FNAS Research Thesis · 2012-03-23 · The final output of your research project will be a Research Thesis similar in content and context to a peer-reviewed research article in a

FNAS Research Thesis

SCIE 4501- 4504

A Guide for Students and

Supervisors

2012 (semester 1 start)

Administrative Unit Coordinator: Ms Jacqueline Prosser Email: [email protected] Phone: 6488 6770

Academic Unit Coordinator: Assoc/Prof Patrick Finnegan Email: [email protected] Phone: 6488 8546

Recommended Reading: Lindsay, D. R. Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words:

CSIRO Publishing 2011 (available at Co-op Bookshop)

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CONTENTS

Page OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................................ 3

REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT .......................................................................................................... 4

Meetings .............................................................................................................................................................. 4

Assignments ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

Penalties for late submission ............................................................................................................................... 5

EXTENSIONS..................................................................................................................................................... 6

STEPS TO SUCCESS ......................................................................................................................................... 6

REGISTRATION FORM .................................................................................................................................. 13

SUPERVISOR CONTACT SHEET .................................................................................................................. 13

PROJECT OUTLINE ........................................................................................................................................ 13

PROPOSAL SEMINAR .................................................................................................................................... 15

RESEARCH PROPOSAL ................................................................................................................................. 18

LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................................................. 18

RESEARCH THESIS ........................................................................................................................................ 26

RESEARCH SEMINAR ................................................................................................................................... 37

EXAMPLE OF ABSTRACT SUBMISSION ................................................................................................... 39

FACULTY POLICY ON PLAGIARISM ......................................................................................................... 41

APPEALS AGAINST ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................... 42

CHARTER OF STUDENT RIGHTS ................................................................................................................ 42

GUILD STUDENT CENTRE CONTACT DETAILS ...................................................................................... 42

APPENDIX 1 CALCULATION OF THE HONOURS MARK ....................................................................... 43

SUPERVISOR CONTACT SHEET .................................................................................................................. 44

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OVERVIEW The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science Research Thesis is an independent, but supervised, research project offered within the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (FNAS). For many students, this is the first taste of the excitement of doing real science, where the outcomes of the research are not known with certainty and where new knowledge is created. By undertaking the Research Thesis, you will define your own project and, in consultation with your supervisor/s, develop hypotheses, set objectives, plan and execute the research, interpret the results and present those results in oral and written forms. The final output of your research project will be a Research Thesis similar in content and context to a peer-reviewed research article in a professional journal. By the time you submit your Research Thesis, you will have learned or further developed your skills in finding relevant scientific literature, reading scientific literature and identifying gaps in knowledge, thinking and analyzing critically, designing statistically robust experiments, and writing and orally presenting scientific results. Importantly, you will also increase your time management skills.

The focus of the research project is to provide you with the tools necessary to carry out independent research. With this goal in mind, the assessment of your progress is focused squarely on the process of doing research and your ability to assess, interpret and integrate the results that you produce. While the focus is not on the quantity of results that you generate, assessors will have a minimum expectation depending on your project. It is highly probable that a student with an adequate set of high quality results that are well presented, interpreted and integrated will score better than a student who produces an outstanding set of results that are poorly compiled into the final Research Thesis.

The FNAS Research Thesis is divided into 4 parts, which together make up 24 points. All four parts are worth 6 points each and are equivalent. Students should view the four parts as one fully integrated 24-point activity. The Research Thesis will contribute towards a calculation for your eligibility for an honours ranking in a four-year BSc degree program or an End-on-Honours year. Students taking the project as part of a Graduate Diploma do not receive an honours ranking, but the Research Thesis will contribute 50 per cent to the final weighted average mark for the Graduate Diploma.

Your work will be assessed by two assessors from a panel of assessors selected by the Heads of the four Schools that make up FNAS. As the assessors might not be directly in your discipline, it is very important that you write and present your work in such a way that a knowledgeable person can understand it, even if it is outside of their discipline. The Academic Unit Coordinator will not assess any of your work.

Please read this booklet carefully as it covers most aspects of the Research Thesis.

Questions Please direct all questions to the Administrative Unit Coordinator who will either reply directly or forward the query to the Academic Unit Coordinator as appropriate. Please do not send questions directly to the Academic Unit Coordinator.

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REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT

Meetings All students in the FNAS Research Thesis are required to attend a number of lectures presented in half-day blocks (Table 1). These lectures are designed to provide guidelines for successful completion of the required project activities. Your attendance and participation is essential. All lectures will be recorded on Lectopia for revision.

Lectures will run Mon-Fri in the week prior to the start of the standard semester. The venue and times will be confirmed well in advance. Table 1. Lecture dates and topics for students enrolled in SCIE 4501-4504 Research Thesis 2012.

Date Session Lecture/Workshop Staff

Mon 20 Feb 9-10am Introduction to Unit Patrick Finnegan

10-11am Introduction to Program Various

11-12pm Introduction to School Various

12-1pm Project and Time Management James Fogarty

Tues 21 Feb 9-10am Information gathering & record keeping Patrick Finnegan

10-11am Statistical Analysis Michael Renton

11-12pm Ethics and Reproducibility Patrick Finnegan

12-1pm Risk assessment and management

Wed 22 Feb 9-10am Project Proposal Patrick Finnegan

10-11am Literature Review Patrick Finnegan

11-12pm Critical Analysis Patrick Finnegan

Thurs 23 Feb 9-10am Seminars I Lucienne Tessens

10-11am Seminars II Lucienne Tessens

11-12pm Program/School specific content Various

12-1pm Program/School specific content Various

Fri 24 Feb 10-11am Presenting scientific data Patrick Finnegan

11-12pm Research Thesis I Roberta Bencini

12-1pm Research Thesis II Roberta Bencini

Please ensure that you read all emails and the announcements posted on LMS.

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Assignments You are required to complete the assignments set out in Table 2. All late assignments attract a penalty (refer to ‘Penalties for late submission’ below Table 2). Table 2. Timeline including assignments, the assessed value of the assignment, and the due date for

students enrolled in SCIE 4501- 4504 FNAS Research Thesis 2012.

Assignment Page Value Semester Due dates Registration Form (LMS)A 15 1 10am Tues 6 March 2012 Supervisor Contact SheetB 15 1 10am Tues 6 March 2012 Project OutlineA, C 15

1 10am Tues 20 March 2012

Proposal SeminarD 17 1 16-20 April 2012 Research Proposal for Supervisor CommentA,F 21 1 10am Tues 24 April 2012

Final Research ProposalA, B

(Part 1- Literature Review (15%) + Part 2 Project Proposal (5%))

22 20% 1 10am Tues 22 May 2012

Research Thesis for Supervisor CommentA 30 2 10am Tues 18 Sept 2012

Abstract submissionA 40 2 10am Tues 16 Oct 2012 Final Research ThesisA, B, E (Research Proposal including Literature Review attached as an appendix)

30 70% 2 10am Tues 23 Oct 2012

PowerPoint FileA 40 2 10am Wed 31 Oct 2012 Research Seminar (Research Conference) 41 10% 2 Thurs 1, Fri 2 Nov 2012 A To be uploaded on to LMS.

B To be handed to the Administrative Unit Coordinator, Faculty Office. C To form the basis for the Research Proposal.

