Hurdles: No hurdle requirements

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you need to:

• Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50% across all assessments.

Attendance and participation

We strongly encourage all students to actively participate in all learning activities. Regular engagement is crucial for your success in this unit, as these activities provide opportunities to deepen your understanding of the material, collaborate with peers, and receive valuable feedback from instructors, to assist in completing the unit assessments. Your active participation not only enhances your own learning experience but also contributes to a vibrant and dynamic learning environment for everyone.

Assignment submission: Assignment submission will be online through the iLearn page.

Submit assignments online via the appropriate assignment link on the iLearn page. A personalised cover sheet is not required with online submissions. Read the submission statement carefully before accepting it as there are substantial penalties for making a false declaration.

• Assignment submission is via iLearn. You should upload this as a single scanned PDF file.
• Please note the quick guide on how to upload your assignments provided on the iLearn page.
• Please make sure that each page in your uploaded assignment corresponds to only one A4 page (do not upload an A3 page worth of content as an A4 page in landscape). If you are using an app like Clear Scanner, please make sure that the photos you are using are clear and shadow-free.
• It is your responsibility to make sure your assignment submission is legible.
• If there are technical obstructions to your submitting online, please email us to let us know.

You may submit as often as required prior to the due date/time. Please note that each submission will completely replace any previous submissions. It is in your interests to make frequent submissions of your partially completed work as insurance against technical or other problems near the submission deadline.

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 7^th day (including weekends). After the 7^th 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 

Assessments 1 and 2 – 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. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through https://connect.mq.edu.au.

A spreadsheet will be circulated to UCs shortly to capture standard responses to special consideration requests from students that will support improvements aimed to reduce processing workload.

Final exam policy: It is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is, the final day of the official examination period. The only excuse for not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these special circumstances, you may apply for special consideration via ask.mq.edu.au.

If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled in the interval between the regular exam period and the start of the next session. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during this supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application.

You can check the supplementary exam information page on FSE101 in iLearn (bit.ly/FSESupp) for dates, and approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

Classes

The unit is delivered by lectures (2 hours per week, starting in Week 1) and SGTAs (1 hour per week, starting in Week 2). All teaching material will be available on iLearn. 

SGTA exercises will be available from iLearn prior to the SGTA. Students are expected to have attempted these prior to the SGTA. Solutions will be explained, with emphasis on any area students had trouble with. At the end of the week, these solutions will then be placed on iLearn. The web address is https://ilearn.mq.edu.au.

The timetable for classes can be found on the University website at: https://publish.mq.edu.au/. Enrolment can be managed using eStudent at: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/systems/estudent.

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 via the contact email on iLearn.

Course materials, recommended text and other references

Lecture notes will be made available on the unit iLearn page (https://iLearn.mq.edu.au/). 

Recommended text:

• Lohr, Sharon L (2022). Sampling: Design and Analysis, Third Edition, Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, for Survey Design.

• Lawson, J. (2015). Design and Analysis of Experiments with R. Chapman and Hall/CRC, for Experiment Design;

These are available from the Co-Op Bookshop and the University library.

Other useful references (available in library Reserve):

Saneii, H. and Doosti, H. (2024). Practical Biostatistics for Medical and Health Sciences. Springer.

Kuehl, R.O. (2000 or newer). Statistical Principles of Research Design and Analysis, Second edition, Duxbury Press.

Montgomery DC. (2019). Design and Analysis of Experiments, 10th Edition, Wiley.

Scheaffer RL, Mendenhall W and Ott RL (1996). Elementary Survey Sampling, 5th (or newer) Edition.

Cochran WG (1977). Sampling Techniques.

Moser CA & Kalton G (1971). Survey Methods in Social Investigations.

Barnett V (1974). Elements of Sampling Theory.

Technology Used and Required

Software: We are using R through Rstudio  in teaching this unit. R and Rstudio are free software and are widely used nowadays by statisticians. Students need to practice how to use the software and be expected to use R for the assignment. Students should also note that the test and the final examination may contain inline R codes and output that students need to interpret to answer the questions.

Survey design:

Experimental design:

To enable students to focus more on learning, understanding, and reflecting on the unit content, we have revised the assessment structure as follows. There are now only three assessments: two assignments, and a final exam. Although no marks are associated with attendance, all activities provide essential content to support your understanding and successful completion of the assessments.