CODE OF PRACTICE - HONOURS
ART6401
MASTER BY COURSEWORK RESEARCH PROJECT
UNIT INFORMATION AND LEARNING GUIDE
2020
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
XXXXXXXXXXPage
1. Introduction XXXXXXXXXX2
2. Unit Learning Outcomes XXXXXXXXXX2
3. Unit Coordinator XXXXXXXXXX2
4. Supervisor and Student Responsibilities XXXXXXXXXX2
5. Preparing the Project XXXXXXXXXX4
6. Formatting the Project XXXXXXXXXX5
7. Submitting the Project XXXXXXXXXX
8. Referencing the Project XXXXXXXXXX7
9. Assessment of the Project XXXXXXXXXX
10. Grievances and Appeals XXXXXXXXXX8
11. Seeking Help and Support throughout your Project Journey XXXXXXXXXX8
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1. INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the ART6401 Master by Coursework Research Project! ART6401 is
unlike most other Masters units, because there are no lectures or tutorials. Instead,
you'll have the opportunity to do a research project of 8,000-10,000 words, on a
topic that is relevant to your degree and of particular interest to you. While doing
this Project, you’ll have the support and guidance of an academic supervisor. This
Project is a very important part of your Masters degree, as it enables you to develop
specialised knowledge of a development topic and acquire research skills that will
e very helpful for you in your future career.
2. UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. plan and complete a substantial and original research project with a high level
of autonomy;
2. demonstrate specialised knowledge of an important development topic or
area of professional practice; and
3. effectively disseminate the research findings in a Project report that reflects
highly developed communication skills.
3. UNIT COORDINATOR
The Unit Coordinator of the unit is Allan Johnstone:
Email: XXXXXXXXXX
Phone: XXXXXXXXXX
Office: Social Sciences (Building 440) Room 3.020
Allan is responsible for coordinating the processes involved in the preparation of
your Project. This includes helping you to find a suitable supervisor and assisting
with any queries you may have regarding the ART6401 unit.
4. SUPERVISOR AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
The Unit Coordinator will organise a well-qualified, supportive supervisor for you.
Project supervisors have the following responsibilities:
• To hold a meeting with you early in the semeste
teaching period, in order to
discuss the ART6401 Project unit, explain the support they will provide, and advise
you of any periods during the semeste
teaching period when they will be away.
mailto: XXXXXXXXXX
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• To make a
angements for continuing supervision during any period(s) when
the supervisor is away. This may involve use of a co-supervisor or temporary
supervisor, or a
angements for continuing contact via email or other means.
• To advise you of Health and Safety Issues, Fieldwork Policies and Training
and Bio-safety issues that may be relevant.
• To regularly meet with you (by skype if necessary) throughout your Project
work.
• To provide comments on Project drafts within two weeks of being provided
with them, unless by prior agreement between both parties.
• To carefully review a substantive draft of your Project prior to submission,
and provide feedback.
• To mark your Project once it is submitted, or to ensure that it is marked by a
suitably qualified marker.
You as a Project student have the following responsibilities:
• To ensure your e-mail address and phone number contact details are co
ect
and kept up to date.
• To attend scheduled meetings with your supervisor.
• To plan your work on the Project and regularly prepare good quality draft
Project chapters that can be reviewed by your supervisor.
• To inform your supervisor of any change in your circumstances which will
affect your ability to meet any deadlines set by the supervisor.
• To prepare a substantive overall draft of your Project, and to submit this to the
supervisor early enough for the supervisor to provide detailed feedback before
submission.
• To revise your work if necessary, in response to your supervisor’s comments.
• To submit the final version of the Project as a Word file to the ART6401 unit
website (LMS) by the due date. Any delay in submission requires approval from
the supervisor and Unit Coordinator.
• To ensure your research is conducted ethically, with Academic Integrity. This
includes ensuring your Project contains NO plagiarism or collusion (please see
page 4 and 5 for descriptions of these forms of academic misconduct).
A student may at any time approach their Unit Coordinator to discuss any problem
with supervision. Supervision a
angements may be changed after discussions with
the student and their supervisor.
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5. PREPARING THE PROJECT
Once the Unit Coordinator has helped you to get a supervisor, you should start
developing your research Project topic and plans, with the supervisor’s guidance.
The supervisor may encourage you to prepare a research proposal which identifies
the proposed research aims (or questions), approach (how the aims/questions will be
addressed), and Project structure (a
oad overview of the proposed chapters).
Conducting your research ethically
At an early stage in your research, it is also imperative that you visit this website
http:
our.murdoch.edu.au/Educational-technologies/What-you-need-to-know
for very important information regarding:
• Student Code of Conduct
• General policy on assessment
• Assessment roles & responsibilities
• Academic Misconduct within assessment
• Non-discriminatory language
• Copyright
• Student appeals
• Student complaints
• The Conscientious Objection in Teaching and Assessment Policy
• Determination of Grades from Components/Marks
• Equity students
It is crucial to ensure, for instance, that your Project makes an original contribution
to knowledge and contains NO forms of Academic Misconduct, such as plagiarism,
collusion, purloining or ghost writing. Plagiarism and collusion are defined as
including any of the following five types of behaviour and apply to work in any
medium (for example, written or audio text, film production, computer programs,
etc):
1 Inappropriate/ inadequate
acknowledgement
Material copied word for word which is
acknowledged as paraphrased but should
have been in quotation marks, or material
paraphrased without appropriate
acknowledgement of its source.
2 Collusion Material produced in concert, collectively or
in collaboration with others and giving the
false impression that the work is the sole
output of the student submitting it for
assessment.
http:
our.murdoch.edu.au/Educational-technologies/What-you-need-to-know
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3 Ve
atim copying Material copied word for word or exactly
duplicated without any acknowledgement
of the source
4 Ghost writing Assignment written by third party and
epresented by student as her or his own
work.
5 Purloining Material copied from another student's
assignment or work without
acknowledgement, or with
acknowledgement but without that person's
knowledge.
Please contact your supervisor if you are unsure about any of the information
included above or on the ‘What you need to know’ website.
How you go about researching and writing up your Project will be something to
work out in consultation with your supervisor. It is advisable to meet with your
supervisor regularly (or maintain regular skype, phone or e-mail contact).
Please bear in mind that the Project should analyse, evaluate, and argue, not just
summarise and describe. You are not only trying to answer a question or deal with a
problem in a structured fashion, but to engage critically with the problem and with
your sources. Make sure that you substantiate your analysis and arguments
throughout the Project (e.g. you can do this by citing supportive sources,
information, data and/or examples).
6. FORMATTING THE PROJECT
The Project should follow the format described below:
1. The Project should be typed or word processed, on A4 size paper (297 x 210 mm).
2. The Project should be 8,000-10,000 words (this word count applies to the chapters
only, not the sections before Chapter 1 and the Bibliography and appendices).
3. Figures and tables must have a title and legend, and should be refe
ed to