D Schools will organise proposal seminars and advise students of their seminar schedule. E The Research Proposal, including the Literature Review, is to be attached to the Research Thesis, but is not assessed further. F To be submitted by student to supervisor for comment

Penalties for late submission a) Registration Form: 1% per day of total unit value b) Project Outline: 5% per day of Research Proposal value c) Project Seminar: 5% per day of Research Proposal value d) Research Proposal for Supervisor Comment: 5% per day of Research Proposal value e) Research Proposal (Literature Review plus Project Proposal: 5% per day of Research

Proposal value f) Research Thesis for Supervisor Comment: 5% per day of Research Thesis value g) Research Thesis: 5% per day of Research Thesis value h) Final Seminar Abstract: 5% per day of the Research Seminar value i) PowerPoint files for research conference: 5% per day of the Research Seminar value

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EXTENSIONS Extensions are not normally granted. If you have an exceptional reason for being unable to meet a deadline, you may request ‘Special Consideration’ by completing the appropriate form and handing it in to the Science Student Office (usually within 3 working days after the date on which the relevant work for assessment is due) with original documentation that supports your request e.g. a medical certificate or other appropriate documentation [Faculty rule 1.2.1.21 (1)]. Student Assistance provides a ‘special consideration’ brochure and the application form at the following webpage: http://www.guild.uwa.edu.au/home/student_assistance/academic_help/special_considerations STEPS TO SUCCESS Your goal for the next nine months is to learn how to do science. You will convince your assessors of your ability to do science by writing a Research Proposal, including a Literature Review, and a Research Thesis, and by presenting a Research Seminar. In each of these tasks, you should aim to demonstrate logically, clearly and concisely how you:

• Made use of literature to identify a research objective, developed the research program, interpreted observations and recognised the significance of your findings.

• Analysed the problem conceptually and, through logical argument, reduced its complexity to a number of simpler elements.

• Questioned the meaning of these elements.

• Made judgments about the importance of these elements.

• Developed plausible and testable hypotheses, models and ideas about relationships between important elements that would lead to a resolution of the problem.

• Designed methods to examine, through some combination of experiments, literature, models and observations, relationships between the important elements.

• Gathered evidence to support, or refute, the hypothesised relationships.

• Interpreted the evidence in the light of: − the hypotheses and ideas being tested, − the underlying assumptions, − the methods used to obtain the evidence, and − the prevailing body of knowledge.

• Identified the problems and methods for further research.

This approach contrasts sharply with one that simply describes and summarises. Investigation of your problem may involve experiments with plants, soils or animals, collection of data in a survey, comparisons of a number of field-sites or formulation and testing of simulation models. However, everyone should follow this process of critical, creative and quantitative thinking to resolve the problem(s) and communicate progress and results.

To help you achieve your goal, we offer you the following advice.

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Be passionate, organized and enthusiastic You should have a deep commitment to your project and feel excited and passionate about the experiments you are doing. After all, this is your project, carried out by you under the expert guidance of your supervisor. To be successful, you need to be innovative and inventive, with the desire and enthusiasm to discover more about your chosen research topic. You will also need to be extremely well organized to complete the assignments on-time and to your satisfaction, as you will also probably have other assignments throughout the semester.

A successful and rewarding career often comes with a work schedule that goes beyond a regular 9am - 5pm workload. You may find yourself doing research in the early mornings, evenings and/or at weekends. This is especially true when it comes to working with plants or animals that require daily maintenance.

It is your responsibility to follow all relevant university and laboratory rules. These may include, but are not limited to, appropriate safety training, ethical use of animals and human subjects, and the keeping of a lab notebook with entries describing all tasks and experiments. All students and researchers at the University are bound by the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct (http://www.hr.uwa.edu.au/publications/code_of_ethics). Please check with your supervisor about the requirements of your project, because the governing rules will vary depending on the project.

Choosing a supervisor The most important step in a rewarding research project is to choose a project that you are passionate about. First, choose the area of research that excites you and then discuss potential projects with likely supervisors. The choice of supervisor is very much up to you. However, you must have at least one co-supervisor from within FNAS.

Staff in the Faculty enjoy supervising research students, so do not feel reluctant about approaching someone. Most academic staff can supervise many topics, but all have their specialties. Because research supervision costs a lot of time and a research project costs a lot of money, the research topic you choose must be in a key area of interest of a potential supervisor. The advantage of working in a field in which your supervisor is an expert is that s/he can guide you to the literature and already knows the issues and previous results. However, you should certainly not limit yourself to working within a staff member's specialty. Approach the staff member and make it known that you wish to work in his or her field. S/he may be very pleased to negotiate about the topic of a project. This holds even for well described projects available in project booklets. It is always a good idea to approach staff about potential projects as early as possible to avoid the possibility of staff becoming fully committed to other research projects.

Sometimes students seek supervision and advice from researchers outside the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences or the University. Each year many excellent projects are supervised externally. Such collaborations are strongly encouraged and will certainly help you develop contacts in other organisations. The academic staff in FNAS have excellent working relationships with various government departments, research organizations and industry partners in the areas of agriculture, conservation, mining, urban and regional planning, etc. If you wish to do a research project with an industry partner, contact them directly or through a FNAS staff member as early as possible (i.e. up to 6 months prior to starting the project). If you decide to choose a supervisor from outside FNAS, you will need another supervisor from within the Faculty. The Faculty supervisor ensures that the student meets the requirements and academic outcomes set by the Faculty.

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Having difficulties? In the past, some students have found it difficult to decide who to approach as a potential supervisor. If you have your own project ideas and you don’t know who to approach, contact the appropriate Major Coordinator. A list of Major Coordinators is available on the FNAS website, or from the Administrative Unit Coordinator. Lectures in the first week of the semester will also help you identify potential supervisors. By the end week 2 of the Research Thesis unit, you should have contacted potential supervisors, completed a Supervisor Contact Sheet, identified a supervisor and completed the on-line registration form (See Table 2). It is your responsibility to identify a supervisor by the end of week 2.

Key questions you should ask a potential supervisor are:

1. Can we agree on a project that is interesting to us both? 2. Will you be away for an extended period during the year? 3. How often are you available to meet? 4. What is the best way to contact you? 5. What are your expectations of a student engaged in a research project?

The role of a supervisor: what to expect? An effective student - supervisor interaction is a two-way relationship. Staff in the Faculty enjoy supervising students particularly when students are enthusiastic about the project. Like any relationship the more you contribute the more you will gain. At each stage of the process, deciding on a topic, developing ideas and designing experiments, analysing and interpreting results, and integrating your results with current thinking, your supervisor will give you considerable guidance. But remember that to obtain the best from your supervisor you need to think clearly about all the issues involved. A supervisor should be a guide and help you develop your thought processes, offering suggestions and encouragement for ideas and well-developed thoughts and helping you to become more critical of your own work. To do this well a supervisor must be a good listener. As the project progresses, you will become more and more independent in your thinking and your project will truly become yours. Even at this stage, be sure to share your thoughts and ideas with your supervisor for valuable feedback. Beware of a supervisor who feeds you with all the ideas. Initially this may seem to be an easy path, but in the longer term you will not become an independent researcher and will not meet the academic outcomes of the Research Thesis.

The Research Thesis is hard work. It is your responsibility to drive the project and complete the necessary tasks. Remember, the research project belongs to you and not your supervisor. Take heed of your supervisor’s advice on the time required to complete each stage of the project.

Hopefully you will enjoy the relationship that you build with your supervisor. However, if you feel that the relationship is not working and you feel that you cannot discuss this with your supervisor seek advice from the Administrative Unit Coordinator.

It is advised that within the first four weeks of the project students and supervisors complete the Student Perception of Research Supervision survey. You will find the relevant information at http://www.catl.uwa.edu.au/etu/spors. This survey is completed by both the student and the supervisor, who then meet to discuss their respective responses to the questions. The discussion is particularly valuable when the student and supervisor responses turn out to be completely different. In this case you and your supervisor need to come to an agreement on how these differences in perception can be addressed.

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Choosing a topic Within reason, the choice of topic is up to you. Staff will often make suggestions about the general area, and they will almost certainly need to guide you to define and refine the problem. In all likelihood, they will also be responsible for financing most of the research. They will also help you to devise an effective methodology to analyse the problem. But the first definition of the problem should be yours; this is an important part of being able to conduct independent research.

Good science often requires interdisciplinary research. For example, many problems in plant nutrition or conservation require knowledge of plant physiology, soil characteristics and microbial communities. Land and water management often involves the use of plants. Animal nutrition and distribution needs to be studied in the context of ecosystem production. Few crops can be considered in isolation from their genetic resources, interaction with weeds, and nutritional requirements. Many management and policy problems cannot be answered unless you bring together the biological, physical, technical and economic elements of the problem. So, you should not be concerned if you wish to do a cross-disciplinary research project. After all, science is a collaborative effort. You should feel free to discuss your project, and seek advice and technical expertise from all staff and students in the Faculty.

