for the loss of time incurred due to said circumstances. In such cases, the student must write a letter addressed to the Dissertations Board, requesting an extension of specified time, and outlining the reasons for which the extension request is deemed justified. The student also needs to include supporting evidence that details the nature of the extenuating circumstances and the reason why no other routine measures than an extension are considered satisfactory in enabling the student to submit the dissertation successfully. Additionally, the student may be requested, at the Dissertations Committee s discretion, to submit a portfolio of work undertaken to date at the time an extension request is processed. Extension requests are evaluated by the dissertations board which then passes on the request along with recommendations to the Faculty Board. Extensions of deadlines for dissertations are processed at faculty level, and the Faculty Board s decision is final. In the event that an extension request is denied and that the student submits the dissertation after the deadline set by the department, late penalties will apply as detailed above. Note that extensions only apply for exceptional extenuating circumstances, and that routine adverse life circumstances (such as computer or transport difficulties) do not qualify for an extension. Supervisors may be contacted by the Dissertations Committee in lieu of student extension requests, to provide their version of events regarding the student s progress. Should they so desire, supervisors may also provide letters in support of student s extension requests, detailing the reasons and motives of their support. Word count Dissertations shall be presented in conformity with APA guidelines. The main text of the dissertation, excluding declaration, acknowledgements, abstract, table of contents, illustrations, references and any appendices shall not exceed 10,000 words in length. 5 marks will be deducted for every 1000 extra words. A dissertation whose length exceeds the given length by 5,000 words will not be accepted and the student will be asked to resubmit within a week. 8

9 ASSESSMENT Dissertations will be graded as per the university s general undergraduate regulations, as follows: Descriptor Mark Range Grade Work of exceptional quality. Exceptional performance showing comprehensive understanding and application of the subject matter. Evidence of extensive additional reading / research / work. 95 A+ Work of excellent quality. Superior performance showing a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Evidence of considerable additional reading / research / work. Work of very good quality. Performance is typified by a very good working knowledge of subject matter. Evidence of a fair amount of reading / research / work. Work of good quality. Above average performance, with a working knowledge of subject matter. Evidence of some reading / research / work. Work of average quality. Considerable but incomplete understanding of the subject matter. Evidence of little reading / research / work. Work of fair quality. Basic understanding of the subject matter. No evidence of additional reading / research / work. Work of rather low quality. Minimal understanding of the subject matter, with no evidence of additional reading / research / work. Marginal Pass. Marginal performance, barely sufficient preparation for subsequent courses in the same area. Unsatisfactory, failing work in a non-compensatable studyunit. Unjustified absence for an assessment, or failure to hand in assigned work in time, or ineligibility to take assessment due to unapproved absence from lectures. Shall be considered as F with 0 marks in the calculation of the average mark. 80% - 94% 75% - 79% 70% - 74% 65% - 69% 55% - 64% 50% - 54% 45% - 49% 0% - 44% A B+ B C+ C D+ D F 9

10 Marking procedure The dissertation shall normally be assessed by an examination board made up of two persons: the supervisor and a reader. A chairperson will also be appointed to the examination board. These shall be nominated by the Dissertations Board, presented to the Faculty Board and appointed by Senate. The supervisor and the reader will examine the dissertation, mark it according to the final submission, and present the grades to the chairperson. In the event that the grades are within the same classification, the chairperson will collate examiners feedback, submit a report about the dissertation and recommend a grade to the Examinations Board that is an average of the two marks submitted. In the event that the marks span different classifications, the chairperson will review the dissertation along with each examiner s report and mark, give the dissertation a mark themselves and pass it on to the B.Psy examinations board. In the event that an examiner objects to the mark proposed by the chairperson of the examination board, they may file an objection by means of a letter, outlining their objection and the reasons that are held to justify it, through the Chairperson of the Dissertations Committee. Such objections are examined by the B. Psy Examinations Board prior to final grading of the dissertation. The Psychology Examinations Board grades dissertations according to the standards of tuition at the Department, considering the chairperson s reports, feedback from external examiners, objections, and any other circumstances brought to its attention by the Dissertations Committee for particular dissertations and its decision is final. Please bear in mind that any grades or marks given a dissertation by any examiner or chairperson are provisional and subject to ratification by the Psychology Examinations Board. The chairperson s examination report will be provided to students after the final grade has been awarded. Further feedback on grades and the reasons that justify them may be sought through consultation with the chairperson of the Dissertations Committee. The dissertation will be deemed to have failed unless the student conforms to the criteria and expectations of the Faculty Research Ethics Board and the University Research Ethics Committee. Failed work must be resubmitted before the end of September of the same academic year. Those dissertations that are referred for failed, unsatisfactory or incomplete work will be marked, if successful, at the lowest pass mark (D 45). 10

