Unit Profile Correction added on 28-04-20
The on-campus Residential
School has been changed to an on-line Residential School.
Overview
Psychology Research Project A (PSYC14051) is the first of two units which will introduce you to the process of undertaking research in the discipline of psychology. Over the two units, you will independently undertake a scholarly investigation, under the supervision of a qualified supervisor within the psychology discipline. The purpose of the Psychology Research Project A unit is to provide you with the experience of proposing and planning an independent research project. The research question examined will be developed in consultation with your supervisor and will have either theoretical or applied significance in the psychology discipline. In Psychology Research Project A you will complete a research project proposal and an ethics application for that proposed project. Successful completion of this unit requires that Psychology Research Project A (PSYC14051) and Psychology Research Project B (PSYC14052) are undertaken in two consecutive University terms (e.g. Term 1 and Term 2, or Term 2 and Term 3).
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Students must be enrolled in CC42 Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) Co-requisites: PSYC14047 and PSYC14050.
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 - 2020
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).
Residential Schools
This unit has a Compulsory Residential School for distance mode students and the details are:
Click here to see your Residential School Timetable.
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 12-credit Undergraduate 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 pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.
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 Evaluation of Teaching
I would have liked a weekly tutorial to check in and ask questions
Discuss utility of weekly check in sessions with new cohort at commencement of T1 in 2020, and book accordingly.
Feedback from Student Evaluation of Teaching
The Honours Handbook could have a bit more step-by-step detail, e.g. for submitting the research proposal
Review and update Honours Handbook as needed with some clearer detail about submission processes for assessments.
- Develop a research proposal for a psychology-based research project
- Complete a CQUniversity Human Research ethics application (or an Animal Research ethics application where appropriate) for a psychology-based research project.
The purpose of the two-term long Psychology Research Project (A & B) is to provide you with training in developing, conducting, and communicating research across theoretical and applied domains. This requires you to undertake an investigation of a research question in psychology and to report the investigation in written scholarly form. The research question will be of theoretical or applied significance to an area of psychology and the investigation and subsequent dissertation will be carried out under the principal supervision of a member of the psychology staff.
The thesis is an individual research project where the expectation is that you, with advice from your supervisor(s), will be responsible for, and participate in, all steps of the investigation and reporting.
Successful completion of this unit requires that Psychology Research Project A and Psychology Research Project B are undertaken in two consecutive University terms (e.g. Term 1 and Term 2, or Term 2 and Term 3).
Learning outcomes of this unit fulfil the level 2 pre-professional core competencies required by the updated Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) guidelines, specifically 2.5: Investigate a substantive individual research question relevant to the discipline of psychology. The unit also meets the study criteria as specified by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) as appropriate for study at level 8 as stated by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 0% | ||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 0% | ||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 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 - 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 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 0% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 0% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.reynolds@cqu.edu.au
a.rebar@cqu.edu.au
t.mcadie@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Connect with supervisor, literature search, topic refinement, and beginning to plan your research project
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Begin first brainstorm draft of the proposal, and start crafting your research question/s.
Select and design research tools (questionnaires, etc).
Together with your supervisor, aim to be finalising your research question/s and hypotheses towards the end of this week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Residential School; Rockhampton
Module/Topic
Continue draft and refinement of approach and methodology
Begin to write your ethics application
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Discuss literature review and project with supervisor.
Prepare ethics application.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Aim to submit the draft of your proposal to your thesis supervisor for feedback
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Develop and refine the research design; methodology, analyses
Refine ethics application
Include edits from your supervisr on your research proposal, ready for submission
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Proposal and Progress Report Due this week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Continue with your ethics application and submit early if you have supervisor approval
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Supervisor Progress Reports due this week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Feedback on your proposal from your supervisor and your independent assessor should be received and integrated into your thoughts for data collection
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Begin drafting the outline for your introduction and methods sections of your empirical report
If you have been working consistently on your literature review through this Term, you could have a rough draft of your Literature Review by this point
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Proposal Resubmissions due (if required)
Refine your literature review based on feedback, and continue working on methods of your empirical report
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Refine your literature review based on feedback, and continue working on methods of your empirical report
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
You will prepare and submit a research proposal for independent review, which reflects the project you are proposing to conduct for PSYC14051 and PSYC14052.
Details on the composition of this research proposal are provided on Moodle, and in the 2019 Handbook for Psychology Honours & Guidelines for Thesis Research Project. Please closely adhere to these requirements.
Week 7 Monday (27 Apr 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 9 Monday (11 May 2020)
Students and their supervisors will be emailed the decision (PASS, RE-SUBMIT or FAIL) with consolidated feedback from the reviewers
Three options are provided for the research proposal: Pass, Resubmit or Discontinue. in the 2019 Handbook for Psychology Honours & Guidelines for Thesis Research Project. Please closely adhere to these requirements.
In addition to assessment by the supervisor, all Research Project Proposals will be examined by an Independent Assessor appointed by the Thesis Coordinator. The independent assessor will make recommendations regarding the research project and highlight considerations/concerns about the project. These considerations may be theoretical, methodological, or regarding components of data collection or proposed data analysis.
The independent assessor will also make a recommendation of Pass, Resubmit or Discontinue. Students and supervisors do not need to incorporate the considerations/feedback raised by the independent assessor, but should make these decisions in consultation with each other.
The independent assessor will remain anonymous through this process.
Students will be assessed on the following criteria:
1. Background rationale and theory, research aims and significance
a. Intent of the project
b. Significance of the project
c. Providing a clear literature foundation for the research question/hypotheses
d. Clear, operationalised hypotheses
2. Design and Methods
a. Explanation of research study design
b. Description of method of data collection
c. Outline of proposed study procedures
d. Explanation of data collection techniques
3. Description of Participants and Recruitment Methods
a. Is the method of recruitment clearly expressed?
b. Has the student demonstrated understanding of the recruitment protocols for recruiting students (if applicable?)
c. Does the recruitment approach seem feasible in the honours timeline?
d. Are the targeted participants appropriate for answering the research question?
4. Potential ethical issues that you are aware of/risks
a. Has the student identified at least one potential ethical issue or risk during the project (this can be to participants, researcher/s, or other)
b. Has the student provided a reasonable consideration of how this ethical issue can or should be addressed/mitigated?
5. Proposed Data analysis
a. Clear description of the main analysis intended for the project
b. Clear linkage between analytic approach and the student's hypothesis/hypotheses
c. Consideration of statistical power analysis (if quantitative)
d. Reasonable understanding of the necessary sample size relative to the number of predictors selected for the analysis (if quantitative)
e. Citations for measures used for data collection (including reference to validity and reliability)
- Develop a research proposal for a psychology based research project.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Practical Assessment
You will complete an Ethics Application for either your new project, or for the existing project you are joining for your Honours year.
All documentation for this task is provided under 'Step 2: Ethics' on the Moodle page.
Week 12 Monday (1 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Monday (15 June 2020)
Students will be informed by email as to whether they have passed this component of the unit.
Ethics Applications are reviewed by the CQU Ethics Committee in accordance with committee requirements for a Human Research Ethics Committee. Consequently, there are no assessment criteria for this submission beyond ensuring all fields are accurately completed, and the committee approves the application before any research is conducted.
Students MUST NOT commence data collection without a complete, and approved ethics application.
- Complete a CQUniversity Human Research ethics application (or an Animal Research ethics application where appropriate) for a psychology based research project.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
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?
