Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Chris Patel
Room 334, 4 Eastern Rd. (formally E4A)
Friday 10-12
Moderator
Kevin Baird
4 Eastern Rd (formally E4A)
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MAdvProfAcc or MAcc(Prof) or MCom
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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 required in the Master of Advanced Professional Accounting program and an elective in the Master of Accounting (Professional Practice). It is designed as a series of weekly seminars and provides exposure to current research. The research papers presented in this unit will cover a range of areas and topics including accounting, auditing, accounting information systems and corporate governance. Students will be required to provide structured reviews of the papers and their presentation. Students will engage extensively with contemporary research and develop the ability to critique research and scholarship in accounting and corporate governance. The unit emphasises the development of critical thinking, problem solving and presentation skills.
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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:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Group Presentation | 10% | No | Week 5 and 6 |
Seminar Paper Review Reports | 30% | No | Week 9 and Week 11 |
Class Participation | 10% | No | Weekly |
Research proposal | 50% | No | Week 10, Week 11 and Week 13 |
Due: Week 5 and 6
Weighting: 10%
Group Presentation of Review Report (10%): Week 5 (27 August) or week 6 (3 Sept)
Form groups with a maximum of four students. Each group will be given 10 minutes for the presentation. Each group MUST make a formal presentation in week 5 or week 6 of their review report based on Seminar paper 1 presented by the Unit Convenor in week 4. Study the document entitled, “Preparing a Paper Review” and ensure that the presentation is based on the guidelines provided. Also study the Rubric for Group Presentation on iLearn to see how marks will be allocated. This presentation is worth 10% of your total assessment. Specifically, 5% of the mark will be allocated to the group presentation and 5% to the individual presentation.
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
Due: Week 9 and Week 11
Weighting: 30%
Seminar Paper Review Reports 30% (1st report due in week 9, 8 October and 2nd report due in week 11, 22 October)
Marks for the two individual reviews of seminar papers will be based on the Seminar Paper Review submission. The individual review reports will be marked out of 100 as shown in the Rubric-Seminar Paper Review Report (see on iLearn). The rubric shows that content is allocated 60%, line of argument 10%, clarity of structure 10%, referencing 10% and presentation 10%. Each review is worth 15% of the total assessment marks. Each review should be a maximum of 1500 words and should follow the format and organization as outlined in the document entitled, “ACCG807 Preparing a Paper Review”. The report MUST include a summary, introduction, literature review, theory development and hypotheses, research method and conclusions. Your report should be double spaced.
Assignments must be submitted through Turnitin.
Turnitin and High Similarity Index
Please review the similarity index using turnitin before submitting your work to ensure the majority of your work represents your own work. Also, please ensure that you use quotation marks and provide adequate references (including page references) if you use a direct quote from another source, and provide references when using the ideas expressed by other authors. As a guideline your similarity index should not overall exceed 25% and should not exceed 5% from each source. If it does then you should review the proposal to remove and/or adjust text that is picked up as being similar before submitting your proposal. If your similarity index is high and you are unsure how to rectify this problem please discuss this with the unit coordinator before submitting your proposal.
No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total available mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 10%
Student Class Participation
Participation in class discussion is worth 10% and is an essential component of the curriculum in attaining the first four learning outcomes. The unit consists of twelve weekly three hour seminars. The unit is extensive reading and discussion-based to enable you to develop research skills which will prepare you to write quality seminar review reports and to develop an original research proposal. In seminars, you are expected to understand and contribute to active discussion on the main theoretical and methodological issues that relate to the papers presented. Participation in the classes provides a forum for you to engage with newly-developing research and researchers. The rubric for allocating marks for participation is provided on iLearn.
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
Due: Week 10, Week 11 and Week 13
Weighting: 50%
Research Proposal (50%)
You will be given 10 minutes for presentation of a first draft of your Research Proposal. Your draft research proposal should demonstrate progress in reviewing the relevant literature, identification of particular gaps in the existing literature that define the key problems/ issues to be addressed, theory development and hypotheses formulation and research method. Your draft research proposal should clearly show the contribution that you aim to make to the existing literature. Also study the Research Proposal Marking Criteria on iLearn to see how marks will be allocated. This presentation is worth 10% of your total assessment.
The final major assessment is worth 40% and requires you to submit a written research proposal according to the guidelines provided in the document entitled, “ACCG807 Preparing a Research Proposal”. A research proposal should clearly identify specific gaps in the existing literature that define the key problems/ issues to be addressed. The research proposal must include an abstract, introduction, literature review, theory development and hypotheses formulation; research method and the conclusions. Your research proposal should clearly show the contribution that you aim to make to the existing literature. A simple replication of an existing paper is not considered to be an adequate contribution to the literature. Selecting a research topic is the first and most crucial step in the research process. You must be interested in the topic and you should have some prior knowledge of the topic. The topic must be researchable, that is, research into the problem must be feasible in terms of availability of data and access to it, and your competence to handle tools of analysis. The rubric for marking the research proposal is provided on iLearn.
