Guidelines for Assessment of Research in Coursework Programs

These guidelines are governed by the Assessment Policy and Procedures.

These Guidelines apply to:

1. Honours (End-on) programs undertaken after completion of an appropriate undergraduate Bachelor’s degree;
2. Honours (Embedded) programs embedded in the third and fourth year of study at Bachelor level: and
3. postgraduate coursework programs which have a research component.

The terms used in these guidelines are consistent with the Glossary of Student and Course Terms. For this policy, the following definition is also used:
Thesis means the output of research undertaken and may be:

1. wholly in written form; or 
2. creative work(s) in the form of a composition, performance, exhibition, or other approved work accompanied by a written critical analysis or exposition.

Research Project means the output of research undertaken under the auspice of an assessment regime articulated in a unit outline and approved by Academic Board. 

4.1 Honours Thesis

The research component, in whatever form it takes, must be compliant with AQF (Australian Qualifications Framework) Level 8 Specifications. At a minimum, it must comprise the following:

1. a research proposal;
2. a review of the literature or of previous creative material in the field;
3. a description of relevant research methodology; and
4. a record of the outcomes of the research.
5. The Honours Thesis is typically one of the following as determined by the discipline:
   manuscript between 12,000- and 15,000-words including footnotes, but excluding bibliography; or
6. a creative work (composition, performance, exhibition, or other approved work), accompanied by a critical analysis and exposition of 6,000-7,500 words; or
7. a wholly authored or significant contribution to a research article, suitable for submission to a journal with the word length dependent on the requirements of the specific journal accompanied by a literature review and an expanded methods section or discussion of methodology of 6,000-7,500 words.

4.2 Research Project – Masters

Work with a value of a value of less than 40 credit points and not more than 20,000 words in length. The research component, in whatever form it takes, must be compliant with AQF Level 9 Specifications. At a minimum, a research project must:

1. demonstrate an understanding of the research process and scholarly conventions in the discipline;
2. provide an ordered exposition of knowledge gained through the candidate’s own efforts; 
3. involve research which is more limited in scope than a Thesis in that it should: 

• limit attention to a few main questions; 
• keep data collection to a minimum; 
• be able to be conducted in situations which are easily accessible to the candidate; 
• involve a literature review which should place the study in its research context and be critical without claiming to be exhaustive; 
• may include speculation based on the findings, instead of aiming at generalisations grounded on the findings; 
• demonstrate the candidate’s ability to present the outcome of the study in a disciplined way that conforms to the scholarly conventions of the discipline; 
• involve research the scope of which need not be a new line of development, but which shows that the candidate has mastered research and synthesis skills in producing a contribution to knowledge; and
• be presented in succinct formal English. 

4.3 Thesis – Masters coursework

Work with a value of equal to or greater than 40 credit points and not more than 30,000 words in length. The research component, in whatever form it takes, must be compliant with AQF Level 9 Specifications. At a minimum, a Masters level thesis undertaken in a coursework program must

1. demonstrate possession of advanced knowledge in a specialised field; 
2. show evidence of an original investigation and testing of hypotheses; 
3. show an ability to make critical use of published work and source materials as well as an appreciation of the relationship between the topic and the wider field of knowledge; 
4. demonstrate competence in independent work or experimentation and an understanding of the techniques and/or approaches which are appropriate to the research questions;
5. involve research the scope of which need not be a new line of development, but which shows that the candidate has mastered research and synthesis skills in producing a contribution to knowledge; 
6. demonstrate the contribution to knowledge by drawing generalisations or further hypotheses for testing that are well grounded in the findings; and
7. be presented in succinct formal English. 

5.1 Appointment of Supervisors

The principal supervisor will be an ACU academic staff member appointed by the National Head of School or nominee. A co-supervisor may also be appointed.

The academic staff involved in supervising students will hold at least one qualification level higher than the student and have the expertise to appropriately support the student through their program of research.

Involvement in supervision by qualified non-academics, for example from industry, may be appropriate as co-supervisor.

5.2 Procedures for Supervisors

The supervision of students enrolled will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best practice and expectations of quality supervision outlined in the Higher Degree Research Supervision Policy.

5.3 Induction to Research

The supervisor will provide students with an induction to relevant policies for the conduct of their research. This should be inclusive of each of the matters in Section 6 of these Guidelines.

6.1 Research environment

Students will be provided with a collegial and productive learning environment, including a coordinated program of activity to integrate them into the learning environment. 

6.2 Academic Integrity

All students must familiarise themselves with the Student Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy prior to commencing their program.

6.3 Research Code of Conduct

All students undertaking the research component within a coursework program are required to comply with the Research Code of Conduct. Where appropriate, students must obtain ethics clearance prior to commencing their program.

6.4 Ownership of Intellectual Property

All students undertaking a research component within a coursework program are required to comply with the ACU Intellectual Property Policy prior to commencing any data collection.

6.5 Research Progress

Schools will monitor the student’s performance through a structured process and will provide regular and systematic feedback to students on their progress and performance. 

6.6 Presentation of Research

Students should periodically present their research and scholarship in modes determined by their School.

Schools will develop explicit criteria for the assessment of Honours and coursework Masters research. Such criteria will include expected standards of performance in relation to:

1. clarity of the aims and the demonstrated significance of the research;
2. breadth and depth of the survey of relevant literature and evidence of appropriate critical understandings;
3. design and use of appropriate methodology to provide relevant insights and/or data, or clear conception of form, structures and processes associated with creative practice;
4. demonstration of critical analysis and perceptive scholarship to draw conclusions, or evidence of technical ability, facility with craft and critical awareness of relevant issues of aesthetics;
5. evidence of research and theory-led studio practice for creative works;
6. accuracy and clarity of the presentation of the thesis.

