Draft CoC Part A
Draft CoC Part A
Assessment item 4 Confirmation of Candidature (Section A)
Due date: Friday of Week 12 ASSESSMENT
Grading: Pass or Fail 4
Length: Maximum word length between 5,000 and 10,000 words excluding reference list and appendices (if used). This limit is per CoC procedure section 3.7, p. 2. If your assessment exceeds this word count, please negotiate with the Unit Coordinator and your Research Supervisor(s).
Objectives
This assessment item relates to all the unit learning outcomes of RSCH20001.
Requirements
All Research Higher Degree (RHD) candidates are provisionally enrolled until they complete their Confirmation of Candidature (CoC) and are admitted to full RHD candidature. The CoC milestone is described in theConfirmation of Candidature Procedure(https://www.cqu.edu.au/policy?collection=policy&form=policy&query=confirmation+of+candidature).
This final assessment has been designed to help you to construct Section A of your CoC submission. It aligns with the requirements of the CoC Submission described in the Confirmation of Candidature Procedure. To construct this assessment, you should draw upon work undertaken in previous Assessment items in this unit (RSCH20001).
It should be noted that a Pass result in RSCH20001doesnotimplythat you will pass your Confirmation of Candidature. The grade awarded in RSCH20001 reflects your ability to meet the learning outcomes, which includes generic skills such as communication and analytical skills. It will be assessed by someone who is typically not a content expert in your field. By contrast, the Confirmation of Candidature document will be assessed against the expectations of a masters or doctoral degree, according to the conventions in your discipline area, and according to the judgement of two experts from the field.
Please note that your final Confirmation of Candidature submission document will need to comply with CQUniversitysConfirmation of Candidature Procedurewhich has a Section A and a Section B.Section A only is required for this assessment.When completing your CoC submission you need to ensure that you have fulfilled ALL the requirements outlined in theConfirmation of Candidature Procedure. The Research Moodle website also has information and guidance on the preparation of the CoC submission (https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=419985).
The format of this assessment will be dependent on both the level of the degree in which you are enrolled (Masters by coursework, Masters by research, Professional Doctorate, or Doctor of Philosophy), and the discipline area of the proposed research project (discipline areas may have specific requirements imposed on their students). You need to consult with your Research Supervisors and Unit Coordinator if you are unsure. You should also consult the University policy regarding the requirements for candidature of the degree in which you are enrolled. SeeResearch Higher Degree Course Rules Policy and Procedure.
Your assessment should provide a rationale for the proposed investigation. It should also justify your choice of research design and selection of research methods and methodology. You need to include a comprehensive literature review of previous studies pertinent to your proposed research project and a plan of your thesis (chapter outline).
You are strongly encouraged to frequently discuss issues encountered during the development of your assessment submission with your Research Supervisors and/or the Unit Coordinator.
Make sure that you send a draft of your assessment to your supervisorswellbeforethe Due Dateso they have time to provide you with feedback to improve the final draft of your assessment. Include on the assignment cover page the date you first provided a draft of the assignment to your supervisor and any other subsequent dates.
Submission
Please write your assessment using the following presentation style and format, then upload it onto the RSCH20001 Moodle website using the Assessment 4 link in the Assessment box.
Note: Every assessment must be submitted as a Word document. It must be a final draft (no comments or track changes).
Presentation
The document should be formatted on A4 International Standard paper with margins of 2.54 cm. Line spacing should be in accordance with your chosen style (for example: Harvard is 1.5. APA is double spaced). The preferred font size is 12 point if using Times New Roman and 11 point if using Arial font. Pages should be numbered in the footer as follows: title page has no page number; abstract and Table of Contents should be Roman numerals i and ii; and main text to have Arabic numerals commencing at 1.
Format
The structure of this assignment should follow the requirements stated in Section A of theConfirmation ofCandidature Procedure. It should be written in the style of an academic report. There should be the following components:
Title Page
A cover page with unit code, assessment number, the proposed thesis title (no more than 25 words, which should be descriptive and unambiguous), your name, student number, student email address, name of the course you are enrolled in (eg, Masters, Professional Doctorate or Doctor of Philosophy), referencing style (eg, APA, Harvard), assessment due date, name(s) of Research Supervisor(s) and Unit Coordinator. Include on the cover page the date you first provided a draft of the assignment to your supervisor and any other subsequent dates. If you have an approved assessment extension this needs to be noted on the title page.
Add acknowledgements of re-using previous work if applicable.
Abstract
The abstract is designed to give the reader a snapshot or summary of the entire research project. It should contain: purpose of the study; basics of the research design; and significance of the proposed research and/or proposed contribution to the literature. It should be about 250 words one page maximum.
Table of Contents
Table of contents should be auto-generated using MS-Word. Instructions can be found herehttps://support.office.com/en-gb/article/Create-a-table-of-contents-or-update-a-table-of-contents-eb275189-b93e-4559-8dd9-c279457bfd72#__create_a_table.
Introduction
You should clearly set out what you intend to investigate. Briefly describe the background to your study and provide a context for your investigation. It should include a clear statement of the overarching purpose of the study or statement of the problem. This should be followed by the rationale or justification for the proposed study. You must tell the reader why this problem needs to be solved.
You should clearly indicate the significance of the investigation. You need to convince the reader that your proposed research project is worth doing. Describe how the results could be used. The introduction should include:
Aims and Objectives
The aims and objectives provide the terms of reference for your proposed project. The aims state the purpose or intent of the research and should flow from the statement of the research problem. Objectives specify research outcomes that contribute to and are necessary for the attainment of the research aims. The outcomes must be specific (precise), clearly defined (identifiable) and tangible (observable or measurable in some way). In other words, the aims should set out what you want to achieve, and the objectives should describe how you are going to achieve these aims. This should lead into your specific research questions and/or hypotheses.
Research Questions and/orHypotheses (whichever is appropriate)
The research questions/hypotheses should guide and centre your research and enable you to address the research problem. They should be clear, focused and feasible.
A hypothesis should offer a clear and concise statement of what you expect to find in relation to your variables, and what you plan to test. It is a statement of the proposition that you intend to verify through the investigation.
Literature Review
The main purpose of the literature review is to demonstrate your knowledge of the research area and to acknowledge other authors who have already written on your research topic. You need to critically analyse and synthesise the literature and describe how it relates to your proposed research topic. Critical analysis means to evaluate each reference and identify the important information, especially how it relates to your research topic. Synthesise means to create a structure that puts your references into a logical order and identifies the conclusions that can be drawn from the references or groups of references if you sort them into topic areas.
You should include a paragraph at the beginning of this section that introduces the literature review, defines the purpose, outlines the scope by including search terms, databases and time boundaries, provides the analytical framework and outlines the structure. The review of the literature should be conducted within an appropriate analytical framework to provide new knowledge - a critical review of the literature rather than a descriptive summary or annotated bibliography.
The literature review section should conclude with a summary of how the literature will inform your proposed research project.
Proposed contribution to the field of research
Describe the importance of the expected research outcomes, including a statement of the proposed contribution to the field of research (appropriate to the degree being sought).Fields of Researchdescriptors are available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) website:http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4AE1B46AE2048A28CA25741800044242?opendocumentIf your project aligns with one of CQUs research strengths, state that research strength. See:
https://www.cqu.edu.au/research/organisations/research-excellence/strengthsMethodology, Methods and/or Research design
Please note: this heading is from the Confirmation of Candidature Procedure Document. You should choose what heading best suits your proposed research project. For example: Methodology; or Research Design.
This section should outline your research design, including the research methodology (research approach/philosophy) and research methods (data collection and/or data analysis instruments and techniques) that you will employ when conducting your research. You should describe how you plan to collect and analyse data in order to answer the research questions. It should be a detailed framework or plan that will guide you through the research process. If possible, include a diagram of your research design to help the reader visualise your research design. Justify your research design and include a rationale as to how your research design aligns with your research methodology.
Include enough detail to allow an assessment of the feasibility of the proposed project and appropriate match with the stated research questions and/or hypotheses.
Ethics (optional)
According to theConfirmation of Candidature Proceduredocument (p. 3) a statement regarding the need for Animal and/or Human Ethics clearance (but not the application or clearance itself, unless pre-confirmation clearance has been negotiated) should be included in Section B which is a statement of logistics, resources and compliance. Some Research Supervisors have indicated that they want their students to include a statement regarding the need for ethical clearance in Section A of the CoC as the peer-reviewers are supplied only with Part A for assessment purposes. Therefore, they cannot read the ethical statement and this may result in a negative comment in the peer-review process.
Please consult with your supervisory team about the specific needs of your project, and whether it is warranted that you refer to the ethical clearance implications in Section A (in addition to Section B).
If appropriate the research design may also include:
Limitations
Limitations are influences that the researcher cannot control. Any limitations that might influence the results should be mentioned.
