Program Overview

Unit Overview

The unit WCIV418 - Honours Thesis B is designed for Honours graduates in the liberal arts. It aims to support students in developing advanced theoretical and technical knowledge and skills through a process of self-directed and scholarly investigation.

Unit Rationale, Description, and Aim

Honours graduates in the liberal arts need to be able to identify, respond to, and solve complex and emerging problems and challenges in a wide range of professional contexts through engaging in original and methodologically appropriate research. This unit allows students to advance their understanding of an interdisciplinary study by developing a thesis that responds to a researchable question and contributes new knowledge to subjects in the liberal arts and advances the common good.

Learning Outcomes

To successfully complete this unit, students will be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes:

• Autonomously formulate a complex research project according to the methodological and ethical conventions of the field of study.
• Apply advanced cognitive and technical research skills in the chosen field of study.
• Critically analyse and evaluate an original research problem in the form of a thesis.
• Transmit an advanced scholarly, theoretical, and/or technical contribution to knowledge.
• Utilise advanced communication skills of clear and precise thesis writing.

Unit Content

Topics covered in thesis supervision sessions will normally include:

• Ethics
• Primary and secondary research approaches
• Goal setting and time management
• Skills in reporting and analysis
• Scholarly critique
• Argumentation
• Citation
• Writing, editing, and preparing the thesis for examination.

Assessment Strategy and Rationale

The summative assessment for the Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation) (Honours) is a 12,500-word original, written thesis based on work carried out over the period of study that evidences advanced knowledge and skills necessary for further learning or professional practice in the liberal arts.

Teaching Strategy

Students will work closely with a specialist supervisor who is appointed by the Course Coordinator to negotiate a topic of significance in an approved field and develop a question and a methodological approach that can guide their research. The supervisor will engage the student in regular cycles of reflection and critical self-appraisal to incrementally develop a sophisticated and scholarly thesis.

Representative Texts and References

• Byrne, D. Research Ethics. Los Angeles: Sage, 2016.
• Fink, A. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 6th ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2020.
• Hammond, M., and J.J. Wellington. Research Methods: The Key Concepts. 2nd ed. London & New York: Routledge, 2021.
• Iltis, A. S., and D. McKay. The Oxford Handbook of Research Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
• Kumar, R. Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. 5th ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2019.
• Leavy, P. The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
• Martin, K. L. Please Knock Before You Enter: Aboriginal Regulation of Outsiders and the Implications for Researchers. Teneriffe, Qld: Post Pressed, 2008.
• McGregor, D., J. Restoule, and R. Johnston. Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships. Toronto: Canadian Scholars, 2018.
• Sullivan, Graeme. Art Practice as Research: Inquiry in Visual Arts. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2010.
• Walliman, Nicholas. Your Undergraduate Dissertation: The Essential Guide for Success. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2014.

Locations and Credit Points

The unit is offered at the North Sydney campus and is worth 10 credit points.