31482 Honours Project
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2024 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 12 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksRequisite(s): 32931 Technology Research Methods
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Recommended studies: a thorough understanding of the thesis area and topic
Description
This subject is undertaken in the second part of the honours program. Students finalise their research project based on what they studied in the first part of their honours program. This involves a substantial investigation or creative work under the supervision of a member of academic staff and is examined based on the reflection, pitch, report and the work itself.
Students learn to:
- implement proposed research in an independent and competent manner, and
- present the research in a manner that demonstrates competencies in conducting research and presenting the outcomes in a scholarly manner.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Conceptualise, design, plan and implement advanced research studies in their field of study and practice. (C.1) |
|---|---|
| 2. | Ability to reflect on previous studies and knowledge and apply them to their fields of research/innovation. (C.1) |
| 3. | Pitch the research background, design, implementation, results and conclusions to an audience of peers and staff with effective and clear communication skills. (E.1) |
| 4. | Apply critical, descriptive, persuasive and analytical skills to a research report or paper to demonstrate innovative research in ways appropriate to the discipline audience and purpose. (C.1) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
- Design Oriented: FEIT graduates apply problem solving, design and decision-making methodologies to develop components, systems and processes to meet specified requirements. (C.1)
- Collaborative and Communicative: FEIT graduates work as an effective member or leader of diverse teams, communicating effectively and operating within cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural contexts in the workplace. (E.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject is a project-based subject that requires students to undertake significant independent work with self-directed learning in their own time under the supervision of an academic staff member to demonstrate their readiness to graduate.
There is an expectation that Honours projects students develop advanced understanding in one area and are expected to provide solutions to complex problems with some independence. It should be clear that the intellectual effort expended on Honours Project is no less than that normally required to pass course work of the same number of credit points.
Expectations and timelines will be discussed with the supervisor to support student progress.
The project will typically involve either delivering an industry-standard system or solution using knowledge and skills covered in the Bachelor and Honours studies, or will involve academic research in the field.
Content (topics)
The student will continue research in the topic area studied for 32144 Technology Research Preparation and 32931 Technology Research Methods. This will be of direct interest to the student and consistent with the student's professional career goals.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Reflection on the 1st part of Honours (IT) course
| Intent: | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the underpinnings of relevant disciplinary practice and research, demonstrate competency in conceptualising, designing, planning and implementing research studies in their field of study and practice, by identifying their research objectives (from TRM). |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 2 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): C.1 |
| Type: | Reflection |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 15% |
Assessment task 2: Research Report and research work
| Intent: | Demonstrate competency with a particular research skill. Apply critical and analytical skills in the process of completing a research project aimed at contribution to discipline knowledge. Apply relevant methods and/or and evaluation tools and frameworks to address discipline specific problems. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1 and 4 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): C.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 70% |
| Criteria: | The thesis will be evaluated on the basis of the quality and originality of the development of the research questions, the presentation of the literature review, the execution of the research study, and the analysis, reporting and discussion of the results. Description of model or experiment and knowledge of related work/main players/industry working on the topic (20%)
Creative Work itself + Descriptive, Creative, analytical, persuasive and critical skills (80%)
|
Assessment task 3: Pitch on the research you have undertaken
| Intent: | Demonstrate effective communication skills enabling presentation of research and ideas to a range of audiences. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 3 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): E.1 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 15% |
| Criteria: | This evaluates the quality of the pitching (introduction, rational for the research on the topic, results,…). |
Minimum requirements
In order to pass the subject, a student must achieve an overall mark of 50% or more.
References
As relevant to the proposed area of study (specialisation).
In terms of writing and communication in information technology (including disseminating research results), the following book is recommended:
Zobel, J. (2014). Writing for computer science (3rd ed.). London: Springer-Verlag.
This book provides an excellent resource for those needing to write papers, reports, theses and other professional documents in the field of information technology.
In addition, the texts and readings given for the prerequisite research subjects will be useful for various aspects of this subject.