Assessment 1- Class participation

This is an ongoing individual assessment from Week 1 to Week 10, which is worth 10% of the unit final mark.

Students should participate in the subject week by week in both the Canvas forums and in class sessions. Evaluations to be based on quality and quantity of the post(s) and contributions.

Canvas posts will mainly be marked on relevance, frequency, follow-up posting, content contribution, references & support, and clarity.

Weight: 10% of final mark

Due: Multiple weeks

Assessment 2- Personal Reflection

This is an ongoing individual assessment from Week 1 to Week 6, which is worth 10% of the unit final mark. 

Students are required to complete the personal reflection by answering the three questions in the personal reflection template (allocated in each week in the after-class activities section in Canvas). After answering the three questions, students need to export their reflection, save it as a word or pdf document and submit it in Canvas.  

Weight: 10% of final mark

Due: Multiple weeks

Assessment 3- Provisional research topic and initial research question, aims and objectives

This is an individual assessment which is worth 5% of the unit final mark.

It is marked relative to the first learning outcome:

LO1- Identify a suitable topic for research on project studies and construct a clear research question and develop research aims and objectives

In this assignment, the students are required to complete and submit the research topic, problem statement, main question, aims and objectives template by the end of Week 2. The students will be provided with a list of broad research topics that align with the research themes in the School of Project Management and the research interests of the academic staff in the School of Project Management who would be the potential supervisors for Thesis A and Thesis B.

The research question and aims and objectives could be refined after conducting the literature review.

Students need to review two relevant peer reviewed journal articles to support the formulation of their research question, aims and objectives. One article should be from one of the following Project Management journals Journal articles should be recent (published within the past 5 years) and relevant to the research topic.

International Journal of Project Management

Project Management Journal

Weight: 5% of final mark

Due: 11.59 pm, 13 August 2023 (Week 2)

Assessment 4- Plan and conduct search technique, evaluate the literature and write the literature review

This is an individual assessment which is worth 20% of the unit final mark

This assessment is marked relative to the second learning outcome:

LO2- Plan and conduct appropriate techniques to search for papers in the project studies literature, review and evaluate the relevant literature, write a related literature review, avoid plagiarism and cite references correctly.

First, the student is expected to evaluate the source information, explain the search strategy will be used, then to write the literature review.   The Literature Review will summarise, critique and synthesise the literature relevant to the student’s topic. The student is expected to draw from an extensive range of sources, emphasising peer-reviewed academic publications. The Review should culminate by establishing a gap in the literature, that the student’s research will address, as can be achieved within the scope of a masters program.

The Literature Review will be 1,500 - 3,000 words. Note that the Literature Review submitted for this assessment may be slightly different to the final version submitted in the full thesis, in terms of formatting and word length. It is expected that students will edit their Literature Review based on assessment feedback, before inclusion in the final thesis.

Literature review will be marked based on the marking criteria in the rubric.

Weight: 20% of final mark

Length: 1,500 - 3,000 words

Due: 11.59 pm, Sun 10 Sep 2023 (Week 6)

Assessment 5- Thesis assessment

This is a group assessment, which is worth 20% of the unit final mark.

This assessment is marked relative to the all of the unit learning outcomes (LO1 – LO5). 

Students will be provided with a list of previous theses completed by research students in a variety of project management topics

Each week from Week 1 to Week 6, the students will work in groups and will a relevant part of the allocated thesis based on the weekly topic. Students will stay in their group from Week 1 to Week 6.

The group is expected to read and assess the thesis’s part before the class, and they will be allowed time to meet in the class and discuss their assessment. Each group will require to prepare a one page thesis part assessment and will submit it weekly.

Weight: 20% of final mark

Due: Multiple weeks

Assessment 6- Individual proposal poster

This is an individual assessment which is worth 10% of the unit final mark. It maps to all of the unit learning outcomes (LO1-LO5).

Students are required to submit a poster that summarises their research proposal. All submissions are online via Canvas. In addition, students are required to print out an A3 poster and submit it to the unit coordinator in hand during the class in Week 12. All students are required to present their poster in a research forum that will take place in Week 13.

The poster will be marked based on the content and presentation.

Weight: 10% of final mark

Due: 11.59 pm Mon 23 Oct (Week 12 class)

Assessment 7- Individual proposal

This is an individual assessment, which is worth 25% of the unit final mark.

The Research Proposal will summarise, critique and synthesise the literature relevant to the student’s topic. It will then detail how the student will conduct their research, in terms of their data collection method, analysis approach, ethical considerations, and quality criteria relevant to the validity and/or reliability of their research.

Students are expected to draw from an extensive range of sources, emphasising peer-reviewed academic publications. It is expected that students should only summarise the literature review they conducted and submitted in week 6 - they will need to insert any additional literature added since their submission in week 6.

Weight: 25% of final mark

Length: 2,500 - 5,000 words

Due: 11.59 pm, Sun 19 Nov (Week 15: final exam period)

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.

*Attendance Requirements:

Students are expected to attend a minimum of 90 percent of timetabled activities for a unit of study unless granted exception by the Dean or Head of School most concerned. A student may be determined to fail a unit of study because of inadequate attendance. Alternatively, at their discretion, they may set additional assessment items where attendance is lower than 90 percent.  Please see the Resolutions of the Faculty - Faculty of Engineering - The University of Sydney for further details.

Text-matching software for Assignment Submission:

As part of the assessment process, text matching software such as Turnitin may be used to identify plagiarism and/or be used for providing feedback.

Confidential Peer Evaluation:

As part of the group contribution assessment process, collaborative & self-peer evaluation tools (e.g. SparkPlus, CATME, etc.) may be used, either on a confidential or non-confidential basis, to understand contributions and interactions amongst group members. Marks may be adjusted for an individual team member, following on from the peer evaluation process.

Reliability of Canvas Marks:

Canvas will be used in this unit and while key assessments may be submitted via Canvas, it cannot be used to determine/ predict a student’s final marks in this unit. Not all assessment results may be visible to students and group/team marks can change for each individual team member based on the peer-evaluations conducted at the end of the semester.

Recycling Assignments Not Allowed:

Recycling involves submitting (or resubmitting) your own work that has already been assessed without the permission of the lecturer of this unit, and for which you have already been given feedback. Recycling is a form of academic dishonesty and will be handled in line with the coursework policy.

Mark Moderation:

There may be statistically defensible moderation when combining the marks from each component to ensure consistency of marking between markers, and alignment of final grades with unit outcomes.

Workshop Participation:

It is expected that students turn on the cameras during online workshops. Failure to do so, will result in the student being requested to show cause and failure to comply could be viewed as non-participation for assessment purposes.