The proposal should be a maximum of 5000 words excluding references and appendices and cover the points outlined in ACCG807 Preparing a Research Proposal. Not all proposals lend themselves to exactly this format or organization, and not all points will be relevant to all proposals. Be flexible in your approach. The questions are guidelines and prompts to help you to write a quality proposal. As you progress in developing research skills, keep on continually revising all sections of your research proposal. Your Research Proposal should be submitted through Turnitin in week 13. Your report research proposal should be double spaced.
Turnitin and High Similarity Index
Please review the similarity index using turnitin before submitting your work to ensure the majority of your work represents your own work. Also, please ensure that you use quotation marks and provide adequate references (including page references) if you use a direct quote from another source, and provide references when using the ideas expressed by other authors. As a guideline your similarity index should not overall exceed 25% and should not exceed 5% from one source. If it does then you should review the proposal to remove and/or adjust text that is picked up as being similar before submitting your proposal. If your similarity index is high and you are unsure how to rectify this problem please discuss this with the unit coordinator before submitting your proposal.
No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
Classes and Requirements
You must:
Technology Used and Required
Unit web page
The web page for this unit can be found at: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/.
Required Resources
All resources will be available on iLearn.
Schedule of classes – ACCG807 Research Seminar
Mondays in E7B room 200 from 3 to 6pm.
Date |
Topic and Organisation |
Week 1 (30 July) |
Before the first class on 30 July, you MUST study the following documents. Gombe State University, Research Methodology in Accounting, http://www.academia.edu/2003378/Research_Methodology_in_Accounting What is Accounting Research? http://www.byuaccounting.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=What_is_accounting_research%3F During the class we will discuss the relevance of research in your professional career in this globalised and connected world. Overview and importance of research in accounting and corporate governance.
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Week 2 (6 August)
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Before the class, you MUST study the document entitled, “ACCG807 Preparing a Seminar Paper Review”. Theoretical and methodological suggestions to improve accounting and corporate governance research. Research methods and methodologies: archival, surveys, interviews, experiments, critical perspectives and case studies. Guest researchers will present relevant examples of research methodologies
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Week 3 (13 August)
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Before the class, you MUST study the document entitled, “ACCG807 Preparing a Research Proposal”. Presentation by the unit convenor followed by group discussion to examine guidelines and criteria for evaluating the seminar paper. Presentation and discussion on how to write a quality seminar paper review report. Study the paper that will be presented next week by the Unit Convenor.
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Week 4 (20 August)
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Seminar Paper One by the Unit Convenor. Group discussion to evaluate Seminar Paper. Form groups with a maximum of four students. Each group MUST make a formal presentation in Week 5 or Week 6 of their Paper Review based on the Seminar Paper. See assessments section for details.
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Week 5 (27 August)
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Presentations of review reports and class discussion on the seminar paper.
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Week 6 (3 Sept)
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Presentations of review reports and class discussion on the seminar paper. Seminar paper Two by a guest researcher. Class discussion
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Week 7 (10 Sept)
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Guidelines and criteria in developing a quality research proposal (study the Research Proposal marking criteria). Presentation of a research proposal by a guest researcher. Students are expected to continue researching the key research problems/ issues for the Research Proposal.
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Mid-session break 17 to 28 Sept) |
Mid-session break. Work on your review report and your Research Proposal. Students are expected to start identifying the key research problems/ issues for the Research Proposal. Students MUST submit a copy of their review report at the beginning of the class in Week 9.
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Week 8 (1 October)
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Public Holiday: No class will be held this week. Start writing and evaluating relevant literature for your final assignment, Research Proposal.
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Week 9 (8 October)
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Students MUST submit a copy of their review report at the beginning of the class. Seminar paper Three by a guest researcher. Class discussion. |
Week 10 (15 October) Presentation by the first 10 students |
You will be given 10 minutes for the presentation of your draft Research Proposal. Your draft research proposal should demonstrate progress in reviewing the relevant literature, identification of particular gaps in the existing literature that define the key problems/ issues to be addressed, theory development and hypotheses formulation, research method, and the conclusions. Your draft research proposal should clearly show the contribution that you aim to make to the existing literature. Also study the Research Proposal Marking Criteria on iLearn to see how marks will be allocated. This presentation is worth 10% of your total assessment. Class discussion and feedback on improving individual research proposal Only those students who have obtained approval after the presentation will be allowed to submit the research proposal. |
Week 11 (22 October)
Presentation by the next 10 students |
Students MUST submit a copy of their review report at the beginning of the class. Presentation of draft Research Proposals Class discussion and feedback on improving individual research proposal Only those students who have obtained approval after the presentation will be allowed to submit the research proposal. |
Week 12 (29 October)
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Class discussion and feedback on improving individual research proposal. A senior manager from a professional accounting firm who will discuss the importance of developing research skills to be successful in their career.
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Week 13 (5 November)
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Class discussion of research skills that individual students have developed in this unit.
Submission of final research proposal
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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.
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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
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Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
This unit addresses global and sustainability issues as direct areas of study and implications arising from the materials, assessment and academic discussion and debate in classes/seminars. We promote sustainability by developing ability in students to research and locate information within the accounting discipline. We aim to provide students with an opportunity to obtain skills, which will benefit them throughout their career.
The unit materials have a reference list at the end of each chapter/module/text containing all references cited by the author. These provide some guidance to references that could be used to research particular issues.