Students

BIOL8601 – Biology Research Placement

2024 – Full year 1, In person-placement, On location

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Fleur Ponton
fleur.ponton@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
20
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(20cp from (BIOL8610 or BIOL861) or BIOL873 or (BIOL8740 or BIOL874) or (BIOL8750 or BIOL875) or (BIOL8770 or BIOL877) or (BIOL8870 or BIOL887)) and permission by special approval
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit enables the student to acquire biological research experience by undertaking an independent research project under academic supervision, or in conjunction with a private or public organisation within the conservation sector. The research topic may be flexible, but in most cases it will be aligned with the objectives of an academic staff member involved in research, or the external conservation organisation. Students must organise their project and supervisor well before commencing this unit.

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 professionalism by adhering to all workplace standards, particularly with regard to ethics, occupational health and safety, and legal requirements.
  • ULO2: Plan and implement a research project to address a hypothesis using principles of experimental design and appropriate data collection methods for measuring and assessing biological processes.
  • ULO3: Demonstrate effective time and project management skills by working independently to collect scientific data and by documenting these efforts using a project notebook.
  • ULO4: Communicate research findings to a scientific audience in written form by constructing a coherent, well structured document.
  • ULO5: Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the scientific, social, and legal dimensions of an issue of particular relevance to the conservation sector.

General Assessment Information

Requirements to pass the unit

- Attempt all assessments, and

- Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%

Late assessment submission and penalties

Late Assessment Submission Penalty Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report 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. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as performance assessments/presentations, please contact your convenor and apply for Special Consideration.

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted

Assessment "Research proposal" – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies

Assessment "Poster" - YES, Standard Late Penalty applies

Assessment "Scientific report"- YES, Standard Late Penalty applies

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment.

Written Assessments: If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the written assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Project proposal 10% No 24/03/2024
Poster 15% No 25/08/2024
Scientific Report 50% No 03/11/2024
Supervisor Report 25% No 03/11/2024

Project proposal

Assessment Type 1: Design Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 5 hours
Due: 24/03/2024
Weighting: 10%

 

Develop a short proposal explaining the work that you will undertake

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Plan and implement a research project to address a hypothesis using principles of experimental design and appropriate data collection methods for measuring and assessing biological processes.
  • Demonstrate effective time and project management skills by working independently to collect scientific data and by documenting these efforts using a project notebook.

Poster

Assessment Type 1: Poster
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 25/08/2024
Weighting: 15%

 

Develop a poster outlining your project and methodology.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate professionalism by adhering to all workplace standards, particularly with regard to ethics, occupational health and safety, and legal requirements.
  • Plan and implement a research project to address a hypothesis using principles of experimental design and appropriate data collection methods for measuring and assessing biological processes.
  • Demonstrate effective time and project management skills by working independently to collect scientific data and by documenting these efforts using a project notebook.
  • Communicate research findings to a scientific audience in written form by constructing a coherent, well structured document.

Scientific Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 03/11/2024
Weighting: 50%

 

Complete the Full Scientific Report in the form of a Scientific Paper

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Plan and implement a research project to address a hypothesis using principles of experimental design and appropriate data collection methods for measuring and assessing biological processes.
  • Demonstrate effective time and project management skills by working independently to collect scientific data and by documenting these efforts using a project notebook.
  • Communicate research findings to a scientific audience in written form by constructing a coherent, well structured document.
  • Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the scientific, social, and legal dimensions of an issue of particular relevance to the conservation sector.

Supervisor Report

Assessment Type 1: Performance
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: 03/11/2024
Weighting: 25%

 

Supervisors will provide a report on student performance, progress, abilities acquired and attendance throughout placement.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate professionalism by adhering to all workplace standards, particularly with regard to ethics, occupational health and safety, and legal requirements.
  • Plan and implement a research project to address a hypothesis using principles of experimental design and appropriate data collection methods for measuring and assessing biological processes.
  • Demonstrate effective time and project management skills by working independently to collect scientific data and by documenting these efforts using a project notebook.
  • Communicate research findings to a scientific audience in written form by constructing a coherent, well structured document.
  • Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the scientific, social, and legal dimensions of an issue of particular relevance to the conservation sector.

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

Week 1

The student should consult the list of interships available on the ilearn page of the unit and get in contact with potential supervisors.

Methods of Communication

We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor (fleur.ponton@mq.edu.au)

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

 

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 connect.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 the Service Connect Portal, 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.

Changes from Previous Offering

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page. Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. As such, no change to delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.

Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook