Outline

Overview

This unit requires students to commence the conduct of their own research projects under the supervision of a member of staff and write a dissertation of 12000 words (completed in the second semester of enrolment in MECO6905). In some cases these projects will give students the opportunity to extend lines of enquiry suggested by units of study already completed for the degree. In other cases, students may have an interest in an area not covered by the coursework programs offered during their candidature that can be developed as a supervised project.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Media and Communications
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	24 credit points from Digital Communication and Cultures or Media Practice or Health Communication or Strategic Public Relations or Publishing degree tables
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	MECO6928 or MECO6932 or MECO6935 or MECO6947
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Agata Mrva-Montoya, agata.mrva-montoya@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Agata Mrva-Montoya, agata.mrva-montoya@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Research proposal and drafts as required More information is available on Canvas.	0%	Ongoing	n/a
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

The assessments: the research proposal, ethics application (if required), draft method or theoretical framework, and draft literature review contribute towards the dissertation.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Work of outstanding quality, demonstrating an excellent standard of written English and of criticism, logical argument, interpretation of materials or use of methodology. Evidence of extensive research and use of primary sources, a thoughtful structure, substantial additional work and independent learning. This grade may be given to recognise particular originality or creativity.
Distinction	75 - 84	Work of superior quality, demonstrating a command of language, sound grasp of content, efficient organisation and selectivity. Evidence of relevant research, additional work and independent learning.
Credit	65 - 74	A sound performance, competent and appropriate. Work that is well written and demonstrates good research skills. Demonstrates a clear grasp of the basic skills and knowledge. Work of good quality, showing more than satisfactory achievement.
Pass	50 - 64	A satisfactory attempt to meet the demands of the assignment. Demonstrates understanding and command of basic skills and core knowledge. The assignment may have significant weaknesses, or may not be wholly successful or coherent, but shows at least satisfactory achievement in more important aspects.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	First meeting with supervisor: schedule meetings for remaining semester	Seminar (0.5 hr)
Week 03	Second meeting with supervisor	Seminar (0.5 hr)
Week 05	Third meeting with supervisor: submit ethics application if needed	Seminar (0.5 hr)
Week 07	Fourth meeting with supervisor: submit draft method or theoretical framework	Seminar (0.5 hr)
Week 10	Fifth meeting with supervisor	Seminar (0.5 hr)
Week 12	Sixth meeting with supervisor: submit draft literature review	Seminar (0.5 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. understand the principles and practices of scholarly research for dissertation writing
LO2. plan and write a research proposal, a research plan and where necessary, an ethics application
LO3. demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between research design and choice of methods
LO4. demonstrate an understanding of the ethical implications of the chosen research method
LO5. engage with existing scholarship in a specific field of inquiry and identify an area for explication, elaboration or addition to knowledge in that field
LO6. understand the generic requirements of a literature review
LO7. demonstrate a detailed understanding of the production processes of scholarly composition, referencing and attribution at an advanced level
LO8. demonstrate use of appropriate media, tools and methodologies to produce a dissertation
LO9. use information in critical, creative and scholarly thinking

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

We value your opinion and regularly review our operations based on this feedback

Additional information

Research Ethics

Student research involving human interaction (for example observation, interviewing, filming or questionnaires of any kind) has ethical implications. This research will need clearance by the University Human Ethics Committee prior to implementation. Your supervisor will advise you as to whether clearance is required for your project and if it is, will assist you in preparing and submitting the application. If your project likely requires ethics clearance, you will need to attend to this as early as possible after enrolment to ensure sufficient time to conduct your research.

For details on human ethics guidelines and application procedures, see:

http://sydney.edu.au/research_support/ethics/human/

Research Students In MECO

Masters Dissertation students are considered part of our research school and are encouraged to attend the honours students seminars in MECO and other research seminars organised by the Department. Please contact your supervisor for more information. Please ask your supervisor to have your name added to the mailing list for Sydney Ideas and the Media at Sydney seminars.

Dissertation Guides

SUPRA produces a useful guide to writing dissertations. There are also regular workshops and classes offered by the Sydney University Learning Centre that may assist you in such aspects of dissertation writing as methodology, research, writing a literature review and presenting your work.

See http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/learning_centre/for the current program.

Supra’s Thesis, Treatise or Dissertation Guide: http://www.supra.usyd.edu.au/assets/file/Pubications/SUPRAthesisguide.pdf)

Theses@Sydney resources:

http://sydney.edu.au/library/teses/preparing.html

Proof-reading and Edting of Theses and Dissertations:

http://sydney.edu.u.au/policiies/showdoc,aspx?recnum=PDOC2011/208&RendNUM=0

Responsibilities of Supervisor and Student

Supervisor:
Dissertation students should expect from their supervisor guidance in the design of their research project (methodology), and advice in planning, timing and protocols for undertaking research. Students can expect to meet with their supervisor each fortnight for one hour.

Your supervisor will determine whether your progress in MECO6904 is adequate to proceed to MECO6905, so it is vital you attend meetings and produce draft work during this first semester of your research in time for this assessment to be made (usually in Week 13).

Student:
Once enrolment has been formalized, you should arrange a meeting with your supervisor without delay. It is generally advised that you should meet with your supervisor for a minimum of four one-hour sessions per semester, or a half-hour each fortnight. You might find that this varies at times of high output, towards the end of each semester for example, so this guide should be regarded as a minimum requirement; and you may negotiate meeting times, duration and frequency with your supervisor. While it is the student’s responsibility to submit work on time, the supervisor will guide you in establishing a feasible program of study.

Please note that anonymous marking is disabled for this unit of study.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

MECO6904: Dissertation Part 1

Semester 1, 2023 [Supervision] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect