Assessment (1) Individual submission (40 marks)

Overview

This individual assignment tests your essential research competencies needed to identify a knowledge gap or a problem in your discipline that may warrant research. It primarily assesses your understanding and level of engagement with learning resources at an early stage of the inquiry process. The assignment MUST be your own piece of work. You must not plagiarise, collude or get help from others. All submissions must follow CQU Harvard referencing style.

Assignment 1 consists of three parts:

1. Assessment 1A, 20 marks: Review Report, due by end of week 5
2. Assessment 1B, 10 marks: Outline Research Proposal, due by the start of week 7
3. Assessment 1C, 10 marks: Peer Assessment of Outline Proposals, due by the end of week 7

Note: Assessment 1C will receive a mark of ZERO if not completed by the given deadline to complete the work.

Tasks

Assessment 1A Review Report (20 marks)

Assessment 1A requires you to prepare a review report of no more than 1500 words using a given template. Your report must be relevant to the unit content and Moodle sources and must only be based upon your learning in this unit. You must submit the review report along with the annotated PDF file of the main article. You must follow the following steps in developing your report:

1. Choose and develop an initial research topic using a topic from the given list.
2. Conduct a literature search to identify one scholarly paper relevant to your chosen topic.
3. Annotate the PDF version of the paper using the annotated paper in Week 3 tutorial as an example. Upload the annotated pdf along with your review report in Moodle.
4. Provide a detailed annotated bibliography of the paper using your own words and the given template in the week 3 tutorial.
5. Provide an explanation of the search process you followed in locating and downloading this paper (Include screenshots).
6. Demonstrate adequate evidence of the credibility of the paper ( include at least three indicators of credibility with screenshots).
7. Identify two relevant sources/references relevant to the summarised paper (e.g. one source cited by the paper and a second source citing the paper).
8. Build a review summary table and a theme matrix table of the three identified papers
9. Provide your personal reflection of your learning experience in this phase.

Tip: The personal reflection should record your experiences, feelings and reactions during the learning experience in the last four weeks. This may include your commentary on Turnitin similarity percentage, evaluation of the adopted approaches, techniques or tutorial activities that have been helpful or unhelpful. You must also reflect on the consultation process you have had with your lecturer/tutor, peers and/or Moodle sources.

Assessment 1B Outline Research Proposal (10 marks)

Assessment 1B aims to help you initiate the concept of your research project. The assessment requires you to submit an outline proposal based on the review report. You will develop the outline proposal of your intended research project. The outline proposal must essentially outline the what, why and how of your research project. Your topic must be relevant to your discipline. The outline proposal must include the following components.

1. Research topic: The topic should provide a clear and concise statement of the specific topic that the research proposal will focus on. It must be well-defined and relevant to your discipline.
2. Introduction: This section should provide an overview of the research problem and the significance of the study. It must also include a brief literature review of relevant studies in the field that were included in the summary tables.
3. Research Questions or Objectives: This section should clearly state the research questions or objectives that the study aims to address.
4. Methodology: This section should describe your approach to the literature review and the research design, sampling techniques, data collection methods, and data analysis plans that will be used in the study.
5. Research Scope: This section should define the boundaries of the study, including the specific topic or problem that will be addressed, the geographic area or population that will be studied, and any limitations or assumptions of the study.
6. Expected Findings: This section should summarise the anticipated outcomes of the study, including the expected results of the research and their implications for your discipline practice and future research.
   
7. List of references.
8. Appendix - Include the summary and theme matrix tables developed in assessment 1A.

The outline proposal MUST not exceed 800 words excluding references and appendices, so each sentence must be concise and relevant. You must remove your name and any identifying information in the submission as it will be blindly reviewed by your peers.

Assessment 1C Peer Assessment (10 marks)

Assessment 1C aims to reinforce your understanding of research principles by exchanging knowledge with your peers. The assessment requires you to assess three proposals (assessment 1B) submitted by your peers as randomly and anonymously assigned to you. Students will not be given any mark for assessment 1C if they fail to complete the peer assessment by the deadline. You will conduct the assessment based on the assessment criteria and a marking tool will be provided. You are expected to provide a constructive summary of your comments and justify your given mark. To facilitate the undertaking of peer assessments, the Moodle Workshop plugin will be used.

