MSc in Investment Management Assignment

1. Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide MSc students in Finance & Management and Investment Management with a guide on how to develop and complete their thesis. The thesis represents a major research project for each student and provides first-hand experience of researching and reporting on a Finance topic that fires his/her imagination.

Please note that the same rules shown in this handbook apply for both academic thesis and company project thesis Since each student will have a thesis supervisor, these guidelines are also intended for academic staff as a reference point to provide information on the research process, milestones, submission and marking schemes.

The aim of the thesis is to train MSc students in how to undertake a major research project and to present a thesis that meets University requirements. This will require students to demonstrate project management abilities, to develop skills in conducting literature reviews, critical appraisal and empirical research methods, as well as the ability to develop and demonstrate good report writing skills.

The Research Methods in Finance (RMF) module in Term 2 provides insights into suitable methodological approaches and how to manage the thesis process. The thesis represents 80 credits and thus is a critical element of the MSc programmes. The breakdown of the total learning hours, thesis word count and timings, is as follows:

A more detailed discussion of these submissions and the grading system is discussed in Section 6: Thesis milestones, submissions and assessments.

We hope you enjoy researching and writing up your thesis. Good luck!

The process will enable students to learn how to:

1. Apply analytical skills in researching a current finance-related issue.
2. Apply appropriate research tools and techniques to evaluate and draw inferences from their analysis.
3. Develop their capacity for critical appraisal.

Once completed, the thesis will have enabled students to:

1. Manage research projects.
2. Develop effective report writing and presentation skills through constructive feedback
3. Reflect on the research process and demonstrate learning from this process.

3. Thesis Guidelines

To successfully complete their MSc, each student must pass their thesis. The total learning hours are 800, which mean the thesis is a major component of the Master’s degree, commencing in Term 3 and culminating in the submission of MSc thesis on or before Friday 8th September 2023. University regulations define a thesis as “a written document which should satisfactorily set out the results of the structured programme of research, etc., and demonstrate the candidate’s ability to conduct original investigations to test ideas (whether the candidate’s own or those of others) and to obtain appropriate conclusions from the work. Where applicable, the results of the programme should be set in the context of related work previously published by others”.

These University regulations clearly indicate that the thesis should represent an original investigation and not merely reporting the work of others. Equally, they stress the need to draw appropriate conclusions from the investigation.

3.1 Scope and themes for research

Regarding the scope and themes for research, students may draw their ideas from the work which Cranfield Finance & Accounting faculty members are carrying out or from the companybased projects/internship opportunities, if any. Students may also like to work on themes suggested by their company/sponsors. Students are advised to discuss any thesis theme they are interested in with the relevant Cranfield faculty that can supervise the thesis. Project approval and support will be at the discretion of the relevant faculty member and be formally signed off by the Director of the MSc programmes.

3.2 Evaluating a Thesis Topic

A potential thesis topic can be evaluated according to the coincidence of five criteria:

• Interest to the student
• Interest to the sponsoring company or host institution of the student or faculty member
• Appropriate objectives and scope
• Availability of secondary data and/or ease of primary data collection
• Achievable within the time-frame

Where there is sufficient overlap – in the judgment of both the student and his/her supervisor – the thesis topic should satisfy the requirements of the University, the student and his/her supervisor.

4. The Makings of a Good Thesis

A good thesis in Finance supervised by a member of the Finance and Accounting faculty should be mainly empirical in nature involving the quantitative/statistical analysis of large publicly available financial databases or based on internally generated data from company/sponsors. In either instance, secondary data is required to contextualize the research and draw on the work of others. Since the Finance faculty has published research papers covering many research themes in recent years, the extant literature is often readily accessible to students as they embark upon their thesis. The elements of a successful thesis are likely to show evidence of:

