Students

PSYH4401 – Honours Thesis

2024 – Full year 1, In person-placement, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Rachel Kallen
Credit points Credit points
40
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to BPsychSci(Hons) To progress into 4th year Honours, students in the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) must meet a minimum academic requirement and be competitive. These requirements are included in the Macquarie Handbook for the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) years 2020 - 2023. Special Approval will be granted as part of the application process.
Corequisites Corequisites
PSYH4418
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit involves the completion of a research thesis relevant to the discipline of psychology. This research project will occur under the direct supervision of an assigned research supervisor. The thesis is evaluated by Macquarie-based examiners.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

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

  • ULO1: Apply theoretical and empirical psychological knowledge to develop and conduct a research project investigating a substantive individual research question relevant to the discipline of psychology.
  • ULO2: Communicate the findings of the research project in a thesis set out in APA format.
  • ULO3: Apply ethical principles within the appropriate national research regulatory framework to your own research practices.
  • ULO4: Collect, analyse, and interpret data in a form aligned with the aims of your research project.

General Assessment Information

Grade descriptors and other information are contained in the Macquarie University Assessment Policy.

All final grades are determined by a grading committee, in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Policy, and are not the sole responsibility of the Unit Convenor.

To pass this unit, you must demonstrate sufficient evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes, meet any ungraded requirements, and achieve a final mark of 50 or better.

Further details for each assessment task will be available on iLearn.

Late Submissions

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (OF THE TOTAL POSSIBLE MARK) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.

For example:

Number of days (hours) late

Total Possible Marks

Deduction

Raw mark

Final mark

1 day (1-24 hours)

100

5

75

70

2 days (24-48 hours)

100

10

75

65

3 days (48-72 hours)

100

15

75

60

7 days (144-168 hours)

100

35

75

40

>7 days (>168 hours)

100

-

75

0

Thesis Extension: Students must apply for Special Consideration no later than 13 October 2024. Students must have satisfactorily passed both progress report assessment tasks to be eligible for special consideration for a thesis deadline extension.

See iLearn for additional guidelines and submission policies.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Honours Thesis 100% Yes 8 October 2024
Progress Report I 0% Yes 6 May 2024
Progress Report II 0% Yes 26 August 2024

Honours Thesis

Assessment Type 1: Thesis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 198 hours
Due: 8 October 2024
Weighting: 100%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

 

This thesis is a write-up of the supervised research project conducted by the student. It is 30-pages (approx. 9,000-10,000 words) in length and is formatted according to the guidelines in the APA Style Manual.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply theoretical and empirical psychological knowledge to develop and conduct a research project investigating a substantive individual research question relevant to the discipline of psychology.
  • Communicate the findings of the research project in a thesis set out in APA format.
  • Apply ethical principles within the appropriate national research regulatory framework to your own research practices.
  • Collect, analyse, and interpret data in a form aligned with the aims of your research project.

Progress Report I

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 1 hours
Due: 6 May 2024
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

 

This task will be employed to monitor student progress while completing their thesis project. Students will be asked to provide an update on the status of their writing and research activities and will be offered the opportunity to identify any challenges to this progress. This task will allow for early intervention as needed and will enable students the opportunity to seek additional support needed to ensure the completion of the thesis.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply theoretical and empirical psychological knowledge to develop and conduct a research project investigating a substantive individual research question relevant to the discipline of psychology.
  • Collect, analyse, and interpret data in a form aligned with the aims of your research project.

Progress Report II

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 1 hours
Due: 26 August 2024
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

 

This task will be employed to monitor student progress while completing their thesis project. Students will be asked to provide an update on the status of their writing and research activities and will be offered the opportunity to identify any challenges to this progress. This task will allow for early intervention as needed and will enable students the opportunity to seek additional support needed to ensure the completion of the thesis.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply theoretical and empirical psychological knowledge to develop and conduct a research project investigating a substantive individual research question relevant to the discipline of psychology.
  • Collect, analyse, and interpret data in a form aligned with the aims of your research project.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Students will complete an independent research project under the supervision of academic staff.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Inclusion & Diversity

Social inclusion at Macquarie University is about giving everyone who has the potential to benefit from higher education the opportunity to study at university, participate in campus life and flourish in their chosen field. The University has made significant moves to promote an equitable, diverse and exciting campus community for the benefit of staff and students. It is your responsibility to contribute to the development of an inclusive culture and practice in the areas of learning and teaching, research, and service orientation and delivery. As a member of the Macquarie University community, you must not discriminate against or harass others based on their sex, gender, race, marital status, carers' responsibilities, disability, sexual orientation, age, political conviction, or religious belief. All staff and students are expected to display appropriate behaviour that is conducive to a healthy learning environment for everyone.

Professionalism

In the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, professionalism is a key capability embedded in all our courses.

As part of developing professionalism, students are expected to attend all small group interactive sessions including clinical, practical/tutorial, laboratory, work-integrated learning (e.g., PACE placements), and team-based learning activities. Some learning activities are recorded (e.g., face-to-face lectures), however, you are encouraged to avoid relying upon such material as they do not recreate the whole learning experience and technical issues can and do occur. As an adult learner, we respect your decision to choose how you engage with your learning, but we would remind you that the learning opportunities we create for you have been done so to enable your success and that by not engaging may impact your ability to successfully complete this unit. We equally expect that you show respect for the academic staff who have worked hard to develop meaningful activities and prioritise your learning by communicating with them in advance if you are unable to attend a small group interactive session.

Another dimension of professionalism is having respect for your peers. It is the right of every student to learn in an environment that is free of disruption and distraction. Please arrive to all learning activities on time, and if you are unavoidably detained, please join the activity as quietly as possible to minimise disruption. Phones and other electronic devices that produce noise and other distractions must be turned off prior to entering class. Where your own device (e.g., laptop) is being used for class-related activities, you are asked to close down all other applications to avoid distraction to you and others. Please treat your fellow students with the utmost respect. If you are uncomfortable participating in any specific activity, please let the relevant academic know.


Unit information based on version 2024.04 of the Handbook