Information gathering and record keeping In any research it is important to know what similar work has been done. For this you read articles from learned journals and books. You should read articles that report research results relevant to the research that you wish to do, also paying attention to the methods that were used. You should also read articles that report other scientific methodologies that you may be able to adapt to your research. To read this information, it is necessary to develop skills in finding the relevant literature. At first, your supervisor may suggest a list of reading and help guide you in your reading selections. You should quickly learn to find for yourself journal articles relevant to your work and interests and not simply rely on your supervisor to point you to all the relevant articles. When reading, take brief notes, and devise a record-keeping system, possibly computer based (e.g. EndNote), so that you can rapidly find a particular point. There is nothing more annoying than knowing that you have read a relevant bit of information, but forgetting where you have read it. This reading will provide the basis of your Literature Review and the introduction to your Seminars and Research Thesis.

The internet is a wonderful tool for gathering information. However, you need to use this resource wisely. You will need to develop skills for effectively searching the internet and to differentiate valuable and reputable sites from those that are not.

It is vitally important to be well-organized and thorough in your record keeping. Accurate records are needed for the literature that you have read, the conversations that you have had, the plans you have made, the facts that you have gathered and of the results of the experiments that you do. Many supervisors will expect that you will keep a laboratory notebook, collecting all your methods and results in one place to refer to later on. It is often impossible to tell which bit of information will be needed later, for example, which detail of a method will be the crucial one that needs further exploration. So, it is essential that all pertinent information be recorded. It is much better to record too much information than to find out later that the most vital bit has been left out.

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While conducting your research and collecting the data it is essential that you make frequent back-ups of all your data and any work you have written and keep these in a safe place. If possible keep a copy at home and one with your supervisor. In one recent situation, a student had her laptop stolen from her car and it contained her whole project. Having a backup would have turned a disaster into a nuisance.

Formulating hypotheses, aims, ideas, models The hypothesis (aim, idea, model) is central to all good experimentation. It is a statement of what you could logically expect to find based on existing knowledge in the field when you carry out an experiment, survey or economic study. To create a strong hypothesis / aim you need to find out a lot about the field in which you will be working. This means that it will take you some time to set up your hypotheses / aims. But when you have developed a robust set of hypotheses / aims, you will have the basis for a top-class research project.

You should try to frame your own initial hypotheses / aims and then seek feedback from your supervisor/s. You should also get the widest possible comments on your hypotheses / aims and the experimental design or analytical framework needed to test them. This process is so critical that you will present a seminar within your School at an early stage of your project to explain how you developed your hypotheses / aims and how you will test or achieve them.

Some would argue that not all projects require hypotheses. All projects, however, have ideas you want to test and problems you wish to test. It is for you, in consultation with your supervisor/s, to identify methods to be used to investigate your ideas on how to resolve the problem that you are investigating.

Planning There is no substitute for proper planning. Research time is short and you need to make the most of that valuable time. Lack of planning will compromise results, or even prohibit data from being collected, preventing strong conclusions from being made. Poor planning will require that experiments be repeated, but this might be impossible for logistical reasons or lack of time. One strategy for proper planning is to carefully construct the hypothesis / aim that is to be tested, followed by thorough consideration of how the hypothesis / aim will be tested and the development of a detailed methodology or experimental plan. Such an approach will allow you to identify any specialised equipment, supplies or permissions that are needed, and allow enough time for those items to be acquired or organised. Many projects come to grief because a vital item or permission is needed, but it takes too long for it to be put into place. Thorough forward planning can identify issues and allow thinking time to solve any problems.

Statistics Statistics is the branch of science concerned with collecting and analysing data to make comparisons and see patterns in research results. Whatever your experimental design or analytical framework, it is important that you analyse your data statistically where appropriate. It is assumed that with your previous training and the guidance of your supervisor you are able to develop a robust experimental design and to statistically analyse your own data. You should discuss the methods of analysis with your supervisor before you begin your project, as this will provide valuable information about how you should design and carry out your experiments. You should also work closely with your supervisor when you

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are analysing your results to make sure you draw the strongest conclusions justified by your data.

Occasionally you may need help from a professional statistician and there are several in the Faculty. However, the expertise of these staff is in great demand. Please approach them through your supervisor; that is, ask your supervisor to ask them for input. In that way we can be sure that you have the best support for solving your statistical problem. You might also consider doing courses offered by the UWA statistics consulting group http://scg.maths.uwa.edu.au/

Resources Research is expensive, in both time and money. Most funding for projects comes from the research funds of supervisors. These funds are generally hard-won grants awarded to the supervisor in a highly competitive process outside the University. If there are insufficient funds for your project, then you will need to obtain additional funds to carry out the research.

Each School has a policy and procedure on creating budgets for research projects, so you should check with your supervisor about creating the budget for your project. S/he may point you to the relevant school policy for accessing and spending funds, as each school has a different management process. If you ever use personal funds for your project you must keep receipts in order to be reimbursed.

You have access to a wide range of facilities at UWA such as the Shenton Park Field Station and other state-of-the-art facilities and equipment that will allow you to do a wide variety of technical and diagnostic work. The Faculty also has a fleet of vehicles, including boats, which may be used for fieldwork. Schools will often provide access to vehicles for you to complete your research project. However, despite the resources available on campus, it may be necessary to collaborate with scientists from other organizations if UWA does not have the equipment you need. Speak to your supervisor and School Manager about how best to access the resources you need.

Some Schools provide short courses in laboratory safety or other essential specialised knowledge that you must attend before you carry out any work. You may also be required to get ethics approval or other permissions, perform a risk assessment, take first aid training, or 4-wheel drive training to gain access to the resources and equipment you need. All fieldwork off campus requires a risk assessment that is approved by your supervisor and Head of School before work can begin.

UWA and the Faculty have extensive computing facilities, including licenses for a large number of software packages. These packages, including Microsoft Office and the reference software EndNote, are available free to all students within the university. There are training workshops offered periodically by the Library and other groups to help you to use these powerful tools effectively.

Conducting the research One of the benefits of doing your own project is learning to solve practical problems as they arise. To gain the maximum benefit, you will be conducting all your research yourself. Initially, you will need training in new methods and experimental design. Your supervisor will guide you or organize the training. During your project, there may be times when help is necessary perhaps when you must make a large number of field measurements in a limited time. At these times, you may be aided by technicians, other Research Thesis students, and postgraduate students.

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A key learning outcome of the Research Thesis is independence of thought and action. The Research Thesis is also an apprenticeship in scientific investigation and reporting, and collaboration with supervisors and others is encouraged. Collaboration does not jeopardise the achievements of an independent research project. Conversely, low-quality work will not be rated highly because of a high-level of independence. Rather, it may be seen as a lack of initiative by the student to consult adequately with more experienced colleagues.

Leave time for writing Writing is an integral part of the research process. It is absolutely essential to communicate your results with the wider scientific community, as research that is not reported is as good as not having been done. In learning to become an effective scientist, writing also helps to crystallize ideas and understanding. Many students find writing to be the most challenging part of the Research Thesis and often do not leave themselves enough time to do themselves justice. Plan your time carefully. The quality of your written Research Proposal and Research Thesis will largely determine your final mark. Avoid errors such as spelling or grammatical mistakes or errors of fact. As highlighted above, keep thorough notes during your research so that you do not forget important observations that will help you interpret your results and reach strong conclusions.

For a high-quality Research Proposal and Research Thesis give the first version to others (especially your supervisor/s) to read and comment upon so that you can produce a polished final version for submission. Normally your supervisors will read and give you feedback on two versions. So it is in your interest to give them a well-polished document, not something compiled in a few hours. When you complete a version, you might find it helpful to set it aside for a few days before revising it. A fresh look may allow you to make considerable improvements to your work even before receiving feedback from others.

Give people plenty of time to read and think about your written work. You should aim to submit a complete version at least one month before the relevant due date to give time for comments and reworking. Refer to Table 2 for due dates of complete versions.

