Students

PSYC8934 – Dissertation

2022 – Full year 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Maria Kangas
Credit points Credit points
20
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MClinPsych and (PSY933 or PSYC8933)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit involves the conduct of research appropriate to the discipline of clinical psychology, and requires the submission of a piece of research in the form of a journal article, usually of around 5,000-8,000 words plus a literature review in the form of a critical review paper (5,000-8,000 words). The two papers are submitted together for external marking.

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: Write an empirical paper in journal format suitable for a psychology journal.
  • ULO2: Design and conduct an empirical research project which has direct relevance for clinical psychology.
  • ULO3: Conduct critical evaluations of theories and empirical studies for a particular population/ topic relevant to clinical psychology.
  • ULO4: Write a literature review in journal format suitable for a psychology journal.

General Assessment Information

See links to the Assessment Policy and the Special Consideration Policy in the Policies and Procedures section of this Unit Guide.

Late submissions

The literature review and empirical paper have a strict due date. Ordinarily, no extensions of time for submission of assessment tasks will be granted. If students experience unexpected, unavoidable, and serious circumstances affecting submission of assessable work they may lodge an application for Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au with supporting documentary evidence. Special Consideration will only be considered for unexpected events arising from the start of Session 1 (Week 1 onwards). All requests for special consideration must be made no later than five working days after the due date of the assessment task. Where special consideration has not been granted, late submissions will not be accepted. 

Assessment Rubric will be available on ILearn PSYC8994 Unit page from Week 1 of Session 1 2022.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Empirical paper 50% No 5th October 2022
Literature Review paper 50% No 5th October 2022

Empirical paper

Assessment Type 1: Thesis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: 5th October 2022
Weighting: 50%

The student must submit an empirical journal article as a write-up of the empirical research as if the student was going to submit it to a journal for publication. The empirical paper should not exceed between 5000 to 8000 words maximum.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Write an empirical paper in journal format suitable for a psychology journal.
  • Design and conduct an empirical research project which has direct relevance for clinical psychology.
  • Conduct critical evaluations of theories and empirical studies for a particular population/ topic relevant to clinical psychology.

Literature Review paper

Assessment Type 1: Literature review
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 5th October 2022
Weighting: 50%

The student must submit a Literature Review between 5000 to 8000 words maximum. This must involve a critical appraisal of a specific topic area relevant to clinical psychology


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Conduct critical evaluations of theories and empirical studies for a particular population/ topic relevant to clinical psychology.
  • Write a literature review in journal format suitable for a psychology journal.

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

There are no scheduled classes for this unit. 

Students are expected to be in regular contact with their research supervisor throughout Session. Contact may include face to face meetings, emails and teleconferencing. Students are encouraged to carefully consider and discuss draft review timelines with their supervisor well ahead of the due date for the two pieces of asessmnet for this unit.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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.


Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook