Honours Thesis A
Overview
This unit prepares students to develop, design, and undertake an empirical research project. Students will learn advanced library skills and write a substantial critical literature review that justifies their individual research questions/hypotheses. They will also gain an understanding of the ethical issues involved in conducting human research and steps necessary to obtain ethical approval. Students will produce a research methods proposal, prepare ethics applications, and monitor project progress.
Requisites
Rules
Pre-requisite
300 Credit Points and Admission into BH-PSY Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) Standard Entry
OR
Admission into BH-PSYSC Bachelor of Psychological Sciences (Honours)
OR
Admission into BH-PSY1 Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) Graduate Entry
31-May-2026
Unit learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Analyse and evaluate approaches, techniques, and requirements for psychological research
- Apply appropriate principles, techniques, and technologies to the conduct of psychological research
- Communicate research concepts, processes, and findings
- Work independently and collaboratively to plan and conduct research activities
- Produce a major literature review
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online Class |
2.00 | 7 weeks | 14 |
| On-campus Lecture |
2.00 | 3 weeks | 6 |
| Specified Activities Supervisor Meetings |
1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| Unspecified Activities Various |
5.00 | 12 weeks | 60 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning |
17.33 | 12 weeks | 208 |
| TOTAL | 300 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Proposal | Individual | 10-20% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Online Quiz | Individual | 10-20% | 1,2,4 |
| Literature Review | Individual | 70-80% | 1,2,3,4,5 |
Content
- Designing and critiquing empirical research studies
- Development of research questions and hypotheses
- Locating and accessing research literature and other information sources
- Approaches and techniques for reviewing research literature
- Data collection and access considerations
- Ethical issues for research involving human participants
- 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.