Unit Synopsis
In this unit, you will explore, synthesise and apply the fundamentals of the scientific method. You will develop skills in scientific communication beyond reading and writing - through a series of seminars, lectures and self-guided tasks students will learn appropriate manipulation of mathematical and statistical data as well as data presentation. You will enhance your knowledge and understanding of a range of fundamental scientific concepts and consider issues relating to ethics, experimentation and professional practice. Finally, through conducting your own research activity, you will learn how to develop a research framework and apply critical thinking to solve complex problems.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| 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 2 - 2026
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
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 15% |
| 2. Presentation | 35% |
| 3. Portfolio | 50% |
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.
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: Email, in-person
Some students suggested they would have preferred out-of-hours live contact opportunities, as the ones offered were during their working hours.
It was noted several times through term that students could request out-of-hours live Zoom meetings (some did). For the next offering, the recommendation is to make this option clearer to students.
The option for out-of-hours Zoom meetings was emphasised throughout term.
Source: SUTE feedback
One student noted that the unit did not challenge them and they lost interest in it.
While this is unfortunate and not communicated until SUTE feedback arrived, it is recommended to maintain the academic level of the unit given the relatively bell-shaped grade distribution suggests the expectations are about right.
Academic content and level of the unit was maintained, with similar feedback not received this 2026 offering.
Source: Email, in-person
Two students appeared somewhat 'put off' that teaching staff would not read and correct drafts of their assessments.
The recommendation is to maintain the approach of not reading and correcting drafts as it would need to be offered to all students and add to an already onerous marking load. Instead, the use of exemplars showing HD, passing, and fail-quality assessments will be continued.
Drafts were not read in 2026, and exemplars were instead provided and explained in tutorials.
Source: SUTE feedback
Several students noted the conceptually linked nature of the assessments helped them gain a thorough understanding of the subject matter.
Maintain the current linked assessment structure for the 2026 offering.
Linked assessment structure was maintained for the 2026 offering.
Source: Email
A concern was raised regarding the marking arrangement where assessments are divided among markers (consistently through term).
Ensure marking arrangements are fully explained and justified at the beginning of term, and remind students of their right to raise concerns as the term progresses.
In Progress
Source: Moodle Email
The task of choosing a research project was challenging for some students (a consistent feedback point).
Emphasise that choosing the research project is a part of the process for developing critical thinking skills in the unit, and ensure adequate support is provided by the teaching staff throughout the unit.
In Progress
Source: Moodle Email
After completing the assessments, several students expressed they felt greater confidence in their ability to conduct and interpret scientific research.
Maintain the assessment structure to facilitate this learning and confidence-building aspect of the unit.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain and apply information and numerical literacy skills to communicate scientific knowledge and ideas clearly and coherently to a variety of audiences
- Formulate a research hypothesis and research questions that include relevant ethical considerations
- Conduct and manage a small research project using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods research methodologies
- Analyse, interpret and explain scientific data, resulting in the production of a research report appropriate for an e-portfolio.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | |||
| 2 - Presentation | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Portfolio | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | ||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 2 - Presentation | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 3 - Portfolio | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||