CQUniversity Unit Profile.

In this assessment task, you will begin the process of engaging with peer-reviewed empirical literature in an area that interests you within the domain of Positive Psychology/Wellbeing Science.

You will:

1. Identify a research area of strong interest for you in the field of Positive Psychology/Wellbeing Science.
2. Conduct a peer-reviewed literature search through the CQUniversity library databases for published empirical research studies relevant to your area of research interest.
3. Write a brief (100-word) description of the literature searching methods you used to find the peer-reviewed empirical journal articles.
4. Based on the literature found, provide a brief (200-word) description of your chosen topic of research interest, which reflects the importance of the topic to the field of positive psychology.
5. From the literature found, choose two peer-reviewed empirical research study articles highly relevant to your area of research interest which have closely-aligned research aims, and write a brief (100-word) justification for why you specifically chose each of the final two articles.
6. For each research article, complete the research summary table (provided on Moodle) outlining the study aims/research questions, study research methods and ethical considerations, study findings, and study strengths/limitations and future directions (maximum of 2 pages per study)
7. Write a 300-word synthesis summarising and integrating what knowledge was gained overall from the findings of the studies in relation to your stated area of research interest, and the significance of these findings for contributing to our understanding about the area. This synthesis should lead into a critical appraisal statement outlining what could be the next logical step for future research to take to further build knowledge in the area.

The maximum word count for this assessment task is 700 words. This word limit includes in-text citations but excludes the reference list. The word count excludes the words in the study summary tables, but the study tables must not exceed 2 pages per study. Meeting the word count is included as a part of the marking criteria in your marking rubric on Moodle. See the Psychology Word Count Information document on Moodle for a rationale for using this type of word limit restriction.

*NOTE: Further information about this assessment task is provided in the Unit and Assessment Guide on the unit Moodle site.

Level of GenAI use allowed:

Level 3: You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use. 

Please refer to the unit Moodle site for further details on permissible uses of Generative-AI tools for this assessment task.

This assessment task will be assessed via a marking rubric, which will be available on the unit Moodle site.

You will be assessed on:

• The quality of the rationale for the choice of research topic
• Detailing of the methodology used to source appropriate peer-reviewed research articles
• The relevance of the chosen peer-reviewed research articles to the identified area of interest
• The quality and accuracy of the reporting of aims/research questions, research methods and ethical considerations, and key findings of each of the chosen research articles
• Ability to synthesise and integrate the reported research findings, and critically appraise knowledge gaps/areas for further research based on the chosen research articles
• The quality of written communication, including adherence to word-limit
• Accurate use of appropriate references and adherence to APA referencing requirements for in-text citations and the reference list.

Detailed information regarding assessment task requirements, assessment criteria, and the marking rubric can be found in the Unit and Assessment Guide on Moodle.

This assessment will require you to complete two online quizzes designed to assess your understanding of the unit Moodle workbook content related to fundamental ethical principles and research methods relevant to positive psychology (e.g., identifying research paradigms; research question development etc.). The quizzes are designed to help build your engagement with and comprehension of the unit content. The online quizzes will be completed via assessment portals on the Unit Moodle website. Across the two online quizzes, there will be an overall total of 50 questions to answer, some of which will be multiple-choice, and others will be multi-component questions or questions requiring a short written answer. 

• Online Quiz A will contain questions that cover content from the first 3 weeks of unit, and must be completed via Moodle by Week 4, Monday (4th August 2025, 5pm AEST).
• Online Quiz B will contain questions that cover content from week 4 to week 9 of the unit, and must be completed via Moodle by Week 10, Monday (22nd September 2025, 5pm AEST).

Each quiz will become available two weeks before their due date, and you may complete these quizzes at any time up until their due date. You will only be given one opportunity to complete each quiz, and each quiz must be completed in one sitting. 

*NOTE: Further information about this assessment task is provided in the Unit and Assessment Guide on the unit Moodle site.

Level of GenAI use allowed:

Level 1: You must not use AI at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge. 

The online quizzes will include multiple-choice, multi-component, and short-answer questions. All information relevant to the quizzes will be covered in the unit content. Questions will be drawn from content in the unit Moodle workbooks, set readings, and online tutorials. 

The online quizzes will test you on:

• Comprehension of Unit Moodle content 
• Evaluating and responding to questions using evidence provided in the Unit Moodle 

Across the two online quizzes there will be a total of 50 questions, which will be worth 20% of the overall grade for the unit.

Detailed information regarding quiz requirements and scope can be found in the Unit and Assessment Guide on Moodle.

In this final assessment, you will source and critically evaluate two published empirical research study articles, and develop a future research question based on your critical evaluation of these articles. The two articles included will be your choice, but must be:

1. Peer-reviewed primary source journal articles (i.e., articles reporting new research findings from an original study) that are published in reputable journals.
2. Relevant to one specific area of interest in the Positive Psychology/Wellbeing Science domain, but this must be a different area of focus than the choice in Assessment 1. 

The assessment piece will include consideration of the following:

• What is the predominant area of interest for the researcher/s, and why is the area considered important? (This will be utilised as your introductory paragraph.)
• What are the main research questions in each publication?
• Compare and contrast the methodologies used by the researchers in each publication
• What are the key findings in each of the research publications, and do they appear to be justified? 
• What are the strengths and limitations of each of the chosen research publications? 
• A critical evaluation of the suggestions made by the publication authors for future research
• Identification of an important ‘gap’ in the research literature (based on the 2 chosen publications) that you propose could be further explored in research, and a justification for why this proposed future research would be worthwhile. 
• Formulation of at least one future research question that would meaningfully address the identified ‘gap’ in knowledge (using the guiding principles of the PICO/PEO [Population, Intervention/Exposure, Comparison, Outcomes] framework).

The maximum word count for this assessment task is 2000 words. This word limit includes in-text citations but excludes any reference section. Meeting the word count is included as a part of the marking criteria in your marking rubric on Moodle. See the Psychology Word Count Information document on Moodle for a rationale for using this type of word limit restriction.

*NOTE: Further information about this assessment task is provided in the Unit and Assessment Guide on the unit Moodle site.

Level of GenAI use allowed:

Level 3: You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use. 

Please refer to the unit Moodle site for further details on permissible uses of Generative-AI tools for this assessment task.

This assessment task will be assessed via a marking rubric, which will be available on the unit Moodle site.

You will be assessed on:

• Identification of the predominant research area of interest in the empirical studies, and their research questions
• Quality of comparing and contrasting of the research methodologies used in the empirical studies
• Ability to summarise, interpret, and critique the reported research findings
• Quality and comprehensiveness of the identification of the strengths, weaknesses, and future research directions
• Critical analysis of key gaps/areas for further research based on the chosen empirical studies, and rationale as to why the identified gap would be of benefit to address in future research
• Development of a meaningful research question using the principles of the PICO/PEO (Population, Intervention/Exposure, Comparison, and Outcomes) style framework
• Clarity, conciseness and quality of written communication and critical thinking in the assessment, and adherence to the word-limit
• Accurate use of appropriate references and adherence to APA referencing requirements for in-text citations and the reference list.

Detailed information regarding assessment task requirements, assessment criteria, and the marking rubric can be found in the Unit and Assessment Guide on Moodle.