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2020 unit information
Classes and seminars in Trimester 2, 2020 will be online.
Last updated: 2 June 2020
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Students will on average spend 150 hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit.
This research unit involves a minimum of 33 hours’ supervised contact per trimester.
This unit examines fundamental philosophical premises on which postgraduate research is based. Specifically, the material covered in this unit requires students to understand and apply the ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions that shape the types of research-related issues examined by individuals and groups and impacts on their views of what constitutes ‘valid’ knowledge and what data collection/analysis methods are most appropriate. Students need to not only be aware of how these assumptions (and the underlying values) can impact on their own methodological preferences, but they also need to recognize how an understanding of the different philosophical approaches can broaden their ‘paradigmatic toolkit’ and enhance their ability to undertake high quality research that makes a significant contribution to the scholarly literature and the communities they serve. The unit activities and readings as well as the assessment tasks have been designed to help students achieve a number of important learning outcomes including being able to critically analyse the paradigmatic assumptions and values that underpin published research, to consider how this or other research could be strengthened by adopting different ontological/epistemological frameworks and to develop the paradigmatic section of a peer-reviewed research publication (e.g., journal article, PhD thesis).
These are the Learning Outcomes (ULO) for this UnitAt the completion of this Unit, successful students can:
ULO1
Demonstrate knowledge of the epistemological and ontological perspectives that underpin research.
GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities
ULO2
Apply different paradigmatic perspectives to a research problem.
GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilitiesGLO4: Critical thinking
ULO3
Produce logically sound arguments at a level consistent with a thesis or peer-reviewed journal article.
GLO2: CommunicationGLO4: Critical thinking
These Unit Learning Outcomes are applicable for all teaching periods throughout the year
The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.
The texts and reading list for the unit can be found on the University Library via the link below: MMM905 Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.
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