Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff John Alroy john.alroy@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites Admission to GradDipRes or GradCertRes
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This foundation unit has been developed specifically for BPhil/MRes students to provide them with a solid foundation in the philosophy and practice of reproducible scientific analysis. Through a series of tutorials and workshops, students will incrementally build their skills and knowledge of research in the natural sciences. In parallel, students will undertake a small research project through which they apply the very skills they are discussing in tutorial classes. The unit will provide students with experience in formulating hypotheses, designing experiments, compiling and analysing data, and communication of results. The unit provides a recap of statistical analysis and works specifically to provide a strong foundation in ethical research practices. Learning in this unit enhances student understanding of global challenges identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) Quality Education; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

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: Formulate testable scientific hypotheses based on a critical evaluation of the scientific literature
ULO2: Collate, maintain and store scientific data after assessing those data for completeness, adequacy, and quality
ULO3: Implement computer coding strategies to aid in the preparation, analysis, graphical visualisation, and interpretation of scientific data
ULO4: Prepare and present scientific research findings to a professional standard in written, graphical, and oral form
ULO5: Design and conduct a scientific research project in a reproducible and ethical manner

General Assessment Information

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you must achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%.

Academic Honesty

Presenting the work of another person as one’s own is a serious breach of the University’s rules and carries significant penalties. In this unit, we will be checking written work 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. (link: Academic Integrity Policy)

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 or presentation 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. 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 scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration.

Assessments where late submissions will be accepted

In this unit, late submissions will accepted for written work, but:

All training and inductions MUST be completed prior to starting placement work.
See marking guidance on iLearn or consult the convenor for additional information.

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. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please contact the convenor prior to submitting a Special Consideration.

Project pre-registration

You will complete a preregistration of your research project and will upload your data and metadata to an online repository. The preregistration will outline the background, aims and methods of your project, and how you will use data to achieve these aims. You should use the feedback received on your pre-registration to improve your project.

Preliminary analyses

You will complete preliminary analyses for your research project. This provides an opportunity to get feedback prior to completing your research project, final project report, and presentation.

Project presentation

You will give a brief but substantial oral presentation to your peers in class on the results of your research project. Slides illustrating your data, methods, and results should be used.

Time on task reflection

Through the session, you will keep a time on task diary. At the end of the session, you will reflect on the time required to perform various tasks, your time management, and identify ways to improve your time management, research planning, and ways to be more efficient in your work.

Project report

You will write up the results of your research project in the form of a standard-length scientific paper. If possible, it should be divided into the usual sections: Introduction, Data, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References sections. It should also include several substantially different kinds of graphs.