PSY4402 is not in the 2027 Handbook - Monash may have renumbered or withdrawn it. This is what the 2026 Handbook published; check the 2027 Handbook or your faculty before planning next year.
Units / PSY4402
PSY4402 · Psychology research project: Introduction and project planning
2026 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 4Psychology
Overview
The aim of PSY4402 is to enable you to produce a high quality research project component, consisting of the production of a research thesis introduction/ literature review. You will undertake a supervised research project that aims to provide training in both discipline specific and generic research skills, and complete a literature review that forms the basis of the introduction for your research thesis presented at the end of the course. The literature review/introduction component of the research thesis will consist of a description of the students' project, a detailed review of the relevant literature, and a statement of the research hypotheses or research questions to be tested. You will be provided with course materials and guidance to help you produce a high quality research proposal, source and synthesise appropriate research findings, and coherently synthesise this into a research project. The development of these skills and their application to the production of the introduction/ literature review component of your research thesis will build on their research and writing skills developed in previous courses.
Areas of study: Psychology
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Monash Online | Teaching period 1 | Monash Online (MO) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Research Project Proposal Presentation (5 minutes) | Presentation | 20% | — |
| 2 | Research Project: Introduction (3,500 - 4,000 words) | Written | 60% | Threshold |
| 3 | Human Research Ethics Committee application (900-1200 words) Explanatory Statement (1000-1250 words) | Written | 20% | — |
Assessment in this unit includes hurdle assessment tasks. Failure of any hurdle assessment task may result in failure of the unit.
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
prerequisite
Prerequisite: Completed Bachelor's Degree and a major sequence in psychology approved by the Australian Psychological Society or qualification assessed as equivalent by the Australian Psychological Society, with a distinction average (70%) for third year psychology units. PSY4401
PSY4401Learning outcomes
- Explain how their own research fits into a broader psychology research context
- Produce a testable proposal for research that will contribute to the development of knowledge in a particular area of psychology
- Develop and demonstrate high level skill in sourcing, reading and synthesising relevant psychological literature into a coherent research review
- Generate coherent and testable hypotheses or research question/s that will allow a contribution to the development of knowledge in a particular area of psychology
- Produce an explanatory statement outlining the research project to research participants, and detail recruitment and data collection procedures of your project, to a standard suitable for review by the appropriate ethics committee
Workload
You should expect to spend an average of 20-25 hours per week per unit. This time will cover: One-on-one research supervision (30 minutes per week) Group supervision (1 hour per Teaching Period) Independent research (4 hours) Weekly readings (4-6 hours) Knowledge-based assessment (8-10hrs, including revision)
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