It is recommended that you do not make changes to your work after you have handed it over to your supervisor/s for comment: wait for their feedback before making more changes or you may find that the comments you receive no longer apply because you have changed the text. To make the most efficient use of time, you may decide to give your supervisor/s versions of individual sections (i.e. Introduction, Results). This will allow you to work on other sections while you are waiting for the comments.

You will receive lots of comments on the early versions. Remember it is a valuable part of research to have critical comment on its progress; so do not despair over criticism. This is part of the peer review process – an essential component of scientific communication. A thoughtful researcher is grateful that colleagues take time to review their work. Think carefully about all comments from others, and have good reasons for rejecting a comment. Ultimately, you are responsible for the work that you present.

All work must be submitted on time. Late submission attracts academic penalties (see Table 2).

A Note to Supervisors In most circumstances the Heads of School assign students to assessors from within their own School. However, as some projects cross multiple disciplines, it may be appropriate for an assessor from outside the School to be nominated. Please inform the Administrative Unit

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Coordinator if you think there is a person outside of your School who would be particularly well suited to assessing a particular Research Project.

REGISTRATION FORM Please complete the Registration Form on-line using LMS, indicating your project title/topic, supervisor/s and other project information required by the due date (Table 2). It is your responsibility to provide the correct details, including email addresses, of your supervisor/s, so pay close attention when completing the survey.

Submit your Registration Form using the online quiz in LMS.

Make sure you notify the Administrative Unit Coordinator and your supervisor/s of any changes in contact details that occur during the year and update your details using Student Connect.

SUPERVISOR CONTACT SHEET Please complete the ‘Supervisor Contact Sheet’ attached to the back of this Guide and return it to the Administrative Unit Coordinator (Faculty reception) by the due date (Table 2).

Make sure you notify the Administrative Unit Coordinator of any changes in your supervision (e.g. a new supervisor).

PROJECT OUTLINE You will submit a one to two page Project Outline through LMS by the due date (Table 2). The Project Outline will likely form the basis of your Research Proposal. The Project Outline should include background information leading to the hypotheses / aims that you are planning to test, the methodology you propose to use to test these hypotheses / aims, and a plan for completion for your research project including a timeline. All research projects evolve, so it is likely that the research you propose here will be somewhat different than the work that appears in the Research Thesis. The Project Outline should have the following structure:

• Title • Investigator (your name) • Introductory statement

o What is the important problem you are addressing? o What is the small part of that problem that you are addressing? o What is your hypothesis / goal?

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• Aims (and objectives) o Based on your background knowledge, formulate a concise set of aims that

indicates what the proposed research will achieve. This should be more refined and more detailed then the statement of the overall goal in the introductory statement.

• Background (Current knowledge) o Statement of justification explaining why the topic is significant o Background information that summarises the current knowledge found in the

literature relating to the field of study. o Conclude this section with a clearly expressed statement of the knowledge gap

that you used to derive your hypotheses. This section may include a rewording of your hypothesis or aim.

• Significance and outcomes o This section contains statements of how the anticipated results fit into the

bigger picture and how this project will contribute to the overall advancement of the discipline.

• Methodology o A logical outline of how the aims will be achieved which will be derived from

the hypotheses and aims statements. This is an important part of the outline as it will reflect the feasibility of the project in relation to the available resources.

• Budget o A table with anticipated expenditure that relates to the method section. The

easiest way is to go step by step through the proposed method and assess how much each step will cost. The budget need not be an itemised list of expenditures, but rather categories of items (consumables, travel, assays).

• Time table o The timing of the project can be conveniently summarized in a table where the

tasks needed to reach the Aims are listed in the left-hand column and periods of time (e.g. months) are listed across the column headings. An ‘x’ can be used to indicate a month in which an activity will be done.

Formatting instructions Text: use Times New Roman, 12 point, 1.5 line spacing

Pages: double-sided A4 pages. Number the pages.

Margins: Left side 3 cm, Right side 2 cm, Top 2 cm, Bottom 3 cm (including page number). Use the ‘mirror margins’ setting to achieve this on double-sided printouts.

Page limit: Maximum of 2 pages of text. The reference list, budget and timetable are outside these limits. Each of these sections must not exceed one-half page.

Submission Prepare an electronic version of your type-set Project Outline and submit:

a) A copy to your supervisor

b) A PDF version to LMS

The Project Outline is not marked; however it will most likely form the basis of your Research Proposal (see Table 2).

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Email the complete Project Outline to your supervisor as an MSWord document by the due date (refer Table 2). In addition, you must upload a PDF version to LMS.

PROPOSAL SEMINAR You will present your Project Outline in a 15 minute seminar followed by 5 minutes for questions. This seminar is compulsory, although it is not formally assessed. The Schools will organise the Proposal Seminars and advise students of the schedule.

This seminar will provide your supervisor/s and members of your school with the opportunity to participate and provide constructive comments on your proposed research project. In your talk you should outline the problem that you propose to investigate, the hypotheses / aims you will be testing and the methods you intend to use.

The spirit of these seminars is one of active interchange between participants. You should be well prepared for them. The feedback from the seminars can be very helpful in focusing your thinking. These seminars are the best opportunity to get constructive comments on your ideas from experienced minds.

Most students will elect to use a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate their seminar. However, this is not a requirement. Those choosing not to use PowerPoint must discuss their presentation with their supervisor/s and the Administrative Unit Coordinator at least 3 WEEKS before the date of the seminar.

Further information will be posted on LMS closer to the date.

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Student:_____________________________ Assessor:________________________________

Assessment Sheet for Proposal Seminar

Assessment Guidelines Maximum Allocated

Mark Mark

Attributes of the speaker 10

Voice : Volume - can speaker be heard at the back of the room?

Speed - neither too slow nor too fast

Appearance & Stance: Relaxed, not nervous or agitated

Confident and apparently knows subject Comments:

Audience contact 10

Eye Contact : General rather than selective eye contact for certain people or no eye contact (i.e. looking at ceiling or notes only) Voice Contact : Minimal use of “Umm” and other distracting habits Involving the audience by the use of “You” Timing to allow audience to absorb important messages Comments:

Structure and Content of the talk 50

Opening - setting the scene by describing the content, but particularly the main message of the seminar

Logical development with clear and frequent summaries of the material

Knowledge of the topic

Conclusion and summing up to relate to the opening

The student keeps to time Comments:

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Use and quality of visual aids 20

Effective use of "dead time" (when audience is absorbed in the overhead)

Smooth transition from text to screen and back

Clear indication of the parts of the screen to which the speaker is referring

Timing of visual aids and length of time that they are visible

Annoying distractions like unwanted shadows, poor centering, overly busy

Clarity and size (can they easily be seen from the back of the room?)

Quantity of material to be absorbed

Did they complement the talk? Comments:

Questions 10

Clarity and correctness of answers

Confidence in answering

Ability to say "no" or "I don't know" without losing face Comments:

TOTAL OF SECTION MARKS 100 Other comments: PERCENTILE: Of all similar work you have assessed at this level, what percentile is this work? (tick box)

□ 90-100 Outstanding □ 80-90 Excellent □ 70-80 Good

□ 60-70 Average □ 50-60 Below average □< 50 Poor

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL A Research Proposal identifies a gap in knowledge that must be filled and then proposes a series of aims and objectives to be accomplished using appropriate methods that will fill the gap in knowledge. Your Research Proposal will be made up of two parts, the Literature Review and the Project Proposal. In the Literature Review, you will explore the current understanding in your area of research, highlighting the important gaps in knowledge. In your Project Proposal, you will propose how you will fill one or a few of these gaps in knowledge.

LITERATURE REVIEW Your Literature Review should be focused on the literature relevant to your project. It is not to be a comprehensive background review to the subject, but rather a critical analysis of the literature to demonstrate your understanding of central concepts in your field of study, establish the relevance for your study and identify gaps in current knowledge. It should be a critical synthesis of the literature, not a catalogue of what you have read. The Literature Review should lead smoothly into your Project Proposal by explaining how the proposed research will contribute to an increased understanding of, or solution to, unresolved problems or gaps in knowledge.