All students and examiners will be provided with a clear statement of the criteria and standards.

8.1 Thesis Format

The Thesis will follow the discourse conventions of research in the discipline, however the typical structure will normally be as follows:

Preliminary information

1. Title page
2. Author declaration
3. Abstract of no more than 500 words
4. Table of contents
5. List of all illustrations and diagrams

Body of the thesis

1. Review of the literature:  systematic or narrative review, depending on the nature of the thesis 
2. A description of relevant research methodology
3. The outcomes of the research

Appendices

8.2 Submission

1. A Thesis should:

   • be submitted electronically including a digital copy or recording of any creative work;
   • include a report from a text-matching software
   • include bound copy(ies) where required by the School; and
   • be submitted to a deadline determined so that results will normally be finalised to enable students to apply for further study or scholarship such as an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA).

2. Postgraduate coursework Research Projects

   On completion of the course of study and research, a candidate will submit a written report in the form of either a Research Report in the case of a Research Project, based on work carried out during the period of study and research.

8.3 Requests for Extension 

An Honours or Masters student may apply to the National Head of School or nominee for an extension to the submission date of a thesis or research project. The maximum extension which may be granted is 6 months. Requests for extension must be:

1. made on or before the due date for submission, and 
2. must demonstrate and evidence exceptional circumstances which warrant the granting of an extension. 

9.1 Appointment of Examiners - Honours 

Every Honours thesis will be examined by two examiners appointed by the National Head of School or nominee. This may include one internal and one external examiner and will exclude the student’s supervisor(s).

9.2 Appointment of Examiners – Postgraduate coursework

Examiners will be appointed by the National Head of School or nominee, after consultation with the supervisor. 

One or two examiners will be appointed for a Research Report. This may include one internal and one external examiner and will exclude the student’s supervisor(s).

Two examiners will be appointed for a Thesis – Masters. At least one examiner must be external to ACU and independent of the supervisor. A candidate's supervisor must not be appointed to be an examiner.

9.3 Assessment Framework for the Honours Thesis

Examiners will be requested to provide a grade and numerical mark for the Honours Thesis, which will be calculated in accordance with the following:

9.4 Assessment Framework for the Research Report and Thesis – Masters 

Examiners should refer to:

1. the Academic Grading Descriptors in the Academic Regulations to provide a grade for the Research Report; or
2. the Academic Grading Descriptors in the Academic Regulations and the following to provide a grade and numerical mark for the Thesis – Masters 

9.5 Examiners’ Reports

The examiners will examine the research report or thesis and make separate reports which will be submitted for consideration to the National Head of School or nominee. Each examiner’s report will include a recommendation that the student:

1. has met the research report or thesis requirements and has passed outright; or
2. has passed the research report or thesis requirements, subject to minor changes, as recommended in the examiners’ reports, being made to the satisfaction of the National Head of School or nominee acting on the advice of the supervisor; or
3. be permitted to revise and resubmit the research report or thesis within an appropriate timeframe of no more than one semester full-time or equivalent part-time, as determined by the National Head of School or nominee, in consultation with the supervisor and in accordance with Section 12.6; or
4. has failed to meet the research report or thesis requirements.

9.6 Resolution of Significant Differences in Thesis Marks

Where two examiners recommend results that are more than 15 marks apart or where only one examiner requires revisions, the National Head of School or nominee will appoint an external adjudicator who is not a person who has been involved in the supervision or examination of the thesis.

The adjudicator will be provided with the examiners’ reports and the thesis and will recommend a mark based on the examiners’ reports and the thesis.

9.7 Allocation of the Grade for the Honours Thesis

The research report or thesis will be graded as submitted for examination and not based on a version produced after revisions have been made in the light of examiners’ comments.

Normally the grade of the Honours or Masters thesis will be calculated based on the average of the marks awarded by the examiners, unless an adjudicator has been appointed in which case the National Head of School may accept the adjudicator’s recommendation of a final mark.

9.8 Revision and Resubmission – Honours

The conditions for the revision and submission of an Honours thesis are:

1. The re-submitted thesis will be re-marked by the examiner who requested the revision.
2. Any student who is permitted to resubmit a thesis will not be awarded a class of honours higher than Third Class.
3. No student will be permitted to submit the thesis for a third time.

9.9 Revision and Resubmission – Coursework Masters 

The conditions for the revision and submission of a research and submission of Research Report or Thesis - Masters under 9.5c are:

1. The re-submitted report or thesis will be re-marked by the examiner who requested the revision.
2. A candidate may be permitted to re-submit their Research Report or Thesis no more than once.
3. Any student who is permitted to resubmit a Research Report or Thesis will not be awarded a grade higher than a Pass.
4. A candidate who has been deemed to have failed to meet the Research Report or Thesis – Masters requirements by the examiner(s) and has failed outright shall not be permitted to re-submit for further examination.

The final Honours grade will be:

1. calculated as the average of the marks obtained by the student in all units contributing to the honours program, including any approved cross-institutional units, weighted by the credit point value of each unit; and
2. awarded in accordance with the table of Grading Codes contained in the Academic Regulations. 
3. where cross institutional units employ a different marking schema to ACU, this will be taken into account.

The National Head of School or nominee will maintain written records of the criteria used for grading students’ performance to facilitate comparability from year to year.

Written records of the process followed in determining final grades for students will be maintained.