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Assessing projects and dissertations

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1. Introduction

Many disciplines retain a final-year project or dissertation component which is an essential part of the course, not only in the importance it receives in the allocation of marks, but as a highly valuable learning experience appreciated by employers. (Graduates are frequently asked about their final year project in detail at job interviews.) The project or dissertation may comprise a quarter or a third of the final year of study (30 or 40 credits).

Projects/Dissertations are defined here as being individual and sustained pieces of work which require critical and in-depth study. They are usually supervised by a member of academic staff, who is themselves working in a similar research field. The time allocated to supervision varies enormously from school to school. In science and engineering subjects supervisors tend to have limited numbers of students and supervise them frequently and closely. In arts and social sciences supervisory meetings are limited.

2. Choosing topics

The ways in which student, supervisor and project topic are matched together varies greatly. Here are two examples of diverse approaches:

Supervisors produce a short list of project topics that they would be willing to supervise and students are encouraged to speak with supervisors prior to making any decisions. Students are asked to submit their first, second and third choices of project to the school office and allocations are posted the following day.
Students meet with their tutor to discuss their initial dissertation/project interests. In some cases students have a clear idea of what they would like to study - whilst in other cases ideas are vague and broadly drawn. It is the tutor's role to help the student hone the focus and narrow their investigation to a specific area or ‘research question'. It is only after this stage that the choice of supervisor will be considered.

Tutors aim to assist their students in identifying a topic that is interesting and motivating whilst being realistic and resourced. For example, in the laboratory-based sciences, project students are likely to work in their supervisor's laboratory for some of their study time and resources may include space as well as equipment and funding for chemical and other consumables. In the arts and social sciences, project students may need access to texts and primary sources for their studies and are likely to do much of their work at home or in the library.

One aspect of the expansion in higher education that the UK has seen in the last 10 years is the challenge to provide final-year project students with the intensive supervision that was commonplace in many science and engineering disciplines. Specifying limited allocations of supervision time is now more common practice. This also means that there is greater equity between students and greater parity in supervisory practice.

3. Agreeing progress timetables

It is very helpful for both student and supervisor to have an agreed initial plan and timetable for project work. By setting a series of milestone targets the students can be supported in developing their time-management skills and supervisors can better anticipate when their guidance and input might be needed most and so plan their own workload. Timescales and work plans would need to be reviewed regularly as it is likely that plans will change and there will be a need to respond to new findings and discoveries as progress is made. However, having the plan will help the process of monitoring progress and identifying areas of concern quickly.

4. Hints, tips and suggestions

For longer, larger-scale, projects and dissertations it can also be very useful to establish and agree supervisory arrangements in a supervisory contract. This will help clarify expectations, roles and responsibilities and ideally avoid the common pitfalls of misunderstanding.

A checklist for drawing up a supervisory contract

How often will you meet and for how long?
Where and when will you meet and who organises these meetings?
How will meetings be recorded and by whom?
How will the student contact the supervisor between supervisory meetings?
What aspects of the work will the supervisor advise on?
How much work is expected of the student (ie are they expected to achieve specific targets or work for so many hours)?
What and how will the supervisor provide feedback on (eg how many drafts will s/he comment on)?

Have a clear project brief - the balance of responsibility and initial ownership of the project brief varies from one discipline to another. Whoever is writing the brief it should include:

The purpose of the project.
The goals or outcomes.
The timescale and a work schedule.
What the student is intending to produce and when.
What resources, space and equipment will be available to the student.
The assessment requirements of the project and who will assess it.

It can also be a very good idea to introduce a degree of professionalism into the way that supervisory meetings are conducted. For example, it is good practice to exchange an agenda for the meeting and to keep brief minutes or notes recording the important issues and decisions of the meeting.

5. Further information

Supervising Projects - some helpful notes are provided in the Teaching and Learning, ‘First words' series produced by Oxford Brookes University.

Fry, H., Ketteridge, S., and Marshall, S., 2004. A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Routledge, second edition. See chapter 8: Supervising projects and dissertations.

An example of a supervision agreement is provided at Atherton J S., 2005. 'Teaching and Learning: Supervising Dissertations.'

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