PSY4002 Psychology Honours Project 2

Staffing

Examiner: Michael Ireland
Moderator: Nola Passmore

Requisites

Pre-requisite: PSY4001 and Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: BSCH in Psychology major (12302) or BPSH

Rationale

Your undergraduate training in psychology has stressed the scientist-practitioner model and has placed a heavy emphasis upon evidence-based practice. One way to think about this is that your training emphasises both the ability to be a good consumer of research and to be a good producer of research. The consumer aspect involves the ability to collect evidence about a particular topic, synthesise it, organise it, and communicate it in a way that makes the current evidence readily understandable. The producer aspect involves the ability to be able to conduct a substantial empirical scientific study concerning the application of psychological knowledge and techniques and then write a report of sufficient academic rigour to be publishable.

Synopsis

This is the second of two courses that contribute towards the Psychology Honours Project. This course centres on the second component of the Honours Project: submission of a journal article. The journal article is based upon an empirical study which requires advanced knowledge of statistics and research methodology In this second course, students will continue working on the research project that was approved in Psychology Honours Project 1 and submit their final dissertation consisting of the initial literature review and the journal article.

Objectives

Topics

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

Reference materials

Student workload requirements

Assessment details

Important assessment information

1. Attendance requirements:
   It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures and consultation with supervisor) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
   
   
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks or a grade of at least C-.
   
   
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   Please see the detailed extension policy contained in the current Thesis Guidelines. This is available from http://www.usq.edu.au/sciences/psychology/resources.htm.
   
   
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   To be assured of a Passing grade, a student must receive at least 50% of the total weighted marks for the assessment items. Students who do not qualify for a Passing grade may, at the discretion of the Examiner, be awarded additional work to demonstrate to the Examiner that they have achieved the required standard. It is expected that such students will have gained at least 45% of the total marks available for the assessment items.
   
   
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   The final grade will be assigned on the basis of the mark obtained for the assessment items.
   
   
6. Examination information:
   There is no examination in this course.
   
   
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   As there were no examinations in this course there will be no Deferred or Supplementary examinations.
   
   
8. University Student Policies:
   Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au/portal/custom/search/category/usq_document_policy_type/Student.1.html.
   
   

Assessment notes

1. Detailed instructions regarding the assessment items will be handed out in classes. Students must familiarise themselves with these instructions.
   
   
2. The due date for an assignment is the date by which a student must despatch the assignment to the USQ. The onus is on the student to provide proof of the despatch date, if requested by the Examiner.
   
   
3. Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment. This must be produced within five days if required by the Examiner.
   
   
4. Extensions for each assessment item will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Applications for extensions must be endorsed by the supervisor, and submitted in writing to the examiner. See the current Thesis Guidelines for more information. If extenuating circumstances are likely to severely disrupt the student's progress, the student and supervisor should inform the examiner as soon as possible so that suitable options can be discussed.
   
   
5. Students who, for medical, family/personal, or employment-related reasons, are unable to complete an assignment at the scheduled time may apply to defer an assessment in a course. Such a request must be accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation. The following temporary grade may be awarded IDM (Incomplete Deferred Make-up).
   
   
6. Students are strongly advised to maintain regular contact with their supervisor. Students should carefully read the information pertaining to the supervisor-student relationship contained in the course handouts.
   
   
7. Students are not allowed to begin data collection until the Ethics Application for their project has been approved in writing.
   
   
8. APA style is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use APA style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide. http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/referencing/default.htm
   
   

Other requirements

1. Students are strongly advised to maintain regular contact with their supervisor. Students should carefully read the information pertaining to the supervisor-student relationship contained in the current Psychology 4th year handbook. Students need email and internet access to complete their project.