Cristian states that *he* has decided to research..., etc., not that he has been told to research...

It isn't actually essential for a tutor or whoever marks the dissertation to know the subject inside out - many years ago when I was studying music, my final dissertation had to be something about music between 1800 and 1900, I think. Seeing that most of the collectors were doing the rounds in the early 1900s, it seemed logical to me that the songs therefore existed between the stated dates, so mine was on, if I remember rightly, 'The Character and Characteristics of Folk Song'. The tutor who marked it said that it was very interesting, and that he learnt a lot! I doubt that folk song, in the sense that Sharp, Lloyd, etc. talked about it, had ever entered his consciousness! But he was looking at how it was put together academically, and that, presumably, is what Cristian's tutor is going to be looking for primarily.

Barbara