The best literature reviews uncover things in the literature that the original authors overlooked or could not see because of the state of knowledge when the literature was written. This is being "critical" and commands a high grade. No review is satisfactory unless it interprets the literature, draws conclusions, and provides a framework for the experimental work that follows. To explain why you subsequently did what you did is most important.

In reviewing the literature, or writing anything else, be honest and transparent. Plagiarism (the taking of another person's ideas or data and calling them your own) is a serious offence in the Faculty and the University. Acknowledge the ideas and workings of others by citing references in the text. If you must lift phrases from another source (avoid at all possible cost), place them in quotation marks and give the page number in your citation.

Format your references according to an article that is relevant to your discipline. To make the referencing guidelines clear to assessors, you will submit the first and last page of an article from the most recent issue of this journal as an appendix. These two pages will illustrate the in-text referencing style and the reference list style, respectively, of the journal.

To get a good idea about what it takes to write a literature review, read one or two literature reviews from previous years. Past literature reviews that are of a high quality will be available on LMS and copies of past Research Theses are available in your School.

Many websites provide advice on how to write a Literature Review but the book by David R. Lindsay (1994) “A guide to scientific writing” (Melbourne: Longman, 1995) is by far the most useful resource to undertake this task. Guidelines developed by the FNAS Teaching and Learning Committee have also been posted on LMS.

Submission The Final Research Proposal includes:

1) Literature Review

2) Project Proposal. Your Project Proposal has the same structure as the Project Outline, and is likely to be an updated version of your Project Outline. As your Literature Review evolves, you should make changes to your original Project Outline so that the Project Proposal is an integral part of the final Research Proposal. This means that you will have one reference list for the entire document. However, make sure that

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your Project Proposal is well identified as a separate section from your Literature Review.

Formatting instructions Text: use Times New Roman, 12 point, 1.5 line spacing



Appendix: Include an appendix with the first and last page of an article from the most recent issue of the journal you have chosen as a referencing style guide.

Page limit:

1) Literature Review - a minimum of 12 pages and a maximum of 14 pages of text (including the abstract).

2) Project Proposal - maximum of 2 pages of text. The budget and timetable are outside these limits; each of these sections must not exceed one-half page.

Appendices, reference list, cover page, table of contents, figures and tables are additional to the page limit. Assessors will not read text beyond the page limit. Research topics differ in the amount of prior research that has been performed and therefore the amount of literature available to each student. For this reason a flexible page limit has been set.

Refer to the Research Proposal Guidelines and Marking Scale below for more detail about organization, expectations and assessment of this assignment. You will also find a copy of the assessment sheets for the Literature Review and the Project Proposal.

Submission 1 Research Proposal for Supervisor Comment

It is very important to get good feedback on your literature review and project proposal. This is most easily done by submitting a completed version to your supervisor with reasonable time for comment before the submission date.

Email the complete version to your supervisor as an MSWord document by the due date (see Table 2). In addition, you must upload a PDF version to LMS by the due date.

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Submission 2 Final Research Proposal

Prepare

a) Two printed and stapled copies (stapled in the upper left-hand corner only, not bound) and

b) An electronic version (PDF file) of your type-set Research Proposal.

Submit two printed copies of the Research Proposal (Literature Review plus Project Proposal) - by the due date (see Table 2) to the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences reception, Ground Floor, Agriculture Central Wing. (A FNAS assignment cover sheet must be attached to the top of each copy.)

AND Upload the electronic PDF version of the Research Proposal (Literature Review plus Project Proposal) onto LMS.

The Research Proposal will be resubmitted with the Research Thesis for future reference. The Research Proposal will not be assessed again. However, it is strongly recommended that any errors be corrected for the final permanent record held by the University.

We aim to return written feedback on your Research Proposal approximately four weeks after you submit it. Feedback sheets and annotated copies of the proposals will be available to collect from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences office, Ground Floor Agriculture Central Wing . The Administrative Unit Coordinator will notify you when the feedback sheets are ready for collection. Please note that hard copies of the Research Proposal will be returned only if assessors have made comments on the printed copies of your work.

Assessors will use the following assessment criteria, with a weighting of 90% for content and 10% for presentation.

Assessment criteria for the Literature Review 1. Establishment of relevance for the study

2. Demonstration of understanding of central concepts in the field of study

3. Integration and synthesis of information, emphasis on important points and critical evaluation of the literature

4. Documented support for the approach or framework of the proposed study

5. Identification of gaps in current knowledge

6. Accurate referencing and citations which follow content and format expectations for publication

7. Clear and logical presentation of text

8. Self explanatory and appropriately referenced figures and tables

9. General writing style to be free of formatting, spelling and grammatical errors

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Assessment Sheet for Part 1 - Literature Review


Mark Mark

General: 10 • Logical, clear and concise style of writing

• Free of typographical and spelling mistakes

• Free of colloquial expressions and jargon

• No unsupported assertions of fact beyond broad common knowledge

• Text is rewritten, not plagiarised

• Formatting instructions (e.g. page length) adhered to

Comments:

Abstract: 5

• Clear, concise and logical in organisation

• Summarises the content of the body of the literature review

• No citations or extra information

• Maximum 200-250 words

Comments:

Introduction: 20

• Establishes relevance of the topic by providing a brief contextual backdrop

• Identification of the scientific, technical or social needs of the topic

• Outline structure of the paper - signal to the reader the issues/topics that you WILL cover in your paper, this will also help keep you focused in writing up the literature review

Comments:

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Body 40

• Demonstration of understanding of central concepts in the field of study

• Integration and synthesis of information and emphasis on important points

• Identification of gaps in current knowledge

• Logical development of the ideas to be tested based on these gaps

• Documented support for the approach or framework of the proposed study

• Figures and tables to be self explanatory and well referenced

• Evidence of critical evaluation of the literature

Comments:

Concluding section: 15

• Clear summary of the major points raised in the literature review

• Formulation of hypotheses or approach based on current knowledge

• May include discussion of implications

• No new factual information

Comments:

References: 10

• Complete, up-to-date, accurate, and relevant

• Sourced from the primary peer-reviewed literature or published reports • Without substantial reliance on web-based references • Consistently formatted as found in the peer-reviewed scientific journal

of choice - the student has provided the first and last page of an article from this journal in an appendix as a guide to the referencing format.

• All in-text citation included in the reference list and vice versa

Comments:

TOTAL OF SECTION MARKS 100

Other comments: PERCENTILE: Of all similar work you have assessed at this level, what percentile is this work? (tick box)



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Marking Scale for the Literature Review The Literature Review (20% overall mark) will be assigned to one of the groupings below. Descriptors in the groupings are written as generically as possible to cover variations in style that might be reasonably expected in the breadth of possible research topics. 90–100: An outstanding document, demonstrating excellence in terms of conceptualisation, theoretical framework or coverage of previous experimental research leading to derivation of hypotheses or aims of the research project. Integrated presentation of the literature describing the core concepts in the field of research in a concise yet comprehensive manner with critical assessment of the methodology, framework or outcomes of previous work, and articulating gaps in knowledge. Alignment of the research topic to at least one knowledge gap and appropriate supporting documentation of the methodology/approach to be followed in the research project. Excellent written expression, organisation and format. 80-89: As for 90-100 but with some trivial weakness, such as in the presentation or structure, or some minor inconsistency or oversight in the arguments, or research aims or hypotheses that do not fully exploit the links with theory or previous empirical research. 70-79: For a document showing excellence in one or two aspects of conceptualization, coverage of concepts, hypothesis development, supporting documentation for proposed methodology, which offset some weaknesses or flaws. Very good written expression, organisation and format. 65-69: For a good piece of work with reasonably comprehensive and concise coverage of concepts and gaps leading to structured development of hypotheses or aims with appropriate methodology, but lacking excellence in any of the parts. 60-64: For a generally sound document with minor misconceptions, inconsistencies or omissions in one or more areas, or poor organisation or incorrect interpretation of one element of the literature, or an inability to recognise the limitations of the approach. 50 –59: For an adequate document but one that contains a number of misconceptions, inconsistencies or omissions, or lack of integration with theoretical or empirical framework, or inadequate coverage of core concepts. Poorly organized. <50: For a document with major problems in conceptualisation or content coverage, and inability to present information coherently and with clarity. Does not demonstrate a clear, concise writing style.

