INMR78: MSc Dissertation (Applied AI for Business)

Module code: INMR78

Module provider: Henley Business School

Credits: 40

Level: 7

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2 / Summer

Module convenor: Dr Stephen Gulliver , email: s.r.gulliver@henley.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: No placement specified

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Module learning outcomes

Module content

Taught lectures will address the following questions: What is research? How do you conduct a literature review? What common paradigms, methods, and techniques are available to support research? How do you plan a research project, and how do you manage project execution? What ethical issues must be considered / completed as part of a research project? How do you write a research proposal? and How do you write a dissertation?

The student’s specific dissertation project commences with their development of a two-page ‘outline proposal’, which is mandatory for all MSc students. Based on this proposal a relevant subject specific supervisor will be assigned to the student project. The topic is normally proposed by the student, yet developed in consultation with a supervisor is allowed. Students, before the end of Semester 2, are given the opportunity to submit a literature review (formative assessment), and a research design document (formative assessment), which are used by the supervisor to provide formative feedback to aid student focus and progression. By the end of the module students are required to complete a written Dissertation document (summative assessment), which is submitted in early September (see module roadmap for specific dates).

The research work must be conducted individually, and in an ethical and professional manner.

The main text of the dissertation chapters should not exceed either i) 10,000 words (font size 11 or 12, 1.5 line spacing), and/ or ii) 40 pages, however this main text can be supported by ancillary material. University policy on overlength work may applied if excessive.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Initial content is learnt through lectures and online material. Once the two-page ‘outline proposal’ has been produced by the student (formative submission), a relevant supervisor can be allocated. Once feedback is provided by the supervisor, the student should develop a full literature review (formative submission) and research design (formative submission). See module roadmap for specific dates. Submission of the dissertation (summative assessment) is in early September (see module roadmap for specific dates).

The student is expected to have regular meetings with the supervisor, however communication should be initiated by the individual student.

Study hours

At least 24 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students are encouraged to complete three formative submissions 1) an Outline Proposal, 2) a Literature Review, and 3) a Research Design.

The ‘outline proposal’ aids the student in formulation of the initial research ideas in the form of a 2-page short description; thus making clear the aims and objectives of the project. Through this exercise the student is expected to develop a broad understanding of the problem that they are intending to tackle, justify their idea by relating it to existing related work, and identify issues such as expected research contributions, research method, expected deliverables, expected resources, and key references. The outline proposal, which is mandatory for all MSc students, should be brief but clear, allowing the scope of the preliminary literature review can be identified, the research design to be developed, and a relevant supervisor allocated. If an ‘outline proposal’ is not submitted by the MSc student, then supervisor allocation will be completed independent of student topic or preference.

The preliminary literature review should include background and literature related to the intended research topic, i.e., allowing the research problem and research questions to be identified and justified in context of gaps in the research literature.

A research design document should formulate how the research will be conducted, i.e. how the student intends to answer the research question in a systematic, logical coherent, and ordered manner. The research design will normally take the form of a quantitative study, a qualitative study, or a mixed method study. It may, however, also take the form of a design science artefact if the project focuses on the development of a tool or a system. In all these cases, the student should develop a clear set of aims and objectives, justification of research methods, and awareness of the ethical and risk issues involved in completing the research project. The student will also need to develop an understanding concerning of value of research in the form of contributions and feasibility in terms of resources required.

It is the responsibility of the student to initiate communication with the supervisor and arrange relevant supervision meetings. During supervision meetings the students should receive feedback from their project supervisors concerning submissions and progress. 

Reassessment

Additional costs