WCIV419 - Honours Thesis C

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

,

Unit rationale, description and aim

Honours graduates in the liberal arts need to be able to identify, respond to and solve complex and emerging problems and challenges in a wide range of professional contexts through engaging in original and methodologically appropriate research.

In this unit, students will advance their understanding of an interdisciplinary study by developing a thesis that responds to a researchable question and contributes new knowledge to subjects in the liberal arts and advances the common good. They will work with their supervisor in negotiating the topic and, with their guidance, develop advanced skills in accessing, synthesizing and evaluating primary and/or secondary data as relevant evidence applied to their thesis.

This unit aims to support students in the development of advanced theoretical and technical knowledge and skills through a process of self-directed and scholarly investigation that supports further learning and/or professional practice in the field.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics covered in thesis supervision sessions will normally include:

• Ethics
• Primary and secondary research approaches
• Goal setting and time management
• Skills in reporting and analysis
• Scholarly critique
• Argumentation
• Citation
• Writing, editing and preparing the thesis for examination.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

You will work closely with a specialist supervisor who is appointed by the Course Coordinator to negotiate a topic of significance in an approved field and develop a question and a methodological approach that can guide your research. As an Honours student, you are expected to work autonomously in developing your thesis by applying theories, concepts, data and skills relevant to advancing understanding in the specialist field. Your supervisor will engage you in regular cycles of reflection and critical self-appraisal to incrementally develop a sophisticated and scholarly thesis of 12,500 words. In addition, your supervisor will guide you in developing techniques to find further resources available within ACU, the relevant scholarly community and industry, to support your learning, the development of your thesis and your professional competence. 

This unit has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 300 hours in total across the semester.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The summative assessment for the Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation) (Honours) is a 12,500 word original, written thesis based on work carried out over the period of study that evidences advanced knowledge and skills necessary for further learning or professional practice in the liberal arts. Over this period of study, you will be provided with regular formative assessment of your progress by your supervisor who will seek and respond to drafts of your writing as well as invite you to question and debate prominent arguments, theories and empirical evidence that pertain to your research question/problem. At the end of your first semester, you will present a work-in-progress paper or written progress report, as specified by your supervisor. By such regular and formative feedback loops, your supervisor will monitor your performance of the learning outcomes for this course, support your development of scholarly agency and your achievement of the summative assessment task.

The thesis must adhere to the conventions of the candidate’s field of study and the requirements stipulated in the University Guidelines for Honours Programs.

This assessment regime aligns with the standard tertiary practice for AQF-Level 8, Honours level work in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The thesis examination will involve an assessment of the student’s ability to formulate, analyse, evaluate and apply knowledge addressing an original research problem. The thesis examination will also assess the student’s application of cognitive and research skills through clear and precise scholarly writing.

The thesis examination will be in line with the University Guidelines for Honours Programs.

The Research Thesis comprises 40 credit points of units for this course. The result for each unit in this sequence will be the same and will be awarded when all units are completed and the thesis has been examined.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Byrne, D. Research Ethics. Los Angeles: Sage, 2016.

Fink, A. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 6th ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2020.

Hammond, M., and J.J. Wellington. Research Methods: The Key Concepts. 2nd ed. London & New York: Routledge. 2021

Iltis, A. S., and D. McKay. The Oxford Handbook of Research Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.

Kumar, R. Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. 5th ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2019.

Leavy, P. The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.

Martin, K. L. Please Knock Before You Enter: Aboriginal Regulation of Outsiders and the Implications for Researchers. Teneriffe, Qld: Post Pressed, 2008.

McGregor, D., J. Restoule and R. Johnston. Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships. Toronto: Canadian Scholars, 2018.

Sullivan, Graeme. Art Practice as Research: Inquiry in Visual Arts. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2010.

Walliman, Nicholas. Your Undergraduate Dissertation: The Essential Guide for Success. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2014.