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Master of Policy and Applied Social Research

Soc 816, 817: Individual Project Guidelines

These guidelines set out the nature and scope of the project option, how it will be assessed, the role of the supervisor and other relevant information.

Admission into the Project Option is not automatic, but conditional on the achievement of a Credit or better average in your coursework. The Convenor of MPASR will have the discretion to admit students into the project option, and to determine whether supervision is available for the topic a student wants to research.

The aim of the project option is to give students the opportunity to undertake a 12, 000 word research thesis in policy and applied social research. It should be an independent piece of research that is oriented within the conventions of academic research and has an applied research focus.

By applied we mean research that is oriented to a specific topic in any one of the following broad areas:

• Policy analysis and evaluation;
• Policy implementation;
• Service provision and service delivery;
• Consumer or service user status and rights;
• The different roles of government agencies, non-government organisations and other actors/stakeholders in policy development and implementation;
• The use and application of social research in policy and practice settings (for example, the use of quantitative and/or qualitative data in needs-based planning; or, the use of theoretical debates to inform the construction of policy options);
• The development of public/stakeholder engagement in social problem-solving and policy debate;
• Issues in broader matters of governance and institutional design;
• Uses of technology in government and governance.

The expectation is that students apply the logic of research design to the development and carrying out of a research project.

In the first stage of doing the project, students should develop a research plan that sets out the aims (including the research question), significance, background (including reference to the relevant literature), methodology of the project, and timetable for the project.

In the writing up of the project, students should include a literature review that contextualizes the research project, and brings out its significance in relation to both academic enquiry, and, as appropriate, practice or policy-oriented enquiry. The theoretical and conceptual framework of the research should be clearly presented, located in the literature and justified in relation to the research question.

Once the topic area has been decided on, students will choose a supervisor within the Sociology Department in consultation with and as advised by the Convenor of the MPASR program.

It is the responsibility of the supervisor to help the student to develop a research plan and to guide the student in the conduct and completion of the project. Students should expect to see their supervisors for an hour per fortnight although this may vary depending on the stage of the project. For example, in the early and final stages of the project contact may be more frequent, and less in the middle.

Students are responsible for keeping contact with their supervisors even just by email and keeping their supervisors informed of their progress, including any difficulties they may be experiencing.

It is the obligation of supervisors to give appropriate feedback on the research plan so that the student has clear advice about how to proceed. In some cases supervisors may recommend that the student seek advice from other academics because of their expertise and/or relevant experience.

Supervisors will also be available to read a draft of the project research paper prior to its submission, and the student should allow time for this process (supervisor reading and feedback; revisions of the paper) to occur.

It will be the case that some students want to research something that is relevant to their current employment setting. We encourage this, but it is important that the student with the assistance of his/her supervisor construct the research topic and approach so that it is independent research, that is, not driven by the perspective or needs of any one particular stakeholder.

Students need to be aware that the research paper once completed and examined enters the public domain, and that therefore it cannot contain any information that is not for public consumption.

Where students are researching human subjects (e.g. interviews, focus groups, observation), they must submit their research proposal for approval by the Macquarie University Ethics Committee and make timetabling allowance for this process -- that is build it into the timeframe and planning of the research. (Information about the Ethics Committee is under the Research Office on the Macquarie University website).

Normally projects will be completed over two semesters, and submitted by the last day of classes of the semester in which they are completed. Students who for reasons of other commitments need to take a third semester to complete the project will be able to do this, but for this option they will need to have secured the approval of their supervisor and the program convenor by the end of the preceding semester.

Students should endeavour to develop a topic area and to have negotiated a satisfactory supervision arrangement by the end of the semester preceding their enrolment in the project.

Students must use the Sociology Referencing Guidelines (which are a particular adaptation of the Harvard system as used by TASA). Copies of the Guidelines are available from the Sociology Department.

If students and/or their supervisors think it would be useful, the convenor of the MPASR program will organise a work-in-progress seminar for project candidates where they will be expected to make 20 minute presentation of their research design and where supervisors and the convenor are expected to give feedback on the project design and topic.

The individual project constitutes a quarter of the entire degree program (8 credit points). A pass in the project is required before the student can be awarded the degree.

Grounds for assessment: - the following are the kinds of criteria which examiners will use to evaluate the project:

• Is the problem or research question clearly identified and defined?
• Are the methods and concepts used appropriate to the problem?
• Has the relevant literature(s) been consulted and appropriately used to develop the project?
• Is the argument systematic and coherent?
• Is the presentation clear, appropriate and properly referenced?
• Does the report display a capacity for independent and critical thinking?
• Does the report indicate an awareness of issues in the application of knowledge?

Grades are awarded for the individual project in the same way as for all other units in the program. As of 2001, the grading system of Pass, Credit, Distinction and High Distinction will be used. A High Distinction is awarded for outstanding work and would be generally equivalent to a high First-Class honours grade. The award of either a High Distinction or Distinction to the project may indicate that the student is capable of undertaking a postgraduate research degree (PhD). However, this option is not automatic, and would need to be explored with Macquarie or another university.

Two examiners will examine the individual project: the supervisor and one other. In cases where the two examiners cannot agree on the class of grade to be awarded, the program convenor will act as a third and determining examiner.

Each of the examiners will write an examiner's report that is intended to give feedback to the student on the project, and to justify their grade recommendation. Copies of the examiner's reports will be given to the student.

The project report must not exceed 12,000 words in length.

Students are expected to submit two copies of the report, typed and bound (spiral binding is sufficient). The Sociology Department will retain one copy of the report, the other returned. Students are advised to keep a copy of the report on electronic file in case corrections are required.

Submission dates will normally be the last day of classes for the semester in which the project is to be completed. Short extensions of one to two weeks can be readily negotiated with the program convenor, and if needed, such negotiation must take place. Longer extensions for reasons of exceptional circumstances will be granted only with supporting documentation, and in these cases, students should anticipate that they may have to enrol for a further semester in order to complete the project.