Unit Synopsis
This unit is designed for first-time researchers. It provides you with an introduction to the research methods and critical thinking approach that will be used throughout your psychology degree. At the end of this unit, you will be able to describe, apply, and evaluate a range of basic qualitative and quantitative research methods used in the social sciences. You will develop critical thinking, problem solving skills and group work skills. You will gain introductory competence in critically evaluating scientific literature, constructing empirical arguments, generating research questions, applying basic statistical concepts, and preparing scientific research reports in American Psychological Association (APA) formatting style. A focus will be placed on conducting research with diverse populations and in an ethically responsible manner. The skills and knowledge gained in this unit will be developed further in Research Methods 2 (PSYC12048) and Research Methods 3 (PSYC13015).
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| 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 3 - 2026
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
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.
Assessment Tasks
To see assessment details from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Term 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 75.76% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 15.94% 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: SUTE data
Feedback could have been clearer.
Video feedback will be recorded and made available for all students following each assessment to contextualise and complement the individual feedback students receive.
This was not undertaken this year but will be considered for the next iteration.
Source: SUTE data
Unit requirements were not clear.
Specific guidance on week-by-week requirements will be provided on the Moodle site and within tutorials.
This guidance was provided during tutorials, particularly focusing on the tasks that built towards the completion of Assessment 3.
Source: SUTE feedback
More clarity needed in linking course materials to assessments
Streamline and update course materials with particular focus on assessment requirements
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback
More examples required to support development of Assessment 3
Provide updated examples for Assessment 3, and provide further explanation of these in live workshops or recorded videos.
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback
Improve clarity of feedback on assessments
Video feedback will be recorded and made available for all students following each assessment to contextualise and complement the individual feedback students receive.
In Progress
To see Learning Outcomes from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.