Overview
Both qualitative and quantitative research skills are highly sought after in many career paths. This unit builds upon Research Methods 1 (PSYC11012) to provide you with the knowledge and skills to conduct and appraise both qualitative and quantitative research in your university and/or professional careers in psychology. The unit will continue to build your skills in critiquing, designing, and analysing qualitative research. It will also further advance your skills related to designing quantitative research, including how to perform basic statistical analyses by hand and using industry-standard computer software. Students who are not confident in their mathematical abilities are encouraged to contact the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) to discuss 'refresher' options.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-Requisite Completion of PSYC11012.
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 2 - 2026
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 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 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 Qualitative SUTE data.
The content, resources, and teaching styles of lecturers were clear, engaging, and informative.
Teaching staff should aim to continue to provide a respectful, supportive, and authentic approach to teaching this unit.
Feedback from Qualitative SUTE data.
Communication about the expectations for, and relevancy of, Assessment 1 could be enhanced for clarity.
Highlight the relevance of the task in understanding the complex nature of qualitative research, and the key differences between qualitative and quantitative data visualisations. Review task instructions and ensuring that students are aware of the marking rubric and what is required from them to demonstrate their understanding of qualitative methodology.
Feedback from Staff reflection.
While students appear to enjoy learning about the conceptual underpinnings of the statistical applications covered in this unit, and demonstrating their understanding of this in Assessment 3, the long-term retention of this content may be limited due to its abstract nature.
Review the nature and requirements of Assessment 3, to encourage more student reflection on the concepts taught and possibly enhance long-term retention of the content.
- Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
- Map a thematic analysis of qualitative research data.
- Calculate and report quantitative data in a professional format.
This unit addresses Foundational Competencies as specified by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). The unit specifically aligns to the following APAC graduate competencies:
1.1 Comprehend and apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth of understanding of underlying principles, theories and concepts in the discipline, using a scientific approach, including the following topics: i. the history and philosophy underpinning the science of psychology and the social, cultural, historical and professional influences on the practice of psychology; and xii. research methods and statistics.
1.2 Apply knowledge and skills of psychology in a manner that is reflexive, culturally appropriate and sensitive to the diversity of individuals.
1.3 Analyse and critique theory and research in the discipline of psychology and communicate these in written and oral formats.
1.4 Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate values and ethics in psychology.
1.6 Demonstrate self-directed pursuit of scholarly inquiry in psychology.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Project (applied) - 10% | |||
| 2 - Poster Sessions - 30% | |||
| 3 - Portfolio - 60% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | |||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||