This unit is intended to complement students' Honours dissertation research. By looking at a range of exemplars of research from a wide variety of fields, students will examine some of the fundamental issues of objectivity, subjectivity, reflexivity, ethics and rhetoric involved in producing knowledge through research, including social research, humanities research, and research based in creative and professional practice. Questions to be examined include: What sorts of knowledge can research produce? What issues of ethics and power are raised by different forms of research? What are the different ways in which research can be communicated, and what sorts of epistemological and ethical consequences do those ways involve? The unit also provides students with foundational knowledge and experience in the different research methods used in their disciplinary areas. Its overall aim is to assist students in becoming more informed and reflective researchers, able to engage in critical reflection on the process of undertaking research in this field.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
1. Critically evaluate the current body of research appropriate to their disciplinary area and define research problems;
2. Analyse and describe the key contributions and continuities between different areas of relevant research and creative and/or professional practice;
3. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the research process and evaluate the applicability of different research methods to their research project or professional practice;
4. Effectively communicate a research or project proposal to their peers, reflecting on their own research as well as placing that research within its broader theoretical context; and
5. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the fundamental philosophical, methodological and ethical issues involved in undertaking research or professional practice in their disciplinary area.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - use Indigenous histories and traditional ecological knowledge to develop and augment understanding of their discipline

Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

9489 Arts and Design Honours Symposium H

Assumed knowledge

None.