PPMP20015 - Research Proposal

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit equips you with the foundation knowledge, skills and techniques for planning and designing a postgraduate research project on a chosen topic relating to your discipline. You will learn how to identify and review credible and relevant literature. You will develop the necessary competencies to identify a research gap and articulate research questions. You will consider qualitative and quantitative approaches, and choose appropriate data collection methods for your project with the final outcome of the unit being the development of a research proposal. The unit is designed to help you develop essential problem-solving and research skills for evaluating or conducting independent research projects including the ethical issues involved.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the 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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2023

Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Perth
Sydney
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney

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).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate 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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 40%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
3. Research Proposal 40%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 81.63% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 38.28% response rate.

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.

Source: Unit Coordinator
Feedback
Progressive submissions of the assessment tasks continued to be effective in detecting potential academic misconduct cases and encouraging more students to engage genuinely in the unit.
Recommendation
Continue with good practice in assessment design.
Action Taken
We continued to allow for progressive submissions.
Source: SUTE Teacher Report
Feedback
The learning materials are easy to understand and the use of Mentimeter during online lectures increased student interaction. The unit's content was well-organized and developed. While the topics may be difficult for those without prior experience, the connections between them and the final proposal aid in overall understanding.
Recommendation
Continue with good practice in learning and teaching.
Action Taken
We continued using Mentimeter in all lectures.
Source: SUTE Teacher Report
Feedback
Delay the deadline of assessment 1B (outline proposal) to be due by the end of week 6 instead of week 5 since the week 6 topic (research methods) clarifies all previous topics.
Recommendation
Adjust the deadline of assessment 1B to be due by end of week 6. Make necessary adjustments to the sequential peer assessment.
Action Taken
Adjustment was made to the assessment deadline to provide better student experience.
Source: SUTE Teacher Report
Feedback
The lecturer is commended for his exceptional approach, fostering discipline and encouraging student engagement through interactive tools like Mentimeter. His clarity in explanation and attentiveness to student queries are highly valued.
Recommendation
Continue using Mentimeter in all classes as it facilitates more student interaction and engagement.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE Unit Comments
Feedback
The unit is well-structured and is deemed to be beneficial for the core research component of the Master's program. However, there is an observation that the number of lecture slides provided can be excessive at times.
Recommendation
Ensure that the teaching team is only using Mentimeter slides in all lectures not the lecture notes.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE Unit Comments
Feedback
Group formation based on given topics should take place at the beginning of the term so students can work on the same research topic when undertaking individualised and group assessments.
Recommendation
Allow students to enrol in groups at the beginning of the term based on the assigned research topics for each group.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Identify and review credible literature to inform the articulation of a research question within your discipline
  2. Select appropriate research approaches, methods and skills for testing the research question
  3. Employ relevant ethical practices that consider the social, cultural and legal responsibilities of researchers
  4. Apply relevant project management principles to effectively plan your research project
  5. Develop a rigorous research proposal with all necessary components.


Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •
3 - Research Proposal • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
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 • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8