SCIE11023 - Scientific Research Fundamentals

General Information

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 3 - 2021

Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Bundaberg
Emerald
Online
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Bundaberg
Emerald
Online
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Online
Rockhampton

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. 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%).

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 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 80.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 23.60% 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 feedback
Feedback
Student feedback pointed out the value of feedback from the teaching staff for helping them analyse and improve their practical experiment.
Recommendation
Continue to provide comprehensive and detailed feedback to students, ultimately facilitating their best possible performance in the unit.
Action Taken
Detailed feedback was provided for individual projects through emails, tutorials and assessments.
Source: SUTE feedback & email correspondence
Feedback
Several students appreciated the step-by-step walk through of the mathematical elements of the unit, including the relevant examples provided.
Recommendation
Continue to provide clear and step-by-step explanations of the mathematical learning outcomes in the unit.
Action Taken
Step-by-step explanations of descriptive analysis from students' experiment data was provided in a dedicated tutorial for this purpose. The example Excel document used in the tutorial was posted on the Moodle site.
Source: Email correspondence & in-person
Feedback
Some students expressed a desire for faster assessment turn-around/marking time, to help them prepare for later assessments.
Recommendation
Staff to try and improve the marking time without compromising on assessment feedback quality. The ability to do this often depends on class size, with larger classes needing more time to mark.
Action Taken
Despite the large class size, all assessments were marked, with written feedback, and returned to students within the timeframe noted in the unit profile.
Source: SUTE and emails from student
Feedback
Students continue to appreciate detailed assessment feedback, practical strategies during tutorials and Q&A sessions, and linkage of content to real-world applications.
Recommendation
Lecturers should continue to facilitate scheduled tutorials and ad hoc Q&A sessions to discuss assessment requirements and feedback. Lecturers should continue to provide examples of how scientific research can be applied in employment and other outcomes.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE and student comments on Moodle
Feedback
It was evident some students were unfamiliar with technology needed to complete the video-based assessment.
Recommendation
It is recommended to provide students with supplementary instructions on Moodle regarding recording a video presentation.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Explain and apply information and numerical literacy skills to communicate scientific knowledge and ideas clearly and coherently to a variety of audiences
  2. Formulate a research hypothesis and research questions that include relevant ethical considerations
  3. Conduct and manage a small research project using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods research methodologies
  4. Analyse, interpret and explain scientific data, resulting in the production of a research report appropriate for an e-portfolio.


Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Presentation
3 - Portfolio
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
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
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 - Written Assessment
2 - Presentation
3 - Portfolio