Writing Built Environment Dissertations and Projects: Practical Guidance and Examples

As a built environment student it is likely that you will be required to research, write and submit a dissertation or project as a core component of your degree studies. Writing Built Environment Dissertations and Projects provides you with practical guidance to help you complete this task by mixing your practical strengths with appropriate data collection and analysis tools.

The book follows a common dissertation or project structure, starting with material that should be in the introduction and finishing with material that should be in the conclusion, with each chapter covering the kind of information you should put in each section of your dissertation or project.  Issues around study skills and ethics are embedded throughout the book, and many examples, using a variety of methodological designs, are included to encourage you to consider the concepts of reliability and validity. While extending coverage to include civil engineering projects, including a new chapter examining in greater detail technical civil engineering projects, the text in this second edition has been substantially revised, in particular featuring a strengthened chapter related to qualitative research and methodology. The book also includes a glossary of research terms and eight exemplar research proposals covering building and civil engineering.

If you are an under–graduate student in the final year of an honours degree programme in the built environment, or perhaps a student at masters or PhD level and have been away from academic study for some time, then this book will help you to write a stronger dissertation or project.

Peter Farrell is a Reader in Construction Management at the University of Bolton, UK, and programme leader for the university’s MSc in Construction Project Management. Fred Sherratt is a Senior Lecturer in Construction Management at Anglia Ruskin University, UK. Alan Richardson is a Reader in Civil Engineering at Northumbria University, UK and programme leader for the BEng in Civil Engineering.