Students

SSCI3090 – Professional Social Research Project

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
Jacqueline Mackaway
jacqueline.mackaway@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
20
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(130cp at 1000 level or above) including (SSCI2010 and SSCI2020) OR (SOC224 and SSC200 or SSCI200).
Corequisites Corequisites
SSCI3010 or SSCI300
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit provides you with practical ‘hands on’ experience working on a social research project for government, university, industry or a community based organisation. Projects involve a variety of research activities including policy reviews, program design, evaluations, community advocacy and more. The unit is made up of two parts. The first part involves you undertaking a supervised research placement with an organisation (150 hours). Projects are generally sourced for you, however you may organise your own with the unit convenor’s approval at least two months before the commencement of semester. The second part involves six workshops designed to develop skills and capacities you will need to manage and conduct research in an ethical and professional manner. From these two parts of the unit, and by reflecting on your project and personal experience, you will gain an understanding of the work of social researchers and the contribution they make to organisations and society more broadly. You will also gain insights into the skills and knowledge you need to further develop, possible career options and set goals for the future.

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: Demonstrate and apply qualitative and/or quantitative research skills and knowledge to an applied social research project for an organisation.
  • ULO2: Design and implement a project plan to successfully undertake and manage tasks, data, risks, time and resources.
  • ULO3: Integrate critical thinking and reflective practices into their project, and develop self-management strategies to address challenges and enhance personal, academic and career learning.
  • ULO4: Critically analyse and report on research methods and processes, project outputs and outcomes, effectively using a range of professional and academic written and oral formats.
  • ULO5: Create and produce a high quality evidence informed artefact such as a report, research instrument, discussion paper or resource for an organisation that supports the organisation’s purpose and strategic goals.

General Assessment Information

The Project Management Plan, Short Written task and Final Report must all be submitted electronically via iLearn and the Turnitin function.

Please note that the Project Management Plan (PMP) is due once you have completed a minimum of 20 hours working on your project. The submission date will therefore vary between students. 

Contact the Unit Convenor if you find yourself unable to meet the submission dates for assessment tasks and/or the minimum project hours can not be met.

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a penalty for late submission/s will apply.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Project Management Plan (PMP) 20% No First 20 hours of project
Short Written Task 10% No 28/08/2020
Media Presentation 10% No 27/10/2020 or 28/10/2020
Final Project Report 40% No 13/11/2020
Workplace supervisor's report 20% No End of project (approx. 13/11/2020)

Project Management Plan (PMP)

Assessment Type 1: Plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: First 20 hours of project
Weighting: 20%

 

Students develop their project management planning skills by creating a plan for their research project/activity. The plan must include: project description and rationale; outline of study design, objectives, outcomes and key stakeholders; specify key tasks and timeline; resources required; risks/issues and mitigation strategies; strategies for monitoring and evaluating the project and the quality of their work. The workplace supervisor must check this task prior to submission.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate and apply qualitative and/or quantitative research skills and knowledge to an applied social research project for an organisation.
  • Design and implement a project plan to successfully undertake and manage tasks, data, risks, time and resources.

Short Written Task

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 28/08/2020
Weighting: 10%

 

This task requires students to use critical and ethical thinking along with reflective skills to respond a question focused on either: a) the application of a specific principle of research ethics to their own project (using the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines) OR b) to critically analyse and report on their own positionality in relation to their research project.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate and apply qualitative and/or quantitative research skills and knowledge to an applied social research project for an organisation.
  • Integrate critical thinking and reflective practices into their project, and develop self-management strategies to address challenges and enhance personal, academic and career learning.
  • Critically analyse and report on research methods and processes, project outputs and outcomes, effectively using a range of professional and academic written and oral formats.

Media Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 27/10/2020 or 28/10/2020
Weighting: 10%

 

This task is designed for students to synthesise their academic and professional knowledge and present in the form of a media presentation. Presenters need to: 1) use a presentation tool such as Powerpoint or Prezi to create an engaging presentation for their peers 2) provide an overview of their project and organisation, including examples and evidence of their work/project 3) draw conclusions about the impact of their work on their organisation and/or their future career/study plans 4) share reflections on their learnings 5) manage their media presentation in a logical, organised way within the time limits set.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate and apply qualitative and/or quantitative research skills and knowledge to an applied social research project for an organisation.
  • Integrate critical thinking and reflective practices into their project, and develop self-management strategies to address challenges and enhance personal, academic and career learning.
  • Critically analyse and report on research methods and processes, project outputs and outcomes, effectively using a range of professional and academic written and oral formats.

Final Project Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: 13/11/2020
Weighting: 40%

 

The final project report requires students to critically analyse and reflect on their research project and experiences. The report must include information about: - the organisation and details on their project including a critique of the study design and research methods/approaches used - ethical and/cultural considerations and how addressed - examples/samples of work completed - links to their disciplinary background and/or major - reflection on their experience including personal, academic and career learning.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate and apply qualitative and/or quantitative research skills and knowledge to an applied social research project for an organisation.
  • Critically analyse and report on research methods and processes, project outputs and outcomes, effectively using a range of professional and academic written and oral formats.

Workplace supervisor's report

Assessment Type 1: Work-integrated task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: End of project (approx. 13/11/2020)
Weighting: 20%

 

The workplace supervisor will undertake an assessment of the student’s work and performance at the end of the project.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Design and implement a project plan to successfully undertake and manage tasks, data, risks, time and resources.
  • Integrate critical thinking and reflective practices into their project, and develop self-management strategies to address challenges and enhance personal, academic and career learning.
  • Create and produce a high quality evidence informed artefact such as a report, research instrument, discussion paper or resource for an organisation that supports the organisation’s purpose and strategic goals.

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 unit has an academic component (delivered through 6 face to face workshops) and a practical component (students' research work for the organisation -  approximately 150 hours).

For the academic component students will be required to:

  • submit the required assessment tasks on time
  • complete required readings
  • contribute to workshop and online discussions
  • attend all workshops (if unable to attend the lecturer must be contacted and alternate arrangements made – this may include an alternative activity assigned for completion).

For the practical component of the unit students will be required to:

  • complete a minimum 150 placement hours with a partner organisation working on a research project
  • define a work schedule with their workplace supervisor and commit to it
  • work on a research project according to the research plan they discuss with their workplace supervisor/s
  • submit a final output of the project to their organisation.

Unit Schedule

The practical component of this unit is supported by 6 x 2 hour compulsory workshops.  This component of the unit is as important as the professional work-based component. 

There are two available workshops: Tuesday 12-2pm OR Wednesday 3-5pm. At this stage the Tuesday workshop is scheduled as face-to-face (12SW tute room 229) and the Wednesday workshop as on-line/remote for those students who are unable to come to campus due to CV-19. The dates and topics are listed below.

The dates for the workshops are:

Workshop 1

Tues 28/7

OR

Wed 29/7

Introduction to experiential learning and your social research project

Workshop 2

Tues 4/8

OR

Wed 5/8

Managing a research project

Workshop 3

Tues 11/8

OR

Wed 12/8

Ethics in research and the workplace

Workshop 4

Tues 18/8

OR

Wed 19/8

Reflective practice

Workshop 5

Tues 27/10

OR

Wed 28/10

Communicating research

Workshop 6

Tues 3/11

OR

Wed 4/11

Pursuing a career in social research

 

 

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.