Objectives

This assessment item relates to course learning outcomes 1 to 3.

Details

Provide an outline of the topic area which you intend to use as the basis for your Project throughout the 12 weeks of term.

You should clearly:

• Indicate the nature and scope of the project topic.
• Provide a definition of the central components relevant to the project topic such as what the project will address and so on.
• A justification for your choice of project topic indicating why this topic is important to the future of your chosen discipline.
• A broad account of how you propose approaching the topic, noting especially the use of primary and secondary types of information.
• A succinct discussion of the relevance of the preliminary sources of information, both primary and secondary reviewed and/or obtained so far.
• A clearly structured project timeline matrix covering the duration of the project up to Week 12, incorporating the major milestones to be accomplished in completing the project.

Note: As advised above, this first assessment relates directly to Assessment items 2 and 3 and therefore the choice of project topic indicated in Assessment 1 will carry through into these further assessments and throughout the term. You should also familiarise yourself with the assessment criteria for each assessment as they detail other specific requirements for each.

This course has been purposefully designed to incorporate a high degree of flexibility relating to the various topics chosen so it is not possible to provide the exact detail of each assessment criteria for each and every topic selected, as this would negate one of the major aims of the course.  Each criterion is equally weighted within each piece of assessment. If you have any doubts about the requirements for any of the various pieces of assessment, you should consult with your Supervisor and/or the Course Coordinator.

Some advice regarding the selection of a project topic

• As indicated in the introduction, the choice of topic for your project is entirely your own choice (with guidance and supervision–the main purpose of the early proposal paper). It should, however, be a project area that is of such interest to you that you will be strongly motivated to complete it during the 12 week term. Please do not select a topic in which you have only limited interest – you probably will not see it through.
• You may have already determined a suitable topic in an area of interest that you have met in one of your earlier courses of study, but did not have time to pursue at that stage.
• Your project may be based entirely on the use of secondary sources and literature. For example, you may be interested in examining the history of your discipline. Or, perhaps you may be interested in information comprising statistical data, government reports, cases or legislative changes.  Of course, there is a third possibility. Your project may involve a particular 'mix' of both secondary and primary materials and data suitable to investigate the areas and aspects of your chosen discipline that are of greatest interest to you. There is no time in the term to do a decent statistically-acceptable survey or sufficiently in-depth interviews.  Although you may need to discuss your project with key people.
• You may also want to consider a project that falls in the category of action research or evaluation research. For example, you may be interested in assessing the effectiveness of, say, a new strategy developed by a local organisation. Again, a 'mix' of both secondary and primary approaches will probably be needed for this.
• Remember, it is your project, and the choice of topic is yours. If you select something that holds a deep interest for you, you will find it easy to commit and you will be highly motivated to complete the work that your project requires.
• Make sure that your topic is “tight” and manageable for the time allowed.  There is often temptation to pick a topic that is too broad, and might require a year or more to do properly. Make sure you can meet each assignment deadline.

Assessment criteria—Project proposal paper

These criteria are a general guide as to the standard expected at the various levels.  It is not necessarily the case that all these criteria will be met at a particular standard, as there may be a superior performance on one of the criteria and not so satisfactory performance on another.

Key to grading and corresponding marking scale:

Objectives

This assessment item relates to course learning outcomes 3 and 4.

Details

Assessment 2 requires the preparation of a paper showing progress made on your project. It should generally outline your progress in the overall project proposed in Assessment item 1 up until the due date of this assessment.

The paper should include:

• An analysis of the literature (e.g. articles, books, reports etc) relevant to the research topic.  This analysis requires a discussion of the relevance to the research topic of the primary and secondary sources you have obtained so far.
• The progress made in terms of the collection of the data relevant to the research topic.  This requires a discussion of your methodology and the method/s of data collection.
• An indication of progress with respect to the major milestones identified in Assessment 1 (please attach copy of your timeline).
• Discussion of the remaining stages to be undertaken to secure the successful completion of the project.

Assessment criteria—Project progress paper

These criteria are a general guide as to the standard expected at the various levels.  It is not necessarily the case that all these criteria will be met at a particular standard, as there may be a superior performance on one of the criteria and not so satisfactory performance on another.

Key to grading and corresponding marking scale:

Objectives

This assessment item relates to course learning outcomes 1 to 5.

Details

This assessment represents the culmination of the term-long project work completed in this course.  You are required to present a full report (including appropriate references, correctly acknowledged) in which you:

• Outline the nature and extent of the project.
• Provide a full justification for the project.
• Comprehensive analysis of the relevant literature and how it was used to 'answer' the research topic.
• Outline the methodology and method/s which were adopted to examine the research topic.
• Present and discuss the key elements and/or findings of the project.
• Acknowledge any limitations of the project or where further research may be warranted.

Assessment criteria—Project report

These criteria are a general guide as to the standard expected at the various levels.  It is not necessarily the case that all these criteria will be met at a particular standard, as there may be a superior performance on one of the criteria and not so satisfactory performance on another.

Key to grading and corresponding marking scale: