Outline

Overview

This unit will introduce students to current standards of ethical and professional practice in clinical psychology and promote life-long learning and understanding. Students will learn to apply current relevant legal framework, mental health practice standards, and the code of ethical practice. The unit will also strengthen theory-practice links by exposing students to a range of topics that are relevant to ethical and professional issues that present in the Psychology Clinic and later in professional life, including cultural competence. Students will attend lectures on research methods and evaluation in clinical research, and a series of seminars where they will listen to second year students who will present clinical cases and brief research presentations. Within this unit of study, students will also begin to plan their own research project and submit a preliminary research proposal. All students are required to attend and contribute to discussion of case and research seminar presentations throughout the semester, and are expected to attend the School Colloquium.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Psychology Academic Operations
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Caroline Hunt, caroline.hunt@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Child protection assessment Written assignment - short answer questions	0%	Mid-semester break Due date: 19 Apr 2020 at 23:59	1 page
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Clinical case seminars discussion** Participation	0%	Multiple weeks	1-hour weekly seminars over 7 weeks
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	School Colloquium participation*** Participation	0%	Multiple weeks	At least six 1-hour colloquiums
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Clinical viva ethics* Clinical viva	0%	Week 09 Due date: 01 May 2020 at 13:30	15 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Preliminary research proposal Written assignment	0%	Week 09 Due date: 03 May 2020 at 23:59 Closing date: 22 May 2020	1 page
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Clinical ethics viva: Students will be asked to demonstrate knowledge of ethical principles and ethical decision making in response to two ethical dilemmas relevant to clinical psychology practice
Child protection assessment: Students will be required to demonstrate knowledge of child protection legislation in their responses to short-answer questions.
Clinical case seminars participation: Students will participate in a series of clinical case presentations by second year students. Students must attend all scheduled seminars.
Preliminary research proposal: Students will prove a short overview of their planned research project to demonstrate feasibility and methodological soundness.
Colloquium participation: Students will participate in the School of Psychology Colloquium presentations. They must attend 50% of the scheduled presentation, depending on their preference.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

NOTE:

*Ethics Clinical Viva Completed online via Zoom.

**Clinical case seminars – Students present clinical case seminars online via Zoom. Students participate in online case seminars via Zoom.

***Requirements to attend colloquium will be waived until the School colloquium programme is resumed.

Assessment criteria

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

Result	Code	Description
Pass with Merit	PM	The material or clinical practice substantially exceeds the expected level of competence for the stage of training. Reserved for work of an exceptionally high standard that demonstrates independent thought, originality and comprehensive knowledge of the subject area. In order to be awarded a ‘Pass with Merit’, a student needs to perform in the top 10% of students.
Pass	P	The material or clinical practice meets the expected level of competence for the stage of training. A pass is considered to signify work that is of a good to very good standard, according to the relevant expectations.
Meet with Marker	MEET	The written material or clinical practice demonstrates some misunderstanding or a minor deficiency in level of competence. The student must meet with the examiner to discuss the problems with the work. If the marker is satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, the work is given a pass. Alternatively, the student may be required to resubmit or repeat the work.
Resubmit	RE	The written material or clinical practice does not meet the required competency. The student must resubmit or repeat the work within a period of time determined by the CPU and the work will be re-marked. Resubmitted or repeated work that on this basis fails to meet the required competency will then be marked independently by a second marker, and a third marker if the two initial markers disagree. Work that is deemed to have failed to meet course requirements by two markers will be assigned a Fail.
Fail	F	The written material or clinical practice is of a sufficiently low standard, or demonstrates unethical or dangerous practice. Any piece of written work that is marked with Fail will be marked independently by a second marker, and by a third marker if the two initial markers disagree. Where required, the three markers meet to decide upon a final mark to be awarded. Work that is deemed to have failed to meet course requirements by two markers will be assigned a Fail. In most cases, written assessments and clinical practice assessments examine core clinical competencies, and the Fail mark will result in the Unit of Study being failed. For case reports awarded a Fail mark by two independent markers, the student is required to submit a new case report within one month. The case must not have been previously assessed through case report or case presentation but come from the same clinical placement as the failed case report. If the student fails the second case report, the student fails the Unit of Study and is required to repeat and re-enrol in that Unit of Study. Any Unit of Study that the student is deemed to have failed will have to be repeated, and the student will be required to re-enrol in that Unit of Study. Students are only eligible to repeat Units of Study once.

