UNIT ENROLMENT AND COMPLETION PROCESS

• A Student must find a faculty member who is willing to supervise the proposed Research Paper. The Student must then apply to the Research Director (by email to Rob.Trevor@mafc.mq.edu.au) to enrol for a Research Paper by submitting a draft Research Plan (see later section).
• If approval is received, the Student must develop a final Research Plan for approval by Supervisor and Research Director.
• The Student then will be permitted to enrol in ECFS849 Research Paper.
• The Student must implement the Research Plan with supervision (see later section).
• The Student must submit the completed paper prior to the due date (see later section). 

UNIT SUPERVISION

• Approval to submit a Research Paper is contingent upon finding a Supervisor who is appropriately qualified and willing to supervise your proposed research. The Supervisor will generally be one of the academic staff of the Applied Finance Centre.
• Supervision involves regular contact with your Supervisor during the term – for such purposes as keeping your Supervisor informed of your progress; consulting over problems that may arise; and receiving feedback on your work. Contact may be either by email, telephone or personal meeting depending on your agreement with your Supervisor. It is your responsibility to initiate contact with your Supervisor when you consider you require assistance.
• Failure to make adequate progress during the course of the term may lead to a recommended result of FW (Failed Withdrawn), which will show on your transcript as a fail grade (F).

RESEARCH PLAN

• The Student is responsible for determining a research topic and for writing a Research Plan. You should submit a draft Research Plan (of up to 500 words) to the Research Director when seeking approval to submit a Research Paper. It will be helpful to have an informal discussion of your ideas with a member of the academic staff before you seek approval.
• The Research Plan should explain the issue(s) and/or question(s) to be investigated, their relationship to the existing literature, their relevance in an applied setting, your proposed method(s), the sources of information/data you intend using (with confirmation of their availability), the main objective of the Research Paper and a list of the key references upon which your research will be based.
• A final version of the Research Plan is likely to take some months to develop, as it requires some familiarity with the relevant academic literature. You must complete the Research Plan before enrolling in ECFS849 Research Paper to avoid the risk of running short of time to implement your planned research. The final Research Plan should be approved by both the Research Director and the Supervisor. Approval must be confirmed in writing prior to enrolment.
• The Research Plan may evolve as the research is implemented; any changes should be documented by the Student. The Research Plan is an important input to the assessment process (see later section).

NATURE OF THE RESEARCH

• The nature of the research will vary depending on the topic chosen. For example, the research may consist of:
  • A quantitative analysis of data to test a hypothesis;
  • A replication study (see later example);
  • A study that develops practical techniques for applying theoretical work in a real world setting;
  • A study critically analysing a transaction, decision, practice or event; or
  • A critical analysis of principles or theories you have learned about in other MAF Units, and how they may apply to a particular problem.

EXAMPLE - REPLICATION STUDY

Replication studies are recommended for students wishing to undertake empirical research. By replicating an existing study, students will gain insight into research techniques and reduce the risk of exploring unfruitful topics, making technical errors or attempting unduly difficult research projects. For example, you may select an academic paper that interests you, then apply the same or similar methods to more recent data or a different market. As a benchmark guide, successful completion of such a study may result in a Credit grade. Students who successfully build on the original study with new techniques, insights or critiques may receive a Distinction grade or higher. Failure to adequately replicate the earlier study would result in a Pass or Fail grade, depending on how far short the research fell of achieving the benchmark replication. 

EXAMPLE - APPLICATION OF THEORETICAL MODEL

Some academic papers in finance develop theory that is difficult to apply in practice. For example, assumptions of a theoretical model may be unrealistic or parameter estimation may be difficult. As an example of this type of research, you might take a theoretical capital structure model that incorporates the cost of financial distress and work out how it could be applied to a specific company, or range of companies. In a study like this, successful completion would result in a Pass grade if reasonable simplifications are made and appropriate methods used to estimate the parameters of the model. Some originality would be required for a Credit grade and there should be substantial innovation for a grade of Distinction or higher. 

This Unit Guide may be subject to change. The latest version is on the Centre’s web site www.mafc.mq.edu.au.

Students should read the Unit Guide carefully at the start of semester.  It contains important information about the unit. If anything is unclear, please consult your Research Supervisor.  

University Policy on Grading:

• Macquarie University’s Academic Senate has established a Grading Policy available at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html. Your final result will include: 
  • A grade ranging from Fail to High Distinction; and
  • A Standardised Numerical Grade (SNG). A SNG is not a summation of the individual assessment components, but is allocated on the basis of the performance in all assessment items, providing the examination component is passed.
• It is important to note:
  • The Policy does not require that a minimum or maximum number of students are to be failed in any unit; 
  • Grades will not be allocated to fit a predetermined distribution; and
  • The process of allocating SNGs does not change the rank order of marks among students who pass the unit. 

Specific Unit Grading: 

• All final grades in the Applied Finance Centre are determined by a grading committee and are not the sole responsibility of the unit convenor.
• The core criteria used to assess student work in this unit are: 
  • Knowledge and understanding: Understanding key ideas, knowledge and use of concepts.
  • Application: Ability to apply theoretical ideas and frameworks in practice and in a critically reflective way. 
  • Reasoning and analysis: Ability to analyse, use critical reasoning and principles to formulate a position, balancing theory and personal reflection. 
  • Professional literacy and research: Understanding of professional factors (language and landscape) and ability to undertake appropriate research. 
  • Communication and presentation: Ability to communicate and present effectively (written and oral, as relevant).
  • Use of mathematical and statistical ideas: Ability to use mathematical and statistical ideas, methods and formulae appropriately. 
• Performance in relation to each of these criteria are assessed against the University’s grading descriptors:

Review of Grade and final examination Script viewing:

• A student who has been awarded a final grade for a unit and who does not believe it is an accurate reflection of their performance, and has grounds for such a claim and can demonstrate those grounds, may apply to have their grade reviewed. 
• For information on requesting a review of grade and/or viewing your final exam script, please refer to the University’s Grade Appeal Policy at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html and MAFC Program Rules & Procedures at http://www.mafc.mq.edu.au.