Unit Synopsis
This unit provides the essential skills and techniques for scoping workplace problems and developing an effective research proposal for investigating and solving the problem. It provides an in-depth introduction to the critical thinking and planning required in the initial stages of a workplace research project. You will undertake research problem definition and design a research project. You will also consider appropriate methods for your analysis. This unit is designed as the pre-requisite for the successful completion of a professional project major.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | Not Applicable |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the 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). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026
Term 1 - 2027 Profile
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.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 0% |
| 2. Research Proposal | 0% |
This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web 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.
Source: Unit Coordinator
Student attendance has been affected by timetabling constraints, as both enrolled students are working professionals with competing employment commitments. The scheduled class times often conflict with work hours, limiting participation in live workshops and tutorials. This appears to be a key factor contributing to lower attendance rates rather than a lack of engagement with the unit.
Where feasible, schedule classes after 5:00 pm to better accommodate students with work commitments and improve attendance and engagement.
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator
Given the applied nature of the unit, where students undertake an action research project within their workplace, consider reducing the frequency of weekly workshops and replacing some sessions with milestone-based consultations or targeted support sessions. This approach may better align with students' project needs while maintaining access to guidance through recorded resources and individual consultations.
Consider replacing weekly workshops with fortnightly workshops, as the applied nature of the unit and its assessment structure do not require weekly sessions. A fortnightly schedule may better suit students' workplace commitments, improve attendance, and provide sufficient time for students to progress their action research projects between workshops.
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator
The unit is currently only available to students in the Accounting major. However, the content and learning outcomes appear to have broader relevance and applicability beyond accounting. Restricting enrolment to a single discipline may be contributing to the low enrolment numbers observed in recent offerings. Expanding access to students from other business disciplines may warrant consideration in future curriculum reviews.
Review the current enrolment restrictions for this unit. As the unit focuses on applying action research in real-world professional settings, its content has relevance beyond the Accounting discipline. Allowing students from other majors to enrol may increase participation and enhance the diversity of perspectives and experiences brought to the learning environment.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Identify a workplace problem that can be developed into a concise research project
- Choose and apply appropriate research strategies and techniques that best address the research problem
- Identify and employ ethical practices that consider the social, cultural and legal responsibilities of the researcher in a workplace situation
- Prepare and communicate a comprehensive research proposal.
Not applicable.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Research Proposal | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | ||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |