Dissertation

It is desirable that students have completed the teaching component of the master’s degree, given that all the knowledge acquired throughout the teaching component is important for the development of the dissertation.

Acceptance of enrollment in the Non-Teaching Componente (NTC) is subject to passing at least 80% of the SC’s academic subjects.

Given the specific nature of this non-teaching course, the traditional “Teaching-Learning Methodologies” (TLM) will not be applicable. Thus, the MEA of the CU, articulated with the pedagogical model, are carried out by the Supervisor and/or Co-Supervisor(s), and the student must meet regularly with them. These MEA are:

MEA1: Individual guidance sessions, focused on personalized monitoring of research progress (literature review, research methodologies and data analysis and applicability of tools for this purpose (SPSS, NVivo. R, Biblioshiny, Power BI, etc.)) and on solving specific problems related to the dissertation topic, promoting the exchange of ideas between students and teachers and the development of critical thinking and analytical skills necessary for empirical research (LO1, LO2 and LO3).

TLM2: Continuous and structured feedback on the writing stages of the dissertation, including detailed revisions of the work plan (dissertation proposal), the preliminary chapters and the final dissertation document (LO4).

TLM3: Dissertation defense simulations, allowing students to improve their oral communication and argumentation in front of the Evaluation Jury (LO5).

Demonstration of the consistency of the teaching and assessment methodologies with the learning objectives of the CU

LO1, LO2 and LO3: Orientation sessions (TLM1) support the identification of research problems and the construction of theoretical frameworks, the application of methodologies and analytical techniques, allowing the analysis of empirical data.

LO4: Continuous feedback (TLM2) reinforces the structuring and writing of the dissertation, ensuring scientific and argumentative quality.

LO5: Defense simulations (TLM3) develop communication and argumentation skills, preparing students for evaluation in front of a jury.

Assessment: The combination of written work (partial or total), simulated oral presentation and continuous participation ensure that the objectives are achieved effectively.

OBSERVATIONS:

A) DISSERTATION PROPOSAL:

1. The dissertation proposal/work plan and the documents required for its preparation must be submitted for consideration by the Scientific Committee of the course, by the last day of the special SC examination period. These documents must be submitted through the Academic Management Platform – Academic Services, by means of a request addressed to the CCMMNI, respecting the specific forms that are published on the online page of those services, namely:

– Dissertation proposal of an original scientific nature and specially prepared for this purpose

– Supervisor/Co-supervisor Acceptance Term

– Curriculum Vitae of the Supervisor/Co-Supervisor (preferably including ORCID or Ciência ID) if not a professor at ISCAC/IPC.

2. The CCMMNI must pronounce itself on the master’s student’s proposal:

– In the event of a negative assessment by the CCMMNI, the student must submit a new proposal and will be notified of the decision through the Academic Services.

– In the event of a positive assessment by the CCMMNI, the process must be submitted for approval by the CTC.

3. The dissertation proposal must contain at least the following elements:

i) Introduction

ii) Justification of the study (relevance of the chosen topic and expected contributions)

iii) Objectives and research questions

iv) Brief theoretical framework*

v) Proposed methodology

vi) Planned structure of the dissertation

vii) Work schedule

viii) Conclusion

viii) References (following APA7th standard)

B) DISSERTATION

If the proposal is approved, the student will be notified by the Academic Services through Inforestudante of this decision, and may, from that moment on, complete the proposed work plan.

THEThe final dissertation must include at least the following parts, following the template available on the Academic Services website:

i) Introduction

ii) Literature review*

iii) Methodology (quantitative, qualitative or mixed)

iv) Results

v) Discussion

vi) Conclusion/main conclusions of the study, contributions to theory, contributions to marketing/management practice, limitations of the study, future directions)

vii) References (following the APA7th standard)

viii) Annexes / Appendices (if any)

To implement this device of the Non-Teaching Component of the Master’s Degree, the student must prepare an original scientific dissertation, specially written for this purpose.

*Note: The student, when preparing the Theoretical Framework/Literature Review, must give priority to the use of references published in the last 5 years included in academic databases such as Scopus and Web-of-Science.

