Dissertation examples

Listed below are some of the best examples of research projects and dissertations from undergraduate and taught postgraduate students at the University of Leeds

We have not been able to gather examples from all schools.

The module requirements for research projects may have changed since these examples were written. Refer to your module guidelines to make sure that you address all of the current assessment criteria.

Some of the examples below are only available to access on campus.

Undergraduate examples
Taught Masters examples


Institute of Psychological Sciences These dissertations achieved a mark of 80 or higher: An investigation into the relationship between early exposure and brand loyalty The relationship between sustained and divided attentional abilities and Autistic Spectrum Disorder traits Experiences of parents of people with anorexia nervosa: an interpretative phenomenological analysis Autonomous motivation: the key to employee performance and workplace success?
Leeds University Business School LUBS3305 The following two examples have been annotated with academic comments. This is to help you understand why they achieved a good 2:1 mark but also, more importantly, how the marks could have been improved. Please read about the annotations (PDF) to help you make the most of the two examples. To what extent should Costa Rica's tourism strategy be imitated by Nicaragua? (PDF) (Mark 68) An Investigative Study into the Effects of Price and Non-Price Oriented TV Advertising on Generation Z Consumers’ Purchase Intentions. (PDF) (Mark 66) These final year projects achieved a mark of a high first: Electric Cars: Investigation into consumer attitudes in the UK car industry (PDF) Exploring Social Perceptions of Women Leaders at Work: How does the Double Bind of Appearance and Personality Impact Women’s Opportunities to make it to the Top? (PDF) Studying the relationship between online behaviour and learning preferences, using the Internet Addiction Test and the Index of Learning Styles (PDF) Dressed to Disrupt: Motivations Behind Millennial Women Consuming Feminist Fashion (PDF) Is thin no longer ‘in’? A study exploring the difference between marketeers’ and non-marketeers’ opinions of model size on advertising effectiveness, brand perceptions and purchase intentions (PDF) A Critical Discourse Analysis of How Women in Top Business and Leadership Roles Were Represented Within The Times and The New York Times During March 2013 (PDF) For students undertaking a New Venture Creation (NVC) approach, please see the following Masters level examples: New Venture Opportunity for Implementing M-health in Myanmar (PDF) Recycling venture in Thailand (PDF) Healthy pharmacy venture in Thailand (PDF) LUBS3320/21 (International Business) Determinants of patent innovation of Central and Eastern Europe knowledge intensive firms: the roles of R&D expenditure and internationalisation (PDF) The Impact of FDI and Remittances on Economic Growth in South Asia: A Panel Data Study (PDF) An Exploratory Study of Consumer Animosity in the United Kingdom (PDF) The Impact of Resources on International Entrepreneurship: An Exploratory Study (PDF) LUBS3345 The gig-economy and the impact on the millennial generation (PDF) Generation Y in the Accounting Industry: An Exploration into Their Work Values and the Impact of These on Individual Outcomes (PDF) A Marketing Enigma: Consumer Brand Engagement with Health and Fitness Brands on Instagram (PDF) Examining motivational factors and challenges of ethnic female entrepreneurs: Lessons learnt from the UK (PDF) Alternative Asset Investment Criteria, with a focus on Private Equity (PDF) Financial Stress, Coping Mechanisms and Job Withdrawal Behaviours among Young Financial Workers (PDF)
Lifelong Learning Centre An evaluation following the introduction of restorative practice in comparative school settings The transition experience: Are we getting it right? What influences effective intervention in parenting support? An investigation in to best practice. Where does partnership with parents begin? A study to explore nursery home visits from different perspectives.
School of Chemical and Process Engineering Electrochemical characterisation of gallium alloys for use as a phospholipid monolayer support Image processing and analysis of porous materials The mechanism of formation of porous calcite composite crystals through thermal decompositio RecA-based patterning of DNA scaffolds
School of Computing Projects which attained grades of over 70 or between 60 and 69 are indicated on the lists. School of Computing examples
School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering These are good quality reports but they are not perfect. You may be able to identify areas for improvement (for example, structure, content, clarity, standard of written English, referencing or presentation quality). The design of a FMCW microwave radar range detector Fabrication and measurement of two dimensional electron gas and one dimensional electron gas samples
School of English An exploration of female and male homosocial bonds in D. H. Lawrence's 'serious English novels' Faith, Selfhood and the Blues in the Lyrics of Nick Cave
School of History Prize winning dissertations from the School of History.
School of Law The following examples have their marks denoted in brackets. Perceptions of the use and effectiveness of victim personal statements within West Yorkshire Police (81) An Exploration of the potential for situational crime prevention to reduce child sexual abuse (81) Enfored caesareans: foetal rights and legal wrongs – does the reality match the rhetoric? (74) Protection and autonomy: can women have it all? A comparative study of marriage, civil partnership and cohabitation (74) Examples with feedback incuded Guide to using the sample dissertations The Potential Effects of Reduced Street Lighting on Crime: an Empirical Study of the 'Selective Part-Night Street Lighting' Scheme in Leeds To what extent is terrorism a social construct? Radicalisation and Universities: A Critical Analysis of the Effectiveness and Consequences of Prevent Duty Evaluating the range of agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of corporate fraud in the UK: is there an alternative to criminal justice? A critical analysis of the perceptions of, and responses to, female child sex offenders
School of Mathematics The Dynamics of Accretion Discs
School of Media and Communication School of Media and Communication examples of good dissertations.
School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science Can we secure Plato’s case for the tripartite soul? Compare the ways in which the science and practice of eugenics were presented to the British public between 1907-1912 and 1937-1942.
School of Physics and Astronomy Quantum effects in biology Melting point of a PVdF polymer gel electrolyte with changing PC:EC ratio Herbig Ae/Be star accretion rates and the Hertzsprung Russell diagram Raman spectroscopy and its reliability in the study of bone quality and composition Solitons: Propagation of solitary waves through blood
School of Politics and International Studies The following outstanding dissertation example PDFs have their marks denoted in brackets. PIED3760 Cornwall and England: When is Regionalism Nationalism? (Mark 78) Does Economic Limitarianism Provide a Solution to the Climate Crisis? (Mark 72) The One Health framework and its implementation in global health governance through public-private partnerships (Mark 75) PIED3750 A decade on from the ‘National Apology’: The threat of another ‘Stolen Generation’ of Indigenous Australians (Mark 91) The Framing of Citizenship Deprivation: An analysis of the UK mainstream media’s framing of the citizenship deprivation of Shamima Begum (Mark 85) The Rise of the Snow Dragon: Assessing the impact of China’s increasing role in the Arctic on the future development of its regional governance regimes (Mark 85) The Justification of Violent Revolution (Mark 85) Making the stones speak: exploring the motivations of queer street artists in the United States (Mark 91) PIED3759 An empirical analysis of cooperative creation, survival compared to capitalist firms and survival between different co-op types in the United Kingdom (Mark 85) A quantitative analysis of the country level factors influencing female representation in national legislatures of electoral democracies (Mark 75)
School of Sociology and Social Policy This dissertation achieved a mark of 84: Sporting Masculinities: A Comparison of Gramscian and Foucauldian concepts of power.