• A contribution based upon an original investigation undertaken by the student which goes beyond reporting the work of others and is not the result of team working
• A clear statement of the objectives of the thesis derived from a research question which can be explained and justified. Both stem from developing the research context and narrowing the research focus.
• A clearly defined research focus. The student may wish to discuss how his/her thesis has been scoped; this refers to the scoping in and scoping out requirements needed to achieve the research objectives, in the time available and in response to the research question.
• A methodological approach which enables the analysis and evaluation of the extant literature and data as opposed to being purely descriptive. Students are expected to be able to demonstrate their ability to conduct rigorous empirical analysis of data, large financial datasets, understand and interpret their results and communicate these clearly and concisely. Evidence-based reasoning supported by such references and other data elevates the thesis, personal opinion and value judgments do not.
• The work of others, where appropriate, to support or refute arguments, to justify the choice of methodology and to place the thesis within a broader context.
• A good report writing style so that the contents of the thesis are communicated in a clear and concise manner. The judicious use of diagrams, tables and figures help develop the narrative, as does the occasional usage of bullet point. However, a thesis based on mostly bullet points to convey meaning and thought processes is not acceptable.
• A clear and logical structure which evidences the linkage between the research question, the scope and objectives of the thesis through the analysis to the conclusions and recommendations.

5. Structuring the Thesis

The six-part structure described below contains the main elements of a thesis submitted in part fulfillment of an MSc in Finance & Management. The six elements and how they are formatted should be considered as necessary requirements rather than a blueprint for how the thesis is structured and sectioned.

Element 1: Introduction: The Research Context and Literature Review

In order to develop a suitable research topic for study, the general research issue has to be contextualized to make it manageable within the time frame and the credits available for the task.

An important academic requirement of the thesis is that students can place this research issue within the broader context of the academic literature relevant to their investigation. In most instances, this can be achieved through a thematic literature review structured to distil down from a general discussion of the issues to the specifics of the research topic. This drilling down process enables the student to contextualize the research and more clearly identify the background to the research topic and the particulars of the research problem being investigated.

Element 2: Research Question and Objectives

The research question is usually developed from this clearly defined problem that has emerged through contextualizing the issue. The research objectives, developed from this question, are indicative of the scope and deliverable of the thesis. This aspect of the thesis “sets the coordinates” of the research and the expectations for the reader with regard to what is being researched and why it is being researched.

Element 3: Research Methodology

This aspect of the thesis gives the student an opportunity to explain how he/she has approached his/her research, why his/her methodological approach is appropriate and what alternative methodologies may have been considered and rejected. Thus, the methodology stems from objectives, scope and the phenomenon of interest. For instance, the phenomena of interest may be stock market anomalies, credit risk evaluation and management, valuation for acquisition purposes or behavioral aspects of investment management, so the required research approach should enable the relevant data to be collected and analyzed. Methodologically, the investigation could be carried out with a small sample using in-depth analysis e.g., as provided by your internship sponsor, if appropriate, or, more likely, a large data base to quantify the relevant variables and outcomes. Either approach may be appropriate depending on the nature of the research question and the justification used to support a particular method of data gathering.

Element 4: Data Gathering and Data Processing

This aspect of the thesis is core and will require the student to apply skills in data capture, critical appraisal and statistical and quantitative analysis etc. Students may gather both primary and secondary data (and a combination) using either qualitative or quantitative techniques (or a combination) until a synthesis point is reached at which the processing of the data points the student towards answering his/her research question. These data processing and syntheses stages require critical appraisal of the quality of data sources, shortcomings in sampling techniques, assumptions about statistical testing etc. The student needs to ensure that all data gathering, or processing sequences are transparent; a good thesis should offer the possibility of replication such that, if the same steps were carried out again, the same results would be obtained. Data characteristics and variables should be presented in an understandable format with tables and graphs etc. clearly labeled and titled.

Element 5: Discussion

The discussion should seek to develop clear points of view and interpretations of the results in the context of the research question and objectives. In developing this discussion, students will need to make connections with how their analysis informs the academic literature, the phenomenon being researched and management interest in the research topic.

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