Introduction
A dissertation is an important piece of writing in the academic life of a scholar which demonstrates the ability to carry out individual and independent research on a certain topic. Apart from being an importance part of academic development of a learner, it is also very important in career development.
A successful completion of a dissertation gives a good evaluation of various competencies in an individual. Since it is not an easy task, an employee who is involved in writing a dissertation develops specialized skills and knowledge which is considered valuable by employers.
Qualities of a Good Dissertation
A good dissertation takes into account a number of issues and exhibits good balance of various aspects . Complete research for a dissertation relies on materials from different sources among them class materials on a particular subject, practical knowledge gained from first- hand experience in a certain field, knowledge gained from literature review and knowledge gained from researched and analyzed data.
All these sources of information are different since every single source presents different information that should be handled individually. However, a good dissertation incorporates all these sources of information to strike a balance.
Differentiating the Different Types of Knowledge
The knowledge acquired from management modules is important since it will broaden my scope of knowledge. By reading these modules I will get information on how other people attempted or attempt to do various things. Consequently, I can use this information to do what these people have done. I cancan also employ the experience of others after reading to secure success and avoid failure.
However, I will not learn everything from the management modules. There are certain skills that are learnt from practice. These skills are gained by having practical experience in the world of work. For example, having been a sales supervisor for a reasonable duration of time, I have learnt certain skills of dealing with the people I supervise. These skills cannot be developed by reading them in the management modules (White, 2002).
There is also knowledge gained from literature review. This is knowledge gained by reading, making analysis, evaluating and then summarizing information that has been researched and written on a particular subject. This knowledge is different from knowledge gained through reading modules since when reading modules no analysis is done (White, 2002).
Reading modules involves reading all the content while literature review eventually comes up with a summary of the most relevant data concerning a certain topic. Literature review is also different from knowledge gained from experience.
Knowledge from literature review is basically information that has been researched and presented by other people while a person who has knowledge from experience has a real picture of the situations because of experiencing them first hand.
Finally, new knowledge collected from the field and analyzed is different from all these other sources of knowledge. The difference is evident in that this source of knowledge presents the latest information collected first hand. Some of the knowledge from modules and literature review may be outdated but research presents the most recent data which is updated.
Incorporating the Types of Knowledge
In my dissertation, I will incorporate all these sources of knowledge since they are all important and none of them can be underestimated. Before I go out to collect any data, I will first read the management modules to get a wide scope of knowledge on management.
Using this broad knowledge from class modules, I will conduct a comprehensive literature review because I have enough knowledge from the modules to analyze, evaluate and summarize information. As I undertake these procedures, the knowledge I have acquired from my work experience will be very crucial in guiding me.
I will relate real life situations from my work experience with the content I learn from books. Collecting my research data will also require broad knowledge on the topic acquired through reading modules and literature review. I will employ my knowledge gained from work experience to analyze the new information and make conclusions from an informed point of view.
Reference List
Uwic. (2005). Dissertation Writing. Web.
White, B. (2002). Dissertation Skills for Business and Management Students. London: Cengage Learning.
White, B. (2002). Writing Your MBA Dissertation. London: Cengage Learning.