Unit convenor and teaching staff | Unit convenor and teaching staff |
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Credit points |
Credit points
8
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(16cp at 800 level including POL820 and POL822) and permission by special approval
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is available only to students expressly invited by the convenor of the Master of Politics and Public Policy program to undertake it. It will provide an opportunity to those students with demonstrated skills and capacity to conduct a major piece of research into some aspect of public policy, and write a minor thesis of 15,000–20,000 words. Guidelines for thesis preparation and presentation are the same as those for MRes or Honours theses.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.
Students accepted for POL801 will be assigned a supervisor by the Convenor. If you have informally canvassed a topic with a member of staff and wish to have him/her as a supervisor, ensure that you discuss this with the Convenor. However, a student’s first choice of supervisor cannot be guaranteed. Please note that your supervisor will not be the examiner for the dissertation.
You should have an idea of a topic before you enrol and ensure that it is one that is (a) focused on public policy; and (b) can be adequately supervised within the department. Additional information/guidance on choosing and developing a topic is provided below.
The supervisor’s role is to guide you in the choice of topic and development of the dissertation, not to read every draft of every chapter. Just as members of the teaching staff do not read draft essays, your supervisor will not necessarily read a whole final draft of a dissertation. Supervisors should, however, advise on whether the structure of the dissertation is more or less suitable and that it follows a coherent line of discussion.
You should keep in touch with your supervisor throughout the semester, let him or her know how the dissertation is developing, and ask for guidance when you need it. Don’t expect the supervisor to contact you, it is up to you to contact the supervisor.
Two copies of the dissertation should be submitted in the following form:
Provide two bound copies (this can be soft-bound, eg in a simple plastic spine with plastic cover, or hardbound). Note that these copies are not returned so if you want to have a copy to keep, you should print off a third.
ensure there is a title page, table of contents and a separate bibliography at the end
include a plagiarism declaration (using the words on the Faculty of Arts assignment cover sheets)
number all pages
do not exceed the word limit (which includes all notes and references).
include a word count on the title page.
The copies of your dissertation must be submitted to the MPP Administrator, Kelli-Lee Drake, in the Politics Office. Do not submit copies to your supervisor or to the Arts Faculty office on the ground floor.
Two examiners will be appointed by the Department, usually one examiner from within the Department and one external examiner. The supervisor is not an examiner.
Examiners will evaluate the dissertation with attention to the grading scale used for Masters of Research or Honours theses.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Research proposal | 0% | No | Week 2 |
Literature review | 0% | No | Week 5 |
Dissertation | 100% | No | First Monday of exam period |
Due: Week 2
Weighting: 0%
Your proposal should contain:
• a working title
• an abstract
• a preliminary literature review
• the proposed methodology
• a preliminary bibliography
• a work plan
Due: Week 5
Weighting: 0%
A literature review is a demonstration of your reading, comprehension and analytical skills. The literature review will enable you to more narrowly define your topic and to identify some key research questions.
Due: First Monday of exam period
Weighting: 100%
POL801 requires students to undertake an advanced research project of between 15,000 and 20,000 words. The dissertation represents a piece of independent research produced over an extended period, demonstrating elements of originality in the selection of the topic, the use of sources and the development and presentation of analysis and argument.
There are no formal classes for this unit. Students will be assigned a supervisor, and it is up to the student to maintain regular contact with the supervisor as needed through the course of the semester.
There are no set readings for this unit.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results shown in iLearn, 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.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
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.
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