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.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

If you do not submit an assessment by the due date, and do not have an approved special consideration application, late penalties will apply. The following penalties apply for any assessment submitted late without an extension approved through special consideration: Less than 1 week late > Meet with Marker (MEET) Requirement: Student to meet with Unit Coordinator plus either Director of Clinical Training or Head of the Clinical Psychology Unit. 1-2 weeks late > Resubmit (RE) Requirement: Student to complete a new piece of work and resubmit within one week (eg. new assignment or new case report or new research report). Unit Coordinator to provide new assignment question or instructions. 2 weeks late > Fail (F) Requirement: Result reported as Fail for unit of study on student academic transcript.

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	History and philosophy of ethics in clinical psychology	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 01	Clinical case seminar	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 02	Ethical and legal aspects of the registration and regulation of psychologists; Ethical and legal aspects of report writing	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 02	Clinical case seminar	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 03	Ethical and legal aspects of boundaries, confidentiality and consent	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 03	Clinical case seminar	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 04	Ethical and legal aspects of clients who pose a risk to themselves or others	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 04	Clinical case seminar	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 05	Ethical and legal aspects of diagnosis and psychopharmacology	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 05	Clinical case seminar	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 06	Ethical and legal aspects of cyber-therapy and social media	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 06	Clinical case seminar	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 07	Ethical and legal aspects of child protection legislation	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 07	Clinical case seminar	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 09	Cultural responsiveness	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 10	Aboriginal mental health	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 11	Research methods and evaluation: Qualitative designs	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 12	Research methods and evaluation: Systematic reviews and the ethics of clinical research	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 13	Research methods and evaluation: Empirical designs	Lecture (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance requirements for this unit of study have been amended. Where online tutorials/workshops/virtual laboratories have been scheduled, students should make every effort to attend and participate at the scheduled time. Penalties will not be applied if technical issues, etc. prevent attendance at a specific online class. In that case, students should discuss the problem with the coordinator, and attend another session, if available.

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.

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. Demonstrate a knowledge and practice of clinical psychology within the code of ethical practice
LO2. Work responsively with a broad range of socially and culturally diverse clients
LO3. Undertake practice that is consistent with current relevant legal frameworks and mental health practice standards
LO4. Apply advanced psychological knowledge to culturally responsive assessment and interventions in the area of clinical psychology
LO5. Operate within the boundaries of professional competency, using peer consultation, and instigating appropriate referral practices
LO6. Critically evaluate the scientific literature to inform practice
LO7. Use a range of research methods to investigate questions to inform clinical practice.

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.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Additional information

Work, health and safety

We are governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 and Codes of Practice. Penalties for non-compliance have increased. Everyone has a responsibility for health and safety at work. The University’s Work Health and Safety policy explains the responsibilities and expectations of workers and others, and the procedures for managing WHS risks associated with University activities.

General Laboratory Safety Rules

No eating or drinking is allowed in any laboratory under any circumstances
A laboratory coat and closed-toe shoes are mandatory
Follow safety instructions in your manual and posted in laboratories
In case of fire, follow instructions posted outside the laboratory door
First aid kits, eye wash and fire extinguishers are located in or immediately outside each laboratory
As a precautionary measure, it is recommended that you have a current tetanus immunisation. This can be obtained from University Health Service: unihealth.usyd.edu.au/

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

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

PSYC6089: Research, Ethics and Professional Practice

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - 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

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect