Research and Project Planning (300302)

Research and Project Planning (300302)

Level ~ Masters
Availability ~ Semester 1
Type ~ Core

This unit provides students with the skills and an understanding of how to integrate their knowledge and experiences into a capstone project that generates new knowledge and/or insights for the improvement of mental health care. This unit brings together students from the Master of Applied Mental Health Studies and the Master of Psychiatric Medicine, maximising opportunities for interdisciplinary insight and collaboration, both during study and in practice settings. Students will formulate a detailed proposal for either a research or non-research capstone project to a standard that meets submission requirements for ethics committee review.


Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate ability to critically review and synthesise the research and other relevant literature in response to the proposed project.
  • Formulate a proposal relevant to mental health which explains the rationale for the project and its design, considers ethical implications, and outlines plans for implementation, data analysis and dissemination of findings.
  • Demonstrate ability to communicate in a compelling and authoritative way regarding the proposed project, its theoretical significance, and its application in the workplace.

Weekly Schedule
Week 1 The Capstone project
Week 2 Ethics Plus I: Ethical principles and the ethics application process
Week 3 Ethics Plus II: Intellectual property and OH&S
Week 4 Identifying and developing a research topic
Week 5 Searching and evaluating the literature
Week 6 Design considerations I: Quantitative methods
Week 7 Design considerations II: Qualitative methods
Week 8 Questionnaires and surveys
Week 9 Focus groups
Week 10 Interviews
Week 11 Secondary data
Week 12 Data organisation and analysis
Week 13 Written reports
Week 14 Oral presentations
Week 15 Posters