11 What makes a good dissertation It is worth reiterating and bearing in mind at all times that the dissertation is a research exercise. As such, it still should identify and review a particular literature and describe a research question that is rooted within that literature. The literature review needs to be reasonably thorough, although in itself it does not constitute a specific focus of the dissertation. It should present the major theories pertaining to the field and recent claims and findings that pertain to the research question. The able use of a literature review, however, is insofar as it leads clearly and in a coherent way to formulating a theoretical research question amenable to empirical inquiry. It is imperative, however, that a good research question is developed by the student that makes good psychological sense. Such is the value of the literature review. The dissertation also needs to outline a methodology that addresses the research question and demonstrates empirical work in the form of findings that answer the research question. In many ways, given the dissertation is a research exercise, this is possibly the section that carries most weight in the dissertation. It is very important that the research question be operationalised in a way that the methodology addresses. For example, it is very important that quantitative methods are adopted to answer quantitative questions (e.g. about effects, causes, relationships between variables, etc.), and similarly that qualitative methods are adopted to answer qualitative questions (e.g. about experiences, subjective meanings, currents of opinion, etc.). As stated above, the methodology need not be exhaustive to provide sufficient data to demonstrate an ability to do research. For example, a quantitative study does not require the full rigor of a randomly generated representative sample, and a qualitative study does not require the full rigor of triangulation. The author however, should note and appreciate limitations, suggest ways for overcoming them, and constrain recommendations to the limitations identified. The author should also be able to make good sense of the findings. It is important for quantitative researchers to be able to make sense of statistical output, and that statistical output makes sense and is not fabricated for purpose (e.g. by the arbitrary rather than theoretical distinction of natural groups for the measurement of differences between means). Similarly, it is important for qualitative researchers to make sense of their findings and study the psychological implications of their findings, rather than simply reporting at length what their respondents stated in an interview (e.g. by conducting an appropriate thematic analysis to answer questions about processes or meaning structures). It is also important that researchers demonstrate an understanding of psychological concepts and limit themselves to the specialist connotations that such terms may have in psychology (e.g. random sampling, effects, factors, causes, relations). It is also important that findings are presented according to established standards and procedures of the discipline (e.g. tables for thematic structures, statistical output and test results for statistical tests). The dissertation should demonstrate an ability to make sense of the findings in view of the literature. It is worth noting that at undergraduate level, an original 11

12 contribution to the field is not required. However, the findings should relate directly to the operational research question, which should in turn relate directly to the conceptual research question. The findings should therefore bear on the literature during discussion. Finally, the study requires an introduction that sets the scene and presents a concise overview of the study to guide the reader, as well as a conclusion that wraps up the study in a coherent way. TRAINING Supervisors are expected to be knowledgeable in the research methods that the dissertations they undertake to supervise call for. Supervisors are expected to keep themselves informed and updated on developments in research methods concerning the psychological sciences, and to supervise students into acquiring the competencies to undertake such research. Supervisors are also expected to attend any research seminars that the department may organize for dissertation supervisors from time to time. FURTHER DETAILS Should any further issues arise that are not detailed in these guidelines, you may seek consultation with the Chairperson of the Dissertations Board by (marilyn.clark@um.edu.mt) or in person, during office hours, in Room 214 at the Department of Psychology. 12