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Assessment Sheet for Part 2 Project Proposal

Assessment Guidelines Maximum Allocated Mark Mark

Introductory statement Identifies an important problem that the research will contribute to. Clearly specifies the problem that will be addressed. Concisely and explicitly states hypothesis or aim. 10

Comments: Aims and Objectives

A concise set of aims clearly indicating what the proposed research will achieve A natural extension of the background information presented in the Literature Review A more refined and more detailed statement of the overall goal than in the introductory statement. 25

Comments: Background (Current knowledge)

Statement of justification explaining why the topic is significant Summary of the current knowledge using evidence from the literature Clearly expression of the knowledge gap that is being addressed 10

Comments: Significance and Outcomes

Clearly articulates the anticipated outcomes and how these will fit into the bigger picture. Demonstrates that the research will contribute to the overall advancement of the discipline. 25

Comments:

25

Methodology Outlines the methods that will be used to achieve the aims. The methods suggested are reasonable given the hypotheses and aims. 10

Comments: Time table

A reasonable estimate of the time needed to accomplish tasks. 5 Comments: Budget

Indicates reasonable anticipated expenditure in relation to the Methodology section 5

Comments: Presentation

Clear, concise and correct language Times New Roman 12 pt Two pages (excluding Timeline and Budget) 10

Comments:

TOTAL OF SECTION MARKS 100 Additional Comments:

Of all similar work you have assessed at this level , what percentile is this work? (tick box below)



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RESEARCH THESIS The final assignment for your Research Project is the submission of a Research Thesis. The Research Thesis should demonstrate your ability to prepare an article comparable in content, context and style to those found in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. See “Guidelines for Scientific Writing” on LMS (‘Resources’ folder) for advice on how to write the Research Thesis. The purpose of the Research Thesis

1. Present the problem in a logical way in relation to background information.

2. Present a research plan that will address the problem.

3. Present the methodology and methods that were used in such a way that the research can be reproduced.

4. Demonstrate an ability to research the literature, produce and analyse data and interpret results.

5. Summarise results and place them within the context of other work, future studies, policy and management as appropriate.

Order of Elements 1. Title page: include the title of the Research Thesis, your full name, names of the

supervisor/s, the name of the journal used for formatting and the statement: “This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a

Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) (Geology and Resource Economics) etc. Research Thesis SCIE4501- 4504

Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences The University of Western Australia.”

Include the month & year of submission. Do not include a picture on the title page.

2. Abstract.

3. Table of contents.

4. Acknowledgments: e.g. thank those who have assisted you with financial support, in your fieldwork, statistical analyses etc.

5. Research Thesis: this document should be written to stand alone as a research thesis prepared in a format similar to that required for submission to a journal in the relevant discipline. Journals in different disciplines will have slight variations in structure. Seek advice from your supervisor about which journal would be most appropriate for you to follow. There is no single 'correct' structure; students should identify a structure that best accommodates their research and is easy to read.

A typical structure for a Natural Science thesis: Introduction Materials and methods Results Discussion References

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A typical structure for a Social Sciences or Economics thesis: Introduction Theoretical framework Methodology and methods Results and discussion Conclusion References

Format your thesis and record your references according to a journal that is relevant to your discipline. You must specify on the title page of your Research Thesis which journal you have used for formatting. You must also submit the first and last page of an article from the most recent issue of the journal as an appendix. These two pages will illustrate the in-text referencing style and the reference list style, respectively, of the journal. The web links below may be useful in selecting an appropriate journal.

• CSIRO publishing http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/17.htm

• Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1364-985x

• Geographical Research http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/submit.asp?ref=1745-5863&site=1

• Urban Policy and Research http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/journal.asp?issn=0811-1146&linktype=44

Figures and tables are typically included in a Research Thesis. Each figure and table should be numbered separately and should be placed after it is referred to in the text. Tables and figures should have a legend and be self-supporting, so that they can be interpreted without a need to refer back to the text.

Figures are usually in a sans serif font, e.g. Arial or similar. Generally journals require black and white figures but some accept colour images so you may choose. If you choose to include colour images, you will need to organize to have these printed in colour as most schools will not print colour images.

5. Research Proposal.

6. Appendices – submit the first and last page of an article from the most recent issue of the journal you are using as a guide to the formatting and referencing style. Experimental data and other bulky information may also be included in appendices.

Formatting instructions The Research Thesis, including the appendix of the Research Proposal, is to be formatted as a single document.

Text: use Times New Roman, 12 point, 1.5 line spacing



Page limit: Maximum of 25 pages of text for the Research Thesis.

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Appendices, references, cover page, table of contents, figures and tables are additional to the page limit. Assessors will not read text beyond the page limit. Refer to the Research Article Guidelines and Marking Scale below for more detail about organization, expectations and assessment of this assignment. You will also find a copy of the feedback sheet template.

Submission 1 Research Thesis for Supervisor Comment

It is very important to get good feedback on your research thesis. This is most easily done by submitting a completed version to your supervisor with reasonable time for comment.

Email the complete version to your supervisor as an MS Word document by the due date (refer Table 2). In addition, you must upload a PDF version of this document on to LMS .

Submission 2 Final Research Thesis Prepare

a) two printed and bound copies (spiral binding, clear plastic cover)

and

b) an electronic version (PDF file) of your typed Research Thesis.

Schools will allow you to access facilities to print your Research Thesis. Please find out individual School arrangements from your supervisor(s). Submit the two printed and bound copies of the Research Thesis by the due date (see Table 2) to the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences reception, Ground Floor Agriculture Central Wing. (The Research Proposal must be attached at the back as an appendix and a FNAS assignment cover sheet must be attached to the top of each copy.)

AND Upload the electronic PDF version of the Research Thesis (with the Research Proposal attached at the back) onto LMS.

AND ATTENTION STUDENTS IN THE AREAS OF:

Geology Geography

Urban and Regional Planning You are required to submit a third unbound printed copy of the thesis for archiving with the School of Earth and Environment. All theses will be archived electronically for future reference.

Students are required to submit all data to their supervisor and to retain a copy of their data for one year after completing their course. The assessment guide for the Research Thesis that you will receive following assessment can be found on the following pages. Your final mark and written feedback on the Research Thesis will not be released until after final unit marks are officially released by the University.

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Assessment Sheet for Research Theses (except Social Science/ Economics)


Mark Mark

Presentation: 10 • Logical, clear and concise style of writing

• Free of typographical and spelling mistakes, colloquial expressions and jargon

• Statements beyond broad common knowledge supported by evidence (references)

• Text is rewritten, not plagiarised


• Adequate acknowledgement of intellectual, physical and financial assistance

• Title is informative without verbosity

• Journal followed for style is indicated as a byline or footnote to the title

Comments:

Abstract: 5

• Covers the purpose of the investigation, its methods, results and implications in a clear and concise manner

Comments:

Introduction: 15

• A concise background to the problem with well-chosen literature to support the development of the aims and hypotheses

• A clear statement of the purpose (ideas, hypotheses) of the investigation which follows (concludes) logically from the background

• Identification of the scientific, technical or social needs of the investigation

• A plan and anticipated outcomes of the investigation

Comments:

30

Materials and Methods: 15

• Fully documented and referenced

• Clearly described such that the method can be followed by another investigator

• Methods used are appropriate to test the hypotheses

• Clear description of the statistical tools used and how they were used (if appropriate)

Comments:

Results: 25

• Cover the information anticipated from the introduction and methods

• Logical order of presentation of results

• Best choice of alternatives for depiction of results (figures and tables)

• Figures and tables can be interpreted (read) on their own without reference to text

• Emphasis on important findings

• High quality figures and tables (e.g. easy to view, include all necessary elements)

• Figures and tables formatted consistently throughout and free of errors

• Non-repetitive methods of presentation (e.g. does not repeat in words what is already shown in good Figures or Tables, but describes results quantitatively)

• Adequate level of expertise in techniques (chemical, physical, biological, environmental), data gathering instruments (e.g. surveys) and numerical and statistical analyses

• Presents but does not discuss results; prepares for discussion of results

Comments:

Discussion: 25

• Interprets results presented in the previous section in relation to the stated hypotheses or aims

• Does not repeat results but may give reference to the results

• Integrates new findings with existing information

• Makes strong statements and conclusions

• Recognises the limitations of the investigation

• Addresses the management implications, relevance of the work to industry or the scientific community

• May make suggestion for further research

Comments:

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References: 5

• Complete and up-to-date, accurate, relevant

• Sourced from the primary peer-reviewed literature or published reports

• Without substantial reliance on web-based references

• Consistently formatted as found in the peer-reviewed scientific journal of choice - the student has provided the first and last page of an article from this journal in an appendix as a guide to the referencing format.


Comments:


Other comments: PERCENTILE: Of all similar work you have assessed at this level, what percentile is this work? (tick box)



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Assessment Sheet for Research Theses (Social Science/ Economics)

Assessment Guidelines Maximum Allocated Mark Mark

Presentation: 10 • Title is informative without verbosity

• Logical, clear, concise and balanced style of writing

• Free of typographical, grammatical and spelling mistakes

• Free of jargon and colloquial expressions

• Statements beyond broad common knowledge supported by evidence (references)

• Proper acknowledgement and citation of sources (no plagiarism)


• Adequate acknowledgement of intellectual, physical and financial assistance

• Journal followed for style is indicated as a byline or footnote to the title

Comments:

Abstract: 5

• Covers the purpose of the investigation, its methods, results and implications in a clear and concise manner

Comments:

Introduction: 15

• A concise background to the problem with well-chosen literature to support the development of the aims and hypothesis of the research

• A clear statement of the purpose (ideas, hypotheses) of the investigation which follows logically from the background

• Identification of the scientific, technical or social significance of the investigation

• A plan and anticipated outcomes of the investigation

Comments:

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Theoretical Framework or Economic Model, Methodology & Methods 15

• Demonstration of an adequate understanding of the theoretical background or framework

• A review of alternative approaches to addressing the issue being investigated

• A justification and detailed development of the model/methodology of the approach taken

• A clear statement of the resources used, including secondary and primary data collected

• Clear description so that the method can be followed and results replicated by another investigator

• Methods used should be appropriate for the hypotheses being tested

• Fully documented and referenced

Comments:

Results: 25

• Presents a clear description of the statistical tools used and how they were used (if appropriate)

• Follows a logical order of presentation of results, in particular if there are multiple components to model development

• Demonstrates an adequate level of expertise in data gathering (e.g. surveys), analysis and interpretation

• Employs best choice of alternatives for depiction of results (figures and tables)

• Includes figures and tables that can be interpreted (read) on their own without reference to text, that are properly numbered and captioned and are of a high standard (e.g. easy to view, including legends and all other necessary elements) and are formatted consistently throughout and free of errors

• Follows a non-repetitive method of presentation and does not repeat in words what is already shown in good Figures or Tables but complements the figures and tables by describing, and possibly quantifying, the results.

Comments:

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Discussion and Conclusion: 25

• Covers the information anticipated from the introduction and methods

• Presents alternative analyses of a particular issue, including sensitivity analysis when appropriate

• Emphasis on important findings

• Interprets results with reference to the stated hypotheses or aims

• Integrates new findings with existing information

• Recognises the limitations of the investigation

• Makes appropriate and strong statements and conclusions that are supported by the analysis

• Addresses the management or policy implications of the findings and interpretations, and identifies relevance of the work to industry, the scientific community or society

• Identifies any limitations of current study and makes suggestion for further research

Comments:

References: 5

• Complete, up-to-date, accurate, and relevant

• Sourced from the primary peer-reviewed literature or published reports

• Without substantial reliance on web-based references

• Consistently formatted as found in the peer-reviewed scientific journal of choice - the student has provided the first and last page of an article from this journal in an appendix as a guide to the referencing format.


Comments:

TOTAL OF SECTION MARKS 100 Other comments:

PERCENTILE: Of all similar work you have assessed at this level, what percentile is this work? (tick box)



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Marking Scale for the Research Thesis The Research Thesis (70% overall mark) will be assigned to one of the groupings below. 90–100: An outstanding document demonstrating excellence in terms of conceptualisation, theoretical framework or previous experimental research leading to derivation of hypotheses as described in the introduction, the use of rigorous or innovative methodology, a mastery of statistical methods and presentation of results, the capacity to discuss the results in an analytic manner, skilful treatment of unexpected or inconsistent results, or a recognition of some limitation of the methodology, and integration of the findings within the theoretical framework or empirical background outlined in the introduction or an alternative framework if appropriate. Excellent written expression, organisation and format. 80-89: As for 90-100 but with some trivial weakness, such as in the presentation or structure, or some minor inconsistency or oversight in the arguments, or a discussion that does not fully exploit the findings or links with theory or previous empirical research. 70-79: For a document showing excellence in one or two aspects of conceptualization, hypothesis development, methodology, statistical analysis or discussion, but no particular strengths elsewhere, or for a generally good document with some weaknesses or flaws which are offset by some excellent features. Very good written expression, organisation and format. 65-69: For a good piece of work with structured arguments leading to the development of hypotheses, appropriate methodology and statistical treatments and an accurate interpretation of the results, but lacking excellence in any of the parts. 60-64: For a generally sound document with minor misconceptions, inconsistencies or omissions in one or more areas, or poor organisation or incorrect interpretation of the results, or an inability to recognise the limitations of the methodology, or limited evidence of independent thought or execution. 50 –59: For an adequate document but one that contains a number of misconceptions, inconsistencies or omissions, or unrecognised deficiencies in methodology, misinterpretation of the statistical analysis, lack of integration with theoretical or empirical framework, or inadequate evidence of independent thought or effort. Poorly organized. <50: For a document with major problems in conceptualisation or execution, or inability to present arguments coherently and with clarity. Clear evidence of plagiarism in written content.

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RESEARCH Thesis

Supervisor Statement This statement shall be provided to each assessor o f the Research Thesis. If there are multiple supervisors, then this form should be fill ed out by the Coordinating UWA supervisor in consultation with the other supervisors. Please DO NOT include comments about the mark or gr ade you believe the student ought to receive for their work. Any statements that includ e such comments will be returned to the supervisor for revision. Student: As the supervisor(s) of the above student I/we make the following comments about the:

1. Student’s level of independence including data a nalysis


□ 60-70 Average □ 50-60 Below average □ < 50 Poor

2. Any external factors hampering progress (illness , equipment failure, supervisor availability, etc.)

Additional comments Coordinating Supervisor Name: Coordinating Supervisor Signature: Name of Co-Supervisor: Name of Co-Supervisor:

All supervisors were consulted in the preparation o f this statement. □Yes □ No If not, please explain.

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RESEARCH SEMINAR

You will present a research talk in the FNAS Research Conference, which will be held towards the end of the semester in which you complete your project (see Table 2). You must submit two items prior to the conference: an Abstract and a PowerPoint file. It is extremely important that these items are submitted on time as they are required for the research conference. The PowerPoint file is due no later than 10am the day before the conference. It is imperative that this file is not submitted late.

Submission of Abstract Prior to the conference, you will submit an abstract on to LMS by the due date (see Table 2). Refer to the example on the next page and others posted on LMS.

The Abstract will be printed in the FNAS Research Conference Programme.

Upload your electronic version of the Abstract on to LMS.

Formatting instructions Text: use Times New Roman, 12 point, single spacing.

Margins: Left side 3 cm, Right side 2 cm, Top 2 cm, Bottom 3 cm.

Use the following headings:

• Presentation title • Authors (presenting author should be in bold) • Abstract (350 words maximum) • Keywords (list up to six keywords) Select from the list of research areas (remove items from the list that are NOT applicable)

Save the document as “yourlastnameabstract.doc” and upload it on to LMS

(e.g. Stewart.doc)

Submission of Power Point

You will also need to upload your PowerPoint files on to LMS no later than 10 am the day before the conference (see Table 2). It is imperative that this file is not submitted late.

