Research and Development Committee at EIMT European Institute of Management and Technology Assessment

Assessment

Introduction

In the introduction, set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance, and tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the text.

Establish your research topic:

• Introduce your broad topic in an engaging way. 
• Provide relevant background information to contextualize your work.

Narrow down the focus: 

• Go into more detail about the specific area you’ll be focusing on. 
• Define the scope of the research.

Discuss existing research: 

• Briefly discuss the current state of knowledge on your topic. 
• Show your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate.

Research questions and objectives: 

• State the questions you set out to answer in your dissertation. 
• Describe your concrete objectives in conducting the research.

Overview: 

• Give an overview of the structure of the rest of the dissertation. 
• Use the present tense, e.g. “Chapter 4 discusses…”

Questions

1.  What will you be investigating (in plain language, big picture-level)? 
2. Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original? 
3. What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter). 
4. What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will you cover and what won’t you cover? 
5. How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt? 
6. How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

Brief Summary of Assessment Requirements

The assessment requires the student to construct an effective Introduction chapter for a dissertation. The introduction must:

1. Establish the research topic
   Present the broad topic in an engaging manner.
   Provide necessary background and context.

2. Narrow down and define the focus
   Clearly state the specific area being investigated.
   Define the scope and boundaries of the study.

3. Discuss existing research briefly
   Outline the current state of knowledge.
   Highlight the gap or relevance to ongoing academic or industry debates.

4. Present research questions and objectives
   State what the research aims to answer.
   Explain the goals guiding the investigation.

5. Provide an overview of the structure
   Briefly summarise what each chapter will cover using present tense.

6. Address key guiding questions
   What is being investigated?
   Why is it important or original?
   What are the research aims/questions?
   What is the scope (what it includes/excludes)?
   What methodology will be adopted?
   How will the dissertation be structured?

How the Academic Mentor Guided the Student (Step-by-Step Process)

1. Understanding the Purpose of the Introduction

The mentor first explained the role of the introduction in a dissertation:
It must set the foundation of the research.
It should guide the reader logically toward the research problem.
This clarity helped the student understand why each subsection is important.

2. Identifying the Broad Topic

The mentor asked the student to describe their topic in simple terms.
Then, together they refined this into an engaging opening paragraph that introduces:
The general area of study
The background context
Why the topic matters in the real world or academic domain

3. Narrowing the Topic to a Specific Research Focus

Once the broad topic was established, the mentor guided the student to:
Identify the specific problem or sub-area within the topic
Define what exactly the research would focus on
Clarify the boundaries (what the study will and will not cover)

This helped the student avoid an overly broad introduction.

4. Positioning the Study Within Existing Research

The mentor then helped the student summarise key points from existing literature.
Guidance included:
How to identify relevant studies
How to summarise gaps or debates
How to link the dissertation to these gaps to show originality

5. Formulating Research Questions and Objectives

The mentor broke this into two tasks:
(a) Research Questions What the student wants to find out
(b) Research Objectives The specific steps the research will follow to answer the questions

The student learned to write clear, concise, and measurable objectives.

6. Defining the Scope of the Study

The mentor helped the student outline:

• What is included
• What is excluded
• Why these choices were made (justification)
• This prevented scope creep and made the study manageable.

7. Designing the Research Approach / Methodology Summary

Although methodology is detailed in the next chapter, the introduction needs a brief mention.
The mentor guided the student to specify:
The approach (qualitative, quantitative, mixed)
Data collection method
How the data will help answer the research questions

8. Creating the Chapter Overview

Finally, the mentor helped the student write a short overview of the dissertation structure using the present tense.
Example: “Chapter 4 discusses the findings…This provides a roadmap for readers.

Final Outcome

By following this structured mentoring process:

• The student produced a clear, well-structured, and academically sound Introduction chapter.
• All assessment requirements topic establishment, focus narrowing, research gap identification, research questions, scope, methods, and chapter overview were fully addressed.
• The introduction flowed logically and aligned with dissertation standards expected in academic research.

Learning Objectives Achieved

Through the mentor-guided process, the student successfully learned to:

1. Understand the purpose and components of a dissertation introduction
2. Differentiate between broad context and specific research focus
3. Identify and summarise relevant academic literature
4. Formulate precise research questions and objectives
5. Define study scope clearly and justify it
6. Outline the methodological approach concisely
7. Structure a dissertation introduction using academic conventions