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 - 2026

Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2026 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 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 93.33% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 26.79% 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: Verbal feedback from students
Feedback
Continue to provide workshops (such as the Ethics Application workshop) at relevant points throughout the term.
Recommendation
Continue to provide workshops (such as the Ethics Application workshop) at relevant points throughout the term.
Action Taken
Workshops were delivered at key points throughout the term to support student progress, including the continuation of the Ethics Application workshop.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Provide a timeline for when each section of the thesis should be completed.
Recommendation
Provide a general guide for when each section of the thesis should be completed but advise students that timelines may differ depending on the project and a student's individual progress, and timelines should be discussed and agreed upon with the student's supervisor.
Action Taken
A general thesis timeline guide was provided to students outlining suggested timeframes for completing each section of the thesis. The guide emphasised that individual timelines may vary and advised students to discuss and confirm their timelines with their supervisors.
Source: Residential school student feedback form.
Feedback
Students reported the online sessions at residential school were harder to engage with than the in-person presentations.
Recommendation
Reduce the number of online sessions scheduled during the face-to-face residential school to minimise cognitive load and maximise the value of in-person engagement. Consider whether some online presentations could instead be delivered via Zoom as additional workshops at other points during the term.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Residential school student feedback form.
Feedback
Students appreciated having residential school resources available online and accessible across related honours coursework units (e.g., PSYC14053).
Recommendation
Continue to make residential school resources available online and accessible across relevant units, including PSYC14053.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit evaluations and staff reflection.
Feedback
Student feedback suggested that the learning resources on the Moodle site could be enhanced to better support their learning.
Recommendation
Review and refine the learning resources available on the Moodle site to ensure they are current, clearly organised, and aligned with assessment requirements.
Action Taken
In Progress
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