SOWK29006 - Social Work Research for Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit you will have the opportunity to develop a research proposal on a topic of interest. In order to do this you will undertake a step-wise research process. You will examine and critique both quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches. You will identify and retrieve a relevant body of empirical literature, and then analyse and synthesise the outcomes into a literature review. Through identification of gaps in the literature, you will develop a justifiable rationale for your topic, and the design for your research proposal. You will evaluate any ethical challenges and develop a feasibility strategy for your proposed study.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites:

SOWK29001 Ethical and Legal Issues in Practice

SOWK28005 Social Work Field Education 1

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 3 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 3 - 2024

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).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate 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. Literature Review or Systematic Review 50%
2. Research Proposal 50%

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

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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.

Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Evaluate the key methods and methodologies used in social work research and the implications for evidence-based practice
  2. Identify and retrieve an appropriate body of empirical research for analysis and synthesis, that will inform the research topic and question
  3. Formulate an ethical and critical systematic/narrative literature review, justifying your search and retrieval strategies
  4. Design a research proposal, defending your selection of research methods and evaluating any ethical and feasibility that may impact on social work practice.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Literature Review or Systematic Review • • • •
2 - Research Proposal • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge • • • •
2 - Communication • • • •
4 - Research • • • •
5 - Self-management • • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Literature Review or Systematic Review • • • • •
2 - Research Proposal • • • • •