PSY8020 Advanced Research Techniques

Subject	Cat-nbr	Class	Term	Mode	Description	Units	Campus
PSY	8020	79074	2, 2008	ONC	Advanced Research Techniques	1.00	Toowoomba

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Academic group:	FOSCI
Academic org:	FOS005
Student contribution band:	1
ASCED code:	090701

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Contents

• Staffing
• Requisites
• Rationale
• Synopsis
• Objectives
• Topics
• Texts
• Reference materials
• Student workload
• Assessment details
• Important assessment information
• Assessment notes
• Production date
• PDF version

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STAFFING

Examiner: Jeff Patrick
Moderator: Paul Bramston

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REQUISITES

Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: DOHP or DPCL or MPCL or MPSH or MSBH

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RATIONALE

Advanced study in any field of Psychology requires a sound grasp of reasoning, evidence, methodology, analysis, and interpretation. At the Masters and Doctoral level, it is expected that students will be able to select from a wide range of techniques and research designs and to carry out appropriate analyses. Some of these skills and underlying knowledge bases have been introduced in previous courses. This course, therefore, aims to build upon earlier study by extending the range of techniques with which students are familiar and by exploring new applications of previously studied methods and analytic techniques. The course also aims to introduce students to alternative techniques and research designs that may not have been covered in previous courses.

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SYNOPSIS

Students will be introduced to a number of techniques. The course also revises and builds upon relevant previous course material. Students will learn to think about research designs and research hypotheses in a more critical, intuitive and constructive way. These techniques are also applied to examples that students may face as a part of their professional career. The course is broken into 3 residential workshops - each one runs for 2 days. The material covered is assessed in 2 assignments of equal weighting. The Examiner may choose to break either or both assessment pieces into multiple smaller assessment items, if they believe this will aid student learning. Final details of each assessment item will be discussing in the first workshop.

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OBJECTIVES

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. critically evaluate the published research of others (Assessed in both assignments);
2. think critically and systematically about the paradigms used in research (Assessed in both assignments);
3. demonstrate practical skills by applying some specialized techniques (Assessed in both assignments).

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TOPICS

	Description	Weighting (%)
1.	To be advised.	100.00

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TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces).

Any necessary course material will be distributed to students either in print or via the web.

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REFERENCE MATERIALS

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Students will be notified of any recommended readings.

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STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS

ACTIVITY	HOURS
Private Study	120.00
Workshops	45.00

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ASSESSMENT DETAILS

Description		Marks out of	Wtg(%)	Due date	Notes
ASSIGNMENT 1		50.00	50.00	22 Jul 2008	(see note 1)
ASSIGNMENT 2		50.00	50.00	22 Jul 2008	(see note 2)

NOTES

1.

To be advised by the examiner.

2.

To be advised by the examiner.

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IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

1. Attendance requirements:
   Participation in On-campus Workshops. The skills components of this course will be taught in three, two-day compulsory workshops held on campus. During these workshops, students will engage in practice of techniques for a variety of situations. If circumstances prevent a student from attending a workshop, the student must contact the examiner to arrange an alternative activity. This could be a written assignment based on the material covered in the missed workshop. Attendance at the three workshops and/or completion of one or more alternative activities at a standard judged to be appropriate by the examiner is required before the 1 mark for the workshop assignments can be awarded.
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   To complete each of the assignments satisfactorily, students must obtain at least 50% of the marks available for each assignment.
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   If students submit assignments after the due date without (prior) approval of the examiner then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the weighted aggregate of the marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course (and by considering the students' level of achievement of the objectives of the course).
6. Examination information:
   There is no examination for this course.
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   As there are no examinations in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.
8. University Regulations:
   Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.6. Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm or in the current USQ Handbook.

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ASSESSMENT NOTES

9.	Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment. This must be produced within 24 hours if required by the Examiner.

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This version produced 25 Nov 2008.