C) DISSERTATION SUPERVISION:

1. The dissertation must be supervised by:

a) Professor at ISCAC/IPC holding a doctorate degree

b) ISCAC/IPC professor holding the specialist title conferred under the terms of Decree-Law No. 206/2009 of 31 August

c) By a national or foreign specialist of merit in the respective scientific area, recognized as such by the CTC

d) Professors and researchers with doctorates from other institutions,

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 c), the ISCAC CTC may consider a specialist to be anyone who holds an academic degree and, cumulatively:

a) Works or has worked in the area of ​​the CE in question, having at least 10 years of professional experience in that area, with effective practice for at least 5 years in the last 10 years;

b) Present a professional curriculum of proven quality and relevance, duly confirmed and accepted by the scientifically competent body of the higher education institution;

c) Do not hold an indefinite-term contract with a higher education institution.

3. The Supervisor must belong to the predominant scientific area of ​​the CE *

4. The members designated in paragraph 1 c) and d) must preferably be co-supervisors. If they do not belong to ISCAC/IPC, their Curriculum Vitae must be submitted when submitting the dissertation proposal (indicating, if applicable, the ORCID/Ciência ID). *

5. The Supervisor/Co-supervisors are appointed by the CTC upon proposal from the (Master’s Coordination Committee) CCM

6. The supervisor is responsible for:

a) Assess, in the first phase, the dissertation proposal presented by the student and suggest changes if necessary;

b) Accompany the student in the different phases of the dissertation development, providing technical and scientific support and recommending further study of aspects that seem relevant.

* Students can suggest a supervisor, however, it is up to the MMNI Management/Coordination to propose it or not to the CTC for validation.

The dissertation is one of the three requirements for the Non-Teaching Component (NTC) of the Cycle of Studies (CE).

The main objective of this curricular unit (CU) is to develop a scientific research work that contributes to the evolution of knowledge in the scientific areas of the Study Cycle (SC), namely in Marketing and International Business Management. When developing the Dissertation, we seek to stimulate in the student the capacity for initiative, autonomy in research and the ability to apply the knowledge acquired by the master’s student in the teaching part of the master’s degree.

Learning Objectives (LO)

LO1 Carry out independent, in-depth and rigorous research on a relevant issue in the fundamental areas of the SC

LO2 Research and critically analyze, autonomously and proactively, scientific literature and develop robust theoretical frameworks

LO3 Apply appropriate research methodologies to collect and interpret empirical data

LO4 Write a structured dissertation, demonstrating the ability to summarize and argue

LO5 Present and defend the results in a clear and reasoned manner before a jury

Skills/Abilities/Aptitudes (S)

S1 Formulate relevant and theoretically supported research problems (LO1 and LO2)

S2 Choose and apply scientific methods appropriate to the topic of study (LO3)

S3 Develop a coherent and well-founded written argument, respecting academic standards and scientific writing (LO4)

S4 Orally defend the results before a jury, demonstrating mastery of the topic (LO5)

Program Contents (PC):

1. Definition of the research problem

2. Literature review and construction of the theoretical framework

3. Scientific research methodologies: qualitative, quantitative and mixed

4. Collection and analysis of empirical data

5. Structuring and writing the dissertation

6. Preparation and presentation of the public defense

Note: In the context of a non-teaching Unit, the traditional “Program” does not apply, as each student will focus their activity on a specific topic, different from the topic of the other students.

Demonstration of the coherence of the program contents with the learning objectives of the UC:

PC1 and PC2: They are related to LO1 and LO2, by supporting the formulation of the research problem and the construction of the theoretical framework.

PC3 and PC4: They are aligned with LO3, focusing on the application of methodologies and data analysis

PC5: Supports LO4, providing the basis for structuring and writing the dissertation

PC6: Contributes to LO5, preparing the student for public defense

Given the specificity of this UC, the only evaluation methodology (MA) will be the following:

MA: Public Dissertation Defense Exam

When evaluating the Dissertation, the following elements must be taken into consideration:

- Scientific quality of the dissertation

- Quality of argumentation and oral presentation in public defense.

- Participation in guidance sessions and submission of dissertation components (e.g. research proposal and preliminary chapters), reported by the Supervisor.

The classification is assigned by the Jury of the public test on a numerical scale from 0 to 20 points.

Approval Criteria:Final grade equal to or greater than 10 points

OBSERVATIONS:

Relevant Aspects Relating to the Assessment of the Dissertation UC, under the Academic Regulations of the 2nd Cycle of Studies of the IPC, Regulations of the Courses of the 2nd Cycle of Studies (Masters) of the ISCAC and Order on the Procedure – CNL of the Masters courses of the ISCAC **:

A) Request for CCMMNI Assessment Tests:

Once the dissertation has been completed, the student must request the President of ISCAC to take the exams by submitting the following elements to the Academic Management Platform - Academic Services (via inforestudante - Submission of Dissertations/Theses):

- the original scientific Dissertation, specially prepared for this purpose, in PDF version, which will be submitted for consideration by the Jury.

- Written opinion issued by the supervisor and co-supervisor(s), when applicable, certifying that the dissertation meets the conditions to be subject to evaluation by the jury

- Declaration of knowledge of the mandatory deposit of the dissertation in RCAAP - Open Access Scientific Repository of Portugal,

- Curriculum vitae

Forms and Templates:

- The abovementioned documents (Dissertation, Supervisor/Co-supervisor's Opinion, RCAAP Declaration) must comply with the specific forms that are published on the Academic Services website.

- The established standards must be followed when formatting the dissertation, except in cases where existing protocols provide otherwise.

B) Jury:

1. The jury is made up of three to five members, one of whom must be the supervisor.

2. Whenever there is more than one supervisor, only one may be a member of the jury.

3. The members of the jury must be specialists in the field in which the dissertation is included and are appointed from among nationals or foreigners holding a doctorate degree, holders of the specialist title conferred under the terms of Decree-Law No. 206/2009 of August 31, or by specialists considered as such by the CTC.

The members of the jury must be experts in the field in which the dissertation is included, appointed from among professors holding a doctorate, a specialist title conferred under the terms of Decree-Law No. 206/2009 of August 31, or experts of merit, recognized as such by the CTC, national or foreign.

4. The jury will be chaired by the president of the CTC, who may delegate this power to a professor in the dominant scientific area of ​​the CE, preferably holding a doctorate.

5. The jury for assessing the dissertation is appointed by the CTC on the proposal of the CCM, after the submission of the request for taking the tests.

6. After notification of the jury by the CTC, it will decide on the acceptance, reformulation or rejection of the dissertation/project work/internship report.

7. In the event of a decision to reformulate, the student is given a single opportunity to submit the reformulated version that will be subject to testing on the academic management platform. To this end, the student has up to 30 consecutive days after notification by the Academic Services through the Academic Management Platform to submit the reformulated version on the academic management platform.

8. In case of rejection by the jury of the reformulated version of the dissertation, mentioned in the previous point, the process ends, and the respective agenda must be launched with the mention NRC (does not meet the conditions)

8. Jury meetings may be held by videoconference.

C) Public Test

1. The public act of discussion of the dissertation takes place after the submission of the complete process of requesting evidence and can only take place with the presence of a minimum of three members of the jury, with the presence of the president and the main examiner being mandatory.

2. The public discussion is led by a main debater, although all members of the jury may participate.

3. The public discussion cannot exceed 90 (ninety) minutes, distributed as follows:

a) An oral presentation by the student, summarizing the content of the work carried out and highlighting its objectives, means used to carry it out and main conclusions, with a maximum duration of 20 (twenty) minutes;

b) The remaining time must be distributed equally between the jury and the student.

4. The defense test for the non-teaching component may only be taken after passing all the teaching subjects.

5. The conclusion of the CNL, with the completion of the respective public test, must not exceed December 31st of the calendar year in which the regulatory deadline defined for such conclusion (of the non-teaching component) ends or resulting from its possible extension.

6. In the public act of defense of the dissertation, the president of the jury may authorize the participation of any number of members by videoconference, provided that there are technical conditions for their full participation in the work.

7. In the event of approval in public examinations, without prejudice to the decision taken, the jury may determine, in writing, that the candidate introduces minor changes to the dissertation, which improve it and which have resulted from the public discussion. To this end, the candidate will have a maximum period of 15 consecutive days to submit the final version of the document, and the president of the jury will be responsible for confirming the respective changes before the final grade is released.

8. The presentation of medical certificates does not count towards failure to meet the deadline for submitting the dissertation.

9. In cases of hospital admission, parental leave, or contagious disease, which implies exclusion from school, the student may request a postponement for the period corresponding to the hospital admission, the duration of the period of parental leave taken by the student up to a maximum of 120 days, or the duration of the aforementioned illness, upon presentation of proof of hospital admission, parental leave, or a medical certificate issued by the Health Delegate of the area of ​​residence, proving that the student suffered from a contagious disease implying exclusion from school.

D) Jury's deliberation

1. Once the tests have been completed, the jury meets to assess and deliberate, through a reasoned vote, with no abstentions permitted.

2. The jury's decisions are taken by a majority of its members.

3. Minutes shall be drawn up of the jury meeting, which shall include the members' votes and the respective grounds.

4. In the event of a tie, the president of the jury has the deciding vote.

** This document does not exempt the aforementioned regulations from being published.

NAO