Honours Thesis B
Overview
This unit develops students’ critical thinking, empirical research skills, and ability to communicate about scientific research in written and oral formats. Students will work with an academic supervisor to complete the research project they commenced in Honours Thesis A, give an oral presentation on their project work, and present their research findings in the format of an academic journal article. The unit includes opportunities to learn about issues in research and contemporary developments in specific areas of psychology, allowing students to develop their understanding of psychology research and applications outside the immediate area of their project.
Requisites
01-November-2026
31-October-2027
Unit learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Critique and synthesise advanced theory and empirical research from a variety of areas in contemporary psychology
- Apply advanced knowledge of research principles and methods to research problems
- Independently conduct psychological research: obtain empirical data, analyse data, and report on findings
- Communicate scientific ideas and research findings effectively to informed professional audiences using a variety of modes
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Activity Type | Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week | Venue Type and Activity Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-campus | Lecture | 4 | 2 weeks | 2 | |
| Live Online | Class | 16 | 8 weeks | 2 | |
| Specified Activities | Supervisor Meetings | 12 | 12 weeks | 1 | Research project supervision |
| Unspecified Activities | Various | 60 | 12 weeks | 5 | Weekly readings, posting questions, reading, discussion board posts |
| Unspecified Activities | Independent Learning | 204 | 12 weeks | 17 | Independent study, assignment preparation, revision |
| Live Online | Workshop | 4 | 1 week | 4 | Mini conference (assessed presentation). Held online. |
| Total Hours: | 300 | Total Hours (per week): | 31 | ||
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Presentation | Individual | 10-20% | 2,3,4 |
| Report | Individual | 65-85% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Test | Individual | 5-20% | 1,2 |
Content
- Completion of a research project under academic supervision.
- Analysing and interpreting research data
- Critically evaluating research methods and findings
- Oral presentations
- Reporting on research in scientific journal article style
- The unit contains lessons on specific topics. Lesson topics may differ for each delivery depending on developments in psychology and staff availability. Lessons are drawn from areas such as psychological methods, statistics, research ethics, applied social psychology, child and adolescent psychology, clinical psychology, counselling psychology, forensic psychology, health psychology, indigenous psychology, education/school psychology, organisational psychology, neuroscience and neuropsychology
- Graduate Attribute 1 (Communication 1 - Verbal Communication)
- Graduate Attribute 2 (Communication 2 - Communicating using different media)
- Graduate Attribute 5 (Digital Literacies 1 - Information literacy)
- Graduate Attribute 6 (Digital Literacies 2 - Technical literacy)
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.