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The Dissertation Handbook includes the procedures to be followed by course participants relevant to the completion of the dissertation module.

Please refer to the Dissertation Handbook.

1. Preliminary Research Proposal

Please refer to Section 2. Important Dates in the Dissertation Handbook for the submission date of the Preliminary Research Proposal.

The Preliminary Research Proposal must contain information on:

The Proposed Title of your research project
A summary highlighting the proposed research topic and aims (approximately 150 words).
The Methodology (approximately 50 words)
The Research Question/s (approximately 50 words)
The desired Dissertation Supervisor (optional)

Course participants may wish to refer to the Institute for Education’s list of potential areas of research to identify a topic they wish to conduct their research on.

Course participants may also wish to consult the list of Dissertation Supervisors found on the IfE platform under the module Dissertation to identify a potential supervisor for their research project. Each supervisor has a wealth of experience and knowledge in their field to guide course participants towards a research area. Course participants may contact a potential supervisor in an area that interests them to discuss their research title. However, course participants are reminded that the Dissertation Supervisor and Co-Supervisor (if applicable) are subject to approval by the Dissertation Board.

Course participants encountering difficulties in choosing a research area in education that interests them, are advised to get in touch with ife.dissertations@ilearn.edu.mt.

The Preliminary Research Proposal must be submitted through the Preliminary Research Proposal online form.

2. Research Proposal

Following the approval of the Preliminary Research Proposal and the Assignment of a Dissertation Supervisor and Co-Supervisor (if applicable) course participants must finalize their Research Proposal in consultation with their Dissertation Supervisor and Co-Supervisor (if applicable).

Please refer to Section 2. Important Dates in the Dissertation Handbook for the submission date of the Final Research Proposal.

The Final Research Proposal must contain information on:

The Proposed Title of your research project;
A Summary highlighting the proposed research topic, aims and methodology.(approximately 250 words);
The Research Question/s (approximately 100 words);
The Literature Review (approximately 500 words);
The Proposed Methodology (approximately 250 words);
Ethical Considerations (approximately 250 words);
Limitations (approximately 250 words);
The Project Timeline; and
The suggested Bibliography (approximately 10 titles).

The Final Research Proposal must be submitted in soft copy via email to ife.dissertations@ilearn.edu.mt using the Research Proposal form in the Dissertation Handbook. Dissertation Handbook. A soft copy of the Research Proposal form can be found within the Forms page on the Institute’s Website. The Final Research Proposal must be signed by the course participant, the Dissertation Supervisor and the Co-Supervisor (if applicable).

3. Review Of Dissertation Proposals

The Dissertation Board will review the Final Research Proposal granting approval or requesting amendments. Requested amendments must be submitted to the Dissertation Board within the stipulated timeframe.

Please refer to Section 2. Important Dates in the Dissertation Handbook for the timeline of submission and review of the Final Research Proposal.

4. Research Ethics And Writing Your Dissertation

Following approval of the Final Research Proposal and before conducting the research, course participants must submit a Research Ethics Approval Request in consultation with their Dissertation Supervisor and Co-Supervisor (if applicable).

Course participants will only be able to commence fieldwork once they have received approval from the Research Ethics Board and have obtained any research ethics approval or access approval required from third parties.

The Research Ethics Approval Request must be submitted by the 3rd Friday of July in the year prior to the submission of the dissertation.

Please refer to Section 2. Important Dates in the Dissertation Handbook for the timeline of submission and review of the Research Ethics Approval Request.

The Research Ethics Approval Request must be submitted in soft copy via email to ife.ethics@ilearn.edu.mt using the Research Ethics Approval form in the Dissertation Handbook. A soft copy of the Research Ethics Approval form can be found within the Forms page on the Institute’s Website. The Research Ethics Approval Request must be signed by the course participant, the Dissertation Supervisor and the Co-Supervisor (if applicable).

The Research Ethics Approval Request must be submitted with all relevant supporting documents. This includes, but is not limited to:

Information sheets
Consent forms
Research tools (e.g. interview / focus group questions, observation protocol, questionnaire)

5. Feedback From Supervisor

Course participants are entitled to at least six but not exceeding ten meetings with their Dissertation Supervisor. They are also entitled to at least 3 but not exceeding 4 meetings with their Co-Supervisor (if applicable). They are advised to ensure that these meetings are productive by providing their Dissertation Supervisor and the Co-Supervisor (if applicable) with updated work in a timely manner to receive constructive feedback.

Course participants may submit each chapter for review and feedback twice and a final time when the full dissertation draft is ready prior to final submission.

It is the course participant’s responsibility to ensure that their writing satisfies academic quality and rigour. For further information, you may refer to the Institute for Education’s Dissertation Handbook.

6. Submission Of Dissertation

Course participants will have the opportunity to submit drafts of their dissertation on Turnitin from 8 weeks prior to submission date. Course participants may submit an unlimited number of drafts.

Course participants will have the opportunity to submit their final dissertation on Turnitin from 6 weeks prior to the deadline of submission. The submission of the final dissertation through Turnitin will constitute the submission of the dissertation to the Dissertation Committee.

Please refer to Section 2. Important Dates in the Dissertation Handbook for the submission date of the final dissertation.

7. Viva Voce Examinations

Course participants may be subject to present their dissertation in a Viva Voce forming part of the Dissertation assessment.

A sample of dissertations may be subject to a Viva Voce for quality assurance purposes. Within this sample Viva Voce shall be carried out in the following cases:

The dissertation has been marked borderline between grades
The dissertation has been marked exceptionally low / failing
In cases of anomalies in module performance

Please refer to the Dissertation Handbook for further details on the Viva Voce Examination.

8. Minor Amendments

Being asked to complete minor amendments is the most common outcome of a dissertation assessment or the viva voce.

Minor amendments are defined as amendments that are typographical or grammatical in nature; corrections to references and/or diagrams and the re-writing of small sections of text.

If the Assessment board decides that minor amendments are needed, they will indicate these in the dedicated section of the joint report submitted to the Dissertation Board. The Dissertation Board will approve the minor amendments to be implemented together with the approval of the joint report of the Assessment Board. The Dissertation Board will communicate the minor amendments to be implemented to the course participant.

9. Dissertations Requiring Substantial Revisions

The Assessment board may conclude that the dissertation requires substantial revisions, such as further research, repeat completed research and/or re-write or restructure large parts of the dissertation. While this outcome can be disappointing, it is important to remember that undertaking substantial revisions can lead to a successful completion of the dissertation.

The Assessment board will send a report to the course participant outlining the reasons for requiring substantial revisions. Course participants will be given a period of one academic year to resubmit the dissertation for assessment. The final mark for a dissertation requiring substantial revisions is capped at 45%.

Course participants will be automatically moved to the next academic year. This will include the requirement of paying the fees for the next academic year in line with the Tuition fee Policy .

Course participants are reminded that they must complete their programme within a 5-year (Master degree) or 6-year period (Bachelor degree). Kindly refer to the Extension to Duration of Studies Policy.

10. Final Version Of The Dissertation

Following the publication of results and any amendments arising from the assessment, the dissertation is to be submitted in the format as specified in the Dissertation Handbook.

After the Dissertation Board has verified that the hardcopy of the dissertation has been submitted to the course coordinator, the dissertation board will inform the Admissions Board that the course participant has completed the dissertation module. The Admissions Board will then take the necessary action and issue certification of the degree.