Overview
Students will explore, synthesise and apply the fundamentals of the scientific method in this unit. Students will develop skills in scientific communication beyond reading and writing - through a series of seminars, lectures and self-guided tasks students will learn appropriate manipulation of mathematical and statistical data as well as data presentation. Students who successfully complete this unit will enhance their knowledge and understanding of a range of fundamental scientific concepts and will also consider issues relating to ethics, experimentation and professional practice.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
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 - 2018
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 "Have your say" feedback on Moodle.
Students enjoy the flexibility they are given in choosing their own topics for assessment pieces.
Lecturers will continue to allow flexibility in assessment topics for students.
Feedback from "Have your say" feedback on Moodle.
Students appreciate that the approach to tutorials involves student involvement and discussion. However, they would like to see more discussion in the tutorials.
Students will continue to be encouraged to participate in tutorial discussions.
- Use information and numerical literacy skills to communicate science
- Discuss the importance and role of ethical practice to scientific practice
- Use digital information technology to communicate science
- Interpret and explain scientific data
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion - 10% | ||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||
| 3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 50% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 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 - Group Discussion - 10% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Microsoft word AND excel or equivalent Mac or Open Source packages
- Zotero citation management software (free download, used on all operating/web systems, instructions in class).
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.anastasi@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Stand back...I'm doing science!
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
One size does NOT fit all: the scientific method
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Ethics is NOW!
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
When is a question not a question? When it's a hypothesis!
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The scientific output - what do those journal articles actually mean?
An introduction to scientific mathematics that we will encounter every time we read research work.
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Operator please:
Using scientific mathematics and mathematical symbols properly so that you can complete laboratory with confidence!
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Communicating science to the public Part A submission Due Friday (27 Apr 18) 11:45 PM AEST
Module/Topic
Scientific mathematics for professionals:
The application of that high school math stuff to real field science.
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Becoming EXCELlent: using spreadsheets in mathematics, statistics, and formal presentations.
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Communicating science to the public Part B submission Due Friday (11 May 18) 11:45 PM AEST
Module/Topic
Bringing it together: thinking like a scientist, writing and speaking like a boss.
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Let's talk assessment!
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Course wrap-up
Chapter
See Moodle for readings and activities.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Group Discussion
Choose ONE of the following questions:
- Do you think that scientists should be allowed to study whatever they like in the name of research? At what point should we draw the line, or should everything be investigated?
- Do you think that the media have a responsibility to accurately report scientific findings? How should they go about this? What are the consequences of sensationalised or pre-mature reporting?
- Do you think that animal experimentation should be allowed? Why / why not? Are there certain circumstances under which animal experimentation is acceptable and others that are not? Give examples.
- Should medical professionals be allowed to choose whom they can preferentially treat? Should all persons be given equal access to medical care, or should professionals be allowed to discriminate on the basis of the patients’ lifestyle.
Read the relevant reference materials provided on Moodle and post a comment responding to your chosen question by using the Moodle forum on your Science Communication Moodle site. Write between 5 and 10 lines of text (directly into the forum), making direct reference to the source materials provided on the Moodle page. You can initiate discussion or respond to previous comments about your chosen question.
You may also disagree with another student’s post, but you must justify your position, and take care not to use language that may offend.
The aim of this exercise is to think about an issue and to justify your opinion with scientific information. You will be assessed on the quality of your argument and supporting evidence, not your opinion.
Week 4 Thursday (29 Mar 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 6 Friday (20 Apr 2018)
Your grade is determined by three key criteria based on your initial forum post:
1. You have identified a position on the topic (2 marks);
2. You have justified your position, using the source material provided on Moodle (6 marks);
3. You have displayed evidence that you considered other views from the literature provided in constructing your argument (2 marks).
More detail will be provided on the Moodle site.
- Use information and numerical literacy skills to communicate science
- Discuss the importance and role of ethical practice to scientific practice
- Interpret and explain scientific data
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Written Assessment
Note - this assignment has two parts.
Part A is due Friday, Week Seven, 11:45 pm.
Part B is due Friday, Week Nine, 11:45 pm.
PART A
Using plain English, write a magazine article about a scientific study that explains what was done, why it was done and identifies the most important findings. Your audience will be people who have studied science at a first year university level.
You will be assessed on your skills in locating scientific information and your ability to understand and communicate complex information. Please note – you are being asked to write about the article not to paraphrase the article. Your magazine article should be 800 words.
PART B
Prepare a word-processed review of your partner’s Part A submission. This is called a peer review and should be a general commentary on the overall quality of your partner’s submission. Your peer review should be 500 words.
Further detail, including detailed marking criteria, will be provided on the Moodle site.
This task is due in TWO parts. PART A: Week 7, Friday, 11:45 pm (AEST); PART B: Week 9, Friday, 11:45 pm (AEST).
Parts A and B of this task are marked together and will be returned together, with a feedback sheet, on Moodle in Week 12
You are being assessed on:
1. Selection of an appropriate scientific article;
2. Ability to clearly and concisely communicate the relevance, results and implications of the article;
3. Appropriate communication to a general audience with little knowledge of the area of science;
4. Identification of the critical components of general science communication by highlighting the positive and negative aspects of your partner’s submission;
5. Ability to read and interpret scientific literature beyond your interest area when reviewing your partner's source article for 'newsworthiness' or scientific importance.
More detail will be provided on the Moodle site.
- Use information and numerical literacy skills to communicate science
- Use digital information technology to communicate science
- Interpret and explain scientific data
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
3 Presentation and Written Assessment
Prepare a 3 minute video based on any one of the topics available from the Moodle site.
For this assignment, you will need to find all of your own references. Remember, not all material you find on the web is of sound scientific quality and you will have to use your own judgement to decide which references are appropriate to use in your video!
This is a challenging assignment but you will be supported with a series of background lectures on the scientific mathematics, evaluation of sources and also on effective communication. You will be required to include mathematical calculations, graphs and references within your video.
Week 12 Monday (28 May 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
After certification of grades.
You will be marked on your ability to select appropriate information (Information Literacy), the quality of your discussion (Critical Thinking) and the quality of your presentation and referencing (Communication).
More detail will be provided on the Moodle site.
- Use information and numerical literacy skills to communicate science
- Discuss the importance and role of ethical practice to scientific practice
- Use digital information technology to communicate science
- Interpret and explain scientific data
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- 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?
