The content of the course will depend on the area of study selected and the format of the study negotiated with the Honours advisors. You can expect to study a number of issues as core content which can be presented using one or more teaching methods including but not limited to, lectures, seminars, group discussions, case studies, collating and reviewing the literature and other self directed learning.
This single-semester research project course forms part of your Honours program and is a companion course to the Honours research project (please ensure you also enrol in SCIE4010 & SCIE4000). This course is completed during the first semester of your honours program and you will undertake a literature review and formulate a project proposal under the supervision of an academic supervisor.
The content of the course will depend on the area of study selected and the format of the study negotiated with the Honours advisors. You can expect to study a number of issues as core content to support the development of your literature review and proposal. Content will be presented using one or more teaching methods including but not limited to, lectures, seminars, group discussions, case studies, collating and reviewing the literature and other self-directed learning.
It is assumed that you have completed a plan in a relevant discipline; have a sound working knowledge of the major technical areas of that discipline, and a desire to develop your knowledge of one of these in more depth; possess a curiosity for discovery through scholarly research; have good written and oral communication skills, and the ability to use contemporary software tools to undertake analysis and to prepare reports; and are able to manage your time effectively, to set priorities, to meet deadlines and to act in an ethical and professional manner.
You'll need to complete the following courses at the same time:
SCIE4000, SCIE4010 or SCIE4020
Restricted to BSc(Hons), BSc(Hons) (Gatton), BAgrSc(Hons), BAdvSc(Hons), BEqSc(Hons).
This course is jointly-taught with:
This courses shares content and activities with SCIE4040 In Person St Lucia and there are minimal differences between offerings.
Consultation with me is by appointment only. To make an appointment to see me, please email.
Students may also contact the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability Student Administration team for general enquiries via agriculture@enquire.uq.edu.au.
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
The aim of this course is to allow you to develop skills in independent research within an area related to your thesis. You will learn how to communicate science through the completion of a literature review. During the process you should be able to follow scientific procedures when writing, grasp the concepts of your topic, apply principles to new information, critically evaluate other work and infer valid conclusions.
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate your ability to follow scientific procedure of writing in terms of following scientific writing structure and relevant literature citation
LO2.
Show evidence of command and understanding of relevant concepts within your writing
LO3.
Demonstrate an application of relevant principles to new information within your writing
LO4.
Demonstrate critical thinking/problem solving within your writing by evaluating other studies, being aware of knowledge gaps and provide ways to improve or fill in these gaps
LO5.
Show an ability to appropriately infer and make relevant conclusions within your writing
LO6.
Professionally present the literature in terms of style, formatting, presenting relevant tables and figures and editing.
LO7.
Develop and/or displaying an in-depth knowledge of the field of work being reviewed
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Project Research Proposal
|
40% |
10/04/2025 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Literature Review
|
60% |
30/05/2025 2:00 pm |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
10/04/2025 2:00 pm
This assignment should be devoted to an outline and defense of your proposed research, the proposed timeline, and the methods you intend to use. There is a limit of 1,500 words for this assignment. Marks will be deducted for reports containing more than 1,650 words.
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Further details can be found in the Course Blackboard site.
Turnitin submission details:
You must submit your Assessment task, in Blackboard, via the Turnitin link by the submission deadline. You should also retain an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit.
Legal Declaration:
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy (https://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=149) and understand its implications.
You may be able to apply for an extension.
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.
Assessment deadlines are firm and must be met. Late submission without permission or non-submission of assessable work will result in penalties being applied. Late submission of assessment will only be granted for documented medical reasons, accident, bereavement, jury service and other circumstances allowed in the UQ Policies and Procedures Library (PPL).
Submission of an Extension of Assessment Due Date (EADD) should be completed online through your My Requests tab via my.UQ Dashboard before the due date of the assessment item.
30/05/2025 2:00 pm
This is a Literature Review supporting the scientific grounds for your Research Proposal. There is a limit of 3,000 words for the review of the existing literature supporting your experimental design. Marks will be deducted for reports containing more than 3,300 words.
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Further details can be found on the Course Blackboard site.
