Students

COMP8990 – Master of Research - Computing

2026 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Young Lee
young.lee@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
80
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The Master of Research is undertaken as a single unit. The thesis together with four core research activities form a single coherent research program based on individual research plans and will consist of the following:

  1. Research Frontiers: You will attend a number of school or faculty-run sessions and engage in a program of activities developing your knowledge of the sub-disciplinary field in which you want to situate your own research, and develop your own presentation skills;
  2. Literature Review: You will learn how researchers in your field engage with previous research literature, and produce a draft of your own literature review for your thesis;
  3. Research Methods: With other students and led by academic staff, you will develop the research methods you will use in your research project;
  4. Research Planning: Through individual work with your supervision team, you will develop a plan for a large-scale research project, part of which will be completed in the MRes; and
  5. Thesis: You will complete a small research project and write it up in an externally examined thesis. Following examination, you will revise your thesis to address comments provided by examiners. 

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: Apply critical and integrative thinking to develop research questions within your discipline through scholarly investigation of currently available evidence. 
  • ULO2: Communicate a coherent and sustained argument in relation to your research outcomes to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • ULO3: Employ integrity and ethical conduct in research as a socially and culturally responsible researcher.
  • ULO4: Plan and execute a research project to contribute knowledge to your discipline. 
  • ULO5: Demonstrate expert judgement, adaptability and accountability in your professional practice as an independent researcher.
  • ULO6: Apply high-level cognitive, creative and technical skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts.

General Assessment Information

All the assessments in this unit align with the Faculty's and the School's MRes program. The main goal of this unit is to help you structure your year, provide sessions in key skills and encourage you to begin writing early.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Poster Presentation 10% Yes Early July Individual No Open AI
Project planning 0% Yes Week 4 Individual No Observed
Literature review 0% Yes Week 13 Individual No Open AI
Weekly colloquia 0% No Weekly Individual No Observed
Thesis 90% Yes Individual EWS date Individual No Open AI
Research methods 0% Yes Week 7 Individual No Observed

Poster Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Early July
Weighting: 10%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

You will prepare a poster presentation explaining your current research
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply critical and integrative thinking to develop research questions within your discipline through scholarly investigation of currently available evidence. 
  • Communicate a coherent and sustained argument in relation to your research outcomes to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Employ integrity and ethical conduct in research as a socially and culturally responsible researcher.
  • Plan and execute a research project to contribute knowledge to your discipline. 
  • Demonstrate expert judgement, adaptability and accountability in your professional practice as an independent researcher.
  • Apply high-level cognitive, creative and technical skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts.

Project planning

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 14 hours
Due: Week 4
Weighting: 0%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

You will learn to manage and plan a major research project. You will submit a brief project plan & budget
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply critical and integrative thinking to develop research questions within your discipline through scholarly investigation of currently available evidence. 
  • Plan and execute a research project to contribute knowledge to your discipline. 
  • Apply high-level cognitive, creative and technical skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts.

Literature review

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 0%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

You will collate and understand the background literature for your chosen project and produce a written report which will inform your thesis.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply critical and integrative thinking to develop research questions within your discipline through scholarly investigation of currently available evidence. 
  • Communicate a coherent and sustained argument in relation to your research outcomes to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Employ integrity and ethical conduct in research as a socially and culturally responsible researcher.
  • Demonstrate expert judgement, adaptability and accountability in your professional practice as an independent researcher.
  • Apply high-level cognitive, creative and technical skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts.

Weekly colloquia

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 0%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

You will engage in discipline-specific seminars and colloquia as appropriate
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Communicate a coherent and sustained argument in relation to your research outcomes to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Employ integrity and ethical conduct in research as a socially and culturally responsible researcher.
  • Demonstrate expert judgement, adaptability and accountability in your professional practice as an independent researcher.
  • Apply high-level cognitive, creative and technical skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts.

Thesis

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 200 hours
Due: Individual EWS date
Weighting: 90%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

You will complete an individual research project, for which you will write a single coherent thesis which is examined externally.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply critical and integrative thinking to develop research questions within your discipline through scholarly investigation of currently available evidence. 
  • Communicate a coherent and sustained argument in relation to your research outcomes to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Employ integrity and ethical conduct in research as a socially and culturally responsible researcher.
  • Plan and execute a research project to contribute knowledge to your discipline. 
  • Demonstrate expert judgement, adaptability and accountability in your professional practice as an independent researcher.
  • Apply high-level cognitive, creative and technical skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts.

Research methods

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 0%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

You will demonstrate your understanding and skills in appropriate research methodologies, and that you are able to critically analyse their use in comparison with alternative methods.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply critical and integrative thinking to develop research questions within your discipline through scholarly investigation of currently available evidence. 
  • Communicate a coherent and sustained argument in relation to your research outcomes to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Employ integrity and ethical conduct in research as a socially and culturally responsible researcher.
  • Plan and execute a research project to contribute knowledge to your discipline. 
  • Demonstrate expert judgement, adaptability and accountability in your professional practice as an independent researcher.
  • Apply high-level cognitive, creative and technical skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts.

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
  • Academic Success 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.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

Weekly Colloquia

There will be a combination of weekly group sessions as well as individual sessions with your supervision team to discuss the study material in more detail and to help the MRes program and Activities in particular. 

All the resources will be provided on ilearn and the students are expected to study the reading and study materials provided on a weekly basis. Students are also encouraged to engage in active discussion via the General Discussion Forum on iLearn.

Assessment Tasks

Assignment specifications & requirements will be made available on ilearn and the written reports will be submitted online via Turnitin.

Methods of Communication

We will communicate with you via your Macquarie University's Email or through Announcements on 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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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.

Unit information based on version 2026.01R of the Handbook