DISSERTATION IN MARKETING - 2025/6

Module Overview

The dissertation is compulsory to all the three MSc Marketing programmes; International Marketing (IM), Strategic Management (SM) and Digital Marketing (DM). This module provides an opportunity for a sustained period of independent study and research. It allows students to concentrate on marketing and retail topics that are of particular interest to them. It also gives an opportunity for students to work independently with individual supervisors.
The dissertation follows the standard academic pattern of identifying a topic arising from a gap in the literature and developing a methodology to explore this area in depth.
The module will be run by the Marketing Department, and as such the students will have the opportunity to work in a smaller group and will receive better feedback and personal attention, thus enhancing student satisfaction and increasing progress in learning and understanding.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

ALTRICHTER Birgit (SBS)

Number of Credits: 60

ECTS Credits: 30

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Crosses academic years

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Students will identify a marketing topic area of interest that they wish to develop further through their dissertation and discuss wth their supervisors. This must be relevant to their programme of study (IM, SM or DM). Students will be assigned a supervisor who will guide their work. The module is based on self-directed study and research support provided by supervisors.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Not applicable

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate  through the presentation of a written dissertation in addition to a proposal, that they have performed independent research and scholarship in an area of Marketing.

The student will carry out independent research that demonstrates an advanced level of knowledge and understanding in the general area of Marketing and Retail management. The content of the written dissertation will demonstrate that the student has contributed to the design and management of a defined programmed of research, embedded within the marketing areas. The written dissertation will also demonstrate well-developed written, numerical and/or analytical skills associated with a post-graduate level understand of marketing..  All submitted dissertations are also checked for plagiarism using an electronic plagiarism detection system.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of

•  Project Report 

Formative assessment and feedback:

Formative assessment 

•  Project Proposal Students will receive individual feedback during the module from their supervisor.

 Feedback:  Students are entitled to 7 hours of contact time with their supervisor scheduled as required to suit both parties. Contact time includes face-to-face meetings, telephone conversations, e-mails and reading drafts with respect to the project. Students are entitled to have feedback on their draft from their supervisor before the final submission provided, they organize a suitable time for this in advance. Supervisors are permitted to comment on one draft only. Any additional supervision must be strictly negotiated by supervisor and student, but if there is no justifiable reason for this, heavy dependency could undermine the achievement of independent working and therefore also the final mark will reflect this. The supervisor can be expected to offer advice and guidance at all stages of completing the dissertation and it is normally expected that supervisors will read through a single complete draft of the dissertation before submission only if not submitted at last minute. The supervisor is not, however, responsible for the content of the dissertation nor can they be expected to correct typographical and grammatical errors. If English presents a challenge for writing up the work, it is important discussions are held early with the supervisor early in the year so that appropriate help can be found. The assessment criteria are available online in SurreyLearn.

Module aims

• Undertake an original piece of marketing research
• Demonstrate an ability to select, define and focus upon a marketing issue at an appropriate level
• Develop, analyse and apply relevant and sound methodologies
• Develop managerial recommendations and logical conclusions and be aware of the limitations of research work
• The students will also be expected to demonstrate an awareness of any ethical dilemmas that arise in their research

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The teaching and learning strategy is designed to develop the students' ability to conduct and report independent research. It builds on the Marketing Research module, allowing students to gain experience of applying some of the principles and methods learned. Support sessions are offered over the course of two semesters to provide support in terms of the various elements of a dissertation such as: - literature review, access and ethics, methodology, data analysis and academic writing.

At the beginning of the first semester, a module fair will be organised by the program directors to orientate students regarding the dissertation process in general. In the teaching and learning strategy is the development of a research proposal to help students crystallise their ideas.

The teaching and learning methods include regular support by the supervisor regarding the various aspects of the dissertation. Students will discuss initial ideas with their supervisor, and then write a short research proposal outlining the problem, research objectives and their proposed research strategy, including approaches, and, as relevant, arrangements for fieldwork, development of instruments and sample. This is a formative assessment and allows a fruitful discussion between student and supervisor about the proposed study. The proposal should be agreed with the supervisor before proceeding with the dissertation. Subsequent meetings may include discussing details of methodological approaches, how to organise fieldwork and structuring and writing the dissertation.

Students must obtain ethical approval prior to data collection. The supervisor will also comment and provide feedback on one complete draft of the students work.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM542

Other information

Global and Cultural Awareness: Students can choose different project themes some might refer to globalization aspects or sustainability in a marketing context.

Digital Capabilities: Students might want to dive deep into digital marketing tools and explore these as part of their project.

Employability: Most cooperation's welcome students who have completed an independent project, thus this module adds to their employability portfolio.

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.