Year No. Offer Mode Description Cred. Pts 98 65310 S2 D SCIENCE PROJECT 1.00
Completion of 2nd Level.
The project provides students with an opportunity to carry out an in- depth study of a topic relevant to at least one Major Study area. As a third level unit, it must be conducted with the appropriate depth of academic rigour.
This unit provides students with an opportunity to carry out research work in a situation which resembles, as closely as possible, that in which they may find themselves when they begin a career in science. Students are required to thoroughly research and plan their project in consultation with an appointed supervisor and submit a detailed report on completion of the project. A large proportion of the project will be laboratory or field oriented.
On successful completion of this unit students will be able
to:
Description Weighting(%)The following guidelines apply to this unit.
- THE ROLE OF THE STUDENT Each student will normally select a topic from a range of topics proposed by staff. Alternatively students may propose their own topic and submit it to the unit examiner for approval. When a topic has been chosen a Project Description Form must be completed and submitted to the examiner for approval (NO LATER THAN THE END OF WEEK 1! THE EXAMINER WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL THE STUDENT'S PROJECT IF THIS DEADLINE IS NOT MET.) Students should seek assistance from their assigned Project Supervisor when completing this form, and obtain their signature. On receipt of approval the student will complete the project using his own effort, with advice from the project supervisor and other staff. Students must meet the deadlines given in this Unit Specification. (NOTE: The project does not formally begin until the Examiner has signed the Project Description Form.)
- THE ROLE OF EXAMINER The examiner will be responsible for all activities associated with administering the unit. The examiner, in consultation with the Head of Department of the chosen Major Study area, will appoint an appropriate project supervisor. The examiner has final responsibility for the grading of marks.
- THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT SUPERVISOR Where appropriate the principal project supervisor should be a staff member of the Department of Physical Sciences. It is the examiner's responsibilty to appoint and/or organize Associate or external supervisors. The supervisor will provide advice and guidance to the student. The student and supervisor should by mutual agreement organize a schedule for consultation. The supervisor will be responsible for evaluating the progress report, seminar, workbook and final report. The supervisor may seek advice from other staff members to assist his evaluation of the student.
- PROJECT WORKBOOK Each student must keep chronological records of all activities (results, methods, field trips, etc) associated with the project in an A4 book. The level of record-keeping in the workbook must be such as to allow another student to be able to continue, review or develop the project at a later date. Also, remember that this workbook carries a portion of the marks for the unit.
- PROGRESS REPORT Half-way through the prescribed time allowed for the project, students are required to submit a progress report on the project to their supervisor. This report should contain: (a) The overall structure of the Project (see 7 below) with a clear indication that the relevant literature has been reviewed. Include a bibliography as well as references. (b) Details of methods used to date and an evaluation of these methods. (c) Results obtained and a discussion of future work required to achieve all the aims of the project. At this time, the Supervisor and Student should decide if a revision of the Project Description Form is necessary.
- SEMINAR You should allocate around 20 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for question and answer time. Discuss with your supervisor your proposed seminar BEFORE the actual presentation.
- PROJECT REPORT (a) Two copies of the project report shall be submitted on or before the deadline stated in this Unit Specification. (One becomes the Student's Copy, the other the Supervisor's copy). Students are urged to submit a draft report to their supervisor for comments before submitting the final report. The final report will be evaluated and therefore cannot be amended. (b) The copy shall be one and a half-spaced typescript on one side of A4 size paper. (c) Each page must be numbered consecutively (initial pages in roman numerals, appendix pages A1, A2...) and have margins of suitable dimensions for the chosen binding process. (d) The general layout or format of the report must be similar to that found in a scientific journal. (The library services unit have a number of guides to help you in writing your report. See the recommended reference material section) If you are uncertain regarding the required format seek advice from your supervisor before starting the report. Your supervisor will be able to show you an example of a project report. In general, the report should contain the following main sections: the first sheet must contain the title, author's name, qualification for which the student is studying and the date of submission. abstract (200 words or less) acknowledgements table of contents a list of figures and tables introduction materials and methods (including descriptions of field locations) results discussion and conclusions references appendices (e) The copy shall be bound in a manner consistent with the volume of material contained in the report. The minimum requirement is a temporary or spiral binding, available through the USQ Printery or Student Association.
- INCOMPLETE GRADES A final project report that is graded Incomplete (Make- Up) may be re-submitted for grading only once at the discretion of the supervisor (a copy of the requirements, possible final mark and completion date must be supplied to both the student and the examiner!) Students should therefore heed the supervisors suggestions for improvement or the final grade shall be a "fail". It will be necessary for students re-enrolling in the unit to undertake a new topic for their project.
- OWNERSHIP OF ASSESSMENT ITEMS (a) All assessment items whether in the library or not are USQ'S property. (b) If an external body is involved, agreement should be reached, via a written contract, about the ownership of the DATA before the student begins the project! (c) Further clarification of intellectual property should be made via the Associate Dean.
- Projects which involve Animals or Human Subjects will need to be considered by either the Animal Ethics Committee or the Ethics Committee for Research involving Human Subjects. (Reference: University Calendar 3.3.7-2 and 3.3.7-3).
Australian Government Publishing Service 1988, Style Manual: For
Authors, Editors and Printers, AGPS, Canberra.
Barrass, R., Scientists Must Write, Chapman & Hall, London.
Day, R.A. 1989, How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper, 3rd edn,
Cambridge University Press. 808.0665
Farr, A.D. 1985, Science Writing for Beginners, Oxford, Blackwell
Scientific. 808.0665021 FAR.
Guide to Finding Journal Articles, (Library Guide No.4/87)
Guide to Footnotes and Referencing, (Library Guide No.11/87) (The
Harvard System)
Leaver, R. H. and Thomas, T. R. 1974, Analysis and Presentation of
Experimental Results, Macmillan, London.
Other texts or reading materials specific to the topic may be
recommended by the examiner and/or supervisor when the project topic
has been finalised.
ACTIVITY HOURS Project Work 100 Report Writing 70
No *F/S Marks Due Description Wtg(%) LBL WWW 1 S MID-SEM PROGRESS REPORT 10.00 N N 2 S END SEM WORKBOOK 10.00 N N 3 S END SEM PROJECT REPORT 65.00 N N 4 S T.B.A. SEMINAR 15.00 N N
1 Attendance at 50% of Seminars is compulsory.
2 ASSIGNMENT POLICY
3 In accordance with University Policy and Guidelines,
3.1 an Examiner may grant an extension of the due date of an
assignment in extenuating circumstances;
3.2 no assignments will be accepted for assessment purposes after
assignments or model solutions have been released except in
extenuating circumstances;
3.3 assignments submitted after the due date without any extenuating
circumstances will attract a penalty of at most 20% of the
assigned mark for each working day late;
3.4 students who submit an assignment after the due date and wish to
claim extenuating circumstances, must provide documentary
evidence with the assignment explaining the circumstances;
3.5 the unit examiner shall consider a claim for extenuating
circumstances and decide on the outcome;
3.6 the decision of the Dean shall be final in any dispute that may
arise in the implementation of these guidelines.