Research Paper 

Content: See Unit Guide on iLearn for content details 

Submission: Assignments can ONLY be submitted to Turnitin. A copy of the assignment and Turnitin receipt must be kept as proof that the assignment was completed and submitted.

You can use Turnitin to check your report for plagiarism. Turnitin is anti-plagiarism software that will compare your paper to your classmates' papers, to papers from previous students at Macquarie University and other universities, as well as to material on the Internet (e.g., the articles you will be citing). When evaluating your papers for plagiarism using Turnitin, you need to check for two indices: overall similarity index and the similarity index for individual sources. Anyone who has a similarity index higher than 5% for any individual source and/or an overall similarity index greater than 15% (all sources combined) may be forwarded on to the Faculty Discipline Committee for engaging in plagiarism. If your similarity indices are higher than these standards, rewrite the problem areas, and re-upload a revised paper on iLearn. Please note that if you want to re-upload a paper, you must wait at least one hour from withdrawing a previous document. Thus, do not wait until the last minute to check your paper for plagiarism.

Please note that your similarity index will change as more students submit their reports. Thus, to be on the safe side, you should aim for much lower similarity indices than required.

To learn about what other sorts of behaviour constitute an act of plagiarism, please read Macquarie University's Academic Honesty Policy, http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html, and complete the online Academic Integrity Module for Students, http://students.mq.edu.au/students-level_2-3_column/?xcid=53491&preview=true. Not knowing what constitutes an act of academic dishonestly is not grounds for excusing inappropriate behaviour.

Penalties: A penalty of 5% of the maximum mark per day will be applied to late assignments. For example, if a student submits the Research Report one day late, then 2 marks [= 5% x 40 (worth 40% of the final grade)] will be subtracted from the original mark. Assignments one minute late are considered 1 day late. Assignments will not be accepted after they are 5 days late. A penalty of 5% of the maximum mark will be deducted from the research report for every 100 words over or under the limit. Papers under 1200 words or over 2400 will not be accepted. Please note that if, through Disruption to Studies, you are given an extension without penalties, you must turn in your paper by the new deadline or your paper will not be marked. In other words, you cannot be late “twice.” For example, if you obtain an extension until 5pm on April 15^th, you cannot turn in your paper on April 16^th at 9am and have your paper marked with a one-day penalty. Your paper will NOT be marked.

Feedback Policy: Feedback will be provided via Turnitin. Students must wait 48 hours (2 full work days) before they seek additional feedback on their report. Additional feedback will not be provided via electronic means. Students seeking additional feedback must attend an in-person meeting.

Request for Remarking: An error in marking must be identified in order to request a remark. In order to mark for this unit, all tutors are trained on the marking criteria and are required to match the convenor’s set standard. Additionally, a sample of all student’s papers are double-marked, and if required, tutors are asked to remark in order to ensure consistent marking across the unit. Thus, it is very unlikely that your paper has been unfairly marked. If you identify an error, you must first schedule a meeting with your tutor to discuss your perception of an error. After this meeting, if you and your tutor agree that an error has been made, you can then lodge an application via the Faculty of Human Sciences Student Services Centre (4FW, Ground Floor; psy_off@mq.edu.au). Applications will not be considered after 14 calendar days since marked assignments have been returned to students.

Consider your request for a remark carefully. In the case of a re-mark, the final mark will be an agreed mark by the first and second marker and the unit chair, if the unit chair is not the original marker. The final mark can be sustained, raised or lowered.

Marking Standards and Rubric:  See handout on iLearn.

Online Discussions

Content: Five discussion forums are found on the iLearn website. See iLearn for content details. 

Submission: Answers to discussion questions can ONLY be submitted via iLearn. Students must participate in all five Discussion forums. Two percent (2%) of the final grade will be allocated to each discussion participated in, up to a maximum of 10%.

Marking Standards and Rubric:  See Unit Guide on iLearn.

Final Exam

The exam consists of 100, 1/2 point multiple-choice questions. The final exam assesses all material covered during the unit throughout the whole semester. This includes information derived from ilearn (the textbook, lectures, starter references for the research paper) and information provided during the in-person lectures and tutorials.

It is crucial that you write your name and Student ID number on both the final exam question paper and also on the multiple-choice answer sheet during exam time. Failing to comply, or incorrectly entering your details, will result in your exam not being marked.

You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of examinations.

http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/exam

You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching session, which is the final day of the official examination period.

The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration.  Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available at http://www.psy.mq.edu.au/speccond/scrules.htm and at http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html.

If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Disruption to Study process, the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period. The format of a supplementary examination is at each unit convenor’s discretion and is subject to change from the original final examination.

Supplementary Exams are only offered to students who have satisfactorily completed all other assessments for the unit and were unable to sit the final exam because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption.

Instructions on applying for sitting the supplementary exam are available from the website, http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/procedure.html. It is the student’s responsibility to follow the steps outlined in this website. Note, asking for special consideration to sit the final exam does NOT include emailing the unit convenor. After appropriate steps have been followed, an email will be sent to the student advising them of the outcome of their request for a supplementary exam. Students who are granted to sit for a supplementary exam must make themselves available to sit the supplementary exam on the specified date. There will only be one time. It is the student’s responsibility to email the Student Centre to confirm attendance at the supplementary exam.

1.   MindTap® Psychology for Barlow/Durand/Hofmann’s Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach, 8th Edition (available for purchase through iLearn)

2.   Three 1-hour face-to-face meetings: week 1 (Q&A about the unit), week 2 (lecture regarding the research paper) and week 6 (Q&A about the research paper).

3.   Lectures available through iLearn

4.   Online discussions conducted through iLearn.

5.   Six, 2-hour tutorials.