Overview
This unit is the second and final stage of your final year research project which builds upon the successful completion of Research Project 1 (PPMP20019). In this unit, you will complete the investigative study that you have undertaken in 'Research Project 1'. You will collect, analyse secondary or primary data and discuss the findings of your study. Then, you will draw conclusions and report the research findings via a rigorous scholarly paper as well as an oral presentation. You will also be required to apply your project management competencies throughout the execution and closing phases of your research project.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: PPMP20019 Research Project 1
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2019
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 12-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student Emails
The support and guidance from the supervisor made the research journey more interesting and manageable.
Continue with current teaching and learning practices.
Feedback from Student Evaluations in Moodle
More support on statistical analysis is needed.
Moodle resources should be updated to provide further materials on applicable statistical tools that are appropriate for PG students.
Feedback from Teaching team
The actual student intake is below the expected target (e.g. 10-15 students).
High achieving students should be encouraged to select the research stream. Approaches may include a webinar by the unit coordinator upon the end of the term to stimulate interest from prospective students.
- Apply project management processes, tools and techniques in executing the research project
- Use appropriate tools and techniques in undertaking a research inquiry, and collecting and analysing data
- Interpret results and draw conclusions that address the research question and objectives being investigated
- Apply ethical practices in collecting research data, analysing results and reporting research findings
- Communicate and orally present a well constructed scholarly paper of a publication standard.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Research Assignment - 80% | |||||
| 2 - Presentation - 20% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||
| 4 - Research | |||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Research Assignment - 80% | ||||||||
| 2 - Presentation - 20% | ||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
No
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Endnote (available through Library - see Moodle link)
- computer lab
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.skaik@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
- Discuss PPMP20015 proposal with your Supervisor to agree on the way forward.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Kick off meeting with the Supervisor (Compulsory)
Module/Topic
- Refine proposal as discussed with your supersvisor
- Develop baseline schedule including all milestones and key activities of the execution and closing phases of research project.
- Conduct focused literature review.
- Update research questions or hypothesis if necessary.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Milestone:
- Submit refined research proposal for review
- Submit baseline schedule of execution and closing phases for approval
Module/Topic
- Continue with the focused literature review.
- Finalise the data collection instrument
- Prepare necessary documentation for Ethics clearance (if applicable).
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor (Week 3) (Complusory)
Milestone:
- Submit data collection instrument for review.
- Submit Ethics application for review. (if applicable)
Module/Topic
- Finalise critical literature review section
- Finalise the sampling plan and identify potential participants (if applicable)
- Proceed with pilot study (if applicable)
- Update/refine data collection instrument (if applicable).
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor (Compulsory)
Milestone: Complete literature literature review section
Module/Topic
You have done a good progress and you would need a well deserved break. Love yourself and enjoy every moment in your break.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Proceed with data collection in accordance with the approved Ethics protocol.
- Write the methodology section.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor (Week 6)
Milestone:
- Methodology section complete.
Module/Topic
- Analyse and interpret collected data.
- Write results section.
- Complete analysis section.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor (Week 8) (Compulsory)
Milestone:
- Results section complete.
- Analysis section complete.
Module/Topic
- Discuss findings and make links between objectives, findings and literature.
- Complete the conclusion section which summarises major findings, limitations, implications and directions for future research.
- Identify any gap where extra work or reading is necessary.
- Finalise the research report
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor (Compulsory)
Research Report Due
Module/Topic
- Develop your draft publication paper emerging from the report.
- Consider the feedback received on your report.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Present project findings via an oral presentation in the PM Research Seminar.
- Consider the feedback received on the research report and oral presentations in improving your research paper.
- Improve the language and formatting of paper.
