In Progress
Please note that this Unit Profile is still in progress. The content below is subject to change.Overview
The Graduate Certificate in Research (GCR) is aimed at professionals interested in developing research capabilities for their career or those seeking a pathway to pursue entry into a research higher degree. This course will provide you the opportunity to build fundamental research and critical inquiry skills. You will learn to analyse and synthesise research literature, develop well-justified research questions, and design appropriate research strategies to address those using relevant technologies, where applicable. In addition, you will develop skills in research dissemination in written, verbal, and technology-enabled contexts, learning to effectively convey complex ideas to both expert and non-expert audiences. The course emphasises professional and ethical research practices, encouraging collaborative work and reflective learning. While centered on a specific research interest, the course builds transferable research skills rather than focusing on a single methodology or project. This approach ensures you develop broad research capabilities applicable across academic, industry, and community contexts. Please note, the GCR is available for domestic and international enrolments. Domestic students may complete the course part-time or full-time; international students must enrol in full-time study. Students enrolling in the GCR with plans to progress to a research higher degree program must complete the GCR with a minimum GPA of 6 (D).
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 24-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 50 hours of study per week, making a total of 600 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from 5-year review
That the GCR aim to increase authentic assessment in the course.
It is recommended the teaching team continue to focus on increasing authenticity in the development of new materials.
- Describe the fundamental components of the research process and critique the interrelationships between them.
- Critically analyse and synthesise relevant theory, frameworks, and literature to develop and justify a research question.
- Compare and evaluate research methodology, design, and methods to conceptualise and justify a research strategy to answer a specific research question.
- Design an effective project management plan that integrates all components of the research process.
- Assess the significance and application of research outcomes to academic, industry, and community contexts.
- Adapt written and oral communication to translate complex ideas and arguments to expert and non-expert audiences.
- Critically reflect on performance and growth, and the need to work ethically, professionally, and collaboratively.
Not applicable.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 10% | |||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 10% | |||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 15% | |||||||
| 4 - Written Assessment - 10% | |||||||
| 5 - Presentation - 10% | |||||||
| 6 - Portfolio - 20% | |||||||
| 7 - Research Assignment - 25% | |||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||||
| 4 - Research | |||||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||||