Institute of Psychological Sciences

These dissertations achieved a mark of 80 or higher:

An investigation into the relationship between early exposure and brand loyalty

The relationship between sustained and divided attentional abilities and Autistic Spectrum Disorder traits

Experiences of parents of people with anorexia nervosa: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Autonomous motivation: the key to employee performance and workplace success?

Leeds University Business School

LUBS3305

The following two examples have been annotated with academic comments. This is to help you understand why they achieved a good 2:1 mark but also, more importantly, how the marks could have been improved.

Please read about the annotations (PDF) to help you make the most of the two examples.

To what extent should Costa Rica's tourism strategy be imitated by Nicaragua? (PDF) (Mark 68)

An Investigative Study into the Effects of Price and Non-Price Oriented TV Advertising on Generation Z Consumers’ Purchase Intentions. (PDF) (Mark 66)

These final year projects achieved a mark of a high first:

Electric Cars: Investigation into consumer attitudes in the UK car industry (PDF)

Exploring Social Perceptions of Women Leaders at Work: How does the Double Bind of Appearance and Personality Impact Women’s Opportunities to make it to the Top? (PDF)

Studying the relationship between online behaviour and learning preferences, using the Internet Addiction Test and the Index of Learning Styles (PDF)

Dressed to Disrupt: Motivations Behind Millennial Women Consuming Feminist Fashion (PDF)

Is thin no longer ‘in’? A study exploring the difference between marketeers’ and non-marketeers’ opinions of model size on advertising effectiveness, brand perceptions and purchase intentions (PDF)

A Critical Discourse Analysis of How Women in Top Business and Leadership Roles Were Represented Within The Times and The New York Times During March 2013 (PDF)

For students undertaking a New Venture Creation (NVC) approach, please see the following Masters level examples:

New Venture Opportunity for Implementing M-health in Myanmar (PDF)

Recycling venture in Thailand (PDF)

Healthy pharmacy venture in Thailand (PDF)

School of Computing

Projects which attained grades of over 70 or between 60 and 69 are indicated on the lists.

School of Computing examples

School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering

These are good quality reports but they are not perfect. You may be able to identify areas for improvement (for example, structure, content, clarity, standard of written English, referencing or presentation quality).

The design of a FMCW microwave radar range detector

Fabrication and measurement of two dimensional electron gas and one dimensional electron gas samples

School of English

An exploration of female and male homosocial bonds in D. H. Lawrence's 'serious English novels'

Faith, Selfhood and the Blues in the Lyrics of Nick Cave

School of History

Prize winning dissertations from the School of History.

School of Law

The following examples have their marks denoted in brackets.

Perceptions of the use and effectiveness of victim personal statements within West Yorkshire Police (81)

An Exploration of the potential for situational crime prevention to reduce child sexual abuse (81)

Enfored caesareans: foetal rights and legal wrongs – does the reality match the rhetoric? (74)

Protection and autonomy: can women have it all? A comparative study of marriage, civil partnership and cohabitation (74)

Examples with feedback incuded

Guide to using the sample dissertations

The Potential Effects of Reduced Street Lighting on Crime: an Empirical Study of the 'Selective Part-Night Street Lighting' Scheme in Leeds

To what extent is terrorism a social construct?

Radicalisation and Universities: A Critical Analysis of the Effectiveness and Consequences of Prevent Duty

Evaluating the range of agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of corporate fraud in the UK: is there an alternative to criminal justice?

A critical analysis of the perceptions of, and responses to, female child sex offenders

School of Mathematics

The Dynamics of Accretion Discs

School of Media and Communication

School of Media and Communication examples of good dissertations.

School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science

Can we secure Plato’s case for the tripartite soul?

Compare the ways in which the science and practice of eugenics were presented to the British public between 1907-1912 and 1937-1942.

School of Physics and Astronomy

Quantum effects in biology

Melting point of a PVdF polymer gel electrolyte with changing PC:EC ratio

Herbig Ae/Be star accretion rates and the Hertzsprung Russell diagram

Raman spectroscopy and its reliability in the study of bone quality and composition

Solitons: Propagation of solitary waves through blood

School of Politics and International Studies

The following outstanding dissertation example PDFs have their marks denoted in brackets.

PIED3760

Cornwall and England: When is Regionalism Nationalism? (Mark 78)
Does Economic Limitarianism Provide a Solution to the Climate Crisis? (Mark 72)
The One Health framework and its implementation in global health governance through public-private partnerships (Mark 75)

PIED3750

A decade on from the ‘National Apology’: The threat of another ‘Stolen Generation’ of Indigenous Australians (Mark 91)
The Framing of Citizenship Deprivation: An analysis of the UK mainstream media’s framing of the citizenship deprivation of Shamima Begum (Mark 85)
The Rise of the Snow Dragon: Assessing the impact of China’s increasing role in the Arctic on the future development of its regional governance regimes (Mark 85)
The Justification of Violent Revolution (Mark 85)
Making the stones speak: exploring the motivations of queer street artists in the United States (Mark 91)

PIED3759

An empirical analysis of cooperative creation, survival compared to capitalist firms and survival between different co-op types in the United Kingdom (Mark 85)
A quantitative analysis of the country level factors influencing female representation in national legislatures of electoral democracies (Mark 75)

School of Sociology and Social Policy

This dissertation achieved a mark of 84:

Sporting Masculinities: A Comparison of Gramscian and Foucauldian concepts of power.


Leeds University Business School LUBS5530 Enterprise New Venture Opportunity for Implementing M-health in Myanmar (PDF) Recycling venture in Thailand (PDF) Healthy pharmacy venture in Thailand (PDF)
School of Earth and Environment MSc Sustainability Single-use plastic reduction at UK higher learning institutions – Motivations and best practice (PDF)
School of Food Science and Nutrition Hydrolysis of phenolic acid esters by esterase enzymes from Caco-2 cells and rat intestinal tissue Nanostructure of Sorghum Starch Granules as Studied by Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS)
School of Languages, Cultures and Societies Antoinette's construction of the Self in Wide Sargasso Sea Culture Shock: Reexamining the Concept and the W-curve Model of the Adaptation Process through Sojourner Experiences of International Students Us and Them: Exploring Internationalisation and International Postgraduate Student Identity at the University of Leeds An Investigation into Language and Cultural Planning in the Basque Country La Vida Cotidiana del Migrante Ecuatoriano: A glimpse into the lives of Ecuadorian immigrants in Spain and the United States Für immer fremd German Television Advertisements and the "normalization of ethnicity" Cultural Variations of Democracy: 'Thai-Style Democracy' The extent to which Japanese soft power is effective in Japan-China relations.
School of Mathematics Epidemic Modelling Ramsey Theory.