In Progress
Please note that this Unit Profile is still in progress. The content below is subject to change.Overview
In this unit, you will explore, synthesise and apply the fundamentals of the scientific method. You will develop skills in scientific communication beyond reading and writing - through a series of seminars, lectures and self-guided tasks students will learn appropriate manipulation of mathematical and statistical data as well as data presentation. You will enhance your knowledge and understanding of a range of fundamental scientific concepts and consider issues relating to ethics, experimentation and professional practice. Finally, through conducting your own research activity, you will learn how to develop a research framework and apply critical thinking to solve complex problems.
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 1 - 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 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 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 SUTE feedback
It was noted that some pre-recorded lecture content need updating as they reference COVID lockdowns and accommodations for such interruptions.
The lecture content has been scheduled for updating for the 2025 offering, following an update of the unit structure and delivery completed in 2024.
Feedback from In-person, email, and Moodle feedback
Students appreciated the ability to determine their own topic of study for the experimental practical work in the unit, noting that the frequent one-on-one support offered by the teaching staff helped give them confidence to complete the work.
Maintain the structure of self-determination of the student experiment, with frequent ad hoc support outside of scheduled lecture and tutorial times.
- Explain and apply information and numerical literacy skills to communicate scientific knowledge and ideas clearly and coherently to a variety of audiences
- Formulate a research hypothesis and research questions that include relevant ethical considerations
- Conduct and manage a small research project using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods research methodologies
- Analyse, interpret and explain scientific data, resulting in the production of a research report appropriate for an e-portfolio.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 15% | ||||
| 2 - Presentation - 35% | ||||
| 3 - Portfolio - 50% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 15% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Presentation - 35% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Portfolio - 50% | ||||||||||