The version of your PowerPoint presentation that you submit to LMS is the version you will use during your seminar. Students are not allowed to bring their own PowerPoint on the day of the conference.

Like all aspects of the Research Project, you should get feedback from your supervisors about your PowerPoint slides. Show your supervisor your PowerPoint slides at least a week before the conference, so that you will have time to apply the feedback they give you.

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Research Seminar

The research seminars will be 15 minutes in length with an additional 5 minutes for questions and discussion. These talks will be assessed. The presentation is worth 10% of the overall mark for the Research Thesis. Students are expected to outline their research results including adequate background for the audience to be able to judge the significance of the results. The students must clearly indicate whether the results support or do not support their hypotheses or whether they do or do not satisfy their aims. The assessment criteria can be found on the following pages. The Assessment Sheets will be returned to the students as feedback.

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FNAS RESEARCH CONFERENCE

EXAMPLE OF ABSTRACT SUBMISSION Presentation title: Using remote sensing to find lost lambs Authors (presenting author should be in bold): Bo Peep, Boy Blue, and Mary Contrary Affiliation (School): Abstract (350 word limit): One of the critical problems in sheep production is the retention of young lambs in the flock. Young lambs wander from their mothers and become lost. We used remote sensing to locate lost lambs. Through the use of this technique we were able to recover 90% of lost lambs and successfully reunite them with their mothers. The remains of the other lambs were also located by remote sensing. While the cause of death was not confirmed, it is suspected that predators such as foxes were responsible. Keywords (list up to six keywords): for example- Merino sheep, GIS, lamb survival, maternal care, animal production Select from the following list of research areas (remove items from the list that are NOT applicable)

� Crop production � Animal production � Crop protection and pest

management � Plant breeding and crop

selection � Pasture improvement � Wildlife management � Conservation biology of plants � Conservation biology of

animals � Soil properties and processes � Mining resources � Geology � Geography � Urban and regional planning

� Environmental health � Minesite rehabilitation � Land and water management � Agricultural economics � Economic geology � Animal physiology � Animal behaviour � Plant physiology � Marine science � Evolutionary biology

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Assessment Sheet for Research Seminar


Mark Mark

Attributes of the speaker 10

Voice : Volume - can they be heard at the back of the room?

Speed - neither too slow nor too fast

Appearance & Stance: Relaxed, not nervous or agitated

Confident and apparently knows subject

Audience contact 10 Eye Contact : General rather than selective eye contact for certain people or no eye contact (i.e. looking at ceiling or notes only) Voice Contact : Minimal use of “Umm” and other distracting habits Involving the audience by the use of “You” Timing to allow audience to absorb important messages

Structure and Content of the talk 50 Opening - setting the scene by describing the content, but particularly the main message of the seminar

Logical development with clear and frequent summaries of the material

Knowledge of the topic

Conclusion and summing up to relate to the opening

The student keeps to time

Use and quality of visual aids 20

Effective use of "dead time" (when audience is absorbed in the overhead)

Smooth transition from text to screen and back

Clear indication of the parts of the screen to which the speaker is referring

Timing of visual aids and length of time that they are visible

Annoying distractions like unwanted shadows, poor centering, overly busy

Clarity and size (can they easily be seen from the back of the room?)

Quantity of material to be absorbed

Did they complement the talk?

Questions 10 Clarity and correctness of answers

Confidence in answering

Ability to say "no" or "I don't know" without losing face


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FACULTY POLICY ON PLAGIARISM Cooperation in the creation and pursuit of knowledge is encouraged and often necessary. However, cooperation must be distinguished from plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking someone else’s thought, writing or invention and claiming it as your own. The work of people in the university is the creation and pursuit of knowledge. Therefore, plagiarism is the theft of someone else’s work. Plagiarism is viewed as serious misconduct by this university and this document should be read with other university guidelines and policies. The policy of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences is to ensure that students and staff are aware of the nature of plagiarism, of how to prevent it, and of the penalties that can result from acts of plagiarism. All forms of cheating, plagiarism and copying are condemned by the University as unacceptable behaviour. The Faculty’s policy is to ensure that no student profits from such behaviour. Generally a failure will be recorded for the subject in which the cheating has occurred. Serious cases shall be referred to the University’s Board of Discipline. All students should note that cases of copying are automatically reported to the Dean and documentary evidence along with associated correspondence is placed on the student’s permanent record Examples of Plagiarism Examples of the most common types of plagiarism follow. These are examples only, not regulations. Nor are these examples an exhaustive list and other types of plagiarism may occur and must be dealt with. General

1. Failing to cite published or unpublished work of other people.

2. Copying text verbatim without quoting the original work and attributing the work to its rightful author.

Students

3. Two or more students cooperating to complete an exercise or assignment but then handing in identical answers, unless the exercise or assignment is a group project.

4. One student copying another student’s assignment.

5. Using the ideas of a supervisor or peer without proper acknowledgment.

6. Omitting supervisors as co-authors in publications arising from your supervised study where supervisors have contributed in a substantial way to the conception, execution or interpretation of the work.

Supervisors and Academic Staff

7. Publishing the essay or thesis of a student except as a co-author.

8. Publishing the ideas, methods, data or writings of peers without either obtaining their permission or including them as co-authors.

9. Being an “honorary author” of an article without contributing in a substantial way to the conception, execution or interpretation of the work.

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Remedies Plagiarism by students will be penalised under University Statute 17 Section 2(2)g which defines misconduct as acting dishonestly or unfairly on examinations and test, or in the preparation and presentation of a thesis, essay, exercise or other work. Section 9(1)c empowers the Dean of the Faculty to deprive a student of credit if he or she acts dishonestly or unfairly. In practice, the Dean will delegate responsibility to instructors who must detect and penalise plagiarism.

1. Plagiarism by students and staff in a publication will be taken up directly with the Editor of the book or article in question.

2. Two or more students who hand in identical assignments will have the mark split between them. For example, if three students hand in identical assignments, the assignment will be marked and each student will receive one third of the marks.

3. A student who copies another student’s assignment will receive a mark of zero. Further infractions by the student will result in disciplinary action by the Dean.

4. A student who fails to give proper credit to other work will receive lower marks at the discretion of the instructor.

5. Honorary authors may be deleted from a published work, even after publication. Likewise, omitted authors may be included.

Appeals against academic assessment Full regulations governing appeals procedures are available in the University Handbook, available online at http://www.aps.uwa.edu.au/home/policies/appeals

Charter of Student Rights See: http://www.aps.uwa.edu.au/home/policies/charter

Guild Student Centre contact details See: http://www.guild.uwa.edu.au/home/student_assistance

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APPENDIX 1 CALCULATION OF THE HONOURS MARK Calculation of Honours The Honours calculation is based on the student's mark in the relevant research project therefore the student's weighted average over the relevant research project (24 points) and the highest scoring Level 3, 4 or 5 units (24 points) for a total of 48 points. Given that the granting of Honours is designed to reflect proficiency in a large research project, the overall Honours grade cannot be higher than the grade achieved for the 24 point research project. Classification of honours Honours are awarded as follows:

CLASSIFICATION WEIGHTED AVERAGE IN UNITS

MINIMUM MARK FOR RESEARCH PROJECT

H1 80% to 100% 80%

2A 70% to 79% 70%

2B 65% to 69% 65%

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SUPERVISOR CONTACT SHEET

This form is to be completed by staff members and handed back to the student. If you agree to supervise the student, please sign the form at the bottom. For

enquiries, contact the Administrative Unit Coordinator.

Student name: ____________________________________________________________________ Student ID number: ______________________________

Date Details of staff member approached

Agreement to supervision

of proposed project CONTACT (i.e. email/phone)

Name (tick one and state reason)

Yes No Reason

Signature of supervisor agreeing to supervise:________________________________________________________ Date: _____________________

Name of supervisor agreeing to supervise (please print):_____________________________________________

Documents

FNAS Research Thesis · 2012-03-23 · The final output of your research project will be a Research Thesis similar in content and context to a peer-reviewed research article in a