Delimitations
Delimitations are under the control of the researcher and allow you to define the parameters of the investigation.
Thesis plan
Should contain an outline of the proposed chapters in your thesis and identification of prospective publications arising from your research.
Chapter outline could be:
Detailed paragraphs, one per chapter covering the chapter and contents in depth. These descriptions should be specific to your thesis. Please avoid writing a generic description of each chapter; or
Flow chart with broad overview sentences covering the contents of each chapter.
For each prospective publication you should provide the:
Proposed title of the article/paper; and
The name of the journal or conference where you propose submitting the article/paper.
Conclusion (optional but strongly recommended)
The conclusion should sum up the research proposal and discuss how the proposed research project design will allow you to solve the research problem and achieve the research aims and objectives through addressing the research questions/hypotheses. Briefly summarise the contribution to knowledge of your proposed research project. Note this section is not required according to the Confirmation of Candidature Procedure, however a clear and concise conclusion will enhance your Confirmation of Candidature submission. The conclusion should NOT include new material.
References
List of references (as per the chosen referencing style). Use a recognised referencing system appropriate to the discipline area.
Appendices (if appropriate)
Generally, appendices contain information that is likely to be of secondary importance to the reader. For example, if you wanted to include a questionnaire or large diagram.
Assessment criteria
ALL assignments will be checked for plagiarism (material copied from other students and/or material copied from other sources) using Turnitin. If you are found to have plagiarised material or if you have used someone elses words without appropriate referencing, you will be penalised for plagiarism which could result in zero marks for the whole assignment. In some circumstances a more severe penalty may be imposed.
This assessment is marked as satisfactory or resubmit. If you receive a resubmit, you will be given 7 days to resubmit the assessment. Please contact the course coordinator to discuss the feedback and confirm the resubmission date.
RSCH20001 - Asst.4 Draft CoC Part A Marking Criteria
Criteria Evaluation Satisfactory or Needs revision Comments
Title page has all appropriate information. Abstract One page maximum. No more than 250 words.
Is an accurate summary of the proposed research project and succinctly covered:The purpose of the study
The research designThe significance of the proposed research, and/or proposed contribution to the literature Table of Contents included the main headings and subheadings with corresponding page numbers.
Format made the hierarchy of topics clear
Auto generated using MS Word. Introduction provided background information for the research topic.
Explained the context of the study
Presented a clear statement of purpose
Provided a rationale/justification for the project
Outlined the significance of the proposed project Aims, objectives and anticipated outcomes of the research project were clearly articulated. The research questions/hypotheses clearly link to the research problem.
The research questions/hypotheses are clear, focused, and feasible
Align with the aims and objectives of the research
Clearly indicate what kind of data is required to answer the research questions or confirm/refute the hypotheses. Literature review: Purpose of the review Range of literature sources Relevance to the chosen topic Use of appropriate analytical framework to evaluate and synthesise the literature (for example, a systematic, integrative or meta-analysis review). Critical analysis of the literature Synthesis and drawing of appropriate conclusions relating to your proposed research project Proposed contribution to the field of research:
Clearly identified the field(s) of research (FOR)
Provided the FOR codes
Described the importance of the expected research outcomes
Stated an alignment with one of CQUs research strengths. Research design clearly articulated and justified:
Demonstrated linkage between the proposed research topic, research methodology, research design and research methods
Discussion, analysis and alignment of each research method to your research methodology/research design
Justification of how the research design will allow you to address the research problem. Ethical statement
Clearly identifies the need to seek ethical clearance and how that will be accomplished
States relevant committee: HREC or AEC
Or justifies why ethical clearance would not be required for the project Limitations and delimitations of the investigation are provided:
Limitations - result of choices made in your study
Delimitations boundaries created to achieve the research goals Thesis plan is reasonable and achievable.
Brief chapter outline
Prospective publications
Conclusion
Clearly summarised the main points discussed in your document
Justified how your research design will allow you to solve the research problem
Summed up how your proposed research project will contribute to new knowledge Likelihood of project success and completion. Referencing and formatting
Used appropriate referencing conventions
Citations and reference list are accurate and consistent with referencing style
Format style matches with referencing style Used references to support, extend, and inform, but not substitute writers own development of ideas. Correct grammatically and in the use of English expression. Writing style was precise and coherent. Academic writing style appropriate to level of program of study e.g., PhD, Masters or Prof Doc. Presentation style and format is appropriate for Confirmation of Candidature submission. Assessment Result = Satisfactory or resubmit
(Re-submission is expected within seven days of notification)