Students

NSCI7935 – Research Topics in Natural Sciences 2

2022 – Session 3, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Tracy Rushmer
tracy.rushmer@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MRes
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit comprises study of special topics in the natural sciences, and is designed to supplement a student’s existing knowledge and coursework with targeted material and techniques that will be required for their MRes thesis project in year two. Activities may include attending a national or international summer school, cross-institutional study or highly tailored units of study that are exemplars of current analytical/theoretical concepts or problem-solving applications. Topics and activities will be selected with the aid of an academic supervisor.

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: Critically synthesize and evaluate information from a variety of sources
  • ULO2: Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of research principles and methods
  • ULO3: Rigorously apply scientific methods to address a research question
  • ULO4: Articulate clearly a coherent argument in written, oral or technical communication as relevant to the specific activity chosen

General Assessment Information

Engagement – please read, as this is very important

As a BPhil / MRes Yr 1 student you are part of the Faculty of Science and Engineering research community. You are expected to actively participate in our diverse research community. You are expected to contribute to a supportive and respectful dialogue. Disrespectful, offensive, belittling or exclusionary behaviour will not be tolerated (https://policies.mq.edu.au/document/view.php?id=55).

Academic Honesty

Academic integrity is fundamental to research. Presenting another person's work as your own is a serious breach of the University’s rules and carries significant penalties. The University’s Academic Honesty Policy can be found at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

In this unit, all written work will be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin. Penalties for plagiarism may include a zero mark for the assignment or in more extreme cases, failure of the unit. Plagiarism will be noted on your academic record. Full details of penalties can be found at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/schedule_penalties.html

Individual assessments

Each assessment should be designed to be as authentic to as possible. Marking criteria / guidance for each assessment are agreed in your learning plan.

Due dates and assessement topics

All assessments are due prior to the weekly scheduled workshop for the week indicated in the unit guide. Any student who is unable to meet a deadline should contact the unit convenor prior to the deadline to (possibly) avoid late pentalties.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty 

From 1 July 2022, Students enrolled in session based units with written assessments will have the following university standard late penalty applied. Please see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/assessments for more information.    Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of '0' will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.    For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.  

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted 

In this unit, late submissions will accepted as follows: 

  • as agreed in your learning plan.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Learning plan 5% Yes Friday of week 1
Assessment tasks (3+) 95% No as agreed in approved learning plan

Learning plan

Assessment Type 1: Learning plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 5 hours
Due: Friday of week 1
Weighting: 5%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

 

You will work with the supervisor or unit convenor to develop a learning plan for the unit that includes all assessment tasks and the total time to be spent on these tasks (not to exceed 132 hrs).

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically synthesize and evaluate information from a variety of sources

Assessment tasks (3+)

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 132 hours
Due: as agreed in approved learning plan
Weighting: 95%

 

You will have a minimum of 3 assessment tasks, with a maximum of 60% weighting for any one task. Tasks can vary and may include a scientific report, report, essay or exam, as appropriate for a 10cp unit. Assessment tasks and weightings will follow the learning plan agreed upon with the supervisor for a project-based unit, or will be as listed in the unit guides when components of other units are being undertaken with the approval of the unit convenor.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically synthesize and evaluate information from a variety of sources
  • Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of research principles and methods
  • Rigorously apply scientific methods to address a research question

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

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