Course Title: Honours Research Project Part 2 (part-time)

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Honours Research Project Part 2 (part-time)

Credit Points: 24.00


Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

BIOL2309

Bundoora Campus

Undergraduate

135H Applied Sciences

Face-to-Face

Sem 2 2007,
Sem 2 2009

Course Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Ann Lawrie

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7157/7100

Course Coordinator Email: aclawrie@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 223.1.68

Course Coordinator Availability: Email for appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Knowledge and understanding of biological sciences and of scientific methodology, such as that gained by completing a three-year Bachelor degree in Australia.


Course Description

This course allows the student to develop skills in investigating a problem using scientific methodology, by planning a research project, from specifying the research questions to hypothesis testing, through experimental design and analysis, followed by critical reporting on the outcomes and conclusions relative to the original problem investigated.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course develops the student’s capability to think critically, inductively and deductively, to plan a systematic investigation and to report outcomes clearly and objectively.


At the end of this course, the student should be able to:
- specify specific research questions for a problem from a study of the literature
- develop appropriate hypotheses for testing
- design appropriate experimental methods to test these hypotheses, including appropriate replication and controls
- collect data from experiments and store them appropriately according to ethical requirements
- analyse data objectively and quantitatively
- draw appropriate conclusions from the data and compare these with the literature.


Overview of Learning Activities

The students will conduct a research project under supervision of an experienced supervisor in a research environment and will participate in planning and executing the project. The student is also expected to engage in discussions of other students’ research projects, including attendance at research group meetings and formal seminars.


Overview of Learning Resources

Students will use current literature accessed through the Library and manuals etc. in their research groups. They will also have access to unpublished data in the research group.


Overview of Assessment

Assessment is combined with that of the Honours Project Planning course in a final project report and seminar.