Unit Outline

Research is the fundamental part of any profession. You will be proposing and completing your research project over TWO interconnected units (CSA745 and CSA746). Throughout the semester, you are required to set up regular meetings with your supervisor(s) who will provide direction and check your progress. A critical aspect of this process is obtaining a balance between taking responsibility for your own research and accepting the guidance of your supervisor. You should listen to their advice when it is offered. On the other hand, you should not sit back and wait for the supervisor to tell you what to do and how to conduct a research project. You must take responsibility for its planning and execution, using your supervisor as a sounding board rather than as the director of the project. The second of the two research units in the Master of Pharmaceutical program is CSA746. In CSA746, you are required to: 1. Draft and submit a manuscript-style thesis formatted as per the requirements of a selected peer-reviewed journal. 2. Orally present your research findings.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Critically appraise available literature and identify existing gaps and weaknesses in existing literature to formulate a suitable research question
2.	Propose an appropriate methodology to answer the formulated research
3.	Carry out a research project with appropriate supervision to answer the formulated research question
4.	Draft a manuscript for a relevant research and/or professional journal in a format required by the chosen journal as per 'Instruction to Authors guidelines' of that journal
5.	Present a coherent knowledge and ideas with intellectual independence to specialist and non-specialist audiences

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CSA741 AND CSA742 AND CSA743 AND CSA744

Alterations as a result of student feedback

No alterations have been made as a result of student feedback.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Additional tasks relating to this unit are undertaken in CSA745	See the MyLO site for the due date	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 2:	Thesis Manuscript	Week 14	55 %	LO1, LO5
Assessment Task 3:	Oral Presentation	Week 15	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO5

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Additional tasks relating to this unit are undertaken in CSA745

Task Description:

NOTE - ADDITIONAL TASKS THAT ARE RELATED TO THIS UNIT ARE UNDERTAKEN IN CSA745

Task Length:

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	X	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

Assessment Task 2: Thesis Manuscript

Task Description:

You are required to submit a written draft of manuscript-style thesis formatted as per the requirements of a selected peer-reviewed journal.
Examples of manuscript-style theses are uploaded on MyLo.
It is your responsibility that your final thesis draft is reviewed 2 times by your supervisors before it is submitted to the course co-ordinator. You are expected to submit the completed first thesis draft (Microsoft Word document) to your supervisors electronically (via email) AT LEAST 3 weeks prior to the final submission date. Do not submit the thesis draft to your supervisors if it does not include all the sections required in chapter 1 and chapter 2 (please see below for more information). Please note, your supervisors are NOT ALLOWED to EDIT the submitted work (NO TRACK CHANGES). They are instead expected to provide constructive feedback within 1.5 WEEKS of submission using the “New Comment” option available in the “Review” tab of Microsoft Word document. Your supervisors can refuse to provide feedback if 1) you fail to submit the first draft at least 3 weeks before the submission date and 2) your first draft does not include chapter 1 and chapter 2 (all sections; please see below for more information).
Your Research Thesis will have two components:
1) A detailed literature review (Chapter 1):
The first component (a detailed literature review) of your Research Thesis should remain the same as your CSA745 assignment (Literature review). However, you are encouraged to address the examiner comments obtained after the submission of CSA745 assessment task 1 before incorporating it as a part of your Research Thesis’s first component. Chapter 1 must contain the following sections: introduction, evaluation of existing literature, rationale, hypothesis (if any), aims/objective, table(s) and/or figure(s) and references.
2) A manuscript formatted as per the requirements of a selected peer-reviewed journal (Chapter 2):
It is your responsibility to consult your supervisor and decide the appropriate peer-reviewed journal in accordance with your research project. In addition, the introduction section of your research manuscript should be a condensed version/form of the first component of your thesis (literature review – Chapter 1). Chapter 2 must contain the following sections: title page (including list of authors, their affiliation and details of the corresponding author), abstract (followed by key words), introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references, figures and tables. Different journals have different formatting guidelines. For example, some journals prefer results and discussion as a single section. On the other hand, some journals prefer to have these two sections separately. Different journals have different word limits. If such information is not found in “Authors guidelines” of the selected journal then your chapter 2 should not exceed the word limit of 5000 (excluding references, abstract, table and figure legends). It is your responsibility to strictly adhere with the selected journal’s guidelines. Also, please provide a copy of “Authors guidelines” of the selected journal as an appendix (attached after chapter 2).

Task Length:

4000 to 5000 words excluding tables, figures, references, appendix etc

Due Date:

Week 14

Weight:

55 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Further details and assessment criteria will be available on MyLO.	LO1, LO5

Assessment Task 3: Oral Presentation

Task Description:

Oral Presentation should include the title of your project, name of your supervisors, introduction (background information of your research project), aims, hypothesis to be tested (if any), rational, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion and acknowledgement.

You are required to submit the complete oral presentation (PowerPoint slides) to your supervisors at least one week before the due date. Your supervisors will go through your submitted work for no more than two times. Supervisors are not allowed to edit your work. You can practice a mock presentation in the presence of your supervisors for no more than one time.

Due Date - End of Semester Examination Period

Task Length:

20 minutes

Due Date:

Week 15

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Further details and assessment criteria will be available on MyLO.	LO1, LO2, LO5

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.