Students

FOAR7003 – Digital Literacies for Researchers

2020 – Session 2, Special circumstance

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer and Convenor
Kirstin Mills
Room B710, Level 7, 25B Wally's Walk
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to BPhil/MRes
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Digital technologies are rapidly changing the face and shaping the future of research; the most innovative projects in the arts and humanities increasingly involve digital approaches. World-ready researchers must not only be able to navigate the digital sphere and recognise the potential offered by digital technology for their own research, but must also understand the ethics surrounding digital technologies and data management practices. In this unit, students will encounter the dynamic and exciting possibilities that digital technologies create for researchers in the arts. They will learn how to think critically and creatively about potential new directions for research, and how these might be applied to their own disciplines and research practices. Students will learn how to harness digital tools and technologies to enhance, optimise and automate their own research practices. They will also gain essential skills in learning how to think critically about the issues and ethics facing researchers regarding data management and digital research practices and communication. Students will emerge from this unit with an understanding of the exciting new possibilities emerging at the ever-evolving digital frontier, an awareness of the ethical questions involved in digital research, and the ability to apply digital tools and concepts to their own research practices.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Recognise the environment of research transparency and research ethics.
  • ULO2: Make informed and logical judgements of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply new ideas to new contexts.
  • ULO3: Apply a high level of oral, written and technological communication skills, with specialisation for the specific needs of a discipline, including the ability to explain a technical subject to a non-technical audience.
  • ULO4: Investigate at an advanced level the theories, principles and concepts within a discipline area.
  • ULO5: Identify existing digital tools and approaches and apply them to their research.

General Assessment Information

*Please see the Assessments section on the FOAR7003 iLearn site for the most up to date information about each assessment (including descriptions, marking criteria and due dates).

Late Submission Penalty: Written Assessments:

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.

Important Note on Final Marks:

All assessment results will be moderated during the teaching session in accordance with the assessment standards and criteria stipulated in the prescribed task rubrics.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Research Essay: The Ethics of Digital Research 35% No Week 7
Oral Presentation: Possibilities for Digital Technology in Arts Research 40% No Week 10
Learning Journal 25% No Weeks 1-13

Research Essay: The Ethics of Digital Research

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 35%

 

Research and write a critical essay exploring the ethics of Data Management and/or digital technology in research/academia. Identify key issues and debates, noting the arguments on both sides, and argue a clear case for your own position on these issues. Refer to some examples or case studies of data management or digital projects in your argument.

In this task, you are encouraged to think critically about the ethics and issues surrounding data management practices and digital technology in research. This task will allow you to gain experience researching the published literature on digital research practices, and apply it to some real-world examples. This task will prepare you for considering the implications of your own digital and data practices, as well as the kinds of permissions and access you attach to your work. Considering real-world examples in this assessment will also prepare you for the Oral Presentation.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the environment of research transparency and research ethics.
  • Apply a high level of oral, written and technological communication skills, with specialisation for the specific needs of a discipline, including the ability to explain a technical subject to a non-technical audience.
  • Investigate at an advanced level the theories, principles and concepts within a discipline area.
  • Identify existing digital tools and approaches and apply them to their research.

Oral Presentation: Possibilities for Digital Technology in Arts Research

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 40%

 

Research and deliver a 10-minute oral presentation on a recent project in your discipline that incorporates digital technology in an innovative or interesting way. Your presentation must engage with published research relevant to this project and identify how its particular digital approaches might signal new or fruitful directions for further research. You might consider enlisting digital tools to communicate this presentation and showcase the digital project.

In this assessment, you are encouraged to explore the wide variety of possibilities that digital technology affords to research, and consider what might be the most innovative or interesting aspects of digital technology in the arts. You will gain experience in searching for, navigating and assessing these projects, as well as critically considering the relevant ideas and issues through relevant published research. You will also gain experience in communicating and presenting on digital research projects, and are encouraged to think creatively about what potential new directions might be suggested by the project’s use of digital technologies (where might we take this in the future?).

 

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Make informed and logical judgements of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply new ideas to new contexts.
  • Apply a high level of oral, written and technological communication skills, with specialisation for the specific needs of a discipline, including the ability to explain a technical subject to a non-technical audience.
  • Investigate at an advanced level the theories, principles and concepts within a discipline area.
  • Identify existing digital tools and approaches and apply them to their research.

Learning Journal

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Weeks 1-13
Weighting: 25%

 

Students must keep a weekly learning journal reflecting on their progress through the unit and applying ideas and issues raised by the class content, readings and assessments to their own personal research practices and projects. Students should use the learning journal to think about the personal relevance of digital tools, technologies and ethical questions for their own work, and think about ways that digital technologies might be utilised to assist them with their research or provide interesting new research directions or approaches in the future. Each weekly entry should be between 300-500 words in length, and the final entry should address the unit as a whole to consider what essential information has been learned, and how the student is now positioned to conduct their research going forwards.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the environment of research transparency and research ethics.
  • Make informed and logical judgements of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply new ideas to new contexts.
  • Apply a high level of oral, written and technological communication skills, with specialisation for the specific needs of a discipline, including the ability to explain a technical subject to a non-technical audience.
  • Identify existing digital tools and approaches and apply them to their research.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

The schedule of lectures, seminars, readings and learning activities will be available on the FOAR7003 iLearn site.

Access to a computer, laptop or similar device is essential to complete the tasks for this unit.

Policies and Procedures

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:

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).

Student Code of Conduct

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

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

This unit has been completely redesigned from its previous offerings, including content, readings, resources, assessments, rubrics, delivery mode, Unit Guide and iLearn site.