PSYC14051 - Psychology Research Project A

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Psychology Research Project A (PSYC14051) is the first of two units which will introduce you to the process of undertaking research in the discipline of psychology. Over the two units, you will independently undertake a scholarly investigation, under the supervision of a qualified supervisor within the psychology discipline. The purpose of the Psychology Research Project A unit is to provide you with the experience of proposing and planning an independent research project. The research question examined will be developed in consultation with your supervisor and will have either theoretical or applied significance in the psychology discipline. In Psychology Research Project A you will complete a research project proposal and an ethics application for that proposed project. Successful completion of this unit requires that Psychology Research Project A (PSYC14051) and Psychology Research Project B (PSYC14052) are undertaken in two consecutive University terms (e.g., Term 1 and Term 2, or Term 2 and Term 3).

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 4
Credit Points 12
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.25
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Students must be enrolled in CC42 Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) .

Pre- or co-requisite unit: PSYC14047 Advanced Data Analysis.

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 Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2023

Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Mixed Mode

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 12-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 0%
2. Practical Assessment 0%

This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 37.29% 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 in emails and progress reports.
Feedback
The quality of support from supervisors has remained high.
Recommendation
Continue supporting supervisors to access training which will further enhance their supervision skills.
Action Taken
The two one-hour training sessions for supervisors were provided by unit coordinators and head of course. New supervisors were mentored by unit coordinators and more experienced supervisor mentors.
Source: Feedback from a student representative and conversations with students during residential school.
Feedback
Students requested targeted workshops on aspects of the research project, such as the research proposal and the ethics application.
Recommendation
Present timely and specific workshops on the research proposal and the ethics application throughout the term.
Action Taken
Residential school included more specific sessions dedicated to the aspects of the research project. Additionally, 4 events were held throughout the term with training on relevant aspects of the project that students were likely to be engaged with at that time.
Source: Unit evaluations, student progress reports
Feedback
Supervisor and coordinator support has been highly commended.
Recommendation
Continue to mentor supervisors and coordinators to ensure the quality of support remains high.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student feedback at residential school and in emails
Feedback
More support is needed for qualitative research methods and analyses.
Recommendation
Provide some sessions on qualitative research methods in residential school or throughout the term.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Develop a research proposal for a psychology-based research project
  2. Complete a CQUniversity Human Research ethics application (or an Animal Research ethics application where appropriate) for a psychology-based research project.

The purpose of the two-term long Psychology Research Project (A & B) is to provide you with training in developing, conducting, and communicating research across theoretical and applied domains. This requires you to undertake an investigation of a research question in psychology and to report the investigation in written scholarly form. The research question will be of theoretical or applied significance to an area of psychology and the investigation and subsequent dissertation will be carried out under the principal supervision of a member of the psychology staff.

The thesis is an individual research project where the expectation is that you, with advice from your supervisor(s), will be responsible for, and participate in, all steps of the investigation and reporting.

Successful completion of this unit requires that Psychology Research Project A and Psychology Research Project B are undertaken in two consecutive University terms (e.g., Term 1 and Term 2, or Term 2 and Term 3).

Learning outcomes of this unit fulfil the level 2 pre-professional core competencies required by the updated Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) guidelines, specifically 2.5: Investigate a substantive individual research question relevant to the discipline of psychology. The unit also meets the study criteria as specified by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) as appropriate for study at level 8 as stated by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2
1 - Written Assessment •
2 - Practical Assessment •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2
1 - Communication • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • •
4 - Information Literacy •
8 - Ethical practice •
9 - Social Innovation •
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