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Unit of study_
DESC9300: Research in Arch. and Design Science
2025 unit information
This unit aims to prepare students for undertaking a research project in the various sub-disciplines of Architectural Science. It begins with the workshop-based discussion about how to identify ‘knowledge gap’ from which an interesting and significant research question can be formulated. It highlights principles of experimental design and methods of data collection and analysis. You will be working closely together with your individual supervisor to fully establish research questions, transform them into testable hypotheses, and develop reliable and valid research methods. Students will be given an opportunity to fully present their research ideas and plans in the form of written research proposal and oral presentation. Prior to the enrolment, students are expected to find and appoint their individual supervisor who’s research interest and expertise are closely aligned with that of the student. This unit in combination with other 12 credit point research unit (either Report or Dissertation) may replace the capstone with the permission of the Program Director.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning
| Study level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Architecture |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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ARCF9001 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. understand the definition of research as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings (including synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it leads to new and creative outcomes)
- LO2. understand the development of well-formed research questions, and master the transformation of research questions into testable hypotheses in a research proposal
- LO3. identify gaps in the literature related to the proposed research, such that the novelty of the student’s approach to answering the identified research question can be clearly established
- LO4. appreciate the principal traditions underlying the work done in empirical research and to be able justify the methodology in the proposed research as both reliable and valid
- LO5. evaluate the potential impact of the proposed research, and to clearly identify the connection between research purpose and research design.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2025
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Block mode | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney | |
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Semester 2 2025
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Block mode | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
Important enrolment information
Departmental permission requirements
If you see the ‘Departmental Permission’ tag below a session, it means you need faculty or school approval to enrol. This may be because it’s an advanced unit, clinical placement, offshore unit, internship or there are limited places available.
You will be prompted to apply for departmental permission when you select this unit in Sydney Student.
Read our information on departmental permission.
