Course specification for MSC8003

¾«¶«´«Ã½app

USQ Logo
The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at .
Please consult the web for updates that may occur during the year.

MSC8003 Industry Based Research Practice I

Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Toowoomba
Short Description: Indstry Based Rsrch Prac I
Units : 2
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences
School or Department : School of Sciences
Student contribution band : Band 2
ASCED code : 020199 - Computer Science not elsewhere
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following programs: MSCN or MADS

Rationale

This course is designed to enable students to draw on their industrial experience to develop their research capability and prepare students for both research and a professional career. This course, in conjunction with MSC8004 Industry Based Research Practice II, enables students to demonstrate their learning and ability to integrate theory and work place experience in their areas of specialization.

Synopsis

This course forms the first part of the professional research component of the Master of Science program in the Faculty, being developed further in MSC8004. An industry engaged project allows students to learn through engagement with industry and community partners in an authentic activity that provides a context for integrating knowledge and skills. Students will develop a project in consultation with academic staff and engage in discussion with their supervisors throughout the course to develop innovative solutions that they can incorporate in their project work.

Students are required to demonstrate evidence of the development of professional skills and knowledge to make connections between their experiences and the theoretical perspectives and research findings published in the literature.

Students will compile evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes through the submission of a project report. Students are also required to submit a reflective journal that summarises their learning experience from the project work. The exact form of evidence in submission will be guided by the supervisor and will depend on the type of activities the student undertakes with industrial engagement.

Objectives

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

  1. critically analyse, reflect on and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories
  2. plan and execute independent research and apply established theories to a body of knowledge or practice with professional ethics
  3. communicate knowledge, skills and ideas, conclusions and professional decisions appropriately to specialist and non-specialist audiences
  4. demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills with creativity and initiative to new situations in professional practice with a high level of personal autonomy and accountability
  5. critically reflect on workplace cultures, expectations and behaviours and how context impacts established theories and concepts.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Industry Based Research Project:
To be determined by the student in consultation with his/her supervisor
100.00

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=MSC8003)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

There are no texts or materials required for this course.

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.
Chambers JM, Becker RA 1983, Graphical methods for data analysis, Wadsworth, Belmont CA.
Davis M, Davis KJ, and Dunagan M 2012, Scientific Papers and Presentations, 3rd edn, Academic Press.
Highham NJ 1998, Handbook of writing for the mathematical sciences, 2nd edn, Siam, Philadelphia.
Jaeger RM 1990, Statistics: A spectator sport, 2nd edn, Sage, Newbury Park CA.
Sharon T 2012, It's Our Research - Getting Stakeholder Buy-in for User Experience Research Projects, Morgan Kaufmann.
Tufte ER 2001, The visual display of quantitative information, 2nd edn, Graphics Press, Cheshire, Conn.
Zobel J 2014, Writing for computer science, 3rd edn, Springer, London.
Strunk W (Jr) 2000, The elements of Style, 4th ed WP Humphrey,
<>.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Assessments 80.00
Consultation 15.00
Private ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 245.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
PROJECT PROPOSAL 100 30 20 Mar 2020
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL PART 1 100 30 24 Apr 2020
PROJECT REPORT 1 100 40 05 Jun 2020

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students’ responsibility 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 for that item.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  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 aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    There is no examination in this course. There will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Assessment notes

  1. Referencing in assignments must comply with the Harvard (AGPS) referencing system. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The Harvard (APGS) style to be used is defined by the USQ library’s referencing guide. This guide can be found at .

Evaluation and benchmarking

In meeting the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:
1. conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement.
2. forms part of the Master of Science Program and is benchmarked against the internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review.

Other requirements

  1. It is the student's responsibility to firstly find an industrial work place for the industry based research practice project courses (MSC8003 and MSC8004), and secondly approach a staff member as the student’s Supervisor to discuss a mutually agreed project topic. Students can take alternative research project courses of MSC8001 and MSC8002, which don’t require an industry based project.

  2. Normally a student's work in an industry based project, their reflective journals and project reports are subject to the regulations and policies in the industry institution. In consulting with the supervisor and the course examiner, it is the student’s responsibility to be familiarised with those, and negotiate an agreement as early as possible if necessary. The agreement should be consistent with ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies.

  3. Normally, a student and the Supervisor will meet or confer for one hour each week. The Supervisor will: guide direction; provide formative feedback; suggest possibilities; teach methods; advise on balance and emphasis; review timelines; recommend marks to the Examiner for the Project Proposal, Reflective Journal and Project Report.

Date printed 19 June 2020