Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Civil Engineering School
The course enables students to develop research skills and gain specialised knowledge in a particular sub-field of civil engineering. After this course, students will have completed a critical review of literature in their chosen sub-field, developed a research plan and conducted scientific investigations (analytical, experimental or numerical) and accompanying data analyses. These activities will position the students to continue on advanced research courses if they choose to do so. Therefore, the study encompasses a well-planned and executed research exercise. The topics available for this course cover several areas in civil engineering. Finally, the students will produce a research report that describes their research methods, results and and a critical discussion of their results.
The course enables students to develop research skills and gain specialised knowledge in a particular subfield of civil engineering.
In this course, students will:
- Choose a research subfield via the Thesis Database and engage with a supervisor,
- Complete a critical review of the literature of the chosen subfield and design a research proposal in the Progress Report,
- Develop a research plan and conduct scientific investigations (analytical, experimental, or numerical) and accompanying data analyses,
- Deliver the research background, questions, methods, outcome and conclusion through Final Reports
Information regarding Civil Research Projects and Research Thesis offerings can be found at https://civil.uq.edu.au/current-students/coursework-research-projects.
The topics available for this Research Course cover several areas of civil engineering and can be found at EAIT projects.
CONFIDENTIALITY:
If you are working with an industry partner who would like you to make your thesis confidential, please contact studentenquiries@civil.uq.edu.au and EAIT - Placements studentplacements@eait.uq.edu.au with the following details:
- Company Name and Address
- Company contact name and email address
- Your student ID
- Course code and Name of School
- Project description (brief description is ok)
- Title of thesis
- Start and end date of thesis
- Academic supervisor
- Company supervisor name and contact details.
- Whether an embargo is required on your thesis. And if so, how long (an embargo may be required if the company wishes for your thesis to be kept confidential).
- Is the company supporting you via a stipend? If so, what is the dollar value of that stipend?
Course requirements
Assumed background
This course should only be attempted in the final two semesters of a student's program. A good understanding of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year courses relevant to the project topic is assumed.
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
CIVL4560 or CIVL4583 or CIVL4584 or CIVL4604 or CIVL4606
Course staff
Course coordinator
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
The course is designed to help students develop research skills and gain specialized knowledge in a particular field of the civil engineering profession.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Formulate an engineering problem from a limited brief
LO2.
Critically evaluate previous research
LO3.
Apply project management techniques to plan and carry out a small engineering research project in the allocated time frame, within the available resources and in a safe and ethical manner
LO4.
Generate appropriate evidence through a reproducible method that is suitable for drawing sound conclusions
LO5.
Evaluate critically the outcomes of your research
LO6.
Develop evidence-based arguments to support conclusions
LO7.
Report the rationale and findings in a written document
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Progress Report
|
30% |
14/04/2025 4:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Final Report
|
70% |
9/06/2025 |
Assessment details
Progress Report
- Identity Verified
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
14/04/2025 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L07
Task description
The individually written Progress Report aims to assess the students' ability to formulate, manage and execute a research plan with advice from their supervisor.
The report document must include:
- Introduction – Describe the background of the research project, the issues that need to be investigated and the importance of solving these issues
- Literature review – Critically review existing literature regarding this research topic, summarise what has been carried out previously, and identify the key aspects that can be improved in the subsequent studies. Based on the review, identify the key research questions, and list the research objectives of this study aiming to answer the research questions
- Research plan – Describe the detailed plans to carry out the project, use a Gantt chart to tabulate the time plan of the project.
- Work to Date – Use texts, figures and tables to show the work completed since the start of the project
- Health and safety (optional) – If the project is carried out in the field or the lab, list the risk assessment and inductions to be carried out
- References – List the literature cited throughout the report
Use the Final Report template provided in Blackboard Learning resources to prepare the Progress Report.
The expected length of the Progress Report's Main Content, excluding tables of contents, references, and appendices, should be approximately 7 pages (for a two-unit one-semester Research Project course CIVL4600).
The Progress Report will be assessed by the students' supervisor.
