Written assignments on Practical Modules (60%)

You are required to hand in written assignments based on the results of exercises completed as part of the practical modules. These will be submitted as an electronic report before the beginning of the practical class the week following the module's conclusion, or as instructed by the lecturer. Reports will include graphs and figures as well as interpretation of your results in the broader context of the topic. Most practical modules are worth 10%. Note: some of the modules may be assessed over multiple weeks and will be worth 20% (Physical Oceanography module). The results of the IMOS practical (Week 1) are not assessed.

Exam (40%)

The exam is worth 40% of your total mark. More details will be forthcoming closer to the date.

General Faculty Policy on assessment submission deadlines and late submissions: 

Late Assessment Submission Penalty 

Late assessments are not accepted in this unit unless a Special Consideration has been submitted and approved.

Off-shore students

Off-shore students must email the convenor as soon as possible to discuss study options.

COVID Information and on-campus classes

On-campus teaching continues to be scheduled for Session 1, 2023. Masks are compulsory for all classes in indoor spaces and social distancing will be implemented wherever possible. Students will also be required to sanitise surfaces before and after use.

Students are requested to minimise the risk of spreading COVID to themselves and others in accordance with the university and NSW Health guidelines: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs and https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe.

Any further requirements or changes to units in relation to COVID will be communicated to students via iLearn.

Written assignments

Assessment Type ¹: Professional writing Indicative Time on Task ²: 60 hours Due: TBA Weighting: 60%

You will submit 6 written assignments based on the results of exercises completed as part of the practical modules.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Understand the diversity of open access data and instrumentation for data collection
• Formulate and test hypotheses within a scientific framework
• Access and managing data, including those from large datasets
• Produce and present data visually
• Evaluate and synthesise a variety of expert opinions within marine science

Final test

Assessment Type ¹: Quiz/Test Indicative Time on Task ²: 40 hours Due: 18/05/2023 Weighting: 40%

You will sit a written test at the conclusion of the unit. The test format can include multiple choice questions and short answers.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Understand the diversity of open access data and instrumentation for data collection
• Formulate and test hypotheses within a scientific framework
• Access and managing data, including those from large datasets
• Produce and present data visually
• Evaluate and synthesise a variety of expert opinions within marine science

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

Practical classes

The practical classes will introduce you to the IMOS – Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System, a national infrastructure facility that collects marine data from Australia’s coasts and oceans. These data are made publicly available and used by scientists to explore and monitor biological and oceanographic processes in the coastal and marine environment. In practical classes you will analyse and interpret remotely-sensed data from IMOS, which provides comprehensive information on the biological and physical processes of Australia’s coastal and oceanic waters. Practical classes are run at SIMS.

Seminars

The seminar series is built around the most current research questions in Australian marine science. Scientists from a number of disciplines will present their research and the most important research questions in their field in a 1 hour seminar. Seminar topics cover physical and biological oceanography, climate change, molecular ecology, aquaculture, marine biology and marine geosciences. Seminars are given at SIMS.

How to get to SIMS and where to park

You can travel to SIMS by public transport or by car.  For the most up to date information on public transport please check http://www.transportnsw.info/

If you decide to drive to SIMS please ensure you arrive at class on time. A map of how to get to SIMS is available on the SIMS website www.sims.org.au.  Parking is available at an hourly rate or if you have a valid national parks sticker you can park for free in designated areas.  Alternatively you can park up in Headland Park, Georges Heights and walk down through the bushtrack. See the course convenor if you need further information.

The unit schedule is available on iLearn and through SIMS.  Please check this regularly for updates and changes.

This course is data-intensive. You will be downloading, manipulating, and analysing datasets with many thousands of observations. As a result, you need to be proficient in the use of software programs such as Microsoft Excel and basic statistics. We provide below a list of the minimum assumed knowledge to allow you to get the most out of the course. If you are not comfortable with these topics, please spend some time working through the online tutorials we have outlined below.

Sort and Filter Data: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watchonlineffb9fcb0-b9cb-48bf-a15c-8bec9fd3a472

Doing Calculations and writing formulas in Excel: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-simple-formula-in-excel-11a5f0e5-38a3-4115-85bc-f4a465f64a8a

Averaging Data: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watch-online-6cced0beca49-41c8-a3f2-cb89e566ab90

Plotting in Excel: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watchonline-4d95c6a5-42d2-4cfc-aede-0ebf01d409a8

Pivot Tables: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watchonline-7810597d-0837-41f7-9699-5911aa282760

Descriptive statistics - In particular, understanding the mean, standard deviation, standard error, and the normal distribution. Many videos can be found here: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/probability/descriptive-statistics