MSc Engineering and Education
Module Guide 2024-25 for
EDPS0249 Engineering and Education Report
Overview and Aim of the Module
All master’s-level students are required to submit a dissertation or a report at the end of their final year. Typically, dissertations and reports are long and in-depth pieces of work that offer a critical exploration of a subject matter relevant to a specific educational programme. To successfully complete these assignments students are required to conduct extensive and largely independent research involving the collection of primary data and/or comprehensive literature reviews. They should demonstrate abilities in research topic design, execution and presentation and a capacity for in-depth critical thinking in their chosen area of study.
For the MSc Engineering and Education students , in particular, dissertations and reports represent an opportunity to develop their research skills and investigate a topic of interested in the field of engineering education. These pieces of academic writing are the culmination of the MSc Engineering and Education Programme, the students' chance to synthesise and use the knowledge gained during the year and demonstrate their expertise in this field with the view to launching the next stage of their career.
Although dissertations and reports involve largely student-driven activities, a full package of support is offered to the MSc Engineering and Education students, including lectures and tutorials. In this regard, the EDPS0224 (Dissertation) and EDPS0249 (Report) modules aim to guide the students through all the steps needed to successfully complete a large-scale individual research project at master's level and help them develop all the necessary skills and capabilities required to prepare this substantial piece of work. EDPS0224 and EDPS0249 are coupled together in a single 'module' that runs across Terms 1, 2 and 3 with the view to assisting students during the different stages of the dissertation (EDPS0224) or report (EDPS0249) process. Furthermore, individual tailored support to each student is also provided through an allocated dissertation or report supervisor.
This present guide provides an outline of the EDPS0249 (Report) module in terms of intended learning outcomes, content and structure, nature of assessments and indicative reading. It also offers guidance regarding the expected report timeline and details the support available to students. Further information can be found on the module's Moodle page.
2 What is a Report?
Dissertations and reports are an opportunity for a critical examination of a topic of direct interest to Engineering and Education students.
The number of credits assigned to the module, the word length of the assignment and the scope of the study are the major differences between dissertations and reports. As illustrated in Table 1, the Report module is worth 30 credits of the 180 credit MSc degree. The main output of this module is a written report with a word limit of 10,000 words, plus 10% (i.e., 11,000 words maximum), excluding references and appendices. Compared with a dissertation, a report represents a more focused and narrowly-defined study of a topic relevant to engineering education. It is anticipated that this investigation can be based either on:
A. A comprehensive analysis of the existing literature on a specific topic relevant to engineering education; or
B. A comprehensive literature review supplemented with a limited amount of primary data collection.
The choice between type A and type B reports will be dictated by the specific students’ inclinations and needs, and the research topic under investigation, and will be taken by the students after discussion with their supervisors.
Table 1 - Main differences between dissertations and reports.
Students need to be aware that type A and type B reports have different features and expectations. In particular, type A reports (i.e., reports based on comprehensive literature reviews) are expected to offer:
● An identification of a research topic of particular interest (which must be relevant to engineering education) based on the student's reflections on the wide range of themes covered in the other taught modules, and discussions with their supervisor and other members of the MSc Engineering and Education team.
● A thorough examination of what is already known about a problem or issue through a comprehensive literature review, which must make use of teaching materials and literature sources provided as part of the MSc Engineering and Education Programme.
● A critical discussion of the literature review findings where strengths and weaknesses of previous studies are exposed, different authors' views are compared and perhaps combined with the view to developing new theoretical frames and generating new ways for understanding a particular problem, and research gaps and under- researched areas are highlighted so as to pave the way for further primary research studies.
By comparison, key features and expectations of type B reports (i.e., reports based on the analysis of primary data and literature sources) include:
● An identification of a research topic of particular interest (which must be relevant to engineering education) based on the student's reflections on the wide range of themes covered in the other taught modules , and discussions with the supervisor and other members of the MSc Engineering and Education team.
