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Unit of study_

BHSC4012: Honours B: Applied Research Skills

Semester 1b, 2020 [Block mode] - Cumberland, Sydney

Honours students undertake a supervised research project in a health discipline area within the Faculty. Students will contribute to designing and/or implementing an approved research project and submit a thesis describing the project and its implications. In designing the methodology the student will work closely with academic staff/mentor who will supervise their research activities. Students will meet regularly with their supervisor; attend seminars and workshops that contribute to the research process and their thesis.

Unit details and rules

Unit code BHSC4012
Academic unit Health Sciences
Credit points 6
Prohibitions
? 
None
Prerequisites
? 
BHSC3021
Corequisites
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

No

Teaching staff

Coordinator Mark Halaki, mark.halaki@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Sanet Du Toit, sanet.dutoit@sydney.edu.au
Anne Honey, anne.honey@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Presentation group assignment Skills workshop (DR & SP)
Oral presentation
50% Week 13 30 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO4 LO2
Assignment Reflective report (DR & SP)
Report
50% Week 14 (STUVAC) 2500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO3 LO4 LO1 LO2
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Assessment Item 1: Skills workshop: Groups of 3 students will prepare and facilitate a 30 minute session in class, focussing on teaching other students a research method/ skill that they need for their project.

Assessment Item 2: Reflective report: Present a reflective report on your research project to date.

Please see the unit of study Canvas site for details and assessment criteria.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard.

Distinction

75 - 84

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard.

Credit

65 - 74

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard.

Pass

50 - 64

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard.

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website  provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.  

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 08 Weeks 8 – 13: DR and SP Students Monday: Introduction to Unit (Compulsory attendance) Overview of qualitative research analysis (AH) Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Wednesday: Descriptive statics and displaying data (MH) Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Week 09 Monday: Excel skills (MH) - Please bring your own laptop to this session Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Monday: Scientific methodologies for reviewing literature - Data collection for systematic/scoping reviews (SDT) - Prior to attending this session please read the links on LMS Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Wednesday: Focus groups and in-depth interviews (AH) - Prior to attending this session please watch the 2 videos on focus groups and in-depth interviews at https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/9965/pages/sshs-honours-research-methods-resources Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Week 10 Monday: Hypothesis testing (MH) - Prior to attending this session please read the links on LMS Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Monday: Data analysis and presentation of findings for systematic/scoping reviews (SDT) - Prior to attending this session please read the links on LMS Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Wednesday: Analysing your qualitative data (AH) - Prior to attending this session please read, check and correct the focus group transcript Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Week 11 Monday: Tests for reliability and association (MH) - Prior to attending this session please read the links on LMS Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Wednesday: Using NVivo (AH) - Prior to attending the Using NVivo session, please download the software onto your computer (and bring the computer to class) from: http://softserv.usyd.edu.au/data/NVivo/ If you get an error message, try pasting the link into a Google Incognito Window or a Safari/Firefox Private Browsing window. Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Week 12 Monday: Tests for differences (MH) - Prior to attending this session please read the links on LMS Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Preparation for presentations (MH) Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Week 13 Monday & Wednesday: Presentations Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO4

Attendance and class requirements

A lot of topics will be covered during the semester, so some may be very relevant to your study while others may not be. Although you are encouraged to attend all sessions, you are asked to discuss the topics with your supervisor(s) and agree on what sessions you plan to attend by Sunday week 2. This will allow us to plan the sessions better. Workshops are on Mondays and Wednesdays for all cohorts and Fridays for EP, OT and PT. In addition to the workshops, students will meet regularly with their supervisors and attend for data collection and analyses as required.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Please see the Canvas site for details.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. demonstrate a thorough understanding of the analysis methods appropriate for the honours study
  • LO2. implement the appropriate analysis methods required to complete the honours study
  • LO3. demonstrate and reflect on progress with their research project
  • LO4. demonstrate understanding of the research process.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

We noted that comments from students last year indicated that finding group members for the presentation was difficult; as a result, we plan to allocate time in class this year for this. Also, comments indicated that greater clarity regarding the reflection task is needed. We revised the task description and marking criteria to provide more details as well as provided a model report as a reference.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.