Assessment 1A: Review Report (20 marks)

Assessment will be done according to presentation, accuracy and coverage of the content for each step defined in the description of assessment 1A. In particular, the following assessment aspects will be used to assess submissions:

• The selected articles are properly identified, credible and relevant to the chosen topic. (20%)
• The annotated bibliography is concise and based on the annotated attached PDF file (20%)
• The summary and matrix tables include key and useful information to guide the writing. (20%)
• Personal reflection is relevant, critical and well-articulated in response to the assessment task. (10%)
• The report content is substantially based upon the unit resources and lecture notes. (20%)
• Clarity and soundness of language, report format, presentation and referencing. (10%)

Assessment 1B: Outline Proposal (10 marks)

This part will be assessed based on the following criteria:

1. Introduction: Clarity of the research problem and significance of the study, relevance, and originality of the topic (20%)
2. Literature review: The literature review is relevant and based on credible and recent sources that are included in the summary tables (20%)
3. Research question & objectives: Clarity and specificity of the research questions or objectives, relevance and importance of the research questions or objectives to the discipline, and alignment with the research topic (10)%
4. Methodology: Feasibility and appropriateness of the research design, adequacy of the sampling techniques, quality and rigor of the data collection methods, and soundness of the data analysis plan (20%).
5. Research scope: Clarity and relevance of the research scope, appropriateness of the research scope to the research question and research methodology. (10%).
   
6. Expected findings: Relevance and significance of the expected findings, alignment with the research question and research methodology, and realism and feasibility of the expected findings (10%)
7. Overall quality, format, content, and proper referencing (10%)

Assessment 1C: Peer Assessment of Outline Proposals (10 marks)

You will receive marks for the quality of assessing the outline proposals of your peers. Students will not be given any marks for assessment 1C if they fail to complete the peer assessment by the deadline. Based on how close your assessment is to "the best assessment" of each criterion of the submission, the system will automatically calculate the score for the quality of your assessments. The best assessment represents a consensus of the majority of assessors. The unit coordinator will moderate the calculated marks for consistency and accuracy. For 1B and 1C, the maximum marks will be allocated as per the following table:

Task Description

You will be required to complete one set of in-class multiple-choice quiz questions related to the first four learning outcomes of this unit.

Purpose

The primary purpose of this assessment item is to help you understand the processes required in initiating and planning a research project. The secondary purpose is to give you the opportunity to reinforce your research knowledge and skills. The quiz will be based on the learning materials between Week 1-9. In order for you to complete the quiz, it is necessary for you to complete all learning activities prescribed in the unit for the respective weeks.

Important Information:

1. The quiz will ONLY be undertaken during the scheduled 0n-campus tutorial classes.
2. A student failing to undertake the quiz in class as scheduled in week 10 will receive zero marks.
3. All questions will be in the form of multiple-choice questions.
4. Students must complete the quiz a maximum of 50 minutes.
5. The quiz is a closed-book quiz and you must not seek any assistance to complete it.
6. Students will be given different versions of the quizzes. It is very unlikely that two students will see the same questions.

Note: Online and distance students will be required to attend a Zoom session with a faculty member in week 10 to undertake the quiz in real time and submit their answers in Moodle or by email.

• The percentage of correct answers
• No penalty deduction for wrong answers
• Zero marks for students failing to attend the scheduled tutorial for undertaking the in-class quiz in week 10.

Assessment 3 (Research Proposal) (40 marks)

Overview:

This group assessment requires all on-campus students to enrol in groups to complete a project-based assessment. The project is to work as a team to plan and develop a viable research proposal of high academic standards. Your group must demonstrate effective application of project management competence in planning your research project and completing the project proposal. Your group should prioritise projects initiated in the completed outline proposals and eventually agree upon the group research topic for further adoption in this assessment. The proposal must address a research problem or gap that warrants research in your discipline. The proposal must be substantially based on the learning materials of this unit.

The assessment must be developed via a group of 3-5 students formed by the faculty. Each group member must enrol in their group in Moodle by the given deadline. The group must select its group leader and negotiate group rules by completing a group charter template by the given deadline. Your group must meet on a regular basis and keep a record of group minutes of meetings until the end of the term. All group communications must be conducted through Moodle Forums, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Planner and/or CQU student emails. If a group decides to use an external platform, each member must keep a full record of all exchanged communications throughout the term for scrutiny by the faculty. Any dysfunctional member should be given a warning by the group leader and an opportunity to improve. In the case of no improvement, the group members must award a low rating to the dysfunctional member in the final group evaluation.

The assessment consists of four deliverables or parts:

Assessment 3A- Compulsory-non-graded: Short group oral presentations of group outline proposals, due in week 8.

Assessment 3B- 30 marks: Final Research Proposal, due by the beginning of week 11

Assessment 3C-10 marks: Oral presentations of group research proposals in weeks 11 & 12.

Assessment 3D- Compulsory-non-graded: Group Member Performance Evaluation, due by the end of week 12.

Assessment Tasks:

Assessment 3A: Group short presentations of group outline proposals (compulsory non-graded submission):

The task requires each group to deliver a compulsory short presentation of the group outline proposal using a maximum of 5 slides in 5 minutes in week 8. Failing to present or demonstrate reasonable progress as evident from the short presentation will attract a flat deduction of 5 marks as a penalty from all group members.

Assessment 3B: Group Research Proposal (30 marks):

Planning and developing a final detailed research proposal is the most important assessment item in this unit. In developing your detailed proposal, you must adopt the supplied research proposal template which includes sufficient guidelines to complete each section. The proposal content must be relevant to the lecture notes and unit learning sources in Moodle. Each group must provide a Dropbox or SharePoint hyperlink to a shared folder with all contributions made by group members to develop the proposal.

You should think of your detailed proposal as a document that should be detailed enough so that anyone else can use your plan to execute the project within a maximum of six months after the submission of the proposals. This duration must be respected when you prepare your project management plan & documentation accordingly.

Assessment 3C: Oral presentations (10 marks):

Each group will be required to submit PowerPoint slides and deliver an oral presentation during weeks 11 & 12 following the submission of the group proposal. Groups will deliver a compulsory 15-20-minutes oral presentation during the lecture timing in weeks 11 and 12 to present the detailed proposals to their lecturer and peers. The presentation should include all key components of the research proposal. Every group member must attend the oral presentation session(s) and co-present his/her contributed part of the group work. This task will ultimately polish your understanding of the unit learning outcomes and help you learn from each other and receive constructive feedback. A student failing to attend all oral presentation session(s) and/or failing to co-present the contributed his/her part of the group work will attract zero marks for this part.

Assessment 3D: Group Peer Evaluation (Compulsory - non-graded submission)

Evaluation of group members is an important deliverable of the final assessment which aims to evaluate the process of undertaking the final assessment and ensure that each group member will receive a unique mark reflecting the quality and quantity of their contribution. In week 12, each group member will receive an email from the unit coordinator inviting them to respond to a compulsory survey. You must respond by the given deadline, mentioned in that email. The survey includes five Likert-Scale questions and one open-ended question. The survey aims to evaluate the performance of each group member regarding leadership, attendance of group meetings, timely action, cooperation, quality of contribution, etc. You must self-rate your performance and rate each member of your group against the given criteria.

Important Notes:

• The unit coordinator or a delegated staff member may request groups with suspicious submissions or evaluations to attend an interview with the unit coordinator and provide evidence of the given assessment to their peers such as communications history, minutes of meetings, earlier drafts, and the like.
• Failing to complete a compulsory non-graded Assessment on time will incur 5 marks deduction.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Assessment 3A: Group short presentations (compulsory-non graded)

This is a non-graded compulsory assessment. However, a penalty of 5 marks will be deducted from the group members in case of the following:

1. the group failed to present their work in progress or demonstrate reasonable progress in their project;
2. the group member did not attend the full oral presentation session(s).

Assessment 3B: Detailed Research Proposal (30 marks)

A detailed rubric will be used for marking this assessment task and will be made available in the Moodle site. This part will be marked taking into account peer evaluations in Part 3D. If a group member receives 2.5/5 marks or less in the group evaluation in Assessment 3D, this will encounter a further reduction of his/her mark in Assessment 3B to be a maximum of 15 out of 30 marks.

Assessment 3C: Group Oral Presentations (10 marks)

Each group member will receive an appropriate mark for this part based on the quality of their presentation, preparation, ability to answer questions, and student participation in the session. The following criteria will be used for assessment:

1. Clarity and coherence of the research question and objectives, relevance and originality of the research (10%).
2. Methodological rigor and thoroughness of literature review & project management (30%).
3. Ethical considerations and attention to detail, such as time management and effective use of visual aids (20%).
4. Communication and answering questions, and demonstration of knowledge of the field (20%).
5. Overall impression of the research proposal and the student's preparedness and understanding of the topic (20%).

A group member will receive Zero marks on this part in the case of any of the following incidents:

1. the group member failed to present their contributed part of the group work;
2. the group member did not attend the full oral presentation session(s); or
3. the group member failed to demonstrate a basic understanding of the entire group project.

Assessment 3D: Group peer evaluation (Compulsory - none graded)

This is a compulsory non-graded assessment. Failing to comply with the following requirements will incur a mark deduction of a maximum of 5 marks from assessment 3:

Every group member will receive an evaluation from his group peers that measures the performance, engagement, and overall contribution quality of the group member to the group work. and you must answer all five rating questions and provide short feedback of not less than 30 words about the level of contribution, the reliability of contributions, and the performance of each group member by answering the sixth question. You must respond to the survey independently and privately. You must be objective and honest in your assessment.