Unit Outline

In this unit, you will synthesise skills pertaining to the development, implementation and evaluation of clinical research, culminating in the submission of an empirical research thesis suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

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	Synthesise data from multiple sources to answer a clinically relevant research question
2	Evaluate data from multiple sources to answer a clinically relevant research question

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Concurrent Pre-requisite	PSY708
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	KHA752

Alterations as a result of student feedback

As always, the teaching team will greatly appreciate your feedback both informally during the delivery of the unit in 2026, and formally through the University of Tasmania’s Unit Survey following your completion of the unit.

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:	Thesis	See the MyLO site for the due date	100 %	LO1, LO2

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Thesis

Task Description:

Submission of a clinical psychology research thesis comprising rationale, method, results and analyses equivalent to the standard required by for a peer-reviewed journal article – Minimum 5000 words - 100%
You must successfully pass this task to achieve an overall passing grade in this unit. If you do not demonstrate competency on this task you will be provided remedial feedback and will be required to repeat this task at a date determined by the School of Psychological Sciences. If after a second attempt, you are unable to demonstrate competency, you will be required to repeat this unit.

Examination of Research Report/Thesis Process
Please note that you must obtain the permission of your supervisor before submitting your thesis for assessment.
The final version of your thesis should then be submitted to the Program Delivery Officer. The format required is:
• Electronic copy of the thesis in both MS Word and PDF format emailed to the Program Delivery Officer plus your data (in a zipped folder or on USB)
• Electronic copy of the thesis in MS Word/PDF format submitted to the Dropbox on MyLO
• Your research report will be examined by two examiners. Your supervisor/s will not be involved in the assessment of any thesis they are involved with supervising. NB: Examiners’ names remain confidential and are not released to candidates.
• On receipt of both examiners’ reports, the Director of Postgraduate Professional Training and/or the Postgraduate Masters’ Research Coordinator will review the reports. You should note that it is not unusual for revisions to be requested. Revisions should be discussed with research supervisors and may need to be completed in order to achieve a passing grade on the research thesis. If one or more examiners fail the research report you will be requested to re- submit the research report for further assessment within a specified time period
• When a final determination has been made the Postgraduate Masters’ Research Coordinator will write to You advising the result of the examiners’ reports and invite you to make corrections, considering the points made by the examiners as appropriate and based on the details of the assessment reports. You will be asked to contact your supervisor(s) to discuss any recommendations for corrections or revisions made by the Postgraduate Masters’ Research Coordinator
• Following revision, the you are required to submit an electronic copy of the revised thesis (using Track Changes) to the Postgraduate Masters’ Research Coordinator via the Program Delivery Officer, with a covering letter detailing how the examiner’s comments have been addressed, point by point.
• Once revisions have been completed to the satisfaction of the supervisor(s) and Postgraduate Masters’ Research Coordinator you will be requested to submit electronic copies of the research report to the Program Delivery Officer.
• You are also required to submit your final thesis to the Open Access Repository https://utas.libguides.com/theses/submitting

Task Length:

5000 words minimum

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

100 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrates a sound grasp of the research topic	LO1
2	Demonstrates understanding of the methodology used in the study	LO1
3	Demonstrates understanding of the analyses used to test aims / hypotheses	LO2
4	Demonstrates the ability to interpret the study’s findings and generate conclusions	LO2
5	Demonstrates capacity to write accurately and efficiently in the scientific genre	LO1, LO2

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes.
Your grade will be determined in the following way:
All assessments within the Postgraduate Professional Training Programs at the University of Tasmania adhere to an ungraded pass profile. Similarly, your academic transcript will use this same grading system.

This means all assessable work will be graded as either UP (ungraded pass) or NN (fail grade); a grade of NN on an assessment task indicates you need to continue towards achieving that competency. You are required to achieve a UP on all assessment pieces in order to successfully pass this unit of study. Please note that to achieve a UP grade on an assessment piece you must pass all criteria for the assessment.

At the end of semester, you may receive a grade of AO (assessment ongoing). An AO grade is used when some assessment tasks for the unit have not been completed at the end of semester or when resubmissions are needed before a mark can be finalised.

When all formal obligations have been met (see below) the final result for PSY716 will be submitted (as an ungraded pass grade, UP).

Marks are reviewed by the Unit Coordinator and Psychology’s Assessment Committee and may be adjusted to ensure fairness, consistency and appropriateness before the final marks and grades are assigned in accordance with University policy. Psychology’s grades and marks are also reviewed by the Health Assessors’ Committee.

Note: In order to obtain a full passing grade in this unit, students are expected to submit and achieve a UP grade on all assessable work

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

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.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

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.