Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor, Lecturer, Stream Leader (Sabah, Vietnam, Yarramundi)
Sandie Suchet-Pearson
Contact via Email
W3A428
Please email for an appointment
Lecturer and Stream Leader (Coal Loader and Bike Audit)
Tasmin-Lara Dilworth
Contact via Email
Please email for an appointment
Tutor (Yarramundi)
Harriet Narwal
Contact via Email
Please email for an appointment
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Credit points |
Credit points
6
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
39cp at 100 level or above
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
ENVG330 or ENVG340 or ENVG350 or ENVG370 or ENVG390 or ENVG461 or ENVG462 or ENVG463 or GEOP330 or GEOP340 or GEOP350 or GEOP370 or ENVS390 or GEOP461 or GEOP462 or GEOP463
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
Centred around an applied field-based research project in either Sydney or with regional or international partners, this unit develops students' practical, analytical and interpretative skills in ways directly relevant to employment as a professional geographer. Students are guided through research processes including: problem formulation; research design; data collection; selection and use of appropriate analytical, interpretative and conceptual tools; and production of oral and written reports presenting research findings and evaluating their research process. The unit addresses quantitative and qualitative methods, team building skills, specific aspects of research practice such as professional ethics, and relevant areas of social science theory in applied contexts. This unit allows students to draw on previous work in human geography to strengthen their portfolio of demonstrated skills relevant to the wide range of employment destinations available to human geographers.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
All students must submit Assignments 2, 3 and 4 through the appropriate Turnitin link provided on iLearn. Assignment 1 must be submitted through the blog link on iLearn and in class.
Late penalties
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Research Preparation | 10% | No | Workshop 1, 2 and 3 |
Research Proposal | 15% | No | Tuesday 9am September 3 |
Research Report and Reflection | 40% | No | Thursday 5pm November 7 |
Research Output | 20% | No | Thursday 5pm November 7 |
Research Presentation | 10% | No | Friday 9am October 25 |
Team Work Review | 5% | No | Thursday 5pm November 7 |
Due: Workshop 1, 2 and 3
Weighting: 10%
This assessment task will evaluate your level of preparation for your research projects. Assessment tasks include 3 blogs, contribution to and completion of workshops activities, and Practice Diaries.
See iLearn for detailed description of assessment task.
Due: Tuesday 9am September 3
Weighting: 15%
You will write a research proposal describing the context of your research, aligning your project with appropriate and ethical research methods and describing a feasible plan.
See iLearn for detailed description of assessment task.
Due: Thursday 5pm November 7
Weighting: 40%
You will write a research report reporting what you found in your research. It will include a discussion of the research issues, the relevant literature and the context of the topic. It will justify the methodology utilized and describe the methods and analytical tools used, including a specific discussion of ethics protocols and issues. It will present your data and the key findings that you draw out of your analysis. It will discuss the significance, limitations and contribution of your research conclusions. It must also share your critical reflections on the research process.
See iLearn for detailed description of assessment task.
Due: Thursday 5pm November 7
Weighting: 20%
You will produce a research output communicating your research to an appropriate non-academic audience. This task can be an individual or group task. Group tasks will receive a group mark for the output and an individual mark for individual contributions.
See iLearn for detailed description of assessment task.
Due: Friday 9am October 25
Weighting: 10%
Each student will give a presentation sharing with the rest of the class some aspect/s of their research projects, reflections and field experiences.
See iLearn for detailed description of assessment task.
Due: Thursday 5pm November 7
Weighting: 5%
Student will assess their own and their peer's contribution to their group data collection efforts.
See iLearn for detailed description of assessment task.
Delivery
GEOP380 is available only in block mode. Successful completion of your research activities are dependent upon your attendance and participation in 5 full day workshops:
9am - 5pm
Fridays 9 August, 16 August, 30 August, 11 October, 25 October
23 Wallys Walk - 105
Attendance at these workshops is required and will be recorded on an attendance sheet. If you cannot make a workshop for any reason you must contact Sandie. Preparation for and engagement with workshop activities will contribute to your grade for assignment 1.The workshops are designed to teach you the necessary research skills for designing research and for undertaking your assigned research projects. It is expected that students will use unassigned class time productively for fieldwork, group meetings and other research-related activities. The full day workshops will be mixed sessions with a combination of mini-lectures, hands-on learning activities and group meetings.
GEOP380 is a 6 credit point unit. On average 18 hours per week should be devoted to this unit (270 hour for the semester). The unit is designed based on the following breakdown (these are estimations and hours devoted to tasks will vary depending on specific projects):
Resources
There is a required text for GEOP380 available at the Co-op Bookshop:
Hay I. (ed.) 2016 Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography, 4th ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford. (Earlier editions of this book purchased second hand are also fine).
It is strongly recommended that you purchase this text as many of the unit readings are from this book. There is one copy of Hay on closed reserve in the library. Additional required readings are available through the Leganto.
GEOP380 Unit Schedule |
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Workshop |
Assessment tasks |
Workshop 1: Human Geography in Action Week 2: Friday 9 August (9am-5pm)
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Saturday 3 August Sabah and Vietnam group briefing Ass 1: Blog 1 due before Workshop 1 |
Workshop 2: Good Research Practice: Ethics and qualitative research methods Week 3: Friday 16 August (9am-5pm)
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Ass 1: Blog 2 due before Workshop 2
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Workshop 3: Good Research Practice: Quantitative research methods and career planning Week 5: Friday 30 August (9am-5pm) |
Ass 1: Blog 3 due before Workshop 3 Ass 1: Collection and grading of Practice Diaries (due end of Workshop 3) Ass 2: Research proposal: due 9am Tuesday 3 September Return research proposals (Sabah students) by Monday 9 September Return research proposals (Coal Loader, Vietnam and Yarramundi students) by Friday 13 September 7 September: Sabah group depart |
2 WEEK RECESS September 14 – September 29 Sabah stream: 7 September – 5 October Vietnam stream: 16-29 September Darug Caring-as-Country Culture Camp: 14-22 September |
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Workshop 4: After the Field Week 9: Friday 11 October (10am-2pm)
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5 October: Sabah group return |
Workshop 5: Research Presentations and Wrap Up Week 11: Friday 25 October (9am-5pm) |
Ass 3 & 4: Research Portfolio and Team Work Review: due 5pm Thursday 7 November
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Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
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 ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
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