Turnitin submission details:
You must submit your Assessment task, in Blackboard, via the Turnitin link by the submission deadline. You should also retain an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit.
Legal Declaration:
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy (https://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=149) and understand its implications.
You may be able to apply for an extension.
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.
Assessment deadlines are firm and must be met. Late submission without permission or non-submission of assessable work will result in penalties being applied. Late submission of assessment will only be granted for documented medical reasons, accident, bereavement, jury service and other circumstances allowed in the UQ Policies and Procedures Library (PPL).
Submission of an Extension of Assessment Due Date (EADD) should be completed online through your My Requests tab via my.UQ Dashboard before the due date of the assessment item.
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 0 - 34% |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 35 - 46% |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: 47 - 49% or non-submission of any assessment items for this course. |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 50 - 64% |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 65 - 74% |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 75 - 84% |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 85 - 100% |
All Assessment is Compulsory
All required assessment items MUST be completed in order to obtain a passing grade for this course.
• You must submit all assessment to pass the course, even if you have passing grades in other SCIE4040 assessment tasks. If you achieve 50% on the cumulative
results for the course, BUT fail to submit any assessment items, you will achieve a grade of 3.
Honours Class
Honours classes are calculated in accordance to theﾠprogram rules for the year that you commenced the Honours program, in conjunction with University of Queensland standards .
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply.
Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.
If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.
Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes.
To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.
Please note the following when writing assignments
You must not re-use past work from previous assessments in your assignments.
TurnItIn Assignments
Assignments that are required to be submitted through TurnItIn, must only be uploaded to the assessment specific Turnitin link on the relevant course Blackboard site.ﾠ If you submit any version of your assessment item to any alternative Turnitin link, this is considered cheating and you will be held liable for this action.
UQ Student Integrity and Misconductﾠpolicy -ﾠhttps://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=149
Results
Written assessments will be marked by two examiners nominated by your advisor. In the case of the two marks differing by more than 10 points, moderation of the marks will be sought.
Unless specifically indicated by the course coordinator,ﾠevery attempt will be madeﾠto haveﾠthe results for progressive assessment available within 3 weeks of submission. For items of assessment submitted in the last 2 weeks of the semester, the results will not be available until grades release day.ﾠResults and feedback availability will be advised to you by email or announced via the course Blackboard site.
Re-mark Applications - refer to the University's Re-mark Policy to check your eligibility
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 are available on the UQ Library website.
If we've listed something under further requirement, you'll need to provide your own.
| Item | Description | Further Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| SCIE4040 Course Blackboard site | Blackboard is the main method of communication for this course. | |
| SCIE4040 Course Profile | Provides details of specifications, rationale, aims and structure of the course. It also informs you of the assessment for this course, including weighting and due dates. | |
| AGFS Honours Handbook | Available on the Course Blackboard site, this Handbook provides an overview of Honours expectations for AGFS enrolled students. |
| Item | Description | Further Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| EndNote or similar reference software | The UQ Library provides a licence and support for EndNote for current UQ students and staff. |
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Workshop |
Research Project Writing Workshops The School provides students a series of optional academic and project writing workshops throughout the semester. Students are strongly encouraged to attend these sessions, which are designed to assist in research project writing. Please consult your timetables for more details on this activity. Sub-activity: Research Project Writing Workshop Series - Suresh Krishnasamy |
Week 1 |
Lecture |
Introduction to SCIE4040 Introduction to the course. During this session you will be given information about what is expected of you to achieve a good grade in the course. Tips and tricks to avoid stress and make the most of your time and effort investment. |
Week 7 (07 Apr - 13 Apr) |
Tutorial |
Check-in and questions about 1st assessment We will check how are you doing with your first assessment and discuss any issues related to it. |
Week 12 (19 May - 25 May) |
Tutorial |
Check-in and questions about 2nd assessment We will check how are you doing with your Literature Review and discuss any issues related to it. |
This is a self-directed literature review course, with 3 check in contact sessions throughout the semester. Students will otherwise be working on a project proposal and literature review, in conjunction with their Supervisor.
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:
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
You'll also need to be aware of the following policies and procedures while completing this course:
Immunisation requirements as per individual project requirements.