- Go through the given checklist and ensure you tick all boxes before submission
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Closing meeting with the Supervisor (Compulsory)
Milestones:
In order to take Research Project 2 (PPMP20016) in T1, 2019, the Handbook states that you should have completed Research Project 1 (PPMP20019). However, as part of the transition plan of the new course structure, you will be eligible to enrol directly in "Research Project 2 (PPMP20016)" if, by end of T3 2018, you have successfully completed 72 credit point units with a minimum overall GPA of 5.75 and achieved 'Distinction' in Research in Project Management unit (PPMP20015). If you have completed less than 72 credit points by end of T3, 2018, you will be required to enrol in Research Project 1 (PPMP20019) before you are allowed to take PPMP20016.
1 Research Assignment
Overview:
This assignment requires you to work independently and execute the research proposal developed in PPMP20015 as refined following your supervisor's requirements. Your work will be overseen by a supervisor who is an academic member of staff. You will work with the supervisor for the duration of the research project. The onus is on you to make contact with the supervisor and to arrange and adhere to a programme of regular meetings thereafter. The supervisor is not obliged to chase you in order to check on your work progress. The supervisor should advise on the structure and suitability of the paper, guide you through the entire process and warn you if the work is not thought to be of a satisfactory standard. You should maintain contact with your supervisor throughout the preparation of your paper. A common pitfall is to go long periods of time without making any contact with the supervisor. You must attend the six compulsory meetings with your supervisor as scheduled in the unit profile. You must also apply project management competencies in completing the execution and closing phases of your research project.
The task
Your task is to conduct to collect and analyse primary and/or secondary data then disseminate your research via a scholarly paper format. The task requires you to demonstrate that you can conduct a piece of rigorous research in your chosen field and involves critical thinking and reasoning. The task also requires you to apply project management competencies throughout the project lifecycle. You are expected to demonstrate a high level of project management and leadership competencies in this unit by meeting the given milestones, effectively tracking and updating your work progress and mitigating risks or delays. Your supervisor will keep a regular diary of your activities for comparison with your closing report for validation and assessment purposes. This assignment consists of three main deliverables or parts per the following table:
| Assessment item | Weight |
| Part 1A: Research Report (week 10) | 50% |
| Part 1B: Project Closing Report (week 12) | 10% |
| Part 1C: Conference Paper (week 13) | 20% |
Part 1A: Research Report
This part requires you to submit your research report by the end of week 10. The sections/components of the research report should appear in the following order. A research report template with clear guidelines on how to write each section is available in Moodle for your use.
- Cover page
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Rationale including research questions.
- Literature review
- Research Methodology
- Results
- Analysis
- Discussion
- Conclusion, implications and limitations
- References
- Appendices (Ethics application, data collection instrument, figures, tables, research data, raw data, supplementary information, etc.)
For guidance, the research paper should be 10,000 to 12,000 words in length including references but excluding appendices. Moodle site includes useful resources to help you complete your report. More details of the research report formatting and submission checklist are provided in Moodle site.
Part 1B: Project Closing Report
As a project manager of the research project, you must track your progress by submitting fortnightly records including supervisory meeting records and updated project schedule to your supervisor. Towards the end of the project, around the end of week 12, you will submit all the accumulated documents in one zip file for assessment. Mainly, you must provide the following records:
- Final ethics report following Ethics Office requirements (if applicable).
- Supervisory meeting records (a minimum of four records)
- Fortnightly updated baseline schedule showing actual dates, planned dated and actual variance. (a minimum of four progress reports)
- Reflective statement (200-300 words): summarising your experiences, feelings, reactions towards practising research project management in completing your paper and approaches to deal with incurred risks or delays and what resources or feedback you found to be helpful or unhelpful in managing your research project.
Part 1C: Conference Paper
This is the final part of your submissions in this unit which is due in week 13. The part requires you to develop a conference paper to disseminate the findings of your research. You will build upon the research report to prepare a succinct, concise and focused conference paper of publication standards. You must provide a compliance statement by listing all feedback and comments on your research report and your response as to how you complied with the given feedback/comment in developing the conference paper. The conference paper should be 12 pages long excluding compliance statement and references and must appear in the following order. Exemplars will be provided in Moodle for guidance. Make sure you reformat your graphs and/or tables to fit within the space limits.
- Abstract
- Background including aim and research questions.
