Course Title: Engaged in Research

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Engaged in Research

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

HUSO2313

City Campus

Undergraduate

365H Global, Urban and Social Studies

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2011,
Sem 1 2012,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 1 2013,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 1 2014,
Sem 2 2014,
Sem 1 2015,
Sem 2 2015,
Sem 2 2017,
Sem 2 2018,
Sem 2 2019,
Sem 2 2020,
Sem 2 2021,
Sem 2 2022,
Sem 2 2023,
Sem 2 2024

Course Coordinator: Elinor Assoulin

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 0449

Course Coordinator Email: elinor.assoulin@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Building 8. Floor 10. Room 14

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

This course assumes that you are currently enrolled in, or have completed, at least one of the Honours Thesis Courses: HUSO2373 or HUSO2374, have an Honours Supervisor, and are engaged in the formulation and progression of your Honours Research Project. 


Course Description

Engaged in Research is a core course in a number of GUSS Honours Programs. It assumes that you have at least commenced research for your honours thesis and may also be involved in 'writing-up' your thesis. The course is designed to extend your familiarity with your field(s) of research by encouraging you to engage with the research of others, as delivered through research seminars, public talks, conferences or professional presentations (either face-to-face or online). The course thus deepens your connection with a research community in your discipline and familiarises you with research networks. 

Given this focus, there is an expectation that you will critically engage with the research presentations of others relevant to your research field and disciplinary area (as approved and directed by your program coordinator and/or supervisor). Through doing so, you will develop a stronger sense of current theoretical, methodological, and political debates in your field – and draw on this knowledge in the further development of your thesis. 

Your learning in this course will be facilitated through a series of discussion-based workshops, chaired by the course coordinator and involving guest presentations. You will participate also in research network activities – seminars and presentations – either individually or with other students. Reflection in this course will take the form of short written pieces which explicitly link to your thesis research.     

If you are enrolled in this course as a component of your Bachelor Honours Program, your overall mark will contribute to the calculation of the weighted average mark (WAM). See the WAM information web page for more information. 


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

In this course you will develop the following program capabilities: 

 

BH049 Bachelor of Arts (International Studies) (Honours)

  • Apply creativity, critical innovative thinking and reflective practice to identify and respond to global problems and policy imperatives in international cross cultural contexts, and assess the implications of decision making and actions
  • Critique and discern the value of information and knowledge from a wide range of international sources and experiences, and reflect on and evaluate their application to professional practice and the field of research
  • Apply a range of social science research methods to independently and collaboratively conduct research which constructs, tests and defends an argument, undertaking social analysis that considers theoretical historical, local and international contexts for decision making 
  • Professionally communicate national and global knowledge to academic and professional audiences, demonstrating sensitivity to culturally and linguistically diverse groups in a range of contexts 

BH060 Bachelor of Justice and Criminology (Honours)

  • apply creativity, critical thinking and innovation when identifying and solving justice and criminology problems in diverse contexts 
  • critique the value of information and knowledge from a wide variety of sources and experiences and reflect on and evaluate their application in justice and criminology research 
  • apply a range of social science research methods to design and conduct independent and collaborative research, which constructs, tests and defends an argument, and undertake social analysis considering the theoretical, historical, local and international contexts of decision making 
  • communicate professional ideas using diverse formats and strategies to academic and professional audiences within and external to justice and criminology disciplines 


Upon successful completion of the course you will be able to:

  1. Locate your research in a broader field, through active participation in colloquia activities. 
  2. Critically analyse the significance, scope and limitations of key concepts and debates in your field/discipline. 
  3. Synthesise reflection and scholarly readings to better inform and articulate theoretical, methodological, and political aspects of your honours thesis. 
 


Overview of Learning Activities

Engaged in Research is run as a semester-based workshop series. In addition to this, students will individually identify and attend between four to six research seminars, public talks, conferences or professional presentations relevant to your discipline/field of research (as approved and directed by your program coordinator and/or your supervisor). Attendance at these events may be face-to-face or online. You will be required to critically reflect on the content of the presentations you attend, especially in relation to how they are situated within the relevant academic discipline or field of knowledge.  


Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems. You will be guided to a range of resources, directly relevant to course workshops  and the research orientation of the presentations you chose to attend. You will be encouraged to read more broadly through access to online learning tools and content for your course from via myRMIT and RMIT Library resources. These resources may include books and book chapters, journal articles, media articles, lecture notes, bibliographies for supplementary reading, video, and links to external websites. You will have the opportunity to contribute collectively to class resources by sharing your own research findings and sources with your peers.     


Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes. 

Assessment will include: 

Task 1: Description and evaluation of – and reflection on – 4 to 6 research presentations, 2000 words, 50% weighting, CLO 1 & 2 

Task 2: Verbal conference presentation, 10 minutes  (equivalent to 2000 words) + verbal response to questions, 50% weighting, CLO 3 

 

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.  

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the course coordinator or RMIT Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more. 

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.