*Due Dates (time zone)

All assessment times and other times in this unit BEFORE 5 April 2020 are GMT+11 (AEDT, Australian Eastern Daylight Time, SYDNEY) and AFTER 6 April 2020 are GMT+10 (AEST, Australian Eastern Standard Time, SYDNEY).

Two Evaluation Systems

Participation tasks assess your level of engagement with learning opportunities. The weekly online quiz tracks active participation rather than performance level, although scores provide you with feedback. You will also have a chance to participate in collecting data for the written report assignments.

Graded assessment tasks assess achievement of learning outcomes. Two reports indicate your understanding and communication of organisational psychology; first as a process for scientific enquiry, and second as a resource for business. The final exam assesses knowledge and understanding of organisational psychology concepts and their application. 

Assessment activity I:       Weekly online quiz

Description:  Weekly quizzes encourage you to keep a regular routine of watching the lecture videos each week, and to provide you with feedback about how much of the video content you understand and remember.

Requirements:  You can access quizzes via the unit iLearn website. After the first few weeks of semester, each quiz will be available for one week only, typically concluding at midday on Monday of the week after the quiz topic. The quiz must be completed by independently, without collaborating with others. Note that it is not possible to re-open the quiz for individual students who missed the quiz deadline without a formal application for Special Consideration.

Standards:  For each quiz, a Pass grade (50%) or better earns 0.6 marks, to a maximum of 6 marks. If you Pass at least 10 of the 12 quizzes, you will earn the full 6% for quiz participation. You can take each quiz up to three times, and only the highest score will count.

Assessment activity II:      Survey recruitment exercise

Description:  This exercise provides experience in using surveys to advance knowledge in a way that also has practical workplace applications. Your task is to invite four working adults to participate in an online survey on a topic relevant to organisational psychology, and to collect their contact emails. More information about the task and methods, along with the due dates, will be provided by Week 3. You are responsible for checking iLearn for this information.

Requirements:  You receive the participation marks if enough of the people you recruited commence the survey. If they subsequently do not complete the survey you will not be penalised. If you notify us in advance that you are unable to recruit participants, or if your recruitment attempts prove unsuccessful, other research participation opportunities will be offered.

Standards:  It is essential that you follow the specified procedures for participant recruitment.

Assessment activity III:     Introduction to a Scientific Report

Description:  Students follow the style and structure of the introduction section to a scientific report to provide a background suitable for the survey study we conduct as part of this unit. From among the range of variables measured in the study, students get to choose a subset on which to focus their report. This exercise helps develop greater understanding of organisational psychology theory and research, as well as skills in communication, critical analysis, and capability for evidence-based argument.

Requirements:  Specific requirements will be described in an assessment guide (available on iLearn by Week 3). 

Standards: The assessment standards upon which reports will be evaluated are:

• Introduce the context, topic and research aim (up to 7 marks);
• Define/explain important constructs (up to 5 marks);
• Explain and evaluate relevant theories and research findings (up to 13 marks); and
• Present clear, testable, well-justified hypotheses (up to 5 marks).

Assessment activity IV:     Research Summary

Description:  Students will describe some of the findings from our survey study in an accessible manner, focusing on the relevance of these findings to business. This exercise is designed to develop greater understanding of applications of organisational psychology, as well as to develop skills in communication of research to an audience of non-scientists.

Requirements:  Specific requirements will be described in an assessment guide (available on iLearn before the end of the mid-semester break).

Standards: The assessment standards upon which reports will be evaluated are:

• Summarise the article’s key point, introduce the topic area, and explain the importance to business (up to 9 marks);
• Describe central constructs and terminology clearly, replacing jargon where appropriate (up to 3 marks);
• Briefly describe the study and explain some relevant findings (up to 6 marks); and
• Explain some implications of study findings, including recommendations for business practice (up to 12 marks).

Penalties

The two written reports (Introduction to a Scientific Report and Research Summary) are assessed against specific criteria that will be supplied via iLearn. Penalties apply to assignments that are not submitted in accordance with specified requirements. Some penalties are applied in units of 5% of the assignment mark, which for both reports (30 marks) is 1.5 marks. For example, assignments submitted late are penalised 1.5 marks per day late, and long assignments are penalised 1.5 marks per 100 words over the set limit. At the convenor's discretion, penalties may apply to reports where spelling, grammar, or use of reference material is noticeably poorer than the standard expected at this level (3rd year university). 

As described in the Academic Integrity Policy, plagiarism is a particularly serious case of unprofessional and unethical academic misconduct. All written assignment submissions are evaluated using the Turnitin database system to determine if material has been copied from other students, published academic papers, or other online sources. If evidence of plagiarism is found it will be reported to the appropriate university authorities. Do not take the risk.

Open Universities Australia

PSYX3338 is delivered as an online unit via Open Universities Australia (OUA). Please read this Unit Guide in conjunction with information provided about studying a Macquarie University unit via OUA, particularly the student guide, at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/other-study-options/open-universities-australia.

Online lecture videos

The lectures have been created as online resources that can be viewed as videos or downloaded as audio for offline listening. The lectures explain key points and provide concrete examples linking theory to practice. To get the most out of these resources, you should read relevant chapters of the textbook before viewing lectures for that week, and then explore the online resources provided such as organisation websites, podcast episodes, and interviews with subject matter experts. While questions for the final examination will be drawn primarily from the lectures (exceptions will be flagged in advance), these additional resources will complement learning acquired from lecture videos. If you utilise these resources, you are more likely to understand, remember, and be able to apply the lecture content.

Tutorials

Tutorials are your opportunities to discuss and apply organisational psychology. Tutorial content is examinable in the final examination.

Reading

Students are encouraged to obtain one of the following two books in hardcopy or e-book format (the latter may only be available as an e-book):

Arnold, J., & Silvester, J. (2016). Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace (6th ed). Pearson Education.

Landy, F. J, & Conte, J. M. (2018). Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology (6th ed.). McGraw Hill.

In addition to reading appropriate sections from the textbook, students are encouraged to read articles published in journals in the field of organisational psychology to provide the information required for the Introduction to a Scientific Report assignment, as well as furthering their understanding of this field.

You will also notice, on the iLearn site, links to other online resources that will develop your understanding of this field.

Feedback

Feedback is an important part of the learning process, but it can only improve your performance if you actively seek and apply it. Make the most of the following opportunities to obtain feedback about your understanding of the unit content.

2020 is the first year in which an OUA version of this unit has been offered. We welcome your feedback and ask for your patience as we adapt to this new opportunity for facilitating learning.