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assessment must be submitted through the course BlackBoard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Final Report
- Identity Verified
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 70%
- Due date
9/06/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07
Task description
An individual written Final Report describing the research in detail. The report document must include:
- Abstract – Summarise the research background, gaps, methods, findings, conclusions, and implications using about 500 words. The abstract needs to be informative and concise so that readers can well understand your research without reading the whole report).
- Introduction – Describe the background of the research area (e.g., industry sector/natural environments, use numbers to emphasise the significance of the industry/environment, how it is operated/functioning), then narrow down the identified issues of the research area and the importance of solving the issue.
- Literature review – Use your own words (rather than copy their abstract) to review and comment on how the previous studies were carried out to address the identified issues, list the key research gaps of the past studies, and the hypothesis and the objectives of the study that can fill these gaps.
- Research methods – Introduce the research tools used in the study (e.g., fieldwork, lab experiment, mathematical modelling or database). Use your own words to describe the procedures of the study (e.g., experimental steps, pre and post-process data). List the solutions used to fix any issues found during the studies (e.g., water leaking, missing data).
- Results and discussion – Use tables and figures to detail the findings of your study, and use text to highlight the key information in the tables and figures. The discussion summarises all the findings presented by the tables and figures and compares the overall findings with previous studies.
- Conclusion – Summaries the background, gaps, method and findings. Note that the conclusion is not a repetition of the abstract as it emphasises more on the significance of the research background, the implications of your study, the limitations of this study, and the recommendation on how future studies should be conducted.
- References – list all of the references cited in the main report.
- Appendix (Optional) – Place computer codes, large tables or figures generated by your research. Most of the reviewers would not read your appendix unless your argument in the main contents is not clear.
While there are overlaps between the Progress Report and the Final Report, such as the Introduction and Literature Review, the Final Report is expected to address these sections in greater depth than the Progress Report.
A template of the Final Report and past example reports are provided in the Blackboard learning resources. The suggested length of the Final Report's Main Content, excluding tables of contents, references, and appendices is around 20 pages for this two-unit one-semester course (CIVL4600).
The marking rubric of the Final Report can be found here.
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assessment must be submitted through the course BlackBoard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: (Fail) The research work is incomplete or inadequate. Some assessment items are missing. |
| 2 (Fail) | 20 - 44 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 2 (Fail) The research work is very unsatisfactory or inadequate. Some assessment items are incomplete or missing. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 45 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: 3 (Fail) The research work is unsatisfactory, with either incomplete or missing assessment items. |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 4 (Pass) All items of assessment submitted. The student demonstrates a sound knowledge of the relevant technical information and at least a partial understanding of research methods. Has some correct and some incorrect information. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 5 (Pass with credit) All items of assessment submitted. The student demonstrates a good knowledge of the relevant technical information and a good understanding of research methods. There are only minor factual inaccuracies. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 6 (Pass with distinction)ﾠAll items of assessment submitted.ﾠResearch skills are evidenced in the student's work and mastery of technical information. There is a demonstrated ability to identify and solve previously unseen problems using critical thinking and established research processes. There are only minor factual inaccuracies and no irrelevant information. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 7 (Pass with high distinction)ﾠAll items of assessment submitted.ﾠMastery of technical information and research methods is evident, along with high-level critical analysis and an ability to synthesize information from different sources. There are no factual inaccuracies and no irrelevant information. |
Additional course grading information
Grade cutoffs and hurdles
Final (total) marks will be rounded up to an integer value prior to applying hurdles or grade boundaries.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
All students are supervised by an academic, with regular meetings throughout the semester. The supervisor will verify the final report is the student's own work to satisfy the Identity Verified Assessment requirement.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Not Timetabled |
Scientific investigation The Civil Research Project course is organised in the following steps: Project selection (Week1 - Week 2):
Project commencement (Week 2 - Week 4): Discuss with your supervisor about how to carry out the research project. List all necessary resources and work health and safety requirements, which may include:
Scientific investigation (Week 1 - Week 13): With the relevant tools/site access/resources available, you will execute the investigation as per the discussion with your supervisor:
You will need to work on the two-unit one-semester research project course (CIVL4600) for about 10 hours per week. Progress Report (due on Week 8) See the assessment section for details Final Report (due on Examination Week 1) See the assessment section for details Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: