| Semester 1, 2020 Online | |
| Short Description: | Honours Dissertation A |
| Units : | 2 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Humanities & Communication |
| Student contribution band : | Band 1 |
| ASCED code : | 090300 - Studies in Human Society |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: BAHN or BCAH
Other requisites
Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.
Rationale
This honours course helps students to commence the planning, development of their research methodology and writing of their dissertation (12,000-15,000 words) or professional body of work and written exegesis (5,000-8,000 words) or creative writing (10,000 words) and written exegesis (5,000 words). It involves working closely with their supervisor to develop their literature review, reflect on an appropriate methodology, and assess the relevance of particular theoretical or other disciplinary approaches for their topic. It helps students to formulate and critique the feasibility of their research project and to develop an outline and introduction before advancing to the final dissertation course HMT4002.
Synopsis
This two unit course enables students enrolled in the Honours programme to commence their dissertation under supervision. The student shall enrol in either MODULE 1 or MODULE 2. The topic shall be chosen by the student and approved by the supervisor, and may be either the result of original investigations, or embody a critical appraisal or analysis of primary or secondary source material. The dissertation may be (i) fully written (Module 1), comprising 12,000-15,000 words; or (ii) consist of a professional body of work and a written exegesis of 5,000-8,000 words (Module 2). Module 2 is especially suited to BCAH students. This course will normally be followed by HMT4002 Honours Dissertation B.
Objectives
On completion of this course students should be able to:
- develop a research proposal, including defining a topic, developing a research design, incorporating an annotated bibliography and justifying a methodology;
- undertake independent research, under supervision, on a proposed topic;
- review the literature relevant to a selected dissertation topic;
- develop an annotated bibliography in a full literature review;
- apply and justify methodology appropriate to a research topic.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Proposal | 40.00 |
| 2. | Literature Review | 40.00 |
| 3. | Methodology | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=HMT4001)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Directed 精东传媒app | 30.00 |
| Independent 精东传媒app | 300.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INITIAL PROPOSAL | 1 | 02 Mar 2020 | (see note 1) | |
| HONOURS APPROVAL CHECKLIST | 1 | 27 Mar 2020 | (see note 2) | |
| PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL | 1 | 27 Mar 2020 | (see note 3) | |
| DETAILED PROPOSAL | 1 | 100 | 19 Jun 2020 | (see note 4) |
Notes
- An initial proposal (maximum length 500 words) must be received and a supervisor allocated before students are confirmed into the Honours Dissertation course. Students successfully completing this course will normally be awarded the result of IIP and proceed to HMT4002 Honours Dissertation B.
- Students who fail to return the Honours Approval Checklist will not be permitted to proceed further to HMT4002 Honours Dissertation B.
- Students who obtain an unsatisfactory progress report at this stage may be advised against proceeding further.
- Actual Due Date to be advised by Supervisor.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.
External and Online:
There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students鈥� responsibility 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.
On-campus
It is the students鈥� responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) 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. -
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. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
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. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
There is no examination for this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. -
精东传媒app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene 精东传媒app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment notes
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Preliminary proposal (on enrolment in the course) - In order to facilitate the satisfaction of these assessment requirements, students must submit a one page preliminary thesis proposal with application for enrolment.
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It is imperative that Dissertation/Project students check with their supervisor(s) whether they need to obtain ethics clearance for their Dissertation/Project.
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The dissertation shall be typed and bound and shall conform with the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts style guide for the presentation of theses and dissertations.
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Assessment of the dissertation normally shall be carried out by two qualified examiners, at least one of whom is external to the 精东传媒app of Southern Queensland, and none of whom is supervising the student for this thesis.
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It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all chapter drafts, as well as the final draft of their dissertation, be written in an acceptable standard of English expression. If students' initial work is not of an acceptable standard, students will be encouraged to use the services of a copy-editor, or to seek assistance from a competent writer of English. It is not the supervisor's principal role to correct English spelling, expression or grammar, although appropriate advice will be given. Dissertations or drafts of chapters of dissertations that are not expressed to a standard of English expression acceptable to the supervisor will be referred back to the student for correction, and will not be submitted for examination until corrected. Students who fail to address this aspect of their dissertation risk failing the course. Any expenses incurred in having drafts checked by copy-editors will be met by the student. Please also note that while copy-editing may be carried out by someone who is not the student, all the substantial content of the dissertation must be the student's own work.
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Final results shall be awarded by the Honours and Postgraduate Committee of the relevant School, following receipt of the completed examiners' reports.
Other requirements
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Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.
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Students are strongly advised to maintain regular contact with their supervisor.