I assume there will be a practical element we’re I will have to actually make something as well as write it all up?
- there maybe a ractical element but it could be what we cal a library dissertation, one that involves reading around a subject to see what research has been dne on it, then finding an angle to take up yourself. Whether there has to be a practical element, you will need to consult the assessment brief. as an afterthought, research can be "practical" such as conducting interviews, running focus groups, using a questionnaire...
When you’re given the dissertation brief, what exactly does it typically ask you to do? I’ve heard some say you have to choose a question to research, are you given a few questions to choose from or do you have to find a choose your own?
- highy unlikely you will be given a question - it's part of your job to devise one - and you need to do a bit of reading/thinking to come up wth that, it won't appear out of thin air - but again, go to the assessment brief and look at what it asks you to do.
What exactly do you then have to write up and discuss ?
- well this is the nub - you undertake research into something, you ask a question, then you go out there and gather your data, you present your data and then you discuss it within the framework of your initial research and research question. You asked something, what did you find out? but you need to check your assessment brief for the specifics on this - in humanties there is a clear expected structure but computing IT may be different
Are dissertations usually issues at the very beginning of the semester and do you submit them just before the end of the academic year?
- usually they are done within a semester/trimester but again it depends on the module design. so usually you get the brief in week one and submit at the end of the module but it could be different on your module