● An examination of what is already known about a problem or issue through a rather synthetic and focused literature review, which must make use of teaching materials and literature sources provided as part of the MSc Engineering and Education Programme.
● The recognition of a very specific and a narrowly-defined research gap that warrants further investigation through primary research studies.
● The collection of (a limited amount of) primary data about that problem or issue through fieldwork and data collection methods such as interviews and surveys with the view to generating new knowledge about the chosen topic.
● Appropriate consideration of research ethics and data protection issues arising from research and primary data collection activities.
● The analysis and discussion of the research findings as well as the exploration of some new (or partially new) ideas about a problem or issue that can potentially have some important implications for policy, practice and/or future research.
3 Learning Outcomes
Reports are student-driven exercises that should draw from and allow students to reflect on the range of subject-matters covered in the taught modules. The purpose of undertaking a report is to enable the students to apply the knowledge and skills acquired from their broader programme to an investigation of a narrowly defined topic, thereby demonstrating a capability to apply theory to the analysis of a topic and demonstrating the capacity to design and execute an appropriate programme of research. More specifically, with the report students should convey the ability to:
1. Identify a topic for original research.
2. Establish and address clearly focused and fundamental research questions.
3. Critically analyse relevant theory and literature.
4. Supplement the literature review by gathering and analysing relevant primary research data and information, thus making an original contribution to the field (only for type B reports).
5. Conduct research independently and ina reflective manner, with suitable consideration of ethical issues and data protection requirements (especially for type B reports).
6. Write clearly and concisely in a manner that logically presents research findings and evidence, and draws clear research conclusions and insight.
4 Teaching and Learning Methods
The overall package of support provided for dissertations and reports include a series of lectures and practical workshops, as well as some tutorials with the supervisors.
EDPS0224 and EDPS0249 run together across the three terms of the academic year to guide students progressively through the different stages of the dissertation and report process. EDPS0224 and EDPS0249 comprise 11 sessions, which examine the key elements of a research project (i.e., research topic and aim, literature review, research methodology and ethics, data collection and analysis methods, presentation of research findings). The sessions will be delivered in class and all lecture notes and teaching material will be uploaded to the module's Moodle page.
In addition to these compulsory and optional sessions throughout Terms 1, 2 and 3, students will be also allocated a supervisor in Term 2. Ideally, this allocation will be based on the preliminary research topic chosen by the students and the research interests of the supervisors. Supervisors can offer up to four hours of supervision for reports, usually over the second and third term of the year. This may combine group and individual tutorials, which can take place in person or online, and email support.
Individual reading and independent research are an essential and substantial component of the Report module. The total workload to complete the report (including lectures, workshops and tutorials, student-driven reading and research; data collection and analysis, and report writing and editing) is about 300 hours (1 Credit = 10 notional learning hours).
5 Module Structure
As illustrated in Table 2, EDPS0224 and EDPS0249 will start at the end of the first term with an introductory session that explains the features and the general expectations for the modules. The sessions in Term 2 will help students identify a research topic, develop a working research question and design an appropriate research plan. The final session in Term 3 will focus on how to structure the report.
Table 2 - Structure of the EDPS0224 and EDPS0249 modules.
6 Supervision and Support
Students are allocated a supervisor who, especially during Terms 2 and 3, has the main responsibility for co-ordinating formal support, monitoring progress and project supervision. In particular, the role of the tutor is to:
● Agree an appropriate research topic and question with the student.
● Assist the student in developing a feasible and robust research proposal.
● Help students with all the other remaining stages of the report process, including the development of a robust literature review and theoretical frame, the design of a suitable research methodology that includes appropriate data collection and analysis methods, and the selection of a logical structure for the report to present the research findings.
● Offer advice and guidance to ensure compliance by the student with the IOE’s ethical clearance procedures, data protection requirements, and the UCL Code of Conduct for Research, and check and sign off the student’s research ethics application before the student conducts any primary data collection (only for type B reports); and
● Comment on a draft submission of the first part of the report (only if it is submitted by the deadline – see Table 3).
Students and supervisors have some discretion and freedom of action in how to organise the supervision plans. As already highlighted, report supervision can take form of group and individual tutorials, which can be held online or in person , and email support. However, the guiding principle is that all students should receive a maximum of four hours of supervision to ensure fairness across the whole student cohort.
Students should bear in mind that supervisors may be unavailable for some periods of the summer due to research or annual leave. In particular, supervisors are not expected to meet students after the end of July, but they should respond to brief, direct queries via email (unless on annual leave). Supervisors will advise students of their availability early in the supervision process so that appropriate plans can be made around this.
Students must also note that the supervisors are not expected to:
● Provide students with a suitable research topic.
● Direct the research.
● Proofread students’ work.
● Ensure that a report is of sufficient quality to meet the requirement for a pass mark.
All the above points are explicit responsibilities of the students. In addition, students are also expected to:
● Attend all the compulsory sessions of the Report module as well as all the scheduled meetings with their supervisors, at a minimum.
● Prepare a detailed work plan and schedule to work efficiently and make sure to meet all the key deadlines as listed in Table 3 below.
● Keep the supervisor informed of their progress and any difficulties they may experience during the research process.
● Prepare sufficiently ahead of each meeting with the supervisor to make full use of the time available to them.
● Inform their supervisor, Marco Dean, the Module Leader and Abel Nyamapfene, the Programme Leader, of any serious issues that may be affecting their ability to complete the report as well as of any intentions to leave London and/or return to their home country before the submission of the final report.
7 Key Deliverables
The grading for EDPS0249 is based entirely on the final report, which must be submitted electronically via Moodle by 13.00 on Monday 1st September 2025.
Every report will be marked independently by two members of the MSc Engineering and Education team. Both markers will provide detailed feedback comments and a provisional grade. A final numeric grade will then be agreed between the two markers. Some reports may also be subject to External Examiners' scrutiny. The grade related criteria are provided in Appendix 1 and are available on Moodle.
However, as highlighted in the previous section and reported in the Table 3, there are other deadlines and deliverables (subject to formative assessment by staff) that need students' attention. All these deliverables are discussed in the following sections:
Table 3: Key Deliverables and Deadlines.
Ethics Application
Research ethics are the moral principles that govern how researchers should carry out their work. It is important to adhere to ethical principles in order to protect the dignity, rights and welfare of research participants. In line with UCL IOE policy and best practice in research, all dissertations and reports involving human beings, where students are planning to collect primary data through, for instance, interviews and surveys, have to undergo an ethics review. As part of this review students have to complete an ethics application form (available on Moodle), which has then to be approved by their supervisors and another member of the MSc Engineering and Education team.
Interviewees and research participants must also be given participants information sheets and/or consent forms, which need also to be prepared by students and emailed to their supervisors as part of the ethics review process. Examples of information and consent sheets will be placed on the module,s Moodle page. Students MUST not start on any primary research without the research ethics application and forms being approved.
During the ethics review process, students may be requested to amend and resubmit the form before receiving ethical clearance. Once approval is granted students can proceed with their research and start the primary data collection process.
It must be noted that type A reports (i.e., reports based only on comprehensive literature reviews and that do not involve primary data collection) will also require the completion and approval of a brief ethics form.
Students must also alert their supervisors to any changes in methodology that might have ethical implications at any later stage in the study. These will need to be discussed and approved.
Please also visit the UCL IOE website for further information on Ethics review procedures for IOE students https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/research/research-ethics/ethics- applications-ioe-students
Draft of Report
Students are encouraged to send a draft of the first part of their reports for feedback to their supervisors. Students who would like to take the opportunity to receive formative feedback must email their drafts to their tutors by Tuesday 15th July 2025.
Students can submit all the chapters and additional parts (e.g., proposed table of contents, drafts of the questionnaires) that they have written by the deadline.
Please note that supervisors have the right not to provide comments on a draft submitted after the deadline.
Final Reports
The main output of this module is a written report of 10,000 words, plus 10% (i.e., 11,000 words maximum). The word limit encompasses all text contained within the work, including titles, headings, captions, tables, and footnotes. In this regard, please note that tables or boxes containing text should be inserted in the document in a text-based format, not as a picture or as a ‘text box,. The final bibliography, the title and cover page, the table of contents and any lists of figures and tables, acknowledgements pages and appendices are not included in the word count. The word count, calculated through MS Word and using the criteria above, must clearly be stated on the cover page of the report.
The report must be submitted electronically via Moodle by 13.00 on Monday 1st September 2025. Reports should be submitted anonymously. Students should not include their names on any part of their reports. They should only include their student numbers on the cover page.
As explained above, all reports will be marked independently by two members of the MSc Engineering and Education team. The final mark is always a reconciliation between the two suggested marks, subject to discussion between the markers. Appendix 1 includes the grading criteria. The usual UCL penalties for late submission will apply. Marks may also be deducted for reports that exceed the word limit.
As already highlighted in Section 2, type A and type B reports have different features and expectations. Typically, type A reports (i.e., reports based on comprehensive literature reviews) should contain:
● A cover page (available on Moodle) with all sections completed in-full (including the total word count) as the first page of the report.
● A contents page and, if required, also a list of figures and tables.
● An abstract of not more than 200 words (included in the word count).
● A comprehensive introductory chapter providing some background information on the topic of the research, setting out the questions or issues to be explored and signposting the reader through each chapter of the report.
● A chapter or a long section illustrating the approach to the literature review that has been adopted by the student (e.g., key words used and data sources searched,
selection criteria for articles, thematic analysis, etc.).
● A thorough analysis and a critical discussion of the existing literature on the particular research topic.
● Conclusions and relevant recommendations.
● A reference list.
● Appendices that may be used to include supplementary materials include material which examiners are not required to read in order to examine the thesis, but to which they may refer if they wish.
By contrast, type B reports (i.e., reports based on the analysis of primary data and literature sources) are generally expected to include:
● A cover page (available on Moodle) with all sections completed in-full (including the total word count) as the first page of the report.
● A contents page and, if required, also a list of figures and tables.
● An abstract of not more than 250 words (included in the word count).
● An introductory chapter introducing the topic of the research , setting out the questions or issues to be explored and signposting the reader through each chapter of the report.
● A chapter including a thorough literature review of the work already done in that particular field.
● A chapter containing an explanation of research design and methods.
● A presentation, analysis and discussion of the empirical research conducted by the student.
● Conclusions and relevant recommendations.
● A reference list.
● Appendices, which may be used to contain useful supplementary materials such as copies of questionnaire surveys or schedule of interview questions , and templates (unfilled) of the consent forms and information participant sheets prepared by the student as part of the ethics application. If interviews have been conducted and transcribed, there is no need to include full interview transcriptions in the appendices (indeed this may pose risks around anonymity of interviewees).
The report should be clearly divided into chapters, with appropriate use of headings and sub-headings to break up text into meaningful sections and sub-sections. The pages should be numbered in one continuous sequence from the title page to the last page.
The main text should be in size 12 font with minimum 1½ line spacing and presented on single sides of A4, with sufficient margin so that the work is still easy to read.
Attention should be given to the format and presentation of maps, diagrams, tables, illustrations, which must be fully titled and numbered, and cross-referenced to the relevant part of the text.
Referencing and citation should be done in the text and the reference list should include all cited works. Referencing guidelines will be provided and discussed in class.
Students may find it helpful to look at master’s reports (and dissertations) held in the UCL IOE Library to get an idea of acceptable style and format. A few examples of completed reports from the MSc will be made available on the module’s Moodle page.
It will be necessary for students to indicate whether or not they wish their report to be made available to other scholars and students for reference and for copying in connection with their studies.