Unit rationale, description and aim
Research in high performance sport settings is critical for providing athletes and practitioners with evidence-based strategies for improving performance and maintaining athlete well-being. The aim of this unit is to provide a 'capstone' experience for students by affording them a learning experience that involves the completion of a research project of interest to the student and of relevance to the industry. Projects may take the form of an investigative study, systematic review or meta-analysis, and will include the preparation of a manuscript for publication. The project will be conducted under the supervision of a member of staff appointed by the Head of School. Students will apply knowledge and skills developed in previous units to identify a research problem of interest and formulate an ethical and defensible research proposal. The Major Research Project units (EXSC654 Part A and EXSC655 Part B) is a 12-month commitment, with students enrolling in this unit (EXSC654) as a prerequisite to EXSC655.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Communicate the design of an evidence-based projec...
Learning Outcome 01
Critically appraise literature and contemporary co...
Learning Outcome 02
Use specialised knowledge and technical skills to ...
Learning Outcome 03
Display appropriate standards of technical and eth...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics of the unit include:
- identifying industry-relevant issues/problems
- planning and conducting an evidence-based project
- application of bibliographic and data management software packages
- ethical practice in research project design, implementation and reporting
- communication of project findings
Assessment strategy and rationale
In order to best enable students to achieve unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. A range of assessment strategies have been purposefully designed for the assessment of learning outcomes reflecting the principles of authentic assessment design and include:
- Assessment Task 1: a feasibility of project to assess the application of research skills and advanced theoretical understanding;
- Assessment Task 2 (Ungraded Hurdle): an ethics submission or systematic review with meta-analysis protocol registration to assess research competency through the application of ethical understanding and research knowledge and communication; and
- Assessment Task 3: a written task to assess the acquisition and communication of knowledge in the fundamentals of good research design and understanding related to a content area of future research.
To pass the unit, students must demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome, pass the hurdle task, and obtain a minimum mark of 50% in graded units.
Overview of assessments
To pass the unit, students must demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome, pass the hurdle task, and obtain a minimum mark of 50% in graded units.
Assessment 1 Feasibility of Project: Enables s...
Assessment 1
Feasibility of Project:
Enables students to critically evaluate the feasibility of their proposed research project, identify any potential limitations and address these using their research-related skills.
20%
Assessment 2 (*Ungraded Hurdle) Human Research E...
Assessment 2 (*Ungraded Hurdle)
Human Research Ethics Committee project approval or Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis protocol registration:
For students undertaking experimental research studies, students must submit the approval letter from the ACU HREC and the project’s assigned ethics approval number.
For students undertaking systematic reviews with meta-analysis, students must submit their registration confirmation information (email and/or link to the registration webpage) from either Open Science Framework or PROSPERO.
*Ungraded
Hurdle
Assessment 3 Literature Review or Systematic Rev...
Assessment 3
Literature Review or Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis protocol:
Enables students to apply research-related skills in order to demonstrate literature searching, critique, interpretation and scholarship to systematically synthesise current understanding.
For students undertaking experimental research studies, students must submit a narrative literature review aligned to their chosen research question.
For students undertaking systematic reviews with meta-analysis, students must submit a completed protocol for their systematic review, including their planned meta-analytic approach.
80%
*Students are required to submit Ethics Applications or Registration on Open Science Framework or PROSPERO as required for the Research Project. Students are also required to upload approval documentation received from the appropriate authorities. Application time frames and deadlines will be determined by the approval authorities. Submissions and resubmissions are permitted in accordance with the approval authorities Guidelines. Students should not commence research until approval has been obtained from the appropriate authority and approval documentation has been uploaded to the LMS.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
ACU Online
The pedagogical structuring of learning experiences that comprise this unit of research training and work-integrated learning recognises and utilises contributions from both academic and practice settings. It intentionally integrates the learning arising in both settings to realise the knowledge and skills students need to move smoothly into and be effective in their selected graduate destination. This unit will be delivered under the supervision of a member of staff at the Australian Catholic University.