- Literature review
- Research Method
- Results and Analysis
- Discussion
- Conclusion, limitations and further research
- References
- Compliance statement
Review/Exam Week Friday (14 June 2019) 11:59 pm AEST
Exam Week Friday (21 June 2019)
Part 1A: Research Report
| Grade | Criteria |
| HD | As in the D category, but in addition, displaying a very high ability to comprehend the subject matter within the wider context and demonstrating considerable originality. The highest level of structure and presentation. |
| D | An extremely thorough, distinction level piece of research. Thorough understanding of the subject and issues. Demonstrates a high degree of critical appraisal analysis, clearability to formulate/construct hypotheses and excellent understanding and application of research methods. Conclusions are well supported by the content. Very well structured and presented. |
| C | A good understanding of the subject and issues. Demonstrates a clear ability to ask the right questions and formulate/construct hypotheses to address the issues. Good understanding and application of research methods. Critical appraisal is demonstrated and conclusions and recommendations are supported. Fairly structured and presented paper over and above the basic standard. One or two requirements have not been met. |
| P | A reasonable understanding of the subject and issues, which asks questions and addresses potential answers, supported by a reasonable degree of analysis and critique. Acceptable consideration of research methods. Conclusions are reasonably formed and recommendations are generally supported by the work undertaken. Basic structure and presentation of the paper. three or more requirements were not met. |
| F | Does not meet academic standards for a scholarly paper. A basic piece of work which demonstrates limited knowledge/effort and understanding, supported by only little analysis and minimal review. Poor or non-existent consideration of research methods. Inadequate discussion with very poorly or unsupported conclusions. Poorly structured and presented paper. The submission is incomplete with many missing information. |
Part 1B: Project closing report
| Grade | Criteria |
| HD | As in the D category, but in addition, displaying the highest level of effective project management throughout the project lifecycle by taking the lead in identifying risks and taking effective corrective measures to keep the project on track. |
| D | Excellent demonstration of project management skills throughout the project lifecycle which is evident via meeting all the given milestones, attending supervisory progress meetings, taking timely actions, mitigating risks, monitoring progress and updating project documentation. |
| C | Good project management skills throughout the project lifecycle with some slippage in meeting deadlines, missing some supervisory progress meeting, fair dealing with risks and keeping some of the project records. |
| P | Reasonable project management skills throughout the project lifecycle with many delayed milestones, lack of engagement with the supervisor, failure to meet key milestones such as ethics clearance, limited ability to deal with project risks and inconsistent tracking of project records. |
| F | Poor project management skills evidenced by failure to meet most of the milestones, lack of engagement with the supervisor and superficial reporting and monitoring. |
Part 1C: Conference Paper
The conference paper will be assessed using the following criteria:
- The paper is well structured, presented and formatted 20%
- The compliance statement is satisfactory and all comments are incorporated 20%
- Quality of presenting results, analysis and discussion 20%
- Quality of writing, punctuation, grammar & spelling 20%
- Quality of conclusion and identification of limitations 20%
- Apply project management processes, tools and techniques in executing the research project
- Use appropriate tools and techniques in undertaking a research inquiry, and collecting and analysing data
- Interpret results and draw conclusions that address the research question and objectives being investigated
- Communicate and orally present a well constructed scholarly paper of a publication standard.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
2 Presentation
- Rationale
- Research questions
- Key arguments/concepts from the literature review
- Research gap/problem statement
- Research design and method
- Results and analysis
- Discussion
- Conclusion and limitations
- Reference list
Week 11 Thursday (30 May 2019) 12:00 pm AEST
Oral presentations
Week 12 Wednesday (5 June 2019)
| Assessment Criteria | Weight |
Technical Content
|
40% |
Delivery of presentation
|
40% |
Handling of Questions and Discussion
|
20% |
- Apply project management processes, tools and techniques in executing the research project
- Interpret results and draw conclusions that address the research question and objectives being investigated
- Communicate and orally present a well constructed scholarly paper of a publication standard.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
