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PSYC12048 - Research Methods

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will introduce you to key concepts in research methodology as employed in psychological research and the social sciences. The material covered in this unit provides the necessary background for you to conduct and/or appraise research as part of your undergraduate or professional careers. The primary goals of this unit are to a) provide you with an awareness of the range of methodologies available (both quantitative and qualitative) to researchers and to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches and b) design research studies to understand psychological phenomena, including writing sub-sections of research reports in APA style.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Successful completion of 24 credit points.

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 - 2020

Term 3 - 2020 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2021 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2022 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville

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 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

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Portfolio 55%
2. Group Discussion 15%
3. Take Home Exam 30%

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 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 80.49% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 27.33% 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: Student feedback
Feedback
High level of support from lecturers.
Recommendation
Continue to engage with students by actively encouraging the use of online forums (and lecturer interaction and timely response to questions), in addition to email and phone communication with students as required.
Action Taken
Continued support and encouragement to students was provided by all staff teaching into the unit
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Clearer instructions are required on expected writing style in take-home test.
Recommendation
Update take-home test information sheet with more detailed information on writing style. This should include the type of academic writing required in response to each section (e.g., methods sections of research reports).
Action Taken
There was no take-home test in the Term 2, 2022 delivery due to the revised structure and assessments in the unit.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students asked for detailed videos with step-by-step instructions for statistical calculations to aid their learning.
Recommendation
Continue to develop and provide pre-recorded videos on statistical calculations, supported with opportunities for practice during live tutorials.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE qualitative feedback
Feedback
Some students wanted earlier access to unit content.
Recommendation
Load pre-recorded teaching materials as early as possible to the Moodle site.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE quantitative and qualitative feedback
Feedback
Students appreciated the balance of quantitative and qualitative methods.
Recommendation
Maintain the balance between qualitative and quantitative teaching in the unit.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Evaluate basic research designs
  2. Design studies to investigate psychological phenomena
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts in research methods.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Portfolio
2 - Group Discussion
3 - Take Home Exam
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
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
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Portfolio
2 - Group Discussion
3 - Take Home Exam